Merry Christmas Eve, everyone! I hope you have a lovely holiday today and tomorrow. And if you don't celebrate Christmas, I hope you have a lovely Monday and Tuesday!

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine.

Chapter 12 – Detention

Filch led them in silence directly to Professor McGonagall's study. When they arrived, the professor wasn't there. They took three chairs across from her desk. Nobody said a word.

Lucy knew that the other two were thinking what she was: they were going to be expelled. There was no way around it, Lucy figured. At least, she couldn't think of an excuse to tell Professor McGonagall that would help them in any way.

There was a noise, and the three of them turned to see Professor McGonagall entering her study, looking beyond furious and leading a trembling Neville along with her.

"Harry!" Neville exclaimed as soon as he saw them. "I was trying to find you to warn you! I heard Malfoy saying he was going to catch you. He said you had a drag—" He stopped abruptly, noticing Harry shaking his head violently.

Unfortunately, Professor McGonagall saw, as well. "I would never have believed it of any of you," she began in a cold voice. "Mr. Filch says you were up in the Astronomy Tower. It's one o'clock in the morning. Explain yourselves."

Lucy glanced at her two friends; Harry was opening and closing his mouth, and Hermione was staring down at her feet. None of them said anything.

"I think I've got a good idea of what's been going on," Professor McGonagall continued, seeming to understand that the three of them didn't know what to tell her. "It doesn't take a genius to work it out. You fed Draco Malfoy some cock-and-bull story about a dragon, trying to get him out of bed and into trouble. I've already caught him. I suppose you think it's funny that Longbottom here heard the story and believed it, too?"

Neville looked hurt, giving the other three a reproachful look.

"That's not true, Professor!" Lucy blurted out. She at least wanted to convince Neville that they weren't trying to get him in trouble.

"Oh, is it not?" Professor McGonagall bit back. "Then exactly what were you all doing out of bed, Miss Jones?"

Lucy, cursing herself for not thinking that the professor would ask her this, hesitated for a moment. Then a thought crossed her mind; why not tell Professor McGonagall the truth? She opened her mouth but saw, out of the corner of her eye, Hermione shaking her head.

"I'm disgusted," Professor McGonagall spat. "Five students out of bed in one night! I've never heard of such a thing before!"

Yeah, because most students don't get caught, Lucy thought darkly.

"You, Miss Granger, I thought you had more sense," Professor McGonagall went on. "Same goes to you, Miss Jones. As for you, Mr. Potter, I thought Gryffindor meant more to you than this. All four of you will receive detention—yes, you too, Mr. Longbottom. Nothing gives you the right to walk around school at night, especially these days—it's very dangerous. And fifty points will be taken from Gryffindor."

"Fifty?" Harry finally spoke up. His face was colored with disbelief.

"Fifty points each," Professor McGonagall added.

"Professor!" Lucy exclaimed. "Please!"

Harry started, "You can't—"

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do, Potter," Professor McGonagall cut him off. "Now get back to bed, all of you. I've never been more ashamed of Gryffindor students."

As Lucy crawled into her bed that night, an awful feeling of shame crept over her. Two hundred points lost in one night. That put them in last place for the House Cup, when before they had been in first. What would her other house members say?

~LJ:TH~

"Two hundred points!?" Fred exclaimed loudly the next morning at breakfast.

"Shush!" Lucy said, throwing a hand over his mouth.

George sat across from them, looking horrified. "But," he said, "we were just in the lead. What did you do that made us lose two hundred points?"

"We were out after hours," Lucy explained. "We were helping Hagrid take care of some business, and they caught us. McGonagall took away fifty points each."

"Fifty?" Fred asked, screwing up his eyes in concentration. "Fifty for you, Harry, and Hermione.… Who was the fourth person?"

"Neville," Lucy replied quietly. "He was trying to warn us about Malfoy, and McGonagall found him, too."

The twins stared at her for a moment more before returning to their breakfast.

"Please don't tell anybody that we were helping Hagrid," Lucy begged.

"We wouldn't do that," George reassured her. "Although I can tell you right now that people are going to somehow find out that it was your fault that we lost all those points."

