Chapter 4 Once More Through the Forest

Thanks to alix33 and darrelldeam for looking this over. All mistakes are my own, feel free to point them out.

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Harry is a bit of an emotional teenager in this chapter, it'll pass.

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The next morning, after a nice breakfast of pancakes, Harry and Sirius got ready to travel. They made sure that everything was packed. This time both were toting guns in their waistbands, Harry have gotten proficient enough to hit the center area of the target. Not quite the bull's-eye, but close enough. They decided that they would carry wickedly long knives on their backs, just in case they lost their wands.

They were dressed in jeans, T-shirts, though Sirius had an unbuttoned adventurer's shirt over his, hats and boots. Once dressed and armed, they left the tent and Sirius took it down and shoved it in his bag. They were ready.

Dobby had decided that he was going to go back to the Island and finish his project which the two wizards still didn't know about and the house elf wasn't telling.

The village was a chaos of noise and motion. There were some Centaurs crying and hugging each other, and others were packing up the rest of their stuff, putting on weapons or giving their houses to the new Centaurs, after making sure they were emptied out. There were two very large horsemen moving to the side of the village, exchanging tools as they walked. Harry couldn't see what they were giving one another, but from the serious looks on their faces, it was important.

The two native colts were the loudest in their sorrow, since only one was coming with the explorers. The other was staying with his family, who didn't want to travel to the lost city with humans. There were three more young with the British group and two were coming with the travelers. Harry was pleased (and a bit embarrassed) to note they were girls. The one staying behind was a boy. All of the young were crying and shouting at their parents that they either didn't want to go or they didn't want to stay, as the case may be. The parents were doing their best to calm the young down and little by little it was working.

Bane stood on one side of the clearing and Nahand stood on the other, each glared at the other, stomping their hooves, arms folded and swishing their tails. They were just waiting for when they could finish their play for leadership. Their respective ex-leaders both were talking to them in low voices, probably trying to convince them not to fight to the death. Judging from the looks on the two hot-headed Centaurs' faces, it wasn't working. Harry was almost disappointed that he would miss that fight.

"Well," Sirius said, breaking Harry from his thoughts, "it looks like they'll be ready soon. Let's tend to Buckbeak and make sure he's okay with all this." He turned and started walking.

"I thought he already agreed," the green-eyed teen said as he followed his godfather to the edge of the village where the hippogriff was munching on his breakfast. It looked like a spider monkey, but there really wasn't enough left to be sure. Harry was puzzled how such a large animal could get one of those little, speedy primates.

"While hippogriffs are noble and majestic beasts, they are wild and unpredictable. So he might agree today, but find he wants to run off tomorrow. So don't count on him sticking around the whole journey," Sirius explained.

"Oh, okay. Hagrid didn't really say anything about that. Hey, speaking of Hagrid, are we going to invite the giants?" Harry asked, not really sure if that was a good idea or not.

"No, but, we'll invite all the peaceful half-giants. Sorry, but, probably not Hagrid, he's too far in his hero worship," his godfather said at the hopeful look. "Anyway, giants won't coexist with other species, they will only fight and kill anyone who dares enter their territory. The ones that want to have human mates are exiled from the tribe and I'll see about getting them to come. The giants' whole reason for being, in their eyes, is to rule over their lands. It was a big mess when the Ministry moved them to the mountains. We lost a lot of good wizards and witches in that battle. We won, obviously, but, it was a hollow victory, since the giants would've moved if the bureaucrats had told them there would be land, game and no wizards," Sirius said with a sad shake of his head. "I don't want to have to deal with those that won't conform to a mixed society, which is what we're going to try and build."

"Oh, okay." Harry really hated that Binns only talked about the goblins. He should have listened to Hermione and read his books. Then maybe he wouldn't come off as dumb as he was. Thinking of his friend made him frown, her letters didn't inspire hope. She was lonely and there wasn't anything Harry could do about it, which in turn made him feel bad for leaving, which then made him feel bad for wanting to abandon his godfather. Those feelings chased each other until they reached Buckbeak, who was done with his meal, and the two wizards bowed.

