Saturday night rolled around and Staros was pensive. He couldn't sleep wondering if the plan was going well or not. He was a Slytherin after all and Slytherin's are all about well executed plans rather than the typical Gryffindor rushing headlong into trouble with nary a thought. He was disturbed in his musings by the sounds of their dorm room door opening.
Staros opened his bed curtains to look about. Nothing seemed off, but wait, Draco's bed was empty. Wondering what the less cunning housemate was up to, Staros slipped out of bed and shrugged on his robes and a cloak. Since the incident with the three-headed dog, Staros had taken to sleeping in a pair of pants and light shirt, all in black, just in case he needed to be up sneaking around.
Easing open the door, he saw the hall was empty. Staros made his way down the hall and into the common room just in time to see Draco exiting the entry arch. Waiting a few moments, Staros followed when he thought it was likely Draco wouldn't notice.
Staros kept a decent distance between himself and Draco, all the while staying to the shadows and following along as quietly as possible. They had made it to the base of the Astronomy tower when Draco suddenly stopped and looked around. Staros simply stopped in the shadow of one of the many suits of armor that lined almost every hall. After a few moments, Draco settled himself into an alcove just off the stairs up the tower, most likely in wait for someone to pass by.
Staros realized that this was probably part of the plan that he hadn't been told about. Any minute now, Harry and Hermione, maybe Ron too, would be hauling Norbert through the corridor and up to people waiting to take him to the reserve in Romania. And Draco was there to cause gods know what mischief.
Stepping out of the shadows, Staros walked up to Draco and tapped him on the shoulder. As Draco had been facing the other way, looking for Harry, he jumped and yelped in surprise.
"Late night stroll, Drakey?" asked Staros.
"What are you doing here? Go away before you get us caught!"
"Funny you should ask, I was kind of wondering what YOU were doing here."
A flicker of movement past Draco's shoulder was all the warning the two Slytherins got as Professor McGonagall rounded a corner to find them.
"And what, may I ask, are you two doing out of bed past curfew?" the stern woman asked, stalking up to them.
"Professor! Potter's going to be here any minute! He's sneaking a dragon out of the school!" yelped Draco.
McGonagall's face became even harder if such was possible. Grabbing Draco by the ear and Staros by the shoulder, she began to march them off towards the Slytherin dorms.
"Detentions for you both!" she shouted. "And twenty points from Slytherin for your lies, Mr. Malfoy! Wait until I have a word with Professor Snape about this!"
As they were being hauled off, Staros caught sight of a grinning Harry for the briefest of moments. A quick thumbs up in the direction he thought Harry would be and Staros let himself be led away.
The next morning, Gryffindor was down a hundred and fifty points. While Staros knew that he and Draco had lost points for their own house, this setback for the House of the Brave put them solidly in last place for the House Cup.
Confusion amongst the students gave way to anger, disappointment or amusement depending on what house you were in as the story of Harry, Hermione, and Neville, but the main focus was on Harry, were caught out of bed late at night and lost the points. Harry went quickly from being the most popular boy in school to the most despised, even managing to sink lower on some people's estimations than Draco.
Everywhere Harry went, Slytherins were cheering him and clapping while others would point and not even bother to lower their voices when insulting him. Ron stood by him the whole time, but Hermione stayed out of the limelight, trying to be as small as possible. Neville simply hid from everyone.
Under the guise of giving Harry some grief, Staros asked if things went as planned, other than the point deduction and getting caught thing that is. Being assured that Norbert was on his way to Romania, Staros made to laugh at Harry and walked off, keeping up appearances. Harry seemed to understand, but Ron, not having been with them during the delivery of Norbert, was absolutely sure that Staros was the reason Harry had gotten caught despite what Harry or Hermione said about it.
Draco was much quieter than his usual self. He openly blamed it on the workload as exams were approaching, but Staros, hence Blaise, Daphne and Tracey, knew otherwise. Snape had been particularly nasty in dressing down the two first years after they had been delivered to him by McGonagall. Having been awakened at nearly one in the morning only made it that much worse. Normally, the Head of Slytherin would take their detentions himself. This time, his irritation showed as he agreed to let McGonagall handle it, as an 'abject lesson in stupidity' he had said.
Notes arrived the next day for Draco and Staros in their dorm rooms, to which they were confined as additional punishment. Both notes read the same.
