They all arrived at Hagrid's hut. It was stifling hot inside. Even though it was such a warm day, there was a blazing fire in the grate.

Hagrid made them a cup of tea each and sat down.

He then even offered then stoat sandwiches, which they outright refused. Y/N sat down next to Hermione on a sofa chair, big enough to fit at least three people, while Ron and Harry huddled together.

"So -- yeh wanted to ask me somethin'?"

"Yes," Harry replied. There was no point beating around the bush. "We were wondering if you could tell us what's guarding the Philosopher's Stone apart from Fluffy."

Hagrid frowned at him.

"O' course I can't," he said. "Number one, I don' know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn' tell yeh if I could. That Stone's here fer a good reason. It was almost stolen outta Gringotts -- I s'ppose yeh've worked that out an' all? Beats me how yeh even know abou' Fluffy."

"Oh, come on, Hagrid, you might not want to tell us, but you do know, you know everything that goes on round here," said Hermione in a warm, flattering voice.

Hagrid's beard twitched and they could tell he was smiling. "We only wondered who had done the guarding, really." Hermione went on. "We wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help him, apart from you."

'You manipulative little devil' Y/N thought, a smile making its way to his lips. Hermione kept on praising Hagrid which in all honesty, was true, every last bit of it.

Hagrid's chest swelled at these last words. causing them all to beam at Hermione.

"Well, I don' s'pose it could hurt ter tell yeh that... let's see... he borrowed Fluffy from me... then some o' the teachers did enchantments... Professor Sprout -- Professor Flitwick -- Professor McGonagall -- " he ticked them off on his fingers, "Professor Quirrell -- an' Dumbledore himself did somethin', o' course. Hang on, I've forgotten someone. Oh yeah, Professor Snape."

"Snape?" Y/N asked, with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah -- yer not still on abou' that, are yeh? Look, Snape helped protect the Stone, he's not about ter steal it."

They knew they were all thinking the same thing. If Snape had been in on protecting the Stone, it must have been easy to find out how the other teachers had guarded it. He probably knew everything -- except, it seemed, Quirrell's spell and how to get past Fluffy.

But Y/N still had his suspicions, it didn't feel quite right, why would he be after it? for all they know Quirrell could be the one after it but Snape was the more obvious choice, the "Dark and Creepy" vibe he omitted proved just that.

"You're the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy. aren't you, Hagrid?" Harry asked anxiously. "And you wouldn't tell anyone, would you? Not even one of the teachers?"

"Not a soul knows except me an' Dumbledore," said Hagrid proudly.

"Well, that's something," Y/N muttered to the others. "Hagrid, can we have a window open? Its boiling."

"Can't, Y/N, sorry," said Hagrid. Y/N then noticed him glance at the fire. He looked at it, too and he certainly wasn't expecting what came next.

"Hagrid... what's that ?"

But Y/N already knew what it was. In the very heart of the fire, underneath the kettle, was a huge, black egg.

"Ah," said Hagrid, fiddling nervously with his beard, "That's -- er..."

"A dragon egg." Y/N answered for him, so matter-of-factly.

"Where did you get it, Hagrid?" said Ron, crouching over the fire to get a closer look at the egg. "It must've cost you a fortune."

"Won it," said Hagrid. "Las' night. I was down in the village havin' a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest."

"But what are you going to do with it when it's hatched?" said Hermione.

"Well, I've bin doin' some readin'," said Hagrid, pulling a large book from under his pillow. "Got this outta the library -- Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit -- it's a bit outta date, o' course, but it's all in here. Keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mothers breathe on I em, see, an' when it hatches, feed it on a bucket o' brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. An' see here -- how ter recognize diff'rent eggs -- what I got there's a Norwegian Ridgeback. They're rare, them."

He looked very pleased with himself, but Hermione didn't.

"Hagrid, you live in a wooden house," she pointed out.

Ron and Y/N barely held in their laughters when she said that.

"She's.. right... Hagrid" Y/N managed to choke out between laughs.

But Hagrid wasn't listening. He was humming merrily as he stoked the fire.

So now they had something else to worry about: what might happen to Hagrid if anyone found out he was hiding an illegal dragon in his hut.

