A little further into the forest Hagrid's group, after meeting a couple of Centaurs that told them the Mars was bright tonight, came across another fork in the road, with blood on each path so they split up again, with Harry and Malfoy going to the left, and Hagrid and Hermione going to the right.
Harry and Malfoy were heading towards the heart of the forest with only a small lantern for light.
They had been walking for almost what seemed half an hour until the path became almost impossible to follow because the trees were so think, although the blood it seemed, seemed to be getting heavier.
"We must be nearly there," Harry said once again ignoring Malfoy's remarks and complaints that this was servant stuff.
Seeing a clearing ahead, the boys went on a bit more and there they saw it. It wasn't completely dead just yet, but it didn't look like it could last much longer.
Harry inched a little closer and was just about to draw out his wand to shoot up the green sparks, as Hagrid had told them to do, when a violent pain came across his forehead making him drop his wand in order to place a hand over his scar, looking around to try and see what it was.
Out of the shadows on the other side of the clearing came a cloaked figure heading towards the Unicorn, seemingly not noticing the boys.
It got down next to the mare and was about to start drinking it's blood when vines shot up wrapping around his wrists, ankles, and chest and throw him away from it.
Next sharp, long icicles came firing at the cloaked figure supposedly to pin him to the tree, but by setting fire to the vines he got out of the way in time and fled.
"Harry! You alright?!" Jack's voice called out as he and Neville came over to him, Malfoy had ran away.
"Yeah... Yeah I'm fine." Harry said picking up his wand.
"Don't lie to me Harry, and where are the others?" Jack asked gently forcing him to sit down on a tree stump, Neville was seeing to the Unicorn, supposedly talking to either it or himself, Harry couldn't tell, or cared at the moment.
"We came to another fork in the road, so me and Malfoy followed one and they went off the other way," Harry explained.
"Oh I am so going to kill him..." Jack hissed frost spreading and a cold wind blowing, but a quick look up at to where the Unicorn was and he stopped.
"Did you send up the sparks yet?" Jack asked.
"No. I was about to when that thing arrived," Harry said "But I bet Malfoy got to them somehow. What was that thing anyway. Do you?" Harry thought Jack might seeing as he did seem older and he was from a different country.
"That Harry Potter," a new voice said making the boys look up to see a Centaur, a little younger than the ones he had already met. "Was what has been attacking the Unicorns."
"Firenze." Jack says smiling and then freely walking up to the Centaur and shook his hand.
"Jack, nice to see you again, perhaps you should help with the Unicorn while I explain what has been going on to Harry Potter."
Nodding, Jack went over, slowly to help Neville.
o0o
"How's she doing?" Jack asked coming over but staying a little away.
"Still hurt, but she shall be fine in a few days," Gaia said placing some healing herbs over the wound and then using Neville's cloak to tie it around them to make sure it wouldn't get infected and fed her some special berries to help her get some strength back.
Just then loud fast stomps and Hermione calling out "Harry! Harry where are you?! Are you alright?"
"Yeah, Yeah I'm fine!" Harry called out almost getting knocked over by Hermione as she hugged him, Hagrid and Malfoy behind her.
Upon seeing the Unicorn Hagrid slowly came over to check up on it.
"I need to go," Gaia said petting the Unicorn one last time and leaving wishing Neville good luck on his Herbology exam.
"This is where I leave you boys," Firenze said looking at Harry, Jack, and Neville "You're safe now. Good luck Harry Potter. The planets have been read wrong before now, even for centaurs. I hope this is one of those times."
After checking up on the Unicorn, and congratulating Neville for doing such a good job tending to it, surprised that the Unicorn let him tend to her – seeing he was a boy, and sending it on its way, Hagrid led the kids out and let them go back to the school.
Back at the school Jack and the other Gryffindor's went back to their tower, finding Ron still by the fire place.
Having enough excitement for the night, Neville went up to bed.
Once he was gone, Harry started telling them what happened and what Firenze had told him.
Ron and Hermione were watching as Harry paced before the fire – he couldn't sit down, and Jack – he was playing a game of chess with Baby Tooth, but he was still listening.
"Snape wants the stone for Voldemort..." Harry repeated again "And Voldemort's waiting in the Forest... And all this time we just thought Snape wanted to get rich."
"Stop saying the name?" Ron hissed terrified, looking around sure he saw some shadows move.
"Ok, I agree that that cloaked figure was most definitely Mouldy-Wart," Jack said saying his funny name to hopefully make Ron feel a little better "But I still do not think that it's Snape who's working for him." he said frowning as Baby's bishop just took his knight.
Just then Hermione spoke up explaining about what the Centaurs' said about Mars being bright tonight and that there were a feeling that something off was about to happen soon.
"Mars was the Roman God of War," Jack said right away explaining not caring that they were all looking at him "So if the planet Mars is bright it either means - in the eyes of a normal human – that it's a very clear night and you can see it better, or in the eyes of a Seer – for example fortune tellers, Centaurs', Fates, that sort of thing, that a full-fledged war will be coming soon." Jack said sending a pawn to tackle one of Baby's own pawns.
"I think the last time the red planet was as bright as it is tonight was about 45 – 49 years ago," Jack finished.
"And you know this how?" Hermione asked curious.
"I have friends who were around before and during Mouldy's first rise to power, Hermione," Jack said ignoring her in all but answering her question "The good news is," he said turning to face them on his elbows "Even though you can see that there will be a war coming, it's very hard to say when it will get here, so we most likely have a few more years before we really have to worry about anything."
At that point Baby Tooth chirped happily, making Jack look down to see she had him in checkmate.
As they started to reset the board for a rematch, Hermione said some comforting words to Harry.
"Harry, everyone says Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was ever afraid of. With Dumbledore around You-Know-Who won't touch you."
It was turning light before they went back to their rooms and collapsed on their beds.
But Harry couldn't do that right away because as he pulled back his curtains, he found his invisibility cloak neatly folded on top of it with a note saying in swirly writing:
'Just in case'
