Entry for "Defense Against The Dark Arts" at "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges and Assignments)"

You must write a fic with the genres of horror, angst, mystery, suspense, or tragedy.

Prompts used: Lost, "They won't stay dead."

Entry for the "Great Maze Challenge/Competition

You step out into the maze, a bit later than the others, and hear a creepy sound in the hedge to your right. Shine some light on the creature lurking in the bushes.

Entry for the "Scavenger Hunt" at "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges and Assignments)"

1. Centaur

Entry for the "Hogwarts Fair 2014" - Minerva's Magical Merry-go-round

Write a cyclical story that starts and ends with the same line or word.

Okay, my first try on pairing Firenze with someone :D Let's see how this works...

Stars can guide your way if you read them right.

Aurora Sinistra believed in the stars since she had been a little child and when she had been lost while taking long strolls over the countryside, they had helped her to find her way home. They had the ability to sooth her.

But tonight, they did not help her.

The stars were hidden by the crowns scrunched up trees and she cursed herself for the foolish idea of going into the Forbidden Forest only minutes before the sun had started to set.

Darkness had crept between the fauna way too fast and fog had started to build.

She was lost in one of the most dangerous forests in Scotland, having nothing but her wand with her which would surely not help her against the creatures that were slowly awakening in the depths of the woods. The foggy and cold atmosphere made her heart race even more, it was so creepy that chills were running down her spine repeatedly.

Fear was rising inside of her with every step she took on the small path she had followed on her way into the forest, even though she knew that it was nearly in vain as she had already walked in circles for some time.

The sounds of the forest made her turn her head from time to time, fearing that something could be behind her and Aurora stumbled forward, clutching her wand tighter.

Suddenly, she heard a rustling sound from the huge bush on her right and she twitched, rising her wand immediately, pointing it at the dark shadow of the leaves. Her heart was beating painfully in her chest and she hesitated before she murmured with shaking voice:"Lumos."

In the first moment, all the light did shine on was the bush, but as her gaze drifted higher she saw a few pairs of blood red eyes gleaming at her and instantly, Aurora stumbled backwards, her breath being caught up in her throat.

A low growl could be heard and she did not wait a second before she turned on her heel and raced off, hearing how the bush was torn apart and heavy bodies moved over the ground.

The cold air burned in her lungs and her tears ran down her cheeks as panic drove her forwards, her legs moving automatically. Hot, smelly breath brushed over her neck and then there was a impact on her shoulder, hitting her with such force that she hurtled to the ground, her wand slipping through her fingers.

A stinging pain spread in her scraped palms and Aurora felt exhausted from the sprint, but she had no time to calm down as the creatures, who were only dark shadows with red points, were there, ready to attack their prey again and in an act of desperation she pushed herself up to her hands and knees, trying to crawl away, but she could feel them coming closer nonetheless.

Aurora was just sure that she was about to take her last breath as a whirring sound did cut through the air and a horrible scream came from one of the creatures and she turned her head as the sound came again only to see a arrow coming from the fog, hitting another shadow and the others turned, fleeing into the darkness between the trees with loud howls of surrender.

Her whole body was shivering as she grabbed her wand from the ground and slowly rose to her feet, screwing her eyes together to try to see something against the pitch black night. Suddenly, she heard a galloping sound and fear rushed through her veins yet again.

"Sometimes you humans seem just to wait for occasions to prove how demented you are."

A silhouette emerged from the fog and Aurora's eyes widened as the centaur approached her, his bow still in his huge hands.

"Come with me. They won't stay dead."

Aurora knew better than to hesitate or protest and followed the centaur as good as she could – she had to sprint to stick to his pace.

"What... what were they?" She asked breathlessly after some minutes of running through the darkness. Her fear and panic had slowly disappeared, allowing curiosity to take over.

"Demons. Your kind rarely spends time in the forest, therefore you have no idea what kind of creatures really lurk behind the trees, but we centaurs know better than to roam through the woods at this hour." The centaur answered, giving her a disapproving look as they slowed down, the growing gaps between the trees indicating that they were coming closer to the borders of the Forbidden Forest.

"I... I did not intend to... I am lost. It got dark sooner than I thought and I could not see the stars for a clue where to go and... I guess I have to thank you, eh..."

"Firenze. And who is my lady in distress?"

The centaurs features softened and Aurora ran one hand through her wind-tousled hair to smooth it at least a little bit.

"Aurora Sinistra. I teach Astronomy at Hogwarts. I don't know how to thank you for what you did, I..."

Firenze smiled down at her from the side, signalling her to stop talking and as they reached the last tree line, now standing under the light of the stars, she could see how handsome the centaur was. His blonde hair was windswept and his blue eyes twinkled, giving him a wild look and his smile was warm.

She felt privileged – centaurs were known for their negative attitude towards humans, therefore she was surprised about his rescue and even more about his friendliness.

"It was a pleasure for me, Aurora," Firenze answered and gently took her hand, half bowing to press a light kiss on her knuckles. Gulping over how her heartbeat quickened slightly at the touch of his lips on her skin, Aurora had to think back to last night, when she had watched the stars and they had predicted her a unusual, but yet charming meeting if she went on a walk this night.

Not that she actually believed in Divination, but she had learned that the universe harboured certain truths – maybe they had been right.

"Thank you."

Her cheeks were glowing upon noticing that he was still holding her hand and she suddenly had no idea what to do or say to him, but she knew that there was no reason to stay here any longer.

"Well... I... I should go back to the castle... Again, thank you... I... if you ever need something, come to me, I owe you!"

Firenze winked and Aurora nervously licked her lips before he said:"I should not hope to see you again, Aurora, but I have to admit that I most certainly do."

He released her hand and slightly dipped his head towards her before turning and galloping back into the darkness of the forest, leaving her nearby Hagrid's hut, staring after him.

As she finally started to walk back to the castle she still seemed to feel his gaze upon her, and the thought of her saviour made her heart speed up.

She was lost yet again, even though it was in a more positive way than before and even though they had not been able to get her out of her misery, she was still sure:

Stars can guide your way if you read them right.

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