When the bow was returned, Sirius went up to the hybrid and stroked his neck. "Are you ready to carry us, Buckbeak?"

The hippogriff screeched and nodded. So Sirius turned and headed to the middle of the village. The other two followed. The three waited for the rest of the adventurers to join them. It took another hour for the Centaurs to sort themselves out.

Matta was the first to finish his good-byes and stood by Buckbeak and called for the rest to come. "It is time," he said. His voice booming across the clearing, making the hippogriff snap at him. "It saddens me that we must divide, yet, lightens my heart that we are greater in numbers. Those who are joining this journey come, it is time."

A flurry of hugs and hasty farewells were heard and the herds split. Eighty horsemen and -women joined in the center of the clearing (mostly natives). Baskets of food and possessions were strapped to their horse bodies. The men had bows and machetes strapped to their human torso. The three young coming with the group were quietly talking in the center of their parents.

This left around sixty-five staying. It was hopeful that there was enough to start a new herd, with all the new bloodlines. Melampus said that there were other herds in Britain that may join. He would contact them when they were more secure in the lost city.

Harry wondered where they got the large knives, then had the thought that maybe they forged them, though he didn't remember seeing a blacksmith area. Then again, he never really explored the village, too caught up in his weapons training and schoolwork. Even though it was technically summer vacation, Sirius insisted that he study.

Sirius went about adding repelling charms to the travelers' coats; some thanked him (mostly the Brits), others pranced away warily when he was done. While they wanted to go on an adventure, the natives still weren't used to humans. Sirius just shrugged and made sure all of them were spelled, and then he went and mounted Buckbeak, Harry straddled the hippogriff behind his godfather with the help of Firenze. They never did find a saddle, so they were bare backing it.

Matta and Melampus would lead, with Buckbeak between them, and the women and colt and the fillies would be in the middle, while the men would take the outside. Without another word the three leaders moved to the forest, the rest followed.

Excited whispers soon broke out and the Centaurs were stomping and tail swishing with anticipation. They moved through the forest with ease, for a good two hours. Then the undergrowth started to become hazardous, scratching sides and pulling off hair. So Sirius dismounted from Buckbeak, not wanting the hippogriff to rear up if he cast spells on his back, and was slashing through the limbs and vines with the two leaders. The group became triple filed as they picked their way over the roots and downed foliage.

Harry fell back, still astride Buckbeak, who was getting impatient with the slow walking, and talking with Iago about the history of his herd. When the hippogriff started snapping at Harry, he got off and watched as his feathered friend moved off to the left of the travelers. So the teen walked up to Iago and kept abreast of the white-coated Centaur. The conversation was enthralling and Harry learned a lot about Centaurs.

He learned that they were not half-breeds, but their own species. Iago told him of the workings of the village, mostly. There were some things he did not share. When Harry asked about the machetes, Iago lifted his front hoof and showed him the horseshoe on it. Harry blushed and nodded. Iago explained that the blacksmith, one of the larger Centaurs who had come with them, had had his workshop outside the village as to not disturb others with his noise. Talar, the blacksmith, had had a house inside the village where he slept.

Harry looked around for Talar and saw him in the back. Along with a machete, this Centaur carried a very large hammer. He was huge, the biggest Centaur in the group. He had black hair and coat, like most of the native herd, but it was streaked with white. Talar saw Harry gazing at him and gave the teen an arched eyebrow in return. Harry turned red and looked away.

Iago chuckled and resumed telling the embarrassed teen the workings of the village. It was an informative few hours. They stopped for lunch and Harry thanked the historian and went to talk to Sirius.

"Hey, pup, why aren't you making friends with the younger ones?" Sirius asked as he bit into a bean burrito that Dobby had brought. "I'd've thought you could relate to them better," he added after he swallowed.

