Unicorn Child

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Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any other character from the series! They belong to JK Rowling. I do, however, own the forest animals and the plot!!! And I own the term and phenomenon 'Magification'!

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IMPORTANT: As I take so long with updating, I have decided to give you a chance to "monitor" the progress of my stories. My Bio will from now on contain a section ("Recent Developments") where I state which story I'm currently writing on, how long the new chapter is and what it's called! I'll make sure that the Bio is always updated with relative regularity. Just so you know I have NOT decided to give up on my stories, and that I have not vanished off the face of earth!!!

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Since it's been so long, here's a little SUMMARY:

THE CHARACTERS:

HARRY, Harry. ^_^ Right now he's four years old.

SERENITY, Harry's unicorn mother

STARDUST, Serenity's grown up son

REX, the king of wolves

PRINCE, his son, and Harry's best friend

ARYA, the queen of foxes

TAYLEEN, her daughter, also Harry's best friend

CROWN, the king of deer

CANCE, his son, one of Harry's friends

PEGASUS, one of Harry's unicorn friends, about a year younger than him

THE STORY SO FAR:

Prologue: In which Voldemort attacks the Potters on October 31st, 1981. He manages to kill Lily and James, but Lily hides Harry from Voldemort, who has to leave without killing him. Unbeknownst to Voldemort, Lily casts an ancient protection spell on Harry before she dies, based on her love for her son. Harry is taken to the Dursleys, against the will of Remus Lupin (who tries to get custody of Harry but is refused because of his lycanthropy) and many of Harry's parents' other friends.

Chapter One: In which Harry is four years old. We get to know a little of his miserable life at the Dursleys', which has resulted in Harry not trusting humans anymore and being very quiet. Harry has taught himself how to read and write. On October 31st, exactly three years after Harry's parents were killed, Voldemort attacks again, murdering the Dursleys in front of Harry and trying to kill Harry himself. But the spell Lily cast takes effect and the killing curse rebounds onto Voldemort, who is killed immediately. The house collapses, burying the Dursleys' bodies beneath the debris. Harry, who has learnt from Voldemort that he is supposed to be a wizard, manages to escape from the house and, scared to death, flees into the nearby forest.

Chapter Two: In which the animal leaders of Little Whining's forest come together in a forest council, trying to decide what to do about Harry, the human child who has rid the world from evil and entered the forest a few hours before. Serenity, the unicorn leader, leaves the meeting in a rage, and on her way home finds Harry crying in a clearing. She takes Harry with her to the forest council and is given permission to keep him, agreeing to teach her new charge the ways and language of the forest. Meanwhile, the wizarding world is searching in vain for little Harry, and a week after Voldemort's defeat, Harry, the Boy-Who-Defeated-Voldemort-And- Then-Disappeared, is pronounced dead, against the will of Dumbledore, the Hogwarts staff and Remus Lupin.

Chapter Three: In which Harry is taken to the group of unicorns living in the forest. Serenity uses an ancient unicorn ritual to bind Harry to herself as her son, thereby exchanging memories with him. Harry slowly adapts to life with the unicorns and starts learning their language. On a walk through the forest, he encounters the old oak, the oldest and wisest being in the forest, who seems to like Harry. Rex, the wolf king, talks to the oak and convinces it to grant Harry a wish, a very rare occurrence. As Harry can't talk to the oak, Rex wishes for Harry to be able to speak the language of the forest. The oak agrees, and so Harry is now able to communicate with the other animals.

Chapter Four: Harry saves a young squirrel's life, thereby winning over the hearts of all forest animals. He is taught the ways of the forest by Serenity and several other leaders. About three months after his arrival, Harry overhears two men entering the forest who are talking about having orders to cut it down. Harry informs the animals, and it is decided that they have to split up and leave their home to find other forests to live in. The unicorns, wolves, deer and foxes are going to forests in the same area (somewhere in Scotland) and so decide to travel together. Harry and his friends make a pact, agreeing to meet again five years later.

Hope that helps! ^_^

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"bla bla" = human language

*bla bla* = unicorn language

~bla bla~ = language of all forest animals

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This chapter is dedicated to BookMaster3000 (a.k.a. ER, who's my most faithful reviewer – at least I hope he still is after all this time, and helped me over my writer's block!), Rachel A. Prongs (go read her stories!, who's also reviewed about a thousand times ^_^), allison (Thanks for all the reviews!), TimGold (Thanks for the reviews and Latin dictionary! ^_^) and Nymoue (merci, mon amie!)!!!

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Chapter 5

The New Home

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The weeks following their departure from Surrey's oldest forest had been hard- hard, strenuous and frustrating for all animals, but none as much as Harry.

As a human, he was naturally ill-adapted to life in the wilderness, and the long days of walking with little to no food were taking their toll on him. It did not help that the temperature had dropped way below zero, which meant that Harry was in constant danger of freezing to death. What had been a mercifully mild winter before, was turning out to be one of the hardest, most unforgiving cold periods Britain had ever seen.

In the beginning, Harry and his friends had been fairly optimistic about their journey. It had been warm, there was enough food for everyone, and the young ones kept everyone's spirits up with their games.

Harry had had fun, he and the other little ones loved moving about. It meant meeting new animals every day, seeing the world, making friends, having adventures. The food was different as well; and while Harry had loved the Starberries very much, he was in awe with all of the 'foreign' food he got.

Three days after their departure there had been the first casualty.

Faery, a young, careless fox Harry had played with a few times, had not payed attention during one of their games and run onto a human road without watching out for cars. She had looked over her shoulder, laughing as she was being chased by Prince.

Harry had seen the danger first and called,

"Watch out!"

Faery had frozen on the spot and stared at the car in terror, and it had been too late. The driver of the car had tried to brake and almost slithered off the road, but Faery had been too terrified to move. The car had hit her with a sickening thud, and Faery's slight body had been flung to the side of the road, where she had lain, unmoving.

The young animals had been frozen in horror and disbelief while their parents had run to Faery's side.

The young ones (including Harry) had never been allowed to see her body, but Prince and Tayleen had vomited violently, claiming that they had been able to smell the blood even from the long distance.

Faery had been taken to a nearby tree and with much effort on the animals' part, had been buried beneath it. A single leaf, turned to silver by Pegasus, had been placed on the grave, to symbolise the young forest animals' pact of friendship, of which Faery couldn't be a part anymore.

All the young ones had secretly let a drop of their blood hit the silver leaf during the following night when the adults had been asleep, and Harry had used his magic to freeze the leaf permanently upon the grave. Nobody would ever be able to take it away.

The next morning, they had moved on.

But it wasn't the same.

All the fun was gone. None of the young ones felt like playing anymore, depressed by the sudden, unexpected death of one of their own. The laughter that had accompanied the group of animals subsided, conversations ceased, smiles died on their faces.

The depression that had been kept at bay by the youngsters seized the group fully, making the adults moody and irritable, and the children aggressive and dejected.

Fights broke out over every silly little thing, friendships were damaged almost irreparably.

Harry's only comfort was Serenity, who was not as affected by the depression as the others. She listened to Harry when he needed to talk, allowed him to ride whenever he felt that his feet couldn't carry him any longer, and let him cry at night when the strain or stress became too much. She was truly a mother to Harry.

About a week after they had been forced to leave their home, the cold broke in. It was over night that the temperature dropped, taking everyone by surprise. Harry woke up at about four o'clock in the morning because his teeth were chattering and he couldn't move or feel his feet. Panicked, Harry had woken Serenity, who had eyed Harry's slightly blue feet with concern. A touch from her horn had warmed them up enough for Harry to get some feeling back, but Harry could feel Serenity's worried gaze even through the darkness.

The next morning, Serenity had made him some more clothes from plants, this time including some shoes. They looked funny, but they helped to keep Harry a bit warmer. It was nowhere near as warm as the animals' winter fur, but it would have to do.

However, after only about two days of terrible coldness, Harry found himself losing hope and drifting off more and more often. He started to doubt that the forest the old oak had talked about really did exist, and he sincerely didn't believe in his own ability to make it that far. Serenity, Rex, Arya, Crown and their children were constantly at Harry's side, encouraging him when he felt like giving up and just staying there lying in the snow, trying to warm him a little when the cold became too much for Harry to bear.

