A/N: lololololol hiiii, long time no see. The funny thing is, I already have the first book finished and have been sitting on the chapters. Life just got way too busy. I wanna finish this story so bad. ,)
Fun Fact: Urie is super tall. At her full height, she will be 6'2".
(Harry POV)
At first the next day, no one understood why the Slytherin points had suddenly dipped so low. How could they lose eighty points in just one night? Then, the tale spread; four first years— all out of bed and suddenly, it was like we were bait in a shark tank.
No one would speak to any of us and when they did, their words were harsh and like venom dropping off their tongues. Not even Draco, with his powerful father could bully or scare people into leaving him alone and oh man, did he try. Not even Quidditch was fun anymore, as no one would speak to me and when they had to talk to me, they referred to me as "The Seeker".
I felt so bad for ensuring the loss of our House for the cup, that I even tried to resign from the Quidditch team, but Flint wouldn't hear of it and said that there was no point in me quitting as at least with me we had a choice of gaining at least a bit of our points back.
The guilt didn't stop at quidditch though, and I allowed myself to stew in my shame, taking every comment and hex like a man. I knew that sneaking out was wrong and now, I was paying the price. I wouldn't do it again though, I was done sneaking around and snooping, and from that next day on, I spent all my time with Henry, Draco and Urie.
We sat together in classes, ate our meals and studied endlessly by the lake and even went as far as to find the least populated bathrooms to use when we had to go, as to avoid the wrath of the other Slytherins.
I was almost glad that the exams weren't far away. All the studying we had to do seemed to keep all our minds off the misery we now experienced, daily. Keeping to ourselves, we worked late into the night, trying to remember the ingredients in complicated potions, learn charms and spells by heart, memorize the dates of magical discoveries and goblin rebellions… Urie was now very confident she'd pass, so we were at least glad for that.
Then, about a week before the exams were due to start, my new resolution not to interfere in anything that didn't concern me was put to an unexpected test. Walking back from the library on my own one afternoon, I heard somebody whimpering from a classroom up ahead. As I drew closer, I heard Quirrell's voice.
"No -- no -- not again, please--"
It sounded as though someone was threatening him. I moved closer, my heart speeding up as I did.
"All right -- all right -- " I heard Quirrell sob.
Next second, Quirrell came hurrying out of the classroom straightening his turban. He was pale and looked as though he was about to cry. He strode out of sight; I didn't even think he had even noticed me. I waited until Quirrell's footsteps had disappeared, then peered into the classroom. It was empty, but a door stood ajar at the other end. I was halfway toward it before I remembered what I'd promised myself about not meddling.
All the same, I would gamble twelve Sorcerer's Stones that Snape had just left the room, and from what I'd just heard, Snape would be walking with a new spring in his step -- Quirrell seemed to have given in at last.
Turning right around, I went back to the library, where my friends looked up at me when I approached. "James, I thought you were tired..?" Draco said, but sitting down, I began to explain to them what I'd just overheard.
"So, he's done it, then." Henry said. "If Snapes figured out how to get past whatever enchantment Quirrell's put up—"
"There's still Fluffy." Urie pointed out, but Draco shook his head.
"There's tens of thousands of books in here. He could've easily found one that would let him know how to get past a three headed dog." He gestured around with a roll of his eyes. This was clearly the obvious conclusion for him.
"What do we do then?" Asked Henry, the light of adventure sparkling in his eyes.
Before I could answer however, Urie said. "We go to Dumbledore."
"But we've got no proof!" I said. "Quirrell's too scared to back us up. Snape's only got to say he doesn't know how the troll got in at Halloween and that he was nowhere near the third floor -- who do you think they'll believe, him or us? It's not exactly a secret we went to dad, who told him off, Dumbledore'll think we made it up to get him sacked. Filch wouldn't help us if his life depended on it, he's too friendly with Snape, and the more students get thrown out, the better, he'll think. And don't forget, we're not supposed to know about the Stone or Fluffy. That'll take a lot of explaining."
"If we just go poking around—"
"No." I said. "Honestly, I don't even know why I said anything. I'm done sneaking around." I sat back down and pulled a star chart to myself to begin remembering Jupiter's moons.
