It was a good night for stargazing.
Firenze stood motionless in the starlight night, his eyes studying the heavens above him. In the stars he could read the events of the world around him. Mars was as bright as ever, her bright red glow illustrating the blood shed in the war between the humans. That he accepted, but Neptune he did not. Neptune was in an angle to Mars that showed betrayal was coming. While betrayal in war was not uncommon, Neptune’s position suggested that the betrayal was coming closer to home.
“Firenze.”
Turning to see a red-haired centaur standing beside him, Firenze answered, “Ronan, what brings you out of the forest?”
“The stars.”
Looking back at the heavens, Firenze stated, “Neptune is making me nervous.”
“Neptune is in a peculiar position to Mars tonight.”
Firenze waited silently, knowing that Ronan could not be hurried when he was talking about the stars.
Ronan continued, “Venus grows dim, while Mars burns ever bright. Do you know what that means, Firenze?”
That Harry Potter will fail, and the humans will lose this war.
“I will not let that happen, Ronan.”
“You will change what is written in the stars?”
“The stars have been wrong before.”
“The hand of fate is hard to change.”
“I’ve heard you give this lecture before. So, I must ask, why are you here?”
Ronan paused then said, “To change what is written in the stars.”
Firenze studied the older centaur for moment. “I thought you believed we should stay out of human affairs,” he said.
“That was before one of our own caused the stars to change.”
Ronan turned and gestured towards Hogwarts. “The humans who lived in that building we never really trusted, but they left us alone, let us live our lives, and gave us protection. Bane hated that, but he accepted it as the way things were. After Dumbledore was killed, he saw an opportunity for that to change. Bane sought out the leader of Death Eaters and made a deal: centaurs would be able to live away from humans and human inference in return for assistance in the war. Bane left the herd a few days ago to provide that assistance, and now the stars have changed.”
“What happens now?”
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“On you.”
“On me?” Firenze gasped.
“Firenze, you have always been different; more interested in the world around you than the stars above. Unlike the rest of our kind, you have interacted with humans and have an understanding of their ways.”
“I may have lived among them, but I can hardly claim to understand them.”
“That may be so, but you are more prepared than I will ever be.”
Firenze dug his front right hoof into the ground in frustration. Ronan was speaking the truth, and he couldn’t stand and watch the stars while one of their own changed the course of the war.
“What must I do?”
“I don’t know what Bane promised to do, but we do know where he has gone.”
“Where?”
“The Department of Mysteries.”
Not long after Ronan had pronounced those four words, Firenze found himself walking down a long, dark corridor. Ronan had provided him with supplies: a bow and quiver full of arrows, a stone knife, and a small bag full of herbs, leaves, and other useful things. He had convinced a very suspicious McGonagall to create a Portkey to carry him to Ministry. Now, he walked silently, inwardly wincing at how the sound of his hooves hitting the floor echoed throughout the hallway.
Reaching a plain black door, Firenze turned the knob and walked into a circular chamber. When the door closed behind him, the room began to spin for a short while. Cursing humans, and their desire on making things move unnaturally, he walked to a random door and went into another room.
When Firenze heard the door close behind him, the room was plunged into total darkness. He tentatively took a couple steps toward the center of the room. But with every step he took, Firenze began to question to his reason for being here. There was no way he would find Bane in time, no point in keeping moving.
Shaking his head, Firenze tried to figure out where those thoughts had come from as his breath quickened. Desperately, he tried to find a way out. He was a centaur; he needed open space, not a confined room! Then he heard a deep rattling breath off to his left.
A beautiful unicorn lay dead on the ground; its silver blood spilled on the ground and on the lips of a creature that was approaching a small boy huddled on the ground…
Firenze panicked and stood on his forelegs, kicking out with his hind. He felt them connect and heard the creature land a good distance away with a thud.
“Why can’t you just study the stars? Why do you insist on meddling in affairs that do not concern us?”
“Because I can stand by and watch this future come to pass.”
“Then you are not a centaur. You are no son of mine.”
Knowing that he had only bought a little time, Firenze trotted in the opposite direction of the Dementor, until his body slammed into a wall.
“You traitor! How dare you betray your race and enter into servitude of humans!”
Bane reared and a large hoof kicked him square in the chest. His body crumpled to ground, but as he tried to rise, more centaurs surrounded him, kicking and punching his body…
Firenze’s hands moved him quickly along the wall as he searched for anything that could help him.
“It is impossible to change what is written in the stars.”
Just as his right hand felt the wooden service of a door, two cold hands grasped his shoulder and forced him to turn around…
“It is impossible to change what is written in the stars.”
“NO!” yelled Firenze with all his might. “I will change what is written in the stars!”
Then Firenze bowed his head, and summoning all his strength he pushed off the ground and head-butted the Dementor in the middle of his torso. Freed from the Dementor’s grasp he galloped back to the door, opened it, and fled from the room.
