Still don't own it. J.K. Rowling still does own it. Props to Miranda Flairgold. Read and Review, greatly appreciated.
Harry had panicked and decided that he would be fleeing into the Forbidden Forest, just in case Dumbledore was trying to deceive him into being Kissed by a Dementor. Besides, if Dumbledore was not trying to trick him he would probably be able to find him rather easily in the Forest.
And with that very thought the 16 year old Wizard lit his Holly and Phoenix wand with a muttered "Lumos" and set off in search of some shelter.
He only had to walk for about twenty minutes before he found a small cave. He knew that is was dangerous to explore caves, especially at night, especially in the Forbidden Forest. But he barely registered those thoughts and went on inside the cave. He thoroughly checked it out, found no creatures and some good sticks for a small fire to keep him warm through the night.
He pulled out his previously shrunken chest and enlarged it to the correct size, pulled out his invisibility cloak, some robes and re-shrunk the chest. He had decided that he could afford to cast magic, despite being underage, even though he was on the run. He had shrunken his chest at the gates of Hogwarts, he didn't want to drag it through the Forest and leave an obvious trail.
He put the chest back in his pocket, used the robes as a makeshift pillow and tossed the invisibility cloak over himself as a thin blanket and some concealment. He cast a warming charm over himself, and decided against lighting a fire that night. Harry slowly drifted to sleep with thoughts of confusion and betrayal running rampant in his mind.
Harry was woken up to a slight hissing sound and rays of sunlight hitting his face. He looked up and saw a quite venomous Magical Viper, with a sleek midnight black body and golden markings along its side, in front of him. It was not even nearly fully grown, only about two feet long at this point.
Hissing out to it, Harry did his best to placate it, "Eassssy, issss thisss your home?"
"Yessss, Sssspeaker. It issss where I live."
"All by yourssssself?"
"Yessss, I am lonely. My name is Cygnusss, Sssspeaker."
"I am Harry, it issss nice to meet you Cygnussss."
Hissing a short conversation back and forth they had decided that it would be beneficial to both if Cygnus was bonded to Harry as his familiar. With a quick chant read from one of Harry's books and a flash of light the bonding was finished. Cygnus and Harry now had the slightest of mental connections.
Which reminded Harry that he would need to teach himself Occlumency at some point, preferably much sooner rather than later.
Harry knew that he would have to live in the Forest, at least for a little while. He couldn't afford to show his face and be captured. He doubted he could escape a squad of Aurors or Hit Wizards.
And so Harry went off into the forest, always staying in his cave at night and gathering food and exploring during the day. Cygnus was an invaluable guide the whole time, teaching Harry the basic ways of survival and life inside the Forbidden Forest.
Cygnus's own family had been killed by a group of Forest Elves, who had been foraging for food near the cave, a few months prior to Harry's arrival. This saddened Harry to hear, but he was still very glad that he had his familiar with him.
Cygnus was the only thing keeping Harry even remotely sane. Harry would cry himself to sleep nearly every night, wallowing in guilt over the deaths of Ginny and Sirius, and even Cedric from the Tournament. Cygnus would often find Harry simply staring into the fire in the cave at night, eyes red and puffy from crying, and his throat hoarse and ragged from begging for forgiveness that he would never receive.
The first full moon saw Harry and Cygnus hiding in the cave, which by now had a small fire pit, small potions corner, and cot set up, with a large boulder that could be levitated to seal the entrance.
The entire night of the full moon Harry and Cygnus could hear wild and rampant werewolves howling and crashing through the Forest, fighting and snarling at each other. Harry fell asleep after a while, and even though he didn't realize it, Cygnus did. This was the first night that he had not cried over his new situation, loss of friends, and this was a good improvement, Cygnus noted.
"Ssss, wake up, Masssster." Cygnus was waking Harry up for the day, they had much to do. Their food supplies were running rather low and today would be a good day to check the snares, traps, and gather berries and whatnot.
"I'm up, Cygnussss. I asssssume that it issss morning?"
"Yessss, Masssster. We need to check the ssssnaressss."
Harry had set up small snares to catch rabbits and other small game, he had learned it from a Wilderness Survival Handbook that he had nicked from Dudley's room. The fat oaf would never miss it, Harry was not quite sure his cousin could even read. But that was beside the point, Harry did have things to do that day.
