CHAPTER 32: The Forbidden Forest
After returning to Hogwarts Harry decided it best to stay out of Dumbledore's way. He didn't want to see the old man and he definitely didn't want a lecture. Harry knew that when the time came he would need Dumbledore, but for the time being he had very little left to teach. Harry needed to be in control of the war if he was going to be the one to end it, Dumbledore would become his pawn instead of the other way around.
Harry returned to his room and placed and imperturbable charm on his curtains, he needed to be alone for awhile. He looked in his trunk and came across Hagrid's book. If he was going to be in charge of the war effort he needed to start learning the cultures and customs of the magical beasts who resided in the forest. He would have rather been able to just go and make alliances, but that would be very difficult if he did something to offend them.
For the next hour Harry read through the book, memorizing the cultures of the centaurs, acromantulas, giants, and elves. Harry decided he would have to approach the centaurs first because they were the ones Harry figured he'd run into first. If he could talk them into an alliance than everything else would become much easier. Harry would then, with Hagrid's assistance, approach Aragog and the acromantulas. He learned along time ago that the acromantulas were very dangerous beasts, if they could be controlled it would be his answer to Voldemort's dementors. Harry was also sure that Voldemort would have at the very least a few giants, perhaps if Harry trained and helped Grawp some giants would be less willing to fight. Harry didn't hold much hope for this plan but needed to try anyway. Hagrid's book had only one note on the elves which said simply If they want to talk, they will find you. Harry knew, however, that their skills in battle would be one of the most important parts in the outcome of the war. If Harry could work out an alliance with most of these creatures then he would get in contact with Charlie and pay a visit to the Dragon reservation in Romania. After that was taken care of he could put the second part of his plan into action.
Harry quickly dropped the charm on his curtains and made his way out into the common room where he found an anxious looking Ginny.
"Harry! Where have you been?" She asked, throwing her arms around him.
"Getting a few things done. I was about to go out into the forest and start talking to the Centaurs."
"No you aren't." Harry looked at her for a minute before responding.
"What do you mean, I'm not going?"
"I mean that you are going to wait until morning, it is getting way too dark out and I'm not sure I'm comfortable with you in the forest at night. In the morning, however, I'm going with you." Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Ginny silenced him with a quick kiss. "No arguments. Look at it this way, you may even look more trustworthy with me on your arm." Harry smiled and sat down next to her in front of the fireplace realizing that he could never best her in an argument. For the next hour they quietly went over Harry's plans for the school concerning Malfoy. He understood that Dumbledore wasn't making his announcement because it would create a rift between the students, but that was exactly what Harry wanted. He wanted the students forced to pick a side, this way he would know exactly who to be careful of and who he could trust. Harry also realized that the students fighting against Voldemort would need more training then Malfoy's goons, considering their parents had probably taught them some dark arts years ago. He could only hope that those who sided with him would soon come to realize the same.
After he explained the basis of his plan Ginny helped him work out the intricacies, both agreed that the sooner they went to work the better. Harry pulled the fake galleon out of his pocket and with a snap of his wrist summoned his wand. After scheduling a meting for the next night he settled back down with Ginny.
"Can I ask you a question, Harry?" She asked quietly, her head resting on his shoulder. They both continued to stare into the fire as Harry told her that she could. "How did you get out of my dorm this morning?" Harry had been afraid she was going to ask that.
"Let's take a walk." He said quietly, taking her by the hand and leading her outside. They walked hand in hand in complete silence until they reached the stretch of wall where the room of requirement was. After walking past it three times and thinking of a comfortable place where he could talk to Ginny, the door appeared.
Harry grabbed the knob and led his girlfriend into a quaint room that put him instantly at ease. Their was a nice couch in front of a warm fire, wooden floors with thick rugs, there were no harsh overhead lights, just a soft glow from the fire and nearby lamps. Harry took Ginny to the couch and sat her down next to him.
"Ginny, I apparated out of your room this morning." Harry watched her closely, but she didn't react.
"You took me here to tell me you learned how to apparate?" Harry suddenly realized that he wasn't the only one who hadn't read Hogwarts: A History.
"Ginny, no wizard is supposed to be able to apparate on Hogwarts grounds." It was like a light bulb went off in Ginny's mind.
"I'd forgotten that…But then how'd you…are you saying…What are you saying?"
"I'm saying, Gin, that normal magical restrictions and wards don't work against me. I can apparate through anti-apparition wards, I can walk through magical barriers, I can even use magic to move faster or with more control than others."
"What do you mean 'use magic to move faster' than other people, anyone can use the augmentus charm."