"No, they're more worried about what's expected of them than what we humans are up to. Besides the few times I tried to talk to them last week, they ran from me," Harry said, picking at his food and casting a look at the three young Centaurs, who were eating bananas and some other weird looking fruit.

"Oh, hey, did you hear from your friends lately?" Sirius asked, hoping to lighten up the mood. It didn't work.

"Yeah," Harry said with a note of sadness, "Hermione's still mad at me for leaving. She says she understands, then turns around and says it was stupid of me to go. Her and Ron aren't really getting along now that I'm gone. I mean, it's the end of summer vacation for them and they haven't written to each other but two times, though Ron invited her to the Quidditch World Cup. I'm really worried that they'll split and Hermione will be alone. I really miss her. I'm hoping her and her family will join us, when we get everything set up." He slumped his shoulders, a bit depressed that he was the only one his age around. The colt and the fillies were younger than him by a few years and they really didn't want to make friends.

"We'll see," Sirius said in that adult voice that never inspired hope in children. "If she comes, she comes; if not then hopefully you'll make some new friends. I know of plenty of families that want to relocate, the only reason they haven't so far is lack of money. If we do things right, then that won't be an issue." He saw this wasn't helping and returned to the subject. "You can always write her and maybe, when she's older, her Gryffindor nature will make her seek you out." He ruffled his godson's hair, hoping to bring him out of his funk. "What about Ron? Is he happy for you?"

"Well, he's a bit upset that the team lost last year, not that that was really my fault. Now that I'm gone they can't find a good seeker. He did say he was happy that I finally got away from the muggles, but he mostly complains about the team," Harry said, more miffed at the redhead then anything. Ron's letters were mostly complaints about Quidditch, schoolwork, Hermione and his brothers.

Oh, there were plenty of warnings that Harry should stay away, from both of his friends. They cited that he was considered a criminal now for helping Sirius escape. The Headmaster tried to smooth things over with Fudge, but the Minister took Snape's word that it was 'all Potter's fault'. Lucky Hermione made it back to the hospital wing and was not accused of anything. Both Hermione and Ron let him know what the Daily Prophet was saying about him, none of it good. The school gossip was just as bad. While they weren't saying he was a Dark Wizard, they were calling for him to be expelled.

"Well, you should keep writing to him, if he's a good friend he'll come around," Sirius suggested, making Harry's head snap up.

"Yeah," was all the answer he got.

Harry went back to his thoughts of his friends. He knew if war broke out that the Weasleys would stay in Britain, but if Trelawney's prophecy came true then they needed a way to get the muggle-born and -raised out of Britain. They would need the muggle parents to help build a better government, since the wizarding one was so corrupt. But, how? His thoughts circled all of the travel spells he knew, but he was only a half-trained wizard, how could he help? He face must have shown his thinking because Sirius interrupted his thoughts again.

"Harry, I can see you're thinking about things you should be letting the adults handle," the older man said, causing the kid to blush again, making Harry wish he was older so he would stop going red all the time.

"Right, let the adults handle it," Harry said with a nod, completely unused to doing that. But, he told Sirius what he had been thinking, and his godfather gave a sage nod and went to talk to the leaders. Harry finished off his burrito and banished his napkin.

In ones and twos the Centaurs finished their meals and started milling around the clearing they were in. The natives were trying to get to know the Brits better and the three young Centaurs were playing off to the side. Harry was happy to note they were getting along, and he hoped that more would be born soon.

Matta called for them to get ready and soon everything was packed and they all formed a triple line. Sirius, Melampus and Matta were at the front. One with a wand, and the others with a machete, all were hacking a trail. Buckbeak's screech could be heard to the left as he hunted for food.

Gundabald came and joined Harry. "Let us go over some of your magical theory," the dark-coated horseman said. "While we Centaurs do not possess magic, I have read many books on the theoretical side. I am the teacher of the young and the stars told me, as I grew, that one day I would need wizard knowledge," he added at the confused look.

