A Little Secret in the Forbidden Forest
In the Great Hall, Harry and the others were sitting and talking calmly as if nothing was happening, although students from several Houses could be seen exchanging looks with one another and passing a few objects beneath the tables.
It made the atmosphere in the Great Hall feel somewhat strange and, at the same time, suspicious.
Even the professors in their seats could tell that something was going on, though they weren't quite sure what.
For his part, Sirius, sitting in the Headmaster's seat, simply glanced toward Harry and prayed in his heart that his new school wouldn't end up destroyed. Meanwhile, Wanda and the other mothers simply stared at their children, but chose to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear and continued talking as they ate with the other professors.
Tommy leaned closer to his older brother and whispered:
"Hey, Harry, everything's almost ready. When do you want to start?" he asked with a somewhat amused and, at the same time, wicked smile. The same one the Weasley twins and some of the more chaotic students at Hogwarts were currently wearing.
"Relax. It's better if everything is properly prepared. Today, during the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor Quidditch match, is the best time, when everyone is at the Quidditch pitch. Let the others know," Harry said with a smile.
"Sure," Tommy said eagerly, but his face quickly showed a bit of caution. "And Mom and the aunts?" Tommy asked carefully, with some fear of getting caught.
Harry shifted his gaze toward his mother, sitting in the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor's seat, and Wanda returned his look with a smile that sent a shiver down Harry's spine.
"Obviously, she already knows," he muttered to himself, since there was no way the Scarlet Witch hadn't found out about his plan.
"For now, we'll use Billy, Luna, and Astoria as distractions. After that, we'll deal with Mom's punishment," Harry added calmly.
Billy, who was eating peacefully not too far away, lifted his head and met the eyes of his two brothers. He stared at them suspiciously for a moment before returning to his food.
"Good, then I'll let the others know," Tommy said right away. "By the way, I found something interesting in the Forbidden Forest. Maybe you should go take a look. I'm sure even you'll be surprised. Hagrid should know what I'm talking about," he said mysteriously before running off to tell the other students about Harry's plans.
"The Forbidden Forest? Hagrid?" Harry said with interest, remembering the times he'd seen the half-giant, who seemed more battered every day. "Hey, I'm going to see Hagrid for a bit. Want to come?" Harry asked Draco, Hermione, and Daphne, who had been talking calmly.
"Sure," the three replied casually and, without thinking much about it, stood up behind Harry and followed him.
Meanwhile, Umbridge, who was sitting at the staff table eating with exaggeratedly noble manners while none of the other professors said a single word to her, still kept that sweet smile on her face. But her eyes, like those of a hawk, were fixed firmly on Harry and his group.
Her sweet smile widened even further, and she immediately stood up, leaving the Great Hall shortly after them.
…
Harry, Daphne, Hermione, and Draco left the castle and crossed the grounds toward Hagrid's hut. As they got closer, some of the magical animals wandering freely around the area became excited at the sight of them and approached, surrounding them and begging for food.
It seemed like every one of these little troublemakers had gotten far too used to having humans around them. It didn't even seem to matter anymore that they left the Forbidden Forest and ran around the grounds. They all looked well cared for and calm, well, except for Red's chaotic army, which couldn't go a single day without causing trouble both outside and inside the castle.
"What's going on, Hagrid?" Hermione asked while Daphne tossed a few snacks to the animals approaching them.
Draco and Harry remained quieter behind them.
"You'll see in a moment," Hagrid said without stopping at his hut. Instead, he kept going toward where the Forbidden Forest bordered Hogwarts and picked up a crossbow he'd left ready before entering the place. "Follow me," he said, pointing toward the forest.
Hagrid seemed to be in somewhat of a hurry, so without waiting for any questions, he immediately headed into the forest.
The four youngsters looked at one another for a moment and, without thinking much about it, followed the half-giant inside.
Although Harry, before taking a step into the forest, turned around and looked back toward the castle, his eyes narrowing for a moment.
"Something wrong?" Draco asked after noticing his friend stop.
Harry didn't answer right away. Instead, he kept staring in one direction until he finally seemed to lose interest.
"Nothing. Just a clue being confirmed," Harry said with an amused smile. "Let's keep going before we lose them," he added calmly before heading into the forest without another word.
