AN: Tada, another chapter, please excuse any typos you might find (not that typos are inexcusable) but I've been having one of those days where I just can't type. My beta read thorugh it as usual but we're not perfect, she might not have caught them all.
Unexpected Help
The pair of boys followed Hermione closely trying to pretend they knew of their destination. Umbridge was following so closely behind the boys they could heard her short unsteady breaths, they were afraid to do anything other then walk in fear she would hear them. She obviously wasn't concerned with personal space at the moment.
They followed her out the back doors and across the wet grass, for a moment they thought she was leading them to Hagrid's hut and apparently that's what Umbridge thought too but was quickly shot down by Hermione. Then they saw her real destination as they headed toward the forest. Now they knew exactly where she was headed but they were still unsure of exactly what she was doing.
"Can we have your wand then if we're going first?" Harry asked coolly as they entered the dark depths of the woods.
Umbridge gave a bitter sweet smile. "No, I don't think so Mr. Potter," she jabbed him in the back with it. "The Ministry places a rather higher value on my life then yours, I'm afraid."
Harry was getting very edgy about entering the forest without wands and he occasionally tried to catch Hermione's gaze to express his worry. He only caught Remus' who wasn't sharing his concern, the young werewolf was confident in his abilities to ward off anything that would do them hard because he was considered a dark creature with the rest of the animals and because if needed he could try and frighten things away or keep them at bay. Dark creatures tended to have a very high respect for werewolves.
What Remus didn't know those was that the path they were taking into the woods was not the one you took to get to Grawp, possibly the only semi-friendly face in here at the moment, but the one they took only a few years ago to reach Aragog, the Acromantula. Harry couldn't take it anymore, it was possibly Hermione had gotten herself mixed around and she intoned to go to Grawp but turned this way instead.
"Er… Are you sure this is the right way?" He asked her.
Hermione assured him she knew the right way very steely and pressed on through the forest. Both young men noticed that she was making an awful lot of noise as she stomped and bashed her way through the undergrowth. "It's a bit further on!" Hermione yelled out as Umbridge tripped over something behind them, Remus couldn't help but smirk.
"Hermione keep your voice down," Harry scolded quietly. "Anything could be listening in here…"
She turned back and replied just as quiet. "I want us heard, you'll see."
They continued for sometime and Remus couldn't shake the feeling that they were being followed. No, he knew they were being followed it wasn't just a feeling, he could heard the footsteps around them and leaves rustle, things that would be outside a normal humans range of hearing. When Umbridge asked her question one more time Hermione answered her standard louder than necessary response just as an arrow came flying over her head hitting the tree behind her. She froze and Remus instantly knew what was happening, who he heard around him, only now he knew they weren't footsteps… they were hooves.
Umbridge took hold of Harry and flung him in front of her like a human shield. Harry pulled himself free of her grasp and gravitated himself toward Remus who was standing oddly still with a level of confidence Harry did not possess. Just as he arrived at his side no less then fifty centaurs surrounded them, all with arrows strung in their longbows. Harry had to admit, it was nice to hear Umbridge's whimpers of terror but he wasn't any less scared. He stole a glance at Hermione who was smiling broadly but he could tell was nervous but she stood just as confident as Remus did.
Magorian was the first to speak of the centaurs. "Who are you?" He asked, his question directed toward Umbridge since it seemed she was the only one he did not recognize.
Umbridge shakily raised her wand at the offending centaur who advanced on her dangerously. "I asked you who you are, human!" He growled showing no fear of the wand.
Umbridge gave her answer in a high pitched voice filled with terror. "I am Dolores Umbridge!" She squealed, "Senior Undersecretary of the Minister of Magic and Headmistress and High Inquisitor of Hogwarts!"
Magorian seemed shaken. "You are from the Ministry of Magic?" he asked and the centaurs around him seemed to mimic his attitude.
"That's right!" Umbridge shrieked louder and began rattling off the laws of the Ministry, the group of students was letting her do this until she made the mistake of calling them half breeds…
"What did you call us!?" Bane shouted as the rest of the centaurs gave a loud and angry uproar.
"Don't call them that!" Hermione shrieked.
