Chapter Eighteen
The following morning, Gryffindor House was shocked when, in the Great Hall, the gemstone hourglasses that recorded each House's points, which had just the previous day listed Gryffindor as being in first place for the Cup, now recorded them as dead last. The students couldn't understand how the Cup had been snatched from their grasp in just one day.
It soon became public knowledge that the reason for the loss of points was the fault of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Someone, presumably Malfoy, had spread it around that Filch caught them long past curfew, stalking the halls with an illegal dragon.
Since the Gryffindor/Hufflepuff Quidditch match, Harry had been one of Hogwarts's most popular and praised students. Even though they had lost the game, Hufflepuff House and Ravenclaw had both been happy to see Slytherin knocked from first place after so many years. Thanks to their actions, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were now the most despised students at Hogwarts.
Even though he, too, had lost their House 50 points, Draco was still the pride of Slytherin. He told them how he had tried to stop Harry and his friends from breaking the rules but had been unfairly punished by McGonagall. Harry had heard, however, that Snape had a private talk with Draco in which he expressed his great displeasure with the blond student and how if he lost Slytherin any more points, he would see that Draco served detention for the rest of the year!
Everywhere Harry and his friends went in Hogwarts, students from all the Houses glared and insulted them. Even Harry's Quidditch teammates and the other performers in the Orchestra refused to talk to him. Ron tried to shrug it off, reminding Harry and Hermione that his brothers, Fred, and George, were constantly losing points but were still liked by others.
"Fred and George never lost 150 points in one go, dooming Gryffindor to last place in one fell swoop," Harry replied. Ron still tried to convince his friends and himself that it would all blow over eventually. It was so bad that Hermione had stopped raising her hand whenever a teacher asked the students questions, keeping her head down to avoid drawing attention to herself to prevent further insults and jeers.
Exams were approaching, and Harry and his friends worked hard to study as much information as they could to pass. Memorizing notes and facts helped them forget they were social pariahs to the whole school.
One day, while walking through the halls, Harry heard a whimpering from one of the classrooms. Harry crept closer to listen to whoever was inside. It was Quirrell, and he was sobbing. He begged someone, 'No, not again, please!' After a few shaky breaths, Quirrell agreed to whoever else was inside threatening him. Harry didn't have to guess hard about who that could be. Harry heard Quirrell approaching the door, so he quickly backed around the corner.
Quirrell burst from the classroom and hurried down the hall, whimpering. He hadn't even noticed Harry crouched around the corner. Harry waited for a moment and then glanced inside the classroom. There was no one inside. Another door to the room was ajar, so whoever had been inside was long gone. Harry found Ron and Hermione and told them what he'd heard. It seemed Snape had managed to break down Quirrell's resolve.
"Snape's gonna grab the Stone if Quirrell told him how to get past the defenses!" Ron exclaimed as they whispered in the Gryffindor Common room. Their Housemates were still shunning them so they weren't being overheard.
"Quirrell might have only told Snape how to get past his defense, not the others, and besides, Hagrid said only he and Dumbledore know how to get past Fluffy!" Hermione countered. Ron continued to say that if Snape could break down Quirrell, he could figure out how to get past Fluffy and the other traps on his own.
Harry still suspected that Quirrell was more involved than being coerced by Snape into giving up the secret of his trap. They both could be after the Stone, but perhaps Snape was directing them. Hermione said they had to tell Dumbledore, McGonagall, or someone about Snape and Quirrell and their danger to the Stone. Harry shook his head.
"Hagrid doesn't believe us, so I doubt anyone else would, except for Dumbledore, perhaps, but we still have no definitive proof that Snape and Quirrell are after the Stone." Harry wished he had a tape recorder on him, the times he had heard Snape and Quirrell's discussions, but electronic devices couldn't work correctly in Hogwarts. Muggle electricity and magical energy didn't mix, and often, electronics brought by half-blood and Muggle-born students broke when they entered the castle.
The following morning, Harry and his friends received notes telling them to meet Filch in the Entrance Hall at 11:00 PM for their detention. All day, Harry and his friends dreaded their coming punishment. When the clock tower struck 11:00 PM, they walked from Gryffindor Tower to meet Filch in the Entrance Hall.
