CHAPTER 1

Neither Harry Potter nor any of the characters associated with him belong to me. They are JK Rowlings. I'm not in this for the money, just for fun!

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Four Months Later;

July 1999, 0120PM; London:

Rebecca Leicester chatted happily with her friend Chloe over lunch. She had returned to England yesterday from Italy, where she was now living, to visit her parents and friends. It was her first trip back home in more than two years.

Rebecca had studied Art in Italy, and had ended up moving there permanently, settling in Florence where she worked as an artist. Although her work hadn't gained her international recognisation, she had a real passion for it, and was fairly well known throughout Florence, particularly for her paintings of Centaurs, which many felt she did an original interpretation of, given their more beastial appearance.

Both girls were pretty, similar in appearance, with sunny blonde hair, blue eyes, fit physiques, and each over five and a half feet tall. This had been true since their school days, and time had not changed them much, at least not physically.

Chloe still lived in London, working in her father's company, slowly preparing for the day when she would take over. She now went by the name Mrs Chloe Andrews, wife to James Andrews who was a Business Investor. They had met when he had done some business with their company, and had been married for over six months now.

"How's life with your parents again?" Chloe asked her. "I've been worried, when you told me you were going to stay with them. Your dad still threatening to disinherit you?"

Rebecca laughed. "Oh no, mom and dad are, more or less, cool now with me being an artist. They still say I would have been better off as a doctor, but at least they're not still going on about it."

Her friend paused, holding her tea to her lips and looking at her strangely. "Not at all?"

She shrugged. "Well…except a few times on the holidays."

They giggled.

As they sat drinking their tea, there was a sudden shout from the left of them. When they looked up, they saw a couple of policemen running pass.

"Wonder what's going on?" Chloe wondered aloud.

The man from the next table looked over his shoulder at them. "Might be another one of those damn horses," he said. "I bet it's those damn Animal Rights activists! They're letting them run around free, scaring the hell outta people, just for the hell of it."

"Huh?" said Rebecca, looking at him funnily.

"Oh yeah," Chloe explained. "I'd almost forgotten about them." She took a bite out of her scone. "For some reason, there have been a lot of horse instances lately. You know, a wandering horse here, a couple of galloping ones there. No one knows who or what's causing it, or even weirder, where the damn horses are coming from. They just seem to appear out of nowhere."

"Really?" said Rebecca, looking interested.

She nodded. "It started a few weeks ago. At first it was nothing but the odd horse around the city. People just thought it was some farmer's horse that had gotten loose in the city somehow. But since then there's been at least a dozen separate instances, and so far no one is missing any of their animals. It's like they're coming out of the woodwork."

"Goodness. And no one's claimed them?"

"There's been nothing to claim."

"Huh?"

"There's the next weird thing… The horses not only appear out of nowhere. They also vanish into thin air, as well. No one knows where they get to. People say they just saw them one moment, and then the next they had disappeared."

"How's that even possible? I mean a horse is a pretty big thing to hide, even in London city."

"Like I said, who knows? The police haven't any clues. The only ones who've come up with any kind of theory are those crackpot tabalists. The latest one I read suggested that aliens were beaming them up."

Rebecca scoffed, and took another sip of her tea. "So how's married life suiting you?" she then asked.

Chloe just shrugged casually. "Ohhh…it's nothing special."

Rebecca gave her a snide glance, earning a few giggles from her childhood friend.

"Okay, it's been brilliant! James is absolutely the best! He's warm, kind, considerate, loving…"

Chloe then went off into what Rebecca affectionately called her 'wifey mood', which basically meant she would go on for the next few minutes, talking about James and how good he was. As happy as she was for her friend, if she heard one more comment about what a good lover James was, she was going to lose her lunch.

Fortunately, either Chloe seemed to get the hint, or she was simply more interested in Rebecca's own life, she stopped. "But tell me, what's been new with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you've hardly written to me all year. You didn't even make it to my wedding."

