Disclaimer: No money is being made by this. It is JK Rowlings world that our imagination just played in.

Chapter 9 Into the Forest

Harry had his bag ready, his key was in his pocket, the invisibility cloak out and the map open. Snape was still pacing near the Front Entrance. Harry would admire his persistence if he wasn't so irritated by it. Harry had to think of another way to get out of here.

Harry covered himself with his cloak and made his way down to the Common room. Harry timed his exit of the tower well as he snuck out behind some second years heading for lunch.

Once he got near the Great Hall, however, he was stumped. He kept close to the wall near a suit of armor while he tried to think. It was getting busier as it was nearing lunch time. Most of the students were first and second years, but there were a few older students as well. Harry glanced around hoping for inspiration.

As his gaze was sliding over some Hufflepuffs, he stopped in surprise. Hannah was there. Luckily she was still near the door. Harry quickly drifted over to her. "Hannah!" he hissed in a whisper. As she started to turn he quickly added "Don't turn around. It's Harry."

She kept her voice low as she replied, "Harry? Where are you? What are you doing?"

"I'm right here. You can't see me because I'm wearing an invisibility cloak. I was wondering if you'd be willing to help me?"

She kept her gaze wandering around as if looking for a seat as she said, "What do you need?"

"I need a distraction. I have to get outdoors, but Snape is guarding the Front Entrance. I need someone to get him away from it for just a bit."

Hannah's eyes widened. "You don't ask for much, do you? You know I'm a Prefect?"

"It'd mean a lot to me."

Hannah started giggling. "I can hear the puppy dog eyes in your voice. You owe me one."

"Thanks, Hannah." Harry ghosted over nearer to the Hogwarts entrance doors. Close enough to act if an opportunity came, but far enough to keep out of Snape's reach.

There was a sudden yell and commotion coming from the Great Hall. Harry could hear loud wailing. Ernie came running out to the Entrance Hall looking around frantically. He spotted Snape. "Professor, come quick! Something happened to Hannah! She's bleeding."

Snape followed Ernie into the Great Hall and Harry took his chance to slip outside. He hoped Hannah was alright. He had to trust that she knew what she was doing and wasn't badly hurt.

Harry made his way as quickly as he could while keeping covered under his cloak. He was late. He found a stick and poked at the knob at the base of the Whomping Willow. The massive tree stilled and Harry slipped down the secret passage underneath. He eventually came out in the Shrieking Shack.

Harry looked around the ramshackle room. Dust lay everywhere. The only decorations were clawed and bitten furniture. Everything looked abandoned. Harry hoped it wasn't. "Remus?"

"I'm upstairs, Harry." Remus' voice floated down the stairway. It sounded very tired. Not surprising as the full moon was only just past.

Harry quickly ran up the stairs two at a time, his cloak under his arm and his bag bouncing against his back. "I'm glad you're still here. I had trouble getting out. Snape was guarding the front entrance."

"Professor Snape, Harry. And I'm sure he was just greeting the returning students from Hogsmeade."

Harry raised his eyebrows and Remus even looked a bit sheepish at having come up with the far-fetched idea of Snape greeting students. "Yeah. Sure. Funny way to greet them with his back to the door."

Remus shook his head and gave a tired grin. He got up and gave Harry a welcoming squeeze on his shoulder. "Well, all right. What can I do for you, cub?"

Harry grinned at him. He liked it when Remus called him that. He didn't do it often, but it made him feel almost like he belonged with him. Harry swung his pack off his back and set it on the bed next to Remus. "I have some questions I didn't know how to ask in the mirror. I'm sorry you had to come out today, but I really didn't know who else to ask."

Remus frowned a little. "You should know I'd always try to help you if you needed it. What's up?"

Harry opened his bag and pulled out his portfolio. "I'm…I'm taking a finance class this term. I thought it would help in figuring out how much I would need to live on and such…and well…" Harry put his key on the seal and pulled out the summary parchment. "I need to know ifthisisasmuchasIthinkitis." Harry handed the summary over to Remus. He scanned it and his eyes widened.

"Oh, James, I knew you were well off, but this…" He looked up to see Harry looking anxiously at him. "I think it's safe to say you won't have any financial worries. Ever."

"But what about the investments? Griphook says it's up to me to take care of that. I don't know what to do! We're learning a little about it but the class is almost done and I sure don't know enough to know how to handle that!"

Remus blushed a bit and looked a little uncomfortable. "I'm afraid I won't be able to help you much, either. I just sold the few investments from the Black Estate. There weren't so many left. Sirius had gotten rid of most of them and all were rather shady anyway." He looked closer at the tiny writing filling the pages. "As far as I see it, you have three choices. You can just let them be. Some seem to be doing okay, but others…or you could cash them in. Unfortunately you would probably force a lot of these companies out of business if you did that, because you seem to be a major share holder in several of them. Or you can look for someone to hire to manage it for you."