Filch was waiting for them, along with Malfoy, who looked very displeased. Filch sneered at them all and told them to follow him. The students followed the caretaker outside into the night. Filch muttered as they walked, saying he still thought they were getting off easy, that they never should have let the old punishments die. He still had the chains in his office, keeping them nice and oiled in case the need for them ever arose.
Filch's lantern illuminated the path. The night was chilly; Ron muttered he should have brought his cloak to keep warm. Filch snapped at him to be quiet. Finally, they could see Hagrid's hut in the distance. Harry wondered what kind of punishment they could expect at Hagrid's. Filch noticed Harry and their friends' relief at seeing they were approaching Hagrid's hut.
"Don't look so happy, you three; you're not in for a treat with Hagrid. He's for your protection. You'll be spending detention in the Forbidden Forrest tonight!" He grinned wickedly. Ron and Hermione turned pale, and Malfoy was incredulous.
"The Forest, we can't go in there, it's dangerous! There are werewolves and things in there!" Malfoy exclaimed. Filch chuckled and told Malfoy that there were worse than werewolves in there. Hagrid came out from his hut with Fang by his side and a crossbow in his hands.
"There ye are; I've been waiting!" Hagrid said, giving Harry, Ron, and Hermione a small smile. Filch noticed and admonished Hagrid, reminding him they were all there to be punished.
"I'll be back in the morning for what's left of them, ha!" Filch laughed cruelly, then went back to the castle. Hagrid motioned for the four to follow him. Harry and the others stayed close to Hagrid; he'd handed them each a lantern to light their way. Malfoy grumbled, promising his Father would hear about this.
"Hush up now; we gotta be careful 'ere; it's not called Forbidden for nothing!" Hagrid directed them deeper into the woods. The trees were large and feral in the forest, with massive roots bursting through the earth. The moon was blocked out by the thick branches overhead.
Hagrid pointed with his crossbow and told the students to come closer. Harry and the others gathered around Hagrid and looked where he was pointing. On the ground were puddles and droplets of a shimmering, silverly liquid, like mercury.
"See that? That's unicorn blood, that is. I found one dead a while back. This one's been hurt badly by sommat. It's our job to try and find the poor beast. We might have t'put it out o'its misery." Hermione looked like she wanted to cry. Unicorns were some of the purest creatures; something that could hurt them was unthinkable.
"What if we find whatever killed the Unicorns?" Malfoy asked, trembling. He looked all around the woods for any sign of danger. Hagrid gestured to his crossbow.
"That's why I've got this, and so long as you're with me an Fang, nothing can hurt you." Hagrid led them along until they found a vast area with many splotches of blood. Hagrid turned to the four of them.
"We'll have to split up and follow the path each way. Harry, Hermione, you're with me; Malfoy and Ron go that way." Draco protested their splitting up, but Hagrid shushed him.
"We havt'a hurry an find the Unicorn; it could be anywhere. If ye find anythin', send up red sparks with yer wands, and I'll be right there." Draco demanded to be given Fang for protection. Hagrid agreed but warned Malfoy that Fang was a coward when it came to danger despite his massive size and booming bark.
Harry, Hermione, and Hagrid walked along, following the silvery blood. The poor unicorn must have been running frantically to escape whatever had been chasing it. Harry asked Hagrid what could be attacking the unicorns and if it could be a werewolf or something. Hagrid shook his head.
"Werewolves ain't fast enough ter catch a unicorn; they're quick as lightning and fiercer than you'd think from such a pretty thing. I've never seen them attacked before now." They continued to walk, looking for any sign when suddenly Hagrid told them to hide and cocked his crossbow.
Harry and Hermione crouched behind a tree as Hagrid poised, ready to fire. A dark shape swept past them through the woods, floating over the ground like mist. Hagrid watched as the dark shape glided through the trees and into the distance. Once the coast was clear, they stepped out from behind the tree.
"What in the world was that?" Asked Hermione. Hagrid looked pale and muttered, saying that he didn't know. Something that didn't belong was stalking these woods, something evil. Once he was sure the coast was clear, he told them to follow him and stay close. They followed the twisting path, searching for any sign of the Unicorn. Another sound made Hagrid stop; he motioned for Harry and Hermione to keep back.
