The following morning Umbridge had been appointed High Inquisitor. Merlin has become livid. All week, not only has he had to deal with the coming unease of Samhain but also the increasing interference from the Ministry. The press had a field day as they arrived to get plenty of new shots of the woman.
Fudge's own words of, "Having already revolutionized the teaching of Defense Against the Dark Arts, Dolores Umbridge will as High Inquisitor have powers… to address the seriously falling standards at Hogwarts school."
The first time she had arrived while he was in class, he had half a mind to immediately blow her directly out of the window. It had been in the Divination tower with Professor Trelawney. He almost did it several times as she interrupted with that awful high-pitched 'cough' of hers. The Ministry seems to be grasping for tighter holds on a matter they have absolutely no business interfering in. Should things get any worse, he will likely have to intervene himself. This has become a personal slap to his face. It seems all the measures he had put in place to avoid such a nuisance have had an ill affect.
Today is Samhain, or as people these days call it 'Halloween'. It is the day when the barrier separating the two plains of living and deceased is at its thinnest point. He also remembers it to be the anniversary of his dear friend Lancelot's death. Granted that same man now resides in a shared house of his but that's not the point. Regardless of the fact that everyone has returned he is still lonely. Not a single one has their memories. He can tell they are there but they are buried deeply within the subconscious. Nobody can remember themselves and they still can't remember him.
Merlin's right hand reaches up and grasps the ring hanging from the chain around his neck. It is the royal seal of the Pendragons. He has carried it with him since this summer when he retrieved if off the left-hand throne in his vault. The horror he had felt when he had seen Ron there watching him pick it up decreased greatly when the boy never once mentioned it.
It's still early in the afternoon. Every hair on Merlin's arms has risen. Something is going to happen. He can feel it. This unnerving feeling has him uneasy. He has noticed a few others who seemingly appear out of sorts today. The first is Nimueh. In the common room this morning she too was on edge. He saw Hermione attempt to say hi to the girl but Nimueh merely jumped, mumbled a few incoherent words and rushed quickly out of the room leaving a baffled Hermione in her wake. Another was Mordred. He has isolated within himself. The boy looks spooked beyond compared. Someone sneezed during lunch and his heart nearly stopped right there. Lastly, there was Lancelot. The affects on him were by far the worse. The man's skin is freezing and his tone has taken on the tiniest bluish tint that only increases throughout the day. It's not yet bad enough that he has headed out to the Hospital Wing but who's to say how far it will go.
Regardless of the fact that it is a Tuesday, everyone else seems to be alight with excitement. They keep babbling on and on about the feast in a few hours. Ron especially. Like originally planned, everyone within the resorted house has taken up the Gryffindor's schedules with a few exceptions so he typically sees the other boy then. Hermione still spends quite a bit of time in the library but not as much these days. Her, Ron and Harry have rekindled their group and can be seen together quite often. He's kept tabs on her ever since that quite eventful morning. He thinks to himself, 'Druids… why would she be researching Druids?' It's been plaguing his mind; just another thing that has had him on edge this week. Harry on the other hand still doesn't like him. Not that it really matters, times are changing and to everyone else, Merlin is still that mysteriously goofy transfer student.
For now, everyone is located at the edge of the forest for Care of Magical Creatures. The teacher, Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank has been filling in for Hagrid since his absence. The subject of Bowtruckles has finally ended and now they are delving into the study of unicorns. Those magnificent creatures have lingered in these woods since long before Camelot fell. Among those that live here, they are among the earliest residence. Throughout the centuries Merlin has awarded them his absolute protection, which has long since proven fruitful as their numbers have continued to increase since their near extinction. The last time Merlin met up with the Unicorns' keeper, Anhora, was during his last visit to Hogwarts. The man had come too to pay his respects to Aithusa and give Merlin his word that the castle would remain in safe keeping during his absence.
Long since the days that unicorns nearly went extinct, they became much more weary of strangers. Today they do not tolerate males in their presence because of the direct reminder of those who used to hunt them. Of course, Merlin has always been an exception. Even the seemingly 'watered down' magic they now hold, not nearly as potent as it used to be, can recognize his magic as kin. It has become a natural inclination to treat him as such.
Professor Plank is now organizing all of the students accordingly. A few members of the herd of Unicorns located nearby are gathered for the students to study. In order to provide a safe lesson, the Professor requires all of the males to remain at the back. Should any of them get too close, they will be attacked without second thought. The girls, however, have much more leeway. Standing at the front, they will have the ability to actually get close to the creatures. Even Hermione it seems can't dampen the smile crossing her face at the prospect of it. Nimueh is the only girl not present. She has remained absent from all of her lessons today. In fact, Merlin is sure that no one has seen her since this morning.
"Now," the Professor called to get their attention, "if you would please remain where you are, I will bring them outwards." She looked around at all the students to see that none of them made any movement. "Alright then." She turns around and disappears just within the shrubbery of the forests and out of sight. When she comes back after a brief amount of time, six unicorns are trailing behind her. "Boys take notes. Ladies if you wish, you may come to greet them. Be warned, approach slowly and do not startle them."
