CHAPTER 7
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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The Burrow:
Molly had once again fixed a feast big enough to feed an entire army, up to the point where Rebecca felt herself close to bursting. She guessed that after raising a family of seven children, Molly had to be used to preparing large meals, to which she had jokily admitted.
During breakfast, they had chatted, and Rebecca had learned that one of the twins, who she had seen in the picture on the clock, Fred, had indeed perished in the wizards' war. Molly hadn't said much about him; only that he had died fighting in the last battle. She grieved for him, obviously, but she had also spoken of him with a large amount of pride. He had died fighting for what he believed in, to free their world from Voldemort's tyranny.
She only spoke about him for a short time, before she quickly changed the subject, turning to Imogen and asking her about her family, and how they coped during the war.
Rebecca hadn't paid much attention to that, as Imogen and her parents hadn't really been involved in the war at all. They had fled the country the moment that news of Voldemort's return had been announced, fleeing to America, where they had stayed with relatives, only returning once news of Voldemort's final defeat had been assured.
However, it was during this discussion that Rebecca learned from them that Voldemort had tried not once but twice to take over the wizarding world. The first time had been nearly twenty years ago, when he had been defeated, and had been severely damaged because of it. Rebecca found some of what they said a little hard to digest, but, apparently, Voldemort's body had been destroyed yet he had still somehow managed to stay alive, long enough for him to build himself a new body about a decade later. After which, he had tried to take over the wizarding world again, this time succeeding, if only for a short time.
Harry Potter had apparently been there at the time of his resurrection, and though he had tried to warn everyone, there were those who basically didn't believe him, and had even called him a liar.
Rebecca felt a little outraged at that, and wondered how anyone could think that Harry, whom she had been told had always been referred to as a respected and revered figure in their world, would lie about anything, especially something as awful and important like that.
Molly told her that it had been a simple case of fear, and that everyone was basically too scared, and preferred to believe that Harry was lying instead of the terrible truth that Voldemort was back, and the war was about to start again.
As for Imogen, she had only been a young girl at the time, and had barely started Hogwarts, but her parents had been some of those who had believed Harry inexplicably, and had immediately pulled her out of school and ran to America before the second war had begun.
Personally, Rebecca thought that a little cowardly of them, but then again she had never been involved in any kind of war, let alone the one they had had to face, so who was she to judge?
They had just been about to dig into their third helping of scrambled eggs and bacon (despite Rebecca insisting that she was quite full) when a knock sounded on the front door, startling them a little.
Imogen immediately rose up, her wand at the ready, as she inched closer to the door, looking out the window. When she did, she relaxed, and opened the door, calling out, "It's alright, it's friends".
When she opened the door, two people walked in. One was a tall and big rounded man in a brown robe, with a black goatee, and dark hair that was longer than Rebecca's. The other was a tall, thin woman in a black robe with silver moons and stars embroided on it, dark blonde hair that Rebecca could just barely make out under her pointy hat, her face plastered with what was clearly a fake smile.
"Imogen," the woman said politely, sounding as fake as the politicians Rebecca had met countless times at her father's parties. "Wonderful to see you again."
"You, too," Imogen replied emotionlessly.
"And this must be our muggle charge, I take it?" the man added cheerfully, looking at Rebecca, and then at Molly. "Molly Weasley I presume? Great to meet ya! Arthur's spoken a lot about you."
"Charge?" said Imogen, quirking an eyebrow at them. "I thought I was to be her guardian? And forgive me, but don't you two work in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures?"
"Miss Granger asked us to come here and help out," the woman added. "Although we are not qualified Aurors, we both have had extensive experience with dealing with dangerous creatures over the years, and know a number of spells. And considering that all the Aurors are too busy with the Centaurs to help out here, Miss Granger thought you'd be grateful of the extra help."
"Excuse me," Molly interrupted. "But who exactly are you two?"
"My apologies," the man said, bowing before her. "Name's Abraham, Abraham Bollard. Pleased to meet ya!"
"Oh yes!" said Molly, as she remembered. "Arthur's mentioned you a couple of times. Says you're quite the chess player."
He grinned. "Haven't lost a match yet."
Imogen pointed over to the woman. "This is Meredith Pan."
"Oh yeah, sorry. My bad," the wizard, Abraham, said jokily, and then pointed at his companion. "My colleague!"
Meredith merely nodded at them, ever with that same fake smile seemingly painted on her face.
"Now, what's one gotta do to get a cuppa?!" Abraham declared, clapping his hands together.
"Oh yes, of course," Molly hurried into the kitchen to get a fresh pot, while the large wizard parked himself in the armchair.
