Of Unicorns and Men

Chapter Three

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The next morning, Harry entered his office to begin putting together the clues on this case. He had spent all afternoon and most of the evening going over everything that Scorpius knew about the poacher to determine if they were going to strike again. There wasn’t much information, but Harry hoped they would either get a lucky break or this person would at least stop this killing. It was an optimistic viewpoint, he knew, but he’d hate to see more animal corpses like the ones he saw. Someone had taken something majestic and beautiful and desecrated it. It disturbed him that someone so heartless could exist.

He called his assistant, Jamie, into his office to get her started on pulling all known offenders who fit the basic physical description that Scorpius could remember. He mentioned the poacher had done a poor job at the Memory Charm as Scorpius was only able to recall some of the person’s physical details. Harry suspected the poacher had an existing criminal background. He didn’t think an innocent person could commit this type of crime and then repeat it. He speculated most people wouldn’t have the stomach for this kind of crime regardless of the money. He also needed a list from the apothecaries on who they received unicorn ingredients from.

When Jamie came in, Harry gave her the list of what he needed: the physical description for pulling criminal files, and some other tasks and memos he needed done in addition to this case. He really did spend much of his time trying to keep his office and teams ahead of the mountain of paperwork the Ministry was known to produce. Having spent most of yesterday and evening talking to the young groundskeeper made him fall behind on his desk duties, and there was a lot to do.

Harry began organizing his daily tasks as Jamie left the office. He was working on making a list when one of his best friends walked entered. He didn’t have to look up since he knew who it was by the perfume she wore.

“Hello, Hermione, how are you doing this morning?” Harry casually queried as he continued prioritizing his day.

“Good Morning, Harry,” Hermione said with slight amusement in her voice. “I’m always glad to see when you or Ron use the organizing system I set-up for you in school to plan your days.”

“Only you, Hermione, would get excited watching someone make a To-Do list. The rest of us see it as another chore. Since I’m busy doing the last favor you asked of me, and it’s not that I don’t appreciate your company, but how can I help you today?” Harry asked, although his tone held none of the bite his words did as he put down his quill and leaned back in his chair, motioning for her to have a seat at the other chairs.

“I heard you went to Hogwarts yesterday, and I was wondering what you found out?” Hermione asked. The case may have been officially transferred to the Aurors, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t interested in it.

“Well, I learned that Scorpius Malfoy is one of the most interesting and committed young men I have ever met. When you told me whom I was going to talk to, I was trying to picture a cross between Hagrid and Draco Malfoy,” Harry said with a visible shudder that made Hermione laugh.

“Scorpius, though, really is his own man. I haven’t met someone so young who was actively passionate about such a noble cause. Did you know that in addition to being the Hogwarts’ Groundskeeper, he’s trying to stabilize and develop a blessing of unicorns in the middle of the Forbidden Forest? He even took me out there to see it. I was quite impressed,” Harry said, excited about all the information he had learned the day before. He continued to babble on, talking to his old friend about all the things he had learned about Scorpius Malfoy and unicorns.

Hermione smiled to herself. It had been years since she had seen her friend so enthusiastic and interested in something or someone. Understandably, Ginny’s sudden, tragic death had affected everyone in the family. She was such an independent, warm, and vibrant woman whom everybody, especially Harry, had loved. At the time of Ginny’s death, Hermione didn’t know how Harry would carry on, but he once again found the strength to persevere. His single-minded tenacity to focus on consoling and supporting his children through it touched Hermione in such a way that she truly felt veneration for him.

She had helped him find a Muggle therapist to help Harry and the kids work through their grief. She knew of several adequate mental healers, but she didn’t want the family to have to deal with any possible publicity because of their therapy. The therapy seemed to help Harry the most, even when he unexpectedly announced he was bisexual and he might start dating men. Hermione had suspected that was the case from their days in school, but she didn’t think it was her place to inform anyone of her observations.

Likewise, she was not surprised when the person who had the strongest, negative reaction was her own husband, Ron. He had immediately stopped speaking to Harry and would go into a fit of rage if Harry’s love life was discussed among family and friends. Surprisingly, it was Arthur who finally spoke to his youngest son and made him understand how foolish this myopic, homophobic view was to his surrogate brother, especially since he never acted this way to his true, gay brother, Charlie.

