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thewidowsghost · 3 years

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The Unknown Muggleborn - Chapter 11

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3rd Person POV

This can't get any worse, (Y/n) thinks as Filch drags her down to Professor McGonagall's study on the first floor. What the (H/C) haired girl didn't know, was that Harry and Hermione - still under the Invisibity Cloak - had followed the two.

There's no reason on earth that Professor McGonagall will accept 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, (Y/n) thinks miserably.

When Professor McGonagall appears, she looked more likely to breathe fire than Norbert as she towers over (Y/n).

"I would never have believed it of you. Mr. Filch says you were up in the Astronomy Tower. It's one o'clock in the morning. Explain yourself," McGonagall orders.

(Y/n) sits still, her emerald eyes flicking sadly for a moment, and Harry and Hermione exchange a look under the Cloak. Then - to Harry and Hermione's astonishment - (Y/n) speaks.

"I was helping Hagrid," (Y/n) says softly, and McGonagall's expression changes to something (Y/n) couldn't read. "Hagrid had a baby dragon. I didn't want him to get in trouble, so I sent a letter to someone who cares for dragons so they would take him. I just had to get the dragon to the Astronomy Tower."

"Miss (L/n), though you had good intentions for helping a friend, it was unacceptable to be walking around the school at night, especially these days, it's very dangerous - a hundred points will be taken from Gryffindor."

(Y/n)'s face seems to fall even more and Harry and Hermione exchange another look from under the cloak.

"Now, get back to bed," McGonagall says, her voice softening at the expression on (Y/n)'s face.

(Y/n) nods and walks out of the office and silently up to Gryffindor Tower, Harry and Hermione close behind their friend.

The Portrait Hole opens and (Y/n) walks straight up the stairs to her dorm.

Marvel looks up at her companion, and curls up with her friend.

(Y/n) didn't sleep all night, dreading the dawn. What would happen when the rest of Gryffindor found out what she had 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 be a hundred points fewer than yesterday?

And then the story starts to spread: (Y/n) (L/n), friend to the famous Harry Potter, their hero of two Quidditch matches, had lost them all the house points, in one night.

From being one of the most popular and admired people at the school, (Y/n) was suddenly one of the most hated. Even the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs turned on her, because everyone had been longing to see Slytherin lose the House Cup. Everywhere (Y/n) went, people point and don't bother to lower their voices as they insult her. Slytherins, on the other hand, clap as she walks past them, whistling and cheering, "Thanks (L/n), we owe you one."

Only Ron, Harry, Hermione and the Weasley Twins stood by her.

"They'll all forget this in a few weeks," Ron says soothingly on morning at breakfast as every sends (Y/n) hostile glares. "Fred and George have lost loads of points in all the time they've been here, and people still like them."

"But they haven't lost a hundred points in one go, though, have they?" asks (Y/n) miserably as someone loudly asks Harry why he was friends with the 'rubbish Gryffindor Mudblood.'

"Well - no," Ron admits.

It is a bit late to repair the damage, but Harry swore to himself not to meddle in things that weren't his business from no on, coming to the conclusion that (Y/n) receiving all the hate was his fault for forgetting the cloak at the top of the tower. He'd had it with sneaking around and spying.

(Y/n) felt so ashamed of herself that she had went to Oliver Wood and offered to resign from the Quidditch team.

"Resign?" Wood thunders. "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 - excluding Harry, George, and Fred - wouldn't speak to her, and if they had to speak about her, they called her 'the Seeker.'

Hermione was suffering too, just because she was (Y/n)'s sister, and no one would speak to her, either. Hermione and (Y/n) had stopped drawing attention to themselves in class, keeping their heads down and working in silence.

(Y/n) was actually glad that the exams weren't far away. All the studying she is doing keeping her away from her misery. (Y/n), Harry, Ron, and Hermione keep 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, Harry's new resolution not to interfere in anything that didn't concern him was put to an unexpected test. Walking back from the library on his own one afternoon, he hears somebody whimpering from a classroom up ahead. As he draws closer,he hears Quirrell's voice.

"No — no — not again, please —"

It sounds as though someone is threatening him. Harry moves closer.

"All right — all right —" he hears Quirrell sob.

Next second, Quirrell comes hurrying out of the classroom straightening his turban. He is pale and looks as though he was about to cry. He strides out of sight; Harry didn't think Quirrell had even noticed him. He waits until Quirrell's footsteps had disappeared, then peers into the classroom. It is empty, but a door stands ajar at the other end. Harry is halfway toward it before he remembers what he'd promised himself about not meddling.

All the same, he'd have gambled twelve Sorcerer's Stones that Snape had just left the room, and from what Harry had just heard, Snape would be walking with a new spring in his step — Quirrell seemed to have given in at last.

Harry goes back to the library, where Hermione is testing Ron on Astronomy, (Y/n) buried in her extra complicated - at least to Harry and Ron - Potions notes, Harry tells them what he'd heard.

