Albus was in his office, contemplating his next course of action. He knew there was some sort of race competition tonight in the forest but that was all. He could only guess what it was about or what it would lead to.

He would have liked to invite Minerva in on this but quickly realised that perhaps that would be a bad idea. She was not one who took kindly to rules being broken. She would have put all of those students in detention and made them wary. They would know that the teachers knew and would try to be more secretive and he was not going to let that happen. Entertainment, as it was, was already very hard to come by in the castle.

The serpents knew how to get around the Dungeon Bat who lurked in the dark gloomy corridors. He was always there in the corners but most of them knew which ones to avoid. This was a secret which was passed down from generation to generation because the students wanted to avoid any confrontation with their head of house, putting him in the awkward situation where he would have to put them in detention.

The badgers also had their ways around the castle. After all a badger often has to dig a hole to live in where he can be relatively safe from predators or other perils. Their main concerns were Snape and Filch. Filch these nights was often prowling around on the third floor so they were relatively safe unless they wandered onto the third floor. One of the badger prefects told them that Snape was not on patrol on that particular night so the chances of them running into him were small. They remained cautious all the same and made their way from the badger's hole to the top of the Astronomy tower.

The eagles had no trouble getting up to the Astronomy tower. Most of them had the knack of night time raids to the library to get a book to read or to find some more knowledge. The secret path from the second floor where the entrance to the Ravenclaw tower was situated to the fourth floor and the library was well known to them. From there, there was another short-cut to the sixth floor and the Astronomy tower entrance.

The Lions kept an eye on where everyone was by using the map. Harry noticed Snape was skulking around on the 3rd floor which was enough to make him and Neville suspicious but that left their way clear for now. Filch was chasing Peeves around the castle and for once it had nothing to do with them.

When it was nearing the appointed time, they made their way up the Astronomy tower. Thanks to a custom-made item which they had commissioned from Gambol and Japes through owl-order, Harry and Neville were in possession of a device which would erect a repellent ward. It was not a ward which could be distinguished by anyone at once and it would not have kept someone away who was determined to get through it but a casual onlooker would suddenly remember that they had to be somewhere else and not venture in the direction of the Astronomy tower. Neville had been given the duty to take the device and keep it activated while hiding under the Invisibility Cloak near the tower. He was supposed to keep an eye on the map to see if someone was where they shouldn't be.

The students had little trouble getting to the Astronomy tower. They had made some arrangements to distract the prefects and teachers on patrol while others made their way up. Neville had taken his post and started keeping an eye on the others. Absent-mindedly thinking about something, he did not activate the map right away so he had no way of knowing that Dumbledore was also on the tower until he would activate the map. Dumbledore for his part said nothing but remained concealed in a dark corner. He took sufficient care not to bump into any of them and give away his position.

After they had all assembled, Wood asked Harry, "What's the plan, Harry?"

Harry smirked, "The plan is simple, Wood. There's the forbidden forest and it's teeming with creatures. What the team captains need to do is to select a champion who will go into the forest and fetch a unicorn hair. To make this a little more interesting, the champion must be a male, not a female one."

Hillard was bewildered, "Are you mental, Potter-Black? Nobody goes into the forest in daylight and you want us to venture in there in the dead of night?"

Harry gave his best grin, "Well I don't know about you, Hillard but I have ventured inside a couple of times. I find it eerie, not scary. So, are you up to it or not?"

One of the twins said, "Come on, Robert. We've been in there plenty of times. There's nothing dangerous in there. If you wish, we'll go into the forest."

Gwendoline asked Harry, "Potter-Black, why did you make it male only? Do you think women are weak?"

Harry gave her his best grin, "Oh no, Gwen. You see my uncle once told me that Unicorns tend to run from men but fawn over women. Sending you ladies in would give you an absolute advantage, considering that there are only two ladies here."

Cedric said irritably, "Enough buttering up the girls. Let's get on with it."

Fred (or was it George) asked, "Any other tidbit that you want to add, Harrikins?"

Harry grinned, "Just this, we take off at the same time. Those who return here with a unicorn hair will win. If any of you don't get the hair, you can return here empty handed. But, if you do, there'll be no points for that."

With that done, the captains named their candidates. First was Oliver Wood who chose Cedric after Cedric convinced him that he knew a little more about creatures than most. Hillard saw his advantage in having a Weasley in his team and chose George. Gwen chose Fred while Pucey had a little discussion with Harry before Harry managed to convince him that he was the best man for the job. Finally it was time for take-off.

As the Snake in Lion's clothing never did anything without first having a plan, he already knew what he was going to do. A day ago, he had called Sirius on the mirror.

-Flashback starts-

Sirius grinned as he saw Harry, "Hey Pup, everything alright?"

Harry nodded. He noticed Sirius seemed to be outdoors, "Where are you?"

"Grand-father has secured an apprenticeship for me in Germany. I arrived here this morning. Right now I am in the process of settling in."

"Why was I not told? And when will you return?"

"Well, you can always try asking Grand-father about why he didn't tell you, pup and I expect to be here about 5 months."

"So are Moony and Grand-uncle still in London?"

"No, Moony is here, with me. He will be leaving in a week to conduct some other business in different parts of the world to return to London after about 3 months. Grand-father has no immediate plans to go anywhere but I can't say anything about his plans with conviction. If he feels like it, he could go back to the Black Castle or the Chateau. It depends on his mood entirely."

