Unofficial Portkey Archive

The Shoebox

by Jardyn39

Chapter 7 - Why Would I Be On Edge?

As the last of the marauding suits of armour exploded, Harry allowed himself a moment to reflect on what had been a thoroughly enjoyable Friday morning.

True, the day had begun with a considerable preoccupation about what exactly Dumbledore had to do with Hermione's new case files. However, that preoccupation had been driven away completely when Winky had arrived to present him with his new diet sheets.

Hermione had stressed that they were merely suggestions for his well-being and were completely voluntary dietary suggestions.

Unfortunately, Winky seemed to have had a slightly different understanding. So much so, indeed, that every sausage he transferred to his plate vanished before he was able to take a single bite.

The day had perked up shortly after as Julia Bales confirmed that everything was ready for the day's mayhem.

Harry turned to face the two students standing in the corridor with him.

"So, would one of you like to tell me what happened?"

"I charmed some of the armour," admitted Carmen immediately, "but that was only because stunning and impediment jinxes wouldn't work."

"Wouldn't work?"

"Yes! About half a dozen suits of armour charged us. We tried to fight them back but in the end I thought of using the suits of armour behind up. You know, fight fire with fire."

"Well," said Harry, looking around and nudging the nearest helmet with his foot. "I count six battle helmets and there are six empty alcoves just behind you. Where did the attacking armour go to? Come to think of it, where did it come from?"

Carmen frowned as she too counted up the helmets.

"You do believe me, don't you?"

"Carmen, why would anyone set armour to attack you?" asked Harry. "I've never seen Peeves move more than one suit at a time and I doubt he could fight an Impediment jinx, especially one of yours."

"It wasn't Peeves," said Carmen, and Harry saw her shoot a quick glance at her companion. "They didn't attack me, either. They were going for Mark when I turned the corner."

Mark Stannard gave a start before recovering himself. Harry had the impression he was rather hoping not to be noticed.

"The armour attacked you, Mark?"

"Um, yes. I may have just set them off by walking past here, though."

"That's possible," agreed Harry. "I still don't understand how the attacking armour vanished, though. Surely one of you must have seen?"

"It was a fairly pitched battle," said Carmen.

"At least three of her suits were brought down by the black knight with his mace," observed Mark, pointing over at the remains.

Carmen scowled at him.

"It was hard keeping control," she said angrily. "If you think you can do better, perhaps you'd like to show us?"

Carmen flicked her wand and the Black Knight's heavy mace complete with metal glove leapt into the air and brandished itself a few feet away.

"That'll do," said Harry warningly. The mace dropped to the floor with a metallic thud.

Carmen lowered her wand hand.

"I want you both to collect up all this junk and take it down to Mr Filch's office. You can arrange with him when you'll be helping to put the suits of armour back together."

"No way!" cried Carmen. "It's Saturday tomorrow. I bet he makes us do it then!"

Harry smiled and stood aside for them.

"Go on, say it," said Harry.

"This is so unfair!" grumbled Carmen as she threw an odd leg at Mark.

"There," said Harry, turning and making his way back towards the staircase. "I knew you'd feel better for saying that. I'll see you later."

*

"Mark?" called Harry as a solitary figure walked past his open door.

Mark jumped about a foot in the air.

"I'm sorry," said Harry at once. "I didn't mean to startle you. Come in a moment?"

Mark entered the empty classroom looking a little flushed.

"You okay?" asked Harry. "You look a little on edge."

"Why would I be on edge? I mean, no-one who'd made Carmen Callidus get a detention with Mr Filch would be worried, would they?"

Harry laughed and nodded.

"I see what you mean. How was Mr Filch?"

"He says it will take at least two days to reassemble the armour properly without magic. Apparently we broke several important rivets of significant historical interest too."

Harry snorted.

"I doubt they were that important. To my knowledge, every bit of that armour has been blasted apart previously. In fact, a friend of mine once bet Carmen that she couldn't make the Black Knight do somersaults through the Staff Room. That time we were able to blame Peeves."

