Remy woke with a throbbing pain in the back of his head. He didn't feel nauseous, or even dizzy. Just … well … fuzzy. That was the only way he could describe it. Fuzzy. He opened his eyes cautiously. It was daylight, but only just. He shifted in bed and groaned as his head exploded in pain. He closed his eyes and willed his head to stop throbbing. When he opened his eyes again, Poppy was standing by is bed, with a glass of greenish liquid in her hand and a concerned expression on her face.

"How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts."

Poppy nodded. "That's only to be expected, considering the gash you managed to put in it." She was pleased to see his eyes seemed to be focussing better this morning, and his voice sounded clearer. "Can you sit up?"

Remy struggled to sit up, but managed it unaided. Poppy beamed at him and handed him the glass. "Drink this. It should help stop your head hurting."

"Thanks." Remy drank the strange looking liquid without protest, but couldn't help screwing his face up at the taste."

Poppy chuckled. "Not the best of flavors, I'll admit, but it should help. Now, lie back down and get some rest, and I'll bring you some breakfast in a little while."

Remy lay down obediently and closed his eyes, waiting for his head to stop throbbing. He didn't mean to fall asleep, but he must have done. He woke slowly, keeping his eyes closed and his breathing steady, feigning sleep. It was a trick he'd perfected over the years. Even Al had a hard time telling if was truly asleep sometimes. He listened carefully, identifying the voices he could hear. Poppy, Dumbledore, and McGonagall. He listened hard, but they were the only voices he could hear.

"He was awake earlier, but he's asleep again, and I don't want to wake him. Rest is the best thing for him right now. I don't think he's been sleeping well. In fact, I'm sure that was the cause of his migraine the other week."

"Well, if he doesn't wake soon, any decisions will have to wait until I return from my meetings later today. I had hoped to hear Remy's side of things before I left."

"He'll be spending the rest of the day here anyway. I'm not sending him back to classes before he's fit."

"Probably a wise move, Poppy," agreed McGonagall. "

"Has Remy mentioned any problems, Minerva?"

"I know he's had problems sleeping occasionally, but I put that down to home sickness. He does seem a little too eager to start fights. I've had to give him two detentions already, and I know that Professor Sheridan has given him more for the same reasons. It is a little worrying, but if he has been fighting as much as Olwydd says, then he deserves all the detentions that come his way."

Remy heard Poppy's footsteps approaching, and concentrated on his breathing. Nice, steady, regular. She adjusted the covers over him, and he responded by simply mumbling and curling up a little more. Her footsteps faded as she went back to rejoin Dumbledore and McGonagall.

"He's still sleeping. Sorry, Albus, it seems this will have to wait until you return."

"Very well. Keep an eye on him please, Poppy. Minerva, try to placate Sheridan until I return, and have someone keep a watch on Remy when Poppy releases him from here. I do not want any more incidents before I return."

Remy lay still, listening as the door swung closed and three pairs of footsteps faded from his hearing. He opened his eyes carefully and peeked around. He was alone in the room. It was much lighter, and his head felt much better. His clothes were on the bed next to his. He snuck out of bed and crept over to the door, peeking through the glass window. No-one was in sight. He darted back to his clothes and dressed quickly. He wasn't about to stay here and wait for Sheridan to get him kicked out. If he wasn't wanted, he'd just leave.

He checked the corridor again. Still deserted. The door was locked, but a quick flick of his wand opened it. He crept into the corridor and checked Poppy's office, just to make sure, but that too was deserted. He made his way out of the hospital area. He could hear voices from below, and they sounded to be getting nearer. He set off up the staircase. Halfway up to the next floor, there was a window which opened onto the roof. He opened it noiselessly and slipped out onto the roof, closing the window behind him.

He paused and looked around to get his bearings. There was no way anyone could see him up here. He could see the woodland area off to one side, and made his way in that direction. He dropped quickly from the roof, using a fall pipe to guide him down. He crouched by the wall, sheltered from view by a couple of bushes, and looked around cautiously. Still no one in sight, and he hadn't heard any shouts. They probably hadn't even noticed he was missing yet.

He darted over to the safety of the trees and paused once again, hidden behind a tree trunk. He listened hard. Nothing. He grinned. Too easy. He thought about his next move. His head was still a little fuzzy and he just felt like running. Ranger! Ranger would be able to run through the Forbidden Forest without attracting the wrong kind of attention. And Al had always told him, if he needed to transform and run, then just do it. He closed his eyes, took a calming breath, and morphed into the wolf. One last look around, a quick sniff of the air, and he was off and running towards the depths of the Forbidden Forest.

-o-o-o-

He ran freely for what seemed like an age, simply enjoying the freedom, the wind in his face, the ground flying beneath his paws. He could lose himself like this for hours at home when the mood took him. This was the first time he'd indulged the wolf since arriving at Hogwarts. Maybe he should have done this sooner. He felt himself actually growing calmer the further he ran.

When he finally slowed and looked around, he had no idea where he was, but that didn't bother him too much. He'd simply trail his own scent back to where he'd started if he needed to. The forest here was dark and foreboding. Ranger could see why it had been given the name, Forbidden. This wasn't the type of place you'd be likely to find a group of teddy bears having a picnic.

Ranger decided to explore this new area thoroughly while he had the chance. He scampered from glade, to stream, to tree clump, sniffing everything and drawing a mental map of the forest. Occasionally, a bird took fright and flew high above the trees, whistling annoyance and alarm at the intruder. Ranger watched them fly around, fascinated as always by the patterns their wings made in the air.

