Chapter 6

"Arrival"

Wizard opinion on centaurs is varied. Some extremists think they are no more intelligent than dogs or cats, and that their ability to talk is similar in nature to that of a parrot's voice mimicry. Others think they are the true seers of the magical world, beings meant to be worshipped as gods and goddesses. Their predictions, no matter how outlandish, are most undeniably truth. Thankfully, none of these witches and wizards resided at Hogwarts. Most of the staff viewed centaurs in an accepting light, and the students were too frightened of them to have a proper opinion.

Perhaps with the exception Hermione Granger, who had an opinion on everything and had read all about them and thought they were simply fascinating beings.

But that is neither here nor there.

The point was, while the staff was largely unperturbed by the arrival of Severus and Harry, the student body was abuzz with rumors and speculations.

Harry and Severus were in the hospital wing, cloistered away in the back and hidden by stark white curtains. Thankfully, Harry's smaller size allowed him to fit (however uncomfortably) onto one of the larger cots in the hospital wing. Poppy Pomfrey had originally made a fuss to the amused Headmaster that she was not a veterinarian for magical beasts. Then she had caught sight of Severus and his glare and decided that children were a great deal like animals, and that Harry's malady seemed to be a relatively simple one anyway. She would be happy to help.

As Harry (and many others) would soon come to learn, Severus was not above using his size and dark features for the noble art of intimidation.

When Poppy had finished her work and left them in privacy, Harry still unconscious, Albus Dumbledore took his seat and focused his merrily twinkling blue eyes on Severus.

"I'm glad you've found some company, Severus. I worried about you living all alone in the forest."

Severus was not about to let the Headmaster entertain such a ridiculous notion.

"He is certainly not my company by choice. He was being pursued by wolves and I saw fit to rescue him. Not because I cared, of course, but because I detest wolves and enjoy slaughtering them. Beyond that, I merely wished to test my potions on him. After all, it is rare that I have an injured, larger specimen. I grow tired of poisoning squirrels and drugging chipmunks." Severus spoke in a low, slow voice, so that his speech took quite a while to deliver. Dumbledore realized it was the most he had ever heard the centaur say at one time.

Albus felt his lips twitch upwards into a smile. 'Me thinks he doth protest too much…' he thought wryly, watching the enormous centaur try to appear completely ambivalent about the slumbering boy. He wondered, though, just what their exact relationship was. Though he was a very learned man, centaur society was so shrouded in mystery that little was known about how they related to each other. Was this a father/son relationship that was blooming? Was Severus to become his mentor? Though Albus highly doubted it, Severus could even be acting as some kind of spiritual adviser to the young man.

And then there was the possibility Albus was most hopeful about. Severus might have found a mate. While the idea would have sounded perverted, unbelievable, and even disgusting to many others, Albus was a sucker for the bizarre. He was also a fan of the underdog, and if this unlikely pair were to try a relationship, their odds of making it would be low indeed. Whatever it was, it was sure to be dramatic. And Albus Dumbledore, by his own admission, was a drama queen if ever there was one. The soap opera that was Hogwarts amused him to no end.

It was lucky, he mused, that he would have ample opportunity to observe the two in the future if things went as he planned. They usually did. He was good like that.

"I did not mean to offend you, my old friend. I was merely surprised to see you with another centaur. You do not have to explain your actions to me. Let us talk no more of it. We have more pressing things to discuss, and little time with which to discuss them…"

That was how the conversation began, and despite Albus's claim they had little time, their chat stretched long into the night and concluded with Severus's weary acceptance of the recently vacated potions position. Harry and Severus, much to the latter's chagrin, would be moving to Hogwarts.

Harry awoke the next morning to an overly bright medical wing. Groaning, he nuzzled deeper into the luxurious thing underneath his head. It was delightfully soft, like a sack of feathers, and smelled faintly of lavender. It reminded him of Severus's cave, but he knew he was not there. Too much light.

'I really need to quit waking up in strange places,' Harry mused to himself as he groggily cracked an eye open. The first thing he saw, much to his relief, was his large companion lying on the floor, his head and upper body slumped over an uncomfortable looking…thing. Harry's eyes widened as he studied his strange surroundings. It was certainly not a cave. There was too much shining metal and perfectly woven cloth. In the world of centaurs, cloth was a rare luxury. This white, shining room seemed to be draped in it. He was definitely not among other centaurs then.

Slowly his memory came back to him.

The murdered unicorn. The giant and the little humans. The two-legs he had brutally killed in the heat of the moment. Bile rose up the back of his throat and he felt sick to his stomach remembering it. Yes, he had been angry and frightened, but it had been a very rash thing to do. Why had he just rushed into it like that? Severus hadn't gotten so emotional. He'd probably made himself look like a stupid child in front of the older centaur.

Harry chided himself for thinking of something as petty as what Severus thought of him when he had just ended a life.

'A life that had also just ended a life,' A little voice replied in his brain. Harry squinted his eyes closed again, moaning a bit as he pulled at his hair, not ready to face his actions or thoughts. At least he hadn't had disturbing dreams. He was confused enough already.

His noise woke Severus who jerked upright instantly. Then he winced, as his muscles must have protested the harsh movement. Tentatively, Harry reached out a hand and placed it on the older centaur's shoulder.

"Don't worry. They've left us alone. We're alright…for the moment," Harry comforted, temporarily forgetting how at ease Severus had seemed the prior night around the two-legs. He wrongly assumed that Severus shared his fear of the humans, and that his restless sleep was because of their hosts lurking beyond the white cloth.