Your detention will take place at eleven o'clock tonight. Meet Mr. Filch in the entrance hall.
At eleven that night, Staros and Draco were standing in the entrance hall when Harry, Neville and Hermione walked in, followed quickly by Filch. The Gryffindors seemed surprised to see them, but no one said anything in fear of angering the caretaker and getting into more trouble.
"Follow me," Filch said as he lit a lamp and headed outside.
"I'll bet you think twice about breaking a school rule again, won't you, eh?" he said as he leered. "Oh yes… hard work and pain are the best teachers if you ask me. It's such a pity they let the old punishments slide. Hang you by your wrists from the ceiling for a few days would do you all some good. I still have the old chains in my office, well-oiled for the day they realize they're needed. Now, don't you be thinking about running off. It'll be the worse for you."
They marched across the grounds, following the old caretaker and his lonely lamp towards Hagrid's hut. Everyone glanced around at the others, the same thought on their minds. What horrible things did they have to face for their detention? The cackling of the caretaker made them all very, very nervous.
The half-moon was rather bright, but kept being hidden behind moving clouds, throwing the grounds into a surreal light and dark shadow and making normal details bend in the odd light. As they approached Hagrid's hut, they heard a voice call out.
"Is that you, Filch? Hurry up, I want ter get started."
Filch must have noticed their collective looks of relief at the idea of working with Hagrid because ehe suddenly said, "I suppose you think you'll be enjoying yourself with that oaf? Well think again! It's into the forest with you lot! And I'm much mistaken if you'll all come out in one piece!"
At mention of the forest, Neville groaned and Draco stopped dead in his tracks.
"The forest?" Draco squeaked. "We can't go in there at night! There's all sorts of things in there! Werewolves, I'd heard!"
Staros rolled his eyes while Neville clutched at Harry's sleeve, looking about to faint.
"That's your problem isn't it?" said Filch coldly. "Should've thought about werewolves before you got into trouble, shouldn't you?"
"Oh, shove off, Draco. Werewolves? Seriously?" scoffed Staros. "It's not a full moon, so we shouldn't have to worry about werewolves tonight. Not that there isn't anything else to be worried about in there."
The others seemed to take little comfort in the fact that werewolves were the least things to concern themselves with.
Hagrid came into view, carrying his massive crossbow in one hand, a lamp in the other and a satchel of bolts over one shoulder, Fang trotting along beside him.
"Abou' time," Hagrid growled. "I bin waitin' fer half an hour already. All right there, Harry? Hermione?"
"I shouldn't be too friendly with them, Hagrid," Filch interrupted. "They're here to be punished, after all."
"That's why yer late, is it?" said Hagrid, frowning at Filch. "Bin lecturin' them, eh? 'Snot yer place to do that. Yeh've done yer bit, I'll take over from here."
"I'll be back at dawn," sneered Filch, "for what's left of them."
The caretaker gave them all an evil glare then turned and stalked back to the castle.
"I'm not going in that forest," said Draco, standing up to Hagrid. The note of panic in his voice would have been funny were it not echoed in everyone else's hearts.
"Yeh are if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts," said Hagrid fiercely. "Yeh've done wrong an' now yeh've got ter pay fer it."
"But this is servant stuff! It's not for students to do! I thought we'd be copying lines or something, if my father knew I was doing this, he'd…"
"Tell you that's how it is at Hogwarts!" interrupted Hagrid, growling. "Copyin' lines? What good's that ter anyone? Yeh'll do summat useful or yeh'll get out! If yeh think yer father'd rather you were expelled, then get back off ter the castle an' pack! Go on, now!"
Draco stared defiantly at Hagrid for a few moments before Staros laid a hand on his shoulder. Draco shrugged it off, but didn't leave, nor say another word.
"Right then," Hagrid continued as if nothing had happened. "Now, listen carefully, 'cause it's right dangerous what we're gonna do tonight, an' I don' want no one takin' risks. Follow me over here a moment."
He led them to the very edge of the forest. Holding his lamp high, he pointed down a thin, winding path that led into the forest's depths. Light breeze picked up as they looked into the inky black trees.
