Chapter 7: Angry Birds and House Elves.

November rolled into December, and with the new month came the snow. Over the past few weeks, Harry had met with Master Dumbledore to begin basic training in the focusing of magic. It was tough and very exhausting work, but Harry had already become quite proficient at the shield and disarming spells. Meditating to focus magic into mental shields was also causing Harry some headaches that required pain relieving potions. Dumbledore told him it was natural for beginners in the art of Occlumency.

That particular Saturday was the final Hogsmeade visit before the term let out for the Christmas Holidays. Harry had informed Astoria the day before of his plan to sneak out to the village. She'd been worried about the Dementors he would have to get past, but eventually she relented, though she didn't like it. To her, not only was it potentially dangerous, but it also cut into her time with him.

As Harry was off doing Merlin knows what, Astoria was wandering the school. She had told Daphne to keep an eye out for Harry in case he got into some trouble. So there she was, virtually alone in the castle, save for the other first and second years. She took this opportunity to explore the castle. Something she rarely ever had the time to do with all her schoolwork and practice with Flitwick.

Absentmindedly, she walked slowly through a curving passage that lead from the "Paved Courtyard" to the Grand Staircase. Lazily kicking imaginary pebbles and humming to herself, she smiled softly as she thought of her time spent with the boy who held her affections. So preoccupied was she, that she didn't notice a figure stepping out from behind a suit of armour until she heard the stunning spell. She went for her wand, but was not quick enough. She was in mid turn when all went black.

Down in the village, what had started out as a fun outing to get Astoria a Christmas present, thanks to Fred and George and their brilliant map, had turned sour rather quickly after over hearing Hagrid, McGonagall, and Fudge talking about the betrayal of his parents by escaped murderer, Sirius Black. He had ran out of the Three Broomsticks, with Hermione and Neville hot on his heels. Once he had gotten far enough from he had stopped on a glacial rock and broke down. His friends had tried to comfort him, but all he could do was think about revenge. It had taken some time, but eventually Hermione had calmed him down. Still feeling rather low, he thanked her and threw his cloak over himself as he made his way back to Honeyduke's and the passage back into the castle.

As he walked, he was overcome by a feeling of dread and quickened his pace. Passing though the crowds of students, he never noticed Daphne walking swiftly by with a sense of urgency about her. As Harry entered the tunnel, the feeling worsened, and he was soon running as fast as he could through the low passage. His heart was beating faster and faster as he almost began to panic. He didn't know how he knew, but he felt it had something to do with Astoria, and that he had to find her as quickly as possible.

*CRACK*

The world suddenly came back to her as she felt a stinging pain engulf the right side of her face. Her vision was blurry, and she was vaguely aware of the coppery taste of blood on her lips.

"Wake up, Greengrass." an all too familiar voice said. "It's time you learned your place."

Rage began to well up inside her as the world cleared and she found herself looking into the eyes of Draco Malfoy. Taking stock of her situation, she realized she was bound to a chair and wandless.

"What do you want, coward?" she spat. She was answered with another slap that caused the world to spin for a moment before she was able to refocus.

"Now, now." said Draco. "That's no way for a woman speak to her male superiors."

"I'm here to teach you the consequences of your actions." he continued. "You've betrayed the noble house of Slytherin by associating with the likes of Potter."

"Whom I choose to spend my time with is none of your business, you little slime ball." Astoria replied with all the venom she could muster.

"That's where you're wrong, Greengrass." said Malfoy. "I rule Slytherin House, and what I say, goes. I'm trying to save you from Potter and his band of mud-bloods and mud-blood lovers. You will thank me one day, Greengrass, and you will take your place at my side and become wife to the heir of mighty House of Malfoy. You will give me heirs, and you will honour me as a good little wife should honour a great man like me."

"HA!" Astoria mocked. "Great man? You actually think that? You're nothing but a sleazy little scum-bucket, riding your cowardly father's coat tails! If you think you're going to get away with this you've…"

She was cut off by another vicious slap that broke her nose. That was quickly followed by a punch to her abdomen, that knocked the wind out of her. Her lungs burned as they struggled to draw in air. After a few frightening seconds, she managed a loud gasping breath, eyes watering with tears of panic, rage, and pain. Her vision blurred further as she began coughing.

