“Alright, Fawkes,” Harry murmured, stroking the bright red and gold Phoenix’s feathers. “It’s up to us now. We have to save the world, but no pressure or anything,” he said with a slight laugh. Fawkes looked up at Harry sadly. “I’m sorry about all of this. But just think, after this is over, it’s over. No more waiting around. I’ll either be dead, or Voldemort will be gone. I don’t really care which one, but it might be nice to live. I could become an Auror, and maybe me and Ginny could get a house of our own,” he said smiling at the thought of Ginny Weasley. “I’m going to marry her, you know. If I live through this.” Fawkes just blinked up at him, and Harry rolled his eyes. “I’m just stalling, I know. Come on, let’s get this over with. Can you take me to the Centaurs?” Fawkes turned around, and splayed his tail feathers. Harry grabbed on to them, his grip firm. Fawkes looked back to make sure Harry was holding tight enough, and then spread his wings.
The moonlight shining through the window played across Fawkes’ beautiful feathers, sending colors dancing across the walls. Slowly, he started to flap, sending the colorful shadows scurrying. In seconds they were out the window, Harry hanging on tightly.
His ears were red, and his fingers were practically numb. As they were flying over the Forbidden Forest, Harry would have sworn that he saw creatures leaping along below them, and once he thought he had seen a unicorn. After about fifteen minutes of flying, Fawkes started his descent. Harry’s feet touched the mossy ground beneath him, and leaves crinkled slightly under his shoes. Fawkes folded his wings back in, and looked around at Harry cautiously.
“Be prepared, we might have to make a quick take-off. If the Centaurs have changed their minds, things could get ugly,” Harry said to Fawkes, wondering why he was even bothering to talk to the bird, he couldn’t understand him anyways. He started walking around the small clearing Fawkes had set him in. Surely the Centaurs would be here. “Are you sure this is the right place?” Harry said uncertainly to Fawkes, but then he heard something. He froze, and so did Fawkes, his small, beady black eyes darting around. Harry strained his ears, and he could hear slight sighs. It was almost as if the wind was breathing, but Harry knew it was something else. He prayed it was a Centaur.
“I think you must be in the right place, Mr. Potter,” said a slick voice from his left. Harry turned, but he could only see a shadow. It was definitely a Centaur. “Your bird is smart, and apparently very good at travel.”
“He gets me from ‘A’ to ‘B,’” Harry said trying to hide his nerves. There was a chuckle from his right. He turned again, but also saw only a shadow.
“To what do we honor a visit from the Boy-Who-Lived?” another voice asked, rich and smooth.
“You know why I’m here,” Harry said impatiently.
“Yes, we do,” said another voice, this one much friendlier, and from right behind him. He truned to see Bane, who was smiling at him. Harry frowned. Bane was smiling? At a Human?
“I’m assuming you were here when I came to ask for your help?” Harry asked, now talking directly to Bane.
“Yes, Mr. Potter."
“Are you going to keep to your word? Or am I so inferior that a promise to me means nothing?” Harry said. He knew that it probably wasn't the best way to talk to him, but he wanted to convey the fact that he was in a hurry, and this was not to be taken lightly; They were on the brink of war.
Bane's eyes narrowed slightly. He then made an odd clicking noise with his tongue, sounding more like a horse than a human. The rest of the Centaurs reacted to this noise by stepping out into the clearing. Harry’s eyes lit with relief. They had crossbows and knives, and arrows, and slingshots, and ropes, and all sorts of weapons slung across their shoulders and backs...and they weren't pointed at him. Harry smiled; they were prepared for a battle.
“We will help you, Mr. Potter. Lord Voldemort will not rule us,” a female Centaur said, frowning. Her face was covered in paint. War paint.
“Thank you,” Harry said sincerely.
“Who do we fight beside?” one asked.
“Beauxbaton, the House Elves, a few Giants, and of course the Order.”
“And who has the Dark Lord gained for his own side?”
“Dementors, Durmstrange, also some Giants, and the Death Eaters. There are a few Goblins on their side as well, but not enough to count for anything,” Harry said, watching the faces of the Centaurs. He looked particularly at Bane, trying to decipher his feelings.
“What will you do, Harry Potter? Will you fight beside us?” Bane asked, tilting his head to one side. Harry shook his head.
“I have to lure Voldemort’s army out onto the grounds. I’ll do that as soon as we get back. After that though, I don't know,” Harry said, looking up at the sky. It had to be close to midnight now.
“Are you afraid, Mr. Potter?” one rather young looking Centaur asked, curiously. Harry smiled slightly.
“More afraid than I have ever been in my entire life,” Harry said casually, as if talking over tea.
“You hide it well,” Bane said admiringly. Harry laughed slightly.
“Well, as much as I’d love to sit and chat, we have an evil wizard to vanquish,” he said, looking at Fawkes. “Ready?”