Setting off on the quarter mile trek to the first of the snares Harry practiced wand motions to various spells, and worked on casting them silently into the ground or on rocks.
"Eviscero!" That curse did exactly as it sounded like, it eviscerated its target. This was a borderline 'dark' spell, or it would be labelled as such by the Ministry and Dumbledore, but they had both sold Harry down the river. What did he care about following their rules, his very existence was going against what they wanted.
Hearing a rustling in the tree limbs above and slightly behind him Harry turned on his heel and raised his wand.
The dark form of a Forest Elf quickly disappeared into the leaves, and Harry could hear the limbs and leaves rustling as the elf jumped away. Harry and Cygnus had been together in their cave for about two weeks now, and they would occasionally notice or Cygnus would smell an elf or two lurking around, merely observing. They would always retreat away after they had been noticed.
Continuing on with his trek to the snares Harry was a little more cautious and wary. After all just a few short weeks ago Dumbledore had tried to sell him out to the Ministry, Harry believed, and Hogwarts, where Dumbledore was, was only a few miles away from where Harry currently lived in hiding.
This was disconcerting to Harry, but he would be able to deal with it. He would have to deal with it. He had a plan, and that plan was to find an entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. The Basilisk had been down there for a thousand years after all, it had to have gone hunting sometimes. So it made sense that an entrance or tunnel existed inside the Forest.
But so far neither Harry himself nor Cygnus had had any luck with finding the entrance, but that was okay with Harry.
Checking the snares and finding two small rabbits total Harry continued on with his day as usual, and cleaned and prepared the rabbits for dinner. He had looked through the Forest for an hour or so earlier, and still had no luck finding the entrance to the chamber.
Falling asleep for the night in the dim cave lit only by the dying embers of the fire Harry reflected on his past two weeks of living in the Forbidden Forest.
Harry was up before Cygnus this time, he had felt a tremor in the basic wards that he had cast. It was definitely something large enough to register on his wards, so probably a human or humanoid type creature, that was now approaching his cave.
Harry was still using the Invisibility Cloak as a thin blanket during his nights in the cave, and had been for the month he had been inside the Forest.
He didn't like that someone or something humanoid or human was creeping up on his cave in the middle of the night, he still had enemies. Voldemort, Dumbledore, and the Ministry would all want him dead, Kissed, or captured.
"Ah, Fuck!" Harry was trying to quickly and quietly grab Cygnus, and shrink his trunk. He tapped his wand to his trunk, shrinking it, and slipped it into his pocket. Cygnus woke up suddenly and angrily, hissing out death threats and very nearly striking at Harry with his fangs.
Cygnus was silenced with a single glance into Harry's eyes, to see the slight panic but also burning intensity just below the surface of the Killing Curse green eyes. Cygnus could tell that something was wrong, even if he couldn't sense it himself.
Harry Vanished the ash and embers of the fire and cast a spell that caused a slight breeze to disrupt any footprints in the dust on the cave floor, and began retreating to the back of the cave, Cygnus in his hands and Invisibility Cloak thrown over both of them.
Cygnus had been telling Harry about a small tunnel that led outside of the cave in the back, and that was where Harry was heading. He could now sense that the approaching presence the wards had registered was definitely Dumbledore, or someone equally powerful. This was not good news, but Harry believed that he was going to get out in time.
Harry could just hear the boulder being levitated from its place as he squeezed his way through the narrow tunnel. Squeezing, pressing, and crawling his way through for a few minutes Harry was left standing under the night sky in a small clearing, near a formation of rocks, the middle of which he had just crawled out of.
Taking a second to un-shrink and re-shrink his trunk and retrieve his Firebolt Harry could sense Dumbledore poking around the cave.
While Harry's magical presence should have been all over the cave it was not, mainly because it was diluted with Cygnus's, and that the Invisibility Cloak prevented his presence and signature from leaking out while he slept. It was truly a powerful tool of concealment, and had proven itself invaluable many times during Harry's adventures.
Flying off into the night at high speeds on his Firebolt Harry was careful to avoid and dodge any trees or limbs that could dismount him in a particularly violent and painful fashion. He had seen enough Quidditch injuries and incidents to know that falling off or getting knocked from his broom at high speeds was something he wanted to avoid.
Flying a few miles deeper into the Forest, actually towards the Acromantula colony, Harry got no sleep that night. He and Cygnus stayed on a sort of watch duty, and they patrolled the area near them.