Many of the girls looked weary before finally beginning the slow approach. All of the unicorns were fully grown. Likely, all of the calf lings remained with the majority of the group for protection. Among those present was three of each gender.
By now almost all of the girls was happily standing by one of the creatures patting at them as softly as possible. Merlin watched back from afar. Hermione still hasn't completely approached one of them. Now, he discreetly watched her slow approach. Once she finally took that last step and raised her hand towards the male unicorn next her, it did something Merlin did not expect. It turned towards her and nudged her extended hand with its nose. The gesture was affectionate and soon all of the other unicorns scattered by the other girls all made their way over to Hermione forming a ring around her. They all seem to be seeking her attention.
The other girls in the class look to be getting slightly annoyed with the turn of events. Even the professor herself looked somewhat confused. Merlin could understand why. Unicorns are certainly one of the more shy and elusive creatures. To approach a stranger so easily just did not happen. They must recognize her, something Merlin is still failing to do.
Hermione looked around her and then back towards the Professor before shifting her gaze towards the rest of the students who remained watching her. Almost everyone looked upon her situation with curiosity, all except one. Her gaze stopped on Merlin who seemed to be looking upwards as if lost in thought. He remained further back from everyone else, by several feet in fact.
Hermione began to feel something inside of her stir as the horns of all the unicorns surrounding her began to faintly glow. The emitting light seemed to latch to her skin until a slight aura transparently covered her.
"What's happening?" Hermione called out in panic.
The professor was just about to step forward and respond but stopped mid-step. The light surrounding Hermione brightened considerably, completely hiding the girl within. She could feel an awful pounding in her head beginning to form until everything grew hazy. Everything went blank after that as Hermione lost all consciousness and fell to the ground. All of the light present disappeared completely and the unicorns backed up a few feet.
Merlin rushed forward immediately to Hermione's side. The Professor protested him at once, claiming it too dangerous and that he need to back up because of the close proximity of the unicorns still there as she crouched next to the girl but her completely ignored her. Even more surprisingly, the unicorns don't even seem to care that he is there.
"Alright everyone, class is canceled for the day. Pack up your things and head back to the castle," the professor called to all the watching students. Then she turned to Merlin who is currently elevating Hermione's head off of the ground. "Mr. Ambrosias, I need you to help me get Ms. Granger to the hospital wing."
He nodded towards her and gently lifted Hermione into his arms, making sure to secure her head. The unicorns remained briefly, gazing at Merlin, before retreating back into the woods from which they came. Harry and Ron stayed to make sure Hermione was all right. "Is she OK?" Ron asked.
Professor Plank turned to him, "Mr. Weasley, if you would please go fetch the headmaster and have him meet us in the hospital wing, there are a few things I wish to discuss with him." Ron nodded and turned around, retreating back up to the castle where everyone else had gone.
Harry followed Martin and the professor the whole way. Hermione was gently placed in one of the vacant beds to the right hand side. Mere minutes later, the headmaster appeared with Professor McGonagall and Ron on his tail.
"What happened?" He asked her.
"We had a lesson on unicorns today. I brought out a few of them for the students to study," the professor replied.
"You mean the unicorns attacked her," McGonagall gasped.
"Not exactly. To be honest, I don't know what they did exactly. In all my years, I have never seen anything like it."
"What happened?" Professor Dumbledore asked.
"It began as a normal lesson. The guys kept away while the girls were allowed to approach them. In fact, Hermione was the last girl to do so. Everyone else had already managed the task." Professor Plank began.
"Go on," urged McGonagall.
"Well the unicorn seemed to accept her just find," she continued. "In fact, it seemed to like her. All of a sudden, the other five unicorns nearby began to completely surround her. They seemed to form a ring from their bodies."
"OK."
"Don't get me wrong, she seemed to be doing fine. In fact, they remained that way for a while without anything else happening."
"But?" Dumbledore asked.
"But that's when it began. The tips of their horns began to glow and the light seemed to catch to her skin. It got stronger and stronger until it was so blinding that she couldn't be seen through it anymore. That was when she lost consciousness and fell to the ground. All of the unicorns backed away from her after that."
"What do you think it means Albus?" McGonagall asked the headmaster who seemed to be pondering everything.
He turned to Merlin and Harry who stood back as the scene between the teachers unfolded. Harry had been listening to them but Merlin has not taken his eyes off of Hermione. "Is that what you saw happened?" Dumbledore asked the pair of them who both nodded. That's when Madame Pomfrey entered the room and began to check over Hermione's unconscious form. "Let us leave her to it. Wilhelmina, if you would please accompany me to my office. I would like to see the recent incident first hand." She nodded and all of the teachers left. Harry, Merlin and Ron were shooed out by Pomfrey almost immediately afterwards so she could check over her patient. Merlin headed back to the common room to think everything over; the happenings with Hermione and the looming sense of unease that has only been increasing. Something is going to happen tonight, he can feel it.