AN: I do not own Harry Potter or the Wizarding World Universe.

Chapter 11

Harry had, by far, the best Christmas ever. He didn't have to cook. He didn't have to clean. Nor did he have to watch Dudley open presents or Vernon and Petunia fawn over their son. Vernon's sister, Marge, and her evil dog, Ripper, didn't come to visit.

Harry got to eat what he wanted, and however much he wanted. He got to go outside and look at the snow. The presents that morning almost became a forgotten memory by the time he crawled onto the uncomfortable mattress. Thankfully, no one had asked him what he got for Christmas. Susan Bones didn't have a mother or father anymore, either.

They did want to know why Harry stayed in the dormitory so much. When he excitedly told them, their reaction was not quite what he'd expected.

"Harry… don't take this the wrong way… but only you would get excited about a new way to study," Harper said as she patted his arm at breakfast. Susan nodded along.

That rather awkward exchange didn't set the tone of the day. The others seemed to just consider it one of the weird things about him and moved on. He was thankful for that because his face felt hot to the touch at the time.

The day after Christmas, Harry found Merriweather in her regular spot by the fire in the Common Room. She looked up and blinked at him. "So, you're back? Did you… I don't know… well, I thought you'd run off. Only saw you a few times the last few days," she said with a smile.

Harry noticed how her fingers tightened around her quill and the way her shoulders looked tense. He quickly shook his head and handed her a stack of parchments.

The older student raised one slender eyebrow and took the parchments from him. A slow smile appeared on her face as she flipped through them. "You… Potter… I don't know if I'm happy or annoyed. I didn't learn about this until my fifth year when I was doing O.W.L.s. Nymphadora taught me how to do this. If you keep this up, you might be the next Merlin," she said with a wink and passed the papers back to him.

Harry shook his head. That wasn't going to be him. Professor Flitwick was very clear when he said that Harry would only succeed in Hogwarts if he put in the time and effort to study. It felt like he was the only one who did that much in his year, but Merriweather did as much as him and more with all her Head Girl duties. Professor Flitwick obviously wasn't wrong.

He also still felt guilty for not being a Ravenclaw. His fellow Hufflepuffs told him all the time he should have been one. Maybe if he'd argued with the Sorting Hat, things might have been different.

The image of him having to return to the Dursleys because he failed at Hogwarts was a recurring nightmare. He didn't want to mess anything up.

"So, you've got a place to start. What is your next plan? What do you want to work on?"

Harry blinked at her. He looked from the notes on the Knockback Jinx and back to her. It was a good question. He knew the answer, but it didn't make him happy. Transfiguration was his worst subject because he didn't read the coursebooks unless he had to for an assignment.

"Transfiguration," he sighed.

"You don't have to look so happy about it," the older witch snorted. "Why?"

Harry grimaced. "I'm not good at it. I don't read the books unless I have to. I have… like seven or eight books on it, but…" he just shrugged.

Merriweather pursed her lips and looked at him. "You might just be the smartest one in your year. It's okay not to be good at something. Why do you own so many books on Transfiguration?"

Harry snorted. "Granger is smarter than me. I… just don't like the class," he admitted. "Professor Flitwick told me to get them."

"At least you listened to him. It took me a while to realize how brilliant he is. Professor McGonagall? I know she can be a little… stern. I've always got what she taught, but that isn't the same for everyone. Professor Quirrell is the one I can't stand. He doesn't teach me what I need to know, and his stuttering is distracting. Why the Headmaster let him come back, I'll never know."

Harry didn't know what to say, so he just nodded.

"Transfiguration then? Well, will you stand there or go get your books?" she challenged.

About three hours later, Susan sat down across from Harry and looked at Merriweather. "Can we steal him away now? Are you two done with your morning… whatever it is you do?" she asked as she crossed her arms and looked directly at Harry.

"Potter is his own person, as you know. Are we done? Well, I'm not. I have about another fourteen inches on this essay. Him? Well?" she asked with a smirk.

Harry blinked at the two of them. "Uh."

Bones snickered and shook her head. "Don't you get bored? I mean… you're reading for hours. Making notes, then reading more. Don't you want to… I don't know. Stretch your legs?"

