The Potter Timeline
Chapter 13 - Practical Lessons and a Prophecy
Harry had a difficult time setting up his telescope as his hands were nearly numb. It didn't help either that he was shivering from the cold and even the mildest breeze seemed to cut right through him.
'Who thought it was a good idea to hold Astronomy class atop the tallest tower of Hogwarts, at midnight, in the dead of winter?' Harry wondered in annoyance.
He looked at Hermione to find the same picture of frozen discomfort as she struggled to tighten the bolts on her gold-plated telescope. The poor girl was wearing her winter coat under her robes, thick gloves on her hands, and a beanie on top. But she still shivered in the icy temperatures of the Scottish winter. The girl threw Harry an unhappy look to which he gave back a half-smile.
The rest of the students were equally frozen while Madam Sinistra guided each of them in setting up their instruments around the tower parapet. After they had completed this arduous task, the professor had them sit on the cold, stone floor in front of a fire pit set at the center.
"Incendio!" the tall, thin woman with beautiful chestnut hair uttered while flicking her wand at the pit.
A fire roared out of it to the delight of the frosty first-years. Everyone huddled together and shifted backward toward the warmth of the pit.
"Why didn't she do that to begin with?" Hermione angrily whispered through gritted teeth.
Harry chuckled and shook his head.
Sinistra went on to explain both the term curriculum and the practical star-gazing skills each were expected to master by the time of their examinations. After getting these out of the way, the professor glanced over the pupils.
"Now, who can tell me the names of the planets in our solar system?" she queried.
Hermione was just about to raise her hand but was beaten to it.
"Yes, Mr. Thomas?"
The pair turned to gaze at their fellow Gryffindor in surprise.
"The planets are, in order from the Sun," Dean started with eager interest, "Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, though Pluto isn't considered a planet like the others."
"An excellent response, Mr. Thomas! Five points to Gryffindor."
Harry glanced at Hermione who was clearly disappointed. He chuckled again. Madam Sinistra continued.
"And who can tell me which of the planets has a characteristic distinctive from all the others?"
Hermione, anxious to get her say in this time, threw her hand up before the woman could finish. But apparently, she had been beaten yet again.
"Yes, Mr. Thomas. You know this one too?"
The girl beside Harry spun around and threw Dean a rather annoyed look. Harry did his best to keep from laughing.
"Yes, ma'am. That would be Saturn, with its spectacular rings. Though some of the other planets have smaller rings, Saturn's are the largest and most visible."
"Correct again, Mr. Thomas!"
Hermione turned back around, frowning with arms crossed. Harry leaned toward her.
"Watch out, Granger! Someone might outshine you in one of our classes!" he whispered as a tease.
Hermione promptly threw him an annoyed look and slapped his shoulder with the back of her hand. Harry chuckled once more. The professor went on.
"Now then, does anyone know who the planets are named after, and which ancient mythology lies behind those names?"
At this, even Dean was silent. Hermione sent a rather pleased smile at Harry while raising her hand. No one could compete with the girl this time.
"Yes, Miss Granger?"
Hermione cleared her throat.
"Good grief! Here we go again!" Malfoy muttered in disgust. Crabbe, Goyle, and Zabini, sitting around the boy, all laughed. But Hermione flatly ignored them.
"The planets are named after Roman gods who were themselves borrowed from the Greek gods."
"Excellent, Miss Granger. And would you care to explain which gods the planets are named after?"
"Yes, ma'am. Mercury is the god of commerce, Venus is the goddess of love, Mars is the god of war, Jupiter, also known as Zeus, is the king of the gods. Saturn, also known as Cronus, is the god of time, Uranus is the deity of the heavens, Neptune the god of the sea, and Pluto, or Hades, is the god of the underworld."
The Slytherins groaned, but Hermione beamed at Harry who chuckled yet again, happy the girl finally got in her two cents.
"Very good, Miss Granger! Five points to Gryffindor for that well-spoken answer."
The professor then used her wand to create balls of light in the air, displaying a miniature picture of the planets and their orbits. As these light representations spun around a miniature Sun, the students stared at it in awe. She then had everyone stand and gaze into their telescopes to view a tiny orange dot in the night sky to the East: the planet Mars.
When the class ended, the first-years rushed down the steps back into the bowels of the castle, glad to be out of the freezing weather above.
