Chapter 2
Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Harry Potter, or any Harry Potter characters. That, is property of the fabulous JK Rowling.
Comments:
lirael61: Good eyes! Thanks for catching that, I wouldn't have. Haha, right after I read your comment I wasted no time rushing to fix my error. I totally freaked out. Maybe you can look out for more mistakes in the future! You can be my 'mistake man' [oh god that was horrible]. Anyways… thanks for commenting. I appreciate it!
~DM~
Previously…
You put other people down, and that brings you joy. Like how it brings your little aunt joy when she tortures people. Where is she now? Off torturing more innocent children? Oh wait, she's dead," she said with extreme confidence, but then looked at Malfoy. He glared at her with all the hate he possessed, and scowled.
"Take that back."
"No, it's a fact and-" she said, crossing her arms with her head held high.
"I said, take it back. Now!" he shouted, advancing her with red flame in his eyes.
~DM~
Suddenly fearful, Hermione paled, and realized how cold it was. Their breath blew out in white clouds that lingered in the air. Her back suddenly bumped into the bush she changed behind, and she realized that she had been backing up. Feeling threatened, Hermione frantically whipped around searching for her wand. Suddenly, she spotted it at the very edge of the lake. Malfoy swerved around to see where her attention was, smirked, and used his magic to push it into the lake with a "blup," and Hermione watched it sink into the black pool of water. At that moment, Hermione's heart sunk to the bottom of her stomach. Sweat formed on her back and she was on the brink of tears. Come on, Hermione! Snap out of it! Why do you have to be emotional tonight?
Turning around to meet the hopeless girl, Malfoy began approaching her again. Hermione desperately looked for an escape route, and realized her only way out would be to go into the woods. Acting fast, she ran as fast as her legs could carry her.
After running through the outskirts of the forest, she glanced up at the sky. Dark clouds were looming towards the moon, and she felt a raindrop fall onto her cheek. One by one, more raindrops fell on Hermione's face, causing her to shiver with cold. Blinking the drops off of her eyelashes, she noticed that the sky was completely covered in huge, dark grey clouds. Gradually, the drizzle turned into a pour, and her hair was soon soaking wet. She managed to gain her normal breathing pace, and she relaxed slightly. Running her hand through her dripping hair, she heard leaves and twigs breaking under someone's feet, and the noise was getting louder. Panic stricken, Hermione glanced around, and spotted a dark figure with shining blonde hair. Helpless, Hermione ran in the opposite direction in a panic.
Thousands of raindrops ran into her face, and her whole body was completely soaked, but she didn't dare stop. Thinking she lost him, Hermione stumbled over to a thin birch tree and leaned on it with her extended arms. She couldn't remember a time she ran that far that fast.
Without warning, strong arms knocked her back hard onto the tree, knocking the air out of Hermione. Gasping, Hermione peered at the figure's face. It was pale (what else is new?), his grey eyes blazed, and his soaking hair fell into them. His dripping black T-shirt clung to his body, giving Hermione a sneak peek at his muscular torso. Not that that mattered at the moment. His surprisingly warm body was pressed up against Hermione's, making her stomach flip.
Meeting his eye, Hermione couldn't tell if he was aware of the closeness of the too and how it made her uncomfortable. His eyes were filled with anger and hate. She noticed he was clenching his teeth to help from lashing out at her.
"Take…take back what you said," he demanded as he attempted to catch his breath.
"Take what back," she asked. She cocked her head as if truly confused. She knew one thing was for sure, and that was that she was never going to apologize. Being tortured was the most traumatizing thing that ever happened to her. At night, Bellatrix invaded her sweetest dreams, and she was back in Malfoy Manor. Lying on the marble floor, screaming as Bellatrix carved into her arm. Mudblood, it would read.
Hermione glanced at her arm where her scar had once been. Malfoy followed her eyes, and he smirked.
"That's what happens when you mess with us," he said, his face dangerous with his blonde hair falling into his face.
"Define us."
"Don't play dumb with me. We both know that you are smarter than this. Stop stalling."
"I don't know what you-"
"Ach!" All of a sudden, an arrow came flying from behind Malfoy into his shoulder.
Suddenly, a sea of arrows from all directions flew towards the two. Acting fast, Malfoy grabbed Hermione's arm and lead them to a nearby log. They both leapt over it and took cover. Malfoy clutched his shoulder hissing breaths. The arrow was painfully stuck in his flesh. Concerned, Hermione crawled over to him and inspected the injury. When she gently touched the arrow, Malfoy snatched it away and growled at her.
At once, the creatures stopped firing. Freezing, they heard a four legged creature approach them. Hermione's heart was pounding so hard, she was sure Malfoy and the creature could hear it. The creature slowly rounded the log, revealing his body, and both didn't dare breath.
Standing in front of them, was a centaur. His long black hair blew in the wind in front of his sharp features. His horse-like body was a deep black and human-like skin was a dark tan. His unfriendly glare sent chills down Hermione's spine causing her to shiver. He circled the log never taking his eyes off them. His breath came out in clouds, making him look more menacing with his fangs. He studied the pair for a couple tense minutes, then yelled to his heard, "Take them!" Suddenly, all of the centaurs began to gallop, and four centaurs came for each teenager.
