Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition: Reserve League

Season 11 - Round 3

Position used: Beater 1

Prompt: Write about someone catching a lucky break.

Additional prompts used: Starry night, centaur, merlot

Starry Nights and Centaur Eyes

The stars seemed to be calling him. Scorpius knew that it was against the rules to be outside of the Slytherin Common Room this late, but he just didn't feel like heading back right now. He couldn't. He was in the library doing some research on magical creatures.

Scorpius gazed over the pictures of all the wonderful creatures. He really had a fondness for bowtruckles. They looked a bit like stickbugs, those non-magical creatures he had often played with in his yard when he was younger. He longed for those days to come back to him.

Scorpius turned the page in his book and saw the word "Centaur" spelled out in big black letters. The page read, "Centaurs are creatures notorious for their skills in archery, healing, divination, and astronomy. These proud creatures prefer to be among nature as opposed to human settlements. They're known to have human intelligence and were offered 'being' status by the Ministry of Magic in 1811. However, they declined this offer as they didn't want to be associated with the creatures they consider inferior. Because of this, they have been classified as beasts." The picture showed a creature that had the torso, arms, and head of a man with black hair, and he had the body of a horse with black fur and a long flowing black tail.

Scorpius closed the book and glanced out the window once more. The stars really were shining brightly, and he really didn't feel like heading back to his dormitory and going to sleep. The feeling of adventure had struck him. Would he be in trouble if he broke the rules? Sure – that is – if he got caught. He sighed. I know I really shouldn't… but…. The feeling in him was just too strong. He grabbed the book and put it in his bag. Just in case I need some more information on anything I might find….

Scorpius stood up, grabbed his cloak from the back of his chair, threw it over him, and hurried out the library door as quietly as he could. "Lumos," he whispered, taking out his wand. He tiptoed around the corridors, being careful not to shine the light on any of the paintings that adorned the walls. The last thing he wanted right now were the paintings' inhabitants to wake up all grumpily and yell at him.

He carefully stepped down the windy staircase to the ground floor and ventured out into the Hogwarts grounds.

Scorpius took in the cool breeze. The moon dazzled in the sky with the stars twinkling around it. He had the air of adventure about him. He traipsed through the grass, looking around at all the plants. Merlot flowers sprung though the grass, giving the grounds a more dazzling look. The bug song around him was quite peaceful to his ears.

With every step, Scorpius found himself getting closer to the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

Should I turn back? He wondered. The Forbidden Forest was a dangerous place. He had literally just been reading a book about all the creatures in there. But as dangerous as they were, it was also fascinating. And it wasn't like all the creatures were dangerous. Think of all the cool bugs you might find! Although he did sincerely hope he wouldn't run into an acromantula. I think I'll just stick to the smaller spiders….

With A sudden rush of bravery, Scorpius began his journey into the forest. The trees seemed to coil all around, their great branches reaching out, as if to grab him. He shuddered a little, then gave himself a firm shake. I'm not scared. I can do this! I'm on an adventure.

The sounds of nature were all around him, magical and non-magical alike. The chirping of crickets filled his ears with delight. He pressed on, taking in all the sights and sounds, the many beautiful and interesting plants, the bugs scurrying around here and there.

Scorpius's eyes spotted a very peculiar looking beetle, merlot in color. Its red-purple hue dazzled in the glint of the moon shining in through the trees. As Scorpius came closer, it dashed out of the light. Scorpius followed it.

He was so wrapped up in pursuing the beetle that he almost forgot where he was and was no longer paying attention to where he was going – until an arrow came flying out of seemingly nowhere and pierced through the bark of a tree which was right in front of him. Startled, Scorpius looked around, alarmed at what had just happened. Oh no! What had he gotten himself into? He had known this was a bad idea. He should've listened to himself!

As Scorpius was berating himself, a figure stepped out from the trees. Staring at the ground, all Scorpius could see were hooves. He looked up and found himself face-to-face with a centaur.

The centaur's eyes screamed danger, and Scorpius quickly looked back down.

