Sorry its a tad late. We lost power. No power, no internet, no update.
BTW, there is now FANART! It is now on Ao3! Check out the Bunnypool, Harriet, and Glacia omsrandom drew me!
Disclaimer in Chapter 1. Will add as needed.
After Harriet, Fred, and George got the Maximoff twins settled in the med wing and Harri had told Dianna to keep an eye on them, the trio returned to the testing facility. They were greeted by the sight of Fenrir and Jor in larger forms, wrestling on the rapidly collapsing facility with Loki and Sleipnir watching nearby in amusement.
Harri moved over to the larger group where James, Sirius, and Remus were healing minor wounds on the prisoners and Steve was calming a few of the test subject with Bucky standing guard by them. Bucky's head shot over to Harriet as she approached and inclined his head, Harri gave him a once over to check for injuries before looking back to his face, "Report."
"The attack went off without a hitch. They had no time to gather any sort of defense. Only minor wounds among our group, Loki healed them once we gathered back up. The Marauders are healing what they can and stabilizing what they can't for the prisoners and test subjects. The Captain is soothing the frightened who are relatively unharmed." Bucky reported smartly, "Fenrir and Jörmungandr started in on the demolition about five minutes ago once Loki assured that there were no other life forms within."
Harri nodded, scanning the scene around her with a practiced eye, "Where is Deadpool?"
"I haven't seen him since the all clear." Bucky said with a frown. Harri's lips pressed together and she was about to cast a point me when a loud laugh caught her attention.
"Oh birdie!" came the happy voice of Wade; Harriet, Bucky, and the twins looked to their left to see Deadpool approaching, drawing a struggling man by his hair. "Got you a present!" he sang, when he drew close enough he pulled the man up and threw him at Harriet's feet.
Harriet's eyebrow shot up before a smile came on her face, "My, my is that Anton Trojak?" she crouched down as the man struggled to his hands and knees, "Whatever would a Shield scientist be doing in a Hydra base?" she asked innocently. The man made to lunge at Harriet but Deadpool's boot landed between his shoulders, sending him to the ground with a muffled umpf. Harri smiled and stood, "This was a great present Wade. Did you take out his cyanide cap?"
"Right here!" Wade said proudly as he held up a bloody tooth shaped object. "He should really brush better, really this thing is just fucking covered with plaque." He looked down at the squirming man, "You got to get all the way to the back when you brush there, genius."
Harri giggled, "Yes, I'd hate to be up against villains with bad oral hygiene." She pulled out her phone and quickly found the number she would need, she put her phone to her ear and stepped back to watch with amusement as Deadpool tormented the man on the ground under the guise of teaching Fred and George sensitive spots on the human body they could exploit in fighting.
"Hello." Came the serious voice from the phone.
Harri smiled, "Hello Phil. Whatcha doin'?"
"Currently? Paper work and attempting to keep Clint from bring down the ceiling on top of us with that crazy magic ice arrow you sent him for Christmas. You?" Phil said flatly.
"Oh you know, just taking down a Hydra base." Harri said nonchalantly, she heard a soft snap of fingers followed by a slightly louder movement of bodies moving closer, "I've got some freed prisoners here that I could use some help with and a double agent I can throw in if you're willing to help with the first."
"Are they alive?"
"He is currently." Harri said, looking back to Deadpool, Fred, and George, "He may be a bit beat up by the time you make it to me, but hey, that's just a head start on his…questioning isn't it?"
"Is he worth all that?" Phil questioned, but Harri could already hear them moving in the background.
"I recognized him which should tell you something at least." Harri said with amusement, "Call me back on Widow's phone. I know for sure hers is secure. I'll send you the coordinates on yours." With that Harri hung up. Harri huffed when she heard a bone snap under Wade's boot, "Wade don't kill him! We need to question him now that we took his way out. He's high up enough to give us a bit of information."
"Aw!" Wade whined.
Harriet's phone rang and she brought it back to her ear, hitting the accept button as she went, "Hey Clint." She answered.
