I Don't Belong Here ~Book 1~ (HP fanfic)

Chapter 16: The Forbidden Forest

Chapter 16: The Forbidden Forest

The next morning at breakfast, I received a note that said:

'Your detention will take place at eleven o'clock tonight. Meet Mr. Filch in the entrance hall.

~Professor McGonagall'



At eleven o'clock, Malfoy and I made our way to the entrance hall, neither of us saying a word. Filch was already waiting there for us, along with Harry, Hermione, and Neville. Hermione mouthed 'sorry' to me. I raised my eyebrows at her, it wasn't her fault that I got caught. Even though she did ask me to stop Malfoy from leaving, it was my choice to do it.

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

The cold night air made me shiver and I pulled my robes tighter around me.

"I bet you'll think twice about breaking a school rule again, won't you, eh? Oh yes... hard work and pain are the best teachers if you ask me... It's 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." Filch said.

"What a freak!" I muttered under my breath.

Malfoy, who was just a few feet away from me, snickered.

Oops, I didn't mean to say that out loud. I looked up to see if Filch had heard, but he was far enough a head of me to not hear it.

He led us across the dark grounds. The moon was bright, but wispy clouds kept blanketing it. We were led towards Hagrid's hut.

"Is that you, Filch? Hurry up, I want ter get started." Came Hagrid's voice from out of the darkness.

Harry, who was walking beside me, smiled when he heard Hagrid's voice.

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

I looked to the forbidden forest, which looked even creepier at night.

Neville moaned and Malfoy stopped stopped dead in his tracks.

"The forest?" He said, his voice quavering a bit. "We can't go in there at night -- there's all sorts of things in there -- werewolves, I heard."

"That's your problem, isn't it?" Mr. Filch said, sounding happy. "Sould've thought of them werewolves before you got in trouble, shouldn't you?"

Hagrid approached us, a giant black boarhound at his heel. Hagrid was carrying a large crossbow and a quiver of arrows that hung over his shoulder.

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

"I wouldn't be too friendly to them, Hagrid," Filch said. "They're here to be punished, after all."

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

"I'll be back at dawn," Filch said. "for what's left of them." He added after a long pause. He then turned and hobbled back up to the castle.

"I'm not going in that forest!" Malfoy said, his voice sounded slightly panicked.

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

"But this is sevant 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. 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 just glared at Hagrid.

I had to bite back a laugh. Malfoy just got told by Hagrid! That was great!

"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 edge of the forest, holding his lamp up and pointing down a narrow path which was stained with silver liquid every few meters or so.

"Look there, 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?" Malfoy said, sounding scared.

"There's nothin' that lives in the forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang. 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!" Malfoy said.

"All right, but I warn yeh, he's a coward." Hagrid said. "So me, Harry, an' Hermione'll go one way an' Draco, Mirabella, 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."

I'll admit, the forest was pretty scary. Every noise I heard, whether it be leaves rustling in the wind or the snap of a twig, left me on edge. We came upon a fork in the path. Hagrid, Harry, and Hermione went to the left while Fang, Neville, Draco, and I took the right path.

Fang walked along in front of Neville and I, and Draco tagged along behind us. Neville was literally shaking with fear. He looked like he was about to cry, so I reached over and took his hand.

"Don't worry, you'll be alright." I said.

He smiled and seemed to relax a little.

"Aww how cute, a mudblood and a brainless git!" Draco said.

"Shut up, Malfoy!" I said.

A twig snapped in the distance and Neville jumped and squeezed my hand.

"It's all right, if there was something out there, Fang would be the first to sense it." I said.

I was trying to make Neville laugh by scaring Draco, so I said, "You know Malfoy, the one's in back are usually the ones who disappear first."

That got a small smile from Neville.

Draco never answered, which was odd for him, he usually always had some nasty comeback. I turned only to find that he was gone. I stopped dead in my tracks and raised my wand. Neville squeezed my hand so hard that he was cutting off my circulation and I couldn't feel my fingers.

He started crying and sputtered, "W-What happened t-t-to him?"

"I don't know. It's Malfoy, he's probably playing some stupid prank--"

As if on cue, Malfoy jumped out of the bushes behind us and grabbed Neville from behind. Neville screamed, and shot red sparks into the air. Malfoy doubled over laughing.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU, MALOY?" I yelled. I was so mad that I was shaking.

Before I could stop myself, I slapped the stupid smile off of Malfoy's face. He looked just as shocked as I felt. I couldn't believe I just did that! I hated the kid, but I should not have slapped him. There was a long silence in which Malfoy just stood there staring at me, frozen with shock. I went over to comfort Neville who was crying. I put my arm around him, saying "It's ok, Neville."

Suddenly Hagrid came bursting through the bushes, startling Neville once again.

"What's goin' on? Are yeh all right?" Hagrid said, his  crossbow loaded and raised.

"Yeah we are fine." I said. "Malfoy snuck up on Neville and scared him."

Hagrid turned to Malfoy. "What yeh do that fer?"

Malfoy shrugged.

"Alright, follow me." Hagrid instructed, his voice tight with anger.

We all trudged through the forest and followed Hagrid back to Harry and Hermione.

"We'll be lucky ter catch anythin' now, with the racket you three were makin'. Right, we're changin' groups -- Neville, you stay with me an' Hermione. Harry, you go with Fang, Mirabella, an' this idiot."

Fang, Harry, the 'idiot', and I all set off into the heart of the forest. We trudged along for nearly a half an hour, following the path that was getting harder and harder to follow because the trees were becoming so thick. Malfoy stayed quiet, probably still dumbfounded that I had slapped him.

The unicorn blood on the path seemed to be getting thicker. There were splashes on it on the roots of a tree that grew along the path.

