2/15/19 Update: Sakura Lisel pointed out that Ashi wasn't fighting the prophecy as much as he should (and s/he's right) so I added some more dialogue and gruesome stuff. It starts after the puddle vision ends where Arryn goes nuts about being called a liar.
Chapter 21: The Wolf Pack
Don't forget: Italicized=wolf speak
"Did you find him?" asked Lily. She and James had spent the last two hours scouring the castle for Ashi ever since he had run away.
James shook his head mournfully. "Nothing."
Lily moaned and scrubbed her face with her hands.
James stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, don't worry. We'll find him. There are a million places he could have gone in Hogwarts." He paused, then groaned. "Oh, Merlin. I can't believe I forgot." He started searching his robes.
Lily looked up. "What? What did you forget, James?"
"Sirius gave me the Map when I told him Ashi would be attending Hogwarts."
Lily scrunched her nose. "You mean that ridiculous Marauder's Map you used to stay out of trouble?"
"Yeah. That's it. It should help us find him. Here it is." He pulled a worn and dirty piece of paper out and unfolded it. He pointed his wand at it and recited, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."
Lily rolled her eyes but leaned forward to peer at the map with him.
They saw several groups of names in different parts of the castle. Most of the students were in their dorm or common rooms wasting the day away doing nothing. A few scattered names showed the professors finishing up some work in their classrooms or students outside or in the library.
Lily and James spent a good several minutes scouring the piece of paper for Ashi's name. Lily was just about to declare the map a lost cause when a smaller group at the edge of the map caught her eye. A name surrounded by four others, which she knew she should recognize but didn't. They flickered in and out of existence a few times every second—always showing up in a spot about a quarter of an inch away from where they had disappeared—and when they were on the map, they were so faint Lily could barely see them.
She stared hard at them and it took her a while to even read the names, they were flashing so randomly and quickly. Finally, she noticed one dot switching between "Harry Potter" and "Ashi."
"Look, James!" she shouted excitedly, pointing at the group. "There!"
James looked and grunted in acknowledgement. "Let's go get him then."
"But, James, that's the Forbidden Forest. Why is he in there? He should know it's off limits to students. It's dangerous."
"We'll chew him out later for it. Let's just get him back in the castle for now."
James stuffed the map back into his robe and set off with Lily close behind. Together they marched through the halls toward the back of the castle. They passed a couple pairs of students along the way, all of whom immediately started whispering about how exciting it was to see the Potters, heroes of the wizarding world, together in person.
Lily ignored them until she overheard one pair start talking about how her son had turned Dark while he was away from them. If James hadn't grabbed her elbow and forced her to keep walking, she would have given them detention for the rest of the month. As it was, she spent the rest of the walk practically stomping down the corridors with a scowl on her face.
James pulled out the map again when they reached the grassy field just in front of the Forest. They spent precious seconds finding the group of dots again. This time, the group was flickering what roughly translated to two miles away from where they last were. They were traveling deeper into the forest.
"Hurry up, James," groaned Lily, tugging once at his arm while he just stared at the map. "We have to go. They're getting farther away."
"Wait. Hold on," replied James. "I'm trying to remember…I've been over there before and if I can remember where exactly, we might be able to apparate there."
Lily stared at him. "You've been there?!" she shrieked. "When?"
"Does that really matter?" James asked, glaring. "Look, you can lecture me later. We've got to find Ashi." He shoved the map unceremoniously into his robes. "Grab my arm. If we hurry, we'll get there before them. If we don't, we'll be playing catch up for the rest of the day."
Lily linked her arm through his and opened her mouth to scold him some more. James apparated before she could. That familiar, excruciating feeling of being sucked through a straw made her forget what she was going to say when they landed on the forest floor.
As unpleasant as apparition was when you knew it was going to happen, it was ten times worse when you were suddenly jerked through space against your will. Lily nearly threw up when she finally found her feet, but she managed to keep her breakfast down. When the nausea passed, she stood up from her bent-over position and looked around. "Where are we?" she asked.
"I'm sure it has an official name, but I don't know it. The Marauders called it Skull-Face Rock." James pointed behind them to a huge boulder at least twice their height and tens of yards in diameter. The two gouges in the middle of the rock were what Lily guessed prompted its name.
She turned around again, taking in her surroundings. There was nothing but trees in every direction, birch and ash mixed with oaks. They thinned at the edge of the Skull-Face Rock clearing, but after a few yards, they thickened so much she could barely see anything between them. Even deeper in leaves blocked out the sunlight to give the sense of perpetual twilight.
When she and the Marauders were younger, they would all sneak in through the tree line by the castle to a group of hazel trees just inside the Forest. Now, she was one who would ground students on the spot for doing something so stupid.
"Alright," she said. "So where are they?"
James pulled out the map again. "Umm…here," he jabbed his finger into the paper, then pointed to his right, "they're over that way. I can't tell if they're moving, though."
Lily started forward where James indicated. She paused and looked back when James didn't follow. "Well? Are you coming?"
James was looking past her through the trees, still as a statue.
"James?" asked Lily, taking a step toward him.
"Shh," hushed James. He kept staring at the woods.
Lily stilled. She had never been with James when he was working a case, but she had been married to him long enough that she knew he gained certain skills. After all these years as an auror, he had picked up a sixth sense of sorts; he knew when something that didn't want to be seen was out there.
