A Little Devil at Hogwarts (Follow-up to Harry Potter - Hellion)

 

Harry was getting bored. So bored in fact, he decided to go take a walk around Hogwarts grounds. Having already run around the Black Lake more often than he dared to remember, he decided to take a walk on it. The students watched him take a running plunge in the icy water, but only to stay on the surface, skating barefoot on the choppy, wind-blown surface. He gained speed then began doing figures, at first, simple ones, but gradually, ever more complex ones. The students and teachers, along with the soldiers, watched, mouth agape, as he did jumps, spins, back and front jumps, the great split, and so much more, always on liquid water!

"I wonder how he does it?" asked Minerva.

"Magic, my dear, magic!"

"I know as much, Filius. I am not that daft! But what kind of magic?"

"I heard of elemental magic, which we seem to have forgone. It is a shame. Imagine the uses in a fight this could have!"

"I agree with you there!" said the Marine commander. "If he handles all elements with the same ease, he's a force of nature!"

"As if he was not before?" Minerva replied, sardonically.

"I will have to ask how he does it..." added Flitwick.

"And his explanation will be ‘I ask magic to do it, and it does.' It is always simple with him." Pomona Sprout replied.

"Well, the show is over, it seems," noted Hagrid. "I wonder why he is skating toward the far edge of the lake, right in the Forbidden forest!"

"Who knows with him? Anyway, Hagrid, run off and intercept him. It is a forbidden forest for a reason!"

"Intercept Mister Potter, Minerva? If the bad guys know what's good for them, they will move out of the forest and ask for retirement money! After claiming back pay for risks!" replied Hagrid.

"Nonetheless..."

"I am off, Minerva. But do not expect anything but one hell of a light show if Harry gets bothered!"

With that, Hagrid took off at a run for the forest, his steps thundering as he made his way to its edge. His entry was heard loud and clear as he broke through the thick underbrush that encircled the deeper, darker parts of the Forbidden Forest, opening a rather wide gap in the spiny shrubs.

Meanwhile, Harry progressed deeper in the woods. He was more silent than a cloud, but he heard Hagrid's entry in the forest loud and clear.

‘Luckily Hagrid is the game-keeper, not a hunter' he thought, ‘otherwise he would never catch anything with that kind of noise!'.

Harry made his way between a thick clump of trees to emerge in a small clearing. There, he spotted a group of Centaurs, discussing.

"Bane, it is only Hagrid, not a two-legged invasion! You know him: even at his best, we can hear him smash through the forest for miles around!"

"I do not care if it is Hagrid. Two-legs should not be allowed in our forest! You are too accommodating to them, Firenze!"

"Too accommodating? To let their colts walk at the edge? Bane, you need to re-evaluate how you see the world!"

"What is ours is ours!"

"Whatever you say, Bane, has little effect on the situation, since Magorian has decided to let the Human foals access the forest and that decision stands as long as he is the Stallion of the herd!"

"That can be changed, Ronan!"

"Not without reason and a vote!" Magnus replied.

"Accidents can happen!"

"Stop it right there, Bane!" thundered Firenze. "What you are suggesting is enough to get you expelled from the herd, and no herd would take you in! You know the laws: a lone Centaur will not be accepted into a herd because his taint would spread to everyone."

Harry had heard enough and was getting ready to intervene when Bane spoke again.

"I will not put up with cowardice and knee-bending from this herd. I would prefer be proud and stand up and claim what is mine by right!"

"There, you are wrong, Bane!" said Harry from the edge of the clearing, projecting his voice to the other side of the clear area.

Bane spun on his rear legs and let an arrow fly before even verifying on whom he had let it go.

"You missed, Bane. And I am one of the foals from Hogwarts, not that it matters much to me. You should have assessed on whom you let that arrow fly."

As he projected his voice, keeping the Centaurs looking away from him, he progressed and reached them.

"Show yourself, two-legs, so I can kill you!" thundered Bane.

