Chapter 276 The Warning From Firenze
Faced with Magorian's provocation, Sirius headed towards the confrontation. The oppressive atmosphere before him made him uneasy, with a sense of constriction that he couldn't shake off.
If given the choice, he would have been more than willing to confront Magorian.
However, Harry and Hermione intervened to stop him with pleading looks, hoping he wouldn't. Sirius gazed at them for a moment and then gradually calmed down.
Prior to meeting the Centaurs, he repeatedly warned everyone to treat them as equals, urging them not to look down upon them.
Obviously, he did too well in this aspect, lacking basic courtesy, and fully considering Magorian as another Snape.
"Calm down, Sirius!" Harry addressed Magorian. "Firenze didn't mean anything else. He just wanted to help us..."
Harry's "soothing" remark was obviously counterproductive. Louder shouts erupted among the Centaurs, who glared at them even more hostilely.
"You have made a grave mistake, human," shouted Magorian. "Centaurs are not servants to humans. We are not obligated to aid you."
Panic-stricken, Harry stepped back, and Firenze came to his aid.
"Do not be hasty, Magorian," Firenze said calmly. "I have not disclosed anything that can alter destiny. I merely wanted to warn Evan. Those who can read the stars can see the fate of all races."
"Hmm, you must be cautious. We all know the boy's fate, destined not to change," he glanced at Evan again then turned back to Firenze, "Remember; do not betray our kind and do not divulge our knowledge to humans. That shame will never be recovered."
He turned to the Centaurs and stood silently by the elder, glaring angrily at Sirius. It was hard to tell who appeared more furious.
"Magorian has a bad temper, but nothing more," said Firenze, looking at Evan again, his sapphire eyes shimmering in the night sky. "Evan, I hope you understand that regardless of the signs we see, what matters is your own choice. The paths of planets can change at any moment; sometimes even the Centaurs look away, so it's futile to believe too much in such things."
Evan nodded. Prophecies didn't concern him much.
But what exactly did Magorian say? What did he see?
There was also Firenze, who emphasized repeatedly tonight that he hoped Evan wouldn't put too much faith in fate's arrangement but firmly believe in his own choice.
It was quite unusual. With Evan's understanding of the Centaurs, he shouldn't have said such a thing, which was entirely contrary to the Centaurs' way.
Unless, in fact, Firenze saw some negative signs in the sky...
The atmosphere grew heavier in the dark forest.
In the darkness, everything around was in shadows, and a breeze rustled through. Evan realized he was drenched in cold sweat. As he looked at the Centaur elder focusing on observing the shape of the smoke rising from the blue flame, he felt a strong foreboding, as if something bad was about to happen.
Evan pondered; Firenze had just mentioned Mars and war.
Unsurprisingly, this should signify a war with Voldemort. The question was, what role would he play in it?
What finally happened that made Firenze feel uneasy?
Everything was too vague, and the more he thought about it, the more anxious he felt.
"Remember, Evan," Firenze said gently. "Nothing is infallible; even the knowledge of Centaurs is not exempt. When you need to decide your fate, I hope you can make the right choice."
As he finished, he didn't give Evan time to ask questions; he headed back directly to the Centaurs.
"What did Firenze exactly mean?" Harry said strangely, looking towards his back. "It seems like he has something to tell us."
"These centaurs make me nauseous," whispered Ron. He looked at Evan with admiration. "Did you hear what he said? It seems like something terrible is going to happen to you. It's strange, you know? Normally it's Harry..."
"What terrible things? How can you still believe in such things?" Hermione quickly interjected, "Just like Professor Trelawney's tricks, I see no essential difference. By seeing what she thought was death in the tea leaves, she began predicting Harry's death throughout a whole semester. Ultimately, we learned that the big black dog, representing the unknown omen, was none other than Sirius. Not only did Harry not encounter any unfortunate events, but everything has been going well."
"This is different. Hermione, the centaurs' prophecy is much more precise than ours," murmured Ron with a vague and cautious look in Evan's eyes.
Firenze mentioned the war. If there were to be a war, then the enemy should be a very evil dark wizard. It is common sense that this dark wizard should be Voldemort, but he had been defeated and lost all his power, not to mention that Dumbledore should make his resurgence difficult.
If it wasn't Voldemort, who could this dark wizard be?
It wasn't clear why Ron thought of Evan's study of dark magic at that moment. At that time, there were no signs that Evan was likely the dark wizard.
"However, the centaurs wouldn't have been deceived; they must have seen everything!" thought Ron. The more he pondered on it, the more plausible it seemed. All the pieces fit together, and he recalled the need to be cautious.
"Hermione, prophecies are real!" continued Harry. "Think about Evan's real language audition..."
"I mean, Professor Trelawney is a liar in the guise of genuine prophecy, just like the centaurs," said Hermione sharply, "I have decided to drop Divination class; it's a waste of time."
"You have to learn to seize those opportunities, Hermione!" interjected Ron. "Why drop this class?! You just have to predict in your assignments that something bad will happen to you, and she will give you a high grade. It's the easiest course I've ever taken."
Evan was not involved in their discussion and continued to think about what Firenze had said and what Professor Trelawney had predicted.
The Gryffindor's key was preserved in the centaurs' temple, and Professor Trelawney predicted that the place where everything was going to happen was also a temple.
Could there be a connection between these two places, or was it just a coincidence?
With a growing sense of unease, Evan remembered what Peter Pettigrew had said when he had captured him. He had learned from Voldemort how to get the key to Gryffindor's secret treasure. Voldemort must have been in that temple!
Evan suddenly realized: if he got the key, wouldn't he be the chosen one by Voldemort according to Professor Trelawney's prediction?