"How did you know it was going to be me?" he asked incredulously, Harri didn't answer and he huffed, "Right. Time Lord." Harri rolled her eyes, "We're on the Quinjet. Nat swept it, we're clean, and we're doing the start-up. We've got two other jets following us for the prisoners and injured. Just waiting on your coordinates."
"Great, I'm sending them through." Harri said as she saw Jarvis flash the message across her headset screen. "Anyway, we managed to catch Anton Trojak. He's a doctor who at this point should have only recently entered Shields service and still be undergoing his checks. He's currently developing a pair of weapons that will be used in the future against one of Shields computers that will be made specifically for finding out The Supreme Hydra's true identity once Shield is made aware of their continued existence. Fury will stop him but I figure its best to get it done now. Plus, he's high enough up for you guys to get at least something from him to further your mission."
"What there's no way to magic it out of him?" Clint asked.
Harri laughed, "There are several ways to 'magic' it out of him but the potion is dangerous to use on just plain old muggles, it can cause brain damage if used too much and we need the information in there. The other I haven't had a chance to recreate fully and doing so is a bit of a pain since the people we would be using it on has no magic to support it. I have faith in your guy's ability."
"Alright fine," Clint pouted, there was silence for a moment, "We've got your coordinates. We'll be there in about an hour and a half."
Harri frowned, "What are you guys doing in Europe?"
Clint chuckled, "See you in a bit Harriet."
Harri pocketed her phone with a huff before she stepped back over to join everyone, she looked over to check on Loki and his kids. They were just finishing up so Harri waited until they joined them before addressing everyone, keeping her voice calm for the still frightened prisoners they had freed. "Shield is on their way to facilitate clean up and to get those of you who need it back to your families or into witness protection." Many of the recently freed relaxed slightly, the adrenaline of the escape wearing off. Harri smiled, "Please just wait to the side, they will be here soon."
Once the freed prisoners shuffled over to the side, Harriet's group circled up around their own prisoner.
"Is it wise to bring Shield in?" Steve asked.
Harri smiled at him, "Unfortunately they are a necessary evil at the moment. With our current focus in Europe and the lack of our team being public, I don't have the complete resources I need to place people in witness protection. It would only be a half assed job and these people deserve all the security available. There is a chance that Hydra will try to get them back but since they will be tagged as Hydra refugees within Shield they will be kept a close eye on. The ones I called know of the infiltration and are working toward ending it too so they will be keeping track as well." Steve nodded, looking a bit happier at the explanation.
"What are we doing with him?" Fred asked, looking down at Anton.
"Are we going to keep him alive?" George questioned.
James raised an eyebrow at Harri, "I thought you said we take them out so they don't pose a threat later."
Harri's lips pressed into a thin line, "His cyanide capsule has been taken from him and he is high enough within the organization to know information important to weeding out Hydra from Shield. We also currently have a team working toward that goal. He is more valuable alive at the moment, even if he came to us by a bit of luck." She cocked her head at Wade, "Deadpool usually wouldn't have hesitated."
"But I'm a good sidekick and thought before I unalived the bastard!" Wade grinned through his mask, "Yellow caught sight of the Shield badge under his coat right before I ran him through with Bea and Arthur!"
"Who?" Remus asked.
"His katanas." Harri answered, holding out a hand to stop Wade before he could whip them out, "Thank you Pool. We don't need a demonstration."
Wade sniffed as he dropped his hands back to his sides, "You ruin all my fun."
Harri rolled her eyes, "Alright. Our Shield siblings aren't quite ready to have the full onslaught of the family. So you all should head back." She looked over to Loki, "I know you know quite a bit of healing. If you could look over Pietro that would be great." Loki nodded, Harri sighed as she ran a hand through her hair, "Also, I hate to say this since she technically hasn't done anything yet and her power is nowhere near what it would have been if Hydra had gotten a chance to enhance it but everyone should be wary of Wanda. She has many abilities based around her telepathy including telekinesis and mental manipulation. She can pull on negative emotions and make you see your greatest fears and worse memories. Keep your minds closed tight in her presence." Harri looked to Steve, Bucky, and Wade, "You can't do that without extra training so try not to approach her without one of those with the ability to do so. We can't protect you from mental invasion but we can stop her if it comes to it."
