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Day 35: Wings
The hippogriff flies for hours without growing tired. The man on its back doesn't attempt to steer it, to control where it goes. It doesn't matter where they go, as long as it's away.
Away from the dementors who very nearly sucked out his soul. Away from the Aurors who are trying desperately to hunt him down. Away from his failure to get his revenge or prove his own innocence. And though it's the hardest thing he's ever done, away from the godson who has only just come back into his life, because he has no choice. He wants nothing more than to be there for Harry, but he can't. At least, not right now. If anything, his presence only made Harry's life worse, for where Sirius had gone the dementors had followed. His own soul was one thing, but Sirius isn't sure he can forgive himself for the fact that the dementors had almost gotten Harry that night too.
As the sun begins to rise, the hippogriff at last begins to descend from the sky. There is a mountain ahead and the hippogriff lands smoothly at the entrance to a cave in it's side. It's almost as if the creatures knows of his urgent need to keep hidden. Or perhaps it is simply its instinct to seek shelter itself.
Sirius slides off of the hippogriff's back. He pauses to stroke its beak for a moment and murmur a thank you, before stumbling into the cave, exhausted. This high up on the mountain its cold, even in June, and he shivers, wishing he had a wand to cast a warming charm or start a fire.
He can see the hippogriff at the mouth of the cave. It seems to have caught something – a small animal of some kind. He stretches out on the floor of the cave, but between the cold and the whirl of his thoughts and the sound of the hippogriff stripping pieces of meat from it's catch, it's hard to sleep. After a few moments, he sits up. The hippogriff finishes its meal and moves into the cave. Remembering a long ago Care of Magical Creatures class, Sirius stands up and bows to it.
It seems to have decided that after hours of carrying Sirius on its back, it trusts him, for it bows back almost immediately, before settling down on the cave floor.
Sirius approached and kneels down to stroke one of the creature's huge wings. "I suppose we're in this together now, hmm? I have to warn you, I'm not sure how much of a companion I'll be. I've been alone for a long time.
The hippogriff regards him impassively and Sirius smiles wryly, "You probably wish I was Hagrid, don 't you? I saw you with him. I'm afraid for now, I'm all you've got."
And you're all I've got. He isn't stupid enough to say that aloud, lest the hippogriff take it as an insult. Still after such a brief reunion with both his godson and one of his oldest friends, the fact that now his only companion is a hippogriff hurts. And yet, he can't deny he's grateful for the presence of another living being.
Without thinking about what he's doing, Sirius leans against the hippogriff's warm back. The contact staves off the worst of the cold, but more than that, there's something comforting about feeling the great chest rise and fall as the hippogriff breathes, in the reminder that's he's not alone, at least, not completely. The beast doesn't seem to mind and soon enough both man and hippogriff have drifted into sleep.
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