Year 1 ⋆.˚ ☾⭒.˚ 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔉𝔬𝔯𝔟𝔦𝔡𝔡𝔢𝔫 𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔱

ℑ𝔣 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔢𝔫𝔧𝔬𝔶𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯, 𝔭𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔰𝔢 𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔳𝔢 𝔞 𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔪𝔢𝔫𝔱. ℑ 𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔴𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔨!!𝔄𝔩𝔰𝔬 𝔰𝔥𝔞𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔱𝔬𝔯𝔶 𝔥𝔢𝔩𝔭𝔰 𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔢𝔯𝔰 𝔡𝔦𝔰𝔠𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔦𝔱. 𝔖𝔬 𝔭𝔩𝔢𝔞𝔰𝔢 𝔰𝔥𝔞𝔯𝔢 𝔦𝔱 𝔱𝔬 𝔣𝔢𝔩𝔩𝔬𝔴 𝔭𝔬𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔰.💗

Hagrid's Hut, Late evening :

Smoke curled from Hagrid's chimney, warm and glowing against the cold night. You, Harry, Ron, and Hermione huddled close as the giant door swung open."Evenin', you lot," Hagrid said, stepping aside so you could file into the hut. Fang immediately bounded toward you, knocking into your legs. You steadied yourself, patting his head. "Hagrid, we've got something to tell you," Harry said urgently. You all sat around the wooden table. The fire crackled. He explained the dragon egg, Norbert, Charlie's friends coming, everything ,while Ron held his bitten hand dramatically, milking the injury as usual.

When Hagrid realized you hadn't come to admire Norbert but to warn him, he deflated visibly. "Oh... I knew this day'd come," he muttered. As you stepped out of the hut later, the night cold hit instantly.

You wrapped your dressrobe tighter around yourself and froze. A pale figure leaned against a tree.

Draco Malfoy.

His expression twisted into a triumphant smirk the second he saw all four of you leaving Hagrid's hut. "Well, well," Draco drawled, stepping forward. "What are you four doing out here after hours?" You felt the jolt ripple through your group. Ron muttered, "Bloody perfect." Harry clenched his jaw. Draco's eyes flicked to you for a second before he returned to sneering smugly. He was absolutely going to report you. You opened your mouth, "Malfoy, listen-" Draco raised a hand. "Oh please. As if I'm interested in your excuses." But his gaze lingered on you a beat too long, as if he was... annoyed at himself. As if he hadn't expected you to talk back. He turned sharply on his heel and sprinted toward the castle. "Draco, wait–!" you shouted, but he was already gone.

By the time the four of you reached the corridor outside Gryffindor Tower, Draco was already there ,with Professor McGonagall. Ron whispered, "We're dead, we're definitely dead." The stern witch turned toward you, disappointment etched across her face. "Well?" McGonagall said. "Explain yourselves." You opened your mouth, but Draco jumped in, practically vibrating with excitement. "Professor, I caught them out of bed! All four of them are sneaking around with Hagrid!"

You glared. "Is it true students?If yes, I might perhaps have to give you detention."your heads were down, utterly guilty. "Detention to all 5 of you", she said. "I think i heard it wrong Professor, it must be 4". Draco said with a smirk on his face. "I assume Mr.Malfoy you were also out of bed as you reported these 4 students, so yeah"

Draco froze, McGonagall's eyebrows rose. The triumph fell off his face instantly. You caught it, the brief panic....... and yes, it was satisfying. "We'll settle this properly," McGonagall said crisply. "All of you. Detention. Tomorrow night." Draco shot all of you a look, almost irritation, before looking away.

The next night, Hagrid met you all with a lantern. "Right," Hagrid said. "This is yer punishment. Yeh're goin' into the forest." Draco went pale. You didn't comment, but you noticed his hands grip his cloak tightly. The forest loomed ahead, huge and black, branches twisting like skeletal fingers. Hagrid knelt to inspect silver drops on the ground.

