Firenze stood in front of Alexio, masking the pain that was behind his eyes- the pain from betraying two people who had truly believed he was there to help them. Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. "It is done, Alexio."
Alexio nods. "What did you tell Potter and Granger?"
"I gave them instructions on how to leave, and gave them the potion. I told them it was a different type of Polyjuice potion- they believe I am helping them to escape."
Alexio smirks. "They do not know what the potion will do to them?"
Firenze shakes his head. "Not even the slightest clue."
"Do Potter and Granger know that I still have their wands?"
Firenze shakes his head again.
Alexio nods. "Excellent job, Firenze. By betraying Potter and Granger and proving your loyalty to this clan, I grant you with my trust- I doubt you no more, my brother. You have performed magnificently tonight." Alexio gestures to the bonfire. "Now go- join your family, once and for all. That is the reason you did this to them- so you'd have a home again. Now you have it."
Firenze's eyes look to the other centaurs, who were laughing around the fire, and then at Harry and Hermione, who were sitting in front of their tents, watching anxiously for his 'distraction'. "They are good, Alexio."
Alexio frowns. "I understand that, Firenze. Miss Granger has been most kind to me, after our rough start, of course, and I am grateful that they don't act hostile. They are right to accept their fate so peacefully."
"You do not understand, Alexio. They are good people, who do good things. Good people who have been through the worst of the war and back, and still do good things for everyone- even bad people. Miss Granger offered to have their Ministry help us, even after we caught them and bound them with ropes- they see the good in the worst of people, and yet I stabbed them in the back tonight." His eyes trail up to the sky. "I beg the stars to forgive me for the terrible deed that I have done."
Alexio places a warm hand on his shoulder. "This is all being done to save a life, Firenze. Do not forget what pure motives we have behind our every action. We choose to treat them better, as we are escorting them to a terrible fate, though they've done nothing bad to harm us. We attempted to reason with Rodolphus, but it wouldn't work. We have tried everything to make this better."
Firenze shifts away from Alexio's hand. "Then you'd best hope the stars grant you their forgiveness, but I realize now. I do not deserve their forgiveness- not when I have willingly handed over two people to their deaths. Two of my friends to their deaths. I do not deserve forgiveness, nor do I deserve to live happily in a family. I have done no good to deserve it."
He turns and gallops away, resting in the darkness at the edge of the bonfire's light. Alexio watches, and though he had attempted to subdue the guilt that he had been feeling so constantly, it doesn't work, and he pushes himself away from his brethren and into the depths of the night.
* * *
It was ten minutes to midnight, and Harry and Hermione were watching Firenze, who was at the edge of the fire, anxious looks on their faces. Their friend looked more nervous and upset than they'd thought he would, and the look on his face unnerved Hermione.
"We should see if Firenze is okay." Hermione says once it turned five minutes to midnight. "He looks upset- if something's gone wrong with the plan, we need to know."
Harry shakes his head, tightening his bag around his shoulders. "No. If we attempt to contact him, then we might raise suspicion with Alexio. We need to keep the plan as discreet as possible."
"I'm not so sure about this plan." Hermione says slowly, her brow furrowing. "Why do we need to change into centaurs? It's not like we're going to blend in- we'll still have our normal faces, and our normal upper body. I suppose we would be able to run faster, because there's no way for us to outrun centaurs in a human body... but if that was the reason, why not give us a potion to make us run faster? This plan is missing pieces, Harry. I don't like it."
Harry checks his watch, which had begun working again as soon as his wand had been taken and sold off- the lack of magic in the air stopped jamming the clock that ticked on his wrist. Three minutes to midnight. "Hermione, you can't doubt Firenze. He's one of our oldest friends, and though he hasn't explained his motives to us, he probably has a good reason for turning us to centaurs. We need to trust him, okay?"
Hermione rests her back against a large oak tree. Two minutes to midnight. "I'm just so afraid. We might get caught, we might get hurt, our plan could fall apart at the slightest nudge- there's too many things that could go wrong."
One minute to midnight. "Hermione. Just breathe."
Thirty seconds to midnight. "Uncork your potion." Hermione says, her eyes now fixed on Firenze.
They both pull the cork at the same time, watching for Firenze's distraction. Ten seconds to midnight.
Five seconds.
Midnight.
Firenze leaps to his feet, a torch blazing in his hand. He tosses the flames into a bush, lighting it on fire in the night. The flames spread up into three trees, and smoke fills the air. Harry and Hermione both glance at each other, and then down the potion in a single gulp.
A burning sensation begins to arise in Hermione's stomach, and she clutches her abdomen tightly, her eyes scrunched in pain. "Harry..."
The pain spreads throughout her entire body, and she glances at Harry to see that he too is doubled over in pain. Sweat begins to glisten on her forehead, and she drops to her knees on the ground, her body beginning to feel as if she was being cut by razor blades over and over again, repeated slashes into her skin.
The edges of her vision become blurry, her eyes start to droop. Her world turns into nothing more than black, and she falls to the ground, landing with a loud thud beside Harry, the pair motionless to the world.
