❝ There Is A Good Reason It's Forbidden ❞

       Everything was fine enough until Hagrid revealed that he had a dragon egg! I was a little too late to know because the dragon egg hatched. Harry informed me about it earlier this morning now they were sending the dragon with Ron's brother's friend who was nearby to Romania, I seriously couldn't think how dangerous that was, but then my life wasn't so not-dangerous. So, I agreed to help them.

"Bye-bye, Norbert!" Hagrid sobbed, as Harry, Hermione, and I covered the crate with the invisibility cloak and stepped underneath it. "Mommy will never forget you!" finally we convinced Hagrid to stop sobbing and leave Norbert to us.

How we managed to get the crate back up to the castle, we never knew. Midnight ticked nearer as we heaved Norbert up the marble staircase the entrance hall and along the dark corridors. Up another staircase, then another, even one of my shortcuts didn't make the work much easier.

"Nearly there!" I panted as we reached the corridor beneath the tallest tower. Then a sudden movement ahead made us almost drop the crate. Forgetting that we were already invisible, we shrank into the shadows, staring at the dark outlines of two people grappling with each other ten feet away. A lamp flared.

Professor McGonagall, in a tartan bathrobe and a hairnet, had Malfoy by the ear. "Detention!" she shouted. "And twenty points from Slytherin! Wandering around in the middle of the night, how dare you —"

"You don't understand, Professor. Harry Potter's coming — he's got a dragon!"

"What utter rubbish! How dare you tell such lies! Come on — I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy!"

The steep spiral staircase up to the top of the tower seemed the easiest thing in the world after that. Not until we'd stepped out into the cold night air did we throw off the cloak, glad to be able to breathe properly again.

Hermione did a sort of jig. "Malfoy's got detention! I could sing!"

"Don't," Harry advised her. Chuckling about Malfoy, we waited, Norbert, thrashing about in his crate. About ten minutes later, four broomsticks came swooping down out of the darkness.

Charlie's friends were a cheery lot. They showed me, Harry, and Hermione the harness they'd rigged up, so they could suspend Norbert between them. They all helped buckle Norbert safely into it and then I, Harry, and Hermione shook hands with the others and thanked them very much.

At last, Norbert was going...going...gone.

We slipped back down the spiral staircase, our hearts as light as our hands, now that Norbert was off them. No more dragon, Malfoy in detention, what could spoil my happiness?

The answer to that was waiting at the foot of the stairs. As we stepped into the corridor, Filch's face loomed suddenly out of the darkness.

"Well, well, well," he whispered, "we are in trouble." We'd left the invisibility cloak on top of the tower.⠀

Things couldn't have been worse. Filch took us down to Professor McGonagall's study on the first floor, where we sat and waited without saying a word to each other. Hermione was trembling.

Excuses, alibis, and wild cover-up stories chased each other around. I tried to think of something believable, but my mind stopped working. I'd never got into trouble, I remained the well-mannered and proper child. I had no idea how to escape, maybe the Stroll twins knew about how to get away with trouble or any child of Hermes. He's the God of Thievery after all.

How could I have been so stupid as to forget the cloak? There was no reason on earth that Professor McGonagall would accept us for being out of bed and creeping around the school in the dead of night, let alone being up the tallest astronomy tower, which was out-of-bounds except for classes. Add Norbert and the invisibility cloak, and we might as well be packing our bags already.

When Professor McGonagall appeared, she was leading Neville.

"Harry!" Neville burst out, the moment he saw us. "I was trying to find you to warn you, I heard Malfoy saying he was going to catch you, he said you had a drag—"

Harry shook his head violently to shut Neville up, but Professor McGonagall had seen. She looked more likely to breathe fire than Norbert as she towered over the four of us.

"I would never have believed it of any of you. Mr. Filch says you were up in the astronomy tower. It's one o'clock in the morning. Explain yourselves."

It was the first time Hermione had ever failed to answer a teacher's question. She was staring at her slippers, as still as a statue.

"I think I've got a good idea of what's been going on," said Professor McGonagall. "It doesn't take a genius to work it out. You fed Draco Malfoy some cock-and-bull story about a dragon, trying to get him out of bed and into trouble. I've already caught him. I suppose you think it's funny that Longbottom here heard the story and believed it, too?"

It was a good thing McGonagall was highly logical, she assumed things. With Norbert out of the picture, our punishment was fairly less, right?