Firenze slammed the door behind him and galloped through the next room, not even looking at his surroundings as he passed through many rooms. He knew that a closed door would not hold that foul creature, and he wanted to put as much space between himself and the Dementor as possible.
After running through countless quarters, barely even glancing at the contents each held, Firenze skidded to a halt. He looked at the room he was in, only to see his own refection looking back at him. Mirrors”the room was filled with mirrors of every shape and size.
Firenze ignored the mirrors, having no desire to learn what the humans were thinking they could do with them and went through another door.
Firenze blinked as he entered a pure white room. There appeared to be no door out so Firenze turned to exit, but he saw that the door had disappeared into wall. He heard a loud grinding noise and the walls on his right and left starting moving inward.
Before Firenze could think, his body reacted, rearing into the air as his instincts screamed for him to run, and that he was trapped. He took several deep breaths, trying to calm his panicked instincts, but by the time Firenze’s mind was back in control he had lost valuable time.
Firenze trotted to the closest wall and pushed with all his strength, but the wall continued its journey inward. He jumped when his tail touched the wall behind him. He now stood so that when he reached out his arms to the sides he could touch both moving walls.
Panic threatened to overtake him. He failed and was going to die here alone in this place. Firenze later couldn’t remember what made him call out, but in that moment of desperation he screamed, “Stop!”
Miraculously, the walls stopped moving and a door appeared on the other side of the room. Squeezing his body through the narrow pathway, Firenze cursed humans and their unnatural desire to make things move, and swore if he ever got his hands on the makers of this place there would be some centaur-style justice dealt out.
Reaching the door, Firenze opened it and entered what appeared to be a records room. The walls were filled with bookcases and parchment. Who knew what secrets were hidden in this room?
Shaking his head, Firenze realized he didn’t have the time. He needed to find Bane, but running around like three month foal was not how he should be going about this. He needed more information.
Firenze folded his legs up underneath him as he lay on the cold stone floor. Taking some sage and mallowsweet from his pouch, he lit a fire. Breathing deeply, Firenze relaxed and waited for the smoke to rise.
A small column of smoke rose from the fire, and Firenze began to read what was written in the symbols. “Betrayal… Conflict… Death… Change where none should be… The heavens underground…”
As the last of fire burned away, leaving only the scent of mallowsweet in the air, as Firenze pondered what he had just seen.
Betrayal is talking about Bane. Conflict and death is most likely the consequences of Bane’s actions. The part about change, it had to be speaking about the stars, and how the stars shouldn’t have changed so quickly. Normally, we saw things centuries before they happened. The heavens underground part made no sense. The stars were in the sky; no amount of human magic could ever change that.
Firenze stood up. He was feeling frustrated even though he knew he shouldn’t be. It was difficult to get information from Divination that would be of immediate use, and he knew that. The problem was he was in worse shape than when he started, completely lost, and he still had no idea on how he could stop Bane.
Firenze walked to the door and began to turn the knob when he froze. “The heavens underground…” he whispered.
He remembered.
“Father,” called a young Firenze while galloping up to a larger centaur. “Why do we let the humans call us beasts?”
His father snorted in disgust. “So they will leave us alone.”
“I don’t understand,” Firenze probed. “I would think calling us beasts would lessen their respect for our want to be left alone.”
“Humans don’t respect us. Calling us Beings won’t change that.”
“Why?”
“Humans don’t respect the stars or the Earth around them. Everything to them is a tool to be used. They don’t understand why we study the stars, but never work to change them.
“Firenze, our forefathers were given the option to be named Beings and they refused for the good of us all. The humans were only willing to give us that title in exchange for our services. We would have to participate in their government, obey their laws, and help them in their quest to gather more tools. It is said that the humans, beneath their government, have a room where the planets float. It is said that they study the planets in that room with the hope that they will one day learn to control the stars. What would happen, my son, if a centaur filled with our knowledge of the stars helped them to change the heavens? If we were Beings they could force us to do so.
“Is a title worth the danger of what would happen with our knowledge of the stars in human hands?”
Firenze had never really believed the tale his father told that day. He liked the humans and didn’t want to think that they would be capable of such a thing. Now, it appeared that his father was right.
What would happen, my son, if a centaur filled with our knowledge of the stars helped them to change the heavens?
“Bane, what have you done?”
Firenze let his question linger in air for only a moment before he pressed forward. He entered a long corridor, its walls covered in dozens of doors. Firenze wanted to scream in frustration, but he didn’t dare. Who knew who else was down here?
But I can’t keep wandering around aimlessly.
If he were in the forest or even outdoors it would be easy to find Bane. Centaurs were taught from an early age how to track all manner of creatures. Firenze may have not been the best tracker in the herd, but even an average centaur tracker was better than any human. The problem was that his teachers had never mentioned tracking indoors.
