Chapter 122. The Centaurs' Attitude Shift
Beneath the boulder, the leaf-covered patch slowly bulged.
Then the leaves slid away, revealing a half-open case below, and Duncan cautiously poked his head out.
He swept his gaze around and confirmed there was no one nearby and no danger.
"Come out with me," Duncan said, looking down, and he climbed out of the case.
The Unicorn followed behind him, and the Jarvey came close on its heels, a parcel of meat strapped to its back.
It glanced around, settled on a direction, thanked Duncan, and turned to leave.
"Wait—why don't you bring your family to live in my case?"
Duncan looked at the Jarvey as he spoke.
He had a good impression of this Jarvey, thought it promising, and it had helped him more than once.
The Jarvey's hesitant eyes slid over Duncan.
In the end, it shook its head and trotted off with the parcel on its back.
"It probably doesn't want to cause you trouble," the Unicorn said softly, afraid Duncan would be hurt by the refusal.
"I've run into its clan in the forest before, and they're enormous in number.
If they all moved into your case, it might be a bit nasty."
"All right..." Duncan nodded and asked, "Can you sense your child's trail?"
"Of course," the Unicorn replied, its nostrils flaring as it sniffed the lingering scents in the air.
After a moment, it bounded off toward the left front.
"This way.
I've caught its scent here..."
Following the Unicorn, the trees grew denser along the way, and in places the branches and leaves blocked the view so thoroughly that the path itself vanished.
Duncan kept his wand moving, guiding the drooping branches aside to open a way, while he scanned the surroundings to guard against hidden danger.
"Who goes there?" a harsh shout came from the dark, and both Duncan and the Unicorn snapped their heads toward the sound.
A tall Centaur strode out.
He had red hair and a beard, and from the waist down a red-brown horse's body.
If Duncan remembered correctly, this Centaur's name was Ronan, and he had met him in the forest before.
Ronan scrutinised Duncan.
"It's this late.
Why are you still in the forest?"
Though he was questioning them, his tone was far gentler than before.
The boy before him radiated goodwill, and Ronan found no anger rising in him.
Duncan gave Ronan a surprised look.
After a moment's thought, he reckoned the Forest Guardian title he had gained not long ago was at work.
"Someone just attacked a Unicorn.
I rescued it and got separated from its foal," Duncan answered truthfully.
"Attacked a Unicorn?" Ronan's pitch rose, hot with anger.
"Was it a wizard in black robes?"
"You saw him too?" Duncan asked in surprise.
"Mm." Ronan's voice went low.
"We encountered him on patrol.
We tried to call for him to halt, but he turned back and attacked, wounding two of my brothers."
"Are they badly hurt?" Duncan asked.
Ronan shook his head.
"He was very weak.
The force of his spells wasn't great, as if he only meant to delay us from pursuing him."
"That's good," Duncan nodded.
"You carry on.
We'll look for the Unicorn foal."
Ronan frowned, hesitated a moment, and said, "I'll go with you.
That man may still be in the forest."
Duncan's expression grew odder.
He had not expected to hear this from a Centaur who despised humans.
It was nothing short of a miracle.
One could only say the Forest Guardian title packed quite the punch!
The shift from the Centaurs' former pride and defiance to this moment was a bit much all at once, and Duncan was not quite used to it.
"Then I'll trouble you," Duncan said with a small nod, signalling the Unicorn to keep leading on.
"N—no trouble," Ronan replied, his tone turning a touch stiff, as if he too sensed something was off.
He swung his hands to either side, and the Centaurs patrolling with him set their hooves moving and spread out to watch the perimeter.
They went on for a little over a hundred metres and at last found the Unicorn foal in a very well-hidden cave.
It was curled up at the innermost point, head buried, trembling and sobbing under its breath, its whole body shrouded in fear.
Only when the adult Unicorn came to its side and nuzzled against it did its quivering slowly settle.
When the two Unicorns finished conversing, Duncan stepped up without hesitation and invited them to live in the case.
The adult Unicorn glanced at the foal at its side, whose eyes were brimming with curiosity, hesitated for quite a while, and then nodded its agreement.
"Don't worry.
Before long I'll have someone expand the space inside the case, and then you'll have an area of your own," Duncan said with delight, opening the case and bending to set it on the ground, waiting for the Unicorns to enter before closing and locking it.
On the way out of the forest, Duncan hadn't wanted to trouble the Centaurs for an escort, but Ronan would not hear of it and insisted on seeing him to the forest's edge.
Unable to overrule Ronan, Duncan could only nod and agree, and he walked in the middle alongside him.
With their weapons stowed, the Centaur soldiers filed along in force at his side, and he looked for all the world like a distinguished guest honoured by the Centaur tribe.
If Hagrid saw this scene, he would surely leap up in shock and then wipe away tears of envy.
For all his years haunting the forest, though he could converse with the Centaurs, he had never enjoyed such treatment.
At the forest's edge, Duncan took his leave of the Centaurs and slipped away at a run toward the castle.
When he made it back to the dormitory, the clock on the wall was nearly at five.
Duncan hurried to change clothes, vaulted onto the bed without delay, and seized what time there was to sleep a bit more.
As the sky grew gradually lighter, Neville roused him, and Duncan dragged himself through the two morning classes in a daze.
Swept along by the crowd into the Great Hall, Duncan and Neville found seats, and he had just lifted a pie to his mouth.
Fred and George popped up from who-knew-where, stuck one on either side of Duncan's ear, and whispered very quietly.
"Duncan, tell us the truth.
Was that you?"
"Eh?
What?" Duncan pushed the two aside in distaste, frowned, and looked over, having no idea what they were on about.
With a grin, Fred leaned close and said, "We had Defence Against the Dark Arts first thing this morning, but Quirrell never showed."
"We waited ages before Professor McGonagall hurried in and told us the news," George followed on.
"Quirrell is ill!"
"And very seriously so.
He hasn't the strength to go on teaching.
He went off last night to get treatment."
"For now we don't have a Defence Against the Dark Arts professor.
DADA's cancelled, and we're to arrange our own time and have some fun."
"Isn't that good news?" Duncan echoed thoughtfully as he listened to the Weasley twins.
He hadn't expected Quirrell to abandon the Philosopher's Stone and run.
Would Voldemort allow him to do that?
Or had Voldemort decided he was fully exposed and realised the Stone was a setup, and he didn't want to act in Dumbledore's play any longer?
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