Author's Note: Many thanks to Arsinoe de Blassenville, who suggested the unicorn's name, and reminded me of one of my favorite books as a kid.

I posted a free unicorn-wallpaper link (along with a few other links I find interesting) on my bio page.


Chapter Eighteen

"How do I look?" I asked my mirror. I had been quite pleasantly surprised to find it packed away in my things. I had grown quite attached to it while living at Malfoy Manor. Somehow, the carved face of a woman at the top of the mirror's wooden frame made it seem like it was alive. From time to time during our discussions, I'd glance up to find that the face had changed expression.

I ran my hand over my smooth, black robes, fingering the embroidered Ravenclaw insignia on my shoulder. I continued to pin my hair up with the emerald hair sticks that Draco bought me. I knew I wasn't supposed to be officially engaged, but they were just so beautiful, I couldn't resist wearing them.

"Quite elegant," My mirror answered. "Master Draco will- oh, I forgot. He's staying at the Manor, now."

It had been a week and a half since the potions accident. Little Draco continued to owl me crayon drawings of the unicorn. He wanted to be pen-friends, and had his new nanny, Twinky, write the notes for him. He demanded information about the foal constantly. It was driving him crazy that I hadn't settled on a proper name for her yet.

"Yeah, I kind of miss him. The teenage version, that is." The thought disturbed me a little. I kept thinking about that spell he used on me, that supposedly revealed my true feelings about him. "He really got on my nerves with that whole stone-imp thing, but then, I don't know...I guess he has really good reasons for being the way he is. And he can be funny and nice when he wants to be." Without him around, I didn't have anybody to just hang around with. Well, other than a bathroom mirror and a baby unicorn, of course.

"I'm sure he misses you, too, Dearie," The mirror told me in a soothing voice. "And the castle. Hogwarts really is a fascinating place. I love it here."

"It was quite thoughtful of the house elves to pack you for me," I told it.

"Well, I convinced them to," The mirror admitted. "I've always wanted to travel. The mirrors here at Hogwarts are so much friendlier than they were in the Manor, and so much more interesting. You would not believe the things that go on at this school!"

"Now you're starting to sound like the Sorting Hat." I laughed. "I don't want to know about anything kinky."

"That Gryffindor girl, Hermione Granger, doesn't think that Master Draco's potions accident was an accident at all."

"What?" That certainly got my attention.

"One of the mirrors in the Gryffindor common room told me all about it. Miss Granger told her friends that Professor Snape and the headmaster must have staged the entire thing, to prevent Master Draco from becoming a Death Eater this summer when he turns Seventeen. Besides that Longbottom boy, the other students involved in the accident were magically powerful, Slytherin boys. Isn't that a coincidence?"

"That would be a good thing," I said. "But what if the Dark Lord believes that it wasn't an accident? What would he do to Professor Snape? What if he thinks my uncle is intentionally withholding Draco from becoming a Death Eater? Mr. Malfoy's not exactly on the Dark Lord's good side right now." I had just pushed my books into my leather satchel when I realized something the mirror had said. "Wait. So you can actually communicate with other mirrors?"

"Oh yes, Dearie. At least the ones willing to talk to me. Some mirrors of power think they are too important to talk to the likes of me. I'm sure that using your name would capture their attention, but I don't like to name-drop, especially when I'm new here."

I sighed with relief. Maybe I wouldn't have to ask Professor Dumbledore about the Silverthorn mirrors. I had been procrastinating about it, afraid that he would instantly see my motivations behind my questions. I knew that if he even suspected my conversations with my uncle, he'd never tell me anything. "I've been really curious about where the Silverthorn mirrors are here at Hogwarts," I told the bathroom mirror. "Especially the Mirror of Emit. If you could find out any information about them, I'd really appreciate it."

"Why don't you ask the headmaster about them?" The mirror asked.

"He just, um, seems really busy right now," I said. "He has a lot to worry about, you know. He's been trying to deal with the parents of the students that were in the accident. They've been sending him howlers." Now that I thought about it, the only one who hadn't seemed terribly upset by the incident was Mr. Malfoy. With his awful temper, he was taking it much better than I would have expected.

"I also heard that the old Malfoy Manor house elf, Dobby, is missing from the Hogwarts kitchens," The mirror added.