They continued like this for a week. Two old stags, another young fox and one of the unicorn's elders had perished on the way, died from the cold, hunger and exhaustion.

Harry didn't feel much better. Serenity's warming spells which she sent to him through her horn helped somewhat, but Harry could tell that Serenity was weakening as well, and soon she couldn't even offer Harry that bit of relief. Neither could the other unicorns.

It was during the third week of their journey that Harry broke down.

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It was a gloomy day. Dark clouds obscured the sun, an icy wind chilled the animals and Harry to their bones.

Harry had not eaten in two days, because everything they had been able to find was poisonous to humans. Harry's clothes were torn, he was thin, cold and frustrated.

Being only four years old, he was not strong enough to withstand the constant pressure. He had learnt quickly not to cry, no matter how miserable he felt, because the tears froze on his face and made his skin turn numb.

Serenity and most of the other elders had gone ahead to investigate the unknown territory. There was no forest in sight, nothing to hold off the biting wind that brought tears to Harry's eyes, whether he wanted to cry or not.

Prince, Harry's wolf friend, and Tayleen, the fox queen's daughter, were walking on either side of Harry. Both of them were worried about their best friend. Harry was quiet, too quiet, and almost unresponsive. It took them ages to get his attention, and even then, he only gave short, one-worded answers.

At about five o'clock in the afternoon, Tayleen and Prince noticed that Harry was starting to stumble more and more often, taking longer and longer to get up again. Worriedly, they recognised the signs the other animals who had died from the cold had shown.

About half an hour later, Harry stumbled suddenly on a tree root protruding from the snow and fell hard onto his face. He lay there in a daze for a few moments.

~Harry?~

He heard a worried voice somewhere to his left. It sounded very far away.

~Harry?~

The voice said again, sounding even more worried. Harry wanted to smile at the voice. It needn't worry! He was fine. Better than he had been in days. The ground was nice and soft and so beautiful, and Harry was really really tired, and he wanted nothing more than to stay there forever.....

A nice, warm feeling spread through Harry, and the world started to dim.

The voices around him sounded frantic. Harry wanted to reassure them, but couldn't bring himself to open his eyes. When had his eyes closed? It didn't matter. He was nice and warm and comfortable.....

Something shook Harry's arm. Harry frowned. Why were they disturbing him? He was fine, he wanted to sleep!

The thing shaking his arm wouldn't stop. Harry grumbled angrily and swatted at it with his hand. It took tremendous effort to even raise the limb, it was just as tired as the rest of Harry.

Ah, sleep.....

~Cance,~ whispered Tayleen, making sure that Harry couldn't hear her. ~Cance, quick, go ahead and get Serenity. Harry's freezing to death!~

Cance eyed Harry for a moment, terrified, then he took off at full speed. His hooves hit the snow hard, making it spatter high into the air. He had never run to quickly in his life, and never been so terrified. Faery had already died, Harry couldn't die as well! It was not fair!

It took Cance about five minutes to reach the older animals.

~Serenity,~ he panted, ~You have to come quickly! It's Harry, he won't get up- ~

Serenity was off in a flash. As were Rex, Arya and Crown. Cance wanted to follow them, but his mother held him back gently.

~Stay here, Cance,~ she said softly, ~I don't want you to get lost in the snow.~

~But Harry.....!~ argued Cance urgently.

~.....will be fine,~ Said his mother firmly, but not unkindly. ~Stay, Cance. The others will save Harry.~

Cance nodded unhappily as he watched Harry's unicorn mother disappear in the distance, his own father, the fox queen and the wolf king in her wake.

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They weren't leaving him alone. Harry was crying by now, against his better judgement. He fought off his 'attackers' hysterically, not understanding why they couldn't just let him sleep.

"Please," he whimpered, unconsciously switching to human speech. "Why can't you leave me alone?"

Just then, thunderous hoof beat appeared in the distance. Harry whimpered and tried to bury his face in the snow to keep the noises at bay.

"Please.....!" he whispered again, hardly aware of his surroundings anymore.

Not much later, a soft muzzle touched the side of Harry's face. Unconsciously, he turned towards the affection and warmth, becoming slightly more aware.

*Harry,* Serenity's voice said softly, *Get up.*

Harry whimpered, unable to stop another flood of tears from streaming down his cheeks.

*'m so tired, Mum,* he whispered. *Please lemme sleep.....*

But Serenity kept licking at his face, the magic in her spittle coursing through Harry's veins and warming him a little. Suddenly, the strange warmth that had been there before disappeared, and Harry began to tremble violently. Two warm weights had settled at his sides, warming him as well. Serenity kept coaxing him gently and insistently..... until Harry was finally able to open his eyes again.

Rex and Arya were snuggled up against him, eyeing him with worry; Serenity was standing above him, continuing to lick his hands.

Harry began to cry in earnest then, flinging his arms around Serenity's neck. The unicorn queen sighed a little in relief and lay down next to Harry on the space Arya had vacated, lending him some of her body heat.

It took a few minutes for Harry to calm down and get warm enough to climb onto Serenity's back. They didn't go much further that day.

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In the same night, the remaining unicorn elders took Harry aside and used their last magical reserves to teach him how to make fire with his magic. Harry learned quickly, and after only about an hour or so, Harry had created a large fire on the plain, much to the delight of all animals. Even better, that night, they finally found some food for Harry as well- some magical berries growing on very small plants on the ground.

According to Rex, they were called Snap-berries, because their blossoms would snap at anyone who dared to touch them. They were very filling as well, much to Harry's relief.

That night, Harry slept peacefully between Serenity and his best friend Prince, who had refused to leave Harry since..... the incident. Harry didn't quite understand what had happened to him, but what he did understand was that he had almost died that day, almost willingly given up his life. Harry shuddered in remembrance.

Serenity raised her head tiredly and licked Harry's cheek once.

*Go to sleep, Little One,* she said softly.

Harry sighed as he snuggled up to his surrogate mother.

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The next day, the cold finally lessened a bit. The snow turned to brownish, icy mud, the wind was not as biting as before.

The animals were relieved, though the clumps of ice and mud in their fur were annoying. Harry's new-found ability to make fire helped them a lot, once or twice Harry even had to clear a path for the animals in places where the snow was not yet gone.

Having walked without break for almost three weeks, always protected from prying human eyes by the unicorns' magic, they had already left most of their way behind them and were now entering the Scottish highlands.

The terrain was more difficult than ever.

Plains turned to soft hills, and soft hills to mountains. More than once, they had to stop and go back quite a while to find another path through the mountain range, because the unicorns and deer simply could not go on.

One day, they even passed the legendary Loch Ness. Harry thought it funny that Loch Ness wasn't really circular, as the name suggested, but really more oval-shaped and gigantic. While standing on one end, you couldn't see the other.

Serenity amused Harry, her son Stardust and Harry's friend Pegasus with stories of muggles who had spotted the large Kelpie ("What's a Calpee?") living in the lake and mistaken it for one of their ancient myths, a giant sea snake. Harry thought he might even have caught a glimpse of 'Nessie' in the distance.

The journey was exhausting for all of them, and when Rex announced that they would reach their destination- his cousin's forest- by the next day, nobody resisted the cheers and relieved sobs that bubbled up in their throats.

Looking around, Harry could hardly believe that these were the same, healthy animals who had left Little Whining's forest not even a month ago.

By now, they were all thin, exhausted, dirty. Their fur was matted and tangled, their eyes had dulled somewhat. Even Cance, who was quite hyperactive most of the time, just lay down in the evenings and fell asleep right away.

Harry looked down on himself and sighed. He, too, had suffered from their journey. He was thinner than ever, and dirty. His skin was marred with little scratches and bruises, his clothes torn in too many places to count.

*Don't worry,* said Serenity, having followed Harry's gaze. *We'll get you new clothes as soon as we arrive in our new forest. Maybe even much nicer ones than these.*

She smiled mysteriously.

*What do you mean?* asked Harry.

*Have you ever heard of elves, little one?*

Harry frowned.

*You mean, those little guys who help Santa Clause deliver presents at Christmas?*

Serenity threw her head back and laughed loudly, as good as unicorns could laugh. Harry felt a little offended.

