A/N : I'll leave the detailed authors note at the end. All I want to say here is that whenever I'm down in life, I come back and read all the reviews from the first chapter to the last. Know that you guys have done more for me than I have for you.

Chapter 20: Black Forest

The Forbidden Forest

"Alright all. A few do's and dont's to keep you safe for the day," Harry called over his shoulder as they neared the edge. His voice carried loud and clear in the silent morning air. "We'll keep them simple so nobody forgets them. Stay on the path. There will be things like Devil's snare, Acromantulas and other assorted ambush predators lying in wait looking for easy prey."

He realized, in retrospect, that may have been the wrong thing to say. It started a wave of excited chattering amongst the crowd about what else they might see in the forest. Harry raised his voice, "Second. Do not attack or run unless I say so." He directed his words at the aurors. They were the professionals and it was their business to handle the civilians. "That's it. Just keep those two rules in mind." Most of the aurors nodded back seriously. If they were offended by a young boy telling them how to behave, they didn't show it.

"I can understand not attack, but why not run away?" Daphne's mother asked, curiosity and eagerness apparent. Up close, Harry noted she had very similar features to her daughters, but with much softer curves that gave a kinder impression.

"Because there are many paths inside the forest and you might end up in a worse position if you get lost," Harry replied. They had entered the forest now. All sound from the outside seemed to immediately cut off and his voice carried even more clearly.

From his right, Tonks asked, "That's it? Two rules?"

"There are about a hundred others you need to follow to survive in this particular forest. But in the interest of keeping it simple, make sure everybody follows these two and we should be mostly fine."

There was a nervous voice from the back, "Mostly?" Harry thought he recognized Susan.

"Yes, mostly," he kept his voice cool. "This place is forbidden for a reason and unless everyone behaves, you'll find out why." It hadn't been intended to sound so ominous, but it had a few of them looking at each other apprehensively. Good.

"Stop trying to show off Potter". Malfoy's drawl floated over. "I've been in here before too. There's nothing much to it." If Harry had turned around, he'd have noticed that the comment was mostly directed towards Jasmin who was clutching Fleur's hand and looking around the trees interestedly.

Harry didn't turn around. He did grin at Hagrid though, "That would be the time you wet yourself, wasn't it?" There were titters.

"Lies!"

That the sun was yet to rise properly from behind the mountains meant every little breeze had an unpleasant biting-cold effect to it. At least the naturally thick canopy of the forest provided some form of protection. The small procession made their way through the increasingly thickening foliage, tripping on some of the thicker roots and trunks. Someone stepped on shit and went "ewww". Harry resisted the urge to tell them what had laid them. Five minutes in and there were already people complaining about how the "path" wasn't really a path. The Hat reflected Harry's thoughts. Bloody tourists.

Few more minutes later, they were well and truly outside Hogwarts wards. The slight feeling of vulnerability that crept up on Harry did nothing to ease his tension. Eyes alert, he double checked the formation. It was indeed like a procession, a long thin line with the aurors doing their best to keep the others in between them. One of them had already found that Devil's snare, indeed grew like weed in the forest. A few wrong steps and his legs had been wrapped up. Luckily, the plant was not really a threat to a group and he was freed, looking absolutely sheepish.

Not all were clumsy and unhappy though. The more adventurous bunch walked right behind Harry, badgering him non-stop with questions. It seemed they had taken the term "guide" quite literally. Soleil Greengrass in particular was relentless. She had questions about everything, ranging from soil composition to the ancient enchantments hidden in the forest. "Is there any chance you can show us unicorns? I know there are a few in this forest and I was told you had seen one." There was a chorus of "ooohs".

Harry was trying to keep his eyes ahead. Dominique and the girls were nearby too and he didn't want to get distracted. His faculties were being stretched thin handling the route, forest, tourists, politicians, girlfriends, their dad and all the bloody questions. He pursed his lips. "Damned politicians. Where on earth do they get their information from?"

"Not to worry, if it's a war of information, then you have an arsenal of your own remember?"

"This is the part where your humble pupil begs for your aid."

The Hat laughed triumphantly in his head. "Soleil is a clever one. I remember the little ravenclaw being a stickler for research before getting into any situation. But she's a busy woman and since knowledge on the forest cannot be obtained from books, we can deduce she has recently spoken to someone who knows all about your little trips into the forest. Oh, and your precious headmaster and the Greengrasses share as little with each other as possible. That's all I'm gonna say."

