Chapter 6: The Birds and the Beasts

Harry awoke early again the next morning, and quickly headed out to the Quidditch Pitch. He hadn't been there more than twenty minutes before he heard Rathi calling to him from the forest. Quickly checking to make sure he had all his weapons, Harry hurried over to the edge of the forest, just as the unicorn burst from the trees.

"What is it Rathi? What's wrong?" Harry demanded.

"We may have a problem Emrys," The unicorn said.

"I've told you. Unless we're around other elves, call me Harry. Now, what's the problem?" asked Harry.

"I came across a couple of those dark wizards you mentioned in the forest. What did you call them? Death Munchers? Anyway, they were already leaving, so I followed their trail to find what they were doing there. We need to make contact with the Acromantulas now. I can assume the evil ones were attempting to get them as allies. It is my belief that those who participated in the attack did not do so with the permission of their leader, for they were all juveniles, and if they were under orders, there would have been at least one elder accompanying them. I would assume that the majority of the Acromantulas have not yet allied with the dark lord. I had been planning to leave off contacting them until we had a more secure force in the forest, but now we cannot wait." Rathi said.

"Damn. Okay, make contact with those you have already secured as our allies. We may need their help, and I need to meet them anyway." Harry told the unicorn.

The unicorn stood still for a moment, with his eyes closed.

"Done. The leaders of our allies will meet us in a glade near to the Acromantula lair." The unicorn said.

"Then lets get going." Said Harry, as he smoothly leapt onto Rathi's back, and they plunged into the forest.

Rathi moved like lightning, speeding through the dark woods. If Harry was a human, he would have been terrified, but as an elf, he could easily see that the unicorn knew exactly what it was doing. Within minutes, they had arrived in the forest clearing. It was empty.

They'll be here soon. Rathi said.

Sure enough, soon the sound of rustling leaves announced the arrival of at least one presence. It was a unicorn.

"I greet you elf prince. It has been a long time since your kind has been seen in this forest. Too long. My name is Moonstar, and I am the leader of my kind in this area." The unicorn said.

"I greet you Moonstar." Harry said, as he slid off Rathi's back, and approached the unicorn. "Thank you for coming."

Looking up, Harry saw two forms gliding towards him. He smiled slightly. Rathi had done his work well. These were powerful allies indeed. A brilliant white Pegasus landed gently on the ground, followed shortly by a beast which was bigger than even Rathi. It was a Golden Gryphon.

"Hello elven one." Said the pegasus. "I am Lightwing, leader of the Pegasi of this forest."

"And I am Firefur, leader of the Gryphon population." Spoke the large and intimidating creature.

Harry greeted each with a regal nod of his head.

"We pledge our lives and the lives of our kin, to the service of the light's chosen. We shall strive to hold back the dark and keep the fires of good burning." The three intoned.

Harry listened to them patiently. It was a ritualistic vow, and he needed to do his part in turn. Drawing his katana, he cut a gash on his hand, and let the blood drip to the ground.

"By my blood, I vow to defend your homes with my life. None of darkness shall harm you or your kin without first slaying myself, and any of my kind with me." Harry said.

"The alliance is bound. We stand together. Now, we must head to the Acromantula lair." Spoke Rathi. "We must ascertain whether they have sided with the dark, or if they choose to side with the light"

Pagebreak-

Entering the Acromantula lair, accompanied by the leaders of the light creatures of the forest, Harry was more than a little nervous. Even with the creatures being as powerful as they were, they would be vastly outnumbered by the spiders. There had been hundreds in his second year. Four years later, there could very well be thousands.

Arriving in the hollow where he had met Aragog the last time, he called out.

"Aragog! I must speak with you."

"Why should I listen to you Elf?"

"Because I slew the beast within the chamber of secrets four years ago, your greatest foe." Harry said.

"You slew the Great Snake?" Aragog asked. "Then I shall let you speak. But tell me, why should I ally with you and not the one known as Voldemort. For I assume that is why you have come, is it not?"

