Things couldn't have been worse.
"Ain't that true" Clarisse shook her head.
Filch took them down to Professor McGonagall's study on the first floor, where they sat and waited without saying a word to each other. Hermione was trembling. Cedric was muttering curses to himself. Excuses, alibis, and wild cover-up stories chased each other around Maddie's brain, each more feeble than the last. She couldn't see how they were going to get out of trouble this time. They were cornered. How could they have been so stupid as to forget the cloak?
"Don't be too harsh on yourself, hon" Piper said.
"Thanks bruh"
"Oh, you didn't let me complete" Piper went on, a sly smirk taking birth on her glowing face, "don't be too harsh on yourself for being stupid: it's in your blood"
Laughter echoed around the Council room as Maddie half-heartedly glared at Piper, before joining in the laughter.
There was no reason on earth that Professor McGonagall would accept for their 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 they might as well be packing their bags already.
Had Maddie thought that things couldn't have been worse? She was wrong. When Professor McGonagall appeared, she was leading Neville.
"Maddie!" Neville burst out, the moment he saw the other three. "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--"
Maddie shook her 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 three of them.
Ron shivered. "That was one experience I never wish to repeat"
Harry and Hermione grimly nodded along while Cedric passed looks with Maddie.
All this took place while the demigods (excluding Maddie of course) were mentally comparing their own experiences to this particular time. As the person recording all this, I can assure the comparison they came up with was not pleasant.
"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. Cedric gulped and he and Maddie exchanged terrified looks.
"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?"
Maddie 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 -- Maddie knew what it must have cost him to try and find them in the dark, to warn them.
"Please stop thinking Maddie, your thoughts hurt"
"I know Cedric, bear with me"
"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 Granger, I thought you had more sense. Mr. Diggory, I thought you aimed to be a prefect. As for you, Miss Potter, I thought Gryffindor meant more to you than this. All four 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 and Hufflepuff."
"Fifty?" Maddie gasped -- they would lose the lead, the lead she'd won in the last Quidditch match.
"Fifty points each," said Professor McGonagall, breathing heavily through her long, pointed nose.
"Professor -- please--"
"You don't understand--"
"You can't--"
"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."
"Ok that was harsh," Hermes started but stopped at the death stare Minerva was passing around. Hey, she can be pretty terrifying when she wants to be.
Sirius and Remus on the other hand, didn't get the hint.
"What Minnie-"
"That's not fair-"
"Shut up, Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin"
A hundred and fifty points lost. That put Gryffindor in last place. In one night, they'd ruined any chance Gryffindor had had for the house cup. Maddie felt as though the bottom had dropped out of her stomach. How could they ever make up for this?
Maddie didn't sleep all night. She somehow could hear Neville sobbing into his pillow for what seemed like hours all the way in the boys dorm. Maddie couldn't think of anything to say to comfort him. She knew Neville, like herself, was dreading the dawn. What would happen when the rest of Gryffindor found out what they'd done?
At first, Gryffindors passing the giant hourglasses that recorded the house points the next day thought there'd been a mistake. How could they suddenly have a hundred and fifty points fewer than yesterday? And then the story started to spread: Madeline Potter, the famous Madeline Potter, their hero of two Quidditch matches, had lost them all those points, her and a couple of other stupid first years and a stupid fourth year.
"That's gone too far," snarled Artemis, holding a hunting knife, that looked sharp enough to cut a human in half in one swing.
Maddie help up both her hands- "It's ok Mom. I did kind of deserve it"
"No Maddie, no one deserves that treatment," Percy added, with all the next generation kids nodding along.
From being one of the most popular and admired people at the school, Maddie was suddenly the most hated. Even Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs turned on her, because everyone had been longing to see Slytherin lose the house cup. Everywhere Maddie went, people pointed and didn't trouble to lower their voices as they insulted him. Slytherins, on the other hand, clapped as she walked past them, whistling and cheering, "Thanks Potter, we owe you one!" Which would earn them a hard glare from Maddie, but they didn't seem to care. Either that, or they were trying to keep down their shivers.
Only Ron stood by her.
"They'll all forget this in a few weeks. Fred and George have lost loads of points in all the time they've been here, and people still like them."
"They've never lost a hundred and fifty points in one go, though, have they?" said Maddie miserably.