"I don't need it, when I'm particularly emotional I can just move faster without knowing I'm doing it. I've started to be able to control the ability, I did an interesting balancing act on a railway using magic to control myself, but I still didn't really think about what I was doing."
"And your saying that you can just walk through magical wards without needing to take them down?" Harry nodded. "But how did you and Ron get locked out of Platform 9 ¾ second year?"
"Because apparently something that happened this year triggered my ability. When I'm really emotional I can also conjure a gold patronus that kills dementors or use my sword as a conductor and kill them with that. I've tried to conjure the gold patronus by myself but it doesn't seem to work unless my friends are being attacked by an actual dementor."
"Have you tried to use this…ability?"
'Well, I've made a few trips to Diagon Alley and around school by apparating. I've also walked through McClaggan's wards in the dueling tournament. Aside from that no not really, why?"
"I'm just surprised you haven't tried to get through that veil. It's a magical barrier, so theoretically you could just walk in and out, right?" Harry froze, unable to speak. Could he get through the veil? If he could travel back and forth could he bring others with him? Was it worth the risk?
"I don't know if I can, I'm not really sure that I should try until I fight Voldemort. If I win then the wizarding world doesn't really need me. If I lose, well, I'll be with my family again anyway." Ginny threw her arms around him and cried into his shoulder.
"Don't talk like that. You're going to win and you're going to have a life afterwards. You deserve the chance to walk through that veil and say good-bye to your parents and Sirius, but if you don't want to do it yet then fine. But don't even think about dying, Harry Potter." Harry held her for a minute, smiling at how crazy her last comment had sounded. He wasn't thinking about dying, he was just saying that death is feared too much. He suddenly understood the meaning of Dumbledore's sayings. Death really was nothing more than the next great adventure. He, however, was wrong about one thing. For Voldemort their was nothing worse than death because he couldn't feel love and death would mean spending eternity without being able to get rid of those you hate. Dumbledore was wrong, Voldemort needed to die.
The next morning Harry awoke with Ginny nowhere to be found. He saw a note on the table next to the couch.
After Dumbledore caught us last time I thought it a good idea
To get back and sleep in my dorm. Come get me before you
Head out to the forest, I'm coming with you.
-Ginny
Harry walked back up to the Gryffindor Common room. He had considered apparating but didn't want to wake anybody up with the noise. Harry didn't know what time it was but it must have been early because the entire castle seemed empty. He sat in the common room thinking about all the information he had learned about the forbidden forest. He was still worried about the centaurs, however, because if he couldn't strike an alliance with them then he wouldn't be able to even walk through the forest. Suddenly Harry sprinted from the room, an idea coming to mind.
When Harry arrived at the door on the first floor he knocked carefully.
"Come in, Harry Potter." Harry opened the door slowly.
"Hi, Professor Firenze. I was wondering if you could give me some help."
"I am no longer your professor, Harry. But I can give you some help. You wish to speak with the centaurs."
"Yes, we will need them if we have any hope to defeat Voldemort." Firenze nodded.
"My advice to you, Harry Potter, is to use your authority. You are a born leader and they recognize it, they just choose to ignore it. Do not let them ignore it. I also recommend that you be wary of making concessions or promises that you are unwilling to uphold. Bane will want you to get rid of Hagrid's brother, but you know you will not, so tell them as much. Good luck, Harry Potter." With that Firenze trotted out of the room leaving a very confused Harry.
When Harry returned to the Great Hall Ginny was waiting for him.
"I was afraid you left without me."
"I'm too scared of you to do something like that." He quipped while sitting down next to her and grabbing some food. "I really would feel more comfortable if you didn't come with me, not today at least. The Centaurs can be very dangerous and I don't want to put you in a dangerous situation."
"You're not putting me in a dangerous situation. I'm putting me in a dangerous situation." Harry gave up the argument and continued to eat his food in silence. After they were finished they bundled up and headed outside.
Harry led Ginny right past Hagrid's cabin and into the forest. Ginny held back for a second before the realization dawned on him.
"This is your first trip into the forest, isn't it?" Ginny nodded quickly. "Are you sure you want to come?" Another nod. "Then don't worry, nothing will happen to you as long as you stay around me. Most of the creatures in their know me by now and will at least here me out. Just don't come in here during the night, it's not a fun place." Harry remembered that almost every time he had been in the forest so far had been during the night. The first time he went in with Hagrid in his first year and ran into Voldemort under Quirrel's turban. The second time he had gone in was the night Hagrid was sent to Azkaban, Dumbledore was removed from the school, and Harry almost got killed by hungry acromantulas. He was starting to think maybe the forest at night was pretty fun after all, looking back on it anyway.
