Disclaimer: J.K. owns the Potterverse I'm just borrowing a few star systems. You won't even notice that they're gone – promise.
Chapter One: Phoenix Song
Ginny Weasley walked after Harry Potter up the path to Hogwarts. It was the evening and they should have been back at the school hours ago because of the threat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, but the pair had been looking for Ron and Hermione, who as it turned out hadn't gone in the first place.
"How are we going to get back inside, Harry?" asked Ginny, coming up along side him.
He grinned and turned to her, "Already sorted."
"How?" she asked, she knew that Harry knew all the secret passages in the school, it was common knowledge, even if nobody knew how. "The doors will be locked won't they? And if we can even get up to them someone will spot us, people are patrolling all around the school this year."
"Trust me," he said.
He stopped suddenly and Ginny went several steps before she turned to face him. The sun had almost set, but she could see him smiling in the last of the red light. He pulled something out of his robe pocket, a shimmering fabric and she gasped at the beautiful material.
"That's an invisibility cloak," she said breathlessly. "That explains so much!"
"Like what?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Well – er – just people say – I heard – that you – and Ron and Hermione walk around at night…" she stammered and scolded herself silently, she was being silly and acting like a little girl around Harry. "Not that I believe them," she quickly added.
He smiled at her beautifully, "Well you should – I do."
She felt herself blush at that smile and thanked the dimming light that he couldn't see her do so. Harry unfolded the cloak and stepped under it – he had disappeared. Ginny felt the pit of her stomach turn cold: she was alone and in the dark while You-Know-Who was growing in power.
"H – Harry?" she stuttered, trying to hide the quiver in her voice.
Suddenly she was engulfed by darkness and felt someone's arms wrap around her. A voice by her ear whispered, "I'm hardly likely to leave you, Ginny – Ron would kill me for a start."
"I – I thought you'd gone," she said, hoping Harry couldn't tell she was shivering.
"You cold, Gin?" he asked.
"Not much," she managed.
"Come on then," he said.
He moved around so he was at her side and she was able to see out of the hood. The sky was growing very dark now and Ginny couldn't help wondering what the Fat Lady would say to them when they got back. She had never been out late, she left that sort of thing to Fred and George and sometimes Ron she supposed. It wasn't that she was a coward, the Sorting Hat had put her in Gryffindor after all, but she had never had the chance to be out late.
Their path took them near the Forbidden Forest and she heard the snatch of a beautiful song. Harry obviously heard it too because he stopped dead and she could see him close his eyes and lift his head slightly. It was the most beautiful sound Ginny had eve heard in her life and it made her feel wonderful.
"What is it?" she whispered.
"The Phoenixes," murmured Harry, his eyes still closed. "It's their mating song – they mate on very few occasions. Nobody had ever figured out how they know when to mate or even where – they choose somewhere different every time, you see. Most people think it's random and the Phoenixes just call to each other to decide."
"What do you think?" asked Ginny.
Harry's eyes snapped open and he looked at her with his brilliant green eyes, "I think that there are many things we don't know. Muggles don't know about Wizards, so why should we assume we know everything…"
*****
Ginny sat on the wall outside the main offices of I.M.P. waiting for Hermione Granger to finish work for the day. She flipped idly through the copy of Witch's Weekly she had bought in Diagon Alley. There was a special report on Harry Potter and they had actually managed to get him to pose for a photograph, in which he looked thoroughly gorgeous. His glasses had run to the end of his nose and his chin was resting in his palm, a strand of his hair had escaped it's bindings and had fallen across his nose: he looked like the classic, brooding hero Ginny had always thought him to be.
"It took me ages to convince him to do it," said Hermione, from behind her.
Ginny span around and blushed slightly, "I was just admiring your handiwork."
"Of course," said Hermione.
After growing up in a house full of brothers who would pounce upon her for starring at a picture of Harry Potter, or indeed any boy, Ginny found Hermione's smug silence infuriating and far more annoying than her brothers' taunts.
"I was a good article," insisted Ginny. "But I thought he was in Africa or something. How did you get hold of him?"
"France," corrected Hermione, climbing over the wall to sit next to her friend.
"What's he doing there?" asked Ginny, trying to sound nonchalant.
"That Magizoologist he works with is studying Winged Horses there," said Hermione. "It's safer than some of the things they've done, I'll tell you that."
