Chapter 1
Chapter 1
THE BOY WHO LIVED
The night was dark and still as the hooded man approached the clearing, carrying a small bundle in his arms. The figure gently laid down the swaddled form on the grassy floor and backed away, leaving the child alone in the clearing.
As if sensing the presence of others nearby, a group of centaurs emerged from the shadows. One of them, with a deep and rumbling voice, asked, "What is this creature that has been left here?"
"I believe it is a human child," said another centaur, cautiously approaching to take a closer look. His chestnut coat shimmered in the moonlight.
The first centaur narrowed his eyes in thought. "We leave it. We will have no part in the affairs of wizards."
But another centaur stepped forward, a small gray-haired one with a kindly face. "Friends, we cannot abandon this child," he said. "It is not his fault that he was born into a world of violence and hatred. We must protect him, for he is innocent."
The other centaurs looked at him skeptically, but the gray-haired centaur continued. "Think of what we could learn from him. Think of what he could learn from us."
The black-haired centaur spoke up. "Very well, we will take the child. But we will not raise him as our own. He must learn to survive in this world on his own. And he must never forget that he is human."
The chestnut centaur snorted. "And he must never forget that we are not his protectors. We are merely his guardians."
The gray-haired centaur nodded, then reached down and lifted the baby gently into his arms. The other centaurs formed a protective circle around him as they made their way deeper into the forest, carrying the child away from the world of humans and into a new life among the centaurs. As they walked, the gray-haired centaur whispered to the baby, "Your name will be Tyro. You are one of us now."
The baby, bundled in a green blanket, opened his eyes and looked up at the centaur with a mix of curiosity and tenderness. Slowly, the gray centaur leaned down, holding the infant in his arms. The baby looked up at him, his eyes wide and unafraid. The centaur smiled, a rare expression for his kind.
From the shadows, the hooded figure watched, a smile spreading across his face. "Good luck, Harry Potter," he whispered, disappearing back into the darkness.