Severus, however, snorted at his attempt to offer comfort. He brushed off the delicate hand and stood slowly, working the blood back through his limbs. He paid no attention to Harry, nor did he even acknowledge him. He stared through a crack in the curtains that Harry couldn't see through at his angle.

He looked lost in thought, and slightly irritated. Harry suddenly ached for the warmth of Sirius, and wished desperately that he was back home.

Severus, though Harry didn't see it, did acknowledge Harry. His black eyes took in every detail. In a single second, he checked how Harry was breathing, the lucidity in his eyes, the healthy flush on his cheeks. He scrutinized his pale skin and his pebbly nipples. The room was cold, and neither of them had been offered a blanket. He saw the way the boy seemed to shrink even smaller, a desolate look coming over his features and a longing fill his deep eyes. Perhaps he was thinking of the security of a cave. Perhaps he was wishing for the comfort of his herd members.

Severus could offer him neither, but he could get him a blanket. He slipped between the curtains, grateful there wasn't a gaggle of children waiting for his appearance, and picked up a folded blanket off a nearby cot. He returned to Harry's bedside, unfolding the blanket and draping it around Harry's torso. The man-colt shivered, just then realizing how cold he was, then snuggled gratefully into the blanket. He offered Severus a dazzling smile in thanks. Severus couldn't bear to look at such a sweet gesture aimed at him for more than a brief second. It pained him, though he didn't know why. He had long ago given up on ever meeting another centaur that wouldn't treat him with anything but scorn and derision. Harry's unexpected arrival into his life, like a green eyed tornado that wreaked havoc on his neatly ordered existence, was suddenly was too much to handle. He needed to be alone, to reflect and to meditate.

Yet…he couldn't leave Harry by himself with witches and wizards. He obviously knew nothing about them, and might naively mention what had really happened to Quirrell, rather than the neatly fabricated story the Headmaster had concocted.

Then Severus remembered.

"You little imbecile! What in Reiki's name were you thinking last night! You can't even comprehend the trouble you've caused me. It's your fault we're stuck here," Severus vented, though he made sure to curb the brunt of his anger. He'd thought he'd been quite gentle, considering the circumstances, but he realized too late he'd invoked the colt's fiery temper.

The grateful smile was entirely gone. The colt had turned his head away angrily, his hands knotted into fists around the covers. His jaw was clenched, and instead of looking properly chastised, he looked as though Severus had just kicked him and he was spitting mad.

And Severus was struck with the unsettling idea that the colt was beautiful when he was angry. He had seen it the night before, and it was a sight he would never forget. Absorbed in the memory, he failed to notice when Harry's anger drained away and he sniffled. He rubbed his nose with the back of his hand.

"You're right," Harry half-whispered. "I'm sorry. I…I…killed him, didn't I? I can't even say I didn't mean to. I wanted him to die. I wanted him to suffer for what he did. But I didn't mean to drag you into all this. I really am sorry."

To his credit, the colt didn't cry. His eyes got watery, and he sniffed a few more times, but he didn't break down. Severus's low amount of respect for him crept ever so marginally up.

"You…are forgiven. In the future, you will refrain from being so rash and emotional, especially around humans. Those are not qualities a centaur should display." The scolding was not met with any reply, and Severus had no idea that his future (and numerous) attempts to mold Harry into a reserved, methodical stallion such as himself would be a complete and utter waste of time. Being raised by Sirius had affected him deeply.

After the serious mood had faded, and no humans had appeared to frighten him, Harry became ridiculously chatty. Severus assumed he was trying to distract himself from the terrifying events of the previous night, but the excuse made it no less annoying.

"What's this called?" Harry asked, holding up the feather filled pillow.

"That is a pillow," Severus replied in a tone that suggested he didn't want to answer anymore inane questions.

"What do they call this thing that I'm on?" Harry asked, bouncing a bit experimentally. Severus rolled his eyes in irritation.

"A bed – it's the same term we use."

"What's that?" Harry queried, pointing at the chair he'd slept on. Severus felt his muscles ache and remembered his earlier wish for solitude.

"A chair," he gratingly replied, feeling a tick start in his left eye.

Oblivious, Harry continued on his dangerous course of questioning.

"What about that? What do the two-legs use that for?" He was pointing now to the clock on the bed stand. Severus turned away, massaging his temples and trying to count to keep his temper. Severus didn't see Harry spot the bedpan on the floor. The colt scooped it up and examined it quizzically. When it didn't bite him or cause him any bodily harm, Harry became inventive. "Is this some kind of protective head wear?"

Severus turned to berate him for being an idiot, only to be greeted by a completely ridiculous sight. He could only smile…and then laugh - the first time he'd done so in years. A look of complete seriousness on his face, Harry was sprawled on the oversized cot, holding the pillow in one hand, the clock pressed against his ear, and the bedpan on his head.

Severus pressed a hand to his mouth to cover his amusement, shaking his head a few times in pure amazement. Eventually, he recovered enough to snatch the bedpan off Harry's head before Madam Pomfrey entered. Harry immediately recoiled from her, skittish as…well…a colt. He could tell introducing Harry to the world of wizards was going to be no small task, though if the bedpan was anything to judge by, it was certainly going to be an amusing one.

A/N: I know how deplorably late this was, but I hope it was worth waiting for. I'm finally done with finals, and I have the whole summer to relax and recover. I was worried I'd lost the feel of this story, but Empathic Siren was wonderfully encouraging. You owe this update to her.