[This Lord Business Series]: I Have Been a Brother to O.W.L.S., 19/?

[lomonaaeren]

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Chapter Nineteen—Sudden Death

I said I didn’t want it to start a trend, Harry complains in his head as he stares at Katie’s friend, Gwen McLaggen, kneeling in front of him.

“But you don’t have to swear an oath,” Harry says for the second time. “And you don’t need to kneel before me. Katie didn’t do that.”

Gwen smiles up at him. She is a seventh-year, and she has long blonde hair that she’s tied back in a braid and grey eyes that sort of remind Harry of Sirius’s. “I know she didn’t, my lord. But I want a different kind of oath.”

“I didn’t know there were different kinds of oaths,” Harry mutters, even though that’s not really true. After all, Theo swore an oath to Harry that’s different from the one Harry swore to Vince, and Katie’s is different from Theo’s, and so on.

Gwen raises her eyebrows in what looks like polite disbelief, but doesn’t openly disagree with him. She just holds out her hands, instead of her wand, the way Katie did. “I want to swear an oath of mutual protection with you.”

“Mutual?” Harry asks as he takes her hands. He can feel the callus from her wand and something that feels like an old scar.

“Yes. I swear to protect you from physical threats, and you swear to protect me from legal ones.”

“This sounds like a bodyguard oath.”

“It is, my lord.”

Harry pulls his hands back. Gwen looks a little offended, and Harry says, “It’s not you. I just don’t want someone sworn to me that way. And anyway, this is your last term, so why would you want to? You won’t be around me at Hogwarts all the time after this year.”

“Bodyguards get special dispensation to live in Hogsmeade,” Gwen says happily. “There’s a special house that’s reserved for them when there are some, but right now it’s rented out to someone else. They’ll find me a room, though.”

“Why do you want to live in Hogsmeade so badly?”

“My boyfriend’s there. And also the witch I want to apprentice to, an alchemist who told me that she doubts my dedication. Let’s see her doubt it when I’m on her doorstep asking about it every day.”

Harry laughs and relaxes. At least he knows that Gwen wants to become his bodyguard for herself, which is a motivation that Harry is more comfortable with than the idea that everyone will just swear an oath to him out of pure loyalty.

Who am I to deserve that much loyalty? Harry thinks, as Gwen speaks the words of the oath, and Harry repeats the same one back to her with some words changed to highlight the legal protection he’ll be giving her. I need to give some of them shelter, some of them protection, and some of them friendship. But other people, I’m just giving a chance to discover what they really want.

Which isn’t service forever.

*

“You wouldn’t let me make a bodyguard oath.”

“You made a different one, Theo.”

“But you didn’t suggest that I could have made a bodyguard oath.”

“I didn’t know they existed until Gwen told me!”

It seems their argument has got a little heated, since both Katie and Gwen—and a few other people—have glanced up from where they’re practicing their Patronus Charms in the middle of the grounds. Harry gives him a weak smile and impatiently gestures for Theo to join him nearer the edge of the lake. Theo follows him, face implacable.

“I could have suggested it to you.”

Harry fetches a sigh from the depths of his chest. Theo seems determined to be slighted by what Gwen did, and Harry has come very close to telling Theo that it’s none of his business, but that would probably make him more upset. “Why do you want to?”

“She has more of a connection to you than I do, now.”

Harry opens his mouth to answer, then blinks. “Are you…jealous?”

Theo scowls. “Not in the way you mean it.”

“Explain to me what way you think I mean it.”

Theo leans towards him with a grimace, and lowers his voice. At least most of the others are going back to Patronus practice now. “I’m not jealous because I think you consider her a true friend or because you might spend more time with her. I’m only jealous that you granted her a dispensation that you wouldn’t have gathered me.”

“Do you know why she wanted to swear the bodyguard oath to me?”

“No.”

“She wants to stay in Hogsmeade once she finishes her NEWTS so that she can see her boyfriend and hopefully gain an apprenticeship with a picky alchemist. And bodyguards get housing in Hogsmeade.”

“So?”

“So she swore the oath and she wants to stay for a personal reason. A selfish one,” Harry adds, when Theo’s frown doesn’t change. “Not—she wouldn’t lose herself in the service to me, the way I worry about you and the others doing.”

“So you would be more comfortable if we were all selfish?”

Theo’s voice is very strange. Harry drags his hand down his face. “You’re making it sound weird.”

“I must, my lord. It sounds as if you value self-interested service over deep loyalty.”

“That’s not—I don’t value her more than you! It’s just that I don’t have to worry I’m putting her in danger because—”

Pounding hooves interrupt Harry’s voice. He spins around, gaping, as he sees a centaur charging out of the Forbidden Forest. He’s moving so fast that Harry instinctively looks beyond him for the thing that must be chasing him. Maybe it’s an Acromantula?

“My lord, down!”

