In Loving Memory of My Father

J.A. White

1951-2012

Without his influence, this story (and many others) would never have come to be.

Disclaimer: I do not own a fair amount of the characters depicted in this story, although I will claim a few as my own. I hope you enjoy my takes on those both canon and original.


Language Key:

"English"

"Avantas" – This is the language all creatures use to communicate with each other


Heron was quickly finding out that Hogwarts, the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was no ordinary castle. Not that he had been to many castles before. His only experience with the buildings came from visiting Lord Tepes' castle in the forest, which apparently was rather plain in comparison. This castle, on the other hand, was not only enormous in structure but was home to a vast variety of magical beings and items. The doors would sometimes open of their own accord, candles floated to give off light, and staircases would move between levels.

After the group finished discussing the basics of Heron's enrollment in the small cozy room, the human Alpha Dumbledore stood and motioned for everyone to follow him. Heron assumed that at this point he would begin his testing. He wondered what would be required of him. Maybe he would have to fight one of them to be considered part of the pack…Slowly, he begin to eye the beta, looking for weaknesses.

The man, despite his gangly body structure, actually seemed to possess a decent amount of muscle. The way he held himself also seemed to indicate a strong ego, possibly the result of knowing he had a hidden weapon? Heron paused for a moment on the stairs they were walking across, and let a small slip of his magic loose. It brushed against the black haired beta, reading his magic levels. It was supposed to be discrete.

Apparently, the beta was stronger and more tuned in that Heron expected. The group, that had continued walking for a few paces while Heron paused, suddenly stopped as the beta whipped around. His eyes narrowed in shards of obsidian as he stared at Heron. His words, though the wild boy couldn't understand, were venomous.

The wisp of magic returned and the brunette shivered. His magic levels were high…and it was very cold tasting. He tilted his head back, looking at the man down his nose. A part of Heron said he could take the beta on.

"Heron, what in the world are you doing? You were just accepted here! Are you trying to get kicked out already?" Firenze asked in exasperation, his voice suddenly breaking through to the teen.

Heron tilted his head in confusion and looked at his uncle with wide green eyes. "What? I was just reading his magic. I mean, aren't I supposed to meet a challenge soon? A test?" He thought he was being quite reasonable by trying to check out his opponents ahead of time. It was best to take any advantage you could, and not overlook any benefit in the name of 'fair play'. After all, he was making himself available to be 'read' by any of the wizards.

The centaur covered his face with a hand and chortled slightly in exasperation. To Heron, it was obvious he had said something wrong, but he couldn't figure out what it was as Firenze was already clearing up the issue with the other men. He didn't want to interrupt as things relaxed again and the group continued onward. The beta shot one last angry look at Heron before gliding further up the stairs.

The teen tilted his head in confusion before he let it go. He decided to focus instead on the area he was in. If Firenze was laughing at the idea of doing battle, maybe his test would be a puzzle. Lord Tepes had told him about labyrinths once. They were gigantic mazes with tall walls and a lot of dead ends. Maybe Hogwarts was a maze he had to find his way out of. Good thing he had a good internal compass. Still, it would be a good idea to make a mental map of the place…just in case.

The alpha seemed to be leading them in a random pattern. Up one set of stairs, turn a corner, down another staircase, left hallway, right hallway, right hallway…Heron was beginning to become surer of his assumption. Such a place could not exist for any other reason but a maze, could it? There seemed to be no order to the way things were constructed here. Yet, after their trek through the halls, Dumbledore stopped at a specific statue – one they hadn't passed yet. At least that meant he wasn't being led in circles.

Alpha Dumbledore spoke some words to the statue and it moved open with a slight groan, activating a magic that soon revealed an impressive doorway edged in gold. As they moved through the frame, Heron brushed his hand against it to feel the type of magic used to hide it. The spell type itself, he found, was nothing impressive. Merely illusionary magic with some wards built into place, but he also was able to get some sense of just how old the magic was. Just how long had Hogwarts stood exactly…? Heron shook his head and stepped into the room the rest of the way. He would hopefully be able to ask Sirius later. He didn't want to chance it now as the beta was already eyeing him suspiciously.

The room the group entered was nothing at all like the youth would have imagined for his first test. The most noticeable thing, in Heron's mind, was the large hole rimmed in gold located in the center of the room. Weird tubes of different colors lined the hole – some had gems in them, while others seemed to have some picture engraved into it. Looking up, Heron noticed the ceiling was made of wood, which seemed unusual as the floor and walls were made of some white stone. He tried to think back on his lessons with the goblins. He wanted to say the name was…marble?

