A/N: Hey all! Here's another, as promised. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Same as always.

Chapter 21: Into the Forest Again

"Where's Allison?"

Rose glanced at her cousin. He had a very serious, business-like expression on his face. "She's still in the dorm. She'll be down soon."

Already most of the Gryffindors had left to go down to the quidditch pitch. Once they were gone, Albus, Rose and Allison would quickly go to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, where they would meet Edmond.

"Come on, Dom, let's get going!" Daryl passed close by Albus and Rose, followed by Dom. "Hey, Laura, wait up!"

Laura, flanked by Pearl and Selina, paused and turned to the boys, crossing her arms. "Hurry up. The stands will be almost full by the time we get there." Her eyes narrowed when she saw Marcus approach behind Daryl and Dom.

Daryl caught her look and glanced uneasily at Marcus behind him.

"Black, I thought you'd be cheering on your Hufflepuff friend today," said Selina in a none-too-friendly tone.

Marcus crossed his arms and gave her the same look that Laura was giving him. "Who says I won't be. But I'm still going down to the pitch from here, aren't I. I live in this house."

Laura frowned, but before she could speak, Pearl cut her off with a roll of her eyes. "Alright, enough. Let's just go down to the pitch, shall we? I want to watch James play."

All the five others turned to look at her. Marcus knew all-too-well his sister's feelings about Pearl being James's girlfriend.

"Alright, let's go," said Daryl quickly, before the tension boiled over some more.

Albus and Rose watched as they left through the portrait hole. They were now the only two in the Common Room.

Albus turned and looked towards the stairs up to the girls' dormitories. He was about to repeat his question when Allison appeared, her expression full of apprehension.

"Finally. Let's go!" said Albus, turning immediately to leave.

Allison hesitated, glancing warily towards the portrait hole.

Rose approached her. "It'll be okay," she said softly. Allison nodded. Gathering her confidence, she began walking steadily towards the portrait hole. Albus climbed out of it, and she followed. Rose took a moment, glancing quickly towards the light coming through the nearest window, before following.

Gary clutched his broom tightly. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Steven watching him. Refusing to meet his gaze, he kept himself facing straight forward.

Noise erupted from the Hufflepuffs in the stands as the team took the field. At the far end, the Gryffindors appeared, clothed in scarlet and wearing confident expressions. It had been a long time since Hufflepuff had beaten Gryffindor in a match.

The teams stood opposite each other in the center of the field. Gary glanced at each of the three Gryffindor chasers in turn. He knew he was better than he had been back in November. Still, he wondered if he would collapse again under the pressure he felt on his shoulders.

He cast a quick glance sideways at Sandra, and saw her return the glance with a nod. Then she refocused her gaze on her opponent, James Potter.

James looked at each of the Hufflepuffs in turn. None of them looked very confident.

"Look at those Hufflepuffs. They look sharp as thestral beaks," declared Munden over the loudspeaker. James doubted he had ever seen a thestral. Not that James had either.

Hawkeye threw up the quaffle, and the players kicked off. James and Sandra flew high above the rest, beginning their vigilant search for the snitch.

"Good day to you all," said Edmond, appearing suddenly from behind a tree. Allison gave a jump as soon as she saw him, and Rose automatically grabbed her arm.

"Good day, Edmond," said Albus bravely. He had been bracing himself for greeting the vampire during the whole walk across the grounds, so that he would be prepared and wouldn't let himself get caught looking afraid in front of the girls.

"Do you have the cloak, Mr. Potter?"

Albus nodded, withdrawing the translucent bundle from within his robes. The girls pressed close to him as he threw it around them and himself. He was immediately aware of their nearness quite keenly, though they were all small enough that they could fit together under the cloak without a problem.

"Come," said Edmond, leading the way into the forest. The trio entered, and it quickly grew darker as they walked among the trees. Leaves crunched underfoot. The days were growing warmer, and the snow was melting, though patches still covered much of the ground in the shadowy woods.

An unidentifiable sound came out of the distance, and Albus could feel Allison tense up behind him. He frowned, an expression invisible to anyone. It had been obvious from before they had started that she was not prepared for an adventure like this.

Deeper and deeper into the forest they walked. Allison grew more acclimated to the strange shadows and sounds, though she still looked around sharply each time a new sound was emitted. Rose also was sounding more relaxed, though her fear had been far less overwhelming from the beginning. She matched Albus's carefully-maintained confident stride.

Suddenly Edmond froze, causing the trio under the cloak to very nearly crash into his back. They looked up at him, wondering why he had stopped.

Seconds passed. He didn't move. Then they heard it.

A storm of hooves trampled the ground. The stampede quickly approached.

They appeared first as shadows between the trees. Then the contours of the half-human, half-horse bodies could be seen. Each of the centaurs was carrying a loaded bow.

