A pair of hands clutched the burning-hot button like it was on fire.
The Forbidden Forest was pitch-black, dead quiet.
Justin, who'd shown up for the same detention, had just linked up with Hagrid and the others when a loud, heartbreaking whinny ripped through the trees.
They'd come looking for something, but Hagrid had found it, and it was the absolute worst thing possible.
"I knew something was sneaking around in here…" Hagrid muttered. "Look over there, see that shiny stuff on the ground? Silver-white? That's unicorn blood.
"Never thought the target would be a unicorn. I've never heard of one getting hurt…"
The five of them stared in silence. A shaft of moonlight slipped through the branches and lit up patches of silvery-blue blood on the fallen leaves.
"All right," Hagrid said, voice low. "Your job hasn't changed. We still gotta find the creep doing this.
"But listen close. Tonight just got a whole lot more dangerous."
Harry and the others had been on edge since yesterday. They'd hoped Justin's arrival would calm things down, but nope, straight into the deep end.
They were starting to shake. Maybe it was the cold night wind.
"Stay on the path. We're splitting up, three and four to a group, follow the blood in two directions. It's everywhere. That poor unicorn's been stumbling around since at least last night."
"I want Fang," Malfoy blurted, eyeing the boarhound's long teeth.
Justin remembered what Sean had told him before leaving: "If you're in danger in the Forest and Fang's with you, run fast. He looks scary, but he's got about as much courage as the Malfoy you'll probably run into."
Looked like that was already half-true.
"I'll take Fang," Justin said.
He was scared too, but he'd rather not let his friends take the risk. Plus, he was pretty sure he could outrun Malfoy.
So: Justin, Malfoy, and Fang in one group. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Hagrid in the other.
A gust of wind. Justin pulled out the planned map, flashed it at Harry's group. They nodded. Then everyone split off into the trees.
"We're hunting the thing that hurt a unicorn? You've got to be kidding…" Ron had been panicking since yesterday. Hermione and Harry weren't much better.
"Hagrid, could it be a werewolf?" Harry asked. Better a known monster than the unknown.
"Werewolves don't move that fast, shh!"
Hagrid froze. They all strained to listen.
Something was slithering over the leaves nearby, like a cloak dragging on the ground. Hagrid squinted down the dark path. A few seconds later, the sound faded.
"I know what it is," he whispered. "Something that doesn't belong here."
That stopped everyone cold. Except Hermione, her Quick-Quotes Quill scribbling furiously.
Sean had asked her to jot down anything unexpected. She wasn't about to let him down.
They walked on in silence until they hit a fork. They picked one path and kept going, eyes glued to the ground.
"Who's there?!"
A rustle. Hagrid yanked out his crossbow and bellowed.
A centaur stepped out of the trees.
"Good evening, Hagrid," the centaur said, voice deep and sad. "Planning to shoot me?"
"Oh, Firenze, it's you." Hagrid lowered the bow. "Seen anything weird the last couple days?"
Firenze tilted his head to the stars.
"Mars is very bright tonight."
"I mean weird," Hagrid pressed.
"Mars is very bright tonight."
Hermione scribbled it anyway. Sean wouldn't give her pointless homework.
"I've heard that one already!" Hagrid grumbled.
Then Firenze changed tack.
"I've seen the planets shift. Mars still burns, but Jupiter rises to meet it.
"Uranus flared suddenly, something not seen in many years. Yet Pluto, the rebirther, hides in cloud…"
"What does that even mean?" Ron squeaked.
Hoofbeats, fast and heavy. Another centaur burst from the underbrush, flanks heaving, sweating hard. Hermione jumped, nearly dropping her quill.
"Remember your oath, Firenze!" the new centaur roared. "We do not defy the heavens. Have the stars not shown us the signs?"
Barking. Justin's group must've followed the commotion.
Justin and Hermione met up first. While the centaurs argued, he glanced at her notes:
- Mars: desire and war
- Jupiter: growth, rising to challenge Mars, inevitable clash
- Uranus: awakening, rebellion
- Pluto: rebirth… but it's hidden
Justin knew a bit of astrology, Hermione suddenly remembered the birthday gift he'd given her: a moon chart and an orrery.
"So… what does it mean?" Harry asked, lost.
"Mars is too bright," Firenze said, his deep eyes flicking from Justin to Harry.
Even Justin was stumped now. He only knew the basics.
The centaurs left. The night turned restless.
Hagrid was mad at Justin for veering off course. Time to reshuffle.
Ron was shaking, Hermione pale as parchment. In the end, Hagrid stuck Harry with Malfoy.
They set off again.
And then, unbelievably, they found it.
Malfoy let out a blood-curdling scream and bolted. Fang took off after him.
Harry was alone. His scar burned like fire. He couldn't move.
The night got darker.
---
The next day.
Sean, for once, made a direct request.
"Professor McGonagall, can we leave early?"
His button was scorching. He knew Hogwarts had just hit rock bottom.
What could Harry run into in the Forest?
What danger was bad enough for Justin to send a signal this intense, no matter the cost?
Wrong choice?
Or… wrong time?
Sean didn't want to think about it.