A/N: Just got done hitting some Nyzul Isle on FFXI, and for some reason you people seem to like this story…a lot. Anyway, I'm gonna pound some Red Bull and do up this next chapter, not as action packed as you'd expect, but trust me, the fun is coming.

James Castle

Chpater 7: Allies

"Greetings, child of Mars," a centaur spoke as he walked into the small clearing in the forest where James was working out, doing pull-ups on a tree branch.

James ignored the centaur as he finished his set before dropping to the ground. "I don't like being followed you know," James looked over the centaur for weapons as he took a drink from a water bottle. "You've been watching me, why?"
The centaur examined the young wizard in front of him. He had been following the wizard since he had begun his routine in the mornings, getting close enough to hear the conversation with the witch several days ago. The wizard was dressed to blend in with the forest, dark green clothes all over, with an odd wand-like device attached to his side. "The forest is Centaur land, you should not be trespassing," he replied. "We are to capture and deliver you to the headmaster, should you wander into our lands," he commented to the young man.

"And why haven't you?" James replied as he wiped the sweat from his face with a towel from his pack.

"You have done no wrong in our lands," the centaur replied. "And you have proven to be more than a match for the creatures of the wood," he looked to the wizard's torso. "You had another device when you dealt with the Arcomantula last week, was it damaged?" the centaur asked.

"No, my device was needed elsewhere," James replied. "The girl I was with needed it more than I did," he frowned as he stretched out a cramp in his leg. "I ask again, why have you been following me?" James frowned at the centaur, his hand on his wand.

The centaur noted his apprehension and bowed courteously. "I mean you no harm, but a youngling such as you, wandering the forest alone, tends to draw interest," the centaur apologized. "My name is Firenze, I have been following you to assure your safety," he explained. "It appears my fears were unfounded, after how you dispatched those Arcomantulas that wandered across your path," he nodded at the boy.

"Well, Firenze," James bowed back. "My name is James Castle, and I would appreciate it if my happenings here in the forest remain between you and me," James explained as he kept eye contact with the centaur.

"We are to bring any injured wizards or witches to the headmaster immediately, as long as you remain intact, we have no quarrel," Firenze nodded.

"Why do I have the feeling that there is more to what you want to talk about, besides my trespasses into your forest?" James asked the centaur.

"You are quite astute young one," Firenze replied. "The first days of your schooling were quite revealing, what with how you handled the Grim and the rat," the centaur complimented him. "Being able to think clearly and find the truth is something we centaurs value," he continued. "More than that, the stars have been quite telling for some time now," the centaur looked at the fading starlight through the dawn's rays.

"I've never been much for Divination, seems like a load of crap to me," James grunted as he continued with his exercises.

"I would not expect a wizard, much less a human to understand the stars as we do," Firenze continued. "Mars has been shining very brightly as of late, as has Jupiter," the centaur's voice trailed off.

"Meaning?" James asked the centaur, pausing in his pushups.

"The meaning is always the hardest part to translate," Firenze replied. "Mars is typically a sign of war, destruction, and death, all of which have been running rampant for the last few years. Jupiter usually signifies control, the leader of the stars, seeing them both so powerful at once is quite odd," Firenze finished.

"What are you doing Firenze?" a deep voice spoke from behind James, opposite Firenze. James moved in a flash and had his and a pistol pointed at the newcomer. The centaur looked down at his wand and gun in disgust. "You are forbidden to speak with the wizards, you know this," the other centaur replied.

"This one is different, the forest fears him," Firenze replied. "The stars Bane, the stars point that he is going to bring order to the wizards," Firenze explained tiredly.

"The stars are open to interpretation, you are not the one to expose our ways to the wizards," Bane spat back. "This youngling is weak, without his wand he is nothing," Bane stomped his hoof.

"I am right here you know," James glared at the centaur, putting his wand and pistol away. "Look, no wand, no gun," he flashed his empty hands. "If you still think I'm weak, come get some," he glared at the centaur, his hands in front of him in a fighting stance.


"You okay James? Hermione asked as she poked her boyfriend in the ribs on the Gryffindor common room couch.

"Go 'way, 'm tired," he grumbled, turning his face into the cushions.

She smiled as she kept poking him. "You're going to miss breakfast if you're not careful," she finally got him moving with the mention of food. "What's got you so tired anyway?" she laughed as he stretched on the couch.