'He knows how to make himself at home, doesn't he,' thought Rebecca.
Meredith stayed where she was, looking keenly at her. Rebecca didn't like the look she was giving her, as it made her feel like an experiment in a test-tube.
"You must be Miss Rebecca Leicester, correct?" she asked in a shrill voice.
"Yes," she replied in a quiet but polite tone. She had long since learned this from the endless days spent at her father's party functions while she was growing up. "Very pleased to meet you."
She had always referred to this as the fake tone game. She had done so since she was a child, playing polite when what she really wanted to do was stick her tongue out at them all.
"You, too," said Meredith, and made to sit down, as Molly came in with the tea. "I must say I was surprised when I heard about the Centaurs coming after a muggle of all people. I hadn't even heard of them meeting another human woman before Miss Granger in the Forbidden Forest, let alone a non-magical person."
"It's not something I would normally broadcast," she joked, to which Meredith smiled, but said nothing.
Molly offered them all tea, which they gratefully accepted. Meredith and Imogen kept quiet, while Mr. Bollard boasted in that loud voice of his, talking about his various cases with dangerous beasts, from Manticores to something called a Skrewt…whatever that was.
As he went off into his third story of yet another dangerous and hard-to-capture beast, Rebecca looked around to find all the ladies looking ready to doze off. She was about to make an excuse and head off into the garden to look for Firenze, as she still needed to talk to him, when she heard a deep purring sound coming from her feet.
Looking down in surprise, she found a very large, orange-coloured cat, with a squashed face, rubbing itself against her leg, purring loudly. It looked like a Persian cat, but with smaller eyes.
"Oh, that's Crookshanks!" said Molly quickly, most likely glad for the excuse to interrupt Abraham before he began yet another of his timeless tales. "He's Hermione's cat. She usually leaves him here with us, whenever she's busy with work, and considering the way the Ministry is at the moment, she thought it best to leave him here until things calm down."
Rebecca smiled down at the odd looking creature, and reached down to scratch behind its ears, to which it purred even louder. She doubted even a lion's roar was as loud as this cat's purr.
"Ohhh, what a cutie!" Abraham exclaimed, diverted from his insistent chattering, as he looked down at the big feline. Personally, Rebecca wouldn't have called him cute, as he looked a bit tatty to her, but that wasn't what stopped her from scratching the cat's ears at that moment.
The way the man had just said that, his words, his tone…they had been exactly the same as the man she had thought to be John Doncaster. And hadn't Harry warned her about something called pumpkin juice potion that could turn someone into someone else?
She must have sat frozen where she was for over a minute, before the concerned voice of Mrs. Weasley brought her back.
"Are you all right, Rebecca dear?" she asked worriedly.
"Yes, yes!" she hastened to reassure her, not wanting to give the Burrow's newest guests any hint of her suspicions. "I'm fine. Just spaced out for a minute there."
Mr. Bollard was, at that moment, trying to beckon Crookshanks over to him, making kissing noises, and twiddling his finger at him. The cat took one or two steps over to him, seeming as though it were trying to figure him out, before it hissed and hastily backed away.
Rebecca watched it, as it practically flew from the room, out one of the open windows, and into the garden.
Abraham watched it go for a few seconds, before breaking out into a huge laughter. "Guess I'm not as good with animals as I thought I was, huh, Merry?!"
She didn't know whom he was talking to at first, until she realised that Merry had to be Meredith.
"When have you ever?" the woman replied, making the man turn red for a second.
'This man is supposed to work in a department that deals with dangerous beasts,' Rebecca thought. 'If that's true, then why did he have a problem dealing with a mere cat?'
Meredith Pan then put down her teacup, and rose. "I think I'll go check outside, just in case," she said, as she made her way to the back garden.
"Try not to get lost!" Abraham joked behind her.
Rebecca didn't take her eyes off of him. She couldn't. Already, conspiracies and scenarios were playing in her mind, making her wonder if this man was who he said he was. What if he wasn't? What if he was the witch who tried to abduct her, or the one who was pretending to be John Doncaster, or maybe both?
As he started going off into yet another one of his boring stories, making the other ladies sigh, Rebecca kept her eyes on him. She didn't know precisely what it was she was looking for, but she would know when she saw it. Perhaps another word or sentence, or something about the way he moved, which looked or felt similar to the other two impostors.
She did not have long to ponder this, though, for less then a few seconds later, a shrill scream tore out from the back of the house, making everyone jump.
Imogen immediately took out her wand, as did Abraham, who had also jumped up from his seat, and hurried out into the direction of the garden.
