Courage

-73-

Book: Courage
Chapter 73
Word Count: 4219

"I'll bet you wish you hadn't given up Divination now, don't you, Hermione?" asked Parvati, smirking.

It was breakfast time, two days after the sacking of Professor Trelawney, and Parvati was curling her eyelashes around her wand and examining the effect in the back of her spoon. They were to have their first lesson with Firenze that morning.

"Not really," said Hermione indifferently, who was reading the Daily Prophet. "I've never really liked horses."

"He's not a horse, he's a centaur!" said Lavender, sounding shocked.

"A gorgeous centaur..." sighed Parvati. Layla, who had come down only to say good morning to Ginny, chuckled from a few seats down. Both Parvati and Lavender snapped their heads in Layla's direction.

"What's so funny?" snapped Lavender, huffing.

"Nothing," Layla quietly laughed. "It's just that you wouldn't react like that if he was a werewolf, would you, girls?"

Both Lavender and Parvati didn't know how to respond, simply huffing and turning away. Layla smirked, satisfied, and turned back to Ginny.

"I'll see you later, Gin," she then stood up and departed for her Divination lesson.

They were no longer in the North Tower for Divination since a centaur wouldn't be able to climb up the stairs. The class had been moved to classroom eleven.

Classroom eleven was on the ground floor along the corridor leading off the Entrance Hall from the opposite side to the Great Hall. Layla knew it was one of those classrooms that were never used regularly, and therefore had the slightly neglected feeling of a cupboard or storeroom. When she entered it and found herself in the middle of a forest clearing, she was therefore momentarily stunned.

"What the—?"

The classroom floor had become springily mossy and trees were growing out of it; their leafy branches fanned across the ceiling and windows, so that the room was full of slanting shafts of soft, dappled, green light. The students who had already arrived were sitting on the earthy floor with their backs resting against tree trunks or boulders, arms wrapped around their knees or folded tightly across their chests, and all looking rather nervous. In the middle of the clearing, where there were no trees, stood Firenze.

"Remus' daughter. I remember you," he said, holding out a hand when Layla entered.

"Yes, hello, Firenze," Layla greeted, shaking hands with the centaur.

"Are you still up to all sorts of mischief?" said Firenze, surveyed Layla unblinkingly through those astonishingly blue eyes but did not smile.

"Er," said Layla, "yeah, I guess you could say that."

"I'm not surprised. Just like your dad, you are," said Firenze. "Please take a seat, Layla Lupin."

Layla noticed there was the shadow of a hoof-shaped bruise on Firenze's chest. She turned to join the rest of the class on the ground, who all seemed to be intimidated by the centaur.

When the door was closed and the last student had sat down on a tree stump beside the wastepaper basket, Firenze gestured around the room.

"Professor Dumbledore has kindly arranged this classroom for us," said Firenze, when everyone had settled down, "in imitation of my natural habitat. I would have preferred to teach you in the Forbidden Forest, which was — until Monday — my home... but that is no longer possible."

"Please — er — sir—" said Parvati breathlessly, raising her hand, "—why not? We've been in there with Hagrid, we're not frightened!"

"It is not a question of your bravery," said Firenze, "but of my position. I cannot return to the Forest. My herd has banished me."