A/N: ok people, hey, howdy, how ya doin' and all that jazz. I really don't feel like chattin' today, so, ONTO THE STORY! YAY!

Ch. 3- Invitation

Chris left work with Tommy's words ringing in her ears. She'd never admit it to anyone- least of all herself- but his words had hit her hard. She didn't want to be The Depressed Chick Who Hates the World. If she thought about it though, she had a right to see things that way. After all she'd been through, seeing the evil in things was second nature. She shook her head and stroked Athena absentmindedly. She tried not to dwell on all the shitty things infesting the world, known commonly as human actions, but she supposed that she just sort of… did.

After work, Star was nowhere to be found, so Chris, desperately needing something to do, Apparated to the ranch where the Ministry said the new Re'em was waiting. The female was roaming around the barn, eying it with unease. Chris assumed that was where the male was being held. She approached it quickly, anxious to see what he looked like. She patted Montana, the female Re'em named after the state she was found in, then opened the barn door. The male towered over her, his golden coat glittering in the dim light. He was constantly fidgeting, and when she opened the door, he backed up until he hit the wall.

Chris went after him cautiously; glad to have a job that would distract her from all the events of the day. She held her hand out and gently touched the side of his face. He jerked his head backward, his eyes rolling wildly. Chris snorted. It figured; out of all the Re'ems in the world, the Ministry had to send her the coward.

Crooning softly to it, she reached up again. She stroked his nose for a bit until her got used to her, then moved to one side of him, inspecting his coat. Montana nosed at the door, trying to push it open. Chris looked at her and grinned, "Not yet, honey." She took out her wand and locked the door. "Sorry, but I need to get him calm."

After about an hour of grooming and calming the Re'em, she decided it would be safe to introduce him to Montana. "Come on, big guy," she murmured, walking backward toward the door, leading the Re'em. They both stepped out into the blinding sunlight and blinked rapidly. Chris stuck two fingers in her mouth and whistled. Montana came lumbering over.

She stood with them for a few minutes, making sure they wouldn't attack each other, then walked over to the wooden fence bordering the ranch to watch. The male reminded her of Paul Bunyan's ox, except he was gold, not blue. She smiled slightly, "Babe. That's your name. They seem to be getting along well enough, do you think they'd be fine alone?" Athena nodded. "Good, then I'm going to ride the horse." The bird looked at her in disgust and flew off her shoulder onto one of the posts, gripping it tightly. Chris laughed and swung over the fence, tying her long hair back. "Watch them for me, then."

She walked across the large ranch until she got to the 'non magical' area. In other words, it was where the horses were kept. Erik, the Ministry's stable boy, was leaning against the door of the barn, chewing an enormously large wad of gum. His sun bleached blond hair hung down in front of dull blue eyes; eyes that eerily never missed a single thing. From the moment Chris had entered his line of vision, he had been watching her, yet his attention was somehow on the numerous horses in the field as well.

Of those horses, only four of them were Chris's. She was proud to say that the only winged horse in the bunch belonged to her. As she moved beside Erik, she realized that there should have been five of her horses in the field and quickly scanned over them, trying to figure out which one was missing. "Where's Emily?"

Erik jerked his head toward the barn door, "She 'ad 'er foal this mornin'. Jessie wasn' gettin' on with 'im too well, so I stuck 'em in there 'til you got here."

"Him?"

"Yep. Little grey boy."

"Grey…" Chris murmured, (A/N: I know absolutely nothing about horses, so I know nothing about whether they inherit their parent looks. For my purposes, they do.) her only grey horse was Steel, her winged Granian. "Does he have-?"

Nodding, Erik moved the gum to the other side of his mouth and replied, "Two liddle wings, pretty as ya please, sittin' right there on 'is shoulders."

Chris began to beam, "Can I see him?"

Erik shrugged, "They're yer horses. Go 'ave a peek." He opened the door for her, and she stepped into the dark stabled. Dust drifted down from the rafters as she made her way to one of the corners. Emily and her newborn son lay there. The foal was asleep against his mother; his grey coat looked strange against her chestnut one. Two feathery wings protruded from his back, so small they were comical. Chris stood at a distance, watching the sight in front of her with awe. "Poor little thing", she mused out loud, "Will you ever be able to fly with those?"