"Dean, where did you learn about the planets?" Harry asked the boy.
"My dad gave me a telescope when I was younger and taught me all about the solar system. It's one of my favorite subjects."
"We can see that," Harry replied while throwing a smirk at Hermione. The brunette again gave him an annoyed look.
As soon as the five Gryffindors hit the first landing in the fifth-floor corridor, Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, and Zabini shot down behind them and shoved through the group. The blond-haired Slytherin bumped Harry's shoulder with his.
"Watch it, Malfoy!" Harry shouted as his face burned red with anger.
Draco and his three pals rounded on him.
"Watch it yourself, Potter!" he snarled back.
Harry started to step forward but restrained himself, Hermione grabbing his sleeve just in case.
"What? Not going to punch me in the eye again?" Draco muttered as he stepped closer to Harry. The little jerk snickered while throwing a disgusted look at Hermione.
"Looks like your girlfriend has to protect you since you obviously don't know any magic!"
Harry threw a steely-eyed gaze at the boy.
"I know more than you think! And at least I have a girlfriend, and a bright one at that!"
Hermione's eyes went wide, and her cheeks went pink. Harry continued.
"Who do you have but a bunch of dimwitted thugs!"
The four snakes immediately drew their wands. Harry drew his.
"Four against one, Potter! Care to try your luck?" Draco snarled.
"Make that four against five, Malfoy!" Hermione shot out, drawing her own wand to everyone's astonishment.
Dean, Seamus, and Neville followed. The lions leaned forward with fierce determination, though Neville's wand was shaking.
"Try your own luck, Draco!" Seamus threw at him.
"Yeah, we doubt you'll get off a leg-locker on all of us!" Dean uttered.
The stand-off between the kids reached the boiling point. But Draco then sneered and pocketed his wand, nodding at his gang who did the same. The Gryffindors had called his bluff, though none of them knew what spells they could have used if a row actually went down.
"Fine! How about a duel then, Potter? You and me. Practice whatever magic you've got and meet me this Saturday at midnight, the trophy room. If you show, we'll settle this proper. If you don't, I'll see to it you're the laughingstock of Hogwarts. Got it?"
But Harry didn't respond. He simply glared at the blond.
"And you can bring your girlfriend too. Maybe she can be your second!"
The four snakes threw threatening glares at the others before turning and marching down the hall. The Gryffindors pocketed their wands and Hermione turned to Harry.
"Harry, don't even think about it! You know he's trying to get you into trouble."
The boy smiled at her.
"Don't worry. I have no intention of dueling Malfoy. I'm not that stupid. Besides, I really don't want to let Professor McGonagall down again if I can help it."
The girl threw a bright smile at the boy, clearly proud of him.
"Way to go, Neville!" Dean uttered with a pat on the kid's back.
"Yeah, Neville, good to see you stand up to those jerks with us!" Seamus spoke.
Harry and Hermione both turned to the brown-haired kid who threw his House mates an uncertain smile.
"I don't know that I'd have been any use. I don't know any spells for fighting," he muttered.
"That's okay," Harry said while placing a hand on his shoulder, "none of us really do either. The fact is you were brave and stood with your friends against those Slytherin prats. There's a Gryffindor lion in you yet!"
"Yes, Neville. We're all really proud of you!" Hermione added.
The boy nodded.
"Thanks!" he said shyly.
The five marched cheerily down the corridor toward Tower Hall, laughing over Malfoy and his gang. When they reached the common room, the three friends went upstairs for bed as it was already past one thirty in the morning. Harry and Hermione paused before heading up.
"Perhaps we need to add some self-defense spells to our practice, just in case Malfoy isn't bluffing next time," Harry mentioned.
The girl nodded at him.
"Agreed. It's only a matter of time before those Slytherins get serious about fighting."
Harry nodded back. The pair stared at each other, then Hermione's eyes softened.
"By the way, Harry...thank you."
"For what?" he asked.
The girl blushed nervously.
"For...what you said to Draco," she uttered meekly.
Harry thought for a moment then understood.
"Oh, that!" he let out. The boy shrugged.
"Well, I...figured I still needed to make up for what I did to you last term. I owed you that...Hermione."
The girl blushed even deeper. Harry smiled.
"Besides, I would be proud to call you..."
