According to what little Harry managed to understand from the conversation that followed, Olaf and the fae had known each other for quite a while. Which, Harry mused, wasn't too surprising if he reminded himself that they were probably the only talking beings on that deserted mountain. In fact, if the flying being was to be believed, Harry was the first human to be seen in that part of the mountain in two whole generations of foxes. The boy wasn't quite sure how long that was, but it did sound like a very long time.
However, Harry was currently unable to appreciate the beauty of the landscape they were going through. Olaf and the fae (who still hadn't given him a name. Or a gender: how rude!) were happily chatting in front of him as they followed a trail only the two could see, leaving the young boy lagging behind. With each tentative step, Harry felt the cold seep into his threadbare boots a little bit more. His feet were so cold that he could barely feel them anymore, and the same could be said of his uncovered hands.
Barely, the child remembered having melted the snow around his feet that first moment he arrived, but he couldn't for the life of him fathom as to how that had occurred. And until he figured it out, it seemed impossible for him to replicate this display of freakishness.
Not only that, but Harry had also spent at least a whole day on the mountain by now. And his groaning stomach and dry throat kept reminding him of the fact that he hadn't eaten, drunk, or even glimpsed something to eat in the meantime. He couldn't even take a step anymore without regretting the warmth of the Dursley's household. Maybe it hadn't been so bad after all? He had still been fed at least once a day, even if it was only leftovers, and they didn't tend to leave him outside for too long after all. It was even better when he kept his displays of freakishness to a minimum, and…
Harry sneezed abruptly due to the rising cold as an idea came to his mind. Olaf and the fae were freakish too, weren't they? Maybe they could help! Raising his head to see the two of them had turned to see what had kept him behind, he shuffled from foot to foot and avoided their gaze before he gathered his courage to ask them a question.
"Umm…" The words wouldn't leave his mouth. He was trying to find a way to ask a question without seeming to complain, but his mind simply pulled a blank. As though wanting to increase his misery, the wind whistled around him, causing a full body shiver to seize him.
The fae frowned and fluttered closer to him, peering into his eyes. "You look like death swarmed over," she stated, taking a hold of his chin and turning his head left and right.
Harry sniffled, feeling an uncomfortable trail of snot slide down his throat, which had the effect of making him sneeze again.
"He doesn't look too bad. Anna turned blue when she got sick and look!" Harry felt a stick poke him in the cheek and swivelled his head around to see Olaf had approached as well. "He's still pink!" Olaf's mouth turned upside down as he tried to peer closer, almost taking out Harry's eye with his nose. "Oops sorry! Well, he's not looking too pink right now… Maybe just white then."
Harry backed away as the snowman received a harsh wing in the face.
"You useless lump of snow! Look at the human!" Two pairs of beady eyes gazed at Harry unflinchingly, causing him to look anywhere but at his two companions. "Don't you see? He's whiter than you!"
"I don't see what's wrong with that: white is a beautiful colour and I'm sure he likes it, don't you, Harry?"
Before Harry could even think about answering, he had a flying being perched on his head, looming threateningly over the both of them.
"No one has ever died on that mountain," the fae started ominously. "Or at least not on my watch. And I am not letting this ridiculous excuse for a magical being be the first one to do so. Especially not when he is such a polite boy, and hasn't even tried to pull my wings once, unlike some others…"
The child wasn't quite sure what the relevance of that comment was until he saw Olaf's expression settle into what could be called a wince. "I just thought you were a flower," the snowman tried to defend himself, to no avail.
Instead of replying, the only one of their group able to fly fluttered forward, leaving the two others to stand still in indecision. "What are you waiting for? We do need to get you to a shelter, boy. And that won't happen with the both of you standing there like useless dunderheads."
Harry hesitantly looked towards Olaf, then the fae, before stepping forward onto a trail only the winged being seemed to follow.
It was still quite a long amount of time by Harry's perception until he finally starts to see through the trees. As calm as his stomach had been for the entirety of this adventure, it had seemed to grow steadily louder since the promise of a shelter: almost as though anticipating the food to come. Sniffling for what was at least the twentieth time now, the boy attempted to ignore what seemed to be a budding headache to the best of his ability. Olaf had been humming merrily for the past… Harry wasn't quite sure, but it certainly didn't help his headache.
So distracted was he by his musings that the young boy barely avoided bumping into Olaf where the snowman had stopped.
"There we are!" The fae announced from the cover of the trees. "The key to bringing you to safety!"
Harry looked over blearily, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. Apparently, Olaf didn't share the boy's propensity for blending in the background, for he ran out to meet the ones the fae's keen eyes had detected. Humans. Harry realised as the fear set in. People. They're sending me back! Eyes widening, the boy attempted to backtrack into the cover of the woods, only to trip over a root and tumble down a heap of snow. There was no way he was going to be undetected now.
And here is the latest chapter! I do seem to be somewhat respecting my self-imposed schedule so far, even though I am a few days late... Oops?
So it now seems like a few humans have decided to brave the mountain, throwing Harry into a nervous tumble down the snow. Next time we'll see who those humans are (no one we know yet) and what role they'll play in Harry's life (very important).
Hope you enjoyed!
-Yoshishisha
