Hermione led the way down the corridor outside Umbridge's office, her heart pounding with a mix of fear and determination. Harry was just half a step behind her, playing his part well. Hermione was fairly certain Harry had noticed she hadn't really been crying, so he had to know this whole plan was just a ruse. Well, that and the fact that there was no "weapon."
But there was a Grawp.
Hermione descended the stairs into the Entrance Hall, her mind racing with the implications of what she was about to do. The din of loud voices and the clatter of cutlery on plates echoed from the Great Hall—students enjoying dinner, celebrating the end of exams, blissfully unaware of the dangerous game unfolding just a few feet away.
She hoped Hagrid would forgive her, wherever he was. She knew that by leading Umbridge to Grawp, she was putting him in danger. She figured Umbridge would have Grawp locked away immediately, destroying any chance of the brothers reconnecting.
Hermione walked straight out the front doors and down the stone steps into the balmy evening air. The sun was falling towards the tops of the trees in the Forbidden Forest, and as Hermione led the march across the grounds, their dark shadows rippled over the grass behind them like cloaks.
"It's hidden in Hagrid's hut, is it?" asked Umbridge, slightly out of breath from walking at nearly twice the speed as Hermione and Harry due to her short, squat legs.
"Of course not," said Hermione scathingly. "Hagrid might have set it off accidentally."
She also didn't want to implicate Hagrid more than she already would be.
"Yes!" Umbridge cackled, her excitement mounting. "Yes, he would have done, of course. The great half-breed oaf."
Hermione nearly stumbled at the weight of the idea Umbridge's words just created.
Why sacrifice Grawp when Umbridge could sacrifice herself?
"Then… where is it?" asked Umbridge, with a hint of uncertainty in her voice as Hermione continued to stride toward the Forest.
"In there, of course," said Hermione, pointing into the dark trees. "It had to be somewhere that students weren't going to find it accidentally, didn't it?"
"Of course," said Umbridge, though she sounded a little apprehensive now. "Of course… very well, then… you two stay ahead of me."
"Can we have your wand, then, if we're going first?" Harry asked her.
"No, I don't think so, Mr Potter," said Umbridge sweetly. "The Ministry places a rather higher value on my life than yours, I'm afraid."
As they reached the cool shade of the first trees, Hermione could see Harry trying to catch her eye. She couldn't look at him and give anything away. Instead, she merely plunged straight into the trees, moving at a pace she knew Umbridge would have trouble keeping up with.
"Is it very far in?" Umbridge asked as her robe ripped on a bramble.
"Oh yes," said Hermione. "Yes, it's well hidden."
She continued into the forest in the opposite direction of Grawp, trying to make as much noise as possible. She had to get their attention…
"Er—are you sure this is the right way?" Harry asked her.
"Oh yes," she replied in a steely voice, crashing through the undergrowth. Behind them, Umbridge tripped over a fallen sapling. Neither of them paused to help her up again. Hermione merely strode on, calling loudly over her shoulder, "It's a bit further in!"
"Hermione, keep your voice down!" Harry muttered urgently, hurrying to catch up to her and take advantage of Umbridge falling behind. "Anything could be listening in here—"
"I want us to be heard," she answered quietly as Umbridge jogged noisily after them. "You'll see…"
They walked on for what seemed like a long time until they were again so deep into the Forest that the dense tree canopy blocked out all light. Hermione planned to keep walking and making noise until they were heard by the right group of creatures… she just hoped they would be able to find their way back to the castle afterwards.
"How much further?" demanded Umbridge angrily from behind them.
"Not far now!" shouted Hermione as loudly as she could. They emerged into a dim, dank clearing. "Just a little bit—"
An arrow flew through the air and landed with a menacing thud in the tree just over Hermione's head. The air was suddenly full of the sound of hooves; Hermione could feel the Forest floor trembling. About fifty centaurs were emerging on every side of the clearing, their bows raised and loaded, pointing at Hermione, Harry, and Umbridge. They backed slowly into the centre of the clearing, Umbridge uttering odd little whimpers of terror. Hermione couldn't help but feel a slight sense of satisfaction at the sound.
"Who are you?" said a voice.
Hermione looked left. The chestnut-bodied centaur called Magorian was walking toward them out of the circle; his bow, like those of the others, was raised. Hermione looked right. Umbridge, still whimpering, was pointing her trembling wand at the advancing centaur.
"I asked you who are you, human," said Magorian roughly.
Hermione crossed her fingers, hoping that Umbridge would be Umbridge—arrogant, cruel, and utterly out of her depth.
