OS 3 - Unicorns and Centaurs

Detention.

Harry had nearly forgotten that his punishment would need to be served alongside Neville, Ron, and Hermione. And, possibly, Malfoy as well. Their adventure of helping Hagrid deliver Norbert to his new caretakers had ended in disaster, caught without the invisibility cloak on their way back down to their quarters. The idea of being stuck in some room with Dracaena irked him, but maybe she would be less of a terror under the watchful eye of the detention monitor.

As per the note they were all given, the four met at the entrance hall at precisely eleven o’clock that night. Neville seemed much the worse for wear, his eyes red and puffy from hours of sobbing. And, with a sinking feeling, Harry spotted Malfoy’s pale hair among the others. She had a somewhat petulant expression on her face, and her eyebrows deepened with annoyance as he approached.

Dracaena hated even the concept of detention for purebloods like her, and even the suggestion that she’d be stuck with The Boy Who Lived and his insufferable group was horrendous. But, at least it meant they hadn’t been let off easy, as Potter was during the broomstick incident.

“Glad they nabbed you, filth,” she hissed as he reached the others. “I can’t believe you ever thought you’d frame me like this and get away with it.”

Harry was interrupted in his response by Filch’s approach.

“At least you showed up,” the old man leered at them, his grating, wavery voice echoing off the stones. “Yes… such a pity that they banned the old punishments… I still keep the chains well prepared and oiled in my study… hang you by the wrists, they did… come with me…”

Filch continued muttering as they headed out into the cool night air. They progressed directly across the dappled, moonlit grounds. Harry hoped that Filch wasn’t their eventual detention monitor, as only he could only imagine what the grumpy old caretaker would have planned for them. Malfoy’s thoughts echoed his, although they hinged much more significantly on Filch’s squib status, and were tinged with indignant bitterness. *Born without magic, and yet lecturing us. How disgraceful, *she complained to herself. After a moment, she smoothly sidled up next to Harry, speaking in a low, ominous monotone.

“If Filch looks away for as much as a second, I will remove your ears from your disgusting half-blood head,” she glared at the others in turn, “each and every one of you. My father will hear about this embarrassment."

Harry snapped back. “Your own fault for thinking you could just waltz up to McGonagall and –”

“Silence, Potter,” Filch rasped, glaring over his shoulder. “Not another word from you creatures, or I’ll see to your punishment personally.”

Harry began a retort but closed his mouth quickly, thinking better of it. Dracaena’s eyes glittered with a spiteful smirk as she faded back away from him. “Don’t toy with me, Potter,” she whispered. “I’ll have too much fun ruining that little reputation of yours.”

Hermione jostled Harry’s shoulder before he could turn and hissed at him. “Not worth it. Just shut up.” Ron jostled her back, and she glared daggers at him.

After several minutes, a deep, gruff voice called to them from the shadows. “Filch? About time, I ben wantin’ to get ‘er started.”

Hagrid! Harry thought excitedly. Ron and Hermione also perked up, and even better – Malfoy seemed crestfallen. Her distaste for Hagrid was well known.

“Excited? I wouldn’t be,” Filch snickered. “Your time in the forest with that overgrown oaf will change your pathetic little minds, if you make it out in one piece.”

The group halted with a start, Malfoy and Neville simultaneously going white.

“The forest?” Dracaena repeated incredulously, her voice weak. “We can’t… it’s too dangerous, there are werewolves and so many other sorts of things…”

Neville proceeded to choke as Filch replied, “Of course there is, perhaps you’ll avoid negligence in your thinking in the future. No point in an easy punishment,” he cackled.

“Yer ain’t gonna be copyin’ lines, er whatever else yer thought you’d be doin’,” Hagrid glared at Malfoy. “You’ll be follerin’ me in ta’ the woods if you’ll be wantin’ to stay at Hogwarts. Filch,” he turned his gaze to the pale old man. “You ben lecturin’ them? I ben waitin’ for near about a thirty minutes for yer to show. Leave that ta’ me next time.”

As Filch grumbled and shuffled off back towards the school, Hagrid addressed the students. “Now. This’n is going ta’ be a dangerous task, so nobody be takin’ risks ‘nless I say so. Come along.” He turned and strode towards the dark edge of the forest, leaving no time for questions. Harry caught Malfoy’s nervous expression. Her confidence in Hagrid’s care and abilities was significantly lower than the others in the group. She stiffened as she noticed his look, and flipped her hair as she turned, focusing on the road.