She winced. "I am sorry about that, Chloe. I really wanted to make it, but I was tied up with work, and other things."

"Yeah-yeah, I know all about it." She waved her hand about. "Look, I don't mind you missing the wedding. But what's with the cold shoulder? I mean, is it so hard for you to turn on your Laptop and send me a quick email now and then?"

"No, but…" She paused, chewing on her lower lip. "I've just had…other things on my mind, at the moment."

"What sort of things?"

She paused again, lightly tapping her spoon against her saucer. "Well…I didn't want to say anything until I had a chance to tell my parents, but…I've had some pretty good news before I left Florence."

Chloe chewed a little on her eggs Benedict, and raised an eyebrow at her. "Such as?"

"Well, first of all…I've been made a most generous offer from the Art Museum. They're starting a new exhibition, focusing on classic mythical creatures, and they want me to submit some of my artwork."

"That's excellent!"

"Yes, and…" She faltered, blushing a little, "…and there's something else. You see, the reason why I haven't had time to text or email you a lot this year, is because…"

"Hem, hem."

The two of them turned their heads in surprise, at the low cough that had interrupted them from behind.

"Fancy meeting you two again, after so long!" The owner of the voice was a white man in his late 30s to early 40s, bald, fairly well built with the exception of a little weight around his midsection, and a brown goatee turning grey.

"Can we help you?" said Chloe, looking at him in confusion.

"You don't remember me, do you?" the man said, though his voice didn't sound as if he was insulted. "Not surprising. I mean, we only met the one time, but I would've thought a helicopter crash would be enough to lodge three person's meeting in their memory."

Chloe's eyes widened, as she suddenly remembered. "Well, bless my soul. Mr…Doncaster, is it?"

"Yup! John Doncaster, helicopter pilot, at your service." He made an exaggerated bow before them, his brown eyes lit up merrily. Chloe giggled, while Rebecca just stared at him.

Unlike her friend, she had recognised John Doncaster the moment she had seen him. How could she forget? For he had been part of what had been the most wondrous, mystical, dangerous and terrifying time in her entire life.

He had been hired to take her and her friend Chloe for a small helicopter ride, on her birthday. During the trip, the helicopter engine had suddenly exploded, due to a small bomb that had been hidden prior to lift-off. The ones responsible for the bomb had never been caught, but luckily no one was killed. They had all crash-landed in a large forest, which even today was unknown to the rest of the UK, as it had been hidden from all…ordinary folk.

It was there that Rebecca had made one of the most astounding discoveries of her life, a discovery that not many people of her kind were made privy to. She had found out about the existence of magic! Everything that she had always believed to be nothing more than fairy-tales, turned out to be true. Since landing in that forest, she had been held captive by a herd of Centaurs, been chased by a giant spider, met a giant man, and rode on the back of some kind of Griffin beast called a Hippogriff.

She had learned that the world was not just made up of mere humans, but all sorts of creatures that had long since been thought to be make-believe. Wizards and witches also existed, living amongst ordinary humans, keeping the world of myth and magic safely hidden from ordinary humans.

But, although the experience had been amazing and truly mind-boggling for her, it had also been one of the most frightening times in her life, thanks to the Centaurs.

After crashing in the forest, and getting chased away from the others by a giant spider, she had been captured by a herd of Centaurs that lived there. They had taken her in, keeping her as a prisoner, which she later learned was because they intended to use her as breeding stock, to replenish their race's numbers. She had even come close to actually being raped by one of them, a memory that still terrified her to no end. It was only thanks to one of the Centaurs, Firenze, that she had been able to escape unharmed.

"I thought I recognised you from over the road," Doncaster said cheerfully, interrupting her thoughts. "So tell me, how have you little ones been treating yourselves since we last met?"

Chloe waved her hand. "Oh, nothing much. School mostly, of course. I'm married. Becky here lives in Italy now, working as an artist…"

"Really?" he said, looking at her in interest. "Is that so?"

