A/N: I'm alive! I swear that I didn't mean to take so long. And this chapter might be a little short, but I think all things considered it was a needed chapter in the long run!

I would like to thank foxchick1 for pming me not too long ago and asking how the stories were going. I had been having problems, and after getting that I took a look at this and suddenly I was writing again! So Thank you thank you thank you!

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing!

8: The Star's Warning

I was not looking forward to today. It was self study in Runes and Arithmacy with Rowena and Salazar hovering over us for the first half of the day, and then they were going to set us loose on the library to see if there were any other subjects that we wanted to learn about. The second part I was looking forward to seeing as even now that Hogwarts library was one of the best there was when it came to wizarding knowledge and there was not restricted section at this point in time, but I just couldn't get over the fact that we were going to be sitting around reading all day with only a few breaks here and there.

Apparently the other subjects were self study before we were going to speak with our head of house about the other courses we wanted to take so that they could either help us in them or get someone else to give the lecture. I suppose that is a good a way as any to figure out what classes they would need to hire teachers for soon. I was actually kind of sad that there wasn't a care of magical creatures class. Not that I would need it with how much I had looked up different creatures when I had been blessed by the unicorn.

Madam Pince would have been the color of a tomato if she had been here with how many people were in the library reading and how they were not overly kind to the books. As it was, Rowena was watching everyone like a hawk. The staff had been a bit stiff this morning at breakfast as well, but as a student I had written it off as something that was going on that probably wouldn't affect me much. The things that the badgers and lions came up with as an explanation was funny though. The snakes had agreed that if it wasn't their business then they shouldn't speculate, least it come back to bite them, and the eagles had better things to think about besides the strange behavior of the house heads. Not that they didn't have any ideas, but the ones they did have were kept to themselves.

Still, reading in the library surrounded by others that were reading was boring and uninspired. I didn't like it. Not that I broadcasted my thoughts, I did value my life. But it was really hard to sit there and read when all I wanted to do was do something, anything else. And to think, Hermione wondered about Ron and I whenever she pulled us to the library and forced us to read when we could have been doing something else. I like reading, don't get me wrong, but reading something for yourself and reading something because you have to are two different things. When lunch came, I was happy to leave the room, almost apparating if it was possible in my haste to escape.

"I forget how much I hate self study," Warren groused as he slouched in his seat without a care of those around him giving him slightly distasteful looks for being so ungentlemanly by the girls around them and a few looks of scorn from the male Slytherins for not holding with decorum. Image was everything to some of them.

"It wasn't that bad, Warren. You just can't appreciate a good book." Julian disagreed as he lifted his chin to appear to look down his nose at the other boy. From the look of him, he was completely serious about that too.

I gave him a look of complete and utter shock "Are you serious? I had to wake myself up three times, and I like books most days. It is as if Ravenclaw found the driest books she could and then gave them to us for reading with the intent of having us fall asleep on her. Did you see the poor Gryffindors? Half of them mere passed out. I wouldn't be surprised if they are never the same after this with how venomous and pointed the glares they were given from Rowena and her Ravens were."

Julian just rolled his eyes at me as Warren agreed with me loudly. I counted it as a win. When lunch was done I made my escape and weaved in and out of a few hidden passages that no one seemed to know about. A lot of the ones that I was going through now had been closed of or blocked due to either cave ins or some teacher not wanting kids to go through it anymore. I was so intent on exploring just how interesting those were when I almost literally walked right into the head of the lion house as I popped out of one of the hidden corridors and quite literally appeared to have come from nowhere.

Godric had his sword half out before he saw it was me and sighed with a rueful laugh and placed it back. As for me, well, I happened to blink at him owlishly before I glanced behind him and saw that he was with a centaur who seemed mightily amused by the encounter. I had no doubt that he had seen me coming in the stars.

With a sheepish smile I looked at the large red headed man and said "Sorry about that, I got caught up in exploring." Then I looked to the half man half horse hybrid and bowed my head respectfully before saying "Moons blessings on you and yours."

"And onto you, Hadrian Black. The stars spoke of your coming." The centaur replied. I took a moment to look at him then. He was a very muscled and well toned, his horse half was a deep chestnut color as his real hair was a dirty blond. Instead of a bow and quiver, he had a satchel slung across him marking him as the scalar or negotiator for his herd. I knew that because I had spent many a night in the forest after the blessing from the unicorn, and they had spoken to me and answered a few questions when I had seen them. Apparently I was better than a mere human because of the blessing. Firenze was most helpful in teaching me the dynamic of the herd.

Glancing at Godric to make sure that he was alright with my talking to the centaur, I saw that he had his brow raised at me slightly in surprise. It looked as if he hadn't thought I would know the proper greetings of the race before me, but he also seemed to be in no hurry, so I smiled slightly at him before turning back towards the stargazer.

"Have the stars spoken of other matters relevant to me and mine?" I asked in a formal tone. Asking was not considered rude, it was only rude if you ignored what was said. Centaurs quite liked sharing what the stars foretold, and found it insulting when it wasn't taken seriously.