Heron glanced at the adults, who were all deep in conversation, before he moved to further explore the room. There was a mosaic mural on the wall to the left of the door, near a series of hooks. It depicted a siren sitting in the edge of the rocks, looking forlornly at a ship sailing far into the distance. As the green eyed boy approached, the small tiles making up the siren's portrait began to shift and oddly faced him. While he encountered magic paintings before, this was his first time encountering a mosaic piece. Fascinated, he moved his face closer.

The siren seemed to blush as he concentrated on her before she opened her mouth, revealing small tile chips representing razor teeth. Below the mural, the stone slid open to reveal a set of reeds in wood, crystal, silver, and gold. As the mural "sang" to him, no music emerged from the stone itself but from the reeds rose a beautiful melody. He closed his eyes and started to relax his defenses as he listened to the lullaby.

A hand brushed his shoulder, breaking his peace. Heron's eyes snapped open as he turned, lips pulled back in a snarl, revealing his sharp canines. Though he could not see his own eyes, he could feel the heat that must be pouring from them as Moony took a hasty step back from the wild child. How dare the werewolf touch him so suddenly, so casually? What made it worse was that if Heron had been paying attention, Moony would never have been allowed to get so close without him knowing.

It was difficult to set his face back into a calm mask, but from Firenze's warning expression, he knew he had to.

"I do not wish to be touched unless it is on my own terms," Heron finally said when he could manage calm. "I should never be approached so casually without my consent. Don't sneak up on me."

"First, he still cannot understand you, Heron,"

the centaur interjected with a roll of his eyes. "Second, humans are very touchy creatures. You will have to get used to that. However…I do understand and will make it known to them to try not to surprise you – at least until you get used to them and their odd habits."

The teen sniffed primly and looked down his nose at Moony before looking away. "You would swear he wasn't a werewolf from the way he acted. He has to know he is my inferior…Or is it because I am not part of this pack and I am indeed the inferior?" Heron frowned, shocked by his own thoughts. "I'm not, am I?"

This time, Firenze snorted in laughter. "As if I would understand pack hierarchy better then you. And you must remember, while humans think in terms of 'who has more authority', you cannot think of the lower humans in the hierarchy as being inferior. They tend to frown on that. You would be a student here, which means your mentors – like Moony – would have authority over you" The centaur paused in thought. "Now…should you ever accompany him out when in his wolf form, then you would probably be above him…But, you know as well as I, the way a lone wolf thinks is harder to predict."

Heron groaned. The whole of human interactions seemed to be growing more facets and rules. Plus, if he understood correctly, he was now at the bottom of the authority levels. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. On one hand, he had never used his status in a crude or childish fashion (well, maybe when he was significantly younger). Yet, it was part of what he had come to know as his identity. He was used to a certain level of respect, for a number of reasons.

"Apologize to him then," Heron said, flapping a hand at Moony as he covered his eyes with the other hand. "I meant no offense. If I was a lesser creature…One…could maybe….possibly…call me skittish at the moment. Not that I am! Just…It could be called that…and I might be…a little jumpy in anticipation of these tests. Maybe."

Firenze laughed and trotted over to rest a hand on Heron's head as he relayed the words. His words only helped marginally, if the group's expressions were anything to go by. Even Sirius was eyeing Heron carefully, knowing his mate had been put into possible danger by this boy. However, a little help was better than nothing.

The centaur tousled the youth's hair as he stared moodily at the adults in the room. "I do promise you will get use to this all. And you are overthinking these tests. Human tests are really nothing like our own, so you can drop your battle senses now. And anyway, the first one – if you want to think of it like that – is to take a bath."

Heron tried to set his hair to right, while looking at his uncle from under his fringe. "…A what?" The teen was sure he heard incorrectly.

"By human standards, you are filthy beyond belief," the centaur grinned in amusement, teeth shining in the brightly lit room. "When was the last time you bathed?"

The youth sniffed, feeling affronted. He was a very hygienic person, if he did say so himself. "I went down to the river for a bath within the last week, I will have you know." The werewolves tended to bathe less than that, probably once every two or three weeks, except for newcomers. The animals or larger creatures, like dragons, bathed even less than that. Some of them only used saliva or dust to groom too. At least he used water.