Harry frowned thoughtfully. "Who?"

Remus just shook his head. "I'm afraid that I don't know. I don't exactly run in those circles. Sorry, cub."

"That's all right. I'll figure something out." Harry figured if they hadn't been managed for fifteen years, they could hang on another while until he thought of something. "I want to thank you again for coming. I just wasn't sure who to ask. I feel better now that I've just talked to someone about it."

"Anytime, Harry. You know…" Remus broke off and tilted his head, listening to something. Harry was instantly on alert. He listened, too. Remus suddenly smiled and started for a boarded up window, silently beckoning for Harry to follow. The windows had been long broken out and all the glass gone and Remus reached for a knot in one of the boards that blocked the opening. He carefully pried it out and put his eye to it. He gave a slight laugh and backed away motioning for Harry to do the same. Harry did and could see Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle outside of the shack. They were seated on the ground passing some sort of bottle around. Malfoy was talking.

"Instead of the most haunted place in Britain, they should call this the most boring place in Britain."

Remus smirked over to Harry and whispered, "Shall we liven things up for him?"

Harry smirked back and nodded once.

Remus went across the room and under some blankets piled in a corner found some odd cylinders. He easily picked up two and gave one to Harry. He gestured with hand motions that Harry should slowly start to crank the handle of his on the count of three. Remus counted down on his fingers and he and Harry slowly started to crank the odd cylinders. Harry's emitted a low moaning sound. Remus' had a higher pitch but was also very spooky. They could still hear Malfoy outside. Harry kept watch through the knothole. They had all gotten to their feet.

"What's that noise? Do you think the ghosts have come back?" A tinge of panic was creeping into Draco's voice. Harry tried hard to keep from laughing. Remus motioned for Harry to give it a harder crank. He did and instead of a low moan, it became a low wail. Remus did his as well and his actually sounded very much like Moaning Myrtle when she got on a roll. It got that high pitch squeal that just climbed inside of your ears.

Malfoy had been farther away from the shack than the other two and found out it was not a good idea to be in the way of two large, very frightened teenaged boys. He picked himself back up off the ground and took off after the other two. Harry started to laugh out loud as he watched Malfoy and the others run away. Harry turned and with a grin reported what he witnessed out the window. Remus joined in his laughter.

After a minute Harry settled down to say goodbye to Remus. "I'd better get back. As soon as Malfoy gets back he'll go straight to Snape who will then want to blame me. Don't know why he always wants to blame me!"

Remus shook his head. "Couldn't tell you." He was still chuckling, too. He looked at the thing in his hand. "I never thought I'd use this again!" Harry looked up at him. "We used to pass the time until the full moon making this old shack 'come alive'. We never knew if anyone ever heard us, but we had fun." Remus shook off his memories. "Well, I'll be seeing you, Harry. Keep in touch with the mirror sometimes, all right?"

Harry made his way down to the Great Hall for breakfast the next morning. He looked over to the Hufflepuff table and saw Hannah sitting near Ernie and Megan Jones. He made his way over to their table.

He tapped on Megan's shoulder. "Excuse me. Do you mind if I sit here for a moment?"

Megan looked up at him, his scar, then over to Hannah and giggling, slid over. Harry sat down between Megan and Hannah.

He leaned over to Hannah and started talking quietly. He couldn't help but notice that Ernie was trying to eavesdrop. He also seemed quite antagonistic towards Harry. "I want to thank you for what you did for me yesterday."

Ernie turned red in the face and started to bluster. Harry could see his fist clench on the table. "What did she do? What all went on yesterday morning? What did you do to her?"

Harry closed his eyes and groaned. When he opened his eyes he saw Hannah staring incredulously at Ernie. "And about that…I apologize that everyone has the wrong impression about what we were doing yesterday morning. I'm just not sure how to correct it."

"You don't have to apologize. I meant for people to think that. I thought it might help you with Cho."

"Oh." Harry hadn't been expecting that. Ernie seemed somewhat confused.

"So…if what we thought didn't happen…what happened?" Ernie was still pompous, even when he was confused.

Hannah gave him a little glare. "Not that it's any of your business, but Harry did something really nice for me and I just gave him a little thank you kiss in return. When I saw my lipstick left a smudge, I just didn't do anything to let him know, hoping Cho might leave him alone if he was 'taken'." Hannah grinned. "And she did leave in quite a huff with Michael," she added in satisfaction.

All three of them briefly glanced over to the Ravenclaw table. Cho was just sitting there, staring very intently back at them. Michael was trying to get her attention, but she was just ignoring him.

Ernie shook his head. "I don't know if your plan worked, Han. I think you should give it up. She looks pretty determined over there. I wouldn't want you to get hurt."

