They were loping back to the castle, and Minerva could tell that Hermione was exhausted. Her stalwart wolf had kept watch through four hours of painstaking magical work, not counting the travel time in between three separate breeches that the centaur scouts had found. Minerva wished she could pop them back to the castle grounds, but her energy levels weren't much better, and apparating to or from this first was a tricky prospect under the best of circumstances.
As it was, they had a centaur escort to the edge of the woods. There hadn't even been discussion, just two of them peeling away from the group to canter after the weary prehistoric beasts.
One of them was Firenze, former professor and leader of the pro-human faction within the Forest's centaur colony. The relationship between the centaurs of the Forbidden Forest and wizard-kind had become distinctly more friendly since the Heart had gained sentience. To protect the newly awake Heart, a magical intelligence that had no analogue the world over, Minerva had had to fight to turn Hogwarts and the Forest preserve into a more independent entity. That this would insulate the school from any more political coups had certainly been a major positive for her. As the Headmistress of Hogwarts and the Ministry-recognized governor of the Forest, Minerva had officially deputized the centaurs as her stewards, and put the school's significant resources to bear to protect both the colony and the unicorn herd.
Minerva didn't know that she'd done anything particularly special to earn the centaurs' favor - maybe it was her willingness to butt heads with the Ministry versus Albus's more subtle resistance that made the centaurs more willing to work with her. Albus had always wanted people to take the right path of their own accord; Minerva was a little more cynical - some people need to have their hands smacked and to be told 'no', and not infrequently, those people worked for the Ministry of Magic.
Firenze, as unofficial go-between for Minerva and the colony, had gained quite a big of status among his people, and as a result his excessively somber attitude had lessened somewhat as a result. He would always be a grave creature, but lately, he had taken teasing Minerva. Perhaps he had been visiting the Heart - its strange, childlike naivety would be enough to inspire a sense of humor in the most dour of people.
"These would be fearsome creatures, could they do more than barely lift their paws from the ground," he remarked casually to his companion, a female named Skylla. She snorted in equine amusement.
Minerva opened her mouth slightly and curled her tongue around one of the massive, serrated fangs that were the hallmark of the scimitar toothed cat.
"My, what big teeth you have," Firenze quipped, and Minerva lamented the fact that she had no eyebrow to cock at him; where had a centaur encountered a muggle folktale?
Did a centaur just quote Little Red Riding Hood at you?" Hermione asked incredulously mind-to-mind.
Minerva rumbled a laugh - for Firenze's humor and Hermione's astonishment.
"I developed a taste for The Brothers Grimm while working at Hogwarts," he said, as though privy to their thoughts. "I admit I am curious as to how many of their tales were based in reality."
Minerva cat-chuckled again, and Hermione added a laugh of her own.
He's being cute because we cannot pester him with more questions. He enjoys being slightly mysterious - it may be a centaur thing, or perhaps its a seer thing.
I think I would have enjoyed divination with Firenze teaching, Hermione remarked thoughtfully.
He treats the subject very seriously, not as a subject to amuse the young or for dilettantes to garner acclaim from their friends.
Minerva agreed with her assessment in general, but Sibyll wasn't all bad. Sibyll so wants to be useful, and even more desperately wants approval. The reality of future-telling, for the modern witch and wizard, at least, is a variable proposition. For centaurs, divination is intimately tied in to their daily lives. It has been centuries since humans practiced it thus.
Ooooo, history lesson! Hermione enthused. This is certainly one topic I did not seek out when I practically lived in the school's library.
The look Minerva shot Hermione was as shame-faced as a massive primordial cat could manage. She did not want to be lecturer and authority figure to the woman who was rapidly becoming her partner in all things.
Stop beating yourself up, Minnie, Hermione said presciently. Truly the young woman knew her well. I like that you know so much - plus, a good story will take my mind off my aching paws.
Minerva sighed resignedly - clearly she would not be getting away with any emotional martyrdom in this relationship - then launched into an abbreviated history of human-practiced divination in the British Isles.
A levicorpus cast on Hermione allowed Minerva to carry the exhausted witch into the castle. As soon as she had completed the transformation from wolf to girl, her knees had given out on her; Minerva had caught her before she hit the ground, and the whispered charm allowed her to scoop Hermione into her arms with as little effort as she could lift the young woman in her fox form.
Hermione blushed, embarrassed by what she perceived as weakness.
"Those big forms will consume your energy like nothing else - a full day casting spells requires less energy than going for a run as an apex predator."
"Oh," said Hermione.
"In not too much longer, you are going to be quite hungry, my dear."
"Hmmmm," Hermione hummed in agreement. "I'm sure that you and Tilley will help me out with that."
"Certainly we shall. And there are some herbs and supplements that can help fulfill the energy needs of your wolf - I take them in my tea, and I should have…"
Hermione cut her off. "Please. There's been a lot going on. And that was the third time I've ever even been in that form." She took advantage of her position in Minerva's arms, and snuggled into the other woman's body. "Let's have dinner in our quarters - we can show ourselves in the Great Hall tomorrow for breakfast."
Flushed with pleasure, emotions clogging her throat, Minerva could only nod, blushing further at Hermione's knowing grin.