"I didn't see any books in your village," the confused teen said, you could hear the unspoken question.

"They are hidden from sight, I cannot tell you where, for even if I am no longer of that herd I must keep its secrets," Gundabald said with a shrug. "Now, tell me what you are unsure of and I will do my best to explain it."

Firenze pulled up to their side and the three talked about theory in Defense Against the Dark Arts for the remainder of the day. The two Centaurs had a way of explaining things in simpler terms, now Harry understood where he had been going wrong. He loved Hermione to death, but she wasn't as good at breaking things down as these two were. He would ask Sirius if they could do a few spells tonight after they made camp.

The group traveled to the right of the river, going west still. When it became too dark to see and the night creatures started to roam, they moved to the banks of the river. This time Harry asked the snakes to help guard over the camp and to not eat the occupants. The large water snakes agreed, more than happy to do as a speaker asked.

Sirius put up wards to protect the camp and erected the pup tent. The two weary wizards did their nightly routine and after dinner, which they ate in the tent, since it was roast duck and the Centaurs were vegetarians, they sat in the chairs and had their nightly talk.

"Do you really think we can do this?" Harry fretted, playing with the hem of his T-shirt. "Build a city where all of us get along?" After the way the younger Centaurs avoided him he was having doubts.

"I think if I invite the right people, then, yes, we can. But, Harry, you need to let me handle it. I really hate that you don't trust adults and I blame the Dursleys and your professors for that. From what you've told me about your last three years, not to mention your childhood, you've had little reason to. But I'm here now and I'll make sure you have a better life than you've had up until now. Well, when we've settled," Sirius added as an afterthought, knowing there wasn't much he could do for the kid while they were traveling, once more, feeling bad for dragging Harry along.

"Dobby is being making sure the Great Harry Potter is being having fun," Dobby chimed in as he took the littlest chair.

"Thanks, guys, that really means a lot to me. I can't stop worrying though. I mean, I love what we're doing and all the neat stuff I'm learning, but, well…" Harry trailed off not sure how to explain what he was feeling.

"You're homesick," Sirius said, nodding in understanding. "I'm a bit homesick too. It's normal."

"Yeah, maybe that's it," the teen conceded, thinking over the heavy feeling in the middle of his chest. He didn't want to feel homesick; he wanted to enjoy his new family. These last few months had been the best of his life and he didn't want anything to take away from that.

They talked a bit more, and then sat and listened to the sounds of the jungle until Harry snapped out of his melancholy. "Hey, Sirius, teach me some DADA. Firenze and Gundabald went over theory with me and I think I've got a handle on it. So can we go over some spells?" he asked, perking up.

"Sure, pup, we've got an hour or so before we have to hit the hay. What did you want to go over?" Sirius got up and started to clear an area. Harry and Dobby helped. Soon the two wizards were throwing defensive spells at a conjured block of wood, which improved Harry's mood dramatically. They practiced about an hour and then went to bed.

This set the pace for the next week. Harry would talk to the snakes and they scouted ahead, so the group could avoid the human natives, though there seemed to be a few curious ones trailing along to their left. They never came close, but the snakes told Harry they were being followed, which he told the leaders. Muggle repelling wards were added to the camp, but that didn't dissuade their followers, so they must be magical. When the stalkers showed no sign of violence, the travelers simply continued onward and had the snakes watch them, just in case.

One night during that week, Harry had had a bit of a weird dream. It was vague, like looking through frosted glass, but if he interpreted it correctly then Voldemort, in a baby like homunculus, was talking to two of his followers. Harry thought one was Pettigrew, but he really couldn't get a good view. The three were discussing a plan for the coming year. Something to do with Hogwarts. A muggle came upon them and was killed.

That's when Harry woke up, a slight twinge in his scar. He had debated on whether or not to tell Sirius and in the end did. Sirius got a worried look on his face and mumbled something about connections. Then he ruffled Harry's hair and told him not to worry about it, he'd do some research to see what was up and if he found something Harry should know about, he'd tell him.

