Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 16

"Are you two all right?" the half-man, half-horse asked us.

I looked up at the creature. I had never seen one of these before, but I did recall Hermione ranting to me about this specific type of person. They were called centaurs.

"Yes," we said in unison as the centaur helped us up to our feet.

Then he looked at our foreheads, seeing the scars on them, he seemed to realize something.

"You must be the two Potters," he said to us. "I must get you two back to Hagrid, the forest is not a safe place. Would you mind getting on my back so I may take you to your destination?"

We both nodded as we climbed onto the centaur's back.

"My name is Firenze," he told us as we began to move through the forest.

"What was wrong with that man?" Harry asked Firenze.

"Why was he drinking unicorn blood?" I added.

"It's a terrible thing to drink a unicorn's blood, only someone who had nothing to lose and everything to gain would do such a monstrous thing," he explained as he galloped through the forest. "It will keep you alive even if you are a second from death, but at a terrible cost. You will live a cursed life from the moment the blood touches your lips."

"Why would anyone do that?" I asked.

"Who would be that desperate?" Harry asked.

"Someone who is waiting for something else to drink…something that will keep them alive. Do you realize what is being hidden inside the castle at this very moment?"

"The Philosopher's Stone!" Harry and I said together.

"But who would want to-" Harry started.

"Do you not know of anyone is has been trying to come back to power for many years?"

"Do you mean…Vold-" I started.

"There ya are!" Hagrid's voice interrupted us. "Ya okay then you two?"

The rest of the group was following close behind Hagrid, looking for us apparently. We nodded in answer to his question as we got off of the centaur's back.

"The unicorn is over there, Hagrid," Harry said.

"It's dead though," I added.

We walked back over to the unicorn to show him where it was and then we began to leave the forest. On the way out, Neville walked over to hold my hand once more. This time though, it was more for my comfort than his, as if he knew what I had just witnessed.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I were in the common room that night. We had just told them what happened in the forest and Harry was now pacing back in forth while the rest of us sat.

"Snape wants the Stone for Voldemort," Harry said. "He's trying to bring him back."

I was about to say something, but Hermione beat me to it.

"How do you know it's Snape, Harry?" she asked him.

"Who else could it be, Hermione?" he said throwing his hands up into the air. "Who else tried to get passed Fluffy? Emily already told us that he made her stay out of the hallways at night! He obviously was about to be caught in the act and-"

"That isn't what happened!" I yelled. "How many times do I have to say it? Quirrell had me corned! Why is everyone so keen that it's Snape? It could be anyone.

"Why are you against the idea that it is Snape, Emily?" Harry asked. "If it's not him, who do you think it is?"

"I don't know, Harry!" I said, him giving me a look. "Neither do you! You don't have any evidence!"

"Neither do you!" Ron joined in.

"No one has evidence!" Hermione said. "That is why we must all keep every option open."

"Either way," I said. "Voldemort is trying to get to the stone, that's the real problem here."

"Is everyone forgetting something?" Hermione asked us all. "Who is the one person that You-Know-Who ever feared? Dumbledore! As long as he's here, the stone is safe, and so is everyone else."

The following morning, just before the exams, Harry told me that he found something under his pillows the following morning. It was the cloak with a note that read, Just in case. But, we couldn't talk very long because the exams were about to start.

In our first exam, History of Magic, we had to take a long test on all of the things that we had learned that year. We were also given Anti-Cheating quills as a precaution. Considering the amount of times I fell asleep in Professor Binns classroom, I thought I did fairly well.

Next, we had our Charms exam. For this one, we had to successfully make a pineapple tap dance across the table. Luckily, I managed to do this spell correctly on my first attempt. However, I did notice that others were not as successful. I saw Seamus on the other side of the room make the pineapple fly through the ceiling. After a few moments, the pineapple came back into the room and splattered all over Professor Flitwick's head.