Before he could finish, Hermione's eyes went wide and she quickly spun on her heels, bolting up the stairs to the girl's dorm room, closing its door shortly after.
Harry stood there, gobsmacked.
'What did I say wrong?' he wondered in total confusion.
But even after several moment's thought, he couldn't comprehend the girl's behavior. Harry shrugged his shoulders and headed upstairs for bed.
~HP~
From the moment Professor Quirrell caught Harry's cauldron midair, nearly every student treated the man differently. Those who joked about his stutter ceased. Those who berated the man for his timidity and jitteriness also quit their rants. The majority of students were now either in awe of the professor or they were afraid of him. Whichever the case, there was something peculiar about Quirrell.
The man himself reacted to this change with even more peculiar behavior, like he was surrounded by enemy spies or would get beaten any minute for doing something wrong. And most bizarre of all were the cuts that had appeared on his cheeks and forehead the day after that class, as though he'd been attacked in the face by a vicious cat.
The next Defence Against the Dark Arts class for the first-years would show the man's behavior to be even stranger. When the pupils entered the dark chamber, they stopped and glanced around in puzzlement, thinking at first the professor wasn't there.
"Oh!" a squeaky shout came from one corner, causing the kids to jump.
A purple turban appeared out of the darkness and Quirrell stood before his students. His forehead was sweaty, he was wringing his hands, and appeared quite frightened.
"Good afternoon, s-s-students," he muttered then gave off an awkward little laugh.
Harry looked at Hermione and she returned the same mystified look.
"Do c-c-come in."
The man used his wand to light a single candle on his desk as the freaked-out kids entered and took their seats. He then closed the door and moved to the front. As Harry and Hermione sat, Quirrell gave Harry a hard stare, causing the kid to gulp.
"Today's lecture will b-be about how t-t-to know if a wizard or w-w-witch is using dark m-magic against you..."
The man then promptly backed into his desk, gave out a shriek, and jumped.
The first-years were even more weirded-out. But before the professor could begin, the door to the classroom reopened.
"Professor Quirrell, good afternoon!"
Every eye turned to find the headmaster standing in the doorway. While most of the youngsters were normally in awe of Dumbledore to the point of speechlessness, at this precise moment a collective air of relief washed over them all, as though the man had come to rescue them from a dangerous creature.
"Ah! Professor D-D-Dumbledore! P-Please come in!" the odd man fumbled, seeming even more frightened.
"Good afternoon, students," the headmaster said with a smile.
"Good afternoon, sir," nearly all replied at once.
"I thought today we'd have our practical skills lesson. If that's okay with you, Quirinus?"
"...Oh...yes! Of course, p-professor!" he replied with a feinted smile.
But Harry could tell Quirrell was seething under the surface, and not simply because Dumbledore was commandeering his class.
"Excellent!" the headmaster spoke, "pupils, please join me at the back."
The students dutifully obeyed. Dumbledore retrieved his wand which seemed more impressive and intimidating than any Harry had seen before. With a light flick of the wand, the chairs and desks of the room shifted to either side, creating an open space in the center.
"How about a little light for our exercise?" Dumbledore said and with another flick the shutters to the casement windows opened, allowing daylight into the chamber for the first time in a while. Professor Quirrell gave out a whimper and shifted to one corner out of direct sunlight. Harry and Hermione exchanged puzzled looks again. Dumbledore continued.
"That's better. Now class, if you will, choose a partner and we shall begin."
Students looked around, choosing their friends or even someone they didn't know, some from different Houses. The Slytherins pretty much kept together. Ron Weasley paired with his friend Sean though the other Hufflepuffs mixed with both Ravenclaws and Gryffindors. Harry noticed Dean and Seamus pair up and saw Neville standing by himself, looking around nervously.
"I think I'd better partner with Neville," Harry told Hermione, "he needs someone to help reassure him."
"Right," she replied with a nod and half smile. Harry could see she was disappointed they wouldn't partner together, though. The boy smiled at her and squeezed her hand. She blushed in response.
"We can practice these same spells together later, in the practice room," he told her.
The girl's smile deepened as a happy look appeared on her face.
"Okay," she said, "be careful!"
