Sitting in the common room near the fire with her cat on her lap would've been the best way to end her evening, but it wasn't for she sat there still in her uniform and her robes waiting for 8 pm when it's time for her detention. After giving her detention slip to Professor Snape he gave her an hour long of scolding about talking down on pug face dunder heads such as Parkinson, it would've been funny but it wasn't since it was her who got detention and not Pansy.
Her friends were fast asleep in their room after an hour long convincing that she would be alright alone in the common room until it was time to go. As the clock struck 8 she gently placed her cat's head on a pillow and she left the common room towards the entrance hall to find Filch.
She didn't at all expect to hear McGonagall yelling in a classroom, curiously peering inside and saw four Gryffindors and a Slytherin blond. "Fifty points from the five of you!" The Professor said.
Finley's jaw dropped, fifty bloody points!
"Professor, I think I heard you wrong. You said five?" The Blond boy wanted to clarify, Finley's palm rested on her forehead. Of course he would ask that, he's a narcissist after all.
"You heard right Mister Malfoy, as Noble as your intentions were you are still out of bed," The Professor said.
"There you are!" She jumped as she heard a menacing voice from behind her.
"I've been waiting for you for a while now," he added opening the door ti the classroom.
"You will join Ms Evans in detention with Mr Filch," Professor McGonagall said. The five students with her snapped their gazes towards the classroom door, she was amused that Neville and Hermione were with them.
"Follow me!" Filch said aggressively making Finley jump in surprise. The man hated children, and just by his looks if he wanted and was granted to hurt a child, he would. That was why for the span of walking in the dark outside the castle she hid behind Harry away from Filch.
"Why were you in detention?" She heard Harry ask her as they near a hut near the forbidden forest.
"A cat fight happened," she said. On second thought it was a pug faced girl trying to pull her scalp off, but she wasn't going to tell him that especially with Draco Malfoy having detention with them. Finally stopping in front of a large hairy man who held a lantern.
"Tis all yours now Rubeus," Filch said in a slight snarl, as he retreated to the castle leaving the six first years with him.
"Hello Hagrid," Harry greeted.
"Hullo Harry, c'mon we have work in The forbidden forest."
"What? But I thought we weren't allowed to enter the forbidden forest," Finley argues. Hermione and Neville agreed but it was no use in the end they were still taken into the forest.
"If ye find somethin, you send sparks. But if you find yerself in trouble, you send up red," the first years nodded.
"Now Longbottom with Fang and Ron and Harry—"
"No! I'll go with Evans and Fang," Draco argued.
"Oh please you blond ferret, stop being a ninny and just get on with the arrangement," Finley snapped, already fed up without even splitting up in groups just yet.
The arrangement ended up with Fang, Finley, Harry, and Draco in one direction, while the rest were with Hagrid. With half an hour with Draco complaining and such it took everything in Finley to not grab Harry and run back into the castle and leave the prat alone.
"Stupid Filch having students go and have detention in the forbidden forest, my father will hear about this," Draco grumbled walking behind them.
"Is there anything your father doesn't hear from you?" Finley asked rolling her eyes, Harry giggling beside her.
"You think that's funny Potter?"
"It is—"
"Do you hear that?" Finley became alert as she heard rustling, she wandered towards the sound cautiously, hearing the two whispers from the boys behind her. Behind the tree she peered on the other side, silver main and a white body, beside it was the endless flowing of iridescent liquid. She gasped, it was a unicorn.
"So this is what Hagrid meant about Unicorns being attacked," Harry muttered as he reached Finley's side.
"We should send sparks to Hagrid," Finley said sympathetic towards the dying unicorn. Draco found his way towards the girl's side, she didn't seem to mind, assuming that he wanted to see it up close.
"Poor thing."
"Send the sparks Potter," Draco said still eyeing the dead unicorn. Then there was a low growling sound in the distance, snapping her gaze she saw a hooded figure, motioning for the boys to follow her.
"What are you doing?" Draco asked nervously, no doubt on how terrifying it was, it could be a werewolf or worst. As they reached the source of the noise, it was another dying unicorn, the hooded figure from before was seemed to be drinking its blood. Fang growled, Harry winced in pain from his scar.
"Are you alright Harry?" She whispered finally giving attention to her friend. Draco screams, it caught the figure's attention.
"Run!"
The three ran away, Harry behind Draco and Finley behind him, to her luck she tripped on a tree root. She grunted, she didn't scream as it might be the last thing she would do to catch it's attention. She heard the hissing from behind her, as she locked her gaze behind her the figure was there creeping slowly towards her, her already weak knees were shaking. As it got nearer it was another wave of her losing her wits at how terrifying the hooded figure was as it stood in front of her with iridescent liquid dripping from its mouth. She was frozen in place, unable to move away, she blames Pansy, will no doubt hex her in oblivion and haunt her if she dies here.