Mark nodded, but still looked a little preoccupied.

"I'm sure Carmen won't do anything too bad," Harry assured him. "Unfortunately, she and Mr Filch don't exactly get on."

"Yeah, I kind of picked up on that."

Harry smiled.

"Mark? I didn't like to ask in front of Carmen, but what were you doing up in that corridor? I know you were in the greenhouses the period before and you had Transfiguration next."

"I, um," began Mark hesitantly, but then he drew a deep breath. "Well, the truth is I've been varying my routes around the castle. There was a spot of bother a short while ago and the Fat Friar suggested a few alternatives."

"You think some students might have used the armour to attack you?"

"Not really. That seems too advanced for them."

"I won't ask who you mean, but watch out for yourself. Don't let yourself be dragged into any mad scheme Carmen dreams up, either. She's bound to want to get her own back."

"Yes, she's been on at me about that already."

"Well, I'm sure you won't let her make up your mind for you."

"I wish I was as sure," admitted Mark. "She certainly likes to make an impression, doesn't she?"

"Well, that's Carmen for you."

"I was a bit taken aback that she even knew my name," said Mark quietly. "Is she always that intense? I thought she and Filch were going to have a duel right there in his office earlier."

Harry chuckled and began, "Well-"

"Be careful how you answer that," said Carmen loudly before knocking on the open door.

She gave Harry and Mark dark looks before entering and handing Harry a scroll of parchment. Over her shoulder, Harry could see Natasha grinning widely but deciding to stay outside in the corridor.

"Oh, this is from Mr Filch," said Harry, opening the sealed scroll and reading it quickly. "Um, unfortunately Professor McGonagall won't allow either of you to miss any lessons, so he won't be able to chain you up. Other than that, this seems to be in order."

"It's a Hogsmeade weekend!"

"Yes, I remember. Still, you wouldn't enjoy yourself knowing that Mr Filch's armour was in pieces, would you?"

"I was hoping you might persuade that old git to put it off for a week."

"If you couldn't persuade him, Carmen, there's very little point in me even trying."

"Well, I only remembered we were due to go to Hogsmeade after I threatened to string up Mrs Norris."

*

Harry entered the staff room wearing a broad smile. Almost the moment the door closed behind him, two ghosts glided through the far wall.

"Extraordinary!" cried the Fat Friar.

"Quite," agreed Sir Nicholas. "The argument with Filch really set the whole thing off splendidly. We would have been here earlier but just had to stay for that!"

The door opened again and in came Professor McGonagall.

"I was hoping for a report on progress," she said. "Would you mind if we sat? I've been on the go all morning."

"Please," said Sir Nicholas, bowing her to a seat whilst rather discretely holding his head level with a free hand.

Harry poured two cups of coffee and brought them over to the group.

"The armour ambush seemed to go well," said Harry, sipping his coffee. "I was worried that they'd work out what was happening."

"It was terribly convincing," said the Friar. "The mêlée even had me diving for cover."

"So, what actually happened?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"Well," said Harry. "We needed something that Carmen would have difficulty fighting. It was a fairly safe bet that she'd animate the armour next to them just to give herself a little thinking time. The Black Knight was the one she used to play all those pranks with, so again I felt she would probably concentrate her attack using him. She just didn't realise that she'd gradually lost control of the others."

"But what about the initial attack?"

"It was simply an illusion. That's why her spells had no real effect. She didn't realise because we added sounds and deflected spells as part of the trick. That corridor widens just there, and Julia and myself were stationed either side. Fortunately, Carmen didn't enquire too closely afterwards."

"She did look rather annoyed," agreed Sir Nicholas.

"So, what now?" asked McGonagall.

"We just let things run their course," said Harry. "Carmen will spend every minute of her detentions trying to find out why anyone would attack Mark. I'm sure he won't say, but it won't take Carmen long to work out Mark is hiding something."

"Poor boy," said Sir Nicholas with a heavy sigh. "He really doesn't know what's about to hit him."

"Oh, I think he has an inkling," said Harry.

