Flügel der Freiheit

The sky was blue. The wind was soft and comforting. The air was fresh. But Harry was lying in a bush and did not appreciate the beautiful and calm day. The reason might be because he fell from the sky, hit the top of a tree and fell through the branches before landing in the bushes. The day could have begun better, but of course not. He could not help but wonder where he was and how he got there. At least Teddy was very clever for his age and would call their neighbour and stay with her until he returned. He heaved a deep sigh before he painfully shifted around in order to escape the clutches of the demon bush. As he rose to his feet he noted that there were not much noises around wherever he was. The silence put him on edge and he looked around but saw nothing but grassy plains with a few trees here and there. Not a single animal in sight. His heart beat loudly in his ears. The silence was in truth nothing unexpected. The countryside was relatively silent, but this silence frightened him. He could feel that something was wrong. He tried to apparate but nothing happened. Then he tried a locater spell and came up with nothing. Anxiety was growing inside him and since he had no reason to stay and wait for something to happen. He began walking in a random direction, always cautiously looking around, always prepared for anything.

He was kidding, he was not prepared for anything, because this, this, was not anything. Not anything normal at any rate. This was a red giant, much faster than he was, although it just walked, and he knew that he would not enjoy whatever it would do if it caught him. He was definitely not on Earth anymore. Harry's heart was seized by fear as the red giant bent down with its hand beginning to close around him. As a last resort he transformed into his animagus form, a raven, and prayed that he would escape. What he had not expected was for the red giant to stop its pursuit and begin walking in another direction. Harry flapped his wings and flew higher in the air. His heart was thundering in his chest as he studied the red giant. He contemplated whether to follow it or not. He flew closer to test its reactions but nothing happened. He flew right in front of its face and nothing happened, which Harry was eternally grateful for. The red giant did not seem to care for him as a bird, but it had cared when he was human. The question was: why? Were humans tastier or something? He could not understand why, since humans were so extremely filthy. Always wearing grease in their faces and in their hair. Personally he would eat a bird rather than a human, but that was his opinion. Then again, perhaps it was good that the red giant did not eat humans and birds. His chance of survival would have been close to nil. But who knew, maybe it just collects humans and does not eat them. It was quite logical he thought to himself.

Harry changed his mind as the red giant walked past a destroyed farm, by the looks of it. Harry landed and walked, or rather hopped, on the debris. He could smell the blood soaking in the ground. He could see the destroyed crib with the blood painted doll lying by its side. Memories of his godson slammed into the forefront of his mind. The image of his dead body, curled around the stuffed wolf-toy Harry had bought him, was flashing before his eyes. Harry had almost believed that Teddy was just asleep, but then he saw the empty wide eyes, staring unseeingly at him. Harry had returned to Wizarding Britain that day. He had gone back to the Ministry of Magic that day, carrying the prone form of Teddy in his arms. They had tried to stop him but his magic had repelled every attempt. He had stopped by the statue in the Atrium and stared blankly at it. He felt a sort of presence in his mind and suddenly his magic burst and he screamed. Fury and rage rose within him and every single one of those disgusting, cowardly beings that called themselves wizards would pay for what they had done. That day the Ministry fell. Those responsible for his godson's death had paid with their magic. None of them would ever be able to wield a wand or utter a single spell in their entire life. They would be cast out of the Wizarding World and never be able to return. Their fates had been sealed and Harry held no sympathy for their futures. They had taken his greatest treasure, they should be thankful that he had spared their lives. His feet had moved automatically towards a destination he was unsure of. Only when he stood in front of the Veil did he understand. He looked down at the seemingly sleeping face of Teddy. He brushed away a strand of hair and kissed his forehead, crying silently before looking back at the swaying curtain. He took the last steps and walked through.

'Welcome back, Master' a voice whispered in his ear as everything went black.

Tears were spilling from Harry's eyes and rolled down his beak. He had forgotten and now he wished he had not remembered. He flapped his wings and rose high in the sky as he cried his pain, sorrow and hatred for every being to hear. He abandoned the red giant and flew with the wind, barely conscious of his own actions. Teddy's body had not been with him as he fell. Why was he not there? Perhaps he was lost in the void, lost to him, but it might be for the best. At least his body would be left alone.

