Chapter 30

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"Before we continue, I feel like I have to warn you. The creatures might be a bit overprotective over me." I told him. "Warning noted." he joked. I stepped into the dark forest, lifting up the skirt of my dress. The woods became less and less passable the deeper we walked into it. I took a left, another left, three rights and then a final left. We were now in the middle of the Forbidden Forest. "Where are we?" Cedric asked a bit scared. "You'll see." I stated, stamping on the ground four times and pounding a hollow tree twice. An entire group of centaurs stepped into the clear.

"Rowena. Who is this stranger?" Bane ordered as Ronan kept his bow aimed at Cedric. "It's okay, Bane. This is Cedric Diggory. He's a friend." I stated, standing between the centaur and the Hufflepuff. Bane glanced at Ronan and nodded. He lowered his bow and took out the arrow. "What brings you here?" Bane asked me in a friendly voice. "Cedric wanted to see the magical creatures that these woods hide. I figured you guys would know where to find everyone." I explained as Magnus stepped towards me. He shook my hand firmly. "It's good to see you again." he told me.

Ronan came closer, observing Cedric. By now, the Hufflepuff was completely terrified. "Don't scare the poor boy, Ronan." Magnus said, Ronan huffed and shook my hand as well. "Why are you all dressed up?" Magorian wondered, stepping forward too. "Tonight's the Yule Ball." I explained. The centaur nodded and shook my hand too. Then Bane walked towards Cedric. He stared at the boy carefully, before offering him his hand. "If Rowena trusts you, so shall I." he stated, Cedric shook the centaur's hand carefully.

"Do you have any idea where the rest is?" I asked them. "They're in the usual place. We could bring you if you'd like." Ronan offered. "Ronan, you know it's a disgrace for a human to ride a centaur." I reasoned with him. "A human, indeed. But you're not just a human. You're family, Rowena." Firenze spoke up. I smiled at him. He came forward and hugged me. "Thank you, Firenze, that means a lot." I smiled. "Well, get on my back. We don't have all night." Bane told me. I got on his back as Cedric climbed on Magnus. "Let's get going." Ronan stated as we galloped through the night. The centaurs pointed at several feces along the ride, following it like a trail. "Where are we going?!" Cedric shouted over the sound of hooves hitting the forest floor. "Home." I subconsciously yelled back. Thanks to some miracle, my hair stayed in place and my dress wasn't ripped.

Once we stopped, I jumped off Bane's back. "Thanks, guys." I said, shaking Bane's hand. Cedric got off Magnus's back shakily and the centaur shook his hand. I began to walk off when Ronan spoke up. "Rowena! Do visit us more often. There are several things I'd like to tell you about astronomy." Magorian smiled at me. "I will." I said, before the centaurs disappeared into the dark of the night.

"You alright?" I asked Cedric. "I thought centaurs hated humans." he breathed out. "I'm the exception." I smirked as I took a hold of his hand. "You might wanna be careful, it's slippery." I explained as I guided him through the swamp-like woods. After a minute or two, we stepped into another clearing. There was a small entry way, hacked out of stone.

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