Lucy hunched her shoulders and picked at her scrambled eggs. "Yeah, I know," she mumbled.

"Lucy," Fred started in a serious voice, setting down his fork and knife. He rested a hand on her shoulder and made her look at him. "Look, what you did—you were helping a friend, and there, I can't fault you. I'm still going to be your friend. You might get the silent treatment from some of the others, but not from me. Besides, it's just the House Cup," he added in a lighter tone. "It's not like you get anything from winning the cup other than some pride." He gave Lucy a reassuring smile then tucked back into his breakfast.

"Everything he just said," George said with his mouth full of hash browns, "I second." He swallowed before continuing, "Everyone loses house points. Just, you know, not usually that many at a time." Then he, like his brother, dived back into his food.

"Thanks," Lucy replied. "Really and truly, thank you."

"No problem," Fred said with his mouth full, at the same time as George said, "Don't mention it."

~LJ:TH~

As the days went by, Lucy found herself—along with Harry, Hermione, and Neville—being the target of a school-wide silent treatment. The rest of the Gryffindor students were angry for obvious reasons, but even the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were upset. They had all wanted to see Slytherin lose the House Cup that year, but now it looked like they would win.

Neville and Hermione took the angry silence quite hard, both remaining quiet during classes and keeping away from other students. Harry took it hard, as well, if not worse than the other three; granted, he was quite famous as it was. He even tried to resign from the Quidditch team, but Oliver wouldn't let him.

Lucy, on the other hand, kept her head held high; after what Fred and George had told her, she felt like nothing could touch her. Like they had said, it was only the House Cup. And, though it would have been nice to beat Slytherin, there was always next year.

So, Lucy, Harry, Ron, and Hermione threw themselves into studying for their exams, which were steadily creeping closer. Ron stood faithfully beside his friends, something which Lucy was grateful for. She knew that if he hadn't been in the hospital wing, he would've been in detention with them, as well.

~LJ:TH~

Then one day, Lucy, Hermione, and Ron were studying for their Astronomy exam when Harry hurried up to them.

"I heard," he panted, "Quirrell—he was in an empty classroom—he sounded like he was giving up. When he came out, he looked like he was going to cry—"

"Snape's done it, then!" Ron exclaimed, earning him a shush from Lucy to keep his voice down. "If Quirrell's told him how to break his anti-Dark spell—"

"There's still Fluffy, though," Hermione reminded them.

"Maybe Snape's found out how to get past him without asking Hagrid," Ron replied, motioning to the bookshelves around them. "I bet there's a book somewhere in here telling you how to get past a giant three-headed dog. So, what do we do, Harry?"

"We shouldn't get involved, Ron," Lucy interrupted. "We've gotten into enough trouble recently as it is. We're not even supposed to know about all of this."

"We should go to Dumbledore," Hermione countered. "That's what we should have done ages ago. If we try anything ourselves, we'll be thrown out for sure."

"But we've got no proof!" Harry sighed. "Quirrell's too scared to back us up. Snape's only got to say he doesn't know how the troll got in on Halloween, and that he was nowhere near the third floor—who do you think they'll believe, him or us? It's not exactly a secret that we hate him. Dumbledore'll think we made it up to get him sacked. And Filch wouldn't help us if his life depended on it. He's too friendly with Snape, and the more students that get thrown out, the better, he'll think. Besides, Lucy right; we're not supposed to know about the stone or Fluffy. That'll take a lot of explaining."

Lucy nodded slowly, and with one glance, she could tell that Hermione was convinced, too.

Ron started, "But if we just do a bit of poking around—"

"No," Harry interrupted firmly, "we've done enough poking around."

Ron opened his mouth to retort, but Lucy elbowed him the ribs. "Face it, Ron, you're outnumbered here," she told him. "Three to one. You can go poking around if you like, but the rest of us are going to sit this one out. We need to concentrate on our exams and not get into any more trouble." She gestured to Harry, who was studying a map of Jupiter.

Ron sighed and pulled his notes to him again, succumbing to his studying.

~LJ:TH~

"Your detention will take place at eleven o'clock tonight. Meet Mr. Filch in the entrance hall," Lucy read aloud from the note she had received.