That's all that need be said for Harry. He replied casually, not turning back, "I see you've been talking to Hagrid. He likes to brag about his students quite a bit." If he had turned back, he would have seen Daphne getting caught cold-footed and Soleil's momentary surprise, Dominique's raised eyebrow and the girls hiding smirks.

"Yes, well, since I arrived early last night, I thought I'd collect what little dregs of knowledge I can about this mystical forest," she replied evenly. "It's steeped in secrecy and myth, you know. As curious as we were, we never even considered venturing in here as kids."

Harry ignored the Hat's "booyah!" in his head. "Ever seen or heard of a secret without wanting to pry it open?"

"Have you?" Daphne returned this time, defensively.

Harry couldn't help but give her a wry nod. "Fair enough. Yes, there are quite a few things of interest in this forest, if you want to call it that. But I'm afraid centaurs are all the time we have for today. The path we're taking now is the one with least chance of encountering anything."

Soleil Greengrass looked disappointed and someone muttered out loud from the middle of the pack, "Thank goodness for that." Harry left out the fact that the route would be considerably longer because of this.

The small, blue, wispy smoke-like being dragged itself forward on its single leg. It was a snails crawl. The utter darkness of the forest suited it's body well. Light. That was the biggest enemy. Hinkypunks simply vaporized if exposed to too much light. It was just the way they were.

Being kicked out of the nest at two months old had done little in way of helping survival. But, undeterred as always, the hinkypunk had forged it's way forward. The small lantern attached to it's arms was a part of it. It emitted the only light that wasn't allergic and deadly. And it was also the only way to lure prey. Now, after weeks of surviving by scrounging remains, after dodging all the great predators of the forest, the hinkypunk had finally managed to find a bog all its own. All that remained was for prey to pass by. With military precision, the small creature patrolled around the reaches of the bog, not daring to hope.

A full life of a hinkypunk lasted a little more than one human year. In that time, they had to grow up, learn, hunt, feed, find a mate, mate, reproduce, raise their progeny and die. Even though it had barely crossed a quarter of its life, this particular Hinkypunk was determined to achieve it all. The bog wasn't the only thing it had scouted. There was a female hinkypunk in a swamp not far away. A little older, but she had an oddly white glow to her as opposed to the regular blue of most.

The hinkypunk halted, casting a glance at its lantern. But how can any of its dreams be possible without being able to feed yourself? No, this was more than a hunt. This was the rest of it's life. It's destiny.

So engrossed was the hinkypunk in it's thoughts it never saw the small troop of people approach from a path behind it. But it did hear a human voice say, "And that's a Hinkypunk. They l..."

It didn't understand what the sound was, but it meant prey. Slowly, carefully, it started inching back towards the bog, holding the lantern high above. In this darkened space, most beings preferred to follow a friendly light. Nothing could've prepared it for what followed.

A flash of lights went off in quick succession, peppering the solid parts of it's body with boils and it's outer smoky form, began to dissipate. The pain was unbearable and it let out a scream, that only came out as a pitiful moan. Death imminent, and consciousness fading, the hinkypunk's last thought was about the swamp a little distance away and what could have been.

Soleil had the sense to stop the cameras going off with a wave of her wand. It earned her a few contemptuous glances. She ignored them all and hurried to Harry's side. "What happened? Hinkypunks hate that."

"They're not the only ones," Harry said rubbing his eyes. He looked down at the melting form of the hinkypunk and saw what could only be described as labored breathing. "Death by camera flashes. Sheesh." He turned to Jasmin, "Anything you can do?"

Nervously, Jasmin knelt and began to cast diagnostic charms over the small creature. A few seconds later, she waved at Fleur who hurried forward with the First Aid kit from Jasmin's backpack. The assembled group looked on the doings with interest, more at the veelas than at the hinkypunk.

Theodre Nott couldn't help asking nascently, "Are you kidding me? Why bother saving it? They die soon anyway right?"

Jasmin pulled out a potion and poured it over the hinkypunk one-handed, waving her wand and muttering incantations with the other.

"Why let it die?" Harry asked coolly, "Because of a potion and a little delay? Besides, it's probably not a bad idea for the rest of you to just lookat something without immediately having to click away." He added emphasis for a reason. There were several reasons cameras were a bad idea.

