The latest chapter is here, I hope you enjoy
I've had a few people comment that Hermione is out of character. I guess she is a bit out of character, but I really do think she would struggle with this change. Pushing her education back a year and living in a place where her intellect is of little value would be difficult for Hermione. And as much as I love her, I also remember how she treated Luna and her unusual views before they became friends, and it wasn't super open minded. Anyway, Hermione will be back to her amazing self soon, she will just struggle for a little while first.
I do not own Harry Potter.
Chapter 4
That night Harry and Hermione returned to their hut exhausted. It had been a busy day and completely different to what they were used to.
They laid in silence for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts.
"Do you think Sirius is OK?" Harry asked quietly.
He felt Hermione grip his hand firmly under their blankets.
"I'm not sure Harry. I do feel like that vision you saw could have been a trap though."
Harry nodded his head, then realised that she couldn't see him in the dimness, with only the moon and stars for light.
"I thought the same. There's nothing we can do about it now; I just have to hope that he's OK."
"Maybe talk to Firenze about it tomorrow? He seemed to know something."
Harry let out a sigh at Hermione's suggestion.
"I'm still upset at him. I thought we were kinda friends, you know? But he was the one who suggested this." Harry rolled on his side and looked at his best friend, "are you OK?"
Hermione rolled over as well so they were facing each other.
"Not really, no. I'm just so angry."
Harry flinched at her words.
"Not at you" she clarified. "Just at the whole situation. I don't want to miss a year of school; it will put me so far behind. I will miss my parents so much… and Ron. Gosh, I already miss Hogwarts and it's only been one day."
Harry let out a small chuckle, "I know, I miss it too."
"And what about Voldemort" Hermione continued. "What's going to happen with the war while we're here? I feel like we are abandoning them when they need us."
Harry ran his hands through his dark locks in agitation.
"I know Hermione, I feel the same way. But you heard what they said, there isn't anything we can do about it. We are magically bound for the next year and I for one intend to make the best of the situation." He hesitated for a moment, "maybe you should to."
"I'll try. I know I wasn't very nice today."
Harry made a non-committal sound in the back of this throat.
"Just think of it this way, we are one of the few people alive to ever see inside a centaur village, let alone live in it for a year. It's a massive learning opportunity."
Hermione brightened a little at that, "well that's true. Imagine the information we will be able to provide about centaurs and how they live when we get out of here. They're such a reclusive species hardly anything is known about them."
"That's the spirit" Harry said with a laugh. "So, you'll try a little harder to be nice tomorrow? I don't think they will put up with the attitude for long."
Hermione had the good grace to look embarrassed.
"I can't promise you anything, but I'll try."
"Good enough," Harry said as he pulled the blankets up higher.
"Have you tried using your wand since you arrived?" Hermione asked.
Harry nodded slowly, "after lunch when I went for a walk, nothing happened."
"I tried when I first woke up, couldn't even get my wand to spark. There's a special kind of magic here, different to what we're used to."
"I know," Harry agreed. "I can feel it all around me, it's nearly like a warm caress, comforting."
"It feels colder to me, like a crisp Autumn breeze" Hermione explained, and Harry furrowed his brow in thought, wondering why it felt so different to Hermione.
"You probably just need to get used to it."
"Probably" Hermione said with another sigh. "Good night Harry" she murmured as she rolled back over for sleep.
HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP
Harry slept peacefully that night, waking up early like usual but feeling much more rested.
Hermione groaned beside him and sat up, rubbing sleep from her eyes as she gained her bearings. Harry watched his best friend in amusement, it always took her a little while to get going in the mornings.
"I really need to have a wash and scrub my teeth today" the brunette murmured "and a change of clothes would be nice."
Harry bent his head and sniffed at his shirt, pulling back with a jerk at the strong smell that assaulted his nostrils.
"Definitely," he agreed.
Harry washed his face and hands in a bucket of fresh water sitting outside their hut, looking around to thank someone for the kindness, but no one was nearby.
Shrugging, he walked with Hermione to the centre fire, finding the meadow a hive of activity like the morning before.
Hermione wore a scowl on her face as they walked, but Harry knew that was just her usual early morning expression. Though the centaurs didn't know that, and Harry was concerned at how many he saw scowling back.