Harry, Hermione, and Neville had all gotten identical notes. They were sitting in the Great Hall having breakfast with Ron and the Weasley twins.

"Sounds like you're going into the forest," George said lightly in a teasing tone. He poked Lucy in the arm playfully. "Look out! There might be werewolves!"

Lucy giggled, thankful that George and Fred weren't participating in the silent treatment. They had really been helpful in keeping Lucy's spirit up.

"Werewolves?" Neville spoke up in a shaking voice. "Are there really… werewolves?"

"Nah, Neville, I was just messing around," George replied. "Don't worry about it. If you're going into the forest, you'll probably be with Hagrid. You'll be perfectly safe. How many detentions do you reckon we've done in the forest, Fred?"

"'Bout thirty, total," Fred answered easily. "That's a rough estimate, of course."

Neville let out a nervous giggle.

"It's okay to smile, Neville," Lucy said to him. "Times like these show you who your real friends are. Admittedly, it's pretty much our fault that you got in trouble, but it was mighty brave and loyal, what you did. Trying to find us and warn us, I mean." Lucy nudged him gently with the heel of her palm. "And you thought you didn't belong in Gryffindor."

"What do you mean?" Neville asked, looking confused.

"Brave and loyal," Lucy repeated. "Two of the most valued traits of Gryffindor. You have them both."

Neville stayed silent, but Lucy saw him grin to himself when he went back to his breakfast. Then she looked across the table, where Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting. Hermione was beaming.

~LJ:TH~

That night, Lucy led Harry, Hermione, and Neville down to the entrance hall to meet Filch. Malfoy was also with Filch, which surprised Lucy for a moment. She had almost forgotten that Malfoy had gotten detention, as well.

"Follow me," Filch said in a grumpy voice. He lit the lamp he was carrying and took them outside.

"I bet you'll think twice about breaking a school rule again, won't you, eh?" he chatted with an evil smirk. "Oh yes.… Hard work and pain are the best teachers, if you ask me.… 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 got the chains still in my office; keep 'em well-oiled in case they're ever needed.… Right, off we go, and don't think of running off, now. It'll be worse for you if you do."

Neville sniffed, and Harry and Hermione looked worried.

Lucy leaned towards Harry. "I wonder how old he is if he still remembers the old punishments," she breathed into his ear, and the two of them had to fight away sniggers.

As Lucy looked to where they were going, she realized that Fred and George had been right. They were headed directly for Hagrid's hut.

"Is tha' you, Filch? Hurry up; I want ter get started," Hagrid's voice called out from the darkness.

"I suppose you think you'll be enjoying yourself with that oaf?" Filch asked.

Lucy whipped her head around and saw Filch sneering at Harry.

"Well, think again, boy—it's into the forest you're going," Filch sneered, "and I'm much mistaken if you'll all come out in one piece."

Score again for the Weasley twins, Lucy thought to herself.

Neville, meanwhile, let out a soft moan, and Malfoy stopped dead. Lucy almost ran into him.

"The forest?" he asked, his voice unusually high. "We can't go in there at night—there's all sorts of things in there—werewolves, I've heard."

"That's your problem, isn't it?" Filch replied. "Should've thought of them werewolves before you got in trouble, shouldn't you?"

"Oh, don't worry your pretty little head, Malfoy," Lucy said. "We'll be fine." She threw a pointed look at Filch, who was smirking meanly.

Then Hagrid appeared, carrying a crossbow. Fang followed closely behind him.

"Abou' time," Hagrid muttered. "I've bin waitin' fer half an hour already. All righ', Harry, Hermione, Lucy?"

Lucy was the only one who nodded.

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

"Tha's why yer late, is it?" Hagrid shot back. "Bin lecturin' 'em, eh? Not your place ter do tha'. Yeh've done yer bit. I'll take over from 'ere."

"I'll be back at dawn," Filch said, pausing before adding, "for what's left of them." Then he turned and started back up to the castle, leaving the five students grouped around Hagrid.

"I'm not going in that forest," Malfoy stated, sounding afraid.

"Yeh will if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts," Hagrid replied hotly. "Yeh've done wrong, an' now yeh've got ter pay fer it."