"Stay here," Imogen told Rebecca, but she had no intention to do so. If what she suspected was true about Mr. Bollard, or whoever he was, then she needed to keep him in her sight at all times.
The three of them, with Molly right behind them, who also didn't want to let Rebecca out of her sight, raced through the house, to the open back-door. When they got her, they found a queer sight before them.
Meredith was lying on the floor, right before the back-door, shaking in shock. Her wand was slightly raised, as she stared up at the frame of the door, which was filled with a horse's large backside.
It took Rebecca a second to realise that it was Firenze in the doorframe, and a second longer for her to stop her security from attacking him on sight.
"Don't fire!" she and Molly both yelled, stopping the others from shooting at the Centaur. "He's a friend!"
The end with the horse's tail, or Centaur's tail as it were, had already started to move forward and turn around. Before long, Firenze's face was looking in at them, a curious and worried look on his face.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Firenze had woken up several minutes ago, and had gone up to the house to check in on Rebecca. He had looked in through the window, and seen her and Molly with two unfamiliar witches and a wizard. But the lot of them all seemed to be in good spirits, and the house appeared to be well protected, so he assumed they were just some new guards for Rebecca, or perhaps some people from the Ministry delivering a new report.
With that reassurance in his mind, he had returned to the back of the house, where Molly had left him a plate with some breakfast on the outside table. It wasn't the same as what he was used to eating, which was fresh kill, hunted in the Forbidden Forest. It was also nowhere near enough for his Centaur appetite, but it was better than nothing, and he could always eat some fruit from the Weasley's orchard.
Centaurs had enormous appetites, due to them having two stomachs, one in their human half, and the other in their horse half. Each time Rebecca had joined his herd for dinner, she had always arrived a little late, so she had never seen the feast they prepared in full glory. Molly Weasley was known to cook enough to feed an entire army, but compared to a Centaur's meal, her entire cooking wasn't enough for an appetiser.
With his plate, Firenze had walked back up to the house, pressing his back-end to the back-door, so that he could look out, and have a full clear view of the garden and the grounds behind it. It gave him a tactical advantage, as with his Centaur eyes he would be able to see if anyone was coming.
He had been in the middle of eating his meal, when something had bumped into the back of him, followed by what had sounded like a Banshee's scream. The scream had, of course, belonged to none other than Meredith Pan. She had made it to the back door, opened it, and prepared to go out into the garden to begin her security checks, only to come face-to-face with a Centaur's tail, giving her the shock of her life.
Actually, shock would be a meagre description of her reaction, as not only had her scream echoed across the whole countryside, but also she had tried unsuccessfully to run back through the house, only to fall onto her rear, and couldn't seem to gather up the courage to raise her wand, even now.
"Sorry, Firenze," said Molly from behind the trio. "This is Mr. Abraham Bollard, and Miss Meredith Pan, from the Ministry. They came to help protect Rebecca, but I guess everyone forgot to tell them about you."
"No, no," said Mr. Bollard, putting away his wand, but never taking his eyes away from Firenze. "We were briefed before we came. I guess Merry must have forgot for a second." He looked down to his colleague, who had not gotten up yet, and was still looking at the huge Centaur with eyes full of fear.
"Come on, Merry, you've seen worse before," he told her, grabbing her arm and hoisting her up. "Remember that toad that could spew fire? Bred by that loony witch that used to…" As he guided Meredith back into the living room, Rebecca, Firenze and Molly both watched them curiously.
Finally, Molly just shook her head and went to retrieve the plate from Firenze. "Honestly," she muttered. "For someone who's worked her whole life tracking and containing dangerous beasts, you'd think she'd have a bit more nerve when it came to meeting a Centaur."
Rebecca gave a short giggle. "Maybe it was the part of running into Firenze's backside and having her hands on it that ruined it for her."
Molly blushed. "Even so. Screaming like that? Total over reaction, if you ask me. As if people didn't know what a hors…Sorry!" she said hasteningly, looking at Firenze and his stern look. "As if people didn't know what a Centaur's…err, personal area looked like. Would you like seconds, Firenze?"
"Please," he replied thankfully, handing her his place, which she took and hurried back into the kitchen with.
Rebecca couldn't stop giggling, as the image of Meredith lying on the floor replayed in her mind again. She had to admit that Molly was right; for someone who had worked her whole career going after dangerous beasts, you'd think she'd have a bit more bravery in her.
Firenze cocked an eye-ridge at her. "Something amusing?" he asked.
She finally got a hold of herself, and shook her head. "Sorry, Firenze. It's nothing." She looked back to where Abraham had taken Miss Pan back into the living room. "I guess Miss Pan's work with dangerous beasts was restricted to doing just the paperwork."