“You aren’t thinking of flying that bird back are you?” Bane asked incredulously. Harry nodded.
“It’s how I got here,” he said, shrugging. Bane’s jaw dropped.
“You flew across the grounds, and Voldemort didn’t see you and kill you?” Bane said, and Harry saw shock on the face of a Centaur for the first time. Harry nodded slowly.
"I think so...unless I've suddenly become immortal."
“It’s a wonder you weren’t shot out of the sky. You can’t fly that bird back.”
“What do you want me to do? Walk?” Harry asked, growing very restless. The Order was counting on him. Harry saw several anxious glances thrown between Centaurs. He looked around curiously. A few muttered to each other, shrugging and looking slightly scared. Bane looked around, apparently for guidance.
“It is the only way,” he said slowly. “Besides, if we are to fight beside the Humans, we must learn to get along.”
“What are you on about?” Harry asked very confused. Bane trotted slowly over to harry, and knelt down slightly.
“I’m afraid, Mr. Potter, that you must not fly back. You may ride on my back, this once. I have never once allowed a Human ever to touch me, let alone use me as their transportation,” Bane said, as Harry got on awkwardly and nervously. Fawkes looked confused.
“It's alright, Fawkes, fly back alone. Soar low, though,” Harry said soothingly, and Fawkes flew away. Bane stood up, and Harry didn’t know where to hold on. He settled with laying his hands on Bane’s shoulders. He grimaced, realizing what a weird position he was in. The other Centaurs stared at him in awe. “Let’s go,” Harry said firmly. They all started to trot along, single file, every once in a while throwing a curious stare in Harry’s direction. It took much longer to get back than it did by simply flying over the tree-tops. Harry was freezing, and pulled his cloak tighter. After awhile they reached the edge of the forest. Bane stopped and waited until the rest of the Centaurs were out of the forest, and clumped together in a very large circle.
“Is everybody here?” Bane said, looking around. He turned sharply, as if forgetting that Harry was still astride. “This day is most likely the most significant day of our presence on this planet. Let us make the best of it.” There was some rustling, and Harry saw some nervous faces. “Since the days of our father’s fathers, the Humans have been our enemy. Since the day’s of our father’s fathers, the Giant’s have been our enemy. Yet, this night we go to fight amongst them as allies, to oppose a greater enemy. For many ages our troubles have been bigotry, racism, and mistreatment. We have always thought those traits to be connected with the Human race. We now realize, that a part of the Human race is fighting against that as well. So we join together, with them, as friends, as partners, and fellow soldiers in battle. For once our bows are in our hands, we become not different peoples of this Earth, but individuals of the same goal. I ask of you now, to put away old prejudices. I ask you to fight. Fight for Centaurs. Fight for Humans. Fight for the common goal; Justice.” Harry looked around, and saw that the fear in the faces of Centaurs were gone, and filled with determination. He suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. They might be a little on the dramatic side, but if it helped them to fight, who cares.
“Are you done?” Harry asked rather anxiously. Bane nodded, and then reached into a sack that had been tied across his shoulder. He pulled out a small, well chiseled wooden flute. He took a deep breath, and put the flute to his lips. He began to play a very soft melody. Many other Centaurs pulled out their flutes, and began to play a slightly Scottish-sounding tune. It was very eerie in the cold night, breaking through the silence, and the fog. Bane started to walk, and now most Centaurs had their flutes out and were blasting the sweet song across the Hogwarts grounds.
“Get in formation!” Bane yelled, and the Centaurs all lined up. Harry stared, they were definately prepared. They began to march towards the front of the castle, playing their sound, trotting proudly. Harry’s heart hammered as the front of Hogwarts came into view.
Standing rigidly in front was at least two hundred House Elves. They stood proud, and all wore clothes. After Dumbledore had died, they had been freed. No House Elf stood out as much, however, as Dobby. He stood grinning in the moonlight, his chest puffed out proudly as he looked around. Behind them were The Order and Beauxbaton. Harry saw Fluer Delacore holding her wand high into the air, and standing beside her was Bill Weasley. Harry saw that Percy Weasley and Mr. Weasley were standing close together, not talking but staring rigidly ahead. Sirius stood grinning ear to ear, talking animatedly to Tonks who had transformed herself into a rather beefy, muscular looking woman, like a wrestler.
Harry smiled, count on Tonks and Sirius to smile right before a war. He scanned the Humans for Ginny, Hermione or Ron, but didn’t see them. He decided that they must be inside, helping Lupin and maybe even Mrs. Weasley with whatever needed to be done inside the castle. Behind all of the Humans, about one hundred Giants stood rather lazily, swinging clubs back and forth, looking around as though bored.