"How dare you speak of my father that way!" Draco yelled at her, only inches from her face. "My father is a great man! I will not let Potter steal you from me! You're mine, Greengrass! You will.."

He never got to finish his rant as a blast of flame knocked him away. Astoria, dazed by the beating, heard the unmistakable cry of a phoenix, and a squeaky voice shout, "YOU SHALL NOT HARM HARRY POTTER'S, TORI!" followed by Malfoy screaming in pain. "Bad former little master's spells can keep house elves away, but not Harry Potter's Royal Firebird!"

Shaking her head, Astoria finally came to her senses. She gawked at the sight before her. There was Malfoy, stuck to the wall, with an obviously furious house elf standing there, hands on his hips, and a beautiful crimson bird with violet crest feathers perched on his head. Any other time, she would have found the image comical, but she wasn't feeling anything but relief. The bird turned his head to look at her before launching himself into the air and flashing away in a ball of fire.

Harry was running through the halls, frantically searching for Astoria. As he came across an intersection he nearly ran into an equally frantic Daphne Greengrass.

"POTTER!" she cried in a panicked voice. "Where is Tori?! I've got a terrible feeling something has happened to her!"

"I don't know." he replied. "I came running back from the village to find her."

He nearly slapped himself when he realized that in his panic, he had completely forgotten the map the twins had given him, not three hours ago. Quickly pulling it from his pocket, he uttered the password, and searched the map. Fortunately, with most of the castle's residents in the village, finding her was relatively easy. Daphne's eyes widened when she saw the outline of Hogwarts, and numerous labels with names appear before her eyes.

"There! In the dungeons." he said. "Malfoy!" he roared when he saw who was in the room with her. He was about to take off again when a ball of fire erupted between them. He had only a second to register that it was a bird before it grabbed on to both of their shoulders and the trio burst into flames.

In the office of the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore was working on the seemingly endless pile of paperwork that accompanied the running of a school, as well as all of the other positions he held. He was just beginning to seriously contemplate resigning from all but Headmaster to spend more time with his apprentice when Fawkes, his faithful phoenix companion, let out a panicked shriek. Startled into dropping his quill, Albus had no time to ask his familiar what was amiss before the bird jumped onto his shoulder and flamed him away.

x

Astoria was just about to ask the little elf to help her out of her bindings when a very large ball of fire nearly exploded in front of her. The phoenix was back, only this time he brought Harry and Daphne with it. The pair looked confused for a moment before looking around quickly as the phoenix flew over to her and landed on her shoulder.

"TORI!" Daphne shouted as she ran to her little sister. Astoria burst into tears at their arrival, as Daphne quickly released her from the ropes that bound her to the chair.

"Tori," Daphne sobbed as she wrapped her arms protectively around the younger girl, "I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have left you alone."

Looking at the scene before him, Harry felt immense guilt at leaving her alone. Turning back to Malfoy, Harry looked down at Dobby, and was about to thank him when the little elf also broke down in tears.

Sobbing the faithful elf said, "Dobby is sorry Mister Harry Potter Sir! Dobby has failed to keep Harry Potter's Greeny safe! Dobby is not worthy of being Harry Potter's friend. Dobby couldn't break through bad former master's wards to save Mistress Tori! Dobby must go punish himself! Dobby is a very, very bad elf!"

"Dobby, stop!" Harry said with authority. " You will not punish yourself! If anyone is at fault it's me. I shouldn't have left her alone. I'm the one who failed, not you."

"No!" came Astoria's shout. "None of this was your fault! Either of you! It's my fault for letting the little bastard get the jump on me."

