Let's just say, Gryffindor wasn't happy. No one understood how they had lost two hundred points overnight and swore the point counter was broken. That was until the story (which had been retold so many times it now was quite different than what actually happened) about how the famous Harry Potter, winner of two Quidditch matches, made some of his dumbass friends go around the castle after curfew and lost all the points. Everyone glared, whispered, and pointed at him, some even going so far to insult him to his face, as we walked by. Luckily for Hermione, Neville, and I, no one exactly knew it was us but associating with him didn't win us any favors and they spread the hatred to us. Hermione and I even stopped answering questions in class, just to not draw attention to us. It wasn't just Gryffindors that were pissed, either. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students were just as upset since they had been hoping for Slytherin to lose the House Cup this year. On the other hand, Slytherin would clap and cheer each time they saw him in the corridors or walked into the Great Hall. Hermione and Neville decided to put some distance between us so it was only Ron and me who stood by him.
"They'll all forget this in a few weeks. Fred and George have lost loads of points in all the time they've been here, and people still like them." Ron told us in an attempt to make us feel better but it didn't. I just rolled my eyes and kept walking.
"Yeah but they've never lost two hundred points in a single night, have they?" Harry snapped back.
"Well... No..." Ron trailed off, not having much else to say that could help his friend.
Harry had decided to be on his best behavior and not cause any more trouble for the rest of the year. He felt so ashamed that he even went to Oliver Wood and asked to resign from the team.
"Resign?" Wood asked, confused. "What good'll that do? How are we going to get any points back if we can't win at Quidditch?" I was proud of him for actually not changing the way he acted much toward us because everyone else (minus the twins for me) had. Everyone on the team ignored us for the most part, leaving me to spend most of my time with Harry or the twins, and anytime people would have to talk to us, we were always "the Seeker" or "the Chaser". It got old but we understood their anger.
So instead of going out and having fun or spending extra time at practice, the three of us focused on our academics. We would stay up late into the night studying our potions, learning and perfecting new charms and spells, and even went as far as to study for our History of Magic class. Now that was painful.
What we didn't know was that a week or so before exams, we'd go back on our word and get involved in something we shouldn't have. As Harry and I were walking back from the library one evening, we heard whimpering. I quickly wrapped my hand around Harry's mouth and pulled him over to the corner.
"No... No... Not again- please!" We heard Professor Quirrell plead. Harry and I shared a look at each other. "Okay, okay fine." He sobbed again, but before we could fully look into the room, the professor ran out of the classroom nearly in tears. Once we could no longer hear Quirrells footsteps, we both peeked our heads into the classroom. It was empty.
"The doors open... They must've left right after threatening Quirrell." I whispered to Harry, who nodded and glared at the door. "And I bet I know who it was..." He muttered, dragging me straight back to the library to meet with Hermione and Ron to tell them what we heard.
"Snape's done it, then!" Ron exclaimed loudly before I shushed him and looked around to make sure no one heard. "If Quirrell's told him how to break his Anti-Dark Force spell-"
"There's still Fluffy though." Hermione pointed out. Ron thought to himself for a minute.
"Maybe Snape's found out how to get past him without asking Hagrid." He came up with.
"That's true... I can't imagine there's no spell or potion he could use to temporarily stun the dog." I added. Ron nodded at me.
"I bet there's a book somewhere that tells you exactly how to get past a giant three-headed monstrosity. So what do we do, Harry?" We all turned our attention from Ron to Harry, who had been keeping his head in a book. But before Harry could say a word, Hermione did.
"Go tell Dumbledore, you two. That's what we should've done ages ago. If we try anything ourselves then we'll be expelled for sure!"
"Hermione, Hagrid didn't even believe us. Why would Dumbledore, the one who hired him and trusted him to help guard the stone?" I asked her, but she didn't have an answer.
"Plus we've got no proof. Quirrell's too scared to back us up. Snape's only got to say he doesn't know how the troll got in on Holloween and that he was nowhere near the third floor. Sam's right. Who do you think they'll believe, him or us? It's not exactly a secret we hate him. Dumbledore would think we made it all up to get him sacked. Filch wouldn't help us if his life depended on it, he's also too friendly with Snape, and for him the more students who get thrown out the better. And don't forget, we aren't supposed to know about Fluffy. That'd take a lot of explaining." Harry tried explaining to her.
