Author's Note: So it's been literally a month since I've uploaded. I guess the reason for that was I was waiting for more reviews, but I only got one this last chapter. I'm nearing the half-way point in my story, and I would greatly appreciate it if readers would review, even if you aren't a member. (Anonymous reviews is turned on!) I would just really like to hear what you like, what you think I should change, or any ideas you have that would improve the story. Thanks everyone, and enjoy the longest chapter I've written yet! :)
ALBUS
I ran as fast as my gangly, weak legs would carry me, desperately trying rid the coils of my brain from dizzying shame, but shame still found me. It followed me, stalked me, hunted me, until it finally pounced, claws spread wide, and delivered the fatal blow: I am evil.I was the most disgusting, evil thingalive and no one would find any evidence to prove otherwise. How could any human-being idly stare at the warning signs of their friend's pending death and not even know it? How could they simply ignore danger? The fact is, they couldn't. Neither would any animal or creature with any kind of soul. The concluding, painful truth?: I wasn't human. I was a soulless, phantom demon—Satan's servant, Voldemort's spawn—and I should be dead.
The Forbidden Forest welcomed me with welcome arms—I gladly embraced it. The dark shadows offered solitude, safety from the peering, accusing eyes of other witches and wizards. No matter what foul beast I encountered within the trees, they would be small, fluffy rabbits compared to the hate behind Scorpius' eyes, and the betrayal behind Victoria's. The farther I was away from them, the longer I was away, their lives would grow increasingly happier. I could think of no other solution: I would live here. For the rest of my life.
I huddled breathlessly in the woody arms of an oak's giant roots, offering at least some shelter from the sky's onslaught of rain. I was cold; wet, yes, but my misery now and my forever miserable existence as a forest-child was my sentence, as punishment for being a menace to society. Oh, why am I so cruel? I thought glumly, the pat-patteringof rain presenting no solace for me as it usually did, Scorpius had warned me about Victoria, but I justhad to ignore it. Now she—maybe even the whole school!—is plotting against him. And I could've stopped it! But… More guilt began pouring in, with even more intensity than the crying sky, …but Victoria isn't a bad person! And now I've taken Scorpius' side, and I've betrayed her. I can't go anywhere without hurting someone, can I? Oh, I hate being the middle-man!
A fierce turbulence in the sky broke my unyielding thoughts of masochism. Thunder. Great. I hate thunder. Yet, despite my sworn oath to loath thunder for all eternity, that moment I had to thank it. For some reason, the noise startled me enough to shatter all notions of becoming Al of the Jungle and shocked some good, healthy sense into me: Sitting here feeling sorry for myself for a lifetime really isn't going to help anyone, including me. If Scorpius is going to be murdered, then maybe I could prevent it.
Novel idea, I told myself cynically as I ran back up the steep hill, if only you hadn't been a sobbing, sniveling idiot and thought of it earlier.
I was nearing the pinnacle of the slope, feeling agonizingly exhausted and wished I hadn't sprinted the whole way up, when a blinding, sharp pain shot through my right calf. My first thought was I had sprained something from being a dashing idiot, and that my muscle was cramping from too much stress. My second thought expressed concerns for the amount of pain caused by this cramp, wondering why the heck a simple sprain should cause one to feel as if they had been stabbed. My third thought nearly drowned in panic with the realization that I hadbeen stabbed, and my fourth thought remained nonexistent, because I passed out.
I don't know how long it was until I opened my eyes, but when I did I felt as though a train was plowing through my head, hammering relentlessly against the back of my eyes. Sound came to me as first through muddled chaos, then slammed upon me so hard that the mind-train began to tread against me even more. Voices; people talking, though I couldn't make out the words. I didn't even know if they were speaking English or not. I wanted to see, but I didn't bother opening my eyes very much; I figured they were useless with a migraine as awful as this. Words began to scratch their way to awareness, at first in broken sentences, then becoming steadily more clear:
"…looks like he's…"
"…unconscious for a while…"
"…unlucky, pathetic bast'rd, ain't he?"
"…awfully rude, that's…we're talking…"
Some of the voices sounded eerily familiar, but I didn't dare open my eyes for fear of looking into the eyes of some horrid beast, only to be quickly and painfully eaten alive. Instead, I waited patiently in blooming consciousness, letting the words slowly put themselves together into meaningful sentences.
"…it even happen?"
"…n't look like it…very much…"
"…looks somewhat familiar."
"I don't care. 'E was trompin' around on me property like a drunken troll. Damn idiot. 'E deserved what 'e got."
"Aw, Firenze, 'twas just a scratch! It ain't even 'urt 'im, see?"
"You two are seriously sick-minded creatures to cast a notoriously painful charm on such a small child."
"Firenze!" the two simpler-minded sounding voices cried in unison.
"We ain't mean no harm by it, swear!"
"Sure thing," agreed the other simple-minded voice, notably deeper than the first, "we thought 'e was some kind 'o baby troll er somethin'. An' the stars know we don't want them kind 'round us."