*Oh, Harry,* sighed Serenity, plopping down next to him. *What would I do without you. But no. Real elves, actually, look a lot like humans.*

Harry stiffened immediately.

*Don't worry, they are not human,* Serenity said hurriedly. *They just- resemble them. You will like them, I promise you.*

*Does that mean that there are ELVES in the forest we're going? REAL elves?*

Serenity whickered softly.

*Of course, Harry, though the humans living in the area don't know.*

Harry frowned again. There were humans living in the area. Well, Harry just hoped that they didn't come into the forest often.

He didn't have time to dwell on those thoughts, however, as their short break was over and they got moving yet again.

Harry sighed as he forced his tired legs to keep up with the animals' strides. They had rested for a short while in a small valley, but now that they had left their shelter, the icy gusts of the February wind hit them full force. They were very high up- having stepped up to the edge of a cliff once, Harry had been horrified by how small the trees down on the grounds had looked. They had been barely discernable.

On these mountains, the snow hadn't begun to thaw yet, making Harry wish more than once that he had real shoes.

It was only the knowledge that their destination was close that kept the animals and Harry going. Doggedly, they fought their way against the icy wind that brought tears to Harry's eyes. Harry did his best to keep his head down. He didn't like the feeling of tears freezing on his eyelashes or cheeks.

Their path lead them up the steep mountain steadily. Harry wondered from time to time if Rex really knew where he was going, but the strong wolf king never once hesitated on his way.

Still, as the wind grew more biting, the path worsened with every step they took, breathing became agony in the icy cold-

~We've done it!~

Harry jumped. Rex was howling to the skies in happiness, the animals in the front were running about in ecstasy. Hastily, Harry scrambled through the snow and to the edge of the cliff where Rex was standing.

Only, when he looked down, he didn't see bare, rocky cliffs as he would have expected. Instead, the ground lowered relatively gently down into a green valley. The snow stopped about halfway down.

The valley seemed to be bigger than the valleys they had been in before- Harry could see no end of it. The sides of the valley, on his right and left, were bordered by mountains, as far as his eyes could see.

Could this be the valley that harboured their destination? Could this valley be so big that it could house not only one, but three forests? Arya's, Rex and Crown's, and the forest the unicorns were supposed to go? It seemed to be unbelievable.

The way down the mountain took longer than Harry had expected. While the path was not too steep, the slippery ice and snow in the upper part and loose rocks and stones in the lower part made the descend slow and tedious. For once Harry was glad that he only had two legs and was much more agile than the unicorns.

When they had finally reached the foot of the mountain it was already getting dark, so the elders decided to stay for the night. Harry was glad. He curled up in a tight ball next to Serenity and used her neck as a pillow.

*Sleep well, Harry.* Serenity muttered tiredly.

*You too, Mum.* whispered Harry back.

However, he didn't close his eyes yet. Too much he had to think about had happened on his journey. He was both happy and sad that they would be reaching their destination soon. It would mean having a home again, a new forest to explore- and leaving his best friends behind. Harry knew that they would see each other again, but it was still not the same as living 'next door'.

Shoving these thoughts from his mind, Harry admired the clear night sky. He could see thousands, millions of stars up there, even recognise the Milky Way. Harry smiled as he allowed the stars to Reflect in his eyes. Reflecting was a unicorn talent- they could Reflect anything they saw in front of them, thus making it impossible for their opponent to read anything in their eyes- or enabling them to warn friends who were facing them of any dangers approaching from behind.

It was not a talent unicorns used often, but Harry loved it.

The strenuous day began to catch up with Harry as he was gazing at the beautiful night sky, and he allowed himself to slip away into oblivion.

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The following morning dawned grey and cloudy, dampening both the animals' furs and spirits. They found plenty of food on groups of bushes growing along the way, which was a welcome relief to everyone. At noon, they paused between two forks of a small river.

~The humans call it the 'Hog',~ said Rex. ~It grows much bigger later on. My cousin told me about it. This means that we are on the right way and will most probably be reaching our destination tonight.~

~Tonight,~ said Harry, slightly awed.

Rex gave him a quick, wolfish smile.

~Yes, Unicorn Child, tonight. I expect Silverpaw- that is to say, my cousin- will be leading you and the other unicorns to the Ancient Forest tomorrow.~

~The Ancient Forest?~ asked Prince with interest. ~Is that what the magical forest is called?~

~That's what we animals have always called it.~ said Rex. ~The humans probably have a different name for it, they almost always do.~

Harry frowned slightly.

~Serenity mentioned humans living in the area before,~ he remembered. ~What are they like?~

~Nothing like the Dursleys,~ said Rex, reading Harry's mind correctly. ~There's a human settlement near the forest, I believe, and a place where the elder humans teach their young ones. They are like you, Harry. Witches and Wizards.~

That piece of information didn't reassure Harry in the slightest.

~Voldemort was a wizard as well,~ he pointed out quietly.

Rex sighed in defeat.

~Not all wizards are bad, Harry. Not from what I've heard. And my cousin told me that the humans rarely ever enter the Ancient Forest, anyway. They are scared.~

~Scared?~ asked Tayleen. ~Why'd they be scared?~

Rex regarded the three young ones sternly.

~The forest is dangerous,~ he said. ~It is one of the two most ancient magical places we know of. According to my cousin, the magic in this forest is so strong that non-magical beings, like we wolves, foxes and deer, cannot even enter it. It is the magic that makes the forest so dangerous. You will need to be cautious, Harry. Always stay close to Serenity and the other unicorns, then you should be fine.~

~Will I still be seeing you and the foxes after we've arrived at the Ancient Forest?~ asked Harry timidly.

~Of course, Little One,~ said Serenity firmly, stepping up to the group. ~We'll make sure of that. Rex, it is time to go on.~

And so they took off again and followed the river Hog. Like Rex had said it grew broader after some time, the current becoming rather dangerous. Harry's excitement mounted with every step he took, and as the sun vanished slowly behind the mountains and the sky turned a thousand different shades of pink and gold he could hardly contain himself any longer.

Not ten minutes later, they turned a corner in the valley and stopped short. In front of them, just across a small patch of grass, lay the edge of a beautiful forest. Everybody stared at it silently for a few minutes. It was Rex and Crown's- and their groups'- new home.

~It looks nice,~ whispered Prince, as though afraid to break the peace.

Harry, Tayleen and Cance agreed silently.

They stood like that for a while, some quiet, some whispering to each other.

They were shaken out of their reverie by a loud voice calling, ~Hey, you there! Who are you?~

A young raven fluttered down on to the ground in front of them.

~Good evening,~ said Rex kindly. ~We are looking for my cousin, Silverpaw, the king of wolves in this forest. Could you find him for us, please? And, if possible, the leader of the deer as well.~

The young raven eyed them for a moment, then, without another word, took off into the forest. They waited silently, some shifting restlessly as it grew darker and darker with every passing minute.

Finally, quiet, cracking sounds in the undergrowth alerted them to the arrival of the wolf and stag kings.

~Silverpaw!~ called Rex happily, his tail wagging wildly.

Silverpaw ran up to Rex and licked his muzzle briefly.

~It is wonderful to see you again, Rex!~ he said with a wolfish grin. ~What brings you here, cousin? And you've brought friends, I see.~

~Yes,~ said Rex. ~Can we go somewhere safer to talk?~

Silverpaw looked at his cousin quizzically, but nodded.

~Follow me.~

The large animal procession attracted a lot of attention in the forest. Animals ran up to the way left and right, staring at the strangers, especially the unicorns and Harry. Whispers followed them as they were led into a large clearing, some curious, some condescending, some even downright malicious. Those who were regarding the unicorns, however, were in awe. Such beautiful, pure beings had never before entered their forest. And everybody was wondering about the human child sitting on a big female's back.

Silverpaw stopped in the middle of the clearing and turned to face Rex.

~Is this clearing satisfactory, cousin?~ There was no scorn in his voice, just sincerity and a certain bit of curiosity.

~Thank you, Silverpaw,~ said Rex in as dignified a voice as he could manage. ~The reason for our presence concerns mostly you, Silverpaw, and the king of deer.~

He bowed his head a little in the stag king's direction.

