Frisk knew she'd gone too far, but she didn't care. The other students were all staring at her. But that was nothing compared to Professor Moody's reaction. He was shaking in rage, and both of his eyes were locked onto Frisk. "You have no idea what I've been through, what I've faced, Ms. Dreemurr," he said, and his face was more screwed up than before. "You will have a detention to think about what you said to me."
Frisk looked up at Moody, her face rebellious, and wiped her eyes. She said nothing as they locked gazes. Then he turned away, addressing the rest of the class. "And you need to know. So get parchment and your quill, and copy this down."
Frisk tried to focus on what the professor was saying. But her attention kept getting pulled back to the spider, still lying on the professor's desk, not so much as twitching. Her classmates were seemingly oblivious, all enraptured by the professors words.
When the bell rang, ending the lesson, Frisk remained seated, looking up at the professor. Moody stood near the teacher's desk, his scarred face focusing on him with his normal eye, while the magical eye watched as the other students left. "You may go, Frisk," he said finally. "I shall arrange your detention with your head of house," he laughed, a dog-like barking noise. "She does not necessarily agree with my 'Teaching' methods."
Frisk shivered. She'd heard what happened to Draco Malfoy. Even if he had attacked Harry Potter in the open corridor, Professor Moody's punishments still seemed a bit excessive. "Go on, clear off," she was told, and Frisk fled.
Wendy was waiting for her when she left, falling into step next to her. "You alright, Frisk?" she asked. "He really gave you detention after how hard you took that?"
Frisk shut her eyes tightly, not wanting to relive that moment. Frisk felt Wendy's hand on her arm, and took a steadying breath. "I guess," Frisk said. "He said he was going to talk it over Professor McGonagall."
"I think you'll be okay. I can't imagine the professor being too hard on you," Wendy said.
"I hope not," Frisk said, trying to smile back at Wendy. "Thanks for being there." And they headed towards the tower, to put their things away before dinner.
It did not, naturally, take long for the rumor that Frisk had called a professor a killer to circle the school, she could hear it being discussed at dinner. The older students of her house gave her quizzical looks, but didn't bother her. Even the Slytherins seemed to be somewhat sympathetic, or perhaps they didn't know what to think about Moody either.
Her siblings, on the other hand, wanted to hear all about it. Frisk had to relive it. "He's going to put you under the imperius curse?" Chara asked. "I guess it's better to see what it's like now, then what happened to me. He said you could resist it? I wonder if that's something you can learn. Do you think we're going to get that lesson?" she asked Asriel.
"I don't know," Asriel said. "I hope not, I don't want to see anything like that."
The other person that really took note was Neville. "Are you alright, Frisk?" he asked, sitting down across from her in the common room that night. Frisk looked up from her charms essay. Chara and Asriel looked up as well. "He showed us the unforgivable curses in our first lesson."
There was a strange note in his voice that caused Frisk to pay attention. "I think so, Neville," Frisk said. "I'm going to remember it for a long time, but I'm going to be okay."
"That's good," he said. He looked at Asriel and Frisk, look like he was deciding what to say next. Finally he blurted out, "Have you seen something like that before?"
They all blinked up at him. Frisk shook her head. "No, I haven't. Never."
"But you, you reacted so strongly, I thought you must," Neville said, stumbling over the words. He gave a quick fake grin, "well, never mind then." He got up and hurried away. Frisk saw him drop into an armchair, into the comfort of a book.
It wasn't until a few minutes later that Frisk made the connection with the day Neville received the howler. "He has, hasn't he?" she asked quietly.
"He has what?" asked Asriel, who was scribbling words down for Professor Snape.
"Neville," Frisk said. "He's seen someone attacked by one of the unforgivable curses," her voice dropped even lower, into a whisper. "His parents."
"Probably," Chara said, matching Frisk's low voice. "I remember when we invited him and his grandmother over for dinner. Mom and Dad wouldn't ask about them, though something must have happened. The one time we got close, Neville looked frightened."
"Which do you think it was?" Asriel asked.
"I don't know," Frisk said, "and I'm not sure I want to. He doesn't talk about it."