Harry grumbled, "And if I need some family, who am I supposed to turn to in that case?"

"Andy is there, pup. You can always go to her. If you need something, feel free to send her an owl. Now what did you want to ask?"

"Oh right. I digressed. I want to know where I can find a unicorn in the forest."

Sirius raised an eye-brow, "Now what is this about? What do you want to do with a Unicorn and why are you going into the forest? I know I give you a lot of leeway but you should not abuse the freedom which is given to you. Don't get into anything dangerous."

Harry eyed him, "Really Sirius? Don't you think it's ironic that you, of all people, are telling me about being safe? If you can't answer my question, that's alright. I'll ask Moony."

"Don't get your shorts in a knot, Harry. The unicorns range all over the forest. Is there something special that you want?"

"A hair. I need a Unicorn hair and that from the forest."

Sirius nodded in contemplation, "Do you have to pluck it off the tail of a live unicorn or do you just want a hair? Because a Unicorn would gore you with its horn before it will let you touch its tail."

Harry grinned, "That is a fine idea, Padfoot. Where do you think I can get the hair then?"

Sirius said offhandedly, "oh you can find a lot of them tangled in the undergrowth or the bushes. They get tangled all the time. Alternatively you can always ask Hagrid to give you one. I recall that bloke always has some handy."

-Flashback ends-

He knew what to do. He was going to go into the forest, have a look around in the bushes and find that hair. For the sake of the competition itself, he decided to just try finding a Unicorn first. Where there was a unicorn, the chances of finding a hair in the nearby bushes were much better.

The four participants took their places at the ramparts of the Astronomy tower ready to take off. At a whistle from Wood, the twins and Cedric took off immediately flying upwards. Harry however went into a plunge eliciting a shriek from Cho and a gasp from others.

Harry levelled off his broom about 20 feet from the ground and started flying towards the forest. At this range, he could see what was on the ground more clearly than the twins or Cedric who were flying at higher altitude. He could see their silhouettes against the dark sky as their brooms buzzed above him.

Cedric was the son of Amos Diggory, who worked in the Department for Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures and he had long been very friendly with Hagrid. The two had great bonding over their shared love for magical creatures although Amos did not quite have the same view as Hagrid. While Hagrid may find a Dragon adorably cute, Amos would know it for the mindless beast that it was. He ran his department efficiently and effectively but he had certain fondness for Hagrid. Whenever Amos Diggory visited Hogwarts or it was Hagrid's birthday, he never forgot to bring a gift for him which was generally some creature. Cedric, like Harry, was conversant with creatures and knew of their possible haunts. The only problem that he expected to encounter was in finding the beasts and then taking a hair off its body.

The twins were confident of having no trouble with the beast. They knew that they would face some problems in getting a hair of a Unicorn but that was it. They had worked out a plan between them to remedy that. They knew that they worked better when they worked as a team, so, their plan was to find a Unicorn and then one of them would distract it while the other would pluck two hairs off its tail. They then could take a hair each and present it to Harry.

Cedric knew from his father about the alfalfa fields where the unicorns often went to graze and he made a beeline in that direction, evading the twins who were trying to pursue him. He was outdistancing them because their aging Clean Sweep Fives weren't quite as fast as his own broom. He travelled in that direction well above the tree tops and out of the way of any possible danger.

He had some trouble finding the place because it was ringed by trees. He had to pass over quite a number of times trying to find it before he decided that the best thing for him would be to fly below the tree tops. Flying in the forest below the tree tops in the darkness of night was a risky business. No one knew how many creatures lived in the forest or how sinister they were. Then there was the issue of navigating through the dark without any light. He could run into some over hanging branch and get knocked right off of his broom. This was a dangerous thing and it made the task all the more risky. The students also didn't know about the Unicorn deaths. There had been 2 Unicorns found dead recently and each one had died the same way. Their blood drained and their body mutilated. The centaurs were angry and actively looking for the one who was responsible for it. In fact, at night almost all the centaurs were out in force, armed with their long bows and ready to kill the one who was killing the Unicorns. Dumbledore too was actively searching for the culprit but he was not yet able to find out the culprit.

The twins had been to the forest before but they didn't know where they could find a Unicorn. Since they had never been on this type of errand to the forest therefore they were not at any real advantage compared to the others but they trusted their skills to be able to find one and get a hair. Unlike them, the other two participants were not going to work together so they had a little advantage over others.

Cedric finally found the place. And he could see Unicorn grazing. He failed to see the centaurs that were hiding in the foliage at the edge of the clearing, which worked as camouflage for them. The Centaurs heard the rustle of wind as Cedric closed in with his wand raised. Cedric had a definite plan in mind. He was going to fly in as near as possible and knock it out with a stunner before he took a hair of its tail. Amos had shared little titbits with him before about creatures in general and about ways to subdue them. Cedric's expression was gleeful as he could not believe his luck. There were two Unicorns grazing in the alfalfa field who seemed oblivious to everything around them. He had just pulled out his wand when there was the whistling of a cloth-yard shaft and he swerved hard to avoid the arrow which had been fired at him. Before he could understand what was happening, he heard the sounds of more bowstrings being stretched and arrows let loose. The arrows were coming with such speed that it left him little time to dodge them. He also knew that it was mortal peril for him to try and pluck a tail hair of a unicorn with the assailants remaining unseen, firing at him from all directions.

