𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐥𝐞 | h. granger

xvii | detention

McGonagall's Classroom

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"𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆, 𝐈 𝐑𝐄𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐓, nothing gives a student the right to walk about the school at night."

Dakota chuckled uncomfortably. "H-Hey, that rhymed. You'd make a good rapper."

Hermione elbowed her and shot her a look that told her to be quiet. McGonagall stared at her in unamusement before continuing to scold them.

"As punishment for your actions, 50 points will be taken from Gryffindor and Slytherin."

"Fifty?!" Harry gasped. Draco's amused smile grew.

"Don't make me punch that smirk off your face, Malfoy," Dakota threatened, forming a fist with her hand.

"Each," McGonagall said. Harry gaped at her in protest. "And to ensure it doesn't happen again, all five of you will receive detention."

Now it was Dakota's turn to smirk. The cocky smile fell from Draco's face, and he stepped forward.

"Excuse me, Professor," he said. "Perhaps I heard you wrong. I thought you said the five of us."

"No, you heard me correctly, Mr. Malfoy," McGonagall confirmed. "You see, honourable as your intentions were, you too were out of bed after hours. You will join your classmates in detention."

Draco shot them a dirty glare. The four friends exchanged satisfied smiles with each other.

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"A pity they let the old punishments die," Filch said as he led them out of the castle for detention the following night. "There was a time detention would find you hanging by your thumbs in the dungeons. God, I miss the screaming."

Bongo hissed at the man. Dakota hushed him and covered him up with her robes, whispering for him to be quiet. She knew she wasn't allowed to bring her cat with her to detention, but he looked so sad when she was leaving her dorm earlier that she just couldn't leave him alone.

"You'll be serving detention with Hagrid tonight," Filch told them. "He's got a job to do inside the Dark Forest."

Dakota gasped excitedly at the mention of the forest. She'd been wanting to go in all year, but she could never find a way without risking getting into trouble.

"A sorry lot this, Hagrid," Filch said to the giant when they reached his hut. Dakota noticed that Hagrid wasn't his usual cheerful self. It looked to her like he had been crying. "Oh, good god, man, you're not still on about that bloody dragon, are you?"

Hagrid sniffled. "Norbert's gone. Dumbledore sent him off to Romania to live in a colony."

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" Hermione asked. "He'll be with his own kind."

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

"Oh, for God's sake, pull yourself together, man," Filch grumbled. "You're going into the forest, after all. Got to have your wits about you."

"Leave Hagrid alone." Dakota scoffed, glaring at the man. She winced when Hermione elbowed her again. The brunette shook her head, silently telling her not to talk back to the grouchy caretaker.

"The forest?" Draco asked, fear in his voice. "I thought that was a joke. We can't go in there! Students aren't allowed. And there are. . .werewolves!"

"Awe, is the rich boy scared?" Dakota asked with a mocking pout. "Sorry you can't go crying to your father about this."

"Shut it, Dursley!"

"There's more than werewolves in those trees, lad. You can be sure of that." Filch grinned, probably hoping that they'd get hurt. "Nighty-night."

Once Filch's back was turned, Dakota pulled Bongo out of her robes. Hermione raised a questioning brow at her. She shook her head and sighed as they followed Hagrid into the forest.

He told them about finding a unicorn dead; it had been killed by another animal in the forest. He said that it was their job to find the beast. He told Ron, Hermione, and Dakota to come with him and partnered up Draco and Harry. Draco, being the wimp that he was, demanded that they get Fang, Hagrid's boarhound.

Dakota set Bongo down to walk beside her as they ventured deeper into the forest in search of whatever killed the poor unicorn. Hermione told her about unicorn blood and how it can keep whoever drinks it alive, but at a price.

"It's a terrible crime to slay a unicorn," she said. "I've read all about it. Anyone who drinks the blood of a slain unicorn will live a cursed life as punishment for their actions. I really can't see why anyone would want to risk it."

"Are you saying you think that this unicorn was killed by a human?" Dakota asked. "Another witch or wizard?"

"It's a possibility." Hermione nodded. They came to a stop when they heard a scream coming from the direction Harry and Draco left in.

Draco came running up to them, Fang barking behind him. "There's a monster!" he cried, terror in his voice. "I-It was drinking blood from a unicorn! It saw us!"

"And you just left Harry?!" Dakota yelled. She shoved him out of the way and ran off to find her cousin. "If he dies because of your cowardice, I'm killing you, Malfoy!"

"Kody, wait up!" Hermione ran after her, Ron, Hagrid, Draco, Bongo and Fang hurrying behind them.

Dakota reached a clearing in the trees. She saw Harry speaking with a centaur. "Harry!"

"Hello there, Firenze," Hagrid greeted the centaur. "I see you've met our young Mr. Potter. You alright there, Harry?"

Harry nodded. He smiled a little when Bongo rubbed against his legs, purring softly.

"Harry Potter," Firenze said to the boy, "this is where I leave you. You're safe now. Good luck."

Dakota's stomach queazed when she saw the dead unicorn Draco said the monster had been drinking from. As they walked back to the castle, Harry told her in a hushed voice that the monster was Voldemort; that he was weak and using the unicorn's blood to stay alive.

She didn't get a single hour of sleep that night.