Probably because he was the first centaur in ages go inside a building when he agreed to teach at Hogwarts.
Still, Firenze thought shrugging. It didn’t hurt to try.
Walking slowly down the corridor, Firenze eyes traveled along the stone floor and walls. He looked carefully at each door for signs of recent entry. After searching for about ten minutes, Firenze spotted a small bit of dirt near one of the doors. He leaned down and saw some indentations that looked like part of a human shoe.
Firenze frowned as he considered whether or not to go through the door. On the one hand he was searching for Bane, not some human, and the human could be a Ministry employee or a Death Eater; he didn’t particularly want to run into either. On the other he was completely lost and hadn’t seen any sign of life since the Dementor. Even if the human was trouble, it could still give him a clue as to what was going on down here. Decided, Firenze opened the door.
Firenze walked into what appeared to be fairly unadorned room, except for some drapery going up along the sides of the sides of the room.
Going up? Wait a minute.
Firenze’s eyes followed the drapes upward until he saw rows and rows of benches coming out of the ceiling.
Not the ceiling, the floor.
Taking a deep breath, Firenze studied the rest of room. On one side of room there were several rows of benches that were higher than the others that formed a semi-circle in front of them. On the wall furthest away was a door, which was high above his head.
Firenze was prepared to turn around and find another way around, when realized that by doing so he would almost certainty lose the human he was tracking. The human had come this way so he had to have gone through that door that was out of his reach. After thinking for a moment, Firenze drew his bow and an arrow”thankful that whatever magic was keeping him on the ceiling was keeping his arrows in the quiver.
Aiming toward the wooden door above him, Firenze let the arrow loose. The arrow flew through the air until it embedded itself into the door, and stayed there. Pleased that the first part of his plan had worked, he now eyed the nearest bit of drapery, which was several meters away.
Firenze knew he had to walk over the wall, but fear of falling kept his legs locked firmly in place.
I walked out here; I’m not going to fall if I walk a little farther.
So Firenze kept his eyes on the wall in front of him and walked forward. After a tense minute, he reached the wall and the drapes. Studying the drape in front of him, Firenze saw it was attached to a bar sticking out of the wall and its end touched the floor above him. Grasping the cloth in his hand, he pulled and was pleased when it didn’t tear. He grabbed his stone knife and starting cutting the material.
When Firenze finished, he had six long strips of fabric, which he made into three by tying each set of two together. Next, he securely tied the three strips to the bar and began to braid the strips into together. When he finished, he had a fairly strong rope that was long enough to coil up in a pile on the floor above him.
Firenze pulled the rope down and tied it onto the shaft of another of his arrows. He pointed his bow a second time toward the door, and was pleased when both arrow and rope flew through the air and hit the wooden door. Firenze pulled on the rope with all his strength, but the arrow stayed in the door.
As Firenze reached up and grabbed hold of the rope, he wished for that he had human legs to wrap around the rope as he would ascend or descend depending on how he looked at it. As the situation was, he would have to rely entirely on his arm strength. Whispering a quick prayer that the stars would give him strength, Firenze began climbing by holding on with one arm as the other grabbed the rope further down.
By the time all four of his legs reached the ground, Firenze’s arms were burning in protest, but he had made it. His body begged for a rest now that he was on the ground, but Firenze forced himself to open the door and move forward. He had already lost too much time.
Out on door and through another; a door not closed the whole way, a scruff mark on the stone, a curtain that showed signs of being moved kept Firenze along the human’s trail. As he moved through countless rooms and corridors, Firenze couldn’t stop from wondering if he was trotting around in circles.
When Firenze opened the next door, he couldn’t believe his eyes. He was standing in a starlit meadow with a gorgeous oak in the middle. Its branches called to him and Firenze walked over and lay down on the soft grass.
This is nice, just like home. Is that a stream I hear? And an owl, how nice…
Firenze fingered the grass next to him as his aching muscles seemed to fade away.
I forgot how much I missed this. Perhaps I should take a nap. Hmm… Even the stars are perfect tonight.
Firenze closed his eyes, than his thoughts made him jump to his feet in fear.
The stars can’t be perfect. Mars would never grow dim in a matter of hours, something is wrong here.
Firenze quickly cantered away from the tree and its soft grass, forcing his thoughts away from the comforts it offered.
There’s something wrong with this whole Department of Mysteries. The humans are dealing with magics that should be left alone.
I have to stop them.
Firenze paused when he reached the nearest door with a smile on his face. He was hearing what he had been searching for: the sound of human voices.