"Look there," Hagrid said, pointing with the crossbow, "see that shinin' on the ground? Silvery like? That's unicorn blood. There's a unicorn in there bin hurt badly by summat. Second time this week. I found one dead last Wednesday. We're gonna try an' find the poor thing. Might be havin' ter put it out its misery. Terrible business, that."
"And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?" spoke up Draco, unable to keep the fear out of his voice.
"There's nothin' that lives in the forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang," said Hagrid. "An' keep ter the path. Right, now, we're gonna split inter two parties an' follow the trail in diff'rent directions. There's blood all over the place, it must've been staggerin' around since last night at least."
"I want Fang," Draco said quickly.
"All right, but I warn yeh, he's a coward."
"A moment," Staros said. "Carcerous!"
The elf faded into view of the other, Staros having known he was following them the whole time.
"Aye, young master?"
"My blade, Carcerous. And I think a few knives are in order. Anyone else wish to carry something?"
Neville nodded as Carcerous pulled a sack similar to the one they'd all seen at Staros' training. Instead of the practice weapons, they watched as the elf pulled a scabbarded katana like sword form the sack. He handed that to Staros before pulling another scabbarded short sword similar to a Roman gladius and handing that to Neville. A few knives of different sorts were also handed to Staros.
Draco looked torn between wanting a weapon and having to acknowledge his obvious fear. Pride took a back seat as he asked for a rapier which Carcerous provided. Hermione was given a pair of knives, one in silver, one in cold iron. Harry declined a weapon, saying he'd trust Hagrid.
Staros checked each weapon to make sure it would draw freely. As he did so, he caught Hagrid's somewhat disapproving look.
"What? You think I'm going into the forest unarmed?" Staros said. "I may not be as smart as Hermione there, but I'm hardly suicidal."
Checking the sword last, Harry could swear that he heard a whisper coming from the blade as it was exposed. A shiver ran through him as he wondered what kind of blade Staros had. The whisper he thought he heard was cut off as Staros sheathed the blade completely, making Harry wonder if he hadn't imagined the whole thing.
"So, right then, me Harry, Hermione an' Staros'll go this way," said Hagrid, coming to grips with the children carrying weapons. The forest was dangerous after all. "Draco, Neville, an' Fang'll go that way."
"Carcerous, go with them in case they need help," Staros interrupted.
"Aye, young master. I be watchin' dem like dey be me own."
"Done then?" Hagrid asked, a little put out at all the interruptions. "Now, if any of us finds the unicorn, we'll send up green sparks, right. Get yer wands out an' practice now… that's it… an' if anyone gets inter trouble, send up red sparks, an' we'll all come find yeh. So, be careful, an' let's go."
Everyone was silent as the two groups went their separate ways, Draco, Neville, Fang and Carcerous to the right, Hagrid, Harry, Staros, and Hermione to the left. Hagrid took the lead as they walked as quietly as possible into the trees.
They walked in silence for several minutes, all staring at the ground. Every so often, the moon would break through the clouds and trees to illuminate a spot of silvery-blue on the ground. Harry could see that Hagrid was far more worried than he let on.
"Could a werewolf kill a unicorn?" Harry asked.
"Not fast enough," replied Hagrid. "It's not easy ter catch a unicorn, they're powerful magic creatures. I never knew one ter be hurt before."
"Yeah, Harry, from what I understand, the only thing that can really give a unicorn a run for its money is a human," said Staros sadly. "We're the worst creatures on the planet with the biggest appetite for blood. If there's a unicorn hurt, it's probably some poacher out for a bit of gold."
Hagrid looked even less happy to have that idea bandied about, but took it in stride, nodding absently. They continued to follow the occasional blood splotch, past an old stump of a fallen tree. They could hear running water, probably from a stream nearby. Hermione was looking more upset with every step, tears beginning to threaten.
"You all right, Hermione?" Hagrid whispered after seeing her face. "Don' worry, it can't've gone far if it's this badly hurt, an' then we'll be able ter… GET BEHIND THAT TREE!"
Hagrid shoved the students in the direction of a large oak then grabbed a bolt and slotted it into his crossbow. He had the bow raised and ready to fire, peering into the darkness ahead of them. Something slithered over the dead leaves, not like a snake, more like something light being dragged, a cloak or robes maybe. Hagrid tried to track the sound, but it was too far away to really get a fix and before long, they couldn't hear it anymore.
