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CHAPTER EIGHT: CURE FOR THE ITCH
I woke up with a start as an animal cried out into the night. The sound was loud and foreboding; I don't even want to know what kind of creature made it. Even though I haven't the faintest idea what most of the creatures that live in the forest are called or even very much about them, I do know this: Many of them are extremely dangerous and should be avoided at all costs. I'm still lodged into the tiny enclosure I fell asleep in, hidden safely for now under a giant tree root, but I can't stay here forever.
The forest will probably be marginally safer in the daylight, but there's no guarantee. I can tell dawn is approaching by the way the night seems to be receding and off in what I'm assuming to be the east, the sky is beginning to lighten, though it is hard to tell with the trees blocking the sun out so effectively. The coming of day helps to relieve some of the fears I am harboring, but there's more to worry about than just the creatures of this forest.
Will Dumbledor inform the ministry that I'm gone? He knows that I'm innocent...but then again, he always knew. If he has told them, though, I'm sure they'll be here soon to try and hunt me down. Even if he decided not to tell them I'm sure he and his little 'order of the light' (or whatever bullshit name they use) will be out here soon to track me down themselves. Either way, I need to get out of here and fast.
I've been in the forest a couple of times now, but hell if I know my way around it. Too bad Hagrid's not alive anymore; I'm sure he would have helped me when I needed someone the most, instead of betraying me like everyone else. He knew the forest better than anyone...maybe something he taught me could help.
Hmm...I could ride a hypogriff...but where would I find one? Do they even live in the forest? They're kind of mean; I suppose it would be better to get killed by one of them than the ministry or Voldemort and his gang, but still...What other animal is there that could possibly help? Maybe a unicorn? No, they don't like males very much and I don't even know if one would carry me let alone take me out of the forest. I know, a centaur! Surely Firenze would help me out. I know they don't like to meddle in with 'what destiny has planned' or whatever it is that they say, but Firenze can't want Voldemort to win the war...oh shit! What if he's still teaching at Hogwarts? I can't go back there. Hell, I don't even know if he would have been able to help me in the first place...
I'm never going to get out of this forest! I'm just going to sit in here crouching under bushes and hiding in the trees until either someone finds me or some bloody animal eats me. There's no way I can get out of here...unless, maybe, if I could fly...but it's not like I have a broom or any—wait a minute...the thestrals! Why the hell didn't I think of that before? All I need is a little meat or blood and they'll come right to me. And they'll take me wherever the hell I want!
But where will I go, now that I've got the means to actually get there? Hmm...seeing as I don't want to get caught again so soon after gaining my freedom, I should probably leave Great Britain. I don't know how far the thestrals can fly, so maybe France? I'm going to want to go somewhere where the ministry, the order, and not to mention Voldemort can't get me. Would France work? I suppose it's as good a place as any...I could always stay there for a little while and then go on to somewhere else. If I keep moving then they'll be less likely to catch me, right?
All right then, France it is...for now anyway. Now that that's settled, I'd better go find something to eat. Maybe there will be some berries or something around here that will be edible. I just hope I don't accidentally eat anything poisonous.
Walking in the forest isn't too bad; at least I haven't run into anything dangerous yet. It's kind of nice just being out here in the wild all alone, especially after being held in a cell in Azkaban for the past few months (I still don't know exactly how long it's been.) Despite everything (not having a place to go, having no money, being a fugitive who will be hunted and tracked down no matter where I chose to go), I'm happy that I'm out. At least I have freedom now, if nothing else, the right to choose what it is that I want to do with my life (though I'm afraid I have very limited options), an opportunity that I have never been afforded before.
Everyone has always tried to control me and what I do ever since I was a year old. The Dursleys kept the knowledge of the wizarding world away from me (perhaps it would have been better if I had never known of it, looking back) and tried to stamp the magic out of me. They were horrible and I hated them, but they weren't the worst.
Once I got to Hogwarts I thought that everything was going to be all right. I thought that I had finally found a place where I would fit in and could be myself, but my problems in the wizarding world were far more numerous than in the muggle one and even more inescapable.
Everyone had this preconceived notion of what I was like and these expectations that I couldn't ignore nor dispel. Anywhere I went people didn't see Harry, they saw the-boy-who-lived, their blessed savior. And then there was Dumbledor.
Looking back it's all so clear. The way he gave me hints enough to allow me to figure out what Voldemort was up to (knowing the whole time what was going on), yet never helping me to stop him until I had already landed myself into a heap of trouble. The way he pretended to care for me while he sent me back to the Dursley's each year (because he had to) and sent me off to fight the most feared Dark Lord of all times and his minions without a second thought or consideration. I was so desperate for approval and love from all my years spent without it in the presence of the Dursleys (the place Dumbledor purposefully chose to send me) that I couldn't see the truth that was right before my eyes: Nobody cared about me. They cared of course that I was in able condition to serve their cause, but about me, the neglected, little boy who just wanted someone to like him for just being himself for once; they didn't give a damn.