She turned her head, her body slowly following, now acutely aware of the fallen leaves crackling loudly beneath her feet. The wind blew softly through the trees, rustling branches and moving leaves. Now that she was paying attention, Lily noticed there were no birds chirping, no squirrels scolding them. That always seemed ominous to her, but they had made quite a bit of noise with their apparition so it wasn't too unusual.
She waited a minute before she turned back to James. He was still staring into the forest. She looked at the trees again then back at her husband. She shook her head. "There's nothing there, James."
He kept staring for another few seconds before he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. I guess so. Let's go then."
Lily reached out her hand and James grabbed it as he reached her. They walked a few steps together.
Then a sharp crack filled the air. It was not so loud as to be an apparition, but there was definitely something out there. A flock of birds startled into the trees with a flurry of wings.
James instantly went on the defensive and shoved Lily behind him and pulled out his wand, the one hand still stretched out toward Lily protectively.
She pulled out her own wand and readied herself for battle with whatever horror was stalking them.
They scanned the woods in front of them silently, waiting for their stalker to appear. Eventually, it did.
A pair of yellow eyes glowed through the trees. A long nose pushed through a pair of bushes just outside of the clearing, followed by a longer, leaner body. The white wolf stepped slowly into the clearing, its lips raised in a silent snarl.
James gently pushed Lily further back, away from the wolf. Their wands were at the ready, but they didn't fire any spells.
"James," whispered Lily fearfully.
James motioned his free hand, still stretched toward his wife, in a 'calm down' motion. Chances were, the wolf was just inspecting them, challenging them for infringing on its territory. If they didn't back down and made themselves look authoritative, it would most likely leave them alone and run away.
Leaves rustled to the left and Lily jerked her head toward it, a bad move on her part, but she was so spooked she couldn't help herself.
A tan wolf stepped into view, with its lips also raised in a snarl, its tail fluffed and standing straight up in alarm and anger.
A low growl on her other side made Lily snap her head that way. A brown wolf a few shades darker than the tan had its hackles raised, growling at humans, and looked ready to pounce.
"James," Lily whispered again, a little more urgently. Their odds of survival had just plummeted drastically. And to think Ashi was out here, alone and defenseless, with beasts like these.
"I know," he whispered back. "Just don't make any sudden movements."
"Smart move," commented a rough voice.
Startled, both Potters turned their attention to the young man with silver hair and tight leather clothes leaning against a tree close to the tan wolf, arms crossed.
"Ah," squeaked Lily, mind racing to remember his name. "…erm…Tsume. What are you doing here? What's going on?"
Tsume shrugged nonchalantly. "We could ask you the same thing."
"What do you mean?" asked James harshly, defensively.
Tsume pushed off from the tree and took a threatening step forward. "Oh, I think you know exactly what I mean. We trusted you—even though you're complete strangers!—to take care of him while he was at school. He wanted this so bad, he didn't care that we didn't know a thing about you, and you let him down!"
The three wolves growled louder at Tsume's proclamation. The brown and white wolves started pacing back and forth, making sure the couple didn't get the chance to run past them.
"What?" asked James quietly, in confusion.
Tsume raised his voice a bit to compete with the wolves. "You betrayed him! Threatened to expose him for being different the first time he does something that you don't want him to."
"That's not—" started Lily, but Tsume kept going and the wolves loudened their snarls.
"What kind of teacher does that?"
"No!" shouted James.
Tsume continued, gesticulating a bit to make his point. "Hell, you're supposed to be his parents, aren't you? That's what you wanted, isn't it? To take care of him? Well, you did a hell of a job back there. It's a wonder you don't have more kids." He flopped his arm in their general direction. "You obviously need someone to bully someone smaller, weaker, younger, than you to make you feel powerful. Your magic not enough for you? You need to scare kids into doing what you want?"
"What in Merlin's beard are you talking about?!" shrieked Lily, oblivious to the trio of wolves preparing to attack. She strode forward until she was less than a foot away from Tsume, despite James frantically trying to keep her behind him.
"Wait, Lily," he hissed, but she ignored him.
Tsume stepped forward to meet her, towering over her a few inches. She didn't let that intimidate her, though.
"What would you know about what we want for him?" she asked pointedly, jabbing a finger at his chest. "All we want is for him to be happy and safe. We've been protecting him for longer than you know."
"Protecting him, are you?" growled Tsume. "Are you sure you just have been keeping that secret just so you can blackmail him with it? Oh wait, you've already done that!"
The tan wolf's growl suddenly turned into sharp barks, saliva flying through the air as he bared his teeth viciously.
"Black—Why in the world would we do that?" said James, keeping his eye on the wolves. "He's our son! And a child! We wouldn't dream of doing that to him…or anyone!"
"Is that so? Then what were you doing in that classroom? Simply explaining that you knew exactly what he was, that you knew what would happen to him if that ever got out?" Tsume spread his arms as he asked his sarcastic question. "That sounds a lot like blackmail to me. And if that's how you're going to treat him, treat us, we're leaving, and you'll never see us again."
Tsume turned on his heel and marched away.
"Now you wait a minute!" cried Lily. "If you'd just—"
Tsume whirled on them with a nasty look on his face. "If I'd just what? Stand here and listen to you justify why you threatened a kid—one of your students—when he didn't want to switch dorm rooms? Do you even know what they'll do to us when they find out we're different?...There is no justifying that."