"Because Voldemort is the one who framed Hagrid for the deaths. Voldemort is the one who released the great snake into the school. Voldemort allies with the great snakes. If you side with him, you will be betraying your own kind." Harry answered.

"He is the one who harmed Hagrid? He is the one who set the evil creature against the school?" Aragog asked, in a fury. "Then we shall not ally with that vile dark one. We shall side with you, Slayer of the Snake. We are yours to command."

"Thank you Aragog. You have made the right choice." Harry said. "For now, simply wait. If I need to contact you, I shall either come in person, or Rathi here will come. If you need to contact me, send a message to Rathi, and he will make certain I receive it. Farewell Aragog." With that, Harry turned and walked from the spider lair.

"We are lucky Prince. They would have made a very dangerous enemy." Said Firefur.

"Indeed. Well, I must get back to the castle, it is near time for breakfast to begin. I would ask you all to patrol the forest. If you see any sign of dark wizards or creatures, do not attack. Simply watch what they do. However, if it looks like they plan to attack or harm any allied creature, then feel free to move against them." Harry said.

"Of course Prince Emrys." Said Lightwing.

"Please, call me Harry. All of you. I'm still not really used to being called Prince."

"Of course Prince Harry." Moonstar said, as he moved off into the forest.

Harry turned to Rathi, who was the only one left with him. "Are all unicorns so annoying?" He asked.

"Yes. Now get up here. " Said Rathi, as Harry mounted, and they returned to Hogwarts.

Pagebreak-

By the time Harry got back to the castle, breakfast was underway. He quickly walked in, and seated himself beside Ginny, and across from Ron and Hermione.

"Harry, where have you been? What the- you're bleeding!" Hermione exclaimed.

Looking down at his hand, he saw the cut he had sliced into it.

"Oh ya. I forgot about that!" Harry said, still looking at it.

"You forgot? How can you forget about a big cut on your hand? What happened?" Ginny asked.

"It was nothing. Don't worry about it." Harry replied.

"You really should go see Madam Pomfrey about that. It looks deep." Ron said.

"Nah." Harry replied. "I can take care of it." With that, he held his other hand over the cut. It glowed golden for a moment, and when it faded, the cut was gone.

"Whoa! Cool, how did you do that?" Ron asked.

"Elves have healing powers. Some are better than others. I can only heal simple wounds like cuts and bruises, but some can heal diseases and broken bones in seconds." Harry said shrugging. "Pass the pumpkin juice?" He asked, and started eating his food.

"HEYA! HI! HEY LOOK AT ME! LOOK WHAT I GOT! LOOK AT ME! HEY, OVER HERE! OOOOOH, LOOKIE WHAT I GOT! HEY! HEY! LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! WHERE ARE YOU? THERE YOU ARE! I SEE YOU! SEE? HERE I COME! HERE COMES ME! INCOMING ME! AREN'T YOU PROUD OF ME? I FOUND YOU! YEA FOR ME"

Harry started laughing so hard that he choked, and Ginny had to smack him on the back repeatedly to help him. He kept laughing.

"What the hell is so bloody funny mate?" Ron asked. "Its just the mail."

Harry just kept laughing, and pointed a finger behind Ron, where a buzzing furry tennis ball could be seen doing loops.

"T-t-t-that owl! What he's saying. He-he, oh hell, its Pig, just imagine what Pig would be saying if he were speaking English." Harry said, still laughing.

Ron turned around to look at his owl. "Good point." He said, as he snatched Pig from the air.

"WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! THAT WAS FUN! LETS DO THAT AGAIN! HUH? CAN WE? PLEEEEEEEEAAASSSEEE?"

"That owl is a menace. It is a bad example to all young owls everywhere" Came a serene voice from above Harry. Looking up, he saw that it was Hedwig.

"Hey girl. Do you have any mail for me?" Harry asked his owl.

"No. I think Apollo does though. He should be here soon, he wasn't far behind me. I would like some of that bacon though. It looks tasty!" Hedwig replied.

