A/N: I've gone and edited the previous twelve chapters and hopefully things flow smoother. I don't know how many of you returning readers have paid attention to the dialogue/thought/flashback bits but that has also been changed. Some have pm'ed me to say that perhaps this is more effective/less confusing to convey thoughts and I agree. Nothing major has been changed so there should be no big errors, that I'm aware of anyway. Please let me know if you see any because I've double and triple checked and I could have still missed something.

I've also tried changing the way I write Hagrid's speech inflections but if any of you find it's wrong please let me know how I can improve on it.

"Spoken dialogue or signs"

'Thought'

flashback/''dialogue"/'thought'

Cracked Front

Having finished his readings for the day, Harry wandered around the castle aimlessly, lost in thought. 'The voice last night, I heard something similar before. Perhaps in a dream or maybe it was nothing and someone had such a voice at Diagon Alley. That place had no shortage of interesting characters after all.'

As Harry walked down a spiral staircase, he looked out the window to his side and saw Hagrid's hut. 'I wonder when that egg will hatch. Hagrid loves his magical creatures but can he take care of a dragon? Even a baby must be a fierce handle.' Harry continued making his way down the steps when he noticed a familiar figure walking by her lonesome passed a corner. "Interesting," Harry muttered, and quickened his pace to catch up. "Not often is she seen without Tracey by her side."

Daphne sighed at his footsteps and turned around. "Whoever you are, I refu-," Daphne began to say but upon realizing Harry's presence, she cut herself off. "What do you want, Potter?"

"Nothing at all," he replied. Daphne stared at him before turning on her heel to walk away. Harry followed. "Though I am wondering if there is something bothering you today?" She said nothing and they continued onward, their steps echoing in the empty corridor. Minutes passed and Daphne stopped abruptly.

"Why are you following me?" she demanded.

"I am simply heading in the same direction, I apologize for the inconvenience of my presence, Miss Greengrass," Harry said.

Daphne crossed her arms. "I will not repeat myself. What do you want?"

"Very well, I am curious. This is the first time I notice the absence of Miss Davis by your side."

Her face twisted from emotion to emotion before it resumed its usual state."If you must know, I left her when she went to the bathroom. In her attempts to better our lives here, she also gives me a scant amount time and space to myself," she said softly. Daphne lowered her voice even further. "And yes, you are bothering me today. I escape Tracy's clutches and I encounter you instead. Never a moment to think." Taken aback, Harry said nothing. Letting her arms fall to her side, she turned to leave."If you require nothing else from me, then this is where we part ways."

Harry's silence prompted her to continue and she began to walk away. Not a moment had gone by when she turned around to face him. "I do have one question for you. Tracey told me of something that happened between our ancestors. Was it true that our families once had a dispute over a mere farm animal?"

Harry gave a low chuckle, surprised at the question. "Yes, the goblin keeper of my family account told me so." A twitch in her stony face and a sharp breath of air through her nostrils was the only indication that she was amused by this. Harry turned to walk back the way they had come from, Daphne also turning back to walk away, but he paused in the motion. "I hope you know that shutting everyone out will not help you in any way."

Daphne froze, her nails digging into her palms. "You think I don't understand?" she spat. Though Harry couldn't see her face, he knew that her stony facade had fallen. "Every day I'd rather live like anyone else. You don't-you can't understand me nor my life. Making attachments just to have to cut them loose. I'd rather-." Daphne abruptly stopped, huffed, and stormed off before Harry could respond, leaving him to his thoughts.

Several days later, Harry noted yet another day of Hagrid's absence from the Great Hall. 'He must be doing his utmost to take care of that egg. It should be hatching any day now,' he thought, biting into his treacle tart. Harry saw Ron glancing at him from the Gryffindor table who only took his eyes off to reply to Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan around him. Looking away, he saw Hermione engaged in a conversation with Neville. At the Ravenclaw table he saw Allison also conversing with other Ravenclaw students. 'I suppose they no longer think I'm a budding dark wizard. No corruption to be found in the others? How strange,' he thought sarcastically. Of all the other professors, only Quirrell stayed out of the conversations at the head table, saying nothing, his eyes rapidly darting across the Great Hall.

oOoOo

One Hour Earlier

"You're sure he hasn't done anything?" Harry asked.