Tsume turned again and started walking away from them.
"Wait!" shouted James, raising his wand, hoping the threat of a spell would stop Tsume. "We're not—Gaaahhhh!"
Lily's scream joined James's when the brown wolf launched himself as James had raised his arm. Its teeth sank easily into his arm, spattering blood over both their faces and James's robes as it sliced easily through skin, muscle, and sinew. The wolf let go almost as soon as he had clamped his jaws shut, jumping away from danger as James sank to the forest floor, clutching his injured arm and hissing through his teeth.
The other two wolves started barking and growling at the Potters, tails up and bushy, hackles raised, and jaws snapping to keep them from moving or retaliating. All three alternated between crouching in place and springing at them threateningly.
On reflex, Lily shot a stinging jinx at the tan one when he lunged too close for comfort.
He leaped away, whimpering and pawing at his nose for a few seconds before he went back to his display.
Lily grabbed at James's bleeding arm, tears rolling down her face, and struggled to get her wand in a good position to conjure some bandages around the wound. When the blood had stopped, she looked up, glaring at Tsume and the wolves. "You monsters!" she sobbed over her husband's groans. "How could I ever have let you get away with raising my son?"
Out of the corner of her eye, Lily saw a shadow move and she jerked her tear-streaked face toward the new threat.
Ashi stepped out from behind a tree near Tsume to glare at her. He was so angry that he didn't even bother to give her enough respect to use her name, so angry he nearly shook his fist at her. "Lady," he spat, "you have been worse to me in one week than they have ever been my entire life."
More tears fell and Lily turned to look at Tsume when he said, grinning, "There's your answer. Let's go, guys." He led the way into the woods.
With a final growl and huff, the white wolf turned, followed quickly by the tan. The brown one opened its bloody jaws a little wider and kept growling until his companions were safely in the trees, then galloped after them. Ashi watched the Potters a few seconds after they were all gone, then he, too, disappeared into the forest.
Lily sobbed again as she watched her son go, not able to do anything about it. She was snapped out of her misery by a groan from James. Frantically, she cupped his face, smearing blood on his cheeks. "James. James," she whispered, trying to get him to focus on her and not on his arm. "Look at me. Here. Are you alright?"
James grasped one of her hands and pulled it from his face. "I'm fine. It's just a bite. I've had worse."
"Yeah. No, I know. But there's so much blood and I—" her voice broke and she started sobbing again.
James wrapped his uninjured arm around her shoulders and rocked her back and forth, shushing her.
Lily kept crying onto James's shoulder for a good five minutes before she ran out of tears. Then they just sat there, together, listening to the chirping of the birds and the rustle of the leaves. Finally, she sat up, not meeting his eyes and said hoarsely, "We should get you to Poppy. I'm not good enough at healing magic to do any good."
James cracked a smile, hoping to lighten the mood. "What? You're not good at something? No way."
Lily didn't smile. "Stop it, James. It's not funny."
The smile dropped from his face. "Yeah. You're right. I shouldn't have said that. Sorry."
She shook her head. "It's alright. Come on. We've got to go. We need to hurry up and get you healed so we can find them again."
"Lily, honey, I don't…I don't think we're going to convince them to come back," he said sullenly. "They're just so set in the idea that what I said back there was blackmail. They won't let us get a word in edgewise."
"But we have to try. If we don't, he won't get a magical education and you know what that could mean for him."
"Yeah. I know. I just don't know how we're going to convince them to come back."
"You will not have to, James Potter," said a rich, silky voice.
The Potters turned to stare at the newcomer in shock.
A salt-and-pepper-haired centaur with a chestnut body speckled with grey stepped into view. His eyes were a soft brown, wise and kind. His bare chest was peppered with scars of varying size and shape. Even though there weren't very many of them, the scars were eye-catching and pegged the centaur as an experienced hunter. Patches of his fur on his horse body were missing, replaced by long lines of scar tissue. A thin cut that started at the middle of his top lip and bypassed his nose to curve up to the outside corner of his right eye finished the menagerie of war wounds.
He had a long bow and a quiver of arrows slung over his back. A large hunting knife was tied to one side of his waist where horse melded into human. On the other side, the same strap held a small leather bag. His steps were silent, even though the ground beneath him was covered in dry brush.
Lily and James stared in shock. Centaurs were notorious for being reclusive and rarely allowed humans to even glimpse them, let alone talk to them. The couple had only even seen centaurs once when they had stumbled upon a hunting party during one of the Marauders' trips to the Forest. Needless to say, the centaurs were not happy to see humans in the Forest and Lily was rather convinced that they had not been killed on the spot simply because the centaurs looked down on the murder of children; adults were another matter, however.
"I-I…you…what," stammered Lily, her face turning white with awe.
"Fear not, little one," said the centaur stepping forward to kneel next to James. "I am here to help. The stars have foretold a great tribulation to come upon us in years to come." He reached into his bag, pulled out a few herbs, and began unwrapping James's bandage.
James hissed quietly when the wrapping closest to his wound peeled away.
The centaur continued with his ministrations, using a leafy plant the secreted some kind of mucus to wipe away the blood. At the same time, the mucus filled in the punctures. When the arm was relatively clean, the centaur picked up a few pieces of bark and laid them over the wound, then began wrapping the bandage over it all.
While he was tending to James's arm, he kept speaking. "Only the strong will be able to defeat it; the weak will perish at its hand and none will survive if it is allowed to roam free."