Hermione sat by the fire seemingly lost in thought, but Harry went over to the two centaurs preparing food again and asked if they needed help.
One glanced at him before returning to his work, the other however just handed Harry a knife and instructed him to do the same as the day before. They weren't particularly friendly, but Harry had spent his life around people who didn't really like him, so he just ignored them and got to work. It felt nice being useful.
When the gong sound for breakfast, Harry stepped back not wanting to get run over by a barrage of centaurs. He chuckled as he watched the centaurs laugh and nudge each other out of the way while trying to get their breakfast. The two foals, both males, wandered up and were instantly passed bowls of food. Both looked like teenagers and Harry realised he had no idea how centaurs looked when they were born or how long they were considered foals for. He added it to the list of things he wanted to learn about while he was here, a soft smile gracing his face as he watched the foals wander off to a shady spot to have their breakfast. It was nice to see the softer more light-hearted side of the centaurs.
By the time the crowds had cleared a bit Hermione was at his side and they got their breakfast together. Scooping large portions into their bowls.
They looked around, trying to find somewhere to sit before Heron waved them over.
"Harry, Hermione, how are you this morning?" Heron asked amicably as the two took a seat on the grass.
Seated Harry barely reached the centaurs chest, he knew it was going to take a while to get used to the height difference.
Hermione just shrugged.
"Very well, thank you. I slept great last night" Harry said with a grin. "Though I was wondering, what do you use to scrub your teeth around here? My mouth feels like something crawled inside it and died."
Heron chuckled at that.
"We use the indica plant," Heron looked around for a moment before spotting it on the edge of the meadow. "That one there" he pointed out. "Simply break a twig off and you have yourself a toothbrush."
Harry nodded gratefully.
"Thank God" Hermione muttered beside him.
"Are you all ready to beat some blankets this morning?" Kyros asked, joining their conversation.
The conversation continued and Harry was surprised at how easy the centaurs were accepting them. He then thought of the cold stares he had gotten from the two centaurs who were making breakfast and amended that thought, to how easy some of the centaurs were accepting them.
Before they could place their used breakfast bowls on the bench for cleaning, Firenze and Magorian approached with an unfamiliar centaur.
Harry stared for a moment; the approaching centaur was gorgeous. He froze, could he even think that about a centaur? He was tall and well-muscled like every centaur, but his coat was a silvery colour that nearly seemed to shimmer in the sun.
He heard a low chuckle and realised that he had been caught staring. He felt his face heat up and glanced up to find soft green eyes looking at him. Magorian chuckled as well but Firenze just stood there, arms crossed and a scowl on his face.
Harry smiled and tried to will away his blush.
"Harry, Hermione, I trust you're settling in well?" Magorian asked.
Both nodded before he continued.
"This is Jailk, he is the centaur we sent to inform your headmaster of what had occurred. We thought you may wish to hear how it went?"
Hermione perked up instantly.
"It did not go well" Jailk said gravely. "The headmaster was incensed; I have not had much to do with humans, but I have never seen one so angry. He kept ranting that Harry was needed to defeat the dark one."
Harry grimaced, of course that was what was most important.
"Did he say anything about me?" Hermione asked eagerly.
"He did not."
Hermione deflated rapidly at that.
"Of course, he is most concerned about Harry" she said lightly, though her face was troubled.
"Only cares about me in regard to Voldemort though. He doesn't actually care about me, just that I do the right thing, whatever that is."
The three centaurs shared a looked and then Firenze trotted forward and put a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder.
"I'm sure that's not true."
Harry thought about all the times had had been in danger at Hogwarts, about how he was sent back to Privet Drive every summer even after begging not to be returned.
"No, it is" he said in a small voice.
Hermione reached over and gripped his hand.
"Nevertheless" Jailk said. "He will not be able to reach you here, there is nothing he can do. For as long as you remain here you are safe."
Harry drew comfort from the words and nodded his head.
"Now off to your jobs" Magorian said clapping his hands, his nose wrinkling subtly. "And might I suggest a bath this afternoon?"
Harry let out a snort of laughter, "oh, don't worry I will be. What are we to do about clothes though?"
