Chapter 277: The summons of the centaurs

'I am the chosen one!',' In the dark Forbidden Forest, Ivan suddenly thought of this possibility.

He felt all the blood in his body freeze, and the ominous premonition grew stronger and stronger.

Firenze must have seen something in Mars' trajectory before he warned Ivan. What he had just said was vague. He only mentioned the war. No one could guarantee that in the future, Ivan would be the chosen one.

If this was correct, in the dark temple of the Centaur colony, Ivan would be marked by the magic Voldemort left behind, and it would help him return and gain unprecedented power.

If such a thing were to happen, then the entire magical world would be shrouded in terror and chaos....

A breeze blew and Ivan shook his head and dared not think about it anymore.

Voldemort was evil and powerful enough; if he was to be aided by other, more powerful forces, then he would become invincible, and the future would be unimaginable.

Such things could not happen, and Dumbledore would not stand idly by.

Besides, the idea of being the chosen one was too ridiculous and absurd. Ivan was sure that unless he was controlled by dark magic, such as the Imperius Curse, he would never help Voldemort.

As Sirius told Peter Pettigrew, he would rather die than betray his friends. In the face of the powerful and evil Voldemort, he would only choose to fight to the death.

Like Sirius, Ivan also had his own objects of persistence, faith, and people to protect.

He would rather die than help Voldemort.

He took a deep breath and secretly made up his mind.

No matter what lay ahead of him, he had to get the treasure key left by Gryffindor, become stronger and protect Hermione when the time came.

But would the future be as simple as he'd imagined?!

In the darkness, the dense smoke in front of the centaur elder grew fainter and fainter, and the blue flame gradually faded. He completed his observations of the flames and smoke. He seemed to know the fate of Ivan, Harry, Ron and Hermione, and made a decision.

With the dissipation of the smoke, Ivan felt the strange magical wave around him disappear.

In front of everyone, the old centaur looked very tired, the wrinkles on his face growing deeper and deeper, and he slowly waved to Magorian.

The strong centaur approached and whispered something.

Then, the old centaur raised his head and looked at Ivan and the others. He turned and walked into the Forbidden Forest surrounded by the other Centaurs.

The army of the Centaurs left, and the clatter of hooves slowly drifted away.

Magorian stood still, and looked at Ivan and the others arrogantly.

They all looked at him nervously, waiting for him to speak the final verdict.

"The old man has already made up his mind..." shouted Magorian. "The stars give clear instructions that you four colts can get the recognition of the centaurs."

Ivan, Harry, Ron and Hermione hadn't had time to be happy, and they heard him continue. "But to get that recognition, you have to prove yourselves and achieve one thing...."

He seemed dissatisfied with the old man's decision. There was some anger in his voice.

"What is it?" Sirius asked with a frown.

"It reduces the powers of the Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest and brings their eyes to the tribe. The old man will be waiting for you in the middle of the temple.", Magorian said.

"Reduce the power of the Acromantulas?" Sirius frowned even more, "Magorian, do you know what you're talking about? Those dark creatures are very strong. It's not something young wizards can handle, and how many Acromantulas do we need to kill to satisfy you?"

"That's something you need to consider." Magorian said harshly, "Remember, you only have one chance to gain the recognition of the centaurs. Before we lose patience, take the eyes of those monsters back to the tribe."

Magorian turned and walked away without looking back.

Looking at Magorian's back, no one spoke. No one expected the Elder of the Centaurs to make such a request. As Sirius said, surrounding and suppressing the Acromantulas was something Ivan and the others could not do.

Those dark creatures are highly dangerous, and their single combat ability is enough to rival adult wizards, not to mention that they have always been in groups.

They hated Ivan to death after setting fire to Aragog's lair. Now, as long as he dared to appear in their territory, all the Acromantulas were expected to rush to attack him.

Facing thousands of Acromantulas at the same time, even Dumbledore shouldn't be able to make it.

"Firenze, what is this?" asked Sirius. "Why would they want to weaken the power of the Acromantulas?"

"Those ferocious creatures don't belong in this forest, I don't know when they started, but their numbers are increasing, causing us a lot of trouble." Firenze replied kindly; he was now the only centaur left, "Especially after the fire a month ago, they became increasingly irritable, attacking centaurs and other creatures, causing great damage to the ecology of the Forbidden Forest."

He looked into Ivan's eyes as if he had known it was his fire.

"I know the Acromantulas have caused you a lot of trouble, but let us..." said Sirius worriedly.

"The old man has made a request, you can only choose to accept it or refuse it." Firenze's sapphire eyes didn't have the slightest wave in them.

"Well, how many Acromantulas should we kill to satisfy you?" Sirius stared at him. "We can't kill them all."

"The quantity doesn't matter, the key is attitude!" Firenze turned and looked at Ivan, Harry, Ron and Hermione and said calmly, "If you want to be recognized, the Centaurs want to see the bravery hidden in the four of you and the importance you place on the Centaurs."

"Courage... and importance?" repeated Ivan.

"Ivan, I remember you telling us what Gryffindor left in the Chamber of Secrets." Hermione seemed to think of something, she remembered, "Brave Gryffindor; rise from the swamp of desolation! He will bestow the greatest rewards on the bravest. The key to unlocking the treasure is courage buried deep within you; you must gain the recognition of his proud followers!"

Although there had been much speculation before, it was now very clear....

The proud followers refer to these proud centaurs in the Forbidden Forest, and the key to the treasure he left behind is the courage buried deep within the self.

The centaur colony preserves the object that Gryffindor himself had left behind, but what good is courage here?

Do the centaurs want to test the four and then decide whether to give them the object?

"This phrase has also been used in the tribe." Firenze turned his head and looked at Ivan, saying slowly, "Remember, courage is the key to getting that object."