Firenze shook his head with a slight smirk. "Many humans bathe at least once a day, Heron. Some even do it twice." The blonde took a moment to smirk, obviously enjoying his nephew's expression of absolute shock.

"Every day?!" His mouth dropped open slightly. "Whatever for? What could they possibly do to get so dirty in such a clean castle as this? Where do they go to get clean? I have never seen them down by the river, and that lake we passed on the way up here would too stagnant to help." He was beyond dumbfounded at this sudden turn of events. His first test was to take a bath?

Heron glanced over at Moony as the man said something, perhaps in answer to whatever Firenze just translated. It had to be about the bath. The werewolf was gesturing cautiously to the side of the hole rimmed in gold. It seemed, despite Heron's outburst, he wanted to show the youth something in the hole.

Trying his best not to spook the werewolf, Heron slid slowly over to the edge and looked in. The hole was empty. It did nothing to answer why the humans demanded he – or any of them – take so many baths. Then, Moony touched one of the little tubes against the side - a gold one with an amethyst cut into its top. Water burst forth from the sides of the hole, bubbling as madly as rapids. The smell of lavender filled the air, causing Heron to sneeze.

It dawned on the youth that this hole was a pool of some sort. This was where he was supposed to bathe? But surely he would get swept away by the strong currents now running through the water as it churned from the miniature waterfalls along the sides. His panic must have shown on his face as Moony made a small gesture with his hand, indicating a desire to comfort the boy. Heron eyed the hand thoughtfully, before glancing at the man's face. There wasn't ridicule in his expression, nor did he seem to hold a sense of duty to protect the weaker members of the pack. His eyes simply spoke of a desire to comfort, much in the way of a sitter would. He decided to take Moony at face value, and touched the man's hand lightly with the tips of his fingers. The werewolf smiled back warmly and grasped Heron's hand.

As he did so, the water started slowing before shutting off. It was astounding to the youth how quickly the water filled the massive hole. And where did the water come from anyway? Where would it go after he was done? It wouldn't pull him away with it, would it? He reached over the ledge and dipped the fingers from his free hand in the water. It was…hot? He hadn't realized Hogwarts was located on a hot spring. The only place Heron knew there to be hot springs where there was volcanic activity, like in the eastern parts of the Forest, but here?

"And now we encounter a problem, it seems," Firenze interrupted Heron's thoughts with an amused chuckle. "The humans do not trust you to take a bath by yourself, for fear that you will run off and cause some sort of destruction within Hogwarts. They do not yet know your abilities or how powerful you are. They also do not trust me to stay here with you as I am the one who brought you here to begin with." So far, none of this seemed like a problem to Heron. They could all just stay and chat while he swam and splashed around in the water, under the pretense of 'getting clean'. Honestly, every day? He cocked and eyebrow at the centaur, urging him to get to the point.

"Yes, well, human modesty and social protocol dictates that they leave the room. Not only for the sake of your privacy, but also because they are teachers and you are a student. It would be improper." The whole idea was laughable to Heron. Really? This was the problem now that they had him doing what they wanted?

Heron shook his head at Firenze and groaned, letting go of Moony's hands as he stood from the crouched position. "Humans are weird and I don't understand them," he said, as he began to strip out of his breeches. All the adults in the room (save Firenze) made a startled noise and acted as if they were going to rush at him…or away from him, whichever would be more convenient in helping them escape what they deemed an awkward position.

Moony seemed especially upset, as he was crouching right next to the boy. His blush was very pronounced as he stumbled through saying something. His awkwardness was sort of endearing and Heron couldn't help but laugh as he tossed the breeches somewhere in a corner. "Very weird, indeed. Are all humans like this?"

"Not all. It's a bad idea to generalize an entire species, don't you think?"

"True," Heron nodded with a smile. His eyes slide close and he stood still for a moment, glad to feel a gentle breeze running across his thighs again. Leather breeches could be practical as a form of protection, but they were hot and stifling to someone who was often nude. He could hear the adults arguing and the embarrassment was nearly tangible in the air, pressing against his naked skin.

To spare any more awkwardness, the youth finally opened his eyes as he arched his back slightly before diving into the water. Almost immediately he resurfaced, coughing and spluttering. This seemed to set off another round of alarm for the adults. "Firenze…" Splutter. "The water…something in it…burning. Tastes bad." He swam over to the edge of the pool, heaving huge breaths. There was the taste of something metallic in his mouth with something not-quite floral.

