Chapter 17: In the Forest

Draco wanted to crawl into bed and cry himself to sleep. However, before he could finish changing into his pyjamas, a voice came through his curtain.

"Psst." It was Nott. "Can I come in?"

"Sure."

Draco was just buttoning his shirt up. Nott studied him.

"Well?" he said. "How did it go?"

"Sideways," Draco replied. "I got caught before I could catch him."

Nott grimaced. "Filch?"

"McGonagall."

"Ooh," Nott said quietly under his breath. "Even worse."

"Yeah." Draco's ear still hurt. "I got detention. And Potter got away with it all, of course."

Nott exhaled, folding his arms. "So what now?"

"I'm done with Potter." Draco moodily threw his jumper and trousers into a pile on top of his trunk. "I'm going to do my detention, and then I'm going to put my head down. Nothing good comes from getting tangled up with him."

"I can't say you're wrong," Nott said. "Well, goodnight, then."

Come morning, Draco still laid in bed when a couple pairs of footsteps entered the dorm.

"Malfoy?" Crabbe said. "Are you awake yet?"

Draco grunted.

"We brought you breakfast," Goyle told him.

They both sounded way too cheerful for Draco to want their company. Still, he had little choice but to emerge from his blanket cocoon when they'd invited themselves inside his curtains. Goyle packed a plate with a sandwich on it. He had to have made it himself, since only the parts were ever available on the table. Between two pieces of toast were some bacon and eggs with ketchup.

Touched, Draco sat up. "Thanks."

"You should've come to breakfast." Crabbe kicked his shoes off and sat on the end of Draco's bed with his legs pretzeled. "Guess what?"

"What?" Because he and Goyle both grinned, Draco grew genuinely curious.

"Gryffindor took a massive drop," Goyle said. "Last place. They lost like a hundred and fifty points last night."

Draco had lifted his sandwich to take a bite, but paused with it halfway to his mouth. "How did they lose them?"

"Dunno."

Draco scarfed his sandwich so that he could get dressed and leave the common room. He needed to see if Potter was still here. Maybe he'd been caught after all, and the points were taken off before Dumbledore tossed him out with his trunk.

It didn't take much snooping around to discover that Potter (and Granger and Longbottom, of all people) were still enrolled. No dragon had been discovered in the process, unfortunately. Draco sought Professor Snape out during his office hours late Tuesday afternoon.

Snape glanced up at his knock before returning to whatever he was marking. "Malfoy. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I was curious if you happened to find anything out about Saturday," Draco replied.

"Come sit."

Draco's keenness dried up rather quickly as he took a seat in front of Snape's desk. Surely Snape would be a lot more excited than this to have succeeded in confirming Draco's story.

"I spoke to Professor McGonagall again, since she was the one to dock all those points from Potter, Granger, and Longbottom," Snape said. "She maintains the belief that Potter somehow fed the story of a dragon to you. She also believes the only reason Potter and Granger were up on the Astronomy tower was because they wanted to see you get in trouble after setting you up."

Draco blinked. "I told her there was a dragon, and she thinks it was just a coincidence they happened to be up there?"

"I don't think she wants to believe that the dragon is real, especially without evidence," Snape replied. "That said, I tried to find the note you mentioned having lost. I couldn't. I asked Hagrid about it all, and he said he had no idea what I was talking about."

Draco gaped at Snape. He knew Hagrid had about half a brain to start with, but to lie like that?

"There's no proof." Snape sighed through his nose. "If there was a dragon on school grounds, it's gone with no trace left behind."

Draco slumped.

"Oh, believe me." One corner of Snape's mouth twitched. "I would have loved to find some evidence."

"Do you believe me, sir?" Draco asked. "About the dragon?"

"You said you had a note about when and where the dragon was being delivered," Snape said. "Was that all?"

"No, I saw it." Draco straightened himself back up. "I saw it with my own eyes. Potter, Weasley, and Granger have been up to something for weeks—months, even. I saw them running for Hagrid's hut on my way to Charms a few weeks ago, so I followed them. I saw it hatch, right on Hagrid's table. Through the window, I swear!"

"Would you know a dragon if you saw it?"

"Yes," Draco said. "I've seen photographs, and I've read the Dragons of Lemuria and Wyrms of Mu books like ten times each."

Snape narrowed his eyes thoughtfully at Draco. "You failed to answer my question about why you never went to a teacher, or to Filch or Dumbledore, about it. Hagrid would have had a very hard time hiding a dragon, should anyone have visited his hut."

Draco still wasn't sure how to answer that. He would rather not speak the truth, considering how little he wanted to be stupid Potter's stupid friend right now.

"Why did you go to the tower?" Snape asked when Draco said nothing.

"I don't know," Draco mumbled. "I don't know what I was thinking."

