27

Chapter 27: Detention Disruption

"You can understand her position of course, not even James enjoyed that prank you see. Your father loved your mother and everything about her, so when he saw her walking down the halls with black hair he became quite upset. If my memory serves me correctly he had all but glued himself to her waist and continued to moan about the injustice of his love not loving herself enough to continue on as she was. I do believe that he had even gotten it into his head that she had somehow been bullied into hating how she looked. Well, when he said this it was too much for your mother to take and she stormed off. Later that day Lily's hair was back to normal and your father refused to remove his hat though he did come to myself for assistance in reversing your mothers charm work."

"What did she do?" Harry asked excitedly as he leaned forward in the plush armchair beside McGonagall before the fireplace in her office.

"Your mother had somehow managed to not only change his hair color into a bright pink but she had also caused it to style itself into a small animated swan that would continuously attempt to fly off and merely succeed in pulling his hair rather painfully," McGonagall answered with a soft chuckle as the memory played out in her mind and the delightful sounds of Harry's tinkling laughter filled her office.

Just as McGonagall was about to launch into yet another story the door opened and there in the doorway stood Professor Sprout with an uncharacteristic scowl on her face.

"Pomona?" McGonagall asked in concern at seeing her coworker so out of sorts. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Dumbledore," she said simply as she came forward and gave a now clearly uncomfortable Harry a soft smile. "Albus has called an emergency staff meeting. Hagrid will have to take over mister Potters detention."

"He has already completed his assigned task," McGonagall said quickly, her face closed off as she thought of what could possibly warrant an emergency staff meeting this late at night. "I will merely release him for the day and-."

"That won't work Minerva. It was the first thing that Filius and I checked on. Albus is insistent that if the scheduled amount of time specified for detentions tonight does not get completed tonight he will personally oversee all un-served detentions," Sprout huffed as she sat in the last of the open armchairs leaving Harry to remain awkwardly silent between them.

"Who else has detention tonight?" Minerva asked suspiciously as her eyes narrowed. Serving a detention with Hagrid in his hut would be far better than being within close proximity to Albus.

"Only mister Potter," Pomona said stiffly as she crossed her arms and glared at the fireplace. "Filius' only detention was served earlier, I had none set for today and all of Severus' were excused for some reason or another."

"And the rest of mine were finished earlier," Minerva said with a sigh as she began to rub at her temples. "Very well, mister Potter the rest of your detention will be served with Hagrid tonight, I shall write you a note so that you may safely-."

"I'm afraid that won't work either Minerva," Sprout interrupted blandly as she too stood and looked at Harry. "Hagrid's presence is required for the first part of the meeting tonight, for now you should return to the common rooms. At eleven Argus will be by to collect you and escort you to Hagrid's. I want you to stay close to both of them mister Potter. Do not wander, and if anyone besides Argus arrives to escort you including myself I give you permission to resist. Miss Lowell and mister Kirsty have also agreed to sit up with you as well. I advise for you to nap while you can and one of the two will be sure to wake you. I will not have you missing too much sleep because of Albus' ridiculous decisions. I would give you the morning off as well but my hands are tied I'm afraid."

"It's time to wake up Harry," Kristen said softly as she gently shook a sleeping Harry awake.

"Hmm?" Harry murmured as he stretched and began to sit up on from his place curled up on one of the common room couches.

"It's almost time for Filch to come get you for detention," Austin said with a chuckle as he eyes the first years sleep tousled hair.

"Oh," Harry said as he stood up and rubbed at his eyes tiredly before smiling at the two seventh years. "Thank you both for staying up with me."

"It's not a problem Harry," Kristen said with a grin as she began to fuss with Harry's hair causing him to blush. "Besides, it's not your fault this is all happening. Whatever's gotten into Dumbledore this year, well, no one likes it. Especially not the fact that he seems to be targeting you..."

"Harry," Hagrid greeted them with a relieved smile from his position beside the door of his hut.

"Hagrid," Filch huffed from beside them as Harry moved over to Hagrid's side. "I'll be back for him in a few hours."

"Thank you mister Filch," Harry said with a small smile. He never understood why people were so mean to the caretaker. Sure he was grumpy, but when you were surrounded by people who didn't like you then you were bound to be in a bad mood most of the time as well. That's why Harry made it a point to always be kind to the old caretaker.

"Alrigh' then," Hagrid said with a sigh after Filch had begun to make his way towards the castle. "If it were up to me we woul' jus' go in and I'd tell you more abou' your parents but Dumbledore's decide' tha' detention or no I have ta go and look inter the disterb'nces in the forres'. So, you'll be goin' in with me an' Fang. You'll be stayin' by my side the whole time, if I tell you to do somethin' then you do it. This is goin' ta be dang'rous 'nough as it is so stay close. D'you und'rstand?" Hagrid asked seriously as he looked Harry straight in the eye.

"I understand Hagrid," Harry replied just as seriously. Dumbledore was obviously aiming for something here and whatever it was Harry was afraid to find out. Even Fred and George were wary of the forest, yes they would wander in and explore the first few yards of it but always within sight of the castle or directly on the path. Harry didn't know much on what Hagrid was looking for but whatever it was they would be heading deeper into the forest and well off of the path. He wasn't going to risk his life for simple curiosity, not now.