Minutes later, Hagrid halted as they neared the edge of the forest. “See that?” He pointed at some odd shiny liquid on the ground. “Tha’ shiny stuff on tha ground? Unicorn blood, it is. Somethin’ is hurtin’ the poor creatures, second one in a week. We’re gonna find tha’ poor creature, might have ter put ‘em out of its misery.”

“But….” Dracaena started. She glanced over at the others, eyes wide as she struggled to maintain her composure. “What if the thing that’s hurt the unicorns finds us?”

“Hagrid will keep us safe,” Harry retorted, mildly indignant.

“Right on,” the large man knelt as he inspected the unicorn blood. “So long as yer stick’n to the paths and stay wit’ me or Fang, you’ll be all right.” Hagrid stood. “We’ll be splittin’ up into diff’rnt directions, this poor beast’s been all over tha’ forest.” “Give me Fang,” Malfoy said quickly.

“Suit yerself,” Hagrid said amenably. He clicked at Fang, who paced over near the pale girl. “I’ll warn ye though, he’s a bit of a coward. All right, Harry ‘n me ‘n Hermione’ll go one way, Dracaena and Nevillle ‘ll go wit’ Fang. Send up green sparks if you found tha’ unicorn, and red if yer in trouble, got it?”

Harry and the others nodded. Malfoy glanced at her partners with resigned distaste, resolving to let Neville and Fang forge ahead. Her father would be nearly as upset at the school as he would be at her for being injured in such a fruitless escapade.

The initial walk into the forest was silent and dark, moonlight flitting barely through the thick, black foliage overhead. The group split silently at the crossroads. Harry, Hermione, and Hagrid continued on to the left, and Harry’s confidence was mildly shaken when he saw the worried expression on their large guide’s face.

“Would it be a werewolf?” Harry asked.

“Not fast enough,” Hagrid replied, lips drawn into a thin line behind his large beard.

The reply didn’t seem to satisfy Harry, so Hermione chimed in with a nervous tremor in her voice. “Unicorns are powerful, they rarely get hurt in the wild. Right?” Hagrid nodded in reply. He seemed mildly impressed.

The small party continued down the trail, spotting another silvery dot of blood here and there. A small creek flowed close by, revealed by the sound of burbling water. Harry’s ears perked up as some other noise became subtly audible over the stream, and Hagrid stiffened. A sort of dragging, slithering sound; something passing over the leaves.

“GET BEHIND THAT TREE,” Hagrid whispered harshly, although it could hardly be called a whisper. He heaved Harry and Hermione off the path into the nearby brush, laying an arrow on his huge crossbow and holding it ready, pointed into the oppressive darkness.

A few hundred yards away in another part of the forest, Fang trotted along with Dracaena and Neville in tow. The nervous boy had been jumping at the slightest sound, sniffles and barely contained whimpers of fear making a constant drone in Malfoy’s ear.

“Would you shut up already, you rotund idiot?” She hissed at him after a particularly noisy sniff. “It’s bad enough to be given detention with losers like Harry and that awful girl, I don’t need you behaving like a flu-stricken weasel and getting us both killed.”

“I’m sorry,” Neville managed between shuddering breaths. “I’m not cut out for this… it’s not my fault anyway.”

“Oh, you poor thing,” Dracaena whispered, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Maybe you should have left the school when it was best for you. It’s really your fault I’m even out here getting my robes dirty in the first place.”

Uncomfortable silence set in as they continued walking. A spot or two of unicorn blood still shone at a regular interval on the path, and they continued following Fang until they reached a clearing, where Fang stopped momentarily to sniff around and search. Unknown to Neville, Malfoy had faded back, matching her footsteps with his to mask her disappearance until she was just out of earshot.

“I’ve had enough of this ridiculous coward,” she muttered to herself, grinning slightly. “Let’s see if you’ll stick around after this.”

As Neville stopped in the clearing, she lightly stepped within range of him, hidden in the shadow of a tree. “Locomotor Mortis,” she whispered gleefully, aiming her wand.