"And us confessing to breaking a ton more rules than we already have," I added in.
"If we just do a bit more digging-" Ron started.
"No. We've done enough of that." Harry decided as he went to pull out a map to Jupiter to study. I shared a look with Ron. I don't think we should give up, I thought. And I could tell by the look on his face that he agreed but we stayed quiet.
The following morning at breakfast, four notes were delivered to Hermione, Harry, Neville, and me.
Your detention will take place at eleven o'clock tonight.
Meet Mr. Filch in the entrance hall.
Professor M. McGonagall
We all compared notes and noticed they were all exactly the same and we all groaned. I had forgotten we still had detention on top of the fifty points. I looked back at Slytherin to see Draco Malfoy already glaring at us, his face tinged pink. "Draco has one, too." I pointed out to them. Harry and Ron groaned even louder.
"Great." I sarcastically said as I bit into a piece of buttered toast but that was all that was said about it because we all knew we deserved it.
At a quarter to eleven o'clock, we met up with Filch after saying bye to Ron, who luckily got to stay inside and not do anything. Filch and Malfoy were already there and by the time we got down to the meeting point, the clock struck the eleventh hour.
"Follow me," was all he said in his gravelly voice as he led us outside. "I bet you'll think twice about breaking school rules again, won't you?" He lectured, glaring at us. "Oh yes... Hard work and pain are the best teachers if you asked me." Good thing we didn't, I thought rolling my eyes. "It's just a pity they let the old punishments die out... Hang you by your wrists from the ceiling for a few days. I've kept the chains in my office and well oiled just in case... God I miss the screaming." I felt Neville shuffle closer to me and grab the back of my robe. "Right, off we go, and don't think of running off now, it'll be worse for you if you do." He continued to take us down the dark path, the only light was from his lanterns. The students all shared confused looks, not sure what our punishment would be.
"Is that you, Filch? Hurry up, I wan' ter get started." We heard Hagrid yell. We all started to smile a little at his voice, minus Draco, but Filch must've noticed because he quickly turned toward us and snapped, "I suppose you think you'll be enjoying yourselves? Well, think again. It's into the forest you're going and I'm much mistaken if you'll all come out in one piece." I couldn't help it, once he turned away, I rolled my eyes. Draco on the other hand completely stopped while Neville let out a little whimper.
"The forest?" Draco asked. "We can't go in there at night- there's all sorts of things in there- werewolves, I've heard." Neville held onto me even tighter.
"Good thing it's not a full moon then, huh?" I said, smirking at the blonde. Filch scoffed.
"That's your problem, isn't it?" The older man sounded almost too happy about the situation. "Should've thought of them werewolves before you got in trouble, shouldn't you?" I stepped closer to Harry and whispered, "Should've thought more about it before we forgot the cloak..." He cracked a little grin at that and nodded.
"Abou' time!" Hagrid called, stepping out of his hut with Fang on a leash. I leaned down and pet the dog. "I bin waitin' fer half an hour already. All right. Harry, Hermione, Sam?" He asked looking at each of us. I nodded as I stood up.
"I shouldn't be too friendly with them, Hagrid," Filch spoke in a cold tone. "They're here to be punished after all."
"That's why yer late, isn't it?" Hagrid started, getting a little annoyed. "Bin lecturin' them, eh?" I nodded again quickly at the giant as Filch glared at me. "'Snot yer place ter do that. Yeh've done yer bit. I'll take over from 'ere."
"I'll be back at dawn," Filch responded walking away but stopping momentarily to look back at us with a wicked grin. "For what's left of them anyway."
"I hate that man," I whispered to the other Gryffindors and they nodded back. Draco just stopped and looked at Hagrid with a sneer on his face. "I'm not going in that forest." He stated, clearly panicked. Harry grinned.