The next morning, all four of us received the same note at breakfast, telling us that we were to meet Fllch in the entrance hall tonight. None of us complained, all of us feeling as though we deserved this punishment, whatever it would be.
At eleven o'clock that night, we went down to the entrance hall, where Filch was already waiting.
"Follow me," said the caretaker, lighting a lamp and leading us outside.
"I bet you'll think twice about breaking a school rule again, won't you, eh?" he said, leering at us. "Oh yes... hard work and pain are the best teachers if you ask me... It's just a pity they let the old punishments die out... hang you by your wrists from the ceiling for a few days, I've got the chains still in my office, keep 'em well oiled in case they're ever needed... Right, off we go, and don't think of running off, now, it'll be worse for you if you do."
We marched off across the dark grounds. All of us wondering what our punishment was going to be as we went. It must be something really horrible, or Filch wouldn't be sounding so delighted.
The moon was bright, but with clouds scudding across it, it kept throwing us into darkness. Ahead, I could see the lighted windows of Hagrid's hut. Then I heard a distant shout.
"Is that you, Filch? Hurry up, I want ter get started."
My heart rose; if we were going to be working with Hagrid it wouldn't be so bad. My relief must have shown on my face, because Filch said, "I suppose you think you'll be enjoying yourself with that oaf? Well, think again, boy -- it's into the forest you're going and I'm much mistaken if you'll all come out in one piece."
At this, Urie let out a little moan, and Draco stopped dead in his tracks.
"The forest?" he repeated, and he didn't sound quite as cool as usual. "We can't go in there at night -- there's all sorts of things in there -- werewolves, I heard."
"That's your problem, isn't it?" said Filch, his voice cracking with glee. "Should've thought of them werewolves before you got in trouble, shouldn't you?"
Hagrid came striding toward us out of the dark, Fang at his heel. He was carrying his large crossbow, and a quiver of arrows hung over his shoulder.
"Abou' time," he said. "I bin waitin' fer half an hour already. All right, James, Henry?"
"I shouldn't be too friendly to them, Hagrid," said Filch coldly, 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 your place ter do that. Yeh've done yer bit, I'll take over from here."
"I'll be back at dawn," said Filch, "for what's left of them," he added nastily, and he turned and started back toward the castle, his lamp bobbing away in the darkness.
Draco now turned to Hagrid. "I'm not going in that forest," he said, a note of panic in his voice.
"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 dangerous 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 yer that's how it is at Hogwarts," Hagrid growled. "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."
Draco didn't move. He looked at Hagrid furiously, but then dropped his gaze.
"Right then," said Hagrid, "now, listen carefully, 'cause it's dangerous what we're gonna do tonight, an' I don' want no one takin' risks. Follow me over here a moment."
We followed him to the very edge of the forest, where he held his lamp up high and pointed down a narrow, winding earth track that disappeared into the thick black trees. A light breeze lifted out hair as we looked into the forest.
"Look there," said Hagrid, "see that stuff shinin' on the ground? Silvery stuff? That's unicorn blood. There's a unicorn in there bin hurt badly by summat. This is the second time in a week. I found one dead last Wednesday. We're gonna try an' find the poor thing. We might have ter put it out of its misery."
"And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?" said Urie, unable to keep the fear out of her 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 bin staggerin' around since last night at least."
"I want Fang," said Draco quickly, looking at Fang's long teeth.
"All right, but I warn yeh, he's a coward," said Hagrid. "So me, James, an' Henry'll go one way an' Draco, Urie, an' Fang'll go the other. 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 in trouble, send up red sparks, an' we'll all come an' find yeh -- so, be careful -- let's go."
The forest was black and silent. A little way into it we reached a fork in the earth path, we took the left path while Draco, Urie, and Fang took the right.
We walked in silence, our eyes on the ground. Every now and then a ray of moonlight through the branches above lit a spot of silver-blue blood on the fallen leaves.
Looking over, I could see that Hagrid looked very worried.
"Could a werewolf be killing the unicorns?" Henry finally asked.
"Not fast enough," said Hagrid. "It's not easy ter catch a unicorn, they're powerful magic creatures. I never knew one ter be hurt before."
We walked past a mossy tree stump, where I could hear running water. There must be a stream somewhere close by. There were still spots of unicorn blood here and there along the winding path.