She smiled. "I sell my own work, as well as help out in some of the galleries, by repairing and restoring old paintings."

"Fascinating!" He seemed genuinely interested, as well as a bit excited, perhaps overly so. But then again, it had been a while since they last met. "What kind of paintings do you…Oh, how sweet!"

They looked down to see a black and white tomcat purring by the man's legs, who seemed positively smitten with the mongy, as he picked it up and cradled it in his arms.

"Isn't he just adorable!" he cooed. "What a little cutie!"

'Okaaay, definitely something weird about him,' she thought.

"Rebecca's also just been commissioned to display some of her work, at an opening that one of the museums is having," Chloe added, ignoring the cat.

"Oh really?" said Doncaster, letting the beast go and sitting down to help himself to some tea, adding in a few teaspoons of sugar to his cup that a waiter had just set down in front of him. "What kind of themes do you paint, my dear? Animals, buildings, countryside…?"

"Mythical creatures, actually." She revealed.

"Rebecca's really got a thing for painting fairy-tale monsters," Chloe said, giggling. "You should see some of her work, especially one she did of a giant spider. Oh! The thing gave me the goosebumps for weeks, when I saw that."

Although Doncaster appeared nonplussed, Rebecca could swear she could almost see a shudder quake through his body. "Spiders are a gruesome sight, indeed," was all he said.

'Funny,' she thought. 'He seems more sensitive than I remember.'

"So tell me," he suddenly asked. "Where you girls staying nowadays? We should get together some time."

Rebecca and Chloe both gave him a strange look. The way he had just said that right now seemed so peculiar. The thing about asking where they lived was definitely cause for alarm. Okay, so the guy had given them a helicopter ride several years ago, that hardly made them friends, and it certainly didn't give him the right to ask their home addresses.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he added, as though just catching himself. "I didn't know what I was thinking, asking your personal details like that. You must think me a pervert. Please forgive me."

Chloe gave her usual bright smile. "Sure!" she said, waving it away dismissively.

Rebecca, on the other hand, was more reserved. She didn't know what it was, but there was something just not quite right about this guy. Nonetheless, they spent the next few minutes idly chatting, talking about what they had been up to, or rather Chloe did all the chatting, while everyone else just listened.

Doncaster seemed more interested in her than Chloe, as he asked a number of questions about her art, where she now lived and such. Luckily, he didn't ask where her home address was, as not even Chloe would tell him that, though she did mention she was staying with her parents now. Then again, that was no surprise, as anyone could probably find that out by looking on the Internet (one of the bad things about being a politician's daughter, as you have very little privacy).

"I'm afraid I must be going," said Doncaster finally, downing the last of his tea in one gulp, and then getting up. "Please excuse me. But perhaps we can get together again, catch up on old times?"

"That would be nice," replied Chloe politely, while Rebecca just gave him an equally polite smile.

"Please, take my card," he added, taking out a couple and handing them to them. "This way, we'll be able to stay in touch."

They each took one of the cards, and smiled again.

"Very nice to see you again, Mr Doncaster," said Rebecca.

"Likewise," added Chloe.

Doncaster didn't reply this time, but gave them a small smile and a nod, and then walked off.

"Okay, now that was just freaky," Chloe gave an exasperated shudder. "Guy's definitely gained a few points on the creep-O-monitor since we last saw him."

"You can say that again," she replied, pocketing the card he had given her. "The guy's like 20 years older than us, we only met him the one time and never since, and he's asking to get together?"

"Maybe he's going through a midlife crisis or something? My uncle went through something similar. My aunt told me she had to stop him from going roller-blading, swimming with sharks, and skydiving."

She frowned. "Maybe…"

But there was also something else, too. It wasn't just what he had said, but the way he had said it. His tone had seemed almost… She didn't want to say girly, but frankly, the way he had sounded would have been enough to make Julian Clary sound manly.

