CHAPTER 11: The Tales of the Forest

A/N: Hey guys, back with another chapter. We delve deeper into the lore as you meet some canon characters as well as original characters I created. I won't spoil anything else except say that I am really excited to know your thoughts. Without further ado...….I bring you the next major event in Harry's life.

The twigs cracked under his shoes as Harry trudged deeper into the forest. Hermione and Ron were walking alongside him with Hagrid a couple of feet ahead of them. They deliberately stayed a bit behind him purely out of fear, and it wasn't something they discussed but just their natural instincts acting in a situation they had never encountered before.

Hagrid, on the other hand, marched forward as if this was just a regular routine for him. A walk in the park, some would say but that was not the case for the other three as they had all their senses on high alert and kept looking around every ten seconds.

Harry wasn't sure about his friends, but his reasoning was purely practical as he kept reminding himself, just to be on the cautious side and not because he was scared out of his pants.

The pale moonlight shining through the branches casted enough light that they did not require the lamps they had brought along, yet. A hooting sound from somewhere deep in the forest made the hair stand on his arm. Hermione yelped loudly before she gripped his arm in a death hold, which any other time would have made him grimace in pain but all it accomplished now was present an opportunity to him which he leapt on immediately as he entwined his elbow with hers and pulled her even closer.

He was one hundred percent scared out of his mind; he didn't even try to fool himself into believing anything else.

He body got a little tense, and he held his breath as Hermione looked at him with a look of terror that still hadn't left her face, wondering if he crossed an unsaid line in their friendship, but his worry was for nothing as the terror slowly faded away from her face as a small smile graced her lips.

She didn't say a word but simply nodded her head in acknowledgement. He smiled back as the tension left his body.

"I'm scared" he whispered, feeling he still needed to justify his actions.

"Me too" she whispered back, as she gripped his hand tighter.

"What was that?" whimpered Ron, his face imitating pure horror as he dashed over to Hagrid and clung on to his coat.

Hagrid laughed at his reaction which made Ron shoot him a nasty glare. "It's not funny" he clenched through gritted teeth.

"Alright, I'm sorry okay" his expressions saying anything but sorry, as a few chuckles escaped his lips.

"You know Hagrid, it may be regular business for you to go on a walk in the forest at night, but it's not the case for us, so I would really appreciate it if you can wipe that smirk of your face" Ron's face matched the colour of his hair by the end of his passionate speech. His breathing was heavy as he continued to glare at the giant.

"Alright, Alright! No more laughing or smirking I swear. Here, why don't you hold on to this" Harry's eyes turned wide as he watched Hagrid pull out his pink umbrella from under his coat and hand it to Ron.

"Hagrid!" he exclaimed, making the giant stop before turning around to look at him. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"What would I do with this?" Ron asked as he examined the umbrella closely. He looked up at Hagrid with a frown. "Hagrid, why did you give me your umbrella? This isn't going to protect me, and I am not a weather expert, but I don't think it's going to rain anytime soon" In his rant, he kept moving his arm that was holding on to the umbrella.

Hagrid wasn't even listening to him by the end as he his eyes had turned wide watching him waive the umbrella around.

He was just about to open his mouth when a huge blast went off. Harry and Hermione ducked down as Hagrid looked at the tree a couple of metres to his left. It had a hole the size of a bludger going right through its middle.

He turned his head towards Ron and found him lying on the ground a few feet further from where he was last standing.

"Ron!" shouted Hermione, as she got up from her crouching position and ran towards him, Harry right behind her.

She found him lying motionless with his eyes wide open. If he wasn't groaning in pain, she would've thought that he was dead.

"You okay, Ron" asked Hagrid, as he picked up his umbrella and pocketed it back inside his coat, before giving him a cheeky smile.

Ron, who was looking straight up, shifted his gaze towards him and just with his eyes conveyed all the nasty things he was thinking to the giant who let out a nervous chuckle.

"I'm sure you're okay" Hagrid nodded to himself. "Believe me I've taken much worse" Hermoine looked at him in disbelief as Ron's glare turned even more venomous if it was possible.

Harry, who was standing behind Hermione, narrowed his eyes as he saw something shining on the branch of the tree located a few yards behind Ron. He moved past Hermione and walked up to it as Ron finally started speaking and let out the nastiest words he knew towards Hagrid, who couldn't believe the stuff that was coming out of the mouth from a first-year student.

Harry crouched down as he closely inspected the silver substance. He followed the trail of liquid with his eyes as it led from the branch towards the ground and was going somewhere beyond the tree. He started moving as he followed the trail which was splattered in a curve.

The trail ended when he got to a bush. Harry looked up to see the liquid shining on some of the leaves of the bush. He didn't think twice as he entered the bush and made his way through it without many scratches.

