Chapter Summary: Set in fall 1971. In which an attempt is made to explain the origin of Firenze's pro-human leanings.


Firenze was glad of the full moon. As a young centaur who was just starting his night watch duties, the herd gave him the easier task of keeping watch while the moon gave the most light. True, in other forests werewolves might be a danger at this time of the lunar cycle; but there had been no werewolves heard or seen in Hogwarts' Forbidden Forest since the Founders drove them out to build the school. Standing sentry at the top of a hill, Firenze felt perfectly safe. He passed the time, as he nearly always did, by observing the stars. Their alignment did not bode well tonight.

Suddenly Firenze heard a long, unbroken howl. In the milky shadows beneath the trees, a vicious-looking canine stood semi-erect, its claws unsheathed, looking as if it had just killed a small animal. Firenze's blood froze in his veins. There was no mistaking the form and cry of a werewolf. He strung his bow and began to descend the hill, following the sound. But he did not have to chase after it - as soon as it heard hoof-steps, the creature turned and came towards him.

Firenze was quite unprepared for a confrontation. With a surge of anger, he wondered if the herd had chosen this night as a test for him, knowing it would be dangerous and he would have to prove himself. But his pride would not let him wake up the camp until he had fought the beast himself, alone. He chose to utilize the weapon of stealth, and hid behind a tree in quiet observation until the beast had approached him.

Up close, the creature was smaller than Firenze had expected, as if it were not fully grown. But it was still a fearsome foe. When Firenze aimed an arrow at its breast, the creature narrowly dodged it, and Firenze lost his advantage. Moony lunged at his attacker, razor-like claws and teeth bared. Firenze only managed to intercept the blow with a well-timed counterstrike of his arrow tip. Blood began to pour from Moony's shoulder. The creature slinked down to savor the pain. Then, with the briefest look at Firenze, it turned and ran.

Firenze chased after the monster, drawing and firing arrows as fast as he galloped. The creature ran for its life. Soon it felt like they had been running for house, and it was a wonder they didn't wake the whole forest. The trees got denser as they got further from the lake. Just when Firenze thought he was about to collapse from exhaustion, the creature tripped & fell over a root, letting out a cry of agonizing pain.

A wave of relief sweeping over him, Firenze took out his final arrow and prepared to deliver the death blow. A swift slice to the throat would be too merciful. He needed to make sure the thing was really dead before he could return to the herd with a clean conscience.

Just then, a ray of sunlight began to make its way over the hillside. The full moon had set. Firenze watched in fascination as the creature began to shrink, its fur receding into its body, its paws turning into hands. The fearsome werewolf was, in fact, only a child. Firenze felt a terrible sensation in his gut. This must have been the misfortune of which the stars had tried to warn him.

The boy was lying naked on the forest floor in a fetal position, tears streaming down his face. The wound on his shoulder seemed no longer to be bleeding - in his human form, the cut was not nearly as deep - but was still very red. When he saw Firenze stride toward him, arrow in hand, he sat up abruptly and stared, trembling, at the creature before him. It took all the courage he could muster to look the centaur in the eyes. Oh, how wrong Dumbledore had been! How had he overlooked this? How could he not have known that this might happen?

"Please don't kill me," he begged, holding up his hands in a gesture of surrender and reciting the speech his father had made him practice for situations like this. "I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I didn't know what I was doing. I really have no idea what happened."

"Arise," Firenze commanded, sheathing his arrow, and Remus obeyed. "You are mistaken. I have no intention of harming you. I am well aware of the symptoms associated with lycanthropy; you need not tell me of them. And fortunately, you have done no harm. It is only I who have harmed another."

Firenze and Remus stared at each other quizzically.

"What is your name, human youngling?" asked the centaur.

"Remus Lupin," the boy stammered. "Y-you called me human," he observed after a moment.

"As you are no longer a wolf, I see no other appropriate term by which to call you," Firenze said calmly.

"It's just that... no one has ever called me human after finding out what I am," Remus explained nervously. "I thought centaurs hated humans. We learned about it in History of Magic."

"Hate, no. But we are wary of your kind, and for good reason. We do not like to live in close proximity to humans, magical or otherwise. They always seek to exploit our abilities, disregard our intelligence, and - for shame - ride us as if we were common horses." Firenze shuddered. "Thus, we have come to an agreement of mutual isolation. You, however, seem different. Not just because of your lycanthropy, but because of your humility in the face of breeds deemed lesser than your own. You beg me for your life as if I were your equal or superior; you do not seek to dominate me."

"How could I dominate you even if I wanted to?" asked Remus rhetorically. "You might've noticed I don't have my wand with me. Or my clothes."

"Are you a student at Hogwarts?"

Remus hesitated before answering. Finally, deciding it was safe, he nodded truthfully.

"Are you the first werewolf ever to attend the school?" Firenze asked in fascination.

"I think so," Remus replied.