"Would you continue a discrete watch over them?" Professor McGonagall asked the ghosts.

"We would be honoured," said Sir Nicholas bowing again but this time forgetting to hold his head on straight. He wobbled dangerously but everyone's attention was on the Fat Friar who was a picture of nervous excitement.

"Oh, we can hardly wait!"

The door to the staff room opened a third time and in came Julia Bales.

"Well, your other mad scheme just got back on course, Harry," she said brightly. "I've just given permission for Peter Westbury to join the Charms club this evening. That means you're stuck with Alec Brown as planned."

"Oh, good. They left it a bit late, didn't they?"

"Well, Peter isn't quite up to scratch, to be honest. But at least he's trying now instead of just disrupting the class."

Harry smiled and saw Professor McGonagall looking at him with a pensive expression.

"I wonder if I'm doing the right thing in allowing you to go away this weekend, Harry."

*

Argus Filch looked at Harry as if his long held suspicions that Harry was simply mad had at last been realised.

"You want me to keep them working all weekend?"

"Sure. Keep them keep polishing or remaking the joints until you are entirely satisfied with the quality; just make sure they don't finish."

"Do you really think I've got nothing better to do with my weekend?"

"You don't have to stay with them all the time. Just get Mrs Norris to look in on them every couple of hours or so. Oh, and they'll probably need a couple of hours for lunch."

"A couple of hours?"

"Well, yes. And don't worry about Carmen. She'll be far too busy interrogating Mark to bother tormenting you and Mrs Norris."

"I'll believe that when I see it!" said Filch as Alec Brown came tearing down the staircase and came to a skidding halt beside them.

"Hello, Alec," said Harry with a smile. "I think you're early."

"Sir," said Alec between gasps.

"We're spending tonight's detention in the Forest," explained Harry in response to Filch's raised eyebrows. "Professor Cauldern needs a few things and I thought we'd save Professor Jackson the bother."

"The Forest, eh?" said Filch, his quivering face instantly transforming into a nasty grin. "There's not many who come out of there unscathed."

Far from looking scared, Alec looked like he was bursting with eagerness.

"What kinds of creatures live in the forest?" he asked excitedly.

"Oh, all manner of Dark Beasts," replied Filch in a low voice. "Of course, since the fall of You-Know-Who they say there are ghosts of his Death Eaters too. They roam around hoping their fallen Lord will rise again and restore them too."

"Ghosts aren't anything to be afraid of," said Alec defiantly. "Anyway, who says there are ghosts in there?"

"Well, by morning you'll know, won't you?" said Filch with a chuckle. "I'm going up to clear away the swearing gas Peeves let off outside the Hospital Wing. I'll tell Madam Pomfrey to save you a bed, shall I?"

Without waiting for a reply he nodded briefly to Harry and then trudged his way across the entrance. Harry had the feeling that his presence was holding Alec back from responding to Fitch.

"I don't think there are Dark Creatures in there," muttered Alec under his breath before turning to face Harry. "Are there, Sir?"

"Well, actually there are some," admitted Harry. "We'll need to be careful, but I don't think Death Eater ghosts will be anything to worry about."

"What will we be collecting, Sir?"

"I tell you when we are all together. I'm expecting one more for this Detention," said Harry looking at his wristwatch. "Are, here she comes."

Walking down the stairs was a very white faced girl. Adeline Gudmunson was also a Second Year and she seemed to be carrying her wand for comfort.

"Hello, Adeline," said Harry. "Let's walk down to Hagrid's house and I'll tell you what we'll be about this evening."

He turned and exited the entrance through the doors. The cool air felt refreshing on his face.

"Um, who is Hagrid, Sir?" asked Alec.

"Was," Harry corrected him sadly. "Hagrid was the gamekeeper here when I was your age. He was murdered by Voldemort. There isn't much of his house left now, actually, but you can still see the foundations and part of the chimney is still standing."

"Oh, that place next to the Memorial Beacon," said Adeline speaking for the first time.

