Not So Innocent Musings

It was bright, sunny Sunday afternoon. An autumnal breeze glided across the large lawn beckoning the change of seasons and already leaves decorated the green grass. Carina knew all too well that in a couple of months where she was walking would be covered in a blanket of snow. It was quite a change from her beginnings in Knockturn Alley which was hundreds of miles south of here and rarely saw snow.

Having dropped Care for Magical Creatures after her OWLs, she was surprised when a fellow student told her Professor Fairweather was currently looking after unicorn fouls. She had read about unicorns but had never seen one. Their magic was legendary, so much so that they were even known in the Muggle world but naturally they weren’t clever enough to know the creature’s true power.

The pens were on the edge of the Forbidden Forest and once they came into sight, a flutter of excitement ran through Carina. She approached them slowly knowing how timid they are. The books didn’t exaggerate their grace and beauty for they really were majestic and noble even at such a young age.

Dressed in a dark green, tight fitting jumper and jeans, it didn’t quite protect her thin body from the chill in the air and so she wrapped her arms around her. After a while a thoughts turned darker, she wondered how much money a vial of their blood would go for on the black market. That if immortality was worth the curse which came with it?

Looking toward the inky darkness of the Forbidden Forest, she wondered how many dark creatures it held and the incredible power that came with them. The castle held so many secrets that she yearned to know. It was an inescapable pull which she was helpless against. She knew it was a dangerous path but it was one she was starting to realise she had to take.

Professor Fairweather was humming to herself as she made her way to the paddock, a huge barrel of feed for the foals. She wasn’t surprised to see a student leaning against the fence watching the beautiful animals. After she had shown them to her fourth year class the word had spread like wildfire throughout the castle and visitors were not uncommon.

Reaching the gate she pushed it open, slipped inside and closed it quickly before the foals tried to escape. Smelling the food they were instantly upon her, their excitement was clear. “Honestly you two,” she cooed, “Anyone would think I starve you.” She filled the trough and set the barrel down beside it before making her way over to the student, a warm smile on her face.

Her smile faded slightly as she realised who it was. As much as she tried not to, part of her resented students who dropped C.O.M.C and Carina Burke was one of them. “Hello Miss Burke.” She said “What brings you down here?” realising that the answer was more than obvious once it had escaped her lips.

Carina couldn’t help but notice the professor’s smile falter upon seeing her, not that she cared of course, Care of Magical Creatures had never been her forte. There were subjects of far greater importance she wanted to study for her NEWTs and C.O.M.C. just didn’t have enough darkness to hold her interest for long. She didn’t think much of the teacher either if she was honest, a bit too wishy washy for her liking. Worst of all, the professor even mentioned that she was Muggle born, if Carina had such a misfortune to be born to Muggles, she would never speak of it out loud.

“Afternoon Professor,” she replied civilly. “I heard there were unicorns so I came to see.” She answered while watching the fouls feed hungrily.

Realising this was probably a good time to pick the woman’s brain of the knowledge the girl so wished for and so she took advantage of their relative isolation down here. “A unicorn’s blood has magical powers doesn’t it professor? I remember reading about it,” she said conversationally, “if someone drinks it they become immortal don’t they? Do they have to drink a certain amount for this to work? That’s how the Dark Lord survived all that time when he didn’t have a body.”

She regretted saying ‘the Dark Lord’ as soon as it left her mouth. Despite his death, people still liked to call him ‘He Who Should be Named’ or other nonsense. She hoped Professor Fairweather would see this as a student’s curiosity and nothing sinister. “Sorry, they’re just so interesting.” She added for effect.

Felicity leant against the fence admiring the unicorns and how their golden coats glittered in the autumn sunlight. She would regret letting them free once they had turned two and their coats changed to pure white of an adult unicorn. At such a young age they were vulnerable without their mother and Felicity was reluctant to let them out of her sight, so has taken to teaching her classes outside.

She had captured the foals with Hagrid earlier in the term after their mother was discovered by the centaurs in a pool of blood, its throat slit. The image still haunted her, how anyone could kill something so pure was beyond her. It was clear magic was used to kill the unicorn but whom and why, was something that all the Professors were still trying to get to the bottom of.