For the next few nights Harry did not go back to the cave, he just bounced from location to location. He had been in the Forest about a month when he finally went back to his cave. He scanned it thoroughly for any magic that Dumbledore might have left behind, and also for any traps. Satisfied that none were present and that it was an acceptable decision to return to the cave Harry did exactly that.
It was now two months into his stay in the Forbidden Forest, not that Harry knew that. Harry was no longer keeping track of time, he was simply living from day to day. He had basic potion ingredients for healing and basic nutrient potions stored up, a few of each of those potions stored up, enough food to last him about a week or so in advance, and he still had Cygnus with him.
This was good for Harry, and so was what he was doing right now. He was currently flying his Firebolt at top speeds dodging and ducking the high tree trunks in the Forbidden Forest, reminiscing about Quidditch and how his life used to be. This was the first time he had truly been happy in the Forest, and not subconsciously guilt-ridden over what had happened to Ginny and Sirius.
This was a very good sign for Harry, that he was going through the grieving process and learning to deal with everything.
Three months into his stay and Harry was truly looking and probably smelling quite fierce. He had been able to regularly wash himself in conjured water showers and the occasional creek or stream bath, but he had neglected any hair cuts or shaving.
That combined with his now leaner form had turned Harry Potter from the frail boy he had once been into the rugged young man that now lived inside a cave with his magical viper as his sole pet and companion.
The Forest Elves were still following Harry and Cygnus, occasionally now getting closer and closer. It seemed that they had worked out that Harry and Cygnus were not there to harm them, they were simply living their own lives.
Neither Harry nor Cygnus had had any luck with locating the Chamber of Secrets entrance that they were both confident existed.
Harry was not too preoccupied with that, however, right now he was only preoccupied with continuing to avoid Dumbledore and the Ministry, and also Voldemort.
He had been thinking more about Voldemort. If Dumbledore and the Ministry, and probably the vast majority of the populace of Wizarding Britain had sold him out then he no longer had any obligation to fight Voldemort.
But Harry could not let his parent's murderer go without paying for his crimes, and despite Harry's potential indifference Voldemort would almost certainly continue to put faith in the prophecy, which would just end up with the two fighting.
So Harry figured it was a safe assumption to count Voldemort on his list of enemies for now. Dumbledore was also on this list because Harry had been thinking more and more about the old headmaster, and the more he thought and considered it the more it seemed probably and likely that Dumbledore had been trying to get Harry to be Kissed.
That was another thing, as long as Harry remained in Britain he could be caught by the Ministry, and administered the Dementor's Kiss on sight. He had considered trying to flee the Isles all together, but had dismissed it. He was already settled into his temporary life in the Forest, and would be safer in the Chamber of Secrets.
It was six months into Harry's stay in the Forbidden Forest when he had quite literally ran into Luna Lovegood during a night time potion ingredient gathering trip.
With a shocked, and pleasantly surprised look on his face Harry reacted, "Luna? What are you doing here?" He offered her a hand up, off of the Forest ground, where she had been after he had accidentally knocked her over.
"I like to walk through the Forest, Harry. They want to find you, you know." Luna was as she always was, rather dreamy and airy.
"I know Luna, I know. How's everyone doing? Ron? Hermione? You?"
"Ron blames you Harry. Hermione doesn't know what to think, and me? Oh Harry."
As soon as Harry had heard that Ron blamed him for Ginny's death a massive wave of guilt rolled over him. He couldn't bear to think that he had been the reason the Weasley family was no longer whole, the first family to show him love and kindness, and he had essentially taken the life of the youngest of the family, the only daughter.
Harry fell to his knees as he heard Luna mutter a soft "Oh Harry." Un-fallen tears stung at his eyes as he fiercely held them back. He would not allow himself to show such weakness in front of Luna, it was not acceptable.
Luna put a comforting hand on his shoulder, and tilted his face up to look at hers. Her pale silvery grey eyes shone in the moonlight, and Harry found himself transfixed.
"You mustn't blame yourself, Harry. That's how the Wrackspurts get in, you know that."
Harry smiled weakly and rose from his knees. Luna embraced him in a quick hug, but it was obviously time for her to leave. "I won't tell anyone you're here Harry. If you need me just send a Nargle, they know where to find me."