~The other leaders might be interested as well, though.~

~They have already been notified,~ said Silverpaw with a small smile, ~They are in attendance. Speak, Rex, King of the Wolves in Surrey Forest.~

Silverpaw stepped back a little, leaving Rex alone I the middle of the clearing. If the wolf king was nervous he certainly didn't show it. Harry watched anxiously as Rex looked at each animal in turn.

~As you may know,~ Rex started slowly, ~Surrey Forest was one of the three most magical places we knew of.~

He ignored the agitated whispers that had broken out at his use of tenses.

~As such, it was one of the only two places on this island where unicorns still existed. No human ever dared enter Surrey Forest. They felt the magic emanating from the very core of the forest, the Old Oak, and it kept them at bay.~

Harry squirmed as hundreds of pairs of eyes turned to look at him.

~Recently, however,~ continued Rex, his voice slightly raised, ~one of our own~ he indicated Harry ~has overheard two humans talking about cutting down Surrey Forest, as they have done with so many of our homes.~

Angry murmurs surrounded the newcomers. Harry lowered his head, feeling ashamed of being human.

~It was to be done within the week. Our Forest Council decided rightfully that we had no choice but to leave Surrey Forest and spread out over the remaining forests on this island. We, that is the wolves and deer, have come to seek shelter here with you.~

~Granted,~ said Silverpaw. ~Where would we be today if we animals didn't stand together? Don't you agree, Cervus?~ he added to the stag king.

Cervus inclined his head majestically.

~I agree. The deer will be welcome to stay, as will the wolves. There is plenty of food and space for everyone.~

~Thank you, Cervus, Silverpaw,~ said Crown. ~We appreciate this more than we can say.~

After that, the conversation turned to trivial things and Surrey's animals began to mingle with their new Scottish neighbours.

Harry stayed close to Serenity and his friends. He didn't like the way some of the foreign animals were eyeing him.

~They are not on good terms with humans,~ explained Arya quietly. ~Unlike with Surrey Forest, the humans have no qualms about entering this forest. They sometimes kill animals, Harry. And since you're human, they don't trust you.~

Night fell swiftly.

The Surrey animals decided to spend the night in the clearing. Silverpaw had arranged for the unicorns and foxes to be led to their respective forests in the morning.

Harry and his friends couldn't sleep for a long time that night. Their separation, the moment they had avoided thinking about for almost a month, was approaching inevitably and mercilessly.

~We'll still be able to see each other,~ whispered Tayleen into the silence.

~Yeah,~ said Prince, ~Your forest's only half an hour away, and Harry's only two hours. Silverpaw told me.~

~We'll have to send messages to each other with birds,~ said Cance. ~Owls maybe. I heard they have enough magic in them to enter even the Ancient Forest.~

~Owls are magical?~ asked Harry.

~No,~ said Cance. ~They just have a high- resistance against magic. I heard that magical humans even use them as messengers on a regular basis.~

~We'll do that, then,~ said Harry bravely.

~Yes, we will,~ said Tayleen, also sounding close to crying.

~Sleep, children,~ said Rex's voice from the left. .~You will see each other again soon enough, I can promise you that.~

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They left the forest early in the morning.

Harry had said 'goodbye' to all his friends during breakfast, promising to see them soon. Rex's parting had been the strangest.

~Goodbye, Unicorn Child,~ he had said, ~Never forget what you have learnt from the forest even when you are with your kind. You are a wonderful cub, Harry, none of your knowledge should go to waste. Follow your heart, Little One. You will always be one of us.~

This had greatly confused Harry, who had no intention of ever leaving the forest; but when he had asked Rex what he had meant, the wolf king had smiled and shaken his head, promising to see him soon.

Their guide was an old wolf from Silverpaw's pack.

~Try and memorise the way,~ he said. ~You might have to find it on your own one day.~

They way was not too difficult to remember. They went in a straight line most of the time, following the river Hog. Later, they crossed a human path (road), avoided two human dens (villages)- and finally arrived in a small, rocky mountain area looking down upon the strangest village Harry had ever seen. The streets were crooked and cobbled, not tarred. They were dusty, but none of the garbage Harry had come to expect in human villages lay around.

The houses bordering the streets were small, colourful and looked as though they couldn't possibly stay upright unless magic was used to hold them together. There were no two windows that looked the same, no two houses that were painted quite the same colour. Doors of all sizes led into the houses at seemingly random places- Harry could even see a door leading outside on the first floor. Harry wondered if it was ever used, and if yes, how the house owners managed to avoid broken legs.

Another door Harry saw, a big, red one, seemed to lead into a small bush. Nobody could live there, could they? One house especially caught Harry's attention. It was situated a little away from the other houses, up a little hill. Its windows were boarded up, it looked as though nobody had even gone near it in ages.

The next thing that drew Harry's attention were the shops bordering the most crooked street in the entire village- the main street, Harry guessed. His jaw dropped as he looked at all of the things in the shop windows.

Some shops seemed to be selling really strange-looking broomsticks, some colourful robes- the kind Voldemort had worn, Harry realized with a shudder, only his had been black- some a gigantic assortment of owls, some impossible-looking sweets with names such as "Fizzing Whizbees- make you lift off the floor and fly for five minutes!" or "Blood Pops- for those of us with extravagant taste!", some were selling feathers and parchment- Harry wondered what the feathers were used for-, some weird, gruesome stuff Harry didn't even want to recognise. A shop named "Scratcher's Apothecary" was one of those.

As it was still very early in the morning, there were no people in the streets, much to Harry's relief. The windows of the houses were still dark and snoring- yes, snoring.

~This is a settlement the humans call 'Hogsmeade',~ said the guide. ~We're lucky that it is still early, the humans won't see us when we go through the village.~

~Go through the village?~ asked Serenity, prancing around nervously. ~Isn't there a way around it?~

~I'm afraid there isn't,~ said the guide. ~It would take us another three hours and we would still have to cross a plain near this settlement. We must hurry now. Stay close together and be as silent as possible.~

Harry's heart raced as they walked quickly, quietly through the empty streets. He didn't want to meet any humans, and he didn't want to be seen. Sometimes Harry thought he saw movement behind one of the windows, but it always turned out to be just a cat or his imagination. Still, Harry and the unicorns heaved a sigh of relief when they had finally reached the edge of the village.

A broad path led up the soft, green hills on their right. Harry followed it with his eyes- and felt his breath catch in his throat.

There, at the end of the path, looming proudly and majestically in the distance, was a castle. The biggest and most beautiful castle Harry had ever seen. With its thousands of little- or big- towers, its countless windows, balconies and pinnacles, it looked as though it belonged into his fairytale book back at the Dursleys' house.

The guide, who was standing next to Harry, had followed his awestruck gaze.

~This is the castle Hogwarts,~ he explained quietly. ~It's where the magical humans teach their cubs.~

Harry nodded, still in awe. This beautiful castle was a school? What Harry wouldn't give to be going there.....! But then he remembered that the school was just that, a school, full of mean children and menacing teachers. Full of humans. Harry quickly turned away from it and looked to the guide who was regarding him with wise, patient eyes.

~Where are we going next?~ he asked, both wanting and not wanting the answer to be 'up this path'.

The guide smiled, seemingly reading Harry's thoughts.

~You, my young friend, and your fellow pack mates, will be following this path up to the castle. Then you will turn left and cross the castle grounds. The Ancient Forest begins at their edge. I, however, will return to my own forest now. The magic emanating from the castle and forest is too strong for me to bear. I am looking forward to seeing you again, Harry Potter.~

And with that, and a few words exchanged with Serenity, the guide turned around and vanished soundlessly into the village of Hogsmeade.

The group set off again, following the path leading up the hill, drawing nearer and nearer to Hogwarts.

It took them almost fifteen minutes until they had finally reached it and Harry's legs hurt from the strain. He opened the large metal gate closing the grounds off from the outside and passed through it. He felt a slight ripple of magic course through him- definitely not evil, more protective, he decided- as he stepped through the gate. The unicorns followed silently, then Harry closed the heavy gate again with some effort.

They crossed the grounds quickly, bypassing neatly-made gardens, greenhouses, a big lake and a small cabin. Nobody stopped them, much to Harry's relief, though there was a close call when a man- at least Harry assumed he was a man, even though he was almost twice as tall as a normal man- exited the forest ahead of them, staggering around a little and obviously very drunk, judging by the way he kept swinging a large wine bottle in his left hand and singing loudly and quite off-key.