But it was too late, either that or Umbridge paid no mind to her, she simply began digging herself deeper into the hole she had made by talking about the laws and exactly what they stated. It was no lie that the Ministry looked down upon creatures such as the centaurs and the laws reflected that. But Umbridge did not have to repeat them all like she was doing now.
"Near-human intelligence?" Repeated Magorian menacingly as he stomped his hoof against the ground in anger, Umbridge should have seen this and gotten the hint, apparently she didn't. "We consider that a great insult, human. Our intelligence, thankfully, far outstrips your own -"
"What are you doing in our forest?!" Shouting a grey centaur who has had enough of the chatter. "Why are you here?"
"Your forest?" Umbridge asked shaking in not only fright now but with anger and frustration. "I would remind you that you live here only because the Ministry of Magic permits you certain areas of land – "
Just then one of the centaurs go fed up with her words and released an arrow in her direction, it was meant to miss for if it hadn't it would have pierced her between the eyes instead of catching her large hair in his tip. The centaurs began joking with one another and laughing with an odd neigh as she cried out and her hands flew to her head.
"Whose forest is it now, human?!" Bane bellowed with a powerful smile of approval.
"Filthy half-breeds!" Umbridge began ranting. "Beats uncontrollable animals!" She continued rattling off any insult that came to mind.
Hermione shrieked as Umbridge rose her wand and shouted a spell at them. "Incarcerous!"
From seemingly thin air ropes appeared and proceeded to bound the centaur where he stood. The other screamed and charged toward Umbridge with their weapons drawn, the three Gryffindors hit the floor and covered their heads but the centaurs wanting nothing to do with them now, they leapt over them and went for Umbridge who was shrieking in anger and fear. She screamed and tried to cast spell after spell as bane grabbed her from behind and seized her causing her to drop her wand.
Harry reached for the dropped wand but a hoof came down deliberately upon it, when he looked up he caught the sight of a red female centaur,
"Now!" Cried a voice and strong arms wrapped themselves around Harry's torso lifting him into the air. Harry stole a glance to his friends and saw they were in a similar situation then he noticed form the corner of his eyes Umbridge being carried off by Bane through the woods.
"And these" The grey centaur asked as he gripped Hermione.
"They are young," stated a low voice from beside Harry, Remus recognized this voice as Ronan. "We do not attack fouls."
The grey centaur argued. "They brought her here, Ronan, and they are not so young, this one is nearly entering manhood and the other is considered an adult in the eyes of the humans."
"I thought I was immune," Remus cried. "I run this forest just as you do once a month while transformed and I've done it while not transformed as well, now suddenly you decide you don't like me? Let me go!"
"Please," Hermione said struggling against them, now fearing her plan was backfiring on them. "Please, don't attack us, we didn't like her, we're not ministry employees. We only came here because we thought you could drive her off for us!"
The grey centaur howled in anger and stomped his legs, even kicking, Harry and Remus were afraid that he would hit her. "You see, Ronan?" They already have the arrogance of their kind! So we were to do your dirty work, we were, human girl? We were to act as your servants, drive away your enemies like obedient hounds?"
"She didn't mean it like that," Remus shook his head. "We don't like her, you don't like here, we thought maybe you would want to do with her as you pleased. She was putty in our hands and we thought this would be the best place to give her what she deserves, we know the centaurs are the strongest and most judicial creatures in the forest, we just thought you would be best to deliver her punishment. If we could have spoken up and explained earlier we would have."
"There s no need for your pathetic flattery, we do not help humans." Ronan, the centaur gripping Harry said as he reared and lifted Harry off the ground for a moment. "We are a race apart and proud to be so… We will not permit you to walk from here, boast that we did your bidding."
"We're not going to say anything like that!" Harry shouted.
Remus cut him off. "You never did our bidding, you did as you wanted and you enjoyed it, yes? We've given you a common enemy, should you not be allies with your enemy's enemy?"
"Your enemies enemy is not always your best ally," Ronan snarled and turned away from him. "They came here unasked, they must pay the consequences."
They all began cheering and one shouted, "They can join the woman," they assumed he meant Umbridge.