The clouds moved away from the moon for a moment, illuminating Luna as her eyes seemed to glaze over slightly, and she spoke in a voice that was not quite hers, "Beware the Six-Limbed, O Child of Lightning and Son of Frost."
And with that Luna departed from the small clearing, heading back in the direction of Hogwarts castle. She would usually say very strange things, and Harry would typically disregard them, but this seemed very important. He left, in the opposite direction as Luna, pondering what she could have meant.
Harry was pleasantly surprised that he had seen and talked to Luna, and while it hurt bitterly it was good to know about Ron and Hermione.
It was two months after his run in with Luna, it was about eight months into his stay in the Forbidden Forest, and Harry was currently running for his life, with Cygnus on his back.
Well, it was not quite running, more limping for his life. He could hear the arrows being fired by the Centaurs and Forest Elves thunking and thumping into the trees and dirt behind him.
"Masssster, where do we go, ssss?" Cygnus was fairly distressed by their situation. Harry had managed to anger the centaurs quite badly.
"Away." Was the only reply Harry had for Cygnus.
A couple of centaurs had found Harry's cave, and had seen his half hidden body underneath the Invisibility Cloak. After a quick scuffle one Centaur ended up with the Cloak in his hands, and had galloped out of the cave as fast as he could.
The other centaur was not so lucky, not so lucky at all. He was desperately trying to hold his intestines in place, and trying to force them back into his gut. Harry had hit the attacker with a violent Eviscero when he had been woken by something trying to steal his Invisibility Cloak.
The centaur was on his way out of this life and into the next when Harry sprinted out of the cave, chasing the path he could see the other centaur had taken.
Harry had become rather adept at tracking and hunting down his prey during his eight months in the Forest, and with Cygnus helping him to scent out the centaur he had tracked the young centaur with his Invisibility Cloak back to their camp.
That was when things began to go particularly wrong. The young centaur had immediately began yelling and screaming that Harry was a murderer, and should be executed.
The growing crowd of centaurs had all agreed, many raising their bows and knocking arrows to them.
Harry had thought that the centaurs were a thoughtful bunch, but he was wrong, at least when it came to dolling out justice to wizards.
"Run, Masssster!" Cygnus had hissed urgently. Harry agreed whole heartedly, and ran for his life.
Both Harry and the centaurs had knowledge of the Forest, but Harry had more mobility and maneuverability in the denser packed areas of the Forest. Running through the densest thicket of trees that he could find Harry was desperate.
He had been running and chased by the centaurs for about a mile before he was hit. One of the centaurs had loosed an arrow that had flown straight into his hamstring muscles. Every step that Harry limped onwards was pure and blinding agony. He could feel deep in his muscle tissue the arrow tip grating and jarring excruciatingly.
And that brings us to where Harry is now, nearly blind with pain, and limping his way through part of the densest, thickest areas of the Forbidden Forest.
He had not yet realized this, but the centaurs had stopped following him and shooting at him a minute or so ago.
They had stopped following him because he was now in Acromantula Territory. The section of the Forest that Aragog and his kin ruled with venom dripping pincers.
In fact the Acromantula had thought the centaurs were invading their Territory, and had rose up to defend their homes. A bloody and fierce battle was being fought somewhere behind Harry, as he was quickly coming to realize from the sounds and yells he was hearing.
"I ssssmell blood, Masssster. I believe they are fighting each other, sss." Cygnus confirmed his suspicions, even as his head swam in pain and exhaustion.
"Massster, I can ssssenssseee ssssnake magic near here! The Chamber of Ssssecretsss!"
This was the best news that Harry had heard all day. He had slowed his pace down to a limping stumble now, but this was the motivation that he needed.
Cygnus had slithered off of his back, and Harry was following him. Cygnus was scenting out the snake magic that he had sensed, and hopefully he was not mistaken.
Coming to a small circle of rocks with a small snake engraved on one of them Harry sighed in relief and hissed out in Parseltongue, "Open."
Immediately a concealed tunnel grated open to allow Harry and Cygnus entry, and they entered the downward sloping tunnel. They could hear the entrance closing up behind them, and both continued to make their way slowly along the tunnel, in the dark.
They had found the Chamber of Secrets, and not a moment too soon. Harry still had the arrow lodged firmly in his leg, but it would be easier to treat and heal now that they were in the Chamber of Secrets.