They talked about it a bit longer before digressing back to their separate homework assignments.
After Transfiguration the next day, Professor McGonagall held Frisk back after class. Unlike the few times this happened last year, this time Frisk knew exactly what was going on. Paradoxically, knowing she was in trouble, and knowing what for, made it less nerve wracking. When the last other student had left, McGonagall caused the door to click shut with a wave of her wand.
She sat back down at her desk, turned to Frisk, and gave a rather audible sigh. Frisk forced a wide smile that didn't fool her professor in the slightest. "Frisk," she began. "Did you really call Professor Moody a murderer? Don't answer that. The better question is why?"
"There's a monster, Muffet. Maybe you've heard of her? Sans said she was going to open a bakery on Diagon Alley," Frisk started. But McGonagall shook her head negatively. "She's like a mother to the spiders from the underground," Frisk said. "She got so mad when she thought I squished spiders for fun," Frisk said, remembering the conflict in the spider corridor. "But she's actually a pretty nice person. I was thinking of her, and how that spider wanted just to survive, like it knew what was coming. And he just destroyed it."
McGonagall looked at her evenly, and didn't say anything for a few seconds. "I think you're attributing human feelings to things that aren't human."
"They're not just human feelings," Frisk muttered. "And you weren't there."
"Fair points," she admitted. "But not everything thinks like humans, or monsters. And the lesson had been personally approved by Headmaster Dumbledore. So, I want you to realize that you went too far in accusing professor Moody."
Frisk didn't want to believe it. How could the headmaster have approved something like that?
The professor must have been able to read her face. "In his opinion, it is something you need to know. Being able to be in control and show lessons like this was why Professor Moody was hired for this term in the first place. Though I think you may have been a bit too young," she told Frisk. "With all that said, it was the heat of the moment, and I understand what you were thinking, Frisk. Professor Moody also went too far. That deserved sympathy, not a detention. But it's gotten around school, and now we're stuck."
"Stuck, professor?"
"I'd prefer to cancel your detention, but Moody's still a new teacher, and I don't wish to undermine his authority within the school. At first, I was inclined to simply give you a study hall in my office. But Professor Hagrid has asked if you might be available to ask him with a project," McGonagall looked at Frisk speculatively and gave just a hint of a smile. "I told him you would be. This Friday, you will meet him in the entrance hall at seven PM. You will be going into the Forbidden Forest with him. You will most likely want a cloak. Do you understand?"
Frisk hadn't heard much about the Forbidden Forest, other than it was one of the proscribed areas Dumbledore had mentioned at the beginning of each year. "I do, professor," she said.
"And," McGonagall added. "I want to hear you apologized to Professor Moody, at least privately. I expect I will hear, from you, that he has apologized as well. Am I clear?"
Frisk felt mutinous, but judging by McGonagall's determined face, she wasn't going to accept 'No' as an answer. "Yes, professor," she said, breaking eye contact to look at the floor.
"Very well, Frisk, you may go."
Frisk picked up her bag, and headed out the door. At dinner that night, Frisk gave the update to her friends and siblings. Chara and Asriel looked at each other for a moment. Asriel opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Ginny.
"Really?" Ginny asked. "The Forbidden Forest? I think... hey, Neville!" she called down to the older boy, who was just coming into the hall. He sat down next to them. "Didn't you have to go in the forest once?"
Neville shivered as he reached out to grab a plate. "Yeah, my first year. With Harry, Hermione, and Draco. We were assaulted by some centaurs. But it's probably safe enough if you're with Hagrid. I know Harry trusts him loads."
"What else is in the forest?" Chara asked. "Hippogriffs?"
"Maybe?" Ginny said. "Professor Hagrid has taught us about some of the things we'd find, bowtruckles, knarls, and the like."
"Then there's blast ended skrewts," Neville said, sighing. "I'm not sure what Hagrid is planning with them."
"Is that what those things are?" Ginny asked. "He said something about them being a project for his fourth years. They look ghastly."
The conversation about magical creatures continued through the end of dinner.
