Chapter 9 – Detention in the Forbidden Forest
The detention was to take place Saturday night. The three Gryffindors and one Slytherin were to meet Filch in the Great Hall at 8 o'clock, where they would be taken to report to Hagrid. When the time came, Jon packed away the book he had been reading and said goodbye to Hermione, who wished him good luck, and joined the other two boys in making their way down through the castle.
Draco was already waiting with Filch by the time the Gryffindors arrived. The boy had an angry expression on his pale face and he was studiously refusing to acknowledge the caretaker's presence. "Hello Draco, hello Mr Filch." Jon greeted the other two in an effort to be polite. They had to spend the night in each other's company but it didn't have to be unpleasant.
Draco returned his greeting but Filch wasn't interested in being friendly. "Follow on, you'll be spending tonight with Hagrid." Filch spoke as he led them out into the grounds, "I hear he's got a little job to do in the Dark Forest tonight. With all the little beasties; on the night of a full moon an' all." Filch's said with a malicious smile.
"What?!" Draco exclaimed, "You can't make us go out there! Students aren't allowed, and there're werewolves!"
"Oh, there's more than werewolves in those trees lad. It's a pity they let the old punishments die, there was a time detention would find you hanging by your thumbs in the dungeons. God I'll miss the screaming." Filch muttered to himself, a cruel gleam in his eye. Draco decided it would be best to keep quiet.
Hagrid was outside of his hut when they reached him, gathering a quiver of arrows to complement the crossbow he had swung over his back. "Alrigh' you lot?" Hagrid greeted them, "Filch." As always, Hagrid did a terrible job of being discreet and his dislike for the caretaker was clear to see.
"I'll leave you to it Hagrid." A howl echoed out from the Forest and Filch gave the terrified students a grin, "Nighty night."
Hagrid attached the full quiver to his belt and hefted his crossbow more securely onto his massive shoulders. Fang trotted over to join the group as Hagrid lit a lantern and held it well above the children's heads. "Righ', let's go."
The Forbidden Forest was eerily quiet, though never completely silent; some creature was always making a noise of some kind somewhere in the thick foliage. Within minutes of walking the trees had seemed to close in behind them, cutting off the group's view of Hogwarts and safety, and the trees only seemed to grow thicker and denser further in.
Hagrid eventually brought the group to a stop as a pool of silver liquid glinted in the light of the lantern. Hagrid took a knee beside the pool and dipped two fingers in. The liquid was thick, it clung to Hagrid's fingers and slowly dripped to the ground.
"Hagrid, what is that?" Harry asked.
"What we're here for." Hagrid rose to his feet, his expression deadly serious, "See that? That's unicorn blood that is. I found one dead a few weeks ago. Now, this one's been hurt bad by something." A wind rustled the leaves around them and Jon could have sworn he saw a cloaked figure gliding through the trees in the corner of his eye, but when he turned to look it was gone. "So, it's our job to go and find the poor beast. Ron, Malfoy, you'll come with me."
"Okay." Ron whimpered, his face had turned an odd shade of green.
"Jon, you'll go with Harry. You can take Fang along with ya." With groups decided, Hagrid passed Harry a lantern and sent the Potters off in one direction while he, Ron and Malfoy went the other.
Without the comforting presence of Hagrid, the Forest felt even more intimidating. Behind every tree and in the depths of every shadow danger lurked, setting Jon on edge. His body tensed and he drew his wand, wanting to be ready should they suddenly be set upon by a creature. Fang walked quietly alongside them, sticking close to Harry and the circle of light the lantern provided. This deep in the Forest the moonlight barely pierced the canopy of leaves above their head; Jon muttered "Lumos" and lit his wand, its white light reflected back at them by the drops of silver blood that lay before them.
"There," Harry whispered, "It goes that way, we should follow it."
Jon hesitated. He would much rather try to find Hagrid and gain his help, but judging by the trail the unicorn was losing blood fast and Harry seemed adamant that they go on. "Fine, but stay close." They sped up, following the trail as best they could through the dark of the Forest.
Harry almost tripped as Fang came to a stop in front of them, the dog letting out low whines as his tail drooped between his legs. "Hush Fang, come on." Jon said, but Fang only turned and ran back the other direction. The dog was cowardly, Jon already knew, but Fang was loyal and wouldn't abandon them unless he was truly terrified. Suddenly apprehensive, the Potters slowly crept through the Forest ahead of them until they stepped out into a clearing. In the centre, the pure white unicorn lay dead with a cloaked and hooded figure drinking silver blood directly from its neck. A wraith was killing the unicorns.