When she looked up, she could see Harry, in high spirits, waiting for her response.

“So, you got to see his unicorn corral? He came to me while he was in seventh year at school saying he wanted to develop a series of sympathetic magic spells that partially fed off the unicorn’s magic and emotions to protect and seclude them in an open field. At the time, he was interested in it for an essay in his Magical Creatures class, but I’m glad to see he did something more than write a theme.

“Is it providing the unicorns with the environment he was hoping to create? I know he wants to work with them and increase their dwindling population, but they are such temperamental animals. They may not be as receptive to him as he hopes,” Hermione said.

“Well, I’m not an expert about animals as either of you are, but from what I saw I think it’s safe to say he’ll be able to work along side them. They seem to trust him. Unlike his father, he’s self-confident without the arrogance; he’s tenderhearted, but not overly emotional.

“Did you know he only thinks of magic as a tool?” Harry said, just as there was a small rap on the door, and his assistant, Jamie, entered with a large stack of folders floating in behind her.

“Here are the files of those who fit the general description you gave me, Harry,” Jamie said as she placed the stack neatly on the corner of his desk. “Did you want me to start talking to the apothecaries about who supplies them with unicorn ingredients or work on sending out some of the paperwork?” she asked.

“Start with the apothecaries, please,” Harry said to his assistant before she walked out the door.

“Well, Hermione, I hate to cut this conversation short, but I need to start looking through these files for possible suspects. If you’d like, I can come get you for lunch, and we can discuss the case then?” Harry asked.

After Hermione left, Harry began moving the piles, one folder at a time, to review each person as a possible suspect. He didn’t have much to go on, just a very vague description of the suspect. What Scorpius could remember through his fragmented memories was that the suspect was a short and thickset man with red hair. That didn’t narrow down the list of possible suspects, Harry realized with a sigh. He continued to hold out hope that the information from the files or from the apothecaries would be able to narrow the list some.

After reviewing the files for a couple of hours, Harry felt like he was taking a walk down a surreal memory lane. Some of the wizards were men he had known most of his life, like Mundungus Fletcher, who made his livelihood committing minor crimes and avoiding authorities. Some were hardened criminals like Sean Cook who had tried to poison the Minister of Magic last year and was still at large. For Harry, though, the hardest file to look through had to be the criminal he had known since their birth, his own godson, Hugo Harry Weasley.

Hugo had been the youngest of the latest generation of Weasley children. He had entered Hogwarts and was excited by all the possibilities of adventures that could happen while he was there. From his grandfather, father, uncles, and cousins, he had learned so much about all the interesting things to do and mischief managed. He didn’t realize and was extremely disappointed to discover the volume of schoolwork to be done. Since so many of his family had seemingly sailed their way through school, he let the quality of his own work suffer. After several stern lectures from both his parents, he managed to scrape by for the first four years from one year to the next.

The fifth year, however, proved to be the most difficult for Hugo. When career decisions were being made and O.W.L.s were to be taken at the end of the year, Hugo found it very hard to concentrate on schoolwork. The pressure of academics was proving to be too much for him. Hugo felt the most adventurous years of his Hogwarts career were passing him by, and he had not done anything worthy of the rest of his family.

Then one day during Christmas break, while at his Muggle grandparent’s house, he stumbled upon adventure. He met up with some Muggle youth who were impressed with his magic tricks. One thing led to another and before he knew it, they were all arrested for vehicular theft.

The following months quickly became a nightmare for the Weasley family. Through it all, though, they weathered the storm as best they could and tried to be as supportive as possible.

Hugo’s next few years were a bit rough. He served six months of parole in the Muggle legal system, the Wizengamot made him surrender his wand until his seventeenth birthday, and he was asked to leave Hogwarts. After his legal obligations had been fulfilled, Hugo went to work in his uncle’s Diagon Alley joke shop. It wasn’t an ideal situation, but it kept him out of trouble and someone was able to keep watch over him.

