If walking behind her fuming friend wasn't bad enough, Harry and Neville's worried faces sparked a flame of guilt in Amisty.
She desperately tried to give them an apologetic look, but they didn't see it. They were too busy glaring daggers at the platinum haired boy ahead of her.
"We'll be lucky ter catch anythin' now, with the racket you two were makin'. Right, we're changin' groups -- Amisty, you'll be with Harry and Fang. Malfoy, yer stuck with me." Hagrid announced, clearly unhappy with the circumstances.
Amisty nodded, glad to be rid of the pain in her side.
Harry sent her a small grin, and she lost a bit of her guilt.
At least she wasn't with an idiot this time.
Fang at her heel, she ventured further into the forest with Harry. As they trekked on, the path became less and less clear, the tree's slowly becoming thicker and closer together.
Amisty felt trapped and claustrophobic, like the shadows were creatures waiting to hunt her down. It wasn't a nice feeling.
Not a nice feeling at all. Her back was curved in a defensive position, her body overtaken with a sense of caution.
The silvery-white blood seemed to be getting thicker, adding to fear she felt.
"Look -- " Harry whispered, making Amisty stumble a bit as she ran into his outstretched arm.
He held a finger to his lips, warning her to be quiet, before pointing to the clearing ahead of them.
Amisty could barely make it out through the tree's, but an eerie glow shone through the branches. The two inched closer, and the green-eyed girl's breath caught in her throat at the sight.
A beautiful white unicorn lay splayed on the ground, it's long legs bent at unnatural angles and its mane stark against the dark forest floor. The silvery-white blood gushed from the gory slash in the poor animal's flank.
Harry was seemingly transfixed at the sight, and Amisty was too in shock to keep him from walking closer.
She froze at the swooshing of a cloak on leaves, and she opened her mouth to call out a warning, but Harry had already heard it. He stopped in his tracks, and the two watched in blatant horror as the same black, hooded figure appeared from the shadows.
When the figure reached the unicorn, it's head lowered to the innocent creatures side. Amisty felt a painful pricking behind her eyes at the sight, and she held a hand over her mouth to muffle a cry.
She desperately tried to run away, but her feet were glued in place. The figure started to drink the unicorn's blood, and that was when Amisty lost it.
A loud wail escaped her mouth, and Harry whirled around to face her, horror stricken. Fang bolted, and Amisty watched, frozen in place as the figure raised its head to stare at Harry, the blood dripping from it's mouth.
Terror flooded through her as Harry stumbled back, the figure walking almost leisurely toward him. Harry fell to his knees, clutching his head.
Her ears picked up the thumping of hooves, and she threw herself to the ground, gaze captivated by a white haired centaur leaping over her friend. It charged at the hooded figure, brandishing it's hooves wildly.
The figure turned away quickly and slithered away into the forest.
"Are you alright?" The centaur asked, helping Harry to his feet, before walking, trotting, to Amisty, and picking her up from the ground as well.
Amisty opened her mouth to reply, but not a noise came out, her voice had left her for the time being.
"Yes -- thank you -- what was that?" Harry asked, brushing off the dirt from his robes.
Amisty was shivering, even though it wasn't cold, but she listened carefully to the conversation going on between the two.
The palomino centaur's crystal blue eyes were drawn to the scar on Harry's forehead, almost like it was studying it.
"You are the Potter boy. You had better get back to Hagrid. The forest is not safe at this time -- especially for you," He looked at Amisty, "Can you both ride? It will be quicker this way."
"My name is Firenze," He added on, lowering onto the ground so the two could crawl onto his back.
Amisty paused halfway through her clambering, ears catching the sound of galloping. Two more centaurs burst through the clearing, one with black hair and the other with flaming red.
"Firenze! What are you doing? You have a human on your back! Have you no shame? Are you a common mule?" The black haired one roared, eyes blazing with anger.
Amisty, in a fit of fear, scrambled on fully to Firenze's back, Harry steadying her with his hand.
"Do you realize who this is? This is the Potter boy. The quicker he leaves this forest, the better," Firenze countered, meeting the other centaurs' glare evenly.
"What have you been telling him? 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?" The black-haired centaur snarled.
Amisty sent a confused glance at Harry, who simply shrugged in response.
"I'm sure Firenze thought he was acting for the best," The red haired centaur cut in, his voice quite monotone and different from the other two.
