30minuteficlets Challenge Response, September 1, 2003

As you may have heard, Mars is brighter tonight than any other night in the last 60,000 years. What would Firenze make of this, and what does the brightness of Mars bode for our favorite characters?

Write a ficlet about what the centaur sees and perhaps, what actually happens and if he ends up being right - funny, sad, angsty, it's up to you!

Ten points to the house of your choice if: Snape gets flustered by something.

Title: Mars and Venus
Rating: PG
Pairings (if any): HG/SS
Author's Notes: none, really


The human had wandered in, again, but her approach wasn't as unusual as the centaurs would have liked. She often came out into the Forbidden Forest, in the dead of night. Firenze silently followed her, again. She was foolish to come here, but he had taken it on himself to make sure no harm came to her. After teaching her at Hogwarts, he owed Dumbledore that much. The other centaurs watched him go, perplexed. They had never understood Firenze's compassion for these creatures, but did not wish to meddle.

She walked until she reached the usual spot, deep in the Forest beyond even the spiders' lair. A small clearing, where the skies were unusually vivid. She once again put down the circle of stones, murmuring an enchantment that was beyond Firenze's hearing. He looked up briefly. Again, Mars and Venus were both exceptionally bright tonight. Mars was possibly the brightest he had seen. She never came unless both planets were visible and bright. And she always brought the stones and worked her magic.

Firenze was not one to let curiosity get the better of him, but even he had to suppress a snort of surpise when another joined her in the clearing. He recognized Professor Snape immediately, and relaxed. He had been about to charge in to save the human girl from a Dark creature, but he knew he could trust Snape. Against his usual nature, he listened to their conversation.

"Mars certainly is bright tonight," Snape said by way of greeting.

"Channeling centaurs again, Professor?" the girl said. If Firenze wasn't mistaken, she sounded rather flippant.

The professor snorted, but remained silent for a moment before speaking again. "Did you discover anything, Granger?"

She sighed, waving her wand over one of the larger stones. "Still a dead end, though the runes on this particular stone are reflecting Venus more strongly than Mars. I believe that's a good sign. Perhaps..." her voice broke, "perhaps Harry still lives. If all I was able to channel tonight was Mars, I would fear we'd lost."

Snape nodded. "I'll refrain from any commentary about foolish wand waving, Granger. I believe this is all we have left. Did you get a directional reading from any of the stones?"

The girl concentrated, waving her wand again and then looking up at the sky. "Again, despite Mars' brightness, I believe we must follow Venus in this matter. If the spell is working, my prediction is that there will be life, not death, at the end of this road for Harry. How we can help him, I still am not sure, but he is in the path of Venus."

Firenze observed the professor lean closer, touching several of the stones in turn. "This would seem to indicate that the Dark Lord isn't even holding him. Malfoy, perhaps. I can make discreet inquiries."

"See that you do," the girl said in a shockingly commanding tone. Firenze had become slightly more attuned to the ways of humans in his short teaching career, and knew enough to be surprised at how the young woman was addressing Professor Snape. From what he knew of the man, he had never given to understand that he would brook any cheek from a student - much less a Gryffindor.

"Five points," Snape said idly, reaching a hand out to her cheek. "to Gryffindor." Her hand reached out for Professor Snape's, drawing him nearer for a lingering kiss. This caught Firenze off guard sufficiently to cause him to stumble, giving away his position in the shadows. Snape drew away, flustered, and raised his wand in the direction of the noise.

"Look!" Hermione said, pointing at a stone. "The glow of death is on this stone!" Firenze saw a stone glow red, and suddenly smelled the scent of Darkness and death in the wind. Leaping into the clearing, Firenze whispered, "They are near. Death is near. I can take you to safety."

Hermione looked at Firenze. "Harry is near?" she asked faintly. "Is he the one who is dead?"

"Professor Firenze," Snape said, nodding at the centaur gravely. "Can you take us there?"

Firenze hesitated, looking up at the sky. "Mars is bright tonight," he said, "but Venus is rising. I can take you there." The centaur bent low, allowing both humans to mount. Straightening proudly and remembering that centaurs naturally stayed out of human affairs, he snorted and stamped once and was off, defying his people once again for a greater cause.