Knock, knock, knock

The large wooden door to Hagrid's hut opened a few seconds after, revealing the tall man looking at them with a suspicious look.

"Hagrid!" Harry exclaimed quickly.

"Why hello," he answers urgently, his dark eyes fluttering from the kids to something inside his hut. "Sorry, don't wish to be rude, but I'm in no state to entertain today."

He began closing the door after waving goodbye. The quartet shared a look and, before the man could shut them out, they shouted, "We know about the philosopher's stone!"

Hagrid suddenly burst the door open, staring at them like he was having an argument with himself in his mind, until he eventually gave up and let them in.

"Okay, fine, come in."

"We think Snape's trying to steal it," explained Harry, stepping into Hagrid's hut.

"Snape?" He exclaimed, motioning them to sit on the sofas. "Blimey, you're not still on about him, are ya?"

"Hagrid, it might sound stupid," began Ben, raising his eyebrows. "But it makes sense!"

"Exactly, we know that Fluffy's guarding the Philosopher's Stone in the third floor corridor," continued Harry.

"And, as we already told you, Harry, Ben and I saw Snape going towards there at Halloween." Ron went on.

"So, we think that he's the one who let the troll into the dungeons to distract everyone and give him a free pass to steal the stone," Hermione concluded.

"Oh, and we forgot to mention that, after the troll incident, Harry saw some blood on Snape's leg, like a big wound made by a dog," added Ben. "Besides, he was limping the next few days. Limping, Hagrid."

"We just don't know why he wants it," said Hermione.

"Snape is one of the teachers protectin' the stone," confessed Hagrid. "He's not about to steal it."

"What?"

"You heard." Hagrid announced, and put his palms together. "Right, c'mon now, I'm a bit preoccupied today." He glanced towards the fire pit.

"Why? Is everything alright, Hagrid?"

"Wait a minute! One of the teachers?" Harry asked, to confirm if he heard it right.

But, before Hagrid could answer, Hermione exclaimed, "Of course! There are other things protecting the stone, aren't there? Such as spells and enchantments."

"That's right. Waste o' bloody time, if ya ask me. Ain't no one gonna get past Fluffy. Ain't a soul knows how, except for me an' Dumbledore." He finished the sentence all of a sudden, his eyes widening. "I should not have said that..."

The pot hanging over Hagrid's fire pit started rattling, and the man ran over, eagerly taking an egg from it. "Oh, ouch..."

He placed it carefully on the table as the four students crowded around to take a look. "Uh, Hagrid?" Harry asked. "What exactly is that?"

"That is uh... It's an-" He began stuttering while trying to find the words.

"I know what that is!" said Ron frantically. "But, Hagrid, how did you get one?"

"Oh, I won it," answered Hagrid like it was the most normal thing ever. "Off a stranger I met at the pub. Seemed quite glad to get rid of it."

"That can't be a good sign..." Ben whispered to himself.

The egg suddenly started hatching on the table, pieces of the shell flying all over the air. Ben almost tripped on the sofa while backing away to avoid getting hit by a piece of shell.

A funny screech was heard and, among the remains of the shell, a small green dragon stumbled over its own legs.

"Aww, that's adorable!"

"Is that... a dragon?"

"Not just a dragon," remarked Ron. "That's a Norwegian Ridgeback! My brother Charlie works with them in Romania!"

"Isn't he beautiful?" Hagrid cries, looking like a proud mother. "Oh look! Bless him! He knows his mommy! Hello, Norbert."

He petted the dragon carefully with his pinky finger, as Norbert let out another shriek. "He's so cute! Can I touch him, Hagrid?"

"Of course!"

"Norbert?" asked Harry, with a confused look as he watched Ben tickle the dragon joyfully.

"Yeah!" Exclaimed Hagrid. "Well, he's gotta have a name, doesn't he?"

Harry and Ron shared a look and they chuckled at it. Norbert suddenly hiccuped, releasing a blast of fire from his mouth, setting Hagrid's beard ablaze. However, the man didn't seem concerned at all. He shook it off, tapping his beard to stop the fire.

"Who's that?" Hagrid asked, frowning at the window.

The quartet looked at the outside of it, to see Malfoy's pale face try to hide from their sight.

"Malfoy!" Harry bellowed in anger.

The four Gryffindors sprinted as fast as they could back into the castle, ignoring they were extremely out of breath. They knew it was impossible for them to get there before Malfoy, but maybe they could arrive on time to go to the common room before he told some teacher.

