-Yay! I'm so happy you like it! My updates should be fairly fast since I have the first fourteen chaps written. They just need to be typed.

-Harry will not be paired with any of the known characters. That means(obviously) that he will be with an oc.

-disclaimer: I wish that I owned these both, but that privilege belongs to J.K. Rowling and Christine Feehan.

/

Chapter 2

Francesca felt her heart melt at the sudden vulnerability in the boys posture. She hated to see others in pain.

"We cannot bare for children to be abused. We wish to help you." The boy tensed at her words. What had she said?

"I am no child and I am most certainly not abused." He said sharply in response to the silent query. "I never have been."

"I did not mean to offend you..." She trailed off, at a sudden lose.

"Harry."

"Harry I was mearly trying to explain my motives." Harry nodded

"You will have to forgive me for not trusting you based on your words alone."

/

He was unsure of what to do. Here were two people... they were strange... who wanted to take him in after just meeting him. He had never had that before.

Nervously, he turned away from them and walked to the window. His beloved owl was never wrong. He would ask her.

"Hedwig." He called softly and could feel confusion from the two behind him. He held out his left arm and waited for a moment before the snowy owl landed on the offered limb.

She cooed at him and nipped lightly at his fingers when he stroked her feathers.

"What do you think girl? Should I trust these two?" He watched as she turned her intelligent amber eyes on his unexpected visitors. She stared at them intently for about a minuet before hooting her answer.

"Are you sure?" he asked and the owl ruffled her feathers, showing how insulted she was. "Sorry." He told her sheepishly. "I just wanted to be positive."

/

They watched in fascination as the young man talked to the beautiful owl on his arm. They appeared to understand each other perfectly.

"You can understand her?" Gabriel asked uncertainly.

"I better after five years." Harry appeared to debate with himself for several moments before he sighed. "When do we leave?"

"You trust us based on the owls opinion?" It was not said condescendingly, but rather curiously.

"She has never been wrong and I should have listened a long time ago."

/

Harry could remember asking Hedwig about all of the people he knew and then not wanting to listen. So he had ignored her until it was too late.

Violently, he shook his head to be rid of the thoughts. "I figure this is a good time to start." Hedwig cooed happily at him.

"We will leave as soon as you gather your things." Harry looked at Gabriel intently.

"If you are going to kill him then I want to watch." It could not be interpreted as a request.

"You do not need to see death. It is not a pretty thing." Harry hissed in displeasure.

"Damn it! I am not a child! I have seen death and I am well aware of what it is!" They looked shocked at his angry revelation.

"Then you have seen what you should not have."

"Try telling that to the maniac who killed my parents, boyfriend, godfather and best friend in front of me." He snorted as he remembered how he and Draco had become friends in fourth year after Ron abandoned him. After thinking about it for a moment, he decided to humor them.

/

They didn't know what to make of Harry. He didn't seem particuraly disturbed by all the death he had seen, but then he had had time to come to terms with it.

They watched as Harry walked over to his bed and reach under it, removing a floorboard. He pulled out an old photo album, a piece of silvery cloth, and a stick. They said nothing as they followed him out into the hallway and down the stairs. They watched him frown at the locks on the cupboard door, before starting when he waved his hand at it with a whispered 'Alohamora'.

The locks clicked open.

/

Harry was aware of the incredulous looks behind him but didn't explain. They obviously weren't a witch and wizard.

He opened the door and sighed as he remembered the first eleven years of his life... all spent in this cupboard. In a way he missed it... sort of.

It was relatively the same. A bit dustier maybe but the only other addition to the space was his trunk. He pulled it out stored the cloak and album. He kept his wand.

"That's everything. How are we getting where-ever we are going?"

/

Francesca and Gabriel looked at each other briefly... they hadn't thought about that.

"I guess we could fly?" She asked Gabriel.

"As dragons maybe?" They noted that Harry was not overly surprised, but rather that he appeared to have come to a rather satisfying conclusion.

"You two can fly as whatever you want. Don't worry about me." He told them as he opened the trunk and pulled out his shrunken Firebolt. "I can fly myself." He closed the lid and wandlessly shrunk the trunk, before enlarging the broom.

They blinked and looked at him in bewilderment.

"We will talk when we get to our destination." They nodded uncertainly.

"Owls then?" Francesca nodded in agreement.

"Yes. then we don't have to be invisible."

/

Harry and Francesca went outside to wait while Gabriel 'took-care' of Vernon.

"Francesca?..." He hesitated. "You are a healer right?" She was visibly curious and nodded.

"Yes. I am."
"Do you think... could you..." he trailed off looking for words. "Can you please heal me? I cannot fly as I am."

Harry watched as Francesca cautiously reached out and touched his shoulder. He felt a ball of energy move swiftly through his body, observing, before it quickly and efficiently knitted his bones and flesh back together. When the energy pulled away, he flexed his right arm before grinning happily.

"Thanks!"

/

Francesca was shocked again. How had he been moving like nothing was wrong? They hadn't even noticed anything.

"Harry? Why didn't you say anything sooner?"

"Hmm? Oh. Well... I forgot about it." She stared. He forgot?

"How did you forget that your leg was broken?"

"Um.. Well..." He looked a bit sheepish. "With enough experience, you learn to ignore it out of necessity. After a while of ignoring it, it stops hurting.. actually the arm was worse." He explained and she looked extreamly concerned.

At that moment, Gabriel walked outside to join them. He had caught the end of the dialogue.

"That is a disturbing bit of information." He told the boy, who shrugged.

"So? Its true." Gabriel sighed and rolled his eyes...Teenagers.

"Lets get going then." Gabriel and Francesca changed into owls, expecting Harry to freak out, while Harry got on his broom.

"Lead the way." Harry told them and they took off, the boy following behind them.

/

end chapter 2