Harry had been flying for days, never stopping. His eyes were empty as he gazed down at the forest below him. He was tired and in pain, but he could not stop. He flew further, trying to escape his memories. He barely noticed the wall until he almost crashed into it. He swerved to the side and flew higher. He saw the damage done on the wall and understood that those giants must have broken through it. There were ruins of houses and buildings. The people that had lived here must have been trapped; they would have been like cattle waiting for slaughter. He could almost hear the screams as they tried to flee. How many families would have been destroyed because of the giants? How many lives had been lost? Harry mourned for the people that died here. But then who were these people? What was to say that they had been good? Why should he care for these unknown humans? For all he knew, they could have been monsters. At least the giants did not murder them; they killed, but what if that was how they were constructed? They had not killed him as a bird and they had been careful not to hurt the other animals. They killed but what was to say that that was not the Reason of this world? Why should anyone else be happy, have a happy life when his was taken from him? Every sacrifice he had made for those creatures. Humans were all the same. They deserved nothing less than what they got. He cast the destroyed town a last glance and then flew across to the other side. The rage reawakened and he burst into flames as he flew onwards.

Harry arrived at a training camp of some sort after what seemed only a second but could very well have been a few days. He did not make a graceful landing; rather he crashed into a tree, fell into a bush with thorns and waddled into mud. He could have done better but as starved as he was he felt a tiny bit fatigued and lightheaded. Harry waddled slowly towards the cabin that smelled of food and where youngsters; girls and boys, were walking inside. The youths walked by him with only a glance and nothing more. There was one, however, that caught his attention. It seemed as if the boy wanted to take a closer look at him or something similar, but the dark-haired girl next to him hindered him and said something about disease, which is seriously rude to say about someone. She had dragged the boy with him despite his protests. Harry waddled off to the side in order to evade any youngsters that walked in and out of the 'canteen' as Harry called it, and waited and soon promptly fell asleep.

Harry was roused by a careful nudge. He blinked slowly at the hand with a bit of meat pinched between the thumb and the forefinger. He looked up at the owner of the hand and recognised the boy that had wanted to take a closer look at him earlier.

'Come on' the voice was gentle as he brought the meat closer. 'You look hungry' and he was.

Harry reached out and took the meat and swallowed it, sating some of his hunger. The boy brought out a bit of bread too and handed it to him. Harry watched as the boy rose and dusted his trousers.

'I need to leave, but I'll see if I can bring you something tomorrow.'

Harry watched as the boy left and started nibbling at the bread that had been left for him. 'I need a child to feed me now? What has become of me?' Harry ate swiftly what was left of the bread before he left to follow the first glimpse of kindness he'd seen in a long time.

Days went past as he followed the boy named Eren as he trained with the others to become soldiers for Mankind. Harry could not understand why he would fight for humans, but Eren was still naïve in some ways. What Harry could understand, however, was his need for revenge. Harry watched as Eren hung in the contraption and passed the test. He was happy for him but also worried for he knew what Eren would face. The more serious training began the next day and Harry watched as the accepted recruits grew and acquired the skills necessary to beat the 'titans' as the red giants were called. For over two years did Harry stay by Eren in his animagus form, always watching and always learning. He watched Eren's determination to be free of the Walls he was surrounded by. He yearned for the same freedom as Harry once did. The graduation was a bittersweet affair, but Harry was happy to see that Eren's will never wavered despite those who prattled on about Mankind never standing a chance.

Eren had begun to notice, quite early on, that Harry followed him around, or he had begun to notice that a raven followed him around. Not a comforting thought perhaps, since ravens associated with the dead or something similar according to some old beliefs, if he remembered correctly. A bringer of misfortune and perhaps he was. But Eren had always taken care of him, feeding him although Harry did hunt for his own food since he knew that the rations were scarce. He had come to like Eren as his one of his own family, which might break him if something were to happen. As he was plagued by these morose thoughts, Eren and his friends were working on maintaining the canons on top of the Wall. Harry was perched a bit away being all 'gloom and doom' as one of the girls, Sasha, showed the meat she had apparently nicked from… wherever it had been. She was about to put it away when Eren suddenly stopped her and managed to remove a bit of the flesh and walked to where Harry sat.