"You mean the one that Draco kept drawing?" I asked. I had finally stuck the picture in a drawer, because I got tired of hearing Dobby shriek every time Mr. Malfoy kicked him. It was just too creepy to tear up the picture or throw it away.

"The same. The last few years he's been terrified of stepping out of Hogwarts, afraid of what your uncle might do to him if he caught him. It's very strange that he's disappeared. Whatever you might say about this school, it is certainly not dull here."

"That's for sure." I grabbed my books and headed out the door. "I'm supposed to meet with Professor McGonagall first thing this morning. I'll see you after awhile," I told the mirror. I had a lot to think about.
Unfortunately, Transfiguring things turned out to be a lot harder than the books had made it sound. Potions had come to me so easily, it was spooky. It even seemed that I had once known everything, and Professor Snape only needed to remind me. Wand magic, however, was another thing entirely.

"Why can't I do this?" I wailed. I poked the piece of pipe-cleaner with my wand. It did not move. It was supposed to be turning into a caterpillar. I had been trying for over an hour, and was still getting nowhere.

"You are a beginner," Professor McGonagall told me from her desk. "Transfiguration is one of the more difficult magical arts. You can't expect to be an expert when you've never tried it before. Many of our first years experience the same frustration." She hadn't exactly warmed up to me or anything, but she seemed to have forgiven me for the whole stone- imp incident.

"But the first years are just little kids! I thought I would do better. I thought I was supposed to be a, um, magical genius or something," I said with a little embarrassment. After hearing all the talk about my wand, my good breeding and how powerful I was going to be, I guess I thought that everything would come easily.

"You've been listening to Professor Snape," She said, a tiny crinkle of disapproval wrinkling her brow. "Power does not always equal skill, Miss Silverthorn. No doubt you will excel at mirror magic, which includes potion making. Your mother certainly did. She and Professor Snape were the two best potions students Hogwarts had seen for years. They were actually partners in an Independent Studies class."

"I didn't know that!" I wondered why Professor Snape never mentioned that. I was definitely going to have to find some old Hogwarts yearbooks to look into.

"I don't wish to discourage you, Miss Silverthorn, but unfortunately, when one is exceptionally gifted in one area of magic, sometimes skills in other areas are weakened. I'm not clear why this is so, but it seems to be the rule."

"You mean, like when a Muggle is great at English, he's not so good at Math."

"Professor Snape, for example, is absolutely rubbish when it comes to transfiguring things. No doubt that's why he goes on about 'foolish wand waving' in class." She smirked a little, as if that fact pleased her. "Now don't worry. Nobody expects you to be perfect."

"Professor Snape does," I muttered. "The man's a slave driver. I think he's still bent out of shape because I wrote my potions essay with a ball point pen. I told him he wouldn't be able to read my handwriting if I used a quill. He made me write the essay out three times before he was satisfied. I got ink everywhere. Then he tried to make me scrub the desk, the Muggle way. I lost my temper, and so he gave me detention!"

"I'm afraid Professor Snape can be a wee bit difficult," She said. "But it is important for you to learn our ways in the Wizarding world. It would not do for you to stand out too much among the other students."

"I already do!" I said. "I'm too old to make friends with most of the students, but I'm too young to hang out with the teachers." Professor Snape obviously saw me as a child. If that wasn't bad enough, he was constantly hanging out with Professor Lovelace. Several times I had seen them walking down to the dungeons in the evenings. Honestly! And after all that talk about wanting his privacy!

Professor McGonagall pursed her lips in a sympathetic smile, but there wasn't anything she could say.

After my lessons with Professors Flitwick, Sprout and Vector, I was almost finished for the day. I took my copies of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," "The Care and Feeding of Unicorns,"and "The Baby Monster Book of Baby Monsters," (It didn't have teeth yet and so was easier to handle than the adult version) and headed outside to Hagrid's.

In spite of his differences with my uncle in the past, Hagrid had warmed up to me quickly. So far, lessons with Hagrid consisted of having tea in his hut, being fed hard candy made from 'treacle,' and his big, ugly dog drooling on my shoes. From time to time I asked about Harry, but he just cleared his throat and muttered something like, "Ben worried 'bout Harry. He's havin' a hard time of it this year, with Sirius Black's death an' all." He studiously avoided all mention of Draco.