Harry looked at both of them. He very slowly turned in his chair, kicked his right leg out and then his left, then turned back and picked up his quill. Merriweather snorted and grinned.

Susan buried her head in her hands. "Auntie would murder me if she knew half the things I want to say to you right now, Potter," she sighed. "As your friend, would you mind putting your things away… and coming to join us outside while there is still snow on the ground?"

Harry blinked. Did she consider him a friend?

When he made it outside with Bones, he realized that he, Merriweather, and likely only a handful of other students were the only ones still inside the Castle. A massive snowball fight was happening on the lawn, overseen by Professor McGonagall and Flitwick. The Weasley twins seemed to be leading a charge of Gryffindors on the Ravenclaw lines while Malfoy and a few Slytherins tried to get to their flank.

"It'll be fun," Susan said as she tried to pull on his robes. "See? Four Houses, four castles. You even get to use your wand. Levitation Charm only!" she called as she ran for the safety of the Hufflepuff tower made of snow and ice.

Two snowballs flew toward Harry, and only luck saved him from getting hit in the face.

Three hours later, the Professors called the match to a halt for lunch. Someone, likely the troublemaking twins, managed to melt the Ravenclaw tower into an ice sheet, making it dangerous for half of the area. The game was called off when an older student fell and hit her head. Madam Pomfrey was there before anyone even made it into the Castle.

The matron and healer of the school was well-liked by all. Harry hadn't met her yet and hoped he wouldn't need to.

Lunch was both tremendous and messy. Most of the snow was now water in the bottom of his trainers. Again, the Weasley twins tried to start a food fight, but somehow, the mashed potatoes they threw ended up back in their faces. No one else wanted to waste food, which Harry was glad of.

All the students who left for the break returned the Friday before classes started. Abbott wouldn't stop talking about meeting Gilderoy Lockhart in Diagon Alley. Harry had no idea who that was, but everyone else seemed to. The boys either didn't care or didn't like him, while the girls seemed to hang on to Hannah's every word.

Harry thought Charms and Herbology went well. Professor Flitwick reviewed all the concepts, spells, and Charms they'd gone over already. Bones won Hufflepuff ten points for displaying the Box Blasting Charm on the first try. She glared at Harry, who pretended not to notice. Over the break, they'd done the Unlocking and Locking Charm exercise, and she'd exploded the lid off their practice box. Thankfully, the Mending Charm helped put things back together.

Herbology was much the same way. Professor Sprout did a review of all the topics they'd learned. Neville Longbottom won Gryffindor ten points, and Ernie managed to get Hufflepuff five for a correct answer.

"Ohhh, it's Potter and Bones. Two orphans. I'll bet your Auntie just loves having a burden like a Hufflepuff around. Wonder when she'll kick the bucket too," a drawling voice mocked.

Draco Malfoy said it in the Entrance Hall with several other students around. Harry never saw Susan Bones draw her wand and send a Knockback Jinx at Malfoy's face. The blonde prat flipped backward in the air and landed on his butt with a stunned expression.

For a moment, no one moved, and everything was quiet. Then Draco drew his wand and sent something at Susan. Ernie had his wand out and sent something toward Crabbe or Goyle; Harry could never remember which was which. They were both large, dumb, and intimidating.

"That will be enough!" someone bellowed. Professor Snape appeared in the doorway.

"Potter, Bones, Macmillan, detention and thirty points each!" he sneered.

"Then it will be detention and ten points each from your three," Professor Sprout said as she finished climbing the stairs. "If you condone saying someone should be murdered, then shame on you."

Harry frowned. He hadn't done anything. He didn't even have a wand out. Hannah had her wand out, Ernie had his out, and he'd done nothing. However, when Susan sobbed something near him, and Harry didn't try to fight it. Bullies and evil men like Professor Snape and Vernon wouldn't let something like logic in their tiny brains. The Potion Master's mouth twitched into a sneer as he looked at Harry.

"Well, you three to the Great Hall. Malfoy, you as well," Professor Sprout said with a severe frown as she surveyed the scene. Her eyes lingered on Harry's empty hands, and her expression darkened.