"For the Moon's sake you two!" exclaimed the obviously more sophisticated voice, "This is obviously a boy. A human boy. And as it looks like, the foal of one of my former acquaintances. To injure this boy is to disgrace the entire centaur race!"
My eyes shot open. Centaurs? And there they were, as my eyes frightfully beheld. I wished with all my might for them to fade away, for them to be simply a trick of the light, or apparitions from losing too much blood, but solid they stayed. And as they came more clearly into focus, despite my sudden abhorrence for these creatures, I couldn't help but be swept up in a sense of wonder. They were beautiful. Not the beautiful that humans and sexy women with large breasts posses, but a sort of majestic loveliness that no witch or wizard is capable of. The older one, the wiser centaur, sported a sleek, platinum blond mane that tumbled gracefully in the wind whenever he tossed it. His pointed ears were pierced with an assortment of jewelry that most likely indicated status and power, as the other dark-maned centaurs possessed no such piercings. As they chattered away, taking no heed to my awareness, I admired them so closely and so intuitively that I forgot entirely of how or why I got there. As soon as I remembered, the throbbing pain shot back to my brain and set fire to my nerves.
"AHHHH!" I cried, however unintentionally, and clutched my right leg as if that would somehow ease the pain. I kept on screaming, amidst all the noise secretly feeling ashamed for my low pain tolerance. Feeling ashamed that I wasn't more like my father: brave, powerful, and never, ever afraid.
"Eh, boy, what're you cryin' 'bout? There's not a scratch on ya!"
For half a second I was too stubborn to believe him, but as I let my fingers run down my leg, I realized there was no blood or knife wound. My sniffling ceased and I immediately felt a red, embarrassing heat crawl up my face.
"Oh…" I managed to choke out, hoping there was a hole nearby I could crawl in to escape my shame, "…right."
"I am greatly ashamed, young master," said Firenze, not addressing my previous episode, "You have been hurt by one of my own and as a necessary ritual, I must offer you assistance."
"Oh, uh…" I said timidly, avoiding eye contact and scooting ever so cautiously away, "N-No, really it's f-fine. I'm al-alright, see? I can get back all by myse—"
A sickening crack came from one of my legs. Not fully understanding what was happening, I looked down only to see pieces of my bone protruding from my shin in giant splinters. My mind whirred in confused terror, but before I could open my mouth to scream bloody murder, one of the darker-haired centaurs galloped my direction, taking me by the arm. He didn't bother to take me off the ground either, as I found myself being dragged along the forest floor, leaving a trail of red blood behind me. My heart pounded. My head throbbed. I wanted to scream, but I felt no pain; only sheer and unquestioned horror.
"Damn 'umans always comin' our way," grumbled the galloping centaur who held me captive, "They always comin' an' ruinin' our lives. An' that bast'rd Firenze wants to befriend 'em! Damn idiot."
He kept mumbling on and on about the indisputable inferiority of wizardkind, and I kept my mind elsewhere, desperately trying to escape the imminent onslaught of agony that was sure to come. I let my mind wander away from reality, focusing on my future children that would now never exist, that homework assignment that I had forgotten to do, how I would never be able to apologize to Scorpius, but mostly on Victoria. How I had betrayed her, how I wished I could've understood her better, and how unimaginably lovely she was. I hoped to whatever stars could hear that she would find some handsome young wizard to marry her…
No! I thought suddenly, no, no, no, no, no! I amnotgoing to die here! I am going to get out of here, and I am going to marry Vicky! Not some other guy. Me!
"Hey!" I yelled at the driver, with more bravery that I actually possessed, "Hey, put me down will you?" He dropped me promptly on the mossy ground, which greatly befuddled me because I had not actually expected him to do it.
"Here we are, yer highness," he mocked cynically, "The place yer prolly gonna die. Nice, ain't it?"
"Why do you want to kill me?" I asked, showing more fear in them than intended.
"Kill you?" the centaur goaded, "kill you?" He burst into a maniacal kind of laughter, though I saw nothing funny about what I had asked. "Stupid foal," he continued, "not just you, but everyone in that silly damn castle of yers. An' once Firenze gets here, kill 'im too. 'E cause way too much trouble for what that goat is worth."
"I don't understand," I evoked, trying to stall him as much as I could.
"'Course ya don't. Yer a stupid 'uman bast'rd. Ya don't understand anythin'."
"Well," I continued, fear nearly choking me, but determined not to show it, "since I'm so stupid, could you please enlighten me?"
The centaur snorted, but chose to grant my request anyway.
"Ya see that castle there?" he asked, meaning Hogwarts.
"Of course."
"That used to be centaur land. Ourland. Then you damn wizards walked in an' pushed us out. An' they keep pushin' us back and back and back until eventually we won't have any land left at all."
"Why don't you just ask us to stop?"
"Idiot, we 'ave!" the centaur exclaimed, "Why do ya think I'm doin' this, huh? 'Cause there's no other way, that's why!"
"So what exactly will this achieve? You kill us, we'll just retaliate and exterminate you."
The centaur reared up in anger, kicking his legs and nearly hoofing me in the face.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid! There'll be no more life fer us, anyhow! We do nothin', they kill us. We do somethin', they kill us! I'd rather do somethin' and go out with honor than dyin' with me tail between me legs."