"I'm sure, you asked us to keep our watch on Quirrell on those notes you wrote us and we have," Hermione said, rolling her eyes.

"He continues to remain his normal self, though he seems to get more and more nervous by the day. Eventually he will break," Allison added, not looking up from her Transfiguration work.

"Do you think maybe something is keeping him from going after the 'Stone' and that's why all he does is twiddle his thumbs?" Harry turned his attention back to his own books.

"Perhaps," Hermione mused. "The traps in the underground chambers are one thing and I'm sure he's aware of what lies ahead of him. So it would not be a what but rather it would be a person keeping him at bay."

"It could be either Dumbledore, McGonagall, or Snape," Allison speculated. "Snape terrorizes half of our year on a frequent basis, maybe that also applies to Quirrell?"

"Poor Neville." Hermione shook her head and sighed. "He has enough trouble as it is without Snape breathing down his neck for every little mistake. He gets the worst of it. Quirrell not making a move purely because of Snape is very reasonable."

"Professor McGonagall could be the reason as well, intimidating yet fair and is very accomplished. Quirrell would have a tough time fending her off while attempting to retrieve the 'Stone'," Harry said.

"Not entirely fair, remember when you were first sorted into Slytherin? She, along with most of the school, turned on you at that moment just because of your house placement," Allison reminded him.

"That day is not entirely clear," Harry said. "Either way, after my performance in our classes, she seems to have calmed down and treats me like any other student here. Now for Dumbledore, he's certainly a powerful wizard."

"One of the greatest wizards of the century!" Hermione quipped. "It's been said that he was the only person that You-Know-Who feared!"

"Indeed. He could very well be the sole reason for Quirrell's inaction, I guess we can only keep watching."

oOoOo

'Make your move, Quirrell. I'll be waiting.'

Harry finished off the rest of his treacle tart and left the Great Hall.

During his early morning run the next day, Harry decided to stop by Hagrid's hut and there was a lot of noise coming from within. What sounded like a mug crashed and shattered all over the floor and a yelp from Fang. He walked up to the door and knocked. "You alright in there, Hagrid?" There was a pause as all commotion stopped and then the thuds of Hagrid's footsteps broke the silence.

"Harry! What brings you here?" he asked, ushering Harry inside. The first thing Harry noticed was the temperature compared to his previous visit with Allison and Hermione as he was no longer sweating through his robes. The second being a several-foot long leathery black dragon sitting atop Hagrid's now-scarred table.

"You've been missing from the Great Hall the last few days, is it really tough, taking care of...?" Harry asked gesturing toward the dragon. It snapped at him, smoke unfurling from its nostrils.

"I called him Norbert!" Hagrid answered. "It's a Norwegian Ridgeback! They're very rare." The dragon regarded Hagrid saying his name with no more than a puff of smoke in their direction.

"You know you can't keep Norbert here forever, Hagrid. It's only been born for a few days and it's rather big already. Soon enough someone from the castle will take notice and then you'll be in a lot of trouble," Harry cautioned.

"I know," Hagrid said with misty eyes. "But I can't just let him go now! He's too small!"

"I understand." Harry patted Hagrid on the arm. "If you won't let him go, is there anyone you know or trust that could take him off your hands?" Hagrid shook his head. "We'll figure something out then," Harry said softly. Hagrid nodded, reaching out a hand to pet Norbert but it snapped at his fingers.

Harry left Hagrid's hut quietly and was half way up to the castle doors when he snapped his head up abruptly, eyes wide. 'Charlie!'

oOoOo

As Harry was leaving the Potions class early as usual, he passed by Ron's table and dropped a note into his lap, startling him. Ron picked up the note.

"Meet me by the lake before dinner. Come alone."

