Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Azeroth

Chapter 43. Ronald the Quick-Talker and His Blood Feud with the Centaurs

"Obviously, as a professor, Professor Snape would not poison you to death," Hermione said sarcastically. "Also, have you forgotten? Fred and George also had to participate in this detention. They were the second wave to come in and take action."

"As senior students, I think the professors will punish them more severely - Parvati came in with a whole stack of notes, and no one who participated in the train melee at that time would escape!" Hermione looked a little numb, "I even saw Percy received a note!!"

"That's right," Ron said dryly. "I remember someone punched Percy in the eye, and then he started fighting - I don't know who it was, but I have to say it was a good job."

"That's your brother! Ron!" Hermione glared at Ron, "You can't say that about him!"

"Okay, okay," Ron muttered, and he looked at Harry for help, "Honestly, Harry, can you do a divination for me? See if I can come back safely from Snape's hands - if there is any danger, I won't go!"

"I'm sorry, Ron, I don't think there's any point in fortune-telling about something whose outcome is already known." Harry shook his head and said bluntly, "Professor Snape is indeed not good at expressing himself, but he is a professor after all, and he will not murder you - you are a little prejudiced against him."

"Ha! I'm a little prejudiced against him?" Ron raised his voice, then suddenly lowered it, "I'm not a little prejudiced against him, I just never thought he was good!"

"I'm afraid you're the only one in the whole of Hogwarts who thinks Snape is just not good at expressing himself." Ron sighed deeply, "Look at how he treats me normally. Ha, how will he torture me tonight?"

"Should I be asked to squeeze the slime from a caterpillar without gloves? Or should I try the new potion he brewed, the effects of which I don't know?"

With a dejected look, Ron had already begun to imagine in his mind what kind of inhumane torture he would suffer tonight.

"Well, what about me?" Neville looked at Harry blankly and said, "Can I apply for a divination? To be honest, I think Filch might ask me to eat the toilet and lick it clean with my tongue or something."

"Filch wouldn't do that." Harry couldn't hold back any longer. What were these kids thinking? "Filch would never do anything that Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall wouldn't allow. Don't be afraid!"

"Wait!" As if suddenly waking up, Ron turned his head to look at Hermione and asked, "What about you? Where is your detention?"

"It's Filch too!" Hermione's voice even had a hint of tears in it. "What should I do? I've never been put in detention before! No teacher ever punished me when I was in a Muggle school before! I'm screwed!!"

Harry understood immediately.

No wonder Hermione was so panicked. It turned out that she had never been punished before and was a typical good student.

The first time is always hard to describe.

"So that's how it is." Ron looked as if he had suddenly realized something, and then he chuckled, "Remember those words Filch always used to threaten students? Hermione, I heard from Fred that Filch has a collection of shackles and whips in his office."

"I heard that he always wanted to hang up and whip the students who made mistakes. Maybe the shackles are stained with the blood of former students."

"Shut up! You shut up! Ron!! " Hermione screamed.

But Ron would not stop there. He did not look frightened by Snape at all. Instead, he kept searching for horrific scenes in his head to scare Hermione.

"…Who knows what Filch will do? You know, he always wants to punish students severely. This time there are so many students in his hands. Hmm, maybe he will secretly give you a few whippings!"

Bang! !

Ron, took the first blow of destruction.

Even before he could react, he was hit by a second destructive punch, and then a third one that wiped him out.

"I told you! Shut up!!"

After throwing three punches at an unimaginable speed, Hermione didn't even bother to fear the upcoming first detention, but walked out of the men's dormitory angrily, leaving Ron lying on the bed with a grin on his face.

"You're exaggerating, Ron." Neville looked at Ron sympathetically and said, "Hermione is very smart. She won't believe your exaggeration... In fact, just say the first sentence."

"...Merlin's knee...I feel like I can't breathe." Ron twisted on the bed and made a sound of pain.

No matter how reluctant or timid you are, the detention will always come. As long as you want to stay in Hogwarts and continue your studies, no student can escape the punishment for making a mistake.

"Wish me good luck, brothers." With a momentum as if he was about to die, Ron hugged Harry and Neville solemnly, then strode towards the basement.

"Then we have to leave too." Neville swallowed his saliva, looked at Hermione and left the lounge.

Well, this scene was quite outrageous to be honest, because the entire Gryffindor common room was almost full of people at this moment. Everyone was chatting and laughing with each other, and then one after another came out of the common room door - all going to be put in detention.

Except for a few students who didn't get on the train or were delayed by other things, no one in the entire Gryffindor house was spared.