"Hagrid always wanted a dragon," Harry told them breathlessly as they arrived at the castle. "He told me the first time I met him."

"It's crazy," commented Ron. "And worse, Malfoy knows."

"I don't understand. Is that bad?"

"We're talking about Malfoy, Harry," Ben reminded him. "So it's not bad, it's much more than that!"

Just as Ben finished speaking, McGonagall appeared in front of them, looking at them with a serious and intimidating expression.

"Good evening."

Right besides her, Draco Malfoy stood staring at them with an evil smirk. McGonagall walked inside her office, followed by the five students.

"Nothing," stated McGonagall, giving them a stern look. "I repeat. Nothing gives the student the right to walk about the school at night. Therefore, as punishment for your actions, fifty points will be taken."

"Fifty?" repeated Harry, eyes wide open.

"Each."

Ben's jaw dropped instantly. Fifty points each meant two hundred points less, there was absolutely no chance for Gryffindor to win the house cup that year. Percy was going to murder them all, he could already see his face filled with anger. He heard Draco snigger and couldn't resist shooting him a glare, to which Malfoy answered with his classic mischievous smirk.

"To ensure that this doesn't happen again, all five of you will receive detention."

Before Ben had time to feel guilty, he realized that McGonagall had said 'all five' of you. Harry, Ron, Hermione and him were four, which meant...

"Excuse me, Professor," said Malfoy, walking over to McGonagall. "Perhaps I heard you wrong, I thought I heard you say 'the five of us'."

"No, you heard me correctly, Mr. Malfoy. You see, as honorable as your actions were, you too were out of bed after hours, you will join your fellow classmates in detention."

Tables turned, and now it was the Gryffindors' turn to smirk mischievously at Malfoy, while he glared at them.

———————————————

The next night, as the five students made their way towards Hagrid's hut to get detention, Filch accompanied them, grunting and complaining. "Pity they let the old punishments die. There was a time detention would find you hanging by your thumbs in the dungeons... God, I miss the screaming."

Harry and Ben shared a scared look.

"You'll be serving detention with Hagrid tonight. He's got a little job to do... Inside the dark forest."

"Do you hear that?" asked Harry in Ben's ear.

"Hear what?"

A weeping sound reached everyone's ears as they got close to Hagrid's hut. He was gathering supplies cheerlessly, wiping tears away.

"Good god, man. You're not still on about that bloody dragon, are you?" Filch sneered.

"What happened to Norbet, Hagrid?" asked Ben, worried about the dragon.

"He's gone," he sniffled. "Dumbledore's sent him off to Romania to live in a colony."

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" Hermione tried to make him feel better. "He'll be with his own kind."

"But what if he don't like Romania?" he cried. "What if the other dragons are mean to him? He's only a baby after all."

Ben took a step forward, approaching the giant, and tried to hug him, but his arms only reached halfway around his belly. Hagrid chuckled at it, and patted him gently on the head.

"Whoever's in charge of that colony of dragons will make sure Norbert's okay, I'm sure," the boy reassured, feeling a comforting warmth in his heart.

"Get a grip and pull yourself together, man!" Filch scoffed.

"Okay, c'mon now, to the forest!"

"The forest? I thought that was a joke!" Malfoy yelled, fear written all across his face.

"Perhaps you should've thought it better before snitching on us, then."

Draco dismissed Ron's comment. "We can't go in there, students aren't allowed! And there are..."

"Werewolves! There are werewolves!"

"There are a lot more than werewolves in those trees, lad. You can be sure of that," Hagrid said, not helping at all.

"And now, when we go in there, there's going to be a far more terrifying creature..." said Ben dramatically. "A Malfoy!"

Ben's friends laughed, as Malfoy glared at him. "You're not funny."

"Too bad."

Hagrid cleared his throat. "Right, let's go!"

The five of them followed Hagrid into the forest, which was much creepier than what it looked from outside. It was so dark they could barely see, so they just walked after Hagrid, who carried a lantern to light the way.

Draco did seem truly scared, and ended up walking inches away from Ben, fearing something would jump out and attack him. The brunette wasn't too happy about being so close to Malfoy, so he bumped into Harry on his other side, and they ended up looking like a sandwich.

Hagrid finally stopped and crouched down to observe a small puddle of some weird chrome colored liquid. He dipped his finger into it, showing its strange and thick texture.

"What's that, Hagrid?" asked Harry.

"What we're here for," he answered, turning to face them. "See that? That's unicorn blood that is. I found one dead a few weeks ago. Now, this one's been hurt badly by something, So it's our job to find the poor beast."

