Unicorn Child
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Disclaimer: I own none of the Harry Potter characters you recognise! I do own Serenity, Starlight, the other unicorns, the forest animal council and language, and the plot!!!
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A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed!
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~speech of all living beings in the forest~
Chapter 2
The Forest Council and the Magical World
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Harry stumbled into the forest. Scenes from the Dursleys were flashing through his head, blinding him, tears were now freely flowing down his cheeks. The world became blurry, and Harry stumbled over a tree root. He fell, hard, onto the ground, scraping his chin on a rock. Harry let out a small whimper of pain, then he scrambled to his feet again and continued on his way.
He remembered what Voldemort had told him, a wizard, he was supposed to be a wizard. How could that be?
SNAP
A twig whipped him across his face, Harry's left cheek started to bleed. Again, Harry whimpered and continued.
The Dursleys. Harry had never liked them, they had hated Harry and treated him terribly. Sometimes Harry wondered what he had done to deserve this treatment, because that he deserved it, was clear in Harry's mind. After all, why would the Dursleys punish him if he didn't deserve it?
BAM
It was completely dark out here, Harry couldn't see his own hand before his eyes- let alone the tree he had run into. But it had successfully brought him out of his daze.
Harry looked around. It was dark. Harry couldn't see a thing. Harry couldn't hear a thing. The silence was suffocating. Vaguely, Harry was aware that his breathing was beginning to quicken. Had he known that word, Harry would have known that he was starting to hyperventilate. But Harry, being four years old, did not know that word, and so the only word to describe his current condition, was panicked. Completely, utterly panicked.
Harry started to run. He didn't know in which direction to go, he ran into trees, stumbled over tree roots, hit his knees on rocks. Not even years later could Harry say how long he had been like this, falling, getting up again, stumbling, running on.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to Harry, he could see a little bit of light ahead. Completely exhausted, Harry gathered all his remaining strength and made his way toward the light.
He arrived at a small clearing, a stream was running through it. Harry fell to his knees beside the stream and stared into the water. He could see his reflection in the dim moonlight..... and had to clap his hands over his mouth to keep from screaming.
He looked horrible. His clothes were torn, the skin of his face was scratched and bleeding, but what shocked him most was his forehead. There, exactly in the centre, was a lightning-bolt-shaped cut. Harry touched it tentatively. It seemed to be very deep and was bleeding freely.
Carefully, Harry cupped his hands and cleaned the cuts on his face, especially the one on his forehead.
After he was satisfied, Harry began to think about his situation. He was lost, there was no denying it. Maybe running away hadn't been such a good idea after all- but no, Harry thought, everything was better than living with humans. And at least here, in this clearing, there was water and light-
A great storm cloud suddenly moved in front of the moon. It was pitch black. Harry sat frozen. He couldn't see a thing. He wondered what animals were out here? Harry shuddered as his vivid imagination began to work.
All sorts of potential dangers began to race through Harry's mind. There, that snap- was that an animal trying to eat Harry? And the faint howling of the wind at the edges of the clearing- were there werewolves waiting to kill Harry? And was it just his imagination, or was there a pair of creepy yellow eyes staring at him from the shadows?
Harry shuddered violently and stumbled across the clearing.
THUMP
He had hit a tree. Harry fell down and curled up between the roots. The events of the day, the fright, fear, exhaustion and horror, finally caught up with little Harry. He buried his head in his hands and began to cry, quietly, as he was taught, so nobody would be disturbed by him.
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It was dark. Completely dark. There was no glimmer of light left in the forest, and the silence was suffocating. The moon and the stars had vanished behind impenetrable storm clouds half an hour ago. Tension was thick in the air, almost palpable. A light, cold breeze ruffled the leaves of the trees who seemed to just stand there, not caring. But that was not true.
In the middle of Little Whining's great forest, there stood an old oak. Nobody knew how old it was anymore, even the oak had forgotten how much time had passed. It had been alive far more than two centuries, it knew that much, but no human had really visited it in a long time.
The oak was very old, and very wise. It had seen more cold winters and hot summers than any of the other living beings in this forest and they accepted its wisdom and appreciated and heeded its advice.
For yes, all of the forest creatures, magical or not, could communicate with one another, even the trees. And since the old oak was the wisest tree in the forest and was growing exactly in the middle of it, all important meetings in times of crisis were being held in the 'Oak Clearing', as it was known to all forest animals.
This night, there was such a meeting.
The old oak had known they would come, had felt their presence before he had seen or heard them. The leaders, the chiefs of all animal groups and packs in the forest, were approaching, in silent agreement about this meeting. All of them had felt Cassandra's call, all of them had known it was time for another meeting.
The old oak rustled its leaves importantly as the first leader arrived in the clearing. It was Serenity, leader of the only unicorn group in this forest. The old oak knew that she had lost her young one only a week ago and was still grieving.
Serenity kneeled down briefly in front of the oak, showing her respect for the oldest living being in the forest, as it was customary. Then, the proud unicorn mother stood back up and retreated into the shadows, waiting for her fellow leaders to arrive.
They came swiftly and silently, one by one. There was Rex, the king of the wolves; Arya, the chief of all foxes; Cassandra, the wisest of the rabbits; Dandelion, the representative of the squirrels; Nocturn, the leader of the owls; Crawx, the speaker for the crows and ravens; Trillidge, a blackbird, elected to act for the rest of the bird population; Serenity, leader of the unicorns; Crown, the king of the stags and deer; and of course Slyther, chief of the snakes.
All of them assembled under the old oak tree, and the meeting began.
Traditionally, it was the oak that opened the meeting.
~Greetings to you, fellow leaders and kings. I hereby call the 1753rd meeting of the forest council to order! Cassandra, wisest of the rabbits, please inform us why we are all assembled here.~
The old rabbit moved to the middle of the clearing slowly. Cassandra was the second oldest living being in the forest and was viewed as almost as wise as the old oak. She had been around for almost a century, her fur had gone a pure white with age, and Cassandra was almost blind.
But she also, most importantly, had the sight. Cassandra could read the stars better than any other animal in the forest, she could see the present and the future and was sometimes overcome with visions. Cassandra was one of the most reliable sources of knowledge about the human world the forest animals had.
Also, Cassandra was psychic. She had the power to call all animal leaders of the forest to this very meeting place and nobody dared to ignore her call, knowing the consequences ignorance could bring.
Only an hour ago, all of the assembled chiefs and kings had received the call, and none of them had wasted any time before getting here.
Cassandra, the wise rabbit, waited until she saw that everyone's attention was fixed on her. Then she started to speak with her calm, powerful voice.
~Greetings to all of you, my fellow leaders. I am glad that all of you heard my call and decided to follow it immediately. The reason I have brought you here today is that only three hours ago I suddenly felt a great evil entering this forest. I will not lie to you, my fellow council, what I felt scared me beyond words. Such an evil has never been heard of to taint our forest, and this creature, whatever it was, was so devilish that I was momentarily frozen.~
Some of the council, the older members, shuddered and murmured in agreement. They had felt the evil presence too. Serenity, who, with her eighteen years, was one of the younger leaders, had not. After a brief silence Cassandra continued.