'Princess, would you like some meat?' Eren asked him softly and crouched about two metres away from him.

Was he asking Harry? Yes, he was and he had been given the name Princess. If they had called him Prince he would have been fine with it, but Princess? Every time he heard it he wanted to bite someone. Alas, he could deal with it he had had worse. At least he was distracted from his thoughts and would not complain. He hopped over and took the meat from Eren's fingers and ate it. Eren smiled and stroke his head softly before returning to the others.

'That bird is still creepy if you ask me' Connie said as he eyed the raven. 'And why did you name it "Princess"'? The incredulous tone caused a blush to appear on Eren's cheeks.

'It was Mikasa! But I don't think he likes the name' Eren confessed and watched Harry as he shifted in agitation at the name.

'How so?'

'Every time I say it, it feels like he wants to hurt me' Eren chuckled uneasily.

'Well since you say the bird is a "he" then I too would be upset to be called a girl' Connie said looking at the raven.

Harry listened as they moved on another subject and how they all agreed that they would retake Wall Maria and warmth glowed in his chest as Eren's face shone with happy determination. What Harry was not prepared for, was to see the face of a titan staring at them. Before he could react he was caught by a gust of wind and stone and flew through the air he was not aware if he ever touched the ground as he lost consciousness.

Harry woke slowly, somehow he was still alive, but his body ached. He rose and looked around; he sat on a rooftop with titans walking around him. Overwhelming fear took him over. Where was Eren, where were the others. He looked around frantically while trying to lift his wings but they hurt. He heard a scream and saw Marco on the ground by the building next to him, with a titan standing over him. Harry reacted before he knew it and like al lightning bolt flew over to Marco, transformed into human again and blasted the titan away, sending it crashing into another building. He turned to Marco, who looked close to passing out. Harry ripped his cloak and crouched down beside him in order to bandage his wound. He was quite lucky to be wearing clothes that at least looked like the ones around here, maybe a bit more aristocratic, but they fit in better than his usual clothing he wore at home.

'You're going to be fine' Harry told him softly as Marco looked at him, his eyes glazed.

Harry knew that he had little time. He spread his magic through Marco's body and healed the internal damage that was there and closed the wound on his leg as much as he could. Marco had fallen unconscious but perhaps it was for the better he though as he put him in a form of stasis. Harry could hear the titans moving around, he could hear the screams of people dying but he could not move. He needed to stay otherwise Marco would die. The adrenaline was pumping through his body as he listened to the battle occurring around him. He alternated between checking Marco's condition to stretching his senses to detect if a titan was near.

It felt like years before everything turned silent. Harry looked around and focused on the surrounding area, he could hear nothing. He could not feel the usual vibration in the ground that indicated the titans' movements. They were gone. Harry breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed slightly. Indescribable pain surged through his nervous system in his arms to his brain and he collapsed on the ground struggling for air. It hurt, it hurt too much. Whatever he had done to reach Marco, he had practically destroyed his arms; at least that was how it felt like. He had pushed the pain away but now it returned and Harry was not sure if he could handle it. He would not stay conscious for long he knew that so he used all of his will power and turned himself back into a raven. If they found him as a human, there would be too many questions that he did not want to answer. The transformation was painful and draining. He lay down on the ground and watched half conscious and waited for someone to find them. His magic was already working through his body, trying to mend the damage to his body. His 'wings' had numbed and he felt relief. The sound of people talking grabbed his attention and he moved his head as much as he could and saw Jean. He croaked softly catching Jean's attention and released Marco from his magic. Jean rushed over and bent down beside them. He checked Marco's pulse and found that he was alive. Tears formed in his eyes but never fell. He noticed the leg and immediately called for assistance and then lifted Harry carefully, cradling him in his arms.

'You watched over him didn't you Princess?' he smiled at Harry's soft agitated croak. 'Thank you'

'E-ren' Harry croaked and Jean startled.

