A/N: And here be another chapter, yay! Thank you all for reading so far, and I hope that you enjoy this chapter as well. I'm getting into the main art of the story and soon we will be seeing more of my lot idea. Not sure how it will turn out, but I am optimistic. Please continue to review as well, it really does mean a lot to me knowing what others think.
Oh, and in case I forgot to mention this... I do not own anything my my strange imagination.
I should also mention that I have no beta, so if something is wrong let me know and if it is something huge I might fix it, if not it gives the story character. (ie. I'm too lazy to fix it...)
3: The Unexpected Rescuer
Contrary to popular belief, Pixies are highly intelligent creatures that could rival a human for brain power. It is just in their nature to appear to be more animalistic. Not to mention that they were not human. It was that fact alone made it s that witches and wizards didn't think twice about if they were intelligent beings or not. Another thing that most did not know about them was that, though their own are smaller than a wizards and more focused towards chaos, they have their own magical cores that they could use for what they will.
Discord was not exception to those rules. He knew that his human as preparing for something, and he knew that it was in his best interest to be ready for whatever was going to come. That was how he knew that he had to do something when he felt the world stop spinning while coming out of the vortex of wild energy. The whirling had opened the bag enough for the pixie to open it a bit more with magic and get out and help his human.
What he saw when he had finally got out had not boded well for Harry. The boy was tied up with a greasy looking man standing over him who was wearing a tunic and trousers. The man also had a sword strapped to his hip and a little ways away there was a horse settled and weighed down with bags. The fellow seemed to smile at Harry's predicament, showing rotted teeth. He did not seem like a good type of person to Discord. The Pixie also was reminded of the words that they had shared with the Basilisk, and so he knew in his heart that they had travailed through time as she had told them they would.
Then there was the look of his human. Harry had long ago passed out, but that was not the most worrying thing. No, the thing that was most worrying was the fact that he was still bleeding and hurt. The clothes around him here torn to shreds. Discord knew that his human, his Harry needed help right then and there.
Thinking fast, Discord dove back into the bag and opened Hedwig's cage, speaking to her in his twittering voice the plan that he had made. Then he rocketed out of there to search for help. He knew that he needed to find something that would help. He and Hedwig alone were too small to do everything. They needed help.
As Discord went to find help, Hedwig had flown out of her cage and the bag and had started to beat her wing at the bandit; forcing him back and away from her hatchling, her wizard.
Discord, meanwhile had found what he had been looking for in record time. A herd of unicorns had come to investigate not only the large amount of wild magic that had been used, but the magic call of one that had been blessed by one of them. It was beyond rare that a unicorn blessed a human, and so when it did happen, all unicorns that could feel the blessing would count the human as one of their own.
The pixie had gone to them, and after a few short chirps the majestic horses were running to help the blessed child they had been told about. The fact that it was a child that had been in danger and a blessed put the boy at the position of a foal of the herd. They would do everything in their power to protect their little druid.
Hedwig had been retreating from the man when the herd of unicorns came through the underbrush and seemed to form a circle around Harry. The largest, the leader of the herd bowed his head and pawed the ground as he faced the man that had harmed one of their druids. He was the protector, and as such he defended his herd from everything. And as he did there was no stain on his soul for doing so as well. That was the will of the lead unicorn. A death caused by protecting the herd never stained them. Their purity never wavered.
The man did not run, instead there came an unholy gleam in his eyes before drawing his sword against the mythical beast before him; intending to kill the unicorns. His fate sealed, the leader of the herd charged and the beautiful silver horn went through the man. Not a moment later the man collapsed to the ground, dead.
The unicorn then rose to his impressive height, all white and stained in blood. The image itself could strike both awe and fear into someone's heart.
One of the lesser unicorns took the time to cut the ropes around Harry while Discord rushed over to the human and hoped that he was alright. Using his chaos magic, the little pixie transfigured the clothes of the boy so that they were matching the time and style that the other man was wearing. The only thing that remained the same was the tears and the blood that had soaked into the fabric. Only, now that the colors were brighter, Discord could tell that Harry had lost more blood than he had originally thought.
