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Freeing The Fairy

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The walk back to the Gryffindor common room was uneventful and Harry only encountering one student, who looked as if they were returning from the Quidditch Pitch. In fact, he barely registered them in time to duck behind a statue without being seen, so deeply was he engrossed in thought.

He mulled over the time spent in Salazar's rooms, and came to the conclusion that it was one of the oddest and most unsettling experiences he had had, not including watching Voldemort's rebirth, and it all led back to the least known and most feared Founder. Slytherin was as welcoming and reassuring as he could be, but there was something in his manner that set Harry on edge. After living for years with the Dursleys, through necessity he had become quite adept at reading people. It meant the difference between a meal and an empty belly. When he had come to Hogwarts, the skill had transferred quite easily, and it had kept him out of real trouble many a time, although he had often interpreted the wrong signs.

However, when he had been confronted with Salazar, he had been confounded. There was no question in his mind that the man had killed in his life – at the very least the number of poisons in his Potions lab told him that, but there was something other than the hardness in his expression that made analysing him difficult. It should have been relatively easy, Harry considered. The man's eyes were so expressive that they should have given away clues like the house elves gave away sweets at Christmas. Instead though, there was almost too great a mass of conflicting emotions in them that Harry felt as if he was staring into some swirling mass of colours, each indistinguishable from the next.

The found had been…pleasant – mainly, but it was all undermined by a brand of calculating menace that Harry associated with several of his most hated people: Snape, Lucius and Voldemort. All of them had wanted something from him at some point, and there was that same feeling coming from the Founder.

The problem was, he couldn't for the life of him figure out what. He had agreed to fetch some of Salazar's relics scattered around the castle, so it couldn't be that, but it unsettled him.

He briefly recalled the conversation they had had about Snape, Salazar probing him openly about the man – Harry had considered it peculiar at the time, considering that the renowned master of subtlety and misdirection had questioned him so blatantly. Still he had answered, if only to try and find out for himself what Salazar had gained from it.

The rooms had been shown to him so openly – another action that left Harry puzzled. A secretive man such as Salazar wouldn't reveal so much to a boy he had never even met before would he? All of it was so deceptively open and undeceiving, leaving Harry with the feeling that he was walking into a trap.

Led by my own curiosity, he thought. That really was his greatest fault. Inevitably, it wasn't simply his reckless bravery that led him into disaster; it was his irrepressible curiosity. Over the summer, ever since that awful night in the graveyard, it had made a transition to books as a source of information applicable to him and his everyday life rather than something divorced from him, and he had devoured those he had with him at a frantic pace. He had been desperate to learn enough so that the next time he faced Voldemort, he would be able to stop the people around him being killed, not to mention saving his own skin at the same time.

It was that same curiosity that was filling him with the desire to return, despite the feeling of danger. Or perhaps because of it, he thought. There was so much to discover still in those rooms. He knew that there was much for him to find in Helga and Rowena's rooms still, but he was savouring his explorations like eating the last bar of chocolate over the summer, knowing that he wouldn't taste anything like it again for a long time.

Salazar's rooms however, he knew he was in no danger of finding everything at once, and when Slytherin had prodded him into looking over the whole set of rooms, he had let go of his hesitation and investigated everything he could with a burning interest.

His mind was still on the discoveries he might make when he entered the common room. However, he was jerked out of his daydreaming when he surveyed the scene in front of him.

Hermione had been talking to Ron, but they both turned with identical expressions of relief and worry on their faces when he entered. Harry flinched a little when Hermione's face morphed from relief to anger, and she strode towards him.

"Do you have any idea how worried we were?" she shouted, stopping a few paces from Harry, her hands balled into fists.

"Er-" Guilt welled in him, and he tried to push it away. He didn't need to feel guilty about this – it wasn't his fault! But…he couldn't exactly tell them that…

"I was woken up with Ron shouting up the girl's staircase for me, telling me that you were gone, not even dressed, and you had forgotten your wand!" She ground out. "Where were you going?" she demanded. "You know how dangerous it could be for your out at night!" her expression faded from anger into worry as she caught a hold of herself. "I'm sorry Harry, it's just when Ron found your bed empty…" she trailed off.