"Why, certainly!" replied Harry as he snapped the bow's string with a well-thrown cutting spell, from right behind the left shoulder of Bane. The twang of a snapping bow sting and the sudden release of the tension on the bow could be heard clearly by all present.

Bane looked at his war bow with astonishment. Then it registered to him the voice had come from behind his left shoulder so he spun around, pulling a knife in the same motion and throwing it at Harry with enough force to make the blade whistle as it left his grip.

Harry captured the thrown blade in an immobilis spell, and looked at the tip. "Bad boy, Bane, bad boy! That blade is poisoned with a very virulent combination of plant poisons. Had it hit anyone in the area, he would have died a long and agonizing death." Harry then looked at the blade that began to smoke, burning off the poison, before turning progressively red, then white, before melting and dripping to the forest floor to form a metal puddle. Harry then used aquamenti to dose the burgeoning forest fire.

Furious beyond the ability to think, Bane charged, lifting his forepaws with the intent of stampeding on Harry. As Bane charged, Harry popped behind him, out of reach of a potential kick from the rear legs, but also slapped Bane's rump hard with a flat hand as he passed by.

The other Centaurs backed away from the mentally unstable Bane, and watched the diminutive figure set Bane in his place. The more Bane missed, the more furious he became, calling on the others to help him crush the two-legs.

"That is out of the question, Bane. We got eyes to see, and ears to hear, and mind to reason, all of which you have forfeited," Firenze said.

After half an hour of waiting for Bane to calm down, Harry decided he had enough. By then Hagrid had made his way to the edge of the clearing and was watching the battle, not daring to make a sound, lest it distracted Harry and gave the furious Centaur an edge.

"Enough of this! Bane, this is not your forest, it is my forest. That castle was lent to the four founders by my family, and your herd was left here because your ancestors did not want to leave their homeland and my ancestors did not see reason to force them to do so. At the time, the forest was vast, covering the entire continent in a continuous blanket. No more is it so."

"How dare you!"

"I dare because it is so. Look at me, Bane! Really look at me, because it will be the last thing you will see as a magical being!"

With that, Harry pushed his two fists together and began: "Let what has been united by magic be separated by magic, let what once was one be two, let what has six legs find two and four! So mote it be by the will of me!"

Harry's eyes grew brighter and an emerald beam hit Bane on the torso. The Centaur began yelling in excruciating pain, as two clouds formed, one horse-shaped, the other human-shaped. Then they condensed into their new form and the horse ran off, his mind freed for the first time since his birth as the human form fell on the soft dirt.

"Bane, you are returned to what you hate the most: a two-leg. You will have to learn to walk like them and be one of them... all that without the benefit of the magic that once kept you and your mate bound, for now you are a mundane."

"What have you done?" asked Bane in a rough voice.

"Paid back your hatred. Let it be known that what magic can do, it can undo. What we gave, we can take back from those undeserving of the Gift!"

"Bane, had you bothered looking, you would have seen you were attacking a High Elf, those who gave us our Gift. You are now banned from our herd, Bane. There is no need for a vote as the High One has decided for us. Leave! Now!" Magnus declared.

Bane crawled on his belly to reach a tree and pull himself up on shaky legs, that showed serious atrophy due to lack of use. The pain of the blood flow in his legs made Bane cringe.

"I can not walk."

"You should have considered the consequences before attacking him!" Firenze said. "You had the Stars to guide your actions, yet you turned a blind eye to the signs in heaven! Pay the price in full!"

With that the Centaurs kneed in front of Harry, and Ronan said, his head down: "King of Magic, we renew our vow to serve you and yours. We will inform the village of the events and of Bane's fate and banishment."

"Thank you. It is a sad day indeed when I have to remove the Gift from someone."

"Sad but necessary," replied Firenze. "It will refresh the memories of our hot-tempered youths, as Bane is not the only one with similar views, but only he pushed them that far to our knowledge. It was ample time the forest was returned to its rightful owners, and that our role as safe-keepers be reminded to the hot heads."