I caught Neville's eye and tried to tell him without words that this wasn't true because Neville was looking stunned and hurt. Poor, blundering Neville.

"I'm disgusted," said Professor McGonagall. "Five students out of bed in one night! I've never heard of such a thing before! You, Miss Scott, I thought you were intelligent and you know how to behave yourself I had high expectations from you, Miss Scott!" McGonagall expressed angrily.

I stood dumbfounded, a small part of me blamed myself for being so stupid and reckless. I could've chosen not to help Hagrid, Harry and Hermione would have got through just fine. Or I could've not forgotten something so important as the invisibility cloak.

"I thought you had more sense. As for you, Mr. Potter, I thought Gryffindor meant more to you than this. All five of you will receive detentions yes, you too, Mr. Longbottom, nothing gives you the right to walk around school at night, especially these days, it's very dangerous, and fifty points will be taken from Gryffindor."

"Fifty?" Harry gasped. they were in the lead, the lead Harry won in the last Quidditch match.

"Fifty points each," said Professor McGonagall, breathing heavily through her long, pointed nose.

"Fifty points from Ravenclaw too,"

"Professor — please —" Hermione tried.

"You can't —" Harry said. I didn't open my mouth I didn't want to lose more points than I've already done, it was enough trouble for tonight.

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do, Potter. Now get back to bed, all of you. I've never been more ashamed of Gryffindor students."

I parted my way to Ravenclaw Tower from Harry, Hermione, and Neville. Every one of my roommates was asleep. I wanted to stay awake, but something told me I needed to sleep, I needed rest. There was nothing better to do, I was upset and sleeping sounded better than worrying.

At eleven o'clock the next night, I told Alan about my detention and headed to where I was supposed to meet my fellow rule breakers, Filch, and his scrawny cat. My prefect Roger Davies was not happy with the fact I lost sixty house points in just one week. He told me to complete detection without messing up anything and get the house points back by studying.

Alan being himself didn't even care about house points and straightly asked if the dragon had those three whiskers from Chinese art and myths I seriously can't believe how absurd someone can be in such a situation. If I ever get to meet Santa Claus I would ask him to murder Alan and give me his useless little brain so I can feed it to a hellhound.

As I reached the grounds. Filch was already there.

"Follow me," said Filch, lighting a lamp and leading them outside.

"I bet you'll think twice about breaking a school rule again, won't you, eh?" he said, leering at us. "Oh yes...hard work and pain are the best teachers if you ask me....It's just a pity they let the old punishments die out...hang you by your wrists from the ceiling for a few days, I've got the chains still in my office, keep 'em well oiled in case they're ever needed...Right, off we go, and don't think of running off, now, it'll be worse for you if you do."

We marched off across the dark grounds. Neville kept sniffing. I wondered what our punishment was going to be. It must be something really horrible, or Filch wouldn't be sounding so glad.

The moon was bright, but clouds scudding across it kept throwing us into darkness. Ahead, I could see the lighted windows of Hagrid's hut. Then we heard a distant shout.

"Is that you, Filch? Hurry up, I want ter get started."

I was relieved, if we were going to be working with Hagrid it wouldn't be so bad. My relief must have shown on my face because Filch said,

"I suppose you think you'll be enjoying yourself with that oaf? Well, think again, girl, it's into the forest you're going and I'm much mistaken if you'll all come out in one piece."

Bruh. I've seen hundreds of dangerous monsters, the forbidden forest was barely any real danger.

At this, Neville let out a little moan, and Malfoy stopped dead in his tracks.

"The forest?" he repeated, and he didn't sound quite as cool as usual.

"Scared, Malfoy?" I teased him, he cast a glare at me but didn't reply.

"We can't go in there at night — there are all sorts of things in there — werewolves, I heard."

Neville clutched the sleeve of Harry's robe and made a choking noise.

"That's your problem, isn't it?" said Filch, his voice cracking with glee.

"Should've thought of them werewolves before you got in trouble, shouldn't you?"

Werewolves were dangerous, but I didn't need to worry, I had a silver sword in my robe pocket. I created a void and placed it in my robe pocket and others dress as well because I could keep my sword in them.

Hagrid came striding toward us out of the dark, Fang at his heel. He was carrying his large crossbow, and a quiver of arrows hung over his shoulder.

"Abou' time," he said. "I bin waitin' fer half an hour already. All right, Harry, Hermione?"

