**Chapter 58**
It was Saturday. That morning, Albert practiced the Obstacle Charm with Hermione. After lunch, he made an excuse and slipped away into the Forbidden Forest.
He hadn't been walking for more than five minutes when he spotted the silhouette of a centaur up ahead. However, it was not Betty. This rider was male, and someone Albert had never met before.
The centaur looked older than Betty's mount. His horse body was yellowish-golden, and he had pale blond hair and sky-blue eyes—strikingly similar to Professor Dumbledore. He seemed much younger than Betty's companion, perhaps a youth among centaurs.
"Did Aunt Betty send you to fetch me?" Albert asked.
"Yes. You must be Albert. My name is Firenze. It's a pleasure to meet you," the centaur said, bowing and extending his hand.
Albert recognized the name. Firenze was the same centaur who would later come to Hogwarts as a Divination professor. He was known to be more friendly toward humans than most of his kind. It made sense that Betty had chosen him. With that, Albert shook his hand.
The two then followed a winding path that led toward an area Albert hadn't yet visited—but based on the direction, he guessed it led toward the Dead Forest he had once seen in the Emerald Dream.
Sure enough, Firenze explained, "We need to assemble near the valley where the Eight-Eyed Giant Spiders nest. From there, we can head directly into battle. The village shamans have placed a natural barrier to keep the spiders from sensing us."
Along the way, Firenze expressed curiosity about Albert's life at Hogwarts. He seemed genuinely interested in human society.
At the same time, he told Albert that there had been conflict among the centaur tribes regarding Albert's participation in the upcoming battle. The elders, led by Ronan, strongly believed that the matter should be resolved by the forest's magical creatures alone, without any human interference.
But Betty argued otherwise—Albert had been recognized by the Emerald Dream, and as children of nature, the centaurs should not reject someone so naturally favored.
"You should know," Firenze continued, "I myself was torn. Half of me supported your involvement. The other half opposed bringing humans into forest affairs."
Albert tilted his head. "So, if I'm here now, that means you ended up supporting Betty's proposal. How did she manage to convince the rest?"
"Convince?" Firenze let out a dry laugh. "Ronan and his group are as stubborn as mules. They're not the type to be persuaded. But it turns out the unicorns...well, no one knows exactly what they saw, but at yesterday's gathering, they insisted you should be allowed to participate. Ronan had no choice but to yield—he saw the unicorns siding with Betty, and that was enough."
Apparently, the unicorn Albert had once rescued had remembered him—and had spoken on his behalf.
"Truly," Firenze said solemnly, "kindness never goes unrewarded."
Albert nodded silently, pondering the surprising turn of events.
"Still," Firenze added, "don't expect Ronan and his lot to look kindly on you. They won't sabotage you, but they won't welcome you either."
"I understand," Albert replied. "It's only natural. When there's already tension within, outsiders are rarely welcomed."
"Exactly," said Firenze, visibly more relaxed. "And I promise—they may grumble, but they won't cross the line during the battle."
After more than thirty minutes of trekking, they finally arrived at a clearing deep in the forest, dotted with large stone formations.
Once Firenze announced their arrival, Albert sat down immediately, patting his aching legs. He picked up a stone and perched on it. The terrain in the forest had been rough, and Firenze's long legs made even his slow pace exhausting for Albert, who had to jog half the time to keep up.
Thankfully, Albert's physical endurance had improved thanks to Occlumency training and his work within the Emerald Dream.
Firenze approached and chuckled, "I figured you'd give up halfway. I almost waited for you to collapse."
Albert managed a grin. "Not today."
After a brief rest, the bushes across from them parted, and a new path revealed itself. Following it, they arrived at a small valley. Scattered across the area were over forty centaurs and dozens of unicorns, as well as a massive grey wolf. The presence of so many warriors confirmed that this was to be a serious assault.
It didn't look like much, but it wasn't surprising. These Eight-Eyed Spiders had been entrenched in the Forbidden Forest for decades. They were nearly impossible to exterminate.
(In the original canon, defeating just one of these spiders was considered a monumental task. That's why they were classified as forbidden magical creatures. Voldemort had once used their rarity to frame Hagrid, claiming he bred one, leading to Hagrid's imprisonment and his ban from using magic.)
So now, the centaur clans were gathering to make war against the spiders—creatures with armor-like hides that were nearly impossible to pierce.
A short while later, two more centaurs arrived. That seemed to complete the assembly. Betty climbed atop a stone and began assigning pre-battle tasks.
As Betty organized the troops, Albert began to grow slightly bored—until he heard his name being called.
"Albert," Betty said, "please demonstrate those plants you've brought. Then we can finalize the formation."
"With pleasure, my lady," Albert said with a slight bow.
He summoned the magical plants he had prepared for the battle and demonstrated how each one attacked.
(His affinity with life magic allowed him to control aspects of nature—though not animals or humans.)
After witnessing the sheer power of the plants, many of the centaurs who had previously looked at Albert with disdain now glanced away awkwardly. These must have been the ones aligned with Ronan, as Firenze had warned.
But centaurs were simpler than humans when it came to emotion. Soon, a tall, broad-shouldered centaur approached Albert. His horse body was deep red, and his hair and beard were a matching fiery hue.
"I am Ronan," he said. "Human... I admit that your ability is vital to this battle. I apologize for my earlier prejudice."
Albert accepted the apology with grace. Betty, watching the exchange, smiled approvingly.
Then she began assigning final positions. Albert was grouped with the Gray Wolf, tasked with securing the perimeter and placing traps in a designated area. Lin, another centaur, distributed supplies to the riders.
With only an hour and a half remaining before the hunt began, Albert and the Gray Wolf quickly moved out to prepare their section of the battlefield.