She had a second class of Defense on Friday. So she had the entire class to try to work up the determination to apologize to Professor Moody. At least the class itself didn't press the issue further. After the excitement of the previous class, he had them practicing the disarming charm again. Frisk was getting better at it, and after what she had seen in the previous class, felt motivated to improve more quickly.
Frisk stayed in her seat when the bell rang. Moody looked at her, and his face twisted into a smile. She was about to start to apologize, when he held up a gnarled hand. "I know what McGonagall told you," he gave a short, barking laugh. "You don't need to apologize. You don't know what it's like to be on the front lines." Both his normal and magical eye focused on Frisk. "You know how you felt when you saw the Avada Kadavra curse? Now imagine you saw the dark mark over a friend's house, and you knew that curse had been used on someone inside."
Frisk stared up at him, uncomprehendingly. Who would do such a thing?
"Or, worse, someone aiming that curse at a friend. You need to know," Moody told her. "And you get a better appreciation of that if you see it happen."
"Has that happened to you, seeing someone else killed?" Frisk asked. She felt herself beginning to concentrate. What could seeing things like do to one's soul?
"None of that," Moody said forcibly, breaking her focus. "Dumbledore told me about monster soul magic, and I will not allow magic that I do not understand to be used on me." He reached down to take his hip flask, lifted it to his lips, and took a swallow. "But yes. I have seen them used. All three of them." He put his flask back on his belt. "Do we understand each other now?" he asked.
Frisk thought so, at least as much as she understood that she would probably never understand what he went through. "I think so. And, you said I didn't need to. But I apologize."
"Hmph," snorted Moody. "I think you're not in for much of a detention anyway. I heard what Hagrid is having you do, and you should be fine. Off you go," and with that non-apology, Frisk left.
That evening, after dinner, Frisk went up to the dormitory to retrieve her cloak and put away her books. When she arrived back in the entrance hall, she was surprised to find that it wasn't Hagrid waiting for her, but Asriel and Chara. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "This is my detention, not yours."
"We weren't going to let you do this alone," Chara told her, her hands in her cloak pockets. "You didn't deserve it, McGonagall said as much."
The large doors opened behind her, and Professor Hagrid looked at the three children. "Frisk Dreemurr... there you are, and who are these?"
"Howdy! I'm Asriel Dreemurr, and that's our sister Chara. We're going with her," Asriel told him.
To Frisk's astonishment, Hagrid didn't object. He looked at Chara first. "Yeh like animals?" he asked. Chara nodded. "Awright, it might be helpful to have a second pair of hands. And I guess I can't take one without taking both of you. So come on then."
Frisk followed Hagrid out of the castle, and down towards his cabin. "Need to get some things first." Some things included Fang, his large boar hound. A lantern, some bags full of... something, and a large crossbow.
"You're not going to need that, are you?" Frisk asked, as he cranked it down to drop a bolt inside. To the side, Fang was busily introducing himself to Asriel, including trying to jump up and clean his face. Asriel, giggling, held Fang back.
"Yeh never know. There's a lot of things that live in the forest," Hagrid explained, putting on the catch, "Not all of them are friendly. And where we're going, it's better to be safe than sorry. "And we're off."
Once past the treeline proper, the Forbidden Forest was an untamed, dark place. The nearly set sun barely penetrated the trees, casting long shadows. The shadows, in turn, were disturbed by Hagrid's lantern, causing weird patterns of light and darkness. The leaves had started to fall, and the crunch of their shoes through them echoed somewhat disturbingly. "Where are we going, Hagrid?" Frisk asked.
"Don't want to spoil the surprise. It may not be the most exciting thing in the forest, but I know how..."
A nightmarish scream echoed through the forest from somewhere in front of them, and Frisk felt her blood run cold. There was something about the inhuman fury that scream held that nearly paralyzed her. Chara looked up, her eyes wide, "That's, that has to be!" and ran. Not away from the sound, but towards it.
"I haven't heard that in three years," Hagrid said, "Wait, Chara!" Hagrid called, and hurried after her. Frisk and Asriel recollected themselves, and simply tried to keep up. They knew, beyond any doubt, when they had arrived.
