"Behind me?" Hagrid repeated with confusion, glancing back over his shoulder at Morris. "What are you talking about, Bane?"
He stepped aside, no longer blocking Bane's line of sight, revealing Morris fully who stood there calmly.
"It's a young wizard," Hagrid explained in his gruff, slightly defensive voice. He gestured at Morris as if presenting evidence. "Just a student. In your terms, a wizard cub."
A trace of confusion arose in Hagrid's heart, making him uneasy.
Normally, although centaurs didn't particularly welcome wizards entering what they adamantly considered "their forest" rather than Hogwarts property, they were mostly restrained in their objections. They might express displeasure, might make sharp comments about territorial boundaries, but they generally avoided direct confrontation.
This time, however, Bane had directly attacked them with his spear without warning or any word. That was quite unusual behavior.
The centaurs had never shown such an overtly aggressive side in front of Hagrid before. Something was very wrong here.
"A wizard cub?" Bane repeated, his voice was dripping with skepticism.
His gaze shot toward Morris. Those dark eyes seemed to be trying to see through Morris, to perceive something beneath the surface.
Morris met the centaur's intense stare without flinching or looking away.
'Not a friendly person,' Morris thought.
But he genuinely didn't want to cause trouble or escalate this situation into something worse. He'd just wanted a peaceful walk back from seeing the Thestrals.
Morris cleared his throat and asked in a calm tone, "Is there some kind of problem I should be aware of? Have I done something to offend you?"
Bane's equine nostrils flared with unconcealed disgust, his lips were curling. "Can't you smell the putrid stench on yourself? Evil creature."
Morris's expression darkened. "If there's nothing else to discuss, I'll be leaving now."
He turned away to leave this place.
This centaur's manners were severely lacking. What utter nonsense was he spouting? Talking about putrid stenches and evil creatures—these were clearly not compliments.
Morris couldn't be bothered to investigate further or waste time trying to defend himself against such vague accusations. He certainly didn't want to engage in conversation with someone who spewed such judgmental garbage without explanation.
"Wait." Bane's voice rang out sharply.
Even as he spoke, his massive body was already moving with speed. He placed himself directly in Morris's path, completely blocking the way forward.
Bane gripped the spear still embedded in the ground with one hand and pulled it free with seemingly minimal effort, despite how deeply it had sunk. Lumps of dirt flew in all directions from the extracted spearhead.
The weapon spun nimbly in his hand with ease. Though the sharp point wasn't currently directed at anyone specifically, the intent to physically obstruct and threaten was crystal clear.
Morris's heart sank with the realization that this situation was deteriorating rapidly. He genuinely didn't understand what he had supposedly done to offend this half-man, half-horse creature so deeply.
"You cannot leave, cub," Bane said with cold decisiveness. "You carry something extremely evil with you that poses a great threat to this forest and all who dwell within it. You must submit to our examination before you can be permitted to depart."
Hearing this demand, Hagrid immediately stepped forward protectively. His tone carried obvious displeasure. "Bane! What in Merlin's name do you think you're doing? This is a Hogwarts student!"
He knew instinctively that he needed to be firm now before this escalated further. Other centaurs like Ronan or even Firenze might be more reasonable and open to discussion, but Bane was widely known to be among the most wizard-hating of the entire centaur community.
However, Hagrid's attempted firmness seemed to have no effect on the centaur's determination.
"Hagrid, I have no wish to be your enemy," Bane's tone was resolute.
"But you must let the cub behind you come with me for examination. If our inspection finds nothing wrong, he will be returned unharmed. We never deliberately harm innocent creatures. Besides,"
He added with emphasis, "this is for your own protection as much as ours. You may be harboring something dangerous without knowing it."
Hagrid's eyebrows knitted together in noticeable inner conflict. He looked down at Morris, his expression was troubled, and his tone was softening somewhat with apology.
"Morris, what do you think about this? I should tell you—centaurs aren't bad people. They're just particularly cautious about threats to their territory, and they take their role as forest guardians very seriously. Bane has a terrible temper and can be aggressive, but he's never lied to me in all the years I've known him. If he says you'll be returned safely..."
Morris could clearly hear the difficulty and hesitation in Hagrid's words. He seemed to be genuinely uncertain.
However, despite Hagrid's attempted reassurance—
"I must refuse," Morris said with an expressionless face, his voice was flat and final.
What a joke. A complete stranger from an unfamiliar species suddenly appears demanding to take him away to some unknown location—who in their right mind would agree to that? Moreover, this particular fellow was clearly full of ill will and suspicion. Nothing about this situation indicated Morris would be safe in centaur custody.
"I'm afraid that's not your choice to make, cub," Bane's voice deepened as he advanced two steps toward Morris.
Hagrid instinctively positioned himself between them, his massive body was serving as a physical barrier. "Now hold on just a minute—"
"It's all right, Hagrid," Bane interrupted. "I won't hurt the child—I just need to take him to our camp for examination."
Hagrid's expression showed clear hesitation. He genuinely didn't know what the right course of action was here.
While he wavered in his uncertainty, Bane took advantage of the opening. He moved with startling speed for something his size, lunging forward and reaching around Hagrid's body. Before Morris could react or dodge, Bane's powerful hands had clamped down firmly on Morris's upper arm.