With that, the Centaurs moved off, leaving Bane, Harry, and a hidden Hagrid behind. Hagrid had watched Bane's fate unfold with terror, wide-eyed, and in shock. He saw Harry bend over Bane and listened to what the High Elf said to the prone figure.

"So, Bane, what have you learned today?"

"To hate you even more!"

"Why am I not surprised? I was going to bring you to Hogwarts for transport into the Mundane world, but, somehow, I suspect you would hate me for it. You will have to make your way to civilization on your own. And do not worry, no animal within this forest will ever attack you as I now mark you as my prey."

Harry then stood on Bane and let go of a golden shower worthy of the Flood, spraying Bane from the face to the groin and back.

"Ah! That feels good. By the way, the nearest edge is 10 miles off, where the sun sets, Be aware that the Acromantulas' colony is east from here, 20 miles off, but that they do not have a sense of smell, only of ground vibrations. Therefore, they will not know you have been marked, Bane! Be careful if you do not want to end up a liquid diet for them!"

Hagrid had heard enough. Although he might have considered helping Bane had he not been marked by the High Elf as prey, his limited good sense told him to stay out of this little tiff. He took off westward, hoping that Bane would be intelligent enough to follow the cleared path he was making for him rather than be stubborn and try to make his own. Knowing Bane, Hagrid had no doubt about Bane's choice.

---

Harry heard Hagrid leave, and he too hoped Bane would follow the half-giant out of the forest, but, like Hagrid, he had his doubts. Harry took off eastward. He had delayed meeting with Aragog. Changing to a Falcon, Harry climbed over the tree-tops and flew eastward. Some fifteen miles east from his original position, Harry spotted the first Acromantulas on the tree tops, small ones waiting in their webs for the unweary bird to fly into their nets. As he progressed further, he noticed the webs grew in size as did the Spiders. Finally, a cave appeared, the clearing encircled by a thick layer of Spider webs whose strands were bigger than Harry himself.

‘That must be Aragog's lair!' Harry thought. He changed to a Bumble Bee, well aware that the spacing between the filaments would let him fly though... as long as he did not touch any and get glued, that is!

Once inside the cave, he changed into a Bat to use echolocation to fly deeper. The sharp cries of the Bat did not register with Aragog, as they were out of her hearing range. Harry, on the other hand, could clearly see the draping webs hanging from the cave's ceiling, the presence of way too many Acromantulas for his comfort, and, deep inside a huge passageway, the presence of a monstrous arachnid: Aragog.

Finding a place clear of sticky strands on the floor and also clear of left-over bones from Aragog's meals, he landed on the spot and changed to his High Elf appearance.

Aragog, having grown blind with age, only detected Harry when he talked.

"Hello, Aragog."

"Who is there? That is not the voice of Hagrid! And I can hear him walk into my nest from miles away!"

"No. I am not Hagrid. I am not surprised you can hear him for miles: the ground shakes under his feet. I am Harry James Potter, the owner of this forest. I came to visit you and see how things are going."

"The hunt is bad these days. The animals are weary. But it seems Hagrid has let one morsel pass to us!"

"I would not count on it, Aragog. Hagrid had nothing to do with my presence. As a High Elf, it is I that give the permissions, not the other way around."

"Ah, High Elf, eh? Do not take me for a dimwit, fresh young meat. I know they have left this world well before I was hatched by Hagrid!"

"Bane also took the high road, and yet he suffered for it."

"Bane, the Centaur? He has been the bane of my children. What happened to him?"

"He is no longer a Centaur."

"He is dead? Good riddance!"

"No. He is no longer a Centaur."

"No longer a Centaur? Explain!"

"I separated the Horse part from the Human part. What was given can be recalled if it is abused! The Horse part has run off away from Bane, leaving him on foot to reach a new home."

"Separated the two parts? That is impossible!"