"Well -- no," Ron admitted.
"Ronald, you're very unhelpful, you know that?" Annabeth snapped, her grey eyes stormy, matching the look evident in her mother's eyes, for even the god's were starting to get angry.
It was a bit late to repair the damage, but Maddie swore to herself not to meddle in things that weren't her business from now on. She'd had it with sneaking around and spying. She felt so ashamed of herself that she went to Wood and offered to resign from the Quidditch team.
"Resign?" Wood thundered. "What good'll that do? How are we going to get any points back if we can't win at Quidditch?"
But even Quidditch had lost its fun. The rest of the team (besides Fred and George) wouldn't speak to Maddie during practice, and if they had to speak about her, they called her "the Seeker."
Hermione and Neville were suffering, too. They didn't have as bad a time as Maddie, because they weren't as well-known, but nobody would speak to them, either. Hermione had stopped drawing attention to herself in class, keeping her head down and working in silence.
Maddie was almost glad that the exams weren't far away. All the studying she had to do kept her mind off her misery. She, Cedric, Ron, and Hermione kept to themselves, working late into the night, trying to remember the ingredients in complicated potions, learn charms and spells by heart, memorize the dates of magical discoveries and goblin rebellions...
Then, about a week before the exams were due to start, Maddie's new resolution not to interfere in anything that didn't concern her was put to an unexpected test. Walking back from the library on her own one afternoon, she heard somebody whimpering from a classroom up ahead. As she drew closer, he heard Quirrell's voice.
"No -- no -- not again, please--"
"What's that about?" Apollo asked. Maddie, Ron, Hermione, and Cedric all had angry looks on their faces.
"I should've known what was wrong with him," Maddie muttered so only her kids and Percy could hear.
"Aunt Maddie, he had everyone fooled," Teddy said, "it wasn't your fault."
"But I'm the daughter of a god, I should've figured it out," she argued.
"Mum, you're the daughter of Artemis," Lily said, "seeing through lies isn't one of your abilities. And just because you're the girl who lived and a daughter of a god, doesn't mean you have to put everything on your shoulders."
Maddie nodded but still had a guilty look on her face. Percy rubbed her back soothingly.
It sounded as though someone was threatening him. Maddie moved closer.
"All right -- all right -- " She heard Quirrell sob.
Next second, Quirrell came hurrying out of the classroom straightening his turban. He was pale and looked as though he was about to cry. He strode out of sight; Maddie didn't think Quirrell had even noticed her. She waited until Quirrell's footsteps had disappeared, then peered into the classroom. It was empty, but a door stood ajar at the other end. Maddie was halfway toward it before she remembered what she'd promised herself about not meddling.
"You should've checked it out," Hermes said.
"I wouldn't have found anything anyways," Maddie said.
All the same, she'd have gambled twelve Sorcerer's Stones that Snape had just left the room, and from what Maddie had just heard, Snape would be walking with a new spring in his step -- Quirrell seemed to have given in at last.
Maddie went back to the library, where Hermione was testing Ron on Astronomy and Cedric was trying to do something for Divination. Maddie told them what she'd heard.
"Snape's done it, then!" said Cedric. "If Quirrell's told him how to break his Anti-Dark Force spell--"
"What about Cerberus 2.0?" Thalia asked.
"There's still Fluffy, though," said Hermione.
"Maybe Snape's found out how to get past him without asking Hagrid," said Ron, looking up at the thousands of books surrounding them. "I bet there's a book somewhere in here telling you how to get past a giant three-headed dog. So what do we do, Maddie?"
The light of adventure was kindling again in Ron's eyes, but Hermione answered before Maddie could.
"Go to Dumbledore. That's what we should have done ages ago. If we try anything ourselves we'll be thrown out for sure."
"But we've got no proof!" said Maddie.
"She's right," Hades said, "without any proof, how will you get anyone to believe you, especially when it comes to something like this."
"That's very true, Mr. Hades," Dumbledore said, "they were wrong in their suspicions though."
"They were eleven," Cedric said, "and I was fourteen. It made sense that Professor Snape would be the villain."
"So it wasn't him?" Zeus asked. The golden quartet shook their heads.
"It was someone else," Hermione said.