She suddenly stopped, and looked up at him in shock. "Oh Firenze, I'm so sorry!"
He looked at her quizzically. "For what?"
"I didn't mean you were a dangerous beast."
Both his eyeridges rose at her. "Really? I was actually flattered by that."
"Flattered?"
He laughed broadly at her. "My dear Rebecca, you forget. My kind doesn't like our status to be known as that of Beings. We never have. We prefer to be referred to as mere beasts. In fact, calling one of us a dangerous beast is considered quite a compliment in my herd. It's only when someone calls us a half-breed, a man or a horse that they risk our wrath."
Rebecca mentally rebuked herself, having forgotten that chapter from the Centaur's past. Firenze had told her once that his race had indeed been offered the social status of Beings, but they had refused it when they had learned that they would have to share that title with other such creatures like the Hags and Vampires.
"Would you care to greet the day with me?" he suddenly asked her, offering her his arm.
She smiled. "I'd be delighted," she said truthfully, and hooked her arm with his, walking beside him out of the house and into the warm sun and fresh morning air.
As they walked out to the garden, beyond the trees and the orchard, Rebecca enjoyed listening to the morning song of the numerous birds in the trees, and feeling the sun shining on her skin. As she looked on, she remembered how it had been, the first morning in the Forbidden Forest, with the Centaurs. She remembered the first time she had witnessed the morning in the forest, and thinking it one of the most beautiful scenes she had ever seen before in her life.
'I must make some time to go visit the country more often,' she thought determinedly.
She and Firenze had walked a littler farther beyond the orchard trees, when suddenly he stopped and looked keenly at her, his blue eyes twinkling right at her.
"The morning light suits you, my Rebecca," he told her, raising his hand to gently stroke her cheek.
She then lost whatever sense of contentment she had had, and looked at him sadly. "Firenze," she said quietly, touching his hand with her own, and gently pulling it down away from her face. "I have to tell you something."
"I know."
"You do?" She looked up at him quizzically. "How… What do you know?"
He took both of her hands in his, and stared deep into her eyes with his own pure blue ones.
"I know how terribly confusing this must be for you," he explained. "Us meeting again after so long."
She sighed mildly in relief. "Yes, that's exactly it, Firenze. I mean, after I met you again after so many years…I guess when I saw you, I felt exactly as I did the last time that I saw you, and I just… Well, I guess some of the old feelings just started sprouting back up again, and I…"
She stopped, as Firenze had placed his fingers on her lip, silencing her.
"There is no need to worry anymore," he told her.
"Huh?"
He took hold of her hands again. "Things are different now. Back when we last parted company, I was still one with my herd. And although I am back with them now, I am only with them a small fraction of my time, due to my teaching position at Hogwarts."
She stared blankly at him.
"There was no way we could have been together years ago, but now it's all different. With me at Hogwarts, you no longer have to worry about coming to live with my herd, should you and I mate."
'Oh…darn,' she thought. She had thought for a moment that Firenze had figured everything out without her saying anything, but it seemed that fate wasn't being kind to her today. Firenze was basically telling her how she and he could now live together as mates.
She couldn't believe how wrong he had got it.
"Firenze!" she said firmly. "That's not it at all."
He looked at her, confusion on his face. "Then…what is it?"
She sighed. "Look; like I told you, and what you just said, meeting up with you again stirred up some old feelings for me. I was feeling the same way as I did when we last met. I was confused and…and…and are you even listening to me?!"
But it didn't seem that Firenze was. His face had moved away from hers, and his long ears were now perked up, as though listening to something. But whatever it was that he was listening to, it was definitely not she.
"I don't believe this," said Rebecca irritably. "Firenze, I've got something really important to say to you, and you…"
"Get back to the house, now!" Firenze's normally gentle voice was now filled with urgency, and laden with a hard edge.
"Huh? What's the…?" But she didn't get a chance to finish, as Firenze suddenly swooped her up into his arms, and began galloping across the field, back to the Burrow, with Rebecca bouncing in his grasp, shrieking all the way.
"FIR…EN…ZE!" she screamed between bumps.
They arrived back at the Weasley's house before she had even finished screaming his name, as he reached the back door, and hasteningly flung her through it.
"Aurors, Molly Weasley, to me!" he cried out, ordering the wizard and three witches to come to him.
"What's going on?" Molly demanded, as she rushed up to them, and started helping a shaken Rebecca to her feet. Rebecca was looking incredously at the Centaur, wondering what could have gotten his ire up like this.
"Get Rebecca out of here immediately! And tell those new Aurors to contact Harry Potter at once! My herd is here!"