"Bad workout today, bloody horses," he mumbled under his breath. "What's that?" he asked, noting the paper in her hands.

"A little present I got to make my life here a little easier," she smiled as she slid beside him on the couch. "Ron's brothers, the twins, they graduated year before last, they left this to me," she smiled as she spread the map in front of him. "It's called the Marauder's Map, it shows everyone in Hogwarts," she explained as she pointed out their two dots very close to each other.

"Nifty little object, why'd they leave it to you? Why not Ron or Ginny?" he asked as he rested his head against hers.

"Well, they said I needed it for protection from Malfoy and the other purebloods," she shook her head.

"And the real reason?" he asked.

"Well, Ron is a bit of a child, and they figured Ginny would use it to sneak around with boys," Hermione laughed.

"That would be a very good use of the object," James smiled as he looked down into her eyes. "Not very becoming of a Head Girl, to have an object like this and not report it," he smirked down at her.

"Shut up," she frowned before they shared their morning snogging session.

"Oh, hello, am I interrupting anything," Luna asked as she strolled into the unused classroom on the second floor. She took a chair across from the two surprised people already occupying the room, basking in the afternoon sunlight.

"How did she…" Hermione mumbled to herself.

"I don't want to know," James replied quickly, locking the door and casting a silencing charm on it. "So…Luna…" James shook his head at the smiling girl. "You do it Hermione, I can't get a read on her," he gave up after studying Luna's face for a moment.

"Luna, how much about James are you 'seeing'," Hermione made air quotations as she spoke.

"I am seeing all he does not have covered right now," Luna replied lightly.

James groaned, covering his head. He should have figured on something out of the ordinary when he talked to her. "Luna, focus," he got her attention by snapping his fingers repeatedly. "How did you know I was coming to Hogwarts?" he asked her.

"Oh, I didn't really, at least until I saw you on the train," she shrugged her shoulders. "The stars said something important was coming and I had a good feeling about you," she smiled. "Bane said I was reading the stars wrong, but Mr. Hat helped to guide me," she finished.

"Bane?" Hermione raised her eyes.

"Mr. Hat?" James asked skeptically.

"Bane told me about your fight when I met with him yesterday," she scolded James. "You boys should learn to talk things out without resorting to violence," she shook her head at him.

"Fight? James!" Hermione glared at him.

"Bane is a centaur I met during my morning workouts," James explained the encounter he had with the centaur.

"You said you were tired! You didn't say you had been beaten by a bloody centaur!" Hermione shrieked at him before holding him close.

"To be fair, Bane was in as bad of a shape as James," Luna smiled. "Fighting a centaur to a draw in hand to hand combat is not something many can boast," she patter Hermione on the head.

"Not to mention the bastard cheats, he got me with his back legs in the chest," James grumbled before Hermione grabbed onto him for dear life again. "No more fighting centaurs?" he sighed looking down at her sobbing face. "Right, no more fighting centaurs," he sighed before looking to Luna again. "How do you know Bane?" he asked her.

"Oh, I'm the Lady of the Moon," Luna replied simply.

"The what?" Hermione asked after she had composed herself.

"You won't find it any book, it's a name they gave me after Bane found me in the woods in my first year," Luna replied. "I was out hunting for some Beaky-toothed Gosbits since they only come out at night," she explained as James mouthed gosbit to Hermione. "Bane found me and took me back to their encampment," she shrugged as Hermione looked back to James with a bewildered expression. "They were deciding how to send me back to the castle, until I talked with them about the stars," she smiled.

"What did you see, what did you tell them?" James asked quickly.

"We talked about how pretty the stars were," she smiled blankly.

James was about to say something before Hermione stopped him. "Who's Mr. Hat?" she asked Luna, restraining James.

"Oh, he sings to us every year, you know him," she smiled.

"The sorting hat, you are talking with the sorting hat?" Hermione's jaw dropped, shocked.

"Yes, he's very nice," she frowned at James. "He doesn't have many good things to say about your language as he was sorting you though," she shook her head at him. "I mean, you called him an overgrown strip of leather, and wished he was turned into a g-string on an overly obese woman," Luna commented lightly.

"James!" Hermione slapped him in the arm.