Grasping the hilt of his knife, Firenze pushed open the door. But instead of seeing the excepted humans, he found himself in an eerie room. All four walls had rows of stone benches leading down to a flat area in the middle. Down there was a raised dais, on which sat an archway with a single piece of tattered cloth fluttering in the air. Even though Firenze had never seen anything like this before, his mind was screaming that something wasn’t quite right. The walls were stone, but he saw hints of greens and purples and shadows danced all around him.
“I didn’t do it. I didn’t do it. Why would they kill an innocent old man?”
Firenze jumped and searched for the sound of the voice, but he only saw shadow.
“Kill me… You can’t keep me away forever. I will come back and drink your blood.”
“Blood everywhere… Stop them… Help!”
“I will never…”
“Stay away from me!”
“Blood and bones, blood and bones. There was never anything as sweet as blood and bones.”
The voices were everywhere. Firenze called out fearfully, “Who are you? Whose there?”
“Mad aren’t they?” answered a single silhouette standing by the archway.
“When darkness comes no one will be safe,” whispered another voice.
“What are they?” asked Firenze.
The silhouette came closer, and Firenze could see that it was once a man. The shadow-man grinned, “We are the souls of those unable to live, unable to die.”
“Ghosts?”
“No. Ghosts made the choice to remain behind, we did not.” The shadow-man turned and pointed to the archway. “Directly above us there is a room that is identical to this one. A long time ago it was used for executions. It was easy; all the executioners had to do was push their victim through the veil and they would die, or so most thought. In reality we came here; are bodies were destroyed but our spirits survived, and we are condemned to lead a life of one neither living nor dead, trapped in this room for all eternity.
“You would go mad too, after spending centuries in this place.”
“I will get you! Do you hear me? I WILL KILL YOU!” shouted a voice from the far wall.
Firenze stared shocked at the horror wrought in this room, but the man only laughed. It was a loud, barking laugh; one Firenze swore he had heard before.
“Still don’t recognize me?” said the man still laughing. “I only begged you nonstop my first year at Hogwarts to show me all of the secrets hidden in the Forbidden Forest.
Firenze looked closer at his companion and noticed his black shaggy hair, and grey sparkling eyes. “Sirius Black?”
Sirius shrugged. “So ,Firenze, I expect you didn’t come here just to see me in my living hell.”
“No, I’m searching for Bane. He made a pact with the Death Eaters.”
“Bane? I thought he hated humans.”
“He does, but he hates human interference even more. If Voldemort promises him the freedom and solitude that centaurs have always wanted…”
Sirius interrupted, “I haven’t seen Bane, but some of the Death Eaters have been coming to this room at night. As if my life isn’t bad enough, I have to see my cousin Bellatrix every couple of nights.”
“What have they been doing?”
“Talking nonsense, mostly. They think that they will be unstoppable when they can control the souls in this room. But it doesn’t matter; we can never leave this room.”
“Of course…”
No, Sirius is wrong. This room is more than a place for the souls of those executed; it’s a gateway between this world and the next. A gateway that can only be only be opened every couple hundred thousand years when all nine planets are aligned…
That it! That why Voldemort needs Bane. He wants him to realign the planets so he can free the spirits trapped here.
“Sirius,” asked Firenze gravely, “what would happen if the spirits in this room were let out?”
Sirius thought for a moment before responding, “Every spirit in this place is mad. They have been trapped here for centuries with only their hatred to keep them company. If the thousands trapped within this place were let loose, I believe they would destroy every living thing they encountered.”
“Kill them…”
“Destroy.”
“Blood and bones, blood and bones. There was never anything as sweet as blood and bones.”
Firenze voice was shaking as said, “I need to get the room where they study planets, stars, anything like that.”
Sirius turned and pointed to a door. “Take that one and walk to the end of a long room and open the door at the end. You will be in the room with twelve doors that spin around. One of those doors leads to the Planet Room.”
“Thank you,” said Firenze bowing. “May you one day find peace.”
With that Firenze opened the door and left Sirius and the other spirits behind.
Taking one step into the room, Firenze immediately fell into cold water. Swimming with his arms and kicking all four legs in unison, he managed to get his head above the water. Looking around, Firenze saw that the water filled the entire room forming a lake. On the other side of the room there was a door with a key hanging next to it.
Firenze frowned. That would be too easy, he thought. Looking down, he saw another key glittering at the bottom of the lake, and then, looking up, he spotted another one high above his head.
It’s that one. Firenze told himself. Now, if only I could fly.
Pondering for moment, Firenze than took out his bow and an arrow, but the arrow bounced right off the key.
Firenze treaded water for a couple minutes as he tried to figure out how to get the key. He figured out that he was going to have to grab the key with his hand, but how? The key was several metres in the air. He wished for a moment he could go back to the other room and get Sirius to fly up there and grab it.
No you don’t. If Sirius could leave so could the others and they will destroy everything in their path, even this lake.
The lake!