"It…it was scary, mate," Ron admitted, coming to stand next to Hermione and looking very pale. "I woke up, and you were just gone. I…I thought you'd been lured out of the school or something, especially when I found your wand still here."

"It's all right," Harry reassured them, but it didn't sound very sincere to his ears. Sighing, he smiled slightly at Hermione and gave her hand a squeeze. "I'm sorry I worried you. Why don't we sit down, and I'll tell you about it?" he suggested gently, watching Hermione's almost teary expression.

"Yes, do tell us, cousin dearest," came a sharp voice from Harry's favourite chair by the fire.

Harry moved past his two friends to the fireplace, and was greeted with a frown from Ginny, who was curled up in his chair, her dark red hair glowing slightly in the firelight.

"Are you angry at me, Ginny?" Harry asked.

"Yes," she replied shortly, shooting him a glare that was ruined by the anxious cast of her face before turning back to stare at the fire. "I went and checking with your 'friends in high places', but you weren't there either."

Harry sighed again, before moving forwards and pulling her into a hug. She hesitated a moment before wrapping her arms around his back, and he rested his head on hers.

"I'm all right, okay? I'll tell you what happened…" he hesitated before lowering his voice so that Ron and Hermione wouldn't hear, "-along with the whole story later, 'Kay?"

"S'pose," she mumbled into his pyjama top. Moving away, she resumed her seat in a far more relaxed position. "So, you going to tell us what you're doing out in your night-clothes still?" she asked with a smile, but her eyes remained concerned.

"Yeah," Ron said, dropping onto the sofa. "They aren't exactly the best things to be wandering around the castle in. Specially with the chills."

Harry ran a nervous hand through his hair before taking the nearest armchair and warming his hands against the fire. Hermione sat on the edge of the sofa too, watching him carefully as if he would disappear off if she took her eyes away from him even for a moment.

"Harry?" she called.

"Yeah, I know. Just thinking about how I'm going to explain it," he said, before slumping back into his seat and looking at them seated before him, three pairs of worried eyes trained on him.

Taking a deep breath, he began. "I've been sleepwalking, I guess you'd say. It started around the time we were learning about Animagus Transformations in Transfiguration," Harry said, avoiding meeting any of their eyes directly for more than a few moments.

"But that was over a month ago!" Hermione exclaimed. "Why didn't you-"

"Yeah," Harry interrupted glumly. "I've ended up pretty far away too. One time I woke up in the Upper Sector."

"That's a long way," Ron said, pointing out the obvious.

"Uh huh," Harry agreed, chancing a glance at Ginny. She was regarding him with a sharp gaze, almost certainly linking up his sleepwalking to their talk of dreams at the beginning of the summer.

"Where did you go?" Hermione asked quietly in an overly careful voice, as if asking someone about a lost loved one. Harry found it mildly irritating.

"Second floor," Harry said, before hurrying to dispel their shock, "but nowhere near the Myrtle's bathroom," he lied.

Hermione and Ron seemed placated, but Ginny remained looking thoughtful. He had discussed his ideas about where Salazar's rooms might be, and she had no doubt added that to her suspicions about his dreams, coming to what were likely to be the correct conclusions.

"But Harry, this is bad! Sleepwalkers are particularly vulnerable to spells and attack, and you might end up leaving the castle!" Hermione exclaimed. Ron frowned.

"So it could be You-Know-Who then?" he asked. Harry shook his head.

"I don't think so."

"But how do you know?" Hermione asked in a slightly panicked voice.

"Well, he couldn't really lure me out of Hogwarts could he?" Harry pointed out. Hermione deflated a little, but still looked worried.

"I don't know Harry," she said quietly. "He's got in before. He might not even need to get you out of the castle to attack you."

