(Author's note: I have decided to start this off by posting some of my much older stories that even my reddit followers likely haven't read.)

[WP] Backstory and character development of lesser known Harry Potter characters

Bane waited eagerly at the edge of the forest, staring across the misty lake for any sign of smoke coming from the railway station. The Hogsmeade Express wasn't due to arrive for another hour, but schedules don't mean much in the world of magic, do they?

In his hands, Bane clutched the letter that had changed his life. He would have the proud honor of being the first Centaur to ever attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy. A young professor, Dumbledore, had personally gone to the Ministry and filed the necessary permits on his behalf. And though the rest of the faculty was uneasy with his presence, Bane would prove his worth to them over time. After all, he'd spent most of his foal years sneaking to the edge of the forest, eavesdropping on Herbology lectures and Care of Magical Creatures instructions. He'd found leftover books and papers, discarded by the Wizard students at the end of the year, and read through them until the bindings fell apart. The Centaur Elders had even consented to him learning to use a wand. With the help of Dumbledore, he'd traveled to Diagon Alley (using a polyjuice potion, of course) to pick the perfect one for him.

The Centaur Elders, though wary of the school that had often caused strife between them and the wizards, had Divined that Bane would become a leader of the Centaurs, and that his relationship with the humans would somehow have a significant impact on the herd, though they were unable to say how. Bane felt that pressure every day, knowing that he was the one destined to change humanity's view of his kind.

He stamped his foot nervously. Every bird call sounded like the shrill whistle of the train, and every village fireplace plume, at first glance, looked like the massive puffing cloud of the steam engine. Bane wondered what the other students were doing on the train. Maybe they were studying already, practicing the swishing and flicking of their wands. He couldn't want to meet them for the sorting ceremony.

Behind him, the soft sound of hooves crunching through the dense forest alerted him to the presence of Alzon, the head of the Centaur Elders. Wordlessly, Alzon trotted next to Bane and gazed out through the mists over the lake. After a few moments of silence, he placed a hand gently on Bane's shoulder. Bane glanced down and noticed that Alzon's other hand held a letter, sealed in a lime-green envelope and stamped with the Hogwarts crest. Wordlessly, Alzon handed him the letter and retreated to the trees.

"Dear Mr. Bane," the letter read. "We regret to inform you that the Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardy has decided to revoke your admittance to the most recent class of students. A more careful evaluation of ministry rules determined that beasts were ineligible for school attendance alongside human wizards. The Board of Governors has ratified a motion withdrawing your acceptance. We wish you the best in your wizarding career elsewhere. Yours, Abraxos Malfoy."

Bane read the letter, then read it again. Then again. His hand shook as he tore it in half. Then again. Then into even smaller pieces. Then even smaller, until it was shredded into miniscule, lime-green scraps. He pounded at them with his front hooves, burying them into the undergrowth of the forest. He snorted and raged, kicking at branches and trees. No centaur could endure such an insult! He galloped back to his tree, where he kept his wizarding possessions: the books, the wand, the his correspondence with Professor Dumbledore. He tore those to pieces, snapping the wand in half. He built a fire, and tossed each item in, one by one, carefully destroying any chance for humans and centaur harmony in his lifetime.