"Of course. Here." Said Harry, pushing his plate of bacon towards here. He watched her swallow the pieces for a moment, before he detected Apollo's presence nearing the Great Hall.

When Apollo flew into the Great Hall, the students gazed in awe. Many of them had never seen a phoenix before. Even those who had seen Fawkes on occasion, or seen pictures of a phoenix in a book were in awe. For this phoenix was nothing like the red and gold bird most thought of when they heard someone speak of phoenixes. This bird's plumage was a shining silver and blue, glittering brightly in the light. It was also twice the size of a regular phoenix. Even Dumbledore looked on in awe, as even he had never heard of such a phoenix. The entire population of the great hall, except Harry, watched as the beautiful creature flew down, and settled itself on Harry's shoulder. Harry, ignoring all the attention the bird was getting, merely took a piece of toast, buttered it, added some strawberry jam, layered it with bacon, and then passed it to the phoenix perched on his shoulder, who apparently ate it with great delight.

"I don't know how you can stand to eat something like that, Apollo." Harry said, shaking his head, and his voice carried across the silent hall. "I've tried that thing you call the perfect breakfast. Nasty that is."

Everyone watched as the phoenix, finishing his meal, gracefully extended one wing and swatted Harry in the back of the head, knocking his head into his bowl of cereal.

Harry jerked his head out of the bowl, spluttering and dripping milk. "Hey! What was that for?" He yelled.

The phoenix just looked at him calmly, with an innocent look on his face.

"Why must I be surrounded by a bunch of moronic birds?" Harry asked. Hedwig, who had just settled on his other shoulder, promptly swatted him back into his cereal.

Giggles swept through the hall.

"I didn't mean you Hedwig! I meant this buzzard on my other shoulder, and that little fuzzball that's flying around here somewhere." Said Harry, before his head was once again knocked into his bowl by the impact of small owl to the back of his head.

"OOPSIE! SORRY ABOUT THAT! DIDN'T SEE YOU THERE MISTER! HEY! YOUR FACE IS ALL WET! AND ITS REALLY RED TOO! OOOOOOH! ITS GETTING REDDER!"

Nearly everyone in the Great Hall was laughing now. Harry looked around annoyed. 'Well, at least Ginny had the courtesy to try to contain her laughter.' he thought. Ron was rolling on the floor, howling with laughter, and Hermione had her head on the table, her shoulders shaking.

"Some friends you are." He grumbled, which promptly set Ginny laughing uncontrollably. He glared at her.

"Don't glare at your girlfriend Harry. It isn't polite." came the voice of Apollo.

Harry turned to look at the phoenix perched on his shoulder, his face a mix of emotions. He seemed to be struggling to decide what to say when he gave up, and stuck his tongue out at the bird.

When Harry looked up, he noticed Professor Dumbledore standing over him, eyes twinkling.

"Tell me Harry, what exactly is this fine animal? I've never seen a phoenix this colour before." Dumbledore asked.

"That's cause no human has seen one. Ever. This rather annoying thing is one of the Phéalas. The Phoenix Lords." Harry responded.

"Really? Do you think it might be possible to obtain one of his tail feathers for study?" Dumbledore asked.

"I'm afraid that you do not know what you are asking. The tail feathers of a phoenix lord are extremely rare, so rare in fact, that in the last one hundred years, the elves have only collected five. Phoenix lords almost never drop feathers. The feather's of a phoenix lord are infinitely more powerful than that of a regular phoenix. They are only used in the construction of battle staffs for our most powerful magi. I'm afraid it would be impossible for you to have one, even if Apollo did drop a feather. I am sorry." Harry said.

Dumbledore nodded sadly. "Ah well. That's okay." He said, before returning to the table.

"Harry, why would you say that? Sure my feathers are rare and powerful, but they aren't as rare as you made them sound. We could easily let him have one." Apollo asked from his shoulder.

"I know." Harry answered, speaking in phoenix, so no one could overhear him. "But now I have a great Christmas present for him!"

Pagebreak-

As they rose to head to class, Apollo remained on Harry's shoulder.