He came out on the other side and looked around. it was an open area with no trees in sight for as far as the eye could see in the pale moonlight. He didn't pay much attention to his surroundings and continued following the trail which seemed to be getting shinier with every step he took.

The trail suddenly changed track to the right after he'd been following it for more than five minutes. Harry picked up his pace, feeling he was getting closer to wherever this was leading him. The rattling of the leaves made him look up.

It was quite a shock for him to be once again be surrounded by trees, and not the ones from earlier as these were twice as big and much denser. It also made it a lot more difficult to follow the shiny substance as the light was getting dimmer as he made his way forward.

After walking for another couple of minutes he heard a scream that made a chill ran down his spine. It wasn't a human scream; of that he was one-hundred percent certain but that didn't stop him from running towards it.

His mind was occupied by a single thought, that he had to help the creature who seemed in so much pain.

He ducked under some low hanging branches and jumped over a few logs on his way. He saw some light about 50 yards ahead between two large trees and quickened his pace.

He stopped before the small opening between the trees and looked to his either side to find another way to get through.

Another loud scream filled with agony that sounded even worse and much closer made his decision for him. Squaring his shoulders and taking out his wand, Harry released a deep breath before walking up to the clearing.

It was a very narrow path to get through, even for someone as scrawny as him, but after much struggle he finally made it to the other side.

A decision he was going to regret for the rest of his life, that is if he didn't die tonight, because what he saw made him freeze on the spot.

It wasn't like other times like the Halloween night when he came across the troll or when he was hanging from his broom with just one hand while he was hundred feet in the air. No, this wasn't like that at all because even in those situations he had some hope that he would make it through or that someone would come to his aid, but now as he stared with wide eyes at that thing, because he didn't know how else to describe it, he felt no hope but just his looming death that was going to occur very soon.

It was covered in all black with a hood hiding the face. What made it different than a normal human was that it was floating a couple of inches of the ground.

Harry watched with absolute horror as it kept sucking the blood from the neck of the unicorn who was no more.

Harry couldn't shift his eyes from the horrific scene happening right before his eyes. He kept shouting to himself to run away or do something but his fear-stricken body just wouldn't oblige as he stared at the cloak that was hiding the face of this monster.

That all changed because in a blink of a moment, he found himself staring from the cloak to a pair of red eyes as the thing lifted its head.

Harry stumbled back before hitting the ground as his breathing quickened rapidly. The contrast of two shining pair of red eyes in the darkness was so frightening that he wished he were dead because no matter how hard he tried he couldn't shut his eyes.

His wish was granted as it started floating towards him.

"AAAAAAAAAAAH!" A bloodcurdling scream tore from his lips because of the torturing pain that shot from his scar.

His vision was blurring so fast that he could only just about make out the figure of the beast that was now at a striking distance from him.

His last thought as he awaited his death was that he knew, he didn't know how but just that he did, who was about to kill him. The person who killed his parents, who was the sole reason behind his life being an actual living hell before he came to Hogwarts. The person he wanted to meet the most in this world so he could kill him and get revenge for his parents' death.

But he didn't expect it to be this soon. He lifted his hand up as he looked into the red orbs of VOLDEMORT, as he hovered above him. Tears escaped Harry's eyes and ran down his cheeks as he forced himself to get up so he could choke the monster to death.

But once again his body failed to assist him as he lay helpless looking into the eyes of the man, if one could even call him that, that brought him the most pain and ironically, who was now going to end his pain.

Even though he couldn't see his face, Harry knew he was savouring this moment from the glimmer that came over his blood-coloured eyes.

'I'm sorry Mum and Dad' His last wish was a hope. A hope to see his parents as he would finally join them on the other end of life. Even though he didn't want to think about it because he felt guilty about it but he hoped that he would join them much later wherever is it they were waiting for him.

He saw Voldemort's face getting closer to his when he heard a faint thumping sound reach his ears. He saw Voldemort's eyes turn wide, almost as if he was scared, before he looked over his shoulder. The thumping got louder as Harry craned his neck in the direction to where his enemy was looking.

After a few seconds of staring at a pair of bushes, Harry was about to turn his head back when there was a rustling in the bushes before a horse leapt above them and landed with a thud.

Harry watched with his still blurry vision Voldemort move away from his body as he focused his attention towards the horse. Harry wanted to scream at the horse to run, otherwise he would be another victim of the monster floating before him.

"Leave."

A gasp left Harry's dried lips as he looked at Voldemort, hearing his voice for the first time. Maybe he damaged his hearing permanently but it sounded to him that he whispered the word, that sounded a lot more like a snake's hiss than an actual human speaking.

He also wondered why he was talking to a horse but the most confusing and surprising part was when he saw him turn around and fly towards the path to the right and disappear out of sight.

Harry turned his head towards the horse as it approached him.