"I wouldn't know. I haven't seen him for more than a day since the last World Cup," said Ginny.
Hermione gave her a comforting smile, "He's just busy, that's all, Gin. He's taking a break for a few years before the next World Cup to help his friend, Scyld, with his book and then he'll be back… I'll be able to write an article of the Quidditch teams competing to get him on their team."
Ginny rolled her eyes, "He'll go to some team on the continent – it's pretty much a guaranteed thing isn't it. He never comes back to England any more."
"Don't be so sure," said Hermione. "The Montrose Magpies want him and they might just get him. Or Puddlemere could get him… I mean it's going to be pretty close, you shouldn't assume he'll go to Europe."
"Since when did you become an expert?" asked Ginny, wrinkling her nose.
"Since I met your brother and decided we were in love," said Hermione with a mocking smile. "Now come on, lunch at the Leaky Cauldron would you say?"
"Certainly," said Ginny, smiling.
She folded Witch's Weekly up and stuffed it inside her robe. The two women removed their wands with a flourish and cat the apparating spell on themselves. They both disappeared with a POP!
*****
Harry Potter sat on the banks of stream that tumbled down the mountains where Gabrielle Delacour's house was located. Pagasus' research papers surrounded him, which he had put charms on to stop them blowing away. It had been a charm that was always useful to him as someone who had studied for their N.E.W.T.s in a Quidditch stadium.
A little further up the mountain one of his few English friends, Pagasus Scyld himself, was setting up various magical devices. Harry had very few friends altogether actually, he liked to travel and rarely got a chance to befriend anyone. Previously he had travelled with Quidditch, he had belonged to both the international team and had played for a few non-English teams in his career. After the last World Cup had finished he had taken a break from Quidditch and chosen to go with Pagasus around the world, working as a translator for the Magizoologist who had absolutely no language skills.
"Petit dèjeuner?" asked Gabrielle Delacour, apparating beside him. "Zere is tuna, chicken and somezing with Brie. I 'ave coffee too."
"I'm feeling adventurous," said Harry, putting down his quill. "I'll have the Brie and the unknown topping."
Gabrielle handed him one of the sandwiches, wrapped in white paper. She pulled out her wand and created a few cups to drink their coffee from. She poured out Harry a cup while he investigated his sandwich.
"What is Pag doing?" asked Gabrielle, turning to look up the slope at him.
"He's setting up charms that will alert him if any Granian horses land on the mountain – is that a tomato?"
"Pag, lunch!" called Gabrielle.
Pag looked up from his work and bounded down the slope to them. He dropped down next to Harry is a very Pag manner. He had the oddest way of sitting down, it was like his legs just gave way from underneath him and Harry couldn't help wondering if this hurt.
"Are you 'oping to catch any Granian Winged 'Orses?" asked Gabrielle.
"What – oh no. It's just research, observing them in their natural habitat," he said, taking the sandwich she offered to him. "The idea is I can get info on them in their natural habitat and then I'll dredge up all sorts of facts, figures and references with the help of Harry here. It applies to all the animals I'm putting in the book. In the end I'll put it together of course – is this turkey?"
"Chicken," corrected Gabrielle. "Where are you going next? 'Arry 'as still not told me."
"That's not true!" complained Harry. "I told you ages ago that we were going back home when we'd done here."
"Oh… I must 'ave forgot," said Gabrielle.
"Are you two arguing about something?" asked Pag, narrowing his eyes at them.
"Certainly not!" said Gabrielle, outraged. "'Arry and I never ever argue!"
"'Kay," said Pagasus with a shrug. "I've got to present my latest work to the Ministry and look a few things up at Stellionmere and Hogwarts. Want to come?"
"Yeah, Elle, you can meet the Black children in their native habitat," said Harry, looking up from his sandwich with a grin. "They're far worse when they're home – hey it's a strawberry, who puts strawberries on Brie?"
"I would love to," said Gabrielle.
"What? Put strawberries on Brie?" asked Pagasus, frowning.
"No!" said Gabrielle, with an exasperated sigh. "I would love to come wiz you to McKinnon Castle."
"'S settled then," said Harry, leaning back into the grass. "Now why are there strawberries in my sandwich?"
Gabrielle rolled her eyes, "I seemply asked for ze specials, 'Arry. Ze woman at ze counter gave zem to me and I paid. Eet is not a conspiracy against you to make you eat strawberries."