"I am Dolores Umbridge!" squealed Umbridge in a high-pitched, terrified voice. "Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic and Headmistress and High Inquisitor of Hogwarts!"
"You are from the Ministry of Magic?" Magorian asked, his voice low and dangerous, as many of the centaurs in the surrounding circle shifted restlessly.
"That's right!" Umbridge's voice climbed even higher, betraying her growing fear. "So be very careful! By the laws laid down by the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, any attack by half-breeds such as yourselves on a human—"
"What did you call us?!" roared Bane. There was a great deal of angry muttering and tightening of bowstrings around them.
Hermione's heart pounded. Umbridge was acting exactly as she had hoped, but things were spiralling out of control. She had to ensure she and Harry could escape the centaurs' wrath. "Don't call them that!" Hermione shouted furiously, catching the attention of some of the closer centaurs. However, her warning was ignored.
Still pointing her shaking wand at Magorian, Umbridge continued, "Law Fifteen B states clearly that 'any attack by a magical creature who is deemed to have near-human intelligence, and therefore considered responsible for its actions—"
"Near-human intelligence?" repeated Magorian, his voice dripping with contempt as Bane and several others roared with rage and pawed the ground. "We consider that a great insult, human! Our intelligence, thankfully, far outstrips your own."
"What are you doing in our Forest?" bellowed the hard-faced grey centaur Hermione and Harry had seen on their last trip to the Forest. "Why are you here?"
"Your Forest?" Umbridge shrieked, shaking now not only with fright but also, it seemed, with indignation. "I would remind you that you live here only because the Ministry of Magic permits you certain areas of land—"
An arrow flew so close to her head that it caught at her mousy hair in passing; she let out an ear-splitting scream and threw her hands over her head while some of the centaurs bellowed their approval and others laughed raucously. The sound of their wild, neighing laughter echoing around the dimly lit clearing and the sight of their pawing hooves was highly unnerving.
"Whose Forest is it now, human?" bellowed Bane.
"Filthy half-breeds!" Umbridge screamed, her hands still tight over her head. "Beasts! Uncontrolled animals!"
Hermione feared she was taking it too far now. She only wanted the centaurs to scare Umbridge, not kill her—or worse, take them down with her. "Be quiet!" shouted Hermione, but it was too late.
Umbridge pointed her wand at Magorian and screamed, "Incarcerous!"
Ropes flew out of midair like thick snakes, wrapping themselves tightly around the centaur's torso and trapping his arms; he gave a cry of rage and reared onto his hind legs, attempting to free himself while the other centaurs charged.
Everything was falling apart. Hermione stood frozen in horror as the centaurs pounded toward them. Harry dove on top of her, forcing her to the ground. The centaurs leapt over and around them, bellowing and screaming with rage.
"Nooooooo!" she heard Umbridge shriek. "Nooooo! I am Senior Undersecretary! You cannot— Unhand me, you animals! Nooooo!"
Hermione heard Umbridge scream but couldn't see anything from under Harry's body. She felt Harry shift on top of her, and then suddenly, he was gone. A second later, a thick hairy arm seized hers and lifted her up effortlessly from the ground.
Over the plunging, many-coloured backs and heads of the centaurs, Hermione saw Umbridge being borne away through the trees by Bane. Screaming non-stop, her voice grew fainter and fainter until the trampling of hooves surrounding them swallowed the sound completely.
"And these?" said the hard-faced, grey centaur holding Hermione.
"They are young," said a slow, doleful voice from behind Harry. "We do not attack foals."
"They brought her here, Ronan," replied the centaur holding Harry. "And they are not so young… he is nearing manhood, this one."
"Please," Hermione said breathlessly, trying to change their minds. "Please, don't attack us. We don't think like her! We aren't Ministry of Magic employees! We only came in here because we hoped you'd drive her off for us."
As soon as the words left her mouth, Hermione knew she had said the wrong thing. The grey centaur holding her threw back his head, his back legs stamping furiously, and bellowed, "You see, Ronan? They already have the arrogance of their kind! So we were to do your dirty work, were we, human girl? We were to act as your servants, drive away your enemies like obedient hounds?"
"No!" Hermione said in a horror-struck squeak. "Please—I didn't mean that! I just hoped you'd be able to—to help us—"
"We do not help humans!" snarled the centaur holding Harry, rearing up. "We are a race apart and proud to be so. We will not permit you to walk from here, boasting that we did your bidding!"
"We're not going to say anything like that!" Harry shouted. "We know you didn't do what you did because we wanted you to—"
But nobody was listening to them.