By Friday morning, Draco had earned back five of the twenty points he'd lost. While the Slytherins and Gryffindors all waited outside the Potions classroom for Snape, Draco eyed Potter out the corner of his vision. This was the first time he'd really seen him since before their night on the Astronomy tower. Considering how popular Potter suddenly was within the Slytherin common room, having catapulted them back into first place despite Draco's cock-up, it was no wonder he'd gone into hiding.

"All right, Longbottom?" Draco said when Longbottom passed him by with his head down. "I hope we'll have a good Potions lesson. You can't really afford to lose any more house points, can you?"

Longbottom flinched when Crabbe swung an arm in his direction, but all Crabbe did was pat him on the shoulder.

"I'm only joking, of course," Draco told Longbottom. "If you're having a hard go in the Gryffindor common room, you'd probably be more than welcome in the dungeons. Your name is quite popular down here, right now."

Potter stepped in front of Longbottom. "Shut up, Malfoy."

"What?" Draco feigned innocence. "Oh—of course. That invitation extends to you, as well. You're even more popular, Potter. We all appreciate your need to be involved in things that really ought not concern you."

Potter narrowed his eyes. All the conversations surrounding them had gone quiet, and everyone listened.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Potter said evenly.

"Right." With a smile, Draco tapped the side of his nose twice. "Got it. The way our friends can disappoint us might be a bit too big to talk about in the corridors. We shouldn't let the common rabble in on the secret, in case someone gets in trouble."

"What're you even on about, Malfoy?" a grumpy-sounding Seamus Finnigan shot at him.

"Oh, nothing," Draco replied. "Didn't you hear? Potter has no idea what I'm talking about."

The following Friday, a note signed by Snape floated down to Draco at breakfast:

The detention you received from Professor McGonagall will take place tonight at 11. Filch will be waiting for you in the Entrance Hall.

Draco exhaled through his nose, shoulders slumping. "I was hoping McGonagall forgot about that."

Crabbe leaned over to read the note. "Filch, huh? What do you reckon he'll make you do?"

"It won't be any fun, whatever it is."

Draco dreaded it all day. When he arrived in the Entrance Hall at quarter to, Filch was already there. He eyed Draco coldly.

"Bet you think you're mighty clever, don't you?" Filch asked him. "Thought you had me tricked when I saw you up on the tower that night, eh? We'll see if that ever happens again."

"I thought somebody was going to be up there with a dragon." Draco felt his cheeks warm in defensiveness. "Being out of bed after curfew seemed like nothing compared to that."

"Oh yes, I heard all about this story of a dragon." Whatever Filch's mouth did, it was neither a smile or a sneer. "If it was true, you think you could have put a stop to it all?"

Draco shrugged. "I was willing to try. You'd think that wouldn't get me a detention, but here I am. It wouldn't have if I were a prefect."

"Well, you aren't."

Filch seemed to grow tired of their conversation at the same time Draco did. Draco was almost glad when Potter, Granger, and Longbottom all came down the marble staircase. Their faces going long to see him flattened out that flutter of relief.

"Follow me," Filch told them all.

Draco didn't like the gleam in his eye as they exited the castle. He ended up rolling his eyes as Filch waxed lyrical about the punishments he would rather implement, for Draco was sure Father would have told him about any of them.

A breeze tempered the warm May air, ruffling Draco's hair as they passed the north tower. Moonlight reflected off the greenhouses. Draco peered up at the twinkling stars.

"Is that you, Filch?" a call came from ahead. "Hurry up, I want ter get started."

Potter perked up ahead of Draco. God, Potter still liked Hagrid after everything he'd put them through?

"I suppose you think you'll be enjoying yourself with that oaf?" Filch asked. "Well, think again, boy. It's into the Forest you're going, and I'm much mistaken if you'll all come out in one piece."

Draco stopped.

"The Forest?" he repeated. "We can't go in there at night. There's all sorts of things in there. Werewolves, I heard."

"That's your lookout, isn't it?" Filch's grin turned malicious in sharp contrast of shadow and lamplight. "Should've thought of them werewolves before you got in trouble, shouldn't you?"

The tall, broad, dark mass that was Hagrid approached. He had his hound with him. It looked a lot bigger close up.

"Abou' time," Hagrid said. "I bin waitin' fer half an hour already. All right, Harry, Hermione?"

"I shouldn't be too friendly to them, Hagrid. They're here to be punished, after all."

"That's why yer late, is it?"

While they bickered, Draco's breath started coming up short. He didn't like this at all. What motivation did Hagrid have, especially after the whole thing with the dragon, to keep Draco safe? Hagrid was so careless to begin with.

"I'll be back at dawn for what's left of them," Filch said before departing.

Draco looked up at Hagrid. "I'm not going in that forest."

"Yeh are if yeh want to stay at Hogwarts," Hagrid practically growled at him. "Yeh've done wrong, an' now yeh've got ter pay for it."