"Yeh will if yer wants to stay at Hogwarts," Hagrid quipped back. "Yeh've done the wrong an' ow yeh've got ter pay for it."
"But this is servant stuff, it's not for students to do. I thought we'd be copying lines or something, if my father knew I was doing this, he'd-" I scoffed at his entitlement.
"Tell yer that's how it is at Hogwarts. Copyin' lines!" Hagrid scoffed. "What goods that ter anyone? Yeh'll do somethin' useful or yeh'll get out. If yer father'd rather have yeh expelled, then get back to the castle an' pack yer trunks! Go on!" Hagrid waited a moment, staring at Draco, who glared at the man before dropping his gaze to the ground in front of him.
"Wow, who knew Hagrid had that in him?" I whispered to the others, who all humm'd in agreement.
"Right then." Hagrid continued. "now, listen carefully 'cause it's dangerous what we're gonna do tonight an' I don' want anyone takin' risks. Follow me over 'ere a moment." He directed us toward the line where the field ended and the forest began and pointed down a narrow dirt path that seemed to disappear in the darkness. "Look there," He directed. "see that stuff shinin' on the ground? Silvery stuff? That's unicorn blood. There's a unicorn in there bin hurt badly by summat. This is the second time this week. I found one dead last Wednesday." I shared a worried look with everyone. "We're gonna try and find the poor thin'. We might have ta put it outta its misery."
"And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?" Draco asked, and I had to admit. He had a point.
"There's nothin' that lives in the forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang. Keep ter the path. Right, now. We're gonna split into two parties an' follow the trail in differen' directions. There's blood all over the place, it must've been staggerin' around since last night at least." Hagrid surmised, studying the blood on the ground. I frowned looking at the scene. Animals being hurt always got to me.
"I want Fang!" Draco practically demanded. Hagrid looked between Fang and the blonde before he shrugged.
"All right, but I warn yeh, he's a coward." He turned to face us all. "So me, Harry, and Hermione will go this way an' Draco, Fang, Sam, an' Neville will go that way." He told us, pointing us in our directions. I held in my groan while Harry and Hermione sent me a pity glance. Even Hagrid seemed to. "Don' worry Sam, I know you'll be able to take care of 'em if somethin' happens. Now, if anyone finds the unicorn, we'll send up green sparks. An' if anyone gets in trouble? Send up some red sparks. Get yer wands out an' practice now. Good. Be careful, let's go."
The forest was pitch black except for the small light from the lantern and eerily quiet other than the breathing from everyone and the occasional whimper from Neville and Fang, Neville still holding on to my robes. When we got to the fork in the road, Hagrid took his group to the left while we went to the right. When we separated, I noticed Draco moving a lot closer to me and gripping the Fang's leash so hard his knuckles were white. I smirked but decided not to say anything in case it would hurt Nevilles' feelings.
"Lumos," I whispered, pulling out my wand to help me see the unicorn blood better. Neville and Draco followed suit. "I wonder why anyone would want to kill a unicorn?" I asked the boys but was interrupted when a thumping was heard, causing us all to jump. I looked around but couldn't see anything.
"W-what was th-that?" Neville stuttered, looking terrified. "I'm not quite sure. It sounded like a horse though."
"Or it's a werewolf!" Draco called out. I turned and smacked his arm. "What?" He asked, grinning.
"You're doing that on purpose. Now knock it off." I scolded him. "Merlin, I feel like a bloody professor," I mumbled, still keeping my eyes peeled, getting a bad feeling something was going to happen. I turned back to Neville for a moment though. "Neville, it's okay. Fred and George have been in here plenty of times and they've never been hurt." He nodded, but it didn't stop his sniffling.
Harry's PoV
"Good evening Hagrid, were you going to shoot me?" A man with long red hair and a matching beard asked as he came into view. Hagrid put his crossbow down and sighed. My jaw dropped when I noticed the bottom half of his body was of a horse, his tail matching his hair.
"Oh, it's you, Ronan. Can't be too careful out 'here, can yeh?" Hagrid asked, relieved it wasn't something he'd have to shoot. "There's summat bad in this forest. This is Harry Potter an' Hermione Granger by the way. Students up at the school. An' this is Ronan, you two. He's a centaur."