~After I could move again, I reached out with my mind and found the evil quickly. Will you believe me when I say that this evil creature was none other than the reason why we assembled here the last time three years ago?~
Some of the animals gasped, others remained silent, having expected it. Cassandra continued talking quickly.
~You will all remember what happened three years ago. Lord Voldemort, how the humans call him, had killed the Potters, except for their little son..... Harry. I was overcome with a vision telling me that this little boy, Harry Potter, was going to defeat the evil Lord Voldemort.~
Cassandra looked around the clearing, everyone nodded. Satisfied, she continued.
~Tonight, when my mind reached the evil presence of the Dark Lord, I was overcome with another vision. It showed exactly what I have predicted you three years ago. Harry Potter, a small boy, has been the downfall of Lord Voldemort.~
There was a brief silence, then a cheer rang throughout the clearing. Most of the council was celebrating, and it took a powerful admonishment from the old oak to quiet them all down. The only ones that had not cheered were Serenity, Rex and Arya.
Now that everyone had quieted down, Arya, the queen of the foxes, stepped forward. ~Forgive me for interrupting, Wise one, but you said that a small boy had destroyed Voldemort. And yet you said Harry Potter was four years old?~
Cassandra smiled indulgently. ~Ah, but Arya, for a human child four years is very young. Humans take almost twenty years until they are completely full-grown. In their species, Harry is still a small cub.~
Astonished whispers broke out all around the clearing as Arya thanked Cassandra and stepped back.
Now, Rex walked majestically up to Cassandra and asked: ~Wise one, what happened to Lord Voldemort?~
The other animals grew deathly quiet. Was Voldemort still here in the forest? Wasn't he supposed to be dead?
Cassandra sighed and closed her eyes briefly.
~That, Rex, king of the wolves, is a very good question. Like I said, the Potter cub has brought down the Dark Lord, but his soul has not been completely destroyed. He is still out there, somewhere, not quite a ghost or a spirit, but still there, too vulnerable to survive whatever Harry has done, yet too immortal to die from it. I do not know if he will ever return, but I am sure that he will find a way, somehow, sometime, the Dark Lord shall be over us again. Not for a few years, though. For now, he has left the forest and I can sense that he is nowhere hear here, so you needn't worry.~
Rex nodded solemnly and stepped back into the circle of the council. Now Serenity gathered all of her courage and stepped forward. She had never spoken in front of the council, let alone the oak or Cassandra, before.
Cassandra smiled reassuringly at Serenity when the young unicorn stepped forward, sensing her nervousness.
~Wise one,~ Serenity said, ~What happened to Harry Potter?~
Cassandra's smile turned a little sad.
~Ah yes, Harry Potter.....~ she said, almost dreamily, ~I'm afraid I do not know exactly. After his unfortunate encounter with the Dark Lord, in which, I am sorry to say, young Harry's last living relatives were killed, Harry decided to run away..... into this very forest. And this, my fellow leaders, is the reason we are all assembled here.~
Whispers broke out again, but Cassandra quieted everyone down with a stern glance in their direction.
~I probably don't have to tell you that we, along with every living being on this earth, muggle or wizard, are in Harry Potter's debt. He saved the world from Voldemort's clutches, but he still is a child. A child that is currently somewhere in this forest, lost and alone. And it is up to us to decide his fate.~
Cassandra paused for a moment to let the words sink in.
~We have two choices. One, we let Harry be on his own, where he will most likely not survive in this forest. Or two, one of us animals takes him into our group and raises him, thereby repaying our debt to young Harry and the humans.~
There was silence for a moment, then Crawx, the representative of the crows and ravens stepped forward. Crawx was a young and ambitious leader, known for his cruelty and ruthlessness.
~I say, we leave him,~ Crawx said maliciously, ~He brought down Voldemort, fine, but why bother to raise him? He's done his job, we don't need him. A human in our forest? Impossible! You all know that humans bring nothing but despair and destruction. If we take him in, he will destroy us all!"
There were some murmurs of agreement from Dandelion ,the squirrel, and Nocturn, the owl leader. The latter flew down from the branch he had been perched on into the middle of the clearing and said:
~Crawx is right! The human cub will rip our community apart. We have all heard of the cruel deeds of the humans! Lord Voldemort himself was human! This is not our fight, the Potter cub is not our responsibility, let the humans take care of it, and if it dies before they find it, fine!~
Serenity was seething with rage. How could they talk about a small cub like this! Arya, the fox queen, seemed to think so too, because she stepped forward and said angrily:
~You fools! How can you say that the fight against Voldemort is not of our concern? Voldemort would have destroyed us all had Harry Potter not defeated him! And you want to leave the child alone? I agree that it would be risky to accept a human in our community and teach him the ways of the forest, but the least we can do is find the cub and guide him to the edge of the forest so that he can return to his human friends!~
Again, the leaders murmured in agreement, but Cassandra quieted everyone down quickly.
~Wise words, my dear Arya,~ the old rabbit said, ~However, there is one problem. Young Harry does not wish to return to the human world.~
There were gasps all around, whispers everywhere.
~And why is that so?~ Rex, the wolf leader asked calmly.
~Because, Rex,~ Cassandra picked up again, ~The people he has been staying with over the past three years, his last remaining relatives, have, I am sad to say, not treated the boy well. They have neglected him and kept the truth about his parents' deaths from him. After his encounter with Lord Voldemort, Harry has lost all trust in his fellow humans and has decided to run away and to never return to them.~
The clearing was deathly silent as what she had said sunk in. Then Crawx gave a short, croaky laugh.
~Pathetic! The saviour of the human world is a small cub who is traumatized by three years of not-being-pampered and who does not want to return to the humans! How weak! If he was one of my hatchlings, I would throw him out and leave him for the insects to eat!~
That was the final straw. Serenity exploded. All the strain of having her child killed and hearing about the small human cub who saved the world and reminded her so much of Starlight became too much, Serenity reared up and screamed in rage, completely oblivious to everyone around her except for Crawx.
~You bastard!~ she shouted. ~You evil, pathetic, non-caring thing! How dare you speak like that about the child that has saved us all! How dare you suggest that we just leave him to die, after all that he has done for all of us! I despise you!~
And with that, Serenity stormed from the clearing at full speed. She ran and ran, ignoring the cries of ~Serenity! Wait!~ behind her. She was angrier than she had ever been in her life before, a strange red haze was clouding her vision, she was trembling with rage and disgust for Crawx.
How long she ran, Serenity didn't know, but it was a long way, because she suddenly realized that she was in the outskirts of the forest.
Then, a strange sound reached her ears. Serenity stopped dead, listening for the unfamiliar sound, which sounded almost like..... crying. A human child crying.
Serenity's ears twitched nervously as she followed the sound cautiously to a clearing. There, curled up between the roots of an old ash, lay a small human child. And the child was crying.
