- - Harry speaking
AN: Unbeta'd. Ignore the mess. If there is one (hopefully not!)
Can We Find What We Are Missing?
Time takes its toll on us (this changes everything).
I'd be a liar if I denied you at all.
Oh, now that I know,
This changes everything.
And the amplifier screams out loud for the last time.
Wave your hands at the audience as you sink on in.
First chance to hide, you need desperately so, find me, so.
-"The Great Golden Baby" by Circa Survive
--::--
Harry stopped.
He had been running for hours it seemed, long since he had become lost in the dank heart of the forest. Instinct had been guiding him like a beacon to the magical pull of Hogwarts but each step only seemed to push him further away. The castle itself must have been repelling Harry's desperate drive for safety.
Days were passing him by, and still he ran.
Each time he chose to stop, to wait it out, they found him. Death Eaters wrapped in dark robes and masked by skulls. He had noticed they weren't trying to kill him. Somewhere in the chaotic scramble of shouts and hooves and danger, they were ordered to disable. Even after bowling through a throng of the monsters, no dangerous hexes were cast. Harry wondered how long it would be before his magical immunity to the stunners wore off, and they started having an effect. Already he could feel the sluggish drag of multiple stupefy's.
Not even a unicorn can withstand magic Harry mused, stepping delicately through the brush. It had not taken long for him to adjust to the heftier but lithe body of the unicorn. Four legs had been a challenge, especially when he had been bombarded by the first wave of Death Eaters. That was a messy affair.
Flicking his tail in annoyance, it ripped free of the thorny bush. The one clear sign that he was even headed in remotely the correct direction was the increasing Acromantula webs appearing. Twice he had had to free his horn, which protruded a good two feet from his forehead.
It was a weightless hazard.
Harry, dipping past a particular vicious looking web, slipped stealthily through the woods. The last ambush had been over an hour ago and the extended silence seemed worse. It screamed danger more strongly than the attacks had ever.
Snorting, Harry splashed through oddly colored water.
He knew, acutely, that had Voldemort chosen any other form for him, he would be dead. Obviously the snaky man had misjudged the true immortal abilities of possessing and controlling a unicorn body.
The other option?
Voldemort knew too well the effects, and it was the precise reason he had chosen it for Harry. Who was coincidentally his enemy. Who coincidentally now lived in a body with some of the most magical blood properties in existence.
Considering his infamous luck, Harry guessed it was the latter.
A twig snapped in the distance.
-That was just cliché enough to worry me- Harry said nervously, tensing. His ears scanned the woods, finding nothing out of ordinary. Yet the trees were quieter, and the wind itself had stopped blowing. No animals rustled in the depths of the Forbidden Forest.
If there was a creature scary enough to scare the Forest, Harry wanted no part of it.
Shoulders rigid, he turned to move on again but froze in alarm. Sometime in his walking he had forgotten to keep to the thickets. He had literally backed himself up against the edge of a clearing, no less than the length of a Quidditch pitch. A river flanked one side, and the other was in the direction of the snapping twig. He had no choice. Scattered thorn bushes and impossibly dense shrub lined the trees surrounding the clearing. It was a perfect place for an ambush, perfect enough that the Death Eaters may have herded him to it.
Going across would be dangerous. Deadly. Out in the open, there would no cover, no retreat. Precious minutes would pass before he could reach shelter. His only defense was the horn on his head, and Harry wasn't about to go stabbing people.
Survival. Reaching Hogwarts and Draco. That was the most important thing at the moment. If he made it-when he made it-Dumbledore could change him back. Until that time, tackling the majority of evil in the Forbidden Forest.
Moody's, 'Constant vigilance' rippled through his mind.
-Merlin, where did my Gryffindor courage go?- Harry wondered dryly, and decided. The sooner he continued on, the sooner he reached his destination.