"Are you alright, Harry Potter?" Harry gasped as he crawled on his back to get away from it. He shook his head to clear his brain and opened and closed his eyes a few times before once again looking at it.

His vision was slowly getting better as the horse took couple of steps towards him. "You don't need to fear me. I come in aid" Harry watched with wide eyes as the horse put his hands up to calm him.

'Horses don't have hands. What is happening to me? Am I already dead and this is what happens when you die? A horse that can speak and has hands takes you to wherever it is you're supposed to go?'

As he was having this inner dialogue with himself, his vision came back and he realized as he stared in shock and awe at the creature that it was no ordinary horse.

Infact it wasn't even a horse, except its lower body and the tail. Everything else was about it was human. The arms, the chest, the ears, the hair, the mouth, the nose, the face, it all resembled a man.

A man with blue skin and horse's lower body as it stood on four extraordinarily strong legs, also, he was quite tall, almost as tall as Hagrid.

He had blue eyes and mane of thick black hair, similar to his own but not as unruly as they were perfectly combed to the back and reached his broad shoulders.

"Wha-What are you?" he squeaked out, not at all embarrassed by bis voice.

He watched the creature turn his head alarmingly to the left before he looked back at him. "My name is Firenze but we don't have time for conversation now. Hurry, get on my back" He pulled Harry to his feet before lifting him with one arm and putting him on his back. Harry adjusted to make himself comfortable and put his hands on his shoulders.

"My friends would be looking for me. I can lead you to the way I came from" He pointed towards the narrow path between the trees he squished through.

"They can't come through there and we don't know if they're in the same place you left them" Firenze turned around.

"But they are the same size as me, alright maybe not Hagrid"

"You came with Hagrid?" He turned his head to the side and raised his eyebrow in question.

"Umm Yes"

"He is the only person except the headmaster that can walk through that passage" He indicated towards the path between the trees. Harry was about to open his mouth as he couldn't believe what he was saying when Firenze spoke again.

"But we can't wait here. This area belongs to the acromantulas and they are not the creatures you want your path to cross. I can smell their scent getting closer. Hold on tight" was the only warning he got as Firenze took off.

Harry held on to him with all his strength as he jumped over the same bushes when he came to his rescue. Harry grunted at the impact when Firenze landed before the half-man half-horse galloped away.

"Take me towards the exit" Harry yelled over the wind.

"That is where I am heading" Firenze bellowed back as he cut across numerous obstacles on the way. "No" he heard Firenze say before he halted immediately. The movement almost threw Harry off balance but he held on.

"Why did you stop?"

"Look ahead"

Harry squinted his eyes to see what he was talking about when he saw it. A herd of large spiders up ahead, about fifty meters from them. Luckily, they hadn't noticed them yet as they were busy feasting on their prey.

"What are we going to do?" Harry whispered.

"I hoped they would be on the other side"

"Well, isn't there any other way we can get past them?" asked Harry, as he grimaced watching the humungous spiders pick the bones out of the poor animal.

"This is the only way that can take us to the path that goes to the edge of the forest. I'm afraid we don't have a choice"

"What do you mean?" Harry didn't like where this was heading.

Firenze slowly turned to the left and started walking, aware to not let the spiders notice them. "I'm going to take you to my home where you will spend the night and then tomorrow morning after sunrise, I will take you back to the castle, unless Hagrid finds you first which is highly probable"

Upon hearing Hagrid's name, Harry forgot all about his situation as he was overcome by fear and the safety of his friends. "But how will they get back or come find me. What if they come across spiders or Voldemort?"

Firenze's movement halted for a second before he continued moving forward and quickened his pace "You do not need to fear about the spiders if you're with Hagrid. They will never harm him or anyone who is with him...as for the other part, I'm quite certain whatever that was, Voldemort or not, it's gone for now" he finished.

"Okay" Harry didn't believe him fully but he hoped that what he said was true.

"How much further" asked Harry, after what felt like an eternity but was close to fifteen minutes into their journey.

"Not much further, We're nearly there" Firenze responded.

"How did you find me?" Harry noticed the trees were now few and far between and it was just a huge open area with flowers of every colour and plants of every size and shape.

Firenze side stepped a plant that was pink in colour. "I was searching for the unicorn that was crying in pain but was too late to help it." Harry saw him take a deep breath as he looked down in shame before continuing. "I had to run from my home and couldn't reach to save it in time"

"Hey, it's okay" Harry patted him on the shoulder. "I'm sure you tried your best" He tried to cheer him up.

Harry saw a ghost of a smile come over his lips as he turned his head and bowed. "Thank you, Harry Potter. I'm sure you did the same"

Harry's face fell as he remembered what a coward he had been. Even though the Unicorn was already dead, he still felt ashamed that he couldn't do more than to stare at its lifeless body.

"I did nothing" he muttered.