Like all other centaurs, Firenze believed that all things in nature had a soul, a spirit. After the ancient Druidic religions had faded into history, the humans had forgotten this, leaving the centaurs and merpeople as their sole protectors. But the spirits had powers of their own, if Firenze could contact the one in the lake, she might just be willing to help.
Firenze closed his eyes and chanted in the language of his homeland, “Hierou tou Thugatros Hudatos prin me deomai su fainien.”
Opening his eyes, Firenze saw a column of water rise from the lake into the air. The water burst, leaving behind beautiful women of light, a Daughter of Water.
“Who called me?” she demanded.
“Firenze, Daughter.”
“Firenze… Yes, they said you would come.”
“Excuse me, Daughter.”
“Stop with the Daughter nonsense. Your deeds show you to be worthy, not these words.”
“Sorry, D…” Firenze smiled at the spirit above him. “Can you help me?”
She pointed up. “You need that key,” she stated.
“Yes.”
Grinning evilly she said, “Hold on, little centaur.”
Firenze felt the water rise beneath him, and body rose through the air, the key getting closer and closer. He reached out a hand and grasped the key as he went flying by. Then Firenze felt the water underneath him disappear, and he plunged back into the waters below. When he resurfaced, he found the spirit laughing.
“Centaurs weren’t built for water,” Firenze said feeling a little frustrated.
“Nor air,” replied the spirit. “You should have seen yourself flailing about. It’s a miracle you held onto that key.”
Firenze nodded, and swam over to the door. A wave of relief washed over him when he heard the lock click.
“Good luck, little centaur. I suspect you’ll need it.” With that the Daughter of Water dove back into water.
“Charis, w Thugatep.”
Leaving the room behind him, Firenze found himself once more where he had started, in a circular room with twelve doors.
After the walls stopped spinning, Firenze picked a random door. He entered a room with a large tank in the center. He could see small white objects floating around, but Firenze had decided to return to the previous room when he voices and the sound of a door opening.
Looking off to the side, Firenze saw desks along the wall, and he dove under one. He quieted his breathing and kept a firm grip on his knife as the door opened…
Two cloaked and hooded humans walked into room.
“Bella, please, I have to go make a report to the Dark Lord.”
“No time for kiss, Rodolphus?”
“Always, my dear. Now I must go.”
“Leaving me to baby-sit the arrogant beast,” Bellatrix complained. “I’m a high and mighty centaur, I don’t listen to humans. He’s going to have a lesson in listening soon enough.”
“I have no doubt you will teach the beast to fear before he is disposed of, but the Dark Lord doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”
“I know.” Then Bella added smiling, “Tomorrow, victory will be the Dark Lord’s!”
Tomorrow,” agreed Rodolphus as he left the room through the door Firenze entered.
Firenze let out a long breath as he watched Bellatrix exit through another door, most likely returning to where Bane was. Now he had to make a decision. He could go back to the spinning room and hope that he would find the right door, or he could follow Bellatrix in hope that she led him to Bane. Time decided the issue for him. It sounded as if Bane was almost finished with whatever he was doing, and he figured following a clear trail would be quicker than trying to pick the right door.
After getting out from underneath the desk, Firenze began to follow Belllatrix.
Firenze entered a room and almost tripped over a long chain attached to wall behind him. He looked up and saw another chain attached next to the door opposite of where he was standing. At the end of the chain was a small creature.
Taking a couple of steps forward, Firenze studied the creature. It was small, only reaching up to his knees, and covered in shaggy fur. Its two feet ended in hooves and its two hands had fingers. It was a Porlock, a defender of horses, and it didn’t belong here.
Firenze felt a rush of anger as he saw how the Porlock was chained. It belonged in a pasture, guarding horses, or following a centaur herd. Firenze had fond memories of playing with the Porlocks that followed the herd when he was a child.
Firenze moved forward, thinking that if he released the creature, it might be of some help. The Porlock jumped out to the end of the chain, hitting Firenze in the chest.
Winded Firenze reached down and grabbed the Porlock. “Easy,” he said. “I’m here to help.” Firenze managed to remove the collar, and was rewarded with a sharp pain in his left hand as the Porlock bit down hard.
Shaking his hand, the Porlock flew away from Firenze. But as soon as it landed it was snorting and pawing the ground, preparing to charge.
As Firenze dodged the Porlock’s charge he thought, This is ridiculous. I don’t want to hurt the creature, but I may have to.
Firenze remembered the other chain by the door, and trotted over. Grabbing the chain in his right hand, he waited for the Porlock’s next charge. The charge occurred soon enough and he grabbed the creature with his left hand.
This time the Porlock fought with all its might. It was biting, scratching, kicking, and twisting in his grip. It was a tense couple of moments before Firenze got the collar and chain on. Then he jumped out of the creature way, breathing heavily.
