One day, Harry was summoned to Headmaster Dumbledore's office. He pretty much assumed that this was part of the detention that he was supposed to get. He stopped outside the gargoyle statue and spoke up, "Reese's Peanut Butter Cups!"

The statue moved and let him past and up the staircase. As he entered, he saw Professor Dumbledor writing a few letters as usual. Harry amusedly asked, "Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, professor? I had no idea that you were a big fan."

He smiled benignly, "Ahh! Yes… Sirius had recently sent me a gift of assorted variety of American Muggle candy. Granted, I still have a preference for Lemon Drops, but the other kinds of candy and chocolate are growing on me."

Then his expression grew serious, "Now I assume you know why you are here?"

Harry nodded, "Yes Professor, you mentioned on Halloween that you would decide my detention."

He replied, "That's right, however I am treating it like a quest for you. I understand that you have undertaken various quest at Camp Half-Blood?"

"Yes Professor."

"Very well… Hagrid has been recently reporting a disturbance in the Forbidden Forest. He says that some malevolent force is going around, killing unicorns. I do not know if it is one of these Greek monsters or if it is something else. Hence, I would like you to find the cause of this when you take your detention next week at 11 in the night. I trust you will be able to defend yourself from some of the Forest's more unsavory inhabitants? You will be allowed to keep your weapons of course. Ms Bell will also come with you for your quest. Officially speaking, she is merely there to supervise the detention."

Harry brought a closed fist over his heart, as a bit of a salute. He declared, "Thank you professor, you can count on us, sir."

At the end of the week, Harry and Katie met with Hagrid on the edge of the Courtyard at 11PM. Just then, he spotted a sheepish Ron, a nervous Neville and a fuming Hermione. Also with them was a sullen Draco Malfoy, with a grinning Argus Filch herding them along.

Ron spotted Harry, Katie and Hagrid and had a hopeful look on his face. However, Filch shoved him from behind, "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."

Malfoy froze in his tracks, "The forest! We can't go in there at night! There's all sorts of things in there, like werewolves!"

Hermione spoke up, "What are you doing here, Harry? Katie? I thought you two were back in the Common Room."

"This is my detention carried over from Halloween. Katie's only here to supervise."

She nodded in understanding. Then Hagrid's gruff voice interrupted, "Right then! Now, listen carefully, because it's dangerous what we're going to do tonight, and I don't want no one taking risks. Follow me over here a moment."

He led them to the very edge of the forest. Holding his lamp up high, he pointed down a narrow, winding earth track that disappeared into the thick black trees. A light breeze lifted their hair as they looked into the forest.

Hagrid pointed, "Look there! See that stuff shining on the ground? Silvery stuff? That's unicorn blood. There's a unicorn in there been hurt badly by something. This is the second time in a week. I found one dead last Wednesday. We're going try and find the poor thing. We might have to put it out of its misery."

"And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?" Malfoy said fearfully.

Hagrid replied, "There's nothing that lives in the forest that'll hurt you if you're with me or Fang. Keep to the path. Right, now, we're going to split into two parties an' follow the trail in different directions. There's blood all over the place, it must've bin staggering' around since last night at least."

Malfoy blurted "I want to be with you and Fang!"

Hagrid nodded, "All right, but I warn you, he's a coward but you'll be fine with me. So decide among yourselves who will go in which group. Now, if any of us finds the unicorn, we'll send up green sparks, right? Get your wands out and practice now - that's it - and if anyone gets in trouble, send up red sparks, and we'll all come and find you - so, be careful - let's go."

Harry interrupted, "Whoa! Back up a minute… What are the four of you doing out here in the first place? Why did you all get detention?"

Hermione glared at Ron, "Right, you weren't there. I think you had a meeting with Dumbledore so you had an early breakfast. Anyway, yesterday morning, Malfoy challenged us to a duel and THIS prat blindly accepted and named Neville as his second. Malfoy said that they had to meet him in the trophy room at midnight. Obviously, this was a trap and I could smell it a mile away. However, Ron refused to listen so I tagged along just to make sure they were not in over their heads. We were caught, but Malfoy was also out of bounds when he ratted us out to caretaker Filch."

Ron whined, "I already said I was sorry!"

Harry mused, "Well, that answers that question. So, how should we split up?"

Ron led him, Katie and Hermione a little out of Neville and Draco's earshot. He murmured, "I think its best if you two take Hermione. First of all, the three of us are the only ones who know of your secret. Also, Malfoy is a bloody bigot of the highest order. Back in the war, there was a Wizarding slur for Muggle-Borns. I'm only going to say this once, its 'Mudblood'. Basically for the Pure-Blood bigots, it means that the Muggle-Borns have tainted blood. If she was stuck with Malfoy, he'd probably taunt her with that word through the entire trip. Don't worry about me, I can hand that git, and I'll look out for Neville. At least if you run into another one of those monsters, you two can handle yourselves and protect her. Hermione, I'm not saying you're helpless, but I think Harry has more experience with those monsters. Katie's also been training with Harry, and I'm not sure if our wands will work."