"I shouldn't be too friendly to them, Hagrid," said Filch coldly. "they're here to be punished, after all."

"That's why yer late, is it?" said Hagrid, frowning at Filch. "Bin lecturin' them, eh? 'Snot your place to do that. Yeh've done yer bit, I'll take over from here."

"I'll be back at dawn," said Filch, "for what's left of them," he added nastily, and he turned and started back toward the castle, his lamp bobbing away in the darkness.

Malfoy now turned to Hagrid.

"I'm not going in that forest," he said, and I was pleased to hear the note of panic in his voice. Ah, Draco Idiotic Malfoy was a coward! What else can make me happy?

"Yeh are if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts," said Hagrid fiercely. "Yeh's done wrong an' now yeh've got ter pay fer it."

"But this is servant stuff, it's not for students to do. I thought we'd be copying lines or something, if my father knew I was doing this, he'd—"

"—tell yer that's how it is at Hogwarts," Hagrid growled. "Copyin' lines! What good's that ter anyone? Yeh'll do summat useful or yeh'll get out. If yeh think yer father'd rather you were expelled, then get back off ter the castle an' pack. Go on."

Malfoy didn't move. He looked at Hagrid furiously but then dropped his gaze.

"Right then," said Hagrid, "now, listen carefully, 'cause it's dangerous what we're gonna do tonight, an' I don't want no one takin' risks. Follow me over here a moment."

He led us to the very edge of the forest. Holding his lamp up high, he pointed down a narrow, winding earth track that disappeared into the thick black trees. A light breeze lifted their hair as they looked into the forest.

"Look there," said Hagrid, "see that stuff shinin' on the ground? Silvery stuff? That's unicorn blood. There's a unicorn in there bin hurt badly by summat. This is the second time in a week. I found one dead last Wednesday. We're gonna try an' find the poor thing. We might have ter put it out of its misery."

"And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?" said Malfoy, unable to keep the fear out of his voice.

"There's nothin' that lives in the forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang," said Hagrid. "An' keep ter the path. Right, now, we're gonna split inter two parties an' follow the trail in diff'rent directions. There's blood all over the place, it must've bin staggerin' around since last night at least."

"I want Fang," said Malfoy quickly, looking at Fang's long teeth.

"All right, but I warn yeh, he's a coward," said Hagrid. "So me, Harry, Aquila an' Hermione'll go one way an' Draco, Neville, an' Fang'll go the other. Now, if any of us finds the unicorn, we'll send up green sparks, right? Get yer wands out an' practice now — that's it — an' if anyone gets in trouble, send up red sparks, an' we'll all come an' find yeh — so, be careful — let's go."

The forest was black and silent. A little way into it we reached a fork in the earth's path, and I, Harry, Hermione, and Hagrid took the left path while Malfoy, Neville, and Fang took the right.

We walked in silence, my eyes on the ground. Every now and then a ray of moonlight through the branches above lit a spot of silver-blue blood on the fallen leaves. Hagrid looked very worried.

"Could a werewolf be killing the unicorns?" Harry asked.

"Not fast enough," said Hagrid. "It's not easy ter catch a unicorn, they're powerful magic creatures. I never knew one ter be hurt before." What was so terrible and powerful that it almost killed the unicorn?

We walked past a mossy tree stump. I could hear running water; there must be a stream somewhere close by. There were still spots of unicorn blood here and there along the winding path.

"You all right, Hermione?" Hagrid whispered. "Don' worry, it can't've gone far if it's this badly hurt, an' then we'll be able ter — GET BEHIND THAT TREE!"

Hagrid seized Me, Harry, and Hermione and hoisted us off the path behind a towering oak. He pulled out an arrow and fitted it into his crossbow, raising it, ready to fire. The four of us listened. Something was slithering over dead leaves nearby: it sounded like a cloak trailing along the ground. Hagrid was squinting up the dark path, but after a few seconds, the sound faded away.

"I knew it," he murmured. "There's summat in here that shouldn' be."

"A werewolf?" Harry suggested.

"That wasn' no werewolf an' it wasn' no unicorn, neither," said Hagrid grimly. "Right, follow me, but careful, now."

We walked more slowly, ears straining for the faintest sound. Suddenly, in a clearing ahead, something definitely moved.

"Who's there?" Hagrid called. "Show yerself — I'm armed!"