"Your herd is WHAT?!"
"They are here!" he bellowed. "Now stop wasting time and get moving!"
With that, Firenze turned around and galloped back over to the trees, racing through them. As he did, Rebecca could hear a thundering sound coming from beyond them; a sound she first mistook for mere thunder, but then quickly realised that it was the same as Firenze. It was the loud sound of numerous hooves racing towards them, the sound that could only belong to more than one horse or Centaur, galloping across land.
Firenze was indeed correct; the Centaurs were here!
"Come on, dear!" said Molly hurriedly, holding her by the arm and leading her back to the living room, intending to use the Floo thing to get them both out of there.
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Firenze galloped over the Burrow's garden, snapping his way through the trees' branches, his eyes in front all the time. As he ran, he couldn't stop wondering how on earth his herd had managed to find Rebecca so soon? Yes, Centaurs were great trackers, but he and Harry Potter had worked hard to ensure Rebecca's hiding place was a secret. The reason they had brought her to the Burrow in the first place was because none of his herd knew anything of the Weasleys or their home, having never met any of them except for briefly at the Battle of Hogwarts.
His thoughts were soon interrupted, though, as his herd came into view.
He cursed; as he watched close to a dozen of his people push through the outer trees, heading towards the Burrow. Magorian was there, of course, for as leader it was expected of him, and Adair and a reluctant Ronan followed him.
Firenze wasn't surprised to see Adair there. Adair had been Rebecca's keeper during her stay in the Forbidden Forest, not to mention she had tried seducing him as an earlier attempt to escape. He obviously intended to have her keep that promise.
Ronan, though, was a surprise. Although it was no secret that he disliked humans (not as greatly as Bane, but still), he had never been the keenest of fighters. He had always been the most doleful and sensitive one of their herd, and preferred to leave violence as a last resort, and never to harm young ones.
The rest of the herd followed them out, but Firenze did not bother to peer closer at their faces, to learn who they were, though he did take note of one face that wasn't among the crowd…Bane. He wasn't with them, which was a shock, considering Firenze thought he would have been there at the lead.
As they trotted towards him, Firenze kept still and awaited their arrival, taking note of their expressions. Magorian had on him that seemingly permanent scowl, his dark hair flowing behind him, as he walked forward. Adair wore an expression of eagerness, no doubt waiting for what he expected to be a battle with humans to begin, or for the long awaited capture of Rebecca.
"Firenze," said Magorian with a scowl. "Why are you here?"
"I learned that Rebecca Leicester was here."
"And you came here to apprehend her for us?" said Adair, though he did so with faint humour, as he didn't expect to hear a yes from him in the least.
Firenze spared him a glance, and confirmed for him, "No, I did not."
He knew he was risking banishment again, but he still could not bring himself to lie to his own herd, his honour and dignity as a Centaur not allowing him, even though he knew that if he were to be sent into exile again, there would be no return for him this time. A Centaur could be forgiven and exonerated only so many times. In fact, before he, no Centaur had ever been forgiven and exonerated, as it was not their way.
Despite all the headway his kind had made with the wizards in the past year, they still stuck to many of the ancient laws of their race.
Adair narrowed his eyes at him. "So why are you here? Come to guard her from us?" At this, the others grew tense.
Firenze clenched his fists for a moment, wanting very much to confirm Adair's suspicions. But as before, Firenze was unable to do so, his sworn oath to serve his herd and entire race forbidding him.
"You know I will never fight you or any of our herd, my brother," he said calmly. "But neither will I help you track down and abduct one of my friends."
"HA!" Adair laughed. "Friend?! The Rebecca woman is merely a Breeder, someone with whom we can replenish some of our lost members with. She is a source for fresh blood, and for some physical enjoyment, nothing more."
Firenze stared hard at him. "Not to me, she isn't."
His words were simple and few, yet he spoke them with a hard edge, one that not even his clan could ignore.
Ronan was giving him a curious look, Adair gave him a look of scorn mixed with eagerness for battle, but Magorian was staring at him most thoughtfully.
"Firenze," he asked, "do you wish this female to be your betrothed?"
The sudden question threw him off slightly, and Firenze almost stuttered in surprise. "I…yes," he admitted. "Although not much time has passed since we have been reunited, I strongly feel the pull that we once had, now strengthened with time. I believe I see the same spark within her also."
Adair scoffed. "Foal love!" he assured them. "It's nothing more than that. Next he'll be telling us his heart beats for no one but her."
Magorian said nothing for a moment or two, but then gave a quiet sigh, as he stared regretfully at the younger Centaur. "I wish you had acted upon these feelings several years ago, Firenze. If so, we could have avoided all this hassle." He shifted his weight on his hooves. "But whether you desire her to be yours or not, it makes no difference. Even if you take or have already taken her, it still won't change anything."