"Wonder what it's like to have a peaceful life," Ron sighed, as evening after evening they struggled through all the extra homework they were getting. Hermione had now started making study schedules for Harry and Ron, too. It was driving them nuts. Y/N had already made schedules beforehand since Hermione was bragging about it to him days before, which got quite annoying if he had to be honest.

"I think the word you're looking for is, "Normal." Y/N told Ron who was just staring into space.

Then, one breakfast time, O/N had brought him a note from Hagrid. He had written only two words:

It's hatching.

Ron wanted to skip Herbology and go straight down to the hut. Hermione wouldn't hear any of it.

"Hermione, how many times in our lives are we going to see a dragon hatching?"

"We've got lessons, we'll get into trouble, and that's nothing to what Hagrid's going to be in when someone finds out what he's doing"

"Hermione, come on" Y/N tried to persuade her. "When are you ever gonna get to see a live birth of a dragon and it'll be educational, plus it's only one lesson. I'm sure Professor Sprout can last one hour with the gardens without us."

"I know it is but It's still not ethical, besides what if we miss out on something important and i'm not willing to risk the exams just because you guys want to see the birth of a dragon." Hermione snapped.

"Ah geez, Hermione you're making it sound like it's the last lesson we'll ever have, Your brain's not gonna stop working if you miss out on ONE meaningless Herbology lesson." Y/N groaned.

Herbology wasn't Y/N's favourite subject as you can tell, but still it was interesting but not as much as DATDA or charms.

(DATDA = Defence Against The Dark Arts)

Hermione glared daggers at him. " Well!--" She was cut off by Harry.

"Shut up!" Harry whispered.

Malfoy was only a few feet away and he had stopped dead to listen. How much had he heard? Harry didn't like the look on Malfoy's face at all.

Y/N and Hermione argued all the way to Herbology and in the end, Hermione agreed to run down to Hagrid's with the three of them during morning break. When the bell sounded from the castle at the end of the lesson, the four of them dropped their trowels at once and hurried through the grounds to the edge of the forest. Hagrid greeted us, looking flushed and excited.

"It's nearly out." He told the four of them inside.

The egg was lying on the table. There were deep cracks in it. Something was moving inside; a funny clicking noise was coming from it.

They all drew chairs up to the table and watched with bated breath.

All at once there was a scraping noise and the egg split open. The baby dragon flopped onto the table. It wasn't exactly pretty, Its spiny wings were huge compared to its skinny jet body, it had a long snout with wide nostrils, the stubs of horns and bulging, orange eyes.

It sneezed. A couple of sparks flew out of its snout.

"That's... er... good." Y/N was suddenly lost for words... surprisingly for a change.

"Isn't he beautiful?" Hagrid murmured. He reached out a hand to stroke the dragon's head. It snapped at his fingers, showing pointed fangs.

"Bless him, look, he knows his mommy!" Hagrid said.

"Hagrid," Hermione said, "how fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow, exactly?"

"Pretty fast, I'd say." Y/N mumbled, as he watched the small hatchling with curiosity.

Hagrid was about to confirm or deny what he said, when the color suddenly drained from his face -- he leapt to his feet and ran to the window.

"What's the matter?"

"Someone was lookin' through the gap in the curtains -- it's a kid -- he's runnin' back up ter the school."

Y/N bolted to the door and looked out. Even at a this distance there was no mistaking him.

Malfoy had seen the dragon.

"Well this is just wonderful." He grunted, as the others watched. "You think he'd get the message by now, not stick his nose in where it doesn't belong but nope."

Something about the smile lurking on Malfoy's face during the next week made Y/N, Harry, Ron and Hermione very nervous. They all spent most of their free time in Hagrid's darkened hut, trying to reason with him.

"Come on Hagrid, it's not safe keeping a dragon in here, he could burn the whole hut down, not to mention what Dumbledore would say about all this." Y/N tried to reason with him.

"Just let him go," Harry urged. "Set him free."

"I can't," said Hagrid. "He's too little. He'd die."

They all looked at the dragon. It had grown three times in length in just a week. 'Guess I was right' Y/N thought.

