Before any of the nights events faded into just a memory, Harry decided to tell it all to Ron and Hermione. He wrote them a letter, telling them about what happened after Longbottom had given him the letter from them.

He also asked them who they thought “G� was. He knew that they wouldn’t have a clue, but he thought to ask anyway. And told them to meet him at Hagrid’s tomorrow after lunch.

Harry awoke to see that there was no one in the dormitory, but him. He sat up on his bed and stretched, raising his arms into the air. A long yawn escaped his mouth, before he left his bed and put on his cloak. He was about to leave the dormitory when he realized he forgot something: his glasses, which were still on his side table.

When he got to the Great Hall, he found it full of sleepy students. “Thought you’d never wake up,� said Blaise.

Harry yawned again as he sat next to Blaise, facing the rest of the Great Hall. “I’m up. Didn’t get a lot of sleep,� said Harry. He saw Draco was looking at him curiously. “Worried about Hedwig.� He saw Draco and Blaise nod at his reply.

After filling up on eggs and bacon, he looked up to the Staff Table. There was no Snape, but there was Quirrel and something purple-ish on his face.

Harry did a double take. He squinted at Professor Quirrel to see that his left eye was black and blue, like someone had punched him. Harry immediately knew it was Snape. He pointed Quirrel’s black eye out to Draco, Blaise, Crabbe, and Goyle.

“Nice! I wonder who did it. I’d like to congratulate them,� said Draco, a smile on his face. Crabbe and Goyle laughed. Blaise stood up to get a better look at Quirrel.

After more discussions of Quirrel and his black eye, they went to the Common Room. Blaise found some other students to talk to about Quirrel, while Crabbe and Goyle sat eating some more food. Since the others were occupied, Harry thought that this would be the best time to tell Draco about what happened last night.

Harry brought Draco over to a corner, and then told him everything. Of course, Harry left out the part about going to Ron and Hermione. Draco’s face lit up with curiosity.

“Who’s G?� asked Draco.

“I don’t know. I asked Snape, but he wouldn’t tell me. I don’t know what’s going to happen and when, but it said that people would be harmed,� said Harry. “Snape looked… oddly enough, scared after reading it.�

“Scared?�

“Scared,� said Harry as he nodded. “I’m guessing he knows who G is.�

“But what happened after that? Quirrel has a black eye now.�

“Snape told me to leave. But I saw Quirrel go into his office, right after I left. I’m guessing they fought.�

“Hmm…� said Draco. Harry nodded and sat back in a nearby armchair. Draco sat down, as well.

The time before lunch was spent watching Harry practice for Quidditch with the rest of the team. After which, they went to eat lunch.

When Harry was done, he got up from the table to see that Ron and Hermione rose, as well. He could tell that they had waited for him to get up before they had. Crabbe and Goyle were still consuming as much food as they could, while Draco and Blaise spoke with a couple older students.

Silently, Harry left the Slytherin table. He met with Hermione and Ron outside in the Entrance Hall, and they made their way to Hagrid’s.

“Got your letter,� said Ron.

“Apparently,� said Harry. He quickly checked behind him to make sure no one was following them. “So, do have any idea who G is?� The question was more for Hermione.

“Sorry, no,� said Hermione, shaking her head.

“Its fine. But that letter is bad news. As far as I can tell, anyway,� said Harry. They walked for a couple minutes in silence until they were in front of Hagrid’s door. Harry stepped forward and knocked on it three times in succession.

Loud footsteps could be heard on the other side of the door before it was opened. “Hello, yeh three,� said Hagrid excitedly. “Come in. Makin’ some tea n’ cake. Want some?�

“Just tea,� said Hermione, as she sat down on a large seat.

“Me, too,� said Harry and Ron in unison. They too sat down.

After Hagrid had gone to retrieve his tea, Hermione lowered her voice to ask, “What was in the letter that made it so awful?� Ron leaned in closer to hear.

“It said that people would get hurt,� said Harry.

“When?� asked Ron.

“It didn’t say,� said Harry, turning to Ron and then Hermione. He racked his brains for the words. Luckily, the letter had been short and he repeated the words, “ ‘For Him, yes. Just be warned that people might be harmed. If you feel no guilt, than neither do I. I will be there on the day you mentioned. I won’t be late I swear to you that. G.’�

“What’s that, Harry?� asked Hagrid, bring over a tray of tea.

“Nothing,� said Harry quickly.