"Funny thing, too," said Chloe. "He definitely didn't act like the guy I remember. When we were on that chopper, and it crashed, he took charge of everything and made sure I was safe. He was the perfect gentleman all throughout."

Rebecca remembered. She also remembered how he had yelled at her when she had demanded that he take the chopper for a closer look over the forest. He had had a perfect right for shouting at her, as she knew she had been a bit of a spoilt brat back then, and there had been a storm brewing at the time. He had been angry, dominant, strong, and fearless against shouting at an employer's daughter.

What could have happened to make him change so?

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One Week Later;

Leicester Residence; 1104AM:

Rebecca finished the letter she had been writing, signing it with her own special signature, with a kiss, and folded it into the envelope. Her parents had gone out for the morning, shopping, and she had promised she would meet them later for lunch.

Grabbing her coat, she left by the front door, to head to the Post Office. She wanted to make sure her letter would arrive soon, since she didn't trust Airmail all that much, so she would pay for special delivery.

She bumped into someone, as she left via the front gate.

"Sorry," she said, looking to whomever she had bumped into, but he or she had already gone.

'Charming person,' she thought sarcastically, and walked on ahead. She almost didn't notice the policeman on the horse over the road.

'Don't see too many of those anymore.'

Police-horses were basically becoming extinct. What with countless automobiles on the road now, it was not really safe having them on the road anymore. They were really more of a decorative theme than anything, used mostly by police on the beat around parks.

She didn't notice the way the policeman followed her all the way down the road, until she turned a corner. At first she thought nothing of it, as she assumed he was on patrol. But by the time she had passed her third corner, and had walked into a fairly large built up area, with countless people walking about, she knew he had to be following her. No way would anyone bring a horse into an area like that.

However, the strange thing was that even though people could obviously see the policeman and his beast, as they stepped aside to let it pass, they didn't appear to be surprised by it. They merely gave the pair an odd look, but then seemed to forget all about them the moment they looked away.

Feeling slightly anxious, she continued walking on until she reached a more secluded area, and then she stopped and turned around to face him.

"Is there a problem, officer?" she asked.

He made no response, but just trotted his horse up to her until its snout was right up to her own nose. For some reason, though, she could feel no air coming from its nostrils, as they flared at her.

"Have I done something…?" she began, but before she could finish, the man reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Hey! What are you…?!"

"We've been looking for you a long time, Rebecca," said the policeman. "You gave us a merry chase, but now…the chase is over."

Rebecca couldn't help but freeze in shock, her memories from almost six years ago replaying in her mind at full speed. The man before was not anyone she knew, but the voice…was uncannily familiar.

He held onto her arm with a steel-grip, and as she stared at him, his whole form seemed to start shimmering before her, like someone's reflection in a pond. One moment she saw a man on a horse, and the next she saw a large white Centaur standing before her.

"Aonghus," she breathed out, staring in disbelief at the huge man-beast she hadn't laid eyes on in years.

Like all of his kind, he did not look like the traditional Centaurs seen in storybooks, which looked like normal men from the head to the waist, followed by a horses' body. Although he did have a horse body, as well as a human one from the head down to the waist, the man part of him looked more beastial than human.

His body was covered with horsehair, including his face that was long with horse-like ears. His face wasn't as long as a horse's, but it was still longer than any ordinary human. The hair on his body was pure white, but with a crop of platinum blonde hair on his head. He was massive in both his human and horse sections, which were thick with bulging muscle.

He gave her a sly grin. "You remember me. How nice." His hand gripped her all the more tighter.

She stared at the people all around them, but none were even giving the two a glance. What was wrong with these people?! Didn't they notice that there was an actual live Centaur in the middle of London city?!

"Let me go!" she shrieked, trying in vain to push him away, or at least free her arm. It did her no good against his powerful strength. Her outburst, though, did seem to attract a few onlookers from the crowd, but only for a mere second before they immediately looked away, seeming to forget all about them.