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Remus Lupin stared at the remains of Nr.4 Privet Drive. Where there had been a beautiful house, there was now just a pile of rubble, the reminder of the horrible things that had happened here.
The muggle policemen and Aurors had left long ago, it was one week after the incident, and yet Remus could not bring himself to move. He stood transfixed, eyes glued to the place that had once been the home of one Harry Potter.
Nobody knew what had happened. The neighbours had reported that there had been nothing unusual going on that day- at least as far as they could see. Mr. Dursley had left for and returned from work as every day, the Dursley's son, Dudley, had been seen leaving the house with his friends to play 'Trick or Treat' and returning at about ten o'clock. Nobody had seen or heard anything of Harry at all that day.
And then, suddenly, around midnight, the neighbours said, the whole house blew up. The place was surrounded by a giant cloud of dust and dirt. The neighbours had, of course, called the police and firemen immediately, but there had been nothing they could do.
The Dursley's corpses had been rescued from the ruins..... apparently unharmed, but dead. The muggle doctors had been stumped, but had finally settled for the explanation that the Dursleys must have been so terrified by the collapse of their house that their hearts had stopped.
But nobody had found a trace of the other small boy that lived in this house, nobody knew what had become of little Harry Potter.
After the muggle authorities had left, the Aurors had come. They had searched the house and had found that the explosion was caused by magic- powerful, very dark magic. An Unforgivable Curse, some said. But there was no proof.
The magical signatures on the house were easily identified. Voldemort, the most powerful Dark Lord in many centuries, had been here, to finish off the last remaining Potter.
Nobody knew how he had managed to overcome the protections placed around this house. After all, Harry Potter had been with his blood relatives. The love of one blood relative for another was a very powerful thing, and not even Voldemort should have been able to break the bond of love between Harry, his aunt and his cousin. All the protections and wards on Harry's house had been based on this love.
Yes, Voldemort's overcoming those barriers was indeed a big mystery (A/N: Forgive my sarcasm), one that should not be lifted for a few years.
Another fact the Aurors had discovered was that Lord Voldemort had never left the house. Somehow, they concluded, Harry Potter must have defeated the Dark Lord. Somehow, he, a four-year-old child, had done what nobody else could.
The Wizarding World was in an uproar. Word that Lord Voldemort had finally disappeared, had been defeated by little Harry Potter, spread like wildfire. Not two hours after the incident, witches and wizards all over the world were celebrating their freedom and their newfound hero, Harry Potter.
But now, one week after Halloween, the celebrations were starting to die down and people started to ask questions. Where was Harry Potter?
The wizarding world was in an uproar again. Everyone was looking for the boy-who-defeated-Voldemort, and yet nobody found a trace of him.
Remus Lupin and the staff of Hogwarts under the lead of Albus Dumbledore especially were searching tirelessly. They knew that Harry was alive out there, somewhere, but they also knew what a dangerous place the world was for a four-year-old. It terrified everyone to think about what could happen to the small boy.
But their search was in vain. Harry Potter had seemingly vanished from the face of earth.
Remus blinked back tears as he remembered what had happened earlier this very day.....
####################FLASHBACK########################
It was 5 o'clock in the afternoon. Remus and the staff had just returned from another fruitless search for Harry Potter. The mood in the Great Hall was gloomy. Everyone thought of the little boy, and what could have happened to him in the one week he had been missing. Even Severus Snape, the youngest staff member and nemesis of James Potter, seemed to be depressed. Nobody was in the mood to talk, so everyone ate in silence.
Suddenly, with a crash, the front doors flew open. In the door stood Cornelius Fudge, the only recently appointed ("idiot", Remus thought) minister of magic.
"So," Fudge said in his usual snobby tone, "Have you found the boy?"
Everyone just stared at him, then Albus slowly shook his head.
Fudge sneered. "Very well, then. I've had enough of this. Tomorrow there will be an article in the Daily Prophet declaring his very unfortunate, tragic death."
Remus jumped up. "You can't do this!" he blurted out. "Harry is alive, we know that! We just haven't found him yet, you can't just declare him dead!"
Fudge sneered at him coldly. "Don't tell me what I can or can't do, Mr. Lupin," he said, eyeing Remus with contempt.
Dumbledore stood up also, a quiet fury radiating off him in almost palpable waves. "Why?" he just asked, but the power behind that one word made everyone in the room, especially Fudge, shudder.
Fudge quickly regained his composure and came over to he staff table. He put his hands on the table and leaned forward, looking at everyone intently.
"Why?", he repeated, "I can tell you why. People are getting restless. They want to see results, want to see their hero, want to know what happened to him. They are starting to rebel against the ministry and its methods, saying that we aren't trying to find the child hard enough. They want results, get the idea?"
Fudge's eyes were gleaming, he looked absolutely insane.
"I am going to give them a result. I am going to tell the wizarding world that we found a body somewhere in an back alley in London. I am going to tell them that it was identified as Harry Potter's corpse. And if I hear one, only one of you, say something against this statement, the one who said something will find themself in Azkaban for the rest of their life. Good day to all of you."
And with that, the minister had turned and left the Great Hall swiftly.
################### END FLASHBACK####################
Yes, that is what the minister had said.
Remus jumped as he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw the headmaster of Hogwarts who was looking at him with concern and sorrow in his eyes. Remus turned back to the house and choked back another sob.
"I should have fought harder." Remus whispered. "I should never have let anyone put him here. I should have fought the ministry's decision more, I should have-"
Dumbledore shushed him. "You have done nothing wrong, Remus," he said firmly, "You warned me about leaving Harry here. You fought for Harry's custody and you could have done nothing to alter the ministry's decision. If you want to blame Harry's disappearance and whatever happened here one week ago on anyone, blame it on the ministry, myself, and most of all, Voldemort."
They were silent for a few moments, then Dumbledore continued.
"I know it hurts, Remus. I know you wanted to take care of Harry, I know you would have done a wonderful job. But it's in the past, Remus, let it go! I know you are scared for Harry, I know that I am, and I know that you want to help him just as badly as I do. But, Remus, there is nothing we can do. You heard the minister, we won't be of any use to Harry if we are in Azkaban."
Again, Dumbledore paused and looked up at the beautiful night sky. The stars were twinkling down upon him innocently, the moon was shining brightly. It would be full moon in a few days.
"We cannot help Harry now, Remus. You and I both know that he is somewhere out there alive, but if he has survived for one week on his own, he will survive for the next few years. And if this is of any comfort to you, Remus, I have a firm feeling that we will see Harry again. Not today, not tomorrow, not for a few years, but one day, Remus, we will meet again, I can feel it. Trust me, Remus, our little friend is not gone forever."
Remus nodded. He had that same feeling and knew that it would come true. The headmaster squeezed his shoulder another time and then let him go.
"Oh, and Remus," he said, "That DADA position in Hogwarts is still free, you know that our teacher had to resign because of illness last week? Well, do you want the job?"