Five minutes later, Jasmin neatly tied a bandage around the still inert form of the hinkypunk. It had however, come to, and was making a friendly sound that had the women crooning over it. Deciding this had gone on long enough, Harry stepped forward and gently picked up the creature. It felt like holding water and air somehow. He carried it off the path and as far into the bog as possible, he onlookers watching curiously.

"You would've lost your life for nothing little buddy. Don't give up, okay?" Harry said to the hinkypunk that still looked hideously deformed from its brief exposure. Jasmin had said it would get better with time though. The hinkypunk gave one last friendly purr.

As they continued back on the path, Harry couldn't help but wonder what and who else was going to suffer from this little soiree. But the pros were undeniable too. Most of the gathered politicians here came under the term "progressives" and would be key to getting centaurs, merpeople and other such intelligent creatures equal rights. Now, with a whole bunch of eyes on Britain, most of the Wizengamot was under pressure to make a good impression on the foreign nationals.

Amelia Bones and Susan who had been engaged in a conversation with the Germans from the beginning, disengaged themselves. Even though Durmstrang was in Bulgaria, it has long been considered a German school. Their presence everywhere was not just as tourists but as ambassadors making a statement. The older of the Bones family asked, "They wanted to know, and I admit we're curious ourselves, what's the most dangerous thing in these forests?" Several set of ears perked up at that question. The incident with the hinkypunk had at least made them aware of other creatures' presence in the forest, and how hard they were to spot unless you walked up on them.

Harry chewed his lips. If the rest of the trip was going to be a cross-examination, then he was not going to like it.

"You know the drill. Tell her only what she needs to know. Scare 'em a little too."the Hat offered.

"Depends on how you define dangerous. There are certain things that are absolutely no danger at all unless you walk right up on them deep in the woods. Unlikely if you're on a path. A single acromantula might provide for a spectacular fight, but a horde will... shall we say, make quick work of the "meal that has so willingly wandered in."

Several people stopped dead at that. Harry though wryly about how, indeed, some of these people had no knowledge about the forest. "Fortunately their territory is on the other side and they rarely venture into these parts."

"So this is centaur territory then?" Soleil joined in excitedly.

Harry laughed out loud. "I assure you. They'll intercept us long before we get near their area. No, this part of the forest is considered mostly neutral and filled with random predators and still too close to human territory. There are large pockets of land where the three powers of the forests don't bother moving in on or has something considered too dangerous to meddle with."

Their heads exploded with question. Random predators? Three powers? What was the third? And what could they possibly consider more dangerous? They were all blurted out in no particular order. Harry just grinned. Good, he didn't mind the conversation going this way at all. The more they knew, the more seriously they were going to take the situation.

Fleur tried not to let the constant prattle of the despicable Notts, Malfoys, Mr. Greengrass, her father and their political ramblings diminish the sound of Harry's voice. But the Nott boy was being incorrigible with his need to drag her into every conversation. Thankfully, her father had the good sense to shush them all when the important questions were asked. Even after almost a month of dating him, the many facets of Harry continued to surprise her. They had never even gotten around discussing his advents into the forest in detail and she couldn't believe how much he really knew. Yes, she would love to hear about the other things in here.

"Harpies. There's a large colony led by a queen and they can match the other two in force if it came to it."

Fleur froze. Next to her Jasmin did the same. Harpies and Veelas had their histories entwined with each other to the point nobody knew what the truth was. Only that one was the ancestor of the other or they both shared a similar one. She couldn't believe Harry had seen one of them.

"I've never seen one though. They hate interacting with humans even more than centaurs. You have to cross the centaur territory and walk for a day or two to get there."

Amelia Bones knew about the Harpies, quite apparently. Large groups of creatures were documented by the ministry after all. But there was something she didn't seem to know. "And what on earth do the centaurs, acromantulas and harpies consider too dangerous?"

They had come to a fork in the road and Fang came to a halt, as was usual for him whenever there was a decision to be made. Harry paused too. Both paths led where they wanted to go. It was just a question of distance and what they might run into. "Left," he said sharply. Nose down and tail up, Fang did so.