“A unicorn’s blood has magical powers doesn’t it professor? I remember reading about it,”

Felicity’s head snapped round at the question and she studied the Carina carefully. Was it possible students had been involved? She dismissed the idea as soon as it entered her mind. There was no reason for them to.

“if someone drinks it they become immortal don’t they? Do they have to drink a certain amount for this to work? That’s how the Dark Lord survived all that time when he didn’t have a body.”

Felicity considered her words carefully. “It doesn’t necessarily make you immortal,” she replied slowly “Though if drunk it can keep you alive even if you are from the brink of death, but I would imagine it would take someone drinking it every day to make them immortal.” The fact that Carina had used the term ‘Dark Lord’ instead of ‘he who must not be named’ unsettled Felicity somewhat. “To drink a unicorns blood is to be cursed, and yes Voldemort did use it to keep himself alive, though or how long he used it none of us really know.”

“Why do you ask?”

Shrugging her shoulders casually, Carina didn’t answer at first. “Just interested, they’re such unusual creatures, it’s not every day you get to see one.”

Treading carefully, she had to remind herself not to cause any concern, well no more than she already had. Her father would hit the roof if he heard that she had created a cloud of doubt on the supposed ‘reformed’ Burke family who didn’t ally themselves to the Dark Lord, only traded in mysterious items these days.

“So where did you get these fouls from?” She asked, changing the subject to a more neutral one for the time being to quell whatever thoughts the professor had. She had read that Voldemort had been charismatic, diplomatic and subtle in his manipulations at Hogwarts and she knew she had to be the same way. Arousing suspicion would be deadly and extremely costly.

“Are they to go into the Forbidden Forest once they’ve grown up?”

“So where did you get these fouls from?”

“The forest.” Professor Fairweather replied simply. “Their mother was found dead and they were lingering close to her body. Unicorns are intelligent but as we were unsure as to what or who killed their mother we thought it best to keep them in our sight until they were old enough to be rereleased.”

Releasing the foals when they were old enough wasn’t something Felicity was looking forward to. Growing up on a farm, it had been drilled into her from a young age not to get too attached to working animals but these were unicorns. Creatures she had fantasised about from a young age, long before she knew she was a witch, and to let such beautiful creatures out of her sight, likely to never be seen again was heart breaking.

“Are they to go into the Forbidden Forest once they’ve grown up?”

Felicity tilted her head to one side. “I hope so. There has always been a unicorn or two in the forest and as it is their birthplace, it would be the obvious option, but until we unravel the mystery of their mother’s death, it’s likely they’ll be relocated elsewhere.”

One of the foals ambled over to they stood and nuzzled Felicity’s hand, her hand moved automatically and she gently rubbed its long nose. “Would you like to come in and stroke them?” she asked Carina.

An ice cold shiver shot down Carina’s spine. For a moment her eyes widened but she recovered almost immediately. About a week ago a group of Slytherin boys including her ex Ursam were discussing in great detail the properties of unicorn blood in the dungeons and she knew all too well that Ursam had a dark streak deeper than hers. It was what had attracted her in the first place and she found it hard to believe he had resisted the urge to investigate. Had it gone terribly wrong? She didn’t know for she hadn’t talked to him since.

“Do you know what or who would kill a unicorn?” Carina asked, “I can’t believe anyone would be so horrid.” When in fact she knew and understood exactly why.

Carina hesitated when Professor Fairweather invited her to stroke the unicorns. She wasn’t too good with animals, never had been, they didn’t seem to like her and she wasn’t too keen on them either. What was to be gained from something which couldn’t talk or understand what you were saying?

“Ok...” she finally answered and approached the foal with caution. Not knowing what to do, she held out her hand and the unicorn gently nuzzled it. Looking at the professor for some reassurance, she nervously stroked the creature’s nose. It was a beautiful creature with a sweet nature but she still didn’t see the attraction to actually wanting to work with them.

“What over creatures do you have at the moment?” Carina asked, done with the unicorn, she crossed her arms.