Allison screamed. Rose clutched tightly onto Albus's arm. Edmond remained standing stock-still beside them. The centaurs charged closer and closer.

"Another goal for Hufflepuff!" Munden yelled. The Hufflepuffs roared victoriously. "They lead 50-0!"

James shook his head, staring at the Hufflepuff keeper. The owl-boy still had not let the quaffle past him. He seemed a completely different player from the one who had played in Hufflepuff's first match against Ravenclaw.

He knew this game was on his shoulders. He looked around earnestly for the snitch, but it was nowhere to be seen.

"Gryffindor holds the quaffle. Holdwin rushes forward. A pass! A pass back! Come on, steal it, Steven!"

"Mr. Munden..."

But Munden was so excited that he completely ignored the professor's reprimand. "Holdwin shoots... Another save by Boulder!"

The Hufflepuffs roared again. Gary tossed the quaffle confidently to Steven, then gave a small wave to the Hufflepuffs in the stands below.

Suddenly Holdwin rushed forward, catching Steven off-guard. Steven quickly tried to pass the quaffle away, but Holdwin intercepted it as soon as it left his hands. The Gryffindor captain immediately fired at the hoop farthest away from Gary. Unprepared, the methodical keeper gave a desperate dive to the block the shot, but failed.

"Hey! What? That's a foul!" shouted Munden, but Hawkeye paid him no heed. The Hufflepuffs fell silent as cheers went up from the Gryffindors.

"Clever play," commented Sarah. Michaela turned and glanced at her brother, who was sitting behind them. This time the twins were both sitting on the Ravenclaw side of the aisle, and supporting Hufflepuff against their own house, for Gary. Most of the surrounding Ravenclaws were also cheering for Hufflepuff, since a Gryffindor loss would bring the race for the Quidditch Cup into a four-way tie once more, rather than Gryffindor gaining an outright lead ahead of the other three houses. Ravenclaw was in danger of losing the Cup for the first time in five years.

The Gryffindors stole the quaffle again and quickly rushed forward. They fired once more, and scored again on the flustered Gary.

"50-20," muttered Munden bitterly, the quiet announcement nearly drowned out by the roars from the Gryffindors.

The centaurs surrounded the vampire. Edmond had known it would be fruitless for the children to try to outrun the beasts, and he hadn't wanted their footsteps to reveal their presence.

Nearly fifty bows were now aimed squarely at him, and he knew that the centaurs had no idea that the children were there.

Under the cloak, Albus did his best to keep his breath as steady and quiet as possible. He felt Allison trembling behind him. Rose placed a hand on the other girl's arm, while with her other hand she squeezed Albus's tightly.

"Why don't you run, vampire?" growled the nearest centaur, whose body was mostly covered in black hair.

Edmond remained silent, matching the centaur's glare.

The centaur waited a few seconds for a response, then angrily reared up. "This forest is ours! You came in here and fed on one of our own. Do you expect us to let you live?"

After a moment, Edmond responded calmly. "Yes."

The calmness of the response caught the centaurs off-guard. Several of them lowered their bows in confusion. "And why would we do that?" demanded the black centaur.

"You know that I am a friend of Professor Markan."

The black centaur snorted and reared up again. "Professor Markan promised to help us long ago. But he has no power to do that."

Edmond looked up at the patches of sky that could be seen between the branches overhead. "Your kind read the stars and the planets, and can divine the future. You know that what you say is not true."

The centaur pulled back his bowstring, aiming at the vampire. "Killing you will not affect our future."

A long second passed, during which the centaur and the vampire merely glared at each other.

The centaur's bow arm tensed, preparing for the release of the arrow.

"And what of Miss Weasley?"

The centaur's expression changed suddenly, and his arm jerked mid-release. Edmond didn't even flinch as the arrow flew over his shoulder, missing by no more than a few centimeters.

The arrow landed at the hooves of a handsome-looking centaur, who had been the first to lower his bow and had kept it lowered. He now stepped forward, seemingly-unintentionally snapping the arrow beneath a hoof. "Miss Weasley? What has she to bare in this?"

"That's Firenze!" whispered Rose in Albus's ear. There was a picture of him with her parents and some others in her home. He was famous for his kindness towards humans during the Second War.

Firenze looked straight at the invisible trio, as if he had heard his name spoken.

"Everything," said Edmond quickly, his voice losing some of its calmness. Firenze didn't even pay him a glance.

Under the cloak, Allison clutched both Albus and Rose tightly, standing as still as she could. Albus glanced sideways at his cousin.

"Think of everything Hermione Weasley has done for the centaurs," insisted Edmond.

"Nothing that is of any consequence here!" shouted the black centaur. "Your death will change nothing."

"Silence, Bane!" roared Firenze. He stepped in the direction of the children.

Edmond stood stock-still, watching the centaur's progress.