Lucy couldn't help rolling her eyes; the only reason any of them were in trouble was because of him and Norbert.

"But this is servant stuff. It's not for students to do," Malfoy whined. "I thought we'd be copying lines or something. If my father knew I was doing this, he'd—"

"Tell yeh tha's how it is at Hogwarts," Hagrid finished for him. "Copyin' lines! Wha' good's tha' 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!"

Malfoy didn't move, but he glared at Hagrid for a moment longer.

"Righ' then," Hagrid continued. "Now, listen carefully, 'cause it's dangerous what we're gonna do tonight. I don' want no one takin' risks. Come over here a moment." He gestured for them to follow him.

Lucy hurried to walk next to Hermione and hissed, "Doesn't he realize that we're in trouble because of his stupid dragon? Why is he acting like we did something so terrible when really we were helping him to stay out of trouble?"

"I don't know, Lucy," Hermione sighed. "We could have just left it alone and let him deal with the trouble himself.…"

"Friends don't do that," Lucy breathed as Hagrid slowed to a stop.

They were at the edge of the forest. Hagrid held his lamp up and pointed to a path that disappeared into the trees.

"Look there," Hagrid said. "See tha' stuff shinin' on the ground? Silvery stuff? Tha's unicorn blood. There's a unicorn in there bin hurt bad by summat. This is the second time in a week. I found one dead las' Wednesday."

Hermione let out a little gasp next to Lucy.

"We're gonna try an' find the poor thing," Hagrid went on. "We migh' have ter put it out of its misery."

It was Neville's turn to whimper.

"What if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?" Malfoy asked, his voice definitely scared.

"There's nothin' tha' lives in the forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang," Hagrid replied absently. "Keep ter the path. Righ', now, we're gonna split inter two parties an' follow the trail in diff'rent directions. There's blood all over the place. It must've bin staggerin' around since las' nigh' at least."

"I want Fang," Malfoy called immediately.

Lucy snorted out a giggle.

"All righ', but I warn yeh: he's a coward," Hagrid answered. "So, me, Harry, Hermione, and Lucy'll go one way, an' Draco, Neville, an' Fang'll go the other. Now, if any of us finds the unicorn, we'll send up green sparks, righ'? Get yer wands out an' practice now—tha's it—an' if anyone gets in trouble, send up red sparks, an' we'll all come an' find yeh—so, be careful—let's go."

Lucy watched warily as Neville went with Malfoy and Fang down one side of the path before turning and following Hagrid.

~LJ:TH~

Harry and Hermione were silent as they trudged on, but Lucy couldn't stand the quiet. She desperately wanted to tell Hagrid what she thought about the situation—that it was basically his fault that they were all there in the first place—but decided against it. Instead, she turned to Hermione.

"Quiz me," Lucy said. Hermione looked at her, bewildered, and Lucy repeated, "Quiz me on something. Might as well use the time to our advantage."

So, the girls did, whispering to each other as Hagrid and Harry walked on in front of them.

Suddenly, Harry gasped. Lucy and Hermione froze. They saw him pointing to a pool of silver blood on the ground about a foot in front of them.

"Could a werewolf be killing the unicorns?" Harry asked Hagrid nervously.

"Not fas' enough," Hagrid replied with a shake of his head. "It's not easy ter catch a unicorn. They're powerful magical creatures. I never knew one yet ter be hurt before."

As they continued walking, Hermione stopped talking, looking slightly nauseous.

"So, there are werewolves out here?" Lucy asked, more curious than scared.

"Sometimes," Hagrid replied. "There are groups o' werewolves tha' live together, but there aren' any o' those 'round here. Mos'ly nomads, if any."

They continued a bit further, and Hagrid added, "Yeh all righ', Hermione? Don' worry; it can't've gone far if it's this badly hurt, an' then we'll be able ter—GET BEHIND THA' TREE!"

He hurriedly pushed the three of them behind a huge tree just off the path. In the same motion, he pulled an arrow out of the pack on his back, put it in his crossbow, and raised it to eye level. The four of them listened hard. Lucy swore she heard the swish of a cloak being pulled through the grass.