Smoke kept furling out of its nostrils. Hagrid hadn't been doing his gamekeeping duties because the dragon was keeping him so busy. There were empty brandy bottles and chicken feathers all over the floor.

"I've decided to call him Norbert," said Hagrid, looking at the dragon with misty eyes. "He really knows me now, watch. Norbert! Norbert! Where's Mommy?"

"He's lost his marbles," Ron muttered into
Y/N's ear, to which he nodded in agreement.

"Hagrid," said Harry loudly, "give it two weeks and Norbert's going to be as long as your house. Malfoy could go to Dumbledore at any moment."

Hagrid bit his lip.

"I -- I know I can't keep him forever, but I can't jus' dump him, I can't."

Y/N suddenly remembered something and turned to Ron. "Charlie." He said to Ron, who just looked at him like he had grown two heads.

"You're losing it, too," said Ron. "I'm Ron, remember?"

"No you idiot, your brother, Charlie. In Romania. Studying dragons. We could send Norbert to him. Charlie can take care of him and then put him back in the wild!"

"Brilliant!" Ron said. "How about it, Hagrid?"

And in the end, Hagrid agreed that we could send an owl to Charlie to ask him.

Y/N stepped outside the hut with the others and started walking back to the castle.

"I'm not an idiot." Ron muttered, as he walked along slowly behind.

"You sure could have fooled me." Y/N joked, with a smirk.

They ventured back to the castle and continued on with their day, Y/N hoped that Hagrid will let the dragon go, 'cause If not... well you know what'd happen...

—

The following week dragged by. Wednesday night found Hermione, Harry and Y/N sitting alone in the common room, long after everyone else had gone to bed. Y/N sat crossed legs, reading the music book Hermione had so gratefully got him for Christmas.

The clock on the wall had just chimed midnight when the portrait hole burst open. Ron appeared out of nowhere as he pulled off Harry's invisibility cloak. He had been down at Hagrid's hut, helping him feed Norbert, who was now eating dead rats by the crate.

"It bit me!" he said, showing us his hand, which was wrapped in a bloody handkerchief. "I'm not going to be able to hold a quill for a week. I tell you, that dragon's the most horrible animal I've ever met, but the way Hagrid goes on about it, you'd think it was a fluffy little bunny rabbit. When it bit me he told me off for frightening it. And when I left, he was singing it a lullaby."

There was a tap on the dark window.

"It's O/N!" Y/N exclaimed, hurrying to let him in. "He'll have Charlie's answer!"

The four of them bundled their heads together to read the note.

Dear Ron,

How are you? Thanks for the letter -- I'd be glad to take the Norwegian Ridgeback, but it won't be easy getting him here. I think the best thing will be to send him over with some friends of mine who are coming to visit me next week. Trouble is, they mustn't be seen carrying an illegal dragon.

Could you get the Ridgeback up the tallest tower at midnight on Saturday? They can meet you there and take him away while it's still dark.

Send me an answer as soon as possible.

Love,

Charlie...

They looked at one another.

"We've got the invisibility cloak," Harry said. "It shouldn't be too difficult - I think the cloaks big enough to cover three of us and Norbert."

It was a mark of how bad the last week had been that we agreed with him. Anything to get rid of Norbert — and Malfoy.

There was a hitch. By the next morning, Ron's bitten hand had swollen to twice its usual size. He didn't know whether it was safe to go to Madam Pomfrey -- would she recognize a dragon bite? By the afternoon, though, he had no choice. The cut had turned a nasty shade of green. It looked as if Norbert's fangs were poisonous.

Y/N, Harry and Hermione rushed up to the hospital wing at the end of the day to find Ron in a terrible state in bed.

"It's not just my hand," he whispered, "although that feels like it's about to fall off. Malfoy told Madam Pomfrey he wanted to borrow one of my books so he could come and have a good laugh at me. He kept threatening to tell her what really bit me -- I've told her it was a dog, but I don't think she believes me -- I shouldn't have hit him at the Quidditch match, that's why he's doing this."

"He's probably getting back at us, because I turned him into a Oompa Loompa." Y/N sniggered which caused Harry and even Hermione to snort a bit, but Ron had a confused look, he had no idea what a Oompa Loompa was.

He'd have to tell him later.

