Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

A/N: Okay, I think I'll be able to change a few things in this one. Hopefully this will be much more original from here on out. Wish me luck. Also, to those who are asking, yes I intend to do this one year at a time. Draco will start to get over himself in second year, thanks in great part to the bloody big snake, which I have some interesting plans for, btw. He will become friends with Harry in third year and figure out his feelings in fourth year, when he gets more than a little jealous of Cho, who will still be Harry's date for the Yule Ball. Then things will start to heat up around fifth year, and hopefully explode nicely in sixth, giving Harry a solid base to fight from in seventh year. Fifth year will be interesting in many ways, as I haven't yet decided on whether or not to keep Sirius, although I know several people (my beta among them) who would murder me along side him if I kill him off. I'm kind of making a list of problems that Harry will have to deal with and how those things will have to be changed after first year, which is by far the closest to canon I will ever get.

Anyway, on with the show!

"Explain yourselves!"

Harry, Hermione and impossibly Neville all stood in front of Professor McGonagall. Harry shook his head and thought, Blaise is going to kill me. Then he took off his shades. He didn't stare at the Professor, which he only did to intimidate or to strengthen his position, but kept his eyes down and prepared to lie his arse off. Eyes down and glasses off gave him a more honest appearance, which he had worked tirelessly one year with one of the older orphans at Mung Street to perfect. It was time to dance, as Athan had always said. "This is entirely my fault, Professor. None of Gryffindor is to blame here." He sighed sadly. "Have you ever looked at the stars, Professor? I've heard people all my life talk about how beautiful the sky could be. So I talked Hermione into coming up to the tower with me tonight. Malfoy heard us talking about the constellation Draco, how it looked like a dragon, and I guess he fed that story to Neville. He was only doing the Gryffindor thing and trying to warn us." He snorted bitterly. "And isn't it just my luck, the sky was clouded over tonight." He guessed that by the amount of moisture in the air and prayed that either he was right or the professor didn't check on it. Now he looked up, still not staring, but briefly moving his dead eyes across Professor McGonagall's face. "Please, don't punish them for my foul ups."

A groan and a wooden creak signaled the professor leaning back in her chair. "Four students out of bed in one night! This is utterly ridiculous!" She sighed. "And yet I can understand. Thank you, Mr. Potter, for your honesty, but this can't be overlooked, no matter how much I might understand it. All three of you will loose twenty points, and you, Mr. Potter, will be serving detention. Nothing gives a student the right to walk around the school at night. Does this seem fair?"

Harry nodded and put his glasses back on his nose. Well, at least he'd gotten the other two out of detention. That was something. "Yes, Professor." The other two students echoed him.

"And Mr. Potter? If you wish, I will talk to Professor Snape about getting you a seat in Astronomy, audit only. That way, someone could legitimately show you the stars on a night when it is allowed and not so cloudy."

He smiled widely at her. "That would be wonderful!"

"Are you turning into a bloody Gryffindor, Potter!? What the hell possessed you to take the blame for this?"

Harry was right. Blaise was furious when he told him the next morning all that had happened during the night. "I was trying to minimize the damage, Blaise. McGonagall respects self-sacrifice, and she'd never expect if from a Slytherin. She's a Gryffindor, and I know how to play the angles. Besides, what do you think would have happened if I had just stood there and panicked, not saying a bloody thing? She was well and truly pissed, Blaise. She probably would have given all of us detention and taken fifty points rather than just twenty. And don't think I'm not going to slam Draco into a wall for his mouth, see if I don't!"

"Harry --"

"Blaise, I did my best to get out of it. I could tell that after the load I sold her she didn't want to do anything at all, but you know she's one of the fairest teachers here. She had to do something, and this is as little as she could get away with. And if I can help it, I don't want to ever lie to her again. She's too nice for her own good and I've taken advantage of her. I'll do it again if I have to, but I don't like it."

Blaise was silent for a moment, thinking. Then he snorted. "You must be the most perfect balance between Gryffindor and Slytherin there ever was." He sighed. "All right, Harry. You seem to attract trouble, so I'm only going to say try and be careful."

Harry smiled. "Of course."

There was a lot of anger floating around the next few days, as Gryffindor and Slytherin's losses had put Ravenclaw at the front of the race for the House Cup. Blaise told Harry not to worry about it, as the next Quidditch match was Ravenclaw against Slytherin, and Higgs was a much better Seeker than Cho Chang, who was on the team for the first time this year.