Theo is pushing him towards the ground, and Harry grunts and falls. He immediately rolls and gets his wand into his hand, because he doesn’t know what’s happening, if an Acromantula is coming out of the Forest or if Theo thinks there’s some other danger, but he knows he’ll need his wand to face it—

Theo is standing over him, a vicious expression on his face, casting a spell that Harry doesn’t know. It tangles the hooves of the centaur, and he screams and goes down, his hind legs and tail lashing.

“Theo, what are you doing?”

Theo casts another spell, one that makes the centaur’s right arm fly out. Harry stares at the weighted net that crashes to the ground.

“He was coming to capture you, my lord,” Theo says. Some of the other members of the Defense Association have started to scream. Theo ignores them, his voice calm and clinical. “I just saved you from being kidnapped, at the last.”

Harry swallows. He’s glad that Ahalam is napping in the sunlight at the other end of the practice ground, and couldn’t be hurt by the way that he fell. “Thank you, Theo.”

“You’re welcome,” Theo says, and his eyes slide past Harry and lock on someone behind him. “You’re his sworn bodyguard. Where were you?”

Harry rolls his eyes as he hears Gwen begin a stiff defense about how she hardly expected a centaur to come crashing out of the Forbidden Forest and try to carry their lord off. He’s glad that he’s safe, that Ahalam is safe, and no one was hurt.

But he doesn’t like that Theo feels settled in his one-sided rivalry with Gwen because of this. And he doesn’t look forward to the conversation he’s going to have to have with Magorian.

*

“His name is Gorgallant.”

Magorian says nothing more than that. Harry stares at the centaur leader for almost a minute in silence. Magorian flicks his tail and says nothing, but a few of the others behind him shift from foot to foot.

“You realize that tells me nothing?” Harry asks. “Not why he tried to capture me, not why you expect that information to matter to me.”

Magorian clears his throat, but still takes a long moment to speak, with his hoof pawing delicately at the earth. Then he says, “Gorgallant is my son.”

Harry pauses. It would be hard for a father to admit that his son has done something so stupid, harder still for Magorian to admit that Gorgallant got corrupted by Voldemort.

“Does that mean you won’t punish him?” Harry asks.

“I have already exiled him.”

Harry blinks a little. As far as he knows, Gorgallant is still tied up behind Hagrid’s hut, with Theo and Gwen bickering over who gets to guard him. “That’s something you can do without the centaur being in your presence?”

Magorian stares at him as if Harry is the stupidest person he’s ever met, even worse than the way centaurs usually look at humans. “Of course we can. He has a magical and mental connection to the rest of us. We have severed it.” He prances for a moment in place. “He is no longer welcome to run with us.”

It sounds like a ritual phrase. Glancing at the shut faces of the centaurs behind Magorian, Harry reckons it is.

“What about Stardim?” he asks.

“Who is Stardim?”

“A centaur who came to the edge of the Forest a few months ago and tried to entice me to go with him. I think he’s probably an agent of Voldemort, but I haven’t seen him since then, so I don’t know what you did with him.”

Magorian’s nostrils flare for a long moment. Then he says, “We do not have any knowledge of the centaur you speak of.”

Harry grimaces and nods. He supposes he should have expected that. “All right. Thank you for exiling Gorgallant.”

He turns to leave, but pauses when he hears a kick behind him. His wand is in his hand, but he doesn’t want to actually cast a spell if he doesn’t have to. That would only leave the centaurs with more wariness of humans than they already have.

“Why are you doing this for him, Magorian?” one of the centaurs snaps. Harry glances over his shoulder. This one is tall and pure white, everything from his fur to his beard and hair and tail. “You would not do such a thing for any human except Hagrid. You swore it once! Why would you exile your son instead of attacking this human?”

“Voldemort is also human,” Magorian says in a low voice. “I will not allow him to corrupt our people for his own pleasure.”

“If he could offer us more than Potter could—”

“You will suggest that we should deal with humans?”

“I suggest that you are an unfit leader who is not putting the best interests of your people above your own personal feelings!”

Magorian paws the ground and spreads his arms wide. “Whenever you feel able to challenge me, Larodian, I will be waiting.”

Larodian doesn’t even give Magorian time to brace, that Harry can see. He just hurtles forwards, his own arms spread. Harry wonders why for a second, and then sees how they clasp each other, and swallows. It seems that centaurs wrestle to solve their disputes.

They’re grunting and stamping and weaving back and forth, and it occurs to Harry—especially seeing the way the other centaurs stare at him—that he should be elsewhere. He turns and hurries away as quickly and quietly as he can manage.

He shakes his head as he steps out of the Forbidden Forest. He doesn’t know if he wants to get further involved with centaurs and their politics. Not if he might be obliged to wrestle them.

And not if Larodian wins the contest between him and Magorian.

“My lord.”

Theo’s voice is clipped. Harry sighs a little and turns to face him. “Yes, Theo?”

“You went into the Forest without me.”

“I know. I’m sorry. But I also went without Gwen.”