"The damn hat was reading my mind and…wait, stop," he groaned. "Luna, forget all this Lady of the Moon, Mr. Hat, and the other stuff," he stared at her. "What is it you can see about me?" he asked her.

"Oh, that?" she smiled as she straightened her robes, standing up. "I'm afraid I can't tell more than I have," she giggled before she kissed James and Hermione on the cheeks. "Neville is waiting for me outside, I told him I had to help you two with Charms homework," she skipped towards the door. "I'm on your side James, it's best not to try to figure out the mind of a seer, it could drive you loony," she blew a kiss at them before unlocking and going out the door.

"What the hell just happened?" James swore loudly as the door closed behind Luna.


"James, you have a minute?" a boy asked as James and Hermione left Transfiguration together.

James looked over the boy, recognizing him as a Hufflepuff in his year. "Sure…Justin?" he frowned as he tried to remember the boy's name, taking to heart Hermione scolding him about ignoring the other students over the last week.

"Yeah, Justin Finch-Fletchley," he nodded, pulling James aside as he shook his hand. "What do you need?" he looked to James's eyes.

"Not sure what you are after there mate, I mean Hermione and I are quite happy and…" he stopped when the boy laughed.

"No, no," Justin sighed as he glanced over at the other Hufflepuffs in his year that were keeping a perimeter. "We need to talk seriously," he sucked in a breath. "Us Puffs, we aren't the smartest, we aren't the bravest, and we aren't the most clever, but we heard the sorting hat this year," he explained.

"Luna," James glared back at him, unhappy with the impromptu barricade around him.

"Yeah, Luna pressed us a bit to look into the song," Justin explained. "I think that girl is a bit of a seer, if what everyone says is right," he continued. "Anyway, we got a record of the song from Hermione," he pointed at the Head Girl.

"Eeeep," she squeaked.

"Hermione?" James frowned as he felt the headache forming.

"Sorry, I made a copy for all the prefects, I didn't think it would be a problem," she bit her lip in anger.

"Not to be a dick, but I was at the sorting ceremony, and I know who and what the hat was singing about," James glared at then boy.

"Well…it said to ask a castle, we thought it meant Hogwarts until we saw you take down Malfoy and Snape," the boy explained. "We have some muggleborn Puffs, we got some interesting information about a Frank Castle," he finished.

Hermione gasped as James grabbed the boy by the throat and pinned him on the wall. "And what do you plan to do with that information?" James stared down the boy.

"We want to know what he needs," Justin gasped when James released him. "Cedric was one of ours," he finished, glaring back at James. "What does he need to get to the Death Eaters, to get to the Dark Lord?" Justin rubbed his throat.

"Don't worry about Frank, he'll contact you when he needs something," he frowned at the boy. "Punishment is coming, watch the papers," James said coldly before taking Hermione and leaving the Puffs alone in the corridor.


"What did I do now?" James complained as Hermione struck him repeatedly with a newspaper that Friday night.

"You bloody well expect me to think you had nothing to do with this?" she demanded an answer as she threw the special edition of the Daily Prophet at him.

"Oh, that," he frowned as he read the paper. "Why would I have anything to do with Sirius Black defecting and joining the Goblin Nation as a mercenary?" he looked up before she hit him again and opened to page two.

"Explain," she glared at him, sitting roughly on his lap.

"Oh, seems he was innocent, that the real bad guy was….Ron's pet rat," James shrugged, tossing the special edition away. The Ministry had suppressed the story for almost a week before it finally got to the Prophet, James smirked. "Come out and ask what you want to Hermione, I'm not going to lie," he brushed a strand of hair from her face.

"Did you have a hand in this?" she pushed his hand away, glaring into his green eyes.

"Yes," he replied as he leaned in and nibbled her neckline.

"How deep?" she sighed as she relaxed in his arms.

"I took the rat from Ron, I found Black, the rest was all him," he whispered in her ear.

"You need to let me in more James, let me help you," she sighed as she pulled away and looked into his eyes.

"To be fair, that happened before we were an item," he apologized. "Now we can deal with the Puffs harassing me or we can get comfy here," he smiled as she stretched out on the couch, pulling her with him.

"You are in so much trouble," she smiled at him after making herself comfortable.

A/N again! : I'll keep updating as much as I can with my work/ffXI schedule. This one was a bit slow, but trust me, James' present for Hermione in the next one will make up for it.