Looking up to the unicorns for help, he was surprised to know that they did know of a place not too far where magicals lived. The unicorns had a high regard for the wizards that lived there it seemed. So Discord gave a few chirps and twitters before helping Harry onto the back of the herd leader and letting them lead himself and Hedwig to the place where their human would be safe.
Of course, that was after the pixie had taken the bag with everything in it and tied it to the leg of the owl. If they lost that Harry would be devastated, and they both knew that. Also, the prospect of the little dragon still sang to them. A sister, almost.
A man with dark hair that fell in waves just past his shoulder and eyes of dull green looked up to a man with red hair and blue eyes incredulously. "You know that Rowena is going to take over the curriculum as soon as she gets back, so what is the actual point in getting the syllabus ready?" The second man whined as he tried to take the paper from under the others hand.
"Godric, you know as well as I do that I make my one plans. Let Rowena make your plans up, I could care less, but I will not let someone else tell me what to teach to my students." The man hissed at the other.
The newly dubbed Godric sighed before saying "Gods, Salazar, you need to get your priorities in order. You are what, nineteen this year? The youngest of the four of us, and yet you almost tie with Helga on maturity. To think, the second year of Hogwarts is here and we still are running around like chickens with our heads cut off. Why can't you just act like a normal teenager for once?"
"Oh, is that why you dragged me out here to the Gryffindor Manor? And here I thought you had finally come to understand my need for peace and quiet. Looks like I will jut continue to wish on that." Salazar answered snidely. Of course it was mostly in good humor once you took away the layer of annoyance that he put into his words.
Before the other could reply, the flapping of wings and loud squeaking brought both wizards to their feet as they saw a blue pixie flying towards them as if it had a dog nipping at its wings. Both had also unconsciously put their hands onto their blades to ready themselves for an attack. It wouldn't have surprised the men if it had been something that had posed more danger to them than a pixie. Not all in their world were open to the idea of having a school that welcomed all young magical people into it without caring about the family they came from.
They watched perplexed as the creature squeaked and pointed towards the back door of the manor and repeating the move. The panic and urgency that they could see clearly in the wide eyes of the pixie was hitting a string inside both of their hearts.
"I do believe that he wants us to follow him outside." Godric muttered as he took his hand from his sword.
Salazar rolled his eyes as he replied "You really think so? And here I thought it just wanted to come in and have tea." The green eyed man had not taken his hands off of his daggers, and was instead ready at any moment to spring into an attack if the situation merited it.
"No need for tone, Salazar, I was merely stating what I saw. In any event I purpose we follow it." The man said to his friend. It was clear that he didn't take the rude comments too seriously.
With careful steps, the two men carefully strode forward and towards the door of the manor while the pixie tried his hardest to get the two men to move faster, even if his attempts were clearly not working at all. And once they were outside, the two wizards could not contain the gasp that came to the both of them.
Standing in front of them was a circle of unicorns around what looked to be an unconscious child. Not only was that, but the biggest of the unicorns clearly stood tall stained in blood. Such a pure and innocent being was stained in blood from killing another living thing for the sake of a human. The simple thought left both men's mouths dry and their eyes wide. Seeing that the unicorn was still poised to protect, Salazar removed his hand from his daggers and showed his palms to the creatures.
"Salazar," Godric started only to stop again with eyes studying the boy at the center of the circle.
"I know." The other man said as he inched closer to the herd. Then he spoke towards the animals as he said "I will heal and look after the boy. All I ask is that you allow me to. I will even give him a place at our school should he be magical."
The unicorn gave him a long look before he bowed his head in recognition and whinnied once to his herd before they galloped off into the woods. Once they were gone, Salazar rushed forward to the boy and was alarmed at what he saw. There were small cuts and abrasions all over the boy who looked too small and thin. Then he could see that the boy was freely bleeding from a leg wound that seemed to be a bit of some kind, a poisonous one if the puss coming from the wound was any indication.
