A.N.: Uh. Wooow. That's a lot of attention. Seriously, I did not expect anything like this. And it does kinda put pressure on me, since now I already have a decently large audience to disappoint. And I only have 1 chapter up! Well, there's 2 now, so that's better. But still, many people, many expectations. I hope I'll be able to live up to them! But don't hold your breath too hard…
Marshall817: Always good to have more content and attention for smaller fandoms, even if you have to borrow from a larger one…
xyzdreadnought: I'm also a big fan of realistically complex characters (in personality, this is Touhou, we're not talking realistic abilities here), so I do try to write them. Also, I have to say, that bashing a character that properly deserves it can make for a fun interlude/comic relief. Not a good premise for a long story tho. Oh yeah, I hope your story is still going strong. I quite enjoy your Hailey's shenanigans. By the way, feel free to call me out if I start raising the wrong flags. I think they call that constructive criticism?
James Birdsong: You get around, don't you? I see your reviews all over the place. Still, thank you!
FirstWinterLight: Hopefully it will stay a good story as it grows. And to your question, well, spoilers.

Fiona's Light

~Chapter 2~

Walking back to her parents' house, Fiona experimented a little with her new… friend? Body part? What was it even?

Her lantern, that's what! Having decided on what to call it, she went back to playing with the flame. It responded strongly to her emotions, but with a little bit of concentration she could show it in a certain way. She could even change the colour, as the currently green light proved.

The fact that she did not have to carry it in her hand was also a welcome bonus. Not that she couldn't, it was strangely comforting to hold it in her own hands.

She quickly arrived at the back of the garden, and she started taking out a knife (which survival expert doesn't have a knife?). Picking the same tree that she had spend her first night outside in, she used a sturdy piece of wood to write a message on before hanging it on the tree's trunk. It was at an angle where it was not immediately visible, but it was certainly not hidden. Not any more than she had been, that first night.

She read the letter one last time:

Dear mom, dad and harry,

I am going away. I don't think you will miss me, but if you do, don't worry.
I'll be fine. I have something to protect me and to guide me, and I don't think I'll ever come back.
So don't look for me!

Kind regards,

Fiona, the explorer

It wasn't much, but hopefully they would just accept it and not go looking for her. She didn't even use her old name. Somehow it felt better that way.

She put all her tools away, picked up her lantern and set off, following the little tug she felt, telling her which way to go.

Fiona's adventuring had turned her into a pretty decent hiker. She could walk for hours and travel many kilometres in a day. She also had a pretty good idea about her limits. But now, all of that had gone out the window. Barely an hour had past, and she had crossed half of the British main island!

She was certain her lantern had something to do with it. And it probably also had something to do with not meeting any wizards. It was like she just knew whether there were people around. And while she couldn't tell if they were wizards or not, just avoiding everyone would also avoid wizards.

But perhaps she shouldn't avoid this particular signal. While the others she had felt so far either had a destination or were following someone who knew the way, this one was different. For starters, they were alone. But more importantly, she knew they were lost. And that she could guide them back. She wasn't sure were to, but she knew that it didn't matter. The magic would point her.

As she came near the signal, she discovered that it was a young boy. He was even younger than her, and he was crying softly to himself. With barely a thought, Fiona approached the child. The boy was not paying much attention, and didn't notice her until she was a couple metres away. Startled, he looked up at her, his face still teary.

"Who… *sob* are you? Can you help me? I'm-m, lost. And I wanna go back to my mommy. Please!" the little boy explained, while still sobbing.

"Of-eh course… I can help you. That's, eh, that's why I'm here. To help you, find your mother!" she answered, stumbling over her words. She was not good at this. But she couldn't just leave a child alone like that!

Offering the boy a hand, she helped him onto his feet. "So, just, hold on tight! We'll be right there!"

The boy could only nod, as she started walking into the direction that she felt, pulling him along. Fortunately for him, his guide remembered to be a little bit careful with her charge, and they had occasional breaks.