"If you know spells to stop me leaving the dormitories, please do cast them," Harry said sarcastically, and Hermione flinched a little at his tone. Guilt resurfaced, but he pushed it away again – she was overreacting to it all, he reasoned with himself.

"What are you dreaming about?" Ron asked suddenly, looking thoughtful.

"I can't really remember," Harry half-lied. He couldn't remember all of it, but he didn't want to let the two of them in on his private mental world.

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked, looking as if she didn't particularly believe his answer. Thankfully, Harry was saved from replying as Ginny cut in.

"Give the boy a rest will you?" she said with a sigh. "He's been wandering around the castle all night in the freezing cold."

Harry blinked, remembering something. "Was there another chill tonight?" he asked anxiously.

"No," Hermione told him with a frown. "It was odd. The pattern hasn't been broken before. And I can't seem to find anything substantial about magical leeching in the library," she added, looking disappointed. "I don't understand it – there has to be something! Even the entries on Grindelwald were so brief as to be useless."

"And Dumbledore's still missing, so we can't ask him either," Ron said irritably. "Great time for the bloke to do a fainting spell."

"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed, scandalised. "He was boosting the wards! It's not his fault, and he was doing everything he could to help!"

Harry winced a little at the use of 'was' as if the headmaster was already dead. There hadn't been hide or hair of him since the accident, even in the hospital wing, and everything had carried on as if nothing was wrong. Still, rumours were flying round the student population, although Harry and his friends were the only ones who knew what had really happened to him.

"I'm going to go get dressed," Harry told them, cutting off the impending argument and heading towards the stairs. He could almost feel their eyes on him as he walked away.

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Harry had just got out of the shower, and was now pouring over his new trunk, picking out clothes, when he heard a tapping at the window. Walking over, he opened it to admit a dark tawny owl with a letter clamped in its beak. Taking it, he absently gave the creature a few treats before shutting the window after it.

Tracing the untidy scrawl of his name on the top of the letter, he felt a smile break over his face. He would recognise that writing anywhere. Carelessly flopping onto his bed, he unfolded his godfather's letter and began to read.

'Harry,

Moony will be visiting Hogwarts in two days, and he'll be bringing his favourite dog with him too. We hope you're around, because we both miss you greatly.

I hope your 'Etiquette' training is coming along well, and those books we sent helped. You'll have to tell us about it when we visit, and we'll give you some pointers.

We'll be visiting for Christmas as well.

See you soon,

Snuffles'

With a broad grin on his face, Harry reread the letter to make sure he had understood it correctly. Remus and Sirius were coming for Christmas! He'd have to do his Christmas shopping soon, but it would be worth it to be able to see them.

Still smiling, he refolded the letter and walked back to his trunk. The parchment he tucked into a hidden compartment, and drew out a few clothes for the day. It would be a good time to go for a walk and perhaps drop in on Hagrid. Since a glance out to window showed it to be snowing, he pulled out a scarf and gloves as well.

He was about to leave when he remembered his purchases from the day before. His visit to Dreamwood Market seemed years ago rather than only a day, but he could remember the books he'd bought, and the various curiosities.

It was with a start that he also remembered the fairy he'd bought in the darker section of Dreamwood Market. Hurrying back over to his trunk, he rummaged through it until he found the large glass jar.

They had learnt about fairies the previous year in Care of Magical Creatures. They were quite different to the Muggle idea of them as tiny little men and women with wings. Instead, they had large black eyes and pale almost translucent skin. Some of them had poisonous bites, but Harry couldn't remember which wing shapes indicated poison. Their wings were silvery and pale, only gaining colours in the summer months when they bred.

The fairy Harry had bought was curled up pitifully at the bottom of the jar, its large hands and feet tucked around it. When Harry peered closer, it watched him with large, docile eyes.

Biting his lip, Harry made a snap decision. It might bite him, but the chances were that it wouldn't be fatally poisonous, and it was unfair to leave it cooped up. Twisting the lid, he opened it with difficulty and held the jar at arm's length.