The stargazer hummed deeply before he looked towards the ceiling where the stars might be at night before he looked back and said "Beware, for even when Venus is bright, Mars still lurks around the moon. The tide may change around the moon, but so does war in the coming cycles. Beware of Jupiter, for it too seems to be bright these nights. The stars tell of secrets coming out to others and of plots laid. Beware of Vulcan, whose forge is fired up in the sky. The time for new beginnings is nigh, even when it is expected. Beware the wolf's moon, for it rides the corner of the sky in the coming month. And the familiar maternal presence will come again to you sooner than thought."

My head had tilted to listen as he listed what was going on in the heavens. A few things raised my hackles, for one thing the mention of the Wolf's Moon and the maternal presence. It was all very interesting. Also, the centaur had started with Love and War. I would later write this down so that I could dissect it more thoroughly.

"Thank you for the warning, noble Centaur. I will think upon it in the coming days. Have a good day." I said before I took my leave through another secret tunnel that was behind a landscape to my right. Godric snorted slightly when I did so, clearly he knew of the passageway and was surprised but at the same time slightly expectant that I knew about it.

On the way back to the common rooms I was deep in thought over those warnings. Some sounded alright, but others were troubling. I would have to keep my eyes open as I always did. Even if I hated prophecies, I always did heed them. I had learned long ago to take the warnings from the Centaurs seriously. Even the vague Mars is bright tonight, is a warning of war and conflict.

I often have wondered if they see a different sky than I.

Godric couldn't hide his amusement as he led the centaur, Fazeas, through the school and way from where Hadrian Black had just disappeared. That boy was without a doubt one of the strangest students that he had this year. What Godric wouldn't give to meet his old tutors, even if it was in the afterlife. Someone had taught him well, and it showed in most everything that he did.

The only thing that the boy seemed to have problems with in his class was that the staffs that he had were a bit too big for him to properly maneuver. The man had seen the slight imprint of daggers hidden on the boy's person and knew that he was not suited for any of the larger weapons, but one had to start learning somewhere and fighting with a staff would pretty much give him a weapon to use in most any place.

Now, thinking on the strange students, he was not the strangest. That title would have to go to one of Rowena's pupils. It was a young girl by the name of Philisophra Lovewin. A strange name for a strange girl. All four of the founders had theorized that she was part fey with how she acted, but it could also be because of a high concentration of seer blood that ran through her. Godric knew that Rowena was giving her divination lessons in privet to help with that problem. The girl never seemed to be all there at any given time.

Then he could take one look at his lions and know that half of them really did need to learn a thing or two about the world before they were sent out to do what they needed to. Honestly, never in his life would he have ever thought to approach a hippogriff when he was a boy. Those things were as dangerous as they were magnificent. They had been lucky that Hadrian Black knew of magical creatures and beings.

"Interesting student. Are they all like him?" Fazeas asked as they continued to walk through the halls. The clomp of his hooves seemed to echo almost ominously through the stone walls of the castle.

"It depends on what way you mean. Are they all as well versed in greetings; I would have to say no. That was one of the many reasons we would like to speak with you about gaining access to the woods. To educate them. Are all as free spirited; I would say that most are. In children there are many traits that they share and differ. It is one of the joys of teaching them." Godric answered with a smile. He had brought out his professional demeanor to the castle today, and one could tell from his speech patterns.

The Centaur made a noncommittal sound in the back of his throat as he followed, eyes bight with curiosity. Magical creatures and wizards shared a certain amount of respect for each other, but as the humans had been breeding more and gaining status amongst themselves, the non humanoid creatures had been becoming more and more secluded. The nonmagicals were becoming even more violent towards them, and the wizards had begun to think themselves superior.

This meeting was agreed upon by the herd for many reasons. A few weeks ago the answer would have been no, however, the stars then spoke of change coming. They spoke of one blessed coming to the castle. One that would change the world that they lived in. The meeting then turned into a chance to get through to the wizards that they were not the end all be all of magic. That the creatures and beings also played a heavy role in the balance of it. Perhaps the future for his kind was not as bleak as it once was.

The blessing was from a Unicorn of all things. That would be something to tell the herd. It was nearly unheard of for the pure creatures to bless a human. And on top of that he was claimed as son to a basilisk. Hadrian black ; The Unicorn's Druid and Prince of Snakes; that one was going to change everything.

Fazeas had just finished that thought when Godric pulled open the door to the meeting room and he was greeted by the other three teachers of the school. Introductions were made and without much ado, the meeting had started.

I was humming to myself as I sat in the library completely bored out of my mind. Hedwig was out doing Merlin knows what, and Discord was trying to make my book act like The Minster Book of Monsters. Honestly, I was just glad that it wasn't working. I had enough trouble with the one that Hagrid had assigned us in third year.