Harry smiled back and headed toward his dorm mate. Hermione and a Ravenclaw girl, Mandy Brocklehurst, decided to partner up. Once everyone had found a training partner, the headmaster had them face each other on either side of the empty space. The man then moved to the center and gazed around.
"Now, then. Mr. Malfoy, would you be so kind as to tell us the incantation for the Leg-Locker Curse?"
The entire class was astonished and stared at the blond-haired Slytherin. Harry had not seen Draco so red-faced before.
"Um...'Locomotor...Mortis'," he barely managed to utter. Dumbledore smiled.
"That is correct," the professor replied, "and Miss Granger, please be so kind to inform us of the counter spell."
Hermione swallowed hard as the class now stared at her.
"'Restoro Mobilius', professor," the girl answered.
"Excellent! Now, one from each group will perform the curse on their partner and the one on whom the curse has been used will perform the counter spell to release themselves. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir," the students uttered at the same time.
"Good. Wands at the ready?"
Everyone pulled their wands and faced their partner. Harry nodded at Neville.
"You go first, Neville. You can do it."
"Okay," the boy said nervously. He pointed his wand at Harry. Knowing how shaky Neville's magic was, Harry winced and braced himself while readying his own wand.
"Locomotor...M-Mortis!" the brown-haired boy muttered and a flash of light erupted from his wand.
Harry felt his legs stiffen up as though he had been instantly paralyzed from the waist down. His dorm mate had been successful.
"Good job, Neville!" he stated while trying to keep his balance. Longbottom beamed back at him.
"Restoro Mobilius!" Harry shouted with his wand pointed at his legs. He instantly felt the feeling in them return and stepped forward just before falling over. Harry then utilized the same on his House mate, who at first struggled while wobbling precariously, but was successful in reversing the curse.
Afterwards, Dumbledore had two groups pair up each for the Petrificus Totalus spell. One partner of one group stood behind the partner of the other group to catch them when the spell was performed. When Neville hit Harry with it, the black-haired kid was conscious but felt as though he'd been transfigured into a marble statue. Dean caught his body before he could fall over and Neville performed the counter spell.
The headmaster then explained the final spell of the class and had the pairs perform it.
"Confundo!" Neville uttered.
Harry suddenly found himself alone. He glanced around the empty classroom in alarm, wondering where everyone went. What was strange was that the room was not only empty of students and professors, but all the furniture was gone. The door to the classroom was open, but Harry heard no one moving through the corridor. Even stranger still, the casement windows to the chamber were wide open. Sunlight poured into the room along with a warm breeze and the pungent scent of...Spring flowers! This, on a winter day!
'What?' Harry wondered to himself mystified.
The sound of birds chirping in trees outside was now accompanied by the voice of a woman singing as though she sat just beyond the threshold. But this was impossible as Harry knew the Dark Arts class was being held way up on the fourth floor, at least a hundred meters from the ground.
Confused but curious, he walked toward the window to see who the woman was. But before reaching it, the shutters slammed shut. The door to the classroom then closed and the room was swallowed up in darkness. Harry looked around frantically for light. As though someone could read his thoughts, a single candle sitting on the floor lit to his left. He stared at it momentarily before hearing a hissing noise in the darkness. The kid's heart started pounding. Moments of silence passed before a figure appeared out of the darkness into the candlelight. Professor Quirrell stood before Harry, floating a few inches above the floor. The man glared at the wide-eyed kid.
"Careful there...BOY!"
Harry froze in shock.
The first two words spoken were clearly Quirrell's voice. But the last one was something...awful and unearthly. Scared out of his wits, Harry started backing away from the professor. But before he could escape, Quirrell opened his mouth and out came another snake-like hiss before he flew right at the kid.
The eleven-year-old screamed...
"Harry!" the voice of Dean Thomas shattered his frenzied thoughts.
Darting his eyes around, Harry found himself back in Quirrell's class. Every student had frozen in place, staring wide-eyed at him. Hermione, pointing her wand at Mandy had stopped and threw him a worried look. His dorm mates were stunned, and tears were falling down Neville's face. Malfoy and his gang, however, were quietly laughing.
Dumbledore stepped over and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Harry, my boy, are you alright?" he asked kindly.
Harry stared at him wide-eyed in confusion.
"Yes...what happened?"
"Neville performed the Confundus Charm on you."
"He did?"