Theo pauses, visibly struggling. Harry watches him with glee that he tries not to show on his face. Theo finally chokes out, “If you need to take someone, and I’m not available, she would be an acceptable choice.”

Harry nods, a little impressed that Theo managed to say that. “I spoke with Magorian. The centaur in question, Gorgallant, is his son, and Magorian thinks he’s corrupted by Voldemort. He’s exiled him.”

Theo gapes at him. Harry stares back. He wonders if Theo will ask about Stardim next, and be upset that Harry didn’t manage to get more information on that particular centaur.

Theo just says, in an odd tone, “Do you know what it means, to exile a centaur?”

“To sever their connection with their people. Magorian told me that. But another centaur called Larodian didn’t like it, and he’s wrestling Magorian for leadership. I don’t know if Magorian is going to win.” Harry hesitates. Theo’s face is still odd. “I reckon exiling a centaur is a big deal?”

“It’s a punishment that hasn’t been used in centuries,” Theo whispers. “It severs a connection that keeps a centaur sane. Magical theorists reckon that’s why ancient centaurs were supposed to be wild maniacs who got drunk all the time and killed and raped humans, but modern ones are much calmer.”

Harry swallows. “So we have to worry about Gorgallant trying to escape and attack everyone in sight?”

“I don’t think so. He’s dead.”

“What?”

“He slumped over a few minutes ago and just—died. McLaggen cast a few spells on him Healers know that are supposed to detect low breathing and heartbeat in people who are under spells that might mimic death. But there’s nothing. He’s gone.”

“You think that severing the connection killed him?”

“A centaur who’s never been without a link to the whole of his people? Yes, I think so.” Theo hesitates again.

Harry is looking towards the Forbidden Forest, though, and doesn’t ask why. He’s wondering if they have to worry about the centaurs no matter who wins the contest for leadership. Magorian will be upset that they made him kill his son, and Larodian just seems to be upset about humans in general, but maybe in favor of Voldemort.

“My lord?”

Harry sighs and turns back to Theo. “Yeah?” He wonders if he should be asking Theo in more detail about the non-human people he wants to ally with. Harry didn’t have any idea about this centaur connection. Maybe he needs to be more cautious and not just assume that his own research is turning up all the important details.

“Do you know why Magorian did this?”

Harry shrugs. “He said something about how he won’t do things to let Voldemort corrupt his people. I reckon we should be glad that he decided I’m the right human to help in the situation, instead of Voldemort.”

Theo gives a sharp little laugh that makes Harry’s attention return to him. Theo’s smile is tight, his eyes flickering for a second over Harry’s shoulder. Harry looks, but if a centaur is watching them from the edge of the Forest, he can’t see them.

“He did this because you are Lord Slytherin, and he is wary of your power, and wants to remain on good terms with you.”

“You can’t know that.”

“He would not have exiled his own son if not for that.”

Harry studies Theo’s face for a long moment. Theo doesn’t look happy about this, even though he usually would about Harry being powerful or intimidating or something, and that makes Harry a little more inclined than usual to doubt his conclusions.

“He could also want to remain on good terms with the humans in Hogwarts,” Harry says finally. “Or because I’m the Boy-Who-Lived, he could be worried about people getting angry because centaurs are attacking me.”

Theo just shakes his head. “I think it is your power, my lord. The centaurs have never worried about offending the humans in Hogwarts before, or remaining on good terms with you the other times you’ve ventured into the Forest.”

“Which hasn’t been very many times—”

“I believe it is your title.”

“Then why don’t you look happier about it?”

“I am worried that you will be so unhappy about the power that you will mismanage it, and damage both yourself and others.”

Harry stares at him. Theo looks back, his face locked in a deep scowl that Harry has no idea how to address.

In the end, he can only shake his head and speak the truth.

“I won’t try to do that, Theo. I was thinking about how I need to know more about the centaurs and handle them more carefully, and I can’t just research on my own. I was thinking that I was lucky I came out of the Forest without damage, and I need to take more people with me in the future. The goblins were unhappy about the way I gave them wands, too. I need to talk to more people, have more allies.

“What I am going to say,” Harry says, and leans a little closer to Theo, who seems to have stopped breathing, “is that I might not use my power in the way you think best. The same way that I wouldn’t use it to kick Trelawney out of Hogwarts. I have to listen to other people, but I also have to make decisions that aren’t just based on what one of them thinks.”

Theo’s eyes are huge as he stares at Harry. Harry stares back, wondering what will happen next.

Then Theo bows his head. His voice is subdued, but so happy in tone that Harry blinks a lot. “As you will, my lord.”

“Are you joking now?”

“No. I am remembering why I followed you.”

Theo looks up with eyes that shine with devotion, and Harry bites back on a sharp exclamation. He didn’t mean to make Theo look like that.

But as his friends have so often reminded him, he can’t control their reactions to him being a lord. So Harry nods and walks back towards Hogwarts, deciding that he’ll contact Dumbledore about the dead centaur.

He wants to build alliances between us? Then let’s see how he takes care of inconveniences.