Draco, for his part, shifted his gaze toward where Harry had been looking a moment ago.
"A clue?" he said as he watched until his eyes seemed to catch sight of something in the distance quickly moving away. "Oh, I see. It seems the competition wasn't over after all," Draco said, letting out a small smile before following his friends into the Forbidden Forest.
…
"Is the crossbow really necessary?" Daphne asked with interest when she saw that the half-giant needed a weapon to enter the forest, something he hadn't seemed to need for quite some time now, with the animals becoming more and more accustomed to the castle and its inhabitants.
"It's just a precaution," Hagrid replied with a shrug. "We're going a bit deeper than usual, and some of the little ones around there aren't exactly... friendly with everyone else. Besides, it's also because of a little problem that came up after Firenze left the forest to become the Divination professor," Hagrid explained.
"Professor Firenze? What does he have to do with it?" Hermione asked curiously.
"The centaurs are furious with me now," Hagrid said, looking around. "Before, we were... well, not friends, but at least we got along. They minded their business and I minded mine, and sometimes we'd trade a few things here and there. But after Firenze agreed to work at the castle once Headmaster Black convinced him, they didn't seem willing to accept it. They even cast him out and forbade him from returning to his herd. They would've killed him if I hadn't stepped in," Hagrid added, shaking his head.
"They attacked him?" Daphne asked in surprise.
"Yeah," Hagrid replied dryly.
"And you stopped them by yourself?" Draco asked with interest, somewhat surprised and impressed.
"It's not like I could just stand there and do nothing. I was lucky I happened to be passing by at the time, really," Hagrid said calmly without slowing his pace through the forest, which grew a little darker the deeper they went. "Anyway, the centaurs have a lot of influence in the forest, obviously after Red and his group. From what I understand, there are three major forces competing for control of this place right now, though one of them has all the advantage," Hagrid added with a small amused smile.
For a moment, Harry could imagine exactly which force that might be, but he really didn't feel like confirming it, since he had a feeling his head would start hurting if he found out.
"But we'll talk about that later. For now, follow me and keep your eyes open. Some Acromantulas aren't as friendly as Aragog's children," he said as he continued forward.
"Aragog?" Harry asked, hearing that name for the first time.
But Hagrid immediately covered his mouth, realizing he'd let something slip that he shouldn't have.
"Never mind that. Come on, come on," he said, quickening his pace and heading deeper toward the heart of the forest.
Since one of his steps was equal to three of theirs, the four youngsters had to speed up to keep pace with him.
But the farther they went, the more the trees blocked out the sunlight, making everything darker and darker until they could barely make out their silhouettes moving through the undergrowth and between the trees.
"Hagrid, couldn't we light our wands?" Hermione asked, no longer able to stand the darkness.
"Well... yeah," Hagrid replied, suddenly stopping.
Because of the darkness, Hermione didn't see him stop in time and crashed into him, stumbling backward. But before she could hit the ground, a firm hand caught her around the waist, carefully supporting her weight so she wouldn't get hurt.
At the same time, two lights flared to life as Harry and Daphne chanted, "Lumos," and when their wands illuminated the surroundings, they found themselves looking at a rather interesting scene.
Hermione, who had closed her eyes while waiting for the impact, slowly opened them when she realized she hadn't fallen and that someone was holding her.
And when she did, she saw the bright light around them illuminating Draco's pale blond hair and gray eyes as he held her firmly and very close.
Hermione stared at him for a few seconds, and Draco didn't look away from her either, causing their eyes to meet.
But then both of them felt several very close gazes staring directly at them, so they looked to the side.
There stood Harry and Daphne, still holding their wands and lighting up the surroundings while watching them with mischievous smiles. And Hagrid, who was observing them with interest.
Hermione quickly straightened herself and gave Draco a small push so he'd let her go.
"Ahem," she cleared her throat while adjusting her robes, trying to act as though nothing had happened. "Thank you, Draco, for stopping me from falling," she said, though she seemed unable to look at her savior.
"No problem," Draco said calmly while adjusting his own robes as well.
But Harry and Daphne exchanged a look before turning back toward their friends with amusement.