"Great evil?" questioned Lily.
"What great evil?" asked James at the same time. "What are you talking about?"
The centaur ignored them and kept wrapping James's arm. "There are gathered here a few of those needed to defeat it. You, James and Lily, are among those strong enough to have a chance, but you will not be able to survive by yourselves." He tucked in the end of the bandage to keep it from unraveling and stood up with a small groan and a flurry of stamping hooves.
When he had regained his balance, he looked out at the trees where the wolf pack had gone. "Young Ashi has promise, but if he does not hone his skills, he will not survive the coming war." He looked down at the couple. "I will be able to bring him back, but you must be careful of your words. They have not had pleasant experiences with humans and are loathe to trust any but each other. A carelessly spoken phrase will send them running for their survival," he smiled wanly at them, "as you well know now."
He looked back to the woods and began walking away.
"Wait!" shouted Lily, scrambling to her feet after him. "Will he ever trust us now? Are you sure he'll even come back when we're still here?"
The centaur didn't look at her. "It will be much harder to gain his trust now, but he will come back. There is something he feels he must do for his family…and deep within him is a burning desire to learn, about himself and others. He is reluctant to pass up so perfect an opportunity. You must prove to him that those words were words spoken in anger and frustration and had no real threat behind them."
"How are we supposed to do that?" asked James from where he was still kneeling on the ground, cradling his arm.
The centaur looked back at him, then at Lily. He shook his head at the pleading looks on their faces. "I cannot tell you that. You must figure it out on your own." He turned back to the woods. "I must leave you now or I will never catch up to them in time." He looked at them one more time and smiled softly. "But fear not. I will be watching over you. This family is the strength behind the force that will be needed, after all."
"Can we at least know your name?" called James before the centaur could turn away again.
The centaur paused for a few seconds, as if he had to remember what his name was, before he answered, "You may call me Arryn." (Pronounced Are-in)
"Thank you, Arryn," said Lily.
Arryn smiled once more, then galloped off after the pack.
When he was gone, Lily looked back at her husband. "Well," she sighed, "that was rather eventful."
James nodded and stood up with a groan. He looked at the trees Arryn and Ashi had disappeared between and sighed. "As much as I want to go after them, we should trust Arryn. I'd rather have him making fun of us for being gullible than him getting mad for us not trusting him."
"I know," Lily nodded. She walked back to James and took his uninjured arm. "We should get back to the castle and see Poppy."
They disappeared with a sharp crack.
Tears stung Ashi's eyes as he ran. Tears of embarrassment, of anger, of hurt, of shame. How could he have been so stupid? He had heard it a million times from his pack over the years: humans could not be trusted. They were selfish, greedy, cruel creatures. But he hadn't listened. He had been blinded by the thought of something new, something to learn, the chance to really get to know humans...and he had paid the price.
From now on, he was going to be content with what life dealt him and not yearn after what others had. Maybe sometimes he would deserve something, maybe he wouldn't, but if he had to rely on someone else in order to get it, it would be better to not have it at all.
…And yet, he still wanted to go back to that castle to soak in everything it had to offer him. But it would be dangerous there, now that someone untrusted knew his secret.
They ran for the entire day, only stopping for quick breaks whenever they came across water. They climbed hills and leaped across valleys, scaled a mountain and waded across rushing rivers.
When he recounted all of that in his head, Ashi thought it sounded rather impressive, but when it came down to it, the rough terrain had impeded their progress. In reality, they had only traveled a little more than two hundred miles.
When they finally stopped for the night, it was well past dark. They had caught a couple of rabbits along the way, so there was no real reason for them to hunt before they settled down. Thank goodness.
Ashi flopped down in front of the huge oak they had chosen to guard their backs, physically and emotionally exhausted. Toboe and Tsume stepped gingerly through the brush and lay down next to him, limbs shivering from the strain. Hige dropped behind them, panting heavily. Kiba limped past them all and collapsed in a spot of moonlight.
"How…is it that…it was flat…all the way to the castle…and then we had to do…that?" complained Hige.
"That's England for you," answered Kiba as he curled around himself.
"Don't worry, Hige," whispered Ashi sullenly. "We won't be coming back here again."
Kiba cracked open his eyes to watch Ashi while Tsume and Toboe exchanged a worried look.
"Cheer up, Ashi," said Toboe as he laid his head on Ashi's back. "We'll find you somewhere else to study magic."
Ashi grunted and closed his eyes. He wasn't in the mood to think about finding another school, about having to try all of this again. He would just as soon not study magic at all, no matter what the centaurs had said about rogue magic.
Within minutes all five wolves were sound asleep, despite the danger of being in unfamiliar territory without setting a watch. None of them cared.
Just before dawn, Arryn stepped through the trees, sides heaving, into their midst. He had traveled swiftly and silently and even now his pants were barely more than a whisper. He had learned the hard way the need to be silent at all times. But now he was too silent-or the wolves were too exhausted. As it was, Arryn really had to make an effort to wake the wolves up.
They did, in a flurry of claws and teeth and fur. They went from sleep-mode to attack-mode so quickly, Arryn had to make a conscious effort not to yell and attack them. Still, by the time they had all calmed down, Hige had a dirty hoof-shaped mark on his side and Arryn had his dagger out.
