Forbidden Forest.
The dense canopy blotted out the sky, leaving the forest in perpetual dimness.
Dumbledore's figure appeared within the Forbidden Forest as he stepped over the thick layer of fallen leaves and slowly made his way deeper inside.
Before long, he found a narrow path in the woods.
There were footprints on the path, but they were not human footprints. They were hoofprints.
Following the trail inward, Dumbledore soon spotted a settlement nestled within the forest.
"Wizard! Halt!" A young centaur drew his bow and aimed an arrow at Dumbledore in warning.
"I am Albus Dumbledore. I was invited here to see Fernandes," Dumbledore said calmly, lifting his head.
The young centaur slowly lowered his bow. "Wait here."
Dumbledore did not take offense at the centaur's cold attitude.
He understood this race's temperament well enough.
He quietly observed the settlement.
The entire centaur encampment was surrounded by wooden walls.
These wooden walls looked extremely sturdy, built by the centaurs to prevent wild beasts from intruding into their habitat.
At that moment, Dumbledore could feel many curious gazes from within the settlement falling upon him.
He lifted his head and looked toward the gate. In the distance, a strong centaur was approaching with a group of equally robust tribesmen at his side.
"Dumbledore," the centaur said as he came forward.
"Fernandes, good to see you," Dumbledore greeted with a smile.
"Og said he would return to report to you, so I would like to hear your opinion," Fernandes said proudly.
Dumbledore smiled. "Of course. We can have a proper talk today."
Fernandes's expression eased slightly. "Come in. We will talk inside."
There were no houses in the centaur settlement, only many towering trees.
Most centaurs preferred to live beneath the great trees.
The younger foals, whose bodies were not yet strong enough, lived in tree hollows or caves.
Dumbledore followed Fernandes inside.
The adult centaurs all watched Dumbledore with wary eyes.
Some of the young foals, however, peeked curiously from behind their elders, watching Dumbledore with wide eyes.
Dumbledore smiled and nodded at them, which promptly startled the foals into scattering in all directions.
Before long, Fernandes led Dumbledore to the largest tree at the center of the settlement.
This tree was the biggest in the entire encampment. By Dumbledore's estimation, it would take at least twenty people holding hands to barely encircle it.
Beneath the tree, a bonfire was crackling.
Several elderly centaurs were already waiting there.
Fernandes walked to the base of the tree and lay down directly on the hay.
The other centaurs also gathered around the fire and found places to "sit."
"Our settlement rarely receives wizard visitors, so we have no chairs for you," Fernandes said.
"That's quite all right," Dumbledore replied with a smile.
He did not draw his wand. Instead, he lightly waved a hand toward the ground, and a fallen tree stump transformed into a simple chair.
For certain historical reasons, centaurs held deep wariness toward both wizards and humans.
And toward a wizard's weapon, the wand, their vigilance was even stronger.
So Dumbledore deliberately refrained from taking out his wand.
"I have heard Og convey your concerns. I will personally speak with Grindelwald and have the damaged excess forest restored. Our Herbology professor will provide full assistance in this matter," Dumbledore said.
"Good." Clearly, Fernandes was satisfied with this point.
In truth, Grindelwald's tent did not occupy a particularly large area. With the Extension Charm inside, there was no need to destroy so much forest to create such a large, useless clearing.
Seeing that the conversation had begun well, Dumbledore continued, "I will also negotiate further with Grindelwald and have them strengthen their safeguards so that no foreign dark creatures enter the Forbidden Forest."
Fernandes still had a certain degree of trust in Dumbledore, so he nodded slightly upon hearing this.
"We have one more condition. The place where they are currently setting up the tent should preferably be moved to the outer edge of the Forbidden Forest. If that can be done—"
"Something's wrong!"
A rapid series of hoofbeats suddenly interrupted Fernandes.
A young centaur came running from the distance.
Dumbledore immediately noticed a deep wound on the centaur's arm.
His heart jolted, and his brows drew tightly together.
The injured young centaur's face was pale, and he had to be supported by several others to remain standing.
"What happened?" Fernandes demanded in a low voice.
"Those damned wizards! They released those dark creatures into the Forbidden Forest!" the injured young centaur said angrily.
Fernandes shot to his feet. "What did you say?"
"Our people went to stop them… and then… then they attacked us! Firenze and the others were all captured. I was at the rear of the group, so I managed to escape!" the wounded centaur said urgently. "We have to rescue Firenze and the others!"
Fernandes turned to look at Dumbledore, his expression dark as storm clouds.
"Dumbledore, I need a reasonable explanation from you."
Dumbledore sighed. "I was not aware of this matter, Fernandes. I need to return and investigate first."
"You truly knew nothing about it?" Fernandes demanded angrily.
"If I had known, why would I come here to speak with you?" Dumbledore countered.
Fernandes gave a short nod and picked up the heavy bow beside him.
