They were safe, at least for now. Perhaps Hagrid had scared away whatever was out there. Then, there was movement!
"Who's there?" Hagrid called. "Show yerself — I'm armed!"
A figure emerged from the shadows. An incredibly tall man… No, it was a centaur. A fantastic beast with the torso of a human perched upon where a horse's neck should have been.
"Oh, it's you, Ronan," said Hagrid. "How are yeh?"
Hagrid walked forward to offer him a handshake, but the so-called Ronan was too busy staring at Oleandra.
"The Lady of the Stars," he breathed. "The signs are unmistakeable. And yet, it's thirty years too early…"
"Ronan? Hullo?" Hagrid said, puzzled.
"Good evening, Hagrid," the centaur said, finally looking away from Oleandra. "It is an auspicious, yet inauspicious night. Venus and Mars are bright tonight."
Ronan looked back at Oleandra. "Greetings, Lady of the Stars, Mistress of Constellations," he said. "Long have my people awaited one of your kind."
Potter and Granger were confused, and Hagrid was completely flabbergasted. He had never known the centaurs to take any interest in the affairs of humans. They looked quizzically to Oleandra, who shrugged. She had no idea who this person was, or how he knew of her connection with the stars.
"What exactly do you mean?" she asked tentatively.
"More than two millennia ago," the centaur began. "My people looked to the stars for guidance. They watch over all that has been, that is, and that will be. Our sages explored myriad futures, and in only one did our species thrive. Ever since then, we have respected the will of the stars; under no circumstances would we interfere in the affairs of humans, for fear that the saviour would not be born. We are now free to act as we please, for you are destined to lead us to our home beyond the stars."
He paused. "And yet… here you are, one generation early. I must confer with the elders."
No sooner had he said those words, that he had left in a gallop.
"That was Ronan, a centaur," Hagrid told the children awkwardly.
And then, there were movements from the forest. Another centaur had appeared.
"The Lady of the Stars," he said. "The heavenly bodies do not lie. And yet, it's thirty years too early…"
"We've heard that one already," said Hagrid grumpily. "D'yeh know anythin' 'bout an injured unicorn? Lemme know if ya see anythin', won't yeh?"
The centaur stared at them as the little group left.
"Never," said Hagrid irritably, "try an' get a straight answer out of a centaur. Ruddy stargazers. Never known them to say anythin' 'bout 'emselves."
Potter looked curiously at Oleandra.
"What was that about you being the Lady of the Stars?" Granger asked curiously.
Granger already knew about her strange magic, so there was no use in hiding it from her.
"It's about the kind of magic I use," Oleandra said. "I don't know much more about it, except that it's definitely not the kind ordinary wizards can use."
And then she refused to answer any more questions, leaving Granger more curious than ever.
"Hagrid, look over there! The others are in trouble!" shouted Potter.
Red sparks were shooting into the sky like fireworks, the distress signal they had previously agreed upon.
"You three wait here!" Hagrid shouted. "Stay on the path, I'll come back for yeh!"
He barrelled into the murky depths of the forest, only to return a few minutes later looking positively murderous.
It seemed as though the red sparks were the result of Malfoy pranking Longbottom, making him fear for his life.
"We'll be lucky ter catch anythin' now, with the racket you two were makin'. Right, we're changin' groups — Neville, you stay with me, Miss Greengrass an' Hermione, Harry, you go with Fang an' this idiot."
Hagrid then whispered something to Potter, and then they separated.
A while later, Oleandra heard Malfoy's scream from the forest. Something had gone terribly wrong. As Hagrid prepared to run in the direction of the scream, the earth started to shake, and the sound of hooves filled the air. A small army of centaurs spilled out from the forest and blocked Hagrid's way.
"Magorian, out o' my way!" Hagrid thundered.
"You will escort the Lady of the Stars out of the forest and to the castle's safety," the centaur named Magorian simply said.
"Out o' my way!" Hagrid repeated even louder and angrier. "Children's lives are at stake."
"The stars have revealed that their time has not yet come," Magorian said calmly. "Now, you will do as you are told."
As those words left his mouth, he signalled the others. Suddenly, Hagrid found himself facing the business end of the bows and arrows of more than a dozen centaur archers!
Hagrid balled up his fists. With his size, there was no way even he was escaping the fate of becoming a human pincushion if he disobeyed, and yet he had to do something! He had to make sure Harry Potter lived!
Then, the trotting of a horse was heard. Yet another centaur emerged from the darkness, carrying Potter on his back and holding Malfoy by the hand, with Fang the dog following closely behind.
The other centaurs frowned deeply at this sight, but none of them had anything to say.
"Good evening, Hagrid, children," the new centaur said. "My name is Firenze. I have brought the Potter boy, so that you may return the Lady of the Stars to safety with peace of mind."
"Hagrid," said Potter, looking like he was in pain. "The unicorn's dead. I found it in that clearing back there, but someone was—"
"Harry, are you all right?" asked Granger with a concerned look on her face.
"I'm fine," said Potter. "I'll tell you and Ron everything when we get back to the common room."
Potter was nothing but fine after his encounter with the Dark Lord. Oleandra couldn't possibly have guessed that Voldemort, who was supposed to have died more than ten years ago, was actually still alive and had been less than fifteen metres away from her mere moments ago!