HP: Azkaban's Outstanding Graduate

"Leon? How did you end up with them?"

"Why did we bring them into the forest? Hagrid, didn't we have an agreement? No one but you!"

The centaurs accused them all at once, even pinning the blame for killing the unicorn on them.

The young wizards were excited at the sight, while Sagres wore an "I knew it" expression, looking at the centaurs around him with a half-smile.

“It wasn’t us, it was Voldemort who did it…” Harry argued.

"Voldemort... Leon, what did you say to them?" a centaur angrily questioned Leon. "We all swore an oath, have you forgotten!"

“I didn’t tell them anything, Bain; they figured it out themselves.”

"Liar! You liar!"

“He didn’t lie…” Ron shouted. “Isn’t it obvious? We don’t need the stars to tell us.”

The centaur named Bane was immediately enraged by these words. He angrily drew back his bowstring and aimed the arrow at Ron.

“Stop talking, Mr. Weasley…” Sagrais said calmly, “They’re just a bunch of conceited wretches who only believe what they see. They don’t believe anyone else.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than an arrow flew toward him.

The opponent was clearly enraged. Sagres curled his lip in disdain and with a single word, "Return it to its rightful owner," the arrow flew towards the centaur at an even faster speed.

The centaur named Bain quickly dodged, but was still grazed on the cheek by an arrow. The other centaurs, seeing this, immediately drew their bows and aimed their arrows at the group.

“Leon, perhaps you should tell them why we’re here!” Nightingale said coldly, drawing her wand as well.

But Lyon, who was behind her, did not make a sound. Instead, he silently retreated to the side of his people.

"I knew this commission would be troublesome!" Sagres muttered to himself, his black robe billowing. "But no problem, dealing with trouble is my specialty..."

……

……

"Hagrid, take your human wizards and get out of this forest! They are not welcome here!"

“What’s wrong with you all, Bane? We’re just investigating who killed the unicorn…” Hagrid shouted, his massive body blocking the way for the group, refusing to back down an inch.

"Whoosh—" The arrow shot towards Hagrid without mercy, which the young wizards found unbelievable, because Hagrid had said before that nothing in the Forbidden Forest could harm him.

Just as Harry, his two friends were about to raise their wands, Sagrais grabbed their wrists.

"Stand still."

He didn't use his wand; he simply raised his hand and pointed, and the arrow burst into flames in mid-air, turning to ashes in an instant.

As Sagres looked at the centaurs, a chill finally crept into his usually calm gaze.

“I say…aren’t you mistaken about something—” He frowned, scanning the centaurs around him, his voice calm to the point of being hollow, “When did centaurs become the masters of the Forbidden Forest?”

As soon as he finished speaking, the trees throughout the forest began to rustle and move without any wind.

Thick, green vines stretched rapidly across the ground, twisting and turning like snakes, quickly climbing up the centaur's ankles before suddenly tightening.

After a flurry of shouts and chaos, the forest returned to silence.

Sagres waved his hand, and more than twenty centaurs, bound together like dumplings by vines, appeared hanging upside down.

Chapter 38 Receiving Rewards

“Professor Greengrass…” Hagrid’s eyes widened at the sight, and he quickly stopped them, “Don’t hurt them, they’re just…”

“Hagrid!” Sagrais interrupted him. “Do I need to remind you? That centaur just shot three arrows, each one aimed at our throats…”

"But Professor..."

“Think before you speak, Hagrid,” Sagres said expressionlessly.

"Oh dear, how could this happen... how did things turn out like this..." Hagrid finally gave up pleading for the centaurs and stood there anxiously talking to himself.

The others, however, were not worried at all, because the centaurs had been very unfriendly from the beginning, and everyone except Hagrid wanted to teach them a lesson.

It was only because Sagres still remembered his commission that the other party suffered a far worse fate. He was now preparing to teach these centaurs a lesson, since they didn't seem like the type to obediently hand over their payment. Of course, he wasn't really going to actually kill them.

The tree roots rose from the soil, transforming into sharp thorns, while the treetops stretched towards the ground from above. The leaves turned into sharp razors, seemingly alive, glaring menacingly at the centaur's throat.

The young wizards stared wide-eyed; these were extremely advanced transfiguration spells, ones they had never seen before.

Even Malfoy was stunned. Only now did he understand why his father had warned him never to mess with "that madman" at school.

The trio stared intently at the vines and splinters, listening carefully to every word Sagres said.

“I’ve heard that centaur tribes usually have two leaders—” Sagrais said, “the male is responsible for hunting and warfare, while the female is responsible for teaching astrology and magic…”

He approached Bane the centaur, bent down to take out his wand, and asked mockingly, "What? Didn't you have her do some divination before you left today?"

The centaurs couldn't answer because their mouths were tightly bound by vines.

Sagres stood there, calmly watching the other person, constantly toying with the immortal flower wooden wand in his hand.

“I didn’t want to do this, after all, my purpose in coming here was just to complete a commission—my friend rescued your companion from poachers, and I was responsible for taking him back to the Forbidden Forest and collecting payment.”

He glanced past Bain at Lancelot, "That's understandable, isn't it? After all, it cost a fortune to buy him from the underground auction..."