When he became of age, Hugo regained his wand and tried to find a place in the wizarding world, but had problems settling down. He had a few more minor scrapes with the law, but when the last one almost landed him in Azkaban for a few months, he finally straightened out. A few pulled strings from Harry, Arthur, and the others helped Hugo get a job in the Magical Maintenance section of the Ministry of Magic.

Harry was happy to see that Hugo was finally settling down and learning to take responsibility for his actions. He just hoped the young man hadn’t, once again, begun mixing with the wrong sort of people who might lead him astray. Harry didn’t know if he’d be able to look Hermione in the face again, if Hugo was somehow responsible for killing these beautiful creatures.

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When Harry met Hermione for lunch, she quickly began to interrogate him about how he was going to solve this case. He gently chided her that if she had really been so interested in the case, then maybe she should have kept it within her group.

“Yes, that’s true, but if I had kept the case, you wouldn’t have met Scorpius Malfoy. You were so eager to talk about him and his unicorns earlier this morning that I was beginning to wonder if you even discussed the case,” she retorted. It had been a long time since she had been able to playfully tease him, and it felt good to be able to do it again.

“We got around to it eventually,” Harry answered, giving a shy smile as he said it.

“The poacher seems to be striking during the new moon; although, I don’t know why. He seems to enter the Hogwarts grounds without detection, or someone is letting him enter. I am not certain about how yet. He then waits outside the corral area and strikes as the unicorns enter or exit the corral at night. So far, only one unicorn has been killed per new moon, but I am concerned this person is starting to get a real taste for killing these animals and may try to destroy several in the future.

“The last time the poacher was there, Scorpius confronted him but was hit with a Body-Bind Curse and a poor Memory Charm. He was able to give a vague description of the suspect, but none of the criminals fitting it have ever killed unicorns,” Harry explained.

He had decided not to worry Hermione with the information about her only son fitting the description and that he was a possible, albeit unlikely suspect. Withholding information, even from fellow Ministry officials or fellow Aurors, was just as important as letting bits leak out at the appropriate time.

“How do you think you’re going to catch him? Have you started working with the apothecaries for any new people? Maybe he’s moving the ingredients to shops in greater Europe?” Hermione asked.

“Yes, we’ve started working with all of them, even the ones in the other European countries. If we don’t find out anything there, we still have one other option. I’m going to have to be on guard during the next phase of the new moon and hope we get lucky,” Harry said right before the waiter appeared to take their order.

Once the waiter left, Hermione continued. “You’ve never had any problems getting lucky before. I don’t know Scorpius that well, but I do know he’s young, gay, independent, and very handsome – just your type actually. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if you haven’t already figured out a few reasons to go back to the school and see him again. I’m sure there are several investigative questions you could use to interrogate him with and force him to expose himself,” she laughed. She could see Harry’s face change from shock to anger to embarrassment. She wasn’t a fool. Scorpius’ good looks coupled with such a compassionate and driven personality was just the kind of man Harry was looking for.

Trying to ignore the sexual innuendo in her remarks, Harry continued. “For your information, Mrs. Weasley, I have arranged a possible series of all-nighters in three weeks with Scorpius if, and only if, we fail to discover who the suspect is by the new moon. I have absolutely no reason to be dropping in on the groundskeeper. This is just another case that needs a resolution and not some way for me to court him. I assure you that my intentions are strictly professional,” Harry responded, sounding rather haughtily.

“Um-hmm, we’ll see,” Hermione replied as she began to eat her lunch when it arrived at the table. Hermione had a good witch’s intuition when it came to matters of the heart. She didn’t want to goad her friend too much, but she wanted to plant the seed. So, she gave him some facts about unicorns, which could help him and then proceeded to gently steer the conversation away from unicorns, poachers, Scorpius Malfoy, and love.

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After his lunch with Hermione, Harry had been determined to deal with this case like any other Auror case and remain as professional about it as possible. His thoughts kept returning to Scorpius Malfoy, the unicorns, and sometimes even to the unicorn poacher. He justified these thoughts with the idea that dealing with Magical Creatures was not something he did on a regular basis and that this was an unusual case. The only unusual thing about it, though, was that he seemed to have to keep reminding himself to remain a professional Auror almost daily and several times at night.