Steve's eyes were wide and Bucky growled, "Has she done that to us before?"
"She got Tony last time before she was stopped." Harri said carefully, trying to make sure Deadpool wouldn't catch on to the time travel, that could be a disaster. "Made him see terrible things that almost made him make a killer robot." Harri noticed Jarvis noting that down on her headset and nodded, "She has a deep hatred for Tony. Don't let her near him." She said sternly, "She will hurt him and I will take drastic action if need be."
"Well this is all very cryptic and confusing." Deadpool jumped into the serious conversation, he cocked his head at Harriet, "Your Phoenix thing give you a view into the other universes? Cause I get an eye full sometimes and let me tell you…Damn. Do you understand how hot I am as a chick? Like, I'd do me." Fred and George choked as Harriet descended into giggles. Deadpool blinked, his white eye pieces following the motion, "I'm serious, I'm a bombshell blonde! I'd hit that!"
Harri patted Deadpool on his shoulder, "You should ask Strange about the other universes. He's seen them." She gave him a mischievous smile, "Ask him about the female Weasel."
Wade leaned forward, "You know Weasel?" he shook himself, "No, bad pool." He smacked his cheek, "Female Weasel. What, is he a hooker or something?" Wade pressed his hands to his cheeks, "Is he a short little pixie?" he cooed, "Oh my god I'm not letting him live this down!"
Harri waved a hand at him as she tried to breath around her laughter, "Go to my house, find Strange, he'll tell you."
"You're really going to let him back home?" Loki asked.
Harri brightened at Loki labeling the castle home, "Until he annoys me too much. If I don't he'll find a way to break in and destroy the place in the process."
"Yep!" Wade exclaimed, bouncing over to Loki, stepping on Anton's back in the process. "So we going or what greenie?"
Loki rolled his eyes but reluctantly took Deadpool's arms and teleported him away, Jor, Fenrir, and Sleipnir going after him. James and Sirius took hold of Bucky and Steve, who looked over at Harriet solemnly. "We'll keep her contained." Steve said.
"And Tony away from her if he shows up." Bucky added.
"Thank you." Harriet said, letting out a breath. With that The Marauders apparated away with Steve and Bucky. Harri turned to Fred and George who look back at her definitely, she smiled, "So…how did you like your first real mission." She asked easily, they relaxed knowing she wasn't going to make them return to the castle without her.
They fell into easy conversation as they waited, the twins making sure to keep an eye on the freed prisoners and Harriet keeping Anton in place. When the conversation had started Trojak had tried to crawl free but Harriet had pulled her gun and shot out one knee, ignoring the following screaming and cursing. Now Harriet kept one foot resting easily on the wound to prevent Anton from trying to escape again.
Just as Clint predicted, they arrived an hour and a half after he had hung up on Harri. She made sure that Fred and George's hoods were in place before she cast an incarcerous on Trojak and started toward the center quinjet, only slowing when agents from the other two jets disembarked first with their guns aimed at the trio. Head bowed to keep her face from showing to the agents, Harri waved her free hand and erected her advanced shield around the four of them wandlessly.
"Stand down." Coulson ordered as he descended from his quinjet with Natasha and Clint, Artemis flying past them quickly and beating her wings at the shield as she came to a stop in front of Harriet. Once the agents dropped their guns to their sides, Harri dropped the shield and Artemis flew over to perch on her shoulder.
"Hello pretty girl." Harri cooed, brushing at Artemis' wing. The hawk pressed into the contact.
"Go recover the freed prisoners." Phil ordered the other agents, "Get the names into the data base as quickly as possible so base can start identifying them." They all nodded and made their way over to the prisoners who were still huddled together, waiting. Phil looked over to the trio, "Harriet." He greeted.