The centaurs had seen him coming in and with a signal from their herdsman Bane; the first centaur Magorian had let loose the first arrow. The centaurs generally preferred short bows but tonight they were using long bows for their additional damage and range. Plus the thrust they added to the arrow gave it lightning fast speed, making it hard for anyone to dodge their volley.

Cedric knew that he had little time before one of the arrows would lodge itself in his flesh so he did what he thought was best under those circumstances. He shot his broom upwards at its top speed. Even then, one of the arrows shot by the centaurs hit his broom and lodged itself in the broom handle, making it swerve wildly and threatening to throw him off. It bucked for quite some time before he was able to bring it under control again. When he had it levelled again at a distance well above the range of the arrows, it was still giving little jerks making it hard for him to ride it. He kept hovering upwards trying to find where the arrow had come from and after about 15 minutes of diligent searching, he was able to make out the centaurs hidden in the foliage. He knew them to be creatures of magic and that they were supposed to be resistant to magic especially minor spells such as stupefy or the petrification hex.

Besides there were too many to try anything that stupid. They were in such numbers that he could not hope to take on all of them and escape alive. Knowing that he had lost this opportunity, he decided to fly back to the castle. On the way, he spotted four legged golden creature walking through the trees. He followed them. It was as he thought a unicorn and a baby by the looks of it. He started following and saw the colt get entangled in a bush. He started to level his wand but saw the centaur in time which was following the creatures and decided to remain hidden since there was no need for him to show himself. Gambling with this luck, Cedric decided to wait this one out and to see if something would eventually turn in his favour. It looked like the Unicorn was taking its sweet time grazing through the forest and the centaur only followed it for its security. He would also help if the unicorn got tangled up in the brambles or vines. It was in one such bush that the unicorn walked and lost itself for some time. Cedric was waiting on the other side and as the unicorn came out that way, he performed a summoning charm to earn himself a hair. Grinning to himself he started to return to the castle.

The twins followed their previous tracks in the forest and they mostly kept their eyes on the small path that Hagrid had carved out for himself whenever he went in or out of the forbidden forest. The forest was huge and it was very easy to get lost there and never to be found again. The only way that one could be hopeful of returning was if they knew their way inside or if they could fly. The twins were flying so they were not in any danger of getting lost but they knew that Hagrid liked to meet the beasts by themselves and to care for them so they kept following his path in the hopes that it would lead them to a Unicorn. Like Cedric, they didn't know about the recent trouble with the unicorns and the beast which was going around and killing them.

When they saw one of the beasts, they decided to bring it down before it could flee. A quick stunner would have got the job done but the sight of the centaur with his longbow had them thinking again.

Fred turned to George, "What do you reckon...?"

George continued, "We should do?"

Fred looked at him and grinned, "Let's?"

George gave an equally toothy grin, "Yes. Let's."

This was their code when they wanted to play the game of distraction. They knew that the Centaur could shoot both of them out of the sky with little trouble so they would have to outsmart him and that meant distracting him. It was clear to them that the centaur was guarding the unicorn and they were far enough that they were not sure if the summoning charm would work. Fred took off towards the centaur at full speed but not being oblivious to the bow in his hand. The centaur knocked an arrow in an eye-blink and let it loose in that moment however Fred had already pulled his broom upwards and the arrow could not touch him. He however was careful to let the centaur know that he had not gone but remained there. He would show his face to the centaur and then disappear before he could let another arrow fly in his direction. He was trying to get the centaur to follow him and leave the Unicorn alone. The centaur was testing his patience. He would fire arrows at Fred but would not budge. Finally Fred had enough and he decided to take a chance. He fired a few stinging hexes in the direction of the Unicorn and that enraged the Centaur. He broke off in a run all the while firing arrows at Fred who had turned tail and started flying out of the forest.

George who had been waiting for this moment immediately neared the Unicorn enough to summon two hairs from its tail. His prize obtained, he flew off in the direction of the castle to find his twin. Fred, as it turned out, had been able to ditch the centaur and waited for his twin at the edge of the forest. They regrouped and flew towards the Astronomy tower.

Harry had started directly towards Hagrid's hut. His plan was to enter the forest from that direction then try to find a Unicorn hair. He had only been in the forest a little while when he thought that he heard a voice up the path. Hastily thinking, he landed on a tree branch which was just ahead of him and hid in a thicket of leaves. With a careful peek through the thicket he was hiding in, he saw two centaurs talking. He did not understand most of what was said but he got the gist. They were talking about a beast which was attacking the unicorns and that the centaurs needed to tighten security. Near them, a Unicorn laid on the ground with a wound on its neck which looked like puncture wounds. Why anyone would do something so horrible to such a marvellous creature, he could not understand. What he did understand was that they were in danger of being killed and the centaurs had driven away the said beast just that night.

Harry carefully flew past them without making a sound to find another unicorn. He came upon one in the forest at some distance from where he had seen the injured one. This one was by itself with nothing to protect it. Before he could decide upon his next course of action, he perceived through the gloom a hooded figure which was gliding towards the Unicorn. It was a humanoid creature with a big head, cloaked in robes which covered everything from head to foot. The robe was dark black making the classic mistake of being too dark to blend perfectly in the gloom under the trees. The Unicorn appeared oblivious to the danger to it and kept grazing. Harry knew he had to do something before the creature reached the unicorn.