"We've noticed," Hermione said quietly and I nudged her. 'Be nice' I tried to say with my eyes. But Ronan the Centaur seemed to either not have heard her or not cared as he turned to us.
"Good evening. Students, are you? And do you learn much, up at the school?" He asked us.
"Uh..." I tried to say something but was still too shocked and looked at Hermione for help. She nodded. "A bit."
"A bit? Well, that's something." Ronan sighed, looking up towards the moon in a break of the trees. "Mars is bright tonight." I tried to look but couldn't really see where Mars was.
"Yeah," Hagrid agreed. "Listen, I'm glad we've run inner yeh, Ronan, 'cause there's a unicorn tha's been hurt. You see anythin'?" But Ronan continued to stare at the sky for another minute before answering.
"Always the innocent are the first victims." He spoke, a matter of factly. "So it has been for ages past, so it is now." Hermione and I shared a look before looking back at the centaur confused.
"Yeah," Hagrid tried again. "But have yeh seen anythin', Ronan? Anythin' unusual?"
"Mars is bright." He repeated. "Unusually bright."
"Yeah, but I was meanin' anythin' unusual a bit nearer to home... So have yeh heard anythin' strange?" Hagrid tried once more, the agitation starting to become apparent slightly in his voice.
"The forest holds many secrets," Was all he said after a minute staring back at the sky again. Is there a connection between centaurs and the sky? I wanted to ask but suddenly there was a movement behind Ronan that caused Hagrid to raise his crossbow once again while Hermione and I moved behind him a bit. What came out was another centaur, one with long black hair that looked much more wild than Ronan did.
"Hello, Bane." Hagrid greeted, lowering his crossbow once again. "All right?"
"Good evening Hagrid, I hope you are well." He calmly spoke.
"Well enough. Look, I've jus' been askin' Ronan, you seen anythin' odd 'round here lately? There's a unicorn that's been injured. Would yeh know anythin' about that?" Bane only walked closer to Ronan and looked up to the sky.
"Mars is bright tonight," Was all he offered.
"We've heard," Hagrid huffed. "Well, if either of you do see anythin', let me know, won't yeh? We'll be off then." And he dragged us away from the centaurs mumbling under his breath. "Never try an' get a straight answer out of a centaur. Ruddy stargazers. Not interested in anythin' closer'n the moon."
"Are there many of them here?" Hermione asked.
"Oh, a fair few, I suppose. Keep to themselves mostly, but they're good enough about turnin' up if ever I want a word. They know things... Jus' don't let on much."
"Do you think that was a centaur we heard earlier?" I asked, hoping it was.
"Did that sound like hooves to yeh? Nah, if yeh ask me, that's what been killin' the unicorns... Never heard nothin' like that before." I should've known better, I sighed.
We continued to walk deeper into the forest where there was even less light than before. I kept looking over my shoulder and into the trees, feeling as if someone- or something- was watching me and I couldn't shake the feeling. I jumped when Hermione suddenly grabbed Hagrid's arm.
"Hagrid! Look! It's red sparks, the others are in trouble!" She cried.
"You two wait 'ere!" He yelled, already running toward the sparks. "Stay on the path and I'll come back for yeh!" Hermione and I looked at each other, worry was clearly visible on both of our faces.
"Do you think they've been hurt?" She asked me.
"I mean, they have Sam... Even Hagrid said she could handle anything... Malfoy I don't care much about, but Sam and Neville..." I trailed off, worried for the boy, and knowing that if anything happened to him it would be my fault. I was the reason he, or any of us, were out here. And I couldn't even begin to imagine if something had happened to Sam.
Minutes ticked by, feeling longer than it really was. I felt like my senses were on overdrive. I could hear anything that moved, even leaves swaying from the wind, and could see things moving all over, hoping that it was just my mind playing tricks on me.
"Where are they?" Hermione questioned, not necessarily toward me.