Her words didn't make Harry feel any better, so he turned back toward Malfoy. The blond git's eyes were wide with fear. Harry approached the little shit, his face a mask of cold fury, and as hard as he could, slugged Draco in the face. There was a very, very satisfying crunch as Malfoy's nose, and cheek bone shattered under his rage. Drawing his wand, he was so consumed by his own guilt and rage, he failed to notice the another flame erupting behind him as he pointed his wand at Malfoy's head and began uttering the blasting hex. He never got that far as his wand flew out of his hand. Spinning around to confront his attacker, his fury was quickly extinguished when he saw his Master of Magic standing behind him holding his lost wand in his hand, and looking every one of his one hundred and eleven years of age.

x

An hour later found Harry sitting against the wall outside the hospital wing with his knees drawn up to his chest. Astoria and Daphne had been taken to Madam Pomfrey immediately, via the unknown phoenix as he and Dumbledore were flamed to the office of the Headmaster via Fawkes. Before summoning the necessary parties to the school, Dumbledore gave Harry a warning that they would need to accelerate his training to control his emotions. It was then that Harry realized, that in his rage, he could have very well have taken the life of another person. A person whom, though a complete and utter twat, was unarmed and restrained.

Amelia Bones, Samuel Greengrass, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, and surprisingly, Minister Fudge were all in attendance. Mrs. Greengrass had gone straight to the Hospital Wing to see to her daughter before joining them in the office part way through. Professor Dumbledore was laying out pretty heavy punishment that would have included expulsion if not for the meddling of Fudge. Harry was furious, but Madam Bones refused to let Draco get away with his actions. In the end, all of Draco's privileges were revoked, including his place on the Quidditch team, as well as the loss the three hundred house points, detention for the rest of his third year, a one month suspension at the beginning of the new term and permanent probation for the rest of his Hogwarts career. Through the entire affair, Professor Snape stood silently in the shadowed corner apart from the group. He made no effort to defend Draco's actions.

Amelia Bones, on behalf of the Department of Law Enforcement, could only slap the Malfoy heir with a heavy fine, again because of Fudge's meddling. It began turning into a shouting match between Fudge and Samuel as Lord Greengrass demanded a harsher punishment while at the same time, Lucius Malfoy shouted right back that all they had was her word, and that Harry was likely the one to actually assault the girl as he was obviously violently unstable and should receive punishment for assaulting his son.

"I also want that elf and blasted bird put down!" Lucius furiously spat. "They attacked my son!"

"I'm afraid that is impossible, Mr Malfoy" Dumbledore stated calmly. "For one, the phoenix can elude you forever, and be reborn time and time again if you ever manage to get your wand on it. Secondly; The house elf in question is the personal property of Mr. Potter, and was under orders to see to Astoria Greengrass' protection. It was following orders and prevented your son from causing the girl further harm."

Harry was outraged at the wanker's suggestion to put Dobby down like some rabid animal, and was about to let it be known, when his Magical Master gave him a warning look, and suggested he look in on Astoria. Mrs. Greengrass offered to head down with him to see her daughter. They walked in silence until the reached the large double doors. Dominika reached for the handle when she noticed Harry had stopped. Looking back at him, she could see the pain in his eyes, and it was quite obvious he didn't want to face her daughters, Astoria in particular, over some sense of guilt.

"I-I can't go in." he mumbled as he looked down at his feet, hands stuffed into the front pockets of his jacket, one of them the very pocket that still held Astoria's wrapped gift.

"It's my fault for leaving her alone to go down to the stupid village." he continued, "I wasn't even suppose to be down there as my guardians didn't sign my permission form."

Looking at him closely, she noticed he was fiddling with something in his pocket. She made an educated guess as to why he would risk getting into trouble, especially as Dumbledore's apprentice, by breaking the rules and sneaking out of the castle.

"You didn't go down for entirely selfish reasons did you?" she asked him, her soft voice having a light, yet distinctive Czech accent.

Harry's head jerked up, and he looked at her with wide eyes before he looked down again. He found it nearly impossible to look either Greengrass parent in the eye.

"Not entirely, no." he admitted. "I mean, of course I wanted to see the village for myself, but I spent almost the entire time looking for a gift to get for Astoria. It was that reason I finally stopped putting it off and get myself down there. Ordering a gift from a catalogue instead of taking time and effort just felt as though it would be too impersonal to me."

"I left her alone, and she was attacked. She's better than I deserve." he finished.