Emily began to look at her reproachfully and Chris sighed. "Fine, I'll leave you two alone. I'm coming back in when I think of a name for him though. Gotta Christian him, ya know." With one last look at the newest edition to her ever growing menagerie, she reluctantly walked back out into the bright sunshine.

"He's beautiful," she told Erik as she slumped against the door.

He nodded, somehow managing to appear to give her his full attention while his eyes were on the horses. "I never seen 'is like."

"You think he'll ever fly?"

Erik shrugged and blew a massive bubble, "Hard t'say, really. Ya only got Steel when 'e was full grown. Neither of us ever knew 'ow tiny 'is wings were when 'e was a baby. 'Sides, the liddle un's got a 'orse mom. No tellin' if that'll keep 'im grounded or not"

"He'd be beautiful in the air."

Her companion nodding, moving his gaze to the cloudless sky, as if imagining the sight. "What're ya gonna name 'im?"

"I dunno. Guess I'll think about it. Hey, can you saddle up Steel? I'd do it myself, but I gotta go check on the Re'ems. Then I'll be back to ride."

"No problem."

"You rock, Erik." With his assurance, she walked back across the ranch, looking at the fence until she saw the form of Athena on a post. "Where are they?" she asked, joining the bird, who looked pointedly at Chris's left. The forms of the two Re'ems were on the horizon, grazing peacefully. "There haven't been any problems between the two?" Athena flipped her wings once in way of saying, "No"

"Good. I guess-" in a puff of feathers, her male Diricawl appeared, clutching a thick, midnight blue envelope with gold writing. She grabbed it, recognizing it as a school letter. "Thank you, LeSal. What do you want, a tip? Shoo, I'll give you a treat tomorrow." He disappeared again, leaving Chris to read the letter. Besides the usual school books list and airplane ticket, there was also another letter, written on the blood red parchment that belonged to Jastella, the headmistress. Curious, she read over the flowing script.

Dear Chris,

First let me congratulate you on your coming of age. I am truly proud of you, my dear. Remember not to have too much fun Apparating, though, wouldn't want you to splinch yourself. On a more official note, because of you outstanding grades, you have been selected to participate in a student exchange program. If you so choose, you may attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for your final year of schooling. Their term starts on September first. You will be expected at the Leaky Cauldron on the last day of August. The Knight Bus can take you there if there is any question as to its location. From there, a taxi will take you to King's Cross Station where you will board the Hogwarts Express. You may, of course, come back for your holidays. If you choose not to participate, simply get on the plane as you usually do. Yet again being personal, I think it would be very good for you to do this. Make your choice, dear, and no matter what, I'll see you at graduation. Have fun!

Jastella

Headmistress of Goldenmoon Academy for the

Magically Gifted.

Chris reread the letter twice, staring at it with an open mouth. Hogwarts. As in Europe Hogwarts? She hadn't been there in seven years. To go back… but things were complicated. Could she do it? Could she really? Deciding this was a matter that couldn't be solved on the ground, she Apparated back to the stables and dazedly wandering over to Steel, barely acknowledging Erik's presence. Hopping onto the saddle, she let the earth fall away. She allowed the thoughts to fly loose with the wind that was puling at her hair.

The opportunity was truly unexpected. She had gotten used to Goldenmoon. In fact, she rarely thought of what her future could have been nowadays. However, with that one letter, it was if a dam had broken loose in her mind; all her thoughts came pouring back. If Lisa hadn't moved them, if It hadn't happened, Chris would be going to Hogwarts anyway. She had grown up in Hogsmead, continuously sneaking onto school grounds, pretending she was a student and watching Quidditch matches from afar. To go back home would be wonderful, but it would also bring back unwanted memories. Memories she had spent years building a wall around.

When she lived in Hogsmead, her life was constantly teeter-tottering. One minute she was happy, the next she was screaming in pain. Ever since she was five, her mother had put her in a wizarding primary school. Its hours weren't very long, though, so to avoid her mother, Chris would either stay with her friends or wander down to the Three Broomsticks where she was known and loved.

