CHAPTER FOUR ¥

Freedom's Flight

~ Flying with Hedwig started off as great fun. Harry honestly wondered why he hadn't ever done so before, but after almost half an hour of flight, the last of the Potter line was tired, his back where he'd been thrown into the wall felt like it was on fire, and even though it was summer, he was starting to get pretty cold. The newly turned teen was grateful for the beanie, and even though his top was too big, and fairly threadbare, at least the old hoodie had long sleeves, but still his fingers and nose were starting to ache from the damp and the wind.

"I'm freezing Hedwig! Are we getting close yet," the youngest seeker in a century called out, not that the snowy owl could really answer him.

"Don't suppose you know the incantation for that warming charm Oliver casts on the team sometimes, huh girl?"

The familiar gave a mournful little hoot, and swooped past, just brushing his outstretched hand with her wing tip.

He couldn't help but smile at his friend's antics, but still, it was cold up this high.

"It would probably be a little warmer closer to the ground, but it really wouldn't be safe to fly any lower. I… I think I'm going to try something… Keep an eye out, okay Hed'gi?"

Focusing, the young magus attempted to call back up the sensation of magic building in his chest again. If he could channel that, maybe he could use it. They hadn't actually been taught anything about wandless magic yet, that was strictly for seventh year, but the little noirette was done following the rules if it was only going to result in him hurting, cold, as scared like he was now. Thinking about it, if he'd been allowed to use magic outside of school before, then he wouldn't have had to suffer his relatives' abuse for the last two years.

He slowly cleared the anger from his mind, he was pretty good at stuffing down his emotions after so much practice over the years, and concentrated. Once the barely teen thought he'd managed to call back up a little of that magical energy, he imagined the feel of his captain's spell, and the aftereffects that felt like a toasty warm blanket engulfing him. He pictured that warmth flowing out to his fingers, his toes, flowing up his face and into his frozen nose and ears. And then, without any actual trigger, the magic released, and Harry felt warmth spread from his torso out to his limbs. It wasn't perfect. The coverage wasn't exactly what you'd call uniform, and on top of that his left foot felt like he was standing on coals, he suddenly got the hiccups with no clue as to why, he was pretty sure his right ear had steam drifting out, and yet despite all that it was bliss. Even the muscles in his back loosened up a bit.

The green eyed child let out a great whoop and took off through a couple corkscrewing loops. After some of his elation wore off the runaway realized just how exhausted he really was. The whole week had been exhausting, but tonight he'd used a ton of wandless magic, which seemed to drain him faster than the spells they all practiced at school, and on top of that, the night had been a real emotional rollercoaster.

Just as the youth was beginning to be in serious danger of nodding off, Hedwig released a shrill hoot and began to bank through a wide circle. Squinting through the web of light and shadow on the roads below, caused by the irregularly spaced lamp posts in this area of muggle London, Harry eventually spied a dingy storefront that might've been the leaky cauldron. He could see the tiny lot behind it, though beyond that there was an odd sort of haze. If he stared straight at the haze he could just make out a distorted sort of alley, but if he looked to either side there didn't appear to be any gap to the buildings around it at all!

"Must be some sort of muggle repelling charm. Strong one too if it's even affecting me," the slender child mused.

"Alright girl, I'm not at all sure about this, but I'm going in. You best find somewhere safe to hide, and hopefully I'll see you again first thing tomorrow night… if I'm not in jail anyway."

The beautiful owl glided over, landing on his broom handle and nipping softly on his finger. Arguably the best flyer of Hogwarts floated there for a minute or two longer, trying to work up his Gryffindor nerve.

"Okay, okay. I'm going. Here's hoping Ron was right about Gringotts always being open," and with that he once again donned his cloak and landed in front of the tavern.

After a quick glimpse around to ensure there weren't any nearby witnesses, he whipped off his cloak, and quickly tucked it into his bag. Tugging his beanie down tight, the-child-who-lived gave a silent prayer to any deity who might show him favor, praying that he wouldn't be recognized, and stepped into the inn… and right into the minister of magic.