When I arrived at Hagrid's hut today, however, he wasn't there. Smoke puffed out of his chimney, so I knew he hadn't gone far. He probably just got distracted with one of his creatures. He just got some kind of new pet that he couldn't tell me about. It was probably too dangerous. Or illegal. Or both.

I went on ahead to visit the foal. Hagrid had graciously let me use a little stable with a fenced in corral where his substitute, Professor Grubbly-Plank, had kept unicorns the previous year. Unicorns don't usually like people much, so the area was away from the school, hidden by a small grove of trees.

"Hi, Baby!" I called to the foal. I really did need to find a suitable name to call her, but all the ones I could come up with were either silly, cheesy, or too pompous. What the heck did you name a unicorn? "I hope you haven't been lonely without me today."

The foal, much larger now that she had been restored to her natural size, pranced up to me. She moved so swiftly and delicately, that it seemed the breeze blew her along. Her hide shone buttery and golden in the evening light.

"No, no!" She cried. "I talked to a butterfly, a fairy, a fox, some birds, and Fang came to visit me." Not only were animals attracted to her, but she could talk to all of them. It was just like something out of a fairy tale.

"I hope Fang didn't drool on you," I said, laughing. "You have more of a social life than I do!" I kissed her on her nose. I still couldn't believe she was mine. She was more like a little person than an animal, and I couldn't feel lonely or depressed when I was around her. Hagrid had told me that unicorns are extremely magical creatures, and have many healing properties. Just spending time in her presence was cheering and comforting.

I had fixed a comfortable, little bed in the stable. I settled down on it, dumping my books out to read for awhile. It was very peaceful, and through the open door I could see the rolling green hills and the sunset. I smelled the smoke from Hagrid's chimney on the evening breeze. I was just beginning to relax when the foal starting romping around excitedly.

"There's somebody coming," She told me.

"Have you finally chosen a name for your familiar?" The Grey Lady asked me. "I believe you were looking for a literary one." She hovered in front of me, so pale and transparent that I could see the wooden slats of the stables through her gown. I was starting to get used to her sudden appearances. She was one of the few ghosts of Hogwarts who could actually leave the castle, and she took a particular interest in my studies.

"Well, one of the books that my mom used to read to me was called "The Last Unicorn," by Peter Beagle," I told her. "I loved that book. They even made an animated movie that I must have watched a hundred times. But I don't think they ever gave the unicorn an actual name."

"I recall that the creature remains unnamed until Schmendrick the Magician transforms her into a woman," The ghost told me. "Then her name becomes Lady Amalthea."

"That's right!" I said excitedly. "I forgot about that."

"No doubt Mr. Beagle got the name from the ancient Muggle myth, in which Amalthea was a sacred wild goat who nursed the god Zeus. He broke one of her horns off, transformed it into the first cornucopia and placed Amalthea amongst the stars as the constellation Capra. The name also referred to the goddess of plenty. It is also the name of one of the planet Jupiter's moons, and-"

"Alright, alright." I laughed. And People thought that I read too much. I guess if you had lots of time to read for the past five hundred years or so, you'd know just about everything. I thought about telling her to get a life, but maybe that would've been a mean thing to say to a ghost.

"And, as I was about to say before being interrupted, the name comes from the Greek word malthasso, meaning "To soothe." It also has Arabic origins, and may be translated as "hope."

"I do find her very soothing." I stroked the foal's nose, and she snorted into my hair. I was totally in love with her, and she made me feel hopeful for the first time in months. I suppose that since the little thing had lost her parents, when I comforted her, I comforted myself as well. "That's her name, then. Amalthea." I sighed with happiness.

"I also seem to recall in the story, the manipulative, powerful dark wizard who wished to entrap the unicorn. He lured the Lady Amalthea into trusting him. In the end, however, he betrayed her by sending the red bull after her."

"What are you trying to say?" I had the feeling a lecture was coming, one that I wouldn't like.

"Only that you are in an emotionally vulnerable state. I realize that having such a powerful, well-known, wealthy, handsome father-figure such as Mr. Malfoy in your life could be very alluring. I just don't want you to become hurt by him. He can be ruthless, and if he wants something from you, he will stop at nothing to obtain it."

"I just keep thinking that he could have been so different if it hadn't been for the Dark Lord," I said. The last couple of times I'd seen him he had actually seemed pleasant and rather affectionate.

"Yes," She said gently. "But you cannot judge people by their potential, or what they might have been. You must see them as they are."