At first that ticked Harry off, but those nightly talks about letting adults handle things were starting to wear on him. So he let it go for now.

The adventurers hacked their own path, keeping the river to their right. The three gentle Centaurs would go over Harry's schoolwork; he even lent them his books to read, so they had a better understanding. Then Harry and Sirius would go over the practical parts each night and then the next day it would repeat. They did switch up between DADA and Charms and Transfiguration, but mostly stuck to defensive spells.

It was after that week they ran into a problem, well not much of an issue, but one big enough they made camp early. The snakes had warned Harry that there was a swamp in their path, it was huge and had many Caiman, large cousins to the alligator, and Anacondas. They were discussing on whether or not to go around it or through it. The adult leaders were debating it, while the rest of the herd was gossiping or complaining, not used to this much traveling.

Since they stopped earlier than normal, Talar was going around making sure that everyone's shoes were secure. You could hear the pinging of his hammer on those he thought needed it. Gundabald and Firenze had taken Harry aside and continued his education.

The group was settling in, the women were setting up a fire to cook with, since they had eaten only fruit this last week, they wanted to cook a vegetable and root stew. The men were doing a perimeter check, bows and knifes at the ready. The colt and the fillies were playing a game of tag in the middle of the clearing, getting in the women's way.

After about an hour of peace, one of the fillies suddenly let out a loud scream; she had wandered outside of the camp. The spells on her coat and the camp's wards had attracted one of the Jacksaws.

The small silver cat was raking its claws into her hindquarters as she kicked to remove it, leaving large cuts in its path. She continued to scream and buck, trying to dislodge the animal that was clinging to her backside.

As one the adult males moved. Talar grabbed the cat by the scruff of its neck and threw it into a tree. The Jacksaw landed on its feet and turned to the new enemies. Hissing and roaring, its fur standing on end as it backed to the tree.

Sirius was with the men, trying to get a clear shot, but the Centaurs had circled the cat and he couldn't get through, so he put his gun in his waistband and went to get the injured filly.

Harry whipped out his gun, remembering the cat was impervious to magic, and joined the women and children in the middle of the clearing. He stood in front of them, gun aimed at what he could see of the little beast, which wasn't much with the large horsepeople surrounding it.

Sirius had picked up the filly, arms under the horse body, with her human arms around his neck and was carrying her to safety. After he got to the circle of women, he set her down and started casting every healing spell he knew. The wounds slowly closed, but she would scar. The girl was now hugging her mother tears rolling done her face as Sirius tended the wounds.

Seeing the girl was safe, Harry turned back to the fight. The silver cat was lashing out at anything that came near it, with its long sharp claws. Its roars could be heard around the clearing, those claws tore into more that one of the males, leaving bloody wounds behind.

The Centaurs were rearing up at the feisty cat, trying to chase it away, slashing their machetes at it, and cutting its legs when it slashed at them, but the Jacksaw fought on.

Harry lifted his gun and took aim, when he spotted his chance; he fired and hit the Jacksaw in the eye. It fell to the ground, dead. The quiet of the clearing was disturbing after all the noise that was there moments before.

The Centaurs turned and looked at him; many with pride, and some with anger and fear. Matta trotted up to him, with a disappointed look on his face, much like Dumbledore. "Why?" was all he asked, his arms folded and his eyes sad.

"It wasn't going to be chased off and we didn't have enough time to release the spells. Sirius is trying to keep the girl alive, there wasn't any choice," Harry said with a tinge of remorse, but a firm jaw. This wasn't the first time he killed, and it probably wouldn't be the last, so he wasn't going to let anyone tell him he did wrong.

"We still could have trapped it," the native leader said, still showing his distress.