It took Harry a moment to realize why she was angry. He didn't defend his Housemates. Hufflepuff was all about teamwork and loyalty. He hadn't tried to help; just kinda… stood there like a duffer.

Malfoy seemed pleased with himself for some reason in History of Magic. Talking himself up like he'd won some great duel.

"Potter just stands there like a troll. Oh, no wonder the troll was near him. It wanted a friend. Did you two meet somewhere and want to have a little alone time?" Draco cackled.

"Ten points from the rude one," the ghost professor said airily before going back to his monologue.

Harry wasn't sure if he was impressed or not. Draco managed to lose points from a ghost. It's not like it mattered. Slytherin was far and away ahead of the other Houses. Likely because they cheated at everything. There was one thing he was happy the Sorting Hat got right, which was that he wasn't in Slytherin. So far, a lot of them had been fairly rude. At least the younger ones. The older snakes didn't interact with him or the other first-years much.

At dinner, each of them got a slip from Merriweather. She looked at Harry. "I can't say I'm happy to see you got a detention, but at least you got one for standing up with your friends," she sighed.

The others looked at him, and he tried to fight down the heat on his cheeks. They'd all seen that he did nothing, and he felt ashamed for it.

He looked at the note:

Greenhouse 9, meet on the East Wing balcony at nine pm for an hour and a half detention.

For a moment, he thought he was alone in his detention, but Bones and Ernie showed him their slips of parchment too.

"Well… no idea what it could be then," Susan sighed.

That night, Harry went with the others to the East Wing. He wasn't aware there was even a Greenhouse 9. The giant Hagrid was there. He waved at all of them. "Heard what happen'd. Yer folks wer' good people, Bones."

"You shouldn't get too familiar with them, Hagrid," Filch, the caretaker, chastised.

Harry had been one of the lucky few who rarely ran into the aging caretaker. He was not a pleasant sort and reminded him of Vernon after he had a few at the pub with his work colleagues. Mrs. Norris, Filch's cat, was about as friendly as Ripper was. That dog was pure evil. Even Peeves, the crazy poltergeist in the Castle, was nicer than Mrs. Norris.

"Ah, bring the troublemakers, eh?" Hagrid grumbled toward where Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle stood.

"Why are we going out there when it's so dark?" Malfoy wined.

"Because you will be coming with me," Professor Sprout said as she appeared through the side door. "Greenhouse 9 is in the Forbidden Forest. The Umbra Spina, or Shadow Thorn, grows there perfectly. You six will harvest them tonight," she said as she drew her wand.

"Students aren't supposed to go in there," Malfoy complained.

"They will when a professor is with them. Now, would you like to be expelled?"

The blonde prat sneered and muttered something under his breath. Harry had five Galleons on it was something about his Father.

A massive lumbering beast of a dog appeared out of the darkness, nearly giving Harry a heart attack and causing Draco and Bones to scream. They almost sounded the same.

"This here's Fang. He'll be comin' with us tonight to keep us safe. Won't yeh, Fang? Eh, big softie like you'll probably hide behind the kids if somethin' scary shows up!" Hagrid said with an affectionate pat on the dog's side. It sounded like the giant hit a kettledrum.

Hagrid, with a massive lantern, led the group down the path and into the Forbidden Forest. Professor Sprout told them all to light their wands. Harry was a little amused at how dim Crabbe and Goyle's lights were. Draco seemed to notice as well from the grimace he sent his Housemates.

"There's some'it out here te' last few nights," Hagrid said as he peered around the darkness, holding his lantern higher.

"I imagine it is any number of beasts, Hagrid. It isn't much further," Professor Sprout announced.

Harry saw the edge of a massive dome before the others. Several panes of glass were missing from the highest spots. A shape darker than the rest of the Forest moved away from the building. It didn't look like an animal, but it was hunched over.

"Uh… Professor… something went toward the treeline on the other side," Harry said softly.

"I saw it. Hagrid?"

"Not er' werewolf," the giant muttered. "Some'it else. I'll go. Fang, stay," he ordered and stomped off toward the other side of the greenhouse.

Harry suddenly wasn't sure it was all that safe, even with the professor here. His head had a dull ache that he associated with Defense Against the Dark Arts. The Forbidden Forest was home to several of the things Professor Quirrell talked about. It might be a warning.