After the Ghost had left, I wondered about what she had said. My uncle Lucius was a dangerous man, and since I had begun school here at Hogwarts, I had heard plenty of stories about him. Hagrid still held a grudge toward him for trying to have Buckbeak destroyed. The Weasleys still hated him for slipping Tom Riddle's diary into Ginny's cauldron and almost getting her killed. Hermione hated him for his prejudice against Muggleborns. And of course Harry hated him for...well, lots of things.

I couldn't help but wonder, was the Grey Lady right? Maybe I shouldn't trust my uncle. Could I really trust him with something as powerful as a mirror that could change past events? Just the idea that I could see my mother again, however, made me want to ignore my doubts. I knew that Mr. Malfoy had done many evil things, but he had a strange kind of honor when it came to family. I believed that if he swore something to me that he would see it done.

I was so lost in my thoughts, that I didn't realize it was growing late until the stars started to appear.

"I guess I should go inside," I told Almathea. "I might go by and check in with Hagrid. Just so he knows that I've been reading the assignments."

I was walking on the pathway that led to Hagrid's hut, when something ran right into me. I hung onto it, but my legs tangled up and I ended up landing on top of it. It was something soft, squishy, and invisible! I began to poke around on it, in fascination. It was obviously a body.

"Miriel, get off." Harry Potter's voice sounded muffled and breathless.

I sat off of him, and suddenly Harry was sitting there, a silky cloak of some kind in his hands.

"I'm sorry, Harry," I said. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," He told me, standing and brushing the grass off his clothes. "I had detention with Hagrid this evening."

"That must be why he forgot my lesson today," I said, before I remembered that Harry was likely serving part of his detention for hexing me on the train.

"I had to help him with the Hippocampus. It's been laying eggs in the lake, and Hagrid is afraid the giant squid will eat the tadfoals when they hatch."

"Hippocampus?"

"It's kind of like a horse," Harry said. "Only it has the tail and hindquarters of a giant fish. It's not too dangerous." The boy's voice was quiet, but I sensed a reserve about him, and he wouldn't meet my eyes. "I stayed a little too late, so now I'm passed curfew."

"And you have that cloak," I looked at the material in his hands. "That makes you invisible?"

"Look, I don't really want anybody knowing about this," He said curtly, and began walking away.

"Harry, why have you been avoiding me? I'm really sorry about the whole thing with the Daily Prophet. I didn't mean for you to be embarrassed. And I didn't know that Draco was going to steal those stone-imps on the train. I was keeping them to give to Professor Snape, and-"

"I saw you, Miriel." Harry turned around to face me. "I saw you with Voldemort."

"What do you mean?"

Harry stepped closer to me, and his shoulders stiffened. His face was set with determination. "I had a dream about you, the night before we got on the Hogwarts Express. Sometimes I dream about things that Voldemort does. Snape brought you to Voldemort, and the Dark Lord tortured a man for you. It was supposed to be..." He swallowed. "A reward, or a gift, or something. I didn't see everything."

"I didn't ask him to do that," I whispered, horrified.

"I told Professor Dumbledore about it." Harry's voice was flat and resentful. "As usual, he wouldn't tell me the whole story. He always wants to protect me. He thinks I can't handle things because I'm a kid. He told me not to worry about anything, and to show you around the school. Hagrid says you have to be okay, because you have a pet unicorn, and they won't touch anybody who's evil."

"I don't serve the Dark Lord," I told him. "I could never do that. I know it must look bad to you, me being related to the Malfoys..."

"And being engaged to Draco Malfoy!" Harry looked ill. "Ron even thinks you have something to do with Dobby's disappearance."

"What?" I cried.

"Dobby disappeared soon after you arrived. He would never leave Hogwarts. He loves it here. Mr. Malfoy would love to get his hands on him. He treated Dobby really badly, and he thinks of Dobby as a traitor for helping me." Harry's words tumbled out in a rush, and I could tell that he had been quite upset.

"Harry, I would never do anything to hurt a house elf. Or you. Or anybody!" I ended up telling Harry everything that had happened to me. I told him how the Dark Lord killed my father, how my mother had escaped to the States, and how Mr. Malfoy found me. I told him all the details of my meeting with the Dark Lord. "The only reason the Dark Lord let me come to school here, Harry, was because he wanted me to spy on you. But I don't have any intention of doing that. Professor Dumbledore told me to let him and Snape handle the Dark Lord. Voldemort killed my father, Harry. And my mother let herself be abused because she couldn't expose herself as a witch by defending herself with magic. Why would I want to serve the Dark Lord?" I became more passionate the longer I talked, and I finally broke down in tears.