The brown-haired Gryffindor stepped over to him, his wand shaking as he wiped tears from his cheeks.
"Sorry, Harry!" the boy uttered. Harry, still reeling from shock, returned a weak smile.
"It's okay...Neville..."
Harry explained to them what he experienced though he left out the disturbing vision of Quirrell. The charm made what he saw seem so real and vivid he couldn't tell the difference between that and reality. It was bewildering. Dumbledore eyed the boy curiously, seeming aware that Harry had experienced more than just what he described. But the man said nothing and smiled while turning back to the center of the room.
"I believe that will be all today, students. Thank you, Quirinus, for indulging an old professor in allowing him to teach once again. I had, as they say these days, a blast! As class is ending a bit sooner than usual, feel free to enjoy an early afternoon. You're dismissed."
Students started filing out of the classroom. The headmaster walked over to Quirrell to discuss something. As the purple-turbaned oddity nervously nodded back at Dumbledore, he threw a frightened look at Harry. But the boy glanced away from the professor quickly, the nightmarish images he saw still moving across his mind. He and Hermione headed out the door.
"Are you okay, Harry?" the girl quietly asked in concern.
"I'm fine. It was just...disorienting," he responded, briefly explaining what he saw but not telling her about Quirrell either. He didn't want the girl to worry even more over him.
"Did I...really scream?"
Hermione frowned at him.
"You did, actually. But thankfully, Professor Dumbledore was able to coach Neville in using the counter-curse to bring you back."
"Wow," Harry stated while looking down in embarrassment. He then turned to her.
"How about you? What did you see under the charm?"
"I was in a forest I used to play in near my home when a bunch of house elves appeared and tried putting different clothes on me like I was a doll. And none of them fit!"
Harry laughed and Hermione followed suit. This cheered the boy up and helped push the disturbing confundus images to the back of his mind. They caught up to Dean, Neville, and Seamus who were conversing with some of the other students about the headmaster's lesson.
"That was the best Dark Arts class we've had yet!" Seamus noted.
"Bloody brilliant, if you ask me," Ron Weasley said as the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws had joined the Gryffindors.
"Yeah, better than listening to Quirrell lecture, that's for sure," Sean McManus added.
"I wonder why he had us learn Malfoy's leg-locker curse, though? Especially after he was punished for using it," Dean said.
Longbottom looked nervous but said nothing.
"The headmaster was actually being quite brilliant," Hermione chimed in. The students looked at her curiously.
"How is that?" Terry Boot queried.
"Well, by having us all learn the spells and their counters, the professor is clearly attempting to level the playing field."
"How so?" the Brocklehurst girl asked.
"By ensuring no one student, like Malfoy, has an advantage over the others. If someone does try to bully with magic, we not only know how to reverse the curse on ourselves but others as well."
Harry beamed at Hermione. It was great having such a smart friend. The girl caught his gaze and blushed, throwing doe eyes back at him.
"Pitiful Potter screamed like a little girl!" Blaise Zabini let out as the gang of Slytherins marched past the other students. Malfoy and his bodyguards laughed. Draco then acted frightened and spun around.
"I've been confunded! I've been confunded!" he mocked Harry, sending the others into fits.
But the lions, badgers, and eagles all glared at the serpents as they departed the corridor around the next corner.
"Don't listen to those twats, Harry!" Ron Weasley uttered with an ugly look at Malfoy, "they didn't react to the charm any better."
"Yeah, Hermione and I both saw Draco run into the classroom door and nearly break his nose when his buddy Crabbe used the spell on him," Mandy Brocklehurst said and everyone burst out laughing.
Hermione reached over and squeezed Harry's hand in reassurance. This made the kid glow.
~HP~
It seemed as though the professors at Hogwarts decided students didn't have enough to do during second term. Harry, Hermione, and their fellow first-years found themselves under a mountain of homework assignments, essays, practical exams, as well as special projects. The two barely had time to practice their spellwork outside of class, though they managed to sneak in a half-hour here and there. When they did, in addition to going back over what they had learned thus far, the pair added the fire spell, the silencing spell, and even the blasting spell. It was difficult trying to perform the first and last of these without leaving burn marks or debris in the practice classroom. But the two managed, nevertheless. Harry and Hermione's magical abilities were progressing well.