Exams were coming, and everyone was soon too embroiled in their studies to worry about laying blame, too worried about remembering whether or not to combine dragon scales and mudwort and memorizing the dates of magical discoveries and goblin rebellions...

Then, about a week before the exams were due to start, Harry was walking back from the library one afternoon, having been doing a little research for Herbology on the properties of the gillyweed, when he heard somebody whimpering from a classroom up ahead. As he drew closer, he herd Quirrell's voice. "No -- no -- not again, please --" It sounded as though someone was threatening him. Harry moved closer, trying to remain casual in case he were caught. "All right -- all right --" he heard Quirrell sob.

The next second, Quirrell came swishing out of the classroom, the scent of garlic swirling around him like a miasma. As he continued on, Harry didn't think Quirrell had even noticed him. He waited until Quirrel's footsteps had disappeared, then stepped into the room and activated his bat pendant. There was no one in the room, but there was an open door on the other side of it. Deciding it wouldn't be prudent to check it out right now, Harry left the room, sure of just one thing. Something was going to break soon.

Harry told Richard about it. "And I'm certain that there was something in that room with him, but I couldn't smell a thing with all that bloody garlic." Richard had no advice, other than to warn his young human friend to be cautious. "Always, Richard. Always."

The following morning Harry and Malfoy both received notes at the breakfast table.

Your detention will take place at eleven o'clock tonight. Meet Mr. Filch in the entrance hall.

Professor M. McGonagall

He didn't complain about it, knowing he'd done the right thing and willing to face the consequences of his actions, but Malfoy certainly did. "Honestly, punishing me for trying to alert them to Potter's rule-breaking. What's next!?" Harry just grinned, showing that he'd heard every word.

At eleven o'clock that night, he grabbed his cane and then said good-bye to Blaise and went down to the entrance hall. Filch was already there with Malfoy. The caretaker said, "Follow me," 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, his voice snide. "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 off through the silent night. Harry wondered what their punishment was going to be. It must be something really horrible, or Filch wouldn't be sounding so delighted. In the distance, Harry heard Hagrid shout, "Is that you, filch? Hurry up, I want ter get started."

If they were serving their detentions with Hagrid, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. His relief must have shown in his face, because Filch said, "I suppose 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 both come out in one piece."

At this, Malfoy stopped dead in his tracks. "The forest?" he repeated, and he didn't sound as cool as usual. "We can't go in there at night -- there's all sorts of things in there -- werewolves, I heard."

Harry didn't think that would be a problem, as it wasn't a full moon tonight. He knew that from his audit in the Astronomy class. But Filch didn't correct the other Slytherin. That's your problem, isn't it?" said Filch, his voice cracking with glee. "Should've thought of them werewolves before you got in trouble, shouldn't you?" Harry decided he wouldn't disabuse Malfoy of the notion. He'd caused him too much trouble.

Hagrid came striding toward them from the direction of his hut, Fang slumphing along beside him. Something that Hagrid was carrying rattled, but Harry couldn't be sure what it was. "Abou' time," he said. "I bin waitin' fer half an hour already. All right, Harry?"

"I shouldn't be too friendly to them, Hagrid," said Filch coldly, "they're here to be punished, after all."

"That's why yer late, is it?" said Hagrid, frowning at Filch. "Bin lecturin' them, he? '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." And he turned and started back toward the castle, his boots scraping the grass as he went.

Malfoy now turned to Hagrid. "I'm not going into that forest," he said, and Harry 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 student's 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 back off ter the castle an' pack. Go on!" The silence was tense, but Malfoy didn't move. Finally Hagrid continued. "Right then, now listen carefully, 'cause it's dangerous what we're gonna do tonight, an' I don' want either o' yeh takin' risks. Follow me over here a moment."

He led them to the very edge of the forest. They followed a narrow, winding earth track for a few feet. A light breeze lifted their hair as they stood there.

"Now, look here," said Hagrid, "see that stuff shinin' on the ground, Malfoy? Silvery stuff? That's unicorn blood. Here, Harry, there's a stick with some on it. Yeh'll need the scent, I think." Harry easily categorized the scent. It was different than any other blood smell he'd ever encountered. It smelled like talcum powder and sea salt. He touched the substance, finding it a bit thicker than human blood. "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."

Harry frowned at that thought. He wasn't sure he'd be able to do something like that.

"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'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang," said Hagrid. "An' keep ter the path. Right now, we're gonna split up an' follow the trail in different 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.

"All right, but I warn yeh, he's a coward," said Hagrid. "So, I'll go this way an' you two go that way. If anyone finds the unicorn, send up a load of green sparks. If yer in trouble, send up red ones."