"Look --" Harry murmured, sticking his arm out to stop Malfoy and I.

He pointed to a clearing that lied just beyond the braches of an ancient oak tree. Through the branches, something bright white was gleaming on the ground. As quietly as we could, we all inched forward.

When we were close enough, I saw that it was in fact the unicorn, and it was definitely dead. It laid on the ground, it's long slender legs stuck out at odd angles. Harry took a step forward and suddenly a slithering sound made all three of us, including Fang, freeze. A hooded figured emerged from out of the shadows and bent over the unicorn. It lowered its head and drank the blood that was spewing out of the unicorn's side.

"AAAAAAAAAARGH!" Malfoy screamed and bolted off, Fang at his heels.

The hooded figure raised its head and looked right at Harry and I. That's when I turned an ran as fast as I could after Malfoy and Fang. My heart beat a mile a minute as I raced through the dark forest, branches snagging at my clothes and scratching my arms.

I was almost caught up to Malfoy when suddenly my foot got snagged on a tree root and my right ankle twisted sideways with a sickening crack. A sharp pain shot up my leg. As I fell to the ground, my wand, which I had been holding, flew out of my hand and out of sight into the dense forest. Scared of being caught by whatever it was that was back there in the clearing, I tried to get back up and continue running, but I could not even put an ounce of weight on my ankle.

I crawled off of the path into the underbrush and sat there trying to hide. Now that I wasn't moving, the cold night air bit into my skin and I began to shiver. I brought my knees up to my chest and hugged them, trying to conserve my body heat.

A twig snapped nearby and my heart thundered in my chest. Every noise I heard was amplified louder than it should have been and I was sure that the hooded figure would pop out of the bushes at any moment and kill me. I sat there for a long time, quivering from the cold and with fear. If the hooded figure didn't kill me, hypothermia would.

A twig snapped in the distance, followed by another and then another. Each snap getting closer and closer. This was it, it was coming for me, I just knew it. I hugged my knees tighter and closed my eyes, not wanting to see it when it burst through the bushes.

The sound of something rustling in the underbrush was so close and then suddenly I felt a presence right next to me. I whimpered and flinched, tears were now running down my cheeks because I knew that in a few seconds I would be dead. A hand slowly touched my shoulder and I screamed.

"Shut up, Mason! Do you want that thing to find us?"

I opened my eyes and saw Malfoy glaring down at me. An hour ago I would have told you that I'd never be happy to see that kid, but now I was ecstatic to see him standing there. I let out a sigh of relief.

"Come on, let's go, everyone is looking for you!" He turned and began to walk away.

I tried to stand, but collapsed, my ankle throbbing with pain.

"I-I can't w-walk." I stuttered, freezing.

"Why the hell not?"

"I-I think my ankle is b-broken."

Malfoy stared at me with a look that said 'are you freaking kidding me?' He raised his wand and shot green sparks into the air. Moments later Hagrid appeared looking relieved that I had been found.

"Are yeh alright?" He asked.

"Her ankle is broken." Malfoy said in a bored voice.

"Mind if I carry yeh back to the castle?" Hagrid asked.

I shook my head and he lifted me into his arms and carried me through the forest, Harry, Hermione, Neville, Fang, and Malfoy all trudging along behind him.

When we made it inside the entrance hall of the castle, Hagrid gently set me down and said, "I need ter speak ter Professor Dumbledore, go back ter yer dormitories, 'specially you, Harry. Malfoy, help Mirabella get ter the hospital wing."

Hagrid left us. Harry, Hermione, and Neville hurried up one of the staircases together leaving Malfoy and I alone.

"Oh no!" I said, realizing that I didn't have my wand.

"What?" Malfoy said.

"I lost my wand in the forest!"

Malfoy searched his pockets, and then pulled my wand out of his robes and held it out to me, "I found it along the path." He said flatly.

"Thanks." I muttered, snatching it away from him.

"Well, goodnight!" He said, turning to leave.

"Wait! I need help getting to the Hospital Wing!"

"That's your problem, not mine."

"Hagrid said-" I started.

"Fine, come on then, I want to get some sleep!" He said, grabbing my arm and pulling me forward.

"Ouch! Be careful, Malfoy."

He rolled his eyes, but stopped. With a disgusted look on his face he hesitantly put his arm around my waist and I leaned into his side, making him support most of my weight.

We hobbled along finally making it up the third staircase and arriving at the door to the Hospital Wing. With my free hand, I reached out and knocked on the door. A few minutes later, Madame Pomfrey opened it wearing a night gown and her hair was in a wild state. She looked down and immediate noticed my swollen ankle.

"Set her down on a chair." She instructed Malfoy.

We crossed the room and I sat down on a wooden armchair.

Madame Pomfrey knelt down in front of me, and said, "Now this might hurt a bit."

I nodded and squeezed the arms of the chair while she removed my shoe and sock. I cringed with every movement.

"Talus Emendo!" She said, pointing her wand at my ankle.

With a loud snap and a shrill yelp from me, my ankle was healed. I moved it around, it was good as new. I thanked her and then Malfoy and I headed back to the Slytherin common room. Once I was back in my dorm, which echoed with heavy snoring from the other inhabitants, I crawled into bed and tried to sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the hooded figure before me. Eventually my weary brain shut down and I fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

A/N: Hey guys, sorry this took me longer than I expected. As I have said before, I have been super busy with school, and I apologize for the infrequent updates. Anyways, please comment, vote, and fan. :)

P.S. This book is drawing to a close. I do have a sequel planned so fear not! The only thing is, I don't want to spend time on a story if you guys aren't interested in a sequel, so  please let me know if you want me to continue the story. :)