Harry answered the Head of Law Enforcement, "Traps and enchantments chiefly. Stuff that's been here for centuries and nothing alive really knows what they might do. Everything, including myself, actively avoid those areas. Then there's the individually strong creatures like trolls, banshees, manticores, hydra, chimera..."

Amelia Bones blanched. That had taken a sharp turn. "Hydra? Chimera? Are you sure?"

"Supposed to be. Unlike the outside world, word of mouth is hardly wrong in the jungle," Harry was curious to see what she would do. Not that there was anything she can do. Fudge and the Wizengamot held all the real power. She was at best, their enforcer.

The silence that fell now was absolute. No doubt the information was being processed and an offer to turn back would probably have been welcomed by a few. But it was too late for that. Some gave him disdainful looks, as if he was lying to make the forest seem more impressive than it really was. Harry just trudged on. No doubt fatigue and exhaustion would set in soon. This was hardly an athletic group of people. The first push had to be a big one, but gentle enough as to not tax them too much.

"And exactly how do you know so much about the forest Harry?" sickly sweet voice of Rita skeeter this time. "I understand students are not allowed to enter here."

Having expected this question, Harry gave the answer he had prepared beforehand which was mostly the truth. "Well, by a curious set of circumstances, I've ended up here a few times. Detentions, getting lost a couple of time, natural curiosity and of course, meeting friends." He needed the topic to change. Rita getting wind of his constant "rule-breaking" would be bad.

"My my. Quite the bad boy, aren't you?" Rita muttered, notepad out, quill scribbling.

Almost as if she sensed what Harry needed, Fleur piped in. "Oh, he most certainly is". It took her a moment to realize what she had implied, and in front of her father too. Rita was not one to kiss a gift horse in its mouth and she latched onto one of the main news stories she had come here for.

" So the rumors are true? You two are dating Miss Delacour?"

Harry almost groaned and a few in the group had fallen slightly silent too, so that they didn't miss the answer. Fleur floundered, not having had the discussion on how to approach this publicly.

"And what of your sister Jasmin? I've heard she was seen kissing Harry." Rita was relentless. That seemed to pique peoples interest even more and Harry caught a quiet "nice" from Kingsley Shacklebolt. "Did you know? Were you betrayed? Or did you know and are the three of you in a veela-"

"Perhaps another time Ms. Skeeter," Dominic smoothly cut her off. "We are on serious business and this a private matter. Why don't we arrange a sit down after all this?"

Rita seemed to weighing the pros and cons. Having an experienced ambassador like Dom around while she asked questions meant she may not get anything juicy but this was hardly the place to quiz the kids either with so many people around. She finally settled for a "After all this then".

Behind them Malfoy and Nott had scowls a mile large on their faces. They had convinced their fathers to let them join and help them secure a date with the veelas only to find them making doe eyes at Potter.

The left path led through a small valley and involved little or no climbing. A narrow stream joined adjacent to their path, flowing on the flat terrain and quite parallel to the path. The peaceful, gushing sound seemed to have a calming effect on those gathered. Just as they were getting used to it, a sharp noise pierced through the thickness, coarse and creepy. There was twitching and turning as the noise repeated itself. The group had stopped dead, Harry with his hand held up.

Tonks inched closer to him silently. "What is it?"

"That's a warning. Probably a nesting Kappa. Kelpies live near water too but I've never heard one."

"What do we do?"

"Ideally, leave it alone." He though about it briefly. "Yeah, I don't want to risk having one scratch or bite any of you. Come on, off the path for a bit I guess." In truth, he didn't want the Kappa charging at the group and paying for it with its life.

"But you said-"

"Seriously Auror Tonks?"

"You seem to be enjoying your date, Bell," Jasmin teased her sister the moment they got some semblance of privacy. The much narrower way off the path provided as much.

"No more than yours, Adri dear. I didn't realize you and HeirMalfoy had so much in common."

Jasmin wrinkled her nose in disgust. "I'm going to hex him if he doesn't stop with his... nonsense! I mean, he spent five minutes telling me how lucky I was to have Mr. Pureblood spend time with me."

Unbeknownst to her, Fleur frowned hard. "Yes, well. At least our so-called dates are showing us more attention than your prince." She knew it was unfair, but he had not even given them a proper glance all day. She just wanted to know he was glad they were there. Or at least, not mad...