"Unicorn blood," Hagrid whispered. "Somethin' hurt a unicorn. We gotta find it before it dies." "W–We're following that?" Draco squeaked. "Yes," Hagrid said.

"And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?"said Malfoy, unable to keep the fear out of his voice. "There's nothin' that lives in the forest that will hurt you if yer with me or Fang," said Hagrid. "Right now, we are going to split in 2 teams: ron, hermione and me , y/n, draco with harry and ofcourse Fang and follow the trails in different directions. There's blood all over the place, the thing must have been staggering around last night maybe."

Draco immediately scowled, but you saw the flicker of fear beneath it.Hagrid handed Harry and Draco each a lantern while handing you a dagger for protection. Draco blinked at that. You caught his stare."What?" Draco coughed. "Nothing." But his eyes darted to the dagger again.

Deep in the forest:

The trees closed around the three of you like walls., the leaves rustled. The moon barely broke through. Draco walked close , occasionally glancing at shadows. Harry led with the lantern. You walked beside him.Draco followed just a step behind you. At one point, a twig snapped loudly. Draco jumped but you didn't. Which only made him more twitchy.

"Can you not walk so confidently?" Draco hissed. "It's dark & terrifying and definitely something is clearly killing unicorns-.... "Then maybe don't provoke everything you see," you replied calmly. Draco stared. You showed that you were not scared, but to be honest, it was really terrifying you from inside. Only you knew how fast your heart was beating.

"Why aren't you panicking?" Draco demanded. You shrugged. "Because Harry needs someone calm." His jaw tightened and then he fell silent. For the next several minutes, Draco stuck near you, sometimes slightly ahead, sometimes slightly behind but always close enough that you could hear his breathing whenever he panicked.

Silver blood pooled on the leaves, Harry knelt, examining it. "It's so bright..." Harry whispered. You crouched too, noticing how fresh it looked. Draco hovered nervously, glancing around constantly.Then - A low growl echoed. Draco flinched. "Wh–WHAT was that?!" You stood, dagger ready.Harry looked at surroundings being nervous,"Someone's here".The bushes shook violently. Draco grabbed your sleeve before he realized what he was doing, then released instantly, face flushing even in the dim light.

"I wasn't-I didn't..." But before you could respond that it was okay, fine-

A shadow raced between the trees. Silhouetted tall, hooded and Cloaked.

Harry gasped, your instinct kicked in and without thinking much, you stepped in front of Harry, holding the dagger outward. Draco froze and his breath caught. "Get behind me," you whispered and he obeyed. Draco hesitated, pride fighting fear. But when the figure glided closer, he quietly stepped behind you too.

The three of you watched as the figure bent over something on the ground- A unicorn which was pale, dying. The tall hooded figure lowered its head... and drank the silver blood. Draco's strangled gasp filled the silence.

Your heart thudded, but your grip on the dagger didn't shake and the strands of your hair changed to chestnut. "Y/n your hair-", Harry whispered, and he realized that I was also scared now. The figure rose slowly and turned towards you. All of you saw that it had no face, even beneath the hood it was just darkness.

Harry suddenly clutched his forehead, collapsing in pain. "Harry!" you fell to your knees, holding him upright.

Draco panicked ..."We have to RUN... !"

But instead of fleeing alone... Draco grabbed your arm, pulling you back, but soon you left his arm before he could exactly pull you and make you run with him.

The figure glided forward..and then now it was just you and Harry alone with that hooded figure. Harry's scar was continuously hurting, and just then...

A centaur burst from the shadows, rearing. "Begone, foul thing!" The cloaked figure hissed and vanished between the trees in a blur of darkness. You held Harry tightly as his pain eased. The centaur lowered itself.

"A human, a boy, and.." His gaze rested on you longer than expected. "You are brave for one so young." You asked, "What was that thing?" The centaur avoided answering directly. "You are the potter boy-". He said. "You must go back now to Hagrid, the Forest is not safe for you in the night, especially you."

Finally, he guided you back toward the safer path.

