By that evening, Draco had yet to return, as did the portal. Feeling fidgety and impatient, but most importantly bored, Harry wandered around to explore this new place a little. He found the river that Draco had mentioned after some time; the clarity of it taking him by surprise. After contemplating his choices, he bent down and drank some of it to quench his thirst, finding the taste refreshing and pure. His eyes were getting used to how the colours popped here, his body was adjusting to how with each inhale of the clean air, he felt more awake than ever before.

It had been a long day, and in his imagination, his aunt grew more and more disgruntled at his prolonged absence. Another, and more likely possibility, was that by now they were celebrating his disappearance; feeling unburdened. He decided to put it out of his mind and focus on the present, immersing himself in this new world.

The scent of the flowers grew to a new intensity once night fell. New flowers were blooming around him with each passing second, engulfing him in their heavenly aroma. He went to sleep on the soft grass and leaves in the shelter that Draco and he had made, drifting away easily now that his fear of being grounded once back home was pushed out of his head. He dreamt of ice cream on a ferris wheel, which had nothing to do with his present situation. Nonetheless, the dream brought the tranquility and refreshment that he needed.

He woke up to the morning dew settling on his body, a slight shiver going through him from the chill that it brought. He immediately looked around for Draco, but there was no sign of the silver dragon. The portal was also pointedly absent. Now that he was looking at his surroundings in daylight, he was less than certain that the portal had even opened at this location. Taking a deep breath, he noticed that the flowers from last night had disappeared and instead the smell of fresh grass surrounded him. It didn't take long for his stomach to start grumbling; in fact, he had been mildly hungry ever since last night. He'd eaten the burnt fish, but they'd been too charred to leave him with much more than a bad aftertaste. Right now, he had more things to worry about than a magic portal that would take him back to a family which didn't even want him back.

He slowly got up and found his way back to the river, gulping down water, hoping to somewhat sedate his stomach. Despite the possibility of getting lost, his wandering curiosity took him farther than the river. His stomach still growling, his eyes darted around the bushes and trees to find anything that seemed at least mildly edible. Seeing a promising shade of red, his eyes sparkled, feet rushing towards a tree a few feet away. He climbed it eagerly but clumsily, and took an apple with a gasp, biting into it after a glance ascertained its nature. Sweet juice flowed down his chin and he closed his eyes in pure pleasure.

It tasted magnificent. Whether it was because of the intensity of his hunger, which would have made mud taste like chocolate, or because of how pure everything seemed to be here, he didn't care. Soon he'd made his way through five apples, and before long, he lost count. He had an ache in his belly afterwards, and groaned half from pain, half from pleasure, but at least he wasn't feeling so dizzy and weak anymore. His last proper meal had been dinner from two nights ago, as his breakfast the day before had been a slice of grapefruit (courtesy of Dudley's diet), and he had skipped his lunch in order to escape from Dudley's gang.

It was only after the remains of the last apple rolled down the tree that he heard the sounds of heavy footsteps. He froze with fear; Draco's footsteps had been much lighter. This was an adult dragon then, and Harry was still weary, regardless of what Draco had said about his tribe treasuring Travellers. He was a stranger in a strange world, alone in the jungle with an approaching dragon. He saw a flashback of how bright and hot the flames that streamed out of Draco's mouth had been, and couldn't help a shudder and gulp.

'Hello?' A surprised voice asked in his mind.

Harry clutched onto the tree branch that he was on, hoping that the leaves were hiding him from view. The footsteps came closer towards him, and he half considered running away.

'Anybody there?' The voice asked.

Harry mustered up the courage to reply, hoping against hope that Draco had been honest.

"Yes," he said, clearing his throat. "I-I'm up here."

An emerald green eye peeked through the leaves to look at him.

'A Traveller!' The amused voice said. 'My, my, are you lost, little one?'

"I may have wandered away, yes," said Harry, feeling somewhat braver after hearing the friendly tone.

'Well, get down here and let me have a look at you. How long have you been in our world?' The voice asked, stepping back in invitation.

Harry slowly climbed down the tree, his knees still being a little shaky. "I stepped through the portal yesterday afternoon," he admitted. From the dragon's voice he could tell that it was female, and there was an unmistakable motherly tone there as well.

'A full day already!' The dragon exclaimed, parting its lips in either surprise or amusement. 'Well, let's take you to the tribe then, shall we? What is your name, little one?'

"Harry," he said, looking up at the dragon who was roughly the size of his uncle's house.

'It's very nice to meet you, Harry. My name is Narcissa. Now I'm going to pick you up and take you to the tribe, alright? There you can meet all the elders and we will decide where you will reside for the duration of your stay.'

Harry looked up at the dragon, Narcissa, doubtfully. He had heard some worry in her voice.

"Have I done something wrong?" He asked, biting his lip.

'Not at all, I am just wondering why a Traveller has appeared now, after eleven years, and a child at that. It's nothing for you to worry about, dear, now let's go if you don't mind. We need to gather the elders and decide on a few things.'