Hannah just shook her head. "This is Cho we're speaking of. I don't believe she would physically hurt me. She would just try to undermine me or try to cause Harry to doubt me or suspect me of something."

Harry frowned. He thought Hannah probably had it right. If she was one of them who would hide Luna's things, that meant she liked to play mind games. "I can just go back to trying to dodge her." Ernie fervently nodded in agreement, but Hannah objected.

"I'll be fine. Besides, it's not as if our hearts are involved," Hannah explained.

Harry saw Ernie's expression turn quite smug. Harry decided to cut him down a peg. Harry suspected that he may like Hannah more than as a friend because, like Ron, he got pretty jealous when Hannah's attention turned towards another boy.

"Well, I don't know. I think mine could get involved pretty easily. You're very nice and a very pretty girl, Hannah. And I do owe you one for yesterday afternoon. Feel free to start thinking of how you want to collect." Harry gave a suggestive wink along with his comment and Hannah looked faintly surprised and looked closer at Harry. Ernie started to glower. Harry gave a slight smirk and briefly tilted his head towards Ernie. Hannah turned so she could see Ernie from the corner of her eye and saw him glowering at Harry. Her face turned thoughtful. She looked down the table and noticed Susan Bones with several empty spots near her. Ernie had decided to sit near her when he came in instead of Susan. Now the question was 'why'? Was he just protecting a friend? Or did he feel any more than that? Hannah would watch and see if she could tell. She gave a brief thankful smile at Harry.

Ernie was getting all riled up again. "So what happened in the afternoon? I was with Hannah in the Hospital Wing in the afternoon."

Harry frowned. "Oh, yeah. What did you do to yourself? You didn't really hurt yourself, did you? I hope you know I would never have wanted you to do anything like that."

Hannah gave an impish grin. "Nosebleed Nougat. I was fine." Ernie started to bluster. Hannah turned to him. "I tried to explain to you that I was really all right. You were just too busy trying to order Madam Pomfrey around." Ernie got a faint blush on his cheeks.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know prefects carried those kind of products around with them."

Hannah gave a sheepish look. "I had taken them off of some 2nd years and just happened to still have them with me." She gave a weak grin. Harry started to laugh. Hannah scowled, "So what did you need the distraction for, anyway? If you can tell me."

"I had made an appointment to meet someone and Snape was being a git trying to guard the door."

"Who were you going to meet? Not another girl, I hope." Harry was surprised. Hannah was lightly flirting with him.

He gave a light laugh. "No. I was meeting with a friend of my parents. You remember Professor Lupin?"

Ernie's eyes widened. "He was a friend of your parents? He was the best DADA teacher we had. Did they know he was a werewolf?"

"Yeah. My dad and his other friends figured it out back in their second year. That didn't bother them. Remus is a good guy. Unfortunately, I don't get to see him as much as I'd like. Usually only around full moons. Otherwise he's quite busy."

Hannah's eyes widened, too. "You go around him during the full moons?"

"Well, of course not during the full moon itself, but before and after it's alright. Even during would probably be okay with the wolfsbane potion, not that I'd trust it that much to test it out. It's kind of hard to see how rotten he always feels then, though." Harry frowned in concern.

Hannah suddenly gave a burst of laughter. "Harry, I don't know if you've heard, but something happened yesterday afternoon. It was so funny. Malfoy and his goons came running into the castle shouting about the Shrieking Shack being haunted again! I have to admit, they did look scared. The rumor is that they went running to Professor Snape and he could smell Firewhiskey on their breath. He restricted them from going on the next Hogsmeade weekend."

Harry laughed. "I hadn't realized that's what they were drinking. So that's why Snape didn't come after me for that one."

Ernie looked at him suspiciously. "You don't seem very surprised by their story. You've also got a pretty evil glint in your eye. What gives?"

Harry looked around and leaned forward towards Hannah and Ernie and spoke quietly, "Remus and I were meeting in the Shrieking Shack. We may have…er…done something to make them believe the Shack was haunted again." His grin widened at the memory of the two trolls running over Malfoy, trying to get away.

Both of his two companions eyes got very large. Ernie started with, "You met in a haunted building…?" While Hannah was saying, "Professor Lupin helped you in pulling a prank like that? He always seemed so quiet!"

"It was never haunted. The story started when Remus went to school here. That's where he went on full moons. The noises were him." He smiled over to Hannah. "My father and his friends were quite the pranksters when they went to school. Remus was the one who came up with the idea of what to do to Malfoy."

Harry stopped talking abruptly as he spotted Professor McGonagall coming towards him. Her mouth was pursed with very thin lips. Her expression shouting disapproval. She was carrying a note in her hands. As she approached she handed Harry the note. Harry grimaced and took it. He unfolded it and sure enough, it was details of his detention. He felt a bit better seeing it was tonight with Hagrid.