Firenze chuckled. "Exactly what your mother would've said"

Harry's eyes turned wide at the mention of his mother. "You knew my mother!" He exclaimed.

"Oh yes I knew her, so does every centaur as you're about to find out"

"Okay" Harry replied, not sure what he meant. "Hey, why didn't you leave when Voldemort told you to?"

Firenze stopped walking before looking over his shoulder at him. "I didn't hear anything. He vanished because he was afraid of me."

"But I swear I heard him whisper 'Leave'"

"Hmm" hummed Firenze, before he started moving again.

Harry was deep in thought about why would Voldemort tell himself to leave. It didn't make sense at all.

. Here we are"

"What-" Harry when he looked up and saw a wooden door covered with all kinds of flowers, some that he saw just moments ago. Firenze stopped before it. He lifted his hand and started picking the flowers randomly, as that's what it seemed to Harry, of the door.

After doing so for another few seconds he stepped back couple of steps before the door opened. He entered through the passage before the door closed back again.

Harry's jaw dropped in wonderment as he couldn't believe his eyes. It was like out of a fairy-tale.

Trees, that he couldn't see from the outside, with purple and red leaves were standing tall at a height he couldn't see. They all had white trunks. The branches were blue in colour and upon each branch was a wooden hut.

"Your father had the same reaction the first time" Firenze's words snapped him out of his trance as he shifted his gaze towards him.

"How- How did you built this?" he asked, amazed that such a thing was even possible. In some respects, this place seemed even more spectacular than the castle and Harry never thought he would think that.

Firenze started moving at a slow pace as he answered Harry's question, who was just trying to look at everything at once, his head moving in all directions "Its history is bounded to our species. It's the oldest structure that was built by magical beings, or just by any being in general. Long before any human picked up a piece of wood or rock or even before they built structures out of sand.

Harry stared wide-eyed when another being who looked like Firenze but with slight different to its appearance came out of one of the wooden houses. And then one after another being came out of their respected huts before they walked over to trunk of their tree and disappear into it.

His gaze turned down when a centaur walked out of the tree trunk that was located to his right. He saw a door at the bottom of the trunk when he looked closely, it was similar to the one he came through.

He then looked at every other tree in his range and saw a similar door at the bottom of their trunks.

The centaur stopped in front of them, halting their movement. Unlike Firenze, it had a mane of blonde hair and brown eyes and was also much lighter in colour.

It had a huge scowl on its face. "Have you no shame?" it growled, taking couple of steps towards them. "You know it's against our law and yet you still-"

Firenze cut him off by raising his arm. "Devos, this is Harry Potter" was all he said before Harry saw Devos' eyes turn wide in shock as he looked at him. His mouth opened and closed a few times but no sound came out.

"Ha-Harry Potter" he stammered. By now the entire area was crowded by centaurs. Harry gulped nervously as he looked around. He saw female centaurs standing to the left in a group of their own and the males to the right.

He shifted his gaze just in time to see Devos whisper "Please forgive me, Master Potter" before he bowed down in respect, followed by every other centaur.

Harry started feeling uncomfortable when they all kept bowing, he didn't know what to say or do to make them stop. "It's alright. Thank you" he wanted to smack himself over the head for that stupid comment but it did the trick as they finally lifted their heads.

"I found him under attack by the being that killed another unicorn" A collective gasp was heard all around. "Yes, it's very tragic but hopefully I scared it away for the time being...Our path was blocked by acromantulas when I was taking him to the border so I had no choice but to bring him hear" He finished, sweeping his gaze from left to right.

Devos nodded his head. "You don't need to explain yourself, my friend. I'm sorry for accusing you earlier. Please accept my apology" He once again bowed his head.

Firenze walked over to him and put his hand on his shoulder. "You never needed to apologise, my friend." Devos looked up and offered him a smile.

"Well then what are we still doing standing here." He then turned around and swept his gaze over his beings. "Master Potter is our guest for the night. Make him feel welcomed and safe. Shower him with your hospitality." There was a murmur of agreement by the centaurs. He then faced Firenze. "How about we take him to see Lord Yador first, as I'm sure he will be delighted to see him. It will also give the cooks ample time to prepare a sumptuous meal for Master Potter"

"I couldn't agree more" replied Firenze.

Devos turned around and started walking as the watching centaurs cleared the path. Firenze followed him as Harry gave a courteous nod to the centaurs as he passed by.

He heard them whispering conspiratorially among themselves though he couldn't make out what it was they were saying although he was quite sure it was about him.

They walked in silence as Harry further admired the beauty of this place. They came across a wooden bridge, after a few minutes, that ran over a small lake. The light was the brightest in this region as there was no trees around. Harry looked to the left at the waterfall where the water was dropping from. It wasn't extremely high, about fifty feet tall, but it's beauty was no less than the mountain waterfall behind the lake on the grounds of Hogwarts.