"I'm sorry, Miriel," Harry finally said after awhile. "I guess things haven't been easy for you. Is it okay if I tell Hermione and Ron some of what you told me? I won't tell them everything."

"Yes," I sniffed. "Maybe Ron will stop with his conspiracy theories."

"Come on," Harry told me. "It's getting dark. Let's get back to the castle." On the way, he told me a little about this year before I had arrived. He was still struggling with the death of his Godfather, Sirius Black. He had been having trouble concentrating in classes, and he was plagued with nightmares. He had been dreaming of something terrible happening to Ron.

"The whole thing with the Daily Prophet just topped it off," He said. "I mean, they spent all that time trying to make me look like a joke, and now that there's been evidence of Voldemort's return, I'm suddenly a hero again. They can't leave me alone. I just want a normal life. I just want to go back to being a Muggle, sometimes."

"Me, too," I told him.

"Would it be okay if I come by your quarters some time? Aren't they in the dungeons?"

"Sure," I said. "I'll ask my uncle about Dobby, if you like."

Once I was back in my room, I found the small, square mirror that my uncle had given to me. "Lucius Malfoy," I whispered to it. I wondered if I was supposed to tap it with my wand.

Almost instantly, the edges of the mirror glowed. The surface of the glass was just the right size to see my uncle's grey eyes in it.

"Yes, Miriel." Mr. Malfoy's voice was quite clear, much clearer than if he had been speaking into a telephone. "Have you discovered something about the Mirror of Emit?"

"No. Um, I had a question for you. About Dobby."

Mr. Malfoy frowned, and I heard him sigh with exasperation. "Please tell me that you did not contact me to talk about my ex-servant, that little, traitorous piece of filth!"

"He's disappeared from Hogwarts," I said. "Nobody can find him, and some of the kids think that I actually had something to do with it. You didn't kidnap him or anything, did you?"

There was a long silence. "Dobby is gone? From the school?"

"Yeah," I said. "Is there something wrong?"

The eyes in the mirror reflected concern. "That house elf knows Malfoy Manor and its grounds better than anyone. I changed the wards after he left, but he knows where they are located, and he is familiar with the kinds of spells I prefer to use." After a moment, he continued. "It would have been impossible to have kidnapped Dobby on the school grounds. No one could have apparated into Hogwarts. No, Dobby must have been persuaded to leave the school."

"But why would he have done that?" I asked.

"Revenge," My uncle said. "It may be that the Dark Lord has decided that I have outlived my usefulness."
Many thanks to my wonderful reviewers!

Thank you, Shadowstar21, Merryday, Lala-the-panda, ice-princess42, eaterofdeath, Carosu and Moonjasmine.

Dragonwing: Thank you for your review. Yes, I love the little unicorn, too. I wish I had one! I like your description of the little mirror as being a wizard cell-phone. HA! Actually, Sirius Black gave one just like it to Harry in the fifth book, but poor Sirius died before he had a chance to use it.

Arsinoe de Blassenville: I'm glad you like the unicorn. I loved unicorns before they got to be popular. Thank you so much for reminding me of Lady Amalthea. I had to run down and buy "The Last Unicorn" on DVD- I hadn't seen it since high school. The music is beautiful. The only unicorn I could remember was in the Chronicles of Narnia, and I thought his name, "Jewel," was a little cheesy. I absolutely love your story, by the way.

Escaped: Your reviews are always so inspiring! I'm glad you like little Draco. I was trying to show a little of what life might have been like for the Malfoys during the years that Voldie was banished. Yes, I gave myself fuzzies writing about hugging Uncle Lucius. HA! I think it's fun to write about different sides to the characters. Like I think that Dobby has a secret, evil vengeful side that he never shows to Harry Potter...

Rycca Wolfbane: Too bad about your brother. I hope he didn't ruin your trip to LA. Did you have a cup of coffee for me at the Café Du Monde? You silly, the unicorn is just a baby, you can't send her into the forbidden forest all by herself! She doesn't have a horn to defend herself against the werewolves, giant spiders, centaurs, and such... (