"Quirrell's too scared to back us up. Snape's only got to say he doesn't know how the troll got in at Halloween and that he was nowhere near the third floor -- who do you think they'll believe, him or us? It's not exactly a secret we hate him, Dumbledore'll think we made it up to get him sacked. Filch wouldn't help us if his life depended on it, he's too friendly with Snape, and the more students get thrown out, the better, he'll think. And don't forget, we're not supposed to know about the Stone or Fluffy. That'll take a lot of explaining."
"She's right again," Hades said, "you're very smart, Maddie."
"Thank you, Lord Hades," Maddie said.
Hermione looked convinced, but Ron didn't.
"If we just do a bit of poking around--"
"No," said Maddie flatly, "we've done enough poking around."
She pulled a map of Jupiter toward her and started to learn the names of its moons.
"Astronomy is fun at least," Piper said.
The following morning, notes were delivered to Maddie, Cedric, Hermione, and Neville at the breakfast table. They were all the same:
Your detention will take place at eleven o'clock tonight.
Meet Mr. Filch in the entrance hall.
Professor McGonagall
Maddie had forgotten they still had detentions to do in the furor over the points they'd lost. She half expected Hermione to complain that this was a whole night of studying lost, but she didn't say a word. Like Maddie, she felt they deserved what they'd got.
"You didn't really," Demeter said. Everyone else (except those who were in the detention) nodded their heads in agreement.
At eleven o'clock that night, they said good-bye to Ron in the common room and went down to the entrance hall with Neville. Filch and Cedric were already there -- and so was Malfoy. Maddie had also forgotten that Malfoy had gotten a detention, too.
"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 them. "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...
"He's a uh... cheerful man?" Athena said.
Right, off we go, and don't think of running off, now, it'll be worse for you if you do."
They marched off across the dark grounds. Neville kept sniffing. Maddie wondered what their punishment was going to be. It must be something really horrible, or Filch wouldn't be sounding so delighted.
The moon was bright, but clouds scudding across it kept throwing them into darkness. Maddie stared at the moon for a moment, before Cedric tapped her shoulder to get her out of her daydream. Ahead, Maddie could see the lighted windows of Hagrid's hut. Then they heard a distant shout.
"Is that you, Filch? Hurry up, I want ter get started."
Maddie's heart rose; if they were going to be working with Hagrid it wouldn't be so bad. Her relief must have showed in her 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."
"They took you into the forbidden forest?" Mrs. Weasley asked, scared for the children. Remus and Sirius looked at each other, also nervous.
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. "We can't go in there at night -- there's all sorts of things in there -- werewolves, I heard."
Remus stiffened at the mention of werewolves. Sirius noticed and gave his friend a smile, letting him know that there are people in this world that don't think of him as a monster.
Neville clutched the sleeve of Cedric's robe and made a choking noise while said fourth year tried to calm him down.
"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?"
Hagrid came striding toward them 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, Maddie, Cedric, 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 ter do that.
"He's right," said Professor McGonagall, "it's really not."
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 Maddie was pleased to hear the note of panic in his voice.
"You will go in that forest, you little punk" Ares growled, freaking out all wizard, save for Maddie
"Yeh are if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts," said Hagrid fiercely. "Yeh've 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' want no one takin' risks. Follow me over here a moment."
He led them 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."
Artemis snarled. "Which monster hurts a unicorn?"
Harry sighed. "The noseless kind"
That startled laughter out of everybody
"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, Maddie, an' Hermione'll go one way an' Draco, Cedric, 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 they reached a fork in the earth path, and Maddie, Hermione, and Hagrid took the left path while Malfoy, Cedric, Neville, and Fang took the right.
They walked in silence, their 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.
Maddie saw that Hagrid looked very worried.
"Could a werewolf be killing the unicorns?" Maddie asked.
"Neh" said Cedric, "They aren't fast enough"
"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."
They walked past a mossy tree stump. Maddie 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 Maddie and Hermione and hoisted them off the path behind a towering oak. He pulled out an arrow and fitted it into his crossbow, raising it, ready to fire. The three of them 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?" Maddie suggested.
"That wasn' no werewolf an' it wasn' no unicorn, neither," said Hagrid grimly. "Right, follow me, but careful, now."
They 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.
"A centaur!" Annabeth exclaimed.
"First time I ever saw one," Maddie said, "at least, I think so."