"With all due respect, sir, how?" Harry asked. "We don't have a cage, nor was there time to build one. Look, I get you're peaceful people, but if there's one thing I've learned in life it's never let something that was born to kill you live. According to Gundabald, those animals will kill anything with magic. No, I'm remorseful that I had to take a life, but not sorry that it was a Jacksaw," Harry stated, his arms folded rebelliously, his face defiant.

"This is one of the many things our cultures are going to clash over," Matta said with a frown.

Melampus, who had been silent up until then, spoke, "It will be something we too will clash over. I am on the boy's side in this matter. In the Forbidden Forest it was kill or be killed. A lesson hard learned, but learned nonetheless. One of the many reasons we let the stars guide us here." He looked at his co-leader and they held a silent conversation, with lifting of eyebrows and small gestures.

"A debate for another time and one that should be held with adults only," Matta said, turning back to Harry, his face no longer showing dissatisfaction. "My apologies, young Harry Potter, you are not one of my herd and I should not have chastised you. I was simply shocked over the death. I bid you good-evening," the steel-haired horseman said and turned and went to where Sirius was healing the fighters.

Melampus put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "You did well, young warrior, should we happen on the same situation, do not hesitate to do such again." Then he too turned to make sure the herd was in good health.

Harry frowned after the two leaders, confused about how they could both lead if they had such different points of view. He thought the natives were once warriors and the Brits turned them away from that. It must have been the introduction of the Acromantula that made them switch. Fifty years of fighting those giant spiders would make anyone warriors and Harry hadn't seen anything like them in the rainforest. Then he shrugged and moved off to find out if his three tutors and godfather were okay.

Iago, Gundabald and Firenze were not among the wounded, so they were patrolling the border of the camp. They seemed to be debating something and Harry only hoped it wasn't his actions. Someone had taken the carcass from the camp, probably to throw it in the swamp, so it wouldn't attract predators or scavengers. Harry went and banished all the blood, for much the same reason.

Sirius was still busy tending the wounded with some of the women. The rest of the group stood about in groups gossiping and looking Harry's way. He had a feeling he was going to be to topic of conversation for a while. He just hoped it wasn't going to be like second year all over again. Like earlier, some of the faces beamed with pride, while others were creased with frowns.

Getting tired of the stares Harry went to Sirius and asked for the tent. His godfather turned away from the woman he was talking to and smiled. "Why do you need the tent, pup?" he asked with a tilt of his head.

"Well, in case you haven't noticed they're all staring at me, so I want to go and read for a while," Harry explained, waving his hand at the Centaurs, some looked away in shame.

"Right, I'll make sure to address that," Sirius said with a bit of a bite, glaring at the now blushing Centaurs. He reached into the bag and pulled out the tent.

Harry took it, erected it and crawled inside. He picked up a book, but wasn't really reading it, so he closed his eyes and listened. The monkeys and the birds recommenced their daily routines and the Amazon was alive again. Harry sat and just let the wild of the jungle relax him. Soon he was asleep, book forgotten in his lap.

"Harry Potter needs to be waking up now," the familiar squeaky voice penetrated his nice dream.

Harry yawned and sat up. "What's up, Dobby?" he asked, looking at his littlest friend.

"It is being dinner time. Harry Potter's Paddy has already eaten and is talking to the horseypeople," Dobby said, waving to the table, which had a nice hot meal of roast beef stew. "Dobby is being having letters for you from your Grangy and Wheezy." The little elf held out the letters and waited for his boss to take them, then went and sat at the table.

"Thanks, Dobby, you're the best," Harry said as he got up to eat. He'd read the letters when he was done. After the filling meal, he sat in his chair and read the two letters. Dobby was flitting about the kitchen.

Sirius came into the tent and saw his godson frown at the papers in his hands. "What's the matter?" he asked as he took his chair.

"Ron and Hermione went to the Quidditch World Cup and it seems there were Death Eaters there. Ron says they were followers of Voldemort. Someone used Ron's wand to cast what he calls the Dark Mark. They're both real worried about what that means." Harry was still looking at the letter from Ron as he explained.