"Okay," said Harry, taking a hesitant step forward. "Will Draco be there as well? He told me that he is going to find an elder to ask them when I can go back to my world."

'Draco?' Narcissa asked in surprise. 'You have met my Son? Well, I'm not sure if he will be there, but let's hope he shall. I have a few questions for him, myself.'

Harry swallowed, hoping that he hadn't landed his newest friend in any trouble. He then was instructed to relax his body as Narcissa lifted a hand over his head, her talons opening and closing to hold him firmly. He felt the wind swirl around them as she flapped her wings to take off, and watched the red rain as apples were shaken down from their trees from the force of her flight. She flew up in an angle, much like a plane, and the wind grew in its intensity while the temperature dropped. Harry felt his teeth chatter in the cold; this certainly was not his favourite form of transportation. The trees looked smaller the farther up they went, and the river came fully into view. It circled around the trees, and as Harry's eyes followed its trail to the horizon, an unsettling realization came to him. They were on an island, but the water was falling down from the edges, as if it was suspended in air. This island was… floating?

As his eyes widened in shock, he heard Narcissa's laughter in his head. He looked up to see her gleeful eyes on him.

'Welcome, little one, to the island of Soaring Slytherin.'

Harry felt a million questions run through his head. He couldn't do much but try to lessen the chattering of his teeth in the cold air, and it made him wish even more that he could communicate by speaking in Narcissa's head, much like the dragons did. He looked up anxiously as Narcissa started veering left and right, looking around in pursuit.

'Did you hear that faint echo?` Narcissa Asked, moving her head from left to right carefully.

Harry scanned the area as well, but couldn't see anyone else around. He tried to reply to her, but it was too cold to form words, and hard as he tried, he couldn't form the word 'No'.

'There, that echo, it was louder this time, did you hear it?` She asked, swooping down a little to take a better look at their surroundings.

Harry shook his head when he felt her eyes rest on him, giving up on trying to communicate with words.

'Must have been some dragon too far to be heard clearly,' she said, the slightest tone of anxiety in her voice.

Harry tried to shrug at her, but his body was held firmly in place with her sharp, silver talons. He craned his neck to look behind, they had travelled a considerable distance from the edge of the island. He wanted to ask Narcissa how much farther they had to go when he saw a clearing in an area ahead of them. It was besides a tall, brown mountain, and Harry could make out other silver shapes around the base of it. It only took them a few minutes to reach it, and with each passing second he felt more apprehensive. They were each bigger than the next, and as they got closer, he could make out the opening of a cave, near which stood the biggest silver dragon of all. They all had emerald green eyes, which followed him sharply, as Narcissa landed gracefully and let him down.

A few minutes passed without anyone saying anything, and he tried to keep himself from fidgeting. A few more minutes passed by before he noticed that there was a conversation going on, just that he was not a part of it. He could see some of the dragons move their head from Narcissa's direction to the biggest dragon, which presumably was their leader, and back, making him realize that Narcissa and the leader must be talking without letting him hear what they were saying. He frowned; this must have been why Draco was so wary of talking to elders, if this was how they treated their children as well. He looked up at the leader, with his frown still in place, and he heard a soft chuckle in his mind.

'A fierce little one, aren't you?` The smooth voice of the leader asked in his head, a male. 'Tell me, was the portal located on the other end of the island?'

Harry was about to reply when Narcissa put one of her hands in front of him, and apparently said something to the leader.

'Why, I see that you already have Narcissa on your side. Pardon me, I forgot that introductions are in order. I am the leader of the Silver Dragons, Voldemort. Welcome to our home, on top of the Soaring Slytherin, Traveller. Your name has come up, Harry, but why don't you introduce yourself and tell us where you came from? It has been over eleven years since a Traveller last stepped foot on our island.'

Harry went on to tell them the story of how he had stumbled onto their world, about how he had just been trying to avoid his cousin's gang of bullies, how he had met Draco, slept in the makeshift tent, and had been found by Narcissa. At first, his words had come slowly and shyly, but Narcissa had given him encouraging nods to keep him going. By the end of his story, his cheeks were flushed with excitement, and he was still picturing the floating island and how fun exploring it would be.

'From your story, I gather that you have no desire to go back home to that family?' Voldemort asked, lowering his head to look at Harry.

"No, sir," he said, wringing his hands. "I have had more fun in these two days than I pictured having all summer."

'Well, then it's settled,' said Voldemort, sounding pleased. 'You will stay with us for now, until the purpose of your visit becomes clear. I am sure that Narcissa will not mind taking care of you as one of her own, and you have already found a friend in Draco. Go along then, she will help you find him and settle in.'

Harry beamed up at them, feeling complete bliss. He pushed the thought of going back to the Dursley's to the back of his mind, accepting his new surroundings. Although at first the dragons looked fierce, they seemed much more preferable than the humans he had been in company with, and who wouldn't want to spend a summer in a magical forest, on top of a floating island, which housed dragons?