Harry and Amelia Potter

1.12

Outside, at night, all of us, including Malfoy, are being led to Hagrid's hut by Mr. Filch.

"A pity they let the old punishments die. There was a time detention would find you hanging by your thumbs in the dungeons. God, I miss the screaming." Draco gulps, and Hermione rushes by. "You'll be serving detention with Hagrid tonight. He's got a little job to do inside the dark forest." Hagrid appears with a crossbow. He sniffles. "A sorry lot this, Hagrid. Oh, good God, man, you're not still on about that bloody dragon, are you?"

Hagrid sniffs and sighs, "Norbert's gone. Dumbledore sent him off to Romania to live in a colony."

"Well, that's good, isn't it? He'll be with his own kind." Hermione tells him.

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

"Oh, for Gods sake, pull yourself together, man. You're going into the forest, after all. Got to have your wits about you." Filch tells him.

"The forest? I thought that was a joke! We can't go in there. Students aren't allowed. And there are... werewolves!" Draco says, scared. Filch looks to him with a grin.

"There's more than werewolves in those trees, lad. You can be sure of that." Draco looks frightened. "Nighty-night." And he walks away.

"What's the matter Draco? Are you scared?" I ask him and he just glares at me.

"Right. Let's go." Hagrid says, leading us all in the Forbidden Forest.

In the forest, we walk along a path to a tree. Hagrid stops, bends down and dips his fingers in a silver puddle. He pulls out his fingers and rubs them together. A silver trail smears with his fingers.

"Hagrid, what's that?" Harry asks him.

"What we're here for. See that? That's unicorn's blood, that is. I found one dead a few weeks ago. Now, this one's been injured bad by something." Harry and I suddenly see a large cloaked figure walking through the trees. We look to each other, and then at Hagrid. "So, it's our job to find the poor beast. Ron, Hermione, you'll come with me."

"Okay." Ron says weakly.

"And Harry and Mia, you'll go with Malfoy." Draco grimaces, and Harry and I nod.

"Okay. Then I get Fang!" Draco instructs.

"Fine. Just so you know, he's a bloody coward." Hagrid says and Fang whines.

The three of us walk alone through the forest, with Fang leading us. Malfoy holds the lamp in front of us.

"You wait till my father hears about this. This is servant's stuff." Draco whines.

"If I didn't know better, Draco, I'd say you were scared." I say to him.

"Scared, Potter?!" He scoffs, then heard a howl. "Did you hear that? Come on, Fang. Scared."

I look to Harry, "Think we should run off and leave him alone to get eaten by a werewolf?"

"That's not a bad idea." My brother says, smiling at the thought.

"I don't think anyone would miss him." I say, looking back at Draco. "Except maybe his mother and father."

"But even they might be glad to be rid of him." I laugh at Harry's words and Draco turns around.

"What are you two whispering about?" He says smugly.

"Just weighing our options." I say. We approach a flat ground with gnarled roots all over. Fang stops, then growls. "What is it, Fang?"

Up ahead, a cloaked figure is crouched over a dead unicorn, drinking its blood. The figure raises its head, silver blood dripping from its mouth.

I gasp and Harry and I grab our scars, both of us feeling a searing pain.

Harry gasps and grabs his scar, which is hurting.

Draco gives a look of pure fear, "AHHHHHHHHH!!! AHHH!" He runs away, with Fang, "HELP!!!!!"

Harry and I are left by ourselves.

"The iron backbone in him..." I scoff.

The figure slides over the unicorn and rises erect. It advances towards us. We back up, but trip. We crawl backwards, our backs against a tree.

Suddenly, there is the sound of hoofbeats. A figure leaps over us and lands near the cloaked figure. It is a silver centaur. It rears, and the cloaked figure retreats, flying away.

"Harry and Amelia Potter, you must leave. You are known to many creatures here. The forest is not safe at this time. Especially for you two." It tells us.

"But what was that thing you saved us from?" Harry asked him as he rises off the ground and helps me up.

"A monstrous creature. It is a terrible crime to slay a unicorn. Drinking 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 so pure that the moment the blood touches your lips, you will have a half-life. A cursed life."

"But who would choose such a life?" Harry asks him.

"Can you think of no one?" As the centaur says this, my mind goes to Voldemort.

"Do you mean to say...that that thing that killed the unicorn...that was drinking its blood...that was Voldemort?" I ask.

"Do you both know what is hidden in the school at this very moment?"

"The Philosopher's Stone." Harry and I both answer.

Suddenly, a dog barks. We look up and see Hagrid, Hermione, Ron and Draco appear.

"Harry! Mia!" Hermione exclaims.

"Hello there, Firenze. I see you've met our young Mr. and Miss Potter. You all right there, Harry and Mia?" Hagrid asks and we both nod.

"Harry and Amelia Potter, this is where I leave you. You're both safe now. Good luck."