Stepping forward on silent hooves, Harry moved in the clearing. His ears swung about crazily on his head, and every scrunch of the grass made him start. Head lowered, eyes scanning the tree line, he walked with cautious urgency to the looming darkness. Moonlight bathed his form with silvery movement. Not a creature stirred, subdued by some outside being. Clouds drifted over the sky, blotting the stars before traveling on languidly.
Alarms whined in his head. He was so close he could almost taste salvation. Another twig snapped, this time sounding oh-so deliberate. Harry snorted and stopped walking, one leg lifted.
Something else he had quickly grasped about the unicorn mind and body. It was glued firmly in the fight or flight reflex, more than likely choosing to fly. Once instinct took over, Harry was a 'backseat driver'.
He inhaled.
The sharp, pungent smell of cat reached his nostrils, sending him into a fit. Every muscle tensed and he swung his head angrily, putting his back away from the predator. The metallic taste of blood lay thick in his mouth, permeating the air.
Golden eyes observed him hungrily from the dark, stilled. One lazy paw extended out into the moonlight. As the lanky panther approached, a fainter reek came to Harry.
As a wizard, he would not have recognized the waft of human woman. As a unicorn, he remembered everything about that night, and what she caused.
bellatrixpanthereatkillrunblackcomingfleebadbadbadbad
Harry recoiled, neck straining high. His thoughts ran together fluidly until he no longer processed normal speech. He stopped thinking. The ageless demand of survival gushed through his veins, adrenaline seizing his heartbeat and sending it tripping in to a race.
bellatrix
The panther licked its lips, fangs glinting sadistically.
Harry screamed a challenge, rearing on hind legs as the cat rushed in. Clumsily, he dropped to all four hooves, claws passing over his back safely before bolting. Sending a hoof flying where she landed, he clipped her on the side of the jaw. The cat spat, knocked off its paws and tumbling in a daze.
Bolting, he ran wildly, clinging to the last human desire he had known. Reaching Hogwarts, reaching Draco. A furious roar resounded throughout the woods, scattering sleeping birds to a starry sky. Coaxing more speed to compensate the terror, Harry galloped, jumping a fallen tree effortlessly. A limb above rattled, sending jet of leaves sailing to the forest floor.
In his panic, he had nearly forgotten to pay attention to his hunter. The cat, having sensed the jump, positioned herself in the treetops. Mid leap, she landed heavily on the prey's back, both going down in a terrible crash. The breath was knocked out of Harry, claws gouging threatening lines down his side. Silver blood splattered across the ground. Slick mud offered no purchase as he grappled to free himself.
Rolling, Harry dislodged the cat and rose. Ever elegant, the panther swung in a tight circle, barring bloody fangs in a crouch. The time for running was over. He doubted he could even walk as violent pain throbbed up the length of his back leg. This he hid from the cat, not wanting it to have any more of an advantage. Lowering his head, Harry branded the translucent horn like a spear.
Blood cascaded down his side, pooling around his hooves.
Tracing a circle around one another, the two opponents waited. Harry slipped feebly, and the panther purred. She may have been unharmed but Harry was tired, losing blood fast, and magically bogged down. There was no contest here.
-I…need help-
Harry choked on the taste of copper.
-Little horsie, think you can flee? It's been a long time since I tasted unicorn flesh- Wicked giggles erupted from her mouth, and her pupils dilated. Harry felt the tension snap with a slapping twang.
Bellatrix growled, lunging with lightning speed. Harry twisted his head and managed to graze her side, slicing through fur and skin. She shrieked in pain but wasn't deterred, and fangs ripping into his neck. Harry gasped, grunting as icy agony flooded his veins. Her weight pulled at his neck, dragging him back to the ground. Knees buckling, they both collapsed, Bellatrix growling low in her throat.
His horn had lodged in her back leg, and he doubted she would walk on it anytime soon. It was a miniscule victory but one he treasured. Wheezing, the edges of his visions fuzzy, Harry abruptly missed Sirius. They hadn't had the time to really talk, about life, about everything.