"That is a bit troublesome," Sirius said, rubbing his chin in thought. This was a sign that all was not going well in England. With the dream Harry had, this could be an issue. Not that he was going back, but it might make them move up some plans. He only hoped they got to the city soon. Matta said with the detour they would be there in less than two weeks.

"Yeah," Harry said, and then he sighed and put the letter away. "I feel horrible that I wasn't there to help."

"Damn it, Harry," Sirius snapped, "when are you going to learn the world is not on your shoulders?" his face softened and he continued. "Harry, pup, you've got to understand that you are not responsible for the wellbeing of your friends. They have parents for that." He was bound and determined to get that through his godson's head. It was something they talked about nightly. Stubborn kid.

"So you keep saying," Harry said, not really understanding his godfather's point.

"And I'll keep saying it until you get it through that thick skull of yours." He reached over and tapped Harry on the forehead.

"Right, so, what did you talk to the Centaurs about?" Harry asked, not wanting to have that argument again, swatting away the annoying hand.

"I let them know that I'm proud of you for killing that Jacksaw," Sirius said, beaming at the teen. "Then I told them they had no right to look down on you for doing as you were told. Most of the Brits understood and they're talking to the rest. So don't worry about being shunned or anything." He patted Harry on the shoulder.

"Right, okay," Harry was at a loss, he never had an adult stand up for him before. "Thanks for that," he added quickly.

"It's what parents do. Even godparents," Sirius waved off the thanks, but continued to smile.

"Well, let's do some spells." Harry got up and started to clear the furniture.

They spent a good two hours going over Transfiguration and how to use it in a fight. Then they went to bed. The next morning over a simple cold cereal breakfast Harry asked, "Are we going around the swamp?"

"Yeah, it's going to add a few days on our journey, but we don't want to risk lives. We'll have to keep our guns handy and watch out for more Jacksaws. But we really don't want to go through the swamp, since there are more predators in there," Sirius answered with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Right, I'll do that." Harry checked his gun, making sure it was clean and ready.

To Harry's great relief, he wasn't shunned. Many of the adult Centaurs came up to him and apologized for making him uncomfortable the night before. He told them he understood and they would smile and go about their morning activities. Nalla (the injured filly) came up with her mother and they both thanked Sirius and Harry for saving her life.

Harry heard Buckbeak in the forest, crashing through the undergrowth. He peered in the trees hoping to see his feathered friend, but it was too dense. He could only hope that the hippogriff joined them when they came to the lost city. He kinda felt bad for the hybrid because there was no room for an animal that big to fly. Shaking off his thoughts he went to help Sirius take down the tent.

They broke camp and went south, it did add a few days to the journey and they had to face off three more Jacksaws and a few Bugalards. The Spiral Snakes seemed to be avoiding the group, for which they were thankful. Harry had a feeling it was because of his snake scout. They must have warned the deadly snake that there was a speaker in the group.

There were still had people trailing them, but as before, they showed no signs of violence.

The group was deep in the Amazon now and if they thought it was dark when they entered the rainforest, Harry and Sirius were clearly unprepared for the darkness it held now. Harry kept a Lumos on his wand at all times, and the Centaurs carried torches. The sounds of the howler monkeys made many of them jump. That was one loud primate.

Camp was always set up quickly; wards were the first thing erected. They would set off just after breakfast, not wanting to stay in one place too long. The dusk like day was making everyone skittish.

After a week and a half of travel, one of the scout snakes came to Harry and told him there was sunlight up ahead. Harry told the leaders and they followed the snake. As if by magic, the forest ended. There in front of them was a large basin surrounded by a huge golden dome. You could barely make out the city inside the shield.

Everyone was so happy to finally get to their destination that clapping, stomping and shouting started as they rejoiced in the sun. The younger ones were prancing and dancing around their mothers.

"Well," Sirius said over the cheering, "I guess we make camp until we find a way in."