Hannah was reading over Harry's shoulder. "Detention? Is this for yesterday? But we didn't go out of bounds! Why would Harry get a detention, Professor?"

Professor McGonagall's lips got even tighter. "Mr. Potter knows why." The Professor turned and left.

Hannah was looking curiously at Harry. Harry shrugged. "I knew I'd be in trouble. It was worth it. At least the detentions with Hagrid. That won't be so bad."

Hannah and Ernie both looked at him as if he had said something totally unbelievable. Ernie finally broke the stunned silence with, "I've heard he sometimes brings students into the Forbidden Forest. Your idea of 'not so bad' and mine obviously aren't the same."

Harry spent the morning studying with Ron and Hermione and the afternoon in the trunk, practicing and exercising. He was quite excited that he could hold his animating spell for over five minutes wordlessly and wandlessly. He knew his friends were still working on getting theirs to work. Well, he knew Ron and Hermione were. He wasn't sure if Ginny still wanted to try to become an animagus or not. He didn't see much of her anymore.

Finally it was time for Harry to leave to meet Hagrid. Harry left the trunk and grabbed his winter cloak. He wasn't sure what they would be doing, but the weather was turning chilly and he wanted to be prepared if they would be outside.

Harry made his way to Hagrid's Hut. He knocked on the door. Fang started barking like mad until Hagrid opened the door.

"'ello, Harry. Glad ter see yeh. Tonight I'm hopin' yeh can speak to the Runespoor abou' sharin' her eggs. No one can get near 'er. She tries ter bite anyone who comes to collect 'em. Even me." Hagrid seemed quite affronted that the snake creature wasn't always friendly to him.

As they neared the paddock, Harry could hear a wild thrashing sound. It sounded like a large battle. Hagrid ran forward to see what was happening. Harry wondered if something was attacking the Runespoor. He couldn't imagine many things that would try. Suddenly Hagrid gave a shout of pain. Harry ran into the paddock as well. Hagrid was holding two of the Runespoor heads in his hands and they were hissing at him fiercely.

"Are you all right, Hagrid?" Harry was worried. He knew Shamira's head was poisonous.

"Oh, I'll be fine. Just a bit of a nip. Took me by surprise is all."

Harry turned his focus on the snake creature. "Which one of you bit Hagrid?" he hissed in Parseltongue.

Sapna answered him. "I did. He'sss interfering."

"I did, too. Sssapna is right. We want to sssettle thisss once and for all. Shamira mussst go!" Sorena added.

Harry took a closer look at Shamira. She seemed quite bloody and was bleeding heavily. Harry had heard that sometimes the heads would attack each other, especially the 3rd head. That's why this one was such a rare specimen. It still had all three heads. Possibly not for long, though.

"What happened to make you attack your sssister?"

"She criticized us both! She said I am cluelessss and she called Sssapna foolish."

Shamira finally spoke up. "All Sssorena had us do the first few daysss here was lapsss around this place. Then Sapna takesss over and we ssstudy the sky for two weeksss! I am sssick and tired of being in jussst one place!"

Harry had wondered why the creature was always so placid during lessons recently. Harry focused on the two heads still in Hagrid's hands. "Shamira isss just frustrated. How about Hagrid and I take you out of here for a while tonight and you can all calm down. If Shamira settlesss down again, do you think you can not attack her?"

"If she stopsss criticizing usss, we will leave her alone." Sorena said.

Sapna just nodded rather dreamily. "I sssuppose."

Harry looked back to Hagrid, noticing the blood dripping down his hand. "And do not bite Hagrid again! Any of you!"

To Harry's surprise, all three heads bowed before him and all hissed, "Yes, massster."

Harry blinked at the title they gave him, but decided to ignore it. Harry looked up to Hagrid. "Shamira is a little bored. She's taking her frustration out on the other two and they didn't appreciate it. D'you think we could take her out somewhere for a while so Shamira could have a break from the paddock?"

"O'course. Shoulda thought of it meself. I'd had a hankerin' to visit Grawpy summat soon. Maybe they'd enjoy a short stroll through the Forest."

Harry gave a resigned smile. He'd had a feeling they'd be going in there. Well, at least he had his winter cloak. They made their way to Hagrid's hut. Hagrid slapped some plasters on his bites and gathered his crossbow and a lantern. While he was tending the bites, the Runespoor slithered over to Harry and started climbing his leg. It settled itself around his waist with all three heads poking out around his neck. The creature was heavier than he thought she would be but he didn't have to actively carry her, she just squeezed herself around him like an extra heavy belt.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked her in parseltongue.

"You are warm. We want to ssstay near you while we travel, Massster."

"Oh. All right, I guesss."