Harry and Hermione tried to calm Ron down.

"It'll all be over at midnight on Saturday," Hermione said, but this didn't soothe Ron at all. On the contrary, he sat bolt upright and broke into a sweat.

"Midnight on Saturday!" he said in a hoarse voice. "Oh no oh no -- I've just remembered -- Charlie's letter was in that book Malfoy took, he's going to know we're getting rid of Norbert."

Y/N, Harry and Hermione didn't get a chance to answer. Madam Pomfrey came over at that moment and made them leave, saying Ron needed sleep.

"It's too late to change the plan now," Harry told Hermione and Y/N. "We haven't got time to send Charlie another owl, and this could be our only chance to get rid of Norbert. We'll have to risk it. And we have got the invisibility cloak, Malfoy doesn't know about that."

"It's very unlikely and if he even tries anything I don't like then he's gonna get my foot up his backside, seriously the guy just asking for a punch, I can feel it." Y/N told them through his gritted teeth.

"Well let's hope it doesn't come to that." Hermione warned.

The three of them found Fang, the boarhound, sitting outside with a bandaged tail when they went to tell Hagrid, who opened a window to talk to them.

"I won't let you in," he puffed. "Norbert's at a tricky stage -- nothin' I can't handle."

When they told him about Charlie's letter, his eyes filled with tears, although that might have been because Norbert had just bitten him on the leg.

"Aargh! It's all right, he only got my boot -- jus' playin' -- he's only a baby, after all."

The baby banged its tail on the wall, making the windows rattle. Y/N, Harry and Hermione walked back to the castle feeling Saturday couldn't come quick enough.

They would have felt sorry for Hagrid when the time came for him to say good-bye to Norbert if they hadn't been so worried about what the three of them had to do. It was a very dark, cloudy night, and were a bit late arriving at Hagrid's hut because they had to wait for Peeves to get out of their way in the entrance hall, where he'd been playing tennis against the wall. Hagrid had Norbert packed and ready in a large crate.

"He's got lots o' rats an' some brandy fer the journey," said Hagrid in a muffled voice. "An' I've packed his teddy bear in case he gets lonely."

From inside the crate came ripping noises that sounded to them as though the teddy was having his head torn off.

"Bye-bye, Norbert!" Hagrid sobbed, as Harry, Hermione and Y/N covered the crate with the invisibility cloak and stepped underneath it themselves. "Mommy will never forget you!"

How they managed to get the crate back up to the castle, would be anyone's guess. Midnight ticked nearer as they heaved Norbert up the marble staircase in the entrance hall and along the dark corridors. Up another staircase, then another -- even one of Harry's shortcuts didn't make the work much easier.

"Nearly there!" Harry panted as they reached the corridor beneath the tallest tower.

"We bloody well better be!" Y/N panted, almost out of breath.

Then a sudden movement ahead of them made the three of them almost drop the crate. Forgetting that they were already invisible, they shrank into the shadows, staring at the dark outlines of two people grappling with each other ten feet away. A lamp flared.

Professor McGonagall, in a tartan bathrobe and a hair net, had Malfoy by the ear.

"Detention!" she shouted. "And twenty points from Slytherin! Wandering around in the middle of the night, how dare you--"

"You don't understand, Professor. Harry Potter's coming -- he's got a dragon!"

"What utter rubbish! How dare you tell such lies! Come on -- I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy!"

Y/N could barely control his laughter, at one point Hermione had to cover his mouth shut with her hand, shushing him completely.

The steep spiral staircase up to the top of the tower seemed the easiest thing in the world after that. Not until they stepped out into the cold night air did they throw off the cloak, glad to be able to breathe properly again. Hermione did a sort of jig.

"Malfoy's got detention! I could sing!"

"Oh really? is that all it takes, well I gotta get Malfoy in detention more often." Y/N laughed, the fact that Malfoy had got detention felt like music to his ears, it was priceless.

"Don't," Harry said.

"Aww" Y/N whined. "One of these days you will." He told her Hermione as she wore a anxious smile and decided to stick her tongue out at him, causing Y/N to chuckle once more.

Laughing about Malfoy, they waited, Norbert thrashing about in his crate. About ten minutes later, four broomsticks came swooping down out of the darkness.