The wolves surrounded the centaur, growling and snapping at Arryn while he turned in quick circles in a futile attempt to keep all of them in sight at the same time.
"Calm yourselves!" shouted Arryn.
"Who are you? What do you want?" growled Kiba.
The centaur glared at them all once more before he answered, "I am Arryn and I have come to negotiate."
"Negotiate what?" barked Toboe.
"We've got nothing to negotiate," put in Hige. "We'll be gone from your territory by morning."
Arryn stamped his back hoof irritably. "You are not in my territory. And I have not come to talk to you." He turned to Ashi.
Ashi crouched lower and raised his lips higher, hoping to intimidate the centaur with his large canines as his growling grew louder.
Arryn's expression softened as he watched the defensive display. "Young Ashi," he whispered. "You are not meant to live this sort of life. You are meant for greater things."
"Like what?" snapped Ashi. "I've tried something else—it didn't work. And I'm good at this life. Why change?"
"Hogwarts has much to offer you, young one. Much more than you could ever dream."
"Oh, we dream of it just fine," snarked Tsume. "We dream of being hunted down like rabbits, experimented on to 'test our limits', just so they can find out what's different about us!"
Arryn whirled on Tsume, fire in his eyes. "There are some like that! But there are also those who would lay down their lives to save yours because you're different. You only need be cautious to stay safe."
"We were cautious, and we still got found out!" argued Kiba.
"They're probably out there hunting us right now," growled Toboe, laying back his ears in anger and regret as he thought of what Leara had done to him all those years ago. Even now, that small betrayal stung like it had happened yesterday.
Arryn met Toboe's furious gaze somberly. "Aye. They could be…but they are not." He turned his head to look at Ashi again. "Those who know your secret, Ashi, are not the ones you should be afraid of. Those two care more for you than any two strangers should. You do not remember them, but when you were cast out into the snow, they took care of you, even knowing what you were."
He smiled when he saw Ashi's ears perk up with interest. "They would not willingly put you in danger."
Hige snarled. "Then what was all that he said to Ashi in that castle. Idle talk?"
Arryn glared at Hige. "Indeed. James Potter was simply frustrated that Ashi did not turn out to be the perfect son he was envisioning. He has not had time to sharpen his parenting skills to the level they need to be to understand a headstrong young wizard. He deals with hardened criminals, who only respond to harsh words and force, and his wife, who loves him nearly as much as life itself; polar opposites. He has had no chance to cultivate a balance between the two."
"How do we know he won't turn those harsh words and force on Ashi when he doesn't get what he wants?" asked Tsume.
Arryn shook his head. "He will not. As much as he cannot control his tempestuous words, he has never given more than he was willing to take responsibility for. You can rest easy knowing that James Potter will never lay a hand on you with the intent to harm…unless you deserve it."
Kiba tilted his head a bit, considering all of this. Despite how quickly they had pulled Ashi out of that castle, they all wanted him to have the new experience of a school, friends, and to get to know a culture that was different from his own. "You sound like you know the Potters personally. How do we know you're not trying to trick us back there?"
"I know the Potters, but I am not their friend. They know nothing of me and my kind, but I have been watching them for many years. This prophecy has been in the making for many years now."
Kiba huffed. "And how do we know we can trust you?" he asked suspiciously.
Arryn turned in a circle and met the gazes of all of the wolves, ending with Ashi. "Because I am like you," he said softly.
Ashi took a step back, wary of what the centaur meant by that, while the other wolves shifted uncomfortably, wondering the same thing.
Arryn reached into his pouch and pulled out a long, thin, pointed stick: a wand.
Ashi growled. "Where did you get that? I thought non-magicals could not wield wands."
"Indeed they can't," smiled Arryn, holding and examining the wand like it was a precious family heirloom. "Only humans feel the need to use wands; elves have no need of them, and all other magical creatures have so little magic that there is no point in having one. But I am not an ordinary centaur. Like you, my family was gone when I was just a colt, but a wizarding family found me and took me in. They performed a Blood Adoption, just like the Potters did with you, and I was granted a magical core."
"Bull!" barked Tsume. "Magic isn't compatible with centaurs. There's never been one that had magic."
Arryn pointed his wand at Tsume—Tsume flattened his ears and crouched so low he was almost laying down—and said, "You have not had your ear close enough to the ground or your eyes high enough in the sky to hear and know their secrets." He flung his arm skyward and a flurry of red sparks burst from his wand and exploded into the night, startling all of the wolves into flinching, proving that he could indeed wield magic.
The centaur turned back to Ashi. "The Blood Adoption does more than simply make us a part of their families. It grants us magical capabilities that were never before heard of in our species. But these powers come with a price. If we do not train them, train ourselves to use them, we endanger those around us, both loved ones and strangers."
"Yeah, yeah. We've heard all that," scoffed Hige. "So someone might get shocked, or burned, or healed every once in a while. We'll deal with it."
"NO!" shouted Arryn, whirling on Hige thunderously. He stomped up to the wolf so quickly and with such bravado that Hige flattened his ears and leaned to the side, low to the ground beneath the centaur's rage. "I am not simply talking about…party tricks." He looked at Ashi and pointed a finger at him. "You have inherited magic equivalent to two magic cores: one from your mother, one from your father. Your magic is so powerful it has the potential to tip the balance of world to one side or the other. If left unchecked, you could heal plagues…or destroy continents…and you'll never be able to predict which. None will survive if you do not harness your power."
