The Centaur Clan

Nine- A Time-Turner

Eventually, after many tiresome hours of walking and hiking through the woods, the centaurs aloud them all to stop for lunch. Harry wished he was like one of those cool nature folk, who could tell what time it was by looking at the sun- similar to what the centaurs did. But he wasn't that cool, and all he knew was that the sun was high in the sky, it was cold, and he was hungry.

The centaurs that had been holding onto harry and Hermione's ropes that bound their wrists tied them to a tree and instructed them to wait. They galloped away to Alexio, who was calling all of the centaurs in front of him and passing out food that Harry and Hermione couldn't see.

"What do centaurs even eat?" Harry asks Hermione, and she turns her attention away from her shoelaces to look at him.

Hermione frowns. "They tend to eat like a vegetarian would. It helps them best, since much of their body is a horse, which is a herbivore. So they sort of... forget about the fact that humans are omnivores and made to eat both plants and animals, and eat based on their horse ways. Veggies. Greens. Good stuff."

Harry nods. "Do they have combined organs?"

Hermione stares at him. "What did you just ask me?"

The corner of Harry's mouth tilts upward. "Do they have combined organs? Like, human lungs but a horse's heart, or maybe they have like the stomach of a horse and the-"

"You," Hermione cuts him off. "are disgusting. Why are you asking me this?"

"Because you're the smartest person I know, and I wanted to start a conversation." Harry says, and nudges her with his elbow, which proves difficult, since his hands were tied up.

She shakes her head. "They have the same organs as a human, though the stomach processes things slightly different than a human stomach since it is connected to their lower half, or the horse half. However, they have faster breathing, and an increased heart rate."

Harry shakes his head. "See, you act all disgusted and yet you know the answer."

"I found it in a book when I was researching for Care of Magical Creatures!"

"Excuses." Harry sings.

As they 'fight', a large and bulky centaur walks over to them, carrying a tray of sandwiches and two glasses of water. He sets them down in front of the two of them, removing the ropes from around their hands and tying them to their feet instead. "There." He grunts. "Now you can use your hands to eat, and you're still all tied up."

"Yes, thank you so much." Harry says sarcastically, rolling his eyes heavily.

Hermione shakes her head and picks up a sandwich. She bites into it and chews thoughtfully. "Turkey. Lettuce. Mustard."

Harry grins. "I want to try." He grab a sandwich and takes a Ron-worthy bite of it, chewing and swallowing quickly. "Ham, cheese, no sauce." He glances at her turkey sandwich. "Wanna trade?"

"No. Ham isn't really my favorite, to be honest."

Harry frowns. "I've known you since I was eleven and yet I didn't know that you didn't like ham."

Hermione takes another bite. "No, that's not it. I mean, I don't really like deli meat. What I could really go for, is Lee's Pizzeria."

Harry nods longingly, thinking of the night he had spent out with Hermione, and ow much fun it had been. "Yeah. Too bad we're stuck here." He catches her sad expression, and moves to lighten the mood, trying earnestly to make her smile. "Hey. As soon as we get back home, I'm going to take you to the pizzeria- just the two of us, like before."