"About time boys." As Charlie's friends landed "And girl." Y/N corrected himself as he saw a female in the group.

Charlie's friends were a cheery lot. They showed them the harness they'd rigged up, so they could suspend Norbert between them. They all helped buckle Norbert safely into it and then Y/N, Harry and Hermione shook hands with the others and thanked them very much.

At last, Norbert was going... going... gone.

The three of them slipped back down the spiral staircase, their hearts as light as their hands, now that Norbert was off them. They kept on walking, not even remembering to pick up the invisibility cloak on their way down. No more dragon -- Malfoy in detention -- what could spoil their happiness? Well it would soon become clear...

The answer to that was waiting at the foot of the stairs. As they stepped into the corridor, Filch's face loomed suddenly out of the darkness.

"Well, well, well," he whispered, "we are in trouble."

"Oh fuck." Y/N muttered.

It turned out...

They had indeed left the invisibility cloak on top of the tower.

—

Just when they figured things couldn't get any worse, they undoubtedly did.

They had been taken down to Professor McGonagall's study on the first floor by Filch, where they sat and waited without saying a word to each other.

To say they were cornered would be an understatement. 'How could we be so stupid as to forget the cloak?' Y/N thought as he rubbed his together repeatedly, it was common for him to do such when he was nervous.

There was no reason on earth that Professor McGonagall would accept for them 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. Add Norbert and the invisibility cloak, and they might as well be packing their bags already.

Remember when they said things couldn't get any worse? They were wrong, very wrong indeed. When Professor McGonagall appeared, she was leading Neville.

"Harry!" Neville burst out, the moment he saw the three of them. "I was trying to find you and warn you that I heard Malfoy saying he was going to catch you, he said you had a drag -"

Harry shook his head violently to shut Neville up, but Professor McGonagall had seen. She looked more likely to breathe fire than Norbert as she towered over the three of them.

"I would never have believed it of any of you. Mr. Filch says you were up in the astronomy tower. It's one o' clock in the morning. Explain yourselves."

It was the first time Hermione had ever failed to answer a teacher's question. She was staring at her slippers, as still as a statue.

"I think I've got a good idea of what's been going on," said Professor McGonagall. "It doesn't take a genius to work it out. You fed Draco Malfoy some cock-and-bull story about a dragon, trying to get him out of bed and into trouble. I've already caught him. I suppose you think it's funny that Longbottom here heard the story and believed it, too?"

Y/N caught Neville's eyes and tried to tell him without words that this wasn't true, because Neville was looking stunned and hurt. Poor, blundering Neville – He knew what it must have cost him to try and find them in the dark, to warn them.

"I'm disgusted," said Professor McGonagall. "Five students out of bed in one night! I've never heard of such a thing before! You, Miss Granger, Mr L/N, I thought you two had more sense. As for you, Mr. Potter, I thought Gryffindor meant more to you than this. All four of you will receive detentions – yes, you too, Mr. Longbottom, nothing gives you the right to walk around school at night, especially these days, it's very dangerous – and fifty points will be taken from Gryffindor."

"Fifty?" Y/N gasped, they would lose the lead, the lead he won in the last Quidditch match.

"Fifty points each," said Professor McGonagall, breathing heavily through her long, pointed nose.

"Professor – please –"

"But Professor–"

"You can't –"

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do, L/N. Now get back to bed, all of you. I've never been more ashamed of Gryffindor students."

Two hundred points lost. That put Gryffindor in last place. In one night, they'd ruined any chance Gryffindor had had for the house cup. Y/N felt like his entire world had fallen into darkness, his Quidditch match's victory going completely down the drain. Whatever sense of joy and confidence he had earned from it, disappeared straight away.

Y/N didn't sleep much all night. He could hear Neville sobbing into his pillow for what seemed like hours and he couldn't think of anything to say to comfort him.

He knew Neville, like himself, was dreading the dawn. What would happen when the rest of Gryffindor found out what they'd done? Y/N for one, wasn't looking forward to it, that's for sure.

Two hundred points fewer than yesterday? And then the story started to spread: Harry Potter, and Y/N L/N their heroes of Quidditch matches, had lost them all those points, them and a couple of other stupid first years.