The fairy remained curled up for a moment, and Harry came close to reaching in and picking it up. Suddenly, however its wings twitched and soon became a blur of silver. Harry was reminded strongly of his first Quidditch match, when he discovered what animagus form he was to take.

As he watched, the creature slowly rose out of the jar, hovering and observing him for a long moment, before speeding up and around the room. It did several loops and swerves, and Harry laughed, re-corking the jar and putting it back in his trunk.

"Like being free, huh?" he asked, and the fairy did another loop in response. "Well, enjoy it, I'm not going to be caging you. Just make sure you don't get caught again," he told it.

Turning back to his trunk, he removed the Spheres he'd bought, along with a length of leather to hang them on. Threading them onto it, he tied it around his neck, and took out the instructions to reset them. He was nearing the end of the lot he'd bought, and had become quite familiar with what they all felt like when a soft pressure on his shoulder made him jump. Turning gently, he saw the fairy sitting on all fours, eyeing him unblinkingly.

"Hey there," he said soothingly, hoping desperately that the creature wasn't about to latch its teeth into his ear lobe.

Therefore he was quite surprised when it reached out with its odd, three-fingered hands and picked up on of the spheres. He couldn't help but laugh when it shook the thing, twitching its large pointed ears at it. Startled, it flew off and landed on the end of the bed above him.

"No, no it's all right, little thing," Harry murmured soothingly. "Just me laughing, see?" It blinked slowly at him, before fluttering forwards and landing on his hand, making an odd chattering noise.

"I can't really understand you," Harry told it. Chattering still, it reached forwards and picked up one of the spheres again, examining it with painstaking scrutiny. Harry let it, and when it was finished it made an oddly affirmative noise and flew up to land on his head and play with his messy hair.

"I guess you'll be staying awhile then," Harry smiled. It would be an interesting experience to have a fairy around before it made it's own way off.

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The common room was starting to fill with the few other students when Harry came down the stairs, his Invisibility cloak tucked into one pocket and the fairy sitting on his shoulder, peering interestedly around. Slowly, the conversations stopped as people noticed his odd companion.

"Harry," Ron said slowly, "is that a fairy?"

He broke out into a wide grin, and the creature made a little snickering noise before flying over to the redhead and tugging his ears.

"Yep," Harry agreed.

"Where-" he began, but Harry cut him off.

"Ask Ginny," he told him.

"Oi!" she shouted from across the room. "It's your fairy."

Harry shot her his most charming smile before striding out of the portrait hole, the fairy close behind. He listened, amused, to Ron's questioning voice and Ginny's indignant response as the Fat Lady closed behind him.

He was still smiling when he sat down for breakfast, which was partly because of the fairy's investigation into the breakfast food. The creature had made a disgusted noise at the coffee, but had quite happily dug its hands into the jam pot, and was currently eating entire handfuls with a long pink tongue.

He was buttering his second slice of toast when his friends fell into seats beside him, Ginny on his right, and Hermione and Ron on his left.

"So," Ron said, in between bites of his food, "where did you get the fairy?"

"Dreamwood Market, yesterday," Harry said casually, and was rewarded with a shocked expression from the redhead.

"When did you visit there?!" he exclaimed.

"I told you, yesterday. Ginny's been introducing me to Wizarding places," Harry continued, repressing the smile that threatened to break over his face at Ginny's amusement.

"Ginny?!" Ron exclaimed again.

"Yes, Ron. Your sister, Ginny. The girl sitting next to me," Harry deadpanned.

"I know who she is!" Ron said irritably. "But how did you get passes?"

"Honestly Ron, I just went and asked McGonagall," Harry said, unable to restrain his smile this time.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Hermione cut in, before Ron could state the obvious yet another time.

Harry shared a look with Ginny before answering. "You didn't ask," he said simply. "Don't tell me you didn't notice we were gone for the better part of two days?"