He levelled his wand and shot a spell at the figure while muttering the incantation under his breath, "Stupefy." The spell missed the figure by sheer luck but it gave him the general direction of Harry. As the gliding figure found Harry Potter-Black near him, it abandoned the Unicorn in favour of chasing the boy-who-lived and killing him. Harry pulled his broom into a sharp climb and that was when he discovered to his horror that the figure could fly. He let loose a spell chain of leg-locker jinx-petrification hex-Stupefy but the figure was alert and all the spells were wasted. He neared Harry while dodging the spells. Harry had neglected to urge his broom to greater speed, distracted by his attempt to try and bring the figure down. The figure was almost upon him now but the strange thing was that it emitted no body odour. Harry could see fang like teeth but before the figure could seize him, there was a rustling sound and an arrow whizzed past the figure. A centaur had come upon the scene. He had no problem realising that the mysterious figure had been the one killing Unicorns lately. Before the figure could decide upon the next course of action, another arrow was let loose hitting it in the leg making it hiss in pain. It also convinced him to flee or the Centaur would fill him with arrows until he resembled a hedgehog.

He fled straight at Harry. Harry lost his grip avoiding the mid-air collision and almost fell off his broom. As the figure was gone, the Centaur turned to him, "Come down, youngling. Let us talk."

Harry's heart was still racing with the excitement of the encounter that he had with the figure but he knew he could not escape before the Centaur would shoot him down. He came down as the Centaur had requested. The Centaur stooped down so that he came to Harry's eye level. His electric blue eyes pierced into Harry's making him shiver slightly and the Centaur said, "You should not come here, Harry Potter. There are too many dangers in the forest."

Harry asked him in a small voice, "What was that thing? The one you saved me from?"

"A wretched creature who kills unicorns to feed off their blood. Unicorn's blood can save one from certain death but it only gives a cursed half life."

Harry scrunched his nose in disgust, "Who would do such a thing?"

The centaur asked him mysteriously, "Can't you think of someone who would do that to keep existing in this world? Especially if they can obtain something later which will give them a body and life free of any curses?"

Realisation dawned on Harry and he asked, "Voldemort? Do you mean that was Voldemort?"

"Do you know what is hidden at the school? Something which can give life to even a dying man?"

Harry's eyes spread wide in surprise, "The Sorcerer's stone!"

The centaur nodded, "Yes. He is after it to get a body again. Now off you go and be careful."

Harry nodded, "Thank you for saving me. I will get going. What is your name?"

The centaur who had started to walk after the Unicorn, said over his shoulder, "Firenze."

As the Centaur disappeared in the thicket, Harry started looking around to see if he would get lucky and get a hair. To his immense relief, there was the distinct silver gleem of a unicorn hair stuck in the bushes. Carefully, he took it out of the bush to stow in his pocket.

When he returned to the Astronomy tower, the twins had returned already. Pucey sighed with relief when Harry appeared, "Potter-Black! Thank Merlin you are safe. I thought you too met with the centaurs."

Harry raised an eye-brow, "What do you mean 'you too'?"

The twins narrated everything that they had gone through in the forest. Harry however was not in a mood to recall everything that he had heard so he omitted the parts about talking to a centaur but only showed them the hair and that he had taken it off a bush after it was caught there.

They cried in dismay when Cedric appeared, grinning like an idiot and an arrow through his broom. Cho exclaimed loudly, "Cedric what happened?"

He told them everything that he went through and when he was done, there was pin drop silence. Dumbledore also listened to everything that the students said. He also realised that perhaps Harry was keeping back information. The problem was that he could not just call him up to his office and talk about it. That would make him wary of the headmaster.

The silence was broken by Neville who opened the door and rushed on to the roof of the tower, panting, out of breath. He steadied himself for a few seconds before he bellowed, "Snape is on his way up here."

That was enough to cause wailing among the students and pandemonium to reign for the fear of being caught for certain until inspiration hit Oliver, "Saddle up everyone. We're going to fly down."

Gwendolyn protested, "Are you an idiot, Wood?"

Pucey however saw the merit in the idea. He asked her, "Do you have a better idea or do you want to be put in detention and may be lose a bunch of points?"

When she shook her head, he continued, "Let's fly down. The Gryffindors can fly to their tower on the other side of the castle and the claws can fly to their tower on the second floor. There are bound to be windows open to let them in. We and the Hufflepuffs will fly down to the double doors and enter the castle without dismounting. We will only dismount when we are outside of our common rooms."

The plan being made, it was put into execution at once. Harry had to take Neville with him since he didn't have a broom with him. When they reached the first year dorm window, it was locked from inside and they kept hovering outside until Ron stirred and got up to use the bathroom. He let out a cry of shock when he saw them hovering outside. Without wasting a moment, he threw open the window to let them enter the dorm. Quickly putting his broom away, Harry and Neville jumped into their beds while Wood retreated to his own dorm with the twins following at his heels. It hardly took more than a minute and with everyone crawling into their beds, Ron was the only one left standing. He shook his head once before he collapsed into his own bed.

