Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 10
An elegant black eagle owl swooped through the Great Hall, searching for its recipient amongst the throng of students but to no avail. It started flying through the hallways, around corners an up many flights of stairs following the owl-sense that seemed innate to all carrier-owls, carrying a yellow parchment bound in neat red ribbon in its talons.
…………….
Harry Potter was lying in a warm bed in the corner of the stark white infirmary. He was starting to dislike the place especially with his affinity to getting injured often. His parents who had come to see his debut as a seeker had immediately rushed to his side after the match. His memory of the event was rather hazy though and he had felt extremely drained and lightheaded when they had levitated him off the field into a stretcher and to the infirmary. He vaguely remembered his mother holding his hand by his side and speaking his name in mumbled tones, before succumbing to the pull of darkness.
He had woken up two days later to the tear stained face of his mother bringing out that guilty streak in him once again. He reassured them that he was fine and just needed some rest and after much persuasion they had left him to his own devices. It seemed that someone had indeed been tampering with his broom during the match although the identity of the culprit had remained unknown. Professor Dumbledore had come and left with his customary twinkle and grandfatherly demeanor to check on his wellbeing and ask questions about the incident. There wasn't much to tell since Harry himself had been too busy trying to stay on his broom to notice much else.
The entire Gryffindor quidditch team and his friends had also been to visit him in the infirmary, going as far as to put up banners and set up a little party before they were banned by Madam Pomfrey. She had obviously not been impressed by the Weasley twins 'stick-it' charms which had not only attached an oversized banner saying "Get well soon, Harry" onto the ceiling but charmed the entire ceiling to flash those words off and on at random intervals and would only disappear when Harry left the infirmary. He gave a smile as he remembered the twins and their antics. Gryffindor had won the match anyway eventhough he had not caught the snitch as they had been ahead in points when Harry fell off his broom. He did feel rather disappointed though that his first match would end with such a mishap.
His thoughts were interrupted by the gentle flap of wings as a handsome owl deposited a letter in his lap before taking off again. Curious, he looked at the parchment suspiciously. He didn't know anyone who had an eagle owl and contemplated whether it would be dangerous to open considering the recent events. Finally though, after trying almost every single one of the detection charms he had ever come across, he deemed the letter safe and opened it gingerly.
The letter was written in an elegant script with large curly letters.
Dear Mr. Potter,
I am rather astounded at your remarkable performance on the quidditch pitch on Thursday. Despite what meets the eye, you have much potential within you. So much more that you can learn and tap into if you would just unleash your potential. I know some about you and your kind, for I have consorted with them before your time.
You would be wise to be wary of my correspondence, but I assure you I mean no harm. If I did this letter would likely have been a trap, yet you can attest to your sound health can you not? I offer you answers and much power, enough the quench all your hearts desire. After all are you not curious of the workings of our world and the little curiosities that happen unchecked? My owl shall return for your answer in two days.
A distinguisher of power,
Dark wings
'Well that was weird', thought Harry. He couldn't imagine why a person would write a letter like this to him and from the tone of it, it sounded suspiciously like the person might have been involved with his accident on the quidditch pitch. He did not know what to make of it. He would admit that he was rather intrigued though and wondered what the person meant when he said 'your kind'. 'Could it be possible that he knew something?' After all, he had taken special care to keep his room clear of feathers and even his parents weren't aware of it. The letter was too vague. There were have a dozen conclusions that he could draw from the contents and they might all be wrong. He would have to think about this one.
……..
After he was discharged from the hospital wing, albeit with much fussing and warnings from Madame Pomfrey, class proceeded as usual. There was not much that happened other than the usual cauldron exploding in potions and Draco and his goons, trying to act nonchalant whilst hiding their grins as Neville was told off by Professor Snape. He couldn't help but feel sorry for Neville. The boy was a walking disaster and it sure didn't help that the Slytherin's were intentionally sabotaging his work.
In transfiguration, Ron put a little too much force when trying to turn his matchstick into a pin and caused it to go flying off, nearly causing Draco to choke on it when it popped right into his open mouth. All in all it was a rather hilarious affair as the blonde had been boasting about the luscious Malfoy grounds, only to choke and stutter a moment later.
Harry almost forgot about the mysterious letter, until the owl returned that evening, depositing a single black feather in his hands. His blood ran cold for a moment. 'Was it possible?' He tried to rationalize that dark coloured feathers could come from any number of avians and could hardly mean anything. Besides, in wizarding tradition, sending a black feather meant that although the person was a practitioner of dark arts they meant no harm. It might even extend to a tentative offer of friendship as far as dark wizards were concerned.
He tried to ignore the bird, but he finally gave in when it wouldn't stop following him around. He had had enough of people staring at the rather large owl that kept flying alongside him, even going so much as to perch on his shoulder when he was having dinner.
He picked up a quill and penned out a short response to the letter.
AN: Thank you guys so much for all the reviews and for following this story. I'm very sorry that I haven't updated for a while but I have had a lot of changes what with the start of classes and no internet connection that I just haven't gotten around to writing another chapter. I'm sorry that it is so short, I'm afraid i just couldn't quite figure out to write this bit and the next part. Hopefully, my muse will be back soon!
Thanks to : Shania Maxwell, Sarah R Potter, DestinyEntwinements, thuyhy-thuyhy, mandy, AceZ-Shadow, nymoue, GMSRESH (yes this is much easier), shanny auburn, Fan of Great Works, Curalium Lacrimo, Yana5, henriette