Aonghus laughed, as his other hand reached her side, pulled her against him, and lifted her up into his embrace. "I'd forgotten what a spirited little vixen you were. All the better!" He brought her up to his eye-level. "I'll make sure that I'm there at the front of the queue," he said in a whisper, and before she could ask him what he meant, he kissed her.

"MMMM," she squealed, as his large tongue invaded her mouth, leading hers in a merry dance. It explored her mouth thoroughly, as he made loud murmurs of approval. She could feel his smirk through the kiss, as his lips moved over hers, dominantly.

"Stupefy!" a voice from somewhere suddenly cried out.

"Ugh!" Aonghus said in a wince, as something seemed to bang into him, breaking his kiss with her, as well as his grip, allowing her to slip out of his grasp.

The crowd had now seemed to finally catch on that there was something going on, as there was a chorus of gasps and startled screams, followed by numerous people asking aloud what was happening.

Rebecca saw Aonghus land a few feet away from her, dazed but apparently unharmed, as he lay groaning on the ground.

"That won't hold him down for long!" said the voice that had cast the spell, hurriedly. "We have to move! Hurry!"

Her arm was once more seized, and she was pulled to her feet before being dragged through the crowd, running as though their lives depended on it.

"Wait!" she tried to say. "What's going…"

"Later" said the stranger, as he pushed through the swarm of people, and raced ahead, pulling her along behind him.

Everything had happened so fast that she hadn't even had a chance to look at the face of the one who had saved her. His back was currently to her, as they ran through the crowd, but he was dressed in a long coat, and had a thick mop of dark hair. He also seemed to be carrying a long stick in his hand, which he held out in front of him, never lowering it.

The sight of the stick made her heart freeze, as she knew of only one kind of person who would carry a stick like that…the kind that could probably blast a Centaur off his hooves for instance.

They ran for a couple of blocks, before they came to a red telephone box on the side of the street. He wasted no time, as he practically ripped the door open and pushed her inside.

"Now hold on a minute!" she yelled, holding out her hands to keep her distance from him. "Listen! I don't know what's going on here, but…"

"I'm here to help you, Miss Leicester," he said. "Or would you rather I have left you to Aonghus's tender care?"

She paused, staring intently at him. This was the first time she had gotten a good look at him. He was a few years younger than her, but well built, with dark black hair, a thin face, round spectacles that enhanced a pair of bright green eyes, and...

"Hang on a moment," he then said, and grabbed the phone's receiver, quickly dialling in some digits.

"Welcome to the…" a woman's voice came out of nowhere, filling the entire telephone box they were in.

"Forget the intro!" the man snapped. "We have an emergency. Let us in now, authorisation Dumbledore 110!"

There was a pause, and then the woman's voice replied, "Authorisation accepted."

The moment she said this, the floor of the telephone box shuddered, and Rebecca felt herself slowly sinking into the ground. Soon, the light of the day was lost to her, as they passed down into darkness, seeing nothing.

"Don't worry," the man's voice suddenly said, speaking for once in a calm tone. "It was a shock for me, too, coming to this place the first time. The ride down only lasts about a minute, so it'll be over soon."

She could only nod and take his word for it, as she patiently waited, her hands trembling slightly.

Soon enough, as he promised, light soon returned, coming from the floor and gradually covering the rest of her body. She had to blink a few times before her sight adjusted, but when it did, she gasped.

She was in a grand hall of some sort, with a dark wooden floor, a bright blue ceiling with various gold symbols, which seemed to be moving, and what looked like big empty fireplaces everywhere.

"Wh…whe…" she stuttered.

"Come with me," he said, as he took her arm again, but this time he did it gently and without rush. Apparently, he saw no danger in this place.

There were dozens of people about, most of them all dressed in strangely styled robes, the kind that Merlin would have been happy in. A few gave them the odd look, but overall none took any notice of them.

As they walked pass some of the empty fireplaces, a few of them suddenly sprang to life with emerald-green fire, which only lasted for a second, and then vanished, leaving behind a man or a woman in its wake.