Soon everybody started hearing the Centaur's music, and were turning rather nervously, looking for the source. Sirius was the first to see Harry, riding proudly on a Centaur. Sirius laughed loudly, and threw Harry the thumbs-up. Harry grinned at his enthusiasm. Tonks saw them next, smiling as well. One by one, people began to realize that the Centaurs had arrived to help. There were obvious looks of relief in their eyes, and some looked rather afraid, having never seen a Centaur before.
Percy's eyes widened...halfbreeds! Finally the Centaurs stopped their marhcing, and stood proudly on the right of the Giants. They needed to be further back if they were to use bow and arrow. They kept playing their song, however, and it seemed to give new hope to some of the witches and wizards looking scared. Harry saw that many of the Beauxbatons were students about his age. A few teachers, and then of course Madam Maxine herself.
Harry got off of Bane, and looked back at them all, his heart in his throat.
“Thanks,” he said hoarsely. Bane didn’t stop his flute-playing, but he nodded slightly, looking foreward. Harry took a deep breath. It was now or never. He looked at Sirius, and saw that Sirius was no longer smiling. Sirius looked very sad, and extremely worried. Harry tried to smile encouragingly, but failed miserably, so he gave up, and started walking to the front of the group. He took in the scenery, walking slowly. He saw the Lake, far across the grounds, and he saw the tree-tops, glaring evilly at him now. He saw the Whomping Willow blowing about softly, waiting for something to happen. As Harry passed people, they looked at the ground sadly. Harry wished they wouldn’t do that, it was as if they had already planned his death.
Everything was deadly quiet, except for the now very faint playing of flutes. Before Harry knew it, he was standing in front of the large army. It was as if he was their leader, and so he raised his head high into the air, still walking rather quickly.
“ALRIGHT!” Harry yelled, and the flutes slowly died away. Everything was complete silence. All he could hear was his own breath, which floated visible in front of him for a few seconds. He was shaking, not necessarily from the cold. “I’M HERE!” he yelled again. “I’M READY FOR YOU VOLDEMORT! What do I have to lose?!” he said, pacing back and forth. “YOU’VE TAKEN ALMOST EVERYTHING AWAY FROM ME. YOU TOOK MY PARENTS, YOU TOOK CEDRIC, YOU TOOK HAGRID, YOU TOOK DUMBLEDORE, AND YOU TOOK HOGWARTS!” Harry yelled furiously. He needed something to say. He wracked his brain. “YOU’VE TAKEN MY EMOTIONS, AND MY CHANCES AT A NORMAL LIFE! BUT THERE IS STILL ONE THING YOU HAVEN’T TAKEN!” he said rather tauntingly. “YOU HAVEN’T TAKEN ME YET! I’M STILL HERE, VOLDEMORT! AND I WILL STAY HERE, UNTIL YOU ARE DEAD!!” he yelled. “I want this over with as much as you do!” Harry yelled a little softer, running out of stamina. “I want it to END! Let’s finish this! COME ON YOU STINKING COWARD! COME OUT OF YOUR LITTLE HIDING PLACE AND FACE ME!”
Harry panted loudly, looking around him. There was no movement, no noise, no nothing. His heart was beating as if it would pound a hole through his chest. He spun around, looking for a sign of Voldemort. Then he heard something. A slight bubbling, gurgling noise was coming from the Lake. His eyes turned slowly and he saw large bubbles rising to the surface of the water and popping. He grinned, starting to walk backwards. Durmstrang. A large ship come out of the Lake, bobbing about now, like a cork. Harry started moving backwards a little quicker.
“HARRY! GET IN THE CASTLE!” he heard Sirius yell. Harry wanted to stay out here and fight, but he knew Sirius was right. He had to stay alive, he had to defeat Voldemort. Harry turned back and ran. Just then he heard hundreds of popping noises from behind him in the forest. Death Eaters, Harry thought. He ran as fast as he could. He ran past The Order, but he couldn’t just leave them. He couldn’t!
“Harry! If you get killed, there is no way we will be able to win this war. You have to live, Harry. Get in that castle and STAY THERE! You’re our only hope!” Sirius said, rather furiously. Then he turned, as Death Eaters started advancing. Harry watched and, as one, the entire army, Dumbledore’s Army, moved towards Voldemort’s army. Heeding Sirius’ words however, Harry ran inside.
He slammed into the Great Hall, and looked around. The Great Hall was so empty now. The tables and chairs were gone, and it was just a big room. He jumped loudly as a large CLACK filled the air. He turned and saw the doors being locked. He took a deep breath as the other doors did the same, locking him in this room. He held his wand tightly. Looking around, he saw the one person he had been dreading, and hoping, to see.
“Hello, Harry,” Lord Voldemort said, smiling and twirling his wand. Harry heard yelling and screaming going on outside; the war had begun. He sighed and rolled up his sleeves. About time...
A/N: PLEASE REVIEW!