The claws found a window which opened into their common room. A few of their class mates who were still up and studying promptly opened the windows letting them in.

The badgers and snakes did not dismount at the double doors but flew inside and all the way down to the entrances to their common rooms. There they dismounted in record time to run inside their common rooms. It seemed that they had arrived in the nick of time because about a few minutes later, the common rooms were being searched for students who had broken curfew. They found no one still up in Gryffindor and even checking the dorms didn't reveal anything for they all appeared to be sleeping. There were a couple of stragglers in Ravenclaw but most of them were fifth years or seventh years who were studying hard for their OWLs or NEWTs. The Hufflepuff and Slytherin common rooms were likewise deserted.

The raids had happened at the insistence of Snape. He had arrived at the top of the Astronomy tower, out of breath with a smug grin on his face. The grin however was wiped off when he realised that there were no students up there but only Dumbledore in his purple robes adorned with moving sun and stars. As the headmaster saw him, he said jovially, "Severus, my boy. Tough night? What brings you here?"

Snape's lips curled at the ends, "I was looking for stragglers, Headmaster. I was told that some students are breaking curfew. There was also a repelling ward around the steps of the tower."

Dumbledore's twinkling intensified, "It was my own doing, my boy. I find it that the dead of night is the best time to think about things and I didn't wanted any distraction. However I assure you that there were no students here."

Severus said challengingly, "Then let's get the dorms searched. We will know shortly."

Needless to say, the search revealed nothing and Snape was treated to some very choice words from McGonagall for waking her up in the middle of night for nothing.

The next morning

The next morning, Harry was in lost in contemplation and his friends noticed. Hermione decided to ask him what was going on when he sprinkled sugar on his eggs rather than his pudding, "Harry, is something bothering you or do you like your eggs extra sweet?"

He looked at her like he had just noticed her, "Huh, what?"

Isobel, who was sitting beside him swatted him on the arm, "What she means is that you are distracted. What's got into you?"

He shook his head, "Nothing. Just thinking about an assignment is all."

Before they could ask anything more, he saw Snape shuffling to the Teacher's table and he had a severe limp. He asked Neville, "Am I imagining it or is Snape limping?"

Neville looked at the potions teacher and nodded, "Looks like he hurt himself sometime during the night. I mean he was fine yesterday..."

Before Neville could finish, Harry shot him a glance to make him stop talking. With that it was time for classes. On the way, he told Neville in an undertone to invite Daphne for a meeting.

Library

When Harry met Daphne in the back of the library, he had a lot to tell. As agreed, Harry and Neville were there.

When she arrived, they each had already picked up a bulky tome and pretended to be lost in them. She took a seat and waited for them to notice her. She knew they were doing this intentionally and kept her patience. She could count on Harry to speak after the silence had become stifling.

Harry raised his head as if noticing Daphne for the first time and asked Neville, "Umm Mate, there is an unwanted visitor over here. Do you know anything about it?"

Neville however was more cautious and decided not to play, "I love my limbs Harry so I am not playing along with you."

Harry pouted for a moment but under the icy glare of the Ice-queen, he gave up, "Alright, Daph. I have news and it is important."

Just dropping this line in there, he waited for them to say something. Daphne slightly showed the tip of her wand from under her sleeve while talking to Neville, "You know, Neville, mother wanted me to practice that particular curse which changes people into popsicles."

Neville snorted, "A Harry-Popsicle would taste terrible, Daph."

Harry gave up, "Alright, there will be no changing little Harry into popsicles here. Last night we had the broom racing competition…"

Neville interrupted him mid sentence, "Harry, do you have the map with you?"

Harry nodded and produced the map, "Yes. Why?"

Neville activated the map, checked it once to reassure himself before he turned to Harry, "Yesterday, I came to alert you about Severus Snape coming but I also saw Dumbledore on the top of the Astronomy Tower with you."

Harry shuddered, "Say no more. Looks like we missed a step somewhere. We will have to keep an eye on things around us the next time one of us opens his mouth."

Daphne protested, "But I've got to hear about the broom racing thing you were just talking about."

Harry had stood up by then, "Let's meet near the lake. It will be less obvious if we sit out of the way there and keep the device erected. We will know if someone is trying to follow us."

Collecting their books they made their way down all the way to the far side of the lake where they chose a secluded corner for their clandestine meeting. For what it was worth, they erected the ward device. When they were comfortable, Kreacher popped in with a platter of sandwiches and flagons of butterbeer for them.

Daphne who had been patient until then turned on Neville, "What happened yesterday?"

Neville raised his hands in a pacifying gesture, "He hasn't told me a word yet, Daph. I am also waiting upon his pleasure."

They both turned on Harry who had just put a sandwich in his mouth. He took his time to chew and swallow before he spoke to them, "Alright, yesterday we had the first event of the flying broom competition. This event had four of us go into the forest for a Unicorn hair. When I was in the forest, I ran into a figure who was trying to kill a Unicorn. It was certainly humanoid but I couldn't see it's face because it was covered with a hood. To save the Unicorn, I engaged the figure. I kept firing spells at it while it tried to get me. When it was very close, I noticed that it had fangs and that it seemed to have no body odor. Finally I was saved when one of the Centaurs came in and drove it away."

Daphne asked him sternly, "What gave you the idea to confront it, moron? What if something had happened to you?"