"Well how about you let me go," I proposed slowly, thinking of a plan as I said it, "and I'll talk to the headmistress of Hogwarts about what's going on. I'm sure they'll listen more openly to one of their own."
"I splintered yer leg, idiot," the centaur sniffed, "even if you do manage to get back, they'll see that leg 'nd want our blood."
"I'll tell them it was an accident."
"No ya won't. I see lies behind yer eyes. I can see the hate for us behind them. Ya want us gone, just like the rest of ya."
"Truthfully I want your kind to live in peace so no more hurt comes to ours. If we both live peacefully then the hate will dissolve."
"Do ya, now?" he asked rather unpleasantly, though I could tell he was inwardly debating the thought.
"And I just want to get back to my Victoria."
The anger in the centaurs face melted.
"Victoria?" he asked softly, "is she your mate?"
I was taken aback by this change in attitude.
"Well…" I began uncomfortably, "I hope so."
Tears welled up in the centaur's dark eyes.
"I used to have a mate," he blubbered, "'er name was Moonshine. She was beautiful… but she died!"
"Oh dear," I said rather unsympathetically, "I'm sorry."
He broke down crying.
He stood like that for a while, his hands covering his face in obvious agony. Despite my feeling fairly sorry for the creature, I couldn't help but hope that some rescue would come for me while he was distracted.
Rescue came.
"Zelnar! I order you to bring the young foal to me!" It was Firenze, thank Merlin.
Zelnar didn't seem to notice Firenze and kept on crying relentlessly. In response, Firenze trotted towards me and gently lifted me on his back.
"Are you in great pain, young one?"
"Honestly, I don't feel a thing."
"You will, quite soon," he said bluntly, which did not relieve me in any way. "And Zelnar? I'm afraid we're going to have to execute you, on charge of plot to kill innocent children."
"No!" I protested. Firenze eyed me curiously. "No, don't kill him," I repeated, "He's been wrongly treated. Wizardkind at least owes him and the rest of the centaurs some consolation for the way we've treated you."
Zelnar, Firenze, and the rest of the centaur herd that arrived stared disbelievingly at me. What followed was an awkward silence in which I wasn't sure was a good sign or a sign that I was about to be trampled.
"You are most positively the most noble human foal I have ever met," commented Firenze at last. I nearly fell off the centaur's back in shock. Noble? I was no such thing. I was a horrible person… wasn't I?
"Al!" a familiar voice called from far in the distance. I peered into the fog to find a cluster of undefined shadows coming my direction, "Albus Potter!"
At first I was reluctant to answer the call, but then I saw a tall, gangly man with unruly hair and glasses step out from the fog, and all my troubles seemed to wash away.
"Dad!" I cried, "Dad, I'm over here! Dad!"
He saw me, and he ran with open arms. Worry and stress was painted all over his face, but disappeared once he found me. There were other that followed him, but I only wanted to see my father. He took me off Firenze's back and embraced me so tightly I felt I was going to suffocate.
"Oh, Al! You really shouldn't scare me like that, young man. You really shouldn't."
"The Boy That Lived?" I chuckled half-heartedly through tears, "Scared?"
He chuckled too, and holding me tighter he answered: "Yup."
It wasn't long until my splintered leg began to sing with pain. Dad took me to the Infirmary where the nurse treated me (however unpleasantly) with some spells and good rest. It wasn't long until Scorpius and Vicky showed up, worry spread all over their faces.
"Albus Potter!" wailed Victoria, and flung herself on me with more emotion than I'd ever seen come out of her. "I was so worried, you miserable punk! I was so worried!"
And while she was discussing heatedly the qualms I distilled in her, I felt a warmth spread from my center, like a little sun springing up from a black abyss. I couldn't quite put a name on it, but I swear it had something to do with her feeling worried about me.
Scorpius was a little more discreet about his emotions.
"You some kind of an idiot, you know," he said flatly, "going off and prancing around in the forest like a caveman. You would do something like that." Then he smiled, "It's good you're okay though."
"You're not angry at me?"
"For what?"
"For... you know, not believing that someone was targeting you."
"Oh come off it, Al! You really are melodramatic. Why would I be upset about that?" he snorted.
After they were gone, my father patted my head with a prideful smile on his lips.
"What?" I asked him, wondering why he was suddenly so happy.
"That was a very brave thing you did back there, you know."
"Brave?" I nearly choked on my milkshake, "Dad, I'm anything but brave. You know that. That' why I was sorted into Slytherin."
"Now that is not true at all, Albus Severus. You remember what I told you, right? How Severus Snape-the Slytherin-was one of the bravest men I've ever met? I'd think if he were the meet you now, he'd be veryproud of you." I smiled. "And you know what the best thing is?"
"What?"
"I'm very proud of you."
Joy spang up within me like a fountain. Harry Potter? Proud of silly old me? My smile shone like diamonds.
"Now," continued my father, "let's talk to Headmistress McGonagall about helping those centaurs, hm?"