Begotten

Exploring the forest turned out to not be Moriah’s favorite thing to do. The later it got, the more the chill crept in around them. A thick layer of fog formed around their feet and she could see the light from their lanterns reflecting off of the mist. All of that on top of Harry and Draco’s constant bickering made for a very irritated Moriah.

Then, she heard something.

“Guys, shut up!” She hissed, holding her arms out to pull both boys back by their cloaks. Draco quickly swatted her away, but Harry stood still.

Somewhere close to them was something or someone breathing loudly, huffing even. It made the hairs on the back of Moriah’s neck stand on end.

“What is that?” Draco asked, the haughty tone of his voice suddenly gone.

Moriah just scanned their dark surroundings, unable to see anything out of the ordinary, just more trees, more roots, and more dirt.

Without saying anything, Harry walked forward, careful not to make much noise. Rolling her eyes, the girl followed.

“What are you—where are you…?” Malfoy swore under his breath then stepped after her.

There was a small drop in the ground that showed off a small, dark clearing. It was hard to see anything, but that did nothing to deter Harry. He continued on, using tree roots as a ladder and making his way down. The small snake around her wrist tightened and seemed to pulse which only made her more nervous.

Moriah had a funny feeling in her stomach and stood above with Draco, though neither of them said anything. The air felt as if it was getting colder and colder, and the blonde wrapped her cloak around her body tightly.

Then she saw Harry stop dead in his tracks, his back to the two Slytherin students. In front of him rose a tall dark figure, a hood hiding its face. Moriah couldn’t see any limbs, just a dark robe that flowed all around whatever thing was inside of it.

“Harry!” Moriah called, her blood running cold. “Harry, run!”

It was getting closer to him, and the raven-haired boy began to back up quickly. It came as no surprise that he tripped over a raised root, falling onto his backside and quickly scooting back.

“What is that?” Draco asked, fear in his voice.

“I don’t know.” Moriah stepped to the edge of the clearing and set her lantern down. She began descending the small wall of dirt but didn’t get very far. Draco seized her by the arm, pulling her back up.

“You’re not going down there!”

“We have to help! That thing—“

It was leaning down, peering over Harry who was backed up to the ledge. Moriah bent down and held her hand out. “Harry, take my hand!”

He looked up at her for a split second and grappled for it, but there was no need.

A loud noise and the sound of hooves met their ears. Bursting from the other side of the clearing was a creature Moriah had only read about. With the body of a massive horse and the torso and head of a man, the centaur charged at the cloaked figure, quickly running it into the thick trees. It came to a halt in front of Harry who still looked terrified, though he took the centaur’s hand when it was extended to him.

“Harry Potter,” the creature bowed. “I am Firenze. You shouldn’t be here.”

“What was that? It was—it was eating a unicorn!”

Moriah hadn’t been able to see that far, but the news sent a cold shiver down her spine.

“Drinking its blood,” Firenze corrected.

“But why?”

“It is a life sustaining substance. Even if you are on the brink of dying, just one drop of unicorn blood can keep you alive but at a terrible price. Once the blood touches your lips, you are doomed to live an awful life, a half-life.”

Harry stared at him, still curious as ever. “But who would…?”

“Can you think of no one?”

Moriah’s heart lurched in her chest.

“You mean that—that thing—that was drinking the blood—that’s Voldemort?”

Firenze nodded. “Do you have any idea what lies in Hogwarts as we speak?”

“The stone,” Moriah said allowed, swearing she had only thought it.

The centaur’s attention was directed toward her and he nodded once again. “Yes, what he wouldn’t do to get his hands on it is beyond me. Now come. We must get you all to safety.” He jerked his head toward his back, motioning for them to get on.

Malfoy made a face and turned away as Harry took Firenze’s arm and was hoisted up. “No thank you. I’d rather walk than ride on a half-breed’s back.”

Moriah scoffed and straddled the centaur from where she stood above them. She held onto Harry’s robes. “Don’t mind him. He’s just a pure-blood prat.”

Harry chuckled and Firenze began trotting through the forest.

He was a beautiful creature with dark fur and long hair. He was huge and muscular and would have been extremely threatening had he not just rescued all of them from… Moriah swallowed.
That had been Voldemort. The Voldemort.

The three of them made it to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, finding Hagrid, Ron, and Hermione waiting for them.

“Hello, Firenze! I see you’ve met our young Mister Potter! Wait, where’s Malfoy?”

“Still in the forest,” Moriah answered, slipping off of Firenze’s back. “Said he’d rather walk than take a ride, pompous little git.

Hagrid looked at the centaur apologetically. “Well, we’ll jus’ have ter wait here for ‘im. Thanks fer bringin’ ‘em back.”

Firenze bowed onto his front legs, then rose again and looked at Harry. “Be safe, Harry Potter. There is much danger in Hogwarts.” He nodded to the rest of them, then turned and walked back into the trees.

“Well, that was an adventure,” Moriah stated.

“What even happened to you lot in there? We’ve been waiting here for twenty minutes!”

Harry just looked at Moriah and shook his head. “I’ll explain later.”



The four students sat huddled around the fire in the Gryffindor common room, Moriah having been snuck in between Ron and Harry. She had taken her green and silver tie off and was no sitting cross legged in one of the plush armchairs.

“So, now that he’s back… You don’t think he’s gonna, you know…”

“Kill me?” Harry tried. Ron gulped. “I think he would have tried tonight, if he could’ve.”

Moriah stared into the crackling fire, listening with one ear while the gears in her head turned.
Voldemort. On Hogwarts grounds. Looking for the stone and Harry. She had thought Hogwarts would be exciting, but this—life-threatening danger over a stone of immortality—she never thought she’d find herself in the middle of something like this.

Of course, she could always just leave Harry to his fate and go on her merry little way as a Slytherin, but that had been out of the question from day one. Moriah was a part of this now, just like Ron, just like Hermione. There was no turning back.

“So, what do we do?” She finally asked.

Harry stared at her through his round glasses. “Well, first thing’s first, we—“

“Tell Dumbledore,” Hermione finished with a stern expression. “We tell Dumbledore before we do anything. Besides, as long as he’s here, you-know-who can’t get to you, Harry. As long as Dumbledore is here, you’re safe.”

Harry smiled at this, comforted by the presence of the Headmaster. Unfortunately, Moriah couldn’t find it in her to let all of her faith ride on a single wizard, no matter how powerful he may have been.