"Phil." Harri replied, inclining her head. She drug Anton in front of her and dumped him on the ground, he started cursing her as he landed on his wounded knee and Harriet hit him with a wandless stunner before drawing her hood down and smiling at Clint, "Clint." she looked over at the Widow, "Natasha."
Clint grinned, "Hey Harri!" he greeted, Natasha gave her a small nod. "Why didn't you invite us to crash the Hydra base?" Clint whined.
Harri laughed, "We were on a rescue mission, time was of the essence. We only captured Anton here by chance, we were going to clear everybody from the facility."
Natasha bent down over Anton to look him over with a critical eye, "Did you start the interrogation already?"
"Na that was just Deadpool." Fred laughed, Natasha's head jerked up and Clint frowned while Phil remained just as blank as usual.
"He was using him to show us weak points." George added.
"Very useful." Fred commented.
"Of yes, we'll definitely"
"be able to use that"
"in the future." The twins ended together.
"You know Deadpool?" Natasha asked warily.
"Please tell me that crazy asshole was not part of our family." Clint moaned.
Harri giggled, "He wasn't no." Clint relaxed a little.
Phil's eyes were moving between Fred and George though, trying to see past their hoods, "Who are you two?" he asked with genuine curiosity.
The twins pulled down their hoods together with identical grins spread across their faces as they pointed to each other, "He's Fred" George said.
"and he's George." Fred continued. "Pranksters extraordinaire!"
"Mad inventors!"
"Mischief and Mayhem!"
"Havoc and Disorder!"
"The Knights of Chaos!" they ended together with a bow, "At your service!"
Harriet smiled at the introduction while Clint laughed lightly, "Awesome!"
Natasha looked over at Harriet with a small smile that to anyone else would seem fake but Harri knew the little glint in her sister's eyes, "Twins huh?" Harri grinned in response and wiggled her eyebrows, Phil's mouth twitched up at the side.
They were interrupted by Fred and George's phones going off simultaneously, they both took them from their pockets and frowned at them, "We need to go Harriet." Fred hummed, "Lee is freaking out."
"Why?" Harri asked, George moved his arm over her shoulder so she could see the screen and her eyebrows shot up when she saw a picture of a headless Deadpool running into a wall. Harri looked back at the three agents, "Seems we need to go take care of something. If you have any questions about things you know how to reach me." She said as Artemis flew over to Clint.
"I don't suppose you could get your people to fill out mission reports." Phil called before she could disappear.
Harri laughed, "Send me the forms. I don't have any laying around at the moment." Fred and George latched onto her and she swept them away in her blues flames.
Once they returned home and Harriet calmed everyone down by reattaching Wade's head to his body, things calmed considerably.
Loki had run a check on Pietro and had discovered multiple fatal internal wounds much to Wanda's horror. Loki with a bit of input from Strange, had theorized that the advanced healing factor he had was stopped by one of the IVs that had been in him when they found him. They were very wary of putting him on any more potions for fear that it would interfere with whatever Hydra had given him. With that in mind Pietro was started on a saline drip in an attempt to clear out his system. In the meantime, Harri kept him in the coma so that he wouldn't be in any pain and she, Loki, and Strange had set magical alarms in place to monitor him. Wanda refused to leave his side and Harriet happily set her up in the infirmary with a trip alarm to alert her if Wanda ever left.
The evening of their Hydra attack, Phil sent over the mission report paper work and Harriet took a strange pleasure in making everyone sit down and learn how to fill them out correctly. When the complaining about the paper work had peaked Harriet revealed that she had done most of the team's paperwork last time because of attitudes like this and that if they wanted her to do so this time they would have to start paying her per page. That shut everyone up pretty fast and they suffered silently through the paper work. Well, most of them did. Wade complained for another couple minutes until Harri cut out his tongue and burnt it with fiendfyre, making him wait for his tongue to regrow before he could complain again. Needless to say, Deadpool's paperwork had more than a few blood spots on it when Harriet sent Hedwig off to Phil with the paperwork.