"You saved her." Dominika stated. "It was your actions that prevented something worse from happening to her." she continued when she saw he was about to argue. "You asked your little elf friend to watch over her. He did all he could to get to her, on your orders, and that is what brought the phoenix to her rescue. I suspect that majestic creature is bonded to you as my daughter showed no signs of it when I saw to her."

"I don't deserve it." he mumbled, "and I don't deserve her friendship."

"It is up to my daughter to decide who deserves her affections, Mr. Potter." she said softly. "She asked for you. Please come in when you are ready, but do not take too long."

When she walked into the wing, Harry moved to lean against the wall next to the doors. He slowly slid down the wall until he was seated on the cold stone floor. That is how Samuel Greengrass found him when he approached to see his daughter. Harry quickly stood as the Greengrass patriarch drew near.

"Mr. Potter." he began, "I want to thank you for your actions. I also wish we could have met under better circumstances. Though I can honestly say that I am not too thrilled with my daughter's association with you."

Harry paled at those words.

"Don't misunderstand me," continued Samuel, "It is not because you are Harry Potter, a magnet for trouble, but because she is my little girl, and you are a boy. When you have daughters, you will understand where I am coming from. To a father of girls, all boys are evil." he finished with a glare.

"I-it's not like that, sir." Harry stammered.

Samuel gave him an almost pitying look before he walked into the wing to see Astoria. If there was one thing he knew about his daughters, is when they wanted something, they got it. It's a trait they'd inherited from their mother, Astoria especially. As much as the father in him hated to admit it, Harry Potter would one day make a good match for his little girl. A good match for the family as well. More so now that the boy was Dumbledore's apprentice. Being a Potter carried a lot of weight. To be the Boy-Who-Lived, and now an "Apprentice of Merlin" would one day give him immense political influence.

When the meeting ended, the Headmaster asked Samuel to remain for a few moments. He asked that what he was about to say remain strictly confidential. Though he needn't have, Samuel took a magical oath to keep the conversation secret. Dumbledore confided in him that when he arrived at the scene, purely by surprise, he had only just prevented Harry from ending the life of Draco Malfoy.

Now Samuel hadn't been very keen on Astoria's plans to capture the boy's attention, while his wife, God bless her, was overjoyed. He grumbled for days after his wife told him about the entire thing. He was sure that Dominika was purposefully trying to annoy him by humming a bridal march… frequently. There had been many a mangled dinner since the girls left for school this year as he imagined each one was Harry Potter. His wife merely looked on in amusement as he pretended to draw and quarter the boy-who-dared-to-catch-his-little-girl's-eye. Though what Dumbledore had told him today about the lengths Harry Potter would go to in order to protect his daughter began to change his opinion of the lad.

Some time later, Samuel and Dominika left for home to await their daughters' return for the Winter Hols. As they walked past Harry, Samuel gave him a grim nod, while Dominika gave a disappointed sigh before they left. A few minutes later, the hospital wing doors swung open, nearly crushing him. Luckily, his reflexes allowed him to dive out of the way before the door flattened him against the wall. As they swung closed, he saw an angry looking Daphne Greengrass glaring at him.

"What are you still doing out here you idiot?" she hissed at him as she advanced on him menacingly. "She's waiting for you, and you're out here feeling sorry for yourself?"

His eyes widened when she showed surprising strength by grabbing the back of his jacket and hauling him to his feet. She dragged him toward the door before he could get proper footing. In one swift motion, she opened the door and tossed him inside, firmly shutting the door behind him. Daphne wasn't really angry. She was more annoyed at the clueless dumb-ass than anything else. After what he did, and what he had been prepared to do for Astoria… She let that thought hang as she rested her forehead against the door, and stifled a sob.

Inside, Harry caught a glimpse of a startled , and slightly embarrassed looking Astoria before he looked down at his shoes. Slowly he mad his way to her side and sat in an unoccupied chair. For what seemed like the longest time, neither said a thing until he felt Astoria take his hand. When he finally met her eyes, Astoria could see his eyes had unshed tears. As he got a better look at her face, his guilt surged when he saw the remnants of her ordeal. Her nose was still lightly bandaged, and he could see the all too familiar ointment healing the bruises on her pretty face.