Remus whirled around. "Me, a teacher?" he sounded so incredulous that Albus had to laugh.
"Yes, Remus. You. I have seen that you are a very good teacher already when you were at school and were helping the younger students with their homework. Your..... condition..... won't be a problem, Severus is going to make you the Wolfsbane potion. So, Remus, do you accept the position?"
Remus stared at his former headmaster and had to swallow, hard. "I....." he said, then cleared his throat and tried again. "I would love to be the new DADA teacher."
Dumbledore smiled gently and shook Remus' hand warmly. "I'm glad, Remus." Dumbledore knew what this must mean to the young werewolf. Because of his condition, Remus had trouble in finding a job in the wizarding world. Most witches and wizards were, unfortunately, very biased when it came to werewolves and vampires and such, and people like Remus were often shunned by the magical community.
Dumbledore chuckled as he thought about the Hogwarts staff. 'Quite a bunch we've got there,' he thought, shaking his head. 'We've got a werewolf who teaches DADA, a half giant who's the groundskeeper, a part vampire as a Potions Master, a dwarf who teaches Charms, a ghost as the History of Magic professor, a part hawk as a Flying Instructor, a Divinations teacher who can't predict the future, a squib as a caretaker, and last, but not least, about a hundred house elves in the kitchens.'
Dumbledore chuckled again as he squeezed Remus' shoulder one last time and told him he would see him at Hogwarts the next day.
After Dumbledore had left, Remus turned back to look at the ruin and sighed. Then, he turned on his heel and apparated back to his flat in Hogsmeade.
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The next day, a certain article in the Daily Prophet caused another uproar in the magical world. The headline this morning read:
BOY-WHO-DEFEATED-YOU-KNOW-WHO FOUND DEAD
By Rita Skeeter, special correspondent
Yesterday, November 7th, the body of Harry Potter, the boy who defeated He- who-must-not-be-named, was found in a small back alley in London. The boy had already been dead for three days, the medi-wizards stated. Apparently, the child's body was littered with bruises and wounds from his encounter with You-Know-Who. 'He died from blood loss,' Lucius Malfoy, leader of the Hit-Wizard department in the MoM, who found Harry Potter's corpse yesterday, declared.
'Potter's just another unfortunate victim of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Let his soul rest in peace, I am sure Harry will be sorely- er- missed.'
The article continued on like that for five pages, it told the life story of Lily and James Potter, their death at Voldemort's hands, then everything that was known about Harry (which wasn't much) and a few more things that brought witches all over the earth to tears and that had come from Rita's Quick Quotes Quill.
And so, against the will of Remus Lupin, Albus Dumbledore and the rest of the Hogwarts staff, Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Defeated-He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named-And-Then- Disappeared, was declared dead, and the Wizarding World was left to mourn the loss of their saviour.
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Remus smiled grimly as he read the article. "One day, Harry," he whispered to himself, "One day we will meet again. I know that you are somewhere out there. Good luck, Harry Potter."
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One week before in Little Whining's forest
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Harry stopped crying abruptly. He had a feeling that he was being watched. Slowly, he lifted his head and looked around. There, at the far end of the clearing, was something so pure white and bright that it almost hurt Harry's eyes after the darkness.
Harry looked at it in fear. What was that thing?
Serenity stepped closer. There was no doubt in her mind. This child was Harry Potter. Serenity took another step forward so that she was now directly in front of Harry.
The child was a mess. His clothes were torn and there was blood on his face, along with scratches. The child had pitch black, messy hair and fairly pale skin. But it was his eyes that caught Serenity's attention the most. They were deep, very deep. They were the kind of eyes you could get lost in, a beautiful emerald green. And they were currently gazing up at her in wonder, so innocent, so pure, despite of what Harry had seen that night.
And it was his eyes, so much like Starlight's in everything but colour, that made Serenity fall in love with the child instantly.
Very carefully, so as not to frighten the small human, Serenity sank down to her knees in front of him and started to lick his wounds gently.
First, the child flinched away, but Serenity nuzzled his cheek (the uninjured one) and Harry seemed to understand that she was trying to help him.
He let her clean his wounds for him. What Harry didn't know was that unicorn spittle has healing powers. All of the scratches disappeared instantly- all but the one on his forehead.
Serenity looked at the lightning-bolt-shaped scar curiously. It had to be a result of Harry's encounter with Voldemort.
Speaking of Voldemort, Serenity knew that she had to take Harry to the council, as much as she would love to just keep him.
*Come on, little one* she said in unicorn speech, knowing fully well that Harry could not understand her, *We have to go back to the others.*
Serenity motioned with her head for him to climb on, and after a while, Harry complied. He grabbed Serenity's mane and off they were. Harry had to laugh, loudly. This ride was fun! He enjoyed the wind blowing in his face.
Serenity smiled, as good as a unicorn could smile, as she sensed her cu- the cub's joy. Already, she noticed, Harry had a firm place in her heart.
They reached the Oak Clearing in next to no time. Serenity took a deep breath and stepped into the clearing.
Cassandra, the wise old rabbit, smiled at her mildly.
~So you have decided to return, Serenity. And I see you have brought company.~
Serenity kneeled down gracefully in the middle of the clearing and let Harry slip off. The human child was staring around in awe.
~Yes, Wise one,~ Serenity said and stood back up, ~This is Harry Potter. I found him in the outskirts of the forest, in a small clearing, crying.~
Cassandra nodded and fixed her attention on Harry.
Harry stared around the clearing. There were animals all around, from what Harry could see there were a wolf, fox, stag, owl, crow, blackbird, snake, squirrel, rabbit and of course the unicorn that had brought him here.
Harry noticed that the rabbit was looking at him intently and fixed it with his curious eyes.
Cassandra smiled as she saw the innocent curiosity in Harry's eyes. No matter what Crawx and Nocturn had said, Harry was no danger to their small community. Cassandra was very wise and so she knew that Harry was still young enough to learn the ways of the forest, including their language. She turned back to Serenity who was watching her with an anxious expression on her face.
~I presume, Serenity, that you brought the child here for permission to take care of him?~
Serenity, once again astounded by Cassandra's psychic abilities, just nodded.
~Very well then, Serenity,~ Cassandra said firmly, but not unkindly. ~You have the permission. Only one thing, make sure to teach him the ways of the forest properly. He needs to know our laws and our language in order to fit in. You may take Harry now. Good luck, Serenity.~
Serenity bowed and thanked Cassandra politely, but on the inside her heart was jumping with joy. She was allowed to keep Harry, everything was alright!
Serenity nudged Harry with her soft muzzle and kneeled down again. Harry, this time, understood immediately and climbed on quickly.
Serenity stood up carefully and took off. She was going home to her group now. She knew that the other unicorns would accept Harry as one of their own. Harry would grow up like a unicorn, would know the ways of the forest, would speak the language of the unicorns and the language of all forest animals.
Yes, Harry was going to grow up like Starlight should have- her little unicorn child.
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A/N: What do you think?