Ron looked over to Harry who was at the class doors, looking back at him. Ron nodded and went back to working on the forgetfulness potion that they had been assigned.

oOoOo

Harry sat beneath his favourite tree with the hot-air charm being continuously cast, waiting. The sound of dirt being pressed into the ground and the crack of a fallen twig being stepped on alerted him to the presence of Ron. "What did you want to meet about, Harry?"

Harry cancelled the charm and stood up, dusting himself off. "First of all, thank you for coming alone as I had written. Second, I have a favour to ask of you and as with our previous adventure, I'd like you to keep it a secret," he said.

"If it isn't nearly as dangerous as before then I'll do it." Ron shrugged.

"It won't be, though we might get into trouble if we're caught." Harry looked around and no other students were around at this time. He couldn't shake off the feeling of being watched and so he cast his silencing spell.

"It would be weird if you asked me to help with something that didn't get us into trouble." Ron said, laughing. "So what is it?"

"Have you ever met Hagrid before?" Ron shook his head. "Right, well, he tends to like dangerous creatures and he recently came to possess a black dragon egg."

"You did mention that the three headed dog was his... and a dragon egg? He knows it's illegal to breed it, right?" Ron's eyebrows shot up.

"It's been mentioned and he seems to know, the only issue is, it's hatched and it's already really big. Hagrid says it's too small to let loose into the wild," Harry answered.

"So why do you need my help?" Ron asked.

"Your brother, Charlie, when we met on the train, you said he worked at a dragon reserve in Romania, didn't you?"

"Oh!" Ron's eyes widened and he said, "Yeah, I'll write a letter to him! I'll let you know what he says!"

"Great! Do you want to see the dragon? Hagrid calls him Norbert."

"Sure, there's still time before dinner anyway," Ron said, shrugging.

A short while later and they were walking up to Hagrid's hut. Fang the boarhound dog sat curled up outside. Harry went to the door and knocked. There was a loud thump and the windows of the hut rattled. Ron stepped back, startled. One of Fang's ears flicked up in annoyance.

"Hey Hagrid," Harry said as Hagrid's large frame revealed itself to them. They went inside and he shut the door quickly. Harry stood by Hagrid while Ron took a seat.

"Hi Harry," Hagrid said. Upon seeing Ron, he said, "Yeh must be the newest Weasley, I liked yer brother Charlie a lot, he was great with animals," Hagrid said, he turned his back to them as he tossed some food to Norbert who gobbled it up quickly, more feathers and brandy bottles littering the floor and like before, Harry cleared it up for him. "What are yeh doing 'ere at this time?"

"I found a solution for you Hagrid, Ron's offered to contact Charlie to bring Norbert away," Harry said.

"Yeah, Charlie works at a reserve in Romania, he should be able to take care of Norbert no problem," Ron explained, eyeing Norbert with amazement and some trepidation. "I don't know what he'll say yet though."

"What do you say, Hagrid?" Harry asked.

"Alrigh', I'll only let Norbert go if Charlie is able," Hagrid said and nodded somberly. Norbert didn't snap at Hagrid's fingers this time when he went to pet him but he did growl, sparks flying.

Later as they walked back to the castle, Harry stopped and turned to Ron. "Thank you for all of your help, if you ever need something from me, ask and I'll try to help," Harry said.

"Don't mention it, I'm glad to help and if there's anything I can do in the future, you can count on me," Ron said with a grin.

The week passed by painfully slowly and in the middle of breakfast on Thursday, Hermione got up from the Gryffindor table and went over to where Harry was and sat on his left. Some of the Slytherins grumbled but made room as she sat down. Harry muffled a greeting to her through a piece of toast. She slipped some parchment into his left hand then went back over to the Gryffindor table taking some toast as she left. The Slytherin students that had moved shot the retreating Hermione and Harry a dirty look. Harry ignored them and tucked the note into his pockets. He looked to the Gryffindor table and saw Ron looking back and they nodded at each other. 'I hope Charlie is able to secure Norbert soon, that dragon is becoming hard to handle, even for Hagrid.'