"Don' worry you two, it can't've gone far if it's this badly hurt, an' then we'll be able ter -- GET BEHIND THAT TREE!"
Hagrid seized Henry and I and hoisted us off the path behind a towering oak. He pulled out an arrow and fitted it into his crossbow, raising it, ready to fire. We all listened quietly. Something was slithering over dead leaves nearby: it sounded like a cloak trailing along the ground. Hagrid was squinting up the dark path, but after a few seconds, the sound faded away.
"I knew it," he murmured. "There's summat in here that shouldn' be."
"A werewolf?" I suggested.
"That wasn' no werewolf an' it wasn' no unicorn, neither," said Hagrid grimly. "Right, follow me, but careful, now."
We walked more slowly, ears straining for the faintest sound. Suddenly, in a clearing ahead, something definitely moved.
"Who's there?" Hagrid called. "Show yerself -- I'm armed!"
Into the clearing came a centaur, with a red beard and hair on his head, but below, he had a gleaming chestnut body with a long, reddish tail.
"Oh, it's you, Ronan," said Hagrid in relief. "How are yeh?"
He walked forward and shook the centaur's hand.
"Good evening to you, Hagrid," said Ronan. He had a deep, sorrowful voice. "Were you going to shoot me?"
"Can't be too careful, Ronan," said Hagrid, patting his crossbow. "There's summat bad loose in this forest. This is James and Henry Darken, by the way. Students up at the school. An' this is Ronan, you two. He's a centaur.
"We'd noticed," said Henry.
"Good evening," said Ronan. "Students, are you? And do you learn much, up at the school?"
"Erm--"
"A bit," said Henry again.
"A bit. Well, that's something." Ronan sighed. He flung back his head and stared at the sky. "Mars is bright tonight."
"Yeah," said Hagrid, glancing up, too. "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 unblinkingly upward, then sighed again.
"Always the innocent are the first victims," he said. "So it has been for ages past, so it is now."
"Yeah," said Hagrid, "but have yeh seen anythin' Ronan? Anythin' unusual?"
"Mars is bright tonight," Ronan repeated, while Hagrid watched him impatiently. "Unusually bright."
"Yeah, but I was meanin' anythin' unusual a bit nearer home," said Hagrid. "So yeh haven't noticed anythin' strange?"
Yet again, Ronan took a while to answer. At last, he said, "The forest hides many secrets."
A movement in the trees behind Ronan made Hagrid raise his bow again, but it was only a second centaur, black-haired and -bodied and wilder-looking than Ronan.
"Hullo, Bane," said Hagrid. "All right?"
"Good evening, Hagrid, I hope you are well?"
"Well enough. Look, I've jus' bin askin' Ronan, you seen anythin' odd in here lately? There's a unicorn bin injured -- would yeh know anythin' about it?"
Bane walked over to stand next to Ronan. He looked skyward. "Mars is bright tonight," he said simply.
"We've heard," said Hagrid grumpily. "Well, if either of you do see anythin', let me know, won't yeh? We'll be off, then."
Henry and I followed him out of the clearing, looking over our shoulders at Ronan and Bane until the trees blocked our view.
"Never," said Hagrid irritably, "try an' get a straight answer out of a centaur. Ruddy stargazers. Not interested in anythin' closer'n the moon."
"Are there many of them in here?"
"Oh, a fair few... Keep themselves to themselves mostly, but they're good enough about turnin' up if ever I want a word. They're deep, mind, centaurs... they know things... jus' don' let on much."
"Do you think that was a centaur we heard earlier?" I asked.
"Did that sound like hooves to you? Nah, if yeh ask me, that was what's bin killin' the unicorns -- never heard anythin' like it before."
We walked on through the dense, dark trees, with me looking over my shoulder as we went. I kept getting this nasty feeling, like we were being watched, and because of this, I was very glad we had Hagrid and his crossbow with us. They had just passed a bend in the path when Henry grabbed Hagrid's arm.
"Hagrid! Look! Red sparks, the others are in trouble!"
"You two wait here!" Hagrid shouted. "Stay on the path, I'll come back for yeh!"
We watched him leave, crashing through the undergrowth as he went. We stood still, looking at each other, very scared, until too soon, we couldn't hear anything but the rustling of leaves around us.
