Harry began to regret his existence more and more with every passed minute. For the first time in his life, he began to wish that he could be back on the Privet Drive, locked in the cupboard under the stairs, and pretend that he didn't exist.
Unfortunately, he was serving detention right now.
After he and Hermione got rid of the Chimera that Hagrid hatched, Filch caught them. He then took them to office of Professor McGonagall. There, they found that poor Neville — poor, clumsy, kind-hearted Neville — was trying to find and warn them.
They got scolded, everyone lost 50 points, and Harry swore to himself that he would never get involved in things that were not his business ever again.
One week later, they received a note informing them they would serve their detention on Friday night at eleven o'clock.
Filch led them to Hagrid, who told them they were going to the forest.
So now he was walking in a dark forest called FORBIDDEN, internally cussing and panicking.
Are they for real now? We got into trouble because we were up late at night in a place where we had not supposed to be, and now we have to serve our detention in the same way, with the person we have the problem for in the first place? Like, really?
Professor McGonagall lost Harry's respect. He expected something different from her, not something dangerous like this.
"This is the unicorn's blood. There's a unicorn hurt in that forest. It's been the second this week. Last Wednesday I found one already dead. Let's try to find the poor thing. Maybe we can still help him." said Hagrid, bringing Harry from his internal monologue.
Harry became angrier and angrier with Hagrid. First a dubiously gained Chimera egg, and now he thinks it's a good idea to bring four children into a FORBIDDEN forest, looking for something that is killing unicorns?
"And what if that, what's hurt the unicorn, finds us?" Malfoy asked, unable to hide his fear. For the first time, Harry had to agree with Malfoy. Hagrid obviously didn't realize the danger they might be in. "If you're with me or Fang, nothing that lives in this forest will hurt you," Hagrid said. Harry doubted that.
They divided. Another good idea, Harry thought bitterly. He went with Hermione and Hagrid first, while Neville went with Malfoy and Fang. As Harry sort of expected, Malfoy had to scare Neville, so he was with Malfoy now.
They walked for almost half an hour. Harry doesn't even try to start a conversation. After what happened in train, Malfoy started acting like their previous meetings didn't happen. In reality, it looked like he made his personal goal to make Harrys live complicated and miserable like he can. It was apparent that he started copying behaviour of his Godfather toward him.
They went deeper and deeper into the forest until the path became almost impossible to follow because the trees were so thick. Harry thought the blood seemed to get thicker. There were splashes on the roots of a tree, as though the poor creature had been thrashing around in pain close by. Harry could see a clearing ahead, through the tangled branches of an ancient oak.
"Look — " he murmured, holding out his arm to stop Malfoy.
Something dazzling white shimmered on the ground. They inched carefully closer.
It really was a unicorn, and it was dead. Harry had never seen anything so beautiful and sad. The long, slender body lay twisted in an unnatural position as it fell to the ground, its mane spreading on the dark leaves.
Harry wanted to walk toward the unicorn but stopped abruptly where he stood because there was a rustling nearby. The bushes on the edge of the clearing trembled... And then a figure in a hood emerged from the shadows and, like a beast on all fours, crept across the grass. Harry, Malfoy, and Fang stood transfixed and stared in horror. The cloaked figure reached the unicorn, lowered its head over the wound, and began to drink its blood.
"AAAAAAAAAARGH!"
Malfoy screamed and ran - Fang did the same. The cloaked figure raised his head and looked straight at Harry - blood dripping from her mouth. It stood up to its feet and came swiftly toward Harry- he stood there stunned, unable to move for fear.
The figure approached, and danger erupted from every step. Then suddenly he felt such immense pain in his head as never before; he felt as if the scar on his forehead were on fire. Half blinded, he staggered backward.
Suddenly, there was a strange sound, strange bubbling and growling. The figure in front of Harry stopped. There was a thud behind, as if something had fallen to the ground. The growl sounded louder, and Harry felt breath on the top of his head.
The figure in front of Harry shifted, and there were crackling sound and a flash from behind him.
The pain in his head was so bad he fell to his knees. It took a minute, maybe two, for it to pass. When he looked up, the figure had gone.
But there was another figure crouched in front of him. It had dressed strangely and wore a helmet. At least Harry thought it was a helmet.
Figure looked at Harry and Harry looked back. The figure tilted its head to the side and continued staring. The breath on the top of his head was still present. He turned slowly. Two large golden-blue eyes, on a large dark, strangely shaped mass, stared into his.