Harry waved her concerns aside with a grin, "Daph, I was fine. Although the figure could fly, I could out fly him. After the centaur drove it away, I talked with the centaur. He told me that recently a few Unicorns have been killed for their blood. He also said something about unicorn blood giving a cursed half-life but I'm not sure I understood that part."

They were both worried, "Harry, you have to stay alert. Voldemort would not stop at anything to get to you. You have to tell someone."

Harry raised an eye-brow, "Daph, whom would we tell? The Headmaster would like to know what I was doing in the forest at that time. Lord Black would be angry that I am risking my life foolishly. Moony and Padfoot are not here."

She frowned, "But Harry we have got to do something about it."

"I know and I promise if something else happens, I will go to Dumbledore."

Daphne remembered why they were meeting here in the first place and asked Neville, "What were you on about Snape and Dumbledore in the library?"

"Last night, I was on duty to keep the repelling ward up and to keep an eye on people on the map. Sometime after mid-night, I noticed that Snape was coming to the tower. Then I noticed that Dumbledore was already there. At first, I thought that maybe he had caught you all but his dot remained stationery. So I assumed that the map was not working properly."

Harry eyed him warily, "Minion, the map never fails. If it showed that Dumbledore was there then he was there. We will have to be more careful from now on."

Daphne asked him curiously, "How did all of you escape if Snape was coming your way?"

Harry gave his best grin, "We had our brooms. We flew down before he saw any of us."

Neville chose that moment to ask, "Harry why were you going on about Snape injuring his leg?"

Harry said simply, "When the centaur drove the figure off last night, one of his arrows hit him in the left leg. Snape was favouring his left leg this morning."

Daphne frowned, "You mean to say that…?"

She left her question hanging and Harry took it from there, "Yeah. I think it was him. He has been drinking Unicorn blood."

Ministry of Magic

Dumbledore was presiding as the Chief Warlock over this session of the Wizengamot as usual. It was supposed to be one of many monthly routine meetings however his mind was caught up in what he had heard last night. The students had run afoul of the centaurs so he went to see them in the morning. Bane, the herdsman told him about the encounters. Two of them were nothing extraordinary, but the third one was interesting. One of the students had come into contact with whatever was attacking the Unicorns and even fought with it till one of them drove it away. What worried Dumbledore was the identity of the creature.

He however could not dwell anymore on it because his attention was needed for the Wizengamot session for now. These sessions had become tedious and it was seldom that anything happened which could incite his interest. Besides the stone was at Hogwarts and he needed to keep the stone safe or they would find themselves saddled with a war before they had time to prepare. Minister Bones was in talks with the Department Heads. They already had a long round of discussions about recruiting Aurors but the talks had ended fruitlessly. The chief issue had been that of money. The rate of taxes which the ministry levied had not been revised for about a decade. In fact many of the houses which were supposed to pay taxes were far in arrears. Many had ceased to exist. This caused a lot of trouble for the Ministry's budget. The second issue had been that the dark faction did not want any more Aurors to be maintained since it interfered with their work and their prosperity. Thirdly some of the senior Aurors felt that lowering the bar of eligibility would compromise the standards of the Aurors. Their concerns however had been addressed by the Minister. She told them they would recruit but only those who passed through the ringer at the end of the three year training period would make the final cut. The rest could become hit wizards or such.

Albus strolled into his seat at 10:00 A.M. and rapped his gavel, "Close the doors." As the doors closed, he continued, "Welcome to the February regular session of 1992 of the Wizengamot. Let the proceedings begin. Firstly we have the proposal of increment in taxes which has been put forward by our esteemed minister. Minister, the floor is yours."

Amelia stood, "Thank you Chief Warlock. The issue before this august body is of the increment of taxes which are levied on the houses or the common wizarding populace. The tax rates have not been revised in the last decade even though proposals to that effect were put before the former minister. As the evidences suggest, Cornelius Fudge accepted gratuities from certain individuals for looking the other way and to slip those proposals under the carpet." (A very polite way of saying that the minister was taking bribes) "The ministry has found that certain individuals or houses have had their wealth increased manifold but the ministry did not get a Galleon of it. The gold which we raise from the taxes goes to pay for the salaries of the ministry employees which, I must add, have not been increased in the last decade either despite the inflation rate being quite high. The ministry also allocate funds to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry through the Board of Directors. The same fund is used for education of deserving but poor students. I would add here that the condition of the finances at the school and its facilities is a matter of public record and we need to put in money to ensure the best of facilities for our children. I put this proposal for debate before this August council as to whether we should revise the taxes or not."

Dumbledore rapped his gavel, "those who wish to speak for or against the motion please raise your wand."

The first to do so was Lord Black followed by a number of others. After about a minute Dumbledore spoke, "Lord Black, the floor is yours."