You asked him, "What was the thing that you saved us from". He looked at you, "Lupin you must be." Your eyes widen that he knew you or perhaps recognized you. "Do both of you know what unicorn blood is used for?"you both shook your head.

"That is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn. The person has nothing to lose & everything to gain would commit such a crime. By drinking its blood, you might be alive, even if you are an inch away from death. But at a terrible price. As you have slayed such a pure creature, you will live half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the unicorn's blood touches your lips." "But who wants to live like this, isn't death the better option?", you said.

"Well it is, but won't you want to stay alive for something more powerful you want to conquer, which will make you immortal ?Do you guys know what's hidden in the school?" you both shook your head. "Can you think of anybody who wants to return with his powers which are stronger than ever?". We both stared dumbly. 

Harry spoke, "So do you perhaps think, that it was VOLDE-"

"Harry, Y/n you alright?" We saw Hagrid, Ron . Hermione and Draco coming towards us worried. "This is where I leave both of you. You are safe now." Firenze said to us and went back into the forest deep inside.

Draco stayed close on the way back, not taunting, not snickering, just silently glancing at you, at Harry. At one point he muttered quietly, almost angrily, "You shouldn't have stood in front of Potter like that. You could've died." You raised an eyebrow, "Are you worried about me, Malfoy?" Draco stiffened. "No. I just.. I don't want to get blamed if both of you get yourself killed." Ron and Hermione stared with wide eyes.

⋆.˚ ☾⭒.˚

Girls Dormitory : 

You barely slept. Every time you closed your eyes, the forest came rushing back—

The silver sheen of unicorn blood pooling against the roots, Harry's body crumpling to the ground and the cloaked figure bending low, as if in reverence, as if feeding. The image replayed again and again, merciless, as though the forest itself had wrapped its branches around your mind and refused to let go. When you finally made your way downstairs the next morning, the common room was quiet, washed in the low orange glow of dying embers.

Harry was already there. He sat curled by the fire, knees drawn to his chest, arms wrapped tightly around himself. His eyes were open, but unfocused...staring into something far beyond the flames. Y/N Paused on the last step, he looked small. You approached slowly, careful not to startle him.

"Harry?"

He didn't respond. You sat beside him anyway, close enough to feel the faint warmth radiating from his shoulder. You let the silence sit between you, heavy but necessary. Then, at last, he spoke.

"That thing..." His voice was tight, barely above a whisper. "In the forest" Your throat tightened. "It was Voldemort."

Behind you, Hermione froze mid-step. Ron nearly tripped over the hearthrug.

Harry went on, breathing shallowly. "When it looked at me, I felt this pain...here." He lifted a trembling hand and touched his scar. "It burned. Like it was trying to tear open. Like it knew me." A chill ran straight down your spine. Hermione sank down beside him, her voice shaking despite herself. "You think... he's drinking unicorn blood to survive?" Harry nodded once.

Hermione led the way through the library stacks, whispering so quickly her words nearly tripped over one another. "Unicorn blood can keep someone alive even when they're close to death," she said. "But it's cursed. You're never meant to drink it. It creates a half-life—" Ron grimaced. "Sounds about right for Voldemort." Hermione flipped a page. "Someone like him would only resort to that if he was desperate."

Harry turned to you. "Y/N... he was coming straight for me." You didn't look away. "Then we make sure he never reaches you again." His breath hitched, just slightly. Ron glanced between you. "So... what do we do now?"

Hermione answered softly, reverently, as if the answer itself was dangerous. "We find out what he's after."

She reached for another book. Ancient. Dust-coated. Marked with a faded gold crest. As she opened it, your stomach dropped. There it was.

THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE

Ron squinted. "The what-now stone?" Hermione's eyes shone. "It's a legendary alchemical substance. It can turn metal into gold and produce the Elixir of Life." Harry whispered, "The Elixir of Life... that would keep someone alive forever."