The man spotted the frozen-in-horror group and came to a staggering halt. He blinked once, twice, rubbing his eyes with his gigantic fists.

"Shouldn'a ha' so much t'hic'to dring, righ', Fang?" he managed to say almost incoherently. "Seein' a bunch o' unni'hic'orns, brigh' ligh' an' all. 'ones'ly, I'm gonna turn in now, betta sleeb this off....."

And he vanished into the small cabin they had just passed.

Harry thought he would faint with relief, even though he felt a little bad for the big man who seemed to be doubting himself now.

The rest of the way went off without a hitch. Harry swallowed as they had assembled right in front of the Ancient Forest. He was a little scared of this place. He could feel the magic, old, powerful magic, radiating from it. Now, in daylight, the forest didn't look too dangerous, but Harry had a feeling that wouldn't be the case at night.

Magic, that much he had already grasped, did not distinguish good from bad. It was absolutely neutral. Magic could be used to heal, purify and soothe- or it could be used to kill, hurt and destroy. Magic had always been there, he felt. It was so old, so ancient- much more than even the old oak had been.

Harry realized slowly that it wasn't that witches, wizards or magical creatures were born with 'new' magic- they just gained access to the never- ending magic pools that already existed. They had a small part of that ancient magic in themselves and used it to their every whim. Some did good, some did evil. Magic didn't know, didn't care. It was just there, ancient and powerful, determining those worthy of its possession. It didn't favour 'good' or 'evil', it was above such things.

*Harry!*

Harry jerked. Serenity was standing above him, looking close to panic. When had he fallen down to the floor, anyway?

*We need to train him, and soon,* said one of the unicorn elders worriedly. *The magic in this place is connecting with Harry, knowing that he is worthy. Harry will be getting too powerful for his own health unless we manage to stop it by enabling Harry to gain full control over his powers. He is too young, but we have no choice.*

*Too young?* Serenity asked worriedly, nudging Harry up with her muzzle. *Why?*

*Magical humans are strange,* said another elder. *They are not born in symbiosis with magic, like we are- they need to adapt to it, be trained in it. I heard human foals don't start training their magic until they are at the very least ten years old. Before that, it is virtually impossible for their minds to control such a powerful force. They can do small things, like Harry here, who can magically light a fire, but their powers are largely uncontrolled.*

*But what about Harry, then?* asked Pegasus, Harry's unicorn friend, worriedly.

*He will have to learn,* said the first elder. *He is a strong boy, Pegasus, don't worry too much. I feel that the elves will be helping us as well.*

With Serenity and Harry's combined efforts, Harry managed to get to his feet again, trembling quite violently.

*What- what was that?* he asked with an effort.

*That, Young One, was the magic of the Ancient Forest connecting with you.* said one of the elders.

*Me?* asked Harry. *Why?*

*The magic can feel that you carry part of it in you, yet that this part is in no way fully controlled or understood by you.,* explained the wise unicorn quietly. *So, it connects with you, filling you with more magic, trying to make you understand it. It sees in you a- vent, if you want to put it that way, a perfect place to deposit some of its excess energy. As you have not yet been trained in magic by humans and are too young to control it, the magic will continue to have its way with the wild magic inside you. It sees you, Harry, as an extension of itself. As long as you are not trained, at least a little, so that you can- unconsciously or consciously- block it, you are in danger of something we animals call 'magification'.*

*Magification?* asked Harry, who was starting to feel a little better. *What does that mean?*

He pulled himself up on to Serenity's back, holding on to her mane as she stood up.

*You will be filled with more and more magic,* explained the elder patiently. *So much magic that your mind and body won't be able to take it. You will be ripped apart from the inside out. It's what makes it impossible for muggles to enter this forest- any non-magical beings, in fact.*

*And what about you?* asked Harry. *Unicorns, I mean?*

The elder smiled softly.

*Unicorns, Little One, live in symbiosis with magic and nature. We are born with control over our magic. Magic in liquid form flows through our very veins, everything about us is magical. We ARE magic. One of its appearances. Like every magical creature.*

*Wow,* whispered Harry. He suddenly felt very unworthy and shy again, as though he did not deserve to be in the presence of such wonderful beings.

They started off into the forest. It was without a doubt the most magical, bizarre and yet beautiful forest Harry had ever seen in his life. In the outer region, it was relatively light; big spaces between the trees and daylight shining through the mostly bare tree tops allowing them to move quickly and quietly.

The further they walked into the forest, the denser and taller the trees became. It grew darker and darker by the minute, the tree tops swallowing almost all of the light, even though they didn't have leaves yet. The undergrowth started to impede their progress more and more, seemingly snatching at their fur (or, in Harry's case, clothes) and refusing to release them.

The trees, that much Harry could tell, were truly ancient. Some of them were so big that it would have taken ten people Harry's size to reach around the stem. The bark was thick and darkened by age and the weather's wear, occasionally peeling off in stripes larger than Harry himself.

A particularly tall tree they saw had apparently been struck by lightning. Its stem had been hollowed out by some of the forest animals. In the hollow, the unicorns spotted two rabbits. The rabbits perked their ears as they heard the unicorns approach and fled into the forest. They ignored the unicorns' calls, changed into two tiny butterflies and vanished.

Harry gaped at them.

*How- how did they do that?* he asked.

Serenity tossed her head sideways, the unicorn equivalent of a shrug.

*Many species live in the Ancient Forest, Harry,* she said nervously, *some good, some bad. There are several kinds of shape-changers, though these two seem to have been harmless. I heard that some elf peoples train shape- changers to be their lookouts. Maybe those two were trained by the elven folk. If that is the case, we'll undoubtedly meet some of them soon.*

They went on. Several times Harry could have sworn that he had seen movement in the bushes, but every time he looked, there was nothing. Harry couldn't help but feel that they were being watched. Judging by the younger unicorns' nervous prancing, Harry thought that they probably felt the same.

They were crossing a small, rocky area. Their right and left sides were blocked by big boulders with moss growing all over them.

Suddenly, there was loud rustling in the trees both in front of and behind them. The unicorns stopped in fright. Then, several tall and slender people dropped to the floor gracefully, armed with longbows and arrows. Harry and the young unicorns stumbled back in panic, trying to get as far away from these humans as possible.

The older unicorns on the other hoof shushed them quickly and stood very still. One of the humans stepped forward, bow in his hand. Harry, who was in the front of the herd pressed tightly to Serenity's side, got a good look at him.

It was a man, taller than any man Harry had ever seen before. His hair was light brown, as were his eyes, and quite long. The man was wearing clothes that were a lot like Harry's, only they seemed to be made partly of leather and were mostly obscured by a dark grey, shimmering cloak. A strange, unearthly light was glowing about the man's face, making it seem very pale and yet extremely beautiful, even though Harry could tell that on any other man his facial features would have been quite mediocre. It was something about his eyes, about the way he was holding himself, that made Harry want to avert his eyes from the beauty of the man.

Harry had expected to be scared by the presence of a human being, but somehow, as he looked into his eyes, he couldn't feel threatened by this man and stepped a little away from his unicorn mother.

This drew the man's attention to Harry.

"A human!" he exclaimed. "A human in the Ancient Forest, and in the presence of unicorns no less! Unless- you are one of us?"

Harry blinked.

"One- of you?" It felt strange, talking in human tongue again after such a long time.

"Elven folk," clarified the man.

Harry's eyes widened and he stepped back in awe.

"Apparently not," said the elf with some amusement.

~To what do we owe the pleasure?~ he asked, turning to Serenity, whom he had obviously recognised as the leader. Serenity snorted a little nervously and tossed her head.

~We come to you from Surrey Forest,~ she said. ~Recent - developments have forced us to leave the place we have called our home for many generations. We have come to seek shelter here in the Ancient Forest, which is, as you undoubtedly know, the only remaining forest on this island with enough magic to house unicorns.~

~Or elves, for that matter,~ said the elf with a small smile, lowering his bow. ~The news you bring is frightening. Am I correct in assuming that Surrey Forest does no longer exist to give shelter to those of us seeking it?~

~You are indeed correct.~ said Serenity quietly.

The elf bowed his head.