'Of course you would learn how to speak' he sighed. 'Eren is fine as far as I'm aware. I'll be sure to take you to him later' Harry let himself fall asleep, knowing that Marco would be fine and that he would soon see Eren again.

What Harry had not expected was to wake up on the floor by someone's feet. He would be sure to give Jean a good pecking with his beak when he found him. He looked up and saw Armin and Mikasa. Mikasa seemed furious and Armin was trying to hold her back. Harry looked in the direction everyone else were looking and saw Eren… with blood dripping from his face and a short man standing before him. Had he not been sluggish from just waking up and the dull ache in his wings, he would probably have tried to attack the short man, whom he assumed hurt Eren, but he waited and listened. As far as Harry understood, Eren was being judged for being a titan and some wanted to kill him or dissect him, which made Harry's blood boil. He was relieved when a tall blond man proposed to 'test' Eren or something like that and use him in the fight against the titans. Harry could not find it in him to be angry that they wanted to use Eren since he would at least be alive and Harry could protect him then. The meeting was over and Eren was released from the chains. Harry took his chance and hopped forward between the two wooden sticks in front of him. It was probably a sort of barrier but he could care less about technicalities. No one seemed to notice him in the flurry of everyone moving and Harry bit down on the edge of Eren's shirt, drawing his attention. Eren was about to speak when he was led, quite roughly, away and out through the doors. Harry hanged on as Eren was led into a room and asked to sit and only then did Harry let go and allowed himself to land on the floor. The redheaded woman started as she saw him and the short man stared impassively at him.

'Why is that thing here' short man asked.

'It followed me, it's called… Princess' Eren blushed embarrassed at the name as Short man raised an eyebrow. 'I thought it had died when we were attacked'.

'Ah, but titans don't attack animals' the redhead said.

'I know, Hanji-san but Princess was with us on the Wall' Eren looked down at Harry again and stretched his hand out to him. 'I'm glad you're safe'.

Harry hopped over to him as Hanji began to clean up his wounds and asked him weird questions regarding them. Harry was content to just relax against Eren's leg but he felt the calculating stare of Short man and met his gaze. That gaze sent a shiver up his spine and if he were not careful enough, Short man would probably uncover his secret.

'Levi-heichou, you're scaring Princess' Eren actually said and Harry felt slightly offended.

'Did I ask you to speak brat? No, then be quiet' Levi said but did look away from Harry after giving him one last searching stare.

Eren was moved to an old castle where they would test him and train him. Keeping him as isolated as possible, for his own and others' safety. Harry stayed with him most of the time, but he enjoyed the freedom he had to move around, once his wings had healed that is. However, he became too relaxed and too trusting. He should have known that they would fear what Eren could become. They had decided to test Eren's power by first putting him in a well and then letting him injure himself. Harry understood why but he did not have to like it. Nothing happened of course and Harry became upset because Eren was upset. Eren wanted to be useful, not useless, and even if Harry tried to comfort him it did not help and Harry understood, for he had felt the same once. He sat morosely next to Eren as they stared into their cups with something in them. Eren's hands were bandaged and as he tried to hold his spoon he dropped it and it fell to the ground. Harry became even more depressed because he could not heal it without attracting attention to himself. He was not prepared for the gust of wind that once again threw him through the air along with the others. This time however he gained his bearings faster and flew back to where Eren had been. As the smoke cleared, he saw Eren trying to pull free from a smoking titan arm. Harry landed on top of it and watched Eren curiously.

'Calm down'

He heard Levi say and Harry turned around furiously. Who would not be on the verge of panic when suddenly transformed into a titan, or rather, partly transformed? Then he saw the others and noticed their stances. They were prepared to attack. Harry spread his wings, covering Eren's back as they shouted at him and threatened him. His wings still hurt him as he used them but for Eren he would do what was necessary. What he had not expected was for them to catch fire, so he panicked and tried to extinguish the flames by moving. Not the best idea perhaps as they began to burn stronger. Hanji saved him by some chance that he could not explain. As she turned up, salivating and flushed as she looked at Eren's titan arm, the fire disappeared and the damage to his wings were revealed. It hurt, again, and he could barely move them. They blamed his sudden combustion on the heat from the titan-part and left it at that. Eren managed to pull free and he sank to the ground, exhausted and confused. He looked over at Harry, his face set in a grimace of regret. Harry hopped slowly down to him and butted his head against Eren's arm.