See ya,
Felinity
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Disclaimer: I own none of the Harry Potter characters you recognise! I do own Serenity, Starlight, the other unicorns, the forest animal council and language, and the plot!!!
~*~
A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed!
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~speech of all living beings in the forest~
Chapter 2
The Forest Council and the Magical World
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Harry stumbled into the forest. Scenes from the Dursleys were flashing through his head, blinding him, tears were now freely flowing down his cheeks. The world became blurry, and Harry stumbled over a tree root. He fell, hard, onto the ground, scraping his chin on a rock. Harry let out a small whimper of pain, then he scrambled to his feet again and continued on his way.
He remembered what Voldemort had told him, a wizard, he was supposed to be a wizard. How could that be?
SNAP
A twig whipped him across his face, Harry's left cheek started to bleed. Again, Harry whimpered and continued.
The Dursleys. Harry had never liked them, they had hated Harry and treated him terribly. Sometimes Harry wondered what he had done to deserve this treatment, because that he deserved it, was clear in Harry's mind. After all, why would the Dursleys punish him if he didn't deserve it?
BAM
It was completely dark out here, Harry couldn't see his own hand before his eyes- let alone the tree he had run into. But it had successfully brought him out of his daze.
Harry looked around. It was dark. Harry couldn't see a thing. Harry couldn't hear a thing. The silence was suffocating. Vaguely, Harry was aware that his breathing was beginning to quicken. Had he known that word, Harry would have known that he was starting to hyperventilate. But Harry, being four years old, did not know that word, and so the only word to describe his current condition, was panicked. Completely, utterly panicked.
Harry started to run. He didn't know in which direction to go, he ran into trees, stumbled over tree roots, hit his knees on rocks. Not even years later could Harry say how long he had been like this, falling, getting up again, stumbling, running on.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to Harry, he could see a little bit of light ahead. Completely exhausted, Harry gathered all his remaining strength and made his way toward the light.
He arrived at a small clearing, a stream was running through it. Harry fell to his knees beside the stream and stared into the water. He could see his reflection in the dim moonlight..... and had to clap his hands over his mouth to keep from screaming.
He looked horrible. His clothes were torn, the skin of his face was scratched and bleeding, but what shocked him most was his forehead. There, exactly in the centre, was a lightning-bolt-shaped cut. Harry touched it tentatively. It seemed to be very deep and was bleeding freely.
Carefully, Harry cupped his hands and cleaned the cuts on his face, especially the one on his forehead.
After he was satisfied, Harry began to think about his situation. He was lost, there was no denying it. Maybe running away hadn't been such a good idea after all- but no, Harry thought, everything was better than living with humans. And at least here, in this clearing, there was water and light-
A great storm cloud suddenly moved in front of the moon. It was pitch black. Harry sat frozen. He couldn't see a thing. He wondered what animals were out here? Harry shuddered as his vivid imagination began to work.
All sorts of potential dangers began to race through Harry's mind. There, that snap- was that an animal trying to eat Harry? And the faint howling of the wind at the edges of the clearing- were there werewolves waiting to kill Harry? And was it just his imagination, or was there a pair of creepy yellow eyes staring at him from the shadows?
Harry shuddered violently and stumbled across the clearing.
THUMP
He had hit a tree. Harry fell down and curled up between the roots. The events of the day, the fright, fear, exhaustion and horror, finally caught up with little Harry. He buried his head in his hands and began to cry, quietly, as he was taught, so nobody would be disturbed by him.
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It was dark. Completely dark. There was no glimmer of light left in the forest, and the silence was suffocating. The moon and the stars had vanished behind impenetrable storm clouds half an hour ago. Tension was thick in the air, almost palpable. A light, cold breeze ruffled the leaves of the trees who seemed to just stand there, not caring. But that was not true.
In the middle of Little Whining's great forest, there stood an old oak. Nobody knew how old it was anymore, even the oak had forgotten how much time had passed. It had been alive far more than two centuries, it knew that much, but no human had really visited it in a long time.
The oak was very old, and very wise. It had seen more cold winters and hot summers than any of the other living beings in this forest and they accepted its wisdom and appreciated and heeded its advice.
For yes, all of the forest creatures, magical or not, could communicate with one another, even the trees. And since the old oak was the wisest tree in the forest and was growing exactly in the middle of it, all important meetings in times of crisis were being held in the 'Oak Clearing', as it was known to all forest animals.
This night, there was such a meeting.
The old oak had known they would come, had felt their presence before he had seen or heard them. The leaders, the chiefs of all animal groups and packs in the forest, were approaching, in silent agreement about this meeting. All of them had felt Cassandra's call, all of them had known it was time for another meeting.
The old oak rustled its leaves importantly as the first leader arrived in the clearing. It was Serenity, leader of the only unicorn group in this forest. The old oak knew that she had lost her young one only a week ago and was still grieving.
Serenity kneeled down briefly in front of the oak, showing her respect for the oldest living being in the forest, as it was customary. Then, the proud unicorn mother stood back up and retreated into the shadows, waiting for her fellow leaders to arrive.
They came swiftly and silently, one by one. There was Rex, the king of the wolves; Arya, the chief of all foxes; Cassandra, the wisest of the rabbits; Dandelion, the representative of the squirrels; Nocturn, the leader of the owls; Crawx, the speaker for the crows and ravens; Trillidge, a blackbird, elected to act for the rest of the bird population; Serenity, leader of the unicorns; Crown, the king of the stags and deer; and of course Slyther, chief of the snakes.
All of them assembled under the old oak tree, and the meeting began.
Traditionally, it was the oak that opened the meeting.
~Greetings to you, fellow leaders and kings. I hereby call the 1753rd meeting of the forest council to order! Cassandra, wisest of the rabbits, please inform us why we are all assembled here.~
The old rabbit moved to the middle of the clearing slowly. Cassandra was the second oldest living being in the forest and was viewed as almost as wise as the old oak. She had been around for almost a century, her fur had gone a pure white with age, and Cassandra was almost blind.
But she also, most importantly, had the sight. Cassandra could read the stars better than any other animal in the forest, she could see the present and the future and was sometimes overcome with visions. Cassandra was one of the most reliable sources of knowledge about the human world the forest animals had.
Also, Cassandra was psychic. She had the power to call all animal leaders of the forest to this very meeting place and nobody dared to ignore her call, knowing the consequences ignorance could bring.
Only an hour ago, all of the assembled chiefs and kings had received the call, and none of them had wasted any time before getting here.
Cassandra, the wise rabbit, waited until she saw that everyone's attention was fixed on her. Then she started to speak with her calm, powerful voice.
~Greetings to all of you, my fellow leaders. I am glad that all of you heard my call and decided to follow it immediately. The reason I have brought you here today is that only three hours ago I suddenly felt a great evil entering this forest. I will not lie to you, my fellow council, what I felt scared me beyond words. Such an evil has never been heard of to taint our forest, and this creature, whatever it was, was so devilish that I was momentarily frozen.~
Some of the council, the older members, shuddered and murmured in agreement. They had felt the evil presence too. Serenity, who, with her eighteen years, was one of the younger leaders, had not. After a brief silence Cassandra continued.