Arcturus stood and surveyed the chamber with a critical eye before he started speaking, "This proposal put forward by our honourable minister has merits. The ministry is the responsible body for swift action in our world. If it stands in need of gold, how will we ensure the welfare of those who are on the fringes of society and cannot make ends meet? The duty for their welfare falls on the ministry directly and indirectly on us, the Ancient and Most Noble Houses. We have the responsibility for the welfare of the people. We have failed in this task. After the fall of Voldemort, the demographics of our world changed. Many of the benevolent houses which had worked tirelessly for the greater good ceased to exist. This duty came to rest on the shoulders of the few who remained. I am ashamed to admit it but we have failed in our tasks. It was our duty to provide succour to them and we couldn't do that. Instead, a concentrated group of individuals started filling their coffers while the bumbling buffoon Cornelius Fudge failed in his duties. Crime festers in Knockturn Alley. It was supposed to be an extension of Diagon Alley and expand commerce, not crime. The ministry doesn't interfere there because we don't have enough Aurors. That is because the ministry does not have enough gold to pay for their salaries. The employees of the ministry are forced to work for meagre salaries because the ministry is poor. That is the way of things now. I say we, the Ancient and Most Noble Houses cannot let this stand. Let's do strive for the betterment of our world and help our able Minister in any way we can. As far as the taxes are concerned, the rates are very low in comparison to similar places in neighbouring countries. Even the revised rates wouldn't be anywhere close to what exists in those countries."

When he was done, the entire chamber was silent as if enraptured. Many of the heads of house who were blessed to have survived the war were reminded of the reason as to why Arcturus Orion Black was a moving force in the wizarding world. He had a way with words that none else seemed to have. His arguments were so persuasive that even his most staunch opponent would have to reluctantly agree with what he said. In the past, he had opposed many motions from the side of light while his family sat on the opposite side. The members of the light faction were indeed glad that he was on their side now. The new lords who had never seen him in action were in awe of the imposing presence that he cut and the quality of his arguments. He appealed to the sense of duty of the houses while subtly establishing that while the ministry governed the wizarding world yet it remained on the good graces of the houses. He underlined that while only a few houses or certain individuals may have found favour with the former minister, this new government was more accommodating to all the houses. Not to mention he had been instrumental in Amelia Bones entering that office. It was assumed that she had full support from him and his allies. In the minds of most of them, it was already a done deal.

Some of the elders of the Wizengamot who had broken bread with him, shared a glass of mead with him or were regulars to the balls organised by the House of Black were smirking. They knew him well enough to assume that the proposal likely came from him. At the very least, Amelia Bones wouldn't have presented this motion unless she had talked with him beforehand. He would have made some changes to it so it would be acceptable. That however was a moot point because even if Amelia hadn't discussed it before hand with him, he would now ensure that it will pass for he had publicly endorsed it.

The Chief Warlock rapped his gavel, "Thank you for the illuminating argument, Lord Black. Would anybody else like to speak in support or in opposition of the motion?"

Lady Longbottom raised her hand with a few others and Dumbledore nodded, "Lady Regent Longbottom, you have the floor."

She stood haughty and proud, "this proposal by the ministry is sound. I don't see why the tax rates should not be revised. The wealth of our world, as it seems, is concentrated among a small handful of us while most of them are living at a standard below most others. In fact, I distinctly remember the rates of taxes were revised at regular intervals before the war. The wealth was used to ensure welfare of those who really need it. Due to lack of funds, the ministry had to cut short several of its programs which it ran for the poor and needy. In addition, they have cut funding to Hogwarts which has led to deteriorating facilities and standards at the school. The ministry also has severely curtailed the number of Aurors. There are now less than half of the numbers that used to be before the war. I say that we should support this motion for the minister is determined to do good for all of us."

When she sat, Dumbledore rapped his gavel again, "Is there anyone else who wants to address this issue?"

After two very prominent lords had spoken in favour of the motion, it was expected that none of them would oppose it but Lucius Malfoy, in his attempt to assert his authority as the de facto leader of the dark faction, raised his wand. Dumbledore sighed deeply, "You have the floor, Lord Malfoy."

"This proposal by the minister has been brought at short notice. We were not given time to think things over. The clauses of this proposal need debating before it can be discussed as a whole. The proposal isn't clear about how the funds will be used? Where they will be disbursed and there is no mention of any accounting."

Minister Bones stood at her place, "Chief Warlock, I want to address the concerns expressed by Lord Malfoy."

Dumbledore nodded, "Permission granted, Minister."

She turned to Malfoy, "Lord Malfoy, if you had correctly looked upon the copy of the proposal which was sent to everyone in this chamber about a week in advance you would have known that this is merely a proposal to revise the tax rates and not to introduce any new ones. There are a few clauses which are about dealing with those who, for whatever cause, find themselves in arrears on their tax payments despite being given ample opportunity to pay them. Even for them, an ample time has been put forth to pay their taxes and avoid prosecution. For those who couldn't genuinely pay, there are measures in place. This proposal was sent more than a week in advance for the Lords to study and discuss. Of course, any member of this council may put forth amendments to this proposal before we vote."

When Malfoy did not speak for about 5 minutes, Dumbledore rapped his gavel, "Is there anyone else who wishes to speak in favour or opposing the motion?"

When there were none, he rapped his gavel again, "we will now vote on this motion. Those in favour please raise your wand with tips being green."

The number of wands that went up was sufficient to convince him that the motion had passed however for the sake of formality; he had to ask for those who opposed the motion. The final tally came to 55-15 with 10 abstentions. With that out of the way, Dumbledore rapped his gavel again, "Does any member of this body wish to present a motion?"

Arcturus Orion Black stood, "I wish to present a motion, Chief Warlock."

