Chapter 7:
It was seven in the morning and Harry was extremely tired, yet he found himself trudging across the front lawn to Hagrid's hut. Yesterday Flitwick had started giving Harry dueling lessons, and he hadn't started softly. Instead he threw Harry in the deep end by firing a barrage of spells at him. Flitwick had told him he'd softened the stinging spell he was using, but it didn't feel like that to Harry.
"G'morning Harry, how's it goin'"
"Fine thanks Hagrid, what are we doing today? You mentioned you had a job for me."
"That I do. You remember back in that detention you met some centaurs?" Harry nodded, "Well something very odd happened yesterday. One of them came to see me, first time I've ever seen it happen, a centaur seeking out a human that is. You remember Bane, the white aired one, well he insisted on seeing you at the first opportunity."
"So we're going to see them then?" Harry prompted as Hagrid paused with a worried look on his face.
"Yeah, don't take too much mind of what they say. Although they'll tell you otherwise the stars don't decide someone's fortune, only you can do that."
Harry nodded and the two fell silent, each in deep though. Harry hadn't really learnt much about centaurs by meeting them, most of what he know was from Hermione researching afterwards and sharing her findings with him. It had been Harry, Hermione, Malfoy and Neville who had made the ill fated journey into the forest with Hagrid. Harry presumed there was a safety review after this, as the rest of the detentions he'd had for the rest of the year had been simple lines or cleaning for Filch. Even the seventh years weren't ordered to do anything more dangerous than cleaning windows from brooms or collecting firewood from the eves of the forest.
It wasn't long before they reached a large open clearing, and they only had to wait for five minutes before three centaurs arrived. Harry instantly recognized Bane due to his bright white coat. The other two had dark dull coats and stood like guards on either side merely accentuating Bane even more.
"Harry Potter. It is an honor to meet you again, and fortunately under more favorable circumstances then our last encounter. I hope that you have recovered from the ordeal that…"
"Alright alright." Hagrid interrupted loudly. "We didn't come here just for pleasantries and you were hardly friendly the last time you met Harry. Now get on with what you want to say."
Harry was a bit surprised at Hagrid's tone, but he remembered some of the stories Hagrid had told him of the centaurs. They were more than happy to be polite and cautious when thy wanted something, but when you wanted something in return, they were as rude as possible.
"If that is what you wish Hagrid. We came here merely to extend the hand of friendship to Harry. We have been studding the stars and the alignment of Jupiter and Pluto at this particular season has led us to believe that a lot rests on the shoulders of Harry here. In contrast we fear the coming storm of Mars and Venus has the possibility of leading our race to extinction. When the time comes, we will stand and fight by your side. Until then Harry Potter."
Bane finished abruptly and backed away into the forest followed closely by the other two centaurs who had remained silent.
Harry wasn't sure what to think, there was plenty of time later for that, so he shrugged his shoulders and motioned for Hagrid to lead the way back.
He remained pensive on the way back, juggling the possibilities of a future war, and what it could mean to his life and the world around him. He'd heard plenty of stories of what the first war with Voldemort was like, and he wasn't in any hurry to try out for real the stuff he'd been learning recently.
Soon though Hagrid launched into a conversation about the coming year and how his Thestral pack was doing, and all the worries were pushed to the back of his head.
AN: Anyone else notice that a group of first years go into the forest to hunt for a unicorn killer for detention, then in later years writing lines, and cleaning are suitable punishments. Damn, this story is turning into a 'pick holes in cannon' fest. I'll try to refrain from these prods in future, but I can't promise ;)
A few people have commented that the chapters are too short. I wish to politely tell these people to go read my first author note, and trying to maintain this sort of schedule – it's pretty difficult, but I'm enjoying it. I know I'm jumping around the place with this story but hopefully things will settle down as I get more into the story. I have done very little planning so every day is a little adventure as I decide what to write.
I have very nearly finished writing the next chapter for 'It's a Bitch Convincing People to Like you' so I'll be updating that finally tomorrow!
Thanks to all my awesome readers and reviewers, sorry for the long AN, love you all :)
