Chapter 7

Forbidden, but not forgotten

A whole day had passed, almost twenty-four hours in which Marley hadn't seen her Gryffindor friends. I mean, in all fairness, it was a Saturday, so it's not like she had been skipping classes or such. She did however refuse to leave the common room, too afraid of finding out if Hermione, Ron, and Harry were even her friends anymore. It was a frightening thought, and even doing crossword puzzles didn't cheer her up.

The only, well, suppose upside, was that Draco Malfoy finally shut his mouth for good. The other Slytherins had started avoiding the boy entirely, an insurmountable number of cold shoulders finally putting the blonde pest in his place. Although, as Draco sat down on a sofa close to her, she... did finally start to feel a bit bad for him. His usually slicked back hair was all loose and messy, his tie not properly bound, and his posture horrendously un-fancy.

After sunset, with Marley resorting to reading unfunny comic strips from her paper, the ancient door to their common room chamber opened, Snape standing in the frame like a silent movie spectre.

"Miss Verpe, and Mister Malfoy?", their professor inquired, causing both of them to rise like scared hen. "Your appearance is disastrous.", he flung at Draco, who began fixing his tie. It's in that moment when Marley spotted his pouchy eyes, being able to figure that he'd been crying, possibly a lot. Now she no longer felt joy from his misery.

"You two are to report for detention with Mister Hagrid at his residence. Mister Malfoy should already be familiar with this location, seeing as he sought it out last night."

The few unnamed Slytherins present giggle a bit, causing Draco to visibly frown.

"Need I remind you...", his gaze pierced right into Marley's soul as he continued, "...that loosing Slytherin House Points again will get you not only into more trouble...", he then shifted over to Malfoy, the boy gulping inaudibly, "...it will also get you into more trouble with me. Understood?"

Both kids nodded, before exiting the common room, an eerie feeling of shame raining over the pair like two individual clouds following them.

On their way to the courtyard and his little hut, Marley was not able to stop fiddling around with Leaghon's necklace, creating a metallic jingle. She would not let her emotions get the better of her, she had learnt that lesson once before. She could trust Harry. Sam's words rang in her memory, and they stood uncorrected. He liked her. And they would work it out. Ronald too. Worst case, Hermione would stop being their friend. But then again, who said that the girl hadn't changed her mind yet? Perhaps Marley would continue being alone moving forward-

"Will you stop that, Verpe?!", burst from Draco. The breaks on her train of thought squeaked horribly as she was brought back into the present.

"I'm nervous.", she decided to answer, not wanting to kick the boy while he's down.

"I care little about that!", he retorted, letting her know that it's okay to sound a little harsher.

"Well, it is your fault that I'm nervous, so you're going to have to deal with the consequences."

A scoff followed her remark.

"You've ruined everything.", a tiny hint of tears was audible in his shaky voice, "I'm the laughingstock of Slytherin now. Thanks for that."

"I'm very sorry you're going through a hard time Draco, but this is on you.", Marley gave back as she found her strength, "You chose to go after Harry and the others. If not, it would've just been me who had been caught. And then I'd be in your position..."

The girl shuddered at the thought, wondering if Sam would've been harsher to her if it were the case.

"Whatever.", Malfoy spoke as he rubbed his eyes, "I don't even get why you are friends with them. They're Gryffindor."

"And?", she interjected with as much opposition as humanly possible.

"And?", Draco started, sounding shaken to his core, "They're not to be trusted. They're arrogant rulebreakers who think they can get away with everything just because the current headmaster was a Gryffindor as well."

She really did ponder his words, finding an inkling of truth in them. Her friends and Marley had been somewhat reckless, Harry especially. Had he snuck into the restricted section if he were not a Gryffindor?

"Fine, they are.", the girl gave in, making her counterpart grimace in confusion, "But from what I can gather, the two of us also broke a bunch of rules and behaved rather reckless. Doesn't make us bad."

A shrug from her seemed completely foreign to him.

"Of course we're bad. We fumbled it. Massively. I know I did..."

Marley almost audibly reacts to this. Hagrid's hut is now in sight, five characters standing next to it.

