The rumours against Heri died a sudden death when a Prefect and Sally-Anne ended up in the hospital wing. Many of the fickle crowd pelted them with apologies but Heri's crowd circled in tighter than ever, glowering at anyone that tried asking for forgiveness. For a whole week, none of them talked to anyone not part of their circle, barely even saying anything to each other either. Those of the student body that spoke against her finally realised what sort of curse they had narrowly avoided when Heri publicly grabbed Malfoy by the hair and smashed his face into a wall. The stupid boy had said that Sally-Anne has lost him money since he had bet that she would be the mudblood that died. They recognised the blank look on Heri's face as she watched Malfoy's goon cart him away to be the same one she had given her accusers when they gossiped about her. Heri sprinted through the dense vegetation of the Forbidden Forest as if the hounds of hell were nipping at her heels. If one were to ask her, she might have preferred hounds instead of what actually was pursuing her. Spiders. And not the common, tiny spiders. Spiders the size of carthorses, eight-eyed, eight-legged, black, hairy, gigantic. Oh, why had she thought it was a good idea to listen to Hagrid and let a trail of spiders lead her to a nest of acromantulas? She already knew that Hagrid was innocent! She didn't need a man-eating monster with a brood of its children hungry for her flesh to confirm that. In her haste, and with the pounding of her blood in her ears, she didn't hear the sound of hoof-beats until the creatures producing the sound were upon her. With a wild cry, a herd of centaurs burst through the foliage of the clearing Heri had entered and began to attack the giant spiders. A deluge of arrows rained down on the acromantulas, sending the shrieking and scrambling back. The centaurs advanced onto their foe, leaving carcasses underfoot as they pressed forward. Heri clutched the front of her shirt as if she could somehow expand her chest so more air could enter her. She sat heavily on the ground and set about calming her heartbeat down. "Are you alright?" said a voice to her right. Heri started almost violently. She looked up to see one of the centaurs. He looked relatively young, resembling a man in his early twenties. He had white-blond hair and a stark white coat. He also had astonishingly blue eyes, like pale sapphires. "Yes," said Heri, still panting lightly. "Thank you for coming when you did." "It was only chance that we were hunting those foul beasts while you were fleeing. No thanks are needed for what was meant to be." Heri blinked up at him uncertainly. "Whether my thanks are needed or not isn't really important. I was in danger of being killed and eaten; your actions saved me. Therefore, gratitude is in order." The centaur stared at her intently. His eyes flickered to her forehead. "You are an odd one, Heri Potter." Another centaur came trotting back, his flanks shiny with sweat. He was black-haired and -bodied with a wilder look about him than the first one. "Firenze," the new centaur addressed the one still staring at Heri. "What of this human child?" "I have yet questioned her," the white one replied. "Why are you roaming the forest, child?" Heri wobbled to her feet to address the properly. "Hagrid has been taken away to prison for a crime he didn't commit. Before he was taken away, he told me that if I wanted to know what was going on, I should follow the trail of spiders into the forest. I found the person he meant for me to find, but Aragog decided that he rather I didn't leave and sent his children to eat me." The black-haired one snorted and stamped. "You thought it a good idea to heed the words of a man that was expelled from his place of learning for harbouring a dangerous creature? You must be as thoughtless as he is." "Bane!" Firenze admonished, but Heri didn't accept such a small chiding as enough for such a heartless statement. Heri straightened her back and brought all the intensity of her glower to bear on the rude creature. Unbeknownst to her, a visible aura surrounded her, shrouding her and taking an almost identifiable shape. "It's not your place to speak in such a manner against a man who had his sense of compassion for all types of living things used against him," she said, her words clipped. "I put my trust in Hagrid's words? I sure do! Hagrid is kind in a way not found in many other places and I don't doubt that if he'd been with me, Aragog would have let us leave unharmed without a thought. It was a miscalculation of Hagrid's part, one that was brought on because of how rushed he was when he told me what to do, and I'll not stand here and let you degrade him!" Neither centaur had anything to say after such a statement, they merely watched her, almost in awe. Firenze looked to Bane. "You see as I have seen?" Bane looked astonished and a touch disbelieving. " I do see, though I scarcely believe these eyes of mine." "You know what must be done then?" "Aye. I know it well. It has been written since the beginning." Heri huffed. "What are you two talking about now?" Their gazes returned to her. "You are both expected and a surprise to us, little hero," said Bane, his tone even. "As the ones who have discovered you, it is now our duty to teach you the ways you must be educated in lest you perish before your time." Oh, great. More of this. "What is with supernatural beings calling me a hero?" Heri griped. "First that Cyclops, then that giant snake thing, and now you two. Just what exactly is so heroic about me anyway? I haven't done half the things people say I have!"
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