"What Magic giveth, Magic taketh."

Aragog's pinchers clicked furiously, as she analyzed the information brought to her attention by Harry. She could taste the truth in Harry, and that bothered her. She was hungry, as the winter had been harsh, but if this was really a High Elf and that he had dealt with Bane the way he so casually described, she knew she had a good chance to forfeit her life if she brought battle to him, however small and appetizing the morsel might be. She decided to temporize.

"You said you came to me to talk. Certainly not just to say hello? Even Hagrid knows better than to show up empty-handed!"

"Finally! You sure know how to string a web. I have met several colonies of Acromantulas during my travels. All are native to rather humid tropical forests. Your colony is the only one found outside of that climate belt. I figure winters must be rather harsh on you. The bigger, the more need for food, the bigger, the slower to warm up in the spring; the bigger, the more imposing the preys must be to sustain you. Am I right?"

"Yes, and the slower the defrost, and the more painful it is!"

"I suggest moving your colony to Borneo. The Acromantulas there are of the same species as you. Therefore your daughters will be able to find acceptable mates rather than do it with their own brothers, which seems to have already created some genetic issues."

"An interesting proposition. And yes, I noticed a subtle change in the pheromones of my Daughters. I had not thought they were mating with the few of my Sons I produce each season. An oversight, I guess."

"Inbreeding can be found in many species, all of which lead to similar issues."

"How do you plan to move us? We can not fly, swim, or even stay in the sun for long before cooking in our shells."

"Hey, I am the King of Magic. Whatever I ask of Magic does."

"That, I have to see."

"Difficult, given you are blind. But I can always fix that issue before doing the move. As long as you do agree to move, that is."

"I do not know of Borneo."

"It is a mountainous island with a rich forest cover and a wide variety of preys fit for your species. I know one colony got killed by a volcanic eruption because they had built their nest on the side of a volcano that entered into a pyroclastic eruption. Had they chosen the extinct volcano across the valley they would have survived. It too is laced with cooled down volcanic conduits composed of basaltic rock, much like this nest. We need to move before the Spider migration, in a month, so the territory is occupied by your colony rather than a migratory pair. You do not want to face a fight before setting yourself up for shop."

"I agree then. How do we proceed?"

"Call your nest. They will not see me or sense me. Neither will you the moment I say so."

"It will take what humans call an hour to collect everyone. What about my eggs?"

"They are here? And the mated females lay here as well?"

"Yes. Why do you not ask about our males?"

"I am no fool. I know that, once they have supplied the sperm bag, they get eaten unless they manage to outrun the females, trice their size. Not that they can do any more mating as the penis gets cut off during the mating!"

"You do know us. Fine. Let me do the call."

With that, Aragog began clicking furiously, and playing with strands of the web on which she was hung. Harry vanished into thin air, actually taking the form of a gnat on the roof of the cave. He watched the cave gradually fill in with millions of Spiders of all sizes. Once the entrance was clear of newcomers he concentrated and called upon magic to move all those in the cave to a new cave in Borneo.

Aragog was agog at seeing light for the first time in years, and she smelled the change in air: more humid, salty, hotter... Once the spiders had left the cave to explore their new domain and set up the first traps, Harry re-formed into a High Elf.

"Satisfied, Aragog?"

"So far, young one, you have kept your word."

"This valley and the entire area is a natural reserve. The humans do not penetrate here as they fear their nightmares: Your species. Stay within these boundaries."

"And how will you return?"

"The same way I came: by Magic. Aragog, we may well never see each other again. You are nearing the term of your life. Make sure your successor know that the High Elves have returned."

"I will do so, young one. How much time?"

"As long as no one beats you in the succession war. You now have a surprise for them, Aragog: you can see. Keep that information to yourself."

"A judicious recommendation. Say thank you to Hagrid for all his hard work on my behalf."

"I will."

Harry popped back to Hogwarts and continued exploring the forbidden forest, that was rapidly losing its most vicious denizens.

