Chapter the Second: Harry
My foot caught under an old thick root stretched across the ground, and I fell flat on my face. I grimaced and picked myself up again, but not before tripping over the same root and crashing into nearby undergrowth. Everyone in the castle had had a say about my clumsiness at least once, and now I was beginning to agree.
I kept going, brushing aside branches and watching the ground a little more warily. Looking up, I saw that the sun, or what little of it could be seen, was soon to set.
"Great," I muttered, picking a thorn off of my tunic. "I've been searching for Dudley's stupid trap the whole day, and now I'll get caught in the dark out here." Dudley, my cousin and a soon to be knight, had set a fox trap in the forest a week earlier, but was coming down with something, and wanted me to fetch it. I say he shouldn't have eaten that entire duck at dinner last night. But that's just me.
Off to my right, I heard voices. I froze. Sir Vernon was always going on about how goblins and demons roamed Knotsoshore-Wood forest during the night. Technically, it wasn't night yet, but one could never be too careful. Ever so slowly, I edged to the left, forgetting about Dudley's trap. I had to get out of here before the goblins decided to make a nice sunset supper out of me.
"Leave it to you to get us lost, you old fool. Are you sure this is even the right forest? Really, if I were leaving the kingdom's last hope somewhere, I would at least write a note to myself telling me where I had left it." The voice reminded me of fur rubbed the wrong way. I heard a loud sigh.
"You are right, my dear Snapeamedes, although I do wish you would not give such harsh words to your displeasure. I was careless in committing to memory the exact location of this place, but I am sure we are in the correct forest." They were looking for something. They probably knew there was a helpless victim out there somewhere, just ripe for them to eat. I swallowed, picking my way silently away from them. Well, they weren't about to find this one.
There was a loud crack, and I jumped about two feet in the air, letting out a loud yelp. In horror, I looked down, belatedly realizing I'd just stepped on a dry twig. There was a moment in which the world seemed to tilt sickeningly, and then I heard a soft chuckle that sounded way too close for comfort.
"See, Snapeamedes, I told you to trust in me. It seems the person we were looking for has found us." My eyes must have widened to their limits. Wasting no more time, I took off as fast as I could back towards the castle, not looking back and not caring how much noise I made.
Something black flew across my vision and I nearly tripped again, but managed to change direction without problems and ran the other way. Behind me, I heard an angry flap of wings, and then something heavy landed on my head. I screamed and finally fell down, getting a mouthful of soggy leaves.
"Found him," drawled a bored voice above me. I moaned in terror, trying to get my head up to plead for mercy, but whatever was on my head wasn't moving. My glasses were digging painfully into my face. My limbs felt frozen, although it was the middle of summer. I heard soft footsteps approaching and the thing on my head shifted. I felt...bird's claws.
"Oh, Snapeamedes, do get off the boy," I heard above me. Up close, the voice sounded much less menacing, and even a little bit...grandfatherly. Snapeamedes got off me, but I didn't move. Maybe they would think I was dead. And speaking of which, I was sure I soon would be, as the wet leaves I was lying in weren't getting any more breathable.
A gentle hand touched my shoulder and I flinched, effectively ruining my plan. "Young man, I am sorry that my raven caused you distress. We mean you no harm." Yeah, right, like I was going to fall for that. In a flash, I gathered my legs under me and was off and running. However, I was pulled back just as quickly by a death hold on my collar.
"We truly mean you no harm," the man said, and turned me to face him. He was tall and thin but his kind blue eyes and half moon spectacles made him seem kind. But still, I heard that demons could change their appearances. I looked around for Snapeamedes. He had claws.
The old man brushed me off and then lifted my chin, so I had to look straight into his eyes. "Yes, this is him," he said, quietly. "Snapeamedes?" he called. I backed up a step, nervously.
"What now?" a voice called back, from somewhere above me. The old man placed a bony hand on his hip and glared skywards.
"W-what...um...you're looking for...me?" I asked, backing up another step. He looked back down at me and cleared his throat, as if getting his bearings.
"Ah yes, yes. We were. I'm afraid I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Merlindore," he said, taking the big pointy hat off his head and bringing it in front of him as he bowed. He straightened, glanced once more upwards (I heard a loud huff and a rush of wings), and a big black raven landed on his shoulder. "And this is Snapeamedes."
"Oh..." I choked out. The raven rolled his eyes. Yes, he rolled his eyes. "Um...Mister...Percival Wolf Merlin...a-are you a magician?" I knew I sounded childish, but I couldn't make my mind form anything more intelligent. All I knew was that he had a talking bird on his shoulder. The man gazed at me in what seemed to be pride as the raven sent me a glare and proceeded to clean the feathers under his wing.
"You can call me Albus, Harry. And yes, I'm a magician. I'm the most powerful wizard of this age."
"How did you know my name?" Albus smiled.
"I know a lot about you, Harry. You see, we have met before." He slung an arm across my shoulders and sent an assessing glance at the sky. "Well, the sun is about to set, my boy. Where did you say your castle was?" I opened my mouth, and shut it again. If Sir Vernon heard me saying the castle was mine, or even agreeing with someone who said so, he'd flay my hide right off. But I pointed in the right direction. Something told me I could trust Albus.