And into the clearing came — was it a man, or a horse? To the waist, a man, with red hair and beard, but below that was a horse's gleaming chestnut body with a long, reddish tail. Harry and Hermione's jaws dropped. Of course, they have never seen a Centaur and they were raised in the muggle world too.

"Oh, it's you, Ronan," said Hagrid in relief. "How are yeh?"

He walked forward and shook the centaur's hand.

"Good evening to you, Hagrid," said Ronan. He had a deep, sorrowful voice. "Were you going to shoot me?"

"Can't be too careful, Ronan," said Hagrid, patting his crossbow.

"There's summat bad loose in this forest. This is Harry Potter, Aquila Scott an' Hermione Granger, by the way. Students up at the school. An' this is Ronan, you two. He's a centaur."

"We'd noticed," said Hermione faintly. Poor girl, probably someone should've warned her.

"Good evening," said Ronan. "Students, are you? And do you learn much, up at the school?"

"Erm —"

"A bit," said Hermione timidly.

"A bit. Well, that's something." Ronan sighed. He flung back his head and stared at the sky. "Mars is bright tonight."

"Yeah," said Hagrid, glancing up, too. "Listen, I'm glad we've run inter yeh, Ronan, 'cause there's a unicorn bin hurt — you seen anythin'?"

Ronan didn't answer immediately. He stared unblinkingly upward, then sighed again.

"Always the innocent are the first victims," he said. "So it has been for ages past, so it is now."

"Yeah," said Hagrid, "but have yeh seen anythin' Ronan? Anythin' unusual?"

"Mars is bright tonight," Ronan repeated, while Hagrid watched him impatiently. "Unusually bright." What's wrong with these humans? just notice the strange signs the universe is giving you.

"Yeah, but I was meanin' anythin' unusual a bit nearer home, said Hagrid. "So yeh haven't noticed anythin'strange?"

Yet again, Ronan took a while to answer. At last, he said, "The forest hides many secrets."

A movement in the trees behind Ronan made Hagrid raise his bow again, but it was only a second centaur, black-haired and -bodied and wilder-looking than Ronan.

"Hullo, Bane," said Hagrid. "All right?"

"Good evening, Hagrid, I hope you are well?"

"Well enough. Look, I've just bin askin' Ronan, you seen anythin' odd in here lately? There's a unicorn bin injured — would yeh know anythin' about it?"

Bane walked over to stand next to Ronan. He looked skyward. "Mars is bright tonight," he said simply.

"We've heard," said Hagrid grumpily. I mentally rolled my eyes, Mars was bright, which could mean a bunch of things but the most plausible one referred to Mars, a god in war in Roman mythology. Which distantly meant that war was coming. I knew how to read the stars, but I could be wrong. And for once I wish I was wrong.

"Well, if either of you do see anythin', let me know, won't yeh? We'll be off, then."

I, Harry, and Hermione followed him out of the clearing, staring over our shoulders at Ronan and Bane until the trees blocked their view.

"Never," said Hagrid irritably, "try an' get a straight answer out of a centaur. Ruddy stargazers. Not interested in anythin' closer'n the moon." I was slightly offended, of course, Hagrid possibly couldn't understand but he could try at least. Take one step forward and the universe will do everything to help you. One must only try.

"Are there many of them in here?" asked Hermione.

"Oh, a fair few....Keep themselves to themselves mostly, but they're good enough about turnin' up if ever I want a word. They're deep, mind, centaurs...they know things...jus' don' let on much."

"D'you think that was a centaur we heard earlier?" said Harry.

"Did that sound like hooves to you? Nah, if yeh ask me, that was what's bin killin' the unicorns – never heard anythin' like it before."

We walked on through the dense, dark trees. I kept looking over my shoulder. I had the nasty feeling we were being watched. I hated attention and I could definitely feel someone's gaze on me.

We had just passed a bend in the path when Hermione grabbed Hagrid's arm.

"Hagrid! Look! Red sparks, the others are in trouble!"

"You three wait here!" Hagrid shouted. "Stay on the path, I'll come back for yeh!"

They heard him crashing away through the undergrowth and stood looking at each other, very scared, until we couldn't hear anything but the rustling of leaves around us.

"You don't think they've been hurt, do you?" whispered Hermione.

"Malfoy's such a coward he probably got afraid and shot up the red sparks" I muttered cooly.

"I don't care if Malfoy has, but if something's got Neville...it's our fault he's here in the first place," Harry said. Yeah, Neville should be alright for Olympus's sake.

The minutes dragged by. My ears seemed