"Umm, Harry. Are you allowed to bring him to class?" Hermione asked.

"I'm not bringing him Hermione. He's bringing himself. He just coincidentally happens to be hitching a ride. Seriously though, he is not a pet, so I can't exactly tell him where he can and can't go. And if I tried, I'm sure he'd whack me on the head again." Harry answered. From his shoulder, Apollo gave a little trill. "He's just confirmed that."

Ron laughed. "I think I could get to like that bird." Apollo trilled at this.

Harry smirked. "He says if you call him a bird again, he'll whack you one."

Ron grinned. "Sorry oh high and mighty Phoenix Lord! I am unworthy of being in your presence. Forgive me!" He groveled.

Apollo trilled again, and seemed to puff out his chest.

"Now he says its about time some one showed him the proper respect."

Pagebreak-

Their first class that day was Transfiguration. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat down, and seconds later Professor McGonagall entered the room.

"Good morning class. Today we will beginning a study on Animagi. Now, I have here a potion which when drank, reveals a person's animagus form, if they have one. In turn, each of you are going to drink the potion, and we'll see what forms you all could have."

They all took turns drinking the potion. Hermione turned into a Barn owl, and Ron turned into a red fox. When Malfoy's turn came, he quickly drank the potion, looking extremely sure of himself. 'Probably thinks he'll turn into a dragon or something!' Harry thought. The whole class burst into laughter when he turned into a ferret. When he changed back, he glared at all the laughing Gryffindors. Not surprisingly, Crabbe and Goyle didn't have animagus forms.

Harry went last. When his turn came, he looked nervously at the potion in front of him.

"Umm Professor? This might not be a very good idea." He said nervously.

"I agree Harry. If you take that . . . " Said Apollo.

"Awww, is Potty scared of a potion? Potty afraid he'll turn into something stupid?" Malfoy sneered, trying to regain his confidence.

"Yes, I am afraid I'll turn into you, but that's not why I don't want to take the potion. I'm just not sure that I should drink this." Harry said.

"And why not Mr. Potter?" Queried McGonagall. "I must insist you drink the potion, as in the next months you will be doing studies based on your form."

"Errr. Okay. But, I'm telling you. This won't end well." Harry said.

"Wait, I don't want to be in range once you drink that!" Said Apollo, as he flew off of Harry's shoulder. Once Apollo had settled himself a window ledge, Harry drank the potion.

White light exploded around Harry, blocking him from the view of all those in the room. It seemed to fluctuate, changing rapidly through various colours, and hues. This went on for over a minute before the white light flared again, shining a pure white, with streaks of gold and silver within. It remained like this, not changing, for over five minutes. Ron and Hermione were terrified, and looked to Professor McGonagall for an explanation. Then they saw that she was in as much shock as they were.

Suddenly the light died, and Harry could be seen in the middle. He seemed a little woozy as he spoke.

"I told you that wasn't a good idea." He said, before dropping to the ground unconscious with a loud THUMP.

Looking at Apollo, Ron and Hermione were shocked to see him shaking his head slowly. It was as if he were saying 'I told you not to do that.' Then again, he probably was.

"Class dismissed," called McGonagall. "Granger, Weasley, take Potter to the hospital wing immediately. I must find the headmaster." She said, as she walked quickly out of the room.

Ron and Hermione quickly levitated Harry's unconscious body, and floated him down the hall.

Pagebreak-

Harry opened his eyes slowly, looking around. White walls, the smell of lemon disinfectant. He was in the Hospital Wing.

"Really, Potter. Can't you be a little more careful? Its only the second day of school and you're already here. I wasn't expecting to see you for at least a week or two." Said Madam Pomfrey, as she bustled around his bed. "Now, I must go alert the headmaster that your awake, he wanted to be informed immediately."

As she left the room, Apollo flew in the nearby window.

"I did warn you. What did you expect would happen. You know perfectly well that the potion was not designed for someone with more than one form. For an elf, its like trying to watch a movie on super fast-forward, and then hitting the good part and the tape blowing up." Said the phoenix.