Her slightly offended look faded as she made sense of his argument, then she nodded. Then, Ron and Neville joined Hagrid, heading in one direction, Harry, Katie and Hermione went the other way. After a few minutes of walking in the Forbidden Forest, Harry slipped off his rings, and a bow and a quiver full of arrows materialized in his hands. He tossed the weapons to Katie and unsheathed his hunting knives.

They walked in silence for a while, when suddenly, they heard the sound of millions of steps scurrying around. Hermione pressed closer to the two, her head looking around wildly in fear. Her wand arm was trembling. He nocked his bow, his eyes also scanning for danger. Then he spotted it, a large ant-like creature was ambling around a few metres to their left. Katie stuttered, "W-what's that?"

He muttered back, "A Myrmeke. They have a pretty tough hide and they can spit acid. Be careful, don't startle it. I don't think its noticed us yet. Also, where there is one, there will be a whole colony nearby. Tread carefully. Trust me, I'm a decent fighter, but we can't face an entire swarm."

They inched away slowly, never taking their eyes off the creature, until they were far away and lost sight of it.

Eventually, they continued walking deeper into the forest. Then, Harry stopped and crouched on the ground with one leg splayed out. Hermione and Katie crouched next to him, "What is it?"

"I can see some hoofprints on the ground. They're a little faint but they're there. We're on the trail now."

He pointed to the left, "They're headed that way, come on!"

Harry trotted off and the two girls hurried after him. Hermione puffed as she jogged after him, "How can you tell?"

"Phoebe is one of our best trackers and she taught me. I was a fast learner, and now I'm the third best after Phoebe and Zoe."

Just then, the sky above them lit up with red sparks, in the direction that they were going. The two took that as their cue to run towards the sparks. Admittedly, Harry did slow down so that Hermione and Katie could keep up with him.

When they burst through the bushes, they spotted a worrying scene. There was a swarm of Myrmekes surrounding the other group. Neville and Malfoy were unconscious, while Ron was firing spells from his wand, and Hagrid was firing arrows from his crossbow. Only Hagrid seemed to be earning a few monster kills, but Ron's spell work was only pushing the swarm back.

Harry, Katie and Hermione joined the fray, with the younger girl also firing spells. Meanwhile, Harry quickly checked the unconscious pair before drawing his knives and leaping into the fray. Next to Ron and Hermione, Katie Bell began firing arrows in quick succession. Unfortunately, the swarm was relentless and they were barely keeping them at bay.

Ron yelled, "What the bloody hell are these things!"

Harry hollered back, "They're called Myrmekes! Giant ants, and they have tough hides and can spit- RON WATCH OUT!"

Ron ducked as a glob of spit from a Myrmeke missed him and hit a tree. He gazed at it in fascinated horror as the saliva sizzled through the tree and caused it to topple. He snapped back to attention and kept firing spells. Hermione grit her teeth, "It's no use! Our spells are not doing anything! Only Harry, Katie and Hagrid are able to kill them!"

Just then, several dozen arrows rained down from different directions and managed to cut down several Myrmekes. There was a sound of multiple hooves galloping, and soon a group of centaurs arrived, armed with bows and arrows. Together, Harry, Hagrid and the centaurs managed to drive away the Myrmekes until they all scurried away.

Hagrid beamed at the newcomers, "Ronan! Firenze! Torvus! Good to see you!"

One of the Centaurs gave a small bow in their direction, "Hagrid… Hello students, learn much in school? What brings you out into the forest?"

Hermione replied, "We were in a detention and we found out that something was killing the unicorns."

A centaur inspected Neville and Draco, who were still unconscious. He mused, "Hmm… I see no physical injuries. Must have passed out upon seeing the monsters."

Then, the one called Firenze turned to Harry and bowed, "Well met, Child of the Moon. I bring fair warning… Mars is especially bright."

With that, they all left the area, and Harry crouched down again, before spotting a trail of silvery blood. He called out to the others, "I've got something!"

Hagrid hoisted Neville and Draco and draped them over his shoulders and followed the trio with Harry leading. As he moved further inland, the trail got clearer as they spotted the blood stains getting larger. Harry forged ahead with his knives drawn and his body in a battle stance. Hermione and Ron stuck as close to him and Katie as possible.