Hagrid was ready to go. "Yeh want me to carry 'er for yeh, Harry?"

"No. We're fine here."

"Got yer wand? Okay. Let's go."

As they entered the forest, Hagrid asked how he liked his gift for his birthday. Harry told him he liked it, but hadn't been able to practice much with it. He practiced drawing the crossbow back, but he didn't think shooting a crossbow inside of Headquarters would be a good idea. Hagrid agreed, but said maybe they could arrange some time to practice together near the forest. Harry liked that idea.

The deeper they went into the forest, the quieter they became. It was already dark but Harry could see well enough with Hagrid's lantern. Hagrid kept his crossbow at the ready, just in case they ran into trouble with either the centaurs or any other creature. On occasion, Shamira would hiss happily at something passing in the scenery. Eventually they reached Grawp's area. Harry noticed that the landscape didn't seem as torn up as the last time he had been here. There was a huge fire burning giving some light.

"Hagger! Good Hagger visit. Grawp an' Minno happy." Grawp was doing much better with his words. Harry was impressed. Grawp looked at Harry. "Hermy?"

"Hermy couldna come this time, Grawp. But Harry here's come for a visit," Hagrid told his brother.

"Har-rey meet Minno?"

Harry looked at Hagrid who was nodding at him. "Ah, yeah, I'd love to meet Minno."

Grawp's huge boulder head got a huge gaping grin on his face. "Har-rey, come." He started gesturing with one of his huge hands. Harry and Hagrid followed him. They entered a bit further in a cave and Harry couldn't believe his eyes.

Minno was at least twenty feet tall. She was taller than Grawp by quite a bit. She had wiry hair that curled close to her head. She didn't notice Hagrid and Harry at first. Grawp came near her to introduce them. "Minno, Hagger here an' Har-rey."

She turned and, well, Harry guessed she smiled. First she looked down at Hagrid. "Hagger." Then she looked intently in a myopic sort of way towards Harry. "Har-rey." Grawp nodded and smiled.

Hagrid looked pleased. "Well, we just wanted to stop by for a visit. We'll just be poppin' off now. Glad ter see your doin' well."

Harry also said his goodbyes and they started back for the castle. Along the way Hagrid told Harry how, when he'd explained he wanted to bring a lady friend for Grawp, Grawp told him to find Minno. Minno had been one of the giants that survived the cave attacks and had originally listened when Hagrid talked of Dumbledore. She and Grawp had been a bit sweet on each other. Hagrid had brought a photo of Grawp to help convince her to come with him back to England.

Suddenly Hagrid motioned for Harry to stop and stay quiet. Harry did immediately and then could hear what Hagrid had heard. There were centaurs talking to each other up ahead.

"The herd is getting anxious, Bane. They don't know what it means." A mournful voice sounded.

"It seems obvious to me, Ronan. It is a sign. When he comes, we must listen to what he has to say."

A third voice joined the first two. "But you know who it must be. What of our stance? He would never allow us to just observe!"

A low voice gave a warning, "Something is near! That way!"

Hagrid moved in front of Harry as the centaurs quickly surrounded them. There were six of them. Bane came to the front. "Hagrid, we have warned you before about entering our forest! And you bring another? Are you simply foolish or do you wish to die? Hand over your weapon! You both will be coming with us this time and be judged by the herd."

Hagrid started to protest. "We stayed as much to the edge of yer area as we could! This fores' doesna belong only to you, you stubborn mules! And you'll leave Harry be!"

Ronan added in his mournful tone, "Yes, Bane. He is still young."

Bane came to stand before Harry and looked at him scornfully. The Runespoor had hidden down inside Harry's cloak when all the angry voices started coming near. Harry stared back at Bane defiantly. He knew that of any of the centaurs, Bane would be the least likely to listen to him.

"This one has been in the forest often enough. He is young, true, but he is a young man!" Bane snarled the last word.

With his words half of the arrows pointed at Hagrid shifted to point at Harry as well. When that happened, Hagrid gave up his crossbow and lantern. Their weapons relaxed, but did not go down completely.

They started to march them through the forest. It was dark and Harry had no idea what time it was anymore. The centaurs seemed to have good night vision, but Harry had a hard time seeing roots sticking up and kept stumbling. He wished he dared do a lumos charm, but knew to do magic near the centaurs would be a death warrant. Eventually the path became smoother, obviously more traveled, and they reached a large encampment. When they entered, Harry couldn't believe how many there were. He figured there were probably a hundred fifty or more. Most seemed to be out in a huge square looking up at the sky and muttering to each other; even the children.

Bane shouted for their attention and suddenly they were the focus of every eye. Harry was feeling nervous. The Runespoor could feel his tension and Shamira asked if he was all right or if he wanted her to bite someone. Harry gently placed his hands on the coils around his waist and quietly hissed that he would be fine and she didn't need to bite anyone. He hoped he was telling the truth.

