Wolf Princess Chapter 14
Firenze, just as I remembered him, stood there just a few feet away and staring down at us from his height nonchalantly.
From my position behind Remus I could tell that Firenze hasn't noticed me just yet. His gaze hasn't seen my form.
"Remus," said Firenze, pleasant, "you have returned from the Forest."
"Yes, my time in the Forbidden Forest was much shorter than I had originally anticipated," agreed Remus.
A bit of a sad note to his voice, Firenze said "Indeed and I'm guessing that your search was unsuccessful."
He definitely seems disappointed by the lack of results on Remus's search of me.
By this I can easily tell that Firenze has missed me in the time that he'd been absent. This brought a smile to my face for I had greatly missed him too.
Smiling, Remus said "Actually my search has brought quite beneficial results."
"What are you talking about" asked Firenze, confused.
Without another word Remus stepped to the side so that I'm now in full view of Firenze.
I moved forward more into the light, smiling timidly up at Firenze.
Softly, I said "Hello, Firenze."
For a few passing moments there was just silence. Firenze was staring at me a pure shocked expression on his face as if he couldn't believe what he's seeing in front of him.
"Numa," he whispered.
"It's been a while, Firenze," I said, voice laced with warmth and affection. "What has it been, nearly two years?"
Nodding, Firenze said "About that much."
Then without any warning I dropped my belongings and lunged straight at Firenze. He didn't have much time to react before I punched at kicked at every piece of him that I was able to reach.
In response Firenze tried to defend himself by lifting up his arms and covering his face so that I wouldn't land a hit on him there.
"Hey," exclaimed Firenze. "Numa, what in the world are you doing?"
"Beating some sense into you," I said. "This is what you get for leaving me without saying goodbye to me!"
Firenze manages to get me to cease the attack on him by snatching my hands and holding them still.
"Look, Numa, I'm sorry," apologized Firenze, sincere and remorseful, "but I have my reasons for leaving like I did."
"And what exactly were they," I demanded.
"I had no choice, but to leave," answered Firenze. "The Herd would've killed me if I stayed in the Forest. Dumbledore asked me for my help by offering me a position here at Hogwarts as a teacher. When the Herd learned that I had accepted the offer they had me banished and only gave me a very limited amount of time to leave. To be honest I barely made it out alive if it hadn't been for Hagrid.
Inwardly I winced as Firenze spun his story in this explanation. I was aware of the ways the Centaur Herds me whole life and that something like that will certainly make them seriously furious. They would see something that Firenze did in that regard as an act of servitude and a complete disgrace to their noble kind among other things. After that I must admit I can't stay angry at Firenze anymore.
Face softening considerably, I sighed "You've got a point there, Firenze. All right, I forgive you."
Firenze now smiles down at me. Firenze let go of my hands, instead spreading his arms out wide.
"Now that we've gotten past that, how about giving me a hug," requests Firenze.
Mirroring his smile I jumped and wrapped my arms around his broad chest. In response Firenze encircled his around me holding tight.
"It's good to see you again, Little Numa," whispered Firenze, his breath traveling through my hair.
"Back at you," I returned.
Right then someone clears their throat and the two of us turned to the source of the noise.
Remus is watching us with an amused expression on his face. Firenze and I had been so caught up in each other's company and reunion that we've completely forgotten that Remus was still in the room with us.
Composing himself and setting me back down onto my feet, Firenze said "So what brings you two to my quarters," he asked.
Remus said "Numa has asked for a tour of the Castle and needs a guide. Unfortunately I can't be the one to do it since I need to clean myself up and get something to eat. So I was-."
"Wondering if I would do it in your stead," finished Firenze, smirking.
Nodding in confirmation, Remus said "Yes, I was hoping so. If it's not too much trouble."
Firenze said "I'd be delighted to do what you are asking. I don't have any problem with it at all."
Clapping his hands together, Remus said "Good then I'll just go and allow the two of you to catch up with each other. I'm sure that you two have a lot to catch up on."
With that Remus turned and took his leave of the room, leaving Firenze and I left the classroom and were on our way.
Authors Note:
Hope you guys all liked this one! ;D