'I'm sorry, Princess'

'Not…fault' Harry croaked out astonishing the others and gaining suspicious glares from Levi again.

'Heichou…' Eren looked up at Levi who stood beside them.

'How do you feel?'

'Not… not so good…' he answered.

Levi nodded curtly and helped Eren up on his feet and then he actually bent down and carefully picked Harry up from the ground, despite being 'filthy' as he liked to complain about. Levi held him, mindful of his damaged wings as they began walking back to the castle.

'If you shit on me, I'll use your remaining feathers to make a duster' he threatened with his usual scowl.

Harry gave a soft croaky laugh and nudged his hand weakly before closing his eyes and fell asleep.

Harry could feel that something was wrong with his magic. He had understood that from the beginning but now it was proved to him. However, he had no clue as to what was happening. He could transform like he used to evidently and he could create shields or wards but they had not felt the same as the 'old' ones. Something must have gone wrong or his magic was changing. How could he otherwise explain the combustion? He never used his magic as often since he landed outside Wall Maria. He only transformed himself and then when he saved Marco and now when Eren became distraught, all the instances where Harry was in an emotional turmoil. His magic reacted the way it did when he was a child. It reacted to his feelings but with a bit more purpose. He would need to test it when he had healed again. If the same thing happened again, he would be exposed, but he might also harm someone without meaning to.

The new recruits arrived before he knew it and he was quite happy to see them, but surprised that Jean had also joined the survey corps. Marco was still in a hospital where he was treated for his wounds and would later need to rehabilitate. He would never be able to join again, but he was alive. Jean spoke of how he found 'Princess' by Marco, seemingly protecting him. Harry earned a few odd looks at that but as always the mystery about him was pushed aside for the more important things, such as defeating the titans. Harry could remember his first meeting with them and the ruin they had brought, to what he guessed was Shiganshina. He had felt fear and when he had seen the toy, hatred. But he had had time to think things over and he found that he did not truly hate the titans. Probably because he had not lost something precious to them like Eren had. To Harry, the titans were just mindless creature who did what they were programmed for and he felt pity for them, did they even know why the do what they do? Harry watched as Eren and the others headed out to a new expedition. Levi had ordered him to stay since he would be a liability because of his wings. Harry had wanted to disagree but he was only a bird to them, albeit a weird bird, but a bird all the same. He knew that some would be lost but he still hoped that they would make it back.

Something was clawing inside his chest. Something was wrong with Eren. His head was pounding and his magic was raging inside of him. It was burning. His wings moved on their own accord and the pounding grew stronger. He was moving, and moving fast. Colours bled together until it went dark.

Levi followed the female titan analysing it. Mikasa followed behind him and he was glad that he had managed to stop her from basically committing suicide. Levi ordered her to distract the titan in order for him to take her down, but it was barely needed. A dark shape flew into the titan from the side and Levi recognised the cry of the Raven before he could properly see it. The raven grew in size and even from a distance, Levi could see its eye glowing bright green. The raven clawed at the titan but was struck to the ground. Levi felt a twinge of worry in his chest. A light erupted from where the bird had landed and in place of the bird stood a figure, a human figure. The titan seemed surprised for only a second before raising its foot to trample the figure but as they came in contact the titan was stuck. The figure had somehow grabbed it and held it up. Levi took his shot and attacked the titan. He moved fast, slashed and cut it, weaving around it and forcing it to the ground. The figure had moved back and transformed into a raven again, albeit an impossibly large raven, and flew back up in the air. Mikasa went for its neck and Levi had to move fast or she would die. The titan's eyes had healed from his earlier assault and her arm was moving. Levi pushed Mikasa aside and stepped on the titan's hand to retreat from it when pain surged from his foot. It had been damaged by the impact but he held on and moved towards the mouth and slashed it open, revealing a slime covered Eren inside. He was about to catch him when Princess dived in and grabbed Eren in its talons and dragged him out and flew up beside Levi.