Harry had spent most of his free time over at Hagrid's hut with Allison, Hermione and Ron occasionally tagging along to help with Norbert. On several occasions, Harry nearly lost his fingers and Hagrid's table had to be repaired.

He then turned his attention to the right where Tracey was tugging on his sleeve. "Yes?"

She leaned closer to him and whispered, "Did something happen between you and Daphne lately? I've been trying to get her to open up and it seemed to be working but now I haven't been able to get her to say a word for two weeks."

Harry remembered their last conversation and glanced over to Daphne who was quietly tearing apart the kippers on her plate.

"I might have said the wrong thing," Harry admitted. Tracey groaned and rested her hand on her hand.

"Great going there, Harry!" she whispered furiously. "You're not making this easy!"

"You know she can probably hear you, right?" Harry whispered glancing at Daphne again, her knife and fork hovering just above her plate.

"Good! Then she knows I'm mad at the both of you!" Tracey shoveled the rest of her food into her mouth and stormed out of the Great Hall.

"That was dramatic," Harry said.

Daphne just shook her head and whispered, "You didn't say the wrong thing, but you didn't have to say it either. Tracey has been telling me the same ever since we met. Thank you, but please stop trying to interfere." Daphne cleaned off her plate and got up from the table.

Harry watched her walk out of the Great Hall and cursed. 'I don't care. I don't care...'

In the library that evening, Harry apprised them of what was happening. "Charlie's friends will converge at the Astronomy Tower on Saturday at midnight, it's a good thing too, that dragon is becoming too much trouble, I'll be heading down to Hagrid's shortly to let him know what's going on."

"Will you need help getting Norbert up there?" Allison asked.

"I don't think so, I have my cloak and I can spell myself to be invisible and I can magic Norbert up there. I'll silence him if I have to," Harry replied. "What's Quirrell been up to?"

"Not much, but he's starting to disappear from the castle at this time every few days and is always back the day after but I'm not sure where he's going," Hermione said.

"When I was leaving Hagrid's the other day, I saw him sneaking into the Forbidden Forest the other day," Allison added.

"It's odd, isn't it? The Stone is supposed to be at the underground from the third floor so why go into the Forest?"

"Maybe he's carving a wooden flute for Fluffy?" Allison joked.

"He's an adult and a professor with his own money, he could just buy a cheap instrument anywhere and be done with it. Hogwarts also has its own set of old instruments," Hermione said.

"The adult and professor you're referring to is obsessed with acquiring a life and wealth giving rock, maybe he's just that quirky?"

Hermione and Allison continued to go back and forth, discussing Quirrell's state of mind and quirks and Harry bid them farewell to tell Hagrid the good news.

Ron was already at Hagrid's hut, tossing a rat at Norbert who deftly snatched it out of the air and gobbled it down in seconds.

"Oh hi Harry, I've already told Hagrid what Charlie wrote," Ron said with a wave. Hagrid was cooing over Norbert from a safe distance.

"Hi Ron, and oh good, thank you," Harry said, waving back. "Saturday can't come fast enough."

"It nearly nicked me, I don't want to be caught with half an arm." Ron looked apprehensively at the baby dragon "I would not be able to lie my way out of that."

"Let's just hope nothing happens before then."

"Hopefully not," Ron agreed, tossing another rat at Norbert. "Will you need any help getting Norbert up the tower? I can help carry him."

"Thank you but no, this time if I go alone it will be safer for everyone and no one would have to get into trouble besides myself."

oOoOo

Saturday evening finally arrived and Harry was feeling extremely restless, acutely aware of everything around him. No one suspected a thing at the Great Hall but Harry could barely stomach his lamb chops. Later in the evening at Hagrid's hut, Hagrid bid a tearful farewell to Norbert and Harry threw the cloak over the crate, casting a silencing spell in case he caused too much of a racket inside. He then cast the disillusionment charm upon himself and the locomotion charm on the crate. It began to hover a few inches off the ground and Harry directed it out of the hut. Harry looked back and said, "Good night Hagrid, I'll be sure to keep Norbert safe and will be back tomorrow to let you know how it went."

