I Lived - Fred Weasley

More Detention

The forest is black and silent. A little way into it they reach a fork in the earth path, and Harry, Hermione, and Hagrid take the left path while Draco, Neville, Celeste, and Fang take the right.

They walk in silence for a while, focusing on the task at hand. Occasionally, Celeste pulls Neville out of the way of branches, making sure he doesn't get hurt.

Draco is the first to speak. "My father will hear about this. I don't care what that big oaf says, father will be furious."

"Why?" Celeste asks. "Because his son's a disappointment now, too?"

If it wasn't so dark, they would be able to see Neville's suddenly very uncomfortable expression. He feels rather awkward, like he's a part of a conversation not meant for him.

"You think you're so tough, don't you, sister? Running around with mudbloods and blood-traitors, besmirching the family name. No, father will be furious that I'm getting treated like a servant!"

"You really think he cares about you that much?"

"Just because he doesn't care about you doesn't mean he doesn't care about me."

"Do you think your father would care about you at all if you weren't sorted into Slytherin? If you didn't worship the ground he walks on?"

Draco doesn't answer the question, choosing instead to point out that Celeste has referred to Lucius as his father, not their father. "He's your father, too."

"He stopped being my father the day I got sorted. You never answered my question. Do you think he'd care?"

The boy doesn't respond after that. The three (plus Fang) continue tracking the unicorn blood in silence, Neville incredibly grateful that the conversation is over. They stay close, but split up a little to search.
After a few minutes, Celeste hears a terrified yell and sees red sparks being sent up near her. Fang starts barking loudly.

She runs over to the boys, thinking something happened, only to find that Draco has just scared Neville as a joke. She's about to start yelling at Draco when she sees Hagrid approaching them, looking as worried as she did a few moments ago.

"Hagrid! Nothing's wrong! Draco just spooked Neville," Celeste explains, clearly frustrated, to the half-giant as he comes closer.

Immediately his face twists into outrage and he starts angrily scolding the Malfoy boy. Still furious, he instructs them to come with him and takes them to where Harry and Hermione are waiting.

"We'll be lucky to catch anythin' now, with the racket you two were makin'. Right, we're changin' groups— Neville, you stay with me an' Hermione, Harry, you go with Celeste, Fang, an' this idiot," Hagrid tells the group before whispering what looks like an apology to Harry.

So, Celeste sets back off into the heart of the forest with Draco, Fang, and now Harry. They walk in silence for nearly half an hour, deeper and deeper into the forest, until the path becomes almost impossible to follow because the trees are so thick.

Based on how the blood looks, the group seems to be nearing the unicorn. Up ahead them is a clearing, Celeste can see it through the tangled branches of an ancient oak.

"Look—" Harry murmurs, holding out his arm to stop Draco.

Something bright white is gleaming on the ground. They inch closer.

It's the unicorn all right, and it's dead. Celeste has never seen such a sad sight. It makes all of her recent troubles seem happy in comparison. The unicorn's slender legs are stuck out at odd angles. It's unnatural.