Finally, after what felt like forever, we heard Hagrid's loud stomping coming closer. Once Hagrid stepped out of the bushes, you could tell he was fuming. I've never seen him so angry. Behind him, Neville was sniffling holding Sam's hand who looked absolutely pissed, and Malfoy was rubbing his left arm while giving Sam a dark look. Hagrid explained to us how Malfoy hid and jumped out and scared Neville who panicked and sent the sparks in the air instantly.
Sam's PoV
"What happened to Malfoys' arm?" Hermione asked.
"She hit me!" He sneered at me and I turned to face him. "Because you're a git! How stupid do you have to be to pull something like that in here? Honestly!" I don't think livid even began to describe how angry I was with the blonde. I moved Neville and me toward Harry and Hermione to put distance between me and him. Harry must've known I was ready to hit him again and moved in between us and reached out to squeeze my free hand for a moment. Hermione ran over and hugged her and then Neville.
"Oh, I was so worried for you two!" She cried out, moving Sam closer to her.
"We'll be lucky ter catch anythin' now, with the racket you three were makin'. Right, now we're switching up the groups. Neville, you stay with me an' Hermione. Harry, you take Fang with Sam and this little idiot- I know Sam. But he'll have a harder time frightenin' the two of you an' we gotta get this done." Hagrid instructed us. I wanted to protest and tell him what would probably happen the moment he left Draco with me but clamped my mouth shut, still glaring at the Slytherin. "Fine," I muttered as Hagrid put his hand on my shoulder as a thank you.
So we split up again. Draco moved back near me, almost between Harry and me, and I wish he hadn't. Even after half an hour, we still hadn't found anything and we were starting to lose the dirt path we were on.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were scared Malfoy," Harry said with a teasing grin.
"Scared, Potter?" Draco scoffed as we walked up to another puddle of unicorn blood.
"The blood seems to be getting thicker," I told them, squatting down and rubbing it between my fingers before standing up and rubbing it off on the back of Draco's robes without him noticing. Harry, on the other hand, did, and let out a silent laugh as I winked at him.
All of a sudden Fang started to growl. "What is it, Fang?" Harry asked before looking in the direction the dog was.
"Look," Harry said while stopping the two of us and pointing toward the clearing ahead of us. On the ground, next to an old oak tree, laid something large and white, almost iridescent. As we got closer, I gasped. It was the unicorn, laying on the forest floor covered in blood, dead. Something that broke my heart, even more, was that it was beautiful, even after death, and although covered in blood, it still looked so pure.
Harry had taken one step before we heard a loud slithering sound around us. He backed up towards me and I felt Draco grab onto my robes. From the shadows, a hooded figure came into the glow of the moonlight, crawling on the ground on its hands and knees. We didn't move as we watched the figure crawl toward the unicorn, lower his head, and appear to drink its blood.
"AHHHHHHH!" Draco screamed and ran in the other direction with Fang. Harry and I froze when we noticed the figure look up toward us. You could see the unicorn's blood dripping from its mouth as he got up and started stalking toward us. Harry pushed me behind him as we started to walk backward. He started to clutch his head like he's done a few times before when his scar would burn, and staggered back until we tripped over a large root on the ground. The figure continued to make its way toward us before hooves were heard but we didn't dare look back. I let out a scream when something large jumped over us and I leaned over Harry so he wouldn't get hurt.
I had looked at Harry for a few seconds but when I turned back to what was in front of us, the figure was gone. In its place was a large centaur. I gaped up at the man. He had white hair, not from age though, and a palomino body. I grabbed Harry's hand as I wasn't sure if we would need to try and run or not. If Harry could even run. I thought, taking a quick glance at the boy who was still clutching his head.
"Are you two all right?" The centaur asked, putting his hands out to help us up. I held onto Harry as he staggered for a moment and until he got his bearings. I looked back at the centaur.
"Y-yes... Thank you. But... What was that?" I asked, trying to sound a lot braver than I was. The person in front of us didn't answer as his bright blue eyes stared at Harry and me but went back to look at Harry's scar.
"You are the Potter boy." He said. "You had better get back to Hagrid. The forest is not safe at this time- especially for you. Can you ride? The both of you?" He looked between us. "My name is Firenze." He added, lowing his front legs down to make it possible for us to climb on.