From being one of the most popular and admired people at the school, Y/N was now the lowest, he went from the Chaser who helped beat Hufflepuff to the boy who lost them the year cup.

Also for whatever fame that music performance earned, seems to have gone in the bin. Which in all honesty, didn't bother him much, he wasn't much for attention. It was not a happy sight, seeing people whisper and mock you all around. It was outright dreadful.

Only Ron stood by them.

"They'll all forget this in a few weeks. Fred and George have lost loads of points in all the time they've been here, and people still like them."

"They've never lost a hundred and fifty points in one go, though, have they?" said Harry, miserably.

"I doubt it." Y/N muttered as they walked along.

"Well – no," Ron admitted..

Harry felt so ashamed of himself that he went to Wood and offered to resign from the Quidditch team. Y/N would be lying if he said he didn't go along for it too, he never felt so ashamed in his life, if he had just remembered the invisibility cloak then none of this would of happened.

"Resign?" Wood thundered. "What good will 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 wouldn't speak to Y/N or Harry during practices, and if they had to speak about the two, they called them "the Seeker or the Chaser."

Hermione and Neville were suffering, too. They didn't have as bad a time as Harry or
Y/N, because they weren't as well-known, but nobody would speak to them, either. Hermione had stopped drawing attention to herself in class, even going as far to avoid
Y/N's and her study sessions at the library, which he finally managed to convince her to go, they got nothing but disapproving and disgusted looks wherever they went. She was keeping her head down and working in silence, which honestly broke his heart.

Y/N had even taken up the idea of doing more studying for the exams, even though he had read pretty much ever book. He was just rereading over and over again, just to keep his mind off everything that happened...

Y/N, Ron and Hermione were in the library studying Astronomy when Harry came bursting on. He sat down and told them that he saw Snape threatening Quirrell once again, it seems that Quirrell coughed up to Snape on how to get past it all and to get the Philosopher's Stone.

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

"There's still Fluffy, though," Y/N said.

"Maybe Snape's found out how to get past him without asking Hagrid," said Hermione, looking up at the thousands of books surrounding them. "I bet there's a book somewhere in here telling you how to get past a giant three-headed dog. So what so we do, Harry?"

"Nope I've checked, there's no such book, trust me." Y/N chimed in as he laid one of his astronomy books back down on the table.

The light of adventure was kindling again in Ron's eyes, but Hermione answered before Harry could.

"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!" said 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 looked convinced, but Ron didn't.

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

"Oh that's a brilliant idea, poke around and get into more trouble, I'm not willing to risk losing anymore after what happened last time, I don't know about you but I'd prefer to not get expelled!" Y/N bursted out, feeling annoyed that he even suggested the idea.

"Well I'm just trying to help" Ron told him as he shrugged.

"No," said Harry flatly, "Like Y/N said, we've done enough poking around."

He pulled a map of Jupiter toward him and started to learn the names of its moons.

The following morning, notes were delivered to Y/N, Harry, Hermione, and Neville at the breakfast table. They were all the same:

Your detention will take place at eleven o' clock tonight.

Meet Mr. Filch in the entrance hall.

              -Professor M. McGonagall

Well this should be good...

—

At eleven o' clock that night, they said
good-bye to Ron in the common room and went down to the entrance hall with Neville. Filch was already there – and so was Malfoy.

"Follow me," said 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 said, 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 marched across the dark grounds. Neville kept sniffing. Y/N couldn't help but wonder what their punishment was going to be. It must be something really horrible, or Filch wouldn't be sounding so delighted. Surely it wasn't anything too extreme... actually thinking back on it, extreme a too nicer word to associate it with Filch, the guy had a look of a convicted serial killer, well that's what Y/N thought anyway.

Y/N was thinking about how pissed off his dad would be when he finds out about this, there's no denying that he'll beyond angered, he wouldn't be happy that's for sure but from what he heard about him from Professor McGonagall proved otherwise.

Apparently his Dad was one very mischievous student back in the day, picturing him doing anything remotely misbehaving baffled Y/N, he was always a respectful and polite indivual when around him, maybe a little bad tempered and as people said, paranoid... but huh, guess people can change.

