A witch's heart [Draco Malfoy x oc]

The centaur's territory

After checking if I had some kind of stain on my pants (there wasn't one) I tried to sleep a little - which, needless to say did not work. I had wanted to go to care of Magical creatures, but Hagrid send me right back to bed - apparently Professor McGonagall - Hecate bless her - had told him I was ill and, if I should appear in Hagrid class, should be send to bed.

Laurel was - mildly said - ecstatic, when I told her and Cecily of my added lessons with Malfoy, while Cecily just told me to be careful. Then they both couldn't stop laughing at my encounter with Professor McGonagall. Laurel had mimicked the way I had most likely looked when Professor McGonagall talked to me ... and I had to admit that Laurel was probably right.

8pm came nearer and nearer and the pain had gotten better when I took some medicine. However, I would be lying to myself if I would say that I could participate in that lesson.

And because the owlery was too far away and I had no owl, I dragged myself to the potion dungeons.

"Hello", I said, as I walked into the empty room. Malfoy was nowhere to be seen, but I could see a table with a bunch of ingredients placed all over it. "You're here", a voice behind me said, and I flinched.

"Yeah, abut that .. I'm still kinda sick.", I said. Malfoy frowned, so I continued before he could say something. "Professor McGonagall also told me I am going to have the transfiguration lessons with you as well, so we'll probably  have to make a new appointment."

"I'll send you an owl." He turned around to search for something in a cupboard on the other side of the room.
"I wasn't expecting you to come, but that means I didn't do this", he walked back to me with a little bottle in his hands "for nothing. It's a potion against lower stomach cramps. Mother said, father used to brew it for her ..." Speaking about his parents seemed to pain him. "Anyways here it is. Use it two times a day, in the morning and right before you sleep. Mix it with water and pour as many drops as your age right now ... fifteen, I guess. Also, make sure to eat something before you consume it."

He handed me the bottle.

I stared at the bottle and wasn't quite sure wether or not I should believe that this was reality. Laurel and Cecily both had agreed on the fact that Malfoy was a jerk - a hot jerk if one believed Laurels words - so it was rather astonishing to see how nice he could be. He didn't have to brew this potion and when I asked him, he said he had nothing to do since I was skipping lessons.

I grinned and thanked him before returning to the Hufflepuff dorms.

+

"Merlin, Laurel, stop screaming, you're hurting my ears.", Cecily said. I had told them of my last encounter with Malfoy, and Laurel thought he had been incredibly sweet, while Cecily simply commented : "Looks like he's coming to his senses now."

Personally, I was just glad Malfoy had given me the potion because I could participate in class as usual. It made the pain much more bearable.

My first lesson that day was care of magical creatures. I was rather surprised when I came to to Professor Hagrid's house, because apart from me, nobody was there. I was his only student.

"Ah, hello ... Niela, isn't it?"

I nodded. "Yes Sir."

Hagrid laughed. "First time somebody's callin' me 'Sir' ... just call me Hagrid. Yer my only student here, as ye can see, so we'll do a lot more 'bout the creatures that have somethin' to do with you. Want some tea?"

I entered his hut and took a seat. He gave me a cup of boiling hot tea.

"Today we will visit the centaurs. Ye will have to deal with 'em later anyways, so it's better to get to know 'em before, ain't it?"

I nodded and took a sip of the tea that had cooled down a little. It tasted ... interesting at the beginning, but once one got used to it, it became quite good.

After I finished my tea, we walked to the forbidden forest.

"The centaurs are a very proud and old folk that does not tolerate impoliteness. They like to be left alone ... but they usually come out for a talk if I want to."

We had been hiking through the forest for quite some time when a voice behind us said : "You entered our territory with a child, Hagrid."

"She's got a mission to do, and I'll help her as much as I can", Hagrid replied, his voice not accepting a 'no' for an answer. "Besides, Firenze, I will only introduce her to the forest. She's going to work in'ere for quite some time and shouldn't be seen as a threat, since she's doin' it for the greater good."

Firenze shook his head. "You always want to help those in need, Hagrid ... it will be your downfall if you're not careful."

"Dumbledore would've done the same. He would've helped her in every way he could.", Hagrid said sternly and marched forward into the forest. I nodded goodbye to the centaur and ran to keep up with Hagrid striding deeper into the forest.

Albus Dumbledore ... I had heard of the great person he'd been. Tom had explained the part of Dumbledore's life he knew about, but it was only a small piece in a gigantic puzzle. It seemed like Dumbledore had done a lot for Hagrid and a lot more people ... he had provided them a home in Hogwarts and his caring hand ... to save all who needed to be saved.

"Bane!", Hagrid shouted at a dark silhouette in between the trees. "I've got news for you." Then, in a much more quiet manner, he added : "unless you already read in the stars."

Bane approached us. "Speak."

"Polite as ever, Bane", Hagrid said. "This girl over here is the goddesses daughter. The Greek version though, not the Roman."
The centaurs eyes seemed to widen but it was over so fast, that it could have been imagination. "So?", he calmly asked.
"Just wanted to make sure you're not gon' kill her if she does somethin' in here. Niela is under the goddesses protection."
Bane nodded. "I understand. Tell the girl she won't have to fear us, unless we see that she's using the forest for own good. However, she must not enter our territory without permission from a centaur. If she's here without reason, she dies."

I thought about telling him that I was right in front of his nose, so he didn't have to talk about me as if I weren't there, but decided against it.

"Alrigh' then." Hagrid nodded to Bane and marched out of the forest.