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Mars is Bright
A centaur stood in the midst of the Forbidden Forest, though that was a name given to the forest by wizards and the centaurs did not use it. He looked skyward through the gaps of the trees. “Hmmm,” he muttered to himself, thinking deeply upon what he read in the stars. “Mars is unusually bright.”
The centaur turned away from the stars, disturbed. As he looked around the small clearing, he saw his fellows still staring up at the sky. He was one of the youngest of the herd and he had always been considered abnormal by the others in his group. At first they chalked it up to his being so young but, after many years with no change, it had become apparent to everyone, even to him, that Firenze was somewhat different from other centaurs. While they spent most of their time staring up at the sky and pondering the things the stars and planets showed them, young Firenze spent much of his night galloping through the forest. Even ‘normal’ centaurs didn’t spend all their time with their faces turned skyward but, while they tended to focus their energies thinking only about the future and those things which concerned the centaurs directly, Firenze found himself thinking about the present, other creatures… and wizards.
There had been strange happenings in the forest lately; things in the forest that ought not to have been there. The centaurs knew of this but, kept their noses to the sky, unconcerned with anything that wasn’t bothering them. Firenze, on the other hand, was disturbed and took one last look to the heavens before galloping out of the clearing and into the forest. He had a foreboding feeling that something inauspicious was happening in the forest right now. As if to confirm his premonition, an owl began an eerie lament as it flew, ghostlike, above Firenze until it found its prey and dove off in the opposite direction. The centaur galloped on, flowing like liquid through the trees which seemed to move out of his way so that his steps never faltered. His intuition was proved correct as he jumped over a fallen, lichen covered, tree trunk and observed the scene in the clearing ahead.
The vision that met his eyes as he entered the clearing sent the adrenaline pumping through his veins. Two young boys and a great boarhound were entering just ahead of him but, that wasn’t the only anomaly and nor was it the most disturbing. In the midst of the clearing was a unicorn, covered in its own blood, shimmering in the moonlight. A figure in a dark cloak was bent over the unicorn. Firenze could not believe his eyes. Another rush of adrenaline pulsed through him and he jumped over the remaining boy in front of him, the cowardly boarhound and other boy having fled at the sight of the cloaked figure. He charged, without any thought for his own safety, only that of the unicorn. The figure fled but, Firenze was too late. The unicorn was dead.
With a heavy heart, Firenze turned to chastise the remaining boy for being so foolish as to be in the forbidden forest this late at night and to see whether or not he might have been an accomplice to such a crime but, the boy was on his knees, seemingly in pain. In the light of the moon, the centaur saw the scar upon the boy’s head and hurried to his side, standing over Harry Potter as he roused. He offered the boy a ride, thinking it was for the best. It was against all a centaur’s dignity to act as transport but, Mars was extremely bright and if anything was to be done about making sure the killing of this unicorn was where this particular evil ended, Harry Potter needed to get out of the forest and away from the being inside it as quickly as possible.
It became quickly apparent that his fellow centaurs were not of the same mind when Ronan and Bane entered the clearing after Harry Potter finished clamoring onto Firenze’s back. Firenze should have known that his actions would not meet with his peers’ approval but, he had been so sure that they would care this time. Surely even they could see, focused on the future as they were, that though what was happening in the wizarding world wasn’t affecting the centaurs now, did not mean that it would not affect them at some point in the future unless they changed things now, in the present. After another argument with Bane, resulting in a swift departure before either centaur did something they would both regret, Firenze knew that he would always be an outcast as far as the herd was concerned.
Firenze left the clearing in a bit of a huff but, at least the Potter boy would be safe. He found Hagrid soon afterward, though enough time passed that he was able to speak with Harry Potter about what he had witnessed in clearing with the unicorn. He left the boy with Hagrid, ensuring his safety, before heading back into the deep parts of the forest, his head raised toward the heavens, deep in thought. The boy had been very fortunate. Who knew what would have happened in that clearing if Firenze had not been there to chase away the cloaked figure? The other centaurs may not care what happened in the wizarding world, feeling safe in their delusion that whatever happened with wizards would never have any effect upon centaurs, but Firenze knew better and vowed that at least he would do everything in his power to ensure another reign of terror did not descend upon the world.
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The Game - Round Three - Pure Nerve and Outstanding Courage, Mission and Submissions
Department_of_Mysteries The Game - Round Three - Pure Nerve and Outstanding Courage Jul 2 2006, 12:59 PM
