Chapter 276: Warning from Firenze

"As if anyone cares!" Sirius responded immediately.

At Magorian's provocation, he went for confrontation. The oppressive atmosphere in front of him made him uncomfortable, and there was a feeling of depression that could not be released.

If he had a choice, he was more than willing to confront Magorian.

But Harry and Hermione stepped in to stop him with a pleading look, hoping he wouldn't. Sirius stared for a moment, then gradually calmed down.

Before meeting the centaurs, he repeatedly warned everyone to regard them as equal human beings and not to look down on them.

He obviously did too well in this regard, even without basic courtesy, and regarded Magorian as another Snape altogether.

"Calm down, Sirius!" Harry turned to Magorian. "Firenze didn't mean anything else. She just wanted to help us..."

Harry's "soothing" comment obviously backfired. More intense shouting broke out among the centaurs, who looked at them even more hostile.

"You made a big mistake, human!" shouted Magorian. "Centaurs are not the servants of humans. We are under no obligation to help you."

Harry panicked again and Firenze helped him.

"Don't be hasty, Magorian!" he said calmly. "I didn't reveal anything that could change fate. I only wanted to warn Ivan. Those who can read the stars, see the destiny of all races."

"Hmm, you have to be careful. We all know the fate of the child, that it is doomed not to change." Magorian looked at Ivan again and continued to address Firenze, "Remember: not to betray our race and leak our knowledge to humans. A sin that will never be recovered."

He turned back to the centaurs and stood still next to the old man, he and Sirius continued to glare at each other angrily. It was hard to tell who looked angrier.

"Magorian has a temper, but nothing more." Firenze looked at Ivan again, and his sapphire eyes glittered in the night sky. "Ivan, I hope you can understand that no matter what omen we see, it is not important, what matters is your own choice. The trajectory of the planets can change at any time; sometimes even the centaurs look the other way, so it's foolish to believe too much in such things."

Ivan nodded. He didn't care much for prophecies.

But what was Magorian talking about? what did he see?

There was also Firenze, who repeatedly emphasized this matter tonight, hoping that Ivan would not believe too much in the arrangement of fate, but firmly believe in his choice.

This was all too unusual. With Ivan's understanding of centaurs, he should not have said such a thing, which was totally contrary to the centaur way.

Unless, indeed, Firenze had seen some bad signs in the sky....

The atmosphere grew heavier in the dark woods.

In the darkness, everything around him was a shadow, and a breeze blew over him. Ivan found that he was drenched in cold sweat. Looking at the centaur elder who was concentrating on watching the shape of the smoke rising from the blue flame, he felt a strong foreboding, as if something bad was about to happen.

Ivan thought; Firenze only mentioned Mars and the war.

No wonder this meant a war with Voldemort. The question was: what role would he play in it?

What happened that made Firenze uncomfortable?

It was all too vague, and the more he thought about it, the more he worried.

"Remember, Ivan!" Firenze said quietly. "Nothing is infallible; even the knowledge of centaurs is no exception. When you need to decide your fate, I hope you can make the right decision."

When he finished, he didn't give Ivan time to ask any questions, and went straight back to the centaurs.

"What exactly does that mean Firenze?" looking at his back, Harry said quizzically. "She seems to have something to tell us."

"These centaurs make me feel sick." Ron whispered. He looked at Ivan in astonishment. "You heard what he said. It sounds like something terrible is going to happen to you. It's weird, you know, it's usually Harry..."

"What terrible things? how do you still believe in those things?!" Hermione said quickly, "Just like Professor Trelawney's tricks, I don't see any essential difference. Seeing what she believed to be the shadow in the teacup, she began predicting Harry's death for an entire semester. We finally learned that the big black dog, representing the unknown omen, was none other than Sirius. Not only did Harry not encounter any unfortunate events, but all has gone well."

"This is not the same. Hermione, the Centaurs' prophecy is far more accurate than ours." Ron muttered vaguely, giving Ivan a careful look.

Firenze mentioned war. If there was war, then the enemy should be an evil Dark wizard. It is common sense that this Dark wizard should be Voldemort, but he had been defeated and had lost all his power, not to mention that with Dumbledore, it would make it difficult for him to rise again.

If it wasn't Voldemort, who could this Dark wizard be?

It wasn't clear why Ron thought of Ivan's study of dark magic at the time. At this point, there was no sign that Ivan was likely to be the dark wizard.

Wouldn't the centaurs have been fooled, though; they must have seen everything? Ron thought.

The more he thought about it, the more he believed it was plausible. All the pieces were falling into place, and he reminded himself of the need to be careful.

"Hermione, the prophecies are real!" Harry continued. "Think of Ivan when he hears it himself..."

"Professor Trelawney is a liar in her prophecy state, and so are the centaurs." Hermione said forcefully, "I decided to drop Divination class, because it's a waste of time."

"You need to learn how to use those opportunities, Hermione!" Ron interrupted. "Why give up this class?! All you have to do is predict in your homework that something bad is going to happen to you, and she's going to give you a high score. It's the easiest course I've ever had."

Ivan was not involved in the discussion, and was still thinking about what Firenze had said and what Professor Trelawney had predicted.

The Gryffindor key was preserved in the temple of the centaurs, and Professor Trelawney predicted that the place where it was all going to happen was also a temple.

Could there be some connection between these two places, or was it just a coincidence?

With a growing sense of unease, Ivan remembered what Peter Pettigrew had said when he caught him. He learned from Voldemort how to get the key to Gryffindor's secret treasure. Voldemort must have been in that temple!

Ivan suddenly realized: if he had the key, wouldn't he be Voldemort's chosen one according to Professor Trelawney's prediction?