Yet, even with his assurances to Hermione that he probably wasn’t going to see Scorpius Malfoy again for almost a month, Harry still found himself entering the Hogwarts’ grounds four days after their luncheon and walking towards the groundskeeper’s cabin.

He reminded himself, both before he Apparated outside Hogsmeade and again when he saw the two cabins that he was not there to see Scorpius Malfoy. Rather, he realized he hadn’t visited Hagrid when he went to meet Scorpius the first time and it was rude of him to have ignored his friend. The least he could do would be to go out and visit Hagrid now so there would be no hurt feelings. He was just there to pay a friendly visit to an old friend – nothing more.

When he knocked on Hagrid’s door, he noticed there was only silence answering. He didn’t hear Fifi’s bark or Hagrid’s bellow. He wasn’t concerned about the silence and assumed that Hagrid was out. Harry realized that maybe he should have sent a note telling of his coming rather than just dropping in unannounced. Instead of waiting, Harry decided to investigate the corral area and the crime scene again. There was always the possibility he had missed something and he hated the thought of having made the trip for naught.

When he had been walking for a half hour in the Forbidden Forest, he heard voices approaching. He pulled out his invisibility cloak, moving out of the direct, well-worn path, and quietly into the nearby foliage. As the voices got closer, he was able to see Scorpius and Hagrid walking toward him with Fifi between them. He revealed himself before they approached him.

“Blimey, Harry, yeh scared me! What brings yeh ter the school?” Hagrid asked as he caught sight of Harry. At ninety-nine, Hagrid still gave Harry a bone-crushing hug which Harry learned to appreciate, though it always knocked the air out of him.

“Hello, Hagrid. I’ve come to see you since I didn’t visit the last time I was here. You weren’t in when I knocked, so I was going to look at Scorpius’ unicorn corral to see if there were any clues or signs I missed,” Harry said. He turned to Scorpius, trying to look professional, but couldn’t stop himself from smiling at the younger man. In their one afternoon together, Harry realized he had grown quite attached to him.

“Hello, Scorpius, I hope you don’t mind if I go out there without you,” Harry said. He tried to reign in this feeling stirring in the pit of his stomach, but he was still anxious around the young man. He could feel his palms beginning to sweat and his heartbeat speeding up.

“I’m glad to see you again, Harry,” Scorpius said. His warm grey eyes shined as he approached Harry. The glow that had been around him before was back with a new intensity. Harry tried to understand if it was due to Scorpius’ time with the unicorns or if it was something that came and went like the flow of the emotions around the corral.

“We’ve bin lookin’ inter the forest where we grow the Christmas trees,” Hagrid said, oblivious to the other’s pensive stares.

“Harry, why don’ yeh an’ Scorpius go look at the unicorns an’ then yeh can come back an’ visit with me befer yeh go,” Hagrid said to Harry, although his eyes never left Scorpius’ face as he intently looked at the young man. Harry noticed the intense look on his friend’s face and made a note to ask about it later.

Hagrid turned to walk back to the school, calling the boarhound with him. Scorpius turned to Harry and said, “Shall we,” as he gestured toward the corral.

The first ten minutes of their walk was in silence, and Harry was lost in thought as he tried to remember all the information Hermione had told him about the young man and unicorns. She had teased him about Scorpius being his type, which he had rejected, but now, in front of him, Harry realized she may have been, once again, correct.

Harry hadn’t realized until he saw Scorpius how much he had enjoyed his time before, and how much he had missed Scorpius since. Now that they were together, Harry felt comfortable following and watching Scorpius out toward the corral. The lines of Scorpius’ shoulders coupled with his back, which bowed out slightly at the shoulder blades then tapered to his narrow waist, was a single embodiment of beauty. Harry’s hands began to itch with the urge to touch him. Harry hoped a conversation would clear his thoughts. So he thought of an excuse and reached up to caress more than tap the young man.

“I’m glad you were able to come out here with me. I know you must be busy with all the other work on the grounds. Do you ever get lonely doing all this work by yourself?” Harry asked and immediately winced when he realized how much that sounded like a pick-up line.