~Humans, I presume?~

His eyes had darkened slightly.

Serenity didn't answer and bowed her head as well. The elf sighed.

~Very well,~ he said. ~I will take you to our leaders. They will notify the unicorns living in the Ancient Forest. All will be decided then.~

They followed the group of elves deeper and deeper into the forest. The elf's name, Harry learned by listening to his and Serenity's conversation, was Ethryl. He and his group had been hunting for food when two of their lookouts, shape-changers, had alerted him to their presence.

~The king and queen will decide whether or not you will be allowed to stay here in the forest. The elves are the regents of the Ancient Forest - not that the humans know of our existence.~

He smiled.

~They are quite blind when it comes to magic, even those well-versed in it. Two of them come into the forest quite frequently; one of them is Hagrid, a half-giant, and the Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. The other is a human called Severus Snape, he is the resident Potions Master and likes to pick the ingredients for his potions himself. Neither of them ever venture too far into the forest, so there isn't much danger of being seen.~

They had reached a large clearing. It wasn't really a clearing, but the trees were definitely sparser than before.

~Wait here,~ said Ethryl. ~I will notify the king and queen.~

Then he turned to look at Harry and smiled.

~You may come with me, if you like.~

Harry looked questioningly at Serenity. She nodded her head and nudged him softly with her muzzle.

Harry smiled tentatively at Ethryl and took the elf's outstretched hand. He didn't know why he trusted this person he had only met a few minutes before, but somehow, he just couldn't be afraid of him. Something in Ethryl's face made Harry feel safe, protected even.

"We elves live on trees," explained Ethryl as he led Harry away from the unicorns. "It is safer that way, even though there are hardly any enemies of ours in this forest. Our most deadly enemies were wyverns, but none have been spotted in this area in more than three centuries."

"Wyverns," said Harry, feeling awed.

The elf smiled at him briefly.

"May I ask your name, Young One?"

"Oh!" Harry smiled, he was forgetting his manners.

"I'm Harry. Harry Potter."

Ethryl stopped abruptly and stared down at Harry.

"Menthyna!" he muttered, looking at Harry intently. "So you are alive!"

Harry frowned in confusion.

"Of course I'm alive! Why shouldn't I be?"

The elf smiled at him for a second, then he took Harry's hand again and started to lead him further away from the others.

"The humans believe that you are dead," he explained. "The magical humans were quite distraught about your death. They think that you died after your fight with Voldemort."

Harry stopped short and backed away. He was suddenly feeling very, very scared again, and lonely.

"How do you know," he whispered, back pressed against a tree. "How do you know about- about him?"

The elf sighed and crouched down in front of Harry.

"Everybody knows, Harry," he said quietly. "You are famous in the wizarding world, famous for somehow defeating the one who instilled fear in their hearts for fourteen years. Everybody, human or magical creature, was sad when you disappeared and were supposedly dead."

Harry was shivering.

"You have been living with Serenity and her herd the whole time, I presume?"

Harry nodded slightly.

"Why did you run away, Harry?"

Harry did not know what possessed him at that moment. He had no intentions of ever telling anybody about the Dursleys, but somehow, as he looked into Ethryl's eyes, he found that he could not lie. He spilled the whole story, about the Dursleys' constant neglect, Dudley's cruelty, Voldemort's attack.

In the end of the story, Ethryl was frowning deeply.

"I will never fully understand humans," he said, more to himself than to Harry. "To the elves, a child is the most important and valuable thing in the world. Elves don't reproduce often, you see, because we are virtually immortal. We cannot die of old age or illness, though we are by no means invulnerable. For two elves to have a child is very rare, and the children are always protected by the whole folk. There is hardly ever more than one child at a time, and no elf would ever dream of neglecting something so precious."

He shook his head again and smiled at Harry softly.

"Come, Young One. There is someone I want you to meet. She is the first elven child to be born in the Ancient Forest in more than a century. She is a little older than you, two years I believe, but I think you will get along wonderfully."

The elf leaned down and picked Harry up. Harry stiffened at first, having no recollection of ever being carried in such a – parental way. He decided that he liked it, however.

Ethryl carried Harry over to a big tree at the border of the large clearing and made a gesture with his free hand. A shower of light, looking like thousands of tiny stars, cascaded down from the tree. Harry tried to touch the light, but his hand went right through it. Ethryl, on the other hand, merely chuckled and stepped onto the light cascade, using it as a staircase.

Harry frowned and tried to grab the light again, but he couldn't seem to grasp it. Ethryl seemed highly amused. When Harry reached out for the third time, now in full pout-mode, he laughed outright and grabbed his hand.

"Don't bother, Harry," he said. "This is elven magic. Nobody who doesn't have elven blood in their veins can use these staircases."

"Oh," said Harry.

They had reached the top of the 'staircase' and arrived in the tree top, more precisely, on a large platform. Harry leaned over its edge curiously. He hadn't realized they were that high up!

But just as he tried to get a better look at the ground, a small hand grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him back with all its might. Surprised, Harry turned around and found himself face to face with a little girl.

She was wearing a dress made of leaves and moss, though er feet were bare. Her hair was as black as Harry's, and her eyes were strangely violet. Like Ethryl, she was very pale and shone with a strange, source-less light. Judging by her height, she had to be a few years older than Harry. Right now she had her hands on her hips and was wearing a slight frown on her face.

"We're not allowed to look down," she said.

Then she got a curious look on her face.

"You don't Glow. You're not one of us, are you?"

Harry shook his head slightly, biting his lip.

"Are you- a human?"

This was said in such a tone that Harry could have sworn the girl had never seen one before.

Harry nodded cautiously.

"Menthyna!" said the little girl, a strange light in her eyes.

'Menthyna' again. Ethryl had said that as well, Harry remembered.

"What does Menthyna mean?" he asked curiously.

The girl giggled and sat down next to Harry.

"Menthyna is our goddess," she explained imperiously. "We use her name to say many things, like- like- amazing, wonderful, goodness- you know?"

Harry nodded.

"Yes, I think so. Like 'cool', or 'wow'."

The girl giggled again.

"Cool? Like 'cold'?"

Harry shrugged and nodded.

"I don't get it either," he admitted. "But many humans use them that way."

"Humans are strange." said the girl. Harry didn't even try to disagree.

"Who are you, anyway?" asked the girl, again sounding slightly snobbish and regarding his torn and dirty clothes with a disgusted frown. Her gaze made Harry feel uncomfortable and ashamed.

"I'm Harry," said Harry. "Harry Potter."

The little girl obviously hadn't heard of him, which was fine with Harry. She nodded her head, as if to say that she had known all along.

"I am Catheryna. (A/N: Kay-the(spoken voiceless)-rye-nah) But you may call me Cathey (A/N: Kay-thay(spoken voiceless)." She emphasized the 'I' in such a way that Harry assumed it was somehow a honour to meet her.

He smiled a little shyly.

"Nice to meet you, Cathey."

Cathey nodded and looked at him expectantly, seemingly waiting for something. Harry didn't understand what she wanted and remained silent. After a few more moments of exceedingly uncomfortable silence, at least to Harry, Cathey's patience wore thin.

"Well? Haven't you heard of me?"

Harry shook his head, feeling intimidated.

"You haven't heard of me? You haven't heard of Catheryna, the Elven Princess of the Ancient Forest?"

"I'm sorry," whispered Harry.

Cathey, apparently, was in shock. Harry felt very bad. He hadn't meant to hurt Cathey.

"But- how couldn't you have heard of me?"

Harry just shook his head, biting his lip.

"You - you - how dare you! How dare you come here when you haven't heard of me?"

Harry could feel tears in his eyes. He wanted to run away, but knew that it was impossible as he couldn't use the staircase that led to the ground. Catheryna regarded him contemptuously.

"You are crying. Crying is for weaklings, you know? And you are a boy! You should be-"

"CATHERYNA!"

Both Harry and Cathey whirled around, Harry trying, without much success, to stop crying and wipe away all evidence of it.

Three Elves had stepped out of the small house on the platform behind them. The one who had shouted was a female with long, wavy, golden hair and crystal clear blue eyes that were currently glaring daggers at the small girl next to Harry.

"How DARE you say such things to our guest? What has Harry done to you?"

"Mum, he- he hasn't heard of me!"