~After I could move again, I reached out with my mind and found the evil quickly. Will you believe me when I say that this evil creature was none other than the reason why we assembled here the last time three years ago?~
Some of the animals gasped, others remained silent, having expected it. Cassandra continued talking quickly.
~You will all remember what happened three years ago. Lord Voldemort, how the humans call him, had killed the Potters, except for their little son..... Harry. I was overcome with a vision telling me that this little boy, Harry Potter, was going to defeat the evil Lord Voldemort.~
Cassandra looked around the clearing, everyone nodded. Satisfied, she continued.
~Tonight, when my mind reached the evil presence of the Dark Lord, I was overcome with another vision. It showed exactly what I have predicted you three years ago. Harry Potter, a small boy, has been the downfall of Lord Voldemort.~
There was a brief silence, then a cheer rang throughout the clearing. Most of the council was celebrating, and it took a powerful admonishment from the old oak to quiet them all down. The only ones that had not cheered were Serenity, Rex and Arya.
Now that everyone had quieted down, Arya, the queen of the foxes, stepped forward. ~Forgive me for interrupting, Wise one, but you said that a small boy had destroyed Voldemort. And yet you said Harry Potter was four years old?~
Cassandra smiled indulgently. ~Ah, but Arya, for a human child four years is very young. Humans take almost twenty years until they are completely full-grown. In their species, Harry is still a small cub.~
Astonished whispers broke out all around the clearing as Arya thanked Cassandra and stepped back.
Now, Rex walked majestically up to Cassandra and asked: ~Wise one, what happened to Lord Voldemort?~
The other animals grew deathly quiet. Was Voldemort still here in the forest? Wasn't he supposed to be dead?
Cassandra sighed and closed her eyes briefly.
~That, Rex, king of the wolves, is a very good question. Like I said, the Potter cub has brought down the Dark Lord, but his soul has not been completely destroyed. He is still out there, somewhere, not quite a ghost or a spirit, but still there, too vulnerable to survive whatever Harry has done, yet too immortal to die from it. I do not know if he will ever return, but I am sure that he will find a way, somehow, sometime, the Dark Lord shall be over us again. Not for a few years, though. For now, he has left the forest and I can sense that he is nowhere hear here, so you needn't worry.~
Rex nodded solemnly and stepped back into the circle of the council. Now Serenity gathered all of her courage and stepped forward. She had never spoken in front of the council, let alone the oak or Cassandra, before.
Cassandra smiled reassuringly at Serenity when the young unicorn stepped forward, sensing her nervousness.
~Wise one,~ Serenity said, ~What happened to Harry Potter?~
Cassandra's smile turned a little sad.
~Ah yes, Harry Potter.....~ she said, almost dreamily, ~I'm afraid I do not know exactly. After his unfortunate encounter with the Dark Lord, in which, I am sorry to say, young Harry's last living relatives were killed, Harry decided to run away..... into this very forest. And this, my fellow leaders, is the reason we are all assembled here.~
Whispers broke out again, but Cassandra quieted everyone down with a stern glance in their direction.
~I probably don't have to tell you that we, along with every living being on this earth, muggle or wizard, are in Harry Potter's debt. He saved the world from Voldemort's clutches, but he still is a child. A child that is currently somewhere in this forest, lost and alone. And it is up to us to decide his fate.~
Cassandra paused for a moment to let the words sink in.
~We have two choices. One, we let Harry be on his own, where he will most likely not survive in this forest. Or two, one of us animals takes him into our group and raises him, thereby repaying our debt to young Harry and the humans.~
There was silence for a moment, then Crawx, the representative of the crows and ravens stepped forward. Crawx was a young and ambitious leader, known for his cruelty and ruthlessness.
~I say, we leave him,~ Crawx said maliciously, ~He brought down Voldemort, fine, but why bother to raise him? He's done his job, we don't need him. A human in our forest? Impossible! You all know that humans bring nothing but despair and destruction. If we take him in, he will destroy us all!"
There were some murmurs of agreement from Dandelion ,the squirrel, and Nocturn, the owl leader. The latter flew down from the branch he had been perched on into the middle of the clearing and said:
~Crawx is right! The human cub will rip our community apart. We have all heard of the cruel deeds of the humans! Lord Voldemort himself was human! This is not our fight, the Potter cub is not our responsibility, let the humans take care of it, and if it dies before they find it, fine!~
Serenity was seething with rage. How could they talk about a small cub like this! Arya, the fox queen, seemed to think so too, because she stepped forward and said angrily:
~You fools! How can you say that the fight against Voldemort is not of our concern? Voldemort would have destroyed us all had Harry Potter not defeated him! And you want to leave the child alone? I agree that it would be risky to accept a human in our community and teach him the ways of the forest, but the least we can do is find the cub and guide him to the edge of the forest so that he can return to his human friends!~
Again, the leaders murmured in agreement, but Cassandra quieted everyone down quickly.
~Wise words, my dear Arya,~ the old rabbit said, ~However, there is one problem. Young Harry does not wish to return to the human world.~
There were gasps all around, whispers everywhere.
~And why is that so?~ Rex, the wolf leader asked calmly.
~Because, Rex,~ Cassandra picked up again, ~The people he has been staying with over the past three years, his last remaining relatives, have, I am sad to say, not treated the boy well. They have neglected him and kept the truth about his parents' deaths from him. After his encounter with Lord Voldemort, Harry has lost all trust in his fellow humans and has decided to run away and to never return to them.~
The clearing was deathly silent as what she had said sunk in. Then Crawx gave a short, croaky laugh.
~Pathetic! The saviour of the human world is a small cub who is traumatized by three years of not-being-pampered and who does not want to return to the humans! How weak! If he was one of my hatchlings, I would throw him out and leave him for the insects to eat!~
That was the final straw. Serenity exploded. All the strain of having her child killed and hearing about the small human cub who saved the world and reminded her so much of Starlight became too much, Serenity reared up and screamed in rage, completely oblivious to everyone around her except for Crawx.
~You bastard!~ she shouted. ~You evil, pathetic, non-caring thing! How dare you speak like that about the child that has saved us all! How dare you suggest that we just leave him to die, after all that he has done for all of us! I despise you!~
And with that, Serenity stormed from the clearing at full speed. She ran and ran, ignoring the cries of ~Serenity! Wait!~ behind her. She was angrier than she had ever been in her life before, a strange red haze was clouding her vision, she was trembling with rage and disgust for Crawx.
How long she ran, Serenity didn't know, but it was a long way, because she suddenly realized that she was in the outskirts of the forest.
Then, a strange sound reached her ears. Serenity stopped dead, listening for the unfamiliar sound, which sounded almost like..... crying. A human child crying.
Serenity's ears twitched nervously as she followed the sound cautiously to a clearing. There, curled up between the roots of an old ash, lay a small human child. And the child was crying.