Hagrid sat down on another big chair and grabbed his cup of tea, taking a long sip. Harry, Ron, and Hermione watched as he did so. When Hagrid put the cup down he went on, “So, yeh three, what ‘ave yeh been up ter?�

They all looked to each other before Hermione responded, “The usual: work, work, and more work.�

“Speak for yourself,� said Ron. Harry saw Ron look to Hermione and then drink from his cup.

“What abou’ yeh, Harry?� asked Hagrid, turning to him. “Anythin’ new?�

“Err…no, not really. I just have lots of work, boring classes, Quidditch practice, and mean teachers. What about you, Hagrid?�

“Nothin’ new here. Oh, Harry, I heard abou’ yer owl. Is she okay?� asked Hagrid.

“She should be in a couple days.�

“How did she get like that?� asked Hagrid, sipping more tea.

Harry said, “She sent a letter for Professor Quirrel,� before taking a sip from his own cup.

“How would Hedwig get like that by sending a letter?� asked Ron.

“Hedwig must’ve been sent somewhere dangerous, Ron,� said Hermione. “She wouldn’t be hurt just out of the blue.� Ron nodded.

“Who did Quirrel send the letter teh?� asked Hagrid.

Harry shook his head. “I don’t know. I didn’t see the name. I only know that either his first or last name begins with the letter G.�

“Do you know anyone it could be, Hagrid?� asked Hermione.

There was a pause before Hagrid said that he didn’t know any, but would keep it in mind. “Haven’ gone on any late nigh’ journey’s ‘ave yeh? Harry. Ron. Hermione.� He looked at them each as he said their names.

“No. What would make you say that?� said Ron.

“Don’ want yeh, mates, getting’ into any trouble. That’s all,� said Hagrid. He turned to Harry. “Like that nigh’ when yeh went into that forbidden corridor on the third floor. Yeh could’ve gotten into serious trouble, Harry. What if yeh had been seen?�

“Well, I wasn’t and that’s all that matters now. It was in the beginning of the year. Let’s not dwell on it,� said Harry.

Ron turned to Hagrid. “So… how’s Fluffy?�

Hagrid turned to him. “How do yeh know abou’ Fluffy?�

“Harry told us,� said Ron. Harry saw Hagrid give him a look.

Hagrid exhaled loudly before saying, “Fluffy doesn’ like being cooped up in that room. But he’s gotten used teh it, since its been abou’ five months.�

“Five months? You mean, he’s only been here since September?� asked Hermione, leaning forward.

“O’ course. There was no reason for him teh be ‘ere before then. He’s—never mind,� said Hagrid quickly.

There was a sharp intake of breath from Hermione and she jumped up from her chair. “Fluffy is guarding the Sorcerer’s Stone!�

“I never said that!� exclaimed Hagrid.

“Maybe not, but that’s what you were going to say,� said Hermione with a smile.

They weren’t at Hagrid’s much longer, but after they had left Harry remembered that he left his Invisibility Cloak behind the statue of armor. Ron and Hermione told him they would get it and bring it to him when they saw him. But it didn’t take long; they immediately went to retrieve it for him.

The cold, damp dungeon of Snape’s office made Harry think about how just hours ago, he had been sitting in Hagrid’s hut with Ron and Hermione. Now, he was waiting for his detention with Snape.

“Come on,� said Snape unemotionally. He was standing near the doorway. Harry walked over and once he had gone through, Snape took out his wand. He flicked it into the room and all the candles went out like there had been a gust of wind.

A couple minutes later they were outside the Forbidden Forest. Snape kept walking toward it whereas Harry had stopped. “Are we going in there?� asked Harry in shock. He could see the breath before him since it was so cold.

“I need more Bruisewort; a plant. And you’re going to help me find it,� said Snape. Harry saw him look into the forest. “Just stay close.� Snape said the latter irritably, not wanting Harry to be near him.

The Forbidden Forest got darker and colder as they walked further in from the dense trees that were blocking the moonlight. Harry could hear what sounded like an owl hooting nearby. But every time he heard it, he flinched since he knew there were dangerous animals in the forest.

Harry had been following Snape the whole time they were in the forest. “Are we there yet?� asked Harry, shivering slightly. He chuckled after saying that, knowing that he sounded like some small child from a movie.

At first Snape said nothing. “We’ll be there soon.�

“Doesn’t seem like it,� said Harry to himself. He was looking up trying to see that sky, but the trees were so close together.

Apparently, Snape had heard what Harry had muttered to himself because he turned to Harry. “Don’t get smart with me, Potter. Wouldn’t want me to accidentally leave you in the Forbidden Forest, now would you?�

Harry stood there looking at Snape nastily, but decided to say nothing. Snape didn’t seem like he was joking and Harry wouldn’t want to actually be left there. He didn’t know the way back.