"Could be…" offered Pagasus and Gabrielle glared at him.
*****
Harry followed Pagasus through the dense jungle, wands drawn. At the slightest noise the pair of them would jerk to a halt, it was hardly very safe around here. Finally Harry heard what he had been straining to hear for quite a while now, a snake.
"This is stupid," hissed a sharp, serpentine voice. "What is the point of doing this? Is this going to do us any good? This direction is perfectly stupid, no food, no shelter and what on earth do you think you're doing? Just stop daydreaming, keep in the real world!"
"Shut-up," hissed a more commanding voice.
"I liked it when we were sleeping," hissed a slightly spacey voice that reminded Harry of his old Divination professor.
"What?" whispered Pagasus.
"Come on," said Harry. "I hear something, three things in fact."
They crept through the jungle towards the hissing. When they reached the spot where the hissing had come from Harry's eyes widened with delight. A snake, seven foot long with three heads and covered with orange and black stripes was slithering across the jungle floor.
"It's a Runespoor," said Pagasus in an awed whisper. "A fully grown Runespoor with all of it's heads!"
"Hush," whispered Harry and then crouched down and called to the snake. "Hey! Come here for a minute."
"Are you talking to us?" asked one of the heads with the commanding voice.
"Will you just look at him? He's covered in mud and dust, doesn't look as though he's shaved for days either."
"He can talk to us," said the spacey voice. "We've never met a Parselmouth before…"
"We could have done," said the sharp voiced head. "You forget everything! Daydreaming all day while we do the work."
"We are going over there," said the commanding head.
With a great lot of arguing from the right head the Runespoor slithered over to Harry and he leaned down so he was quite close to it's head. The right head began to insult his dress sense and said that he smelt like he hadn't washed for days.
"Would you like to come with me?" asked Harry. "If you'd like that."
"Why should we go with you? How will we benefit from the arrangement? It's a scam if you ask me! Remember what happened to some of our kind, he wants our eggs."
"I travel all around the world with my friend, Pag," said Harry. "You'll get to see all sorts of things if you come with me."
"Ooh, to see the wonders beyond this jungle, so void as it is of wonder and amazement to us now," said the middle head with a hissing sigh of happiness.
"We should go with him," said the left head in it's commanding tone. "He can speak to us."
"And what he might teach us," cried the middle head.
"This is a mistake, you'll be sorry," said the right head.
Harry smiled and the Runespoor wound itself up around his body as he stood up. When he was upright once more the three heads faced him and began to talk to him once more. Still the right head was complaining about him and the other two heads, mainly about him: Harry thought she was wonderful.
"I'm Harry. What's your name?" he asked her.
"What makes you think that a Runespoor would need a name?" huffed the right head, it was more of a hiss though.
"We have been known as many things," said the middle head.
"You may choose a name for us, Harry," said the left head.
Harry turned to Pag, who was watching his friend with the grin only a Magizoologist could get when they were listening to someone talk to a magical creature. Harry supposed it was a bit like him being able to communicate with a broomstick, or talk a snitch.
"She wants a name," he told Pag in English.
"Um – you could name her after a Quidditch player?" he offered.
"Doesn't strike me as a good idea," said Harry, while the right head demanded to know what Pag was saying.
"You're a linguistic expert," said Pag. "Can't you think of something?"
"Actually I'm just an adventure hungry translator," corrected Harry and turned back to the Runespoor. "Want to be called Trivia?"
"What does that mean, Harry?" asked the middle head.
"Of three ways," said Harry with a smile.
"Beautiful," said the middle head.
"I think it would be a good name," said the left head.
"It could be worse," conceded the right head.
Harry grinned and turned to Pagasus who was looking at him with raised eyebrows, "So?"
"Pag, meet Trivia."
Pag grinned at him and patted him on the back, avoiding Trivia, still coiled around him. He looked very happy though. Harry wondered if the top of his head might fall off as he was smiling so much. Together the two friends walked back through the jungle to their camp with Trivia hissing in three voices.
A/N: Did you like it? Hopefully this story shouldn't be too patched together though – yay, I'm actually thinking of writing something coherent. Please review if you like the story, or even if you don't for that matter, go on I dare you to write a little constructive criticism about my story.