"And is that any reason to insult him? Not everybody has heard of you Catheryna, most people don't even know of your existence!"

Catheryna gave a horrified gasp. The queen sighed and rubbed her temples.

"Go to your room, Catheryna. We will talk later."

Meanwhile, Ethryl had stepped around mother and daughter and picked Harry up. Harry clung to him as if he were a lifeline, not quite sure why he trusted the Elf so much. He buried his head in the Elf's chest and tried to calm down.

When he raised his head a few minutes later, the king and queen were standing in front of him and Ethryl and looking at him with slightly sad, but kind smiles.

"We must apologise for our daughter," said the king, a black-haired, brown- eyed man even taller than Ethryl. "I'm afraid that she is a little spoiled. She is the first Elven child born in this forest in more than a hundred years, and a princess no less. Sadly, she is used to people fulfilling her every wish and whim without question."

Harry stared at the king and queen. Why were they being so nice to him?

"Such beautiful eyes," said the queen with a soft smile. "Such a beautiful little boy."

Harry blushed and buried his face in Ethryl's shoulder again. The Elves laughed, a deep, melodious sound that somehow made Harry feel better.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves," said the king. "I am Cerylys, the king of the Ancient Forest. And this is Mythriel, my wife, and the queen."

Harry raised his head again and looked at the regents shyly.

"I'm Harry," he said, "and it's nice to meet you."

"And well-mannered!" exclaimed the queen with a smile. "Maybe you'll be a good influence on Cathey."

"I'm sorry," said Harry, "but I don't think she wants me to be an influence."

The Elves laughed again, and Harry wondered what was so amusing.

"Don't worry," said the king, "We will be having a word with our daughter about what she said to you. She will apologise to you next time you see her."

Harry nodded doubtfully, still not releasing his death grip on Ethryl's neck. It felt good to be held like this, Harry mused, as they made their way down the glittering staircase. Serenity, while she loved Harry very much, was not able to pick him up. It wasn't possible for her ant- ana- anotami- well, she didn't have arms.

They reached the ground in no time, making Harry wonder whether the Elves had somehow used magic.

He was feeling very sleepy all of a sudden and lay his head down on Ethryl's shoulder. He felt Serenity's horn touch his forehead gently, then he slipped into oblivion.

***************************************************************************

It wasn't Aunt Petunia who woke him, nor was it Dudley stomping down the stairs above his head. It wasn't Serenity either, and it wasn't coldness, sharp wind or a bird's cry. It was the sunlight tickling his face, blinding him even through closed eyelids, warming his cold limbs and the air around him.

Harry blinked rapidly as he opened his eyes, trying to get rid of the bright spots dancing in his vision. The ground was soft. Grass, Harry realized, as he felt it with his fingers. There wasn't a cloud to be seen in the blue sky, and even though the morning air was crisp and cool, the sun was burning down on him with an intensity Harry couldn't remember ever feeling before.

He sat up slowly and looked in awe around the place. There was grass, grass, grass, as far as he could see. Only the occasional bush or tree interrupted the green mass. Butterflies and bumblebees, ladybirds and other small insects were flying carelessly from blossom to blossom, from plant to plant. Harry could even see a small river flowing in the distance.

Harry scrunched up his face in confusion. It was February. Why did it look like spring in this strange place?

*You are in the Eternal Meadows,* said a deep voice behind Harry.

He whirled around. Behind him stood the oldest unicorn Harry had ever seen. It was so purely, blindingly white that Harry could hardly bear to look at it. Right now, it was smiling gently at Harry.

*Nobody knows why, but there is always spring in the Eternal Meadows. You can run here forever, for as long as you want, and you will never reach the end of the meadows. When you want to return to this place, you just have to wish for it, then you'll immediately arrive back here.* said the unicorn, lying down next to Harry with some difficulty. *It is the magic in this place. We unicorns have inhabited the meadows for as long as we can think.*

Harry stared at his wise companion.

*Who are you?* he asked quietly, stroking the unicorn's silky mane reverently, just the way he knew unicorns liked.

The old unicorn closed his eyes in pleasure.

*I am Arnathan,* he said. *That means 'Old One' in the elven language. I am one of the eldest of the Ancient Forest's unicorns.*

*Wow,* said Harry softly. *Where are Serenity and the others?*

*Your unicorn mother?* the old one's mouth quirked into a slight smile. *She is with the elves again. You are allowed to stay, of course. The king and queen are warm-hearted. It seems that your herd and my herd will be united, and Serenity and Silion- he is the leader of the Ancient Forest unicorns- will be in a kind of joint-leadership.*

*Oh,* said Harry.

Arnathan opened his eyes again.

*I must warn you, Harry,* said the old unicorn. *We, the old ones, don't mind your presence here in the forest. But Sarthon, who is Silion's son, and his group- all young, ambitious males- want to throw you out.*

Harry paled. They were going to throw him out. They were going to send him back to the humans. They were going to make him leave. He was going to have to return to those who had only ever hurt him-

*Relax,* said the wise unicorn, nudging Harry gently. *Serenity and the elves will never allow it. But again, I warn you. Stay away from Sarthon, Harry Potter, and stay close to Serenity or one of us at all times. Nobody will harm you here.*

***************************************************************************

Months and years passed quickly for Harry and the unicorns in the Eternal Meadows. Food or cold were never an issue, much to Harry's relief.

The Surrey unicorns had made fast friends with the animals of the Ancient Forest. It was not uncommon to see a unicorn trotting calmly next to a mammoth that would change into a fly the next second. Harry loved the shape- changers. They were highly amusing and good for intelligent conversation- IF you could get them to assume a form they were willing to talk in.

Even more amusing, in Harry's opinion, were the centaurs. One of the youngest, Firenze, was actually very nice to Harry and spent many nights at the Eternal Meadows with him, explaining the stars and planets of the sky to his young student.

The others, however, *never got their heads out of the sky*, as the Ancient Forest's unicorns said. The younger unicorns and Harry spent hours conversing with them, suppressing giggles at the riddles coming forth.

It soon became habit that, when two forest animals were fighting, one of the young ones would look at the sky thoughtfully, saying ~Mars is bright tonight.~

Harry still saw his friends Prince and Tayleen at least once every month, though their ways parted over the years. Prince and Tayleen grew up, found partners in their new homes and had children- while Harry found himself growing in the unbearably slow human way. He could not understand his friends' need for reproduction, even though he loved meeting with their cubs just as much as with Prince and Tayleen themselves.

Harry made sure to heed Arnathan's advice, even after the latter's death one year after their arrival in the Ancient Forest. Harry had been extremely saddened by the loss, as he and Arnathan had grown quite close- almost like grandfather and grandson.

Serenity had also found a new mate among the Ancient Forest's unicorns, a slightly older male by the name of 'Kieran'. Harry loved Kieran very much, even though he was more of a big brother to Harry than a father.

At first, Harry had felt that Serenity was trying to get rid of him, but a few long and serious talks with his mum had quickly convinced him that this was not the case.

Every night, from six to eight o'clock, Harry was trained by Ethryl and a few more elves in magic. Soon, he was no longer in danger of Magification, but as Harry loved the training so much and the elves were happy to have such an eager student, nobody ever tried to stop Harry's lessons.

It came as a happy shock to everyone when Harry, aged six (and a half!), succeeded in a full Animagus transformation. Everybody was amused when he turned into a magnificent unicorn- a black unicorn.

"Always one for surprises, eh, Harry?" Ethryl had said with a soft smile.

Over the years, Harry did have a few run-ins with Sarthon and his group. The unicorn took every possible opportunity that presented itself to humiliate and ridicule Harry, never going as far as to hurt him, though. However, these encounters didn't harm Harry. Backed up by a family and friends he could fall back on, little Harry slowly recovered from the abuse the Dursleys had put him through and started to grow a backbone. The day when Harry first told Sarthon off in front of everyone would forever remain a happy memory in the minds of the Ancient Forest's animals.

********************************FLASHBACK*******************************

It was a fine day in July, one and a half years after Harry's arrival in the Ancient Forest. Harry and the younger unicorns were playing a unicorn game. As it involved jumping as far as you could, Harry, naturally, was at a huge disadvantage. He didn't mind losing, though, the game was fun anyway.

