A centaur, towering two feet above him, stood, its pale eyes boring into Severus's. The half horse half humans pointed at least two dozen arrows at both Sev and Eli. One of them Sev recognized. It was Ronan. His reddish hair and short beard were clearly visible in the dark forest.

"Leave him be, Bane," said one of the centaurs to the one towering over Snape.

"Why should I do that? This human is trespassing on our grounds, and he brought an elf with him as well," retorted Bane, and he flicked his black tail with annoyance.

"These are dark times, or have you not been paying attention to the planets?" asked a pure white centaur, a female this time.

"I am Kabeth, but we have the right to capture and kill all who have invaded our territory. It is the right of all creatures to protect their territory," Bane was not about to give in.

"Mars has faded," said another of the centaurs, lowering his bow. As one, the others did the same and raised their heads to the sky.

"I beg forgiveness from your clan," began Severus seizing his opportunity. "But we have come on a peaceful mission. Two of our children are missing. They were left alone in the forest, and are without protection. This is the place where the tracks stop," Sev looked into Kabeth's face, searching compassion.

"Your task is a worthy one. We shall let you pass," she said. Bane was about to protest when she cut him off. "Moreover, we will lead you to your young, seeing as they are within our camp at the moment." Kabeth noticed a look of apprehension cross Severus' face. "Do not worry," she said laughing. "We do not hurt foals."

One by one, the centaurs left, leaving only Ronan, Bane, and Kabeth behind. Severus motioned Eli to go back to the castle. She hesitated, but did not dare disobey a direct order.

Severus followed the three centaurs very slowly, cursing his luck every step he took. It was only the thought of the two little kids further in the woods that kept him from turning around and fleeing to the Dungeons.

Remind me, why am I doing this again? It's Potter's fault that he just had to go in the forest on that blasted dog.

His inter-self gave a sigh. You're doing this because Dumbledore will do something uncharacteristically nasty to you if those kids aren't safe.

What if I go into hiding, grow a beard, dye my skin purple and change my name to Selfiski Leoniski?

Severus Snape, after you get out of the forest I want you to take a long, cold shower. This being a parent thing is really getting to you. Must be the air around kids.

Oh, but it would be fun. Just imagine the look on Albus' face!

Definitely the air.

A few minutes later, Severus was still in an argument with himself, and was losing spectacularly. Ronan had left the group, preferring to run ahead of the, in his opinion, very sluggish human. The other two couldn't blame him. Bane was muttering under his breath and shooting Sev dark glances. Kabeth rolled her eyes and turned to her companion.

"If you want to leave to bad, do so, and do not discomfort us with your presence." She looked over at Sev. "We are almost there now, it is only about fifteen away, though at the speed that you're going it might take a while."

Sev groaned inwardly. Why had he taken the job?

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"Is it much longer?" Sev asked after nearly three hours of jogging after Kabeth.

The centaur did not answer, but instead ran a few yards ahead and pushed her way through a wall of tall bushes. Severus hurried after, but found that he was not strong enough to do the same. He then looked helplessly at his surroundings. For at least half a mile on, the wall did not break, and stayed a constant seven feet. The forest was pitch black, and the trees were not fit to climb, so there was no way of knowing where he was without moving.

"Bloody centaurs, can't even lead a wizard properly," he said to no one in particular.

"Actually, we are quite precise, and lead one to the exact location of where said one wanted to end up," came Kabeth's voice through the bushes Severus reddened a few shades, before nodding his thanks to Kabeth, who had now came half-way though and was holding the bushes apart, took a deep breath, and went through.

A strange sight greeted him. Numerous centaurs, of all ages were doing something or other in the camp. The elders were eating in one corner, and discussing a topic, periodically looking up at the sky. Several she-centaurs were also huddled together, and were re building a fallen part of the wall. One or two centaurs were dozing in a rare patch of sun. There were centaurs that followed older ones, and were practicing different skills. Pairs of one young, one grown were constantly coming in and out of the clearing. The young ones are probably apprentices. Those who were at the peak of their power were helping others, or else practicing fighting, hunting, and discussing strategies. Those must be the warriors. A hut was to the left, and a strong smell of herbs and plants came from inside. A steaming cauldron was on the porch, and the centaur by it was brewing what Severus knew to be an advanced Healing Potion. I bet that Poppy doesn't know half the plants that medi-centaur has inside.

Yet another part of the camp was fenced off. The fence was high, maybe four or five feet, just enough for a full-grown centaur to jump over. The only gate was tied to the rest of the fence with strong vines and an apprentice was guarding it. Inside, there were many small nests, food, and other odds and ends. A small group of centaur children was playing with a hand made ball, throwing it back and forth amongst each other. Most were no more than three years of age, and only about three close to apprentice age. In the midst of it all, a read head, and a black head, bobbed in and out of view. Severus ignored everything else, and rushed toward Harry and Fred.

In the time that it took him to run forty or so yards, Severus wondered why he was doing this. This was Harry, he was Potter's son, and he, Severus, should have just left him in the woods, not sparing another thought. He was a Death Eater, a murderer. True, he was a spy, but many died at his hand before he became one. Now here he was, risking his life and going many miles into the forest just to rescue a child that was not even his.

Severus' mind went on auto pilot as he and the two toddlers made their way back to Hogwarts, a centaur was kind enough to give the three a ride, and so they were at the edge of the forest in no time. Both Harry and Fred kept silent during the journey, and their heads were lowered, expecting punishment. The Potions Master did not find it in himself to do so at the moment, and absent-mindedly knocked on Hagrid's door, and went inside.

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There, you have to wait no longer. I'm sorry that this took this long. I promise that you won't ever have to wait this long. I was just all caught in RL (real life) and completely forgot. My apologies. I know that this was short, but have pity; I was out of ideas on this chapter. I hope that the next will be a bit longer and Please review.

What I meant with 'something special with Ginny' in the vote is not like you think. This fic will not have romance or anything like that, because I just don't enjoy writing it that much. Besides, at the moment Harry is only one. What I mean is make her an important character.

~Miki

Preview of next chapter:

"But you promised that before. Besides, you can't sleep it's my birthday. You promised to take me to Diagon Alley, and I can chose four presents there, and then Fred and George get to come over.