This has been half-written for a while, and now I'm finally posting it! It's not finished right now, and I predict that there'll be two or three chapters, total. I'll try and get that up as soon as possible, but RL is ridiculously hectic right now, so I can't make any promises!
Please review!
Flying, Falling, Fainting, Fuck-
Or "That One Time a Tree Nymph Took It Upon Herself To Interfere With Harry's Love Life."
Part 1
Harry didn't know what happened. One minute he was flying high and fast above the Forbidden Forest, enjoying the cold air on his skin and the wind rushing through his hair and especially the escape from all his problems... And then something went wrong, and he was falling.
He didn't scream. He had been in near-death experiences too many times to panic straight away. He first tried summoning his broom, a brand-new super-fast, top-of-the-range model, growing slightly concerned when it failed to materialise. He casually cast a quick flying spell, sudden, unexpected, unwanted terror flooding through him when it didn't work. Great. The ground was fast approaching, and Harry really didn't want to hit it. At the speed he was travelling just now, he would break all the bones in his body.
He frantically cast floating spells and levitation spells and anything he could think of, but to no avail. He could see the ground looming up below him, looking upsettingly solid, with no trees to slow his fall. Of course his broomstick would mess up over a clearing. That was his not-so-great luck. He let out an involuntary scream of frustration and annoyance. (Fantastic. Now he was plummeting towards his death shrieking like a baby. Just the way he'd always wanted to go.)
He cast a quick, clumsy cushioning charm in the millisecond before impact, and then he hit the ground with an echoing thud, all the breath knocked out of him as he gasped in agony. "Fuck," he breathed, red spots appearing over his vision. He fought for consciousness- he couldn't pass out injured in the Forbidden Forest!
Harry took fast, shallow breaths, desperately trying to fill his lungs with air. He concentrated on slowing his breathing, deliberately ignoring the pain shooting through his body. He lay there as he'd landed, on his back in a pile of leaves. They'd probably cushioned his fall somewhat, and his cushioning charm must have worked a little, he noted absently through a haze of pain. That was lucky.
He finally got his breathing under control, and gingerly inspected his injuries, still not moving anything but his head. His spine seemed okay, which was a relief. His right side seemed to have taken the brunt of the impact, and his shoulder was on fire, swollen and bleeding. His elbow was also sore, and his hip, but his leg... He choked back bile. His leg was twisted at an unnatural angle. Definitely broken.
He groaned. Now that the initial shock had faded, he was feeling his injuries, and sweet Merlin did they hurt.
He realised with a start that his wand was missing. He looked anxiously around for it, frowning when he didn't spot it. "Damn," he said sadly. He loved that wand. It had been through a lot with him, and it knew him better than he did.
Harry knew that he needed to find it. There was only about an hour til sunset, and he knew that he couldn't stay in the Forest after dark. It was dangerous enough during the day, but he was injured, bleeding and unarmed. He had to get out of here.
But first, he needed to splint his leg. He had seen Madam Pomfrey heal a broken leg in two seconds- one quick spell to set the fracture, one to heal the bone itself and one to calm the swelling. But he had neither the wand nor the expertise- he would have to do it the Muggle way. Luckily for him, his glasses were miraculously unharmed, so he could actually see his surroundings.
He was looking about for a stick he could use as a splint when he heard a feminine giggle. He spun his head so fast he cricked his neck. "Who's there?" he asked warily.
The voice giggled again, a high, beautiful, bell-like sound. "Oh it's just me," it said, and then a girl emerged from the trees at the other side of the clearing.
Harry gaped, forgetting all about a splint or the pain in his leg. The girl- and she was more like how he imagined goddesses would appear- was so beautiful it hurt to look at her. Her hair was waist-length and golden brown, the colour of hot chocolate and caramel mixed, falling in perfect waves down her back. She was slim but curvy, petite, and she held herself with confidence and grace. She was wearing a plain white dress which was somehow equally clingy, provocative, innocent, flattering and sexy all at once. Even from ten feet away he could see her big, bright blue eyes. She was the most beautiful girl Harry had ever seen- and he knew that she wasn't human.
"Who are you?" he stammered. The girl smiled and did a little spin. "You can call me... Um... Tanya. That's a nice name. I'm a forest nymph!" she said happily.
Harry stared at her. "But you're so beautiful..."
The girl laughed. "Oh I like you! Thank you, dear. But perhaps you would prefer this form..." The nymph- Tanya?- concentrated, and morphed into someone else. A young man, tall, broad shouldered but slim and lean, toned and tanned and lightly muscled, with short scruffy blond hair and piercing blue-grey eyes.
Harry stared. "Bloody hell..." he whispered. The girl's form he had appreciated in a purely aesthetic way, but this... This was the stuff of wet dreams.
The man- or was it still the nymph girl, in another body?- laughed, a deep, rich sound that sent shivers down Harry's spine. "Oh, you do prefer this body!" the man said in delight, and then shook himself as if shaking off water, fading back into Tanya, who was grinning. "That is a relief. My plan might work then!"
Harry stared at her, trying to shake her other form out of his head. "How did you just-"
She giggled. "That's just a wee trick. This-" she gestured to herself- "is my natural form. But I can change to whatever or whomever you find most attractive. Thus, the man. He was a human I saw once, thousands of years ago. He is divine, isn't he?"