*Your turn, Harry!* shouted Pegasus.

Harry concentrated briefly, counted to ten loudly, and was off like a shot. He sped up more and more, running faster and faster- this one was going to be a good jump, he knew it-

Something blocked his way. Harry gasped in shock and slithered to a halt, landing face-first in a puddle of mud left on the ground from the previous day's rain.

Roaring laughter greeted him as he raised his head. Sarthon and his 'gang' of friends were standing in front of him. Harry didn't even understand why they were unicorns. Unicorns were supposed to be good, pure, not mean and rowdy-like like Sarthon.

*Fell, Potter?* asked Sarthon with a unicorn sneer. *Let me help you up.*

He sized Harry by his arm and pulled him to his feet roughly. The sharp pain of pointy teeth digging into his arm brought tears to little Harry's eyes and he cradled his arm protectively to his chest. Meanwhile, his friends had caught up to Harry and were glaring angrily at Sarthon. But as he was their leader's son, and a very cruel one at that, they couldn't say anything.

*Aww, poor foal!* cried Sarthon, watching Harry in glee. *Should I be getting your mommy here to comfort you?*

Harry bit his lip. Suddenly, he was feeling angry. Sarthon was always putting him down, always picking on him. What had he done, anyway?

*I'm sick of you,* Harry said quietly.

Suddenly, there was a dead silence. Nobody spoke that way to Sarthon, least of all a foal.

*What did you say?* whispered Sarthon, for once in his life sounding stumped.

Harry was shaking, but he glared at Sarthon as menacingly as he could.

*I said, I'm sick of you.* It didn't sound as strong-voiced as he would have liked it to, but he had said it. To Sarthon's face.

Sarthon was staring at Harry incredulously.

*You think you're so great,* said Harry quietly, voice shaking with both fear and rage. *You think you can do what you want to me, to us, and we won't say anything. Well- you're wrong! I'm sick of this! All day you ridicule me and humiliate me, you spoil my fun, steal my food, even lie about me to my friends. You frame me for all the things you've done wrong, and you stomp on me whenever you can. But you know what? You're just scared! You're like my cousin, such a big bully, just because you're really so insecure that you don't know how to act! If you harm me or any of my friends again, I will talk to your father and Serenity, and everybody will believe me, not you! Stay away from me!*

Sarthon stared at Harry for a moment while the others giggled. Then, he muttered *Come on.* to his gang and ran away at top speed. The roaring laughter of Harry and his friends followed him, and Harry was the boy of the day, being the first living being to ever put Sarthon in his place.

Harry never told anyone that he had gotten the 'bully' part of his speech from Serenity, who had tried to comfort him when Sarthon had been too mean. He didn't really understand what it meant, but thought that it sounded good, and obviously, it had intimidated Sarthon as well. All in all, Harry was content with himself.

******************************END FLASHBACK*****************************

At night, Harry was always safely ensconced in the Eternal Meadows. At night, the Ancient Forest's dangerous side showed itself. Acromantula, werewolfs (at least at full moon), Hinkypunks and other dark creatures haunted the forest. The malicious shape-changers, those who were not raised and trained by the elves, also chose to make an appearance then.

Harry had had a very unfortunate run-in with an especially big Acromantula named 'Aragog', which means 'danger' in elven language, only about a month after his arrival. He had sneaked out at night without Serenity's permission, curious about the magical place that was his new home.

Aragog, who had apparently been out hunting that night, had spotted him not too far away from the Meadows and immediately pounced on him. Apparently, he didn't often*click* get human*click* flesh in*click click* this forest*click* because*click click* Hagrid had forbidden*click* him to*click* come to Hogwarts and*click* get some. – *Click*.

Fortunately, just as Aragog had prepared to sink his huge pincers into Harry's mid-section, Harry had recovered from his shock and screamed "loudly enough to wake the dead," as Ethryl, who had rushed to his aid, had said. The elf had been near-by – stargazing with his friends, the centaurs – and fought Aragog. Aragog had been blinded by the elf's magic and fled into the forest.

Harry had got away with a scare and a bleeding gash on his right leg and had never ventured into the forest at night again. For his future protection, the elves had taken it upon themselves to teach him archery. The small, silver elven longbow that had been Harry's sixth birthday's present from the king and queen was always taken along when he left the Meadows.

Over time, Harry even made friends with Catheryna, the stuck-up elven princess. He actually did have a good influence on her, and while she was still slightly spoiled, she had at least stopped her imperious act.

Harry had been adopted by the elves, and it was hard to say which part of his 'family' he spent more time with- the unicorns or the elves.

Harry's seventh birthday was celebrated loudly, as seven years was the age when unicorns reach full maturity. Of course Harry wasn't really fully grown yet, far from it, but Serenity had seen how much it had hurt him to see his friends grow up without him and was willing to relent a little.

Proud, seven-year-old little Harry was now allowed to explore the forest on his own, as long as he didn't stay away for too long a time. Harry accepted this without question.

Exploring was Harry's favourite activity. Sometimes he was accompanied by Serenity, Pegasus or Stardust, sometimes by Ethryl and Cathey, but sometimes Harry went alone. Secretly, he found those times to be the most exciting. Not that he would ever tell that to either of his family- he didn't want to hurt their feelings, after all.

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It was a beautiful December day, snowflakes were falling from the sky lightly and soundlessly, filling it with millions of tiny, white spots. Harry threw his head back and opened his mouth, allowing the snowflakes to melt on his tongue. He giggled lightly as one landed on the tip of his nose.

Harry knew that he should get back to the Eternal Meadows soon- Serenity would be worried, it was getting dark, and he was really cold- but he just couldn't bring himself to return.

Harry also knew that it had to be around Christmas time. If there was one thing Harry missed about living with humans, it was Christmas. Even though Harry had never received any presents from the Dursleys and never been allowed to attend the family's celebration except for the part that involved watching Dudley unwrap package after package while he, Harry, got nothing at all, he had always loved the Christmas atmosphere. The beautiful trees, smells of baking cookies- not that he was ever allowed to eat one- doing handicrafts at kindergarten- it had been one of the few times Harry had been happy, one of the few lights of his life. Now, his life was good, but Harry still missed Christmas.

It was such a beautiful day for exploring, and Harry had gone further than ever before. The trees were starting to get sparser than Harry was used to, and Harry knew suddenly that he was nearing the edge of the forest.

He wanted to see it again. Just for one second. The memory of its thousands of little towers and windows had never quite left Harry's mind. Hogwarts had seemed so warm that day almost three years before, so inviting, so beautiful. Like a fairytale.

And there it was. The gigantic castle was looming in the distance, as magnificent and majestic as Harry remembered it. It looked very unreal with the snow covering every roof and window ledge, balcony and walkway. It was, without a doubt, the most beautiful castle Harry had ever seen, fairytale book or not. Harry could see the light in the windows and even make out the shape of a huge tree through one of them. So he had been right, it was Christmas.

For one second, just one second, Harry longed to be inside the castle, celebrating Christmas with all the other children. For just one moment Harry wanted to be part of them again, blend in with the mass, sit down under the Christmas tree as he had done at the Dursleys' (at night, when they were asleep) and just pretend for a while that everything was perfect in his life.

Harry was so absorbed in the beauty of the castle that he completely missed the sounds coming out of the forest on his right side. He missed the heavy boot steps, grunts of strain, sliding noises as something huge and heavy was being dragged through the snow. He missed the dull 'thump' as the heavy tree was dropped to the floor, the steps stopped in surprise, big eyes were rubbed to get rid of the illusion in front of them.

But Harry was startled out of his reverie abruptly by the loud voice calling out to him, "Hey, yeh there! Who are yeh? Wha' are yeh doin' here?"

Harry gasped and whirled around. Standing right in front of him, only a few feet away, was Hagrid, the half-giant and Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. Harry backed away.

"No, don' run away!" said the gigantic man. "I mean yeh no harm. Hey, where are yeh goin'? This is the Dark Fores', yeh can' go in there- hey!"

But Harry didn't listen. Heart pounding so loudly that Harry feared it would be audible in the whole forest, he turned on his heel and fled back into the trees blindly, running as fast as his feet would carry him, terrified, and never looking back.

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A/N: Hope you liked it. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews!

Until next time,

Felinity