"I'm sorry." he croaked.

"It wasn't your fault." she said, getting a bit irritated at his insistence on taking the blame.

Frustrated, Harry blurted out, "If I hadn't gone down to the stupid village to get you a gift you wouldn't have been by yourself." It took him a few seconds before he realized what he had said, and he blushed.

"Y-you went down there to get me a gift?" Astoria asked in a shy voice.

With a sheepish look on his face, Harry nodded before he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small red, slightly crumpled gift bag and handed it to her. "I had wanted to send it to you with Hedwig so you could get it Christmas morning, but now the cat's out of the bag."

"Thank you." she said, blushing to the roots of her hair.

"Mum wanted me to ask if you would like to stay with us from Christmas Eve through Boxing Day." she asked, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Mum and Dad already cleared it with Professor Dumbledore."

Harry was stunned at being invited to spend Christmas with an actual family. He'd never had a proper Christmas. Even the two he'd spent at school were hardly traditional. But then he had a thought. Hermione was staying at the school with him this year. What kind of friend would he be if he ditched her to spend Christmas with the Greengrass' when she'd given up spending it with her own family?

Astoria seemed to read his facial expression correctly and added, "I told them about Hermione, and they asked me to extend the invite to her as well. There's plenty of room."

Harry brightened considerably at that. "I'd love to. Thank you. I'll let Hermione know."

"I must warn you though, Harry." she began with an almost evil smirk creeping onto her face, "My little brother is probably going to hound you for stories the entire time. He and daddy are looking forward to possibly teaching you how to become a proper sailor this summer as well."

"Are you sure your father isn't just going to use that as an excuse to try and drown me in the middle of the ocean?" he asked in a slightly fearful voice, to which Astoria began giggling madly. Harry gave and audible gulp. At that moment, the heroic phoenix that had delivered Astoria's saviours flamed onto the headboard above said girl. For the first time Harry got a good look at the regal looking bird. It was a deep crimson in colour, with crest feathers in the purest purple he had ever seen. His flight feathers were a mix of gold and the same purple. The bird stared at Harry for a few moments, before it hopped onto his shoulder. Harry began to feel a strange warmth as they stared at each other. Astoria's eyes widened as she became one of the few to ever witness the ethereal glow that accompanied a phoenix bonding.

"Hello, hatchling." spoke the magnificent phoenix.

"H-hi." Harry replied uncertainly. "Why are you, you know, here?"

"Your faithful little friend asked for help." the phoenix said. "Or rather, for assistance in helping his friend Harry Potter in keeping his lady safe from further harm. I was intrigued as to why a little house elf would do so, and I answered his call." he continued,

"I sensed something unique about you, Harry Potter, so I decided to become your companion until your count of days are through." the unknown phoenix finished.

"If you're going to be around that long, I should probably know your name." Harry said with a slight grin on his face.

"My apologies Harry Potter." The bird chucked. "I have never taken a companion before. I am known as Mobius."

"Nice to meet you, Mobius." Harry replied.

"Harry?" Astoria said, getting his attention, "What is he saying?"

"You don't understand him?" Harry asked, "I can understand him just…" he trailed off as a realization came to him.

"All I hear from him is trilling." She answered, staring wide eyed at the two.

Looking back at Mobius, Harry could swear the bird looked amused. He now understood it was probably a lot like his ability to understand and speak Parseltongue. He sighed.

"Great. Another language I can understand that others can't."

Mobius gave a trilling laugh.

Note: There you have it folks. A bit darker, but I wanted to neutralize Malfoy as soon as possible so I could focus on the blossoming relationship between Harry and Astoria, as well as work on the Hermione situation with out worrying about the little bastard. I figured he would do something rash as he'd been bested several times already, and boys at that age are generally pretty stupid with machismo. Bravado is one of the downsides of puberty. I'm sure we've all run into douche bags like that in our school years and even well after. I also figured it would be a good time to bring back our favourite Phoenix! As always, feel free to leave a review.

Live long and Prosper- Edward