"If we find the unicorn, and it's alive, can it be saved?" wondered Ben.

"Depends on how badly it's been hurt," Hagrid stated. "Ron and Hermione, you'll come with me."

"Okay," Ron squealed and joined Hagrid's side.

"And you three here will be together," said Hagrid, turning to look at Harry, Ben and Malfoy.

"Wonderful," Ben muttered sarcastically under his breath. It was quite an awful idea to put Draco with the two people he hated the most, but he obviously didn't tell Hagrid about it, since wanted to go with Harry.

"Ok, but then we get Fang," spat Malfoy with an air of superiority.

"Fine," Hagrid shrugged, letting go of his dog, who ran straight to Harry. "Just so ya know, he's a bloody coward."

It took all of Ben's willpower not to make a joke to annoy Draco, since the blonde seemed too scared already. Harry led the other two boys further into the forest.

"Wait until my father hears about this! This is servants' work!"

"If I didn't know you better, Draco, I'd say you were scared." Harry teased.

"Scared, Potter?" He repeated disbelievingly, rolling his eyes. A loud howl was heard through the forest. "Did you hear that?"

Harry and Ben ignored him and kept walking, leaving Malfoy a few steps back, so he hurried ahead of them. The three boys continued following Fang, until he stopped and began browling.

"What is it, Fang?"

They looked up to where Fang was growling, to see the unicorn lying on the floor. Dead. There was a dark figure, drinking the poor creature's blood. It was hard to see it, as it was wearing a black hooded cloak that covered its face.

Harry raised his hand to grab his forehead in pain, causing the dark creature to look up and growl at the boys, its teeth covered in unicorn blood.

"Harry, what's wrong?"

But Ben's question was muffled by Draco's scream as he ran away, followed by Fang. The creature glided off the unicorn, and approached Harry and Ben, who took steps back, trying to get away from it.

Harry didn't notice the log behind them, and tripped over. Ben grabbed his hand to try to stop him from falling, but ended up on the floor too.

"We have to shoot up sparks!" Ben let go of Harry's hand to search his wand in his pocket, but it was nowhere to be found. "Oh no! I've lost my wand!"

Before Harry could say or do anything, a very loud noise of hooves trotting broke the air, and a centaur jumped over their heads, chasing the hooded creature away.

Ben and Harry got up from the ground, removing the dirt from their robes. Right under the log Harry had tripped on, somewhat covered in dirt, was lying Ben's wand. The boy took it, and checked it wasn't broken while trying to catch his breath.

"Are you okay?" he asked Harry.

"Yes, you?" He asked back. Ben nodded confidently, not feeling any pain apart from a light sting on the arm.

The centaur walked back to them, eyes fixed on Harry.

"Harry Potter," his eyes drifted to Ben. "And..."

"Ben Walker."

"Pleasure," he cordially nodded. "Harry Potter and Ben Walker, you must leave. Many creatures are aware of your presence. The forest is not safe at this time," he looked back at Harry. "Especially for you."

Ben nodded in agreement, and took a step towards the direction they had come from, but had to go back because Harry didn't seem to fancy the idea of leaving yet.

"Er- Harry?"

"What was that thing you saved us from?" he asked the centaur very casually, as if the three of them were chilling in a bar having a cool drink.

"A monstrous creature," he answered uncomfortably. "It is a terrible crime to slay a unicorn. Drinking their blood will keep you alive even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something so pure, from the moment the blood touches your lips, you will have a half life. A cursed life."

"Who would choose such a life?"

"Can you think of no one?" The centaur asked.

"Someone desperate to live," guessed Ben. "Someone who wants to go back to life, to gain their power back."

"Do you mean to say... That that thing that killed the unicorn, that was drinking its blood... That was Voldemort?" Harry asked, looking at Ben thoughtfully.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Walker. Do you know what is being hidden at the school at this very moment?" The centaur got closer to them.

"The Philosopher's Stone..."

A barking interrupted them, and they all turned around to see Fang, followed by Hagrid, Ron, Hermione and Malfoy.

"Harry! Ben!" Hermione called, relieved to see her friends were alive.

"Hullo there, Firenze," Hagrid smiled at the centaur. "I see you've met our young Mr. Potter and Mr. Walker. You two alright there?" They both nodded.

"This is where I leave you, you're safe now. Good luck," he bowed before trotting gracefully back into the forest.

"Let's get outta here," Hagrid roared to the lot.