“Not really – well, sometimes,” Scorpius replied without turning around. “It wasn’t until recently that I noticed how much I missed human companionship. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I talk to the kids and especially to Hagrid, but sometimes I wish there was something more. I think it was the death of the mare that had reminded me. If we find her murderer, then maybe this feeling of solitude will pass.” Scorpius continued talking, but as he did so, his voice became wistful and quiet, and Harry had to get closer to him to hear him.

Harry had to concentrate because he could feel the man’s body heat and smell his musky, woodsy scent. It made that feeling inside him grow and his groin begin to tighten in response. Part of him desperately wanted to pursue these urges, to turn the other man around, push him to the ground, and use all his senses to explore Scorpius. Harry wanted to lightly caress his skin, exposing each new bit as he removed clothing. He wanted to rub his face along the newfound exposures and smell all the different areas of him. Then he wanted to hear the sounds that Scorpius made as he took his cock into his mouth.

So lost in his thoughts, Harry didn’t notice Scorpius had come to a stop, once again, outside of the corral. Harry ran straight into Scorpius and nearly knocked him over. He grabbed Scorpius’ waist to keep him from falling and instinctively pushed his growing erection against the young man. It was the briefest of contacts, and he quickly pulled away, but not before he saw Scorpius’ head drop down in submission, his shoulders relaxed, and a slight, but audible, moan was heard.

For the rest of their time that they looked for clues, it took every bit of energy for Harry Potter not to throw Scorpius Malfoy to the ground and have his wicked way with him. Every time he turned around it seemed that Scorpius was right there, right next to him. The feel of his body heat and the scent of his skin overwhelmed Harry’s senses. It was not surprising that Harry couldn’t focus on finding any additional relevant leads.

They had searched both outside and inside the corral area without results. The poacher had been very clever and placed charms in the area to offset his magical trace and to throw off any tracking spells. This was no amateur criminal.

One frustrating hour later, Harry decided that they should head back to the Hogwarts’ grounds and call it a day. He still had his friend to visit and he had to focus on setting time aside to visit Hagrid.

When they walked back into Scorpius’ cabin, Harry tried his best to keep his mind clear and on the task at hand about finding out any information about the unicorn killer. He grasped at any aspect that he could to bring his mind back into focus. Then he remembered what Hermione had told him at lunch the other day about unicorns.

“So, Hermione told me she had a theory why the poacher was attacking during the full moon,” Harry said as they were entering Scorpius’ cabin. “She suspected the poacher was using the new moon because unicorn magic is lunar phased. They are magically strongest during the full moon and weakest when it’s darkest. I guess that Muggle adage about unicorns living on moonbeams is based on fact,” Harry said as he sat on the small sofa in the living room area. Usually he wasn’t this informal when he was working, but he felt comfortable here, as if it were the home of an old friend instead of someone he had just meet a week before.

“Yes, I think that’s part of it. Like the rest of Hogwarts, the Forbidden Forest has anti-Apparition wards. The killer would have to come and go unnoticed by anyone, and the darkness would probably help him. I’ve thought about it almost every day since I found the mare,” Scorpius said. As he had been talking, he moved to sit down next to Harry on one of the few pieces of furniture in the house. Once he was seated, he looked up into Harry’s eyes and said, “Well, nothing new seemed to turn up out there. What do you think we should do next?”

Like a taut bowstring, which has been pulled back in absolute tension, Harry finally released at those otherwise innocent words. He lunged at Scorpius, kissing him hard and passionate. His hands cupped the other’s face to keep him there, almost as if he could force the sexual energy, which had been thrumming in him for the past few hours into the young man. He opened his mouth slightly, licking Scorpius’ lips, demanding entrance which seemed to be given almost immediately, and that small yielding seem to goad him on to be more aggressive.

He started to push Scorpius back against the sofa’s arm, his body coming up over the young man. He grabbed the sofa arm and pulled himself up so he was completely on top of Scorpius. As he did so, his erection rubbed against Scorpius’ inner thigh and then along the other’s erection. At that contact, Harry pulled back, hissing at how good it felt, but then he quickly went back to discovering all the tastes inside the other’s mouth. All thoughts, other than desire, were completely gone.

As he started to open the buttons along Scorpius’ shirt, he moved his head down to taste each new bit of skin he revealed. He licked and sucked along the alabaster throat, tasting delicious sweat. His senses were suddenly alive with the discoveries of Scorpius Malfoy.