There was a rustle of leaves from behind him and Harry turned back sharply. The mysterious figure was right next to him now. It was still looking at him.
Another rustle, this time from bushes.
Harry felt a firm grip on his shoulder and it jerked him back. The figure stood guard against him, growling, a ball of light forming in its palm, and the dark shape next to it visibly tensed as well. The golden-blue eyes narrowed, and a hissing was heard. A dark, shapeless mass formed a little. Harry recognized four legs, a tail and wings.
A centaur stepped out of the bushes, but it was neither Ronan nor Bane. He looked younger, had almost white hair and a pale blond body. He stopped as if he didn't understand what he was seeing.
The figure in front of Harry relaxed, and the glow disappeared from its palm. The four-legged creature also relaxed.
The figure raised a hand, made a strange gesture, and spoke in a strange language. The centaur repeated the gesture and answered in the same language. They didn't seem to pay attention to Harry.
While they were talking, Harry studied the four-legged creature. It was big, bigger than the figure talking to the Centaur, has a large rounded head, a slender body, a tail and wings. It resembled a large lizard with wings.
The creature noticed Harry was watching it and approached. They looked into each other's eyes again for a moment, then the creature sniffed him and sat down.
For a moment, everything seemed to stop. Everything was unrealistic to Harry. He stared at the large lizard creature sitting in front of him, watching him, while in the background the stranger and centaur speak in an unknown language. The conversation was clearly escalating as the two began to gesticulate.
The conversation halted, and the stranger sighed and backed away from the centaur. A strange bubbling sound reappeared. The creature in front of Harry sharpened attention and was beside the stranger in a blink of an eye. He put his hand on his head and a soft growl could be heard. Harry doubted the stranger was human.
Meanwhile, the centaur approached Harry and held out his hand. Harry completely forgot he was still on his knees.
"Are you all right?" asked the centaur, pulling Harry to his feet.
"Yes — thank you — what was that? Who - what - is that?"
The centaur did not answer. He had unusually blue eyes, like two pale sapphires. He looked carefully at Harry and rested his eyes on his scar on his forehead.
"You are the Potter boy," he said. "You had better get back to Hagrid. The forest is not safe — especially for you. Can you ride? It will be quicker this way."
"No, wait - what's going on? Who's that? What's that?" "You don't have to worry about that. Actually, it'll be better if you forget about them. Trust me, go back to school and forget all about this." the centaur completely and utterly ignored him.
"My name is Firenze," he added as he sank to his front legs so Harry could climb on his back.
The centaur began to leave the clearing with a slow step when there was a hiss and a stranger with a large lizard suddenly stood by them. The stranger looked at Harry, put his finger to his lips, and whispered a warning.
"You saw nothing. Pray, do not tell anybody about my existence."
And in the next blink of an eye were both gone. Only red-silver blood and a dead unicorn remained in the clearing.
Suddenly, there was a stamp of hooves on the other side. Ronan and Bane ran out of the trees, their flanks heaving and sweaty.
"Firenze!" Bane thundered. "What are you doing? You have a human on your back! Have you no shame? What are you, a common mule?"
"Do you not notice who it is?" Firenze asked. "This is the Potter boy. And THEY were here, both of them. He saw them. The faster he leaves this forest, the better."
"THEY have been seen? He should have erased his memory. Why did he not do that?" Bane growled.
What? Erase memory? Harry panicked internally.
"It is just a child, Bane. A Foal." protested Firenze. "He does not hurt children."
"Erasing memory is not hurting. What if he tells someone? THEY and others will be in danger. They will look for them. Who knows what they will do if they find them. History will repeat itself, maybe it will be even worse."
Ronan pawed the ground nervously. "He only did what he thought was right. I'm sure he thought he was acting for the best," he said in his gloomy voice.
Bane angrily kicked him in the hind legs.
"Why did he do it!? It would be better if he did it! For the best! They should have left a long time ago, anyway! It's the fault of the wizards. They roam OUR forest as if it belonged to them and cause troubles!"
Firenze suddenly got up angrily on his hind legs, so Harry had to quickly grab his shoulders so he wouldn't fall.