"You said you didn't hurt the innocent!" Hermione cried as tears ran down her face. "We haven't done anything to hurt you, we haven't used wands or threats, we're not even armed. We just want to go back to school, please let us go back."
The grey centaur snarled at her. "We're not like the traitor Firenze, human girl! Perhaps you thought us pretty talking horses? We are an ancient people who will not stand wizard invasions and insults! We do not recognize your laws, we do not acknowledge your superiority, we are –"
"But you're not superior!" Remus shouted interrupting him making the grey centaur glare daggers at him. "You think I think anyone's superior to me? I'm a werewolf, last time I checked my kind wasn't even admitted to school. I'm only here because of trickery, according to wizards I'm scum at the bottom of their shoes."
"That may be so and you may have been able to walk these forests in the past without trouble but now you've entered with these humans, and that is unforgivable. You enter with your other human's friends and you're lucky we accepted that, they were hardly ever human when they roamed but now we are fed up with you taking advantage of our kindness."
Just then there was a crash at the edge of the clearing and every one of them, the students and the centaurs looked around in confusion. The centaurs that had been holding the students dropped them to the ground and reached for the arrows in their quivers. Remus, Hermione and Harry teamed up as they ran away taking shelter near the opposite edge of the clearing just as two giant trees parted and Grawp stepped through.
Each centaur backed up into the one behind them with their bows strung but not one of them firing. They stared dumbly at the giant with the broken ropes still attached to his ankles, Grawp looked at his feet and then back at the centaurs, he groaned stupidly with a gapping mouth.
"Hagger," he spoke gruffly. "Hagger!" He cried again.
Remus leaned toward Harry and Hermione. "Is that another language or… is he trying to speak English?"
"HAGGER!"
"Get away from me, giant!" Cried Magorian almost fearfully, "You are not welcome among us!"
Grawp stared at him and socked his head a little, the centaurs in return tighten their grip on their bows. "HAGGER!"
No one quite knew what he was trying top say and even the centaurs looked at one another in slight confusion. But then Hermione let out a gasp and covered her mouth, she leaned over to Harry and Remus. "I think he's trying to say Hagrid!" She whispered to them.
When she spoke Grawp caught sight of them, he lowered his head and stared at them. Hermione took hold of Remus and Harry and pulled them close to her in fear, they could feel her shaking beneath them.
"Hermy," he grunted.
Hermione let out a tiny squeak. "Goodness… he… he remembered!"
"HERMY!" Roared Grawp much differently then he had spoken moments ago. "WHERE HAGGER?"
"I don't know!" She cried in tears. "I'm sorry Grawp, I don't know."
Grawp roared and his hands swooped down dangerously close to them, Hermione relinquished her hold on them and tried to scoot back only to fall backwards. Now that Harry was lacking a wand he wasn't sure what he would do to defend them, but he was prepared to do anything. Remus was also prepared to do anything even if anything meant unleashing his more wolfish side.
But the centaurs released their arrows when Grawps giant hand was only feet away from the Harry as he and Remus shielded Hermione who had her head ducked down and covered behind them. The arrows struck his hands, his arms and face, the giant howled in protest and rubbed his face only causing the heads to dig deeper into his flesh. Grawp screamed and began thrashing wildly around him, the centaurs galloped around shooting more and more arrows making him bleed profusely.
The students took his opportunity to get to their feet and run, Hermione looked back to see the battle rage on as they scampered away. "Oh no, oh that was horrible, and he might kill them all after what happened…"
"I'm not that fussed to be honest." Harry snapped.
"Don't worry about them," Remus said as they ran. "They can take care of themselves."
As they got themselves further away to the point where they could no longer hear the centaurs hooves against the ground or Grawps wails Harry turned to Hermione and narrowed his eyes at her. "Smart plan, really smart plan. Where do we go from here?" He snarled anxious to release some of his anger.
Hermione stared off into the distance. "We… we need to get back to the castle," she struggled faintly.
"By the time we've done that Sirius'll probably be dead!" He screamed kicking a nearby tree making a creature in its branches cry at him.
"Hey, calm the bloody hell down will you?" Remus said stepping between him and Hermione. "Maybe he is dead now, there's nothing we can do about it, would you rather us still be in the castle under lock and key unable to get to him?"