The warning that I had gotten from the Centaur also seemed insistent on repeating itself through my mind without a care. Jupiter was the first thing to worry me. The way it was said meant that someone in authority over someone else in authority was going to come and mess with things. Jupiter was the king of gods after all, though in real life one that is represented by the planet was usually not well liked. It didn't help that with it came the revealing of secrets and the laying of plans. Stupid politics.

Vulcan was another thing. He was the one who forged weapons, and sometimes his meaning came out differently than one thought. I had no idea what it could mean. The Wolf Moon was also something I had to keep an eye out. It could mean many things as well. It was named for the full moon in January because at that time the wolves howled in hunger at the moon. It could be hard times coming, or a literal wolf coming. Worse is that it might not even refer to the winter, but just at the full moon.

And now all of that thinking was giving me a headache. Stupid prophecies and making me think far too much than I should.

With a rather loud sigh that had the people around me giving me a look, I took out a piece of parchment and some drawing charcoal that I had gotten from the Room of Requirements and began to sketch out Discord as he changed sights to a bigger book and started to try and drag it across the table. It was an endearing image, and I hadn't been able to sketch like this in forever. So I was going to take advantage of it and let myself de-stress for a time. I'd deal with my problems in the morning.

Unfortunately, the moment that I thought that, I couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding. It was as if there was a storm coming, one that I was not ready for. I just hoped in the privacy of my own mind that I didn't get caught up in the middle of some new adventure now that things were beginning to look normal for me.

That night, sleeping in my bed in the Slytherin dorms, the feelings only intensified. Something was going to happen.

The nightly meeting between the four founders commenced very differently than it had the last few times. They all were still reeling their nerves in from their meeting with the Centaurs. Godric had escorted Fazeas back to the forest not too long ago, and now they were all sitting together slightly shocked at the outcome of the talks.

"So, when are you thinking of starting the visits into the forest and how should we split the groups up?" Godric finally broke the silence.

"I would suggest that we have them in the same groups as before; the upper years in one, and the younger in another for this year. We can continue to change that as new students come. Seeing as it is our first time as well and the forest is only open to us on Saturdays, let's start with the older group so that the second time will be with the younger students. After the first two weeks, we can plan out our visits better. Helga, you should watch for whatever plants you would like to showcase, and Salazar you should keep an eye out for potion supplies, I know that you were having difficulties with getting enough of them for your classes." Rowena took charge as she usually did.

It helped that her organized mind could take the things she learned and quickly use them to her advantage. If all went as planned, this could become a great opportunity for them. Not only will their students learn something, but they could as well. The forest was quite literally one of the oldest magical forests around. It was hardly ever seen by humans seeing as the Centaurs guarded its secrets zealously and you had to come to an agreement with them in order to get any deeper than fifty feet.

Such places usually held great magical knowledge and beings. Rowena wouldn't be surprised if they saw something rare and unheard of now a day, like a sprite or perhaps a nymph. It was true that a hundred or so years ago one would see such creatures regularly, but for some reason there had been a decline in magical creatures and their nonmagical counterparts were more prevalent. That was happening in most things now, and it was one reason that the four founders had banded together to create the school. Well, to protect and teach magic, as well as the fact that they loved teaching and were best friends.

Though, it was Salazar that had the hardest time of it from his family. Gryffindor house was known to do as they pleased, damn the consequences, and both Rowena and Helga were spares in their families, meaning that at least Rowena was free to do as she pleased unless she was contracted to a husband who thought differently, but seeing as her family focused on and admired knowing and passing knowledge, she didn't see that as a problem. Helga's family was different in that they were very, very rich, and were known to let the members choose to follow their hearts. Salazar was neither the heir to his family, nor was he cut from the same mold as them. But with his father gone, his fate was in his Uncle's hands for the time being. So long as he didn't show weakness to him, he could get away with being free spirited. But that blind eye might not stay forever. They all were afraid that Salazar would be ripped away from the school, which was a shame seeing as he was the one who enjoyed being at the school the most.

The other three agreed with Rowena and soon enough they were back to the dreaded thoughts of what was going to happen the next day. Lord Slytherin was coming, and they all worried about just why he was coming. Should he see anything that he didn't agree with, it was Salazar that would pay the price. The Hufflepuff and Gryffindor names would cow him out for only so long.

A/N: And that's a wrap! I hoped that you liked this chapter, true, not much happened, but what did was important in many ways. I hope that the next one will be more interesting for people. Well, it should be in any event. We get to welcome Lord Slytherin to Hogwarts, along with the dreaded cousin. And secrets oh secrets, what will you be. I hope that I will get the next chapter out without such a long wait, but I kind of want to update some of my other stories first. We'll see how that works out anyway. I still am planning on going through the old chapters and touching them up at some point, but I think I'll wait a bit on that until I have a few more chapters, maybe at the end, It's annoying to go back and read everything over again becasue of little changes, and I won't subject everyone to that too much.

Thank you all for reading, and I hope that you liked it. Please please please review and favorite and follow. Reviews really do help me to remember to write and get out better chapters.

Till next time, thank you.