Therefore, in the end it was more like the students filed out to attend a large class across grades.

Harry watched his friends join the crowd and leave the common room, then went downstairs to Hagrid's hut.

It was not an illusion. The further Harry went, the more he realized that something seemed amiss, because other students were either going to Filch for detention, or to Professor Sprout, or to Snape, but he didn't meet anyone who was going the same way as him.

This guess became a reality when Harry arrived at Hagrid's place. Looking around, he found that he was the only student there.

"Hi, Hagrid, good evening," Harry said. "Isn't it right that my detention is with you?"

"Harry? You're here? Oh my god, it's already this late." Hagrid was busy in his vegetable garden. When he heard Harry's voice, he straightened up and waved his hand. "Yes, you're right here - I had to ask Professor Dumbledore to bring you here."

"Come over?" Harry repeated. "Is there anything special you need me to do?"

"Hahahahahahahaha" Hagrid laughed heartily, "Of course there's nothing special... I can't really say that. Um, do you remember the first time we met? It was the time I took you to Diagon Alley to buy things."

"Remember," Harry thought back, "what happened in Diagon Alley?"

"Centaur! Harry, I promised you that if I had the chance, I would take you to see the centaur's divination! You won't forget it, will you?" After Hagrid walked out of the vegetable garden, he stomped his feet hard to remove the mud on his shoes and said loudly.

To be honest, when Harry heard the word centaur, his muscles instinctively tensed up, and one hand was already on the handle of the warhammer under his robe.

Nothing else, just nervous.

In other words, any Minotaur would go into a state of high alert when hearing the word Centaur.

This has deep historical reasons behind it.

Tauren, if pronounced in Tauren language, is Shuhalu, the two have the same meaning, but are interpreted in different languages. Tauren are a noble race that embraces the natural world, having shed their nomadic nature and united as one on the land where their ancestors lived. In Harry's personal experience, Tauren people focus on spiritual beliefs, revere nature, respect elders, love peace and have a sense of honor, and worship Mother Earth and Father Sky.

Most tauren are peaceful by nature, and while tauren warriors are powerful and reliable, the vast majority of tauren only use armed conflict as a last resort.

Compared to the orcs' survival attitude of doing things as they please, the minotaurs in Harry's eyes would be more willing to have careful and wise discussions and reflections before starting to do something important.

Only in rare cases does a minotaur take up arms in anger, out of a thirst for justice.

In most cases, what makes the Minotaur angry are just three words - Centaur.

Mulgore, for the Tauren, Mulgore located in the central part of Kalimdor is the home of their ancestors. For a long time, the Tauren have lived peacefully, happily and beautifully on this land.

Until the centaurs rushed into Mulgore from Mashanhi (the Desolate Land).

The Centaurs swarmed in like a plague. Fierce, cruel, barbaric and ruthless were the bywords of the Centaurs. They brutally killed their own father and turned the Desolate Land into a barren land. Then they launched a war against the Tauren, invading, plundering and killing.

Although the minotaurs fought bravely with the blessing of Mother Earth, they still could not defeat the centaurs - because these beasts were so damn fertile.

Just like locusts, the time it takes for a Minotaur to grow into a qualified warrior is enough for the Centaur to produce a nest or even several nests of new Centaur.

After a long bloody battle and heavy casualties, the Tauren were forced to leave their ancestral home, and from then on they had to wander on the endless plains with a blood feud with the Centaurs - they were even on the verge of extinction.

At this critical moment, it was Harry, who was unwilling to accept his own weakness and went out on adventure, who brought with him the strange green-skinned warriors, the orcs. With the help of the orcs, the Bloodhoof tribe led by Cain finally expelled the centaurs and recaptured Mulgore, the ancestral holy land of the Tauren.

After thousands of years of wandering, the Tauren finally owned a piece of land of their own. For this, all the Tauren owed a favor to their orc allies forever.

And Harry... Harry first came to Azeroth during the wandering of the Bloodhoof tribe.

He grew up in this kind of wandering that was almost like fleeing, and was carefully taken care of by Kane and his wife and Bain's brother. He learned the language and culture of the Tauren and embarked on the path of shamanism in his ignorance...

Harry will never forget how the entire tribe was awakened by shouts and roars in the dark during the most difficult years, the war cries of the Minotaur warriors, the waving totem poles, the laughter of the Centaurs and the brutal killings.

The blood that gushed out was that of the centaurs and of those friends he knew well...blood and hatred, anger and loathing.