"At least we wouldn't be stuck out here."
"No, we'd be stuck in some tiny room, wandless still only difference is you'd be tortured! Listen to me, you told Snape as best you could and hopefully he got the hint so stop worrying over things you can't change!"
"Harry," Hermione said from behind the two battling boys. "How exactly were you planning on getting to London?"
Harry kept his eyes set on Remus in a hard stare; he wasn't sure how they were going to get to London he was just making this up as he went along.
"Yeah," a voice said from the trees. "We were just wondering that."
They three looked over to see Ron stepping through the trees and into their sight with Ginny, Neville and Luna behind him. There was a black dog running between them and a stag to their left, on the ground there was a rat jerking between branches and trees.
"Did you have any ideas?" James asked as he transformed back to his human self along with Sirius and Peter.
"How did you get away?" Harry asked forgetting his anger as he took his wand from Ron while Remus and Hermione did the same from Neville and Luna.
Ron shrugged and said airily, "Neville brought off a really nice little impediment jinx, James got a couple stunners in and Sirius didn't even both with a wand he just socked a guy while Peter threw out some nice disarming charms. But Ginny was best, she got Malfoy with a Bat Bogey Hex. It was superb his whole face was covered in the little flapping things. Anyways we didn't know where you had gone, it was too late so James, Sirius and Peter transformed and sniffed you out."
"Sirius isn't the only one with a good nose around here," James said folding his arms.
"Where's Umbridge?" Sirius asked looking around. "You lose her in here or something?"
"Something like that," Remus huffed.
"They carried her away, the centaurs." Hermione filled in.
"They left you behind?" Ginny wondered. "Did it have something to do with Remus or…?"
"No, Grawp came and ruined the party." Remus said.
Luna perked up. "Who's Grawp?"
"Hagrid's little brother." Ron said promptly. "Anyway, never mind that now. Harry, what did you find out in the fire, has You-Know-Who gotten Sirius or –"
"Yes," Harry said as he rubbed his tingling scar. "I'm sure Sirius is still alive but I can't see how we're going to get there to help him."
"We can apparate." Sirius said. "It's easy to get off the school grounds from here and then we can just apparate to London."
"Are you crazy?" James asked giving him a push, only four of us know how to apparate and I doubt we're skilled enough to not only make it to London but also to carry passengers."
"Well, we can fly." Luna said in a matter of fact way.
Harry rolled his eyes and sneered. "Okay first of all, we aren't doing anything if you're including yourself in that, and second of all we only have a few brooms, the rest are being guarded by a security troll so –"
"No need to be rude," Remus scolded as there was s till tension between the two of them.
"I have a broom!" Ginny piped up.
"Yeah but you're not coming." Ron pointed out.
The short red haired girl flushed angrily. "Excuse me, I care about what happens to Sirius just as much as you do!" Suddenly her resemblance to Fred and George grew greater as she stood with her face set just as they did when they were angered.
Harry shook his head. "You're too –"
She snorted and put her hands on her hips. "I'm three years older than you were when you fought You-Know-Who over the Sorcerer's Stone and it's because of me Malfoy's stuck back in Umbridge's office with giant flying bogeys attacking him."
Harry was running out of thing to say to her. "Yeah but –"
"We're all in the D.A. together," Neville said quietly from behind everyone. "It was supposed to be about fighting You-Know-Who wasn't it? And this is the first chance we get to do something real… or was that just a game or something?"
"No… of course it wasn't but –"
"Just let them come," Remus growled. "You'll need help you can't fight Voldemort alone I don't care who your are or who you're supposed to be you need people there to help you. You need your friends and we're not about to turn our backs on you now just because you say no. They're coming and you better accept it now rather then later."
Harry looked down and sighed and said through gritted teeth. "Well it doesn't matter anyway; we still have no way to get there."
Luna huffed and folded her arms. "I thought we had settled that, we're flying!"
Ron rolled his eyes and turned to her exasperatedly. "Look, you may be able to fly without a broom stick but the rest of us can't sprout wings whenever we –"
Luna cocked her head. "There are other ways of flying than with broomsticks."