“Oh, Harry, that feels wonderful! Your mouth… Unngh, right there… It feels so good… Mmmm… Oh, Harry, I hope you won’t be disappointed with me; it’s my first time and I don’t want to do anything wrong,” Scorpius said in a throaty whisper.

It was those words, first time, that felt like the proverbial ice water being poured over Harry. The base of his head and spine felt suddenly chilled, and he wrenched away, sitting up immediately and trying to reign in his highly charged libido. He quickly ran his hand, twice, through his hair and went to retrieve his glasses from the floor. He hadn’t even realized they had fallen; he was so intent on seducing Scorpius.

“I…. I’m sorry about that, Scorpius. I shouldn’t have tried to … shouldn’t have tried to take advantage of you in that way. I think I should be going now. I… I did promise to see… to see… to see Hagrid,” Harry stumbled out. He was trying to remember why he was here. Everything except the tastes, smells, and feel of Scorpius Malfoy seemed a hazy, forgotten memory to him.

“I’m always telling my Aurors that they should separate any personal feelings from their duties. It would be poor leadership if I set a bad example. Please forgive me. It’s not that I don’t want you.” At that, Harry couldn’t help but wince. This was coming out far worse than he could possibly imagine. “It’s just that I need to put this case behind me before anything should happen. That’s all.” Then Harry smiled weakly and looked into Scorpius’ eyes to see just how badly he had made a mess of the situation.

The small smile on Scorpius’ face eased some of the otherwise horrible tension in Harry’s chest. Harry could tell he was trying not to show his disappointment, but it came through anyway. The perspiration across Scorpius’ face began to slowly work its way down as he sat up. It pooled at the base of his neck, setting another trickle down underneath his shirt where Harry hadn’t unbuttoned. Watching that line of sweat and wanting desperately to lick it up, Harry took another step back from the sofa, afraid he’d start over again. The mere sight of the other man was creating images of lust in his mind.

“Alright, Harry. If you think it’s best. I know you’ll do the right thing. I… I just thought we’d… well… whatever you think,” Scorpius said. Harry noticed he couldn’t look him in the eye now, and he felt terrible about it.

“Well, maybe I should go now. I think if I stay much longer I won’t know what the right thing is anymore. You are so alluring, Scorpius. I almost can’t stop myself,” Harry said, then turned and walked out the door.

After he left Scorpius’ house, Harry made his way to Hagrid’s cabin. It was only a slight walk from one dwelling to the other, yet it took him almost a half hour before he reached Hagrid’s door. Harry felt as if his mind were in a thick, misty, grey fog. He was contemplating everything that had happened that afternoon and all the events seemed to lead up to him almost seducing, with great passion, a virgin he barely knew.

As a professional, he knew it was completely inappropriate to mix physical wants and desires with his job. If he had seen one of his own Aurors acting this way, he would have called him to his office, given a verbal warning, explained the distant emotions one needed when doing this job, and then he would have kept close tabs on the man until the case was complete or until he was satisfied with the Auror’s conduct. Harry knew he needed to minimize his own contact with Scorpius and, at the very least, send him a letter explaining why any physical affection could not continue until he had completed his work with the Hogwarts groundskeeper.

On the other hand, as a man who currently had no problems meeting his sexual needs, Harry began to realize that a part of him – which had been darkened black and hollow behind a cold, hard wall of marble – was beginning to radiate warmth with the slightest of embers. The light within him was pulsating a glowing array of reds, oranges, and yellows. Its heat, which initially was barely noticeable, was building from a soft warmth and quickly growing into a white flame that began to melt the wall of marble around his once shattered heart. The hearth of his heart was now being replenished with a new fire and fuel, and in that sudden revelation, Harry inhaled suddenly; the final element of air into his lungs turned the embers into a burst of intense blaze. The fire licked at his emotional wounds, healing some and leaving scar tissue in its wake. His chest felt, once again, radiant and warm, the hollowness being refilled with an emotion he knew he possessed but never thought he would again. It almost frightened him to feel such feelings, so he stepped up to the threshold of Hagrid’s home giving a light wrap with his knuckles on the door.