Firenze looked sadly at the Porlock; inside his mind was mourning for the creature that the humans had filled with so much hate. If only he had more time…
Stop it. You can’t stop every evil in this place, but maybe you stop the evil caused by your own kind.
Without looking back, Firenze moved on and walked through a couple of rooms before he encountered another puzzle. Firenze wondered how the humans who worked here ever got around.
This room however, might just beat them all.
Firenze was floating high in the air, but his body stood still upon the ground.
And to think, twenty minutes ago, I was wishing I could fly.
As Firenze was trying to propel himself back toward his body, he couldn’t help but think that the Department of Mysteries had a sense of humour. When Firenze was a metre away he felt himself flung back as if there was a barrier in his way.
Firenze flew around the room thinking. He had heard of centaurs’ spirits leaving their bodies before, but he couldn’t remember anything about it. It was like his brain was on the ground with his body. Realising he wasn’t doing any good flying around, Firenze stopped and stared at the ceiling above him.
If the ceiling wasn’t there, I would be able travel among the stars.
The stars!
Firenze whispered aloud, “The Bainouren.”
“Bane, where are we going?”
“Be quiet, Firenze. You’re as impatient as a human.”
The two young centaurs walked silently through the forest until they reached the edge of a clearing.
“Look!” demanded Bane as he created an opening in the branches.
Firenze bent down and saw an old centaur, who was frozen and staring off into the heavens. “That’s Abraxas. What is he doing?”
“I don’t know,” Bane admitted. “But I’ve heard he’s a Bainouren, one who walks in heaven.”
“That’s just legend. No one can really leave their bodies and walk among the stars, can they?”
“We can ask.”
“No, Bane. He’s an Elder. We have to wait until he approaches us.”
Firenze sighed as the memory ended. He later learned that the Bainouren were no legend, but very few ever achieved the skill needed in astrology to become one. Firenze learned Divination easily enough, but he had driven Abraxas, his astrology teacher, to star’s end. Firenze laughed as he laid his ghost-like hand upon the stone. Abraxas was as unmovable as the stone when it came to centaur tradition.
“If we can read the future in the stars, why don’t we ever do anything about it?”
Abraxas turned and looked at Firenze like no other student before. “It’s not the centaur way to meddle in the affairs of humans.”
“But we could prevent great wars.”
“Our job is watch; if the humans bring about their own destruction, so be it.”
“What if we saw our own destruction in the stars? Would we wait for it to pass?” Firenze demanded.
“Quiet!” Abraxas yelled. “You have great intelligence and skill, Firenze, but you waste it with unnecessary questions and concern for the humans. The duty of centaurs is to watch and be content with that knowledge.”
Firenze shook his head. He had never gotten along with Abraxas very well; he had thought it was because the old centaur didn’t approve of his challenges to tradition. Later he learned it was disappointment at the loss of a student.
Firenze had been walking back from the stream, when he overheard his father talking to Abraxas.
“I can’t teach Firenze anymore,” Abraxas said.
“What?” replied his father, shocked. “But he’s the most skilled of his age in astrology. The Elders decided that he would become your apprentice.”
“I have talked to the Elders and they have agreed. Firenze lacks the discipline to become a Bainouren. He’s too curious, too determined to right every wrong.”
“The idealism of youth.”
“No, it’s in his mind. He doesn’t think like other centaurs. He doesn’t understand the failings of humankind. His compassion could one day ruin the herd.”
“I don’t understand.”
“To be a Bainouren, one must be able to set aside worries concerns, all thoughts. Leaving and re-entering your own body is a dangerous task, and requires one to be able to concentrate on nothing at all. Do you want to risk your son’s life, when all signs show he will be incapable of this?”
“No, you’re right.”
Firenze had been upset at the time. He loved astrology and hadn’t understood why asking questions had caused his lessons to stop. Later he was glad for the freedom he gained, which he spent learning about humans and their ways.
Abraxas said that I needed to think about nothing at all. That makes sense, if I try and force or think myself back into my body, I’ll be stuck here.
The problem, Firenze concluded to himself, was how he going to think about nothing when so much was going on. After considering the matter, Firenze started starting at a small area of stone. He let his mind concentrate only on the pattern of the stone and he slowly felt himself start to descend.
That’s it! I’m doing it! Firenze thought, only to find himself floating back in the air. He mentally kicked himself, then he started the process over again, and didn’t think again until he was back in his body.
Looking down at his hands, Firenze let out a sigh of relief as he thought, Never again. Then he moved quickly to leave this room behind.
Closing the door behind him, Firenze walked into a room covered in shimmering walls. He walked right through to the only other door, when a flicker of light caught his attention.
I don’t have time for this.
But curiosity won out, and Firenze walked over to examine the wall. It was a mirror, and in it he saw the Forbidden Forest and the whole herd standing around him. They were smiling and clapping him on his shoulder. They had accepted him back.