"Don't like this," he whispered to Ernie, who was closer to him than Susan. Macmillan nodded frantically.

"We will work quickly," the professor said as she looked around. "To be sure, you cannot use your Wand-lighting Charms to collect the Umbra Spina. If it senses light, it will think you are a threat. Here are your dragon-hide gloves. I expect them back," she continued as six sets of battered gloves appeared on the forest floor with a wave of her wand.

"How do we know what it looks like?" Draco moaned as he furtively looked around.

"The Umbra Spina has a faint glow at night and absorbs dark magic from its surroundings. As you can imagine, this is the perfect place for it to grow. Fertile soil, both in magic and nutrients. Simply grab the stem, do not shine any light on it, and gently pull it from the ground. Do not startle it. You are looking for a flowering rose, except you will see many barbs instead of petals, like a Knarl."

"Oh, joy," Ernie muttered. "Probably just as mean."

Harry looked around. "How about one of us collects while the others keep a lookout," he whispered to Susan. She nodded quickly and turned to Ernie. "You're the best of us at Herbology. You get the… whatever its called."

Ernie shot Harry a disgruntled look. Harry was probably the better one at practical Herbology. He shrugged and looked at the clearing around them. "I'll do it," Ernie muttered.

Crabbe and Goyle stood there while Malfoy got their gloves. It was clear they just wanted the job done and over with.

Entering the greenhouse was like stepping into a weird, surreal dream. Some things looked perfectly preserved, like the potted plant that might have been in the Common Room. However, next to it was a discarded book with most of the pages either gone or turned to dust. If he needed covers for his notes, this place might be a good source of free leather-bound books.

A keening wail made all of them freeze.

"That is not something that is dangerous," Professor Sprout said into the dead silence. Harry gave her an incredulous look. He wasn't the only one. "Be about your task."

Harry covered Ernie as they picked their way toward the raised beds of plants. It took him a moment to realize they were not raised beds but rather mounds of dirt the size of cabinets. On top was a black plant with many needles. The plant hummed with energy and pulsed with some inner light.

"We are leaving! Right now!" Professor Sprout said sharply.

Malfoy and his companions did not need to be told twice. Harry was only just behind Susan as they ran out of the greenhouse without looking back. They stopped at the edge of the clearing and looked back. Professor Sprout moved much faster than Harry thought possible.

"Lumos Maxima!" she cried. A light brighter than anything he'd seen pushed away the darkness and temporarily blinded him.

Malfoy cursed, and Crabbe and Goyle howled something. Ernie, apparently the only one not looking at the greenhouse at the time, yelled something.

Harry saw a dark shape slink away through the trees as he blinked away the spots in his eyes. Whatever it was had circled around the clearing and was closer to them before the light went off. He glanced at the greenhouse and froze. Long tendrils of something rose from within the building, reaching outward and grabbing at whatever it could. The tentacles or whatever they were left long, slender gouges in the earth.

"You have, Fang? Good, we are returning to the Castle. Someone… no, that is for the Headmaster to figure out. Move, children, move," Professor Sprout urged and pushed Malfoy in the back.

Harry's head didn't hurt as much as they moved away from the clearing.

"Next time, I'm listening to you when you say it doesn't feel right," Ernie snorted.

"What was that thing?" Susan whispered. "We were right there with it!"

"Shadow Root, or Umbra Viventis," Professor Sprout supplied as they quickly moved through the Forest. Everyone had their wands out and kept them as bright as possible.

"Weren't we about to collect an Umbra Spina? Is that like the baby form of whatever that was?" Ernie asked with a shiver.

"No, not even close. What that is… no. It's best not to know. They are deliberately made for dark rituals. We will not speak of it again, and you are not to speak of it to others. Malfoy, I know your mouth runs before your brain, but I do not think your Head of House will like this information out there. I will inform him of it."

Malfoy made a noise in his throat.

Harry saw Hagrid's huge form appear out of the Forbidden Forest just as they made it back to the Castle. Fang bounded toward him but didn't bark.

"You will stay here until I return to escort you back to your Common Rooms," Professor Sprout ordered.