"We're lucky that the Ministry is so quiet today," the stranger muttered. "This will make it a bit easier."

She gave him a quiet stare, as they went on until they came to a large fountain. It was a group of golden statues centred in a pool. The statues were of a man and a woman she had never seen before, plus two small creatures that looked a bit like trolls to her, and the other…was a Centaur.

The two trolls and the Centaur seemed to be gazing up in adoration at the man and the woman. Rebecca couldn't help but scoff at that.

The spectacled man looked at her questioningly. "Something wrong?"

"Just out of curiosity," she asked. "The guy who designed this fountain here… Did he ever actually meet a Centaur?"

He stared at the fountain, and shrugged. "I don't really know who designed it, as it's been here for years… Well, the design has anyway. The original one got destroyed a couple of years ago, then got replaced with a new design, only for that one to be replaced with this one again."

"Why?"

He frowned darkly. "Let's just say the one they replaced it with…wasn't very friendly. Mind you, I don't think this one is much better. A dear friend of mine once said that it was a lie. It's supposed to represent unity and harmony between all races in our society. But until recently, most wizards and witches just spent their time looking down on them. I mean, just look at it! The whole 'them looking up and adoring the wizard', seems more like an ego boost than anything."

She chuckled lightly. "Thought so. Believe me, it would be a cold day in hell before a Centaur would ever look up to a human like that statue there is doing. If anything, Centaurs would be the ones looking down on them, and as for the looks on their faces… Well, let's just say it wouldn't exactly be adoration you'd be seeing."

He continued to stare at her for a few moments, an amused and highly interested look on his face. "You really were with the Centaurs, weren't you?"

Rebecca held her breath. Damn it, why did she have to open her big mouth?!

In the end, though, she sighed in resignation. It was pointless to hide it any longer, as they had already exposed themselves to her. Why would they do that, unless they already knew the truth?

"And you're a wizard, I'm guessing," she said, confirming for him what he was probably thinking. To his credit, he didn't look shocked or even surprised at her comment. "And I assume this place here is…what do you call it…Wizard's Police?"

He chuckled. "I suppose you could say that."

Rebecca closed her eyes, while clenching her fists. Damn it, why did she ever come back home?! Deep down she had always been afraid of this happening. That the wizards would one day return, find out she had been lying about not remembering anything about the Centaurs, magical creatures, wizards and witches.

Firenze, the Centaur she had befriended many years ago, and that giant…Harvard, or whatever his name was…had warned her about the wizards in their world. They told her that the officials didn't allow Muggles, non-magical folk like her, to learn about them and their world, and would often go to extremes to ensure their secret remained intact. Those extremes included seeking out any Muggle who had been witness to anything magical, and altering their memories. If they had known that she knew about the creatures in the Forbidden Forest, and everything else, it was doubtful they would have let her keep any of her memories.

It was only thanks to Firenze and the giant, whose warning had spared her from that fate. She had never told anyone about what had really happened the day she had went out on that helicopter ride, even though everyone seemed to believe that she had never been on it (a result of the wizards altering the memories of Chloe and Doncaster). Aside from her paintings, she made no sign that she remembered any of it, and up till now no one had ever bothered her.

Now, it seemed, her luck had run out.

"Am I to be arrested then?" she asked bitterly. "Have my memories wiped out, or what?"

"Do you want to?"

She looked at him funnily. "Not particularly."

"Then no."

"But I thought ordinary people like me weren't allowed to know about…people like you?"

"They still don't. But the old laws they used to live by… Well, let's just say they've gone through some changes since the last time you were in the wizarding world."

She cocked an eyebrow. "Your leader had a change of heart or something?"

"We've had three other Ministers since you were around. The first one, who was the one in charge when you came, got kicked out of office, the next one was killed, as was the next one after him, followed by the present one."

She blinked. "Gone through your fair share of Ministers, haven't you."