"I knew it," Hagrid muttered when the sound had passed. "There's summat in here tha' shouldn' be."

"A werewolf?" Harry asked.

"Tha' was no werewolf, an' it was no unicorn, neither," Hagrid replied, keeping his voice low. "Righ', follow me but careful, now."

They moved on further, nobody making a sound.

Then Lucy thought she heard something ahead of them, so she froze and whispered hoarsely, "Hagrid!" The rest of them stopped, as well.

"Who's there?" Hagrid called out, holding his crossbow at the ready again. "Show yerself—I'm armed!"

A creature stepped out into the clearing in front of them, and Lucy recognized it as a centaur. She gasped quietly; she'd never seen a centaur in real life before. He had a chestnut body and a reddish-brown tail. Lucy glanced over to see Harry and Hermione with their jaws dropped.

"Oh, it's you, Ronan," Hagrid said. "How are yeh?" He took a few steps forward and held out his hand to shake Ronan's.

"Good evening to you, Hagrid," Ronan said in a deep, even voice. "Were you going to shoot me?"

"Can't be too careful, Ronan," Hagrid answered. He still held his crossbow tightly in his hands, although it was no longer pointed directly at the centaur. "There's summat bad loose in this forest. This is Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, an' Lucy Jones, by the way. Students up at the school. This is Ronan, you three. He's a centaur."

"We noticed," Hermione said in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Good evening," Ronan said. "Students, are you? Do you learn much up at the school?"

"Erm," Harry said, not knowing how to answer.

"A bit," Hermione supplied.

"A bit. Well, that's something," Ronan murmured. He tilted his head back and looked up at the sky. "Mars is bright tonight."

"Yeah," Hagrid agreed, glancing at the sky, as well. "Listen, I'm glad we've run inter yeh, Ronan, 'cause there's a unicorn bin hurt—you seen anythin'?"

Ronan remained silent for a moment. "Always the innocent are the first victims," he finally spoke up. "So it has been for ages past; so it is now."

"Yeah, but have yeh seen anythin', Ronan?" Hagrid repeated. "Anythin' unusual?"

"Mars is bright tonight," Ronan simply said, as though it should be obvious what he meant. "Unusually bright."

Lucy snorted.

Hagrid was getting impatient. "Yeah, but I was meanin' anythin' unusual a bit nearer home," he explained. "So, yeh haven't noticed anythin' strange?"

Ronan again took his time to provide an answer. "The forest hides many secrets," he eventually said.

Lucy rolled her eyes. Harry and Hermione remained silent next to her.

Then there was more movement in the trees behind Ronan. Hagrid lifted his crossbow in defense, but it turned out to be another centaur. This one had both black hair and a black body, and his face looked angry.

"Hullo, Bane," Hagrid greeted. "All righ'?"

"Good evening, Hagrid. I hope you are well?" Bane answered in a brisk tone.

"Well enough," Hagrid replied. "Look, I've jus' bin askin' Ronan: you seen anythin' odd in here lately? There's a unicorn bin injured—would yeh know anythin' abou' it?"

Bane slowly made his way to stand next to Ronan, and he looked up into the sky. "Mars is bright tonight," was all he had to say.

"We've heard," Hagrid replied in an annoyed voice. "Well, if either of yeh do see anythin', let me know, won't yeh? We'll be off, then."

Hagrid led the three students out of the clearing. Harry and Hermione kept looking back over their shoulders at the centaurs.

Lucy, on the other hand, huffed. "Well, that was helpful," she muttered sarcastically. "Seriously, do they ever just give an answer when they're asked a question? And I mean a direct answer—not any of that poetic stuff they were spouting."

"Never," Hagrid started, "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 in here?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, a fair few," Hagrid answered thoughtfully. "Keep themselves ter themselves mos'ly, but they're good enough abou' turnin' up if ever I wan' a word. They're deep, mind, centaurs."

Lucy snorted again. "Sounded like gibberish to me," she replied darkly.

"No, they know things," Hagrid argued. "They jus' don' let on much."

"D'you think that was a centaur we heard earlier?" Harry asked.

"Did tha' sound like hooves ter you?" Hagrid countered. "Nah, if yeh ask me, tha' was wha's bin killin' the unicorns—never heard anythin' like it before."