An older centaur was talking with the group that brought them in. Harry wondered if he was the elder or king or whatever they called it. He looked even wilder than Bane but held an authority that was unmistakable. Once again Harry's age seemed to be a factor. Bane was explaining his reasoning of why Harry was to be tried as an adult. Finally the older centaur nodded with agreement. The rest of the herd started to mutter again.

Finally the older centaur called for Hagrid and Harry to be led to a platform so everyone could see them. He then asked Bane, "Has the young wizard's wand been removed?"

Bane's nostrils flared and he seemed to shift in embarrassment. He jerked his head to two of the centaurs standing guard near Harry and they started to go through his cloak pockets. Harry's wand was actually strapped to his arm in a new wand holder he had bought over the summer.

The lead centaur started to glare at Bane. "You did not take it from him when he attacked you with it?"

"He had never shown it."

The older centaur now shifted his gaze to Harry. "Not even to defend?"

"No. He never showed it at all. Maybe he does not carry one."

The older centaur looked at Bane with a shade of contempt. "All wizards carry one. Have you found it?" he asked the two guarding Harry.

"It is not in his pockets, Edroi."

The leader's gaze focused on Harry. "Where is your wand?"

Harry kept his head up as he answered, "On my arm."

"Remove it."

Harry figured that releasing the trigger to shoot the wand right to his hand would be a bad thing in this situation, so he'd have to manually remove the whole holder. He started to unbutton his cloak. He kept his movements slow but steady.

He was carefully watched by all the centaurs. As he shrugged off the cloak and let it fall to the ground, there was a building roar through the crowd as a name was repeated over and over. "Ophiuchus!".

The leader stepped back a pace as did the guards standing near Harry. Harry thought the name they spoke was familiar, but couldn't quite place it. The three heads of the snake were each hissing in objection to the sudden cold. Harry wasn't sure what was going on, but figured he'd better keep proceeding with removing his wand until otherwise told. He quickly removed the entire holder with the wand still inside it and tried to hand it to the nearest centaur who no longer seemed to want to touch it. Harry gave up and slowly set it on the ground in front of him, then picked up his cloak and put it back on. He looked back out to the crowd of centaurs in front of him and saw they all seemed to be staring at him with the same fascination he'd only seen them use when gazing at the stars. He was feeling a little uncomfortable. He hated being stared at, and even though he knew some wandless magic, he hated not having his wand.

The leader started to speak to Harry again. "It has been foretold that you would come to our camp. We will listen to what you have to say."

Harry looked to Hagrid. He wasn't much help as he looked just as confused as Harry felt. Harry wondered what he was supposed to be saying. He figured maybe he should start with their defense.

"It's true that Hagrid and I came into the forest. We wanted to visit Hagrid's brother. Hagrid said that the path we took stayed away from your usual paths. Is this true?" He looked to Ronan.

Ronan slowly nodded. "We do not usually travel that far west."

Harry continued, "We had no more plans to disturb you than we did the acromantulas or other forest creatures."

Bane burst in aggressively, "What about last year? Coming into the forest with that woman and human girl?"

"That woman had us trapped. Hermione had the idea, admittedly not a very good one, of leading her into the forest," Bane started to speak, but Harry cut him off. "Not to make any creature in here help us as such, but to give us the chance to get away from her. Think about it. Where was Hermione leading us? Here?"

Bane drew back. Edroi looked sternly at Bane. "Answer the question, Bane."

"No. They were headed towards the acromantula den."

"Now I would much rather meet any centaur in this forest than the acromantula. At least centaurs have given us a chance before trying to eat us." Harry actually heard a few whinnying snickers. He suspected they were well familiar with the acromantula desire to eat first and question later.

Bane was still not willing to lose any face. "What of your desire to tell of how you made the centaurs do your bidding?" There were murmurs through the crowd at that.

"We were never going to do any such thing. And we have not. We understand you are a separate race. We know you didn't do anything at our bidding. You just recognized as we already had, that she was an unpleasant human. She is a problem for all beings, humans included. Hermione was only hoping for something to happen in the forest that would allow us to escape her. It just happened that you were the first to confront us."

Magorian stepped forward. "But that doesn't excuse Hagrid from returning to the forest. We had warned him time and again to keep away after he helped the traitor Firenze."