There was one more activity the pair tried to incorporate into their busy schedule: visiting the Hall of Reflection. Both were keen on finding out who had attempted to break through Dumbledore's traps in pursuit of the Philosopher's Stone, other than Snape, that is. Most of the time, the pair visited the Hall together under cover of Harry's invisibility cloak. Hermione would bring books to read, or they would work on class assignments while sitting on the stone floor as most of what they saw in the mirrors was rather dull. And Hermione would bring toast or fruit for them to snack on. But after a number of hours gazing into the enchanted reflections, no appearance of Snape or the other would-be thief ever showed itself. A few weeks into this, and they decided to take shifts, one remaining behind to study and the other visiting the Hall so as to not garner attention through their conspicuous absence at the same time.
During lunch one Friday, Harry and Hermione were eating and chatting with their Gryffindor mates when a flurry of owls flew into the Great Hall for mail delivery. Hermione received a small package from her grandparents in Cornwall: the worn, green-leather diary she had accidentally left at their house during Christmas. Harry was finishing a bowl of corn pudding when Hedwig dropped a letter right in his lap. The boy opened it and glanced at the bottom.
"Who's that from?" Hermione asked.
He looked at her wide-eyed.
"Professor Dumbledore!" he replied in astonishment.
The girl returned the same look. Harry then read it out loud.
Dear Harry,
I would be most obliged if you and Miss Granger would accompany me for a walk in the Forbidden Forest this Saturday next at nine a.m. sharp. There's someone I'd like you both to meet. Shall we rendezvous at Hagrid's hut?
Yours kindly,
Albus Dumbledore
~HP~
The air was cold and blustery, but sunshine filled the landscape in warm hues that Saturday morning. Harry and Hermione marched from the castle toward Hagrid's hut, nervously anticipating their meeting with the headmaster. They both mused over who Dumbledore wanted them to meet, guessing it was someone who lived in the Forbidden Forest. But neither could comprehend a human living in a place filled with so many dangerous magical creatures.
When they reached the circular hut, the door opened, and the headmaster stepped out.
"Good morning, Harry, Miss Granger," he uttered with a smile while descending the steps.
"Good morning, professor," they replied at the same time.
Just then, Hagrid stuck his head out the door.
"Harry! Hermione! Good teh see yeh again!"
"Hi, Hagrid," Harry responded to the giant as Hermione waved at him.
"Professor Dumbledore and I were just chattin' over a nice cup o' tea."
"And it was a fine Earl Grey, by the way, Hagrid. Thank you," the headmaster said while turning around to look up at his gamekeeper.
"Any time, professor."
Dumbledore turned and was about to join the two pupils when he spun back around.
"Oh, I nearly forgot to ask. Have there been any incidents in the forest lately?"
The great bearded man's face saddened.
"Unfortunately, yes, professor. Two more unicorns found dead, one o' them found by Bane just last night."
At this, Harry and Hermione exchanged nervous looks.
"And did he have any idea who might be doing it?"
Hagrid shook his head and the nervousness between the kids increased - they knew who was doing it but were afraid to reveal it. At least not yet.
"You know Bane, professor, can't get a straight answer out of 'em to save me life. Guess I'll just have to keep looking."
"Very well, Hagrid. Good luck in your search."
"Thank you, sir! Harry! Hermione!" the man uttered while waving at them before stepping back into his hut and closing the door. The headmaster turned and stood before the first-years.
"Well, shall we take our walk then?"
Harry and Hermione nodded affirmatively and the three entered the foreboding woods.
As they walked along a well-worn path among a patch of tall oaks, which eerily creaked and groaned, the professor regaled the pair of his many times wandering the forest and the strange creatures he'd encountered there over the years. Several minutes later, the man lead them through a maze of smaller paths winding between thick, gnarled cedar trees that creeped Harry and Hermione out - like the trees were watching them and ready to snatch them up with arm-like branches. Finally, a moss covered clearing appeared into which sunlight poured, rendering the forest a little less strange and more serene.
"Harry, Hermione, we shall rest here presently. Our hosts should be arriving here any moment, if I'm not mistaken."