Sagrass explained the whole story clearly, making sure they understood their purpose, and he also explained how the unicorn's carcass came to be.

"Now, are you willing to communicate in a more civilized way?"

He waved his hand and removed the vine from the other person's mouth.

"The centaur will never..."

Sagres coldly sealed the other person's mouth shut again.

His patience was wearing thin; even the Dementors of Azkaban were easier to communicate with than the centaurs. After all, Dementors could feel fear, while these centaurs seemed to believe that no one dared to harm them.

An arrow rose from the ground, piercing the centaur's shoulder blade like a meteor. The centaur convulsed in pain, and Nightingale instinctively covered the young wizards' eyes.

“Absolutely not what?” Sagres said coldly.

"Absolutely not gentle or humble?" The arrow veered back and passed through the other person's other shoulder.

"Or will you never admit your mistake?" The arrow pierced through the other person's body and arrived in front of Leon.

"Never to repay kindness?" The arrow pierced Lyon's right foreleg, which was corrupted by dark magic, once again.

"Or will you never keep your promise?" Finally, the arrow shattered the centaur's injured leg.

Hagrid finally couldn't hold back any longer and stepped forward. He tried to persuade Sagres to stop the "violence," and Nightingale also took the opportunity to speak up and stop him, which temporarily halted his actions.

However, he was determined to get the reward this time; otherwise, if the commission failed, he would lose both the time converter and "The Creeping Darkness" from Ms. Xuexiao.

He didn't want to give up either of these two things, so if necessary, he wouldn't mind teaching these centaurs a lesson.

The ground trembled slightly, and a piercing noise came from the depths of the forest.

“It’s a centaur charge!” Nightingale turned to look at him.

A chaotic sound of hooves approached in an instant. Sargeras raised his wand, and a massive stone wall immediately rose from the ground, precisely blocking the charging centaurs.

"Please forgive my reckless people..." Surprisingly, the tall, strong man at the head of the group was very sincere. "I apologize for what they did, and I also bring you the agreed-upon reward."

Sagrass couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. It seemed that the centaur astrologer was quite skilled, as the other party had actually divined the details of the events.

Of course, there is another possibility. The falcon had told him that when a person's fate is about to undergo a major change, divination can more easily yield effective conclusions.

Perhaps it was because of this series of foolish actions that the centaurs plunged their people into crisis that they were able to make such accurate prophecies.

“I can accept your apology…” Sagres said calmly, “However, in addition to these materials, you also need to provide Ms. Snowow with a free astrological reading.”

His polite demeanor took the young wizards somewhat by surprise.

The other side was just pointing arrows at them, and the professor had even left a permanent mark on the two centaurs. Yet, the two sides could talk calmly in the blink of an eye; only a true Slytherin could do that.

“Of course…” the centaur leader nodded, “Before I arrived here, an owl had already found her with a celestial prophecy.”

“That would be perfect.” Sagres was very satisfied.

He opened the pocket on his wizard's robe, and all the materials the other party had brought flew into the air, floating into the pocket he had cast a Threadless Stretch Charm on...

……

On the way back to the castle, Nightingale bid them farewell and then Apparated away. However, this beautiful and powerful lady left a deep impression on the young wizards.

“Professor…” Hermione asked hesitantly, “Is Ms. Weris a Veela?”

Harry and Ron looked bewildered, clearly unaware of what Veela meant. Sagrais, on the other hand, was astonished; he hadn't expected the little witch to know so much.

“Well, I shouldn’t be telling you this, but Vilis and I are very good friends, so it won’t hurt to say it.” He smiled. “Vilis does have Veela blood, but she is not a pure-blooded Veela.”

“How is that possible…” Hermione seemed incredulous. “Only a few pure-blooded Veenas can attract women, so if she were just a half-blood, she shouldn’t have such a big impact on me…”

Sagrass looked enlightened upon hearing this, and he explained to Hermione with a smile, "That's because she also has another magical bloodline within her—the Snow Fairy. These two bloodlines have intertwined, resulting in some special changes."

He took the opportunity to warn them: "Don't be too afraid. After you are in sixth grade, you can learn Occlumency. This spell can effectively reduce mental interference and resist temptation."

The trio kept asking all sorts of questions along the way, and Sagles answered them one by one. Malfoy, unusually, remained silent; the events of the evening had deeply affected him.

First came the strange shadowy figure in the cloak, then the centaurs who acted indiscriminately. Malfoy discovered that his pure-blood identity, which he was usually so proud of, was useless in the Forbidden Forest.

Or rather, the forest has its own set of rules.

Perhaps the same applies outside the Forbidden Forest; the Malfoy family's prestigious position in the British wizarding world is not solely due to their bloodline.

Recalling the powerful magic of Sagres, Malfoy began to seriously consider this question for the first time.

“By the way, Hagrid…” Sagres called out to Hagrid, “Don’t go into the Forbidden Forest alone again recently.”

“Yes, Professor Greengrass.”

“Of course, if you really insist on going, you must find a professor to accompany you.” He earnestly advised the other person, “I will talk to Dumbledore about this.”

“Thank you, Professor. I will be careful,” Hagrid said gratefully.

Chapter 39 Final Exam

Time flies, and exam week has quietly arrived, keeping Sagres unusually busy.