"Yes, please."

———————————————

"You mean that You-Know-Who is out there? Right now, in the forest?" Hermione asked, sitting on a couch in the common room.

Harry nodded, walking from side to side in front of his friends. "But he's weak, he's living off the unicorns. Don't you see? We had it all wrong. Snape doesn't want the stone for himself. He wants it for Voldemort! With the elixir of life, Voldemort will be strong again. He'll come back."

"What if it's not Snape, though?" spoke Ben, looking up at Harry, who frowned. "I mean, I know everything points to Snape trying to steal the stone, but what if it's someone else?"

"Who?" Ron shifted on the couch.

"I honestly have no idea," he shrugged. "But, just think about it. If there's actually someone misleading us into believing Snape will steal the stone, it'll be easier for that person to do it."

Harry stared at Ben for a couple of seconds, thinking.

"It could be true, but the thing is, we don't know who else it could be," he remarked. "So, unless we find evidence or clues that incriminate someone else, we should just keep thinking it's Snape and find a way to stop him."

Ben had to agree with Harry on that one.

"Besides," added Hermione, biting her lip thoughtfully. "We don't even have a plan to stop Snape, so we should perhaps focus on that now."

"But, Harry, if You-Know-Who comes back, you don't think he'll try to... kill you, do you?" Ron muttered.

Harry remained silent.

"We won't let him," stated Ben, with an expression full of decision and seriousness.

"And how are four first year students going to stop the most dangerous Dark Wizard of all time, exactly?" Ron questioned him.

"Preventing him from taking the stone."

Harry, Ron and Hermione started at Ben quietly, for a long enough amount of time to make him uncomfortable. He began to doubt what he had been sure of just a minute ago.

"Hang on a minute, we are forgetting one thing," Hermione noted, giving her friends a mysterious look. "Who's the one wizard Voldemort always feared?" The boys shared confused looks. "Dumbledore! As long as Dumbledore's around, Harry, you're safe. As long as Dumbledore's around, you can't be touched."

There was another silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable this time. Harry smiled at Hermione, grateful for her reassurance. It was going to be okay, Dumbledore would protect Harry, and Voldemort wouldn't be able to hurt him.

But that moment of momentary calm was abruptly interrupted by the flapping of wings of an owl that flew in through a window. It perched elegantly on the sofa, right in front of Ben, who made a great effort to pretend that he hadn't noticed its arrival.

"It's been a good night, right?" he commented, trying to draw his friends' attention away from the owl. "Apart from... you know, the whole Forbidden Forest thing."

However, three pairs of eyes, each a different color, were fixed on the owl. More exactly, on the letter that the animal carried in its beak.

"Ben, are you going to continue ignoring it?" asked Harry, pursing his lips.

"It doesn't sound too bad, does it?"

The owl dropped the letter in his lap, and flew away happily to the bedrooms. Ben didn't have a chance but to look at the name written on the envelope.

Katherine Walker.

Ben jumped up like the sofa was burning him, and walked to the fireplace, the letter on his left hand.

"What are you doing?"

He didn't answer, and stretched out his arm above the fire, so that if he let go, the letter would burn. He hesitated, fearing what would happen if he didn't read it. Perhaps his parents were telling him something important, and he wouldn't find out if he burned the letter.

He crumpled the letter in his fist and threw it against the sofa angrily, then sat back. "I don't want to read it."

"Then don't." Ron said simply. As weird as it sounded, that helped.

"Can someone read it for me?" Ben suggested hopefully. "But removing the parts that make me want to jump off the Astronomy Tower."

"Are you sure?" the redhead asked, raising his eyebrows.

Ben nodded, and he opened it. It took him almost a minute to read it and expressions of confusion, sadness and some anger passed over his face.

"Er- Well, in short, it says that she thought you had already learned what was best for you, taking into account what happened during Christmas-"

"What happened during Christmas?" Harry interrupted.

"Nothing, don't worry," Ben brushed it off. "Continue, please."

"Draco has told his parents about the detention- He's such a snitch!- and the Malfoys have told your parents," Ron went on, his eyes fluttering from Ben's to the letter in his hands. "And they said that you'll face consequences if you get in trouble ever again."

When he finished informing him, he put the letter back in the envelope and passed it to Ben, who took it with a trembling hand.

"So... What are you going to do?" Harry questioned after a long silence, looking as worried as Ben felt.

"Get in trouble, of course." Ben gave him a side smirk, burying all the fear and worry he felt.