"Help me get him into the medical wing. This might take a while to heal." He called up to his companion. With his help, they got the boy into the house and onto a bed before Salazar began to shove potions into him and cast healing charms. He was surprisingly good at playing healer, even if he was not nearly as good as Helga when it came to such things.
When my eyes finally opened again the first thing that I could feel was a kind of fog that seemed to surround my mind and make my body sluggish. I was having a hard time remembering much of anything that had happened. In fact I could just barely remember getting ready to enter the maze before the adrenaline started and everything was fuzzy at that point.
"I would very much like to know where one as young as yourself would have encountered an Acromantula." A strong voice quested from somewhere to my right.
I jumped and tried to stand only for the fuzzy feeling to kick in and force me back to the bed with a groan. Everything was sore, and I could still feel a slight itching sensation on my leg where the giant spider had bitten me. I was also made aware of the heavy blanket that had at some point been draped over me and that was now tangled around me from hen I had tried to get up suddenly.
Looking up, I saw that there was a man not too much older than myself looking down at me with an impassive expression and an expectant eyebrow raised at me. Such an expression was one that I could hardly believe would have worked together unless I had seen it. Then again, It was also something that was surprising to see outside of my potions classroom. It took my mind a slow second to realize that he had asked me a question.
"Not by choice, I assure you. I didn't realize there was one in the forest when I was running." I answered with about half of the truth mingling my words. There was no way I was about to explain it all. That was also around the time that I noticed his attire. The man was wearing a tunic of all things. Not just that, but the look of him spoke of a different time period. It was so bizarre that it reminded me of a conversation I had with Mater at one point. And just like that the rest of the fuzz went away and I remembered what it was that happened.
Instinctively I curled in on myself as I remembered intercepting the killing curse that was meant for Cedric. The scream and the wild magic also resonated in my memory. I should have died. No, I should be dead by now. This was too much. My body had started to rock without me realizing it.
"Hey, hey, calm down." The man suddenly said as his eyes widened and he reached out instinctively to the boy. It was clear that the man had not been expecting that to happen and was equally unsure of how to react. "Can you give me your name?" The voice pressed.
"H-Hadrian Black," I answered while remembering the words spoken with the basilisk. My breath was still coming out raggedly and it was clear that shock had a good chance at settling in.
"Alright Hadrian, can you tell me how old you are and where you are from? Perhaps if there is any family I can get in touch with?" A new man asked. My head snapped up to look at the new arrival that I had not even noticed was in the room. His overall looks reminded me a lot of what Bill Weasely looked like, only he was far more rugged and strong it seemed.
"I'm almost fifteen and I-" I paused thinking about what I needed to say. I really didn't know how to answer where I came from. There was no answer that would fit in this time frame. But there was the truth that I could spew, maybe they would allow me to ignore the middle question based on the answer to the last. "I have no blood relations left. My parents died when I was still small and I have no way to know where the others of the family are. Most, if not all, are dead." I answered in an impossibly small voice while not looking up at either man. Fear seemed to course through me as I thought about what I was going to do now that I was back here with nothing.
Unknown to me, the two men had traded looks before the first one picked up my wand from the bed side table and presented it to me as he said "This, I believe is yours?"
My head snapped up at the feel of my wand so close and I slowly reached out to grab it, hoping beyond hope that the man would simply give it to me and that if he was a muggle that he would not ask about it. As soon as my hand touched the wood I felt it warm in greeting as my magic once again connected to it.
"Thought as much," the redhead said with a nod of his head.
"What my companion means, young wizard, is that if you have nowhere to stay, we have a school in mind that would gladly take you in and see to it that your schooling is either started or continued." The man closest to me said while shooting the other one a dark look that promised nothing good if he kept running his mouth.
"What kind of a school?' I asked with suspicious eyes.
"One of magic of course," the redhead said with a large grin and enthusiasm that was not expected on one such as him. It was almost scary the amount of emotion that the man seemed to put into that one sentence. He reminded me of a golden retriever for a moment as he was just that enthusiastic about everything.
The other man sighed before saying "The school is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It is open to any and all that have need to learn magic. If you are willing to come with us."