"Well, we have no human clothing here," Magorian said thoughtfully. "Please feel under no obligation to wear clothes now that you live here."
Harry's eyes popped at the idea of walking around naked, beside him Hermione let out a little choking sound.
"If you do feel the need to preserve your modesty, we do have some pelts and blankets that you can wrap and tie around yourselves."
Magorian pointed to one of the few female centaurs, who had a piece of cloth tied around her breasts.
"I can have some things sent to your hut later."
"Thank you… that uh, that'd be great." Harry stuttered, still surprised at the idea of having to walk around naked.
They left to catch up to Heron and start on their jobs for the day.
Their jobs passed much the same as the day before, Hermione grumbled nearly constantly next to him, but thankfully did it low enough that no one else was able to hear her.
It seemed there was just as many blankets and coverings as the day before and Harry assumed it must be the usual amount. It was hard work, but Harry found that he enjoyed it. Kyros was working with them and Harry found the older centaur quite charming.
He regaled Harry with tales from his youth and explained that centaurs usually lived for around 500 years.
Harry was flawed by the information, having no idea they lived so long! Even Hermione stopped her mumbled complaining to listen to the new information.
"Wow, I had no idea centaurs lived that long!" Harry said with awe.
Heron, Kyros and Aneka all gave a chuckle.
"So, at what age are centaurs considered adults?"
"It's usually around five years old. Centaurs are born around the toddler stage of development. We are able to stand and hold our bodies up only a few hours after birth. We do drink milk from our bearers for the first few months of life, but then we are able to transition to more solid foods."
Harry nodded, taking all the new information in, but Hermione made a small noise of disgust beside him.
Kyros frowned and eyed the young witch carefully.
"Is there a problem Hermione?"
Harry willed his friend to just keep her mouth shut, but Hermione had never been good at that.
"You said bearer, does that mean that the males are able to breastfeed not just the females?"
"Why, yes, of course. A male will grow lovely full breast while pregnant so that he can feed his young."
Hermione's face twisted and Kyros' hooves stamped in agitation.
Before things could escalate Harry interrupted.
"Well, that makes sense" he said, with forced brightness. "How else would the foals get fed otherwise."
"I guess," Hermione mumbled, and Harry was a little disappointed when Kyros returned to his own work without another word. He had been enjoying their conversation.
HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP
After hours of work, they were finally done. Everything was hanging on branches, drying, ready to be collected later in the afternoon.
Harry waved goodbye to Heron, Kyros and Aneka and started walking back towards their hut.
"Are you coming for a wash?" Harry asked Hermione as they walked.
"Ah… maybe later. I think I may go for another walk around the village and explore some more."
Harry got the distinct impression she just didn't want to wash with him and for that he was eternally grateful.
Hermione gave him a small wave before walking off, while Harry went back to their hut to grab the clothes that had been left for him. He rummaged through the pile near the entry. There were no shirts, just the wraps to go around Hermione's breasts and what looked like loin clothes. A rectangle shaped cloth that had elongate corners, he assumed were used to tie around his hips. He also noticed a small bar of a yellow-coloured soap. He blushed slightly at the idea of walking around in just the loin cloth, but there was little he could do. So, he picked up one that was a deep brown colour, and the soap and made his way in the direction of the bathing area Magorian had told him about.
The bathing area was larger than Harry was expecting, it was several areas that had been carved into the side of the river creating semi circles where the water didn't flow as rapidly and was warmer. There was a gentle incline from the bank into the water, but then it looked as if the water got quite deep the further out you went.
Harry didn't know why he was so surprised that the bathing areas weren't empty. It was just after work time after all, surely this was a common time for centaurs to bathe. But still, he stood frozen for a moment when he realised there were five centaurs already spread out amongst the two bathing pools. He felt eyes on him as he approached the pool with only two centaurs, conversation halting as they watched his approach.
He scratched behind his head awkwardly. "Ah, is it ok if I join you?"
"Of course, human, I can smell you all the way from here."
Harry grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry about that, it takes a surprising amount of effort to get the blankets and things clean."
The other centaurs nodded in understanding. From this angle it was hard to tell that they were actually centaurs at all, only their human halves were out of the water, the rest was covered. It gave him a good idea of the depth of the pool.