She rushed toward where Hagrid was.

"My Father will hear of this," Malfoy huffed.

Everyone ignored him. Harry could still see a faint glow over the trees. He wondered where he could learn about the… his thoughts trailed off. Professor Sprout had called it something. He slowly went through the last several minutes until he remembered the name. Umbra Viventis, or Shadow Root. It was a dark plant or creature. He suddenly thought of one place that might have the answer: the Restricted Section of the Library. Madam Pince had questioned him about whether he had entered. Someone had.

Harry shook his head. That was too much of a leap in logic. There were so many other possibilities.

Professor Sprout looked worried as she led the others into the Castle. Professor Snape appeared as if waiting for them near the dungeons. "I will take them," he said smoothly.

The Potion Master favored his left leg as he swept his big dark cloak around to come back the way he'd come. Malfoy shot them all a hateful look. Once the four snakes disappeared, Professor Sprout turned to them.

"I understand that Mr. Malfoy will likely be unable to keep his mouth shut. I would ask that you do not speak about what you saw in the Forest. Not because it needs to be a secret, but there are dangers that some of our… older students from all the Houses may get too curious. While the Weasley twins are… the twins. It is best if we professors deal with what we discovered quickly without putting more students in danger."

"Would the school close?" Harry asked. A worry gripped his chest.

"Not for something like this. Now that we are aware of the problem, it will not remain in the Forest for long."

Harry nodded.

No one felt that what happened was an adventure in any way. Ernie seemed to want to forget the entire thing, and Susan apologized several times for getting them into the mess.

"Hannah, please, we're not discussing the detention," Bones huffed at breakfast.

It hadn't even been four hours since curfew lifted and already half the school knew something dangerous was in the Forbidden Forest. For most, that wasn't all that surprising.

"Malfoy says," another Hufflepuff said from farther up the table.

"If you believe anything Malfoy says, I have a carpet to sell you that will be one hundred percent legal," another student laughed.

"Apparently, whatever it was reached the trees in size and had huge claws for hands," another student scoffed.

"Oh, was it another troll?" Granger said from the table behind Harry.

He shook his head and looked at Susan and Ernie, sitting across from him. They both looked incredulous. It was then Harry realized that either Malfoy was trying to make himself look better, which was possible, or he hadn't seen the dark thing at all. The fact that he couldn't even name it was telling, too. Professor Sprout told them what it was. One of the older students surely knew it by its name.

"Nothing to add?" Timms questioned with a smirk.

Harry shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"See, if we needed confirmation, that would be enough. Even Potter thinks it was dumb."

In Transfiguration, Malfoy kept up his tale. "It reached for us! You could see these big hands scratch the ground," he explained. "Father is already speaking with the School Board about the safety," he continued until Professor McGonagall cut him off.

"Yes, you had quite the adventure, Mr. Malfoy. If you continue to disrupt class, you will lose five points," she said in a calm voice. Harry took that to be her dangerous voice. When she said something in that deadpan tone, someone was getting in trouble.

"Fine," the blonde git huffed.

At least they didn't have the Slytherins in Potions, but they did have an irritable Professor Snape who limped around and snapped at everyone to work.

"Ten points from Ravenclaw for looking like a dunderhead," the professor spat to Turpin. Oliver Rivers glared at the professor, which lost him five points.

Harry lost five points for breathing too hard, and Cauldwell lost points for dropping his silver knife on the floor.

"Well… that could have gone better," Harper snorted.

Everyone was quite done for the day when they reached Defense Against the Dark Arts. For some reason, Professor Quirrell looked even worse than he had before the break. Harry ignored the High Table in the Great Hall as a general rule. He sat nearest the door so he could leave quickly after eating, and the others gravitated to his spot. They only saw the professor three times a week, and Harry was glad for it.

"V-vampires, my dear students, are n-not the glamorous beings you may have read about in Muggle f-fiction. They are d-d-dreadfully cunning creatures of the night, driven by an insatiable thirst for blood. While they possess great speed and strength, they are vulnerable to s-s-sunlight, garlic, and certain enchanted objects. However, one should never underestimate their ability to manipulate or deceive. To protect yourself, mastering defensive spells such as the Full Body-Bind Curse or a Shield Charm is essential—though, ideally, you'll never need to use them. R-remember, it is always better to o-outwit a v-v-vampire than to face one directly."