As promised Harriet sent Tonks a letter. She apologized for having her moved back to work while she slept but offered to have Tonks over once she was done with her trip with Luna and Xenophilius. Harri wanted to bring the other woman into the fold a bit but she knew she would have to be careful not to cross into investigation territory too much until it was over, she really didn't want to get Tonks in trouble for 'withholding information' from Madame Bones. Tonks replied only a day later and accepted her invitation but suggested they hold off deciding the date until she had gotten back just in case anything came up in the interim. Harriet agreed.
This turned out to be a good thing, as the morning they were scheduled to depart for their crumple-horned snorkack trip, Severus finished the Cure All.
Severus came into family common room feeling supremely pleased with himself, so much so that the crazy whirlwind that seemed to be sweeping through the place didn't even register to him. He knew that almost everyone was leaving today for a week long camping trip to study crumple-horned snorkacks of all things, his good mood wouldn't even allow him his normal snort at the insane goal, he would believe that when he saw it. The only people that were staying were those new mutant twins in the infirmary; Doctor Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme that Harriet had managed to befriend; Lee Jordan, who was on a small trip with his parents; and the elder two Weasley boys who had jobs that interfered. The strange muggle in the red and black suit that Severus had behead (mostly by accident) wasn't going either but apparently he had business in the muggle world 'unaliving' people.
Severus scanned the room and quickly found Harriet chatting happily with the Lovegood girl who looked far more mentally present for this expedition than he could ever hope she would be for potions class. Harriet's mates were close by but for once didn't seem glued to Harriet's sides.
Snape made his way through the room and came to stand in front of Harriet and Luna, Harri looked up at him and gave him the bright smile that reminded him so much of Lilly. "Hey Severus!" she chirped, "Did you change your mind?" she pulled out a ridiculous t-shirt that Luna had gotten made the day prior. It was fuchsia in color with obnoxiously large white letters that spelled out, 'In Pursuit of Crumple-Horned Glory' with a strange looking horn speared between the two lines of text. "We've got an extra t-shirt!"
"I think not Harriet." Severus scoffed, eyeing the shirt in distaste.
"We're all wearing them." Harri pouted, tugging at her own shirt that she had on over dark cargo pants. "And it will do you good to get away for a bit. You're too stressed."
Severus' lips twitched up at the side a bit, "Actually. Much of that stress was just alleviated." Harri raised an eyebrow at him and he drew himself up a little in his pride, "I have completed the Cure All."
Harriet beamed at him and pulled him quite suddenly into a hug after dropping the shirt, "Congratulations Severus!" she pulled back, "That's amazing!"
Severus had to fight not to descend into a memory of a young Lilly saying much the same over other, relatively smaller, achievements. "Thank you." He said, pulling away fully and straightening his robes discreetly to try and control his embarrassment at the praise. He cleared his throat, "The batch only produces eight vials. So I want to test two before saving three a piece for the Longbottom's recovery. Just to make sure they work."
Harriet nodded in understanding, "Do you have plans on what or who to test them on?"
"I hope to test one on an animal and another on a human once the first is confirmed as working." Severus said, "Unfortunately I don't want to waste much time. For such a complicated potion, the Cure actually has a very short shelf life and any stasis charm destroys its potency."
"There is currently a sickly thestral colt on the edge of the wood." Luna hummed helpfully.
Harri looked up at Severus, "Will that work for the animal testing?"
"As long as I can find it in time that should be fine." Severus said.
"My elf can lead you to the colt." Luna said, "Her name is Twilight. Just call for her and she will lead to the poor dear." Severus nodded.
"And then, unless you have plans for the human trial you can try that one out on Pietro." Harri said. "Whatever Hydra gave him is really holding strong. The Cure All may be what he needs to clear it out or jump start his healing again."