The three of them crossed the dry grass and stepped onto the stone remains of Hagrid's hut. Harry pointed his wand at the chimney and a fire erupted into life spreading warmth and light all around.

"Okay," said Harry turning to face them. "I might not admit it to Argus Filch, but the Forbidden Forest can be a very dangerous place. We'll be safe enough if we keep together and keep our wits about us."

"Did we really have to go there after dark, though?" Adeline asked with only a slight tremble in her voice.

"No," admitted Harry, "but parts of the forest are so thick it makes little difference. Very little light reaches the deepest parts."

Adeline nodded whilst staring into the flames of the fire.

"There is one good reason why we're gong in there now. Professor Cauldern has asked us to collect some Unicorn hairs. Now we know that Unicorns have returned to the forest, but none have been seen for years to my knowledge. Unicorn hair is much brighter than normal hair, but it doesn't show up at all well in the daylight unless there's a lot of it."

"Unicorns?" said Adeline interestedly.

"Yes. Now, I should warn you that we may encounter some Centaurs. On no account should you attempt to use magic against the Centaurs. Even holding a wand in their presence is provocative these days."

"Are there any Dark Creatures in there?"

"The worst I've encountered is probably the Acromantula, but we'll be keeping well away from their hollow. Of course, they do tend to spread out wider when they go hunting."

"What are Acromantula?" asked Alec.

Adeline frowned at him and muttered, "We did those a month ago."

Harry smiled and said, "Acromantula are giant spiders, but whatever we encounter the rules stay the same. We stick together. Don't be tempted to run or you'll get lost only a few feet off the path. If you see anything don't shout it out. We just might draw too much attention to ourselves."

"What defensive spells should we use?"

"Stick with Impedimenta and Expelliarmus," advised Harry. "Stunning and reductor spells will only have limited effect, so follow my lead if possible."

"But I can only do Expelliarmus," said Adeline with a hint of alarm.

"Well, fortunately Alec's Impedimenta is pretty good but his Expelliarmus is hopeless."

Alec smiled at her sheepishly as Harry said, "So, are we ready to go?"

He pointed his wand at a rusty oil lamp. A tiny golden flame came to life inside and Harry levitated it up to head height.

"Come on then," he prompted and lead the way into the forest with his wand tip lit. The other two followed in single file and the lamp followed the group at walking pace.

"Why is the lamp following us, Sir?" called Alec loudly.

Harry turned and whispered, "A little quieter in here, Alec. The lamp will show you the safest and quickest way out of the forest. If anything happens to me, just follow the lamp and raise the alarm up at the castle. Okay?"

The two nodded silently and Harry turned and walked on. He hadn't needed to them to be so quiet this far into the forest, but it wouldn't help them to get the point.

They walked on for a further twenty minutes or so, with Harry keeping a few feet ahead of the others. He could hear they were having a whispered conversation so made sure he was far enough away not to interrupt them.

Harry stopped and shone his narrow beam of wand light in a wide arc off the side of the path. Soon Alec and Adeline had caught him up.

"Look over there," he said quietly. "About thirty feet."

Adeline gasped as the light hit something that glistened.

Harry stepped off the path and made his way with a little difficulty through the dense groundcover. Behind him Adeline and Alec were also making their way over.

"Ow!"

Harry turned to see Adeline nursing a cut on her hand.

"I'm fine," she said, seeing him pause.

Harry nodded and continued on. Eventually, the three of them emerged into a small clearing around a dead tree.

"Well, I think we are going to be lucky," he said observing the fine strands of hair caught in the foliage. "Are you okay, Adeline?"

"It's just a scratch," she said absently, pulling a strand of the Unicorn hair from a bush beside her.

"You can see why they stayed here, can't you?" said Harry. "They would have had plenty of warning of our approach. Okay, let's start collecting."

They started at once, each pulling the delicate strands tangled up. Harry soon found this wasn't as easy as it sounded as the fine hair usually broke when pulled hard.

"We're supposed to get long strands," said Harry, holding up yet another broken length.