They crossed the bridge and kept moving forward. "So Master Harry, tell me what were you doing this late in the forest, and that too this deep into the forest. It's not a place for a young man such as yourself" said Devos, as he looked at him.

Harry turned his attention towards him before opening his mouth. "Umm, we were serving detention with Hagrid. We came into the forest for the same reason as Firenze, to look for what was happening to the unicorns and we didn't go deep into the forest" He finished with a frown, trying to think how far they got into the forest.

"Your friends?" asked Devos.

"Yeah. Hermione and Ron. They are with Hagrid, hopefully" he muttered the last word under his breath.

"I'm sure Hagrid didn't take you very deep into the forest but the spot where I met you was right in the middle of it." interjected Firenze.

Harry furrowed his brows in confusion. "But it couldn't have been" he reasoned. "I only walked for ten minutes max"

"The forest is full of mysterious paths Master Potter" Devos said. "One could easily get lost if they don't know where they're going"

Harry nodded his head as they came upon stairs made entirely of red leaves. Harry's mouth opened in astonishment as he looked at it. "Are those leaves?" he gasped.

Devos gave him a small smile before replying. "Yes, we call them the Stairway to Heaven."

Harry completely agreed with the name, getting a sense that these stairs might actually lead to a place beyond the living. He was also in awe of the magnitude of the structure.

It was so huge that he couldn't see the top. "Hold on tight, Harry Potter" warned Firenze.

"Umm Firenze, I would like to walk" he said hesitantly, not wanting to offend him.

"Are you sure? It's quite an arduous journey, even for a centaur"

"Yes, I am sure" responded Harry firmly.

"Very well then" He bent his knees and crouched low so that it was easy for Harry to get down, which he did so fairly easily.

"Thanks" said Harry.

Firenze bowed his head before they started climbing the steps.

As harry stepped on to the first step, he was amazed by how smooth the surface under his feet felt as not a single leave was rattled.

It was quite a tiring climb, Harry wouldn't lie, but it was all worth it he felt when they were just a few steps from reaching the top.

He got a satisfactory feeling, like an accomplishment when he finally reached the top. If he was amazed by everything he had seen so far, his mind was literally blown away by the vision before him.

An archway stood before him, made entirely of leaves that were yellow and green colour. On either side of it were statues in the shape of centaurs that were twice as tall as the troll he encountered. To his right was lush green grass as far as the eye could see, and to his left was water flowing in a slow stream. The only difference that made it different from normal water was its colour, which was crimson red.

The contrast of flowing red water at night was totally breath-taking in Harry's opinion.

"This way Master Potter" Devos said, before he headed towards the archway. They walked through the archway and continued moving forward at a leisurely pace. Trees, bushes, plants with blue leaves surrounded them as they walked on the narrow yellow path.

They crossed this area and came out into an open surrounding. It was quite similar to the one below but with less trees and a lot more spacious. However, the trees were a lot thicker and the huts upon the branches were twice the size of the ones down below.

Harry followed the two centaurs as they turned right. They turned left at an intersection before stopping in front of what was by far the largest tree Harry had ever seen. Its trunk was almost as wide as the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, which was mind boggling to him.

He looked up and saw just one hut, unlike every other tree that had dozens of huts on them, on a branch that was right around the middle of the tree. It was also ten times the size of normal huts.

Devos walked up to the door in the middle of the trunk. He put his right hand on the door and said something that Harry couldn't hear. The centaur then bowed before stepping back. A few seconds later the door opened and out came another centaur.

However, this centaur had a crown, made out of wood with red leaves adorning it, upon its head. He had white hair and was a lot browner in colour. Harry also noticed that he seemed a lot older than his fellow beings.

He watched Devos say something to him. The older centaur sharply turned his head towards Harry, a look of surprise on his face. He started walking towards him, the shock still evident on his face. He stopped a couple of paces before Harry before looking him up and down several times.

Harry started to feel nervous by the scrutiny but kept his mouth shut out of respect. After several awkward seconds, for Harry, the centaur finally spoke in his deep gravitas voice. "You really are the exact spitting image of your father. Except your eyes of course. They are your mother's eyes." He then let out a chuckle. "Guess, I owe Albus five of my Rudmar leaves"

Harry's eyes turned wide at the mention of the headmaster's name. "You know Prof. Dumbledore?" he asked.

"Oh yes, I know him very well. We met when he was in his third year and I was just a cub at the time. Our friendship cemented that day."

"What about my parents? Firenze also mentioned their names. How do you know them?" He asked, hoping to learn more information about them.

He saw the centaur's gaze turn soft as a small smile appeared at his lips. "Every centaur alive today owes their life to Lily Potter" he started. "What she did for our community was so detrimental that every centaur will tell the tale to their offspring for centuries to come until the tale itself will become a legend, a myth."

"What did she do?" asked Harry eagerly.