"But I thought humans shouldn't ride a centaur? Isn't it frowned upon?" I asked him.
"It is fine. Get on. You are a Montgomery, are you not?" I froze for a second in the middle of getting on his back. Slowly I nodded. "I thought so. I knew a Kelsa Montgomery back in the day, you look just like her."
"Oh... She was my mother." He nodded, standing fully back up.
"Well, tell her I said hello," A pain started in my chest and I could feel Harry squeeze my sides from behind me. "I'm sorry but... Kelsa died a few years ago... She was killed with her husband." I could feel him tense up before he started to move.
"I am very sorry to hear that, Miss Montgomery." I nodded, sending him a sad smile that he couldn't see.
"Thank you... It's Samantha, by the-" I was cut off by two large figures jumping through a bush and into the clearing. Two more centaurs, one with red hair and the other with crazy black hair, appeared and they didn't look happy.
"Firenze!" The one with black hair shouted. "What are you doing? You have a human on your back! No- you have two on your back! Have you no shame? Are you a common mule?" I looked back at Harry, who whispered the names of the two centaurs in front of us: Ronan and Bane.
"Do you realize who this is? This is the Potter boy. The quicker he leaves this forest, the better." I couldn't agree with you more.
"What have you been telling him?" Bane growled while Ronan stared our way. I tried to ignore his staring but after everything that had happened tonight, I wasn't doing a good job. I held onto Firenzes' side a little tighter. "Remember, Firenze, we are sworn not to set ourselves against the heavens. Have we not read what is to come in the movement of the planets?" What? My head tilted in confusion.
"I'm sure Firenze thought he was acting for the best," The red-haired one, Ronan, said, finally breaking his gaze from me as he looked toward the ground but Bane just kicked his hind legs up in anger.
"For the best!" He mocked. "What is that to do with us? Centaurs are concerned with what has been foretold! It is not our business to run around like donkeys after stray humans in our forest!" I looked back at Harry with worried eyes.
"Firenze, we don't nee-" I tried but was cut off by Firenze rearing onto his own hind legs.
"Do you not see that unicorn?" He yelled as he pointed toward the dead creature behind us. I had to force myself not to look back at it. "Do you not understand why it was killed? Or have the planets not let you in on that secret? I set myself against what is lurking in this forest, Bane, yes, with humans alongside me if I must." And with that, Firenze took a sharp turn and started to gallop in a seemingly random direction. It was awkwardly silent for a minute.
"I'm sorry if we caused you any issues, Firenze," I told him, trying to make things a little less uncomfortable. He shook his head, "Nonsense. I meant what I said back there."
"Why's Bane so angry? And what was that thing you saved us from, anyway?" Harry cut in, more confused than I was. Firenze sighed and slowed his galloping to a slow walk and warned us to mind the branches as we walked underneath the trees. I shared a look with Harry and we knew it was better than to try and ask any more questions.
"Harry Potter, do you know what unicorn blood is used for?" He suddenly asked.
"No," Harry answered. "We've only used hair and tail hair in Potions." Firenze turned his head more in my direction and I shook my head 'no' as well.
"That is because it is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn." He started. "Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenseless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips." It was silent for a moment while we digested the information.
"But who'd be that desperate?" Harry asked. "If you're going to be cursed forever, death's better, isn't it?" I nodded along to that but kept silent.
"It is... Unless all you need to is to stay alive long enough to drink something else. Something that will bring you back to full strength and power. Something that will mean you can never die. Do either of you know what is hidden in the school at this very second?" Firenze asks us.
"The Sorcerer's Stone!" We both called out. "Of course! The Elixer of Life! But I don't understand who-" I continued on before Firenze cut me off, nodding.
"Can you think of nobody who has waited many years to return to power, who has clung to life, awaiting their chance?" He urged, telling us without actually telling us. And once it clicked, my stomach dropped and I gripped onto Firenze even tighter with one hand and moved my other to Harry's.
"Do you mean... that was Volde-"
"Harry! Sam! Are yeh both alright?" We turned to see Hermione running down the path toward us, lit up by her wand, and Hagrid, Neville, and Draco huffed behind her.
