Notes: Okay, everyone, new plan: I'd been posting fairly frequent, quite long chapters over the summer, but we're getting into the busy season at my job and writing time might be more sporadic. I'm therefore going to go with shorter, more focused chapters as we get along to the end of this story. Hopefully, that will allow me to keep posting regularly and also advancing the plot in a logical way. We're definitely in the home stretch anyhow!

Someone pointed out, in the comments on one of the sites where this is posted, that the story can't end yet because it isn't the end of the school year. That bothered me as well but really, I don't have enough complicated ideas to spin this out all term, and since there are several things to come to a head, I figured they should all come to a head together. And then, for once, the students can look forward to a peaceful last few weeks at Hogwarts!

Warnings: Child endangerment (although since this is a Harry Potter crossover I suppose that kind of goes without saying!)

Chapter Twenty-Three

Stark wasn't happy when he realized he was being followed by Barney and four- because of course Annie, George, and Mitchell had run after Loki- Hufflepuff first-years. In fact, he threatened to Imperius the lot of them and force them to go back to the castle. Barney put his hand on his own wand when Stark uttered the threat, but Loki wasn't fooled by it. The Head Boy's expression looked like Loki imagined his own had, that awful day last summer when he had threatened to tell on Thor about the jinx duels with his friends. Stark was bluffing.

Really, he probably couldn't even do an Imperius curse- the first thing you learned when you started at Hogwarts was, there was more to magic than waving a wand and uttering funny words. That was why you had to practice spells in the first place: you had to find the intent and the concentration to make them work. Maybe an older, really experienced witch or wizard could make a curse like Imperius work on the first try, but most people would have to work at it, and Stark certainly didn't spend his free time practicing Dark magic to control his friends and force them to do things against their will.

"You can't make us go back, and we're wasting time," Barney argued, pale with anger and desperation. It took about five seconds for Stark to see sense.

"All right, just… stay close and be careful. And stay behind me, all of you," he ordered the younger kids. Loki nodded, and then they all plunged into the Forbidden Forest.

What with the snow underfoot and the short headstart, it should have been easy to catch up with the fugitives. In the first place, Loki expected a clear track in the snow that they could follow. Instead, it turned out the forest was choked with undergrowth that messed up the snow so it hardly showed prints. They also should have been able to hear the others moving ahead of them, but either the forest swallowed all sound, or the escapees were using some kind of charm to mask the sounds they made, because Loki couldn't hear anything except the creak of tree branches and the scuttle of unseen little creatures. He looked around at his friends, saw their faces set with anxiety and confusion, and realized they were having no more luck than himself.

Remembering how Bronwyn had found him, Loki wished he had had the presence of mind to run to the owlery for Thor's barn owl, Solomon. And then he realized that, of course, Solomon would have just flown over the forest to Thor. Anyone trying to follow him would have to do so on a broomstick, which would leave them easy to see and open to attack as they tried to land.

It didn't take long for Stark to realize the same thing Loki had, that they were in a practically trackless forest and at more risk of getting lost than of catching up to the bad guys. He looked around frantically for a moment, apparently lost in thought, then pointed his wand in the general direction they thought the escapees had gone, and closed his eyes.

"Sequuntio," he said softly. A greenish glow emerged from the end of his wand and, for just a moment, footprints showed golden on the snow. Stark's eyes flew open, but the footprints faded just as fast as they appeared, too quickly for them to really see where they led. Stark muttered another word he probably wasn't supposed to use.

And then he turned to Barney and Loki. "You two are going to have to try," he announced, grabbing Barney by the arm to keep him from bolting off in the general direction indicated by the footprints.

"Try what?" Loki asked.

"Sequuntio. It's a following charm," Stark explained. "It shows you the tracks of the person or animal you want to catch up to. The problem is, you have to really want to find the person you're following."

"And you don't?" Barney demanded, looking furious and betrayed. Loki thought he probably looked pretty much the same.

Stark made a face. "I want to catch up to them, all right. The problem is, this is the only following charm I've ever learned, and its purpose is to help you find lost loved ones, or missing pets or something. It's for lost creatures you care about, not for hunting.