Ashi's ears flicked up and down as he thought of such power boiling within him, ready to explode at any moment. On the one hand, it was exhilarating to have access to it—none would dare attack him or his pack ever again. On the other, he would have no control over it; he could just as easily hurt his family as his enemies.
"No. No. No!" he whined, overwhelmed by the sudden responsibility that had been thrust upon him. "You lie!" For if the centaur wasn't, Ashi would have to make the excruciating decision to go back on his pack's word to the Potters, to go back to the castle where he could be locked in a cage without a moment's notice.
"Enough!" shouted Tsume. "You have no right to barge in here and flail around making outrageous accusations. Like that pup could ever have a chance of taking out a single pack of enemies, let alone a whole continent."
Arryn lifted his chin. He was determined to prove to them just how dangerous uncontrolled magic was. "Very well. If you do not believe me, I will show you." He waved the wand silently and a puddle of water bubbled up from the ground in front of him.
The pack crept forward to gaze at their reflections.
"Wow. That's really powerful alright," commented Hige dryly.
Arryn glared but didn't say anything. He waved his wand again and the wolves' doppelgangers disappeared, replaced by the sun setting over a large grassy field.
A young centaur about nine years old (as far as I know, there's no set life-span of a centaur for HP, so I'm aging them at about the same rate as regular humans) was galloping across with a smile on his face and his arms full of juicy red apples. A small outcropping of buildings soon appeared. There was a regal white farmhouse next to a huge red barn. A heap of scrap metal and junk was piled next to a small shed a little way away from the barn.
The young centaur galloped up to the barn and trotted in gleefully. "Pa!" he called. His voice was garbled by the water, but the pack could understand him clearly enough. "Look what I found!"
A man, roughly in his forties, poked his head out from behind a stall. "Eh? What's that, Ar'rn? What'cha got there?"
The centaur trotted up to the man and proudly held up his haul. "I found an apple tree at the end of the pasture."
"Well, good for you." The man grabbed one of the apples, shined it on his shirt, and took a big bite. He hummed appreciatively as he chewed. "Better go take the rest of 'em to your mum. Might talk her into making one of her apple pies."
The centaur nodded and turned to exit the barn.
"By the way, Ar'rn," called the man. "Where did you say you found these?"
"At the west end of the pasture."
The man's face paled. "The…west…end?" he balked.
The centaur frowned and answered affirmatively.
The man threw down his pitchfork and marched out of the barn, the centaur stumbling along behind, trying to figure out what he had done wrong.
The picture rippled and disappeared.
"I had taken the apples from a tree that belonged to one of the neighboring farms," explained Arryn. "Most of the others wouldn't have minded—it was only half a dozen—but this particular wizard was very stingy and greedy. He found out about my mistake and came to our house that night." Another picture appeared in the puddle. "That was the night I found out I had inherited magic."
Lightning flashed in the windows of the farmhouse as the centaur, his father, and his mother sat around the table, or stood in the centaur's case. The centaur looked crestfallen, picking at his dinner, as his father just glared at his plate of steak and mashed potatoes, fork in grasped tightly in one hand and knife in the other. The woman took small, slow bites.
They all startled when someone pounded angrily at their door.
The man rose with a scrape of his chair.
"Jason," pleaded the woman.
Jason motioned for her to remain in her seat. "I'll take care of this, Lyra." He moved to answer the door.
A lantern held high by the stranger lit up his enraged face. "Your mule has been stealing from my farm!" he shouted without preamble.
"Now, Rick," reasoned Jason. "He didn't know it was your farm. He's only just arrived."
"I don't care!" bellowed Rick, raising a lamp to intimidate Jason. "He stole from me and I demand justice!"
"Alright. We have the apples right here," Jason motioned to a basket on a china hutch next to the door. "You can have them back and I've scolded him good and hard for taking what's not his."
The stranger barked out a laugh. "Scolded?" he asked incredulously. "Scolded? That ain't gonna get the lesson through his head. I want something to remind him he did wrong by me." He glared around the door at the centaur, who shrank beneath his gaze, then turned a smile to outside.
"Me and my gang been thinkin'," he purred. "Didn't there used to be a penalty for stealin' way back when? What was it again?"
"Hangin'!" shouted a voice from outside.
"Prison!" shouted another.
"Lose a finger!" contributed a third.
"Ooh, I like that one," chucked Rick. "How's that sound?" He turned his steely gaze back to Jason, waiting for a reply.
"Now, wait a minute—" protested Jason.
"Not watin' 'nother second!" bellowed Rick. "Boys! Let's get our penance!"
A surge of bodies pushed through the door and rushed to subdue the family. Jason hollered and yelled for them to stop, but there were too many for him to even think about fighting back.
More men skirted around the table and grabbed Lyra, ignoring her screams while four of them wrestled the wailing centaur to the floor. They wrested one of his arms out and held it tight to the ground while Rick slowly walked over to him, boots thumping and spurs clinking on the wood floor.
"Don't you touch him!" roared Jason as he struggled to get away from his captors.
Lyra had run out of screams and just watched, sobbing quietly.
The centaur watched fearfully as Rick approached, fighting and failing to keep back tears and whimpers.
Rick knelt down by the centaur's hand and pulled a long knife out of his boot. He fingered it delicately with a lover's touch. "Yeah," he whispered. "You'll teach this vagabond to steal from me, won't you, Mira Jane."