"You don't think they've been hurt, do you?" whispered Henry.
"I hope not."
The minutes dragged by. Our ears seeming sharper than usual, with them picking up every sigh of the wind, every cracking twig. What was going on? Where were the others?
At last, a great crunching noise announced Hagrid's return. The others were all with him and Hagrid was fuming. Urie, it seemed, had sneaked up behind Draco and grabbed him as a joke, causing Draco to panic and send up the sparks.
"We'll be lucky ter catch anythin' now, with the racket you two were makin'. Right, we're changin' groups -- Urie and Draco will stay with me, so I can keep an eye on 'em. James, you go with Henry 'an Fang. we've gotta get this done."
With that, I set off into the heart of the forest with Henry and Fang. Walking for nearly half an hour, deeper and deeper into the forest, until the path became almost impossible to follow because the trees were so thick. As we walked and I looked, I thought the blood seemed to be getting thicker. There were splashes on the roots of a tree, as though the poor creature had been thrashing around in pain close by. Eventually, I saw a clearing ahead, through the tangled branches of an ancient oak.
"Look -- " I held out my arm to stop Henry, before we both slowly creeped forward.
Something bright white was gleaming on the ground.
It was the unicorn all right, and it was dead. Never in my life had I thought I would ever see anything so beautiful and so very sad. Its long, slender legs were stuck out at odd angles where it had fallen and its mane was spread pearly-white on the dark leaves.
I'd taken one step toward it when a slithering sound made me freeze where I stood. A bush on the edge of the clearing quivered... Then, out of the shadows, a hooded figure came crawling across the ground like some stalking beast. Horrified, all three of us stood transfixed. The cloaked figure reached the unicorn, lowered its head over the wound in the animal's side, and began to drink its blood.
"Nononononooooooo…" Henry began to sweat, his trembling lips moving as he backed away, ever so slowly, then grabbed my arm to drag me away.
Then quite suddenly, I couldn't see anything and the pain in my head was so great, it made me writhe as ever so slowly, I fell to the ground. It was as if a white hot knife had been run through me. I couldn't think, I couldn't feel, I couldn't see.
Henry began to scream as a figure now galloped into the clearing to chase the slithering creature away, but I hadn't noticed quite yet as I curled on the forest floor, my fingers holding my hair.
Then quite as suddenly, the pain was gone.
Shaking, my head pounding, I looked up.
"Are you all right?" It was a centaur, and offering his hand to me, he pulled me to my feet.
"Yes -- thank you -- what was that?"
The centaur looked up at the sky for a moment before looking back at Henry and I. We had begun to walk now, the centaur seeming to lead us back to where Hagrid was, though very cautiously. "Do you boys know what unicorn blood is used for?"
"No," we said in unison, startled by the odd question.
"We've only used the horn and tail hair in Potions." I added.
"That is because it is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn," said the centaur. "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 pure and defenseless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips."
We stared at him in abject shock as Henry asked. "But who'd be that desperate?"
"If you're going to be cursed forever, death's better, isn't it?" I added.
"It is," The centaur agreed, "unless all you need is to stay alive long enough to drink something else -- something that will bring you back to full strength and power -- something that will mean you can never die. Would you two happen to know what is hidden in the school at this very moment?"
"The Sorcerer'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?"
It was as if a fist had clenched around my heart as a shiver raced through my spine and I looked at my cousin as we walked. Dad had told us of his doubts, that he thought Voldemort was still alive, but I doubt either of us had really considered the possibility until now.
"Do you mean," I croaked, "that was Vol-"
"James! Henry! Are you guys all right?"
Draco and Urie were running toward us down the path, Hagrid puffing along behind them.
"I'm fine," I said, hardly knowing what I was saying. "The unicorn's dead, Hagrid, it's in that clearing back there."
"This is where I leave you," The centaur murmured as Hagrid hurried off to examine the unicorn. "You are safe now."
"Good luck, Harry Potter," He suddenly whispered in my ear, causing me to jump, but looking around, I saw that no one had heard him. Henry was now with Urie and Draco, telling them quietly what we'd seen. "The planets have been read wrongly before now, even by centaurs. I hope this is one of those times."
He turned and cantered back into the depths of the forest, leaving me shivering in confused terror behind him.