Harry felt he was treading in water way beyond his depth, but they were listening so far. "Let me ask you a question. Are you aware of the evil currently out there? I know you must be. Mars has been bright for quite some time. You know wizards are at war. You must be aware of what each side stands for. Firenze is also aware. He is aware that if we lose to the evil out there, centaurs won't be safe anymore. I'm not saying that life has been great for your race with the wizards currently in control, but if Lord Voldemort" Harry was a little surprised that even centaurs gasped at the name. "comes into a ruling power there is little hope for you. He doesn't even like wizards that aren't pure blooded. Now I realize that yours is an ancient race, but you are aware that not all wizards have accepted this. Some look upon you as a half-blooded race." Harry took a deep breath. He wasn't sure how far to tread. He was just trying to play it by ear. "I remember several years ago there was something evil in the forest. Were you all aware of it then?"

There was some nervous pawing of the ground before Harry continued. "Firenze made a stand then against the evil. He is doing the same now. Making a stand against the evil that has been resurrected. He believes the best way to do that is to temporarily ally himself with wizards. He is not working in servitude to them as some of you believe, but working alongside. Not because he believes wizards are superior, because I do not think he believes that at all, but because he believes it to be the best chance to save all creatures, especially centaurs. He is proud to be a centaur and I know that being cut off from the herd hurts him deeply."

Edroi seemed to be considering Harry's words. "What of our secrets? What is he teaching these wizard children?"

"I was in his class last year. The class is the Divination class. He has taught that the centaurs have to study for years to be able to interpret what the movement of planets and stars may mean and that any foretelling of the future isn't foolproof. Things can change or be interpreted wrong." There was some murmuring at this. "Is he wrong? Has that not been proved correct in the past? He is not betraying any deep secrets of the centaurs. He is showing wizards a different culture and earning their respect. I understand you do not like to mix with wizards and that is fine, but then don't be surprised when wizards come up with strange ideas about your race. Firenze is showing a whole group of wizarding children how false those ideas can be. That is one way he is helping Professor Dumbledore in our fight against Lord Voldemort."

There was silence as Harry finished. He felt like he'd been talking for a long time and he really couldn't think of anything more to say so he just stayed quiet. He was still very nervous. He wondered why they listened to him. That surprised him. They all seemed rather subdued. More so than Harry had ever seen them. Harry still saw some of then sneaking glances at him and then back to the sky.

Edroi had one last question. "What would you want from us, wizard?"

"Me?"

"As a speaker on behalf of your kind, what would you want from us in this war?"

Harry blinked. "Only what you're willing to do. One thing I would like is if, even if you don't actively participate in the war that you don't condemn others like Firenze and Hagrid for taking their stand in actively defying the evil. If you are willing to take a stand as well, I'm sure Professor Dumbledore knows better than I where your different talents would best be used. And I would hope that if Voldemort or his Death Eaters would come to you and force you to decide, I would hope you would decide to join us rather than them."

Edroi frowned. "You would not want to force us to work for you?"

Harry shook his head. "I am just one person, but I believe I can speak for Headmaster Dumbledore on this. Ever since I started school, he has told me about choice. Our choices make us who we are. Not our talents; not our fame; not our race; but our choices. I choose to fight. That has nothing to do with me being a wizard, the Boy Who Lived, or even constantly being Lord Voldemort's target. I choose to fight." Harry gave a half smirk. "Not that I can or am allowed to do much yet. But I'll do what I can."

Edroi stared at Harry for a few more moments. Then he looked to the centaurs near him. The looked solemnly back and gave nods. Edroi then spoke to Harry. "We will allow you two to leave. Hagrid may pass through our forest without harassment. We will hold a council meeting tomorrow night. Tell Firenze he should come, Harry Potter."

Harry gave a nod in thanks. He motioned down towards his wand. "May I?"

The centaur nodded solemnly back. "You may."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief and started to undo his cloak again. As he took it off he again noticed that every eye was on the Runespoor around his waist. The creature hissed a bit again at the chill. Harry patted her body and quickly refastened his wand to his arm. Again he heard the slightly awed tones saying the name "Ophiuchus". Harry looked over to Hagrid. He had been given his crossbow and lantern back and was anxiously shifting from foot to foot. Harry gave one last smile to the centaurs and Hagrid led Harry away from the encampment.

After they had gone quite a ways into the forest, Hagrid finally slowed down. Harry had done a lumos spell, but he had had to full out run trying to keep up with Hagrid's hurried steps away from the centaurs. Harry was glad he kept up on his exercising. Even with the exercising, there was a great deal of difference from jogging on a treadmill or riding a stationary bike from jumping over bushes and roots and dodging branches. The Runespoor was not enjoying the ride, either.

Hagrid lifted a huge tablecloth-sized handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his brow. "Gulpin' Gargoyles, Harry. I thought we were done for! An' with them pointin' their arrows at you, there wasna much I could do."

"Any idea why they listened this time? They don't usually bother much, do they?"

"Dunno. But I know we hafta tell Dumbledore. Tha' was mighty strange."