Ron's face went pale. "So if You-Know-Who gets it—" "He won't die," Hermione finished. Harry nodded slowly, dread settling into his expression. "He's after the Stone." You closed the book with a quiet, deliberate thump. "And someone at Hogwarts is helping him." The four of you looked at one another. Nothing needed to be said.

You all rushed to an empty classroom, Hermione locking the door behind you. Harry dropped into a chair. Ron leaned against a desk, serious for once. "Snape. It has to be Snape." Harry nodded immediately."He was trying to steal something from Gringotts the same day Hagrid picked up that package."

Hermione paced the room, thinking. "Snape also tried to curse Harry during the Quidditch match."

You crossed your arms. "But Quirrell was the one who fainted that day."

"Right," Hermione said. Ron blinked. "Wait— you think Quirrell is the one helping Voldemort?"

Harry went stiff. You felt a chill settle in the room and Y/N lowered her voice, "He stutters, sweats all the time. He's scared of his own shadow. He's the last..." Harry swallowed hard, "No Y/N it's Snape. He wants the stone for Voldemort.""He will comeback."Harry said tensley. 

"But if he comes back, you don't think he'd try to kill you, do you?"Ron asked. "I think, if he'd had a chance he would have killed me tonight."Harry said. "We are forgetting one thing. Who's the one wizard Voldemort fears the most?"Hermione said. 

"Dumbledore." "As long as Dumbledore's here, Harry you are safe."Hermione said.

Later, as the pieces continued to fall into place, Harry frowned suddenly. "Don't you think it's strange," he said slowly, "that what Hagrid wanted was something rarer than a dragon and then a stranger just happens to turn up with one?"

Ron blinked. "You mean..." "I mean," Harry went on, his voice sharpening, "how many people walk around with dragon eggs in their pockets? Why didn't I see it before?" You felt your stomach drop.

Hagrid shifted uncomfortably under your questioning, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well... I dunno who he was," he said. "Kept his hood up. Wanted to know what sort o' creatures I look after." "And you told him?" Harry asked carefully. Hagrid nodded. "Told him after Fluffy, a dragon'd be no trouble at all."

Harry's eyes widened. "Did he seem... interested in Fluffy?" "Well, o' course," Hagrid said. "How often d'you come across a three-headed dog?"

Your heart began to pound. "Then I told him," Hagrid continued proudly, "'The trick with any beast is to calm it.' Take Fluffy, for example...just play him a bit o' music and he'll fall right asleep." The four of you gasped as one. Hagrid's face drained of color. "I— I shouldn't have told you that." You exchanged a look with the others.

The moment final exams end, the castle shifts. Everyone's celebrating... while the four of you sit huddled in the common room, maps, books, and sheer panic scattered around. Hermione paces like she's training for the Olympics. Ron keeps rubbing his forehead like answers will magically appear there. Harry stares at the fire, jaw tense. And you... you're leaning against the sofa, twirling your wand anxiously.

"Honestly, we're running out of time." Hermione said.  "We're not going to let Snape get the Stone. Or whoever's after it." Ron muttered.  You glance at Harry, "You made up your mind, didn't you?" Harry lifts his eyes, bright, determined, scared, but unwavering, "We're going tonight." Your heart drops, because of course he's decided that. You exhale, "Then we're all going together."

Hermione's eyes soften while Ron mutters something like, "Bloody knew she'd say that..."

As the four of you were deciding to put that Invisibility Cloak, Neville appeared his hands were shaking. "Y-you're not going out! You can't! You'll get Gryffindor into trouble again!" You inhale sharply. You hated this part, the fear on his face.

Harry whispers, "We don't want to fight you, Neville." But Neville lifts his wand higher,"I-I'll fight you! Honest!" Ron groans under his breath. Hermione steps forward with that complicated, apologetic expression. She whispers the spell, "Sorry... Petrificus Totalus."

Neville goes rigid and collapses like a wooden board. You wince, "We'll make it up to him later." Harry nods, swallowing hard. 

⋆.˚ ☾⭒.˚ The ones that Love us never really leave US ⋆.˚ ☾⭒.˚

Word Count : 2773