When at last I thought I had him forever, he slipped through my fingers again.
When at last I thought I could find that ray of sunshine in the sudden storm, it disappeared behind even darker storm clouds.
There was no way I could continue chasing th...
It's hard to let go of the worry that my sister would become a target for 'R'. Even with all this company around her, the fact that she's still volunteering to help me even with all those serious measures in place puts my mind more at unease than before. The more I thought about the promise I made my parents, the more I felt like I was betraying their trust. If something happened to all their children, they would never find it in their hearts to forgive the one who started it all.
All I could hope was that Jacob was still out there, still alive and as alright as he could be. He took the fall when things at Hogwarts became dire. Now he took full responsibility to end 'R' and their ploys once and for all. I could only imagine the beating he'd get when he got home--a lecture from our parents that might have an unexpected outcome, though it was hard to tell from the way things were going. He was no perfect child, but people have been looking to me like I was a model student--I hope I didn't disappoint anyone with my risky adventures.
If the prefect side of me found me walking into the Forbidden Forest with a basket of assorted goods, accompanying a Centaur into a place where most humans have never stepped foot in, I'd have stopped myself immediately and given myself a steep deficit in House Points. However, these goods were what made up the offerings I wanted to give the Centaur herd in the Forbidden Forest--a few sprigs of lavender tied tightly with twine, a batch of Hagrid's rock cakes, and a large star chart that Badeea found in the Artefact Room a long while back. I chose those gifts carefully with the help of my friends and my sister, and Torvus praised me for selecting these as offerings for his herd. One could only hope, however, that I wouldn't end up in trouble for doing what hardly any other human had ever done.
"We're here," Torvus finally said, jolting me out of my thoughts. He pushed aside the giant blanket that obscured the camp, and went in. I quickly followed suit before the prefect side of me told me to run.
The camp was huge for a young teenager like me--at least, bigger than any kind of campsite that any Muggle might have seen. It was big enough to house the entire herd, and that was definitely saying something considering that all the Centaurs were of different sizes and builds, each of them staying in giant tents made of sticks and thick tarps. A huge bonfire burned brightly in the middle of the campgrounds, illuminating the vicinity with a warm glow amidst the night that shrouded us in the late hours of the day. My eyes darted from one thing to another, mystified at this secret place that definitely looked and felt like home.
"Wow," I murmured in awe. "I can't believe I'm in the Centaur Camp."
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Torvus grinned at me as he saw me look around. "You are quite fortunate, Clara. Few humans are granted the privilege to visit--but I would not celebrate just yet. You still need to present your offerings to the Centaur chosen to be your judge. He will decide whether you'll be welcomed as an honoured guest and seek our help deciphering your prophecy, or forbidden from returning. "
Ah, yes. Torvus' word on the offerings I brought would not be enough to confirm that I was a welcome guest in his camp. I glanced down at the basket again, at the items that everyone had taken so much care and time to give me. Professor Sprout and Talbott were kind enough to offer the lavender we harvested together. Hagrid and little Em spent so much time making the rock cakes with me. And Badeea wouldn't relinquish the historic antique star chart for anything else but this--the hope that I could get my prophecy decoded in time.
