The Earth Phoenix
by Healer Teddylonglong
All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.
COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC.
It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it. If you don't like it, don't read it.
Reviews are very welcome, as they inspire my muse. Thank you very much for your kind comments on the previous chapter!
Part III – Phoenix Land
Harry slowly transformed back into his human form, noticing that he felt very tired from burrow-flashing.
"You need to practise more, then it'll become easier," Hogwarts told him, seeing him yawn.
"Well, I have time enough," Harry replied, smirking, "and that seems like a good way to spend the summer holidays."
However, before he could even decide where to burrow-flash, Professor McGonagall stood in the connecting door to her quarters. "Harry, may I come in for a moment?" she asked, sounding much friendlier than she had been during the school year. "I have your books for your second year in case you want to study."
Harry thanked the professor profusely and spent the next two weeks eagerly completing his summer assignments and reading his new books. 'Ah, I wish the new school year was going to begin soon,' he thought, 'but it's only the start of July. Still I'm very lucky that I don't have to return to the Dursleys' ever again.'
"Harry!" Hogwarts' voice pulled him out of his musings. "Why don't you go burrow-flashing? Don't flash all the time though, just move around, child. Take a look at the earth. Gwendolyn told me it's absolute amazing down there. She used to spend a lot of time in the earth."
"But how do I just move without flashing?" Harry asked, unsurely.
The castle chuckled. "That's for you to find out, little one. I never asked her, because I had no intention of trying a thing like that. I can imagine that it must be somehow similar to flying though."
"Oh well, I understand," Harry said, shaking his head at the image of a flying or digging castle that popped up in his mind.
"Be careful though," Hogwarts continued. "Do not transform back, while you're in the earth. It could be life threatening if you were in your human form."
Harry agreed and slowly stepped towards the soft end of the corridor, where he transformed into his phoenix form and took a deep breath to calm down and get rid of a slight anxiousness, before he burrow-flashed, thinking, 'To some place inside the earth, where I can see something interesting or meet other phoenixes.'
In a small wave of mud, he burrow-flashed away, ending up in what seemed like a small chamber. However, there was no window, and the walls and everything else consisted of earth and mud. Small paths led from the different sides of the chamber in various directions. 'Where am I?' he wondered, taking in all kinds of sounds, of which he could not make out any meaning. 'This is strange,' he thought. 'It's supposed to be completely dark here without any sunlight or artificial light; however, I can still see everything.' He noticed several different kinds of small animals that were crossing the room, running around as if they were chasing each other or just sitting in a corner, having some kind of conversation. Harry could not recognize any of the animals. 'They're all brown, just with patterns in other colours, but they're still pretty,' he thought, looking around with amazement.
All of a sudden, a voice, which he could understand, penetrated his mind.
#Hi there, who are you? A new earth phoenix? I've never seen you before.#
Harry couldn't help smiling at the female phoenix that took a few jumps, landing right in front of him. She seemed to be an earth phoenix like him, but her wings had a beautiful pink colour with purple back wings.
#Hello,# he said shyly. #I'm Harry, and it's the first time I came here.#
#Ohho,# the other phoenix said, smiling. #Have you already been to the earth phoenix land?#
#The earth phoenix land?# Harry repeated in surprise. #No, I just only came here for the first time. Usually, I live together with humans, but now we are on summer holidays, so….#
#So you thought you might explore the earth for a while,# the girl interrupted him, chuckling. #Very well then, let me take you on a tour.#
#All right, but how?# Harry gave her an uncertain look.
Again, the pink phoenix chuckled. #Just leave everything to me. I know the earth very well. I've been living here for a long time. Just stay put and leave everything to me.# With that she laid her beautiful wings around Harry, so that they completely covered the smaller phoenix, and burrow-flashed them both away.
地球の鳥
If Harry had been surprised at the small chamber, he now could not believe his eyes. He found himself in a seemingly infinite, large room. The room was equally surrounded by earth and mud; however, it was so bright that he instinctively searched for a hole, through which the sunrays were streaming in. However, he could not spot any hole leading out of the earth. Only small openings in the walls led to paths like those going out from the chamber that he had visited earlier. Thousands of phoenixes like himself were flying or walking around, obviously having fun. The air was full of their happy trills. Harry could see many tiny lakes that looked extremely inviting to him, and here and there he recognised bowls with phoenix treats, which seemed absolutely delicious.
