Heretic - A Mila Vance Story

16 - The Truth Unveiled (End of Year 1)

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 defenceless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips.

Mila read the book once again.

'Who the fuck in their right mind would kill a unicorn,' whispered Sophie once Mila and Draco had relayed their experience in the woods. 'Especially if it curses you.'

'That's the point- we don't think they were in their right mind,' Mila pointed out

'Yeah, they certainly didn't look it,' added Draco

'Oh so that's fucking brilliant then a crazy fucking sociopath running round the forbidden forest, s'pose next we'll be getting out necks slit in our sleep,' scoffed Theo.

'Harry's scar hurt when he saw it he told me - I know it's crazy but they think the scars linked to the one who gave it to him?' said Mila

'What You-Know-Who?' hissed Sophie

'No a fucking turnip,' said Theo rolling his eyes. 'But we all know he of all people would choose a cursed life over none to get back to power.'

Mila had no idea how she would be able to concentrate on her exams that week baring in mind Voldemort himself might be looming round the corner. She liked to use his actual name, it mad people uncomfortable and she found people's reactions amusing. She picked up her astronomy chart and slid it into her bag.

'What was all that the centaur was on about anyways?' wondered Mila.

Sophie's eyes widened and dashed upstairs to the dormitories.

'What on earth is wrong with that one,' laughed Theo as she came running back down the stairs.

She slammed a book on the table.

'Jesus, chill out,' said Draco.

'Shush,' Sophie snapped. She opened up the book and began to flick through the pages. 'Look! I knew it. I just needed to double check.'

'Hurry up then,'  said Mila exasperatedly.

'Okay, okay- who needs a chill potion now huh?' Sophie began to read. 'The God Jupiter had given birth to Minerva from his head. His wife, Juno, had always wanted a child of her own and she grew jealous. Flora, goddess of flowering plants, gave Juno a magical herb that allowed her to conceive a child without the aid of Jupiter. Jupiter grew angry he believed Juno had, had an affair causing strife across Rome. A baby conceived out of hate not love and so was born the Ancient deity of rage, destruction and war - Mars.'

'So what does that have to do with anything?' asked Theo

'It means war is coming.'

Mila tried her best to keep all this out of her head during the exams. The weather had grown swelteringly hot and they, like Hermione had told them, had been given quills bewitched with an anti cheating spell that alerted the teachers after the exam if you had broken any of the rules.

Mila worried more for the written exams, she loved to show off her skills in the practical ones. Especially in Potions with Snape breathing down their necks as they conjured up a Forgetfulness Potion from memory, he had told her after the exam she had aced it. She did pretty well in the Charms exam too. Professor Flitwick called them all one by one to make a pineapple tap dance across the table. Mila had made her pineapple dance to one of the Weird Sisters beats which all of the people from wizarding families seemed to recognise. 

She knew potions and charms were a breeze through. She worried more about transfiguration - it certainly wasn't her best subject. They needed to turn a mouse into a snuff-box - points were given for how pretty the snuff box was and taken away if it had any whiskers or fur. Mila managed to transfigure a the mouse well enough without any defects just the snuff-box didn't happen to be as pretty as Sophie's or Hermione's.