"Evans!" Red sparks were shot in the sky, and the hooded figure fled much to Finley's relief.
She watched the red sparks light the sky until she felt someone shaking her body aggressively. "Evans! Speak up! Merlin are you alright?" Draco frantically asked.
"I'm fine! Stop shaking me," she scolded getting dizzy from the shaking. Draco's eyes held worry as he checked for injuries, "Can you stand?" He asked her.
"I think so," she mumbled as she used Draco's arms as leverage as she stood, hiding a wince when she felt her foot sting, she knew there was a bruise. And hopefully her robes would hide it from this worry wart Malfoy that she wasn't used to.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes I'm sure," she said.
A few minutes later came Neville and Hermione running towards Finley and Draco, Harry and Hagrid were no where to be seen. Ron held Fang by the collar as equally worried for her.
"We saw the sparks, Hagrid found Harry," Hermione panted.
"Is detention over yet?" She asked as she tried to let go of Draco who had a fir grip on her elbow to balance her.
"I suppose, Hagrid asked us to stay where we are," Hermione said. Neville was silent as he observed Finley who was being balanced by Draco, he noticed the scratch on her knee. It wasn't deep but it would sting as she would walk, opening and closing his mouth, but not saying anything, he would but not too loud.
"Neville?"
Before anyone could ask anymore from each other, Hagrid and Harry emerged from one side of the forest, Harry pale but not afraid.
"Let's get ye all back to the castle, detention over," the half giant said. And all of them went back to the castle with Hagrid behind them.
"Straight to the Common Room Harry, no more detours," she scolded Harry who was with Hermione, Ron, and a still shaken Neville.
"We will, promise."
They walked back to the Gryffindor tower, Neville subtly waving his hands as a goodbye to her. She made her own move to go back to the common room but it wasn't the case, Draco had other plans and pulled her the opposite direction.
"What are you doing? The common room is that way," she said as she resisted being dragged somewhere as well as not putting pressure on her injured leg.
"We need you checked," Draco simply said still tugging Finley's hand gently.
"I'm perfectly fine Draco," she argued in a hush tone, who knows if Filch would still be awake.
"That's not what your walking is saying Evans."
"Walk is walk, it can't speak you blond toerag," she snapped at him.
"Don't be stubborn and let's get you fixed up, or that'll get infected," losing the argument, Draco was able to bring her to the hospital wing to get her scratch mended. With a bit of scolding from Madam Pomfrey for being reckless, and getting injured at night, and also the fact that they had detention in the forbidden forest.
"Albus is mad for not creating a wall between the school and that bloody forest!" The old healer said as she puts away her equipment.
"All better now dear?" The witch asked. Standing up and slightly jumping in place, Finley nodded.
"Off you go now, if Argus catches you again tell him I just let you out."
"We will, thank you."
The walk back to the common room was an awkward one, one she wished that didn't happen. And that she was willing enough to run away from but it would be cruel to Draco since he did go look for her first instead of running away in fear. She knew that he was the one who sent the sparks for some reason, and she didn't know how to thank him yet.
Uttering the password, they both entered the common room, it was how she left it. Cassian still sleeping on the pillow in the common room. She went and picked up her cat and glanced at Draco who was staring blankly at the fire.
"Draco?" She gently called out.
"Yes?"
"Are you okay?" She asked him, something bothered him for sure. After tonight, it would start bothering her too at some point and hopefully it wasn't going to last long.
"I'll have Pansy stop bothering you," was all he said before going past her and entering the boy's room. She stood there digesting what had happened, was Draco Malfoy not all that bad? Was he not really?
She sighed and started to walk to her room, it was already midnight by the time that she got ready for bed. In her large shirt and comfy shorts, Cassian curled on her side.
Yet she never found the courage to sleep, the hooded figure drinking Unicorn blood was plastered in her brain, if the sparks weren't shot she would've been done for. She thought about how helpless she suddenly was in the forest, and how the hooded figure scared her for some reason to the point of not sleeping at all. She found herself crying, crying for how useless she felt tonight, how a hooded creature scared her when she was capable of taking it down. She sobbed that she turned pathetic in the face if danger, he hadn't had the chance to take out her wand even and it was the worst kind of pathetic.
She sniffed sitting up from her bed, wiping away her tears as she brought her knees to her chest. "I'll be okay, it's just monster," she chanted to herself, at least it helped in calming her down.
She fell asleep after that, she was peaceful until the nightmares came.