"I can't believe I'm saying this but... don't be too hard on yourself, Draco. You're just a child. We all make mistakes."

He rejected her assessment via a scoff, though it appeared to mess with his head a little.

"That may be true for you, Verpe, but I have certain expectations I need to live up to. I have a family name."

Before their conversation was over, Marley threw in one last piece of her mind.

"That's precisely why I call you 'Draco', and not 'Malfoy'. You're a person, not an heirloom."

His final glare did not manage to be frightening at all.

Now in reach of Filch, Hagrid, and her three (hopefully still) friends, Marley nodded to the other kids, nervously anticipating their responses. Her heart skipped a beat as Harry nodded back last and with a significant delay.

"There they are.", Filch mumbled with the nasty energy of a crypt keeper, "I was wondering if I had to go look for you two. I already came up with my own punishment..."

In an act of comradery, Marley and Draco shared a fearful glance. Wanting to continue his belittlement of children, Filch was interrupted by Hagrid's snivels.

"Oh, good God, man, you're not still on about that bloody dragon, are you?", he barked at Hagrid.

"No, did they take his dragon away?", Marley spoke with compassion, though her disappointment also stemmed from her desire to see the creature up close herself.

"Norbert's gone. Dumbledore sent him off to live in some Romanian colony."

Hermione finally let herself be heard tonight.

"That's a good thing though. He'll be among his kind.", the girl assured the large man.

"Yeah, but what if he don't like Romania? What if the other dragons are mean to him? He's only a baby, after all..."

As all but Draco expressed sympathy, Filch grunting with pure disgust.

"For God's sake, pull yourself together. How do you expect to go into the forest when you're all whiny and squishy?"

At the comment Draco twitched like a bug.

"We're not actually going into the Forbidden Forest... right?", he began to cry, "That was a joke, wasn't it? Students aren't allowed to go there! There's... werewolves and such."

In the distance, a howling could be heard.

"Oh, much worse than that, lad.", Filch crowed with malice, "Nighty-night..."

As the caretaker wandered off, Marley began to think that this really was an overtly cruel form of punishment. Then again, she did live in a magic castle. With an old man grunt Hagrid rose from his seat, a crossbow held firmly in two hands and a dog by his side.

"Right. Let's go.", he growled, the kids following him, Malfoy the most scared. An itch of sympathy forced the Slytherin girl to walk up to him.

"Don't worry Draco, I'm sure there's no actual werewolves in there."

An assuring nod later and the girl got what she recalled being the first smile from Malfoy ever.

"Right, Hagrid?", she added, wanting to assure him further.

"Huh?"

"There are no actual werewolves in the forest. Right?"

Hagrid looked to the other Gryffindors, who gave him uneasy looks. The half-giant scratched his head.

"Uh... yes! Sure! What Marley said."

Marley and Draco shared another look, this one a lot less sure and more overtly comedic.

The Slytherin girl could taste a hint of stomach acid as Hagrid dipped his sausage fingers into the puddle of silvery sludge, having the consistency of mercury.

"What is that?", Harry inquired bravely.

"What we're here for.", the giant gave back, playing around with the substance, "That's unicorn's blood, that is."

"Does that happen... a lot?", Marley spoke almost in a whisper, "Unicorns just... bleeding?"

Hagrid let out a concerned sigh as the girl gulped.

"I found a dead one a few weeks back. That one was badly wounded by something. It's our job to go and find this poor beast now, hopefully still in one piece"

"By... something?", Marley whimpered. "Is it a good idea to go look for it then?"

Quite a reasonable concern, actually. Yet, interestingly, Hagrid relaxed at her cowering tone.

"Oh, you kids needn't worry. It was probably just a Winged Snoggler. Nasty critters. They like drinking magic blood."

"Well...", Ron began to stutter, "...don't we have magic blood?"

"I suppose Miss Granger doesn't need to be concerned, then.", Draco, of course, had to pile on. Before any conflict arose, Harry and Marley both held back their respective parties.