It was in a small clearing, the first stars poking through the cloud cover. Chara was kneeling down next to what, at first, looked like a pure white horse, lying on the ground. Then Frisk realized it had golden hooves, and her eyes traveled up the body. Asriel grabbed her by the arm. "That's a unicorn!"
"I don't think it's injured," Chara reported. "I thought, when I heard it scream, something had attacked it." She looked up at the sound of hooves. "That must be the stallion." And Frisk could see it, another large unicorn pacing through the trees toward them. He was staring at Chara, but relaxed, at least a little, when he saw Hagrid.
"She's been sick. They're a bit too full of nerves when I try to give them medicine, so I thought you girls could help me. Wait, stallion?" Hagrid asked, suddenly alarmed. "Where's the foal?"
"Foal?" Frisk repeated. The meaning of the scream was suddenly apparent.
"Spread out, search for it!" Hagrid commanded, looking around in the direction of the stallion. "Yell if you find something,"
"I'll stay here with her," Asriel told them. "Just in case something comes back!"
"Lumos!" said Chara and Frisk together, lighting their wands. They spread out, in wider arcs, searching for any sign of the missing foal. Chara found something first, calling out in alarm. Frisk hurried over to her, as she began to stumble through the overgrowth. Her wand was illuminating red drops of blood on the ground, and she was following them.
They did not, directly, find the unicorn. Instead, they found a creature that resembled a large black cat with two tentacles that whipped around its head. It was menacing the foal, trapped between a large rock and tree, forming a corner in the undergrowth. One of the tentacles had been pierced by a sharp object, and blood was dripping from it, only to vanish before hitting the ground.
"Hey!" yelled Chara. The feline turned its head briefly to stare at them, and then looked back at the foal. "Stop!" But the creature ignored her, taking a swipe towards the foal, who pressed itself into the crevice, bleating piteously. Chara stooped, taking a stone from the ground, and slung it at the beast, trying to distract it. But it passed right through the creature. "What?" Chara asked.
Frisk stepped closer to get a better look at the beast. There was something about it that was bothering her. It looked almost too small for its paws, and its structure gave Frisk the distinct feeling that it had been bigger once. "You're starving!" Frisk realized. Did she have any kind of food on her at all? "Chara, we need to get its attention!"
"I tried once, wait," Chara said. "Where's that blood coming from?" she asked, pointing to a few paces in front of them. At the end of the blood trail, blood was dripping onto to the ground, apparently from nowhere. She picked up a second rock, and slung it again, this time at the dripping blood. The rock collided with the thin air. This got the creatures attention, it turned to them with a snarl.
Frisk stepped in front, kneeling down, and holding out her hands. "I don't know what you are. But I know you're hungry. If you can wait, just a few hours, we'll get something from the castle for you. I promise! You don't have to take a child!"
It looked between Frisk and Chara, and then, hearing something crashing through the trees, fled.
"Did yeh find it?" Hagrid asked, turning his crossbow to scan the area. "Oh, thank goodness. What happened?"
Chara told the story as Frisk coaxed the golden furred foal from its hiding spot. "A Coerus? I haven't seen one of those in a long time. We better get that thing back to its mother. Let's go." It was too big for either Asriel or Frisk to lift, either with strength or with magic, so it took them several minutes to get it back to the clearing where the mother was waiting.
Asriel was sitting there, whispering quietly and reassuringly to the unicorn. The foal nickered softly, then approached the female and lay down next to it. "You found it," he said. "Oh, good. I was nervous when I heard Chara yell."
"All's well, I guess. How did yeh know that was a unicorn?" Hagrid asked.
"More chilling than a dragon's roar is a unicorn's scream," Chara quoted, "when a protector of life must deal death, her rage is terrible to see."
"I'm impressed," Hagrid said.
"I'm not," said a voice from behind them. Frisk turned around. Surrounding them were what Frisk thought first were mounted riders, but then realized were centaurs. The lead one, with wild black hair, and the lower body of a black bodied horse had a bow, pointing an arrow directly at Chara. "We warned you about coming into our forest." But his quiet anger turned to shock.
"Howdy," Asriel said, stepping in front of Chara. "Please don't point that at my sister."