Maddie and Hermione's jaws dropped.
"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 Madeline Potter 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.
"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."
"Wizarding world centaurs love astronomy," Hermione said, sighing and shaking her head
"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."
"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 jus' 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. "Well, if either of you do see anythin', let me know, won't yeh? We'll be off, then."
Maddie and Hermione followed him out of the clearing, staring over their 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."
"The Greek ones I feel are more inclined to give you straight answers," Annabeth said, "maybe some riddles, but never too many."
"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 Maddie, knowing it wasn't but wanting to be hopeful.
"Am I thankful for my hunting instincts from Mom," Maddie said. She turned to her kids, "what powers do you have?"
"Nico's an excellent shot," Teddy said, "so is James, but they had to learn a lot, they picked up sword fighting easier. Albus has your hunting instincts and is a natural born archer. Lily and Luna both have Uncle Percy's water powers, but they aren't as strong as him and also know how to use a sword. I'm not your birth kid, so obviously I don't have anything, but Uncle Percy taught me swordplay and you taught me how to shoot a bow and arrow."
"You wanted to make sure we could take care of ourselves if a monster ever tried to attack us since were legacies," Nico II said. Percy and Maddie nodded, appreciative for how careful they are in the future.
"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."
They walked on through the dense, dark trees. Maddie kept looking nervously over her shoulder. She had the nasty feeling they were being watched. She was very glad they had Hagrid and his crossbow with them. They had just passed a bend in the path when Hermione grabbed Hagrid's arm.
"Hagrid! Look! Red sparks, the others are in trouble!"
Maddie, Cedric, Hermione, and Ron all groaned while Neville blushed, embarrassed.
"You two wait here!" Hagrid shouted. "Stay on the path, I'll come back for yeh!"
"Don't leave them alone!" Mrs. Weasley, Remus, and Artemis all yelled.
They heard him crashing away through the undergrowth and stood looking at each other, very scared, until they couldn't hear anything but the rustling of leaves around them.
"You don't think they've been hurt, do you?" whispered Hermione.
"I don't care if Malfoy has, and Cedric knows a fair amount of spells to protect himself, but if something's got Neville... it's our fault he's here in the first place."
"I'm so sorry you had to deal with that arsshole," Maddie said to Neville, "you shouldn't have had to."
"Wait, what happened?" Frank asked timidly.
"If you wait a second you'll see," Clarisse said to her half-brother. Frank's ears turned a little pink and he looked down a second.
The minutes dragged by. Their ears seemed sharper than usual. Maddie's seemed to be picking up every sigh of the wind, every cracking twig.
"You have good hearing thanks to me," Artemis said, "having good hearing is essential to being a hunter."
What was going on? Where were the others?
At last, a great crunching noise announced Hagrid's return. Malfoy, Cedric, Neville, and Fang were with him. Hagrid was fuming. Cedric had his arm around Neville's shoulder. Malfoy, it seemed, had sneaked up behind Neville and grabbed him as a joke.
"Prick," Percy said.
"His son certainly has one," Nico II muttered, giving Ty a look to which Ty responded with a glare.
Neville had panicked and sent up the sparks.
"We'll be lucky ter catch anythin' now, with the racket you two were makin'. Right, we're changin' groups -- Neville, Cedric, you stay with me an' Hermione, Maddie, you go with Fang an' this idiot. I'm sorry," Hagrid added in a whisper to Maddie, "but he'll have a harder time frightenin' you, an' we've gotta get this done."
"I still don't appreciate that he left me with that stupid ferret," Maddie grumbled. Her future children plus Teddy laughed at that.
So Maddie set off into the heart of the forest with Malfoy and Fang. They walked for nearly half an hour, deeper and deeper into the forest, until the path became almost impossible to follow because the trees were so thick. Maddie thought the blood seemed to be getting thicker. There were splashes on the roots of a tree, as though the poor creature had been thrashing around in pain close by. Maddie could see a clearing ahead, through the tangled branches of an ancient oak.
"Look -- " she murmured, holding out her arm to stop Malfoy.
Something bright white was gleaming on the ground. They inched closer.
It was the unicorn all right, and it was dead. Maddie had never seen anything so beautiful and sad. Its long, slender legs were stuck out at odd angles where it had fallen and its mane was spread pearly-white on the dark leaves.
