Professor Potter

Chapter 58

Chapter 58

Having secured his home with the help of Bill and his bag of tricks, Harry was able to give some thought to what he wanted to accomplish next. But before he could make plans for his next trip to the cavern he had an appointment with the Centaurs. In the final days of the school year he had received an unusual request from the Elder. Harry's idea that the Centaurs and humans could mutually benefit from a more free exchange of information about each other had taken an odd turn. Zentese had requested that Harry share with the herd a more detailed accounting of his own life. It seems that Harry's encounter with Celstus and the marked change in the formerly belligerent Centaur had created a great deal of interest in just what Harry had revealed.

In the conversation that Harry had with the Elder the afternoon before the end of year feast, it was suggested that if Harry would be willing to share this information it would likely solidify the bond of trust to the point that the Centaurs would be willing to share something of their story with some of the Hogwarts students as Harry had requested. It was also suggested that if Harry preformed well in the role of a Reciter it would add to his prestige significantly.

Therefore Harry found himself sitting on a section of tree trunk near one edge of the meeting circle facing a significant number of adult Centaurs, some reclining and others standing. Among them were Bane, Ronin and Morgotta, as well as some he recognized as observers from some of his early meetings in the small clearing and still others he had never seen before. He took a deep breath and began.

"Well, good morning, my friends. At the request of the Elder I'm here to share with you my life story, I guess," he said with a small smile. "It is my understanding that the interest in this particular topic was created by my encounter with Celstus. The fact that it drove him off into the forest for days on end may not be the best recommendation for a morning of story telling, but I'll do my best not to send you off on your own strolls through the trees."

Harry could see his two old friends shake their heads a bit and Morgotta was regarding him seriously. Harry began by describing what he had come to know about his parents when they had left Hogwarts and had become involved in the original Order of the Phoenix. Despite his years of experience as a teacher he didn't take on the persona of a lecturing professor but that of a friend telling a story. As was his habit however, as he talked, he paid attention to the faces and body language of his audience to see if he was holding their interest. The fact that Centaurs were by nature somewhat taciturn made this a bit difficult but at least he didn't see any frowning, or worse, yawning.

In fact, as he began to describe his encounters with Voldemort he noticed more than a few lean forward a bit. One reaction that didn't surprise him was when he talked about the ongoing relationship with his aunt, uncle and cousin. The first time they came up he saw shock and disgust and after that disdain and quite a bit of head shaking.

Harry knew that if he went into too much detail he would be there all day and then some, but he was also sensitive to the idea that just glossing over those details would be something of an insult. As warriors they were particularly interested in his various combats but they also seemed to be paying attention when he talked about the various actions he took to try and help the community to heal after the fall of Voldemort. It was sometime after noon when he finally said,

"Well, my friends, that's about as much as I can think to tell you. Certainly, if you have any questions, I would be happy to entertain them."

The Centaurs looked at each other, as if they wanted to ask something but didn't want to be the first one. Finally, a male asked him about the fight in the Chamber of Secrets. Apparently he wanted to hear some more details of the actual fight. This opened the gates somewhat and several more questions were posed. Finally, Harry heard a familiar voice.