Severus frowned slightly but eventually nodded, "I will see." He looked down at Harriet, "If it succeeds then I will try to hold off getting it to them until the end of the potions shelf life which mean they should feel the effect by the time you return."
Harri nodded seriously, "I'll be planning what I can while I'm away. I will be ready Severus." She gave him a small smile, "If something happens you can return here. The wards will remain open to you."
"Thank you." Severus said, bowing his head slightly.
"Of course." Harri replied, "I will see you at the end of the week."
Severus nodded and turned to go, "Have fun chasing shadows." He snarked.
"Have fun playing with the old goat." Harri shot back as he left. Severus chuckled quietly.
An hour later Harriet and her group portkeyed to a remote magical forest that Harriet had scouted as Glacia a while before to give them the best area to find the snorkacks. Everyone had their own packs with them but Bucky was stuck playing pack mule for Luna and her father who wanted to bring along all their research equipment; much to Steve's amusement Bucky had only given the token protest before shouldering all of the sensitive equipment that couldn't be shrunk for his little soulmate. They arrived in a relatively clear area near a small stream.
Xenophilius immediately broke from the group to look around, "Where are we?" he asked, "All the legends say they are in Sweden. We've covered every inch of this place. Not a snorkack in sight. Are there blibbering humdingers hiding them? Those crafty little mites!"
Harriet laughed softly, "Easy Xeno. Calm down. We're in Finland."
"Finland!" Luna said dreamily, "Of course!"
"One country over!" Xeno hummed, "Ingenious! The crumple horned snorkacks must have heard they were being hunted and moved."
"Quite smart creatures the snorkacks." Luna sighed.
Harri nodded, "Let's set up camp here for now and explore the area. The herd was headed this way when I checked last. We should be able to hear them by tonight and go to their summer grazing ground tomorrow to see them." It didn't take long for Harriet, James, and Remus to raise the wizarding tent and everyone to claim their rooms within it. Once they had all freshened up they all met up outside.
Sleipnir changed into his horse form right as Fenrir grew to his true giant size and shook out his coat happily, drawing in the fresh air around them. Sleipnir shook his mane out, *This is brilliant weather for a run!* he nosed Loki, *Change and go with us mother!*
*Please!* Fenrir added in a whine.
Loki chuckled, "That does sound nice."
"Running." Bucky huffed, "Aren't we supposed to be relaxing?"
"It's not like you'd join us anyway." Loki chuckled, gesturing toward Luna and Xeno who were already drifting toward the woods together to explore. "You'll go with your mate."
"And I wouldn't be able to keep up on two legs." Steve chuckled, "Super soldier or not."
Remus whined softly as Moony tried to claw free to go running as well, even if Remus let him loose they wouldn't be able to change, it wasn't the full moon.
Harri glanced at Remus, before she hummed, "Well I want to run!" she looked over at Steve and Bucky, "Bucky you really will want to stay with Luna." He huffed, his cheeks reddening slightly in embarrassment, "And Steve I know you're even more relaxed drawing than running and there is plenty to draw around a magical forest. We'll run and then we'll join up for dinner and to listen to the approaching snorkacks later."
There were nods all around except for Fred, George, and Remus who looked a bit skeptical. Jor spoke up, *Father please give me to one of the soliders. I'm already cold and I don't see how hanging around your necks as you run around at breakneck paces will help the problem.* he huffed.
Harriet giggled and looked to Steve as Loki carefully removed Jor from his neck, "Can you take Jor Steve? He needs warmth and the serum makes you a space heater."
Steve huffed even as he gently accepted Jor from a hesitant Loki, "That's all I'm good for I suppose." He said with a put upon sigh.
Harri laughed, "Yep, it's why you're at the center of the Avengers dogpile."
Steve blushed but looked to Loki as he let Jor wind around his neck, "I'll make sure he stays warm." He said with a small smile, Loki returned it carefully before Steve and Bucky went after Luna and Xeno.
"I guess we'll have"
"to go with them." Fred and George pouted.