"What are you doing here, human?"

Feeling his heart beat rapidly, Scorpius stuttered out the best thing he could do for an answer. "I – I don't know – I just wanted to find something cool."

"Cool?" The centaur repeated. "Is that all this is to you? Cool?"

"What – I–"

"Have some respect for our land!"

"N-no – I didn't mean–"

"You can't just come onto our territory and expect some kind of a warm welcome."

"I'm sorry, sir, I didn't realize–"

"Don't call me sir." The centaur snorted.

Completely shaking, Scorpius found himself backing into the tree. His cloak caught on the back end of the arrow that was wedged in it. He felt like he was stuck here, gazing into the angry eyes of the centaur. He looked away again, unable to meet his gaze.

The sudden sound of hoofprints filled Scorpius's ears. Oh no! There's more? Of course there are. They live in herds, don't they? He was in serious trouble.

"Tymian! What are you doing?" The voice was female, which came as a bit of a shock to Scorpius. He'd never heard of female centaurs before, but it made sense. How else would they reproduce?

"This human thinks he can just wander onto our territory like this? I don't think so!"

"Tymian, look at him. He's clearly a foal," the female said. "And besides, since the great battle, centaurs have become more accepting of humankind. Just ask Frenze all about it the next time you see him. I'm sure he could tell you lots of stories about his younger days."

"Well said, Paloris," another centaur spoke, this one a male. Scorpius could tell that this one was older than the other two. "Humans and centaurs have always been a bit at odds with each other, but we've also gotten through some very tough times fighting alongside each other. We don't have to attack any human who isn't a threat just because they stumbled upon our territory."

"I'm sorry, Ronan." Tymian clearly respected the words of the older centaur, and he hung his head shamefully. "I didn't realize there was so much I didn't know." He turned back to Scorpius and nodded. "I'm sorry, human. You're free to go now."

Scorpius stood rooted to the spot, not knowing what to make of all of this. He was just about to step away, when another centaur emerged from the trees.

"Ronan, Paloris, Tymian, what is going on here?" He looked to be the oldest of the four centaurs in front of him, and when Scorpius gazed into his eyes, they were a startling blue, though much gentler than Tymian's had been. Scorpius still had to look away.

"Firenze!" Paloris greeted him.

"A human foal seems to have stumbled into our territory," Ronan explained.

"Well then," said Firenze. "Tell me, young one, are you lost? Do you need any help getting back?"

"Help? Getting… back?" Scorpius couldn't understand what the centaur meant.

Firenze snorted in amusement. "Climb onto my back."

Scorpius's eyes widened in shock. "You mean… really?"

"Yes," Firenze said. "Go on, get up there."

Scorpius hesitantly climbed onto the centaur's back, and then the centaur took off. Scorpius clenched his hands tightly to his blond horse fur to keep from falling off.

–O–

When they arrived back at the castle, Scorpius hopped off of Firenze's back, feeling rather dizzy.

"This is where we must part ways, my friend," Firenze said. "Perhaps I'll see you around." And with that, he turned and vanished back into the forest.

Scorpius stared in awe for a few seconds before he turned to head back to the castle.

–O–

Scorpius was so enraptured by his experience that he forgot he had even been breaking the rules and needed to be careful. He ended up running into a suit of armor, making a loud crashing noise, and waking up all the portraits on the wall, who all started yelling at him at once.

It wasn't long before a professor heard the commotion and came to check what was going on.

"Scorpius?" Came his sleepy voice. "What are you doing out of bed at this hour?"

"Um… I just–"

"I'm going to escort you back to the dungeons to your Common Room."

"Yes sir," he said, shifting his feet awkwardly.

"And don't think you're not getting detention for this. We'll just have to decide what that will be in the morning."

–O–

In his bed, Scorpius couldn't help but wonder what sort of detention was in store for him the next day. He found his mind wandering back to his experience in the forest with the centaurs, and, thinking about how amazing an experience it had been – minus the almost getting hit with an arrow – he decided he really didn't care what his detention would be.