The Fifth (James Potter X Reader)

Firenze

I trudged through the forest, my stomach grumbling and my feet aching. I had been in this forest for at least a day and still no one had come to find me which I was both relieved and hurt. My feet ached from walking and everywhere around me looked the same. I knew I was lost and more and more by the second I was regretting it. My heart was basically shattered into a thousand pieces. My necklace, once glowing a bright pink and full of life, now hung limp and black as if all the life had been sucked out of it.

In a way it had.

My uniform had a few tears in it but nothing too bad. I guess I had only managed to sleep for a couple of hours so I hoped that would be enough to get me back to the castle. My eyes were red and puffy and dry tear streaks ran down my face. I just hoped I could make it back to the castle before night fall, I had been told stories and read the history of all the creatures in the forest and that was enough to chill me to the bone.

My arms shot to my sides, gripping them tightly and rubbing up and down the sides of my arms in hopes to keep me warm. I needed to get back, I really did, I just didn't know the way. I knew in my heart it was a very stupid decision to come in here but at the time it made the most sense, in my very clouded mind. 

I had walked for, I guessed, about 30 more minutes before my feet finally needed a rest. I hobbled over to a tree and slumped down to the ground, my back pressed against the rough bark. I let out an exhausted sigh and leaned my head back against the oak and let my eyes flutter close even though I knew I would most definitely not be going to sleep any time soon. I let out a strangled yawn and rubbed my arms once more before struggling to open my eyes once again. I was about to stand back up and maybe continue to try and find my way back but before I could a loud howl echoed through the forest, causing my eyes to involuntarily widen and my body to leap from its uncomfortable position. I spun around on my sore feet, my eyes scanning the woods around me in hopes that whatever had made that noise was friendly and after a few moments my lingering question was answered.

"So, you are the witch Hagrid asked me to keep an eye out for?" A noble voice said from behind me. I gasped and spun around, my eyes widening as an at least 6'5 centaur walked slowly out from the bushes. He had curly brown hair and his coat matched as well. His tail was a bit lighter than his hair and swished around him as he approached me cautiously.

"W-Who are y-you?" I stuttered out as I slowly shuffled backwards. He raised his hands showing me he meant no harm as he continued to walk towards me. 

"I am Firenze, a friend of Hagrid's. He asked me to look out for you and if I was to find you to bring you back to the castle," Firenze explained," What is your name, young one?"

"Y-Y/n, Y/n R-Roberts." I answered quietly, still cautious.

"Well it is a pleasure to meet you, Y/n. Now, I must be taking you to Hagrid. There are more dangerous things in this forest that wouldn't be as kind as I have been." He said holding his massive hand out to me. I took a deep breath and looked at his offered hand.

"Are they mad?" I asked and watched Firenze's head tilt with confusion. 

"Are the teachers mad? At me?"

"From what Hagrid informed me, they are more worried than angry. Now, hurry before something else finds you." He said with a nod. I hesitated before stepping forwards and placing my much smaller hand into his. He nodded and without warning stooped down, allowing me to climb onto his back. I hopped on and without a second to spare he started off at a slow trot. After a couple of moments of silence, we could finally begin to see a glow of fire light. The sky had grown very dark and a few stars had managed to show their faces against the black sky. I didn't realize how close I had been to the edge of the forest until we walked to it but before we crossed the line that separates the castle grounds and the maze of a forest Firenze stopped and stooped back down.

"I cannot go any further." Firenze said as I slid off his back.

"Thank you, Firenze. For finding me and bringing me back." I said.

"Always but I would like to know, what would drive a student to run off into such a dangerous place." Firenze requested. I took in a deep breath and looked at the centaur a little nervous to reveal why I had run.

"Well... someone I cared for betrayed me, it was the decision that made the most sense." I mumbled a little bit ashamed at my answer. Firenze shuffled in his place, his eyes not leaving mine but after a moment he nodded solemnly.

"Well, I hope whoever hurt you will see their mistakes. Now, go, Hagrid should be in his hut at this time and I must beg you to refrain from entering the forest again. Other centaurs will not be as open as I have been to helping you." He warned with a point of his finger. I nodded quickly and let a small smile appear on my lips.

"Of course, and thank you, Firenze." I said with a bit of a hopeful tone.

"Good, well I must be going, it was pleasure meeting you, Y/n." Firenze said with a small bow. I curtsied back and smiled up at the tall centaur.

"It was a pleasure meeting you as well, thank you." 

"Anytime, good bye." He said before quickly going back into the forest, disappearing between the dark trees. I sighed and whispered my own goodbye, before quickly turning back to Hagrid's hut which had a bright orange glow coming from inside.  I walked towards the small wooden hut, my arms grasping my sides in nervousness and to keep myself warm. I walked up to the tall door and sighed before raising my fist and gently knocking on the door. A loud stomping and rustling echoed from behind the door and soon the door swung open revealing the gigantic man. His tangled black hair barely showed his face which was filled with worry. Hagrid had been the first to bring me to Hogwarts and ever since we have had a close relationship, kind of like a second father to me. 

"Y/n! There yer' are! I was worried! Come in, come in yer must be chilled ter the bone." Hagrid shouted as he quickly placed his giant hand on my shoulder and pushed me inside. I smiled as I was greeted with a small puppy, Fang. He yipped at my ankles and licked at my feet as I moved to one of Hagrid's huge seats. I sat down and was immediately was covered in a very oversized blanket. 

A bright orange fire roared in the fireplace, casting a bright glow over the cozy hut. The hut was filled with very, very big furniture, mugs of food and drink, and many other things that when I was a first year I found fascinating. I saw Hagrid quickly make his way to a table and grab a large mug and fill it with tea from a large iron kettle. He blew on it before coming back to me and handed it to me.    

"Thank you." I said as I took a sip of the tea. It was hot but still not hot enough to burn me. I smiled at the warm sensation that went through my veins from the tea. 

"Yer really worried all of us. Especially the Potter boy, from his friends I heard he couldn't think of anything else." Hagrid said taking a seat next to me.

"What are you talking about?" I asked shooting him a confused look.

"It's true! Wouldn't stop pesterin' Dumbledore with questions, he wouldn't." Hagrid said gesturing bigly with his hands. I raised an eyebrow and shook my head.

"No way." I said with a dramatic eye roll. 

"Yes way, I bet anythin' he'll be the firs' to get to the Hospital Wing when he finds out yer there." Hagrid predicted. I felt a tiny bit of hope rise into my stomach but my mind quickly shoved it away. James doesn't love me anymore. He kissed another girl. Julie for Merlin's sake! Those thoughts kept going through my mind over and over again as I looked at the small puppy running around the hut franticly. But he does. You heard what Hagrid said, he's worried. Maybe it was Julie who did something. James does care for you, you know he does. But those thoughts battled against the others, which really gave me a headache. Hagrid said the strained expression on my face and quickly stood, taking the mug gently from my hands. I looked up to him, where he held his hand out to me.

"It's late, let's get yer to the nurse." Hagrid said as he pulled me from my seat. I nodded tiredly as a fresh wave of exhaustion rolled over me. I shrugged off the blanket off my shoulders and followed the half giant out of his hut and towards the now dark castle.