"If this has nothing to do with you, then leave. Everyone else, take up your weapons. We are going to rescue our people and drive those wizards out of the Forbidden Forest."
"Fernandes!" Dumbledore stepped in front of him. "Please calm down. Do not act rashly. Trust me one more time. Let me negotiate. I will ensure your people are brought back unharmed."
"It is not that simple, Dumbledore. Not only will I rescue my people, I will make those wizards pay!" Fernandes said furiously.
"If you do this, more of your people may be injured," Dumbledore urged desperately. "Please believe me. I will give you a satisfactory answer."
"No, Dumbledore. We must go," Fernandes said with a frown.
As the leader of the centaurs, he could not sit by and watch his people be humiliated.
If his tribesmen were injured while he remained at home, how could he continue to hold his position as chief?
In every sense, he had to go.
Dumbledore understood this as well. After a moment of thought, he said, "Then let me come with you. I also need to find out exactly what happened."
There was anger in Dumbledore's heart.
To be honest, Grindelwald had promised clearly at the time that he would only set up a training tent in the Forbidden Forest and would not make any other moves.
But now, so many problems had arisen.
"If you can keep up, then come along."
Fernandes did not refuse Dumbledore's request. He immediately called his people and led them out of the settlement at a run.
Watching the centaurs gradually disappear into the depths of the Forbidden Forest, Dumbledore let out a troubled sigh.
Proud centaurs meeting the unruly followers of Grindelwald was a recipe for major conflict.
No matter what, centaurs were magical beings under the protection of the Ministry of Magic, even if they had never sought the Ministry's help.
As for Grindelwald's followers…
Dumbledore's brows suddenly lifted slightly. He intended to see for himself what Grindelwald was up to.
Was Grindelwald finally going to break the rules again? But why?
There was no way Grindelwald would disrupt the rules over such a trivial matter. Could there be another scheme at work?
Of course, if Grindelwald really was courting disaster, then Dumbledore would not hold back.
In fact, he was practically hoping Grindelwald would make a mistake.
White mist rose beneath Dumbledore's feet as he took to the air, swiftly pursuing the centaurs.
It was the improved Flying Charm developed by Wade Reynolds.
The centaurs were somewhat surprised to see Dumbledore flying after them.
Even so, they remained silent, gripping their weapons tightly as they hurried forward.
The sight only deepened Dumbledore's concern.
It seemed today's incident would not be easily resolved.
…
In the Forbidden Forest, on the lawn outside the Grindelwald faction's tent.
Grindelwald stood with his hands behind his back, staring at the seven or eight centaurs bound together before him. The muscles at the corner of his mouth twitched.
At this moment, he felt as if the sky had fallen.
"Who captured these centaurs?" Grindelwald asked, barely restraining his anger.
Right now, Grindelwald held the upper hand. As long as he continued to follow the rules properly, Dumbledore could only watch from the sidelines.
But now… his own subordinates had attacked centaurs without cause. This was practically handing Dumbledore the knife by the handle.
Several of Grindelwald's followers stepped forward. "We did it."
Seeing the expressions on their faces that almost looked like they were seeking credit, Grindelwald's face darkened.
Noticing his sudden change in expression, even the dullest among them realized they might have caused serious trouble.
Grindelwald slowly walked up to them and asked in a low voice, "Who struck first?"
Since a mistake had already been made, someone had to take responsibility.
Strictly speaking, clashing with centaurs was not a major incident.
After all, no centaurs had died because of it.
As long as the primary offender stepped forward and admitted guilt, at worst they would spend two or three years in Azkaban before being released.
Of course, with Grindelwald's current influence, a bit of maneuvering might even keep them out of Azkaban altogether. At most, they would pay a fine and the matter would be settled.
In short, as long as someone was handed over to take the blame, Dumbledore would have no leverage against him.
Under such circumstances, Grindelwald had expected someone to step forward quickly.
But the few followers exchanged glances, and not a single one stepped out.
"What is this? Have you all lost even the courage to admit what you've done?" Grindelwald said with displeasure.
In the past, these followers would not have hesitated even to die for him.
But now, they were shirking responsibility for an error that was clearly theirs?
"It's not that… I… I remember the one who incited us to act was standing right here just now!"
"Yeah… so why is he suddenly gone?"
The followers spoke up one after another, looking aggrieved.
Grindelwald frowned. "Tell me his name."
"He's called… uh…"
For a moment, they all froze. After a long pause, someone finally muttered, "I… I can't remember his name…"
"I can't remember either… What's going on? I clearly remember being very familiar with him!"
"Wait, me too! I remember knowing that person well. How can I suddenly not remember his name?"
"Something's wrong. I can't even clearly remember what he looks like anymore!"
Grindelwald's pupils contracted slightly. He did not believe these subordinates would lie to him.
So... there was a person in his ranks who didn't exist?
___
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