Hermione at least had the decency to blush. Ron simply looked confused.

"Two days?" he asked.

"That's right, brother. Checker Square, then Dreamwood Market," Ginny said smugly, as Ron's face fell.

"Checker Square…" he moaned. "You got to visit Patchworks…" he trailed off and theatrically put his face in his hands.

"Mr. Potter."

Harry's head snapped up, and his eyes met familiar dark ones. A shiver went down his back as he thought of the similarities between Snape's eyes and those of Salazar's, although there were dramatic differences. Whilst Salazar's eyes were very much alive, Snape's glittered like some rock – something cold and dead. Odd, considering that Snape was the one still walking around.

"Yes sir?" Harry gulped, trying not to let his nervousness show.

"What, is that?" the Potion's Master asked, gesturing with one elegant movement at the fairy struggling to reach the last of the jam at the bottom of the pot.

"It's a fairy, sir," Harry replied blandly.

"Yes, I know it's a fairy," Snape snapped. "What I want to know, it what it is doing here."

Harry fiddled anxiously with the necklace of spheres. "Well, I freed it," he explained.

"That still does not cover why it is still here," Snape said slowly, stressing his words.

"It's a…er…" Harry trailed off, watching with mild horror as the fairy flew gently towards the man before him.

Snape seemed frozen in indecision, and the creature landed on his shoulder, lifting up one lock of lank black hair with its jam-covered fingers and shaking it. It made a small chattering sound that sounded to Harry like laughter, and then did the unthinkable: poked the universally feared Potion's Master in the nose.

"I think I'm done here!" Harry exclaimed, grabbing the fairy and sprinting from the hall. "Thanks for your concern Professor, I'll make sure to take good care of it!"

He left just in time to hear: 'Fifty points from Gryffindor for untrained pets', before the doors closed behind him and he headed towards Hagrid's hut.

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"I take back any reservations I had about you," Harry told the fairy. "You're brilliant. But you have to be more careful, or Snape will turn you into a potion," he warned it. The fairy made a rattling sound in the back of its through and tugged Harry's hair.

It didn't take long for Harry to settle into a massive armchair with Fang drooling on his leg, a cup of tea in his hand and a plate of rock cakes before him. Hagrid was as happy as ever to see him, and had insisted that Harry tell him all about the fairy.

"Awful poachers, they are, to catch a fairy an' put it in a bottle of all things!" he said vehemently, shaking one finger in the air. "Ministry allows all this, will yeh believe it?"

"I wouldn't be surprised," Harry said, thinking of Fudge and his bluster. "I would have bought more, but they were just so expensive…" he trailed off.

"They do tha'. Catch a load of 'em, then sell 'em to all sorts 'a folk. Most of 'em that buy fairies aren't the sort yeh want to run into in a dark street, if yeh know what I mean. Dark wizards, they are," Hagrid said with a frown. "Now, I want yeh to promise me yeh won't go into those places no more. Don't know where yeh got it, but it can't 'ave been anywhere respectable."

"I won't Hagrid," Harry promised, although he mentally crossed his fingers as he did so.

Hagrid nodded approvingly. "There's enough goin' on a' the castle without yeh goin' lookin' for danger," Hagrid said, worry coming across his large face. "What with Dumbledore still sick, it's a wonder anythin' is getting done 'round here. Situation's getting' worse, I tell yeh."

"What situation Hagrid?" Harry frowned.

"The wards, 'arry. They're fallin', and without Dumbledore getting' better, there ain't nothin' we can do 'bout it," he explained, before shock came over his face. "I weren't supposed to tell yeh that."

"It's all right Hagrid," Harry placated him, but it felt as if his stomach had just dropped into his feet at the news of Dumbledore. "I already knew about the wards." He stood, taking a rock cake to give to the Giant Squid on the way back up. "I really should get going."

"'Course yeh do. An' if yeh ever need someone to look a'ter yer fairy, I'm the man! I'll see yeh later 'arry!"

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