Then they saw a large white shape on the ground. Harry's blood boiled, this creature was pure and innocent. Whoever committed this crime against nature would face his and his sisters' wrath. Just then, a hooded figure came out of the foliage and stopped by the corpse. It then lowered its head and began to drink the unicorn's blood. Harry let out a cry of rage and flung a knife. The figure did nothing, but the knife phased through it, and Harry suddenly felt something try to invade his mind. He firmly expelled the malevolent force out of his mind. The figure recoiled and fled, as Katie let loose an arrow. It didn't quite hit its mark, but passed through the figure once again. Scowling, Harry retrieved the knife that embedded itself in a tree

After a few moments, some white figures stepped into the frame, and Hermione gave a small gasp. The unicorns were stunningly beautiful and they neighed mournfully at the sight of their fallen friend. Then, the herd noticed the humans nearby, and one trotted over to Hermione and nuzzled her. She giggled slightly, and it did the same to Katie. Then it locked eyes with Harry and trotted over to him

The unicorn neighed, "Child of the Moon, normally we do not approach males. However, we sense that you are pure of heart due to your heritage. We thank you for your efforts to try and expel the foul taint that has been culling our herd. We wish to ask you for a favour. With this taint still lingering, we do not feel safe in the forest. We request sanctuary in a safe haven."

Harry whinnied back, "I thank you for your trust, noble creature. Never fear, I have an idea."

He stepped back and pulled out a hunting horn, a gift from Zoe that came in two weeks ago. Harry put it to his lips and blew a long and loud blast. 20 minutes later, there was a sound of multiple feet running on the forest floor. Then, out of the bushes came a large group of girls in silver clothes and black leggings. Leading them was a familiar woman with auburn hair, and Harry's face brightened.

He rushed over and hugged her, "Mother!"

She morphed back into her adolescent form and smiled, "Hello my son, we were still on the trail of Greyback when we heard your call. What is the problem? Are these your friends?"

He nodded, "Yes mother, this is Hermione, that's Katie and this is Ron. I think you're met Hagrid. Also, the unconscious boys are Neville and Draco. Draco's the one in green, and neither of them are aware of my status."

She waved her hand, "Alright my son, I have put them to sleep now. Why have you summoned us?"

"We heard reports of a malevolent spirit that has been killing these unicorns and drinking their blood. Headmaster Dumbledore, under the pretext of a detention, asked me to investigate the matter, especially given my demigod status. Katie was also helping me, I recruited her into the Hunt a few weeks ago. The other four being here, was a coincidence."

Artemis looked over at Katie and had a calculating look. Then she approached as the girl knelt. She placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, "Rise, my child. I cannot think of anyone more worthy of being a Hunter. Welcome to the Hunt, sister. Promise me that you will look out for each other for the remainder of the year?"

The girl murmured, "Thank you for accepting me, My Lady. I promise to safeguard Harry, just as I hope that he will stand by me."

They nodded, then the goddess turned to Ron and Hermione, who were also kneeling. She crouched and gave them a once-over, "I am honoured to meet you. My son has spoken a lot about you in his letters. I hope you two will stick by him. Something is brewing in the demigod world. I am not sure what it is right now, but it may be big."

Then Ron shakily spoke, "L-Lady Artemis, I hope you are not offended by this, but why did you change from an adult woman into a girl who is our age?"

She smiled, "Not to worry Mr. Weasley, I am not offended. You are merely curious. It is true that I can take an adult form, but I prefer my adolescent form. This is because it helps me be more comfortable around my Hunters."

Ron bowed, "Thank you Lady Artemis."

Harry spoke up, "Mother, the unicorns do not feel safe over here, especially with this evil spirit lurking around. I was hoping some of them could remain in the Hunt, while others can head to Camp Half-Blood."

She nodded, "It is a solid plan. I shall go on ahead and speak to Lord Chiron about it. Zoe! I wish for you and the girls to bring some of the unicorns to our camp. The rest will go to Camp Half-Blood."

Just as they were being led away, one of the unicorns stopped in front of Harry. He recognised it as the one who spoke to him. It said, "Child of the Moon… I am yours, if you will have me? When you return from the school, I would be honoured to let you ride me."

He stroked the creature's muzzle, "It would be my honour"

Artemis began to glow and she called out, "Look away now!"

Everyone looked away instinctively, and there was a bright flash. When it died, Artemis was gone. Soon, the Hunters all left with the unicorns, including the one that Harry bonded with, but not before the girls each gave Harry a hug.

Silence reigned between the four students and one Game-keeper. Then Ron blurted, "Bloody hell! I never thought in a million years that I would meet a goddess!"

Hagrid checked his watch, "Alright I think it's time you lot were off to bed. I got to take care of these two sleepyheads as well."

By the time Harry and Ron flopped into bed, it was midnight. Katie had already returned his bow and arrows, which he promptly turned back into a pair of rings. He also sheathed his hunting knives. Neville was already asleep, and Ron was out like a light, as soon as he touched his pillow. After a bit of tossing and turning, Harry also fell asleep.