I was not sure how to answer at first. I did want to go back to Hogwarts, but I needed to speak with Hedwig and Discord before anything else. I could feel them somewhere close by, but I could not see them. There was no way that I was going to jump into anything without speaking to them first.
"I wish to see my familiars first. I can feel them nearby." I answered while looking from one man to the other.
"The pixie and owl I presume?" The first asked and when I nodded he said "That would explain their insistence of staying here and of asking our help. One moment and we will bring them here."
They left me alone then, but not for long. A few seconds after and the door was opened to admit the pixie and owl. Being careful to only speak in English I said "Hedwig, Discord, you're alright." I couldn't stop the sight of relief that rushed through me as that realization sunk in.
"Of course you silly hatchling, as if I would have that much trouble." Hedwig replied with a superior air about her. I couldn't stop the laugh that come to me while watching her preen under the ministrations my fingers were giving her as I stroked her feathers. I noticed that she had my bag tied around her leg and had to physically stop myself from sighing in relief. It wouldn't so to give away all of my secrets this early.
"I was so worried about you! You were bleeding and unconscious, and I didn't know what to do! If it weren't for the unicorns I don't think you would be in nearly as good of a condition as you are now!" Discord squeaked and twittered as he seemed to fly around to inspect every inch of me that he could see. The silly little pixie had obviously worked himself up into a panic over my well being.
"Thank you for getting help. I don't know what would have happened without it." I sighed at the two. I was aware of the eyes from the two men, but I really did not want to think about them at the moment. They were offering me a chance to go back to Hogwarts, but was that where I needed to be? Mater had said to follow my heart, but I was so tired that I didn't even know what my heart wanted at the moment.
"Little hatchling, go to the castle again. I know as well as you that it was your home. Go, and we will follow. We would follow you anywhere, Harry." Hedwig said in such a mothering tone that it was almost hard not to bow to her wishes.
"Have you made up your mind, Hadrian?" The first man asked.
"I think that it would be best if I went to the school you mentioned, if it isn't a problem, but fist, before I go, could I know your names? You seem to know more about me than I know of you at this time." I answered in a way that would attempt to show how uncomfortable I was with this situation. I was with strangers, relying on them for help, and I still did not know their names.
The man with the red hair seemed to burst from excitement at that before he all but yelled "An excellent choice! We will be honored to have you. Of course it is not a problem, for we are both founders of the school along with two others. I am Grodric Gryffindor, and this is my esteemed colleague and friend, Salazar Slytherin!"
My breath stilled for a moment. My brain rushed to and fro to try and get what I was thinking into order. Before me stood two out of four of the Hogwarts founders, Gryffindor and Slytherin. And they had both probably just saved my life.
Gryffindor was the one who reminded me of a golden retriever mixed with my friend Ron's eldest brother. And Slytherin that was I had been led to believe was a muggle hating extremist who had been fist to suggest that I come to the school that they had both helped to create.
I studied them again. Godric clearly was all muscle as he clapped his hands similar to the ways that the twins might have while panning an excessively evil prank. Something about him screamed Warrior as an unfamiliar sword was strapped to his waist and he looked as if he was ready at any moment to protect what he thought needed protecting.
Salazar was quite different; he seemed to have the grace of a snake that he had taken on as the symbol of his house. But there was a lethal edge ready to strike if you did something wrong. He seemed younger than the other man, and much more trim in his muscle mass. Whereas I would say that Gryffindor would go head first into a battle, Slytherin seemed to be the one who would take a more logical approach and analyze everything before striking where one would expect him the least.
Of course I knew that some of those thoughts came from the fact that I was biased about the two from the history that I had heard of them both, but it did seem to fit in some places.
Right there and then I decided that I would scrap whatever I had heard of them before and that I would form my own conclusions. History, after all, was written by the victors.
"Could you tell me more about this school?" I asked with a bit of trepidation.
Godric almost instantly went into a long winded account of everything about the school while Salazar took the time to examine me with a fine toothed comb. It was clear that he was deep in thought as he did so as well.
A/N: And there you have it. Thank you all for reading, and I hope that you will review and fav and follow some more. Let me know what you think!