Harry didn't realize how far he had walked while reminiscing, but he was snapped rather violently from his memories when an arrow went whizzing by his head and embedded itself with a THUNK in a nearby tree.
"That was a warning shot, Harry Potter. We will not warn you again, this is our forest and you are not welcome. Leave now." Harry turned to his left to see Bane holding a bow and arrow pointed straight at him.
"Lower your weapon, Bane. I have come to speak with you and your people." Harry said in a loud, confident voice. "And I'd appreciate it if you didn't try to hide the other six Centaurs, I can sense them from here." Bane lowered his bow and arrow to signal for his brethren to come out from their hiding spots.
"Leave now, Harry Potter. I will not warn you again." Bane turned to leave and Harry raised his voice again.
"Do not turn your back on me, Bane. I've come to speak with you and you will hear me." Bane turned to face Harry once again and met his cold glare.
"Who's authority do you speak with, Dumbledore's?"
"No, I speak with my own authority, and this." With a flourish Harry withdrew Gryffindor's sword and drove the tip into the dirt in front of him. When Bane recognized the weapon his eyes widened. "You recognize this weapon?" Bane paused as if considering how to answer the question.
"Yes, I recognize the weapon. My ancestors pledged to fight with the man who held it, but that was a long time ago."
"It was my ancestor who held this sword. And now I am here asking you whether you will fight with me."
"You wish me to submit my herd to your control, human?" Harry chose his next words very carefully.
"I would never ask you to submit to my control. If you agree to join and fight alongside me then I can use that to ensure your status with the ministry is changed. You will be given the chance to live where you wish. If you choose to fight I will not make you do anything you do not wish to do, I just want to coordinate our efforts so there is no…unnecessary loss of life." Bane considered this for a moment. Before he could respond a chestnut bodied centaur stepped forward. Harry immediately recognized him as Magorian, the Centaur who intercepted him, Hermione, and Umbridge in the forest the previous year.
"This one and his friends are deceptive. They brought that woman into the forest so that we could deal with her for them. They merely expect us to do their dirty work." Harry knew that the ease of his conversation had been too good to be true.
"Is this correct, Harry Potter? Do you only wish to use us to do your dirty work?"
"If I wanted you to be doing my dirty work then I wouldn't be fighting alongside of you." Harry realized that there were still some skeptical looks from the group so harry decided to take a risk. "As for last year…It is true that we led Umbridge into the forest with the hopes of running into you." At this Harry heard murmurs of anger so he decided to finish quickly. "However we did not wish for you to do our dirty work. We wished that you would aid us against a common enemy. Everything that that woman did to my friends and I paled in comparison to what she had done to you. She perpetuated the worst stereotype of wizards, she was arrogant. You didn't deserve the treatment you received because of her manipulations. You deserved a chance to meet her, to realize that she was not like all wizards, and to judge her for what she was. If this action aided us both, so be it." Harry stopped and looked around at the centaurs gathered before him. He knew that his words had surprised them, especially Magorian. It was at this point that Harry remembered their battle with Grawp. "I know you were…unhappy with having a giant living in the area. When I left last year you were battling with him. How are your people, Bane?" The Centaur looked up at him in surprise.
"No human has ever asked me about the well being of my herd. I sense that your concern is genuine, so I will answer truthfully. Four died in that attack, many suffered minor wounds. All of the injured have since returned to full strength, but we do not know the state of the giant. He ran from the battle with much blood on his face, I assume that he survived, but we have not heard of him since."
"I'm sorry for the loss." Bane nodded but said nothing.
"Mars is unusually bright." Harry whipped around to see one of the other centaurs staring at the sky. Even though it was daytime Harry had the funny feeling that they could still see the planet.
"That is because war is upon us. Voldemort will try to take the castle by force, if we do not stand together then we will both fall. Voldemort thinks much like Umbridge did, that pure blooded wizards are the only people in this world that matter. Whether you take up arms in the fight he will undoubtedly come after you. If the castle falls than you will have to run, but he will chase you."
"I will consider your words, Harry Potter. I must bring this decision before my full herd before any decisions can be made. For now feel free to move about the forest, we will cause you no harm. Be warned, we will only allow those that you accompany to pass through here. And it would behoove you to choose your actions carefully." Harry agreed. He took his sword from the ground and sheathed it, then, with a slight bow, led Ginny from the forest.
"When did you become so eloquent, Harry?" She asked as they raced up the stairs into the castle.
"I have no idea."