Harry sighed. "Hagrid? I wouldn't know the difference if it were dancing in front of me."

"Then just make sure to send up some kind of sparks an' and I'll head yer way." Harry nodded. "Right then, let's go."

Harry and Malfoy carefully navigated the trail, Harry following the poor creature's scent just as easily as Fang. Malfoy nervously asked, "Do you think it's a werewolf that's doing this?"

Harry shook his head, answering absently as he continued to track the injured unicorn. "No. They aren't fast enough to catch one, and the moon isn't in phase. Don't forget, a werewolf is human for twenty-seven days out of the month. It's only when the moon is full you have to fear one. And a unicorn is a powerful magic creature. Not only are they wicked fast, but they've got plenty of their own defenses."

Malfoy groaned. "And we're out here looking for the thing that could hurt one? I swear, everyone in that school is mad!" Harry just grinned.

They walked for over an hour, and the scent was getting stronger with every meter they went. The brush was also getting thicker, and the trail more erratic. Harry had his ears stretched to their limits, hoping beyond hope to find some sound of a live unicorn. The blood spatter was indicating that it was thrashing around in pain, or trying to throw something off it's back. Unfortunately, it was probably both. The scent was so strong now that even Malfoy could smell it.

Malfoy said, "There it is. It's not moving."

Damn. He had hoped to save the creature. Now all they could do was find whatever killed it and stop it.

Malfoy would have gone forward to investigate, but Harry threw up his cane to block his housemate's progress. "Wait. Something's still over there." Harry could hear it, a slithering sound. Then the smell of unicorn blood suddenly got stronger. Malfoy screamed like a girl and bolted, followed immediately by Fang. Harry brought his cane into a defensive position and started to bring his magic to the fore, ready to defend himself.

Then a pain like he'd never felt before pierced his head; it was as thought his scar were on fire. He staggered backward from it. He heard hooves behind him and something jumped clean over Harry, charging at the creature that had killed the unicorn.

The pain in Harry's head was so bad he fell to one knee, supporting himself with the cane. It took a minute or two to pass. Shaking his head to loose the residual ache, Harry stood and was surprised when a hand landed on his shoulder. He jumped to the side, bringing his cane up again, fearing that this was the same creature that had just killed the unicorn. A voice came out of the night. "Peace. I do not seek to harm you, and the one who does has gone."

Logic asserted itself in his mind. If this creature had wanted him dead, he would be. The one who did had been frightened off by him. "Who are you? Or better, what are you?"

"I am Firenze, a centaur. Are you all right?"

Harry assessed himself. There was a mild residual pain between his eyes, but nothing like it had been. "Yes, I'm fine now. What did you just save me from?"

"You're that Potter boy, aren't you? You need to get back to Hagrid. The forest is not safe at this time -- especially for you. Can you ride? It'll be faster."

"Never tried to ride anything but a broomstick, but there's a first time for everything." He reached out a hand toward the voice of the centaur, who took his hand and lead him around to his side. Then the equine creature knelt down on his forequarters so that Harry could mount him.

Harry had just seated himself securely and collapsed his cane when more galloping sounded in the near distance. Two sets of hooves, if he counted correctly. A new voice came out of the dark. "Firenze! Why do you have a human on your back!? Are you a common mule?"

Harry'd read that centaurs hated humans, and with reason. Their kind had once been enslaved by man along with their non-sentient cousins as beasts of burden, and they'd been treated none too gently, either. "Please, sir, he's only getting me out of your way. I'm blind, you see, and I'm afraid I've got rather turned around." He prayed that Firenze would go along with his play on the sympathy card. Centaurs weren't known for lying, but he sensed that this one would be in deep trouble with the herd for this.

There was a smile in Firenze's reply. "No need to lie for me, young human. I can get out of my own trouble." Then to the other centaurs he said, "Do you not realize, Bane, that this is the Potter boy? The quicker he leaves this forest the better."

"What have you been telling him?" growled Bane. "Remember, Firenze, we are sworn not to set ourselves against the heavens. Have you not read what is to come in the movements of the planets?"

For the first time, a third voice spoke. "I'm sure Firenze thought he was acting for the best," came the gloomy voice.

"For the best? What has that to do with us? Centaurs are concerned with what has been foretold! It is not our business to run around like donkeys after stray humans in our forest!"

Firenze suddenly reared his hindquarters in anger, leaving Harry to hold on for dear life. "Do you not see that unicorn? Do you not understand why it was killed? Or have the planets not let you in on that secret? I set myself against what is lurking in this forest, Bane, yes, with humans alongside me if I must." Then Firenze whirled around; with Harry hanging on as best he could, they plunged off into the trees, leaving Bane and his companion behind them.