He turned to a large rock nearby and began to strip, placing his dirty clothes in a pile. He turned to walk towards the water only to realise that every centaur was staring at him, completely unashamed of Harry's nudity. He let out a rather embarrassing squeak and tried to cover himself as he rushed toward the water. Running straight in until the water was at his shoulders.
His faced burned red as he heard loud laughter surrounding him.
"No reason to feel embarrassed Harry, you have a beautiful body."
This just made Harry blush harder, which he gathered was the idea, as the centaurs laughed again.
He ducked his head under the water letting the cool water settle his flaming cheeks. When he came up for air the centaurs were still watching him.
"What?" He asked, annoyed.
"You have many scars, human. You must be a strong warrior to have survived so much." The centaur with soft red hair said.
Harry just blinked at the sort of compliment.
"Ah, no, not really. Mostly just lucky."
The centaurs eyed him in disbelief but didn't comment further.
"I am called Lars, this is Linus, Thales, Acker and Cedar." The large centaur said, indicating to the other centaur around them. "We make up the hunting party at the moment."
"Hunting party?" Harry asked curiously.
"Yes, we go out hunting for the meat for meals and gather things like berries that grow around the area."
Harry nodded in understanding. He honestly hadn't thought a lot about where the meat for dinner had come from last night, but it made sense that some of the centaurs went hunting.
"Well, thank you for the wonderful food you provide." Harry said sincerely.
Harry missed the looks of surprise that flitted across the others faces as he ducked back under the water and scrubbed roughly at his hair. It was when he came up that he realised he had left his soap with his clothes in his mad dash to get into the water.
He let out a low groan.
"Any chance you could all look somewhere else while I grab my soap?"
"The body is a beautiful thing," the centaur named Linus chuckled.
Harry just rolled his eyes, who knew centaurs were such free spirits.
He covered himself as best he could and made a dash for his soap. As he made his way back to the water, he was thankful that the centaurs weren't watching him and had returned to their conversations.
As he sunk back down into the warm water and began to scrub himself clean, he felt himself start to relax for the first time in days. He spent the better part of the afternoon floating or paddling around and listening to the centaur's conversations, he didn't join in often but enjoyed listening. It was obvious they had all know each other for a long time. Two of the group were happily mated to the two centaurs who cooked breakfast. Harry learnt that their names were Ash and Kalai and were apparently very friendly once you got to know them. Somehow Harry doubted that just a little.
He laid in the water, watching the clouds float by thinking about how quiet it was here, when he was struck with a realisation. He tensed and sat up suddenly, accidentally splashing Cedar in his rush.
"Harry, what's wrong?" Lars asked with concern. The other centaurs were eyeing the forest around them and starting to move out of the water.
Harry took in their tensed body language.
"Sorry!" Harry gasped as he stumbled out of the water, water dripping over his naked body. "I just thought of something I need to talk to Hermione about."
He hurried to where he left his things, grabbing the loincloth and tying it haphazardly around his waist.
"It was lovely to meet you all!" Harry called over his shoulder as he hurried back towards the meadow. The centaurs shared a bemused look as the green-eyed teen scurried away.
"Hermione! Hermione!" Harry called as he ran into the clearing. He missed the eyes that trailed him as he ran around searching for his friend. He eventually found her lying in the shade under a big oak tree, she had sat up startled at his rapid approach.
"Hermione," he gasped, leaning over as he tried to catch his breath. "I can't feel him anymore, I just realised - I can't feel him anymore!"
"Feel who?"
"Voldemort! There's no murmurs in my head, no visions, no pain, nothing. With so much happening I've only just realised. Do you think it means he's dead?"
"Oh, Harry, I doubt it. Dumbledore was just saying that you are needed to defeat him, why would he say that if he was already dead."
Harry deflated slightly at the sound logic.
"It could be that the magic that surrounds the glade, is blocking him out as well. Oh, I wish I had some books to research, I would be able to tell you what's happening" Hermione growled in frustration.
Harry just grinned. "Hey, whatever it is I'm bloody grateful. Even if it is just the glade, a whole year without that psychopath in my head, sounds like bliss to me!"
Hermione smiled back.
"Here there is no Voldemort to worry about, here there is just Harry."