About an hour later, when the Wizengamot adjourned sine die, Dumbledore cornered Tiberius Ogden, Elder of the Wizengamot, "Tiberius, I wanted a word."

Tiberius was an old friend of the headmaster and he always had time to spare for Dumbledore, "Of course Albus. What is it?"

"Tiberius, there are some things going on at Hogwarts which makes it imperative for me to remain at the castle. Not to mention, I have to make some arrangements in case we have some werewolf students in the next year when the school reopens so until June, I won't be able to take on my duties as Chief Warlock. Would you attend to this duty in my stead?"

Tiberius was not one to ask questions, "Of course Albus. Remember to send the necessary papers ahead of time for the next meeting."

The Hog's Head

A hooded man sat in the corner, a tankard in front of him full of ale. Anyone who observed carefully would have known that he had not touched the ale in front of him for the last ten minutes. He seemed to be looking at the door then looking at his watch. It seemed that he was waiting for someone. Since he had a hood covering his face, Aberforth could not be certain. He was wary of this customer but since he was not troubling anyone and had already paid for his fare, there was nothing that Aberforth could complain about.

The hooded man was Professor Quirrell who had the Dragon Egg safely hidden in a pouch with extension charms. He had originally planned to do this earlier but he had felt a terrible need for Unicorn blood to replenish his strength and to stock some. He had seen the security but there was no other way for him than to feed on the blood which gave him strength. He had injured one in the forest but before he could feast upon its blood, the centaurs had arrived and he fled. Later, he was about to corner another when the bane of his existence Hadrian Potter-Black arrived out of nowhere. He would have got the boy if the damned Centaur hadn't come along. The arrow that had lodged in his leg pained like hell. When he came out of the forest, he broke off the shaft and pulled the head out. He had never been good at healing and couldn't just go to Pomfrey to get his injuries dressed. He treated himself the best way he could. He tried to avoid walking around too often so that the students would not notice him limping. Gathering what little strength he had left, he came to the village this evening to try and ease Hagrid into telling the secret behind taming the Cerberus.

Hagrid, as was his routine, came strolling into the inn, being boisterous, greeting people at the top of his voice and sat down at the table where the hooded man was seated. The man pretended not to notice him for quite some time as he subtly kept Hagrid's tankard full with a refilling charm. When he could see that Hagrid was deep in his cups, the stranger struck up a conversation with him, "Do you know this place well?"

Hagrid replied, "Yes, I live at the castle up there yonder."

Then he asked the stranger, "Are you new to this place? Haven't heard or seen yeh before."

The stranger nodded, "I was here for some business and the deal went south. I have a portkey for the continent tomorrow morning. Until then I'm stranded here in this Merlin forsaken place."

Hagrid waved his dustbin lid sized hand, "Come come! It ain't that bad."

The man scowled (At least that's what Hagrid thought he did), "there's nothing to entertain me here. No one can even beat me at a game of cards."

Hagrid said jovially, "I'll play with you."

The stranger said eagerly, "Right then. What'll you wager? I mean, what do you have to add some interest to this game?"

Hagrid swept an object from his shirt pocket and laid it on the table. The silver gleam in the dim light was unmistakable. It was unicorn hair, at least a hundred strands of it, neatly combed and carded, worth at least a thousand Galleons if it was worth a Knut, "I have this."

The stranger examined the hair as if satisfying himself before he turned to Hagrid again and spoke in a low conspiratorial tone, "I have a precious thing to wager with me but I want to be sure that you'll be able to care for it."

He had Hagrid's full attention now, "Whaddya talkin 'bout?"

The man was whispering now, "I'm a trader from Greece. In the course of my business, I ran into a bloke in London who had a Dragon egg. Since Dragon eggs are quite valuable so I thought I could make a killing, selling it to a dragon reserve in my country. The problem is that the man was a smuggler. Now the Department for the Regulation and Care of Magical Creatures is actively looking for me. I'll put down this egg as a bet because I'm desperate to get rid of it."

To Hagrid, it was an opportunity which he had always dreamt of. One could say it was his deepest desire to raise a dragon and here was a man who was offering a dragon egg for a game of cards! He eagerly said, "Let's get the game going."

As the man opened the mouth of the pouch to give him a look, Hagrid's bleary, bloodshot eyes grew bright and wide as he beheld the egg inside before the man closed the pouch again. He said, "I would offer it to you but you have to assure me that you can handle a beast this size. Do you have experience working with beasts?"

Hagrid proudly replied, "I have bred a herd of Hippogriffs, the biggest herd of thestrals in Britain and a Cerberus."

The man was apparently convinced and the game got going. As the game progressed, the man continued to make sure that Hagrid drank copiously and his tankard was never empty. They kept talking for about an hour during which the man lost more than he won. The game was winding up when he asked him, "Tell me about the three headed dog. I have heard that you can't control a beast like that no matter how good you are with beasts."

Hagrid who was proud of himself for the way the game was going, said offhandedly, while his attention remained on the cards, "Every beast has a weak spot. Now my Fluffy, he looks dangerous but is a cute little thing. Just play some music for him and he'll go straight off to sleep."

The man had the information that he needed. He played a few more hands before he threw down his cards and handed the pouch over to Hagrid. He made his exit from the inn. He now had a plan to move ahead with a way to tame the beast. Soon the stone would be his.