Morris looked at those muscular arms and knew that he couldn't match the centaur in raw physical strength.
But Morris had other options.
He raised his chin and looked directly into Bane's dark eyes. "Let go of me. Right now."
Bane's grip didn't budge even a fraction. If anything, his fingers tightened slightly. "You have no choice in this matter," he said in a low voice.
Morris sighed softly to himself.
Since the other party insisted on using violent means and physical force, he genuinely had no choice either.
Fortunately, he could already use those two curse spells with considerable proficiency and reliability.
"Weakening Curse!" Morris's voice rang out clear and sharp.
"Wailing Curse!" He followed immediately with the second incantation.
As he drew his wand from his sleeve as a misdirection, letting Bane think the wand was the source of the magic—the two spells had already been swiftly chanted from Morris's mouth and channeled through his will.
Without flashy visual effects or light shows, only two barely noticeable streams of dark energy emerged from Morris's extended palm. They wound around Bane's muscular arm like invisible snakes, sinking into his flesh and disappearing beneath the surface.
"What—?" Bane started to say in confusion.
Then the curses took effect simultaneously.
Bane's entire body shook as an unprecedented feeling of weakness swept through him. His legs trembled. His hand gripping Morris's arm began to shake uncontrollably despite his attempts to maintain his hold. His centaur strength was being rapidly drained away!
At the same exact moment, something far worse assaulted his mind.
A sharp, soul-piercing wail exploded directly inside his head. The noise wasn't coming from outside where he could cover his ears, but from within his own skull. It instantly made him feel dizzy, disoriented, his vision was swimming at the edges.
It was wizard's magic!
"You—" Bane managed to gasp out.
He was both shocked and genuinely furious, completely unprepared for this seemingly weak wizard cub to possess such sinister, effective power. Moreover, he hadn't even clearly seen the boy wave his wand.
Bane tried desperately to tighten his grip, to haul the boy off his feet and subdue him through sheer physical force. But the weakness in his muscles combined with the unbearable noise in his head prevented him from taking any corresponding action. His body simply wouldn't obey his commands anymore.
Morris seized the opportunity immediately. He yanked his arm back with all his strength, the sudden movement caught Bane off guard. He managed to break free from the centaur's weakened control, stumbling back two quick steps and creating distance between them.
His eyes were cold and hard as he observed the struggling centaur.
Hagrid stood frozen by this sudden, violent turn of events, his mouth hung slightly open. He was utterly stunned, completely frozen in place, genuinely unsure what to do or how to intervene.
"Mr. Centaur," Morris said expressionlessly, "bullying and attempting to kidnap an eleven-year-old wizard child is hardly something to boast about."
After saying this, Morris raised his wand again and cast two more Wailing Curses and two more Weakening Curses in rapid series.
If individual spell quality wasn't enough to completely disable his opponent, then sheer quantity and overwhelming force would have to suffice!
Four more streams of dark curse-energy shot out from his extended hand. They entered Bane's broad chest and spread through his body like poison through veins.
This time, the cumulative effect was unmistakably distinct.
Bane let out a muffled groan of pain and distress. His powerful legs buckled beneath his own weight. He nearly collapsed to his knees right there, catching himself at the last moment with his spear planted in the ground like a crutch.
The physical weakness and continuous mental interference left him barely able to stand or think clearly.
"What... what evil spell are you using!" Bane's voice emerged hoarse and weak.
He wanted desperately to raise his spear in defense or attack, but found his arms simply wouldn't respond to his commands.
"Just a special variation of the Stunning Spell," Morris lied smoothly. "I'm only ensuring my own safety, sir. Please don't blame me for defending myself—you made the first aggressive move and attempted kidnapping. I merely responded to violence with appropriate force."
"Wailing Curse!" He supplemented his verbal response with another curse.
This additional curse proved to be the final straw.
The centaur before him had finally reached his limit. The accumulated double assault on both body and spirit meant he could no longer hold out against the overwhelming magical force.
Bane's pupils constricted. His massive body crashed to the forest floor with a thunderous impact that shook nearby branches. The sound echoed through the trees like a falling tree. Dust and dead leaves flew up in a cloud from the impact site.
His last conscious thought lingered on Morris's unruffled face before he completely sank into darkness.
"Merlin's beard!" Hagrid exclaimed in shock. He rushed forward immediately and crouched down to check Bane's condition.
After confirming that the centaur was only unconscious, Hagrid breathed a long sigh of relief.
He turned to look at Morris with an extremely strange expression.
"You went quite hard on him there, Morris,"
After saying this aloud, he immediately felt his own words were somewhat absurd.
A first-year student... went too hard on an adult centaur? That sentence shouldn't make sense.
However, this particular first-year had indeed knocked out a fully grown, combat-trained adult centaur with ease, that was an undeniable, witnessed fact that Hagrid's eyes had confirmed.
Morris calmly returned his wand to his sleeve. "He moved first, Hagrid. I was only defending myself and preventing a kidnapping."
"I know, I know," Hagrid sighed heavily.
He scratched his thick, wild beard unconsciously, then looked down at Bane lying motionless on the ground. He was momentarily completely unsure what to do about this situation.