"Don't pull so hard," said Adeline holding up a surprising amount of long tail hair.

"How did you get that much already?" asked Alec before Harry had the chance to.

"Just tease it out," she directed, her nimble fingers expertly extracting the tangled hair.

"How many Unicorns do you think there are in here?" asked Alec as he returned to his own bush.

"I'm not sure," said Harry, "but there are plenty of hoof prints in the mud. Unfortunately, I can't tell how old they are."

"We didn't frighten them away, did we?" asked Adeline with concern.

"No, we didn't," said Alec.

"What do you mean, Alec?" asked Harry, looking around at him.

"There's a camp fire over there," he replied, nodding over towards the dead tree.

Harry frowned and went over. He brushed away a few fallen leaves to reveal a small circle of stones.

He reached down and picked one up to examine it more closely.

Harry looked up to see Adeline and Alec looking at him.

"It's cold. Whoever made this campfire is long gone. Come and see," he said, and they came over to him.

Harry sniffed the stone and offered it to Alec.

"These stones should be coated in carbon soot if this had been a wood fire. Even the ground isn't charred and there isn't any ash at all."

"There is some kind of coating on this," said Adeline looking closely at the markings. "Magical fires don't usually burn like that, do they?"

"From the smell I'd guess the fire was started my magical means. The Weasleys brought out some firestarters a while back. I think this might have been something like that. We'll take this back and get it analysed, I think."

"Why, Sir?"

"Well, uninvited guests who take up residence in this forest tend to be unwelcome ones in my experience. If they might represent a risk to the students we need to do something about them, even if they can't perform magic."

"They aren't a witch or wizard?"

"The Weasley firestarters were part of a range of products for people hit with the magic draining curse. A witch or wizard with all their powers would never have left these signs of their presence. They also wouldn't have needed to hide in a place so well concealed."

Harry looked around the small clearing thoughtfully. He was gradually feeling the faintest signs of uneasiness.

"I think we should make our way back."

"But we haven't collected half the Unicorn hair yet!" protested Adeline.

"We've done pretty well," said Harry with a smile. "I didn't expect to find so much in one place, to be honest."

"Well, we should make the most of it then," said Adeline, turning back to the glittering bushes.

"Ten minutes only," said Harry, reaching out to grab Alec's attention. "Wands out," he said very quietly. "Don't alarm Adeline, but stay alert and remember where the lamp is."

Alec nodded and pocketed his clump of Unicorn hair before hurrying over to Adeline who was now hard at work. Ahead of them, Harry could just about see the lantern still hovering above the path.

Harry continued to patrol the far side of the small clearing but couldn't relax. He neither heard nor saw a thing, but the hairs on the back of his head were prickling.

He turned to see Alec watching him. Harry raised his fee hand and silently signalled that they were leaving.

Alec immediately reached out and touched Adeline on her shoulder. She looked up with a start but Alec quickly covered her mouth with his hand.

Adeline stuffed the Unicorn hair into an inside pocket as they came over to where Harry was preparing to leave the clearing.

"Nox," whispered Harry, and they were plunged into darkness. "Okay, stick together and follow me as closely as you can. We're going back to the path but not the way we came. Don't fire at anything you can't see."

He set off into the forest again away from the dwindling light of the lantern. The two students went stumbling after him in the darkness.

Harry stopped every so often to listen once the others had stopped moving. This invariably happened only after they had barged into his back.

Harry heard the snap of a twig being trodden on and shouted, "DOWN!"

He turned and dived, pushing Adeline and Alec to the ground as a swishing sound passed overhead.

Harry rolled away and jumped to his feet, firing stunning spells in the general direction of their attacker.

A dark outline moved to his right and Harry dived again, this time actually feeling the arrow tug at his cloak as it barely missed hitting him.

Harry moved again, now knowing there were more than one.

"Expelliarmus!"

The Centaur's arms jerked upwards and the arrow shot uselessly into the air. The Centaur immediately went to grab another arrow as Harry advanced.

"Reducto!"

The bow exploded onto dust.