A while later just a short ways into the Astronomy Tower he nearly knocked Professor McGonagall over with Norbert's crate but she turned to patrol the opposite side of the corridor. Harry let out a sigh of relief. He didn't know why but something kept tugging at his heart and mind and was hoping that it would go away when this was all over. Harry arrived at the top of the tower a half hour before midnight and set the crate down, took the cloak off and stuffed it into his pockets. He kept the silencing charm active in case Professor McGonagall came close enough to hear whatever Norbert was doing within.

He took a seat by the crate and watched the sky for any hint of Charlie's friends. He startled when a faint voice came from within the tower. "Find them!" It sounded just like the voice from that night and just like before it vanished after a hacking coughing sound. He jumped up and looked down the steps that led to the top of the tower, there was nothing that indicated anyone being nearby. "Find who?" Harry jumped to his feet and paced around the crate. "Find who? The goblins? It can't be them, we know each other already. There are thousands upon thousands of different magical creatures and they're all scattered throughout the world. If they're telling me to find a person or creature then they must be nearby..."

He looked out to the Forbidden Forest and noticed something faint from within but it seemed bright, glowing even in the shadows of the night. It made for a rather beautiful sight but then the glow faded away as if it were attached to something that walked deeper within. "What was that? It has to be a coincidence, right? The voice, the light... and now it seems like that is what my heart was telling me this entire time," Harry said, he tried finding any other source of that light but none revealed themselves.

Minutes passed and four broomsticks appeared from the shadows, Charlie's friends had a harness rigged up between them. "Hey! You're Harry Potter! Can't believe you got sorted into my house! I was there myself, they're such a gloomy bunch aren't they?" he said laughing. Harry cracked a smile and nodded.

"Right, let's get the crate up, here..." another said. Harry levitated the crate up to them and they buckled Norbert's cage into their harness. He cancelled the silencing charm and the sound of Norbert's scratching and thrashing made itself known. "Looks like Charlie's going to have a lot of fun with this one!" They all laughed and each shook hands with Harry.

"Was nice meeting you, Potter!" They called and in moments they disappeared back into the shadows with Norbert's crate suspended among them in their harness.

As Harry turned to make his way back down, he felt multiple pairs of eyes watching him. The tug on his heart grew steadily.

oOoOo

"Is something wrong? Did Norbert get away okay?" Hermione asked Harry in a whisper as they finished their dinner and left the Great Hall.

"No, Norbert's delivery went well, why?" Harry replied.

"You haven't exactly been yourself all day," Allison said, she looked at him with worry.

"I'm fine, honestly." Harry was distracted by the tugging on his heart that had been there since last night and it had continued to grow stronger. He needed to go into the Forbidden Forest to find out what he was meant to find. Seeing their skepticism, Harry said, "I promise you, I'm fine.

They still looked at him with disbelief but didn't say another word.

A minute later and Allison piped up with some news ."By the way, Quirrell disappeared again today," she said. They left the castle and she pointed at the forest. "Wonder what he's doing in there?"

"Maybe he's using it to disappear to try and figure out a way passed the underground defences?" Hermione guessed.

"There are probably a lot of magical herbs in there that he's using for a potion, it doesn't matter, as long as no one else is getting hurt," Harry said.

On the way to Hagrid's hut, Ron came running up to them. "Hi! I saw you guys leaving so I had to run to catch up," he explained. Catching his breath, Ron said, "I wanted to hear about how it went last night."

"Have Seamus and Dean asked you anything about why you're running around without them?" Hermione asked.

"They have but they never kept asking me and I just ignored them," Ron answered. "And this time I said I got a bad ache and had to leave for the toilets."

"Well, it's good for us that they're not very inquisitive then," Harry said.

Harry knocked on the door and Fang's customary booming barks sounded from within.

