Crossroads | Marauders

Chapter 22: Lightning Storm

         You stood at the edge of a clearing. The familiar dark forest stood before you, after over a year of recovering from the forest fire, the trees once again stood tall, the overgrowth slowly filling, replacing the charcoal color of burned branches.

         The dim moonlight barely penetrated the leaves above you, but in the clearing, it shone brightly like a beacon of hope in the dark. It was a quiet night until you heard a squeal of panic to your right.

         You turn your head to see a wild boar running for its life across the clearing, hearing its hurried little steps as it rushed past you and disappeared to the other side of the forest. You wondered what was chasing it. Almost immediately answering your curiosity, in the direction from where the boar appeared, along with the trembling ground beneath you, you could hear the strides of not one but multiple hoofed feet.

         And into the clearing came, the moonlight casting on their mysterious appearances, a creature whose head to the waist — a man, joined to a horse's body. The herd of around fifteen centaurs were armed with bows and arrows. You watched in awe as one centaur appeared after the other in a variety of colours, ranging from deep black to white, galloping through the clearing and onto the other side of the forest to chase their helpless prey.

         However, one centaur, who was in the rear end of the herd, slowed its pace, taking notice of your presence while the others disappeared from the clearing. The centaur curiously but slowly approached you, bending down to study you until his bearded face contorted in pure disgust.

         Immediately backing away as he drew on his bow and aimed an arrow directly at you, he whipped his head in the direction of the herd and called out, "Pholos!"

         You cautiously took a step back when a rather larger centaur, quickly understanding he was the leader of the pack, walked out of gloom and showed himself.

         With his four legs, he walked up beside the other centaur, "What is it, Notis?"

         Notis looked back at you, tightening his hold on his bow, "A trespasser in the forest."

         Pholos approached you, unnerved like his companion. His large stature towering over you as he asserted his dominance as the guardian of the forest, his deep voice resonated in the clearing, "You... are not welcome here."

         As you startle awake back inside your dorm room, you could faintly hear the sound of the dying wild boar squealing in pain in your ears.

—

         "Guys, wake up! It's time." You shout as you barge into the boys' dorm room.

         For once, you were thankful for letting your dreams wake you up in the middle of the night. It was precisely in time when a lightning storm engulfed the dark cloudy sky. After a grueling year and a half, it was finally the time for the boys to drink the Animagus potion and transform. Familiar with each of their beds, you pulled away the hangings of their four-poster bed.

         Peter startled, bolted upright in his bed, and whipped his head to and fro, blindly finding the source of your voice through his fluffy eye mask. Still half-awake, he dreamily asked, "Will there be rice pudding?"

         "Bloody hell. Really? I just got back from patrolling the hallways." Remus groans, muttering under his breath as he reached for his glasses on the bedside table. He watched you cross the room towards James and Sirius' bed, his voice grew in alarm, "I wouldn't do that if I were—"

         But before you could make out what Remus was warning you about, you pulled back the hangings of both their beds at the same time, and the three of you shrieked louder than the thunder that roared outside.