With a terrified cry, the centaur tried to pull his hand back but only managed to shift it half an inch. The men on top of him were too strong for him.
Rick grinned, showing off a few yellow-stained teeth as he gently brought the knife down next to the centaur's index finger. His smile grew when another whimper escaped the centaur's mouth. The knife scraped against the floorboards, leaving a white scratch, until it touched flesh. Rick put more pressure on the handle until the blade drew a bead of blood.
The centaur screamed at the top of his lungs and thunder rang through the sky. Windows blew out with a noise like cannon-fire and wind whipped around the house uncontested, knocking over plates and chairs and pictures. A bolt of lightning blasted through the house to land less than a foot away from Rick. Thunder boomed immediately after.
Rick's grunts screamed and yelled, scrambling over each other to get out the door. Rick was trampled underfoot, spewing curses at his men for forgetting they had magic too and at the storm, until two decided he was worth the effort to pick up and drag out the door with them.
The house emptied as quickly as it had filled. The wind died down and the lightning and thunder seemed to follow the gang of vagabonds as the scurried back to the safety of their own home.
Lyra dropped to her knees next to the centaur and pulled him into her arms. She rocked and shushed him as he sobbed.
"That was you?" asked Toboe. "How could you tell?"
Arryn stowed his wand in his pouch and the puddle sank back into the ground. "Same way any magician can tell when he uses magic. I felt something leave me during and I was drained after. We moved away the next morning and my parents consulted an expert of magical creatures. He suggested I attend Hogwarts, so they sent me off as soon as my acceptance letter came."
Tsume scoffed. "Sounds like they loved you a lot," he said sarcastically.
Arryn glared. "It was the only way to keep everyone safe. I'm sure you've heard stories of what happens to wizards and witches who do not bother to learn how to control their powers, then try to suppress them?"
"Yeah. And?" asked Kiba.
"They're true. Obscurials exist and they are very dangerous, whether they mean to harm or not."
"What if I don't have that problem?" argued Ashi. "Or what if I just went to a different school?"
"All untrained magi become obscurials eventually. And Hogwarts will need you in years to come. You would certainly have the same education at Durmstrang, but the troubles lurking at Hogwarts will give you the experience you need to face the evil that is coming."
"Evil?" asked Ashi. "What evil? And why do I have to fight it?"
Arryn sighed forlornly and pawed the ground with one of his hooves nervously. "It is an evil that has faced this world before…and nearly won. It was only a combination of fortunate events and powerful magic that stopped it."
"Right, so it could stop it again," said Hige.
"Hrm. Perhaps, but not without much bloodshed and destruction. It has been biding its time for the last decade, gathering its strength. It will come back more powerful than ever."
"Okay. What does that have to do with us?" asked Tsume. "Aren't you powerful? Can't you stop it?"
"Unfortunately, no. I am nowhere near powerful enough to defeat it alone."
"Then why not kill it now, before it gets all that power?" asked Ashi.
"Because it is being guarded by strong magic, several cores have been extinguished to create such a powerful barrier. I am unable to discover where it is hiding. It has led me everywhere from the continents overseas to the tundras of the north."
"Okay. That still doesn't explain why I have to be the one to fight it," sulked Ashi.
"Because of your power, child. You are even more powerful than I. You would be a great asset in the battle to come if you fight by our side." Arryn paused and stared into Ashi's eyes. "If you choose not to fight and we lose, the world will fall. Millions will perish, and millions more will suffer for the rest of their lives and wish they were dead."
Ashi flattened his ears. He thought back to the huge cities the pack would visit in their travels. He remembered the families he would see there, the children laughing and playing together, the parents smiling and encouraging them.
A presence suddenly invaded his thoughts and the happy families were wiped out in a torrent of fire. What was left was a husk of the city. Stores and buildings smoldered. Ash floated down from the darkened sky. A little girl sat in the middle of the street in front of a burnt and bloodied body, clutching a doll and crying for her mother. A giant skull hovered over her head, an equally large snake slithering out of its mouth and curling through the sky.
"This is what will happen to every city if we do not stop it," Arryn's voice echoed in Ashi's mind.
Ashi's stomach clenched at the horrific sight, but still he thought, "So what? Humans do this to each other all the time and they get over it."
The city disappeared, replaced by a burning forest. Deer, rabbits, wolves, bears, and dozens of small animals darted through the trees to escape the blaze. The fire ran its course and left nothing but a blackened landscape. The charred bodies of several animals dotted the landscape.
"You will not be safe here," said Arryn. "Or here—" an icy glacier, "or here—" a hot savannah desert, "Not even here—" waves crashed over each other in the middle of the ocean.
It all faded to black and the mangled bodies of Ashi's pack appeared. Toboe's chest had been crushed. One of Tsume's legs was missing, torn off at the shoulder joint and his jaw didn't exist anymore. So much of Hige's body mass was gone that he didn't even look like a wolf anymore. Kiba's eyes had been gouged out; the rest of his body had been slashed to ribbons.
"If you don't try to protect everyone, you won't be able to protect anyone," whispered Arryn softly.
The vision disappeared and Ashi found himself back in the real world, panting, limbs trembling as if he had just run another two hundred miles. His pack was barking and growling.
"What did you do to him?" screeched Tsume.
"I showed him the future," replied Arryn calmly.
"What the hell—" growled Hige.