"That would be the soap, I believe, Heron," Firenze walked over to the edge of the pool and knelt on his front legs to bend a hand in to take a sip. He grimaced at the taste and tried to discretely spit it out. "Ah, yes, soap. Humans use it to clean themselves. They will expect you to use it too. If you keep your mouth and eyes closed, it shouldn't be any problem." The centaur rose again and turned his back on the boy to speak with the adults. It provided as good an opportunity as any for the youth to childishly stick his tongue out at his mentor's back.

He mocked his uncle in his head, not wanting to voice his frustrations aloud. Well, OF COURSE humans do weird human things, Heron. How silly must you be not to know this, Heron? Blah blah blah. He hated the so-called civilized world already.

Spitting one last time over the side of the pool, Heron tightly closed his mouth and held his nose before sinking into the water. As he drifted closer to the bottom, he did his best to release the tension in his muscles. As silly as a bath every day sounded…the water from this pool felt marvelous. It was no small luxury to have his muscles treated to such heat. While there were some hot springs in the forest, they were so far from where he roamed; it was usually not worth the effort to find one most of the time.

He continued to slide all the way down into the water until he came into a sitting position. He wasn't worried about passing out. His record for holding his breath was impressive, though not nearly as long as any aquatic mammal. Right now, the youth just needed a few moments beneath the silent waters to think. So much had happened in the last couple of hours, it was hard to believe. It felt as though the ground had been ripped out from under him. In some ways, that statement was accurate. In no way could Hogwarts be a substitute for the familiar surroundings of the Forest.

Yet…

There was something to be gained here. Heron could not figure what it was just yet, but there was a reason he was meant to go with Moony. If he truly believed in the magic of the Forest and the Fates beyond his control, he should try a little harder…He need to fit in here. That would mean watching his behavior more. He could not afford to show any hostility or aggression. If he was merely a student here and someone on the bottom of the hierarchy, he needed to work at it and be the best he could be. Maybe within due time, he could become someone respected in their own right. Honestly, as long as he wasn't turned into the omega whipping boy, he would be satisfied with his new human status.

Of course, that was something else to consider. Now that he was here within the castle, it was an undeniable fact: Heron was a human. His birthparents were human, and so was he. He could not escape the fact…But could he learn to live with it? That would take a little bit more to be comfortable with. For his entire life, the wild teen had lived as a creature of the forest – learning as one, eating as one, speaking as one. Part of him feared such would lie as a boundary to his life here. Could walking upright and speaking English be enough to make humans accept him?

…Did he want to be accepted?

He thought about it for a few long moments. If he could join himself freely with the likes of those outside of unicorn herds, he should be able to do the same to humans. They could be another branch of his family. His limited range of experiences already showed that he could share some deep and intimate connections with a few (such as Sirius) or his experiences could be dangerous and exciting (such as with the dark beta). That was no different than in the forest. He would never be universally loved, nor universally hated.

Heron smiled, and the warm water pressed against his lips. He would have to surface soon, but not quite yet. Vaguely, he wondered about the passage of time denoted by humans. He would have to learn soon enough. Describing time in terms of shadows or moons would probably not work within the confines of indoors.

As he was pondering such manners, he felt a small slither of something against his back. Turning, Heron squinted open his eyes to see what it was. His eyes burned slightly at the 'soap', but his curiosity made him look. After all, he hadn't seen any fish in the water before…Instead, what he saw was a translucent white hand reached out towards the boy, palm up in offering. He looked up at the surface of the water and saw only a shimmering purple and white layer of bubbles rolling across the water's surface.

Turning back to the hand, he gently poked it. The fingers turned quickly and grabbed onto his wrist before reeling him to the surface. He broke the water like a fish on the line, jumping and gasping in at the sudden influx of air. Shaking his head to rid it of the water and soap still clinging, he carefully opened his eyes to survey the adults from beneath lowered lashes. There was panic on the faces of Sirius and Moony. Dumbledore showed slight concern. The beta sneered.

Heron's brain was able to connect the dots fairly quickly this time. He must have been underwater longer than he thought. Still, he didn't think enough time had passed for any real concern over him to develop…Gingerly, he swam to the side of the pool and hoisted himself out to sit on the ledge. Soap dripped off of him and he could feel the water droplets quickly turning cold in the air as they slid down his chest. Goosebumps rose all over his darkly tanned skin.