“What –” Neville gasped as his legs suddenly became immobile. “HELP –”

“*LUMOS!” *Dracaena breathed, her eyes sparkling with sadistic delight. The clearing was filled with bright light from her wand as she approached quickly behind Neville and gave him a firm shove, sending him toppling forward, legs locked in place. As he hit the ground with a thud, he rolled and cried desperately “V- Vermillious!”, shooting red sparks high into the air.

“Oh, you idiot,” she snapped. “It’s just me, put that away or you’ll let everything know we’re here.” Malfoy whispered finite incantatem and released the boy’s legs, darkening her wand as a thunderous crashing approached. Neville scrambled for cover, but Dracaena already recognized the bellowing voice of that huge oaf, Hagrid, approaching, and stood her ground.

Back further away, Harry and Hermione stood in the darkness and waited for Hagrid to return. He’d rushed off at the first sighting of the red sparks, just after their meeting with two centaurs, Ronan and Bane. They hadn’t been the source of the mysterious noise, but had discussed the unicorns and the sky briefly with Hagrid.

“What do you think he means by Mars being bright?” Harry asked as they waited, doing his best to stave off chills in the dark.

Hermione shrugged. “Like Hagrid said. They don’t let on much, I suppose.” She paused, deep in thought. “I’ve read stories of the stargazers. It could be something, but… oh, I don’t know.”

Minutes later, Hagrid’s approach was signaled by the crunching and crashing of many leaves. He was fuming, scolding Malfoy and Neville, who was pale as a sheet.

“Thanks ter you two, we’ll be lucky ta’ see anyth’n tonight,” he grumbled. “Too much racket an’ noise for my liking. We’re swappin’ partners. Neville, come wit’ Hermione and me, and Harry’ll be with this idiot.” He leaned in as Harry passed by. “Sorry,” Hagrid said in a whisper. “You’ll be scarin’ a little less easy than Neville over there. This got ta’ get done.”

Dracaena just glared.

For nearly half an hour, the two trudged along with Fang.

Harry hated being stuck with the arrogant girl, but the forest quickly became a mutual enemy, the night an oppressive blanket of darkness around them.

“So –” he began, attempting conversation.

“It’s bad enough that I’m risking my life out in the woods,” Dracaena cut him off. “I don’t need your half-witted mouth running like Neville’s nose. Shut up.” Her tone was haughty, but wavered uneasily. “And keep your eyes open, Harry. I will not suffer the embarrassment of being killed with you next to me.”

She called me Harry, he thought. But she was right, their ears needed to be as sharp as their eyes, so he stayed silent. As they continued, the blood trail seemed to grow in intensity, splashed over the roots of a tree in a way that suggested the creature had paused there in agony. Moonlight grew in intensity ahead, and they reached a clearing, pushing through the thick undergrowth.

Harry spotted it first. He put out his arm, and Dracaena ran into it, her head whipping over to glare at him - but her anger was quickly stilled.

“Look,” he whispered. And there it was.

On the ground in front of them, the unicorn lay still. It was dead, and made for a tragically sad sight. Its legs were arranged at unnatural angles, and its glittering mane and fur were matted with mud and stains of the forest. The two stared at it, side by side as they took it in.

Just as Harry made a move towards it, that eerie slithering sound from before reached his ears, and he froze. Across the clearing, a dark figure appeared through the bushes, crawling unnaturally towards the dead unicorn. The two and Fang watched as it approached, trembling with fear. It reached the body, bent down, and… began to drink the unicorn’s blood straight from its body.

Malfoy screamed, her voice tearing from her throat as she turned and bolted along with Fang. The hooded figure raised its head and looked right at Harry, unicorn blood was dribbling down its front. It got to its feet and came swiftly toward Harry - he couldn’t move for fear.

Then a pain like he’d never felt before pierced his head; it was as though his scar were on fire. Half blinded, he staggered backward. He heard hooves behind him, galloping, and something jumped clean over Harry, charging at the figure.

The pain in Harry’s head was so bad he fell to his knees. It took a minute or two to pass. When he looked up, the figure had gone. A centaur was standing over him, not Ronan or Bane; this one looked younger; he had white-blond hair and a palomino body.

“Are you all right?” said the centaur, pulling Harry to his feet.

“Yes – thank you, what was that?”

The centaur didn’t answer. He had astonishingly blue eyes, like pale sapphires. He looked carefully at Harry, his eyes lingering on the scar that stood out, livid, on Harry’s forehead.