"I'll do it," interrupted Ashi desperately. "I'll go back to that school, I'll fight in this battle."
"What?" gasped Toboe. "But Ashi—"
"No, Toboe. I have to. What if I don't and they lose? If this thing is really as powerful as all that, we'll die anyway. Might as well die in battle than running with our tails between our legs."
"There's no way—" argued Tsume.
"He is correct," put in Arryn. "The Dark Lord and his followers believe Ashi to be the one a prophecy describes as his downfall. They will never stop hunting you."
"Prophecy?" asked Kiba. "What prophecy?"
"It states that the one to defeat the Dark Lord will be born to those who have defied him three times, born as the seventh month dies, that he will be mark him as his equal, and he will have a power the Dark Lord knows not."
"Hardly any of that applies to Ashi, though," said Toboe. "We don't know who his parents are or if they've defied somebody and he hasn't been marked and if this Dark Lord guy is so powerful, how can Ashi know a power he doesn't."
Arryn nodded. "Indeed. There is no way to know for sure if Ashi is really the one mentioned in the prophecy, but his birthday falls on the last day of July and the Lord gave you that scar," he pointed at Ashi's forehead, at the faint, grey outline of the lightning bolt, "and that is enough for him and his followers to hunt you down and destroy you. Unless you train yourself and your power, Ashi, there will be no one powerful enough to stop him."
"I'll do it," stated Ashi again.
"No," barked Tsume. "You're not going back."
"Yes, I am," growled Ashi. "Even if you try to stop me, I'll just keep coming back, over and over and over again until I get powerful enough that I can stop this thing before it kills us. I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't feel quite like dying yet."
Tsume growled. "Fine. Let's see how long you last, then."
"What about the Potters?" growled Hige. "We still have no proof that they won't come after us at the drop of a hat."
"I will take care of the Potters if that happens. But I have been watching them for years; they pose no threat to you."
"So you've said. But how do we know we can trust you?" growled Tsume. "For all we know, you could be lying."
"We do not lie!" Arryn reared up in anger. "Centaurs never lie. It is beneath us, though there may be some who manipulate the truth."
Ashi nodded. "I'm going back. If I'm going to become a true wolf, how can I run at the first sign of danger."
Kiba growled, then looked away and huffed in resignation. "Fine. But on one condition: we have a plan to get you out if something goes wrong."
Ashi grinned again. "Piece of cake."
Arryn nodded approvingly. "And I will assist you however I can should you need it." He reached into his bag again and pulled out a small golden ring strung on a silver chain. "Use this to communicate with me. Say nuntis to activate the spell, then speak your message. Mittre nuntis will send your message to this ring," he pulled out a second identical ring, "which I will be wearing. The rings will warm when they have received a message."
Ashi shifted into a human and reached up to take the ring. He examined it for a second, then looped it around his neck. It dropped into his shirt, hiding from view.
"Keep in mind, though," continued Arryn, "that these rings can only send short messages, about ten words." He placed his own ring around his neck. "We should use them to arrange meeting times and alert each other of dangerous situations."
"Sure. Whatever you say. Um, are you staying near the castle or something?" asked Ashi, fingering the cold ring.
Arryn nodded. "You are important to the future, so I must protect you."
"Wonderful, Ashi," quipped Toboe. "You have a mother-horse."
Arryn snorted indignantly and stamped a hoof. "Indeed," he drawled, unimpressed. "However, I must warn you: your power could sway the coming war in either direction. If you are heading down a path of destruction, I will not hesitate to cut you down."
The pack growled at the threat but Ashi just nodded. "Good. If I do that, I've lost my mind and I deserve it."
Arryn smiled and nodded approvingly.
"We better start heading back to the castle," continued Ashi as he shifted back into a wolf. "Classes start the day after tomorrow."
"You need not worry about that, Ashi," smiled Arryn. "I can create a portkey to apparate us all to the castle borders in the morning."
"Oh, thank goodness," sighed Toboe. "I was worried we might have to run all the way back there."
"Of course you would, Runt," Tsume scoffed. "That's why you need to train more. You're still too wimpy."
Hige smiled. "Like you're one to talk, Tsume. As I recall, you were just as tired as the rest of us and you were one of the first to fall asleep."
"Shut up," Tsume growled.
Whoa. This chapter turned out a whole lot longer than I thought it would. And, yes, Arryn is an OC. He won't be around a lot, but he'll have an impact. I'm really not even sure why I created other than I needed a way to convince Ashi to go back to Hogwarts since it's kinda obvious the Potters weren't going to be able to :P Arryn's kinda a cool character though. FYI for those of you who are wondering (and I'm not sure when I'm gonna be able to mention it), he got all those scars because he was bullied a lot, by both humans and centaurs. The centaurs did most of the damage though (I've got nothing against centaurs, but the herd by Hogwarts was portrayed by the books and movies as being stuck up and self-righteous and a centaur having magic? well, it just does not happen).
Before someone starts to chew me out about not being able to apparate on Hogwarts' grounds, I believe that only applies to strangers. Students learned how to apparate at Hogwarts and there were several instances of Dumbledore and, I think, a few teachers apparating. Lily is a teacher and James is, essentially, the police, so I think Hogwarts would allow Lily and James to apparate.
And again, a huge thank you to all those who review, favorite, or follow. It really lifts my spirits.
See you next time!
-GH
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