"But this is servant stuff," Draco said quickly, beginning to sweat, "it's not for students to do. I thought we'd be writing lines or something. If my father knew I was doing this, he'd—"

"—tell yer that's how it is at Hogwarts." Hagrid loomed over Draco. "Writin' lines! What good's that ter anyone? Yeh'll do summat useful or yeh'll get out. If yeh think yer father'd rather you were expelled, then get back off ter the castle an' pack. Go on!"

It was very rich of Hagrid to threaten him with expulsion—but it was also exactly what might very well happen if Draco caught up to Filch's bobbing lamp in the distance.

"Right then," Hagrid said when Draco looked down at his shoes. "Now, listen carefully, 'cause it's dangerous what we're gonna do tonight an' I don' want no one takin' risks. Follow me over here a moment."

Draco shoved his hands into his trouser pockets on their way over to the Forest's edge. Other than flying over it in daytime, Draco had never been this close to it. He squinted down the path Hagrid lit up with his lamp.

"Look there." Hagrid pointed at some streaks in the dirt. "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 in a week. I found one dead last Wednesday. We're gonna try an' find the poor thing. We might have ter put it out of its misery."

Draco started to tremble again. "And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?"

"There's nothin' that lives in the Forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang. An' keep ter the path. Right, now, we're gonna split into two parties an' follow the trail in diff'rent directions. There's blood all over the place. It must've bin staggerin' around since last night at least."

"I want Fang," Draco said. He didn't trust Hagrid at all, and he definitely didn't want to watch him shoot something with his crossbow.

"All right," Hagrid agreed, "but I warn yeh, he's a coward."

Draco only half-listened to what Hagrid had to say about sending green sparks up upon finding the unicorn, thinking instead what he might have to do if Fang bolted. He'd read the books of curses given to him at Christmas. Without any actual practice though, they all blended together in Draco's mind. Thanks to Longbottom, he only really remembered the Leg-Locker Curse.

They came to a fork in the path. Draco lit his wand. Longbottom followed suit, and then the two of them plus Fang were on their own. How quickly Hagrid's loud voice vanished among the trees was unsettling. Draco was left alone with two snifflers. Fang had his nose to the ground, and Longbottom already sounded halfway out of breath from fear.

"Can you believe this?" Draco asked after a few minutes.

Longbottom looked over at him, eyes wide in their combined wandlight. "Believe what?"

"This." Draco gestured broadly with his left hand. "It's Hagrid's fault we're in this stupid detention in the first place."

"I'm here because of you," Longbottom quietly said. "I heard you telling Theodore Nott about some dragon."

"Well, the dragon was real, Longbottom. You wouldn't have heard me talking to Nott about it if I hadn't seen Hagrid with one. So now here we are, me being the reason Hagrid had to get rid of it so fast. He didn't want to get caught, see. That's a one-way ticket to Azkaban. So why not send me out into the Forest for making him give up his lovely little pet? If we get attacked by a werewolf or something, oh well, Hagrid is such an oaf anyway, it was bound to happen. And the Forest is so dangerous, and Fang will run at the first spot of trouble, and you—well, I suppose you'll freeze up and we'll be in this together. Won't we?"

Longbottom moaned quietly under his breath in terror.

"Tell me about it," Draco moodily added. "I should have liked to see my twelfth birthday. It's next Friday. At least I can take comfort in how my mother and father will either destroy or own every single brick of this school after I die."

"Why are you talking like that?" Longbottom whispered. "Like it's a certain thing? We're not going to die out here, are we?"

"If you expect it to happen, then you can be pleasantly surprised when it doesn't," Draco replied. "But, yes, we probably will die out here."

With a new moan, Longbottom settled into a tremble. It reached his wand hand, making his half of the path waver in the light he cast.

They kept on. The Forest was oppressively quiet around them. Despite that, something pinged against Draco's subconsciousness like the prickle of magic in a place where there ought not be any—like the day he found Tom's diary in his grandfather's desk. Draco slowed his step. The path felt like molasses, as if it might be dangerous to keep on further. The hair on the back of his neck stood up. Gooseflesh spread down his arms.

That Fang hadn't smelled anything nearby should be comforting. And yet, Draco knew that something was horribly wrong. There were eyes on him. He could feel them—to his left.

There was a strange calmness about him as he turned his wand that way. His wandlight passed over thick leaves and foliage toward a break above some branches. The light smoothed out over what it touched there.

It was a black cloak. Draco was close enough to see folds in the fabric. His breath caught in his throat. There were shoulders, but he couldn't see a face. As Draco searched for it, something carnal told him that he'd made eye contact. They stared at each other, ten feet apart. It didn't move, but it had to know Draco was there, it had to see the light, it had to have heard their footsteps approach, it couldn't have missed the loud way Fang sniffed at the path—

Draco uprooted his feet. It took everything he had to turn away, for surely putting his back to this—thing—would be what spelled his end. Draco waited for it. A hand would come to rest on his shoulder, or a mandible would close around his neck, or a growl would be the last thing he heard.