"I know of another werewolf who is a wizard," said Firenze, "although I do not believe he ever attended Hogwarts, due to his condition. He was not as fortunate as you in his time, to have a headmaster who would accept him. He is as dangerous a wizard as he is a werewolf. I believe that never learning to control his magic, as he would have at Hogwarts, made him even more dangerous. I had to attack you; I thought you might have been him. Forgive me. If he had made his way into the Forbidden Forest, the entire school would have been in danger."

Remus shuddered involuntarily. He knew exactly who the centaur was talking about. The fact that he didn't dare speak the name made it even more frightening.

The centaur bowed low. "I am Firenze," he said. He removed an arrow from his quiver and handed it to the boy. Remus took at it and stared at it quizzically, not sure if he should accept the dubious gift. But when he looked up, he saw that Firenze was standing with his head tilted back, as if bracing to receive a blow.

"What are you doing?" Remus asked.

"Offering myself up to justice," said Firenze, keeping his neck exposed. "I have nearly killed an innocent creature. I must give him the opportunity to put me to death, as I deserve."

"I'm not going to kill you," said Remus, lowering the arrow. "You didn't know I was a student. You were just trying to defend your herd."

"You must," said Firenze. "Kill me in order to save yourself. If you return to this part of the forest, if you threaten my herd, I will be forced to attack you again. And I can see it in the stars that you will return. I cannot keep you safe here. I cannot prevent one of my number from killing you at the next full moon."

"Well, you won't be able to protect me if you're dead," Remus argued. "When I transform, I'm not in my right mind. I can't control where I go and I won't remember what happened when I was a human. It's like I'm two people and live in two bodies." Looking down at Firenze's legs, he realized that he might not be the only one who felt this way.

Firenze finally bowed low again, accepting his fate. "The human is merciful," he said. "I owe him a life debt which I do not know how to repay. Whatever he desires shall be my command."

"Stay alive," said Remus, figuring it was best to begin there. "Tell the others who I am so they won't attack me. Get them to go somewhere else on the full moon, somewhere far away."

"Since you have commanded it, I shall try," said Firenze. "But it will be difficult. Centaurs hold werewolves in no higher regard than do human wizards. I doubt I shall be able to persuade them to overcome the fears and prejudices they have always known." Suddenly he smiled. "But here, perhaps, is a satisfactory arrangement. I will spread rumours amongst the herd that the forest this side of the lake is infested with werewolves, which is not entirely a lie. That way, you will be safe from our herd come the next lunar cycle, and our herd will be safe from you. But I cannot guarantee your safety from the giant spiders or any other creatures of the Forest."

"Um, thank you... sir," said Remus, not knowing what else to say.

"If you wish me to let you ride on my back to return to the school, I will suffer the indignity," he said. "The forest is dangerous for a young human to be walking alone on foot."

"Oh, no, sir," said Remus, remembering how proud centaurs were. "I couldn't ask you to do that for me."

"Do not worry about me," said the centaur. "I know the best paths to avoid contact with any members of my herd. I can get you there quite safely and quickly."

"Well, if you insist," Remus finally agreed, knowing that the centaur was right. Which would make McGonagall angrier: if he missed half a day of classes because he had to fight off an army of giant spiders without a wand, or if he incited the wrath of the centaur herd against the entire school?

"I do insist," Firenze told him.

With some difficulty, Remus climbed on to Firenze's lean back. His coarse buttermilk-colored fur was abrasive against the boy's legs. As soon as Remus had gripped on tight, Firenze began to sprint through the forest, expertly dodging all obstacles, running faster than Remus had thought it was possible to run. Out of breath, he struggled to keep holding on and to avoid the arrows bouncing up and down inside the quiver. Finally, just when Remus felt he was about to collapse from exhaustion, Firenze arrived near the tree line, where Remus could just make out the silhouette of Hagrid's hut on the horizon.

"Thank you, sir," said Remus, panting, as he slipped on the clothes that Hagrid had found in the Shack and laid out for him.

"No thanks are required, youngling. Remember, a life debt is a powerful and binding force among wizards and all magical creatures alike, one which cannot be fully repaid with one small deed. From this day forward, I shall consider myself an ally not only towards you, but to all those in whom you place your trust, including the students and staff of Hogwarts school. Fare thee well, human. I hope we meet again under a happier alignment of the stars."


Remus never told anyone about this encounter in the forest. He thought Firenze would not want him to. He did not want to reveal the story of how the kind, noble centaur had almost killed him, and thus bring shame upon one of his first true friends. But most of all, he did not want Dumbledore and McGonagall to worry about him any more than they already did. He was afraid that they could decide at any moment that it just wasn't working out to have him go to Hogwarts, and send him back home. And he would sooner die than give them a reason to make him an outcast again.

Firenze did not speak of it either, not even to Hagrid; nor to anyone, human or centaur, for years. He thought that he would carry the secret to his pyre. But in the wake of the final battle, when he learned that the boy he had once known had died protecting the school and those he knew, he felt it would be wrong not to speak. So that whenever anyone asked, they would know why exactly the centaurs had sided with the Order in the Battle of Hogwarts.