"Firenze! What in the name of the heavens are you doing?" bellowed one of them, "You're carrying a human on your back! Have you no shame? Are you a common mule?"

Firenze snorted. "Do you even know who this is, Bane? This is the Potter boy, and he needs to leave this forest as soon as possible."

Bane looked as if he had been kicked in the gut. "What have you been telling him?" he demanded. "Remember our duty, Firenze. We cannot go against the stars. Haven't you seen the signs?"

The other centaur shifted nervously. "I'm sure Firenze thought he was doing the right thing," he said quietly, trying to calm the thundering Bane who kicked his back legs in anger.

"The right thing? We don't concern ourselves with such matters, Ronan. Centaurs are concerned with what has been foretold! It is not our business to run around like donkeys after stray humans in our forest!"

Firenze reared up on his hind legs, causing Harry to grab onto him tightly. "Do you see that unicorn?" he roared at Bane. "Do you understand why it was killed? Or has the cosmos kept you in the dark? I'm doing what I must to protect this forest, even if it means working with humans."

With that, Firenze spun around and galloped off into the trees, with Harry clinging on for dear life. As they rode, Harry had no idea what was happening.

But Ben certainly did, it seemed that Dumbledore had managed to pull a centaur to his cause, which was a feat in and of itself as these light-headed fools did not concern themselves with anything closer than the moon. They were only concerned with what the stars and the planets had to say, and nothing else.

Another thing of note was how far Lord Voldemort had fallen to be chased away by a horse, no wonder Dumbledore didn't think he could pose any major threats to Harry Potter.

"Why's Bane so angry?" Harry asked. "What was that thing you saved me from, anyway?"

Firenze slowed down to a walk, cautioning Harry to keep his head down. They moved through the dense forest in silence for what felt like hours. Ben was starting to think that Firenze had no intention of answering Harry's questions and was about to break the spell as he knew the answer anyways when the centaur suddenly stopped.

"Harry Potter, do you know what unicorn blood is used for?" Firenze asked abruptly.

Harry shook his head, "We've only used the horn and tail hair in Potions," he said.

Firenze sighed heavily. "To slay a unicorn is a monstrous thing," he said gravely. "Only someone who has nothing to lose and everything to gain would commit such a heinous act. The blood of a unicorn can keep you alive, even if you're about to die. But it comes at a terrible cost. You'll live, but your life will be cursed."

Harry stared at the back of Firenze's head, bathed in silver moonlight. "Who would be that desperate?" he wondered aloud. "Isn't death better than being cursed forever?"

Firenze nodded slowly. "Yes, death is better," he agreed. "But what if you only need to stay alive long enough to drink something else? Something that can bring you back to full strength and power? Something that can make you immortal?"

"Mr Potter, do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment?"

'Morgana's saggy tits! Dumble-fuckin-dore, dangling the stone for everyone to see, this is proof that Dumbles is indeed using the stone as bait, even the fucking horses know about it,' Ben cursed in his heart.

'How did I ever forget about this,' he said, disappointed in himself.

"The Sorcerer's Stone! Of course, the Elixir of Life! But I don't understand who-"

"Can you think of nobody who has waited many years to return to power, who has clung to life, awaiting their chance?" Firenze interrupted Harry with a question of his own.

Harry felt his heart constrict in fear. The words of Hagrid, the Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, came back to him. "Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die."

"Do you mean," Harry croaked, "that was Vol-"

"Harry! Harry, are you all right?"

Hermione was running toward them down the path, Hagrid puffing along behind her.

"I'm fine," said Harry, hardly knowing what he was saying. "The unicorn's dead, Hagrid, it's in that clearing back there."

"This is where I leave you," Firenze murmured as Hagrid hurried off to examine the unicorn. "You are safe now."

Harry slid off his back.

"Good luck, Harry Potter," said Firenze. "The planets have been read wrongly before now, even by centaurs. I hope this is one of those times."

--

Back in The Room of Requirements, Ben was out of Magicka and out of breath as well, he had been pushing himself to last as long as he did. He had found out that with enough straining, he could substitute Magicka with the magical energies of this world.