After a couple minutes, which Harry thought Snape had needed to calm down, he decided it was acceptable to ask, “How long have we been in here?�

Snape looked up and Harry followed his gaze. There was a small opening between the trees, which showed part of the moon and some stars. “About an hour,� said Snape. They walked past a couple wide trees and Snape called to him, “Just past these trees.�

In the trees, Harry heard the sound of the owl-like animal and hurried after Snape. Once he got to where Snape was, he saw that there was a large gap. Instead of trees there were tall bushes and Harry could make out flowers on them.

They got to one of the bushes and Snape told him, “Collect the leaves that look like this.� Snape pulled off a fairly round leaf and showed it to him. “Don’t take the flowers, they serve no purpose.�

Snape moved over to another bush and started collecting them, putting them in his pocket as he took them off. Harry turned back to the bush to see tons of the purple flowers, but moved them aside to get to the leaves.

After what seemed like hours and Harry’s pockets were practically full of leaves, he heard a inhuman shriek. It was so silent and still in the Forbidden Forest that he heard it with chilling clarity. Harry heard the sound again, which was louder this time.

What ever had made that sound didn’t seem far off. Harry didn’t have to walk far to see a cloaked figure a few away feasting on a unicorn. At first, seeing the hooded being drinking in a silvery liquid of a dying unicorn, he gasped out loud.

Cold fingers covered Harry’s mouth and he was pulled to the ground behind a couple bushes. He pulled away but saw Snape giving him a threatening look, telling him to shut up. Through a small gap in the leaves, Harry could see that the cloaked figure had turned to see what had caused the noise. The face was covered in darkness except for red eyes.

For a long, heart-pounding second, Harry thought the figure had seen him. He could have sworn the red eyes had looked directly into his, but the man turned back to the beautiful animal before him. The unicorn led out a shrill cry before allowing his head to finally rest on the ground.

Beside him, Snape whispered, “Him.� Since it was so cold, Snape’s words turned into a small cloud in front his face before disappearing. Harry was going to ask ‘who,’ but the figure on the other side of the bushes stood up. There was a harsh, piercing laugh from the cloaked figure before he seemed to have flown away in the cold wind.

“We have to get back to Hogwarts,� said Snape simply as he stood up. He didn’t look at Harry as he walked away.

“Who was that?� Harry asked, hurrying after Snape.

Snape didn’t answer at first. The only sound was the branches underfoot as Harry’s feet crushed them. He looked at the ground, trying not to trip on the thick roots from the trees.

“The Dark Lord,� Snape stated.

Harry looked up. Snape was standing in front of him, so all Harry could see was his back. “That was Voldemort?!� Harry asked more to himself. He paused for a second; thinking about the fact that Voldemort was here in the Forbidden Forest…near Hogwarts, which meant that he was near him.

“Don’t say his name!� Snape said as he turned to him. Harry stopped walking, and then Snape turned away.

They walked for a while. Harry listened as he stepped on branches that lay on the ground. He looked up at Snape. “Why was he drinking unicorn blood?� Snape turned to his head slightly in Harry’s direction. “Professor,� Harry added.

“To stay alive, presumably. But it’s a vile thing to do, drinking unicorns’ blood. He’ll never be the same. He’ll have a cursed life.�

More than an hour passed and they finally exited the Forbidden Forest. Instead of turning toward the castle, Snape turned in the direction of Hagrid’s cabin. All Harry wanted to do was give Snape his Bruisewort leaves and be in his warm bed. But seeing Hagrid for a couple minutes wouldn’t hurt.

“Hullo, Snape,� said Hagrid, not too pleasantly. He looked further out of his door to see Harry standing there. “Harry. Haven’t gotten into trouble, ‘ave yeh?� Hagrid narrowed his eyes as he surveyed Harry and Snape.

“Err…no, not really,� said Harry.

“Forget the pleasantries. There’s a unicorn in the Forbidden Forest that has been killed. More will most likely turn up that way if we don’t do anything,� said Snape coldly.

“Who would…? Oh,� Hagrid said. Hagrid nodded agreeably before he walked into his house quickly and came back with a cross bow in hand. “I’ll search for those unicorns. See yeh in the mornin’.�

When Harry had finally gotten into his pajamas and was covering himself in his blanket, he couldn’t help but think about how Voldemort was in the forest. Harry was relieved to be out of the cold and wind, and away from Snape. Harry took off is glasses and then placed his head against the soft pillow, staring at the ceiling. It was a while before he managed to fall asleep for the night.