"The thing is, I want to do something terrible to those Death Eaters when we catch them, and I think that might be interfering with the charm: I'm not using it the way it's supposed to be used. I'll keep trying, but you two- you're trying to find your brothers." Stark glanced at Loki, almost apologetically. "It might be more than a first-year can manage, no matter how badly Loki wants to find Thor. So, Barney- "

Loki didn't miss the use of Barney instead of Barton, and he suspected Barney didn't, either.

"Okay," Barney said gruffly, taking out his wand. His knuckles were white as he clenched it. When Loki pulled out his own wand, he saw his own hand looked exactly the same.

"Okay," Stark said, "both of you, think really hard about your brothers. Think about finding them. Just that. As hard as you can."

Loki took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He imagined Thor, as hard as he could. Thor, standing in a clearing among the trees, unhurt and glad to see him. The picture wobbled, and Loki let it go. Then he pictured Thor again, looking scared. That was much easier, because he knew Thor would be scared, the moment the Imperius curse was lifted and he realized what was going on. It was easier to imagine that than trying to pretend he would ever be happy to see Loki.

It didn't matter if he ever was happy to see Loki. It didn't matter if they were never friends, ever. Loki just wanted him to be safe.

"Okay," Stark said softly. "Once you have your brothers clear in your mind, I want you to say the incantation: sequuntio. When you're ready."

You couldn't rush magic, and Loki knew it. That led to rotten magic. Still, the urge to just blurt out the incantation was awful, even though he knew perfectly well that would probably result in him having to start all over again.

Thor. Thor was out there somewhere. He was out there scared, and in danger, and Loki had to find him and bring help. Had to.

Loki took a deep breath, let it out, and raised his wand. "Sequuntio," he breathed. He was concentrating so hard, he didn't even hear Barney and Stark saying the same word.

When Loki opened his eyes, there were two sets of golden tracks gleaming before them. The smaller ones shone brightest, but the big ones were perfectly readable, too. Beside them, a tangle of other prints was briefly visible and then winked out.

Stark exhaled. "Okay. Good job, both of you. Stick close, everyone." Annie patted Loki's hand and George and Mitchell his back in congratulation, and they all crept after Stark.

Having the tracks to follow was a huge help, but they had to go carefully and quietly so as not to be heard. Stark might have known some charms that would make it hard for the people they followed to hear their approach, but he probably had enough on his mind without adding yet another spell on top. And anyway, the only spell Loki knew of that would do the job was Muffliato, which caused a buzzing in the ears of anyone nearby- which meant that, if you knew what to pay attention to, you'd at least know there was someone casting the charm near you. Which of course would only serve to alert their quarry, anyway.

It was mid-morning and the sun set early at this time of year, which meant it should be quite high in the sky by now. You wouldn't know that here in the Forest, though: the feeble late-winter sun could hardly reach down through the tangled branches overhead, and the shadows reached out for them from everywhere.

Loki tried not to think about that. He was still a little shaken up, hadn't slept at all well in the two nights since his misadventure. In fact, he'd actually made himself ask the other boys if it was all right to leave a lamp lit next to his bed. The other first years had been very nice about it, and George and Mitchell even tried to sit up with him. They'd ended up falling asleep anyway, but Loki was grateful to them for trying. And listening to the others breathing quietly in their sleep had finally soothed Loki to sleep, too.

Of course, he wasn't trying to sleep now, but the Forbidden Forest certainly wasn't the Hufflepuff dormitory, where Loki could usually remember the shadows were friendly. Here in the Forest, they weren't, and that wasn't even his imagination. There was even a little comfort in knowing he wasn't making it all up- George, on the first day of Defense Against the Dark Arts, had said something like that, about how it was almost a relief to know there were things to be afraid of, instead of having people tell you your fears weren't real and you were stupid to have them.

He was afraid now, all right, and had plenty of reason to be. But he wasn't any more frightened than anyone else, even Stark, who was probably scared to death of losing one of the younger students with him as he tried to rescue the other two. Really, Loki felt bad about that.