"Who's there? Show yourself!" he shouted, his crossbow aimed and ready to fire. There was a sound of hoofbeats coming closer. Perhaps it was the Unicorn who caught up with them at last. A figure approached from out of the bushes. It had a man's torso but the body and legs of a horse. His face was bearded and handsome, with pointed ears and gleaming hazel eyes. His hair and the horse's body were a deep red. Hagrid lowered his crossbow and sighed in relief.
"Ah, Roan, good ter see ye again." Hagrid greeted the Centaur cordially. Roan clip-clopped closer to Hagrid and shook hands with him.
"Blessed greetings, Hagrid." Roan's voice was deep and contemplative. He gestured to Harry and Hermione.
"Why have you brought children into our forest? There is evil lurking amongst these woods." Roan looked around the forest, a faraway look in his eyes. Hagrid nodded and said they were on the trail of a wounded unicorn and had narrowly avoided whatever was attacking them. Roan looked up to the night sky. They were standing in a clearing with a gap in the treetops, letting them see the stars.
"The stars foretell danger these recent nights." Hagrid tried to ask Roan if he had seen anything unusual in the forest lately, but the centaur didn't answer and continued looking at the sky. Hagrid nervously cleared his throat, said they had to be going, and directed Harry and Hermione to continue down the path. Harry glanced back at Roan as they were leaving. The centaur took one last glance at the sky and then went deeper into the woods. Hagrid shook his head and muttered about Centaurs, never giving straight answers.
"Always watching the stars, foretelling omens, and signs that nobody understands. There's a tribe o'them in these woods. They don' particularly like Wizards, but they don't mind me. I've been working in these woods a long time." Harry was reminded of his Uncle Fester, who spent moonlit nights gazing at the sky with his telescope.
Fester was fascinated by outer space and had tried to build an exploratory rocket until the authorities came to the House, prohibiting him from purchasing rocket fuel. He tried to make his own but nearly blew up the manor. Morticia had forbidden him from experimenting further, limiting him to only C4 and Nitroglycerine.
They continued through the woods until they saw a burst of red sparks in the sky. Hagrid and the others raced to where the spell had been cast. They found Ron and Malfoy wrestling on the ground. Ron had Malfoy in a headlock while the blonde Slytherin was trying to kick his shins. Fang was bouncing around, barking at the two fighting boys.
"Tha's enough!" boomed Hagrid. Ron and Malfoy looked up and let go of each other. Hagrid demanded to know what had happened.
"Weasley attacked me for no good reason, and I cast red sparks to send for help!" Malfoy said. Ron jabbed him hard in the ribs.
"I only attacked him because he was insulting my family, said we were no better than Muggle tramps living in a dump!" Malfoy raised his wand as if about to curse Ron. Harry and Hermione raised their wands, which made Malfoy turn paler than usual and lower his own. Hagrid grabbed Malfoy's ear between two fingers and tweaked it, eliciting a yelp from the blond boy.
"Enough wasting time now; we don' have all night, and sommat dangerous lurks around. We havt'a find the unicorn, then return ter t'castle as soon as possible!" Hagrid looked around and listened closely. The forest was silent as the grave; not even wind blew through the trees.
"Righ', we're going to swap groups; Ron and Hermione, yer with me. Harry and Malfoy, take Fang and go that way." Malfoy sneered at Harry, who shook his head and gave him a look that said, 'Don't start.'
Harry and Draco walked through the woods, with Fang leading the way, sniffing the ground. Malfoy looked all around him, nervously jumping at the slightest sound. Harry marveled at the beauty of the forest. It reminded him of the ancestral woods that Grandmama's foremothers made their lair hundreds of years ago.
"I can't believe I have to trudge through these spooky woods, searching for a dead unicorn, with Harry 'Bloody' Potter!" Malfoy grumbled, nearly tripping over a stray tree root.
"This is servant stuff, not befitting a pureblood heir!" Harry scoffed at this. Lurch may have been his family's butler, but Gomez and Morticia had raised Harry and his siblings to be willing to help out when asked and believe in the value of hard work. His family's wealth meant Harry would never have to work a job for the rest of his life, but if a profession interested Harry or his siblings, their parents were always happy to support them.