~LJ:TH~

They again continued on in silence.

Lucy was still annoyed about the centaurs' lack of response to Hagrid's questions. She also noticed that Harry kept glancing over his shoulder. "Harry, it's okay," Lucy murmured to him, putting a hand on his shoulder for a brief moment. "Hagrid has his crossbow. He'll protect us."

Harry nodded silently.

Suddenly, Hermione let out a squeak. "Hagrid! Look!" she gasped. "Red sparks! The others are in trouble!"

"You three wait here!" Hagrid shouted, already hurrying away from them. "Stay on the path! I'll come back fer yeh!"

The three Gryffindors stood together in the middle of the trail. Lucy was feeling a bit nervous now that Hagrid had left them alone and that there was a possibility that Neville or Fang was in trouble.

Hermione twisted her fingers together. "You don't think they've been hurt, do you?" she asked, her voice tiny.

"I don't care if Malfoy has, but if something's got Neville—it's our fault he's here in the first place," Harry replied, staring in the direction where Hagrid had disappeared to.

"I'm sure they're all right," Lucy breathed. "Honestly, this place really isn't as scary as I thought it was going to be," she added, trying to be braver than she felt. Harry and Hermione looked at her in disbelief, and she shrugged. It was true; maybe it was because the only creatures they had met so far were the centaurs.

After that, the three of them stood in silence, waiting anxiously for Hagrid's return.

It wasn't too long before they heard steady footfalls coming towards them. Hagrid appeared, looking very angry and leading Malfoy, Neville, and Fang with him. He explained in a harsh voice that Malfoy had jumped on Neville from behind, startling Neville and causing him to send up the red sparks.

"Merlin, you are such a bully, Malfoy!" Lucy spat at him, balling her hands into fists, and Neville gave her a grateful look.

"Lucy," Hagrid said in warning, although he still looked upset. Then he turned to the rest of them and continued, "We'll be lucky ter catch anythin' now with the racket you two were makin'. Righ', we're changin' groups—Neville, you stay with me, Hermione, an' Lucy. Harry, yeh go with Fang an' this idiot." Hagrid leaned down and whispered something to Harry.

Lucy glared at Malfoy, who smirked back.

"All righ', let's get goin'," Hagrid announced.

Malfoy immediately turned around and headed back in the direction he had come from. Harry and Fang followed him.

"Harry," Lucy called before he got too far away, and Harry turned back. "Curse him for me if he gets to be too much, okay?" Lucy requested darkly.

Harry laughed and waved her off, continuing away from them.

Hagrid took the lead again, and Lucy, Hermione, and Neville followed behind.

"Are you all right, Neville?" Hermione asked quietly.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Neville replied. "Malfoy was just being a bully."

Hagrid hushed them as he led them further down the path, saying, "We're gettin' inter a darker part o' the forest. Need ter be more careful now."

~LJ:TH~

Half an hour later, they were still walking through the forest. Lucy felt dead on her feet, and all her joints were stiff. There had been no sign of an injured unicorn or any creature that didn't belong in the forest. Hagrid was still leading the way, and Hermione was following him closely. Lucy followed her, and Neville was in back, dragging his feet.

Lucy paused, so that he could catch up with her. "Neville, come on," she murmured. "We have to stay close to Hagrid."

Neville nodded and yawned at the same time. Lucy looped her arm around one of his and pulled him closer to Hermione and Hagrid.

"Hagrid, how much longer are we going to be out here?" Hermione asked, her voice sounding exhausted.

"I'm not sure," Hagrid admitted. "We'll give it a while longer, I s'ppose.…"

Lucy, Neville, and Hermione all sighed heavily as they continued to tramp through the undergrowth.

Then suddenly, Hermione froze, and Lucy and Neville walked headlong into her.

"'Mione," Lucy grumbled, "please give us a warning next time, yeah?"

All Hermione said in returned was, "Sh!"

Lucy frowned but didn't say another word.

"Can you hear that?" Hermione asked after a moment.

Lucy listened harder, and then she heard it. It was the sound of hooves.

"Is it a unicorn?" Neville asked in a small voice.