Dumbledore sat on a flat rock which jutted up out of the earth like an enormous arrowhead. Harry and Hermione sat together on a small boulder, the girl huddling next to him for a bit of warmth. The headmaster was in the midst of telling the pair tales of his adventurous youth at Hogwarts when they heard the sound of approaching horse hooves. The three rose and gazed into a dark stand of pines. From behind the trees two creatures appeared and when they entered the clearing, they stopped to gaze down at the three humans in their domain. Harry and Hermione's eyes went wide in amazement: Centaurs!
Now Harry realized what he had seen the night the cloaked figure killed the unicorn. The three 'horsemen' were no horsemen at all!
Dumbledore smiled as he looked up at the beasts.
"Good morning, Firenze, Ronan," he spoke, nodding at each one respectively.
The centaur he acknowledged as Firenze had the body of a golden-haired horse and his human-like head was covered in whitish-blond hair falling below the creature's shoulders in a ponytail. He had piercing blue eyes which gave one the impression he could look right through ordinary objects or beings - like he could see through an invisibility cloak! The centaur called Ronan was very similar in appearance, but his horse's body was ginger in color and the creature's hair was a light red.
"Good morning, Albus," Firenze spoke and the sound of his voice resonated right through Harry's body. Ronan, on the other hand, said nothing but merely gazed at the humans as though they were trespassing. Dumbledore turned to the kids next to him.
"Harry, Firenze is the one whom I referred to in the Hall of Reflection. He and his companion may have the answer we're seeking."
Harry nodded at the man, recalling the conversation about the mysterious 'shift'. The headmaster turned back to the centaurs.
"And how are things in the forest these days?"
The two creatures took a few steps toward them. Hermione grabbed Harry's hand and he saw fear in her eyes. The centaurs were very impressive but intimidating. While they had the upper torso of a man above the horse's body, their faces and demeanor were by no means human. One couldn't be sure whether they were friendly or hostile. He squeezed her hand in reassurance.
"Someone is killing unicorns in the forest, Albus, and the creatures are restless," Firenze answered.
"Mars has been bright of late," Ronan uttered while gazing into the sky, as though oblivious to the conversation.
"Yes. Hagrid has informed me of this. Would you and Ronan have any clue as to who might be doing it?"
The white-haired centaur gazed at Harry, suddenly making the kid nervous.
"A great evil from beyond the pale of the physical."
The headmaster smiled and nodded at this vague, enigmatic response.
"I see," Dumbledore replied, "well, rest assured, we will do our best to discover this villain and put a stop to it."
"Ha!" Ronan uttered with a disgusted look, "the petty humans are such arrogant creatures."
The headmaster smiled again. He then placed a hand on Harry's shoulder.
"Firenze, Ronan, I believe you are acquainted with this young man?" Dumbledore said to the centaurs.
Harry and Hermione both glanced at the old wizard in puzzlement. How could they know Harry?
The creatures stepped even closer, gazing intently at the eleven-year-old.
"This is the Potter boy," Ronan spoke.
"Hello, Harry Potter," Firenze said with a solemn voice and an equally solemn look.
Harry was amazed. Did even the centaurs know about his encounter with Voldemort as a child?
"Hello," he responded meekly.
But the stares he received from the two beasts were unnerving. The boy felt as though they could pierce his soul and see his deepest secrets. Then suddenly, Firenze's blue eyes widened, and he looked at Ronan. Ronan returned the surprised look before they both leveled their gaze back at Harry.
"You are not the Harry Potter we know," Firenze spoke.
Harry threw a confused look at Dumbledore. The man smiled at him and nodded, indicating the boy should respond. Harry looked up at the creature.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
Firenze looked at his fellow centaur.
"Ronan, what do you see?" he inquired.
The red-haired centaur pulled back one hoof and gazed hard at Harry.
"His stars are aligned differently, Firenze."
Ronan then looked up into the blue sky as though gazing at celestial bodies imperceptible to Dumbledore, Harry, and Hermione. The centaur seemed to fall into a trance.
"Venus has ascended.
Uranus has descended.
Saturn and Mars shall war once more,
But their orbits shall collide sooner than before.
Saturn shall once again be victorious,
And shall save many stars with a power most glorious.
Great will be the knowledge Saturn shall give,
And through his mighty hand, Jupiter shall live."
Ronan leveled a stunned gaze at his white-haired fellow.
"Firenze, Saturn himself decided this!"
Firenze threw an astonished look back at him.
"Very well," he spoke solemnly.