"What exactly would you propose we fly on?" Sirius asked stepping on Ron who was about to snap at her once more. Unlike Ron, Sirius was thinking that perhaps she knew what she was talking about some of the time and with his older self dying at the moment he was up to listening to anything.
"Well those of course, Hagrid said they're very good at finding places their riders are looking for." She pointed behind them, some of the students could not see what she was pointing at but the others could not.
The thestrals stood looking at them like they were listening to their every word as Harry approached them. "Yes!" Harry whispered as he reached out an petted one of them along the neck.
"What are we looking at?" Peter asked who had never seen death.
"Is it those mad horse things?" Ron wondered.
"Yeah, thestrals," Sirius said staring at the horse. "There're only two we'll need more."
"How many of us are there?" James asked looking around.
"How many are going?" Hermione asked.
Remus snarled. "I thought we had settled this we're all going."
Harry snorted and whipped around to face him. "Don't be stupid, we're not all going. They're not involved in this, they don't have to come, I don't care if you come anymore, you can stay behind with them for all I care."
Remus looked like he had been physically struck and recoiled slightly but continued to glare all the same.
Sirius took his opportunity to step forward between them and without warning drew back his fist and just like he had with the Slytherins back in the office struck Harry across his nose making it break. "Shut up!" Sirius yelled. "We're all going, why don't you stop being stupid? You're not fighting Voldemort alone, we settled this, you can't you're only fifteen. You'll need help and we're giving it whether you like it or not. Now if you're going to let us, and them," he motioned to Neville, Luna and Ginny. "Come I'll be more than happy to fix up your nose, if you don't you're going to fight ol' Voldy with a busted one, make your choice."
"Fine, but we'll need more thestrals."
"They'll come." Ginny said.
"What makes you think that."
She shifted her weight and raised a brow at him. "In case you haven't noticed Sirius just broke your nose you're covered in blood and both Hermione and Remus are also covered in blood." Remus looked down at himself as though he had forgotten. "We all know Hagrid draws them close with raw meat, the fact you're all bloody is probably what drew them here in the first place."
"Grawp is covered in blood too, the thestrals will probably be drawn to that as well," James said. "We should probably head in that direction, whatever battle he and the centaurs had should be over by now don't you think."
"Okay," Harry said. "Ron and I will take these while the rest of you go–"
"I'm not staying behind!" Hermione shrieked.
"No need for anyone to," Luna said as more thestrals came wandering closer to them. "You three must really smell."
"We still don't have enough." Harry said somewhat smugly.
"Hermione can ride with me," Remus announced.
"And Luna with me, well look at that, it's like magic we have enough." Sirius said clapping his hands together.
"Fine, pick one and get on," Harry growled and with his wand gripped tightly in his hand we walked up to the thestral he had petted earlier, he grabbed hold of its mane put his foot on a nearby stump and pulled himself up. It didn't protest in the slightest bit but it did try and lick the blood of Harry's robes.
"Hold up," Sirius said walking over to Harry with Luna trailing behind him. Without a world he held out his wand and wordlessly fixed his nose, I've used that one more than once on Moony, full moon is brutal, mate." He grinned and went to the next one. He helped Luna up first and then pulled himself up on his own.
Neville climbed on the next one and the one next to that. Remus helped Hermione up on the creature she could not see and then climbed on after her. She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist and shut her eyes, afraid she would fall from the invisible horse.
Harry noticed the others hanging back looking around like they were lost. "What?" he snapped tempted to just take flight and leave them.
"How are we supposed to get on when we can't see the things?" Ron asked faintly.
"Oh it's easy, come here" Luna said sliding off leaving Sirius behind. She grabbed hold of their hands and lead each of them to the horse like animals helping each one up and clearing stating with her hand where the backs of the horses were before going to her own and getting back on.
"This is mad…" Ron murmured as he felt the invisible horse beneath his hands. "Mad… if I could just see it…"
"You'd better hope it stays invisible." Harry said darkly. "We all ready then?"
They all nodded and Harry bent down to the thestral and bit his lip. "Ministry of Magic, visitors entrance, London then… er, if you know… where to go…"
The thestral remained still for a moment but then the glossy wings spread and it bent down before taking flight into the air.