Harry turned and to see the first Centaur beginning to stir. Livid, he marched over and pointed his wand down.

The Centaur was reaching for his bow but stopped seeing Harry approach.

To his surprise, Harry realised that the Centaur was very young. From his face, Harry guessed he looked barely older than Alec or Adeline.

Harry felt his anger subside.

"Here," he said, offering his hand out.

The colt shied away fearfully.

"I won't bite, you know?" said Harry with a touch of annoyance.

There was the sound of a scuffle behind him and Harry turned to see Alec struggling to release Adeline from the clutches of a third Centaur.

"Rullus! No!" shouted the first Centaur as he and Harry charged forward.

Adeline was held by both her arms but still trying to kick back at the legs of the Centaur. Alec was free and clearly trying to decide how best to attack.

"Alec! Don't!" shouted Harry. Performing magic now would not be a good idea.

Then, to Harry's amazement, Alec jumped up onto the Centaur's back.

"Human, get off me!" roared the Centaur in outrage.

He reared up pulling Adeline off the ground momentarily. She screamed as she hit the ground again.

Alec held on and grabbed the Centaur's neck with one hand. The Centaur stopped struggling when he felt Alec's wand at his temple.

"Now, listen carefully, you old nag," snarled Alec. "Our teacher told us not to use magic against the Centaurs, but unless you let her go now I'm going to transfigure you into the donkey you really are."

Even Harry, who knew full well that Alec couldn't even transfigure a mouse properly yet, believed him.

The Centaur let go of Adeline and she slumped to the ground letting out a painful yelp.

"Alright, Alec," said Harry warningly. "You can get down now."

Alec dismounted at once and went to help Adeline.

"Are you okay, Adeline?" asked Harry, still on his guard in case the Centaurs decided to start fighting again.

"My ankle is twisted," she replied in a strained voice.

"No, I'm sure it's broken," said Alec.

"Why are you in our forest, human," demanded Rullus forcefully, stamping the ground. "Why were you disturbing the Unicorn clearing?"

"We've just as much right to be here as you," Harry reminded him. "I'd like to know why you are firing on people without warning."

"That was my fault," said a timid voice from behind him. Harry turned to see the colt Centaur approaching with his head bowed.

"It was an accident. I was aiming my arrow at you and I accidentally let go."

"You could have killed one of us," said Harry seriously.

"I'm sorry."

"Do not apologise!" said Rullus angrily. "We Centaurs do not seek the forgiveness of mere humans!"

"Rullus, don't be ridiculous. You should be apologising. I would remind you that your arrow was fired deliberately; not by accident," said the first Centaur firmly before addressing Harry. "We have been looking for whoever frightened the Unicorns away."

"And we found them tonight!" said Rullus triumphantly.

"No, the Unicorns were gone long before we arrived," said Harry. "Have you any idea who it is?"

"No. From the tracks we believe it to be a lone individual. They arrived only a few weeks ago and they keep moving around to avoid detection."

"Why were you expecting them back here?"

"This is a good place to set up a concealed camp. We heard you approach several minutes before you entered the clearing back there."

Harry nodded.

"Forgive me," said the first Centaur kindly. "My name is Mergus. This young colt is Valiente and you are Harry Potter."

"Um, yes I am," said Harry quietly and he shook the Centaur's hand. "This is Alec and Adeline from the school."

Valiente stepped forward and helped Alec get Adeline to her feet. She looked very pale and faint.

"We'd better get her back up to the castle," said Harry.

He was about to conjure a stretcher when Valiente said, "I will help. Help her up onto my back and I'll carry her."

"This is an outrage!" yelled Rullus.

"It was my fault she was hurt," said Valiente.

"You are not a mule."

"No," agreed Alec. "I'm not so sure about you though."

Mergus snorted and said, "Valiente should do as he pleases. In the meantime, Rullus and myself will continue our patrol."

"The Elders will hear of this!" said Rullus loudly, but no-one was listening to him.

Harry and Alec helped Adeline up onto the Centaur's back and then the two groups parted.