It didn't matter.
She was killing him.
Bellatrix went rigid, gold eyes wide on his glossy green ones, and her growls ceased. She instantly removed her fangs, ripping back from him and mewling at her hind leg. Harry, determined not to die without a fight, pined his horn in her direction but the act of moving his neck proved too much. He collapsed weakly on a tree, legs quivering.
Panting, Harry Potter began to bleed to death.
A shriek rent the night and from the treetops massive spiders coalesced on Bellatrix. Hissing in shock and fright, she turned and vanished into the shadows. Her prey would not go far.
Harry rolled his eyes anxiously but made no move to flee.
One spider, looking startling familiar, limped within sight. Ah, Harry chuckled faintly. I think we hit that one with Ron's car. Opening and closing its fangs, it leaned so close he could see his pathetic image in every eye.
Using the last of his strength, he swung his horn awkwardly.
The spiders laughed.
"Relax, unicorn that is not unicorn. We have not come to eat you. Word reached us of a black stallion roaming the forest, searching for the gates of Hogwarts. Other word spoke of a foreign shadow trailing it."
Its sibling shoved the smaller spider aside.
"Father wishes us to save you. He has spoken with the one called Hagrid. We will take you closer to Hogwarts, though you are close yet."
Through a buzzing mind, he felt the pull of hairy legs on his back, heaving him on to his hooves. Harry couldn't resist but instead allowed their guidance, as they wisely chose the smoothest path. There were moments when they paused momentarily to reroute and Harry slipped in trails of his own blood. There was a time when they supported him fully, others coming to lend help.
It was not long before they had detached themselves and drifted back into the woods. The first two females stayed, assessing him meticulously.
"We may take you no further, body-borrower. Daylight approaches. Hagrid will now of your coming and be waiting. We wish you luck, for there is a stretch you must traverse."
She glided up behind concealing leaves. The last removed her few webs and watched him sway unsteadily.
"Visit us, Unicorn. My Father and many siblings will want to know your story, sad though it may be. If you survive, come here and call for me. I am Akiilay, and I will not ignore you." With that, the creature was gone.
Harry did not hesitate. He knew time was of the essence, and there was a slim chance he would make it alive.
He was in so much pain.
Emerging from the trees, limping on three legs, his blood thinning, he took in the sight. Harry shuddered to see the lake again, memories of his years at Hogwarts assailing his mind.
Memories of Draco.
Draco.
Pain and weakness was ignored. The rush to see him was all consuming. Whinnying, Harry Potter cantered up the hill, his rear hoof shrieking protest with each step. Nothing could prevent him. Draco was here, in the school. He could feel it, singing in his blood, singing in the air.
The achingly familiar scent layered the bridge and he scaled the steps, screaming across the rickety old construction. His vision was blurring dangerously at the edges, and he stumbled, tripped over his hooves.
Harry couldn't breath.
He erupted into the school, toward the Great Hall. Draco was there, he had to be, eating breakfast, waiting, waiting.
Harry couldn't breath.
Blood filled his mouth and trailed down his chin as he slowed to an exhausted walk. There was distant shouting behind him, someone large and possessing of a booming voice. Hagrid. But Hagrid wasn't why he was here, Hagrid only wanted to help…him…
Stepping into the archway of the Great Hall, the inhabitants of it screeched to a halt. They had been coming to see what the problem was, to see the fuss.
Harry stopped breathing.
In the crowd, holding Hermione back protectively, Draco was bathed in early morning sunshine. His normally emotionless face was ghostly pale with alarm, and his light, light blue eyes, flecked with gray, were wide in horror.
But he had never looked more beautiful.
Harry stopped fighting.
--::--
"Snivellus! Pass the bacon!" Sirius demanded, and magically encouraged bacon bits flew through the air. Hermione laughed but still reprimanded Severus, laughing as the ex-Marauder delicately pulled food from his hair. Remus had dodged, having seen the flick of the wand discreetly at the Potion Master's side.