“You are the Potter boy,” he said. “You had better get back to Hagrid. The forest is not safe at this time, especially for you. Can you ride? It will be quicker this way.

“My name is Firenze,” he added, as he lowered himself on to his front legs so that Harry could clamber onto his back. There was suddenly a sound of more galloping from the other side of the clearing. Ronan and Bane came bursting through the trees, their flanks heaving and sweaty.

“Firenze!” Bane thundered. “What are you doing? You have a human on your back! Have you no shame? Are you a common mule?”

“Do you realize who this is?” said Firenze. “This is the Potter boy. The quicker he leaves this forest, the better.”

“What have you been telling him?” growled Bane. “Remember, Firenze, we are sworn not to set ourselves against the heavens. Have we not read what is to come in the movements of the planets?”

Ronan pawed the ground nervously. “I’m sure Firenze thought he was acting for the best,” he said in his gloomy voice.

Bane kicked his back legs in anger. “For the best! What is that to do with us? Centaurs are concerned with what has been foretold! It is not our business to run around like donkeys after stray humans in our forest!”

Firenze suddenly reared on to his hind legs in anger, so that Harry had to grab his shoulders to stay on.

“Do you not see that unicorn?” Firenze bellowed at Bane. “Do you not understand why it was killed? Or have the planets not let you in on that secret? I set myself against what is lurking in this forest, Bane, yes, with humans alongside me if I must.” And Firenze whisked around; with Harry clutching on as best he could, they plunged off into the trees, leaving Ronan and Bane behind them.

Harry didn’t have a clue what was going on. “Why’s Bane so angry?” he asked. “What was that thing you saved me from, anyway?”

Firenze slowed to a walk, warned Harry to keep his head bowed in case of low-hanging branches, but did not answer Harry’s question. They made their way through the trees in silence for so long that Harry thought Firenze didn’t want to talk to him anymore.

They were passing through a particularly dense patch of trees, however, when Firenze suddenly stopped. “Harry Potter, do you know what unicorn blood is used for?”

“No,” said Harry, startled by the odd question. “We’ve only used the horn and tail hair in Potions.”

“That is because it is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn,” said Firenze. “Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenseless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips.”

Harry stared at the back of Firenze’s head, which was dappled silver in the moonlight.

“But who’d be that desperate?” he wondered aloud. “If you’re going to be cursed forever, death’s better, isn’t it?”

“It is,” Firenze agreed, “unless all you need is to stay alive long enough to drink something else - something that will bring you back to full strength and power - something that will mean you can never die. Mr. Potter, do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment?”

“The Sorcerer’s Stone! Of course - the Elixir of Life! But I don’t understand who –”

“Can you think of nobody who has waited many years to return to power, who has clung to life, awaiting their chance?”

It was as though an iron fist had clenched suddenly around Harry’s heart. Over the rustling of the trees, he seemed to hear once more what Hagrid had told him on the night they had met: “Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die.”

“Do you mean,” Harry croaked, “that was Vol –”

“Harry! Are you all right?” Hermione’s voice echoed up the path as she approached, running alongside a gasping Hagrid and Neville with Malfoy close behind.

“I’m fine, yes,” he replied from atop Firenze’s back, still in a daze. “It’s dead, back in that clearing behind us. The unicorn, I mean.”

“I will depart,” Firenze said in a low voice. “You are safe now.”

Harry slid off his back with a thump as the centaur trotted off, back into the darkness. “Luck be with you, Harry Potter,” Firenze called back. “Even centaurs have misread the stars and planets before. I hope for all our sakes that this is one of those times.”

Hagrid hurried off to inspect the unicorn, leaving the four students to wait for his return. Dracaena lit her wand dimly and whispered harshly, “You’re even more idiotic than I thought, Potter.” Her voice concealed a subtle tinge of relief, although Harry couldn’t identify why. “What did you think you’d do, fight it?”

“Harry fought it?” Neville said through nervous sniffles.

“No,” Harry replied. “I’m not sure, but I certainly didn’t choose to stay,” he said with a pointed glare at Dracaena.

“Then what –” Hermione started, as confused as the rest.

“I’ll tell you later.”

Uneasy quiet fell over the group until Hagrid returned, and wordlessly led them back to the edge of the forest and into the safety of Hogwarts castle once more.

• * *

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