The centaurs jumped out of the mirror and starting filling the room. Firenze noticed humans mixed in, talking and laughing with the centaurs.
The herd has finally accepted humans.
Firenze had tears in his eyes as he over to an elderly human lying on the ground, twirling a piece of grass between his fingers. It was Albus Dumbledore. “Hello, Firenze,” he said.
“Dumbledore…” Firenze gasped. “What are you doing here? What’s going on?”
Dumbledore’s eyes twinkled as he responded, “There is peace and an exchange of knowledge between centaurs and humans. Centaurs openly walk through Hogwarts, and humans are allowed to learn from the centaurs.”
“How?”
“You. The sacrifices you made, the risks you took resulted in this friendship between these our two peoples. Thank you, Firenze.”
“Firenze, come here,” called Magorian. After Firenze trotted over, he added, “On behalf of the herd I would like to appoint you as our official representative to the human world. May you continue to work in building up this great friendship.”
“Thank you, Firenze mumbled. “It’s an honour.”
Bane walked forward. “Firenze, I… These humans are pretty good, for humans.”
Firenze laughed and looked over and saw Ronan smiling. “What?” Firenze asked.
“You changed the stars.” Ronan replied.
“I changed the stars…”
Wait! No, I didn’t change… Not yet anyway. This future I see it won’t come to pass if I stay here.
“I have to go,” Firenze told the herd.
“Stay, Firenze.”
“You just got here; you’ve been away for so long.”
“You belong here with us, with the herd.”
“No,” Firenze stated. “You’re not real.” Than looking at Dumbledore he added, “You’re dead. I have to go on. Or you…” He was looking at Bane. “You will destroy the world in trying to save the centaurs. I can’t let that happen. I want this future to one day be real.”
As Firenze turned to leave, he felt hands grab him and hold on. The voices of the herd were pleading, begging him to stay behind, but Firenze keep walking. Finally, when he made it through the door it was if a great weight had been lifted from off of his shoulders.
Firenze didn’t have much time to savour that feeling, however. When the door opened, he found himself looking directly into the eyes of large, male human.
The human’s mouth opened as if to yell a spell, but Firenze reared up and his front hooves pushed the human across the room. Firenze didn’t have time to relax as he saw to his right Bellatrix Lestrange sending a jet of green light his way.
Firenze threw himself to the left and skidded through Saturn.
Saturn! At least I’m in the right room.
Still moving, Firenze threw his knife toward Bellatrix.
“Little bitty horsey has to throw better than that,” taunted Bellatrix as she sent another jet of light his way, ignoring the blood dripping off her left shoulder.
With a quick glance behind his shoulder, Firenze dropped to the floor and heard Bellatrix’s spell hit the other human. He quickly rose and ran past Mars and Earth as he drew his bow and an arrow. Letting an arrow fly, Firenze ran to the right. He heard a string of curses and knew he arrow hit his mark, but than he felt something hit the center of his body. Firenze crumpled to the ground and felt a sharp pain as his left hind leg twisted beneath him.
Firenze lay gasping in pain as he saw Bellatrix approaching. He reached for his bow, but found it snapped in half. He was dimly aware of Bellatrix waving his wand, but than he knew only pain. It was pain that made the pain from his leg feel like nothing. It was pain that filled his entire body, as screamed and screamed.
Then the pain stopped, and the sound of laughter filled his ears. “Did you like that little horsey? Did you really think a beast like you could best one of the Dark Lord’s Death Eaters?
“I think not little horsey.”
Firenze stared into Bellatrix’s eyes and saw his death in them. Anger at himself coursed through his body; he had failed.
Forming his hands into fists, Firenze felt the wooden handle of the knife he had thrown across the room earlier brush against his right hand. Still looking at Bellatrix, he grasped the knife in his hand.
Bellatrix waved her wand. “Avada…”
Firenze threw his arm back than forward as he let the knife go. It flipped once, than again, before landing in the wrist of Bellatrix’s wand arm. Her hand opened as a scream filled they air, and the wand bounced as it hit the floor.
Before Bellatrix finished her scream, Firenze forced his body to rise and flung himself toward Bellatrix’s midsection. His arms wrapped her body as he forced her backwards until Firenze heard the crack of Bellatrix’s head hitting the stone, and her body fell to the floor unconscious.
Firenze collapsed to the floor in pain; his leg refusing to support his weight. He forced his torso upright as he finally looked around the room.
Floating in the middle of the room were the nine planets surrounded by a swirling mist. Firenze’s breath caught in his throat as he realised the planets were lined up in a straight line.
Where’s Bane?
Looking around frantically, Firenze found him. Bane was floating motionless in the mist down by Pluto, which was slowly moving into line with the other planets.