In our Transfiguration exam, we had to make a mouse turn into a tissue box. If you made the box pretty, then you gained points, but if a single whisker or tail was found on the box, you lost points. I managed to turn my mouse into a flowery little box, Ron however, managed to turn his mouse into a box that had a large tail growing out of the back.

Our final exam was in Potions. In this exam, Snape made us create a Forgetfulness Potion without the instructions. I had managed to memorize most of the potions that we made in class thanks to Neville who I had to watch carefully. Unfortunately, I was one of very few in the class that had remembered everything. Even though I managed to correctly make the potion, I had a distraction to deal with too. My scar had been burning all day, making it hard to concentrate. With every exam that we were given, the pain increased and I noticed from time to time that Harry too was in pain when he kept rubbing his scar.

After the exams, both of our scars continued to burn as we sat in the common room.

"Why won't my scar stop hurting?" Harry asked, still rubbing it.

"Go to Madam Pomfrey," Hermione said.

"No…I think it might be a warning about something…" I said.

Then, suddenly, Harry jumped to his feet.

"We have to go see Hagrid!" he said.

"What? Why?" I asked, standing up too.

Then Harry started walking out of the door at a fast pace. We all walked quickly after him, trying to catch up.

"Don't you think that it's strange that the one thing that Hagrid wants more than anything in the world is a dragon," he said as we made our way out of the castle. "And it just so happens that someone in a pub has one with him?"

"Well…yeah," Ron said. "So what?"

"What does that matter-?" Hermione said.

"They wanted something from Hagrid!" I realized. "They knew that he was one of the only people that would know this, so they were trying to get information out of him!"

"Exactly!" he said right before we made it to Hagrid's hut.

"Hullo!" Hagrid said smiling. "Finished with yer exams, are ya?"

"Yeah," Ron said. "They were-"

"Hagrid, this is important, we're in a hurry," Harry said quickly. "What did that man look like that gave you the egg?"

"I'm not sure…" Hagrid said. "He kept a cloak on…"

"What did he talk to you about?" I asked. "Anything about Hogwarts?"

"Yeah…a little bit," he told us. "He was askin' what kind of creatures that I look after…so I told 'im. I don't remember that much 'cause he kept buyin' me drinks…but I did tell him that I had always wanted a dragon. He told me that he would give me the egg, but he wanted ter be sure that I could handle it. So I told him about Fluffy-"

"Did he seem interested in Fluffy?" Harry asked.

"'Course he was!" he said. "Who wouldn't be interested in a three-headed dog? He wanted to know how I managed ter calm 'im down if he got angry. I told him that it was easy, all ya have ter do is play a little music and he would go off ter sleep-"

Hermione and Ron finally understood what was going on. Hagrid had told some unknown person how to get passed Fluffy.

"I shouldn't have told ya that," Hagrid said, looking horrified with himself.

We didn't hear anything else that he said because we were already running back to the castle.

"We've got to get to Dumbledore! That person under the cloak was probably Snape or Voldemort! Hagrid could have told them how to get to the stone!" Harry said frantically.

I ignored that he was back to blaming Snape, and kept moving.

"Where is Dumbledore's office?" I asked everyone.

"What are you four doing inside?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"We need to see Professor Dumbledore!" we all said at once.

"Why?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

We all looked at each other, knowing that we shouldn't let her know what we were doing.

"Well, whatever it is, it'll have to wait," she said. "Professor Dumbledore left the castle just ten minutes ago."

"He's gone?" Harry and I said together.

"He received an owl from the Ministry," she said. "He had to leave immediately."

"Look, it's about the Philosopher's Stone-" Harry started.

McGonagall looked shocked.

"How do you know about that?" she asked.

"Never mind that, Professor," he said. "W know that Sna-"

"SOMEONE is after the Stone, Professor!" I cut in. "We think that they are going to steal it soon."

"Professor Dumbledore will be back tomorrow," she said. "I can assure you that the Stone will be safe. It's well protected, I assure you."

"But-" Harry said.