"If you stopped moaning about it and jumping at every little sound, we could find the unicorn and return to the castle before daybreak!" Harry said. Malfoy glared at him.
"I'm not scared, Potter! I'm a Malfoy, and we fear nothing!" Suddenly, a bird screeched, and Malfoy yelped. Harry chuckled and continued along the path. There were more splotches of blood here and there. Suddenly, the light of their lantern landed on something shimmering in the darkness.
Harry hoisted the lantern high as they approached. Harry motioned for Malfoy to be quiet as they got closer. The Unicorn was pearly white and shimmering like a star. It was splayed on its side, its face half covered by its mane. The horn was a spiral of gold sprouting from its crown. There was a large gash in the creature's neck, with streaks of silvery blood trickling down its body. The poor thing was dead, and the wound and placement of the body showed it had been suffering.
As an Addams, Harry had a unique outlook on death. Death was not considered an end but merely the beginning of the next chapter of existence. Gomez and Morticia taught their children not to fear the end of this life but to look forward to what adventure awaited them in the next. Funerals were more of a chance for a family reunion and to celebrate the lives of their dearly departed than to mourn what they had lost. Seeing such a beautiful creature as a unicorn die such a violent death, however, was a terrible thing to see.
Harry glanced at Malfoy and saw that even the 'prince of Slytherin' was saddened to see the poor creature in such a state. For a moment, Harry felt a pang of kinship with Draco and wondered if he should say or do something to ease his feelings.
Suddenly, they heard a slithering sound over the ground and the leaves. Harry motioned for Draco to get back and hide behind a nearby tree. The two boys hurried and crouched away, keeping the felled unicorn in their sites. A dark shape was coming through the trees, approaching the unicorn. A tall, hooded figure in black glided over the ground, the hem of their cloak brushing against the leafy ground.
The black specter floated close to the unicorn and crouched low to the ground. It lowered its hood to the unicorn's neck and drank the creature's blood. It sucked and gulped the leaking lifeblood as it flowed from the gash in its neck. Harry had a few vampires in his family tree, but this was no vampire.
Draco screamed sharply and darted into the woods, with Fang cowardly following behind. The hooded thing looked up at Harry, blood trickling from its hood. The figure glided over the unicorn's corpse and floated to its feet.
Harry felt an unfamiliar feeling surge through him: fear. Addamses faced adversity with a determined gleam in their eye, laughed in the face of danger, and lived for the thrill of adversity. But this dark creature made him feel like prey being hunted by a predator.
A burning surge shot through his scar like when he'd been around Snape and Quirrell. Harry clamped a hand to his scar and gasped from the sensation. He had a very high threshold of pain; growing up with Wednesday and Pugsley as siblings had seen to that, but this was like no pain he'd ever felt before. The hooded creature stalked closer and closer. Harry could feel an overwhelming darkness radiating from the thing before him, and the pain in his head grew worse the closer it got. Harry fell to his knees as he clenched his hand over his scar.
Suddenly, there were thundering hooves, and something flew over Harry's head, right at the dark figure. The hooded fiend glided back from the unicorn and Harry's savior and flew into the sky. The pain in Harry's head eased, and he got to his feet.
Another centaur had chased the creature away, but it wasn't Roan. This centaur had long blonde hair and a golden body. They turned, and Harry saw that the top half was a young man with bright blue eyes. The centaur walked up to Harry, a concerned look on his face.
"Harry Potter, you should not be here! The forest is unsafe for one so young as you, even at the best of times." Harry approached the young centaur.
"Thank you. I do believe you saved my life." Harry thanked the centaur. The centaur bowed his head in greeting.
"My name is Firenze. You must leave this forest, Harry Potter; I will take you to Hagrid." Firenze knelt on the ground and gestured to the back of his horse half. Harry was about to thank Firenze, then climb on, when there were more hoofbeats. Roan and another centaur with black hair and a beard came clattering up to Harry and Firenze. Roan's face was filled with fury.
"Firenze, have you no shame! Lowering yourself to a human, like a common nag!" Roan pointed an accusing finger at Harry and Firenze. The blonde centaur stood and gestured to Harry.
"This is no mere human; he is the Potter child. You know what the stars have prophesized!" Roan came face to face with Firenze, his eyes blazing.
