Chapter Eight
"He looks a bit peaky," Ron's voice said.
"Peaky? What do you expect? He fell over a hundred feet!" either Fred or George said.
The other twin continued, "Yeah. Come on, Ron. Let's drop you off the Astronomy Tower and see what you look like."
"Probably a right sight better than he normally does," Harry said as his vision came back. Many of his fellow Gryffindors, who were crowded around him, smiled in appreciation of his joke and that he was conscious once again.
Harry sat up as Hermione asked, "How are you feeling?"
"Oh, brilliant," he answered sarcastically.
"You gave us a right good scare there, mate," either Fred or George said.
"What happened?" Harry asked.
"WEell, you fell off your broom..." Ron began.
"Really? I meant the match. Who won?"
"Um, no one blames you, Harry. The dementors aren't supposed to come inside the Grounds. It was really lucky Lin was there, or you would've died-"
"What did Lin do?" Harry asked.
"She cast this spell without even using her wand. It slowed you down so you just touched down on the ground," Hermione said. It was obvious that she was in awe of such magic.
"It was wicked," Fred and George said in unison.
"Anyway, Dumbledore was furious. He sent the dementors away, but them he hurried off somewhere," Hermione said.
"All of the teachers were in a hurry, too," Ron said.
"But there's something else, Harry," Hermione said hesitantly.
"When you fell off your broom, it sort of blew into the Whomping Willow," Ron said, unwrapping a blanket to show him the slivered remains of his Nimbus 2000.
Harry sat back on the bed, attempting to hide his sorrow for his broom stick. Eventually, his friends coaxed him to talk again. After all, they were his friends.
ooooooooooo
Four hours later, Lin woke to the feeling of a warm body resting gently against her torso and head. A pair of strong arms was wrapped around her, holding her close. Her legs were entwined with someone's. She could even feel a forehead against hers.
Her first reaction was panic. Has he found me? Am I his prisoner, his mate again? However, she realized that this person was far too short to be Vaeldin. But then who was this?
She could hear soft breathing from very close to her. She could even feel the exhales on her lips. She could smell something woodsy and comforting...and a werewolf no more than two days after transformation. Remus.
Abruptly, Lin opened her eyes, and there he was, literally face to face with her. Her muscles tensed. She was not used to being so close to anyone, even Albus. However, something stopped her rfom instantly pushing herself out of his arms. He looked so peaceful, and all of the lines of worry and weariness were gone form his face. No! He's a human! He'll die while I'm still young! Wait...how am I even considering him?
Carefully, Lin peeled Remus's arms from her and hopped out of the bed. As soon as she was free, she ran from the room. She did not stop running until she was outside under the starry night sky. Even then, she kept walking quickly. Deeper and deeper she travelled into the Forbidden Forest, refusing to stop or even slow her pace.
When she was finally near the heart of the forest, she stopped, threw back her head, and yelled in a high, clear, tremendous voice, "Firenze!"
Minutes later, a centaur came galloping into the little clearing, led to that spot by the birds themselves. "Thank you, my friends," Lin said to them in her native language.
"It has been too long, Lin," Firenze the centaur said, walking over to embrace her.
"I am sorry, my friend, for the delay. Many things have happened at Hogwarts of late," she said wearily, though she was only mentally tired.
"Are the dementors the problem?" he asked.
Lin shook her head and said, "No. Remus Lupin, the new professor, knows what I am now. But, I almost revealed my true form in front of the entire school."
"There are trials coming for you. I have seen it in the stars. But, at the end you will be safe. And when I checked, Venus was rising," Firenze said seriously, though a tad less so at the end.
"Firenze, you know me better than that. I won't let myself feel that way about a human," Lin said, shaking her head.
"You said it yourself: he isn't human. He is a werewolf," the centaur pointed out.
"That makes no difference in lifespan," Lin said, her head drooping in unconscious sorrow.
"Actually, that's because they are killed by age fifty. They live for 200 years," Firenze said, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"What?" Lin exclaimed.
"Your professor will live almost as long as you-" he said.
"He's not my professor," Lin interjected.
Firenze sighed and said, "How about a ride, my little one?"
"We really must ride more often," Lin said as she gracefully jumped up onto his back.
"Gallop or trot?" the centaur asked in anticipation.
"I could use a good gallop right now," Lin said jovially, wrapping her arms around Firenze's strong torso.
And they were off. The centaur ran through the forest with the sylph on his back, as close to flying as she could come without the pain of separating her wings. Lin closed her eyes and felt the wind whipping on her face. All too soon, the sun began to peek over the top of the trees.
At this, the break of dawn, Firenze slowed and trotted to the rocky shore of the lake. This side of the lake was no where near where anyone from Hogwarts came. Thus, the odd pair could sit out on the rocks and catch the sunrise.
"I missed this," Lin said more than half an hour later.
"I missed you," Firenze said pointedly. "You spend too much time in that castle. You were made for nature, the air, the wind, not a cold castle."
"Or a cave, a dark, cold cave," Lin said.
"Don't think about that, Lin. You are here now with friends that love you as their own family. You have your werewolf, and you have Dumbledore's protective spells. You have all you need here, so be happy, my sister," the centaur said, reaching over to touch her hand.
Slowly, Lin began to smile. "Thank you, Brother. I needed that," she said, turning to smile directly at him.
Moments later, they both turned their gazes back to the panorama before them, and remained as such for a few more hours.