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Remus Lupin stared at the remains of Nr.4 Privet Drive. Where there had been a beautiful house, there was now just a pile of rubble, the reminder of the horrible things that had happened here.
The muggle policemen and Aurors had left long ago, it was one week after the incident, and yet Remus could not bring himself to move. He stood transfixed, eyes glued to the place that had once been the home of one Harry Potter.
Nobody knew what had happened. The neighbours had reported that there had been nothing unusual going on that day- at least as far as they could see. Mr. Dursley had left for and returned from work as every day, the Dursley's son, Dudley, had been seen leaving the house with his friends to play 'Trick or Treat' and returning at about ten o'clock. Nobody had seen or heard anything of Harry at all that day.
And then, suddenly, around midnight, the neighbours said, the whole house blew up. The place was surrounded by a giant cloud of dust and dirt. The neighbours had, of course, called the police and firemen immediately, but there had been nothing they could do.
The Dursley's corpses had been rescued from the ruins..... apparently unharmed, but dead. The muggle doctors had been stumped, but had finally settled for the explanation that the Dursleys must have been so terrified by the collapse of their house that their hearts had stopped.
But nobody had found a trace of the other small boy that lived in this house, nobody knew what had become of little Harry Potter.
After the muggle authorities had left, the Aurors had come. They had searched the house and had found that the explosion was caused by magic- powerful, very dark magic. An Unforgivable Curse, some said. But there was no proof.
The magical signatures on the house were easily identified. Voldemort, the most powerful Dark Lord in many centuries, had been here, to finish off the last remaining Potter.
Nobody knew how he had managed to overcome the protections placed around this house. After all, Harry Potter had been with his blood relatives. The love of one blood relative for another was a very powerful thing, and not even Voldemort should have been able to break the bond of love between Harry, his aunt and his cousin. All the protections and wards on Harry's house had been based on this love.
Yes, Voldemort's overcoming those barriers was indeed a big mystery (A/N: Forgive my sarcasm), one that should not be lifted for a few years.
Another fact the Aurors had discovered was that Lord Voldemort had never left the house. Somehow, they concluded, Harry Potter must have defeated the Dark Lord. Somehow, he, a four-year-old child, had done what nobody else could.
The Wizarding World was in an uproar. Word that Lord Voldemort had finally disappeared, had been defeated by little Harry Potter, spread like wildfire. Not two hours after the incident, witches and wizards all over the world were celebrating their freedom and their newfound hero, Harry Potter.
But now, one week after Halloween, the celebrations were starting to die down and people started to ask questions. Where was Harry Potter?
The wizarding world was in an uproar again. Everyone was looking for the boy-who-defeated-Voldemort, and yet nobody found a trace of him.
Remus Lupin and the staff of Hogwarts under the lead of Albus Dumbledore especially were searching tirelessly. They knew that Harry was alive out there, somewhere, but they also knew what a dangerous place the world was for a four-year-old. It terrified everyone to think about what could happen to the small boy.
But their search was in vain. Harry Potter had seemingly vanished from the face of earth.
Remus blinked back tears as he remembered what had happened earlier this very day.....
####################FLASHBACK########################
It was 5 o'clock in the afternoon. Remus and the staff had just returned from another fruitless search for Harry Potter. The mood in the Great Hall was gloomy. Everyone thought of the little boy, and what could have happened to him in the one week he had been missing. Even Severus Snape, the youngest staff member and nemesis of James Potter, seemed to be depressed. Nobody was in the mood to talk, so everyone ate in silence.
Suddenly, with a crash, the front doors flew open. In the door stood Cornelius Fudge, the only recently appointed ("idiot", Remus thought) minister of magic.
"So," Fudge said in his usual snobby tone, "Have you found the boy?"
Everyone just stared at him, then Albus slowly shook his head.
Fudge sneered. "Very well, then. I've had enough of this. Tomorrow there will be an article in the Daily Prophet declaring his very unfortunate, tragic death."
Remus jumped up. "You can't do this!" he blurted out. "Harry is alive, we know that! We just haven't found him yet, you can't just declare him dead!"
Fudge sneered at him coldly. "Don't tell me what I can or can't do, Mr. Lupin," he said, eyeing Remus with contempt.
Dumbledore stood up also, a quiet fury radiating off him in almost palpable waves. "Why?" he just asked, but the power behind that one word made everyone in the room, especially Fudge, shudder.
Fudge quickly regained his composure and came over to he staff table. He put his hands on the table and leaned forward, looking at everyone intently.
"Why?", he repeated, "I can tell you why. People are getting restless. They want to see results, want to see their hero, want to know what happened to him. They are starting to rebel against the ministry and its methods, saying that we aren't trying to find the child hard enough. They want results, get the idea?"
Fudge's eyes were gleaming, he looked absolutely insane.
"I am going to give them a result. I am going to tell the wizarding world that we found a body somewhere in an back alley in London. I am going to tell them that it was identified as Harry Potter's corpse. And if I hear one, only one of you, say something against this statement, the one who said something will find themself in Azkaban for the rest of their life. Good day to all of you."
And with that, the minister had turned and left the Great Hall swiftly.
################### END FLASHBACK####################
Yes, that is what the minister had said.
Remus jumped as he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw the headmaster of Hogwarts who was looking at him with concern and sorrow in his eyes. Remus turned back to the house and choked back another sob.
"I should have fought harder." Remus whispered. "I should never have let anyone put him here. I should have fought the ministry's decision more, I should have-"
Dumbledore shushed him. "You have done nothing wrong, Remus," he said firmly, "You warned me about leaving Harry here. You fought for Harry's custody and you could have done nothing to alter the ministry's decision. If you want to blame Harry's disappearance and whatever happened here one week ago on anyone, blame it on the ministry, myself, and most of all, Voldemort."
They were silent for a few moments, then Dumbledore continued.
"I know it hurts, Remus. I know you wanted to take care of Harry, I know you would have done a wonderful job. But it's in the past, Remus, let it go! I know you are scared for Harry, I know that I am, and I know that you want to help him just as badly as I do. But, Remus, there is nothing we can do. You heard the minister, we won't be of any use to Harry if we are in Azkaban."
Again, Dumbledore paused and looked up at the beautiful night sky. The stars were twinkling down upon him innocently, the moon was shining brightly. It would be full moon in a few days.
"We cannot help Harry now, Remus. You and I both know that he is somewhere out there alive, but if he has survived for one week on his own, he will survive for the next few years. And if this is of any comfort to you, Remus, I have a firm feeling that we will see Harry again. Not today, not tomorrow, not for a few years, but one day, Remus, we will meet again, I can feel it. Trust me, Remus, our little friend is not gone forever."
Remus nodded. He had that same feeling and knew that it would come true. The headmaster squeezed his shoulder another time and then let him go.
"Oh, and Remus," he said, "That DADA position in Hogwarts is still free, you know that our teacher had to resign because of illness last week? Well, do you want the job?"