Harry let out a soft gasp at the gruesome sight. The wraith's head jerked up and Jon could feel the malice from unseen eyes that lay hidden under the shadow of the hood. Harry let out a sharp cry, his hands flying to his forehead. His face became soaked in blood as his lightning bolt scar burst open in a fountain of gore. Harry collapsed to the ground, barely able to hold on to consciousness. The steady white light from Jon's wand disappeared, replaced by a burst of blue light as Jon yelled the incantation to the full body bind. The spell was deflected easily though Jon didn't see the creature use a wand.
The wraith rose, its tattered black cloak flowing behind it as it started gliding towards the two children. Jon kept his wand steady, pointed at the creature. "Diffindo!" He cried, sending the white beam of the cutting curse towards the creature. Once again, the spell was deflected, leaving a deep gash in an unfortunate tree off to the side of the battle. Spells didn't seem to harm the creature, reminding Jon of his bout with the troll. If it worked once…
Jon lifted his wand, this time to point at a large stone set near the side of the clearing. He incanted the summoning charm, lifting the stone from where it sat in the dirt and bringing it hurtling towards him. Just as it was about to connect with no small amount of force behind it, he yelled the banishing charm, pushing as much magic as he could into it. "Depulso!" The stone shot forward like a bullet, hitting the wraith in the shoulder and sending it staggering back further in the clearing. It hadn't been enough. It rose again and Jon knew he had nothing left to throw at it, he was at the limit of his skills.
As all seemed lost, a centaur burst from the trees behind Jon. It reared onto its hind legs, kicking at the wraith and sending it flying back once again to the far side of the clearing. With a hiss that chilled Jon to the bones, the wraith turned and fled. A low moan from behind him broke Jon from his stupor. Harry was laid out on the ground behind him, his face still coated in blood. Jon moved immediately to his brother's side, helping him into a sitting position as he got a better look at what had moments ago been naught but a scar. The lightning bolt was red and raw but no more blood flowed from the wound. Whatever the presence of the wraith had done had stopped when it left.
"You must leave this place." The voice of the centaur called as it trotted closer. Part man and part horse, Jon had never seen anything quite like it. "Your brother is known to many creatures here. The Forest is not safe at this time, especially for him." Harry began to wake, some colour making its way back into his cheeks.
"What was that creature you saved us from? It looked like some kind of wraith."
The centaur scowled, "A monstrous creature. It is a terrible crime to slay a unicorn. Drinking its blood will keep you alive even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. For slaying something so pure, from the moment the blood touches your lips you will have a half life. A cursed life."
"But who would choose such a life?"
"Can you think of no one? A being desperate for life, that could gain such a reaction from Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived." The centaur trotted closer, lowering its head to look into Jon's eyes.
Voldemort," Jon realised, a familiar hatred stirred inside of him. "But what would he be doing here?"
"Do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment, Mr Potter?"
Jon's eyes widened in realisation, "The Philosopher's Stone."
"Harry! Jon!" Hagrid called, appearing over the ridge with Ron, Draco and Fang close behind. At the call of his name, Harry's eyes fluttered open and with Jon's help he managed to pull himself up into a standing position. "Hello there Firenze, I see you've met our Potters. Let me take a look at 'im." Hagrid knelt in front of Harry, looking at the blood drying on his face and the bright red gash on his forehead. "We'd best get him in to Madam Pomfrey."
Firenze nodded with an elegant bow of his head and began to walk away. "This is where I leave you, you're safe now. Good luck."
"Thank you!" Jon called after him. Firenze turned his head to give the boy a smile, then galloped off into the dark of the Forest.
In the comfort of the Gryffindor common room, Harry told the story of the encounter with the wraith to a rapt audience of Hermione and Ron. When Harry concluded with the agony from his scar and his collapse to the ground, it was then up to Jon to finish the story.
"Firenze saved us, if he hadn't come we would have died there." Jon trailed off, the thought of another close brush with death sending a chill down his spine.
"But what was it? How did it make Harry collapse?" Hermione asked.
Jon rubbed his eyes, trailing the hand back across his forehead and into his hair. "It was Voldemort. Firenze told me that drinking the blood of a unicorn is a temporary way to keep yourself alive. Harry, I think its Voldemort that's after the Philosopher's Stone."