Ben realized that Dumbledore's biggest strength perhaps was not his vast knowledge or his immense magical prowess, but instead his deep connections.

Dumbledore's army was almost as strong, if not as big as Voldemort's. His connections were everywhere and they were not just his sympathisers but his loyal followers. And Harry Potter would soon be among those Loyal to him.

What Ben hated about the purple Gandulf was that he could have personally told Harry what he told him through Franz; or even better, he himself could have taken care of Voldemort while he was weak. But no, he had a grand plan in which he would keep dangling a carrot in front of Harry, even from beyond the grave.

"Well, I'm no better. Since you have dangled this carrot in front of me, be prepared to lose it," said Ben, thinking of another plan to snatch the Philosopher's stone from Dumbledore.

Despite his frustration with the situation, Ben couldn't deny the allure of the Philosopher's Stone. He had been obsessed with it since the beginning of the school year, and as final exams loomed in the distance, he knew that time was running out.

But even as he plotted and schemed, he couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to his desire for the Stone than simple greed.

The cloak had elicited a similar response from Ben, even before he had laid eyes on it. It was as if some unknown force was pulling him towards these magical artefacts, urging him to claim them as his own.

Looking at how much Ben longed for the stone - If a book were to be written, it would probably be named -Benedict Brown and the Philosopher's stone.

--

In the Gryffindor tower, Harry shook Ron awake and dragged him to the common room. Once there, Harry began to recount what had happened in the forest, causing Ron's eyes to widen in alarm.

"Snape wants the stone for Voldemort, and he's waiting in the forest," Harry said, pacing in front of the fireplace. "All this time, we thought Snape just wanted to get rich..."

Ron's spine shuddered at the sound of Voldemort's name. "Stop saying his name, Harry!" he whispered, terrified.

Harry continued, "Firenze saved me, but Bane's furious about it. He was talking about interfering with what the planets say is going to happen. They must show that Voldemort's coming back. Bane thinks Firenze should have let Voldemort kill me. Great, huh? All we have to do now is wait for Snape to steal the Stone and Voldemort will finish me off. Bane will be thrilled."

"Will you stop saying the name!" Ron hissed.

"Harry, Brown told me something the day he got me kicked out of the Library," she said, her eyes darting nervously around the room.

"What did he say?" Ron asked, his worry increasing. Ben's predictions had only caused trouble for them so far, especially for Ron.

"He claimed that he already knew we'd get into trouble the day we sent Norene away," Hermione replied, her voice shaking slightly. "And he said that there was someone else on the tower that day. And we're all part of his plan now. 'You've become caught up in something far greater than yourself,' he said."

Ron felt a gulp rise in his throat. This was far more ominous than anything they had faced before. The last time Ben had made a prediction, Ron had ended up in the hospital wing for days.

"Did, he say who?" Harry asked.

"He didn't, but he acted like we'd find out soon enough," Hermione said.

"But when? After we're all dead?" Ron's voice shook with fear.

"No one's going to die," Hermione said with a reassuring voice, "Everyone says that even You-Know-Who was afraid of Dumbledore. With him around, no one will dare cause trouble inside the castle. He's the reason that stone is still here."

Hermione's words were a comfort to Ron and Harry, who had been feeling increasingly anxious about the threat of Voldemort and the possibility of death.

The sky had turned light before they stopped talking. They went to bed exhausted, their throats sore. But the night's surprises weren't over.

As Harry pulled back his sheets to crawl into bed, his eyes widened in surprise at the sight of his invisibility cloak, folded neatly on top of his pillow. A note was pinned to it, bearing a cryptic message.

"Just in case," it read.

Harry felt a shiver run down his spine. Who had left the cloak for him? And just in case of what? His mind raced with possibilities as he quickly stashed the cloak under his mattress.

He remembered where he had left the cloak and the conversation that he had just had downstairs, but before he could connect the dots, his exhausted mind blanked out and he was pulled into dreamland.