* * *
Alexio distinguished the flames that Firenze had started easily with a swish of Hermione Granger's wand. His brethren were gathered by Harry Potter and Hermione Granger's tents, and he could see as they carefully set the prisoners inside two cages made from bamboo wood, and bound their hands together. Rodolphus had ordered that they were delivered to him this way- weak and imprisoned.
He takes a deep breath- in less than a days time, he would have Sibelius back. The thought of his leader coming home lifted the weight off of his heart, but only for a moment. Sibelius was his brother, and he'd always been more honorable and pure than Alexio ever was. He wouldn't approve of all the things that Alexio had done to get him back. But that wouldn't matter as soon as Sibelius was safe- as soon as his brother was safe.
Hermione woke first, and her forehead was bloody- Alexio reckoned she hit her head on the fall towards the ground. He watches from a distance as her frantic eyes fall on Harry, as pure rage fills her pupils. Her fists smash against the bamboo bars that made up the cage they'd locked her in- Harry was in the cage beside her, still motionless on the floor of it.
"YOU BLOOD BASTARDS!" She screams, slamming her fists onto the cage walls, and pounding her feet over and over again against the entrance. "HOW DARE YOU! YOU TRAITORS!" Her eyes search the crowd frantically, and Alexio knew who it was for- she was looking for Firenze. The centaur that she'd been foolish enough to trust. Her eyes fall on him, and angry tears flood from her face as she screams at him. "I TRUSTED YOU! HARRY TRUSTED YOU! AND YOU POISONED US! YOU'RE SENDING US OFF TO OUR DEATHS! YOU STABBED US IN THE BACK!"
Alexio approaches the cages, the other centaurs making way for him so he can approach Hermione, who was still screaming at the top of her lungs. "Miss Granger. I'm going to have to ask you to calm down."
"I WILL NOT CALM DOWN!" She screams, slamming her fists against the bars once more. "I TRIED TO REASON WITH YOU- I OFFERED YOUR CLAN HELP! I OFFERED YOU PROTECTION! FROM MY OWN MINISTRY! AND YET YOU TELL ME LIES, AND YOU BETRAY ME!"
He pauses, his eyes scanning guiltily over her face, which was blotchy and filled with anger. She'd hit her head hard, and the blood ran down from the top of her forehead down into her left eyebrow. "I believe you should know that I have delivered your letters for you."
"What? Do you think one act of kindness is going to erase all of the crap that you've done? You've been an enemy this whole time, Alexio, and I was too hopeful to see through any of that- I was foolish to hope that you have any sort of good in you. You centaurs are selfish snobs, and all of you need to shove your superiority up your arses."
Alexio tears his eyes away from the anger filled girl before him, looking to his centaur friend, Tarynce. He hands him Harry Potter's wand. "This is Harry Potter's wand. Miss Granger has too much energy. Use Crucio on her until she's too weak to cause any more commotion."
Hermione's eyes fly to the wand. "You still have the wands? FIRENZE YOU BACKSTABBING SON OF A-"
But her words are cut off by fierce screams that fill the night, and she falls back onto the bars, shrinking into the corner as her screams frow louder and scratchier, their shrill volume increasing by the second. He releases the spell, watching her anxiously. Alexio quickly reads the look on his face- hope. Tarynce was hoping that she was already weak- he was hoping that he wouldn't have to harm her again.
Hermione moves forward, her knuckles clutching the bars of the cage until they turn white. "When Harry wakes up, he's going to be furious. Don't you dare use Crucio on him- use it on me. It will work better. And you can't hurt him. You can't. If you harm him, I swear to Merlin I will tear you all to shreds." She says, her voice deep. She was panting, and yet she still had enough energy to scream at them. "DO YOU HEAR ME? YOU WILL NOT HURT HIM!"
Alexio nods to Tarynce. "Again."
Tarynce heaves a deep breath, and points the wand at her. "Crucio."
The process repeats itself four more times- Hermione is tortured, and as soon as it's over, she screams int heir faces. Her energy was draining, but not fast enough. Alexio pauses, his eyes resting on Tarynce, who was distraught from harming someone so much. "Miss Granger, we have attempted to drain your energy, but it has not worked."
Hermione rolls her eyes. "Good."
"So, you leave us no choice. A simple Imperio should work."
Hermione's eyes widen, and she shifts up, flinching as she does so. "No. You can't control me. No."
Alexio frowns. "It will only be for a short moment. Tarynce." He nods to him, and he takes a shuddering breath.
"Imperio."
Hermione's eyes become dazed, and unfocused. Alexio nods. "Excellent. Now make her knock herself out."
Tarynce nods, and swishes the wand in a downward slant, muttering something under his breath. Alexio watches with interest as Hermione turns, as if in a trance, and braces her arms on the bars. In a violent motion, she brings her head forward, slamming it against the bars and falling with a clatter onto the floor of her cage. "Now remove the spell."
Tarynce removes her from the Imperius Curse instantly, setting the wand back in Alexio's hand as if it was a poison. Alexio's eyes fall upon the boy and girl, both on the floor of separate cages, and takes another deep breath. He turns away. "Pack them both up for transportation."