Harry had no idea what Hermione was planning, or even whether she had a plan. He walked half a pace behind her as they headed down the corridor outside Umbridge's office, knowing it would look very suspicious if he appeared not to know where they were going. He did not dare attempt to talk to her; Umbridge was walking so closely behind them that he could hear her ragged breathing.

Hermione led the way down the stairs into the Entrance Hall. The din of loud voices and the clatter of cutlery on plates echoed from out of the double doors to the Great Hall — it seemed incredible to Harry that twenty feet away were people who were enjoying dinner, celebrating the end of exams, not a care in the world . . .

Hermione walked straight out of the oak front doors and down the stone steps into the balmy evening air. The sun was falling towards the tops of the trees in the Forbidden Forest now, and as Hermione marched purposefully across the grass — Umbridge jogging to keep up — their long dark shadows rippled over the grass behind them like cloaks.

'It's hidden in Hagrid's hut, is it?' said Umbridge eagerly in Harry's ear.

'Of course not,' said Hermione scathingly. 'Hagrid might have set it off accidentally.'

'Yes,' said Umbridge, whose excitement seemed to be mounting. 'Yes, he would have done, of course, the great half-breed oaf.'

She laughed. Harry felt a strong urge to swing round and seize her by the throat, but resisted. His scar was throbbing in the soft evening air but it had not yet burned white-hot, as he knew it would if Voldemort had moved in for the kill.

'Then . . . where is it? asked Umbridge, with a hint or uncertainty in her voice as Hermione continued to stride towards the Forest.

'In there, of course,' said Hermione, pointing into the dark trees. 'It had to be somewhere that students weren't going to find it accidentally, didn't it?'

'Of course,' said Umbridge, though she sounded a little apprehensive now. 'Of course . . . very well, then . . . you two stay ahead of me.'

'Can we have your wand, then, if we're going first?' Harry asked her.

'No, I don't think so, Mr Potter,' said Umbridge sweetly, poking him in the back with it. 'The Ministry places a rather higher value on my life than yours, I'm afraid.'

As they reached the cool shade of the first trees, Harry tried to catch Hermione's eye; walking into the Forest without wands seemed to him to be more foolhardy than anything they had done so far this evening. She, however, merely gave Umbridge a contemptuous glance and plunged straight into the trees, moving at such a pace that Umbridge, with her shorter legs, had difficulty in keeping up.

'Is it very far in?' Umbridge asked, as her robe ripped on a bramble.

'Oh yes,' said Hermione, 'yes, it's well hidden.'

Harry's misgivings increased. Hermione was not taking the path they had followed to visit Grawp, but the one he followed three years ago to the lair of the monster Aragog. Hermione had not been with him on that occasion; he doubted she had any idea what danger lay at the end of it.

'Er — are you sure this is the right way?' he asked her pointedly.

'Oh yes,' she said in a steely voice, crashing through the undergrowth with what he thought was a wholly unnecessary amount of noise. Behind them, Umbridge tripped over a fallen sapling. Neither of them paused to help her up again; Hermione merely strode on, calling loudly over her shoulder, 'It's a bit further in!'

'Hermione, keep your voice down,' Harry muttered, hurrying to catch up with her. 'Anything could be listening in here — '

'I want us heard,' she answered quietly, as Umbridge jogged noisily after them. 'You'll see . . .'

They walked on for what seemed a long time, until they were once again so deep into the Forest that the dense tree canopy blocked out all light. Harry had the feeling he had had before in the Forest, one of being watched by unseen eyes.

'How much further?' demanded Umbridge angrily from behind him.

'Not far now!' shouted Hermione, as they emerged into a dim, dank clearing. 'Just a little bit — '

An arrow flew through the air and landed with a menacing thud in the tree just over her head. The air was suddenly full of the sound of hooves; Harry could feel the Forest floor trembling; Umbridge gave a little scream and pushed him in front of her like a shield —

He wrenched himself free of her and turned. Around fifty centaurs were emerging on every side, their bows raised and loaded, pointing at Harry, Hermione and Umbridge. They backed slowly into the centre of the clearing, Umbridge uttering odd little whimpers of terror. Harry looked sideways at Hermione. She was wearing a triumphant smile.

'Who are you?' said a voice.

Harry looked left. The chestnut-bodied centaur called Magorian was walking towards them out of the circle: his bow, like those of the others, was raised. On Harry's right, Umbridge was still whimpering, her wand trembling violently as she pointed it at the advancing centaur.

'I asked you who are you, human,' said Magorian roughly.

'I am Dolores Umbridge!' said Umbridge in a high-pitched, terrified voice. 'Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic and Headmistress and High Inquisitor of Hogwarts!'