Fang and Longbottom were around a bend in the path. Draco tried to open his mouth to tell Longbottom what he'd just seen, but found his tongue stuck. Longbottom screaming cured that when Draco grabbed his arm. Draco yelled too, and then red sparks shot for the sky.

"Why did you do that?" Longbottom demanded in a high voice. "What's wrong with you, Malfoy? What is actually wrong with you?"

"I-I—" Draco's heart hammered.

"This is all fun to you, isn't it?" Longbottom pushed Draco away, almost making him fall. "You don't really think anything in here is dangerous. You just wanted to scare me. Well, guess what! I'm scared! And you're evil!"

A cracking sound to their left made Draco stiffen. Longbottom yelped. Draco held his wand aloft, frozen, and wasn't sure if he was relieved when Hagrid stepped through the trees.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"Malfoy scared me!" Longbottom said. "He snuck up on me, Hagrid! He grabbed me!"

"Because I saw something!" Draco snapped. "I saw something in the trees. It was a person, I think, but I-I'm not sure. . ."

They all fell quiet. Hagrid looked back up the path, listening hard. The Forest was just as silent as it had been since they first entered it.

Hagrid looked back down at Draco. "What did it sound like?"

"Sound like?" Draco repeated, blinking. "Nothing. It just stood there, looking at me."

"What did it look like, then?"

"I-I don't know."

Hagrid's expression hardened and his beard shifted as his mouth pulled. "Come on, both o' yeh."

Draco hesitated to follow him off the path, but he certainly wasn't about to be left behind. They came out where a pale Potter and wide-eyed Granger stood with their sides pressed against each other.

"Malfoy here thought it'd be funny ter sneak up on Neville an' grab him," Hagrid said. "We'll be lucky ter catch anythin' now, with the racket you two were makin'."

Draco gaped at Hagrid.

"Right, we're changin' groups," Hagrid continued with a sharp look at Draco. "Neville, you stay with me an' Hermione. Harry, you go with Fang an' this idiot."

Tears welled up in Draco's eyes. He couldn't decide if he was more hurt, angry, or just plain frustrated. Hagrid didn't have the same reason as McGonagall to doubt he'd really seen something. With his own eyes, again, but no, he had to just be lying or a gullible fool.

Hagrid, Longbottom, and Granger disappeared back through the trail cut between the two paths. Potter turned his lit wand on Draco once the sound of them faded. Draco turned his face so that Potter couldn't see he was upset.

"Was it worth it?" Potter asked.

Draco just shook his head. If he spoke, Potter would hear how his voice went thick when he cried.

Potter sighed. "Let's get this over with."

Draco and Potter fell in step, following Fang as he started on ahead. Draco took to breathing through his mouth to avoid sniffling. To think, a couple of weeks ago he might have been quietly delighted for Potter to be stuck with him. This was an opportunity for Potter to have no choice but to interact with Draco. Just getting this over with sounded like an excellent plan now.

They walked and walked, the trees around them getting thicker. The sky disappeared behind broad canopies. Draco kept his ears sharp in case whatever he'd seen earlier returned, but that would be far too convenient. He couldn't believe he almost wanted to see that thing again, just for someone to realize he'd been telling the truth.

Potter speaking nearly made Draco jump out of his skin. "The blood's getting thicker."

"Mmm," Draco said.

"Look."

Draco walked into Potter's arm. They'd come up on a clearing. The moonlight was suddenly so bright without clouds and trees to obscure it. Something practically glowed on the ground. They'd found the unicorn.

Draco's chest ached at the sight of it. "Wow. . ."

Once the breath left his body along with that whisper, it was like Draco couldn't pull it back in. The feeling had returned. Gooseflesh prickled his arms simultaneously to the hair on his neck standing back up. He bristled and froze, hand tightening on his wand. Potter did the same.

Something emerged from the shadows at the clearing's edge, and Draco knew immediately that it was the thing he'd seen earlier. It crawled on the ground, its limbs as odd as the splayed unicorn's. It looked more like a cricket with how its back legs bent.

Draco found his voice and sense when the—thing—started feeding on the unicorn. He screamed and turned tail. Fang was with him, and Potter couldn't be far behind. Draco nearly tripped when Fang ran off the path.

He followed—or tried. Within seconds, he'd lost Fang in the trees.

"Stupid hound," Draco spat. "Come on, Potter, let's get the bloody hell out of this forest. Forget about the unicorn, forget about. . ."

Draco looked around him. Every direction looked the same, brambles upon branches upon bushes upon brambles. More than that, Draco was alone.

"Potter?" he asked into the silence.