"Are we done here then?" Heron asked, tilting his head to the side to ring out his long hair. When it was bogged down with water and made to straight flatly, the tips ended just short of his shoulder blades. It was quite tangled, but he never knew just what was the best way of straightening the knots out. His Aunt Daisy usually took care of the mess for him. He glanced up at the human males. Most of them had longer hair. Perhaps one would be able to aid him.

Firenze smiled. "Not yet. They were worried about your safety when you did not resurface after a 2 minutes. Then it was going on 3."

Heron looked at the centaur blankly. "2 or 3 what?" he asked. "M…minutes? Is that the human measure of time?"

"Ah, yes, well…Perhaps it would be best to save things like that for a lesson later on, hm?" the palomino grinned before he grew slightly somber. "Although I will not be the one to teach you. After today, I will head back to the forest. Instead, they plan on having a very dedicated student teach you. She seems like she will be quite qualified, as she currently maintains the role of head female student."

Heron nodded thoughtfully and started to stand. The beta, seeing the boy make a move to stand, snapped out a command. "You…of it!"

"Ah…He says you didn't scrub." The amusement was plain to hear in Firenze's voice. "But I suppose you aren't use to that, are you?"

"….Scrub what?" The teen looked blankly back and forth between his uncle and the other adults.

Firenze chuckled and said something to the beta, causing the man's face to twist in slight disgust. Apparently scrubbing was important. Something that the humans (or at least the beta) took seriously when it came to hygiene. Usually, when Heron or any other creature in the forest bathed, it was mostly a matter of swimming around and splashing themselves with enough water to cause the sweat and a layer of dirt to slough off.

The dark beta pointed one of those magic sticks at Heron and said something. A sudden breeze arose and pushed Heron back into the water, causing the teen to splutter wildly as he tried to keep his head above the soapy water. Another breeze shortly followed, but instead of passing over him, this air current latched onto him like a hand. Bubbles rose around his body, shifting wildly. It was almost as if they were trying to polish him off in the same way a goblin would a gemstone. The sensation was very odd as the bubbles fizzed and popped, working into a frenzy over his skin. It didn't quite…hurt, but it didn't feel all that great either.

Heron looked down through the sudsy screen and saw his skin was starting to become pink under the bubbles' administrations. That was enough, he decided, as he started to push out of the water. The youth could see the beta sneer at him from across the room. The bubbles suddenly doubled, and the pressure they exerted on him increased. It seemed the beta didn't think he was thoroughly clean or 'scrubbed' or whatever the man was trying to do.

Growling slightly at the force being put on him, Heron reached out with his senses and felt through the water for its energy. Everything in the world had a form of energy. It all stemmed through the same place, somewhere deep within the earth. However, with a little bit of know-how, one could use it for their own purposes.

It didn't take him long to find it and begin gathering it beneath his feet. In all actuality, mere moments had passed while he searched. With the energy of the water behind him now though, he could probably…

The water rose beneath Heron, creating a small wave strong enough for him to keep his feet planted firmly on it. There was some resistance as he pushed against the shield of bubbles the beta created. The effort was testimony to the beta's strength. He once heard outsiders weren't as strong magically as those who lived in the Forest. The fact that there were non-magic users out there seemed to indicate this was true. That meant the dark man had to be exceptionally strong within his circle of humans. It would make sense – he was beta after all.

The wave Heron rode carried him to the edge of the pool and he stepped out, shaking off the lingering bubbles as he did so. He glanced at his skin. It wasn't raw, but it was a shade he'd never seen before. Was he supposed to be that color?

As he examined himself, the adults snapped out of their shock at seeing him break the beta's spell. Moony flicked another magic stick at Heron and a stream of fresh water poured over him, getting rid of any remaining suds. At the same time, Sirius came rushing over with a long, white length of fluffy fabric. The two babbled at him, and each other.

"Yes, I think that this arrangement will work out," Firenze said softly to himself. Heron was sure he meant it to be a private observation, but the teen's hearing was excellent. Still, the approval of his uncle made him feel significantly more relaxed about what was going on. In a louder voice, Firenze continued. "You will want to go ahead and get dry. That's what the towel is for. Humans don't have the luxury of sitting around in the sun all day to dry."

"T-ow-l?" Heron examined the fabric before he grabbed it and started mopping up the water on his skin. "What do you know…It works!" He enjoyed a few moments of running the warm towel across his body for a few moments. As he finished, he noticed Sirius awkwardly trying to convey he should wrap it around his waist. Nudity really did embarrass humans a lot, or so it would seem. Smiling in good humor, he did as the man requested. "So, now what?"

