meant to be (1)

46

The Forest was black and silent. A little way into it we reached a fork in the earth path. Harry, Hagrid and I took the left path while Malfoy, Neville and Fang took the right.

We walked in silence. Every now and then a ray of moonlight through the branches above lit a spot of silver blue blood on the fallen leaves.

"Could a werewolf be killing the unicorns?" I asked, starting a conversation with Hagrid.

"Not fast enough." said Hagrid. "It's not easy ter catch a unicorn, they're powerful magic creatures. I never knew one ter be hurt before."

There were still spots of unicorn blood here and there along the widing path.

"But what abo- ARGH!" I screamed. Something had jumped on me from the trees. "Potter, you idiot!"

"I'm sorry, Jules, I didn't think I would scare you that much." Harry said half laughing.

"Well you did." I said, annoyed.

"You all right, Julie?" Hagrid whispered. "Don't worry it can't've gone far if it's this badly hurt an' then we'll be able ter - GET BEHIND THAT TREE!"

Hagrid seized Harry and I and hoisted us off the path behind a towering oak. He pulled out an arrow and fitted it into his crossbow, raising it, ready to fire.

The three of us listened. Something was slithering over dead leaves nearby: it sounded like a cloak trailing along the ground. Hagrid was squinting up the dark path, but after a few seconds, the sound faded away.

"I knew it" he murmured. "Theres summat in here that shouldn' be!"

'A werewolf?' Harry suggested.

"That wasn' no werewolf an' it wasn' no unicorn, neither" said Hagrid grimly. "Right, follow me, but careful, now!"

We walked more slowly, ears straining for the faintest sound. Suddenly, in a clearing ahead, something definitely moved.

"Who's there?'" Hagrid called. "Show yerself - I'm armed!"

I moved closer to Harry almost immediately for safety. He grabbed one of my hands, as he noticed that I was scared.

And into the clearing came - was it a man, or a horse? To the waist, a man, with red hair and beard, but below that was a horses gleaming chestnut body with a long, reddish tail.
Harry and I's jaws dropped.

"Oh, its you, Ronan!" said Hagrid in relief. "How are yeh?" He walked forward and shook the centaur's hand.

"Good evening to you, Hagrid" said Ronan. He had a deep, sorrowful voice. "Were you going to shoot me?"

"Can't be too careful, Ronan, said Hagrid, patting his crossbow. "There's summat bad loose in this Forest. This is Harry Potter an' Julie Clarke, by the way. Students up al the school. An' this is Ronan, you two. He's a centaur."

"Hello, nice to meet you" I said politely. I was relieved that the centaur wasn't something that wanted to kill us.

"Good evening." said Ronan. "Students, are you? And do you learn much, up at the school?"

"A bit" said Harry, still not recovered from the shock.

"A bit. Well, thats something." Ronan sighed. He flung back his head and stared at the sky. "Mars is bright tonight"

"Yeah." said Hagrid, glancing up too. "Listen, I'm glad we've run inter yeh, Ronan, 'cause there's a unicorn bin hurt - you seen anythin'?"

Ronan didn't answer immediately. Harry and I were still holding hands and he seemed to be very  comfortable with that. Ronan stared unblinkingly upwards, then sighed again.

"Always the innocent are the first victims." he said. "So it has been for ages past, so it is now!"

"Yeah." said Hagrid "but have yeh seen anythin', Ronan? Anythin' unusual?"

"Mars is bright tonight" Ronan repeated while Hagrid watched him impatiently. "Unusually bright"

"Yeah, but I was meanin' anythin' unusual a bit nearer home." said Hagrid. 'So yeh haven't noticed anythin' strange"

Yet again, Ronan took a while to answer. At last, he said: "The Forest hides many secrets."

A movement in the trees behind Ronan made Hagrid raise his bow again. I squeezed Harry's hand out of fright, but it was only a second centaur, black-haired and -bodied and wilder-looking than Ronan.