Hagrid led them right up to the castle. Harry wondered if Hagrid even remembered he was still carrying the Runespoor. It was warmer inside the castle and Harry undid a few buttons on his cloak, trying to keep the bulk of the creature he was carrying from view. He didn't want to scare anybody. Hagrid started for the stairwell, but then stopped as he noticed something down the hall. He changed direction and led Harry towards Firenze's classroom. The Headmaster was sitting with Firenze.

"…are you sure? This could create a very grave situation if the Dark Side should learn of it." Professor Dumbledore seemed quite concerned over some information Firenze had just told him.

"I noticed it earlier this evening just after dusk. I am sure of my interpretation. There can be no doubt. They will see it as a sign to be receptive to whatever he has to say. If You-Know-Who learns of it, he could just walk right in and they would not object."

Hagrid took advantage of the break in the conversation. "Excuse me, Professor Dumbledore, sir. I've got summat to report to yeh. And yeh, too, Firenze."

Professor Dumbledore turned his concerned eyes towards Hagrid. Harry just hung back near the door. "Go ahead, Hagrid."

"Well, Harry and I were out…er…just taken a walk through the fores'," Dumbledore's eyebrows raised at this but he did not interrupt. "An' we were set upon by some of the centaurs." Hagrid then proceeded to relay the events of the evening to them. He basically talked of them being captured and then brought to the encampment. He mentioned them wanting to disarm Harry and then acting very unlike themselves and ending up letting them both go with Hagrid allowed to roam the forest again and Firenze requested to attend a council meeting. He finished with, "It 'twas the ruddiest thing I ever saw. Beggin' yer pardon Firenze."

Professor Dumbledore turned toward Firenze. "Would it be because they recognized who Harry was?"

Firenze shook his head. "That would make no difference. It made no difference before."

Hagrid inserted, "They didna seem to know it 'twas Harry. They called him summat else."

Firenze turned to Harry. "What happened when they asked you to disarm? Can you show us?"

Harry shrugged. "Nothing much happened. I was carrying my wand in an arm holster and didn't think it a good idea to shoot it out so I took off my cloak to unstrap it from my forearm. That's when they started acting different. Started asking questions and actually listening to what I said in reply."

Professor Dumbledore was starting to get a twinkle going in his eye and almost seemed to squirm in anticipation, except he didn't actually move. "Can you show us, Harry?"

Harry shrugged again and undid the rest of his cloak. He took it off and let it drop to the ground and started to unstrap his wand holder.

"Ophiuchus!" Both Dumbledore's and Firenze's voices sounded together. Dumbledore's in triumph and Firenze's in shock.

"Tha's what they said!" Hagrid was staring in surprise at the other two professors.

Dumbledore's twinkle was back to full tilt behind his half-moon glasses and all the concern he had when they first interrupted them seemed to have melted away. "May I ask, Harry, why you decided to carry that Runespoor around tonight?"

"They were fighting. Shamira was getting stir crazy and insulting the other two. We were taking her for a walk so she could get a change of scenery. She didn't like the cold and said I kept her warm so I carried her.

Dumbledore started laughing, it seemed almost with relief. "I will need to know everything that was said tonight. Harry, could you return the Runespoor back to the paddock and Hagrid, will you be willing to use my pensieve to share your memories of tonight?"

"O'course, Professor Dumbledore, sir." Hagrid helped the Headmaster up. Firenze was still staring at Harry in shock.

Harry nodded to the three professors and left the room. Once outside he met eyes with a furious Draco Malfoy. For once Harry wasn't sure who was receiving the more hateful glare; him or the Runespoor.

When Harry entered the common room a short while later, he was relieved to still see Ron and Hermione sitting at one of the tables. He hurried over to them.

Hermione looked up at him with a frown. "Well, I hope you've learned your lesson, Harry. You can't go off leaving your guard. It could have been dangerous."

Harry brushed her off, "Yeah, whatever." Hermione did not looked pleased at his response. "Look, I've got to ask you something. Something that kept coming up tonight. Who is Ophiuchus?"

Ron looked blank. Hermione shook her head in exasperation at the two of them. "Don't you remember anything? Astronomy? It's a star constellation." At Ron and Harry's continued blank looks, she continued. "You remember, The Serpent Handler?" Harry started to get pale. Ron continued to just stare at Hermione without a clue. "Oh, come on! You must remember! You always laughed at it because the way the serpents head is formed it looks more like a three headed snake than a one headed snake!" She turned a curious look on Harry. "Why?"

Harry just sat with a thud.

A/N – The scene of Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle running from the Shrieking Shack was inspired from a long ago memory I had of a Bill Cosby monologue from Fat Albert.

Also, I have a picture of the Ophiuchus constellation that shows the outline and the '3-headed-snake' look, but I have no idea how to post it to our bio. If you want to see it, you'll have to let us e-mail it to you, I guess.