The moon was bright, but clouds scudding across it kept throwing them into darkness. Ahead, they could see the lighted windows of Hagrid's hut. Then they heard a distant shout.

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

Y/N's heart rose and sure enough, the other's did too; if they were going to be working with Hagrid it wouldn't be so bad. Y/N's relief must have showed on his face, because Filch said, "I suppose you think you'll be enjoying yourself with that oaf? Well, think again, boy – it's into the forest you're going and I'm much mistaken if you'll all come out in one piece."

"Well it certainly beats hanging out with you." Y/N retorted, feeling agitated.

Filch growled at him "You're lucky your NOT with me boy, cause i'd work you hard to be bone, there'd be no writing lines or any of that scrabble, none of that laid back punishment"

"You annoying me is enough punishment as it is." He quipped, as the others watched closely.

"Why you little-" He was cut off by malfoy's shrieking voice.

"The forest?" he repeated, and he didn't sound quite as cool as usual. "We can't go in there at night – there's all sorts of things in there – werewolves, I heard."

"Well if worse comes to worse we can always feed them you, you're ugly and juicy enough for them I'm sure" Y/N told him as Hermione pulled on his sleeve, mentally begging him to stop.

Neville clutched a part of Harry's robe and made a choking noise.

"That's your problem, isn't it?" said Filch, ignoring what Y/N said, his voice cracking with glee. "Should've thought of them werewolves before you got in trouble, shouldn't you?"

Hagrid came striding toward them out of the dark, Fang at his heel. He was carrying a large crossbow, and a quiver of arrows hung over his shoulder.

"Abou' time," he said. "I bin waitin' fer half an hour already. All right, Harry, Y/N, Hermione?"

"I shouldn't be too friendly to them, Hagrid," said Filch coldly, "they're here to be punished, after all." He pointed to Y/N "And that one, he's misbehaving already" He said as he looked at me with an angry expression.

"Eh Y/N?" Hagrid asked. "Er he's just got his da's temper" He shrugged it off. "So that's why yer late, is it?" Hagrid continued, 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," said Filch, "for what's left of them," he added nastily, and he turned and started back toward the castle, his lamp bobbing away in the darkness.

Malfoy now turned to Hagrid.

"I'm not going in that forest," he said, and Y/N was pleased to hear the note of panic in his voice.

"Yeh are if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts," said 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 growled. "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 didn't move. He looked at Hagrid furiously, but then dropped his gaze.

"Right then," said 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 led them all to the very edge of the forest. Holding his lamp up high, he pointed down a narrow, winding earth track that disappeared into the thick black trees. A light breeze lifted Y/N's hair as he looked into the forest.

"Look there," said Hagrid, "see that stuff shinin' on the ground?"

The ground was covered in a silver substance almost like blood.

"Unicorn blood." Y/N interrupted him.

"Right, well done Y/N." Hagrid nodded. "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?" said Malfoy, unable to keep the fear out of his voice.

"Pray to god that it gets you first." Y/N joked, causing him to get shakily elbowed in the side of the ribs by Hermione.

"There's nothin' that lives in the forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang," said 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 all over the place, it must've bin staggerin' around since last night at least."

"I want Fang," said Malfoy quickly, looking at Fang's long teeth.

Y/N and even Hermione rolled their eyes at him, honestly could he get anymore pathetic?

"All right, but I warn yeh, he's a coward," said Hagrid. "So me, Neville, an' Hermione'll go one way an' Draco, Harry, Y/N, an' Fang'll go the other. 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 was black and silent. A little way into it they reached a fork in the earth path, and Y/N, Harry, Malfoy and Fang took the right path while Hagrid, Neville and Hermione took the left.

They walked in silence, their eyes on the ground. Every now and then a ray of moonlight through the branches above lit a spot of silver-blue blood on the fallen leaves.

"Wait till my father hears about this!" Malfoy snarled.

"God will you shut up, If we weren't in the middle of a haunted forest, I'd knock you out and drag you back myself." Y/N hissed at the platinum-blonde haired boy.

His sudden hiss startled Malfoy "O- oh yeah you wouldn't dare." Malfoy taunted.