Albus felt Allison's hand tighten like a vice on his arm. Then Rose moved. Albus watched in horror as she stepped out from under the cloak.

At once all the centaurs except for Firenze reared up.

"Firenze," said Rose, her voice oddly low and mature-sounding, "you once helped my parents fight in the war against Voldemort."

"What is this?" demanded the black centaur, Bane. The other centaurs were exchanging glances and low words.

"I remember," said Firenze. "You should not be here, Rose Weasley."

Rose gestured towards the vampire. "Edmond is helping us. We need him."

"Ha!" interjected Bane. "Even a human as young as you should know not to trust a vampire."

"Silence, Bane," Firenze repeated. He took another step towards Rose. "You speak with the words 'us' and 'we.' Who else is under that cloak?"

Rose's eyes widened. She hadn't realized that error.

Watching Rose, Albus could no longer resist taking action himself. On impulse he cast the cloak aside, causing a shriek of terror from Allison behind him.

Again several of the centaurs reared up. "Harry Potter's son!" several more of them exclaimed.

Firenze glanced at each of the children in turn. "What are you three children doing in this forest? It is forbidden for you to come here."

"Professor Markan sent us," stated Albus in a bold tone.

"For what purpose?" Bane demanded.

"To investigate the house-elves."

Several of the centaurs scoffed at this. "There are no house-elves here," said Bane.

"I have seen them in here before," Albus replied, not backing down beneath the black centaur's glare.

"This is centaur territory!" Bane roared. "Firenze, take these children out of here. It is time to deal with this vampire."

Firenze stepped towards Rose and lifted her up, putting her on his back. When he moved on to Albus, the boy struggled, but Firenze was far stronger, and placed him behind his cousin. He then turned to the third child, whom he didn't recognize, unsure that he could fit her on safely with the other two. The little girl stood stock-still, staring up at him anxiously.

"What is your name?" he asked in the gentlest voice he could manage.

"Allison," she replied. Her voice was very quiet.

Firenze looked towards a red-haired centaur nearby. "Ronan, come carry young Allison here for me."

The red-haired centaur nodded and stepped forward. Allison immediately backed away from him, unwittingly backing right into the black centaur.

Bane let out a grunt and reared up above her. Allison let out a scream and ducked. In that moment Edmond charged forward and caught Bane's front hoof, pushing it away from the girl.

Knocked off-balance, the black centaur went careening backwards. Edmond picked up the girl and ran, and the other centaurs reared and gave chase.

Mindful of the children on his back, Firenze backed out of the fray safely. "Allison!" Rose yelled. Caught off-guard by the sudden turn of events, Ronan glanced uncertainly back at Firenze, then joined the others in pursuit of the vampire.

Firenze glanced back at the children. "Hold on tightly!" He then set off after the herd, hoping that they didn't hurt the third child in their anger at the vampire.

Gary had regained control, and once again Hufflepuff was building its lead. Every once in a while he would glance towards the aisle between the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors in the stands, where his friends were watching him proudly.

James's anxiety increased as he looked around for the snitch, which still hadn't yet appeared. Across the field, the Hufflepuff seeker was still looking around as well, and he watched each of her movements carefully.

Steven Smith scored again, making the score 110-30. At that exact moment the Hufflepuff seeker went into a sudden dive, and James took off after her.

Edmond could run faster than any human could, even during the daytime, when his magic was weaker. But the girl in his arms was slowing him down, and he knew the centaurs would overtake him eventually. He could hear the black centaur yelling from the midst of the herd, "Kill him! Kill the vampire!"

Firenze had caught up with his companions, but was unable to get ahead of them and rescue the girl. He feared the worst from his herd's wrath.

Suddenly there was a flash of light from the forest ahead of them. A sphere of light hovered in front of the vampire, right in his path. The vampire ran right into the midst of it

Then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the light was gone. The vampire and the girl were gone too.

James had nearly caught up to the Hufflepuff seeker by the time he saw the snitch. When it changed direction, he reacted first, and in a flash he was ahead in the race.

"Come on, Sandra!" shouted Munden over the loudspeaker.

A bludger came flying at James's head, but he ducked it, continuing after the snitch.

Smith, Anderson and Flint all watched in dismay as Potter made a final lunge, catching the snitch and putting Gryffindor alone in the lead for the Quidditch Cup. Holdwin let out a whoop.

Allison fell out of the vampire's arms, falling through the white light that surrounded them. When she hit the ground, the light dissipated. Getting to her feet, she looked up, and immediately took a step backwards.

Standing before her was the largest elf she had ever seen, not that she had seen that many. It was far larger than any of the house-elves that had appeared in Professor Markan's classroom on Halloween, and indeed it was larger than she was. It wore a long forest-green cloak, pinned together at the front by a large golden star engraved with runes.

When Allison took in the sight that was behind the large elf, she was even more shocked, and filled with awe.