72 Darkness in the Woods

Our walk deeper into the woods is done in complete silence, the only sounds being what we'd typically be expecting to hear tonight. Leaves rustling, branches creaking, Fang panting, the brush of a cloak over the fallen leaves-

I stop and Harry, a step behind me, bumps into me. "Ow, why'd you stop?" He grumbles as he goes to step around me, only to be stopped by my outstretched arm. A quick glance confirms my initial thought.

Neither of us is wearing a cloak.

"There's someone out here," I say, drawing my wand. Though he looks a bit skeptical, and we haven't been on good terms since we got to Hogwarts, he knows that when I get serious, the situation is worse than serious.

It's advanced serious.

I scan the darkness with narrowed eyes, trying to catch a glimpse of who's out here. I know it's not Hagrid's group, none of them had any cloaks when we separated. We stand there, tense, waiting for the unseen being to reveal themselves.

After what I'd guess to be ten minutes of nothing happening I relax, lowering my wand but not putting it away. "Looks like they're gone." I mutter, and Harry slides his wand back into his pocket. I side-eye him, one eyebrow raised. "Good to see that being in Gryffindor hasn't made you completely stupid. Though you putting your wand away doesn't help your case."

He scowls at me, but pulls his wand back out all the same. "I would say that being in Slytherin hasn't changed you, but that would be a lie. Your personality is much more nasty now."

I snort, starting to walk again and reminding myself of the signals Hagrid told us to set off. 'Green sparks for finding the unicorn. Red sparks in case we get in trouble.' "I doubt that. I think that it's more something along the lines of you becoming more of a prat the longer you stick around that prat friend of yours. It's a wonder that Hermione hasn't been infected with his idiocy."

His scowl deepens. "And you say you haven't changed. It's obvious that Malfoy's mean streak has rubbed off on you. I could probably count how many times we've interacted where he hasn't antagonized me or my friends on one hand!"

I roll my eyes, taking the opportunity to look above for anything that might want to drop down on us. "He's mean to Weasley because he's a prat. Weasley is mean to everyone in Slytherin because a magical piece of clothing decided they're ambitious. I think I know who I'd rather side with. Especially since not even the twins are all that fond of him."

His face turns red just as I spot something through the trees. "Oh yeah? Well-"

I slap a hand over his mouth, silencing him before pointing ahead.. "Shh. I see something."

Though he glowers, he follows me all the same as we sneak forwards. My eyes focus on where I saw the movement, and I manage to see another shift in the darkness. Whatever it is, it's darker than the night around us. And it's moving away.

Now, me being the curious girl I am, as well as knowing that I'm capable of even taking down a troll, I'm obviously not going to leave this alone or send up sparks to signal Hagrid's group. That would alert whatever we're following that it's been seen. Though, looking closer, it seems to be too tall for a thing, so maybe it's the person I heard earlier?

Either way, secrecy is important here. Thankfully Harry and I have experience sneaking around from living with the Dursleys. 'Though that isn't going to be an issue anymore. I wonder how they liked their Christmas present?' I internally snicker, happy that I won't be returning to that horrible place. Even if having Clarity for a friend did make it more bearable.

Eventually the figure stops and the two of us hide behind a tree, peeking out to see what it's doing. It seems focused on something out of sight. It raises an arm, and now I'm definitely able to say that whatever it is, is actually whoever judging by the hand holding a wand. It sways to the side, as if following something. It's then that I recall the unicorn blood. Admittedly, I haven't really been looking since we've been busy following this person, but I do remember seeing a few spots of it.

And it was getting more frequent by the time they stopped.

I don't know why I move, I'm not even aware that I even am in the first place. But that doesn't matter, what does is the explosion I cause at that person's feet that glows a bright fiery red. I know I can't blow them up directly, so getting it as close as possible is the best I can do.

But for some reason I feel that it's not the end, and as the smoke clears I see that I'm right. Their cloak is covered in dirt, even torn in some places. But there's no sign that they're hurt. No, when they turn to the two of us, I can tell that more than just being unharmed, I've just made them angry.

They take a step towards us, and beside me Harry cries out in pain and clutches his forehead. They take another step - no, they glide - and I'm suddenly engulfed in an unfamiliar feeling. My chest tightens, my heart starts beating rapidly, and a cold sweat breaks out across my face. I try to move, but my legs don't listen. They can't listen.

The person - no… the thing approaching is something made up of pure malevolence. Its power is far above my own, even with my natural use of magic. If I'd managed to cast the Confringo spell… but no, even with that the pressure they give off is suffocating. I can't even raise my wand to try and warn them off. It's as they cross half the distance between us that I realize it.

'Oh. So this is what fear feels like.'

There's less than ten feet between us now. Harry's cries have turned to whimpers, his head pressed to the ground. The thing stops and raises its arm, wand pointed at me. And I can feel it. I can feel that I'm about to die, and there's nothing I can do about it.

And then they get run over by a horse.

All at once the suffocating pressure disappears and I fall to my knees with a gasp. Distantly, I can hear Harry take a deep breath, idly noting that he'd stopped inhaling at some point. There's the sound of a scuffle going on nearby, but I can't focus on it past the ringing in my ears.

I hold my arms close to me, my grip tight around my wrists as I try to calm my shaking. There's the sound of more hooves, but I focus on my breaths coming out too fast, too shallow. I'm starting to feel lightheaded, but that's not important. Nothing is important compared to that thing. It was unnatural, an abomination. I didn't try to see the magic around it, but even then I could tell that there was something wrong with it.

Hoofbeats approach me, signaling that the fight has ended. I can tell that there's a second set, and a voice. But the ringing in my ears has become static, preventing me from hearing what's said.

Suddenly my vision is filled with white, shocking me enough that I can pay at least a midge of attention to my surroundings. Or at least to what's in front of me.

A unicorn. The unicorn we came into this place to find, judging by the blood flowing from its side. It presses itself against me, using its head to nudge my hand on top of its mane. Once I touch it, I latch on, my knuckles white from the force of my grip. But I immediately feel a wave of warmth flow over me, pushing away the cold fear of death.

Letting out a whimper, I wrap my arms around the unicorn and rest my head on it, heedless of the blood that smears across my face. The warmth seeps deeper into me, and I hear a gasp nearby as the unicorn licks the top of my head. As I continue to hold it-

I stop shaking.

My breathing calms down.

My ears become clear.

I bury my face deeper into the unicorn's fur, and I feel something. The unicorn wants… something. For me to do something? It licks my forehead again, and the feeling gets clearer. I know what it wants.

And so, with my arms clutching onto the unicorn like a lifeline, with my head buried in its fur to hide from the terrible thing wandering the forest, I open my mouth. I let the blood-soaked fur enter inside, the liquid leaving its fur easily as I press my lips together.

And I swallow.