'You are from the Ministry of Magic?' said Magorian, as many of the centaurs in the surrounding circle shifted restlessly.

'That's right!' said Umbridge, in an even higher voice, 'so be very careful! By the laws laid down by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, any attack by half-breeds such as yourselves on a human — '

'What did you call us?' shouted a wild-looking black centaur, whom Harry recognised as Bane. There was a great deal of angry muttering and tightening of bowstrings around them.

'Don't call them that!' Hermione said furiously, but Umbridge did not appear to have heard her. Still pointing her shaking wand at Magorian, she continued, 'Law Fifteen "B" states clearly that "any attack by a magical creature who is deemed to have near-human intelligence, and therefore considered responsible for its actions — '

' "Near-human intelligence"?' repeated Magorian, as Bane and several others roared with rage and pawed the ground. 'We consider that a great insult, human! Our intelligence, thankfully, far outstrips your own.'

'What are you doing in our Forest?' bellowed the hard-faced grey centaur Harry and Hermione had seen on their last trip into the Forest. 'Why are you here?'

'Your Forest?' said Umbridge, shaking now not only with fright but also, it seemed, with indignation. 'I would remind you that you live here only because the Ministry of Magic permits you certain areas of land — '

An arrow flew so close to her head that it caught at her mousy hair in passing: she let out an ear-splitting scream and threw her hands over her head, while some of the centaurs bellowed their approval and others laughed raucously. The sound of their wild, neighing laughter echoing around the dimly lit clearing and the sight of their pawing hooves was extremely unnerving.

'Whose Forest is it now, human?' bellowed Bane.

'Filthy half-breeds!' she screamed, her hands still tight over her head. 'Beasts! Uncontrolled animals!'

'Be quiet!' shouted Hermione, but it was too late: Umbridge pointed her wand at Magorian and screamed, 'Incarcerous! '

Ropes flew out of midair like thick snakes, wrapping themselves tightly around the centaur's torso and trapping his arms: he gave a cry of rage and reared on to his hind legs, attempting to free himself, while the other centaurs charged.

Harry grabbed Hermione and pulled her to the ground; face down on the Forest floor, he knew a moment of terror as hooves thundered around him, but the centaurs leapt over and around them, bellowing and screaming with rage.

'Nooooo!' he heard Umbridge shriek. 'Noooooo . . . I am Senior Undersecretary . . . you cannot — Unhand me, you animals . . . nooooo!'

Harry saw a flash of red light and knew she had attempted to Stun one of them; then she screamed very loudly. Lifting his head a few inches, Harry saw that Umbridge had been seized from behind by Bane and lifted high into the air, wriggling and yelling with fright. Her wand fell from her hand to the ground, and Harry's heart leapt. If he could just reach it — '

But as he stretched out a hand towards it, a centaur's hoof descended upon the wand and it broke cleanly in half.

'Now!' roared a voice in Harry's ear and a thick hairy arm descended from thin air and dragged him upright. Hermione, too, had been pulled to her feet. Over the plunging, many-coloured backs and heads of the centaurs, Harry saw Umbridge being borne away through the trees by Bane. Screaming non-stop, her voice grew fainter and fainter until they could no longer hear it over the trampling of hooves surrounding them.

'And these?' said the hard-faced, grey centaur holding Hermione.

'They are young,' said a slow, doleful voice from behind Harry. 'We do not attack foals.'

'They brought her here, Ronan,' replied the centaur who had such a firm grip on Harry. 'And they are not so young . . . he is nearing manhood, this one.'

He shook Harry by the neck of his robes.

'Please,' said Hermione breathlessly, 'please, don't attack us, We don't think like her, we aren't Ministry of Magic employees! We only came in here because we hoped you'd drive her off for us.'

Harry knew at once, from the look on the face of the grey centaur holding Hermione, that she had made a terrible mistake in saying this. The grey centaur threw back his head, his back legs stamping furiously, and bellowed, 'You see, Ronan? They already have the arrogance of their kind! So we were to do your dirty work, were we, human girl? We were to act as your servants, drive away your enemies like obedient hounds?'

'No!' said Hermione in a horrorstruck squeak. 'Please — I didn't mean that! I just hoped you'd be able to — to help us — '

But she seemed to be going from bad to worse.

'We do not help humans!' snarled the centaur holding Harry, tightening his grip and rearing a little at the same time, so that Harry's feet left the ground momentarily. 'We are a race apart and proud to be so. We will not permit you to walk from here, boasting that we did your bidding!'

'We're not going to say anything like that!' Harry shouted. 'We know you didn't do what you did because we wanted you to — '

But nobody seemed to be listening to him.

A bearded centaur towards the back of the crowd shouted, 'They came here unasked, they must pay the consequences!'