Harry blinked rapidly, trying to process this information. "Wait," he said suddenly. "Whatever I find most attractive? How did you know that I like-" he broke off, blushing, and Tanya chuckled.
"You mean that you like men?" she said, walking over to him and sitting on the ground in front of him. Her every movement was graceful and fluid.
"I know things," she said. "I have lived in this forest for over 500 years, and I have lived on this earth for over 5000. It gets so boring, in here. No-one ever ventures this far out- except dear Luna of course."
Harry did a double take. "Luna?" he said incredulously. The nymph smiled. "Oh yes," she said happily. "Luna comes out here to talk to me sometimes. She's a lovely girl, you know. One of the nicest people I've ever met. She knows I'm lonely, so she brings her homework and we chat."
Harry's mind whirled. "Luna..."
Tanya grinned sympathetically. "This must be a lot to take in. But I'm nearly done. Anyway, despite her dreamy, ditzy facade, Luna is exceptionally smart and very observant. She would moan to me (well, as much as Luna does moan- she's not one for complaining, that girl) about the obtuseness of both teenage boys and teenage girls, but there were a few in particular. First, Neville Longbottom, who never noticed her no matter how much she tried to get his attention. Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, who clearly liked each other but seemed determined to remain just friends."
Harry tried to speak, but the nymph raised a hand to shush him. "And then there was you, Harry Potter. Who is so used to looking out for other people that he never thinks about himself."
Harry started protesting. "I do so think about myself!" Tanya scoffed, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.
"You fly over my tree at least once a day, Harry. I catch glimpses of your thoughts. You fly to escape your problems. Why not just confront them?"
Harry flushed with anger. "Because a lot of my problems are other people! And I don't want to hurt them."
"But what about your feelings?" asked Tanya gently. "What about you? Don't you deserve some peace, to do what you want? You did save the world..."
Harry shook his head. He would be lying if he said he'd never had those thoughts, bitterly wondering if he would ever catch a break. But to hear them said out loud... Tanya looked at him. "Why did you return to Hogwarts?"
"Hermione thought we should have a chance to be kids again." Harry answered automatically. He hadn't wanted to return to the place which held so many bad memories, but Hermione had insisted, saying that it was for the best.
"Why did you quit the Quidditch team?" fired Tanya.
"It wouldn't be fair to the other players. I'm too old and not technically a proper student." But Merlin, he missed Quidditch so much...
"Why did you take Muggle Studies?" Tanya asked.
"Ron didn't want to do it by himself." God, he hated that class...
"Why did you buy that blue t-shirt?"
"Lavender said the colour suited me." But he'd preferred the green one...
"Why don't you tell everyone you're gay?"
"Because it wouldn't be fair to Ginny," said Harry without thinking, then stopped, realising what he said as Tanya made a triumphant sound.
"You're lying about your sexuality because you don't want to hurt someone else. Don't you think that maybe you should tell her, save her from waiting for something she can never have? Surely that's fairer?"
Harry looked at the nymph suspiciously. What she was saying made sense, but... "Are those your words or Luna's?" he asked.
Tanya grinned. "That's what Luna thinks, I admit it. But I've seen many relationships start and end badly over the centuries, and I agree with her. I can sense things in the castle, feel people's thoughts. The girl Ginny is very attuned to the castle and its grounds, so I can read her clearly. She thinks you love her. She is waiting for you, and it is not fair. Do you understand me?" Her sweet voice with its Scottish twang had turned sharp and icy.
Harry nodded weakly. He'd never realised that he was leading Ginny on, and the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her. "Wait," he said suspiciously. "How does Luna know I'm gay? Did you tell her?"
Tanya laughed, long and loud, throwing her head back, her curls cascading down her back. "Oh Harry," she said happily, "Luna was the one who told me!"
Harry's mouth gaped open. "Are you kidding?!" he said, trying to sit up and then panicking when he couldn't. "Hey, why can't I move?" he asked frantically, "and why don't my injuries hurt?" he added, noticing for the first time the lack of pain he was in. He felt stupid and unobservant- he'd been so preoccupied by the nymph's bewitching presence and her intrusive statements.
Tanya giggled mischievously, waving her hand in a dismissive way. "Oh, just a little time-stop spell. When I release it, it'll hurt again, don't worry."
Harry glared at her, his surprise fading to make way for anger. "Don't worry?! Don't worry?! I'm injured in the Forbidden Forest. I can't move. I don't have my wand and it's getting dark! And now you're saying that you've... you've..." Harry stuttered, fishing for words. "...you've taken away my pain and you're gonna just give it back?! Couldn't you help me instead?!"
Tanya smiled sympathetically at him. "I am helping, Harry," she said gently. "But someone else is coming to help you, don't worry. And I'll give you your wand back later." She started to walk away, her steps light and bouncy.
"Wait!" Harry yelled, panicking. "You can't leave me! And what do you mean you have my wand?! Come back, please!" he begged.
Tanya frowned. "Just relax, dear. It's for the best." And with that, she faded into the woods. Harry called after her, but then, suddenly and with a force that made him cry out in agony, the pain hit him again, all at once and like a battering ram, and this time, he couldn't fight the darkness.