As expected, Fifi immediately began barking at the door, Hagrid yelled at the animal, and then he welcomed Harry into his home. Tea and mead were brought out with rock cakes. Harry had found a nice little charm that would soften them so they were edible. As it was still afternoon, he decided to stick with the Earl Grey tea before he returned home. Hagrid, on the other hand, had a large mug of spirits.

After a time, Harry remembered the odd look Hagrid made Scorpius in the forest. He suspected that Hagrid had something to tell him. He just had to direct his friend into that direction and see if he could find out what was troubling Hagrid.

As they were catching up on family friends and Ministry gossip, Harry could see the restless tension in the other man’s actions. His constant, repetitive hand wringing motions and wandering eyes were classic signs to the experienced Auror of someone who had something to say and wanted to let it all out. The trick, he knew, was to wait until the moment of truth and then ask the right question which would yield the best results. It was a subtle art, but waiting in a quiet room would often reap unexpected information.

“So, Hagrid,” Harry finally said, “what do you know about these unicorn killings? In the past, you’d find the killer yourself. Why do you think Scorpius is asking for help from the Ministry? He’s a fully trained wizard with Hogwarts faculty and staff to assist, if necessary. Why do you think he called Hermione’s group in to help?”

When Hagrid’s eyes shot up, staring directly into Harry’s before they narrowed, Harry knew he had been close to the right question, but hadn’t nailed it directly. That either meant an uphill battle for information or there was more than one thing bothering Hagrid.

“Well, depends. Are yeh here as an Auror or as a friend? Yeh see, I told Scorpius ter go ter yeh or ter Hermione, an’ I don’ want sommat ter happen ter him because o’ it,” Hagrid said never taking his eyes off his friend. It struck Harry that his friend had become more focused and intense than he had been in the past.

“Hagrid, I am and always will be your friend. Nothing you say will change that, but I’m afraid I can’t stop being an Auror as well. They are two parts of me that cannot be separated. If you are trying to protect Scorpius or someone else, I can say I will be as fair and will help you or whomever as much as possible. Just don’t’ ask me to try to separate my personal self with my professional one. They are to greatly fused together.”

After a long sigh, where he slumped his shoulders, Hagrid finally relaxed and began to speak.

“Harry Potter, yeh ar’ my friend, an’ I love yeh. I’ve known yeh since yeh were a wee babe come home from St. Mungo’s. I’ve watched yeh grow an’ become the man beyon’ anythin’ anybody’s ever dreamed. But there are sommat’s yeh need ter know befer yeh go any farther.

“Scorpius snot like his father. He’s a good man – devoted, strong, an’ a maverick. He loves animals, in some ways more than he loves people. This thin’ he wants ter do with the unicorns is sommat I had hoped ter do with the dragons, but I wasn’ able ter think abou’ their needs like he does. There is almost nothin’ he wouldn’ do fer them.

“But he’s young an’ sometimes young people make dumb mistakes or cover things up when they should be tellin’ the truth. Yeh see, Harry, Scopius lied ter yeh abou’ what happened when he saw that poacher last month,” Hagrid said, watching Harry’s surprised reaction to what he was revealing.

“He came back an’ told me everythin’ that bin said between the ter o’ yeh after that firs’ meetin’. He felt bad abou’ tellin’ yeh that he doesn’ carry his wand aroun’. He’s a wizard an’ he takes it with him everywhere, jus’ like any other wizard. It’s jus’ when he met up with the poacher that nigh’, he got scared an’ dropped it. When it fell, the poacher turned around an’ bound him befer he could do sommat abou’ it.

“Then the poacher said sommat ter him that was really diff’rent. When he told me, I couldn’t understand it either,” Hagrid said, looking down suddenly as if embarrassed.

“What did he tell Scorpius, Hagrid? It may prove useful in tracking him down,” Harry said. He was anxious to hear everything Hagrid had to say, and it bothered him that he couldn’t wait for the story to unravel. Pushing a willing informant sometimes yielded the opposite effect.

“Scorpius said he couldn’ see his face well, but he heard him sayin’ sommat abou’ how Scorpius was the perfect bait. He was the kind o’ lad that could attract unicorns an’ men.”

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