"She freed us. She, with the help of her brilliant mind, came up with a spell that broke the curse casted on every centaur by Voldemort." He nodded his head at the disbelief on Harry's face. "At the height of his power, Voldemort, cursed us all into fighting for him. He breached our colony with dark magic and unleashed a spell so vial that made us act as his puppets and do terrible things in his name" He then looked down in shame, as did Firenze and Devos, Harry noticed.

Harry waited for him to continue which he did after taking a few deep breaths before he lifted his head and gave him a small smile. "But your mother changed that. Freed us from the snake and gave us back our freedom. For that we will forever honour her memory" He bowed his head.

"Oh" Harry didn't know what else to say.

"She also brought you here with your father when you were six months old"

"What? I've been here before" He questioned, disbelief lacing his every word.

Yador nodded his head with a smile. "What do you say we continue our conversation in the confines of my home"

Harry nodded his head as his stomach growled loudly. His cheeks-tinged pink in embarrassment.

"We can also fix that for you with a delicious meal, what do you say" He looked at him with amusement shining through his eyes.

Harry simply nodded his head as his ears turned red.

…...

An hour later, Harry was sitting on the floor, cross-legged, inside Firenze's hut. His hut was located on the ground level and even though it was a lot smaller than Yador's place, Harry really liked it as it exuded a cozy and warm atmosphere. Much like the centaur that lived in it.

After Yador took him to his private quarters, they had a meal which Harry was surprised to find resembled and tasted a lot like human food, yet also had its own unique flavour. He was served shriple rotus, which was a lot like mashed potatoes but slightly different as the vegetable it was made out of only grew in the centaur colony, along with harpy Hollicks, a dish made out of colony grown mushrooms that were roasted in the fire before covering them with thin straws. But Harry's favourite dish by far was the flower soup, which he requested three servings off, a request the centaurs happily obliged.

Firenze, Devos and Yador's wife, Yamita, also joined them. The conversation mainly consisted of Harry asking questions about his parents, the colony, and its history which the centaurs were more than happy to answer.

He didn't learn much about his parents except that Yador believed his mother's action of saving the centaurs from Voldemort's hold was the reason he went after their family. Harry could see merit to his theory if it wasn't for the dark look that came over Firenze's face before he turned his gaze down. Something that had been bugging him ever since and he wasn't sure how to bring it up.

He turned his head when Firenze entered the hut. "I've charmed the door so that we will know when and if Hagrid and your friends have arrived" He walked over to the Harry before crouching down and sitting opposite him.

Harry nodded his head, his mind still occupied with thoughts regarding the matter he wanted an answer desperately to. Once again when he couldn't come up with an excuse to bring up the issue, he went back to basics which was to be honest and direct.

"Firenze?" The centaur lifted his gaze from the large tome he had just started reading, which was about Astronomy, and looked him in the eye.

"Yes, Harry Potter?" he asked.

Harry opened his mouth before closing it abruptly as a frown appeared over his face. "Wait, why do you call me by my full name. Just call me Harry"

"That would be too informal as we are not yet that well acquainted "answered Firenze before continuing. "And I don't address you as master because your mother begged me to never address her or any human as such. Except Lord Yador, I am the only other centaur who called her by her birth name, that maybe also because we both knew her the best. But if it upsets you that much I can address you by your first name from this moment onwards" He finished.

"Yes, I would like that" Harry nodded his head. "You knew my mother too?" he queried with furrowed brows. Firenze never brought up his parents even once during the meal while everyone else talked about them openly.

He watched the centaur close the tome before placing it back in its place on the shelf. "Yes, I knew her." He paused. "Except your father, I probably knew her the best...that's what she told me anyway" Harry's eyes turned wide at this new revelation.

"She visited me quite often after you were born, we use to meet in a secret hiding place in the forest, a cave at the end of the forest that very few beings know about."

"Why?" asked Harry.

"Why did we meet or why did we meet in a cave" asked Firenze, raising an eyebrow.

"Both"

Firenze seemed to be in a conflict with himself as he played with the ring on his finger, Harry noticed. He seemed to have made up his mind Harry guessed by the look in his eyes. "What I am about to tell you Harry, I have never told anyone and I am quite certain nor has your mother. Not even your father I assume but I could be wrong about that"

Harry nodded his head, excitement flooding through his system to learn something new about his mother and by how serious Firenze seemed, it ought to be something big.

"I am a projectionist, Harry" Harry twisted his face in confusion, not understanding what he meant.

"A what?" he asked.

"A projectionist" repeated Firenze, before continuing. "Are you aware about Divination, Harry?" Harry shook his head. "It's a subject taught at Hogwarts. It begins from the third year and is an elective." Harry nodded his head. "Anyway, I won't go into it much, except mention that it is a branch of magic that involves attempting to see into the future or learn about the past, present, and future events, by performing various rituals with different tools. Are you with me till now?" He asked.