"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!" The black haired centaur growled, now glaring at them both.
Firenze reared onto his hind legs, surprising the two on his back. Harry grabbed his shoulders, and Amisty clutched to her friend, heart pounding.
"Do you not see that unicorn? 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," Firenze thundered, his hooves pounding on the ground, before whirling around and racing off farther into the tree's.
Amisty didn't remove her grip from Harry, but she did loosen it as they exchanged a confused look.
"Why's Bane so angry?" Harry questioned, ah, that's what the furious centaur's name was, "What was that thing you saved me from, anyway?"
Firenze's pace slowed to a walk and he warned them to duck their heads, but he didn't answer the green-eyed boy's question.
The silence between them was suffocating, and Amisty felt the tension growing. The feeling only grew as he stopped amidst a patch of densely packed trees.
"Harry Potter, Harry Potter's friend, do you know what unicorn blood is used for?" He asked. Amisty shook her head, slightly puzzled at the strange question.
"No. We've only used the horn and tail hair in Potions," Harry replied, clearly just as confused as Amisty.
"This is because it is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn. 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," Firenze explained, his tone shadowed with sadness.
Amisty nodded, a faint sliver of remembrance flickering through her mind.
"But who'd be that desperate? If you're going to be cursed forever, death's better, isn't it?" Harry wondered.
"It is, 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. Mr. Potter, do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment?" Firenze replied.
Realization hit Amisty like a wave, and her eyes widened. No... no way.
"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?" Firenze cut him off, his voice was incredibly calm and disconnected.
Amisty couldn't believe it, it wasn't possible, it couldn't be possible. She shook her head, as if that would make the truth go away.
"Do you mean... That was Vol-" Harry started.
"Harry! Amisty! You two alright?" Hagrid's voice cut through his sentence, and Amisty's eyes brightened at the sight of her friend racing down the path.
Amisty nodded shakily, her voice still not coming back to her just yet.
"I'm fine. The unicorn's dead, Hagrid, it's in that clearing back there," Harry's voice was distant, almost as if he didn't know what he was saying.
"This is where I leave you. You are safe now," Firenze whispered to the two, and Harry slid off his back before helping Amisty down.
She was still shaking, and Harry wrapped an arm around her shoulders gently.
"Good luck, Harry Potter. The planets have been read wrongly before now, even by centaurs. I hope this is one of those times," Firenze dipped his head, before turning and trotting back into the forest.
-=+=-
Harry and Neville guided a shivering and shocked Amisty back to the common room, the said girl's eyes tightly squeezed shut.
The pit-pattering sound of soft footsteps sounded from the staircase.
"Amisty, sit down, we're gonna wake up Ron," Hermione's calming voice reached her ears, and she nodded, letting herself sink into the cushiony chair.
She watched through half closed eyelids as Harry shook the redhead awake, listening quietly as Harry retold the two what had happened in the forest.
Her friend was just as shaky as her, his hands twitching slightly as he paced in front of the fireplace.
"Snape wants the Stone for Voldemort..." He whispered, "and Voldemort's waiting in the forest... all this time we thought Snape just wanted to get rich..."
"Stop saying the name!" Ron hissed, blue eyes darting along the room. Amisty flinched every time he uttered it, though her movements went unnoticed.
"Firenze saved us two, 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," Harry continued, ignoring or maybe not even hearing Ron.
"Will you stop saying the name!" Ron snarled, his tone tinged with fear.
The name left a bitter taste in Amisty's mouth, even though she never uttered it.
"So all I've got to wait for now is Snape is steal the Stone, then Voldemort will be able to come and finish me off... Well, I suppose Bane'll be happy," Harry was very obviously not listening to a word his friends were saying.
"Harry, everyone says Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was ever afraid of. With Dumbledore around, You-Know-Who won't touch you. Anyway, who says the centaurs are right? It sounds like fortune-telling to me, and Professor McGonagall says that's a very imprecise branch of magic," Hermione, though her eyes shadowed with fear, added encouragingly.
They continued talking, well, the other three did, with Amisty occasionally nodding or shaking her head silently.
By the time they stopped speaking, the sun had risen outside, sending a golden glow through the windows, illuminating the common room warmly.
They set off to their dormitories, eyes fluttering closed. Amisty fell into her bed, tugging the covers over her in one fluid moments, before falling asleep in an instant.