"Oh, no-no.", the groundskeeper began, "I'm talking about the blood of magical beasts. Wizards, witches, and sorcerers aren't part of their diet. Otherwise, Dumbledore wouldn't allow me to take you out here, now, would he?"

His hearty chuckle echoes through the dark, spooky, creeping, howling, terrifying woods.

"Either way, I'd say Ron, Hermione, and Draco are coming with me."

Not one child mentioned by name looked happy about this.

"Harry and Marley, you two can go together."

The Gryffindor and the Slytherin shared an uneasy look.

"Can I have Fang?", the girl asked excitedly.

"Sure. But just so you know, Fang's a wee bit of a coward."

The large dog whined quietly.

A good chunk of time had passed before Marley could truly say that they were lost. Stepping over roots and other such things, the floor was barely visible thanks to the almost prehistoric fog covering everything.

"Come on, Fang.", she commanded in a friendly voice, the mutt following her instructions with a hesitant aura. Noticeably, Harry had not said anything this whole time, and so Marley Verpe took a deep breath before speaking up.

"I bet you Draco is probably fighting with the others already."

Harry tilted his head to the side before responding, his back still turned as they both kept on walking.

"I'm glad I don't have to deal with Malfoy."

In the course of their conversation, Marley remembered her small level of sympathy for the Slytherin boy.

"You know...", she began as they crossed a small hill, "... he's not actually... that mean."

He briefly looked back at her, informing her of his confusion via a frown.

"Don't get me wrong, he can be rather nasty. But... I think he just... has problems at home."

Which is something Marley can more than relate to, Harry being aware of that.

"I had awful foster parents and I'm not letting it out on others.", the boy spoke with a sense of arrogance that struck one of Marley's nerves.

"Well, you are being kind of nasty right now, Harry."

Finally, it got him to stop. His features expressed a certain amount of sympathy hidden behind a very apparent façade.

"You said you agree with us. On Snape.", he finally started, "And now you've changed your mind?"

Clearly worked up, she made the guess that this is the first time Harry shared these frustrations with anyone.

"I never fully agreed, and you know that."

The boy sighed, adjusting his glasses.

"I thought you did.", came from his mouth, wrapped in disappointment.

"Why does it have to be Snape?", she proceeded, taking a step closer, "Because you're honestly kind of bad at potions and he's mean to you? Because he looks intimidating? Because he's the head teacher of Slytherin?"

Harry immediately picked up on her implications.

"You said yourself that the other Slytherins are weird. You're different."

"I'm not different, Harry. And they're not much different from you either. You can't judge them all because of what happened with Voldemort."

The Boy who lived appeared astounded at her casual namedropping.

"Are... are we still friends?", came mumbled straight from his heart.

"I hope so. Because I really, really like you, Harry. But... if you keep dismissing my point of view, if you keep judging me for disagreeing, it... might not work out."

Marley herself looked surprised that she strung together that sentence with confidence.

"Then I won't.", Harry finally declared, "You're right. I have been judging the other Slytherins. And... maybe I was also judging you."

She took another step, an important one, closer to the Gryffindor, extending her hand.

"Friends?", Marley asked, sparkling with that usual glow of charm that Harry had discovered he would miss more than anything, if he lost it. Rather than taking her hand and shaking it like a proper English gentleman would, he instead rushed to engulf her in a hug, a decision Marley greatly appreciated.

The two walked for a little while longer before Marley began to breathe audibly, forcing her to stop and Fang to nudge up against her leg.

"Are you okay?", Harry spoke with a slightly provocative tone.

"I'm just...", she panted, "...it's just... a lot... of walking."

He paced a few steps back towards her, a content smile creeping onto his features.

"Do I need to carry you?"

Out of breath, she shook her head, though if it were an option she might've accepted it.

"Maybe it's easier if I take Fang."

"No!"

She pulled at the animal's leash, Fang himself panting quite a lot as well.

"Alright. We do have to keep moving though.", he said calmly with a shrug. Marley sighed in response.

"I know..."

The kids treated onwards, passing over yet another hill, onto a small clearing filled to the brim with a ridiculously large number of roots, like a bowl of spaghetti.