Giggling a little, Jasmin pinched her arm. "You only call him my anything when you're really upset with him? Is the precious " Belle of Beauxbatons" not getting enough att-"

As they returned back to the path, Fleur just silenced her sister with a hand to her mouth. The voices were starting to carry again. Dominique emerged from behind discussing the advantaged of giving equal rights to other intelligent creatures with an English wizard they didn't know. Up ahead, Harry had stopped to make sure everyone was there before carrying on. It was little things like these that made her realize how cautious he was being.

The thick silence of the forest and it's sudden interruptions with random wild noises had most on edge. There was now no doubt in anyone's mind that the forest was filled with life, if unseen by them.

Harry kept his secrets, but answered the non-stop barrage of questions as best as he could. Soleil, in particular, seemed impressed someone so young knew so much about the forest. Then Amelia asked the question again, in her own no-nonsense manner. "How do you know so much about the forest, Harry?"

He gave her the answer Dumbledore had suggested. "I was telling the truth Madam Bones. I often found it necessary to enter the forest to obtain information and other things. Ended up in here by accident a few times too. It just made sense to know the place better."

"Yes, but how did you get in here so many times? Isn't it against the school rules?" Amelia persisted.

Harry was about to continue down the list of excuses when the Hat said in his head, "There are better things to worry about. Just let the old fart handle her. He has years of experience at it."

Obliging, Harry replied with slight hint of impatience, "That's perhaps a question best answered by the headmaster. Why don't you ask him."

Amelia rolled her eyes. "The day I get a straight answer from that man... " But atleast desisted from pursuing the line of questioning.

The sun was well and truly up, even if only a few rays and slivers of light made it through. The growing heat however, left no doubt of its presence. Coats had come off and so had many cloaks. They had been walking close to an hour and although forewarned about the distance, there were now a few who looked ready to complain.

The bald-headed Durmstrang professor who taught Care of Magical creatures trudged forward confidently, but asked mildly, "I assume we would have seen more signs of life by now if not for your chosen route. While I wholeheartedly endorse the idea of safety, it is slightly disappointing."

Harry chuckled. "Lot of day left yet, Professor Stegen. Let's hope you remain disappointed until we get back."

The professor nodded solemnly. "I suppose it will be well in the evening before that comes to pass."

"Depends on how long the meeting takes," Harry replied. "I'd be happy with any time before nightfall."

"Ah, I shall hold out hope for more encounters then," Professor Stegen said, before adding thoughtfully, "Didn't you say there were other shorter routes?"

"Regardless of the time, this is still the safest. So expect a boring walk back, Professor."

He chuckled, rubbing his bald head. "Oh well. It'll just have to be the centaurs then. Shame their village is off limits to us. I've always wondered about their sha-"

The impatient voice of the older Malfoy rang out from the back. "How much longer is this going to take? Some of us have plans, you know."

Harry bit back the several retorts that came to mind to find one that was slightly less objectionable. "Not long now, Lord Malfoy. We shall have you marinating in your gold bathtub in no time."

Lucius Malfoys scowl and more titters from the group were answer enough. It was apparently public knowledge amongst the higher social circles that the Malfoy's, indeed had a bathtub made of gold.

"Impressive Hat. I expected your political knowledge to be as stale as the black market."

"Yes well, some things don't change as drastically in a few months. Wait until you get me into a room full of these amateurs."

"I can hardly wait."

As much to save his girls from the unwanted attention without seeming rude as to get to know him, Dom excused the three of them and caught up to Harry at the front. While Jasmin gave Daphne, her sister and her mother a friendly smile, Fleur pointedly ignored the Slytherin. If either could turn up their nose over the other any more, they would be looking at the sky.

"So Harry," Dom placed his hand on his shoulders, neither too hard or soft, "You're a regular visitor here? Seems dangerous."

Harry almost stumbled. This was the first time he was talking to the man after starting to date his daughters. Where the plural tense usually made him happy, it only served to make him nervous. "Um... Yeah. Not really".

"Oh? So tell us about your most dangerous incident in here." All the ladies sped up so they didn't miss this.

Harry thought about being chased by a horde of acromantulas that wanted to web him up and feed on him alive. "Maybe not a good idea Ambassdor".

The man frowned but nodded, "Second dangerous?"

Harry had a flash of being chased by werewolf Lupin as a hundred dementors swarmed around, "Perhaps another time?"