He seemed to grow tenser, as his legs moved back and forth, as though eager to start running.
"The Fates have already chosen for us our path. We made our vow long ago, by warning her of her fate, should she break her word and turn against us. She did, and in doing so she sealed all of our destinies."
"Even if keeping such a vow will bring war upon us, and in time total devastation not only upon the wizards but on us as well?"
Magorian closed his eyes briefly, only to open them and look straight at him. "The laws of our race are strict and seem unforgiving, but they are a part of who and what we are. We must honour them, even if it means death in the process."
"And die we shall," Firenze replied. "For it will be a miracle if any of our herd shall survive this coming war."
They all kept silent then, though only for another moment, and then Adair stated, "Do you intend to stop us then, Firenze?!"
He shook his head. "As I said, I will not fight any in my herd, but neither will I help you."
"Then stand aside and let us pass!" he demanded, as he kicked his legs out from under him in anticipation.
Firenze gave one final sigh, and took a few steps to the right. "You'll forgive me if I don't wish you luck."
The others didn't answer him, and just trotted past, the rest of their party following them.
Firenze looked back to the trees that hid the Burrow from sight. He hadn't stopped the herd from coming, but he had managed to delay them a few minutes, which should have given Rebecca able time to escape through that Floo Network the wizards had.
All he had to do now was wait until the other Centaurs had gone, and then he would make contact with Harry Potter to rejoin Rebecca.
He waited a few moments, only to rear up in surprise, as a loud bang suddenly echoed around him, sounding like it had come from the Burrow itself.
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"Quick! Get the Floo powder. We'll go straight to the Ministry." urged Molly, as she ran into the living room with Rebecca in her grasp.
"Where is it?" asked Imogen.
"In the flowerpot over the fireplace."
Rebecca couldn't help glancing back, again and again, as though any second the Centaurs would knock down the Weasley's back-door with their hooves, and come storming in to grab her, which she knew was a very likely outcome.
"I can't find it," Imogen said.
"What?!" Molly shrieked.
"I can't find the Floo Powder. There's a flowerpot here, but it's empty."
"Nonsense!" Molly hurried past Abraham and Meredith, leaving Rebecca between them. "I always keep the pot full! Whoever heard of…" But she was soon to eat her words, as when she took the pot from the young girl, all she had in her hands was an empty pot, with only a slight cover of silver powder barely covering the bottom of it, not enough to Floo a rat, let alone a person.
"But I refilled this only last night!" insisted Molly.
"Never mind that now!" said Meredith, looking uncertainly around her, as though she were expecting the Centaurs to start crashing through the walls in on them. "What are we going to do?! There's no Floo Powder, which we can't leave or send a message without, and none of us can Apparate!"
"Keep calm," said Imogen quietly. Abraham just kept silent.
"Keep calm? How am I supposed to keep calm?! We've got a whole herd of Centaurs about to beat down the doors on us!"
"Oh do hush up!" snapped Molly angrily, as she put the pot down, and walked over to Rebecca. "Don't worry, dear," she said reassuredly. "Everything's going to be fine."
"How do you figure that?!" Meredith panicked.
Molly turned to glare at her. 'Definitely not one of the Ministry's bravest,' she thought. "We don't have time for negativity," she said aloud. "We need options, or else you're right, we're in trouble. Now think, what can we do?"
"Abs, what about your mirror?!" Meredith suddenly realised.
"My…what?" he said, looking at her in bewilderment.
"Your mirror! The one you said forms a link to one of the secretaries in our offices. Use it to contact them and send help."
"But I…I don't know…" he stuttered pathetically, but slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pocket-mirror, like the kind that ladies had with make-up. "I don't know if it'll work this far out…"
"Oh, don't be so stupid!" she reached to grab the mirror, yet he seemed hesitant on releasing it, though.
"Give it here!" Molly snapped, instantly grabbing the mirror and ripping it from both of their grasps. "How does it work?!"
"Umm, well, you just…" he stuttered again, yet thankfully he needn't have bothered saying anything this time, as the mirror seemed to have begun to work the moment Molly had opened it.
The glass glowed brightly for a second, before dimming down, to reveal a young woman's face smiling out of it.
"Abby, you naughty boy. I've told you before you can't…OH!" the woman shrieked, as she realised the person on the mirror wasn't Abraham Bollard, as she had no doubt been expecting.