Harry thought he understood some of what was going on, but he wanted confirmation. "Why's Bane so angry?" he asked. "What was that thing you saved me from, anyway?"

Firenze slowed to a walk, warned Harry to keep his head bowed incase of low-hanging branches, but did not answer Harry's question. Harry thought he might have been a bit too nosy, so he didn't ask again. The trees seemed closer, however, when Firenze suddenly stopped. "Harry Potter, do you know what unicorn blood is used for?"

"No," said Harry, startled by the odd question. "We've only used the horn and tail hair in Potions."

"That is because it is a monstrous thing to slay a unicorn. "Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. 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 pure and defenseless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips."

Harry was silent. Who'd be that desperate? Wouldn't death be better? Then, like a jolt of electricity it came to him. The Philosopher's Stone! If someone only needed to hold on for a while until he could get hold of the Elixir of Life, then the curse of the unicorn would only be temporary. And he could think of only one who would need eternal life so desperately. "Voldemort." He remembered the twins talking to him on the train and saying that Voldemort was dead. Fred had said, "No one really knows. I doubt it, though." And George had responded. "Yeah. Too bloody minded to die properly."

Suddenly Hagrid's voice called out in front of them. "Harry! Harry, are you all right?"

"I'm fine. The unicorn's dead, Hagrid, it's in that clearing back there."

"This is where I leave you," Firenze murmured as Hagrid hurried off to examine the unicorn. "You are safe now."

Harry slid off his back, taking out his cane and extending it once he was on solid ground. "Good luck, Harry Potter," said Firenze. "The planets have been read wrongly before now, even by centaurs. I hope this is one of those times."

He turned and cantered back into the depths of the forest, leaving Harry shivering behind him. Malfoy, who had run straight to Hagrid walked up beside him. "What was it?"

Harry just sighed. He didn't know if he could trust Malfoy with the information. "Something that should have died a long time ago."

Harry had found his invisibility cloak concealed beneath his sheets when he got back to the dorm, a note in Braille pinned to it that said, Just in case. He rather thought it might have been Dumbledore who kept slipping it to him, but he was grateful no matter what.

Harry got all his friends together in the library in front of the fire, casting a silencing charm he'd learned from Fred around their immediate space. He'd brought Richard with him, too, knowing that the little snake would pester him until he had all the information Harry had. He told them all that had occurred last night. Ron chuckled a bit when he got to the point when Malfoy ran off screaming, but Harry just said, "And what would you have done? I'd have run myself if my scar hadn't been burning so badly, and running is a difficult proposition when you're blind and can't see what you might trip over." So Ron shut up.

Once he'd finished, including his own conclusions they all sat in silence, thinking over what Harry'd discovered. Voldemort was trying to come back. He was the one after the Stone. Richard posed the next question. "But how is he getting into the school to do all that he has done?"

Harry went over his memories of the detention in his head. Then something came to him, something he just hadn't noticed at the time with all the action and the centaurs arguing. The scent. There had been the overwhelming scent of unicorn blood, of course, but underneath it had been something else. "Garlic. I could smell it under the blood. Voldemort smelled like garlic."

Hermione, Ron and Blaise all got it at the same moment. "Quirrell!"

Harry nodded. "That's got to be it. Somehow, Quirrell is carrying Voldemort with him. Firenze said that unicorn blood would cause you to live a cursed half life. Not quite dead, I'm guessing something between a ghost and a corpse. A shade. He'd need a body, and apparently, Quirrell's it."

Blaise was nervous as he spoke. "Harry, I think you should leave this alone."

Hermione spoke up. "You should tell Dumbledore, or at least Snape. He's your head of house. He'd believe you."

Harry smirked. "Yeah, right. What am I going to tell him? I think Quirrell is hosting Voldemort because he stinks? I don't have any proof, Hermione, and Snape already hates me for some reason. I'd rather not give him any more ammunition."

"What if he tries to come after you again?" That was Ron.

"I can't see why he hasn't already."

Hermione said, "Dumbledore. He was the one wizard that You-Know-Who was always afraid of. As long as Dumbledore's around, he can't touch you."

"I hope you're right." But in Harry's heart, he knew that Voldemort would try to kill him again. It was only a matter of time.

Hope you enjoyed. It wasn't quite as long as the last chapter, but that one was a combination of two chapters because I had to cut out the Quidditch game. Anyway, review please!