"It will be quicker if I lead," said Valiente. "There is an easier path than the one you came along."

"Okay," said Harry walking beside him.

They continued in silence for a while, hearing nothing but Adeline's laboured breathing.

"Is Firenze still living in the forest?" asked Harry.

"Yes," replied Valiente. "He's an elder of the herd now. As a matter of fact I expect he'll have quite a lot to say about my carelessness tonight. He'll be furious that I almost took a life."

"Accidents happen," said Harry.

"The elders will be angry that I'm helping you, too."

"Not Firenze, though. You know? He carried me to safety a few years ago."

"He did?" said Valiente, sounding a little brighter.

"Mm. I was in my First Year at Hogwarts. Please give him my kind regards when you see him."

"I will. What year are you in, Alec?"

"We're both in our Second Year. Do you go to school too?"

"We receive tuition, but we don't have a castle of course."

"What do you study?"

"The stars and how to interpret the signs. We also learn about the forest and the creatures that live here with us. That's why the Unicorns are so important to us. It's a sign that at long last peace is returning to the forest."

The boys continued to chat until they neared the edge of the forest. Valiente hesitated seeing the light still burning from Hagrid's fireplace.

"Come out into the light so we can let her down safely," said Harry and they walked out clear of the trees.

Harry conjured a stretcher and with Alec's help gently lowered her down from Valiente's back. Adeline was barely conscious now.

When Harry straightened up he saw Valiente gazing up at the castle.

"I've often come to the edge of the forest to look," said Valiente. "Hogwarts looks a most intriguing place."

Valiente pulled the bow from his back and offered it out to Alec.

"Alec, would you please give this bow to Adeline as a symbol of my sincere apologies."

Alec nodded and took the bow.

Harry stepped forward and offered his hand out to the Centaur.

"Thank you for your help, Valiente. We are in your debt. You and your friends will always be welcome to visit us. Come in friendship."

Valiente shook Harry's hand but said, "I'm not sure that would be approved of."

"You must come," said Alec, jumping up to shake his hand too. "Adeline will need teaching how to use her bow, for one thing!"

Valiente smiled and said, "Well, perhaps one day."

They watched as Valiente trotted back into the forest before Harry levitated Adeline's stretcher and the three of them made their way back up to the castle followed by the lamp.

"Alec, thanks for not using magic. Things would have got very complicated if you had."

"I was very tempted, believe me."

"By the way, how did you know what my hand signal meant? That's an Auror signal."

"Well, it might be," said Alec, "but it's also the signal my Dad uses."

"When?"

"Well, he insists we go to the Muggle supermarket at home but tends to go a bit crazy in crowds of Muggles. He thinks they are always about to accuse us of being wizards, so he refuses to speak aloud in their presence for fear of giving us away."

Adeline snorted making them both look down at her.

"Why am I on this stretcher?"

"We're almost back at the castle," said Harry. "You've just hurt your ankle."

"Why have you got a bow?"

"I'm carrying it for you," said Alec. "Valiente wanted you to have it."

"Oh," she said a little faintly. "I'll need arrows. Let's go back and get some arrows."

"Not tonight," said Harry, exchanging a smile with Alec.

They arrived at the stone steps leading up to the entrance and Harry wasn't entirely surprised to see Madam Pomfrey waiting for them, her arms crossed and with a most disapproving look on her face.

"Go with Adeline will you, Alec?" asked Harry. "I'll go back and put Hagrid's fire out."

"Um," said Alec hesitantly.

"What?"

"Maybe you could do that later," he suggested tactfully. "I noticed a couple of shadows as we went by."

"You recognised them?"

"I couldn't be certain. They looked like students though."

"Okay, I'll send an owl to whom it may concern telling them to put out the fire before they leave. Alec, do, um, couples often meet there after dark?"

"No, but I heard the beacon has become quite popular. To be honest, no-one felt safe enough to sneak outside the castle before you arrived here."

Alec had gone inside before Harry turned from the distant glow of Hagrid's fireplace.