And with that thought I fell unceremoniously onto the ground. Damn it, if only I had been paying more attention maybe I would have seen that root. Wait, a root? You can eat roots, right? It probably won't taste very good, but I suppose it's worth a try.
Digging up the root wasn't nearly as easy as I thought it would be, but after a couple of minutes of desperate attempts to dislodge it from it's tight hold on the earth I finally succeeded. I felt unnervingly proud at my accomplishment, but seeing as it was a better feeling than the misery and despair I usually wallowed in, I decided to just shrug it off.
Next task was to find some clean water. There should be a stream in this forest somewhere...but where there's water, there are usually animals...I guess I'll just have to be careful then.
Clutching my root tightly to my chest and watching out for other tripping hazards lying precariously on the forest floor, I searched for a long while for a stream or fresh water of some sort. Eventually I found just what I was looking for, though it took me quite a long time (a good 20 minutes or so), and I took a couple of minutes to check the area for any animals that might spell danger before venturing toward the small streams edge.
I didn't realize how thirsty I was until I had started cupping the water in my hands and greedily drinking as much as I could of it in the shortest amount of time possible. My face and clothes were fairly wet by the time I had finished and I was panting heavily, but I felt infinitely better, as if the water had somehow restored my spirit along with quenching my thirst. Perhaps the stream was magical or something...or maybe I had just been extremely thirsty. I frankly didn't care at this point.
Now that my thirst had been satisfied, it was time to take care of my hunger, though the root I had brought with me to the streams edge was unlikely to do that. It was rather dirty, as would be expected, and so I dipped it in the water and scrubbed it as best as I could before taking a large bite out of it, not caring whether or not it tasted good (after all, the meals I had been getting in Azkaban weren't exactly five star.)
After eating the root, which hadn't tasted half bad considering, I decided to set out to round myself up a thestral. I would need blood to attract them...but who knew how many other creatures would be attracted by blood? And I certainly didn't want to cut myself, though finding another animal to use might prove difficult.
It was already nearing mid-day, but I figured I had time to look for an animal that I could catch to use as bait (not that I would be able to catch one regardless of how much time I had.) Dumbledor and company were probably out looking for me by now, but unless they have some spell that I don't know of that can track me down, they're going to be searching for quite a while before they would be able to find me. That meant that I probably have a couple of hours.
What could I catch that would work? There must be some slow, stupid creatures in this forest, right? I guess my best bet would to be just to sit down and observe for a while; no animal is going to come near me when I'm crashing through the underbrush.
It was boring, but I had gotten used to being bored and sitting still for long periods of time while at Azkaban. And at least my work paid off. A small, little, brown mammal had ventured rather close to me, sniffing the ground as it went along. It looked rather familiar, like one of the animals that we had studied in care of magical creatures...it was a niffler I think. Anyway, as it grew nearer, I snatched it up with seeker quick reflexes, though it had been quite a long time since I had played quiditch, and grasped it firmly in my hands. I didn't want to have to hurt it, but desperate times call for desperate measures as the saying goes, and so grabbed a nearby stick that was broken in the middle and had a rather pointy end and stuck it into the little creature that I clutched, ignoring it's cries as I held it firmly while it struggled.
Soon there was a fairly decent amount of blood dripping from the poor creature and, satisfied that it would be enough to draw the attention of the thestrals, I set the little animal down and wiped my hands on a couple of fallen leaves laying nearby on the ground before moving hastily away behind a tree to observe.
It took a couple of minutes before anything happened, but then there came a sharp screeching sound and the clip clop of hooves pounding lightly on the muddy earth. A couple seconds more and what appeared to be a black, decaying, winged horse stepped cautiously out of the surrounding trees and into the small clearing where the niffler was lying.
I could hear more thestrals approaching, but all I needed was the one and so I stepped out slowly, so as not to scare it off, and made my way over to it. By now it was licking the blood off the niffler, making for a somewhat disturbing sight, but I came up and patted the thestral lightly on the shoulder anyways. It raised its head to look at me then, big brown eyes gazing at me intently as if looking into my very soul and judging whether or not I was worthy. Apparently I was, as it nudged me gently, beckoning me to mount. I did so with effort, ungracefully flopping onto the thestral's back.
Uncertainly I asked the horse whether it could take me to France, preferably to one of the larger cities. It must have understood, for with a great beating of bat-like wings and a leap into the air, we were off.
Author's Note: I know that it has been a long time since I have updated and I'm sorry. I tried to make it up to you by making this chapter a little longer; I hope you like it. Anyways, the reason for why the chapter took so long to get out, in case you're interested, is because I was on vacation in Florida for two weeks and then had various family functions that I was expected to attend. It might have been out sooner, but it took me a while to figure out where exactly I wanted to go with the chapter and even though I'm not completely satisfied, I think this will have to do. Thank you to all of my faithful reviewers and to everyone who has enjoyed my story so far; I'm writing it for you! As always, if you see any errors that you would like me to correct, just let me know; I typed this out in a hurry and am too lazy to go back through and check it. Anyways, enjoy!