"I knew it," Hagrid said. "There's summat in here that shouldn't be"
"A werewolf?" asked Harry.
"That wasn' no werewolf an' it wasn' no unicorn, neither. Staros' poacher's more likely. Right, follow me, but careful, now."
They walked on a bit further, keeping slow and trying to stay as quiet as possible. They listened for any sounds out of the ordinary, straining themselves to identify anything they did hear. Suddenly, in a small clearing ahead, there was definite movement.
"Who's there?" Hagrid called out, bringing his crossbow to the ready. "Show yerself! I'm armed!"
Out of the brush walked… a man? a horse? Then they saw it… him, fully. From the waist down, a horse, from the waist up, a man. A centaur. Harry and Hermione both stared in awe at their first encounter with another magical being. Staros couldn't help but smile at them.
"Oh, it's you, Ronan," Hagrid said, relieved and lowering the crossbow. "How are yeh?"
Hagrid walked forward and shook the centaur's hand.
"Good evening to you, Hagrid," Ronan replied, a note of sorrow in his voice. "Were you going to shoot me?"
"Can't be too careful, Ronan. There's summat bad loose in the forest. This here's Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Staros Marcus. Students from the school. This here's Ronan, you lot. He's a centaur."
"We noticed," Hermione managed to say faintly.
"Good evening," said Ronan, looking slightly amused. "Students are you? And do you learn much, up at the school?"
"Erm…" came Harry's eloquent reply.
"A bit," said Hermione.
Staros smiled at them, then turned to the centaur and bowed low.
"We learn more than we wish, and less than we should, Stargazer," Staros said formally.
"At least that's something," Ronan sighed. He flung his head back suddenly, gazing up at the stars visible through the break in the trees. "Mars is bright tonight."
Of the fours standing before him, the centaur noticed that only the boy, Staros, seemed to react with anything other than confusion. In fact, Staros frowned at the statement and looked up himself, as if trying to see what the centaur saw in the stars.
"Yeah," said Hagrid, glancing up. "Listen, I'm glad we've run inter yeh, Ronan, 'cause there's a unicorn bin hurt. You seen anythin'?"
Ronan didn't answer immediately. He stared at the sky for a few moments longer then sighed again.
"Always the innocent are the first victims. So it has been for ages past, so it is now."
Hermione's already upset face fell a little further when he said that. Staros nudged Harry in her direction. Harry, to his credit saw her face and took her hand. She looked up at him, still on the verge of tears and smiled sadly.
"Yeah," said Hagrid, not really comprehending, "but have yeh seen anythin,' Ronan? Anythin' unusual?"
"Mars is bright tonight. Unusually bright."
"Yeah, I was meanin' anythin' unusual a bit nearer home. So yeh haven't noticed anythin' strange?"
Ronan again took a long pause before answering.
"The forest holds many secrets."
Movement in the trees behind Ronan cause Hagrid to tense and half raise his crossbow before they saw it was another centaur, one of heftier build and darker than Ronan.
"Hullo, Bane," said Hagrid, dropping the crossbow down again. "All right?"
"Good evening, Hagrid. I hope you are well?" Bane glanced briefly at the crossbow, but didn't ask about it like Ronan had.
"Well enough," replied Hagrid. "Look, I've jus' been askin' Ronan, you seen anythin' odd in here lately? There's a unicorn bin injured, would yeh know anythin' about it?"
Bane walked over and joined Ronan under the small bit of sky. He too looked upwards.
"Mars is bright tonight," he said simply, just like Ronan.
"We've heard," Hagrid grumped. "Well, if either of yer do see anythin', let me know, won't yeh? We'll be off then."
The small group left the clearing back the way they'd come. Harry and hermione kept glancing back at the centaurs until the trees hid them completely from view. Staros walked staring at his feet, obviously deep in thought, tuning out Hagrid telling the others about the centaurs and their habits.
'Mars is bright, unusually so he said. Old Father back home would probably tell me it wasn't for humans to understand, right before he told me what it was anyway. Mars is bright usually means change, conflict… war. What's going on? A lot of things seem to be happening earlier than expected.'
The boy's thoughts were interrupted by Harry's shout.
"Hagrid! Look! Red sparks! The others are in trouble!"
"You all wait here!" Hagrid shouted, shouldering his crossbow. "Stay on the path, I'll be back fer yeh!"