A bearded centaur toward the back of the crowd shouted, "They came here unasked. They must pay the consequences!"
A roar of approval met these words, and a dun-coloured centaur shouted, "They can join the woman!"
"You said you didn't hurt the innocent!" Hermione cried, real tears sliding down her face now. "We haven't done anything to hurt you, we haven't used wands or threats, we just want to go back to school, please let us go back—"
"We are not all like the traitor Firenze, human girl!" shouted the grey centaur to more neighing roars of approval from his fellows. "Perhaps you thought us pretty talking horses? We are an ancient people who will not stand wizard invasions and insults! We do not recognise your laws, we do not acknowledge your superiority, we are—"
But they didn't hear what else the centaurs were, for at that moment, a crashing noise erupted on the edge of the clearing. All heads turned towards the sound, including Hermione, Harry, and the fifty or so centaurs. The centaurs dropped Hermione and Harry almost instantly, their focus diverted. Harry hurried to Hermione's side as two thick tree trunks parted ominously, revealing the monstrous form of Grawp, the giant.
The centaurs nearest to him backed into those behind, creating a tense scene. The clearing was now filled with bows and arrows aimed upwards at Grawp's enormous greyish face, looming just beneath the thick canopy of branches. His lopsided mouth gaped open, revealing his yellow, brick-like teeth glimmering in the dim light. His dull, sludge-coloured eyes squinted down at the creatures below him as if searching for something.
He opened his mouth wider and bellowed, "Hagger."
Hermione gripped Harry's arm tightly. The centaurs were silent, staring up at the giant, who moved his huge, round head from side to side, still peering amongst them.
"Hagger!" Grawp repeated, more insistent this time.
"Get away from here, giant!" called Magorian. "You are not welcome among us!"
The words had no effect on Grawp. He stooped slightly, causing the centaurs to tense, their bows at the ready. But Grawp ignored them and bellowed once more, "HAGGER!"
A few of the centaurs exchanged uneasy glances. Hermione gasped as a realisation dawned on her.
"Harry," she whispered urgently, "I think he's trying to say 'Hagrid'!"
At that moment, Grawp noticed them—the only two humans among the sea of centaurs. He lowered his head, staring intently at them. Hermione shook with fear as Grawp opened his mouth again and, in a deep, rumbling voice, called out, "Hermy."
"He—he remembered!" Hermione whispered, gripping Harry's arm even tighter.
"HERMY!" roared Grawp. "WHERE HAGGER?"
"I don't know!" squealed Hermione, her voice trembling. "I'm sorry, Grawp, I don't know!"
"GRAWP WANT HAGGER!"
One of Grawp's massive hands reached down towards them. Hermione gave a genuine scream, took a few steps back, and fell over. Grawp's hand swooped towards Harry, knocking a snow-white centaur off its legs.
This was the moment the centaurs had been waiting for—fifty arrows soared through the air at the giant, striking his enormous face. Grawp howled in pain and rage, straightening up and rubbing his face with his hands, inadvertently pushing the arrowheads deeper into his skin.
He yelled and stamped his enormous feet, causing the centaurs to scatter. Pebble-sized droplets of Grawp's blood showered them as Harry pulled Hermione to her feet. The two of them ran as fast as they could towards the shelter of the trees. Once there, they looked back to see Grawp snatching blindly at the centaurs as blood streamed down his face. The centaurs were retreating in disorder, galloping away through the trees on the other side of the clearing. Grawp roared in fury and plunged after them, smashing more trees aside as he went.
"Oh no," Hermione whispered, her voice quaking. Her knees gave way as the reality of what had just happened sank in. "That was horrible. He might kill them all."
"I'm not that fussed, to be honest," Harry muttered bitterly.
The sounds of the galloping centaurs and the blundering giant grew fainter.
"Smart plan," Harry spat at Hermione. "Really smart plan. Where do we go from here?"
"We need to get back to the castle," Hermione said, choosing to ignore Harry's anger.
"By the time we've done that, Sirius'll probably be dead!" Harry snapped, kicking a nearby tree in frustration.
"Well, we can't do anything without wands," Hermione said matter-of-factly. "Anyway, Harry," she continued, unable to keep the sarcasm out of her voice, "how exactly were you planning to get all the way to London?"
"Yeah, we were just wondering that," said a familiar voice from behind her.
Hermione and Harry instinctively moved closer, peering through the trees. Ron emerged into sight, with Ginny, Neville, and Luna hurrying along behind him. All of them looked worse for wear—Ginny had several long scratches running down her cheek, a large purple lump was swelling above Neville's right eye, and Ron's lip was bleeding more heavily than before. Despite their injuries, they all looked rather pleased with themselves.