Harry looked at the professor. He stuttered and even touched his chest twice during the little introduction. However, his eyes didn't change. They had a far-away, almost cloudy film over them.

"Blimey, I think it might have actually been vampires that did that to him," Finch-Fletchley muttered as they opened their books to the correct page to read.

"Think we'll learn the Full Body-Bind today?" Boot asked his partner Li.

Harry didn't think so. Nor would they learn the Shield Charm, which someone said they wouldn't focus on until much later in their schooling. It seemed like something they should learn pretty early. A shield someone could make to protect themselves and others? Wasn't that the entire point of Defense?

Russell and Ward seemed to mirror his thoughts as they complained under their breath about not being taught proper defensive spells.

That afternoon, Harry decided to see Hagrid. He didn't tell the others, but when he didn't turn toward either the Common Room or the Library, Bones, Abbott, Macmillan, and Harper all got interested.

"You're headed… outside? Willingly?" Harper gasped. Daisy had a huge smile on her face. "See, I knew the break would do you some good."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Hagrid got me a Christmas present," he explained. "I want to thank him."

"It doesn't have anything to do with what happened last night at all, right?" Hannah grinned.

"No."

The others looked at each other and then back at him. They didn't believe him. It wasn't all about last night, anyway.

"Do you even know where he lives?" Hannah asked with a smirk.

It was a good point. He looked around the wide lawn. "That way," Harry grinned, pointing to the path to the right of the Quidditch stadium.

"Left," Bones laughed. "There's a pathway on the other side of that stone pillar that leads to his… home."

"Hut," Harper corrected. "We saw it during our first flight lesson, remember?"

Harry didn't remember. He'd loved flying and was interested in things farther away from the Castle. The Forbidden Forest was massive from the air.

He followed their instructions, and about fifteen minutes later, he saw a tall, wide circular hut with a garden attached to it. A massive shape moved near the tree line. Hannah raised her hand to shout, but Ernie and Susan stopped her physically.

"Shhh, make sure it's him first," Susan whispered.

Harper and Abbott looked from their friends to Harry and then to the Forest. "So… something did happen last night," Harper mused with a considering look at all of them.

"Later," Harry said as he moved closer. He squinted at the large figure. It moved when the wind kicked up.

"Ger' afternoon," a familiar voice called from behind them. They all jumped.

Harry turned to see Hagrid without his large brown jacket coming up from another path, huge logs in his arms.

"Good afternoon," Harry greeted. The others seemed to have stepped back. "I wanted to say thank you for the Christmas present. It was… nice," he finished lamely.

"Figured yeh didn' have too many pictures o' yer mum an' dad, Harry. Took me some time, but I got it all together fer yeh. Weren't sure if yeh'd want ter hear about 'em, but... well, if it were me, I'd want ter know an' see 'em."

Harry nodded. "You knew them."

"Yer mum and dad were good friends, Harry. Knew 'em well, I did. Both at school and after. I... I was the one who took yeh from the house that night, after it all... after it was ruined."

One of the girls muttered something behind him.

"Could I come talk about them?" Harry asked.

"Not at night, mind yeh. There's somethin' out there killin' unicorns, an' no student's got any business bein' out on the grounds after dark. Yer welcome to visit any other time, though." The giant stopped and shook his head. "Shouldn'ta said that. Forget what I said."

Harry and the others left after thanking Hagrid again. He didn't seem too keen on talking about the previous night.

"So… some dark thing in the woods and something else killing Unicorns... or is it the same thing? Want to tell us anything?" Harper asked as she crossed her arms under her chest. Abbott looked entirely too interested in their answer, too.

"We aren't supposed to talk about it," Ernie said with a shrug.

"Malfoy wasn't lying?" Hannah asked quietly.

All three of them snorted at the same time. Daisy grinned at them. "Malfoy had his mouth open; of course, he was lying."

As interesting as whatever was going on in the Forest might have been, Harry was just glad to be done with it all.