"Wow. Your analogy really didn't handle that last part well." Harry said grinning.

"Shut up. How else would you describe it? Its not exactly an easy thing to describe." The phoenix replied.

"Ya, well. Looks like I'm going to have to." Harry said, as Dumbledore, McGonagall, Ron, Hermione and Ginny entered the room.

"Harry!" Shrieked Ginny, as she ran over to give him a big hug. "I was so worried when Ron and Hermione said you were hurt! What happened?"

"Ya mate. You were out cold. You missed Charms!" Ron said.

"Well, you see. Its rather complicated. That potion is not meant for someone with multiple animagus forms." Harry said.

"Multiple forms? That's impossible." McGonagall exclaimed.

"For a human, maybe. For an elf, who are linked with animals of all kind, its not. Not only do I have multiple forms, I have unlimited forms. I can change into any non-magical animal, or creature of the light, that being a rather long list itself." Harry said.

"Well that would explain the flickering of the light. You were going through your forms at top speed. But what about that bit at the end. You were solid white, except for gold and silver streaks, for over five minutes." Hermione said.

"Ah, that would be an elven secret. I can't really tell you about it at this time. If there ever is a need, I may have to reveal that, but I hope there isn't for a long time." Harry answered.

"Alright Harry, but please be careful. If you think something might be bad for you, just don't take it. I've only just found out you are my grandson, I don't want to lose you already." Dumbledore said.

"Well," Said Harry, as he swung his legs off the bed, "I believe we have Care of Magical Creatures this afternoon? We better get going, we don't want to be late."

"I should think not! You're staying here! I don't know what that potion may have done to you. I need to watch you for a while to make sure everything's okay." Said the nurse.

"Please, I know myself far better than you could. You've never treated an elf before. We are able to take minor injuries and recover rapidly. I'm perfectly fine." Said Harry.

"Well, alright. But try to be careful? I don't want to see you again for at least a week." The nurse answered.

With that, Harry leapt nimbly out of bed, and was out the door in seconds.

Pagebreak-

When the trio arrived at their Care of Magical Creatures class, the whole class had already gathered. Hagrid was standing in front of them, but the class were surprised when they didn't see any sort of creature nearby.

All of the class except Harry. He had a feeling that he knew what this unit would be about. He also could feel Rathi's presence in the woods, standing not 10 metres from Hagrid.

"Righ' then. Got a special treat fer ye today. We're studyin somethin that asn't been seen fer thousands of years. I'm real excited about it. Anyway, I don want ter keep ye waiting, so Harry, if ye could call yer friend now please?" Hagrid asked, looking at Harry expectantly.

Harry grinned. He had guessed right. Hagrid wanted to do a study on war unicorns. He gave a quick mental call for Rathi to make an appearance. Seconds later, the war unicorn burst from the trees, and walked towards Hagrid, lifting his hooves up high as he walked, with his head thrown back.

Harry snorted with laughter.

"Rathi, your so full of yourself! Why the heck did you feel the need to show off with a parade march?" Harry said laughing.

Everyone saw the unicorn glare at Harry.

"Righ' then. Harry, I'll ask you to help me a wee bit with this lesson, seeing as ye know what this fine creature is saying, you can translate for us." And with that Hagrid began to teach, with Harry and Rathi providing any information that Hagrid didn't know, leaving out a few secrets.

At the end of the class, Harry approached Hagrid.

"Hey Hagrid. Rathi says he was happy to help out, and if you ever want him again, he'd be more than willing to do so. I think he just likes the attention. Anyway, in case you were interested, if you want to do a lesson on Pegasi, or Golden Gryphons, I easily ask a few I know to show up." Harry said.

"Really? That'd be great Harry! Thanks!" Hagrid said happily. "Now, ye better get goin. Dinner is startin soon."

Pagebreak-

Voldemort was sitting in his throne room, trying to understand what could have happened at Hogwarts when Lucius Malfoy came running in.

"My Lord! I just got an owl from my son! There's something you need to know..."