Harri rolled her eyes before leveling her wand at her mates, "Don't be ridiculous." With two flashes of light Fred and George were replaced with Mischief and Mayhem, looking a little off balance and stunned before they squeaked in shock as they saw each other. Harri smiled down at her mates, "There's that." She looked over to Remus, "Coming Moony?"
Remus grinned at her, "Of course cub."
"That's the spirit Moony!" Sirius laughed as he transformed into Padfoot. Loki chuckled at the sight as he shifted into a beautiful mare and trotted over to stand with Sleipnir who nosed his mother again happily.
Harriet transfigured Moony into a wolf, his werewolf genes high jacking the transformation and making it larger than normal. When that was finished Harri put her wand away and smiled at her father, "Race you!" she laughed. They shifted at the same moment and Prongs snorted proudly as he completed his form just a second before Godiva.
*Finally!* Fenrir exclaimed, *Let's go!*
So the group ran, their spirits high as paws and hooves beat powerfully against the ground. Restless energy flowed from them, driving them faster and leaving a euphoric feeling in its wake.
Loki took joy in the simple freedom of running with his two eldest. Galloping next to Sleipnir, matching hoof beats as well as he could with his sons majestic and powerful equine form. Springing playfully with Fenrir who was prone to sudden rolls and happy barks as he ran. Loki felt his heart leap just knowing that his previously imprisoned children had the ability to do this with no boundaries.
Moony was enjoying running with his pack, this included the two newest members and his cub. After years of having believed his pack lost, that he was alone, Moony cherished any moments like this that they had. His cub, in all her spotted glory, was prone to suddenly climbing trees but she was would appear moments later to jump on a pack member. Moony found great amusement in this and wrestled playfully with his cub whenever she pounced on him. The two newest of the pack were learning their forms Moony knew, but they managed to keep pace with everyone pretty well.
Godiva was feeling elated. She had noticed Loki, Sleipnir, and Fenrir break off a little bit ago, most likely to stretch their significantly longer legs in a larger space, but Godiva was still happy. She was running with her fathers and mates, something she had dreamed of many times. Nothing quite compared with the real thing. She brushed against Mischief before taking off to another convenient tree and climbing it in a flash, judging the distance, she leapt from the branch and launched herself onto Prongs.
The stag bucked in fright for a second before pulling to a stop and turning his head to glare at her, Godiva gave him wide eyes and a soft mew before licking his nose and jumping from his back, running after the rest of the pack who had run past them a second ago. Godiva let out a triumphant meow when she heard a snort and quick hoof beats behind her. Godiva caught up with her mates quickly and was greeted by light yips and the brush of tails.
They all stopped when Moony pulled up short of a fallen log that he could have easily jumped over. Padfoot padded over to Moony and whined in question, the wolf simply looked pointedly over the log. A bit in the distance was a pair of white mountain hares foraging in the underbrush. Godiva perked up, they had played hunting games before to see who would win. Mischief and Mayhem edged up on either side of her curiously and spotted the two hares almost immediately. Godiva looked over at Moony and flicked her tail in challenge, Moony gave her a doggie grin, his tongue hanging from his mouth.
Godiva huffed softly before lowering herself to the ground and edging forward silently, just before she got within striking distance Prongs kicked the tree that was hiding him, spooking the hares and making them take off in different directions. Godiva huffed again but took off after the closest one as she heard Moony peel off after the other. Godiva heard paws behind her and on one sudden turn caught a glimpse of red fur, she smiled internally, knowing her mates were following her. With an extra burst of speed, she pounced on the hare capturing it securely between her jaws. She bit down just enough to still the frightened rabbit before looking around for her mates.
Hearing them coming behind her, Godiva quickly climbed a tree and sat in wait for them. She waited, coiled and ready to spring as they came closer, she heard them slowing and watched curiously as they came into view and tried to scent her. Godiva purred happily, even knowing that they wouldn't gain that ability until their transformation was their own, just the fact that they felt they knew her scent enough to try was worthy of the purr. Flicking her tail, Godiva leapt from the tree and hit her mates, making them roll together before she rolled free, leaving them in a tangled heap.