Soon enough, they could see the edge of the forest, and a few moments later they exited close to a small road. The boy looked around and cried out in recognition. "I know this! My house is right there!"

He pointed to one of the houses that spread out along the street, and excitedly started pulling Fiona along. He didn't notice that she let go of his hand when they started nearing the house. Calling out to his mother, the two quickly and happily reunited.

Fiona stood a small distance away. She didn't feel like talking with the woman. Most adults would usually not believe her when she said that she was fine, and that she didn't need any help. They'd try anyway, and it was rather annoying when she just wanted to continue exploring the forest!

By now the boy and his mother had finished greeting each other, and the boy pointed in her direction. She gave a quick wave as a goodbye, before turning around and getting back to her own travels.

She could barely hear someone calling after her, but a few quick turns and she was out of sight. A couple more steps and she knew that she was far enough away that they would never be able to find her again. Unless she wanted them to, of course.

But right now, she didn't. And it was not like any of them needed a guide, so she saw no reason to stick around and introduce herself.

As she continued walking and the sun started going down, she noticed once again how she wasn't really feeling tired. Nor was she really feeling hungry. More strange abilities that she got from the lantern? But even witches can't survive on nothing, so what kind of ability would this be? Did she really not need any food anymore?

But there was nobody around to answer her. Not anywhere in Britain, at least. Huh? How did she know that? Wait, she didn't really, it just felt like the destination where she could find the answers was not in Britain. She didn't know, she could just feel it. The same way she could feel where the lost boy had to go.

… Was she some kind of magical guide?

Looking herself over, she could certainly recognize some elements as from a couple pictures she'd seen. Depicting travellers or guides with a long cloak, a walking stick, and usually a lantern. Fiona the magical guide!

… It didn't sound too bad. And it was much better than "little-sister-of-the-boy-who-saved-us". If they remembered her existence at all…

So, from now on she would be Fiona the Magical Guide! Guiding lost children back to their parents, leading the rescuers of the captured prince through a treacherous swamp, helping an archaeologist discover an unexplored ruin! She would do all that and more, just like in the books!

… If only those books were real. There weren't really any princes in the wizarding world, and which famous archaeologist would hire a little girl like her? Nah, for now she would probably have to stick to helping lost children.

… Huh? Just thinking about it, she immediately felt that another lost person was near her. She made her flame shine brighter, and lifted the lantern up. Very soon, the presence carefully broke from the trees, revealing… Another boy. Except he was way younger than the previous one. He looked barely old enough to be out of preschool. Still, a lost child was a lost child, even if he somehow didn't feel entirely human. She addressed him, speaking softly.

"Hello there, little boy. Are you lost?"

Looking at her a little weary, he answered. "Yes, we were playing hide-and-seek. Me and my brother and sisters. But I hid too well, and they left me behind, and now I can't smell their trail anymore."

The little boy looked like he wanted to cry, but was doing a lot of effort holding it in. Seeing him, looking like a lost little puppy, Fiona didn't even have to think about the choice. She offered him her hand, and told him: "Well, let's go look for them then. Together. I think they went that way!". She pointed in a direction that wasn't far from the boy's original direction.

The boy looked at the offered hand for a moment, before sniffing it. Thinking for a moment, he eventually decided to take it. Fiona had trouble suppressing a smile at his antics. It reinforced his "puppy" image even further, and she wouldn't be surprised if he suddenly grew ears and a tail and started barking.

Holding hands, the two children started walking, with Fiona leading the way. Unlike her first client, however, the little boy was much more talkative, and pretty soon started asking all kinds of questions, and telling all kinds of stories. It really made him look like an excited puppy.

"So, what's your name? I'm Ralf! My big brother always calls me Rally, but that's wrong! My name is Ralf, and I always have to remind him of that! He's so annoying, but I still like him! He always plays with me and shows me cool tricks that daddy taught him! ..."