"I'm sorry!" she said hurriedly. "I thought…"
"Never mind that now!" said Molly, ignoring the red face of Mr. Bollard. "This is Molly Weasley at the Burrow. Contact Harry Potter immediately, and tell him he has to send a team to us at once. The Centaurs have found us!"
"Huh? What's…?"
"JUST HURRY UP AND CALL HIM!" Molly's voice screamed into the mirror, making the woman shriek again, along with everybody else in the room, and ending the conversation. The glass then glowed again briefly, before dulling again, and turned back into an ordinary mirror.
With everything that had just happened, Rebecca hadn't noticed until now that the sound of the Centaur herd's thundering hooves had stopped. Imogen had apparently noticed, too, and was making her way over to the back windows, taking a look outside.
"I can see some of them just beyond the trees," she said. "They must have confronted Firenze."
"Will he be able to hold them back for long?" said Meredith shrilly.
"Firenze won't fight his own herd," Rebecca answered for her. "The best we can hope for is that he'll be able to stall them."
Abraham snorted. "Not much of a friend then, is he."
Rebecca glared at him. "He's not willing to kill his own people, especially when there's so few of them left, if that's what you mean! Don't forget that this isn't just his race he's facing out there, but also his family! How much better do you think you'd do if you were in his place?!"
The man gave another snort, but said nothing, turning away to look out the window. "Either way, unless Harry Potter gets here quick, we're gonna be in…"
"They're coming!" Meredith shrieked hysterically, pointing out the window. She seemed to becoming more panicked by the second, and Rebecca couldn't help but wonder if she had any personal beef with the Centaurs, or if they were just a race that gave her the creeps.
There were close to a dozen Centaurs approaching them. Some looked grim at what they were there to do, others looked calm but focused, and some looked almost overjoyed at the coming battle. She could easily pick out the face that one of the latter belonged to, as a muddy brown Centaur walked forth.
'Adair,' she thought bitterly. She had had a feeling that she was due to meet him sooner or later. He had treated her pretty much like the prisoner she had been years ago, or worse, as your basic farm animal. He had just been missing his whip or leash to hold her with. Part of her wouldn't be surprised if that was what he had planned for her, assuming they caught her and brought her back to the Herding Ground.
"Barricade the house!" shouted Abraham, flinging his wand up high, reciting a spell she didn't understand, followed by the bangs of every window and door in the house slamming shut. The rest of them followed his example, hurrying to look out the windows, their wands out and ready.
When they looked outside, they saw the Centaurs racing closer to the house. After seeing the windows and doors slam shut, they had quickened their pace, obviously not keen to risk losing Rebecca again.
A second later, one of them (they couldn't see which one) banged on the back-door, yelling out with his booming voice, "Listen, humans! We have no quarrel with you! We seek only the non-witch you have with you, the one called Rebecca! Hand her over, and the rest of you will be left in peace!"
All of them were holding their wands shakily, save for Rebecca who had none. Meredith was the worst, as she looked like she was about to have a seizure. Abraham was not much better, but at least he was holding his wand steady. Imogen looked like she was completely at ease, except for the layer of cold sweat that Rebecca could see on her forehead. Molly appeared the calmest, most likely because she had been through this king of thing before, with the war.
"We won't do that, Centaur!" Molly yelled out in reply. "I know you fought with us at the Battle of Hogwarts, and we wizards will be forever grateful to you for that, but that does not give you the right to come steal this girl from her home and family!"
"Our choice is made, human! Nothing you say will change that!"
"But surely there must be…"
"Expulso!" Imogen suddenly cried out, followed by a loud booming bang outside, echoed by the outraged and pain-filled cries of the Centaurs. Rebecca yelped, grabbing her chest in surprise.
"Miss Griffin!" yelled Molly. "What did you do?!"
"They were about to come in," replied Imogen, her voice sounding strained. "I panicked, and did what I thought I needed to do."
"Excuse me, but what have you done?" asked Rebecca, her ears ringing from the explosion, if that was what it had been.
"A simple spell used to make something explode," the young woman answered. "I used it to make that shed outside to blow up. Just something to startle them and keep them busy. It'll give us time till Harry Potter returns."
The spell she had used had been a powerful charm that causes items to explode. It was similar to the Blasting Curse, which also caused targets to explode, though the Blasting Curse used heat (like a bomb), while Expulso used pressure (like when the air pressure in a pipe grew too strong).
"And what do you think the Centaurs are going to do to us now?!" said Molly shrilly. "Do you think they'll be willing to listen or talk after the huge bang you have just given them?!"
"They weren't exactly willing before," countered Imogen.
