Special thanks to my beta-reader, Crab Apple Fairy
Flying Free
Chapter 3
Harry looked at Fawkes warily. He could not even walk properly in the beginning, so he did not quite trust his wings.
Fawkes stared back at him thoughtfully. Then he walked closer towards the smaller phoenix. He opened his beak and without warning, he pulled one of Harry¡¦s tail feathers, hard.
Harry gave a squeal of pain. He jumped in the air and flapped his wings wildly. He rose a few feet in the air and glided forward. He landed clumsily on a chair nearby, keeping a good distance away from Fawkes.
¡§It hurts!¡¨ Harry said in annoyance as he examined the damage to his tail.
¡§You flew. You shouldn¡¦t doubt your wings,¡¨ Fawkes said, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
Harry thought for a moment. Fawkes was helping him to fly then. There was something wrong with that sentence. His eyes widened.
¡§Hang on. How do you know I doubt my wings?¡¨ Harry asked in awe.
¡§Phoenixes can sense other beings¡¦ emotions,¡¨ the phoenix explained. ¡§Besides, your doubtful expression was pretty obvious.¡¨
Harry¡¦s feathers rose in embarrassment. He really looks like a fluffy feathery ball, Fawkes mused. Harry did look a bit bigger when he ruffled his feathers, but he was still a few inches shorter and smaller than Fawkes.
¡§I¡¦ll teach you how to do that later. You need to learn to fly properly first.¡¨ The giant bird spread his wings and leapt at Harry, who trilled in surprise and flew away.
Fawkes kept on chasing Harry. The poor animagus did not know he was falling into a trap. The bigger bird had forced him to land on the windowsill. Harry took a look at the ground far below. Then he looked at the approaching Fawkes. He suddenly knew what was coming next.
¡§Tell me you wouldn¡¦t,¡¨ Harry pleaded. He tried to get away from the window, but Fawkes blocked his pitiful attempt at escape. With a mischievous twinkle in his beady eyes, Fawkes dove forward, effectively sending Harry out through the window.
The first thought came to Harry¡¦s mind was: I¡¦m going to die. He did not have his wand or a broom, so he would not survive. He let himself fall in the air freely, completely forgetting his wings.
¡§Spread you wings! Now!¡¨
Harry did what he was told. Immediately, a giant air current lifted him upwards. He glided in the air smoothly like an eagle. Harry let out a relieved trill, and concentrated on flapping his wings.
Fawkes joined him a moment later. He did not look so pleased.
¡§You should have spread your wings earlier. You nearly broke your neck,¡¨ he chided and motioned Harry to follow him.
¡§It was you who pushed me out of the window!¡¨ Harry argued. He still could not believe that Fawkes could do such thing.
¡§Every fledgling is taught in this way,¡¨ Fawkes stated calmly.
¡§I¡¦m not a fledgling!¡¨ Harry shot back. He had a lot of feathers, and he wasn¡¦t bald.
Fawkes eyed him meaningfully, showing him that he was just an inexperienced little bird, no matter what Harry thought. Harry clicked his beak in objection, but Fawkes ignored him.
Instead, the elder phoenix spent an hour teaching Harry how to turn, dive and rise during a flight. Harry hadn¡¦t known that flying with wings required skills, but he knew now. Only when his muscles were screaming in fatigue did Harry notice that it was already dawn.
¡§I need to go back. I¡¦m really tired,¡¨ Harry panted as he barely avoided hitting a tree.
Fawkes gave him a disapproving look. Nevertheless, he guided his charge back to the Astronomy Tower. The younger bird landed clumsily again. Fawkes shook his head in dismay. Harry had never learnt to flap his wings a bit when he landed. That was why the little phoenix always hit the floor with a sickening thud.
The true phoenix looked at Harry with interest. The fledgling ruffled his feathers and seemed to be concentrated on something. Suddenly the determination was gone and fear started to radiate from the animagus. Fawkes grew a bit worried.
¡§What¡¦s wrong, Harry?¡¨
¡§I can¡¦t change back to my human form!¡¨ Harry said in a panicked voice.
Actually, Harry was not scared. He was traumatized. He knew transforming back to human form was not difficult. Both Ron and Hermione said the same thing. You couldn¡¦t change back only if your animal instincts took over you in the transformation. Harry was pretty damn sure that his human mental part still remained in one piece. Yet he couldn¡¦t transform back to human form. How was that possible?
Fawkes was concerned about Harry, but he could not deny that watching a panicking phoenix was highly amusing. Phoenixes were very composed. May be it had something to do with the animagus transformation¡¦s side effects. Harry¡¦s plumage had laid flat on his head, and his tail feathers were sticking high in the air. Not to mention Harry had started to pace back and forth like a crazy chicken. Fawkes had to suppress giving a laughing note.
Harry decided to check the instructions again, in case he missed anything. When he looked at the last part of the content, he froze.
Once you have successfully transformed, try to get used to your new body by practicing walking first. Remember to change back to your human self within an hour.
To change back, just think of your human form. It is an easy task, though there will be a painful sensation.
P.S. If you stay in your animagus form for longer than an hour in your first transformation, you are likely to be trapped in your animal body, even if your mind does not slip. For details, refer to page 150.
P.P.S. If you discover that you have the potential to become a magical creature, don¡¦t even think about transforming. No one knows what will happen. For relevant information, you can turn to page 180.
P.P.P.S. If you are stuck in your animagus form, Mr. Prongs and Mr. Padfoot would like to tell you that they are sorry, and you have to finish the mess on your own, as you are such a hopeless, stupid git.
Harry looked at the last sentence, dumbfounded. He was a hopeless, stupid git. No, that wasn¡¦t important. He had to find a way to change back. Harry used his wing to flip to the correct page.
The content was mainly about why you could not change back to human form after your first transformation. Harry doubted his father and godfather wrote that part. Maybe they just copied from another book. Only the last part provided the means of correcting mal-transformations.
The most effective way is to pour the Mandrake Restorative Draught onto the unlucky person. The ingredients for the potion are¡K
Harry stopped reading. His heart was thumping fast in hopelessness. Only Hermione knew how to brew a complicated potion correctly. She would not be back until two days before the term started. As he started to moan mentally for his fate, a sudden happy thought came to his mind.
Why did he want to change back? Flying freely in the air was better than studying¡K He could even sing, encouraging those with pure hearts. It was his duty¡K
Harry hastily pushed the thought out of his mind. Damn animal instincts, really. With a downhearted trill, he looked up at Fawkes.
¡§I¡¦m doomed,¡¨ he said, letting his head hit the floor.
* * *
Thanks to all reviewers: Squirrelface RAE, Kathleen, Snapes daughter, Hogwarts-student, Ice Lupus
I¡¦m glad that you like this story. Thank you for your support.