The two centaurs stepped toward Harry and Hermione. The girl stepped back out of fear. Harry again squeezed her hand but stood his ground. Firenze spoke one final time.
"You have chosen your own path, Harry Potter. Go, and be victorious."
Harry was completely mystified, not understanding what was happening. The headmaster smiled at him.
"I believe we have outstayed our welcome, Harry, Hermione. Let us return to the castle. Good day to you both!" the man said while nodding at the centaurs once more. But before turning to walk away, the man looked at Firenze.
"By the way, Firenze, have you had a chance to think upon my offer?"
The white-haired beast shot a nervous glance at his stern-looking companion then glanced back at Dumbledore.
"Not at this time, Albus. Perhaps one day when the alignments are better suited."
"Excellent! I shall be patient and await that day, then! Good morning!"
Dumbledore now ushered Harry and Hermione back in the direction of Hagrid's hut. As they reentered the cedar forest, Harry was ruminating over their encounter with the fearsome centaurs and the strange sayings of Ronan.
"Professor, what was all that about?" he asked Dumbledore and Hermione also glanced at the headmaster with eager interest.
The old wizard thought for a moment before responding.
"The centaurs are fascinating beings, Harry. They're stargazers almost to the point of distraction. But it is said they can also predict the future in the stars. I myself have consulted them in the past a number of times and while I generally trust their perceptions, one must always take a grain of salt with anything they say."
Dumbledore clasped his hands behind his back and gazed off into nothing, it seemed.
"As to our friend Ronan's words, while the particulars of it are mysterious, I can honestly say that he has confirmed my suspicions about the 'shift'. But I must dwell on it some more. Perhaps the centaur's vision may yet be understood as time passes. As for you both, however, I wouldn't dwell on it too much. You are young and have a bright future ahead of you. Take time to focus on what's important at the moment. If you do, the future will take care of itself."
"Yes, professor," they both uttered at the same time, exchanging curious looks.
The headmaster then escorted the pair out of the Forbidden Forest and back into the castle.
~HP~
Harry was struggling with his herbology assignment while sitting at the small table in the common room. His textbook beside him and a blank parchment in front of him, the kid didn't exactly know how to start his essay on 'How to Carefully Prune a Grimple Without Poisoning Yourself'. And he couldn't ask Hermione at the moment since it was her shift in the Hall of Reflection that evening. But if he waited for her to come back, it would be too late - the essay was due in class the following day.
Frowning, Harry reached over to grab the book Hermione had borrowed from the library: The Herbological Society's Field Guide to Strange and Wonderful Plants. As he did, he accidentally knocked over Hermione's satchel she had left on the table and a couple of books fell onto the floor. Shaking his head for his clumsiness, Harry reached down to pick up one of them: Hermione's potions textbook. When he lifted it up, he found that the other book was her green diary. It had fallen open onto the floor before the textbook landed on top of it.
The boy reached down to grab it up and return it to her satchel when something on one page caught his attention. Without meaning to peer into her personal space, he noticed some writing in one corner beneath a daily entry she had written just a few days prior. The boy went wide-eyed as it was a capital 'H' followed by a heart symbol and another capital 'H' after. While he would confess to being ignorant about girls and their thinking, this writing struck him as clear as a bell. The girl seemed to be in love with someone. And that someone's name happened to begin with the letter 'H'. Harry couldn't think of any other student whose name began with that letter...except his.
Swallowing hard, Harry closed the diary out of respect for his friend and placed it along with the textbook back into the satchel. Staring red-faced into the common room fireplace, the boy now understood Hermione's strange behavior after Astronomy class the other night.
The girl was in love with him!
It wasn't an unpleasant thought, but it hit him like a jolt, making him feel dirty as though he had pried into her deepest most personal secrets, even if accidentally. He gulped at this, wondering what to make of it all. But before he could ruminate further on the subject, the door to the common room flew open and Hermione rushed in, a book in one hand and Harry's invisibility cloak in the other. Harry was alarmed to see fright on her face and tears in her eyes.
The girl dropped the objects on the floor and ran to him, throwing her arms around him tightly while sniffling.
"Hermione, what's wrong?" he asked while reciprocating the hug.
The girl sniffled a few more times before answering.
"Oh Harry! I saw something in the mirrors! It was horrible!..."