"Third dangerous?"

Quirrelmort chasing him as a first year with unicorn blood dripping down his robes.

"Umm..."

Dom sighed, "Why don't you tell us how you became friendly with the centaurs? They're notoriously anti-social".

Harry brightened up. That he could do. Excluding some details of course.

The biggest cluster of people in the group had no interest in centaurs, dangerous creatures or the dense forest they found themselves walking in.

"Updating your laws isn't just about bettering international relations you know," Su Li's aunt huffed. "I'd go so far as to say everything from criminal to familial laws need change. I mean, there are instances of legalized human slavery for crying out loud."

"Ah, but some of these so-called "progressive" ideas have brought more ruin than progress," Lucius replied smoothly. "Why, there's been an increase in the spate of muggles and squibs being forced into prostitution since the crackdown on our old ways."

"Old ways meaning the little legalized human trafficking hubs that run in Knockturn alley?" Amos Diggory had to exercise every ounce of political acumen to keep the anger out of his voice. "The news of auctioning off women like house elves was headlines in Fr-"

Lucius interrupted, "Individuals who had volunteered in return for paying off massive debts they had incurred, I believe."

"They were tricked and forced," the German who spoke couldn't help gritting his teeth.

Lord Greengrass decided it was time to provide some input. "Laws are misused everywhere, regardless of their original intent. What's important is that justice was done and the women walked free."

"Only because they were caught red-handed," Lord Abbott joined in. "What of the ones who continue to suffer because their fates are unknown? Changing the way things like debts ar-"

"The wizengamot would never do that," Surprisingly, it was Lord Greengrass who spoke against that notion. "It means reworking everything. From life-debts to marriage contracts. Even some of your own allies might refuse to side with you Lord Abbott.

Their conversation was brought to a sudden halt when their guides strong voice echoed through the trees. "You can't hide from me during the day guys. Come on out."

Tonks stared at Harry who had halted suddenly in the middle of the path. "What are you on about?"

Harry grinned in response and shouted again. "It's okay. They're just here to speak terms as agreed." Just when the group was beginning to wonder if their lead man had lost it, the sound of hooves reached their ears. Gasps escaped some as the first of the centaurs came into view. Tall, built and intimidating was Zico, flanked on one side by Firenze and the other by Rox, fully armed, her red hair in a ponytail today.

The amazed expression of the "tourists" was mirrored in Zicos face. He strode up to Harry, "Why so many?" he asked simply.

For an answer, he got a pained expression from his human friend. "Not my idea. They wanted to "meet the centaurs"".

"Father will not be pleased". Zico sighed, "Well, come on then. He's waiting at Half-peak."

There was a bright flash of light and reflexively, both Zico and Harry pointed their respective weapons at the culprit, Rita's cameraman, Bozo. He raised his hands apologetically. "Sorry, you two are quite photogenic."

Harry lowered his wand rolling his eyes but Zico kept his trident pointed at the crowd, "Do not do that again," he warned before turning to walk.

As they continued their hike, almost no one spoke up. It seemed there was a silent debate going on about who would first talk to the centaurs. They seemed so distant and unapproachable. That lasted until Rox skipped over to Harry and went, "You get anything interesting?"

Harry chuckled and went, "Do I need to bring a magical artefact every time I meet you? It's like you only care about me for my riches."

Rox stuck out her tongue cutely, red tail swishing. There was a loud clearing of throat from behind and Harry didn't need to turn to know it was Fleur. The interaction did seem to relax the group though. Tonks beat Soleil to it, "That's a nice bow you got there? What's it made of?"

Rox responded just as exuberantly, "It's manticore bone. Any arrow fired from it is automatically poisoned. Firenze here found the remains of one and made it himself." She threw a fond look in the direction of the centaur who had greeted Hagrid and was now being addressed by at least five people at once.

Silently grateful that the centaurs had sent their most sociable members to escort them, he caught up to Zico. Now that they were heading towards centaur territory with an escort, there was not much he had to worry about. A simple meet, return on the same route back and he could finally breath a sigh of relief. Zicos whispered words brought those thoughts to a screeching halt.

"I don't need to study the stars to know not everyone here is going to make it back. There is something in the forest that shouldn't be".