"So," said Ron, pushing aside a low-hanging branch and holding out Harry's wand, "any ideas?"
"How did you get away?" asked Harry, amazed, as he took his wand from Ron.
"A couple of Stunners, a Disarming Charm, and Neville pulled off a really nice Impediment Jinx," Ron said airily, now handing Hermione her wand. Hermione felt a warmth in her chest as Ron's hand seemed to linger just a moment longer than necessary on hers. "But Ginny was the star—she hit Malfoy with a Bat-Bogey Hex. It was brilliant—his whole face was covered in the things. Anyway, we saw you heading into the Forest and followed. What happened to Umbridge?"
"She got carried away," Harry replied. "By a herd of centaurs."
"And they left you behind?" asked Ginny, astonished.
"No, they were chased off by Grawp," said Harry.
"Who's Grawp?" Luna asked, her curiosity piqued.
"Hagrid's little brother," Ron answered promptly. "But never mind that now. Harry, what did you find out in the fire? Has You-Know-Who got Sirius or not?"
"Yes," said Harry, "and I'm sure Sirius is still alive, but I can't see how we're going to get there to help him."
They all fell silent, the weight of the situation pressing down on them. The problem seemed impossible to solve.
"Well, we'll have to fly, won't we?" said Luna in a matter-of-fact tone that surprised Hermione.
"OK," said Harry irritably, turning to Luna. "First of all, 'we' aren't doing anything if you're including yourself in that, and second, Ron's the only one with a broomstick that isn't being guarded by a security troll, so –"
"I've got a broom!" Ginny interjected.
"Yeah, but you're not coming," Ron said angrily.
"Excuse me, but I care what happens to Sirius just as much as you do!" Ginny retorted, her jaw set in a way that made her look strikingly like Fred and George.
"You're too –" Harry began, but Ginny cut him off fiercely.
"I'm three years older than you were when you fought You-Know-Who over the Philosopher's Stone, and I'm the reason Malfoy's stuck back in Umbridge's office with giant flying bogies attacking him –"
"Yeah, but –"
"We were all in the DA together," Neville said quietly. "It was supposed to be about fighting You-Know-Who, wasn't it? This is the first chance we've had to do something real—or was that all just a game?"
"No—of course it wasn't," said Harry.
"Then we should come too," Neville said simply. "We want to help."
"That's right," Luna added, smiling serenely.
"Well, it doesn't matter, anyway," Harry said, frustrated. "We still don't know how to get there."
"I thought we'd settled that," said Luna, her tone maddeningly calm. "We're flying!"
"Look," said Ron, barely containing his irritation, "you might be able to fly without a broomstick, but the rest of us can't just sprout wings whenever we –"
"There are ways of flying other than broomsticks," Luna said serenely.
"I suppose we're going to ride on the back of the Crumple-Horned Snorkack?" Ron said sarcastically.
"The Crumple-Horned Snorkack can't fly," Luna replied with dignity, "but they can. And Hagrid says they're very good at finding places their riders are looking for."
Everyone turned to where Luna was pointing, but Hermione saw nothing.
"Yes!" Harry whispered, moving towards the clearing as though he had spotted something.
"Is it those mad horse things?" Ron asked uncertainly, staring at the trees. "The ones you can't see unless you've watched someone die?"
"Yeah," said Harry.
"How many?"
"Just two."
"Well, we need three," said Hermione, still shaky but determined.
"Four, Hermione," Ginny corrected, scowling.
"I think there are six of us, actually," said Luna calmly, counting.
"Don't be ridiculous, we can't all go!" Harry snarled. "Look, you three—" he pointed at Neville, Ginny, and Luna, "you're not involved in this, you're not –"
They burst into protests.
"OK, fine, it's your choice," Harry said curtly, "but unless we can find more Thestrals, you're not going to be able –"
"Oh, more of them will come," Ginny said confidently.
"What makes you think that?" Harry asked.
"Because, in case you hadn't noticed, you and Hermione are both covered in blood," she said coolly, "and we know Hagrid lures Thestrals with raw meat. That's probably why these two turned up in the first place."
"All right, then," Harry said, "Ron and I will take these two and go ahead. Hermione can stay here with you three, and she'll attract more Thestrals –"
"I'm not staying behind!" Hermione said furiously.
"There's no need," said Luna, smiling. "Look, here come more now... you two must really smell…"
Harry and Luna looked into the distance, clearly seeing something the others couldn't. Apparently, Luna was right. "All right," Harry said, still angry, "pick one and get on, then."