They heard Hagrid telling the boarhound to get back and Hagrid opened the door with a crossbow in hand. "Ah, hello Harry! And Allison, Ron, an' Hermione too, come in!"

Hagrid set the crossbow down on the table and set about pouring some tea for them. Harry took a seat by the table and said, "Hagrid, Norbert got taken safely, Charlie's friends had a pretty secure harness ready for Norbert, he's safe." Hagrid nodded, wiping tears with a handkerchief.

"So it went well?" Ron asked, eyeing the crossbow on the table and the quiver of arrows in the corner. "No teachers caught you?"

"Almost knocked Professor McGonagall in a dressing grown over with the crate but otherwise there was no trouble at all," Harry answered, he pushed the crossbow on the table aside as Hagrid set a mug of tea down.

"Hagrid?" Hermione asked, thanking Hagrid as he handed her a mug of tea as well. "Why do you have a crossbow?"

"There's been somethin' huntin' unicorns in the forest every few days. When you lot were helpin' out with Norbert, I'd found the silvery blood of a unicorn that's bin hurt pretty badly by summat I reckon. I was goin' ter wait in the forest to see what beast in there would hurt a unicorn. I'd never known one to be hurt before and they're hard to catch," Hagrid explained, passing mugs of tea to Allison and Ron. Harry exchanged knowing glances with Hermione and Allison while Ron looked stunned.

"Could we help?" Allison asked, tearing up. Harry balled his fists up so tightly his knuckles turned white. Quirrell doing something out of the ordinary should have been cause for alarm that he was up to no good but they figured all he would ever do was go after the Philosopher's Stone.

"Yeh could but it would be dangerous. If the beast could catch a unicorn then it could catch you," Hagrid said grimly into his own mug. He then puffed up and said, "But if yer with me or Fang then nothing in the forest could hurt you."

"There is power in numbers," Hermione said and drank some tea as she shot a look at Harry. He looked away as he picked up his mug and downed the warm tea in seconds.

"If you lot wish to join me today, then we'd best be going," Hagrid said, he grabbed the quiver of arrows and picked the crossbow up off the table and made his way to the door. "We might not find the beast in a single group. Hermione, Ron, you'll be with me. Allison an' Harry, go with Fang. If you find the unicorn, send up green sparks and we'll come find yeh and if yeh're in trouble, send up red sparks."

They leave the hut and head into the forest and Hagrid immediately points out the silvery pools of blood on the forest floor. Allison pointed out wisps of long silvery hair. The tension in Harry's heart was palpable and his fury red hot. The shadows deepened the further into the forest they walked and Harry said, "This is where we'll split, see you guys later." Harry let Fang lead and he and Allison waved.

"Be safe!" Hermione called.

"Be safe? Harry's there, they'll be fine," Ron said to her. Their voices slowly faded and then Harry and Allison were alone with the exception of the large boarhound in front of them sniffing everything in front of them.

Allison chuckled and said, "Oh yeah, the forest will be clamoring to get you, Harry!"

Harry extends his magical sense to its maximum and Harry looked behind, realizing it reached all the way to the castle. He scanned the area around and finds nothing but several different kinds of insects and plants. Several mundane creatures roamed about and a couple giant spiders. He also noticed Hagrid, Hermione, and Ron steadily following the other trail of blood and hair. Harry paused and grunted.

"What is it Harry?" she asked when she realized he had stopped keeping pace. Fang also looked back and waited.

"Our trail is growing thicker. Hagrid, Hermione, and Ron are going to be walking to their own trail's end in minutes. Sorry, let's keep going." Harry did not feel good and he was worried there'd be another death. The pools of blood were thickening and the strands of silvery hair became tufts and Harry picked up the pace and Allison and Fang started to run to keep up. It became harder to walk straight due to the thickets of trees and thick undergrowth.

Harry burst into a clearing just as the bright white unicorn let out a weak cry and fell on it's long, slender legs that were twisted the wrong way. It crashed against a tree, its blood splashed onto the roots of the nearby trees and slowly pooled beneath it. It was both beautiful and horrifying. 'We're not too late, it's still alive!'

