An Unexpected Meeting

(aka What the hell is he doing here?)

"Welcome to the Dragon's Den"

Harry awoke, slightly groggy. He shook his head to focus himself before opened his eyes to see the room around him was blur. One thing was clear- He had no idea where the hell he was. He reached for the bedside table to get his glasses, when a hand stopped him. The hand picked up the glasses and put them on his face.

The world snapped into clarity. Harry looked at the owner of the hand, and realized it was the man from the clearing- Jackson he said was his name. But something was nagging the back of Harry's mind, as though there was something he should remember. Then Harry recalled the last thing he saw before passing out.

"Jackson, what the fuck!? I swear you had wings!"

Jackson laughed, "Yeah, we usually get that response. Anyway, as you can see, they are gone for now."

Harry looked again. They were gone. Jackson was wearing a T-shirt now, a deep blue one, that hid his torso, and apparently wings too.

"What do you mean gone for now?" Harry asked, feeling completely lost. "And where the hell am I?"

"Where are you? You're in my room. You seemed a bit overloaded, so I thought some rest would be good for you." Jackson smiled comfortingly. "As for the confusion you may feel, that will be cleared up in a while."

"Why can't you tell me now?"

"I could answer now, and you learn bits and pieces that make no sense, or you could wait and get the whole story in a short while. Your choice, Harry."

Harry accepted that grudgingly. Then it struck him-

"How do you know my name?"

"All in good time, kiddo. For now, just relax. I hate to ask this, but calm down and trust me. I'll take you to meet the rest, and then we can answer all your questions. Can you wait for that?"

"I guess I can," Harry sighed.

"Good, then let's get moving!" Jackson said, the broad smile never leaving his face.

Harry slowly got out of the bed, is muscles a bit stiff. He tried standing up, only to collapse back down from the blood rush.

"Calm down, we've got time. Here, let me give you a hand" Jackson offered Harry his hand, and helped him stand gently. Grabbing his shoulder, Jackson waited till Harry was a bit more stable on his feet before letting go.

"You seem a little weak; I think you should eat first. Think you can do that?" Jackson asked gently. He knew that curiosity was pulsing through the youngling, but that his body needed sustenance desperately.

"I guess I should," Harry admitted weakly. His body felt so weak, he was barely able to stand. Jackson nodded then helped him to the door of the room. Being this close to the man, Harry suddenly realized the sheer size of him. Jackson was easily six and a half feet tall, but not freakishly so. His body was muscled, if not ripped, yet his grip was gentle. Then Harry remembered the wings again. They were massive and though thin looked powerful. How could Jackson just put them away like an old robe?

As if reading his mind, the man in question responded "One of the first things we learn is to fold our wings up and hide them. I doubt seeing me walk down Diagon Alley with my wings out would do much good for the wizards watching me."

Jackson continued walking, half carrying, half dragging Harry forward with him. Harry looked around quickly and noticed the hallways were deserted.

"Where is everyone?" he asked.

"I asked them to stay out of the way till all explanations were given. Once you understand us, things will be back to normal." Jackson said cheerily.

"Umm… Thanks I guess?" Harry said, unsure of whether he had been done a favor or not.

"Welcome kid. And here we are," he finished the statement with a shove to a pair of doors. On the other side was a room the size of the great hall, but with many more tables. The room was completely empty, again thanks to Jackson.

On the far end, Harry could make out what seemed to be a self service aisle. But, Jackson instead steered him to the nearest chair and sat him down. Then, he moved to get Harry the food he promised. Harry, meanwhile, took his time to look around. He realized that the tables were all metal, as were the chairs that were there. The room itself was rather bring and cheery, sunshine streaming in from the many windows along one wall. Looking back, he saw the door he entered from, a large wooden one. Along the wall opposite the windows, there was another pair of doors. They looked the same as the ones he enter through, except that they were huge. It looked like three people Jackson's size could fit through with ease.

While he was absorbing his surroundings, Jackson had already reached the food. Grabbing a plate, he piled it on with a few items that he chose carefully. Satisfied with his choices, he turned and walked back to where his rather skinny charge was seated. He thought back over the information they had on the kid. None of it was nice to know, especially his first ten years with the Dursley's. He mused to himself whether he should tell the kid of his relatives' fate, before deciding against it. It would be best kept for later.

Jackson reached back to where Harry was sitting, and put the plate in front of him.

"Eat up, it may not be to your standards, but it won't kill you either," he said with a wink.

Harry did so with gusto. He never realized how hungry he was before then, and was now out to remedy the matter. Jackson smiled seeing Harry devour the food in front of him. The kid looked starved in his opinion, and he planned to take care of that, regardless of what the council voted. Speaking of which,

"Harry, I'll be back in a bit. Just need to have a quick word with a friend"

"Yeah… Sure," the response came between bites.

Not entirely sure that Harry heard him, Jackson left anyway. He needed to get word to the council before Harry got there.

Harry was oblivious to his companion's actions. The food on his plate was disappearing down his gullet at high speed. Nothing special, just some rice and gravy; but it filled him well, and tasted nice. Scraping his spoon across the plate, he scooped up the last grain of rice and popped it into his mouth. Swallowing, he sat back content.

Just as he was about to start thinking again, he heard the door open behind him. Thinking it was Jackson, he got up to greet him. Harry turned, smiling, and was about to speak, when he saw the face of the new arrival. Harry could recognize that face anywhere. His eyes narrowed to slits, and suddenly both of them were standing with their wands drawn and ready to fight.

"Potter, what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same, Malfoy."

The two rivals glared at each other, raising their wands simultaneously. Suddenly, a voice roared from across the room.

"PUT THOSE WANDS AWAY OR YOU'LL BOTH BE SERVED FOR DINNER!"

Both boys jumped and turned to see who had spoken. Entering from the other door was Jackson, with a rather smug look on his face. Beside him was another man, about the same size, with a look of fury on his face. Neither boy moved.

"Harry, do as he says," Jackson said calmly. Harry twitched his wand, then turned to look at Malfoy again. The two stared into each others' eyes, before Malfoy nodded.

"On three Potter"

"Fine, one"

"Two"

"Three," they said together, both slowly moving their wands away simultaneously. Jackson sighed in relief. He was worried the two would kill each other before all explanations could be given.

"Harry, come on," Jackson said, "You will get all your answers now".

Never taking his eyes off Malfoy, Harry complied. Once they were in the hallway, Harry turned on Jackson.

"Why the hell is Malfoy here? And who was that?"

"That was Dave, a good friend of mine," replied Jackson, "He really hates infighting. As for why Malfoy is here, you will find out soon enough."

Harry nodded, unconvinced. A million thoughts were running through his head, but he kept them there. Jackson stopped Harry in front of a large door.

"Harry, you are about to meet the council. On my request, they look like me for now, but they will show their wings when the time comes."

Harry nodded, still uncertain.

"Okay. Anything else?"

"Yes. We have a pretty good intelligence network, so don't be surprised if we know something."

Jackson moved to open the door before he paused and turned back to.

"One last piece of advice, speak your mind. Give your thoughts and ask your questions the moment they come up. Any confusion now will lead to a host of problems later."

"Uh, okay I think I can do that"

"Now, are you ready?"

Harry took a deep breath to steady himself.

"Yeah"

"Then let's go"

Jackson turned, pushed the door open, and walked straight into the room. Harry blinked, steeled himeself, then followed.