Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any other publicly recognized characters from the Harry Potter Universe. That is reserved for J.K. Rowling.
A/N: Thank you all for your interest in my story and i hope to keep that interest. Also, Thank you to my Beta reader. Without further ado, here is the 2nd chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter 2:
When Harry first came back to consciousness, the first thing he noticed was that the material under his head was not that of a mattress, but was spongier and damp. Then the memories hit and he bolted upright to take in his surroundings. He felt like he was being watched but that took a backseat when he realized something. He wasn't in pain. Harry blinked in surprise while looking down at his body. His eyes first went to his arm. It wasn't aching anymore and felt better than it ever had. In fact, his whole body felt stronger than ever. He flexed various muscles and limbs with a feeling of amazement.
"How the…" Harry wondered to himself severely confused. Then he remembered the feeling of being watched and looked around again. His fear started gripping his chest again, worried that his aunt and uncle had found him. That was, until he saw the bird up on a branch that wasn't too high up or too far away. He stared at it because it wasn't any bird he saw in the books of the library. It was snow white with flecks of black at the tips of its wings and had long tail feathers. It looked at him with…was that a concerned look? Harry didn't think that was possible. Maybe birds are more intelligent than I first thought. Though the pigeons at the school didn't seem smart, he mused. Without anything better to do, Harry decided to talk to the bird. After all, what did he have to lose?
"Hello," Harry said tentatively, "Were you the one that sang that beautiful song before I passed out?" The bird answered with a harmonious trill while dipping its head in confirmation. Ok, the bird can understand me.
"Where did you come from?" he asked. The bird just tilted its head as if to say 'Really?'
"Right, dumb question." Harry replied. "Well I'm going to wander some, I really don't want to go back home. My family weren't the nicest of people and I know that if I go back, I might not make it back out." The bird looked back at him with a… Is that a concerned look? If so, that bird is much more intelligent than even my second guess.
"Would you like to come with me? I could use the company and that aura of yours it quite comforting." With a trill, the beautiful white bird glided from the branch it resided on and landed on his shoulder gently. Harry smiled. For once in his life, he had found a friend. Granted it was one that couldn't talk to him, but it was better than nothing.
"Thank you," he said. "It's good to feel like I finally have someone to talk to." Just then his stomach growled. Remembering that he had brought some food with him, he dug into the pack and grabbed some of the grapes he nabbed from the fridge before he left and ate a few.
"You want some?" he asked the strangely beautiful bird. It leaned forward and opened its beak. Harry put a grape in its mouth before eating a few more. "Good thing I read a few survival guides from the library. I might be out here a while." With that he headed off deeper into the woods.
After about an hour of walking through the woods and finding a river, Harry decided to stop for a while and rest. With his earlier experiments with the books in the library, he decided to try fishing. Concentrating on the desire to have the fish in the river, he held a hand out. The ball of energy in his chest, for that is what he knew he was using now, responded to his intent and three fish came flying out of the water and into Harry's hands.
"Neat," he said. "I should try to see what more I can do later." He then set about scaling and gutting the fish, preparing it to be edible for him. With only the memory of reading the survival guide, his first attempt ended up with more waste than anything else. His second and third attempt went better than the first and he had enough to scrap by and fill him. Before he could set a fire to cook the fish though, he heard two audible pops nearby. With a thought, Harry willed himself invisible like he did often enough on the playground to escape Dudley and his gang. He also dug into the energy ball in his chest and wished for any sounds he made to be silenced. At the last second he willed his stuff and his bird companion to also be invisible and silent before two grown men in robes, making them look like they walked out of the medieval ages.
"Are you sure the report said here?" the first one said. "We are in the middle of the woods!"
"Yes," said the second. "I don't know what to tell you, but magic is usually never wrong." Magic? Harry thought. Is that what the energy in my chest is called? He decided to think on it later.
"Alright, well let's spread out then," the first said. "The source must not have gone very far if the report is accurate." Harry then noticed something about the two strange men: they had cores as well. What was more though, was that their auras had a little extra effect. They both were shimmering as if they themselves were giving off some heat. With that observation, Harry walked away with his companion on his shoulder.
He continued for another couple of hours before the light of day started to fade. After a quick look, he saw a cave and walked towards it. Before he even had a chance to register it, a bear walked out of it in front of him. Harry froze where he was as the bear swung its head in his direction, having smelled his sent. Running on instinct, he raised his hand and projected calming feelings to the bear while signaling his intent that he meant no harm and was just looking for a place to stay for the night. The bear blinked and looked between him and the bird on his shoulder before… Ok, this is getting creepy, that bear just nodded at me. Harry thought.
"What do you expect? You told it you meant no harm." Harry started and looked around in surprise.
"Who said that?" he asked.
"Wait… you can understand me?" Harry then looked at the bird on his shoulder.
"Apparently. Why can I understand you? And more importantly, how did you read my thoughts?" Harry asked the strange, beautiful bird.
"Because now I am your familiar now. Most wizards and witches can't understand their familiars but you are special in this regard it seems." Harry looked at the bird in amazement.
"Awesome!" he said after a few moments while a big smile formed on his face. "Alright, let's get bunkered down for the night. I have a bunch of questions. Thank you, kind bear, for letting me use your cave as a shelter for the night."
"You're welcome," it growled back. Harry stared at it for a few moments before turning his head back to the bird.
"Got an explanation for me understanding the bear too?" Harry asked it.
"Nope," it responded. "I do not know about that ability."
"Ok, something to consider later then." With that, Harry entered the cave and set his pack off to the side before sitting on the cave floor.
"Ok, I have a couple of questions, companion of mine," Harry said. "May I ask what you are? I have read every book in the library back in town and have not seen one mention of your species in any of the books."
"Certainly." The bird replied. "I am a phoenix."
"Really? You aren't pulling my leg? No offence, by the way." The last sentence was tacked on when he saw the magnificent bird bristle.
"I do not joke," the phoenix replied.
"Ok, next question. Do you have a name?"
"Currently, no, but I thank you for asking. Because I am your familiar, you get to name me." Harry dropped his chin deep in thought at this.
"Before I try to begin guessing names," Harry started, "are you male or female?"
"I am most certainty female." She replied as if it was obvious.
"Right, sorry." He said, embarrassed. He looked back down deep in thought. "Cindy[KD1] ?" he asked. The phoenix shook its head in the negative. "Ok, how about Belle?" Again a no. "Hedwig?" The phoenix trilled a happy song and fluttered about a bit before settling back on his shoulder, nuzzling his cheek. Laughing, Harry said, "Alright, I will take that as a yes." He nuzzled the bird back before saying, "I have a feeling we will be together for a long time."
At that time the bear wandered back in and laid down next to Harry.
"If you want, furless one, you can lay on me if it makes you comfortable."
"Thank you," Harry replied before doing just that and giving in to the exhaustion he felt and falling asleep.