"Good," Hagrid said approvingly as he began to grabbed his crossbow and led the way to the edge of the forest where the path narrow and twisting path made its way into the trees and out of sight. There, shining in the light of Hagrid's lantern and splattered across the pathway were droplets of what could have passed for molten steel. "Unicorn blood," Hagrid said darkly as he rested one of his hands protectively on Harry's shoulder and pulled him into his side as Fang moved forward, his thick fur brushing against Harry's side with every move the large Boarhound made. "This one's the sec'nd this week. There's summat in there tha's been hurtin' 'em. We're goin' in and lookin' for this one. Luckily it's only been hur' today."

"What could possibly hurt a unicorn?" Harry asked in shock as he thought back to what he had read on the beautiful creatures earlier that year. It took a lot to so much as injure a unicorn and it more than likely wasn't another creature since a unicorns presence can calm even a feral werewolf. No, not unless the school had somehow managed to gain a Wendingo or something similarly nefarious.

"I dunno, but what ever it is it needs to go, nothin' like that should be near a school full of kids," Hagrid said with a slight growl to his voice as they made their way deeper into the forest, "Keep your wand out Harry," He warned just as they stepped into a thicker canopy of trees and the moonlight was cut off. Darkness fell upon them like a thick blanket being kept at bay by nothing but the flickering light of Hagrid's lamp.

As they continued to walk deeper into the forest Harry could feel dread settle upon him like a weight and couldn't help but let his mind wander back to his bed back in the Den. Oh how he couldn't wait for this detention to be over with!

As they continued ever deeper Harry kept the glittering pools of blood firmly in sight and couldn't help but admire their terrible beauty as they shone like stars upon the inky blackness of the ground that lay beyond the lamps gentle glow.

They trekked deeper into the forest, every step showing a greater and worrying amount of blood, every minute a greater sense of dread until there was a sudden and unbalancing change brought about by a single almost innocent sound breaking through the still of the night and causing an immediate change of demeanor to occur.

A single hum of delight cut through the air more effectively than a hot knife through softened butter.

Hagrid quickly pulled them to a halt and lifted his large crossbow before him as he moved to stand in front of Harry with Fang curling himself protectively around his back with his hackles raised and a silent growl reverberating through his body. Taking a deep breath to center himself Harry quickly centered himself and adjusted his hold on his wand.

Hagrid turned his head ever so slightly to the side and was just preparing to whisper an order when a high pitched whinny cut through the night air and shocked them into movement.

In an instant they were running towards where the sound had come from and Darius' words continued to run through Harry's mind constantly.

'Magic is all about intent Little One. The words and motions help to focus you, that is why you practice them in school. They help you get a feel for your magic, but if you focus only on theory then you can not cast. So if you ever find yourself in trouble and need to fight don't panic. Just focus... And feel...'

After what felt like both forever and no time at all the pair came crashing through the thick foliage and into a small clearing. There in the center of the clearing bathed in a pool of moonlight lay a panicked and thrashing unicorn whose neck was clasped between two pale hands on either side of a cloaked head.

As the sounds of their arrival sounded through the clearing the cloaked head snapped up and shadowed eyes focused on them as silver painted lips twisted into a snarl.

Hagrid and Harry moved at the same time as the hooded figure began to stand. Hagrid released his hold on Harry so that he could more effectively aim his crossbow but Harry proved to be faster as he raised his wand and brought it back down in an arc.

'Just focus... And feel...'

With those words in mind Harry acted focusing only on his need to protect the fallen unicorn. To keep Hagrid, himself and Fang safe. To return back to Charlie. To Protect!

An electric purple glow shone through the air as Harry's wand sliced down in its precise ark and as the arc finished what appeared to be a bolt of purple lightning shot out and knocked the figure away in a blast of light and smoke.

"STAY HERE!" Hagrid bellowed as he took off after the figure when the blinding light had faded leaving Harry to stare in awe at his wand.

Harry only broke free from his haze when a firm nudge came in his side from Fang. With a start Harry quickly made his way to the mares side and examined the wound with a practical eye. Who would have thought that one day he would be thanking the Dursleys treatment of him?

There were several small punctures and scratches which were relatively superficial but the worst of the wounds were the two deep crescent shaped gashes at the base of the long slender neck.

Harry made quick work of taking off his jumper and removing his long sleeved over shirt. Quickly tearing the fabric into ragged strips Harry quickly put pressure onto the wound in an effort to stop the bleeding and began to run one of his small hands along the beautiful creatures neck and murmuring soothing words as he kept an eye out for Hagrid and a firm grip on his wand.

As the minutes past and the distant sounds of Hagrid's bulk crashing through the foliage faded Harry was relieved to notice that the mare was beginning to calm down.

Where once her sides were rising and falling rapidly with her breathing she was now breathing deeply and evenly. Harry was marveled at how calm she was being with him but he wasn't about to question it at the moment.

Time continued to pass and with it the pile of blood drenched rags grew. If Hagrid didn't get back soon then Harry would have to use his undershirt as well, he just hoped the unicorn didn't bleed out first...