He loved Sirius, but not enough to smell like bacon.
"Your welcome." Snape smirked, sipping pumpkin juice. The entire table laughed, glad to ease some of the tension that had begun to fit into their days. It felt good to relax a moment.
Was that a whinny Draco heard?
Now I'm hearing things. He remarked, sighing. Sirius, ever the perceptive fugitive, noticed his sullen mood but didn't speak. Narcissa had verbally beat him up for twenty minutes with her icy demeanor and forked terrorization. Her marriage in Malfoy bloodlines had only sharpened the naturally vicious personality she sported. Out of respect, and terror, he left the teen alone.
"When do you leave Hermione?" Remus asked politely, aiding Sirius's bacon removal. She glanced up from the generous amounts that had mysteriously heaped on her plate.
"Not at all. Dumbledore believes it would be best if I remained at Hogwarts until Christmas vacation. Apparently Death Eaters were sited by the Order outside Hogsmeade." Hermione replied and the table hushed.
"Hogsmeade? So close." Remus murmured, eyes hooded. "It's a good thing we all arrived yesterday."
"Damn them. They think they can push the boundaries, then fine! We just need to show them what belongs to who!" Sirius, activist of the lot, declared by pumping a fist in the air. Eyeing his mate, Remus patted his arm indulgently and shuffled a neglected breakfast closer.
"Of course. Eat your eggs."
"What I don't understand," Hermione said. "Is why they were in Hogsmeade. There hasn't been any whispers of attacks or raids all summer." Since Harry vanished.
"If anything, You-Know-Who is being entirely too quiet. He has not spoken to any of his Inner circle besides Bellatrix in a month." Snape curled his lip. "He's plotting."
Remus, fork inches from his open mouth, froze. His hand went limp, silverware clattering to the table. He took another breath, thicker with a scent that brought both tears and relief to his eyes.
Whatever Sirius was about to say in rude response to Snape was deafeningly interrupted. A loud crash ricocheted through the Hall, the sound of wards shuddering. Instantly wands were held aloft, chairs screeching from under their people as they stood. Hagrid's booming voice eased some of their worry but it sounded distressed, anguished.
Remus exploded from his seat, using his werewolf strength and speed as added leverage. He had hoped uselessly for it to be Harry. As the clamor of hooves reached him, and an impressive black form galloped into sight, he slid to a stop. Everyone stalled at the doors, horrified and awestruck at the spectacle.
At first glance it was a gorgeous black unicorn, pearl horn transparent in the morning light. His mane flowed gracefully behind him as he slowed, hooves catching the tiled floor. Every inch of him rippled with sleek muscle and suppressed power, a grace rivaling any felines. Green orbs bright with intelligence surveyed the cluster of humans, filled with triumph.
At second glance, the shimmer on his coat was not simple luster from health. Nor from sunlight.
And he was not walking slow to be beautiful but because he was in agony.
By the third glance, it had been taken in. The mangled sides torn deep enough that bone gleamed behind silver blood. Blood that had streaked rivers down his sides, so much that it seemed unlikely he could remain standing. The twisted hind leg, crooked at an awkward angle and very broken. The sagging head and filmy eyes.
The unicorn breathed deeply once and released the air with a whicker.
Hermione cried out in a strangled scream as the animal toppled over, crashing to the ground limply. Snape had come forward to shield the witch from the unexpected sight, gripping Draco's arm as he started forward.
Hagrid erupted into the corridor, intent on the dying unicorn.
"Quick! Fetch Madam Pomfrey! NOW!" He roared, uncorking a bottle of clear liquid and shoving it down the unicorn's open mouth. Snape hurried away on long legs, swiftly disappearing in a swirl of robes.
Hagrid lifted the creature with ease, no doubt fueled by necessity, and charged for the stables.
Trailing very sedately behind the others, Remus shuddered.
…Harry…