The Wolf and the Raven

Ch 22 - The Gamekeeper of Hogwarts

 The boys glanced at each other. The moment seemed too solemn to say anything, but they were bursting with questions. Finally, James, voice and body trembling, said, "Y-yes. Th-that's all well and g-good. B-but, where's my s-sister?"

Calchas gave a tight grimace that may have been a smile. "Patroclus. Let us help these foals find what it is they seek."

A centaur with a long grey beard and the dappled body of a stout Percheron stepped forward and bent on to his front leg. Calchas followed suit. James and Sirius clambered onto Calchas, Remus and Peter onto Patroclus. The rest of the herd turned and melted into the mist of the forest.

The ride was an awkward one for the boys. They didn't know if it was appropriate to touch the naked human torso, so they wrapped their legs as best they could around the barrel of the equine body. Rain began to fall not long after they started out, causing them to slip and slide about the broad backs on which they sat.

The two draught centaurs stepped easily over the nettles and fallen logs that littered the forest floor. They ploughed through where there was no path, splashing through the growing puddles and pushing aside low-hanging branches.

As they rode, the words of the prophecy rang through the minds of the boys: "And the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death."

Suddenly, their thoughts were shattered by a booming voice. "Looks like we got 'em. Nasty lookin' buggers. Hope your aunt'll be happy with 'em."

"Branwen! Are you there?" James fell face first into the mud as he slid off the back of the centaur. He burst into a small clearing and was met with a bizarre sight. His sister, her hair sleeked down with rain, was standing dwarfed by a man three times her height. He looked like a part of the forest, dressed in scruffy furs and sporting a wiry beard. A small dog was jumping between them, barking at a wire cage housing a pair of the biggest moths he had ever seen.

"What the bloody hell?" James finally found his voice. "What are you doing here? Who's he?"

Branwen was equally taken aback when she looked up. The last thing she had expected was her brother and friends to come parading through the forest on the backs of centaurs. Sirius, Remus, and Peter were close behind James, shoving their way through bushes to reach the clearing.

Hagrid waved a hand in greeting to the centaurs. "Calchas. Patroclus. Al'right?"

They nodded. "Take care of these foals, Hagrid."

There was something in the undertone of Calchas' voice that gave Hagrid pause. He nodded, his mouth pressed into a grim line. "I understand."

Calchas gave a slight nod, then the two centaurs faded back into the thick grove.

"Can we get back to – to this?" With the sombre centaurs gone, James' voice was louder and more confident. "What are you doing here, Bran?"

Branwen came back to herself and tapped her slate, "Getting the moths." Then she gasped and tapped again, furiously, "Did you take your leaves out?!"

James, Sirius, and Peter looked away.

"What did you expect?" Remus was close to shouting. "You disappeared into the Forbidden Forest! What if something happened to you? How were we supposed to find you? We got lucky as it was, meeting those centaurs."

Branwen glared at them, then reached in and yanked the leaf from her own mouth. "If this happens one more time, I swear to Merlin I will murder you all, one by one."

"Uh," Hagrid scratched the back of his neck, "guess you can talk then?"

"Yes," Branwen smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry for lying to you. You've been so nice. But, but it was....a bet." She gestured to the boys. "This is my brother James and our friends, Sirius, Remus, and Peter. This is Hagrid. He's the gamekeeper here."