"Hold your tongue! You know we do not speak the knowledge of the stars to outsiders, nor do we go against what they foretell!" Roan gave an accusatory glare at Harry.
"Not every star tells the same story, nor can we discern every meaning!" Firenze gestured to the dead unicorn. Roan glanced at the unicorn, and a sadness filled his eyes for a moment. Harry stepped forward towards the centaurs.
"Forgive me, noble centaurs. I did not ask Firenze to kneel for me, and I would not presume to use him as a steed." The black centaur clopped close to Harry and sneered at him.
"Do not try to fool us with your deceitful words, Wizard. We know of your kind!" Firenze stepped between Harry and the black centaur.
"Not all Wizards are the same, Bane. Hagrid should have proved that to you."
"We know Hagrid of old; you have known this boy for moments. Who are you to say what he is?" Roan countered. Harry looked Roan and Bane in the eyes, trying to look neither threatening nor weak in the eyes of these proud beings.
"Firenze saved my life; I owe him a great debt. If I can ever repay his kindness to me, I swear on my life and honor that I will do so. I'm not just Harry Potter; I am an Addams, and an Addams always pays his debts." The centaurs started at Harry, confusion mixing with their anger. Perhaps Harry was convincing them he wasn't like other Wizards.
Harry knew some Wizards considered themselves superior to other magical beings simply because they were human. However, those who thought that way tended to think they were better than even other Wizards, depending on how much Muggle ancestry they had in their family tree. If Malfoy hadn't run off into the woods, Harry was sure he'd be the kind of Wizard to look down on centaurs. Roan and Bane glanced at each other, then looked Firenze in the eye.
"Take the boy out of the forest, Firenze; he does not belong here." Roan and Bane then raced off into the woods. Firenze turned to Harry with a slight smile on his face. He knelt again for Harry to ride. Harry shook his head.
"No, I will not dishonor you any further, Firenze. If you lead me, I can walk." Harry said, not wishing to reignite the ire of Firenze's tribe. Firenze chuckled and stayed knelt.
"It will be far faster for you to ride, young Potter. It is very far for a human to walk on foot." Firenze motioned to his back, welcoming Harry aboard. Harry shrugged and mounted the horse half of Firenze. Harry wrapped his arms around Firenze's human torso and clasped his hands tightly. Firenze stood and, like a shot, took off into the woods.
Firenze galloped as fast as he could, carrying Harry on his back. Harry had ridden horses before but never as fast as Firenze was going. The wind whipped through Harry's hair and stung his face. Harry huddled close to the centaur's human body, holding on as tightly as possible. Eventually, Firenze slowed to a canter, allowing Harry to relax his grip.
"Do you know what use Unicorn blood has, Harry Potter?" Asked Firenze. Harry thought about what he'd learned from his studies with Grandmama. Unicorn tail hairs were used as wand cores; the horn could be ground into potion ingredients, and, in some unsavory places, the meat was butchered for consumption, but the blood was the most precious. Legend said that those who consumed the blood of a unicorn could prolong their life.
"That creature, it was drinking the blood to sustain itself. To lengthen its lifespan." Firenze nodded. He stopped walking and turned to look over his shoulder at Harry.
"Drinking the blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible cost. For you have slain something so pure that from the moment the blood touches your lips, you will live a cursed half-life, a pitiful existence." Harry gave a brief shudder.
To damn oneself so recklessly was monstrous. Only one so desperate to live at all costs would commit such a crime; Harry didn't know of anyone so frightened of death that they could bring themselves to do it: nobody, but one, perhaps. His eyes widened at the thought that arose in his mind.
"Firenze, do you know what that was that slayed the unicorn? Do you know who it was?" Firenze nodded and looked solemn.
"As, I think, do you, Harry Potter." Gomez and Morticia had long explained how the dark lord, Voldemort, had targeted Harry and his parents. He'd come to their House, murdered his Mother and Father, and then tried to kill him, but thanks to his Mother's sacrifice, the curse rebounded. Voldemort had been physically destroyed, but it was believed he was still alive in some form. Unicorn blood could give Voldemort a semblance of his old self, but it wasn't enough to restore him for good. Only one thing could potentially do that—the Philosopher's Stone.
