Disclaimer : I do not own Harry Potter, nor the characters, only the plot…the rest is all J.K.Rowling's… (this is getting old!)

A/N: Enjoy the chapter!

Previous chapter :

Miles away from where the teenagers stood, at the Hogwarts castle, two Gryffindors were desperately fighting for their lives.

'They won't make it if the others don't get back with the cure fast' Mme Pomfrey told the other man in the room.

'They will be back. But for now, they have to deal with the loss of a friend' Dumbledore whispered, as a lone tear slid on his cheek.

But all may not be lost, he told himself.

Back in the clearing, Hermione was still sobbing desperately onto Polar, her tears falling on the centaur's chest. Draco approached her slowly from behind, and whispered 'Granger… Hermione!'

She looked up at him, her soft brown eyes full of tears. Ginny and Blaise came behind her too, and they looked at her. Finally, Ginny kneeled next to Hermione and held her friend in her arms while she cried all the tears in her body.

Draco and Blaise could only share a sad look and wait for Hermione to calm down.

It took her minutes, but she finally regained her composure, and whipping away tears, stood up, closely followed by Ginny.

'Draco, Blaise, let's get the cure' she said, her voice still shaking.

Draco shook his head in negation and he locked eyes with the Gryffindor. 'We won't get the cure until you tell us what happened to Polar.'

Hermione closed her eyes and took a deep breath, fighting her tears back, then stood once more on the ground near Polar and motioned for her friends to sit there too.

When they were all seated, Hermione turned her gaze to Polar and, stroking the centaur's chest with her hands, she began 'The cure can indeed only be found by an enemy of those in danger. When at the cure, the friend and the enemy will be the only ones able to take it. But I once read in a book that something else was required, though I didn't believe it.'

Tears streamed down Hermione's cheeks as she said the last part. Taking in deep breaths to calm herself down, she went on 'The other thing required was the soul of a noble beast of the Forest.'

This time, Hermione just couldn't hold the tears in and she started sobbing onto Polar's shoulder. 'When Polar came back, I was afraid he had come with a good reason. But I didn't want to believe it. This morning, when I found the light, I knew that he had chosen to help us. A-and now, he's d-dead.'

Ginny didn't try to calm Hermione down, for she knew the latter needed to say good-bye to her friend. She could only watch in silence, as did Draco and Blaise, the tears of the Gryffindor fall on the centaur's head.

Finally, it seemed that Hermione didn't have any more left, and she stood up shakily.

'Good-bye, Polar. You will always remain in my heart.'

She then turned to the three teenagers that were waiting. 'Who is going to take the cure?'

Ginny and Blaise shared a look, then turned to Draco and Hermione 'ou two will.'

'You sure you don't mind?' Hermione asked Ginny.

The latter shook her head and smiled slightly.

Then, Hermione turned to Draco and asked 'You ready?'

The Slytherin nodded and then both of them approached the cure.

They didn't see the silver light envelop Polar, all their attention focused on the cure.

Bending over, they touched it and were surprised at the softness of its petals. As soon as their fingers touched the flower, a golden and silver light erupted from it, and enveloped the four teenagers, but also the centaur.

Hermione and Draco shared bewildered looks, and tried to let go of the flower, but their fingers were just stuck to it.

They stood up slowly, the flower still in their hands, and made a move to get closer to Ginny and Blaise. But they bumped into something they couldn't see, it was sort of like a magical circle.

Hermione and Draco tried once again to get out of the circle, but it wouldn't let them. Then, as soon as the light appeared, it disappeared, leaving the four teenagers with a warm fuzzy feeling inside.

The Gryffindors and Slytherins shared an astonished look, and then the two that were in the circle got out.

As soon as they were out, Hermione took out her wand and performed a spell on the flower to keep it intact in a crystal bull.

It was then that Hermione saw Ginny and Blaise gaze at something behind her, a weird gleam in their eyes….

(a/n: okay, so I think I'll end this chapter here, what do you think? Muahahahahah…. Lol I'm not THAT evil, and I know that many of you have waited for it so... Keep on reading!)

She turned around, followed by Malfoy, and---- thought she would faint right then and there.

Miraculously, tough, her legs held her up and she began taking baby steps to the one that she had thought dead.

'Little Tiger' he said.

'Polar!' Hermione cried, and ran with all her might into the centaur's open arms.

The centaur engulfed her into a bear hug, whispering soothing words to her as she began crying once again.

When she calmed down, they were joined by the other teenagers that had been staying at a short distance to let the two talk privately.

'Polar, I'm glad you're okay' Draco said.

'You gave us one hell of a scare' Blaise went on.

'But, Polar?' asked Ginny hesitantly 'How?'

Hermione pulled away from Polar's hug and asked him 'Yeah, how come you're alive? I saw you on the grass, Polar…'

Stroking the girl's hair, the centaur softly said 'Like the ball of light, Tiger, it's a magic more ancient than time. When the golden light enveloped you, it created a bond between you, a sort of a promise that never again you will be enemies. When you cried, Hermione, those tears were so pure that they were given a power by the light.'

Hermione's eyes widened 'The power of healing' she went on.

Polar nodded, then he looked at the teenagers, and his gaze stopped on the crystal ball that Ginny was holding. 'Let us take that back to the castle to heal your friends' he said.

The teenagers nodded, and happily took the walk back home to the castle that held so many memories for them all.

Back at the castle, in the hospital wing, Dumbledore sighed happily. He took a look to Harry and Ron who were laying on the beds, and whispered 'Keep it up, boys, the cure is on its way.'

He then turned to watch the sun set, thinking of friendship and what the future held. It may not be all shiny, but who said the future couldn't be changed?

THE END

Well, that's it… I hope you enjoyed the story… There will be a sequel to it, but it will only be a oneshot… The sequel's title is 'A Permanent Truce'…

Keep an eye out for it!

Oh, and please review while you're here!

Tigerlilystar

P.S.

Don't forget to take a look at my profile…a list of my upcoming stories is written there!