Harry gasped, but the other two just looked blankly between the brothers. Another round of explanations was had, of finding Fluffy the Cerberus over Christmas and getting a confession from Hagrid that the key to the Elixir of Life was currently sat in the forbidden corridor on the third floor.
"So, Voldemort has been hiding in the Forbidden Forest, maybe all year. The troll could have easily been a test of the school's defences, or even a distraction so he could try to reach the Stone. If he's still here he can't have been successful. Maybe Dumbledore stopped him." Hermione theorised, speaking so quickly it was hard to keep up, "Which means…" She trailed off.
"Which means he's going to try again, and soon now that Dumbledore knows he's out there." Harry finished, his hand drifting up towards his scar.
"We're first years, there's nothing we can do to help. Dumbledore knows and taking care of that is his job. Besides, we've got exams in a few weeks. We should be focussed on those." Jon tried to change the subject, but not even Hermione seemed able to study then, with the thought of Voldemort roaming the forest so close to where they slept.
Despite Dark Lords and evil plots, life at Hogwarts went on and exams crept ever closer. Harry, Ron and Neville had joined Jon and Hermione at their usual table in the library to study for the upcoming exams. The group's current topic was transfiguration as the exam was only days away.
Harry and Ron were bent over Hermione's notes, each reading with furrowed brows and frowns on their faces. Neither boy had studied as much as they should have, though Harry had done better than Ron thanks to his brother's influence. Hermione had graciously allowed them to have her notes and made herself available to answer questions as they needed. Jon wouldn't have been so kind in her place, though that was likely the reason they had approached Hermione before him.
Jon let out a sigh, rubbing his tired eyes and pushing his hand back through his hair. He was bored. He and Hermione had long since mastered the first-year material and had even looked at a fair chunk of the second-year material as well. Taking deep breaths, Jon slowly cleared his mind of all thoughts and distractions, slipping into occlumency to clear the headache birthed from practicing the same work repeatedly.
"I'm gonna pack in the revision." Jon announced, flipping his book closed with a thud, "The monotony is melting my brain."
That got a tired laugh from the group. They'd been at it for two hours straight and everyone was feeling the strain.
"I'll see you guys later." Jon left with a wave, wandering out of the library. The corridors were deserted, most people were locked away somewhere studying, so Jon made his way to the fourth floor unimpeded.
The majority of classrooms in Hogwarts went unused, though they remained spotless thanks to the efforts of the house elves. Hogwarts was designed for many more students than those currently in attendance; a disturbing reminder of the Dark War that had plagued Britain only a decade prior. For people like Jon this provided an opportunity to study and practice magic in greater privacy than the common room or the library.
Early on in his quest for a quieter study space, Jon came across a small classroom on the fourth floor. Though hesitant to make alterations at first, over time he had rearranged the room to fit his purposes; clearing the tables and chairs to make a space for spell practice and appropriating the teacher's desk as his own. Now Jon locked and warded the door when he left in a bid to stop others from encroaching on what he considered to be his room.
Jon closed the door behind him, sliding out of his robe and throwing it over the back of a chair. He lay his book bag on his desk and pulled out one of the charms books inside. Without the feather light charm that bag would have been a pain to cart around.
Stretching off the lethargy that came with revision, Jon drew his wand and went to stand in front of the makeshift target he had made of an upturned table. "Incendio!" He cried, sending a ball of flame from the tip of his wand. The table caught alight instantly. "Glacius!" Only a slight ripple in the air could be seen as the freezing spell extinguished the flame, saving what was left of his target.
Jon nodded in satisfaction. The last time he had used Glacius it hadn't been enough to stop the table from breaking apart. With a quick mending charm, the target was reassembled and ready for more. He went through all the spells he knew, from first year spells to the third and fourth year spells that he was capable of. Most at that level were out of his reach so when he summoned the table off the ground and banished it into the far wall, he was quite pleased with himself.
He was getting better. The rate at which Jon had been picking up new spells had slowed as the power requirements grew, but each spell that he already knew was easier to cast each time he practiced.
As always, he followed his practice with some reading, looking into the next charm he could learn or refining his knowledge of one he hadn't yet mastered. The near empty room was quiet; it held a level of peace and solitude that Jon could gain nowhere else. In class the others were there, in the common room the others were there, even in the library he was rarely alone. Jon did care for his friends, but he needed to escape them on occasion to rest his mind and regain his focus.
Besides, a little extra practice never hurt anyone. You never know when it might save your life.