Catalyst

Chapter 44: Confrontation

Dumbledore strode cautiously through the Forbidden Forest. Behind him followed several members of the Order; Kingsley, Tonks, Alastor, and Hestia, all the trained Aurors he could spare from guarding the Department of Mysteries, on a mission to find out more of the threat they all faced. Each of them was trained and prepared to enter combat at a moment's notice. He only hoped they would be enough.

"So, what do these things even look like?" Kingsley asked, eyes scanning the surrounding trees with an experienced eye. He was tense. They all were after Albus had told them what they were hunting. Dumbledore expected nothing less. If they hadn't been apprehensive after learning of their current 'prey,' The old man would have been quite worried.

"They possess a variety of forms, I'm afraid. Most of them are vaguely insectoid, but you will know them when you see them," Dumbledore said as he lead the way into the Forbidden Forest's depths.

"And where exactly are these buggers?" Alastor said, eye spinning. "Haven't side head or tail of 'em since we got here. Are you sure you know where they are, Albus?"

"I'm afraid I don't. Fortunately, the centaurs have been keeping tabs on them, so we'll consult them before we head their ourselves."

Alastor grunted. "I hope they can offer us reinforcements. If they have even one of those giant things, we're all going to die."

"Alastor, the creatures failed to kill several of my students."

"Right after they killed a giant, if I heard you right."

"Merlin," Tonks said under her breath.

Albus grimaced, but looked around. The others in the group were clearly shaken. Dumbledore saw Kingsley reflexively tighten and loosen his grip around his wand, while Tonks' hair was shifting through a number of increasingly vibrant shades. Hestia's breaths were becoming increasingly shallow. "We are not here to mount an assault, but merely to judge the threat. We shouldn't get into any situation we cannot escape from by withdrawing. Should the centaurs offer their aid, however, I see no reason to refuse their offer. Ideally, we won't be fighting at all. We are merely here to gather... information." The trees parted, giving sight to the location of the centaur's colony.

The only thing that met their eyes was total destruction. The ruins of houses were strewn haphazardly across the clearing, mixed in with deep scores in the earth and broken arrows scattered seemingly randomly among the debris. "Merlin's saggy scrotum," Hestia gasped. "What happened here?"

"An attack." There was no doubt or hesitation in Alastor's tone.

"There's plants growing on the debris," Kingsley added, kneeling down to inspect the ruins of what used to be homes. "Whatever happened here, it happened a while ago. Albus, did you know about this?"

"I'm ashamed to admit I did not."

"Then whatever did this did it before the centaurs had time to get help," Tonks mused.

"Maybe so, or maybe they were too stubborn to go for help in the first place. Either way, not important. The real question is, the hell are the corpses?" Alastor asked, gesturing widely at the distinctly gore free clearing.

Kingsley furrowed his brow. "That's not good. How many Dark things can you do with corpses?"

"An innumerable amount. However, as these creatures are not dark wizards it may be more likely that they were simply hungry." Dumbledore said. A collective shudder based through the group. "Regardless, we must press on. There are almost certainly survivors, and if we find them, we can discover just what did this."

A chorus of nods arose from the small party. Dumbledore raised his wand and cast a divining spell, looking for centaurs. A trail of magic formed, leading into the trees. It was with a sense of tension in the air that the group of wizards passed through the woods in silence, trying their best to ignore the fading signs of the panicked exodus that had preceded them.