A/N: Another chapter up in record time, if I do say so myself! Well, maybe not record time, per say…

The centaur, Metis, stared at the two boys with obvious curiosity. He looked eagerly back at the bushes, where many centaurs were emerging. Soon hostile looking centaurs surrounded the James and Sirius.

The boys seemed to realize around the same time that Metis was about half the size of the other centaurs, with triple the curiosity.

"Did I do good, Daddy?" He asked another centaur, who came up next to him. His father sighed heavily, "You're supposed to be fierce, Metis, you don't tell them your name and be friendly. They are a superior species, and they have very small brains. They'll think you want to be their friend or something."

Metis looked vaguely surprised. "But they seem like nice children, Daddy! Why can't I be friends with them? Could I at least give them a tour of our forest?"

"No, Metis! They are not our friends!"

"But, Daddy, I've been watching them since they came out of a cave. They seem harmless, and very nice."

Another centaur spoke up. "C'mon Epimetheus, give the boy a break! He does need friends, and it isn't very often centaurs and humans make contact. And if the human boys are mean, he'll learn his lesson, won't you, Metis?"

"Yes, sir!" Metis exclaimed excitedly! "So, can I Daddy? Can I be friends with the human boys?"

The father, Epimetheus, grunted. "If you think you can handle such a responsibility, I suppose it would be an interesting experience."

"Of course, Daddy! I know what I'm getting into, don't worry!"

"Would you be alright if I left you with these humans for a while, then?"

"I know how the use the bow, Daddy, so I think I'll be safe. You go ahead, and I'll give them a tour of our forest!"

With a final nod, the rest of the centaurs, Epimetheus included, left. Metis grinned innocently at the boys, "So, d'you want a tour, or what?"

"I'm Metis. Daddy is sort of protective, but he doesn't really have anything against humans. Who are you?"

"I'm James and this is Sirius." He nodded toward Sirius, who had regained his cool posture.

Suddenly, Metis stopped. They had arrived at a clearing, with a perfect view of the sky above. The sky was clouded, so the centaurs couldn't stare at the stars, even if they wanted to. (Luckily for James and Sirius!)

"Are you two brothers?" Metis asked, sitting down.

Sirius grinned. "You could say that."

James laughed and nodded happily. The three friends talked and laughed for hours, until they all fell asleep. They slept peacefully that night. They felt safe in each other's company.

When Sirius woke up the next morning, he could smell freshly dewed moss. It was a wonderful smell and Sirius opened his eyes to find that the clearing they had stopped in was quite beautiful in the daylight.

The trees around them were much like evergreens; only they had beautiful pink and white flowers all over the branches. The grass was a lovely, dark green, full of life and covered in dew. Hanging off the trunks of the trees was soft green moss.

It was all lovely and Sirius couldn't help but feel more peaceful than he had in months, more peaceful than he had ever felt. He wasn't sure just how long he sat, staring at the beautiful scenery before James and Metis silently joined him, but it felt like only a couple of seconds. A couple of seconds of long-awaited peace.

Too soon, the boys were following Metis down a path.

He was giving them a tour of the forest, as he had promised. The trees were growing thicker and were blocking out more of the sun. Metis stopped when it seemed like if they went any further they would be swamped by darkness.

"This is as far as I'm supposed to go. I've gone farther with Daddy once, but it was too dangerous, so we turned back before too long. I've heard there are giant spiders that way, but I've never gotten close enough to actually find out. Which is good." Metis explained. "Anyway, we should turn back. Oh – I can show you this really neat swamp place!"

"Ok!" The boys chimed together. They found that Metis was a good friend, with their good sense of humor. He was also a very good tour guide. He took them to only the best places! When they rested, it was the most comfortable place he could find for them and now they knew how they were going to get back to Hogwarts.

They had yet to ask him, but they had no doubts in their minds that he would object. They could still see each other, at any rate. Perhaps they could even write.

It was nearing nightfall again, so the three friends rested. They sat in silence for a while before James decided to break the ice.

