Special thanks to my beta-reader, Crab Apple Fairy
Flying Free
Chapter 4
Fawkes only took five minutes to cheer Harry up. Although Harry¡¦s human side still stubbornly tried to control his actions, his animal side continued to attack his mind. Harry could hardly be upset and angry for longer than three minutes. Second, Harry had already started preening his feathers with an astonishing skill.
¡§Harry?¡¨
Harry turned his emerald eyes to Fawkes. He was currently nibbling the small patch of short feathers under his tail. His posture did not hold any dignity. Fawkes clicked his beak in disapproval.
¡§What¡¦s the matter?¡¨ Harry asked as he checked whether his feathers were in correct alignment. He attacked the feathers in his left wing next.
¡§I¡¦m thinking that if you stay in this form for a long time, you need to learn how to be a phoenix properly and quickly,¡¨ Fawkes said.
Harry thought for a moment. That was really a bit depressing, but it would certainly do him some good.
¡§I don¡¦t really have a choice, do I?¡¨ Harry asked in a cheerful thrill. By the way, where did that insane happiness come from?
Fawkes nodded his head. ¡§We¡¦ll start by finding food first. Follow me,¡¨ he said as he flew through the window.
Harry had no choice but to follow the larger phoenix. He expected Fawkes to fly towards the Dark Forest. To his surprise, the Headmaster¡¦s phoenix flew down to the greenhouse. The two magical birds flew through the small opening of the roof.
Fawkes went towards a group of seemingly ordinary plants immediately. Harry, knowing that magical plants had a tendency to attack humans, hesitated. Fawkes noticed this and pushed Harry forward.
¡§Don¡¦t worry. They¡¦re not magical plants. They¡¦re just poppies,¡¨ Fawkes said as he pulled the showy flowers off the stem. ¡§Here, eat these.¡¨
Harry took a mouthful of the herbs. His human mind was screaming that he should not eat something like this, but his phoenix part thought they were delicious. The sweet and bitter tastes mixed strangely well. The petals were juicy and tasty. Harry swallowed the food quickly. He found it amusing that he did not need to chew.
Fawkes was eating a poppy flower, too. Harry suddenly remembered that the school nurse¡¦s name was Poppy.
An image of him eating a miniature matron came across his mind. Harry thought it was really funny and he tried hard not to make a laughing note.
When the animagus looked up, Fawkes had already finished his meal and was talking aloud.
¡§Usually I would go to the forest to find food. There are plenty of different kinds of herbs. I like dandelion seeds and leaves the most,¡¨ the fiery bird said, almost dreamily.
¡§We can go to the Dark Forest then,¡¨ Harry suggested. He wondered what types of tasty herbs he could find there.
¡§You can¡¦t,¡¨ Fawkes shot a stern look at the smaller phoenix. When he saw Harry starting to protest, he added patiently. ¡§There are protective charms and wards on you. If you leave the school grounds, the alarm will be triggered,¡¨
Harry¡¦s feathers rose. He had not known that there were protective charms placed on him. That explained why Dumbledore had left Hogwarts even though Voldemort was back. The news would reach him quickly, in case something happened.
Harry looked around at the greenhouse. He had to eat the plants here until he could transform back to his human self. He wondered if Professor Sprout would eat him alive if she found that it was him who had swallowed her unfortunate plants.
¡§However, I know where to find dandelion seeds besides the forest,¡¨ Fawkes continued, and Harry¡¦s eyes lit up.
¡§Really?¡¨ Harry asked hopefully. Although he was no longer hungry, he still wanted to taste the supposedly delicious herbs.
Fawkes gave an amused sound and took off, with Harry on his tail. He ignored the astonishment radiating off the younger bird as he flew into the great hall. He asked Harry to follow him, and landed neatly in front of the Transfiguration Professor and Potions Master at the staff table.
¡§Hello, Fawkes. What brings you here?¡¨ Minerva McGonagall kindly greeted the noble phoenix. Fawkes let out an unearthly, beautiful squeal.
The Deputy Headmistress did not know what the bird was saying, but Harry did. Fawkes was saying, ¡§I want food! I want food!¡¨ Harry rolled his eyes, and immediately regretted that. He did not see where he was going. As a result, he crashed into Snape¡¦s plate of food.
Severus Snape raised an eyebrow. He was surprised that there was a new phoenix in Hogwarts. The clumsy landing of the bird was highly amusing. Snape tried hard not to curl his lips upwards. Smiling would ruin his reputation. Luckily there wasn¡¦t much food left on the plate, otherwise he would be splashed with the stuff.
¡§I see you bring another phoenix here. Is it your friend?¡¨ Minerva asked as she observed the smaller creature, which was trying to get its footing on the slippery plate.
¡§Of course it is,¡¨ Snape said curtly. It was stupid question, really. Birds did not talk.
The strict professor ignored him. It was quite clear that the woman did not quite get along with the sour man. Instead, she turned to the game keeper and asked politely.
¡§Do you know the gender of Fawkes¡¦ little friend? May be it is Fawkes¡¦ mate.¡¨
Harry opened his beak, trying to emit an offended noise, but Hagrid cut him off halfway. Large hands scooped his little body up and turned him over. Harry was too shocked to screech as Hagrid pushed his soft feathers aside and checked his genitalia.
¡§He¡¦s a boy,¡¨ Hagrid announced proudly. Little did he know how right he was.
¡§You mean the phoenix is a male,¡¨ Snape said coldly, his lips curled in disgust at Hagrid¡¦s inappropriate words.
Hagrid did not mind at all. He let go of the small phoenix as the bird started to struggle violently and make angry shrieks.
Harry scrambled to his claws hastily. He threw an affronted look at Hagrid and started to preen his feathers. He shuddered as he tasted meat when he nibbled his wings. Fawkes decided to feel sorry for the small bird, and he helped preen Harry¡¦s feathers affectionately, much to Harry¡¦s embarrassment.
Harry turned around and stared at Fawkes in mild annoyance. Seeing the amused look in the large phoenix¡¦s sable eyes, Harry felt his frustration dissolve into nothing.
¡§Why did you bring me here anyway? There¡¦s no plant at all! I¡¦m making myself look like a silly chicken,¡¨ Harry trilled half-heartedly. He wished he could yell at Fawkes, but he did not have the heart to do so.
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Thanks to all reviewers: Ice Lupus, Skipastarseeker, Fallen Dragon, Englishgirl, Crab Apple Fairy, Dragania Amma Lyris Malfoy, Boris and PhoenixPadfoot89
Squirrelface RAE: Thank you for your suggestion. It¡¦s a great idea. Actually, Fawkes would act like a brother of Harry most of the time. However, he would sometimes take the parental role. How could that be possible? Well, you¡¦ll see¡K