She preferred staying with her friends; one in particular, because she was always welcome at his house amongst his siblings. He was one of the two best friends she had ever had. The other was only around when Lisa was throwing one of her Death Eater parties. His dad was having and affair with her. Both Chris and her friend knew that. They would hide at the top of the stair and watch their parents. Later, he was also involved in It… but her thoughts were straying toward painful memories.

At the Three Broomsticks, she was always welcomed warmly and given a free butterbeer. Sometime around the age of six she had happened to be there during one of the school's Hogsmead trips. She had begun to talk to the teachers, and being so young, told them everything. She could remember their faces quite vividly. Hagrid, Flitwick, Sprout and Minerva. Minerva. Of all the teachers, she had taken the biggest liking to Chris. When Chris had told them about her abusive mom and her hard-hitting friends, Minerva had been outraged. She wanted to go find Lisa and tell her "a few things that Chris had better cover her ears when she started to say them." Chris had begged her not to, fearing the punishment she would later receive.

As the years went by, Lisa became more and more physical, and Chris and Minerva formed so deep a bond that little happened in Chris's life without Minerva knowing it. When she had seen Chris with an acid scar on her arm (she was nearly ten at the time) the professor had offered to take Chris to the castle and raise her there. Chris had declined for one reason- her father. He was the best man she had ever known. Kind, generous, and thoughtful, Chris loved him. How he had ever ended up married to Lisa was still a mystery to her. He was a Healer at St. Mungo's and was the main reason Chris wasn't completely covered in scars.

A few months after Minerva's offer, It happened. Her father was gone- murdered. The night It happened, Chris had been terrified. She ran all the way up to Hogwarts, leaving her friend, Lisa, and Lisa's lover at the house. Because she only knew a small portion of the grounds and none of the castle itself, she was lost until one of the younger teachers found her. She begged to talk to Minerva, and when she began to sob harder, the professor acquiesced.

She told Minerva everything (She was the only person the Chris did tell) and the woman was about five seconds away from keeping Chris and raising her when Lisa arrived. Chris never knew how she found her, but within minutes of Lisa's arrival, she and Chris were gone from Europe. They started a new life in the States.

At first, Chris couldn't stop thinking about home. Her thoughts came less and less over the years until, eventually, they stopped.

Steel began to descend. As he was never a good lander, Chris was rudely interrupted from her thoughts as he touched the ground, hopped forward a few steps, then jolted forward quite suddenly. His rider slid off and hit the dusty ground with a dull thump. "Ow," Chris moaned, "Steel you ignorant ass!"

The horse didn't seem to mind. Rather, he tucked his wings behind his back where Chris previously sat and began to nose the ground.

"Could you have landed any farther from the stables?" She made to get back on his back, but he refused to open his wings. Sighing, Chris magically tethered them together and began to walk back toward the stables. It was a long walk, and it was quickly getting dark, but she didn't care. It offered good thinking time.

Go to Hogwarts. Go back home. See her old friends. Return to her old house. Talk to Minerva again. Those were all plusses in participating in the exchange. On the other hand, she'd have to face It again. Maybe meet a few of her primary school enemies. Be bombarded with memories that could quite possible break her heart.

But she had those her too didn't she? The memories? Hadn't her heart already gone through the shredder? What with Kent, Dillon, and Adam, hadn't she had enough? Hadn't she seen the graveyard enough times? She'd have to face It again anyways, and if she was across and ocean, she might be free of Lisa for a little while…

It was that last thought that made up her mind. She was going back. For better or worse, she was going home.

A/N: and there you have it. Another chapter perfectly executed… not really, but I can allow myself a nice pat on the back for my ego once in a while, cant I? listens to the silence as her audience refuses to answer her. Fine then! I hate you too! Now, my lovely hated readers, R&R and I'll give you a free copy of The Apocalypse: It's coming. Are YOU ready to fight the Furbies for your soul?... Or maybe I'll just give you a cookie and another chapter. Your choice.