"You know...", the girl commenced with her breath stabilized, "...the more I think about it, the more I suspect Hagrid made up the whole 'Winged Snogglers' thing."

"I wouldn't be surprised.", the boy retorted, "Though he is the magic beast expert. If anyone knows..."

He stopped talking as he noticed Marley having frozen on the spot, Fang growling next to her. As Harry looked to his left, the boy spotted the cloaked figure as well. Seeing the dead unicorn was already enough to keep one up all night, yet as a blood-covered mouth rose from the creature and gazed upon the children, it made it all the much more horrifying.

"Marley...", Harry whispered, "...get Hagrid."

That's all he managed before her hand let go of Fang's leash, allowing the pet to storm off, barking in fear as he got further and further away. Like a dangling corpse the cloaked creature stood upright, floating slowly towards the boy, Harry stepping backwards in a hurry, tripping over one of the many roots, causing him to crawl. As this horrific being snarled and closed in on him, the boy was more than shocked to see a certain Slytherin girl getting in front of him, her wand raised.

"Marley! Get out of here!"

"I'm not leaving you, Harry!"

Inspired by her bravery and angry at himself for not bringing his own wand, he watched as the cloaked being floated slightly higher, attempting to intimidate the girl, which, based on her shaky hand, appeared to be successful.

"I'm warning you! I can make you go up in flames!"

The attacker flicked its wrist and Marley's wand was subsequently flung from her hand, landing somewhere too far away to get it back. Imitating Harry, the girl walked backwards too, though managed not to trip.

"Leave us alone!", she cried out loud, tears in her eyes. In what the girl perceived as her final moment, her hand wandered over to Harry's shoulder, the boy grabbing it firmly with his own.

Hoof-beats sounded, announcing their rescue. A centaur came leaping from behind them, tackling the cloaked spectre, forcing it to back off at first, then causing it to disappear into darkness as the children's hero stood on its hind legs, scaring it away further. As he turned to the pair, both of them let out a sigh of relief, also briefly sharing a smile.

"Harry Potter...", the centaur communicated with regal elegance, "...you and your friend need to leave this forest immediately. This here is no safe place for you."

Harry got back up on two feet, his hand still clenching onto Marley's.

"Thank you.", is what the girl politely started with.

"What was that thing?", the boy added. The centaur looked to his right, trying to make out if the cloaked figure may be lurking from the shadows.

"A monstrous creature.", the being explained, "Slaying a unicorn is a terrible crime."

"He drank its... blood.", Marley recalled with anguish, "W... why did it do such a thing?"

"Consuming the blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if one is merely inches from death. Yet, this comes at a terrible price. A curse. If one does this, they are forced to live only a half-life."

"But who would choose such a life?", Harry questioned the centaur.

"Harry...", Marley spoke softly, very apparent fear displayed on her features, "...I think you know the answer."

She squeezed his hand slightly harder. The Gryffindor boy looked to her first, then back at the friendly centaur.

"Are you saying...", he spoke as the thought grew in his mind, "...you're saying that... that thing, that killed the unicorn... was Voldemort?"

A nod from the half-man half-horse later and Marley was close to losing it.

"And you know Mr. Potter, what is currently being hidden inside Hogwarts at this very moment?"

Once again, Harry exchanged glances with Marley as it dawned on him.

"The Philosopher's Stone."

His thoughts uttered out loud, the girl could no longer hold herself back, falling into Harry's arms as she broke into tears.

"I was so scared.", is all he could decipher from her weeping sounds.

The barking of a dog caused him to look up into the distance.

"Harry!", Hermione's familiar voice sounded through the clearing, Ron, Draco, Hagrid, and Fang accompanying her. This also finally got Marley to remove herself from Harry and look up at the rest of their group.

"Hello there, Firenze.", Hagrid blurted at the sight of the centaur, "I see you've met young Mister Potter, and his friend Miss Verpe. You two alright there?"

Both Harry and Marley nodded. No one mentioned the two holding hands, mostly because, in all fairness, they did look rather spooked.

"This is where I leave you.", Firenze told Harry with a bow, "You are in safe hands now. Good luck."