Rebecca ignored them, as they started trading insults, and looked outside. Sure enough, the Centaurs were all scattered at the moment, as there were large pieces of the old shed, and various other pieces of the Burrow's garden everywhere. But that wasn't the only thing…
"The Centaurs!" she breathed out in shock and dismay. "What have you done to them?!"
None of the Centaurs appeared dead, thankfully, but there were more than a few lying dazed and injured, slash-marks on their flesh, and blood flowing from various cuts and wounds that they had received from flying pieces of timber and stone.
"I told you, only what…" started Imogen.
"There was no need to throw a bomb at them!" Rebecca rounded on her, glaring daggers. "You could have killed someone!"
"In case you've forgotten, Miss Leicester…this is war. Chances are at least a few on either side are gonna get killed at some point."
"And now, thanks to you, the chances of that war have gotten even greater than before!"
Imogen thinned her eyes at her, but before anyone could say anything further, a loud neighing sound came from outside. When Rebecca looked, she saw the Centaurs that were uninjured and still conscious, rising on their hooves, and glaring murderously at the house. Before long, all of them were neighing and shouting loudly, charging at the house with their bows raised high.
"Do you think any of your protection charms will work against them?" she asked Molly.
She sprang backwards, away from the window, as one Centaur reared up on his back-legs, and began beating down on the side of the house with his large hooves. The window shattered, sending shards of broken glass forward, and Molly grabbed Rebecca's hand, rushing her into the living room, the rest hurrying after them.
"I guess not."
The Centaurs had now surrounded the house, each following the example of the first Centaur, rearing up and battering the walls, windows and doors with their large, hard and heavy hooves. They sent clouds of dust, showers of glass, and loosened bricks tumbling down around them. Rebecca didn't expect the house to hold for long.
Meredith was already whimpering, Abraham had his wand out, but looked unsure of what to do, Molly was embracing Rebecca as though trying to protect her, like a mother with her child, and Imogen just remained still and emotionless as a statue.
'This is it,' thought Rebecca fearfully. 'They're going to get me.'
She thought of Firenze, and wondered if he could help her, but soon dismissed that. The only way he could help her now was if he took up arms and fought against his own herd, and she knew he would never do that.
The doors shuddered under the heavy blows, the hinges looking and sounding as though they were ready to break off at any second.
She slowly raised her arms to embrace Molly, who still continued to hold her tightly. Standing like that reminded her of when she was a child, being hugged by her mother whenever she had been frightened or sad. She wished her own mother were there.
Suddenly, there was a loud crack, like a whip, which sounded right behind them, making all of them jump.
Harry Potter stood, bent over slightly, and gasping heavily, right in front of the fireplace. Rebecca first thought he must have Flooed in, except that she had seen none of the green flames.
"Sorry!" he gasped. "I got here as soon as I heard."
Molly gave a sigh of relief. "Took your sweet time getting here, Harry dear. Not slowing down, are you?"
He grinned and shrugged. "Happens to the best of us, or so I'm told."
"Excuse me," stuttered Rebecca, "but where did you…"
"I Apparated," he explained hurriedly. "But never mind that now. Let's get you out of here."
"Apparated?" She frowned, as she recalled him mentioning that word before, when they had first brought her here to the Burrow. "That other form of travel you wizards use, which you were gonna use to bring Firenze here?"
"Yeah," said Harry, as he grabbed her arm. "I'll come back for the rest of you once I've dropped off Miss Leicester," he told the rest of them.
"But why didn't you Apparate him here yourself, instead of waiting for someone else to do it?"
"I was too busy. Plus, I tend not to do any Apparating if I can help it."
"Why not?"
Harry's face took on a grimace, as he stood side by side with her, with more bricks breaking away from the wall in front of them. "You're about to find out."
"What do you…?"
Her words were silenced, as with another crack she and Harry vanished from sight.
0000000000
The Ministry; Same Time:
A whip and a crack later, and Rebecca found herself once more in the back room of the Centaur Liaison Office…and feeling ready to throw up.
"Urgh!" she groaned, falling to her knees, and clutching her stomach.
"Now you know why I prefer going by Floo," Harry said with a snort. "Even after all this time, I can never get used to it."
She couldn't blame him for that. She thought the Floo Network had been bad enough, but it was nothing compared to Apparating. She hadn't been able to see anything, and felt as though she were being pushed through a hosepipe, crushed so hard that she couldn't breathe, and her eyes and ears felt like they were being forced back into her head. It had been awful!
"And now, if you'll excuse me," he suddenly said. "I've got to go and do it eight more times!"
She heard the whip/crack sound again, but didn't look up to see if he had gone, as her head was still throbbing, and her stomach still churning.
"Next time…I'll take the bus," she moaned.
To Be Continued…