Remus whirled around. "Me, a teacher?" he sounded so incredulous that Albus had to laugh.
"Yes, Remus. You. I have seen that you are a very good teacher already when you were at school and were helping the younger students with their homework. Your..... condition..... won't be a problem, Severus is going to make you the Wolfsbane potion. So, Remus, do you accept the position?"
Remus stared at his former headmaster and had to swallow, hard. "I....." he said, then cleared his throat and tried again. "I would love to be the new DADA teacher."
Dumbledore smiled gently and shook Remus' hand warmly. "I'm glad, Remus." Dumbledore knew what this must mean to the young werewolf. Because of his condition, Remus had trouble in finding a job in the wizarding world. Most witches and wizards were, unfortunately, very biased when it came to werewolves and vampires and such, and people like Remus were often shunned by the magical community.
Dumbledore chuckled as he thought about the Hogwarts staff. 'Quite a bunch we've got there,' he thought, shaking his head. 'We've got a werewolf who teaches DADA, a half giant who's the groundskeeper, a part vampire as a Potions Master, a dwarf who teaches Charms, a ghost as the History of Magic professor, a part hawk as a Flying Instructor, a Divinations teacher who can't predict the future, a squib as a caretaker, and last, but not least, about a hundred house elves in the kitchens.'
Dumbledore chuckled again as he squeezed Remus' shoulder one last time and told him he would see him at Hogwarts the next day.
After Dumbledore had left, Remus turned back to look at the ruin and sighed. Then, he turned on his heel and apparated back to his flat in Hogsmeade.
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The next day, a certain article in the Daily Prophet caused another uproar in the magical world. The headline this morning read:
BOY-WHO-DEFEATED-YOU-KNOW-WHO FOUND DEAD
By Rita Skeeter, special correspondent
Yesterday, November 7th, the body of Harry Potter, the boy who defeated He- who-must-not-be-named, was found in a small back alley in London. The boy had already been dead for three days, the medi-wizards stated. Apparently, the child's body was littered with bruises and wounds from his encounter with You-Know-Who. 'He died from blood loss,' Lucius Malfoy, leader of the Hit-Wizard department in the MoM, who found Harry Potter's corpse yesterday, declared.
'Potter's just another unfortunate victim of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Let his soul rest in peace, I am sure Harry will be sorely- er- missed.'
The article continued on like that for five pages, it told the life story of Lily and James Potter, their death at Voldemort's hands, then everything that was known about Harry (which wasn't much) and a few more things that brought witches all over the earth to tears and that had come from Rita's Quick Quotes Quill.
And so, against the will of Remus Lupin, Albus Dumbledore and the rest of the Hogwarts staff, Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Defeated-He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named-And-Then- Disappeared, was declared dead, and the Wizarding World was left to mourn the loss of their saviour.
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Remus smiled grimly as he read the article. "One day, Harry," he whispered to himself, "One day we will meet again. I know that you are somewhere out there. Good luck, Harry Potter."
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One week before in Little Whining's forest
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Harry stopped crying abruptly. He had a feeling that he was being watched. Slowly, he lifted his head and looked around. There, at the far end of the clearing, was something so pure white and bright that it almost hurt Harry's eyes after the darkness.
Harry looked at it in fear. What was that thing?
Serenity stepped closer. There was no doubt in her mind. This child was Harry Potter. Serenity took another step forward so that she was now directly in front of Harry.
The child was a mess. His clothes were torn and there was blood on his face, along with scratches. The child had pitch black, messy hair and fairly pale skin. But it was his eyes that caught Serenity's attention the most. They were deep, very deep. They were the kind of eyes you could get lost in, a beautiful emerald green. And they were currently gazing up at her in wonder, so innocent, so pure, despite of what Harry had seen that night.
And it was his eyes, so much like Starlight's in everything but colour, that made Serenity fall in love with the child instantly.
Very carefully, so as not to frighten the small human, Serenity sank down to her knees in front of him and started to lick his wounds gently.
First, the child flinched away, but Serenity nuzzled his cheek (the uninjured one) and Harry seemed to understand that she was trying to help him.
He let her clean his wounds for him. What Harry didn't know was that unicorn spittle has healing powers. All of the scratches disappeared instantly- all but the one on his forehead.
Serenity looked at the lightning-bolt-shaped scar curiously. It had to be a result of Harry's encounter with Voldemort.
Speaking of Voldemort, Serenity knew that she had to take Harry to the council, as much as she would love to just keep him.
*Come on, little one* she said in unicorn speech, knowing fully well that Harry could not understand her, *We have to go back to the others.*
Serenity motioned with her head for him to climb on, and after a while, Harry complied. He grabbed Serenity's mane and off they were. Harry had to laugh, loudly. This ride was fun! He enjoyed the wind blowing in his face.
Serenity smiled, as good as a unicorn could smile, as she sensed her cu- the cub's joy. Already, she noticed, Harry had a firm place in her heart.
They reached the Oak Clearing in next to no time. Serenity took a deep breath and stepped into the clearing.
Cassandra, the wise old rabbit, smiled at her mildly.
~So you have decided to return, Serenity. And I see you have brought company.~
Serenity kneeled down gracefully in the middle of the clearing and let Harry slip off. The human child was staring around in awe.
~Yes, Wise one,~ Serenity said and stood back up, ~This is Harry Potter. I found him in the outskirts of the forest, in a small clearing, crying.~
Cassandra nodded and fixed her attention on Harry.
Harry stared around the clearing. There were animals all around, from what Harry could see there were a wolf, fox, stag, owl, crow, blackbird, snake, squirrel, rabbit and of course the unicorn that had brought him here.
Harry noticed that the rabbit was looking at him intently and fixed it with his curious eyes.
Cassandra smiled as she saw the innocent curiosity in Harry's eyes. No matter what Crawx and Nocturn had said, Harry was no danger to their small community. Cassandra was very wise and so she knew that Harry was still young enough to learn the ways of the forest, including their language. She turned back to Serenity who was watching her with an anxious expression on her face.
~I presume, Serenity, that you brought the child here for permission to take care of him?~
Serenity, once again astounded by Cassandra's psychic abilities, just nodded.
~Very well then, Serenity,~ Cassandra said firmly, but not unkindly. ~You have the permission. Only one thing, make sure to teach him the ways of the forest properly. He needs to know our laws and our language in order to fit in. You may take Harry now. Good luck, Serenity.~
Serenity bowed and thanked Cassandra politely, but on the inside her heart was jumping with joy. She was allowed to keep Harry, everything was alright!
Serenity nudged Harry with her soft muzzle and kneeled down again. Harry, this time, understood immediately and climbed on quickly.
Serenity stood up carefully and took off. She was going home to her group now. She knew that the other unicorns would accept Harry as one of their own. Harry would grow up like a unicorn, would know the ways of the forest, would speak the language of the unicorns and the language of all forest animals.
Yes, Harry was going to grow up like Starlight should have- her little unicorn child.
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A/N: What do you think?
See ya,
Felinity