Not bad enough to volunteer to drop out of the pursuit, though. Not when it was his parents who had, for reasons Loki didn't understand yet, kidnapped his brother. And Barney's brother too, of course.

Stark suddenly came to a halt, holding out a hand to keep the others from trying to pass him by.

"Shh," he whispered, although by now that wasn't necessary: all of them could hear the tramp of feet, the crackle of large bodies breaking through the snowy underbrush all around them. It sounded like a lot more than three fugitives, but Loki's breath still caught in his throat as he thought of the many dangerous and unfriendly creatures that were known to live here in the Forbidden Forest. Werewolves. Acromantulas- the giant spiders not even Hagrid could safely encounter. Hippogriffs, which- according to the book his parents had given him for his birthday- weren't Dark creatures, but could certainly be dangerous.

The noises grew louder, and Loki's heart thumped as he realized they were surrounded.

Stark gestured desperately at the undergrowth. Catching his meaning, Barney pushed Mitchell, hard, toward a sort of thicket, and nearly slung George after him. "Hide," he hissed at Loki and Annie. Then he gave Stark a fierce look when it seemed like the head boy would try to make him do the same. Stark just nodded at him, and then both boys gripped their wands in fearful defiance, turning to try and keep an eye on all the approaching creatures at once.

"What are you doing, here in our Forest?" asked a deep voice. Loki and his friends peeked through the underbrush- and Loki nearly cried out in relief when he recognized the half-horse, half-human shapes of centaurs surrounding them.

Stark swallowed hard and, obviously trying to keep his voice steady, replied, "There are human criminals hiding here in the forest, and they've kidnapped two boys from the school. My friend and I are trying to rescue them. Please let us pass."

The centaur who had spoken was chestnut-bodied and red-haired. He frowned at Stark's words.

"There are more here than just you two," he said, in an accusing tone. "We heard your approach, and also your warnings to the others to hide. Are you bringing a force here, to infiltrate our home?"

"Don't be- " Barney started to reply, and Stark clamped a hand down on his shoulder before he could say something really insulting to the proud centaurs.

"Come on out, guys," Stark said quietly. Loki, Annie, George and Mitchell did, slithering through branches and then standing next to the older boys.

The centaurs- Loki counted seven in a loose ring around them, although there might have been others in a second rank further back in the underbrush- looked them over. Loki's relief had already begun to leak away when the centaurs spoke, and now he found himself as frightened as ever. Centaurs were as intelligent as humans and they certainly didn't attack anyone without what they considered a good reason, but Loki had momentarily forgotten that most of them didn't like or trust humans. It crossed his mind to wonder exactly what a centaur would consider a good reason to attack someone. Trespassing, maybe.

You really couldn't blame the centaurs for their attitude, of course, since humans (whether magical or not) often behaved very badly toward other species. Knowing that wasn't a whole lot of comfort when you were looking up at someone who was nearly seven feet tall when he stood fully upright, and wondering what he intended to do to you.

The chestnut spokes-centaur took an unhurried step toward the huddled first-years. Annie grabbed Loki's hand, and Loki grabbed Mitchell's, and he was pretty sure Mitchell grabbed George's. They didn't move, though.

After a long, considering pause, the chestnut centaur turned toward Stark.

"These are mere foals," he said, with disapproval clear in his voice. "Why do you bring them here, where so much danger awaits?" He was evidently not including himself and his friends in the "so much danger" category, but Loki really didn't like the centaur's expression as he faced Stark again.

"He didn't want us to come," Mitchell said quickly. "He told us to stay back at the school, where it was safe, but my friend- " he gestured at Loki- "is the brother of one of the boys who was kidnapped. He had to come after his brother, and we had to come after him."

A second centaur- lighter chestnut, with a flaxen tail, bigger and burlier than the first- spoke up.

"This forest is not a place for the young and helpless." His grey eyes raked Stark up and down. "You will take these foals back to the castle of Hogwarts, before any harm befalls them."

"He will not," Loki retorted, his voice high with tension.

