The Order Of The Phoenix - Hermione Granger x OC

Flight

"What are you doing?" Oliver whispered, his voice barely audible as he trailed behind Hermione.

"Just trust me," Hermione whispered back.

She had led them all the way out to the forbidden Forrest, the darkness enveloping the surroundings. Umbridge, slightly out of breath, hurried to catch up with them.

"It's in there," Hermione declared, pointing towards the ominously swaying trees.

"In there?" Umbridge questioned, skepticism evident in her voice.

"It's gotta be somewhere where no student would accidentally stumble upon it, right?" Oliver chimed in, playing along with the plan.

"Of course... Is it far in?" Umbridge asked, her apprehension palpable.

"Oh, it's well hidden," Hermione responded.

As they walked a bit further in, Hermione raised her voice. "Just a little bit further!"

Hermione was also making sure to have very loud footsteps. She deliberately stomped on sticks. "Almost there, keep up!"

"Keep your voice down, Hermione! Who knows what's lurking around in here," Oliver whispered, a hint of concern in his voice.

"That's the point, Oliver. I want us to be heard," Hermione whispered back.

Oliver's face fell in confusion. Before he could respond, an arrow suddenly whizzed through the air and hit the ground right in front of Hermione's feet, causing her to jump back.

A bunch of centaurs stood tall on a hill in front of them, their eyes intense and curious. Hermione exchanged a quick glance with Oliver, uncertainty filling their expressions.

"Who are you?" said one of the centaurs, his voice deep and commanding.

Both Hermione and Oliver fell silent, their eyes darting nervously between the centaurs.

"I said, who are you humans?" the centaur repeated, his voice growing more stern as the others drew their bows.

Umbridge stepped forward, her voice trembling with false bravado. "I am Dolores Umbridge!" she squealed, her voice pitched high. "Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic and Headmistress and High Inquisitor of Hogwarts!"

The centaurs exchanged glances, their faces contorting with anger.

Panicking, Umbridge hastily hid behind Oliver and Hermione, her voice cracking with fear. "You have no business here, centaurs!" she spat, her desperation evident. "This is a Ministry matter!"

"The Ministry has no say here. This is our forest, our home," the centaur said.

"Lower your weapons!" Umbridge squealed from behind Oliver, her voice shrill with panic. "I warn you under the law, as creatures of near-human intelligence-"

Before Umbridge could finish her sentence, one of the centaurs fired an arrow directly at her.

"Protego!" she shouted quickly, her reflexes kicking in. The arrow deflected off her protective shield spell, landing harmlessly onto the forest floor.

"How dare you, you filthy half-breed!" Umbridge's voice dripped with malicious disdain as she raised her wand, her face twisted with rage.

"Incarcerous!" she yelled, her spell shooting towards the nearby centaur who had attacked her. A rope materialized out of thin air, wrapping tightly around the centaur's neck and chest, suffocating it.

"Stop!" Hermione cried out. "Please, just stop!" she pleaded, her heart aching as she witnessed the centaur struggling and roaring in pain, gasping for air.

The centaurs began charging at Umbridge, their hooves thundering against the forest floor as they closed in on her. But, quick on her feet, Umbridge swiftly cast the stunning spell, firing it towards the charging centaurs.

Thinking quickly, Oliver launched himself into action, shoulder-tackling Umbridge and snatching her wand from her grip. With a flick of his wrist, he directed the wand towards the rope that held the struggling centaur captive, causing it to loosen its grip and eventually snap, freeing the centaur from its entanglement.

As if in perfect synchrony, the centaurs converged upon Umbridge, their hands grabbing onto her arms.

"Montclair, do something!" Umbridge's voice was laced with desperation, her face pale with fear. "Tell them I mean no harm!"

"Sorry, professor," Oliver's voice was cold and resolute. "But I must not tell lies."

Umbridge screamed, her piercing cry echoing through the forest as the centaurs dragged her away, their powerful limbs overpowering her feeble struggles. The echoes of her frightened voice dissipated into the darkness of the forbidden forest, leaving behind an eerie silence.

Hermione turned to Oliver and asked, "What now?"

"I don't know, but we have to find a way to get to London," Oliver said as he kicked a nearby tree in frustration.

Suddenly, they heard a flurry of footsteps approaching from behind. Thinking it might be the centaurs again, Oliver instinctively pulled Hermione behind him, only to find it was Ron, accompanied by everyone else.

Ron smiled at Oliver and Hermione.

"Ron? How did you escape?" Oliver asked, noticing that Ron's lip was bleeding badly.

"Got into a little bit of a battle with the Slytherins," Ron said. As he handed their wands to Oliver and Hermione, he continued, "It was pretty intense, actually."

Isabella came up next to Ron, her face adorned with a tapestry of scratches on her forehead, and  her nose was bleeding. "But hey, we held our ground. We won't let them intimidate us."

"Oh my God, are you okay?" Oliver exclaimed, practically leaping towards Isabella, his eyes full of concern as he gently cupped her face and examined her for any signs of injury.

"Yeah, I'm okay, Ollie."

"You should have seen her, mate! She used a bat bogey hex that turned Malfoy's face into a swarm of flappy things. It was absolutely brilliant!" Ron exclaimed.

"Would have loved to see that," Oliver said with a wide grin, wrapping Isabella in a tight, relieved hug.

"Where's Umbridge?" Isabella asked urgently, her eyes darting around in search of any remaining threats.

"She was carried away by the centaurs," Hermione revealed.

"Wait, what? And they just left you alone?" Isabella asked, her eyebrows raising in astonishment.

"Yeah, thankfully," Oliver said.

Isabella shook her head in disbelief before shifting to a serious tone. "Ron told me about Mom! How are we going to get there?"

"We could fly!" Luna interjected, a dreamy smile gracing her face.

"Okay, listen," Oliver began, gathering everyone's attention. "There is no 'we'. I appreciate everything you guys have done, but I have to do this alone."

"Are you mad?!" Ron exclaimed.

"You don't actually think we're gonna let you go there by yourself, do you?" Hermione said.

Oliver stood his ground. "Yes, you are because I'm not letting anyone else die."

Isabella's frustration flared. "So, you think going there by yourself is the best solution? No, that's not happening. I'm not losing my mother and brother in one fell swoop."

"We're all in the D.A together," Neville said quietly. "It was about fighting You-Know-Who, right? Well, this is our first chance to do something real, or was it all just a lie, Oliver?"

"Of course not, but—"

"Then we should come. We want to help you, Oliver," Neville insisted.

"That's right," Luna chimed in, her smile radiating happiness.

Oliver sighed, hands on hips, scanning each determined face before reluctantly conceding, "Fine."