Allison following behind took a sharp breath as she saw the scene before them. Fang whimpering quietly. Harry held his finger to his lips and she nodded. From just behind the tree that the unicorn had fallen against, a slithering sound broke the silence and from the shadows a hooded figure came crawling up to the fallen unicorn that was weakly groaning. It lowered its head to the big gash in its side. Harry whipped his wand out and a banishing charm struck the hooded figure, sending it spinning and flying. As the figure spun, Harry caught a glimpse of Quirrell's face covered with unicorn blood, just before he crashed into a tree. He turned slightly to Allison and whispered, "I don't want to cause any more harm to the unicorn."

She just nodded, her face twisted with fury. Quirrell got up and launched himself at them with his hood still down. Allison then casts with a shout "Wingardium Leviosa!" Quirrell is stopped in his rush and lifted upwards and Harry cast a stunning spell at his suspended figure. Quirrell twisted out of the way in the air and to their surprise, begins to fly at them. They jump back and Harry casts another banishing charm with more force than before. Quirrell is struck by the spell and is sent flying beyond the clearing and into a bush far away. He sensed the hooded Quirrell get on his feet and raise an arm with his wand in hand, pointed at them. Harry prepared to cast the shield spell but Quirrell drops his arm and twists around, shooting off into the sky.

"He's gone, he flew away," Harry told her. Quirrell was still within his sensing range and he was looking at his location, flying farther away, getting fainter and after a minute, he vanished from the field entirely. In the time of their short encounter, Fang had turned tail and ran away in the direction of the last location that Hagrid had been before they had split up. Harry grimaced and went up to the fallen unicorn to examine its side. The wound looked absolutely horrid and it was clear that it was approaching death's door.

"Is it going to be okay?" Allison asked from behind with clenched fists.

"No..." Harry hung his head. "I'm sorry this happened to you, I should have been here sooner to protect you... to protect you and your herd." He knelt down in its blood and put a hand on its side to provide any comfort he could. He let out a shaky breath and tears began to fall as the unicorn closed its eyes. Up above in the sky, the clouds parted, allowing for moonlight to fully shine upon them and Harry felt himself slipping into a sort of trance.

As if guided by a puppeteer, Harry placed his hands on the wound and a glowing green mist grew from the center of his chest. The mist thickened and twisted in ropes down his arms, gathering by his hands and it began flowing into the wound. Allison gasped when the mist spread to cover the entirety of the unicorn's body and cracks sounded from its legs as they snapped back into place. The moonlight that illuminated the clearing seemed to shine brighter than before and the skin around the wound slowly stitched itself back together. The mist blasted the clearing with a flash of green light before it sunk itself back into Harry's body.

The moment the mist faded, Harry felt faint and fell to the ground. Allison crouched down,caught him and pulled him away from the unicorn whose limbs were showing signs of life. It opened its eyes and slowly lifted its head up, its gaze flickering swiftly all around the clearing before it ended with a long look at Harry and Allison. Harry shook himself awake and looked into the beautiful creature's dark eyes that were now full of life. It studied them as it tentatively got back up onto its hooves. It looked around the clearing once more and took a soft step forward. It took another, more confident step forward and looked back at Harry. As if saying thanks, it blinked before turning and it cantered away.

They were both frozen in place, gazes locked on where the unicorn had disappeared. "Should we go after it?" Allison asked, stepping away from Harry. The clearing darkened, the moonlight muted as the clouds covered the moon once again. Harry got to his feet and looked down. His trousers and robes were covered with the silvery liquid.

"It was too close..." Harry muttered, staring at his hands.

"It was, but whatever you did saved it. You healed it!" she exclaimed. Harry looked back at where the unicorn had disappeared and within his sensor field he could tell that it had paused a short ways away.

"It's waiting for us, I think," Harry said plainly and took off running. Allison was torn between following or heading back. She sighed and ran off after Harry.