"That poor creature," Artemis said sadly, Grover nodded along.
Maddie had taken one step toward it when a slithering sound made her freeze where she stood. A bush on the edge of the clearing quivered... Then, out of the shadows, a hooded figure came crawling across the ground like some stalking beast. Maddie, Malfoy, and Fang stood transfixed. The cloaked figure reached the unicorn, lowered its head over the wound in the animal's side, and began to drink its blood.
"No sudden sounds or moves." Maddie whispered. "We need to go and find Hagrid as quickly and quietly--"
"Please tell me he listens to you and doesn't do something stupid," Remus said.
"AAAAAAAAAARGH!"
Malfoy let out a terrible scream and bolted -- so did Fang.
"Boys are such babies," Artemis said, rolling her eyes.
"Boys are such babies." Maddie mumbled.
Trevis and Connor cackled at that with the Weasley twins.
The hooded figure raised its head and looked right at Maddie -- unicorn blood was dribbling down its front. It got to its feet and came swiftly toward Maddie -- she couldn't move for fear.
Then a pain like she'd never felt before pierced her head; it was as though her scar were on fire.
"Are you okay?" Demeter asked. Maddie nodded.
Half blinded, she staggered backward. She heard hooves behind him, galloping, and something jumped clean over Maddie, charging at the figure.
The pain in Maddie's head was so bad she fell to her knees. It took a minute or two to pass. When she looked up, the figure had gone. A centaur was standing over her, not Ronan or Bane; this one looked younger; he had white-blond hair and a palomino body.
"Are you all right?" said the centaur, pulling Maddie to her feet.
"Yes -- thank you -- what was that?"
The centaur didn't answer. He had astonishingly blue eyes, like pale sapphires. He looked carefully at Maddie, his eyes lingering on the scar that stood out, livid, on Maddie's forehead and her purple eyes.
"You are the Potter girl," he said. "You had better get back to Hagrid. The forest is not safe at this time -- especially for you. Can you ride? It will be quicker this way.
"My name is Firenze," he added, as he lowered himself on to his front legs so that Maddie could clamber onto his back.
"That's nice of him," Annabeth said.
There was suddenly a sound of more galloping from the other side of the clearing. Ronan and Bane came bursting through the trees, their flanks heaving and sweaty.
"Firenze!" Bane thundered. "What are you doing? You have a human on your back! Have you no shame? Are you a common mule?"
"Should he have just let her to die?" Piper asked, seeming annoyed.
"Do you realize who this is?" said Firenze. "This is the Potter girl. The quicker she leaves this forest, the better."
"What have you been telling her?" growled Bane. "Remember, Firenze, we are sworn not to set ourselves against the heavens. Have we not read what is to come in the movements of the planets?"
Ronan pawed the ground nervously. "I'm sure Firenze thought he was acting for the best," he said in his gloomy voice.
Bane kicked his back legs in anger.
"For the best! What is that to do with us? Centaurs are concerned with what has been foretold! It is not our business to run around like donkeys after stray humans in our forest!"
Firenze suddenly reared on to his hind legs in anger, so that Maddie had to grab his shoulders to stay on.
"Do you not see that unicorn?" Firenze bellowed at Bane. "Do you not understand why it was killed? Or have the planets not let you in on that secret? I set myself against what is lurking in this forest, Bane, yes, with humans alongside me if I must."
And Firenze whisked around; with Maddie clutching on as best she could, they plunged off into the trees, leaving Ronan and Bane behind them.
Maddie didn't have a clue what was going on.
"Why's Bane so angry?" She asked. "What was that thing you saved me from, anyway?"
Firenze slowed to a walk, warned Maddie to keep her head bowed in case of low-hanging branches, but did not answer Maddie's question. They made their way through the trees in silence for so long that Maddie thought Firenze didn't want to talk to her anymore. They were passing through a particularly dense patch of trees, however, when Firenze suddenly stopped.
"Madeline Potter, do you know what unicorn blood is used for?"
"No," said Maddie, startled by the odd question. "We've only used the horn and tail hair in Potions."
"That is because it is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn," said Firenze. "Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. 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 defenseless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips."
"Who would choose that?" Poseidon asked.
