Hello guys I'm sorry it's been a while I've been on vacation. I also want you guys to know I'm sorry if my story seems kinda confusing. I think it'll get better.
Bluestorm28: I don't have plans for the flock to come back till like the middle of Harry's school year, but they will be back. The Dumbledore thing will be explained in this chapter if you read between the lines a little. Thank you for reviewing and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter!
Crazy Dragon Ninja- They won't be in this story. Borderline between friends and boyfriends tops. I'm still sorry. I give you this digital box of Godiva chocolate as an apology gift.
Luckynumber1- I wanted to portray him as being really uncertain at first but then when Ron and Hermione don't like call him a freak, he's like 'ok, I can tell people' I wanted him to be afraid at first but then be like 'I should embrace this' and just kinda go with it. I don't think this story is even gonna last into other school years, but I don't know right now...Dumbledore is the headmaster of his school, and seems to know like everything about everything , so Harry was gonna tell him. Er, well, this isn't gonna have anything crazy, like there won't be any sex or anything. I just know that in this story Harry is like fifteen, and a fifteen year old boy is gonna have a love interest no matter what crazy shit goes on in their life. I picked Draco. Thank you for the advice though. I really appreciate it! :)
Alright I'm gonna skip like a week because I don't think it's important to write and I think I'd die of boredom if I tried to. *clears throat* It's story time, bitches.
Harry pov
"Harry! C'mon we need to go get our school books. You've been in here for twenty minutes already!" Shouted Hermione. I was supposed to just be grabbing Hedwig some treats (Merlin knew she deserved them) but Eeylops Owl Emporium was basically a maze.
I grabbed a random treat bag and paid the cashier for them. I even left a tip in the tip jar. I was so cliché. Whatever. I came out of the store with the bag in my hand. I walked over to Hermione and Sirius. Mrs. Weasley said she wanted to take Ron along with her Fred, George, and Ginny tomorrow, so Sirius had decided to 'chaperone' our trip to Diagon Ally. I assumed it was also because he felt bad for leaving me when I'd just gotten back. I understood why, though, and I wasn't mad or anything. He'd taken me to one of the many unused rooms in Grimmauld place and told me just how sorry he was.
He told me that I was the last thing he had of James. He told me that I meat a lot to him. He told me that he'd been afraid that I was gone without really being gone. He told me that I was the reason he'd even gotten through Azkaban. He told me that all he wanted was for me to be ok. He told me that he wished the world could've just left me alone. He told me that I'd had so much taken from me, he didn't want to see me lose myself too. I just listened and when he was done I hadn't even been sure what to say, but now he was trying to spend as much time as he could with me before the school year started. I appreciated the thought, but the smothering kind of made me feel awkward.
Hermione led us to Flourish and Blott's and I browsed the isles for all the books that'd been listed on my Hogwarts letter. I stashed the ones I knew I needed into a basket. The handle was starting to grow frost. I was soon lost in thought, surrounded by nothing but books. I grazed my hand over the dusty bindings of books with extricate designs etched into the spines. I must've traveled farther back into the store than I'd meant to, because all of the books seemed older somehow. They seemed wiser, more powerful. It was as if each of the books had it's own personality. I began picking them up at random. And I could physically feel the power- the exact kind of power, emanating from the books. Then I found a book so light-blue, I almost mistook it for white. I bent down, and picked it up. It was on the bottom-most shelf and had accumulated so much dust, I'd almost sneezed.
I brushed off the cover, and the title was clear: Magical Creatures of the Winter. I opened it and skimmed the contents as quick as I could. Nestled between the Arctic Serpent and the Snow pixie was the Winter Phoenix. I couldn't believe my luck. I closed the book, and found my way back to Hermione and Ron. Sirius had decided to wait outside.
Hermione was searching through a shelf of books and muttering under her breath. I didn't know what she was saying but I didn't think I wanted to find out. I tapped her on her shoulder and she spun around. I smiled brightly, and waved the book at Hermione. She'd been looking through the Black library for anything on winter Phoenixes and she put them all in a pile. She told Ron and I that she'd wanted to gather all the books first and she would read everything to us in one sitting. I was okay with that, though I could tell it drove Hermione mad, not telling us something as soon as she'd found it...even if it'd been her idea. She told me when we got back we could read everything, finally. Ron and I had spent nearly three whole days doing nothing in that library and I was getting kind of restless, but I'd never tell her that.
It'd been four days since I'd told the entire Order what had happened. I kept my story brief, as I had with Dumbledore, and I think he was disappointed that I hadn't given him any special information. I just couldn't shake the weird feeling I had about him. Like he I knew he was a good man, but his intentions were another story. I didn't want to doubt him, but I couldn't stop myself. The rest of the Order hadn't taken it too roughly though. Fred and George kept calling me their pet birdie. One of them (don't ask me which one) even handed me a letter and asked me to deliver it. I actually laughed at that, but then I threw the letter back at him.
Snape was weird though. He didn't make a nasty comment. Let me repeat. He didn't make a nasty comment. I thought I was going to die on the spot when he'd asked if I needed any help trying to control the powers I'd described. I'd told him I'd go to him if I did, and he gave a curt nod and walked away. I didn't think my life could take anymore of this upside down shit. I didn't think my brain could handle it. Maybe they could lock me up in Arkham. Wait, no that was fictional. That was the insane asylum from Batman. Whoops. Maybe there was a wizard asylum. I should probably go check myself in.