Harry caught up with the waiting unicorn in minutes and the glowing creature continued deeper into the forest. The farther in they ran, the more the world seemed to shift and Allison was barely able to keep up with Harry as she was not used to the exercise. The air and trees around them seemed to twist and distort and after turning around a thicket of trees, Allison lost sight of Harry and the unicorn. The forest now lacked the sight and sound of both the unicorn's trot, Harry's steps, and all the sounds of the forest at night. "Harry?" Allison called, pulling out her wand. Hearing nothing, she took a deep breath and screamed to the stars, "HARRY?!" She pointed her wand straight up and shot up enough red sparks, hoping Hagrid would see it and find her.

oOoOo

Harry and the unicorn came running from the distortion into a large grassy field that was scattered with old ivory ruins. Throughout the field were groups of other unicorns resting or 'talking' to each other. One of the others looked in their direction and made a loud squealing call to the rest. The attention was now focused on the returning unicorn who joined their ranks. They began to circle around him and with the number of unicorns crowding around, it was no longer possible to see the landscape. There was a whinny from one of the unicorns at the back of the crowd and the ones standing in front of Harry stepped to the side.

A unicorn larger than the rest walked up, its steps regal and powerful. It had golden eyes and a scar slashed down the length of its face. This leader lowered its head to look more closely at him. To Harry it seemed as though its eyes were infinitely deep golden pools of swirling energy. Like the unicorn that he'd saved, it studied him and it made no movement with the others watching closely.

Harry froze in fear as the large, spiraling golden horn above its eyes took a dive. He clenched his entire body as the creature softly touched its horn upon his forehead.

His mind exploded and Harry began to scream as the voices of a hundred unicorns flooded his mind. The sense of life surrounding him was clearer than ever. He felt the presence of the insect sitting at the top of one of the ruin's pillars. Deep below ground a creature rested in its intricately crafted burrow and outside of this distortion field, Allison stood terrified and waiting.

A powerful voice rose above all the others. 'The planets have foretold the change of times, brought about by a soul that has been broken, beaten and torn through the dimensions. You. For a thousand years the herds have been waiting for your soul to bring about change. There are other souls akin to yours that were forged by the conditions of the elemental planes and taken to this world before their time. The processes that brought you all here have rendered your connection to these earthly planes incomplete and in time, the power of the others will tear them apart and yours will shatter souls. Find them and become one lest ye be destroyed.'

Harry dropped to his knees and held his head in his hands as the voices multiplied. "Wh-what, who are you?" He asked through gritted teeth.

'Centuries ago, I was chosen to protect this herd, giving up my life so as to be forever reborn until my duty is fulfilled. Only then can I choose to claim my rest among the stars. We have no name but you may call me Elwynn,' he answered. 'We see you, Harry Potter and we are eternally grateful for your actions today. But you must learn the intricacies of the mind lest you lose yourself and our ways are lost to the void. In the time since your birth, you've merely thrown out your intruders but if you learn this and teach it to those you trust, then your secrets will be yours to keep. Lift your head up to me.' Harry shakily lowered his hands and stood up to face Elwynn.

Elwynn touched his golden horn upon Harry's forehead once again and the din of the voices became muffled, the pain lessened and his bursting heart became calm. The exhaustion of the last several days were catching up to Harry and he stumbled back but managed to stay standing.

"Thank you Elwynn," Harry said, holding back a yawn. "And I'm glad I was able to help, I'm just sorry I couldn't be here before when it first started."

'It is unfortunate, but the loss of their lives are by no means a waste. This is just the beginning of the end, Harry Potter.' The herd of unicorns surrounding them dissipated and their steps rumbled throughout the field. Elwynn turned to look off into the distance and said, 'It is time for you to return, the young lady outside is calling for you and it's attracting quite the attention.' Harry focused on Allison's presence and felt the presence of Hagrid, Hermione, and Ron closing in. He nodded and made his way back to the field border.

'Remember this, Harry Potter. When the time comes, call, and we shall come to your aid.'