"Metis?"

"Yes, James?" Asked Metis in a dreamy voice, staring up at the starry sky.

"Do you know where Hogwarts is?"

Metis was still staring at the stars and the crescent moon. "Yes, it's southwest from here, I do believe… The moon is oddly dull tonight. D'you think it's sad?"

Sirius stared, befuddled at Metis. "Do I think the moon is sad?" Sirius asked blankly. "Well, I suppose it could be sad, but it could also be mad. Did you ever think that maybe the moon would get mad because the sun outshines him?"

Metis seemed to come to some sort of realization in that second, because then he said, "Yes! Yes, that must be it! You are a genius, Sirius Black! A true genius!"

James looked at the two weirdoes that were his friends in an amused sort of way. "Can we get back on track, please, you guys? Can you take us to Hogwarts, Metis?"

Metis finally turned his head away from the sky to look at James. "Why on Earth would you want to go there?"

"Well, we live there. Until summer break, anyway. We somehow got stuck in that cave and then we found our way to you and the other centaurs." James explained.

"By Neptune – how did you get to the cave? It's quite a difference in distance, y'know!"

"Yes, we know that it's quite a different distance, and no, we don't know how we got to the cave." Sirius said.

"Oh, well, I guess I can take you back to Hogwarts." Metis looked hurt, though. "Are – will you visit?"

"Of course we will!"

Metis looked a lot happier at the thought and they began walking again. "Alright! Write and tell me what happens, kay?"

"Kay!" The boys chorused. They would be true to their word.

Metis led the boys through the darkness, and the trees began to thin out a bit more. The moon wasn't casting much light, but Metis seemed to know where he was going. "We're almost there."

Not long after that the boys saw Hogwarts in the distance. They were finally going back. Metis stopped as they reached the end of the forest. "Alright, we're here. You promise you'll write, then?"

Sirius, to excited to contain himself, began to breath more heavily than usual. Nonetheless, he managed to get out, "…course… we… will…"

James grinned. "What are friends for, Metis?"

"Alright, should I leave you here, then?"

Sirius tried to answer, but his words didn't make it to his throat in time. James answered, "Yeah, we'll be able to make it from here. Thanks… Say, whom do we address the letters to? Just, 'Metis the Centaur'?"

"Yeah, that'll do! See ya, mates!"

They waved until Metis disappeared into the forest.

The two boys walked slowly toward the castle. They would have walked a lot faster (and it bothered Sirius a lot), but James was still practically blind without his glasses, and he had to use Sirius as support to walk.

As the boys stumbled along, they noticed that the air seemed thinner. They had to breath faster to get a good amount of oxygen. There was what sounded like a twang and James fell for what must have been the billionth time.

Sirius managed to keep his balance, despite James' attempts to bring him down too. Sirius reached down to help his friend up, but James didn't reach up. He lay motionless on the ground, growing paler by the second.

Sirius wasn't sure, but it did look like James had stopped breathing. Terrified, Sirius shouted to his friend as he began to run toward the castle, "Stay here, I'll be right back!"

He ran lickety-split into the Entrance Hall and down a hallway. He nearly ran into Professor McGonagall on the way. He was totally out of breath and he just stood trying to breathe for a few seconds. McGonagall stared at him, unbelieving.

"Mr. Black, is that you?"

"Yeah – it's…" He struggled to catch his breath. "It's me – ma'am. James – on the grounds… I think he's hurt."

Well, it isn't the best place to end it, but I'm no good at cliffhangers… Plus, I don't want to feel extremely guilty about getting this out really late, so here it is!

InsanePirate: I am so sorry… I put up the beginning of this chapter up for the last chapter by accident! It's no wonder you're confused. When I first read your review, I thought maybe I didn't explain enough. Lucky I decided to check online, eh:)

Jamie88: Yay! I'm glad you like it!

KicKstand: I'm glad I'm still a good describer after by – erm – break… Yeah, that's it, my break:D Lovely review:)