"Snape's done it, then!" says Ron. "If Quirrell's told time how to break his Anti-Dark Force spell -"

"There's still Fluffy though," Hermione reasons.

"Maybe Snape's found out how to get past him without asking Hagrid," Harry says, looking around at the thousands of books surrounding them.

"I bet there's a book somewhere in here telling you how to get past a three-headed dog," Ron adds. "So what do we do, Harry?" The light of adventure is kindling again in Ron's eyes, but Hermione answers before Harry can.

"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!" says Harry. "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."

Hermione looks convinced, but Ron doesn't.

"If we just do a bit of poking around -"

"No," (Y/n) speaks for what seems to be the first time in a week, "we've done enough poking around."

The following morning, a note is delivered to (Y/n) at the breakfast table:

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

Professor M. McGonagall

(Y/n) had forgotten she still had a detention to do in the furor over the points she'd lost.

At eleven o'clock that night, (Y/n) says goodbye to Harry, Ron, and Hermione and goes down to the entrance hall. Filch was already there - and so was Malfoy. (Y/n) had almost forgotten that Malfoy had gotten a detention, too.

"Follow me," says 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 says, 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. . . .Right, off we go, and don't think of running off, now, it'll be worse for you if you do."

They march off across the dark grounds. (Y/n) wonders what their punishment is going to be. It must be something really horrible, or Filch wouldn't be sounding so delighted. The moon is bright, but clouds scudding across it keep throwing them into darkness. Ahead, (Y/n) can see the lighted windows of Hagrid's hut. Then they hear a distant shout.

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

(Y/n)'s heart rises; if they are going to be working with Hagrid, it wouldn't be so bad. Her relief must have shown on her face, because Filch says, "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.

At this, Malfoy stops dead in his tracks."The forest?" he repeats, and he doesn't sound as cool as usual. "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?" says Filch, his voice cracking with glee."Should've thought of them werewolves before you got in trouble, shouldn't you?"

Hagrid comes striding towards them out of the dark, Fang at his heel. He is carrying his large crossbow, and a quiver of arrows hangs over his shoulder. "Abou' time," he says. "I bin waitin' fer half an hour already. All right, (Y/n)?"

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

"That's why yer late, is it?" says Hagrid, frowning at Filch. "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," says Filch, "for what's left of them," he adds nastily, and he turns and starts back toward the castle, his lamp bobbing away in the darkness.

Malfoy now turns to Hagrid. "I'm not going in that forest," he says, and (Y/n) feels a little pleased to hear the note of panic in his voice.

"Yeh are if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts," says 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 growls. "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 doesn't move. He looks at Hagrid furiously, but then drops his gaze.

"Right then," says 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 leads them to the very edge of the forest. Holding his lamp up high, he points down a narrow, winding earth track that disappears into the thick black trees. A light breeze lifts their hair as they look 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?" asks 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," says 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 allover the place, it must've bin staggerin' around since last night at least."

"So me and Mafoy'll go one way an' (Y/n) an' Fang'll go the other, I know yer good with spells and such (Y/n). 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 is black and silent. A little way into it they reach a fork in the earthy path, and Malfoy and Hagrid take the left path while (Y/n) and Fang take the right.

(Y/n) lights up the tip of her wand, walking in silence, her eyes trained on the ground. Every now and then, a ray of moonlight through the branches above lights up a spot of silver-blue blood on the fallen leaves.

After about an hour, (Y/n) walks through the forest with Fang. They walk for about half-an-hour more, deeper and deeper into the forest, until the path becomes almost impossible to follow because the trees are so thick. (Y/n) thinks that the blood seems to be getting thicker. There are splashes on the roots of a tree, as though the poor creature had been thrashing around in pain close by. (Y/n) can see a clearing ahead, through the tangled branches of an ancient oak.

Something bright white is gleaming on the ground and (Y/n) inches closer.

That's definitely the unicorn, (Y/n) thinks, and it's dead. She had never seen anything so beautiful and sad. Its long, slender legs are sticking out at odd angles where it had fallen and its mane is spread pearly-white on the dark leaves.

(Y/n) takes one step towards it when a slithering sound makes her freeze where she stands. A bush on the edge of the clearing quivers . . . Then, out of the shadows, a hooded figure comes crawling across the ground like some stalking beast. (Y/n) and fang stand, transfixed. The cloaked figure reaches the unicorn, lowers its head over the wound in the animal's side, and begins to drink its blood.

Fang lets out a howl and bolts. The hooded figure raises its head and looks right at (Y/n) - unicorn blood dribbling down its front. It gets to its feet and comes swiftly towards (Y/n) and she scrambles back.

Then a pain like she'd never felt before seems to pierce her whole left side. It feels as thought her scar was on fire and she claps her hand to it.