"Oh really? You so sure about that?" Y/N was about to walk up to him but a sudden burst of pain arupted through the back of his neck and started spreading up to towards the back of his head.

"ARRGHH" He screamed out in pain, it was unbearable, it felt like his entire insides were on fire. He clutched the back of his head. Harry also seemed to be in a somewhat similar pain. It was at that moment, they noticed something ahead, as Y/N slowly widened his eyes.

They saw a cloaked figure kneeling, it's head over a unicorn's lifeless body, sucking whatever blood it had in it. Y/N heard Malfoy let a blood curdling scream as he ran off, with Fang in tow.

As the pain got more unbearable, Y/N started seeing flashes and glimpses of lights. Suddenly it all stopped and Y/N saw something fresh in his mind, a memory.

A memory that was long lost and forgotten had finally surfaced. The nightmare, the doubts he had Christmas morning, the day he slept through, it was that.

He remembered, he saw a cloaked figure and a woman arguing, fighting. It dawned on him, he knew this woman, she had light brown hair and dark brown eyes, her skin was a white pale colour.

The next thing Y/N remembered was a beam of green light shooting out and hitting her, the faint words of avada kedavra, lingering in his mind as the woman collapsed to her death. He knew this woman...

It was his mum.

Y/N's eyes widened further at the revelation and that's when he noticed the cloaked figure getting closer. He stepped in front of Harry with his wand out, raised high. He was prepared to save and if god forbid... die for Harry Potter.

Y/N stood there waiting for his impending doom and prepared a spell, but it never came, instead what he saw were hoofs and the sounds of gallops filling in the air, charging at the figure.

Y/N and Harry both looked at the creature and it turned out to be a Centaur.

"Are you alright" he asked them.

"Y- yes we're fine, thank you... what was that back there" Y/N asked.

But the centaur didn't reply. He was looking directly at Harry's scar then he turned to Y/N, eyeing him, most likely trying to figure him out.

"You are the Potter boy" He stated to Harry and then to me "And you, you're L/N" he stated.

"It is not a surprise to see the both of you together and of course so close to a creature such as that." he said.

"What do you mean?" Y/N asked, the pain in the back of his head and neck completely vanishing.

"That I cannot explain, for you are just children but what I can say is this... the unicorn, do you know what it can be used for?" The centaur asked.

"No." Harry said, startled by such a question.

"We've only used it in potion brewing." Y/N told him.

"It is a terrible crime to slay a unicorn. Drinking 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 so pure that the moment the blood touches your lips, you will have a half-life. A cursed life."

"But who would choose such a life?" Y/N asked but had a feeling he knew what or rather whom would.

"Can you think of no one?"

"Do you mean to say...that that thing that killed the unicorn...that was drinking its blood...that was Voldemort?"

"Do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment?" the centaur asked.

"The Philosopher's Stone." The two boys both exclaimed.

Suddenly, they heard a dog bark and they both looked up to see Hagrid, Hermione, Neville and Draco appear.

"Y/N!" Hermione cried, lunging herself into him with a tight hug.

"Are you alright Y/N? did you get hurt, oh i was so worried, when malfoy came back without you- and harry" she quickly chimed in.

"I'm okay Hermosa, really i'm fine 'Mione"
Y/N reassured her as he hugged her back.

"Hello there, Firenze. I see you've met our young Mr.Potter and Mr.L/N, You all right there, Harry, Y/N?" Hagrid asked to which
Y/N and Harry gave a subtle nod.

"Harry Potter, Y/N L/N, this is where I leave you. You're safe now. Good luck... and don't forget young L/N, you are destined for greatness... even if you don't know it yet" He said rather cryptically,

But what did he mean by, he's destined for greatness? Surely not? What would he e destined for that required such secrecy. And was that he said, "It is not a surprise to see the both of you together and of course so close to a creature such as that"

There were many questions lingering in Y/N's mind, That nightmare that he had... it wasn't a dream but really a memory, his mum was killed by Voldermort but why? and why didn't his dad tell him.

Y/N hadn't even had time to mourn over it, since there's too much stuff happening of right now.

He was angry, beyond pissed than he have ever been before, his father has a lot of explaining to do when he gets home...