Frozen in terror, Hermione looked at Malfoy panic stricken. He was struggling, clenching his teeth as he tugged at his arms, which were straightened out by the half-man-half-horse creatures. Balls of sweat were forming on his forehead. One centaur for each limb, which made it impossible to escape. Lessons and facts about centaurs flooded into Hermione's brain, and she remembered reading something about them being as strong as young giants and as fast as full grown steed. No kidding, she thought. Hermione attempted to yank all of her limbs at once, which had no effect on the centaurs at all. Her wet hair whipped into her face repeatedly because of the intense speed. She too formed sweat on her face from the struggling, and her mind was racing. Memories of lessons from Professor Snape and book pages zoomed through her mind as if there was a tornado. She tried to muster up a memory of learning some sort of centaur weakness. The loud noise of a million branches crunching simultaneously didn't help much. It was impossible to think.
The pack zoomed through the forest, and Hermione's watched the branches and leaves above zoom behind her as she traveled at an astonishing rate. Soon, the creatures slowed their pace, and came to a halt. In front of them were hundreds, maybe thousands of huts. All seemed to be made of vines, which was peculiar considering they were in a forest. The leaves on the towering trees above them shined from the sun's light. Something about the atmosphere seemed strange. The sky surrounding them was an eerie orange, and the air seemed just a tad foggy. To sum it up, the place seemed…magical! Suddenly, all of the muscles in her body loosened up and she felt sleepy. She could feel herself drifting into an unfamiliar state…
The place gave Malfoy the total zen vibe. He was creeped out. He glanced over at Hermione, who surprisingly seemed at peace. Her head was softly swaying side to side as she closed her eyes. Saying she was calm was an understatement. She was acting insane.
He slowly stood up groaning. Stopping a bunch of dirt and leaves on his black dress pants, he swore loudly and tried to brush it off but he somehow could. For Merlin's sake! If these monstrosities knew how much these pants cost, they would be ironing them while wearing aprons! He struggled with his hands trying to escape the ties.
Wha- are these made of vines? What the hell? There aren't vines in this forest! Oh my Merlin! Their whole society is using vines for fricken everything! They even made their houses out of vines. Who does that? What's that in my- F #*! F #*! I HAVE A F #*ING ARROW IN MY SHOULDER! MERLIN, IT HURTS LIKE THE DEVIL! OMIGOSH! I'M BLEEDING! CRAP! I'M DYING! THIS IS THE END! I DIDN'T WANT IT TO END LIKE THIS! I CAN'T EVEN SAY MY GOODBYES BECAUSE I'M SEPARATED FROM FRICKEN HUMANITY! Wait a minute. WAIT A MINUTE! Granger's cloths are completely dry! What's up with that? … Hey! I'm still wet! That's no fair! Just wait till my father hears about this!
Malfoy though as he stared intensely at a nearby centaur. His horse-like parts were a crisp white, and his skin was fair. His hair fell beyond his shoulders, white and silky. It was held up by a beaded string, creating the half up half down look. Unlike most of the other centaurs, he had no facial hair. He had high cheekbones and crystal clear skin. Who the hell is this guy? He doesn't even look like a centaur. Besides the horse body, tail, hooves, and mane. Oh wait, never mind. He doesn't have a mane.
Noticing the two outsiders, the white centaur walked over to a group of others, giving the two humans confused glances. After a quick discussion, he galloped over to the pair who were sitting on the dirt floor.
"Follow me." He made it clear that Malfoy was not in the position to argue, but being the insensitive brat he is, he ignored this.
"Why should I?" he asked, crossing his arms.
"It would be unwise of you to be uncooperative. Now, come with me," the centaur said sternly.
"How about…no?" The centaur's eyes narrowed. He whistled, and on command, two brown muscular centaurs appeared. They seized the struggling pureblood as well as Hermione. Strangely enough, Hermione didn't seem to care about…well, anything at the moment. Her eyes were hazy and her head was gently swaying.
The last thing Malfoy remembered was being brought under a roof and being placed on the softest matress…
"Hey Brock?"
"What troubles you, Butch?"
"So…those two humans we moved…"
"The ones for further investigation? What about them?"
"Did they…are…"
"Spit it out, Butch. Mars is bright tonight."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"What do you mean 'what does that have to do with anything?' Have you learned nothing in the past twelve years of lesson and learning?"
"I…have. Go on."
"If I may continue, the planets are telling the beings of Earth that words are wise, even if not intelligent."
"…yea…yes, or course."
"So…"
"So…?"
"Speak your mind, the universe encourages you."
"Well, it's not really…it sorta…are the two…the humans...are they…"
"Ah. I can see your inquiry."
"You can?"
"Yes. There is little I know of love, but I know one thing. That boy, something is off. See the way he isn't effected by our atmosphere and the gases it possesses?"
"Now that you mention it…"
"The air is why we chose to settle here. Many species, including humans, fall into a dreamy state once they breathe in the mystical gases. All humans who enter our territory, they must contain the one thing he does not have. Love. Otherwise, they are unaffected by the air and are a danger to us all."
"So what you're saying is…"
"Yes, I am saying they are not a "thing", as the kids say."
"Wha- I've never heard that in my life."
"Neither have I, Butch. Neither have I."
"Damn it."
"Why are you frustrated, brother?"
"Oh, nothing. It's just that nothing interesting goes on around here, that's all."
"Astronomy does not satisfy you?"
"No, it just…let's save this conversation for another time."
"As you wish."