#This is the earth phoenix land,# the girl explained gently. #You may do as you wish, eat and bathe, fly around...#
#Excuse me,# Harry blurted out, #why is it so bright here?#
His companion chuckled again. #That's magic. We earth phoenixes have a good connection to the sun, and she always supplies us with enough of her light. To show our gratefulness and respect, the earth phoenixes slowly move the earth in an ellipse around the sun.#
#Really? That's the earth phoenixes' doing?# Harry asked in surprise. 'Wow; they're really amazing,' he thought, feeling very happy to have found a new friend in form of a phoenix.
Before Harry knew what happened, they were surrounded by several dozen of earth phoenixes that came to welcome their guest.
#Where do you come from? You're not an original earth phoenix,# one of the older birds asked, giving Harry a sharp look.
Harry uncertainly glanced at his pink friend, who gave him an encouraging nod, before he hesitantly explained about himself. #I hope you don't mind,# he added, anxiously observing the others.
#Of course not,# one of the phoenixes replied in a gentle voice. #You're a proper earth phoenix, and that's all that matters.#
#Gwendolyn, you must be thrilled,# a very friendly looking light orange phoenix addressed Harry's friend. #Now you're not the only phoenix with human traits anymore.#
#Yes, I am very happy having Harry here,# Gwendolyn replied, happily fluffing her feathers in excitement.
'Gwendolyn? Like in Gwendolyn Gryffindor?' Harry mused, eyeing his friend with interest. However, he decided not to question the girl. 'If she was Gwendolyn Gryffindor, she would certainly tell me so. Apart from that, the Gwendolyn from Hogwarts must be about one thousand years old by now, and my friend doesn't look that old.'
地球の鳥
During the next few weeks, Harry became used to living in the earth phoenix land and enjoyed himself immensely. He became friends with other young birds, and they spent the whole day playing together. He absolutely loved bathing in mud and splashing around in one of the small lakes afterwards. Gwendolyn was always nearby, and they had much fun together. In the evenings, the older phoenixes often told the younger ones interesting stories, for example, from their experiences in the human world. Sometimes, they even made fun of phoenixes, who were permanently residing in the human word, like for example Fawkes, who was, although a fire phoenix, well known as a mischief maker among the earth phoenixes.
Harry inwardly chuckled. The first time that he had met Fawkes had been a year ago, shortly after he had come to Hogwarts, when Fawkes was playing a prank on Peeves, the totally annoying Poltergeist of Hogwarts. At first, Harry had been very apprehensive upon learning that the fire phoenix was the headmaster's familiar; however, Fawkes had reassured him that he wouldn't tell anyone about Harry's identity and his presence at Hogwarts. During the school year, Harry had not had much time to transform and go flying, but Fawkes had visited Harry a few times, when he was alone in his own rooms, and the two phoenixes had become good friends.
'Speaking of Fawkes, isn't it time for me to return to Hogwarts?' Harry suddenly thought, feeling completely terrified as realisation set in. Glancing at Gwendolyn and the other members of his new phoenix family, he played with the thought of just remaining in the earth phoenix land. Later, when he was alone with Gwendolyn, he told her about his idea, and his friend scolded him vehemently.
#No Harry, you can't give up everything just to remain in your phoenix form forever,# she said sternly. #Don't you think your friends were going to miss you terribly? Can't you imagine how bored you'd going to become after a few years seeing nothing but the inside of the earth?#
#Hmmm, maybe,# Harry admitted in a small voice, #but...# He slowly trailed off, sadly looking at the girl.
Gwendolyn chuckled. #I know. You're dreading the separation from me.# Seeing the terrified look she received from Harry, she explained, #No, little one, I am not a Legilimens like Salazar Slytherin was, but I can sense your feelings, and please believe me if I tell you that I love you very much. In fact, I believe that you're my many times great grandson...#
#You're Gwendolyn Gryffindor,# Harry breathed, excitedly flapping his wings.