Ranger ran aimlessly and explored for the next couple of hours, completely losing track of the time, or where he was. He'd missed this feeling of freedom. Suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks and sniffed the air. A scent he couldn't quite place. He thought for a moment. Well, this was the Forbidden Forest, so it made sense that there were strange creatures here that he'd never come across before. He padded forwards, cautiously, sniffing the air and peering around.

There, in the clearing in front of him. What were those creatures? They appeared to be a strange cross between a horse and a human. Their bodies were definitely horse like, but their upper torso was definitely human. Centaurs! Ranger tried to remember all that Al had told him about Centaurs. Distrustful of humans, good healers, fascinated by the stars and Divination. He couldn't remember much else. To be honest, he'd lost interest once Al mentioned Divination.

This particular herd of Centaurs appeared to number about a dozen or so, and ranged widely in color, from a snowy white to a deep black. Ranger slid noiselessly under a bush to watch for a while. The Centaurs appeared to be oblivious to Ranger's presence, standing around in small groups, chatting quietly. Until Ranger sneezed.

He hadn't meant to sneeze, in fact he hadn't realised he was going to sneeze until it was too late. One of the larger Centaurs swung around quickly, drawing his bow and taking aim in Ranger's general direction. He was black haired and black bodied with a black beard, and looked like he wouldn't hesitate to shoot. Ranger deliberately rustled some leaves by his paw and crept slowly out from his hiding place so the Centaurs could see him. He kept deliberately close to the ground, his head bowed, eyes uplifted to watch the Centaurs, poised to make a dash for safety if necessary. The dark Centaur frowned, and aimed his bow directly at Ranger. A lighter colored Centaur stepped forward.

"Bane. It's just a pup."

The larger Centaur growled a little under his breath. "It's a wolf Ceryn, and it was stalking us."

Ceryn appeared to consider this, leaning his head on one side, his piercing blue eyes never leaving Ranger. Ranger looked back at him, unblinking and unmoving. Finally, Ceryn shook his head.

"No, Bane, not stalking. Watching us maybe. He's a pup. I doubt he's seen Centaurs before. And he appears to be a pup on his own. No pack. If he was stalking us to hunt, then he'd be with his pack."

Bane grumbled acknowledgement of this. "So why is he in the Forbidden Forest on his own?"

Ceryn shrugged. "I have no idea, but I doubt he means us harm, Bane. Lower the bow."

Bane reluctantly lowered his bow, though he kept a firm grip on it, and watched Ranger carefully. Ranger shook his head and sneezed again. He wasn't sure what had got up his nose to make him sneeze so much, but not sneezing had been making his head hurt. He sneezed again and grumble growled. Ceryn chuckled.

"Come here, pup. I think you got some Mallowsweet up your nose."

Ranger sneezed again and padded over to Ceryn. Ceryn reached down and rubbed his ears. Ranger yipped happily, and then sneezed again and growled in frustration. Bane started laughing.

"Definitely Mallowsweet. Here, pup, try this."

Ranger tilted his head to the left and watched Bane as he bent down and picked a few leaves from a clump of vegetation on the ground. He rubbed the leaves in his fingers and then held them out to Ranger. Ranger padded over, cautiously, and sniffed the leaves. Bane pushed the leaves towards Ranger.

"Eat them. It's just Sage. It should stop the sneezes."

Ranger gently took the proffered leaves from Bane's fingers and chewed them. They didn't taste too bad. He waited for the next sneeze, but miraculously, his sneezes seemed to have faded. He yipped and bounced and licked Bane's fingers, surprising the large Centaur into a sort of smile.

"Ok, Ceryn. He's just a pup. That doesn't explain why a pup is in the Forest without a pack."

Ceryn nodded thoughtfully. "True, but then, there were strange patterns in the stars last night."

Several of the Centaurs nodded agreement. Bane shrugged. "So what do we do with him?"

"Do with him? Nothing, Bane. He's free to do as he chooses, as long as he doesn't hunt Centaurs." Ceryn stared straight at Ranger. "This is Centaur protected land. You must not hunt Centaurs here. Understand?"

Ranger sat up straight and nodded as best he could, yipping agreement. He had no intention in hunting a herd of large equine type creatures armed with bows and arrows. Despite what Professor Sheridan may claim, Ranger was not that stupid.

"Speaking of hunting, we were supposed to be hunting, were we not?" The speaker was a calm looking Centaur with a doleful voice.

"Yes, Ronan, we were, and we are." Bane picked up his quiver of arrows and tested his bow string. "Come. Time to hunt."

Ranger watched as the Centaurs all readied themselves for the hunt ahead. He had no idea what they were hunting, but his curiosity was burning bright. As they turned to leave the clearing, Ranger padded after them, carefully, and at a safe distance. He intended to watch their hunt. Ceryn turned back and looked at him.

"No, pup. This in no hunt for wolves. You go your own way."

Ranger whimpered pathetically and regarded Ceryn with the largest puppy dog eyes he could manage. Bane chuckled.

"I think we have a new hunt member, Ceryn. May as well bring him along. He'll only follow us anyway."

Ceryn sighed. "True. Very well, come along, pup. But if I tell you to stay, you stay."

Remy nodded agreement and padded quickly to Ceryn's side. Ceryn shook his head with a smile. "Bane, take the lead. Ronan, stay back with me and the pup. The rest of you, spread out."