"I don't want to hear it, Potter," she said. "Now go back outside."

We didn't go back outside though. It just dawned on me that if the Stone was to be stolen, it would be tonight. The thief would have no better opportunity than to take it while Dumbledore was far away from the castle.

"He's going to do it tonight, Snape-" he said, me rolling my eyes, "is going to go through the trapdoor tonight! This is the best time for him to-"

"Good afternoon…" Snape said from behind Harry and me.

We spun around to see the Potions Master standing directly behind us, appearing to have just arrived. I silently hoped that he hadn't heard what my brother had just said.

"Now, what are you all doing out here on a beautiful day like this?" he asked darkly. "If you continue to wander the hallways, someone might get the idea that you are up to something."

We all remained silent and began to go towards the door leading outside.

"By the way," Snape said to Harry and me. "If I catch either of you in the hallways during the night, I will be forced to report you both."

He glared at Harry for a moment, but flinched once again when he looked my way. He paused for a moment and then walked in the other direction. Once he was gone, we left building and began to plan outside.

"So, this is what we have to do," Harry said. "Someone is going to have to stay back to keep up with Snape while the others go up to Fluffy, agreed?"

We all nodded in agreement.

"So, I think that it's best if Hermione stays back while the rest of us go to the third floor," Ron said.

"Why me?" Hermione asked.

"Because, you can say that you wanted to ask Flitwick a question about the exam or something."

"Fine," Hermione said. "Can Emily come with me though?"

"Why?" I asked.

"Because, if it doesn't work, maybe you could come up with something about Potions…I don't know!"

"Fine," I said.

Then we went back into the castle and went our separate ways. After a couple of minutes we ended up in front of the teacher's room and ran into Snape himself.

"What are you two doing?" Snape asked.

"Well…you see…I had this question for Professor Flitwick and-" Hermione said nervously.

"He isn't here…" Snape said. "I believe that he is in his classroom."

"Oh, well…um…I just-"

"I have a question about the exam, Professor," I interrupted Hermione, knowing that she wasn't going anywhere with what she was saying.

Snape looked over to me, raising an eyebrow.

"What would that be?" he asked.

"After you add the two Valerian Sprigs, you stir it three times clockwise, right?" I asked, knowing that it was right before I even said it.

"That would be correct," he said.

Hermione stared at me, as if begging me to stall him even more.

"And you crush four Mistletoe Berries into a medium-fine powder and add two pinched to the cauldron, right?"

"Miss Potter, I watched you make the potion," he said. "You made it correctly, so you have nothing to worry about."

"Oh…" I said, realizing that he knew I was just wasting time. "Thank you…"

He nodded at me, looking almost amused, and then turned his attention back to Hermione.

"I will go fetch Professor Flitwick for you…" he said and began to walk off. "Stay here…"

After he had left, Hermione turned back to me.

"What are we going to do?" she panicked.

"Well, when he returns with Flitwick, maybe I could stall him more."

Unfortunately, Snape did not come back with Flitwick. The teacher came alone and after Hermione came up with some question to ask him so we didn't seem like fools, we ran to find Harry and Ron. We found them walking back in our direction though.

"What happened?" I asked.

"McGonagall found us and was furious," Ron said.

We told them what happened with us and how we had no idea where Snape had run off to.

"So, that's it…" Harry said.

I looked at him, knowing what he was planning on doing.

"What?" Ron asked.

"I'm going there tonight, I'm going to try to get to the Stone before Snape gets to it."

"Harry, you'll get expelled it McGonagall catches you!" Hermione said.

"I don't care!" Harry said. "There is no way that I am just going to allow Voldemort to get to the Stone! That would mean that he would come back!"

He looked over to me, silently asking me if I was going to join him. I nodded.

"We'll have to bring the cloak," he said only to me.

"Will it cover all four of us?" Ron asked.

"What?" Harry asked them.

"Oh, come on," Ron said. "You both know that we wouldn't just let you two go in there without us."

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