Through the pain, she lifts her wand but then she hears hooves behind her, galloping, and something jumped clean over (Y/n), charging at the figure.

When (Y/n) looks up, the cloaked figure had gone, and a half human, half horse is standing over her. A centaur! (Y/n) realizes.

"Are you alright?" asks the centaur, pulling (Y/n) to her feet, though she hadn't remembered falling.

"Yes - thank you - what was that?"

The centaur doesn't answer. He had astonishingly blue eyes, like pale sapphires. He looks carefully at (Y/n) his eyes lingering at the collar of her shirt where half of her scar stands out, livid against (Y/n)'s skin.

"You are the (L/n) girl," he says. "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 adds as he lowers himself onto his front legs so (Y/n) can clamber onto his back, her wand still clutched in her right hand.

There is suddenly a sound of more galloping from the other side of the clearing. Two other centaurs come bursting through the trees, their flanks heaving and sweaty.

"Firenze!" one thunders. "What are you doing? You have a human on your back! Have you no shame? Are you a common mule?"

"Do you realize who this is Bane?" asks Firenze. "This is the (L/n) girl. The quicker she leaves this forest, the better."

"What have you been telling him?" growls 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?"

The other centaur paws the ground nervously. "I'm sure Firenze though he was acting for the best," he says in a gloomy voice.

Bane kicks his back legs in anger. "For the best Ronan! 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 rears on his hind legs in anger so that (Y/n) had to grab his shoulders to keep from sliding off the centaur's back. "Did you not see that unicorn?" Firenze bellows 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 whisks around; with (Y/n) clutching on as best she can, they plunge off into the trees, leaving Ronan and Bane behind them.

(Y/n) didn't have a clue what was going on."Why's Bane so angry?" she asks. "What was that thing you saved me from, anyway?"

Firenze slows to a walk, warns (Y/n) to keep her head bowed in case of low-hanging branches, but does not answer her question. They make their way through the trees in silence for so long that (Y/n) began to think Firenze didn't want to talk to her anymore. They are passing through a particularly dense patch of trees, however, when Firenze suddenly stops.

"(Y/n) (L/n), do you know what unicorn blood is used for?"

"No," answers (Y/n), startled by the odd question. "We've only used the horn and tail hair in Potions."

"That is because it is monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn," says 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."

(Y/n) stares at the back of Firenze's head, which is dappled silver in the moonlight.

"But who'd be that -" then (Y/n) trails off, coming to a sudden realization. "Do you mean," (Y/n) asks, her voice shaking slightly, "that was -"

"(Y/n)! (Y/n), are you alright?" Malfoy, Fang, and Hagrid were running towards them down the path.

"I'm fine," (Y/n) answers, not even knowing what she was saying. "The unicorn's dead, Hagrid, it's in that clearing back there."

"This is where I leave you," Firenze murmurs as Hagrid hurries off to examine the unicorn. "You are safe now."

(Y/n) slides off the centaur's back.

"Good luck, (Y/n) (L/n)," says Firenze. "The planets have been read wrongly before now, even by centaurs. I hope this is one of those times."

The centaur turns and canters back into the depths of the forest, leaving (Y/n) shivering behind him. Malfoy studies (Y/n) curiously, wondering what had happened in the with the usually strong willed girl.

Ron, Hermione, and Harry and fallen asleep in the dark common room, waiting for (Y/n) to return. Ron shouts something about Quidditch fouls when (Y/n) shakes the three awake.

In a matter of seconds, though, all three them are wide-eyed as (Y/n) began to tell them what had happened in the forest.

The green eyed girl couldn't sit down, she paces up and down in front of the fire, still shaking; Marvel's green eyes are following her owner she paces.

"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 . . ." Harry rambles, his scar on his forehead prickling.

"Stop saying the name!" says Ron in a terrified whisper, as if he thought Voldemort could hear them.

"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," (Y/n) says.

"But why?!" asks Hermione, her voice shaking. "Why would he come after you?"

Everyone turns to (Y/n), as though she had an answer, and (Y/n) realized that she most definitely did.

The others watch as (Y/n) pulls down the collar of her shirt a little, and they stare at the scar - identical to Harry's - on her skin.

"A week before Christmas, I had a dream, well, not really a dream, more of a memory," (Y/n) begins, and tells her friends about the dream and Harry looks up into (Y/n)'s eyes.

"So you were on your way to my house?" Harry asks.

"Apparently," (Y/n) says.

"So all we've got to do now is wait for Snape to steal the Stone," Harry says feverishly, "then Voldemort will be able to come finish us off . . . Well, from what I heard, Bane'll be happy."

Hermione looks very frightened, but she had a word of comfort.

"Harry, (Y/n)," Hermione begins. "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."

The sky had turned light before they stop talking. They go to bed exhausted, their throats sore.

Word Count: 3751 words

#hermione granger x sister reader

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