Harry gulped at that ominous pronouncement. He was transported back to his very first foray into the forest where Firenze had said the exact same words. Zico shook his long hair and gave him a half smile, "Don't worry. We'll protect you as best we can if something goes wrong."

Trudging for another half an hour saw the trees begin to thin out. "Five more minutes and you'll catch your first sight of half-peak," Harry called out over his shoulder. There were loud celebratory whoops as a few were excited about meeting more centaurs while most just wanted to take a break.

And then it happened. Zico and Fang stilled first. Rox and Firenze immediately after. It took Harry a moment to catch on something was wrong as he had been scowling at Draco who had been trying to chat up Jasmin.

It started as a strange noise that Harry couldn't place. A strange buzzing that could have been anything, but mostly resembled bees. But there were no bees in the forest that Harry had ever seen. Then it hit him and his eyes widened. There was only one winged magical creature that made that noise and judging by the sound, it was a swarm, a big one. He had just enough time to shout out loud "Get down, Shields up".

Credit where credit was due. Most complied immediately and the ones that didn't were made to by the aurors. Few seconds after Harry's warning and the group was down on the dirt with the aurors and adults shielding everyone. The centaurs simply took cover behind the trees.

The buzzing caught up to them with a swiftness that made them realize how timely their reaction had been. Doxies of all shapes and sizes smashed into the shields, ricocheting before flying away if they weren't dead. Individually they were laughably easy to deal with. Most swarms were a few hundred strong and were a nuisance. These were forest doxies that had clearly been disturbed from their nest. Thousands of them blotted out the sunlight that had made itself known again causing a temporary darkness.

As effective as shields were, they didn't completely cover the group. Some of the more exposed members were already bit and doxy venom, while not dangerous, was annoyingly painful. Still, it was nothing that humans couldn't shrug off and they held their ground, waiting for the swarm to pass.

Harry had cast a wide shield protecting Jasmin, Astoria, Fleur and Daphne who had all been nearby. Dom had done the same. The girls themselves had their individual shields out so they were well protected. Annoyingly, Draco had also taken cover with them with his own shield up as well.

He knew he shouldn't have. But the opportunity was too good to miss and Harry couldn't help it. With the Hat egging him on, he reached out and pinched Draco hard causing him to lose just enough focus for his shield to flicker out. Two doxies made it to him before he could recast and Harry had to keep from grinning like a madman while Draco squealed. Daphne caught his eye and turned away, hiding her own grin.

It was all over in a matter of seconds. The aurors waited for a few of the lingering doxies to pass before dropping the shields. "Anyone hurt?" Kingsleys calm voice asked.

A few raised their hands, wincing in pain but the group as a whole looked to be alright. The loudest complaints came from Su Li's mom, Amos Diggory and Draco.

"Owww. That really hurts. How are you all not in pain?"

"The hell? I thought the trail was supposed to be safe!"

"He pinched me!"

The aurors broke out their med kits. "Don't worry, we have pain relief potions. You'll be right as rain momentarily".

Ignoring Draco's glares, Harry went to check on the centaurs who looked completely unhurt. Not only had they taken cover behind the trunks, but they had also rubbed the leaves over themselves which seemed to have discouraged the doxies from getting near them.

Harry saw his concern reflected in Zico's eyes. "Doxy nest is about a mile from here isn't it?"

"Was. Whatever is there now didn't want the doxies around".

Harry frowned. Doxies were notorious for not giving up their nests without a fight. Something had driven them out. Something that was closer than he'd have liked. "Let's move," Harry said sharply to the group that had been listening. "We can rest at Half-peak".

A/N: I had written three chapters of the forest arc in 2021 but it was deleted accidentally. I was very proud of what I'd written and i was heartbroken since I couldn't recreate it. So I sort of hit a wall.

Then came life. Love, loss, job, depression, thinking life was too hard, then cancer, getting ready to die, then finding out it had been a misdiagnosis, the list goes on. You know, just life. The worst happened earlier this year when I lost my best friend. Inseparable since childhood and now, what should happen to no man happened to him... Marriage. At such a young age too.

Now for some honesty. Will i update often? I don't know. Probably not. I want to, I'd love to. But I also want to write my own book so I can leave something behind with my name on it. And this while being a lawyer, teacher, poker player, investor, etc., That doesn't mean this fic is dead. If there's one thing I've learnt, it's that nothing is over until it's over.