From Cupboard to Chaos

Detention... and More Trouble

If Hogwarts has one thing in abundance (besides ghosts, moving staircases, and students with zero regard for personal safety), it's detention. I had, in my short tenure as a wizard-in-training, managed to score a prime spot on the naughty list.

This time, detention was scheduled for midnight, because clearly, the staff thought sleep was overrated.

"You'd think they'd at least give us a normal time," I muttered to Ernie as we headed to meet Filch outside his office.

"You think too much," Ernie replied. "That's your problem."

Filch greeted us with his usual charm, which is to say, none at all. "Follow me, you little troublemakers. You're lucky they didn't expel you for poking around where you don't belong!"

I bit back the urge to tell him that the only thing I poked was my head through a door. But then again, sarcasm didn't seem like the best strategy with Filch.

We walked down endless corridors, the silence broken only by the swish of Filch's lantern. Mrs. Norris, his creepy cat, stalked alongside him, her glowing eyes fixed on me as if she were deciding which part of me to claw first.

"So," I whispered to Ernie, "any guesses on what we're doing?"

"Cleaning trophies? Polishing suits of armor? Whatever it is, it's going to be miserable."

He was half-right. We weren't cleaning trophies. We were going into the Forbidden Forest.

"Isn't this, uh, dangerous?" I asked as we approached the edge of the forest.

Filch snorted. "That's the point, Potter. Maybe next time, you'll think twice before breaking the rules."

Honestly, it felt a bit extreme. Couldn't they have just made me scrub cauldrons or something? But no, Hogwarts decided that sending a bunch of first-years into a dark, creepy forest full of unknown horrors was perfectly reasonable.

We were joined by a giant of a man named Hagrid, who I'd met once during a particularly chaotic day in Diagon Alley. He seemed nice enough, but his idea of "safe" was questionable.

"Right," Hagrid said, holding up a crossbow that looked older than the castle itself. "We've got a bit of a problem in the forest. Unicorn's been hurt, and we need ter figure out what's goin' on."

"Unicorns?" I whispered to Ernie, my curiosity piqued despite the situation.

"Yes," Ernie hissed. "Now shut up before Filch hears you."

Hagrid handed me a lantern and waved us forward. "Stick close ter me. The forest can get a bit... tricky at night."

Tricky? That was an understatement.

As we trudged deeper into the forest, I tried to focus on the task at hand, but my mind, as usual, decided to take a scenic detour.

What if the unicorn wasn't injured but cursed? Maybe it had stumbled upon some ancient magical artifact and was now being hunted by dark forces. Or what if the unicorn wasn't a unicorn at all, but some sort of shapeshifting creature?

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice the root sticking out of the ground until I tripped over it.

"Watch where yer walkin', Potter," Hagrid said, helping me up.

"Sorry," I muttered, brushing dirt off my robes.

Mrs. Norris, who had followed us into the forest, stared at me with what I can only describe as cat-level disdain.

We split into groups to cover more ground, because apparently, that's a smart thing to do in a dark, dangerous forest. Hagrid took one path, and I ended up paired with Ernie and Draco Malfoy, who had somehow also landed himself in detention.

"This is ridiculous," Malfoy complained as we walked. "My father will hear about this."

"Do you ever say anything else?" I asked.

He glared at me. "I don't see you coming up with any brilliant ideas, Potter."

I ignored him and focused on the forest. The trees loomed overhead, their branches twisting together to form eerie shapes. Every rustle and snap of a twig made me jump, and I was pretty sure I saw something move out of the corner of my eye.

"Do you think it's a werewolf?" Ernie whispered, clutching his wand tightly.

"It's not a werewolf," Malfoy snapped. "Werewolves don't live in forests."

"What about vampires?" I asked, only half-joking.

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "You're both idiots."

We came to a small clearing where silvery blood glistened on the ground.

"That's unicorn blood," Ernie said, his voice barely above a whisper.

I knelt down to get a closer look, but Malfoy grabbed my arm. "Are you mad? Don't touch it!"

"I wasn't going to," I replied, pulling away. "I just wanted to see if—"

A low growl cut me off.

We all froze.

Something was moving in the shadows at the edge of the clearing. It was too dark to see clearly, but whatever it was, it was big.

"Back away slowly," Ernie whispered.

Malfoy, naturally, did the exact opposite and bolted.

"Great," I muttered. "There goes our backup."

Whatever was in the shadows stepped closer, and for a moment, I thought my heart might actually stop. It was a centaur.

Tall, proud, and glowing faintly in the moonlight, the centaur regarded us with a mixture of curiosity and mild annoyance.

"You should not be here," he said, his voice deep and resonant.

"No kidding," I replied before Ernie could stop me. "Believe me, this wasn't my idea."

The centaur frowned. "The forest is not safe for humans, especially tonight."

"We're looking for a wounded unicorn," Ernie explained.

The centaur's expression darkened. "The creature that hunts the unicorn is not one you wish to encounter."

"That's... comforting," I said, because sarcasm is my default defense mechanism.

The centaur ignored me. "Return to your guide and leave the forest. Now."

Hagrid eventually found us and herded us back to the castle, muttering about "blasted kids" and "too much trouble for their own good."

When we finally reached the safety of the common room, Ernie flopped onto a couch and glared at me. "That's the last time I follow you anywhere."

"Fair enough," I said, collapsing into an armchair.

But even as I tried to shake off the night's events, my mind kept returning to the centaur's warning and the silvery blood in the clearing.

Something was wrong in the forest. And I had a feeling it wouldn't stay there for long.