Maddie stared at the back of Firenze's head, which was dappled silver in the moonlight.
"But who'd be that desperate?" she wondered aloud. "If you're going to be cursed forever, death's better, isn't it?"
"It is," Firenze agreed, "unless all you need is to stay alive long enough to drink something else -- something that will bring you back to full strength and power -- something that will mean you can never die. Ms. Potter, do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment?"
"The Sorcerer's Stone! Of course -- the Elixir of Life! But I don't understand who--"
"Can you think of nobody who has waited many years to return to power, who has clung to life, awaiting their chance?"
It was as though an iron fist had clenched suddenly around Maddie's heart. Over the rustling of the trees, she seemed to hear once more what Hagrid had told her on the night they had met: "Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die."
"Do you mean," Maddie croaked, "that was Vol-"
"Maddie! Maddie, are you all right?"
Hermione was running toward them down the path, Cedric sprinting to catch up with her and Hagrid puffing along behind them.
"He left the other two?" Hera almost screamed, seeming terrified for the two children, no matter how awful one was.
"I'm fine," said Maddie, hardly knowing what she was saying. "The unicorn's dead, Hagrid, it's in that clearing back there."
"This is where I leave you," Firenze murmured as Hagrid hurried off to examine the unicorn. "You are safe now."
Maddie slid off his back.
"Good luck, Madeline Potter," said Firenze. "The planets have been read wrongly before now, even by centaurs. I hope this is one of those times."
He turned and cantered back into the depths of the forest, leaving Maddie shivering behind him.
Ron had fallen asleep in the dark common room, waiting for them to return. He shouted something about Quidditch fouls when Maddie roughly shook him awake. In a matter of seconds, though, he was wide-eyed as Maddie began to tell him, Cedric, and Hermione what had happened in the forest.
"You went into the Gryffindor common room that late at night?" McGonagall asked, "why didn't you just go to your common room?"
"Maddie wanted to tell all of us everything at the same time, and didn't want to have to do it twice," Cedric said, shrugging his shoulders.
Maddie couldn't sit down. She paced up and down in front of the fire. She was still shaking.
"Snape wants the stone for Voldemort... and Voldemort's waiting in the forest... and all this time we thought Snape just wanted to get rich..."
"Stop saying the name!" said Ron in a terrified whisper, as if he thought Voldemort could hear them.
"I know names have power, but that's the demigod world," Maddie said before anyone could say anything, "this is the wizarding world, besides, by not saying Voldemort's name, you're giving into fear which in turn gives him power. Instead of giving him the power he wants, say his name. It won't have that much power after a while."
Maddie wasn't listening.
"Firenze saved me, but he shouldn't have done so... Bane was furious... he was talking about interfering with what the planets say is going to happen... They must show that Voldemort's coming back... Bane thinks Firenze should have let Voldemort kill me... I suppose that's written in the stars as well."
"Will you stop saying the name!" Ron hissed.
"So all I've got to wait for now is Snape to steal the Stone," Maddie went on feverishly, "then Voldemort will be able to come and finish me off... Well, I suppose Bane'll be happy."
Hermione looked very frightened, but she had a word of comfort.
"Maddie, everyone says Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was ever afraid of with Dumbledore around, You-Know-Who won't touch you.
"That is a very good theory, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said.
Anyway, who says the centaurs are right? It sounds like fortune-telling to me."
"Yeah." Cedric agreed. "Professor McGonagall told me that that's a very imprecise branch of magic when Professor Trelawny predicted my death."
"When do I die?" Cedric asked.
"The end of Mom's fourth year," Ty said, "you guys were taken to a graveyard during the third task and you were killed by Peter Pettigrew."
Sirius growled at the mention of the rat's name.
"I hate Pettigrew," Maddie said, "first he took my aunt and uncle and Harry's parents from us and as well as my godfather, and now he takes one of my best friends too?" Maddie looked close to crying. Percy held her close and rubbed her shoulders.
The sky had turned light before they stopped talking. Cedric bid the first years goodbye before going to his common room. They went to bed exhausted, their throats sore. But the night's surprises weren't over.
When Maddie pulled back her sheets, she found her invisibility cloak folded neatly underneath them. There was a note pinned to it:
Just in case.
(A/N)
(last chapter to be edited, then I'll start writing the next chapters)