"Maybe it's another centaur," Lucy put in.

The three students huddled together on the path, straining their ears.

"Oy!" Hagrid called. He hadn't noticed that the others had stopped until that moment. "We've got ter stay together, now."

Just as he was finishing his sentence, they heard the yelp of Fang, who was thundering down the path toward his master. Malfoy was right behind him, his face tinged pink, and he looked quite out of breath. He came to a stop in front of the others and bent over, his hands on his knees.

"Malfoy?" Lucy asked, startled. "Where's Harry?"

"I—don't—know," Malfoy spat in between gasps.

"You know, you should really stand up straight and put your hands over your head," Lucy added coldly. Then she turned to Hagrid and said, "We need to find Harry. Now."

"Wait, listen!" Hermione insisted.

Again, they could hear hooves from somewhere nearby. They all looked down the pathway they had come from and noticed that there was indeed a centaur cantering towards them. As he got closer, they could see someone riding on its back.

"Harry! Harry, are you all right?" Hermione cried.

Sure enough, Harry was on the centaur's back. "I'm fine," he replied, looking slightly dazed. "The unicorn's dead, Hagrid. It's in that clearing back there." He hitched a thumb over his shoulder.

Hagrid hurried to check the unicorn, telling the others to stay put. The centaur was muttering something to Harry as Lucy, Hermione, and Neville rushed over. Harry slid down from the centaur's back.

"Good luck, Harry Potter," the centaur said. "The planets have been read wrongly before now, even by centaurs. I hope this is one of those times." It turned and made its way back through the trees.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Lucy asked in a low voice to Harry.

Harry looked at her, his eyes slightly widened. "I'll tell you back in the common room," he murmured back, so quietly that she barely heard him.

Lucy nodded.

~LJ:TH~

When the four Gryffindors had plodded back up to their tower, they found Ron asleep in the common room. Neville bid them good night at once and disappeared up the boys' staircase. Harry leaned down and grabbed Ron's arm, shaking him.

Ron startled awake, shouting sleepily, "Quaffle—foul—!"

Lucy shushed him and urged Harry to tell them what happened in the forest. Harry stood in front of the fire, pacing and talking, while Lucy and Hermione took seats on the couch next to Ron.

"Snape wants the stone for Voldemort—and Voldemort's waiting in the forest—and all this time we thought Snape just want to get rich—"

"Stop saying the name!" Ron whispered hoarsely, looking terrified.

Harry didn't pay him any attention and continued pacing and speaking. "Firenze saved me, but he shouldn't have done so—Bane was furious—he was talking about interfering with what the planets say is going to happen.… They must show that Voldemort's coming back—Bane thinks Firenze should have let Voldemort kill me—I suppose that's written in the stars, as well."

"Will you stop saying the name!" Ron insisted.

"So, all I've got to do 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," Harry finished. He fell into an armchair, looking wiped out.

"Harry, what you're saying sounds like complete centaur poetic crap," Lucy stepped in. "Written in the stars? Please. And who cares what Bane thinks, anyway?"

Harry didn't look very convinced.

"Harry," Hermione stepped in, her voice soothing, "everyone says Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was ever afraid of. With Dumbledore around, You-Know-Who won't touch you. Anyway, who says the centaurs are right? I agree with Lucy. It sounds like fortune-telling to me, and Professor McGonagall says that's a very imprecise branch of magic."

"Yeah, because it's mostly guessing," Lucy grumbled.

The four of them sat in silence for a while before Hermione quietly pointed out that the sun was already starting to rise and that they should try and get some sleep. The girls bid the boys good night, and they took their respectful staircases to their dormitories.

Gratefully, Lucy flopped onto her four-poster bed without bothering to change into pajamas. She barely took notice of Evie curling up next to her before she was falling asleep.

~LJ:TH~

A/N: Like George, Neville is going to play an important role in Lucy's life, as well. I wanted to try and establish their friendship early on. Again, before you get your hopes up: this is not a Lucy/Neville story, either. They're just very good friends.

Also, just a side note, but I find it amusing that Lucy is so frustrated with the centaurs. "Mars is bright tonight." Yeah, thanks, mate; that's really helpful. Ha.