"I think so" said Harry, a bit unsured but feeling he got the basic jest of it.

"Good. Now, anyone can learn divination methods and develop and gain various insights with them, but their success varies. Centaur divination is a bit different from human divination as we look at the movement of the planets, moon, and the stars to predict the future, but even our results vary quite a lot. That is one of the main reasons why many wizards and witches feel it is an imprecise branch of magic and don't regard it as seriously.

Only a true seer can foresee the future with their inner eye. But they are exceedingly rare."

"So, a seer doesn't need to learn divination?" asked Harry, thinking he was finally getting what Firenze was saying.

"No, they don't. They are natural, you see. They give out prophecies about the future in a crypted manner, not because they do it on purpose but because that's' how they perceive the information. They only see small snippets into the future, like muggle photographs of an event and then try to reconstruct them so it makes sense"

Harry nodded his head before speaking. "But what does this have to do with you being a projectionist?"

Firenze smiled at him. "I was just about to get to that. I only explained this all so you have some understanding for what I am about to tell you now... A projectionist is even rarer than a seer. Every century has produced a seer if you go by the history books but there had only ever been 4 projectionists. 2 humans and 2 centaurs. I am the fifth."

"Wow" gasped Harry. "Thats so cool. You must be really famous"

Firenze let out a chuckle before speaking. "No. I have only ever told a handful of people about it" He said looking down.

"But why?" asked Harry in disbelief.

Firenze' expression turned dark as he spoke. "Believe me when I say that it is a curse and not a gift. That every time you touch a person, you can see their whole life flash before your eyes, from the day they were born to when they take their last breath. No one should have to live with that sort of burden." Harry's heart broke as he watched the centaur wipe his eyes.

"I'm sorry" He didn't know what else to say before his eyes turned wide. "You saw what was going to happen to my parents didn't you?" He stood up, now understanding the meaning behind the look on Firenze's face at the dinner.

Firenze looked up at him before shaking his head. Harry scrunched his brows in confusion. "I saw yours" Harry's mouth opened in shock and his eyes turned wide at his proclamation. "I try to stay away from everyone, never try to get close to someone unless it's of absolute importance...But on that one night when your parents brought you here, I-I felt this...I felt this incredible pull towards you and I couldn't help myself, couldn't control myself so I put my hand on your head"

Harry kneeled down closed to him as Firenze continued. "No one but your mother noticed how shook I was by the whole ordeal so the next day she came to see me and questioned me about it. I knew she wouldn't stop till I tell her and would easily find out if I was lying, so I told her the truth. Told her what I was...But not what I saw and she never asked me about it as well for as long as she lived"

"But why not? Maybe they wouldn't have died if you had told her. Maybe they could've changed the future" he stood up once again, his face red in anger.

A sad smile came over Firenze's face. "That is precisely why I didn't tell her and why she didn't ask me. Your mother was incredibly wise, Harry, she knew that meddling with events could lead to even bigger problems. One should never, and I mean never try to change the events of the future. I wasn't as wise as her and learnt that lesson with a heartbreak" A tear roll down his cheek which he didn't bother to wipe. "The centaur I fell in love with, died because of it."

Harry's eyes turned soft and he put an arm on his shoulder. Firenze looked up at him. "What did you see about my future Firenze? Please tell me that I kill Voldemort?"

Firenze released a sigh. "Whenever I touch any being, I only see five instances in their lives, that includes, the day they are born and the day they die...The other three instances our random and could be of significant importance in the being's life or just a moment of no consequence. I can tell you now because it has already happened that I did see the night Voldemort came to your house and murdered your parents."

Firenze looked down and didn't say anything. "And?" Harry motioned with his hands for him to continue. "What about the other two? Look I don't want to know how or when I die but just tell me if the other two instances were important as well"

Firenze nodded his head. "Every moment I saw of your life was important, Harry. It hasn't happened before or after. Every moment of your life I saw will go down in history books, whether it was your birth, the day your parents died, the day-the day you die and the other two, which I will not tell so please I beg you to not ask me about them"

"THEN WHY I DID YOU TOLD ME ABOUT ALL THIS!" screamed Harry, his chest heaving as he glared down at the centaur.

Firenze' face twisted in agony as tears streamed down his cheeks. "Because I thought you deserved to know that I failed to save your family. That I am as much guilty of their death as Voldemort" He covered his face with his hands as he broke down. His shoulders shaking with gut wrenching sobs.

All the energy left Harry's body as his shoulders hunched down and he dropped to his knees. He lifted his hand and put it over Firenze's hands, pulling them down. Firenze looked at him in surprise as tears still ran down his face. "I'm sorry" Harry apologised, giving him a small smile. "And I don't blame you for anything. I'm sure you had your reasons" he added.