Gwendolyn smiled. #Yes, and I'll tell you something. I will accompany you to Hogwarts and stay with you during the school year. How's that?#
Harry stared at his friend in shock. #Really? Would you come with me?# he finally queried, unable to belief his luck.
#No problem,# Gwendolyn replied lightly, fluffing her wings. #Come with me. Let's check what date we have,# she said resolutely, turning to one of the holes in the wall.
'Where are we going now?' Harry wondered but obediently followed his friend and great grandmother. It was only a short trip, before they reached another room that Harry had not seen before, although Gwendolyn had already taken him to many interesting spots within the earth. The room was completely empty except for a huge device that consisted of many gears of all sizes. #What is this?# he asked, curiously.
Gwendolyn smiled fondly at the younger phoenix. #This is the earth clock,# she then explained and, pointing her left foot to some numbers that were displayed at the bottom of the device, she announced, #Today is August 20, 1992, and it is 3:26 p.m. Luckily, the time displayed here is exactly the same as the time at Hogwarts.#
#So school is going to begin in ten days,# Harry said in surprise. #I didn't think that already so much time passed since I came here.#
#Time always flies in the earth phoenix land, because it's so agreeable here,# Gwendolyn replied, smiling in understanding.
The two earth phoenixes spent one more day at the earth phoenix land, mainly to say good-bye to their friends and promise to come back as soon as the school year ended next summer, before they burrow-flashed back to Harry's rooms at Hogwarts.
#Ah, it's a strange feeling to be here again after such a long time,# Gwendolyn trilled, looking around with excitement. #Everything seems just as it was when I lived here.#
#Excuse me, Gwendolyn, but why is it that you left Hogwarts and didn't come back even once?# Harry asked curiously.
To his surprise, the older phoenix let out a long sigh, looking at him with a sad expression. #Harry, do you know how old I am?# she finally trilled. #I am almost one thousand years old, and if I transformed back into my human form, I would die instantly. Of course I could live here in my phoenix form, but no one would be able to understand me, not even Hogwarts. Now however, you are here, and being an earth phoenix yourself you'll be able to communicate with me, even if you're in your human form. Apart from that, I think that I'm going to bond to you if you don't mind. That way I'll be able to accompany you even into Slytherin and your dormitory.#
#Oh right, that would be so cool,# Harry replied in surprise. 'I didn't even think of that,' he mused, before a thought crossed his mind. #Gwendolyn, do you know how to bond with me, or do we need anyone to help us?#
His great grandmother did not reply; however, all of a sudden, Harry noticed a feeling of warmth and happiness spread through his body and instinctively knew that Gwendolyn had bonded to him.
'Can you hear me?' her soft voice penetrated his mind.
'Yes,' Harry thought back. 'Are we now able to communicate through telepathy? This is just amazing.'
'Yes, but don't think I'm going to help you with your tests,' Gwendolyn informed him, sounding much sterner. 'You will have to study even more diligently now that I'm watching you. Now I suggest that you don't tell anyone about my identity and just introduce me to those, who know that you're here, as your familiar.'
Harry agreed and slowly transformed into his human form. 'Somehow it feels strange after being a bird for two months,' he thought, looking up to Gwendolyn, who was now sitting on top of a cupboard, eyeing him with clear amusement.
#Oh my, you're a handsome little one,# she trilled, before she was interrupted by Hogwarts' voice.
"Harry and... oh my, you brought Gwendolyn back here," the castle said, sounding enthusiastic. "Gwendolyn, how dare you just leave and not come back for so many years? I thought we were best friends."
Gwendolyn quickly trilled a reply, which Harry translated for the castle, who protested vehemently. "It doesn't matter if I can understand your words, Gwendolyn. I know that by now you can't transform back anymore. But I'd just be glad to hear your trills every now and then, and alone by the sound of these I can tell if you're happy or not," Hogwarts said in a soft voice.
For a few minutes, Harry interpreted a conversation between Gwendolyn and Hogwarts, before he walked to the connecting door to Professor McGonagall's quarters and hesitantly knocked at the door.
A mere instant later, he was called in and carefully opened the door. "I'm sorry to disturb you, Professor," he began to talk, however interrupted himself upon noticing that the professor was together with Madam Hooch and Madam Pomfrey, who were gathered around the fireplace, looking as if they were ready to kill someone.