---

Meanwhile, Hagrid had reached the edge of the forest and, considering his job done for Bane's survival, he took off at a run for Hogsmeade through the tall grass and drainage ditches. Thirty minutes later, a considerable amount of time which gave a measure of the distance covered, and Hagrid's huge steps, the game-keeper reached Hogwarts' gates. He hopped over the fence and ran to the back of the castle, where he expected to see the teachers and the headmistress awaiting his return.

"Hagrid! Where do you come from?" asked a surprised Minerva. "I hope you did not take the round-about to get a tankard of beer?"

"You hurt me, headmistress. I do not drink on the job, contrary to others!" replied Hagrid while giving a quick side-glance at Trelawney, the Seer and divination teacher. "I got grave news for you."

"Do tell, and where is Mister Potter?"

"That concerns him."

"Bad news?"

"Depends for whom, headmistress."

"Stop playing with the tankard, and spill!"

"Well, he met the Centaurs and... Bane... tried... to assault him. Bane lost. And the herd is one Centaur short."

"Mister Potter killed Bane?"

"No. He... what is the word? Separated? Dissociated? Anyway, the Horse from the Human. Bane is no longer a Centaur."

"Let me get this straight. That story is so bent at the hips its a curved ball you need to follow it. You are telling me that Mister Potter separated the two components of a Centaur and that both survived?.

"He said something like what magic can do, magic can undo, and left it at that."

"I fear for our Children. The Centaurs will not take lightly to this!"

"Oh, Firenze and the others saw the assault and were getting ready to ban Bane. They just told Harry he saved them the trouble."

"That is a relief. But where is mister Potter?"

"Still in the forest, I gather. I was hoping he would come back here. I made a path for Bane to leave the forest. In his Human form, he is rather pathetic."

"He'll get killed."

"No. He got marked by Mister Potter."

"Marked?"

"Mister Potter pissed on him and I heard clearly Mister Potter tell Bane he thus marked him as his prey and that no animal would dare harm him in the forest. Bane will need all the protection he can get, since he can't walk and must first grow his legs and spine strength before being able to do so. He crawls and uses his arms to pull himself around."

"I see. Why did you not bring Bane back with you?"

"And cross Mister Potter? I am not suicidal. He wants Bane to learn a painful lesson and I am not going to intervene. Bane is no longer of our resort, as he is Mundane, and has lost all Magic."

"I wonder where he is?"

"Maybe we will know when he comes back. After all, he does not need to tell us anything."

"Talking about the Devil, here he comes..." said Flitwick, as Harry emerged from the forest as if he had just taken a stroll.

"Hey Hagrid! You better stay game-keeper, you know. A hurricane is less noisy than you in that forest! And Aragog says thank you for your hard work protecting her."

"Her? I thought it was a he?"

"No, I never heard of a he laying eggs, you know. Anyway, the colony is now where it should have been, in its homeland of Borneo."

"Aragog? Borneo?" asked a mystified Minerva.

"Aragog is Hagrid's pet Acromantula, and she lay and protected a rather pitiful nest of arachnids."

"Pitiful, Mister Potter?"

"Yes, Hagrid, pitiful. They were numerous, but undersized because of the lack of proper food and the harshness of our climate. She will be able to lay for another three or four years in Borneo and her daughters will grow to a better portion of their potential. Hibernation for Aragog was extremely painful, given its size, Hagrid."

"There was a nest of level five Spiders in our forest and I did not know it?" asked a baffled Minerva.

"Do you think Dumbledore would have told you of that surprise, Minerva? He was the one that gave the egg to Hagrid, and suggested he place Aragog in the forest when Tommy Boy managed to get Hagrid ensnared in his traps. I had a long talk with Aragog, and she has a remarkable memory for an arachnid. Dumbledore was the paragon of dark light!"

"I am beginning to agree. I just hope Hagrid does not have any more surprises hiding in the forest!"