43. Barefoot
Harry busied himself with cleaning the Dursleys' household. Relations between him and Petunia had grown ever more frigid. Now that he was no longer bound to her, her dismissal of him grew but so did his. Outside of acidic words, gestures, or looks given by both sides, neither willingly approached the other.
Vernon futilely attempted to discipline him in all things, but grew incensed with the look he received from the teen. His eyes lacked even the illusion of respect. To them Harry had grown into a strange being. But that behavior suited him fine.
It wasn't stated, but understood, that he would keep his 'freakiness' to himself, be silent unless spoken to, and do the housework, in return he boarded in their home and was left to his own devices. One would believe he was but an unwilling serf to reluctant owners.
Only Dudley bothered to try to intimidate him. Like any other creature with a short attention span, Dudley left him be when he could gain no interesting reactions. One could only throw so many things at a sweeping person.
When the last piece of filth was cleaned, he returned the supplies to his former room, beneath the stairs. Crossing the living room, both of his adult relatives ignored his movements. An action that was mutual. Exiting through the back, he saw his favored decrepit tree. It brought a faint smile to his face. Reaching up for one of the thin branches, he heard a familiar call.
It came from Hedwig. The beautiful snow white owl perched on the branch. Twisting her neck in that fascinating way he'd come to admire, she opened her wing towards him. Looking deep into her eyes, he realized that she wanted him to grasp her feathers. Placing the upmost trust in his companion of just over three years, he took her feather.
They were gone in a quiet sway of wind and fallen feathers. He was not missed.
…
Harry came out of the experience with little more of a stumble. Looking around, he found himself in a place of cobbled paths. Trees were luscious and abound. Birds of all manner flew about, with owls being the predominant. Hedwig flew to his shoulder and held on. As always, no harm came to him from her talons.
She gestured to towards the great doors. Faintly, he could hear the sound of a ticking clock. Nodding, he made his way to the door. All the while, the perched birds looked at him with unwavering eyes.
Swallowing thickly, he pushed the doors opened. Immediately he had to avert his eyes from the sunshine.
"Come forwards, young Harry. I mean you no harm", a gentle but strong male voice called out to him.
Following the voice, he was amazed at what he saw. There was a tree that spewed from the depths of a running brook. It had countless luscious branches, a tribute to life. Its tips soared high into the sky. On the lowest branch was a snow owl just bigger than Harry. His eyes were full moons, the feathers were the freshly fallen snow. Stars were collected around his very eyes. Harry could only see warmth in those unhuman eyes. Kinder and much more loving than his relatives ever graced him with. And resting on his beak was a small pair of circular glasses.
"It must be odd to see an owl of my size, but I assure this is no joke", he said in mirth. "I am the Avian King. Please come closer."
Harry stopped just as he was to walk into the brook. Slowly he removed his shoes and socks and stepped into the warm waters. The Avian King eyes grew warmer at his actions and seemed to approve. Only then did he sense it, the immensity of this domain. Through magic senses alone, he learned that he was on a large country size formation. Most marveling of all, it was housed on the very tip of Big Ben, yet those below had no knowledge of this land. It seemed their skill in stealth far surpassed those of Britain wizards.
Getting within a decent range of the royal owl, Harry greeted, "Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."
A joyous laugh escaped the king's beaks. "I see my daughter was correct about you, wizard in training. I'm pleased to finally meet the one my precious daughter has been in the care of. Yes, seeing you, I believe this is the correct course of action." Spreading his wings, a light gust passed through Harry. Within the depths of the wind was a clear orb. "Do you know what this is?"
Harry could only shake his head.
"I see. It isn't too surprising. Wizards tend to forget that they do not have an exclusive right to magic. This is but one of the Cardinal Cornerstones, crystalized representations of magic." He hooted, "Or so they say. In many legends magic came from these very stones. The how has been lost to history, but they became legacies of the supposed first beings that came in contact with these stones. It is believed that this is where we birds mastered the skill to find all we seek."
Harry gaped at the thought that he now had all four of such stones.
Chuckling at Harry's appearance, the king continued, "For as long as my people remembered, this stone shined brightly. Alas, nearly fourteen years ago, all light faded from this stone. It would be fallacy for me not to admit we were panicked. Yet the magic did not leave us. So all we could do was see and wait. As you might figure, it was a tense situation. Then my sweet daughter told of how see gave the cornerstone of the Fae to you. She spoke of the light that radiated from the now deadened stones. How they accepted you so readily. I see now that she was not rash in her decision. As long as your character holds true, know that this kingdom shall support you."
Harry solemnly accepted the gift as he rose his hands towards it. From within his very being, a trio of stones came forth. The Cardinal Cornerstones spun around him. Each merged into his forehead, making a complex compass like insignia.
And like that all light faded from his sight.
