As promised your Tuesday update, see I can stick to a deadline! I do apologize though for the length, I was trying so hard to get 2,000 words but I just couldn't this week as I had to prepare for a very bug presentation (worth 20% of my final grade, don't you just love college?). But I promise I will try harder to meet that goal next week!
For those who don't know this story is also located on archieveofourown under /works/1023628 I update there the same time I update here.
Also! If you find any mistakes, tell me so I can fix them!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, but I do play with it to my heart's content.
Enjoy the chapter my lovely loyal readers!
Chapter 3
On swift wings
Hedwig flew swiftly, her wings catching the wind and letting it carry her through the trees. Her golden eyes were wide and all seeing, her dedication to her mission made it so. Her human needed a protector, and a protector she will find. She wouldn't let another harm what was hers to protect. Hedwig was intelligent and she was very skilled at her job, never before was she unable to locate the person her human sent her to and as such it will not be a problem for her to find a worthy protector.
There.
Angling her body slightly to the left she dived through the tree tops and swerved around bothersome branches to get to her goal. A wolf not like the sick man-wolf; this one wasn't tamed. His body untainted by the poison the sick man-wolf gave himself out of a misguided attempt to protect himself and those around him.
When she finally reached him the wolf-man was surrounded by others throwing colorful lights at him. They were not like him, they weren't wolves as well as man. Hedwig thought them similar to the annoying orange howler monkey that always tries to squish her human when she sees him, or even the man with two faces that taught her human the winter before last.
The wolf-man defended himself well against so many opponents. Jumping and weaving his way around the colorful lights to getting close enough to rip the throat of his foe out with his claws. Blood was pooling on the ground, making the area slick with mud and giving the air a slight metallic scent. Silver hair tainted pink trailed behind the wolf like a flag as he danced between one opponent and the next, cries following wherever he went. Before long only two enemies were left. The one closest to her looked at the massacre around him before apparating away to safety, leaving his comrade to face the wolf-man alone.
Gracefully Hedwig landed on the nearest branch in front of the wolf-man as he took care of the last enemy. The wolf-man stood at roughly six-foot-three, his shoulders were broad enough that should she choose to Hedwig would easily be able to land comfortably on them. He was strong, strong enough to protect her human should he choose to.
Fenrir took in the snowy owl as he pulled his claws from his latest victim, the last of the squadron of aurors that thought that they would be able to bring in the infamous Fenrir Greyback with half their regular numbers. Throwing the cooling body away from him; he carefully stalked over towards the owl. Conscious of the fact that he knew of no one that would want to get into contact with him, nor of any with a snowy owl at their disposal.
"Now what do we have here?" Reaching a hand out to pet the snowy owls feathers, stopping as golden eyes narrowed in on the limb, still covered in the gore of his latest victims. Fenrir chuckled darkly. "What, don't want your precious feathers dirtied?"
The owl clucked once in agreement before spreading her wings, launching herself in the air only to circle around to land on his shoulders. Once settled the owl started to groom him, picking at strands of his hair to rearrange them to her satisfaction, clucking over the mess.
"Your one brave bird, I'll give you that." Fenrir said amusement coloring his voice. Slowly to not startle the snowy owl, Fenrir brought his cleaner hand closer to the intelligent creature, gently running his fingers through her feathers. Giving one last hoot, the satisfied snowy owl launched into the air. Circling over him before landing on the branch of a nearby tree.
"Let me guess, you want me to follow you now?" A single hoot was his answer, bright golden eyes remained fixated on him, waiting for him to follow. Fenrir smirked, slowly making his way to the bird.
"Very well Lassie, lead the way."
Time passed slowly as Hedwig led Fenrir to where her human slept. She set a steady pace, launching herself from her perch to settle on her next chosen branch whenever Fenrir was only a handful of trees away from her. They made good progress, reaching her human's resting area before the sun could finish its daily descent.
Fenrir stopped just short of the small clearing her human rested in, taking in the sight of the young man the snowy owl led him to. He was small, he couldn't be taller than five-foot-six at the most. He could possibly have a runner's build, however it was hard to tell with how gaunt the young man was. His pale skin, high cheekbones, and pointed chin gave precedence to aristocratic roots, while his thread bare clothing and general appearance suggested poverty. An illegitimate child of a noble?
He couldn't be a muggle, muggles weren't able to come this far into the forest. The protective magic of the forest wouldn't allow it. Carefully Fenrir sniffed the air. He couldn't be magical being, he didn't give off the distinctive scent most beings gave off. That meant he was a wizard or at least his bloodline was predominately wizard. His scent was clean, like morning dew and freshly cut grass. It wasn't covered by the tang of ozone, cologne, or potions used by most wizards to be presentable.
Auburn highlights stood in stark contrast against black in the fading sunlight, his hair was all over the place as if he woke up and just didn't bother to brush it. Walking closer to the sleeping youth Fenrir took in as much as he could. Narrow face, slim nose, full rosy lips, aristocratic feature; he looked tense even in sleep, as if waiting for an attack. His breathing was labored, as if he was only breathing with one lung.
"Your human?" Fenrir asked gruffly, coming to a stop in front of the youth. He was beautiful, even as broken as he obviously was. He was lucky that someone with less… scrupulous morals hadn't found him already. Fenrir was a murder, a sadist, and most of all a hunter, but he never took someone to bed who didn't want to be there. Kid's lucky it was me the bird found and not some other wolf.
"Suppose you want me to help him?" Fenrir turned back to the bird, mostly for a reason to take his eyes off of the enchanting sight before him. The snowy owl just hooted once in annoyance, as if he was supposed to already know what he was needed for. Fenrir snorted at the thought. Damn bird.
Before he could think it over further Fenrir gently gathered the young man in his arms. Sanding easily, the youth barely weighing anything at all. Shuffling the youth in his arms to a more comfortable position, he looked over at the smug looking bird. Jerking his head in towards the west, Fenrir started walking.
"Come on Lassie. We have quite a walk ahead of us."