Dragging himself over to the mist, Firenze felt his body float into air. He tried to move toward Bane, but his body wasn’t cooperating.
I need to get to where to Bane is.
Firenze gritted his teeth in frustration. He had gotten so far, and to lose at this time would be unacceptable. When Firenze looked back at Bane, he was ready to hit himself. He wouldn’t do any good reaching Bane’s body if his spirit was walking amongst the stars.
Ignoring all pain, all thoughts, Firenze stared at Pluto’s silvery light and let his spirit leave him.
Firenze was speechless when his spirit entered the heavens. Stars surrounded him, the planets shone in great light, and Earth was beautiful swirl of green, white, and blue. It was a wonder to behold, and Firenze could have spent a lifetime looking at it.
Shaking his head, Firenze disciplined himself. He didn’t have time for this; he had to stop Bane. Searching among the stars, Firenze found Bane by Pluto. He was gesturing and chanting, and Pluto was moving into place in the line of planets.
“No!” Firenze cried. “Bane, stop!”
Bane looked at Firenze and grinned. “It’s too late.”
Firenze felt a jolt move through the sky, and saw that from Mercury to Pluto, the planets were in a perfect line.
No.
Suddenly, even though his spirit remained in the heavens, Firenze could see everywhere. He saw the gates between this world and the next opened, he saw the room where Sirius and the other spirits were trapped, and he feared what would happen next.
“Come!” called Bane, his voice booming throughout the heavens. “Come from your prison and walk on the Earth once more.”
Firenze saw the spirits move toward the exit; even Sirius was caught up in the sound of Bane’s voice. Firenze began to despair; these souls would enter back into the world of the living and destroy all because he was a minute too late.
Wait! If the doors between this world and the next were opened, the spirits didn’t have to enter the living world”they could go the realm of dead, too.
“Stop!” Firenze screamed. “Is this what you want? To exit one prison, only to be trapped in another? You can go to the realm of the dead. You can die. You can have peace.”
“Peace,” Sirius whispered.
“What are you doing?” demanded Bane.
“Stopping you,” Firenze replied.
“NO! Listen to me, tortured spirits. Humans trapped you, but they didn’t destroy you. Take your revenge. Kill all the humans!”
“Fool,” Firenze declared. “Do you really think they will stop when they have destroyed humankind? The will destroy the world and every living thing in it.”
Then turning back to the spirits, Firenze said, “Don’t listen to him. He will only place more chains upon you. I give you a chance to die. A chance to gain the rest you deserve.”
“Death,” Sirius told the others. “Peace. Come this way. Death.”
Bane started to call out, but Firenze and Sirius yelled over him. And one by one the trapped spirits turned around and entered death. Finally, only Sirius remained, than he walked, straight-backed and proud, to peace that he deserved.
If Firenze had been in his body, he knew he would have been crying. Sirius Black had displayed courage beyond what he had ever believed possible. Without Sirius, Firenze knew he never would have been able to stop Bane.
Bane! Where is Bane? He’s not among any of the stars.
Firenze realised that Bane most have returned to his body when he felt a sharp pain in the middle of his chest. His spirit cried out and returned to his body. But when Firenze opened his eyes he knew it was too late.
A knife was sticking out from his chest, but, oddly enough, Firenze didn’t feel any pain. As he was dying, Firenze looked once more into Bane’s eyes that were filled with hatred. I will never understand how any creature, human or centaur, could be filled with so much hate. It was his last thought.
Ronan looked out up from the burning flame. “It is finished,” he said to gathered centaurs.
Magorian nodded. “We will deal with Bane when he returns. As for the rest of the herd, we will continue to stay out of human war.”
Staring off into the distance, Ronan was bombarded by his thoughts, and guilt. “Magorain,” he called. “Was it right to send Firenze knowing, that whether or not he succeeded, he would die?”
Magorian paused for a moment before asking, “Do you think Firenze would have changed his mind if he had known?”
“No, but…”
“Ronan, knowing the future isn’t an easy thing, especially when one knows their own fate.”
“I know,” Ronan sigh. “I just wonder…”
“Look at the stars,” Magorian ordered. “There you find the answers you seek.”
Ronan over to a small clearing and looked heavenward. The stars looked actually the same as they had hours before when he and Firenze studied them on the Hogwarts grounds.
No, a few hours ago Venus grew dim and now she flickers with faint light. She flickers with faint hope of victory.
Ronan grinned as he whispered to the heavens, “Firenze, you did it. You changed the stars.”
AN: The words Firenze spoke to the water spirit are transliterated Attic Greek. The first part means, “Sacred Daughter of Water, before me I ask you to appear.” The last bit means, “Thanks, o Daughter.”
Changing the Stars by Gonz
Chapter Notes: Thanks to crazy_purple_hp_freak for being a great guide and to Ron x Hermione for being my Beta.
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