He snorted. "Like you wouldn't believe. But come on, I've got a friend who's waiting to see you." He urged her to follow, but was gracious enough not to pull her on her arm anymore.

As they started walking again, she couldn't resist asking, "By the way, why did they bother bringing back this fountain, if you think it's so rubbish?"

He shrugged. "Not all wizards and witches think like me. Plus, we've recently gotten through a dark time here in our community, and I guess a lot of Ministry folk want to try and make things the way they were before that all happened, hence the statue. Besides, like I said, this one's a lot better than the previous one at least."

She followed him for a while, looking in interest at the various witches and wizards that passed by them. The place seemed remarkably quiet for a so-called Ministry, she thought. They soon came to a desk sitting to the left of some golden gates, where a man in a blue robe sat. He was youngish, in his 30s, dark haired, but Rebecca didn't really pay that much attention to him.

"I'm escorting a visitor," the stranger said (she had to remember to ask him what his name was).

There was a sign that said Security on the desk, so she assumed the man in the blue robe was a security guard. He looked at her, but then seemed to notice something about her.

"Where's her visitor's badge?" he asked.

"We didn't have time to get her one. There was an incident, concerning the Centaur situation, and this lady is pivotal relating to that. I'll take full responsibility."

The security guard gave her a scrutinizing gaze, but then just nodded and indicated her to come over to him. When she did, he passed a golden wand over her, which she guessed had to be the same as when guards at the airport checked for weapons and such.

"Wand," he said, but her host (as she didn't know what else to call him yet) beat her to it.

"She doesn't have one," he explained.

The guard gave them both a curious look, but thankfully didn't question them any further. He pointed to the gates. "Proceed."

"Thanks." Her host replied, and waved at her to follow him.

They walked pass the gates, to a smaller hall with what looked like twenty elevators, but the old fashioned kind (the ones with grilles).

"Hop in," he told her, as they came up to one, passing by the grilles and stepping inside. There was only one other person besides them inside, a witch in a purple robe.

The lift came to life as soon as they got inside, and it began to ascend upwards. When it eventually came to a stop, the same female voice that she had heard before spoke: -

"Level Four, Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, incorporating Beast, Being and Spirit Divisions, Goblin Liaison Office and Pest Advisory Bureau."

"This way," he added, stepping out of the lift. She calmly, but cautiously, followed him into a long hall where there were various people bustling about.

She then noticed the paper aeroplanes flying about, and thought for a moment that someone was playing, as there were dozens of them floating overhead. But when they remained up in the air, instead of floating down, she began to wonder.

"Those are memos," her host pointed out to her, noticing her looking at them. "We don't have computers or emails here, so we enchant paper to fly with our messages."

She blinked at him. "Of course," was all she could reply.

They carried on for a short while longer, walking by various smaller offices until they passed a huge sign that said Beast Division, and further on they stopped at an office with a sign that read Centaur Liaison Office.

"And to think, people used to joke about coming to this place," he muttered. "The only time when someone was told to come to the Centaur Liaison Office was when they were about to be sacked. Now, this office is rarely empty."

"Why's that?"

"People have been using this office to give reports about the Centaurs, such as sightings and any meetings they may have had with them. As far as actual liaison with a Centaur goes, only one Centaur have ever actually been here and used this place."

Rebecca wondered what he meant, but as he opened the door, her thoughts were soon drowned out by the numerous shouts, calls and typical office sounds that flooded out of it. The place was filled to the brim with people, each one shouting out instructions to another…

"We've got another sighting! Send an Auror to Trafalgar Square…!"

"The Centaurs are out of control! Someone's got to talk to them again…!"

"At this rate, the Muggles are bound to notice…!"

"They're threatening us again! What'll we do if they go ahead with it?! It's been less than a year since You-Know-Who's defeat, we can't…!"

"Go ahead to the office at the front." He pointed to a door ahead. "I'll be with you shortly."

She gave him a nervous look, but slowly nodded and cautiously made her way forward. As she walked on ahead, she couldn't help listening to more of the other people's shouts and complaints. There were so many of them, each different, but all were apparently connected to the Centaurs.