Firenze walked Harry into a clear area where the trees weren't so close together. Harry raised his wand and cast red sparks into the sky. Harry asked Firenze to let him down so he could stand. His mind was reeling from the thought that Voldemort could be roaming the Forbidden Forest, so close to Hogwarts. If Voldemort knew the Philosopher's Stone was in Hogwarts, it made sense that he'd stay close to the castle. The reason the Stone was protected so thoroughly also began to make sense now.
Somehow, Dumbledore had found out Voldemort was after the Philosopher's Stone to restore himself to power, so he took the Stone from its place in Gringotts; a wise decision as Voldemort or someone on his behalf had successfully broken into and out of the bank, without being detected. Hagrid had said that Hogwarts was the safest place to hide something.
Voldemort could not access the stone by himself; he had to have someone on the inside trying to obtain it for him. Realization was dawning in Harry's mind: Snape and Quirrell. Snape was head of Slytherin House and obsessed with the dark arts; Ron had said most of Voldemort's followers came from Slytherin House so Snape might have been one of them. Quirrell was a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, so he had vast knowledge of the dark arts; supposedly, Quirrell had become a coward after running into a vampire on his travels, but what if it had been something worse?
Hagrid, Ron, Hermione, Malfoy, and Fang came running into the clearing where Harry and Firenze stood. Hagrid had his crossbow braced and ready but relaxed when he saw Firenze. Ron and Malfoy's eyes widened to see a centaur. Ron looked impressed, while Malfoy looked afraid and a little disgusted.
"Hello Firenze! I see you've found our young Mr. Potter-Addams." Firenze looked down at Harry and gave a small smile.
"Harry Potter, this is where I leave you; you are safe now. The unicorn is back there a few leagues, Hagrid, and it is dead." Hagrid thanked Firenze and gestured for Harry to come with him. Harry looked back at Firenze.
"Thank you again for saving my life, Firenze. If I can ever repay your kindness, I swear I shall." Firenze nodded but said that was unnecessary; centaurs do not hold debts. Firenze said goodbye to Hagrid and raced back into the woods.
Their job was done; Hagrid led the four students out of the Forest and back to his hut. Daylight would be in a few hours, and Filch would return by then. Harry and his friends drank tea and conversed happily with Hagrid. Malfoy sat on a large wooden chair and hunched inwards, trying hard not to touch anything in Hagrid's hut, lest it be infectious. Hagrid tried to be a good host and offered Draco tea and rock cakes, but the blonde boy refused them.
By daylight, Filch knocked on Hagrid's door and led the students back to the castle. Harry and his friends entered Gryffindor Tower; the Common Room was empty, and the fireplace had dead coals, long turned to ash. Harry asked Ron and Hermione to sit with him, and he began to tell them what had happened with the Unicorn.
"Voldemort is lurking in the woods, feeding on Unicorns to sustain his damaged existence, but if he gets his hands on the Philosopher's Stone, he will regain his power." Hermione was white as a sheet, and Ron looked like he wanted to be sick.
"But You-Know-Who can't get into Hogwarts, can he, not with Dumbledore around?" Asked Hermione shakily. Harry shook his head.
"If he can't take the stone himself, he must have someone helping him from the inside. Either Quirrell or Snape is helping him to take it."
"It's Snape if he managed to get Quirrell to spill his guts like you said. The poor bloke is so scared of his own shadow, it wouldn't be hard for Snape to break him!" Ron said. He was convinced Snape had to be the brains behind this nefarious plot. Perhaps Snape was in control, but Harry still believed Quirrell to be more involved than just a victim of Snape's threats.
The three continued to talk for a while before deciding to retire to bed for a few hours to recuperate from their eventful night in the Forest. Before going to bed, Harry quickly wrote a note to Wednesday about what had happened.
Wednesday had written back to him that if the Philosopher's Stone were what was being hidden in the school, then if Snape and Quirrell were after it, they would stop at nothing to acquire it. Wizards and Muggles alike had searched for centuries for a source of everlasting wealth and life; many would do anything: steal, kill, or even sell their very souls to obtain such a gift. Harry gave his letter to Hedwig, then curled up in bed without even bothering to undress.