——And the pain and guilt that I, a weak person, could only hide away. Under the cover of the collapsed tent, I watched helplessly as the cows that always took care of me gently died one after another...

Turning all the powerless pain and hatred into motivation, the first enemy Harry killed was a Centaur. He knocked it down with a roar, cut off its head with a scimitar and held it high, letting the enemy's blood dye himself red.

Harry could no longer remember how many centaurs he had killed, both old and young. He only knew that when he could no longer see those abominable beasts, Father Cain built a shelter on a wind-eroded flat-topped mountain called Thunder Bluff, which became the home of all the Tauren tribes.

"…Harry? Harry??"

Hagrid's voice came to his ears, and when Harry came to his senses, he found Hagrid looking at him with a worried look on his face.

"Are you OK?"

"...I'm fine, Hagrid." Harry took a deep breath, "I just remembered some things suddenly...some memories...as long as I think about them, I can't help but immerse myself in them, ha."

"Oh, oh... I'm glad you're okay," Hegner said hesitantly, "You suddenly seemed a little scary just now - er, let's take the hammer back first, okay?"

"That little hammer of yours won't be much help against angry centaurs, and they might get mad if they see you with a weapon."

Hearing this, Harry lowered his head and saw that he was holding the warhammer in his hand.

Uh, I don’t know when he took it out, and he was holding it quite tightly.

"Don't worry about it, Hagrid," Harry said after putting the warhammer back into his waist. "By the way, where were we talking about?"

"Did you get distracted? Well, never mind. As long as you're okay, that's fine." Hagrid shrugged and said, "I was just saying that when I went to ask Professor Dumbledore for your detention time, I happened to run into Professor Snape. It seems he was also there to ask for your detention time."

"Ha, it sounds like I'm quite popular?" Harry couldn't help laughing. "And then?"

"And then Professor Dumbledore gave you to me." Hagrid chuckled. "You didn't see what Professor Snape looked like at that time. God, I think I might have really offended him."

"Be careful, Hagrid, don't eat or drink anything carelessly recently." Harry also made a joke, "You have to know that Professor Snape is a master of potions. If you really feel unwell... remember to run to the school hospital quickly! Madam Pomfrey should be able to save you."

"hahahahahahahaha!"

Hagrid let out a thunderous laugh.

"No way, Harry, no way." Hagrid laughed so hard that he began to hiccup. He patted Harry on the shoulder and said, "The centaur sacrifice is not an everyday activity. They only hold it twice a year. One is at the end of the year, just before Halloween, and the other is at the beginning of summer."

"Today happens to be the day of the centaurs' sacrifice. I thought I couldn't miss it, so I ran to call you over - I didn't think you would want to be locked up."

"In the face of such a major event, Professor Snape can do nothing no matter how angry he is," Hagrid said proudly, "It is obvious that Professor Dumbledore also thinks that what I am going to take you to do is more important."

"Indeed, I am more interested in the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest," Harry nodded and said, "But watching centaurs tell fortunes isn't really a punishment, is it? It sounds more like a reward. Well, I think a lot of students in school want this kind of reward."

"Oh, Harry, that's a bummer," Hagrid said, waving his hands. "You don't really want to be watched by that old idiot Filch while you're cleaning the toilet, do you? Or do you want to go to Professor Snape? Well, I don't think he would let you do any heavy work... would you, Harry?"

He even kept the respectful title of professor to Snape, even though Hagrid knew that Snape had been very keen on deducting points from Gryffindor in the past - but he had no good face towards the castle caretaker Filch.

Although he had a huge body and looked very sturdy and fierce, Hagrid looked a little pitiful at the moment. He tilted his head to look at Harry.

"Don't say such stupid things, Hagrid." Harry punched Hagrid's thigh naturally and said as he walked into the hut: "According to what you said, the centaur sacrifice is the last one this year, right? If we miss it, we have to wait until next year - what do we need to bring? Do they accept Galleons?"

"Oh, yes, after all, even centaurs have things they want to buy, and usually they'll ask me to help them buy them. I'll occasionally help them sell some things, you know, the specialties of the centaurs." Hagrid became happy again and followed Harry's steps, "For example, animal skins, herbs, and some handicrafts. Some wizards like to collect these kinds of things."

"But you don't have to spend any money today, Harry," Hagrid said with a little pride, "I brought you in. I am their friend anyway, so don't worry about such a small matter."

"Really? I don't think you look like you're going to meet friends." Harry couldn't help but say as he stared at Hagrid changing into a pair of shoes and starting to equip himself with weapons.

(End of this chapter)