"Um, Harry?" Fred spoke up. "Sorry to interrupt, but—"
"We can't keep this up forever, you know," George said, finishing his brother's thought.
Harry glanced at the barrier, which sure enough, was beginning to fade and shake in an alarming manner.
"Harry, what do we now?" Ron practically wailed.
"We need a plan. Hermione," he addressed his friend, who was kneeling at Luna's side. "Can you think of anything about centaurs that could help us?"
"W-Well," she stammered, "centaurs are a species of magical beast whose lower torso and legs resemble a horse's body, while the higher torso resembles a human's. They are most commonly found in the forest regions of Europe, including Greece, Great Britain, and Croatia. Their skin color is white or tanned, and their eye color—"
"Hermione." He put up a hand to stop her. "I don't need the encyclopedia, just anything that can help us right now. Like do they have any weaknesses or things that they hate?"
"Yes…yes, I think that I remember reading something about them disliking water. It was in the third volume of Meribah's Magical Beasts Catalog!"
"Water…that's perfect, Hermione! There's a lake not far from here. I remember seeing it during the Triwizard Tournament, when I was riding that dragon!"
"But there's no way we'll make it there before they catch us," she said. "They're too fast, Harry."
"We'll need a way to stop them…or at least slow them down." He thought for a moment, then turned to the group. "How many of you know how to cast impedimenta?"
"Harry…!" Fred said nervously, as the barrier shook violently once again.
"I know! Just try your best to hold it for another minute. We're almost ready."
He turned back to the group, where every student, besides little Dennis Creevey, had their hands raised.
"Great," he said. "When I give the signal, I want you all to cast it at the centaurs."
"Wait a second, Harry," Ron said in a worried voice. "Just because I know how to cast it, doesn't mean I can actually hit anything."
"That's alright," he said. "There's only six centaurs, and there's eleven of us. As long as about half of us hit the mark, we'll be fine. Even better, if more than one of us hit one, it will double the effect of the spell."
"I think you've got your math wrong, Potter," Malfoy objected. "There's twelve of us minus the pipsqueak and the loony girl."
"Neville won't be casting it because he'll be carrying Luna," Harry said. He turned to Neville. "Listen Neville, as soon as the barrier goes down, I want you to start running towards the lake. You'll be slower than the rest of us, so you should get as much of a head start as you can. Take Dennis with you too, and don't stop no matter what, ok?"
Neville swallowed nervously then nodded. "Got it."
"Alright," he addressed Fred and George once he had seen that everyone was ready. "Go ahead and take it down."
It seemed that everything happened in the time it took to blink. The moment the barrier dissipated, the centaurs came charging at them, and in nearly the same instant, they were halted in their tracks by impedimenta.
Harry waited long enough to make sure that all six centaurs had been hit, then turned sharply and started running headlong in the direction of the lake. "Follow me!" he called over his shoulder.
The entire group ran frantically, heedless of the thorns and brambles that snagged their uniforms and scratched their skin. Harry knew that these next few moments were crucial. Impedimenta lasted a minute or two at best, and at times it only affected the target for a mere thirty seconds. Their chances of hitting the centaurs again were slim, so they had to make the most of this chance.
At last, the lake rose up in the distance. He glanced behind him and was relieved to see that everyone was keeping up. Fred was with Ginny, and George was staying with Dennis to make sure that he didn't get left behind. Even Neville was keeping pace fairly well, despite the burden of carrying Luna. The lake was a bit further that he had thought, but at this rate, it looked like they would make it.
"Ah!" Cho cried out as she tumbled forward without warning.
What…? Before he realized what was happening, Harry felt the ground shift beneath him. Unable to regain his balance, he too fell into a bed of twisting vines. He began to struggle but stopped as he took a moment to survey his surroundings. These vines almost looked like…
"Everyone, stop struggling!" he heard Hermione cry. "It's devil's snare!"
"Devil's what?!" Lavender shrieked.
"The more you struggle, the more it wraps around you, so stop moving!"
Harry was already making his way to the other side, moving in a way that almost looked like he was swimming through the vines. "Everyone!" he called. "Watch me and try to follow! As long you go slowly and stay relaxed, you should be able to move!"
Now safely on firm ground, he alternated anxious glances between his friends and the surrounding forest. The centaurs should be catching up with them at any time now. They were so close to the lake, they couldn't be caught here!
"Harry!" Neville said in a panicked voice. "What do I do? Every time I try to pull Luna, the vines wrap around me!"
Harry looked at his friend, who was almost completely covered with writhing vines. Meanwhile, Luna sat on top of the plant like a sleeping princess waiting to be awakened by her prince.
"Neville, just stay calm and try to relax your body! I'll take care of Luna, so just focus on getting yourself out."
By now, all of the others had made it to the other side. He used levicorpus to bring Luna to safety, then handed her to Fred.
"Take her and the others to the lake," he said. "Neville and I will be right behind you."
He could hear the sound of hooves fast approaching. The centaurs were close.
"Come on, Neville," he said encouragingly. "You're almost there!"
Finally, he was able to grasp his friend's hand and yank him out. Without even taking the time to glance behind him, he started running, dragging Neville along with him.
He could see the others standing in the water and waving, and at the same time he saw the dark shadow of a centaur loom over them. He glanced desperately at the lake. They weren't going to make it.
"Harry, Neville, duck!" George cried.
They dropped to the ground and heard the familiar sound of a spell whizzing over their heads. A backward glance at the fallen centaur told him that he had been hit with stupefy. That took care of one of them, but he knew that the others were close behind.
"Come on, Neville! We're almost there!" He practically lifted his exhausted friend to his feet. It appeared that he had been running on adrenaline earlier while he was carrying Luna and his energy was now completely spent.
But despite all of the setbacks, they finally made it to the water. Just like Hermione had said, the centaurs stopped at the edge of the lake, unwilling to go any further.
"Well, Harry and Neville!" Fred and George came up and slapped them on the back. "So glad you could finally join us. You two certainly do like to arrive just in the nick of time, don't you?"
Harry shrugged and offered a breathless smile. There had been several close calls, but they had made it, and that was all that mattered.