Hermione squealed at the book. "Harry this is wonderful! Let's save this one for last! I'm sure it's got lots of details!" She said. "Just keep it away from me for now, ok? I don't think I can handle not reading it if I can see it." She turned away and started walking towards the check out with her books. I followed her to the counter, and bought our books. I told her I could buy her books too, and she'd reluctantly let me.
We began to walk out of the store with heavy bags in our hands, when a familiar blonde boy headed our way. I saw him before Hermione, and nudged her. She looked over and scoffed in his direction. For some reason that hurt me. He kept walking in our direction, and soon he caught up with us.
"Hello Granger, and who might this- Potter?!" Malloy said, shocked. His eyes were wide, and there seemed to be something hidden in them. All of a sudden he seemed to remember himself, and he narrowed his eyes. "What in merlin's name have you done with your hair? And where are those horrid glasses? If it weren't for your scar, and you being so bloody short I wouldn't have recognized you." The last part stung a bit, but I guess I'd completely forgotten that people might not recognize me.
"My apologies, I didn't realize you dictated my wardrobe. Next time I'll ask your permission before I change my look" I said. Damn I was on fire. Straight face and everything. Malfoy just didn't know what to any it seemed, and that was a score I my book. He shook his head, looked at the ground, and laughed. Like an actual laugh. Ok, now I really should be checking into that mental hospital now.
"Now Harry Potter really can't get lost in a crowd! I'll be seeing you on the train, I've got to collect my school books." He said, and went off, to go meet up with his father I assumed.
Hermione was smirking, but I didn't know why. I sent her a questioning glance. She just smirked wider and started words the front doors of the shop. I followed after her, and we met up with Sirius outside. "Took you two long enough." He said, jokingly.
It didn't take long to get back to Grimmauld place, and within a matter of minutes, I was pacing back and forth in the library, waiting for Hermione to pick which book to start with. Ron was eating something, but I couldn't tell what it was. I was getting agitated. I was going to ask how much longer it would be, when Hermione jumped up, and pulled Ron and I by our arms to the two chairs set up in front of a tall low coffee table. We sat down and she sat on the couch, opposite the chairs.
"Ok, guys. No questions. But I want Harry to take notes." She said, and I didn't dare argue. She cleared her throat. "The Winter Phoenix is most remarkably well-known for it's fierce loyalty, intuition, and speed. It is one of the fastest birds on the planet, and sticks together in flocks of no more than six. It can sees if a person's motives are pure, as well as if they are hiding emotions..." She flipped to a different book, and continued. "Many birds' wings are sensitive, and should be treated with care, examples of these cases are with: Phoenixes, Winter Phoenixes, the Quetzal, Wilson's Bird of Paradise, and the Wire-Crested Thorntail..." She opened another book. "A bird with notably strong loyalty, is the Winter Phoenix. They have been known to stick in small flocks, and they also poses powers triggered by emotion. They can expel blasts of ice towards threats they deem dangerous. They can control the weather around them by feeling a particular emotion strongly. A sound like bells can be heard when they are happy..."
She then picked up the book I'd found in Flourish and Blott's. "The Winter Phoenix is one of the most mysterious birds of magical nature. Studying them requires devotion and hard work. They are exponentially more powerful than wizards themselves and require frigid temperatures to be at their full power potential. Only four have ever been recorded captured. This creature has an acute sense of direction, and it one of the fastest flyers on the planet. It is prone to exhaustion in heat, and has remarkable healing capabilities. It's hearing is not the greatest, at least no better than that of a human's. It's sight is also only as great as that of a human. It's wings are the most sacred things to them. Only their partners are allowed to touch them for more than a brief amount of time. They are also extremely sensitive, and are prone to feather-loss relatively fast, when in temperatures over 60 degrees Fahrenheit. They are the most loyal creatures, and stick in flocks for life. They have actually been known to mate with other types of bird, which they can transform into their own species. They also get their partners for eternity. Most of the time they do not choose their mate, instead their mate is shown to them in dreams, and they are sent into their mate's dreams. Sometimes, they become extremely sick. Their feathers rapidly fall out, and they become progressively worse, until they die. When they die they burst into snow. A few hours later (If the snow is not disturbed or melted) they will be reborn. Unlike the Fire Phoenix, they are reborn as adolescents, and it is much more common for them to enter the dying process. Much is not known about this creature and they are rated XXXXX on the danger scale." She finished. And sighed. Hermione closed the book, and placed it next to the others on the coffee table.
"Harry didn't take notes." Said Ron. I laughed, and the jingling came back. "Jingle bells, over here should be in trouble for not listening to you." He said.
Hermione breathed deeply, and looked at me. "You ok? I know it's a lot to take in. I don't know what it would be like, in your position, but I know this whole thing isn't particularly easy. I'm sorry." She said.
"I...think I'll be fine. I just wish someone would tell me exactly what part of any of that pertained to me. I know most of my DNA is still human, but how much of me isn't? How much of me does that effect?" I asked. It was a rhetorical question, but I still wished that someone with all the answers would just pop through the doors and explain everything.
We went to sleep soon after that. Ron and the rest of the Weasley's were going to Diagon Ally to shop tomorrow, and The Order was holding a meeting in the late afternoon. I was invited, and I had agreed; albeit reluctantly. It was three days until we were going to Hogwarts. I wanted the days to pass quickly. I wanted to go home.
G'night bitches. Sorry this was short.