'Oi! We're getting out of here!' he called to Mikasa who watched Eren in Princess' talons, not seemingly noticing that the bird was larger than before and able to transform into a human, or just not caring about that little detail.

'Eren…'

'I think he's fine… He's alive! But filthy' and Levi was secretly pleased that he did not have to touch him. 'Forget about it' he said meaning the titan. 'We'll retreat'.

'Retreat!' Princess concurred with a croak.

'Don't lose sight of the core objective' Levi reminded Mikasa as he watched the still form of the female titan. 'Is it more important to get what you want? Isn't he an important friend?' he scolded. 'Give me Eren and change back to a smaller size. I'll deal with you later' Levi looked Princess in the eye but he was not challenged, which he was grateful for. At least one of them understood what was important.

Princess handed Eren to him and shrank back to a normal size and they took off. They needed to return to the others as fast as possible and return back to the Wall.

Levi, Mikasa, Eren and Princess had reunited with the others and now they had stopped for a slight break, to take care of the dead and to feed the horses. Levi took the opportunity to take Princess aside.

'Now, what are you?' He demanded and looked down at the bird.

Princess looked around before staring back up at Levi. A strange sensation ran down Levi's spine and he watched mesmerised, although not visually showing it, as Princess shifted into a man. By his clothes and features, Levi would have taken him for aristocracy had they met on the street and under 'normal' circumstances. The man in front of him had dark hair, the exact same colour as his feathers. His eyes were large and luminous green; they were shadowed by pain, sorrow and anger. Feelings Levi knew only too well. The man was actually shorter than Levi, which he felt quite smug about. Apart from that was the man lithe in build and not overly strong looking, so how had he stopped the titan?

'I'm Harry' the man, 'Harry', said calmly with an accent Levi could not place. 'And I'm human' Levi felt his eyebrows twitch.

'And how do you transform into a bird?'

'…Magic' his lips formed an easy-going smile and Levi almost gritted his teeth.

'Why are you following Eren? At least I'm assuming that you are' Levi continued, glancing around to see if there were curious eyes looking their way, which there were not.

Harry seemed to hesitate but then a determined glint rose in his eyes followed by a hint of steel. 'I lost someone close to me and shortly after I met Eren and… he intrigued me, I suppose, and he reminded me of myself. But perhaps, in my grief, I latched on to him. I want to help him' Harry finished his eyes daring him to question his motives.

'Who did you lose?'

Levi's face showed no sympathy, no ounce of compassion as Harry's eyes glazed over. '…My godson' then his eyes grew sharp. 'Do you want to know who killed him? He was only five?' Levi did not have the time to answer as Harry continued. 'He was killed by humans' Levi's expression remained unchanged but inside he felt with the man that had lost what he had loved the most and the child had not even been old enough to defend himself. 'And I killed them all, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I don't specifically care about your titans. I don't actually hate them because I pity them for being what they are. What I do hate is the titans knowing what they're doing, knowingly destroying families, knowingly murdering innocent children. I will not let that be. If I could I would kill every single one of them but I can't. I will help you as long as you are on Eren's side.'

Fire was alight in those emerald orbs and Levi saw the hardship he had lived through, the strength he carried. He saw a will that had been rekindled from near extinction and it was burning brightly for him to see.

'Then fight by my side to protect Eren, to protect the hope of humanity.'

Levi held out his hand and Harry grasped it. Harry had grown attached and as long as Levi fought for Eren, Harry would fight for him. He transformed to a raven again and perched himself on Levi's shoulder and the wards, that had surrounded them, vanished. Apart from transforming, those seemed to be the only spells he could control, although they did not work as they should either but he would work on that later.

'I guess we need to find a new name for you? It can't be that flattering being called Princess when you should be called Prince'. Harry pecked him on the shoulder but Levi's smirk remained.

So... this was it. I might consider to sometime in the future continue this story but until I'm done with Strawberry Cakes this will remain a Oneshot. For those of you who have read Strawberry Cakes and Meetings do not worry I am working on the next chapter :) and as always please let me know if there are any errors in the story. Thank you ^_^