Firenze tilted his head in thought for a moment before turning to Dumbledore to ask a question. The elderly man had been fairly quiet for the majority of the time since they left the small room. His eyes were piercing, however. Heron could feel himself being weighed and measured as the day progressed. He hoped though that he would not be found wanting. It seemed like such a waste to come so far and then be turned away. Had it really been less than a day since Moony wandered into the werewolves' clearing?

"Since you have been deemed clean enough, it seems the next things on the list would be to dress you and then to run some tests," the centaur said before pausing. "Ah, well, I suppose saying 'tests' would not be my best choice of words. Severus Snape – the beta you have met - and Poppy Pomfrey – a woman in another part of the castle - will examine your fitness. They may do some things that are unusual or alarming to someone of your background. This may include collecting some of your blood or hair, looking in your mouth or ears, hitting your knees…Things of that nature. Whatever you do, do not attack them as they do this. They want to see how healthy you are. Severus Snape is also interested in cracking the 'code', as he puts it, to Avantas. Examining you will possibly give him hints on how to brew a potion that would allow free speech between you and an English speaker…That is, until you learn English on your own." The look Firenze gave Heron was a weighty one, causing the teen to shift uncomfortably. This time, he would learn. Otherwise, he might end up with a hoof print shaped bruise …

Dumbledore said something and Firenze nodded in response. He continued speaking, passing on the message to his nephew. "They are also interested in testing your magical prowess. They have seen what they deem to be possibly accidental magic usage. They want to see what you can do with a wand."

"…A what?" The term flew completely over the young man's head.

"The sticks they use when they want to perform magic." Firenze shrugged. "I know it seems sort of ridiculous, but try to play by their rules. Humans are very particular about the way they view the world."

"…I don't think I can perform magic with a stick." Heron stopped and thought about what his uncle was asking of him. "Oh, am I supposed to grow a stick? I can do that. I mean…I couldn't cause an adult tree to grow, but I could probably prod a small sapling to grow. Their sticks aren't that big anyway. A sapling should be fine, right?" The young man turned and faced Moony and Sirius, double checking real quick to make sure his towel was firmly in place. He held out a hand, palm up.

As the two stared at him in confusion, he made a 'give me' motion and gestured to the wand in Moony's hand. A moment passed before the two realized what he was asking. He could tell the moment Moony made the connection as his hand clamped down compulsively on the stick and took a step back.

"Ah, Heron, bad idea," Firenze said, putting a hand on his nephew's shoulder. He shook his head negatively at the two men. A motion meant to calm them and say 'he didn't mean anything by it'. It seemed it was a sentiment that was being uttered too often today. Heron imagined it would happen a lot more before this was over. "The wands are given to them at a young age. They hold special meaning. Never take a wand from another wizard, outside of combat."

"They are given to them?" Heron frowned. He had wanted to see Moony's so he could get a better idea of what kind of sapling he would have to grow…But it seemed there was another method of acquiring a wand. "Where do I get one from then? Will they give me one?"

The centaur chuckled. "Come, let us get you dressed and we will go take those tests, hm? All will be explained soon."


Man! That was absolutely grueling, but absolutely worth it. Thank you to everyone who encouraged me over the last year. Though no one on this site knew it, I was dealing with a lot of stuff and every review warmed my heart bit by bit. It took me forever to get back up and working again, but here I am.

In the original, this entire chapter was essentially a few paragraphs. Even in my outlines for the new rewrite, I imagined this would only take half of a chapter. Heron took a bath. So what? But I wanted to use this opportunity to get more into his head. How does he think about the everyday objects or trials placed in front of him? I also wanted to play with character interactions a bit more. What do the adults think of Heron?

Another important difference, Hermione and Ron aren't present. In the original, they were there since the beginning. However, there didn't seem to be a real point in it. Why were they with the adults? Why didn't Dumbledore send them away when a wild child appeared? Too many things didn't make sense to me. This corrects that.

For the next chapter, be ready for Heron to find a wand and test out his magical capabilities. I plan to go more into detail about Magic and the differences of it within our two settings. We will also start getting more into the point of the story – his interactions and life as a human, without Firenze to guide him. So far, there has been a lot of intro…Hopefully it has been very interesting, but it is still just introduction. After all, he hasn't even met our two romantic interests! If anything, I imagine that points to a very loooooong story when this ends.

Hope you enjoyed!