Even though he asked, multiple times in fact, for her name, she never got the chance to even start answering before he was off on the next tangent. So she stopped trying, and just concentrated on the path. Until suddenly she picked up something:

"… careful with normal humans, but you're not one, so its fine! So then…"

"Wait." Her stopping and suddenly speaking up startled him and caused him to stop talking. He looked at her with shocked eyes, but she had to ask.

"… what did mean, that I'm not one? I'm not a normal human?" confused, she questioned him.

"Yeah, just like me. You really don't smell like a normal human. But you also don't smell like a werewolf. But you're a magical creature, so it's fine if I follow you! Dad always told us that we have to be careful with strangers, and ten times so when they are humans. And a hundred times when they have sticks and are wizards! But you're not a human or a wizard!" After a careful start, he quickly got rolling again, and it didn't take long before he was back to his normal, chippy state.

… I'm not a human, or a wizard… So what am I? I'm not a werewolf either, or a vampire… What kind of vampire carries around a lantern like this anyway? Am I some kind of lantern spirit now? Is that even possible? Well, humans can change into other creatures, so why not a lantern spirit? That probably means I'm very rare now! Now we'll see who is special, Boy-Who-Lived! Your sister is now a lantern spirit!

Waking up from her thinking, she noticed that Ralf had stopped speaking and was looking at her intently. Quickly collecting her thoughts, Fiona the Magical Guiding Lantern Spirit, smiled encouragingly at her charge.

"I'm sorry, I… was lost in thoughts. For a moment. Let's continue on, it's not far anymore!"

Ralf just nodded, and let her take the lead once again. It wasn't long before his mouth was running at full speed again.

Just as Fiona had predicted, only about ten minutes passed before they arrived at a clearing that held a reasonably big house. In front of the gate, a family was discussing worriedly, probably about the missing child. She let go of Ralf's hand, and he took of immediately… and stopped after a few steps. He turned around and looked at her expectantly.

"Come on, you can meet my parents!"

She tried to give him an encouraging smile, while she told him: "Nah. It's fine. I really need to continue. I can't stay right now. Maybe another time!"

He looked a little dejected for a moment, before perking up again. "Oh. I get it. Thank you for taking care of me, Miss Lantern Ghost! Bye!"

He then waved to her, and Fiona answered with a small wave of her own. Then they went their separate ways, but not before she could hear the happy cries of the family finding their lost child.

She could swear she did hear something like "girl" and "lantern" and "ghost", before she got too far away. Continuing a little longer, she stopped at a boulder that was near the edge of the forest. It gave a pretty good view of the surrounding countryside, with some lights here and there marking a couple houses.

As she sat down, she let her lantern hover in front of her. Looking at the flame inside, she thought about everything that had happened today. She had somehow become a lantern spirit (or something, she really wasn't sure. Will-o'-the-wisp's didn't have a lantern, did they?), and discovered that she could now find the way to whatever place she needed to go. She even used it to guide two lost children back to their parents.

Their parents… They had been so happy to see the kids. And not just because they were lost. Even when she had been "lost", her parents hadn't been like that. Yes, they were concerned, but way less then when her brother would do something stupid. She didn't like her brother that much. He was way to busy with his "training" and his Quidditch. Unlike Ralf's brother, who sounded like a pretty nice brother. In fact, from all his stories, his family sounded much nicer then her own. Maybe she could have stayed with them for a moment…

… Maybe, but somehow, she didn't think they would be able to help her explain what had happened to her. Her feeling still told her that the destination with those answers was not in Britain. Maybe she should just go and chase the feeling. It's not like she wouldn't be able to find her way back here!

Finally having a clear goal, she prepared herself and set off into the unknown, one step at a time.

~End of Chapter 2~

A.N.: If you find any grammar or spelling errors, or have suggestions about the story, let me know!