"Do you not see that unicorn?" Firenze bellowed at Bane. "It is dead! That's why he stayed here. Maybe it is not a unicorn from old times and his magic is not what it used to be, but it is still a unicorn! He wanted to find out who and why. Now he knows, now he understands. Do YOU understand why it was killed? Or have the planets kept this secret from you? I am determined to stand up to the monster that is lurking in this forest and secretly stealing from it, Bane, yes, even at the side of humans if necessary."
Firenze whisked around, jumped up; with Harry clutching on as best he could, and they both disappeared into the trees, leaving Ronan and Bane behind them.
Harry didn't have a clue what was going on.
"Why's Bane so angry?" he asked. "What, or who, were the ones who saved me? And the creature he was with? What was that thing they saved me from, anyway?"
Firenze slowed, warned Harry to keep his head down so that no branch would hurt him, but he didn't answer his questions. They walked silently through the trees until Harry thought Firenze didn't want to talk to him at all. They were passing through an extremely dense patch of trees, when Firenze suddenly stopped.
"Harry Potter, do you know what unicorn blood is used for?
"No," Harry replied, startled by the odd question. "We've only used the horn and tail hair in Potions."
"That is because it is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn," Firenze said. "Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something so pure and defenceless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips."
Harry stared at the top of Firenze's head, where silver spots shimmered in the moonlight.
"Who can be so terribly desperate?" he thought aloud. "If one is to be cursed forever, then it is better to choose death, isn't it?"
"It is," Firenze agreed, "but not if you want to stay alive only until you drink something else — something that will bring you back to full strength and power — something that will mean you can never die. Mr. Potter, do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment?"
"The Philosopher's Stone! Of course, - the Elixir of Life! But I don't understand who -"
"Can you think of nobody who has waited many years to return to power, who has clung to life, awaiting their chance?"
Harry suddenly felt as if an iron fist had gripped his heart. Over the rustling of the trees, he seemed to hear once more what Hagrid had told him "Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die."
"Do you mean," Harry croaked, "that was Vol-"
"Harry! Harry, are you all right?"
Hermione rushed toward them along the sidewalk, followed by puffing Hagrid.
"I'm fine," Harry said, hardly knowing what he was saying. "The unicorn's dead, it's back in the clearing."
"I'll leave you here," Firenze said a moment after Hagrid ran after the unicorn, "you're safe here. And keep quiet about what happened. You didn't see anyone or anything." He added quietly the last part.
Harry slipped down from his back.
"Good luck, Harry Potter," Firenze wished. "We can be wrong when we are reading from the planets, even though we are centaurs. I hope this is one of those times."
He turned and cantered back into the deep forest, and left shaken Harry behind.
Ron was waiting for them in the dark Common room and fell asleep. Harry shook him just as he shouted something in a dream about a Quidditch fouls. Then he and Hermione told him what had happened in the forest, and Ron was awake in a matter of seconds. But Harry left out the stranger with the lizard. He didn't even know why.
Harry couldn't sit. He paced here and there in front of the fireplace. He was still shaking.
"Snape wants the stone for Voldemort... and Voldemort's waiting in the forest... and we've been thinking all time that Snape just wanted to get rich..."
"Stop saying his name!" said Ron in a terrified whisper, as if Voldemort could hear them.
But Harry ignored him.
"Firenze saved me, but he shouldn't have done it ... Bane was furious ... he was talking about interfering with the things the planets predicted... they must have shown that Voldemort's coming back... Bane thinks Firenze should have let Voldemort kill me... I guess that's what's written in the stars."
"Will you stop saying the name!" Ron hissed.
"So now I have no choice but to wait for Snape to steal the stone." Harry continued feverishly, "then will Voldemort finally come here and I'll be over...I hope Bane will be happy then."
Hermione looked horrified, but she had comforting words for him.
"Harry, everyone says that the only one You-Know-Who was afraid is Dumbledore. If Dumbledore is around, You-Know-Who won't touch you. And besides, who says centaurs must be right? What you say about them, it sounds like fortune-telling, and Professor McGonagall says it's a very unreliable branch of magic."
The sky had turned light before they stopped talking. They went to bed exhausted, their throats sore.
Harry wanted to talk with Burmese before going to sleep, but the snake was nowhere near. Now when he thought about that, he didn't saw him for a while.
When Harry pulled back his sheets, he found his invisibility cloak folded neatly underneath them. There was a note pinned to it:
𝒥𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝒾𝓃 𝒸𝒶𝓈ℯ.