The Raven II
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JKR, various publishers of the HP series. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
A/N: Jury duty was very boring. I rewrote this chapter during that time, but I wrote in a notebook. So I had to find the time to type it after my cheap, short-notice, very exiting trip to the other side of the world, China!
Chapter 12 (uploaded 12/17/04)
Har-ry and Se-ve-rus sitting in a tree…
"Stop it! Shut up!" Snape woke out of his dream with a squawk.
"Stop what, Professor?" Harry looked down from the nest he was working on.
"What the—. Nothing. It was nothing. Sorry." Snape waddled to a wider part of the branch and put his belly and head down on the bark.
"Bad dream? I get them all the time."
"What are you doing up there, boy?"
"I found an empty nest. I was just padding it with some leaves and grass because the twigs were sticking me in the chest. Come up, there's room for you." Harry's head disappeared again behind the nest as he arranged more leaves.
A fat eagle owl landed in front of Snape and leaned over to inspect the shiny feathers of the black bird at his feathery feet. "What do you want?" Snape croaked without lifting his head.
"Message for Severus Snape," the owl announced.
"Go away, whoever this Severus Snape is not in this tree." Snape flew up to Harry's nest and settled in. He started throwing out trinkets, glittering stones, and scraps of metal.
"HEY!" Harry protested, "Those are mine, I found them."
"They are of no value and they're taking up room in here."
"But they're pretty and shiny!"
Snape whispered, "I think you've been a raven too long already. You're losing yourself in your form."
Harry's head tilted to the side, "No, I'm not."
"Yes, you are. Potter, listen to me," Snape continued to keep his voice down and looked over the edge of the nest to see if the owl had gone yet. "It's taught in newt-level transfigurations. We must get you back to your proper form as soon as possible. Your mind is very impressionable at your age. You really shouldn't go more than a week for your first time in a new form." The owl sat below looking out for a wizard and scratching his head.
"Did you lose yourself over the summer? You were a raven about 2 months," Harry scoffed. "Besides, I had a few hours as myself before you called me."
"I am not as impressionable as you and I have far superior mental discipline," Snape coolly replied.
Harry snorted, "You mean you're stubborn and hard headed."
RAWK! "Enough of your cheek, you juvenile delinquent." Snape lunged to peck the little raven on the head, but Harry quickly flew up to the highest twig on the tree that would support his weight. There, he basked in the sunshine and let the warmth fill his wings.
After a while, the owl hopped up to the same level as the nest. "Uhm, message for Severus Snape?"
Snape glared at the owl. "Go away."
Harry flew off and returned with a beak full of leaves and grass. Snape took them and arranged them until they had a comfortable bed. After a few more trips, Harry felt comfortable enough to settle in next to the other black bird.
But he could take only so much silence. "Hullo," Harry's unruly head of feathers popped out of the nest.
"Message for Severus Snape," the owl hooted again.
"Dumb bird," Snape mumbled into his wing.
"Who is Severus Snape?" Harry asked politely.
"Uhm, he's a wizard. Yup, a wizard who teaches at Hogwarts. I usually deliver his mail to Hogwarts," the big dumb owl hooted.
"So why are you looking for him in this tree?" Harry cackled. "Are we at Hogwarts?"
"Far from Hogwarts, little bird," the owl said, snootily.
"Stop indulging him." Snape clicked his beak at Harry, "Ignore him, maybe he'll go away."
"I see, and if you just hide your head under your wing, maybe the rest of the world will go away too, right?"
"Insolent brat!" Snape pushed Harry out of the nest. "Occupy yourself. Go find something to eat," Snape ordered. Harry huffed, but otherwise flew away silently, content to get away from the grumpy bird.
"Who do you work for?" Snape asked the owl.
"The Crabbe family," answered the eagle owl.
"Figures," Snape snickered and started preening his wings, that is, until another fat owl landed in the tree.
"Go away," Snape croaked at the new arrival.
"Message for Severus Snape," hooted the new owl.
"There is no Severus Snape here!" Snape growled. "Who do YOU work for?"
"I am employed by the Goyles."
"You don't say," Snape coo'd sardonically and returned to preening his black feathers to make them shiny and ready for flight.
"Hiya, Crabbe," one owl said to the other.
"Hey, Goyle," the other nodded back.
"Help! A little help, please?" Harry cried out. Chased by several small birds, he was carrying a small nest. Snape jumped out of the tree and flew into action, putting himself between Harry and the lead bird in the chase.
"Did you have to steal the whole bloody nest, Munin?"
"Well, I'm a growing bird and I was hungry." They landed back in their tree once the little birds gave up on saving their eggs. "Oi, you're still here. Who's the other owl?"
"The first one works for the Crabbes and the other works for the Goyles," Snape answered for the owls. "Come on, let's have it!"
"Um, okay. Well, we have three eggs, still warm. I picked up two walnuts. I think this one has a fat worm in it."
"Oo! Can I have it?" the Goyle owl ran up the tree limb to the nest-basket. Harry tried to pick it up with his beak, but the Goyle owl managed easily on his own.
"The other has a beetle," Harry pecked at the shell to annoy its inhabitant and listen to the scratching inside the nut.
"Dibs! Mine!" the Crabbe owl hopped over the Goyle owl to snatch his treat and flew up to a higher limb.
"You can have two eggs, Hugin," Harry said to Snape. "I've already eaten one to try it. That was just before the birds caught me."
Snape snorted and picked up a speckled egg. He pecked a hole into it to slurp out its contents. "Not bad, at least it is nutritious."
"Are you feeling better, um, Hugin?"
"Yes, much stronger, although I have a lingering headache."
After a satisfying meal, Snape and Harry settled into their new nest for a nap. The owls would not leave the tree and, in fact, were joined by two more eagle owls sent by Rudolphus Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy. They sat on the highest twigs that would support their weight.
Harry awoke first and stretched his wings while he looked around. The stirring woke Snape out of his nap. "We've got more owls in our tree," Harry complained. "Why do they have to sit in our tree?"
"There goes the neighborhood," Snape yawned. He recognized the birds from his association with the forementioned Death Eaters.
"Isn't there some way we can get rid of them?"
"Not unless they make a successful delivery."
"Excuse me," Harry addressed the closest owl, who happened to belong to the Goyles. "Can't you just leave your message here? I'll give it to Snape next time I see him."
"I can't do that, little bird. It's tracer message. If it ends up locating more wild geese, my owner said he would pluck me bare and hang me upside down on the back porch."
Snape muffled Harry's cackle when he jumped on his back and clamped down on his beak. "Shhh.," was Snape's only warning to the young raven.
----- ooOoo -----
To be continued…
A/N: Sorry it's a short chapter. I tried to write more, but I wanted to get something out before I leave town again for Christmas. I'd like to thank everyone who is reading and reviewing, including Silverthreads, E.A.V, starangel2106, ataraxis, athenakitty, Mystic Phoenix, ShadowedHand, Ms. Padfoot, Heart of the Wizard, Virginia Riddle-Malfoy, Sakura Saisaka, Vyxagallanxchi, Alynna Lis Eachann, gaul1, Wren Truesong, Lucky, Werinaya, whydoyouneedtoknow, Persephone Lupin, shamanogler, mad about harry, Ezmerelda.
If you want some Holiday entertainment, last year I wrote a Harry Potterized Christmas Carol when I was more in a Chrismassy mood. Happy Holidays.