"We don't have time to fight with you about this," Stark added, tension making his voice sharp. "Just step aside and let us go."

It was the wrong thing to say. Loki didn't know exactly why it was the wrong thing to say, but he certainly noticed the centaurs all suddenly go still and become somehow even more threatening.

"You would order us, human?" asked the first centaur, in the sort of calmly reasonable voice Professor Fury might use just before he gave you detention for the rest of your life. Loki had the feeling these centaurs might have even worse ways of expressing their offence. "In our own home, you would command us like beasts?"

"That's not what he meant," Annie said hastily, and flinched when all the centaurs turned to look at her. She clutched at Loki's hand. "It's, it's not an order. Humans just talk like that when we're scared or in a hurry, and right now we're both. What he meant was, please let us go find our friends. Their brothers," she added, gesturing at Loki and Barney. "Please," she repeated, in a nervous squeak.

Loki held his breath. Centaurs were herd creatures, weren't they? Surely that meant they'd want to save a friend or family member, would understand what Loki and his friends wanted to do?

After a long pause, the first centaur looked at the second and nodded.

And then he stepped out of the way.

"On your head be it," he said, with a disapproving look from Stark to Loki and the others. If he was genuinely concerned with protecting the younger kids, Loki thought, it would make more sense for them to offer to help, but he had enough sense not to suggest anything of the sort.

"Thank you," Annie said, politely and with dignity.

A moment later, much more quietly than they had gathered, the centaurs were gone.

Stark blew out a breath that it sounded like he'd been holding for a while. Then he smiled shakily at Annie.

"Thanks, kid," he said.

"You're welcome," Annie replied gravely.

Of course the magical footprints had faded away while they were talking to the centaurs. Loki and the others were just taking out their wands, to renew the following charm, when they heard the sounds of yet more creatures approaching.

"Are they coming back?" Mitchell wondered out loud.

"That's not centaurs," George whispered, eyes wide. "The footfalls are wrong." He gulped. "Unless there's such a thing as a centaur with eight legs."

"Oh, crap," Stark gulped, the colour draining from his face. Loki could feel his own breath coming short: acromantulas. It had to be acromantulas.

"What are we going to do?" Barney asked, looking at Stark as if he trusted the older boy to solve the problem. Loki was trying to remember what his book said about the giant spiders, but he hadn't read the chapter closely enough.

"We climb a tree," George said quickly. Everyone looked at him. George flapped his hands. "Up, quick! They can climb, but they don't like to, and when they're on the ground they don't usually look up. Hurry!"

It turned out Barney and Mitchell could climb like squirrels, and they reached down to help Loki, Annie, and George up as Stark boosted them from below. Loki was ready to shriek in anxiety by the time Stark finally pulled himself up into the branches of the leafless oak they had chosen- just in time, as what looked like a carpet of huge grey hairy giant spiders went scuttling underneath their perch.

Really, it was hard to imagine creatures as big as these being able to climb a tree, even one the size of this oak: the smallest of them was the size of a small car, at least to Loki's horrified eyes. He still held perfectly still with a hand over his mouth, in case he made any little sound that might draw the spiders' attention. And he hoped with everything in him that they didn't happen to go in the same direction the three prisoners had taken Thor and Clint.

The spiders were obviously going somewhere in particular, because they hurried along with the single-minded determination of Muggle traffic on a motorway. In a surprisingly short time they were gone, the sounds of their many feet fading into the distance. Even so, it was a few minutes more before the students were able to gather the courage to climb back down out of the tree.

"Okay," Stark whispered, with a smile he obviously hoped would be reassuring, "let's try that again."

They re-cast the sequuntio charm, and to everyone's relief the shining footprints went off at an angle from the tracks made by the spiders. Stark took the lead once again, and as the footprints grew brighter Loki realized they were catching up. They gathered more tightly together, trying to huddle at the same time they also attempted to move in complete silence.

And then they could hear voices. Loki held his breath as Stark gestured for everyone to stop and listen. They still couldn't make out words, but the murmur coming from up ahead was definitely human.

And then, abruptly, someone screamed.