Despite her apprehension, she was also confused and intrigued. From what she remembered about them, the Centaurs had had no interest in any contact with people, or any desire to be seen by them, and now all of a sudden they were leaving that forest of theirs, and risking exposure.

What could have happened in six years?

She reached the door at the end, and knocked, feeling it only polite to do so. After a moment, a faint voice said, "Enter."

Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open and went in.

"Hello?" she said, closing the door behind her. "I was told to come here by… Well, I don't know his name, but he…"

"Hello, Rebecca," the voice spoke again, but this time louder and clearer, and she recognised it at once.

She turned to her right, and saw yet another Centaur standing before her. But while Aonghus was pure white, and had had a sly look of lust upon his face, this one was dark brown, and looked at her with an expression of kindness and sombre delight.

"Fi…Firenze?" she stuttered, staring in amazement at him.

He smiled gently at her. "It's good to see you again, my little friend."

After a moment's pause, she found herself running up to him, jumping up and throwing her arms around his neck, and embracing him tightly.

Firenze held her, his arms even more muscular than ever, enveloping her in his warm embrace.

"Firenze!" she cried into his chest. "I…I…I never thought I'd see you again. How did you find me? What are you doing here?"

He didn't answer at first, and just continued holding her, his large hand gently stroking her hair. "My friend found you for me," he said finally. "I asked him to, as I feared for your safety. I have been waiting here nearly all day, since he told me he was going to go bring you."

She pulled back from him. "Your friend…Oh, you mean the guy in glasses?"

"Yes," the man in question said, as the door suddenly opened and he walked in. He looked as though he had been brushing himself up, as his hair was now combed back.

Rebecca blushed a little, stepping out of Firenze's embrace. Firenze, however, didn't seem to see any reason to be embarrassed, and just nodded in acknowledgement of his human associate.

"You have my eternal gratitude for bringing her safely to me, my friend," he said. "I can honestly say this is the first time in many a day when I have been at ease."

"No problem. But our work here is far from finished."

"Indeed not."

"Unless we can find a way to work out the issue, I don't see how we can avoid…"

"Err, excuse me?" said Rebecca.

The Centaur and her host looked at her in question.

"Yeah, hi. Sorry for intruding on you and your discussion, but…in the last half hour, I have been attacked and nearly kidnapped by a deranged Centaur, been saved by a wizard, who by the way still hasn't introduced himself to me, brought to some underground office with magical paper-planes, been reunited with an old friend, and fed useless bits and pieces of odd information. So, if it's not too much bother, would you all mind telling me…WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON?!"

Her host smirked, and looked at Firenze. "High spirited, isn't she?"

"More than I remember."

"Hey!"

"I apologise, Miss Leicester," her host said, bowing before her. As he did, she noticed on his forehead a small scar, in the shape of a lightning bolt. "First of all, allow me to introduce myself. My name's Potter…Harry Potter."

"Charmed, I'm sure," she muttered, and looked back to Firenze. "Firenze, please, tell me what's happening? What the devil is Aonghus doing so far away from your forest? Why was he after me? And why did you send Merlin over there after me?"

Harry Potter gave her a glance, but said nothing.

Firenze looked down, bearing an expression of regret. "I am so sorry, Rebecca. I had hoped it would never come to this. After so many years, I foolishly thought the herd had forgotten and moved on, but it seems I was wrong."

"Forgotten what?" She looked at him, and then at Harry who was remaining out of the discussion for the moment. "What's happened?"

He began pawing at the floor, his hoof making loud clip-clops on it. "My herd were recently made aware of your location, and now…they've come for you."

"What?"

He raised his head to look at her, his face a picture of regret. "When you disappeared all those years ago, my herd swore to one day find you…find you and return you to the forest with them. And they're not going anywhere, nor are they bothered with who sees them, until they have you."

To Be Continued…