Mischief and Mayhem looked up at her from their pile and she meowed proudly as she presented them the hare, putting a paw on the creature as it tried to escape. Mischief and Mayhem climbed to their paws and licked her cheeks, making her purr even more as they nuzzled her. Godiva butted her head against Mayhem affectionately as she intertwined her tail with Mischief's. They stayed pressed together, content in each other's even breathing until a short howl sounded in the distance and Godiva looked up.
Sighing inwardly Godiva picked up her hare and padded easily alongside Mischief and Mayhem toward the rest of their pack. Mischief and Mayhem noticed the loss of her purr and felt their own disappointment die a bit knowing Harriet hadn't wanted to leave their quiet cuddle either.
The next day everyone was well rested and relaxed, all of their stress having melted away by the peaceful atmosphere. They shared a simple breakfast before Harriet led them from the tent to go find the crumple-horned snorkacks. Last night after dinner they had heard the strange yet soothing sounds the snorkacks made as they settled in, Xeno had wanted to go right then but Luna had managed to get him to wait.
Now, Harriet was leading them to the summer grazing ground and Xeno and Luna had effectively stolen Fred and George's spots at Harriet's sides in their eagerness. Fortunately, the twins understood the father and daughter's excitement and stepped back to wait until their spots were available again.
Harriet slowed the group to a stop when she heard the strange croaking croon sound that was made by the crumple-horned snorkacks. Harri reached back and tugged Luna to her, "Ready little sister?" she asked with a smile.
Luna was practically vibrating with excitement, "Yes!" she nearly squeaked.
Harri smiled and slipped behind Luna to cover her eyes, she walked Luna through the bushes carefully. Harriet grinned as she saw the snorkack nearest them look up in interest, "Three…two…one." Harri pulled her hands away from Luna's eyes and watched with a smile as Luna's hands shot to her mouth, her eyes going wide as she took in the strange but beautiful creature before them.
"The crumple-horned snorkack!" Luna squealed through her hands, Harri laughed softly even as she reached back and pulled back the bush for everyone else.
Xenophilius clasped his hands together tightly to contain his joy, afraid of frightening them off. "Here they are!" he said in awe as everyone else gathered around them to take in the snorkacks.
The crumple-horned snorkack was indeed a strange looking creature. It had a short squat body that was held up by four relatively thin legs that ended in three toed hooves. A large hump sat on its back right between its sloped tailless rump and its thin neck. Its head was relatively small in comparison its wide flat muzzle and large cow like ears. Sticking up between its rather flat eyes were two large, crumpled horns that curved up out of its face. The horn was perhaps the only sensibly colored part of the animals in its rather boring ivory, the rest of the snorkacks body was pastel, with the colors among the herd spanning from lavender to baby blue to soft pink, all interspaced with shiny scales in different hues.
"Wow." Sleipnir said softly.
Harri smiled before taking Luna's hand, "Let's go see one." Luna skipped along beside Harriet happily, her eyes glued to the nearest snorkack.
"Is it safe?" Remus asked as the rest followed after.
"Of course. They're pretty calm creatures generally." Harri said, "Just be gentle. They will know if you mean them harm and then they'll be aggressive. And maybe don't try to feed them grass. They don't differentiate from one food to the next and will try to chew on your hand." Harriet turned back to Luna as they approached the snorkack that had looked up at them initially. The creature had gone back to eating, not bothered by the people that had come to gawk at them. "Alright Luna, just…" Harriet blinked as Luna darted the last few inches forward and wrapped her arms around the snorkacks neck. The creature sniffed Luna curiously before deciding food was more important and going back to grazing, ignoring the human around its neck stoically in favor of food.
Luna beamed up at Harriet, her eyes clear and joy practically radiating from her, "Thank you big sister." She said, "This is going to be the best week ever!"
Torjak is from 616, he's not really important he's just there to help me get where we need in a couple chapters.