Firenze sniffed as he wiped his eyes clean before smiling back at Harry. "Thank you...I-I made a promise to myself that I will never speak of the events I see in a person's life to them or anyone after the death of my love" Harry nodded his head in understanding when a loud horn was heard all around them.

"I guess Hagrid finally found you" Firenze said, before he got up. "Remember Harry, there are greater things at play here. Everything happens for a reason, no matter how tragic it is. I have not yet felt a change in the timeline, which means that no one has meddled with it and everything is happening as it should be." He paused, staring intently at Harry before continuing. "That doesn't mean that you should be afraid to take chances or do the things you want to do. Live the way you want to and be the person that guides his life and not who is guided by it."

Harry stared at him for a while before giving him a nod.

He followed Firenze out of the hut and down the trunk before they reached the bottom and opened the door. They walked in silence as all the centaurs came out of their huts and looked down at them.

Harry waived at them, a gesture they all repeated. They reached the door before Firenze opened it.

"Harry!" yelled Hermione before her arms were around him in a tight hug. "I was so worried. Almost had a panic attack. We looked everywhere for you before Hagrid figured out that you could be with the centaurs" she said all this very fast, with her arms still around him.

Harry looked at Ron, who was smiling at him and shook his head while indicating towards Hermione. Harry smiled back before shifting his gaze up towards Hagrid whose face expressed as if a huge weight has been lifted of his shoulders.

"You gave us a fright there, Harry," said the giant.

Harry pulled back from Hermione but she grabbed his hand. "I'm sorry, I followed the trail of the unicorn's blood and got lost. Luckily, Firenze found me and brought me here"

Hagrid nodded his head. "I figured as much" He then looked at Firenze. "Thanks Firenze, I owe you a big one"

Firenze lifted his hand. "You owe me nothing. I simply did what was right" the centaur seemed uncomfortable by the attention as he stared down at the ground.

Harry, wanting to change the subject for the centaur's sake remembered another thing he wanted to ask him. "Firenze, why did you say that Hagrid could cross the narrow passage but not Hermione and Ron."

"That is because the forest trusts Hagrid" Harry looked at Hagrid who nodded his head.

"He's right. The forest works in mysterious ways 'Arry. You will eventually find out," said Hagrid. "Well, c'mon then, its nearing midnight. We should get going"

"But what about the spiders?" asked Harry.

"Spiders!" exclaimed Ron. "What spiders?" If Harry wasn't worried himself, he would've laughed at the scared expression on Ron's face.

"Don't worry about 'em. No spider will harm you as long as you're with me," said Hagrid. Harry remembered Firenze mentioning the same thing earlier.

"Okay. Let's go then" Harry turned around to say goodbye to Firenze as Hagrid and Ron started walking. "Thanks again, I really don't know what else to say. If it weren't for you, I would be dead now"

"WHAT!" screeched Hermione, making Harry wince. "You nearly died" There was steam coming out of her ears, which Harry felt wouldn't bode well for his near future.

He looked up at Firenze nervously. "Please tell me I don't die today at the hands of my friend" he asked in a deadpan voice.

Hermione turned her head at him in confusion and was about to open her mouth when Firenze started chuckling. "I can happily say no" he answered with a huge smile.

"What?" asked Hermione, bewildered by what they were talking about.

Harry sighed in relief. "Good"

"And you have already thanked me enough. Make sure you don't make a habit out of it" Firenze raised an eyebrow to which Harry nodded his head.

"Take care Firenze, Hopefully I'll see you some other time under less deadly circumstances"

"Take care Harry" Firenze bowed.

Harry tugged on Hermione's hand before they turned around and started walking. They had only taken a few steps when Firenze called out his name. "Oh, and Harry?" Harry and Hermione turned around to face him. Firenze' gaze lingered on Hermione for a moment before he looked at Harry. "Friendship so deep such as you share with your friends is very rare. Make sure you never let it go" Harry didn't miss when for a split second his eyes turned down at their clasped hands, understanding what he was trying to say.

Harry gave him a nod before Firenze shifted his gaze towards Hermione. "I'm sure I don't need to give you the same advice, Miss Granger" he said with a smile.

Hermione smiled back at him as she spoke. "No, you don't" She then looked at Harry. "He's stuck with me whether he likes it or not" They all chuckled before Firenze watched them turn around and walk towards Hagrid and Ron who were standing further away, waiting for them.

His gaze stayed on the back of the witch's bushy brown hair as they joined up with the other two. "I hope so" whispered the centaur as he watched them disappear into the night before turning around and heading in the opposite direction.

A/N: So guys, what did you think? As always let me know you think in the comment box and I will catch in the next chapter.

P.S. i know you all must be rolling your eyes regarding the name I chose for the stairs. Sorry, couldn't help myself as I love the song and the opportunity just presented itself.