"I'm okay," I smiled down at her. "I'm okay..." Harry answered in a daze. "The unicorn's dead, Hagrid, it's in that clearing back there." He informed the others. I looked down at the ground, wishing I could forget the picture of the dead unicorn laying on the ground with its blood all over the place and legs pointing in all different directions. It truly was a sickening sight.
"This is where I leave you," Firenze spoke, kneeling down to let us off. "You are safe now, both of you." After we slid off, we looked back at the centaur who was staring at the sky before turning back to look at us. "The planets have been read wrongly before now, even by centaurs. I hope this is one of those times. Good luck, Harry Potter." And with that, he galloped back in the direction we had come from.
"Can we go back now, Hagrid? It's freezing out here." I asked, looking up at Hagrid, praying he'd say yes as I wrapped my robes tighter around my body.
Ron was asleep by the time we arrived back in the Gryffindor common room. "He must've tried waiting up for us," I giggled as I went to wake him up so he could move up to his bed. As I did, he shouted something about Quidditch and then stared at us. Harry, Hermione, and I all looked at each other, back at Ron, and started laughing. He just grumbled something incoherent under his breath as he wiped the sleep from his eyes. Hermione and I sat down as we began telling Ron about all the events that had happened in the forest. He gave me a high-five when I mentioned punching Malfoy. But Harry didn't sit down. Instead, he was pacing back and forth, still shaking. I got up and wrapped my arms around him from behind, knowing better than to say anything since, at the moment, nothing I could say would help.
"So you're saying that You-Know-Who is living out in the forest? Right now?" Hermione asked.
"But he's weak. That's why he's living off the unicorn blood. Don't you see, we've had it wrong. Snape doesn't want it for himself, he wants it for Voldemort. He needs the Stone for the Elixir of Life to bring him back to full power..." I answered for Harry.
"Snape wants the Stone for Voldemort... And Voldemort's waiting in the forest... and all this time we thought Snape just wanted to get rich..." He started to say.
"Stop saying that name!" Ron called out, flinching each time Harry said it, but Harry wasn't paying him any attention.
"Firenze saved us, but he shouldn't have done that... He was talking about interfering with what the planets say is going to happen... They must know that Voldemort's coming back... Bane thinks Firenze should've let him kill me... I suppose that's written in the stars as well." He continued muttering to himself until I forced him to turn around, face me, and look into my eyes. His emerald eyes held so many emotions but the clearest one was fear.
"Harry, even Firenze said the planets have been wrong before. Remember?" I tried but it seemed as if he was in a trance.
"So all I've got to do for now is wait for Snape to steal the Stone, then Voldemort will be able to come and finish me off... Well, I suppose Bane'll be happy."
"Will you stop saying that name?" Ron cried out again, this time getting Harry's attention. I let go of his face and stepped back. Harry was clearly terrified and the rest of us weren't much better.
"We're forgetting the most important thing. Harry, everyone says Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was ever afraid of. With Dumbledore here, You-Know-Who won't touch you. Anyway, who says the centaurs are right? Like Sam said, even the one you spoke with said that they have been wrong before... It sounds like fortune-telling to me, and Professor McGonagall even says that it's a very imprecise branch of magic... Minus whatever Sam does." She nonchalantly waves me off and I couldn't help but give an amused grin.
"My dear Hermione, you have such a beautiful way with words," I told her, giggling as she joined in as well. We spent the rest of the night talking until the sun came back up and our throats were so sore that we could barely even say goodnight. I gave the boys a hug and went up with Hermione to change and get ready for bed. Once I was done, I climbed into bed and curled around Syrus, who was fast asleep without a care in the world. Oh, how I envy you sometimes...
What we didn't know was that what we had discovered that night wasn't all the surprises the day had to offer.
I hope you guys liked this chapter! I honestly felt like it was a little meh... But oh well. Hope you guys enjoyed it and were able to escape for a bit. Have a great day/night! Also... Only a few more chapters and then the end of year 1! How are you guys liking it so far?
xx