A/N: Hello everyone! Welcome back to another fic :) This one has no real plot significance to canon, just a small snippet of life and happiness that Harry deserves.

This one is for Round 3 of The Houses Competition, where I'm a Stand In for Slytherin House and writing for Charms. This competition, we have to write a drabble (500-1000 words) as well as a Standard (1000-3000 words). This fic is the Standard of the two. I've chosen the prompts [Creature] Hippogriff and [Location] Quidditch Field

Thank you kindly to StoryPlease, DeepShadows2 and MossLynne for betaing this.

Word Count: 1521

Disclaimers/Warnings: None

Summary: After experiencing the freedom of flying on Buckbeak's back, Harry couldn't help but sneak out for another taste.


"Freedom of Flying"


After his impromptu flight aboard Buckbeak earlier that day in Care for Magical Creatures as part of the demonstration for Hippogriffs, Harry couldn't stop thinking about the freedom he felt while riding the magical animal. Likening the euphoria to what he imagined horse riders might feel–for the Dursleys certainly never allowed him to try horseback riding–Harry couldn't help but spend most of dinner fantasizing about the powerful beating of Buckbeak's wings, the lithe muscles between his thighs, and the texture of the hair and feathers that made up Buckbeak's coat.

With his streak of impulsiveness, Harry knew he could get away with sneaking out with the use of his invisibility cloak and taking Buckbeak for a joyride…should the animal be amiable to his request. Ron had already been collected for a mini chess tournament in the Gryffindor Common Room, and Hermione, well…Harry had convinced her to try to practice greeting on Buckbeak while in class earlier, practically stealing the animal out from under Malfoy's nose. This caused the Slytherin to pair up with a few of his dormmates with a more mild-tempered animal. Buckbeak, once Hermione had bowed to him, had snapped at the hood of Hermione's robes and plucked her off of her feet, tossing her onto his back. She barely managed to hold on as he took off again, and Harry would have felt jealousy at her getting a ride had her terrified shrieks not pierced his mind. Once her feet were back on solid ground, Hermione disappeared into the castle and hadn't been seen since. Harry checked the Marauder's Map that the twins had given him earlier that week. There he saw that Hermione had holed herself up in the library, her sanctuary, likely in the attempt to calm herself from what he would learn later was a forced confrontation of her fear of heights.

Harry would check on her later, but overall she was occupied enough that he wouldn't be missed for the hour or so he planned to go flying.

Despite his usual rotten luck and his plans going wrong wherever they could, Harry made it down to the Hippogriff pasture shortly before dusk. With his invisibility cloak tucked away before he reached the enclosure–for he didn't want to startle the proud creatures–Harry curiously approached the fence before slipping through the wooden boards.

"Hey there, friend," Harry whispered softly as he approached Buckbeak, the Hippogriff he had the most connection to. Odds would be in his favor when propositioning the animal he already had a relationship with versus starting fresh with someone new. Maintaining eye contact, he bowed, and to his delight, Buckbeak immediately bowed back. Rushing forward to pet the magnificent creature, Harry couldn't help but be filled with emotion as Buckbeak butted his head against his own in affection.

"Want to go for a quick ride?" he asked the proud creature, and Buckbeak clucked his beak at him in confirmation.

The rest of the herd began to settle down for the night as Harry untied the lead keeping Buckbeak in the pen. The Hippogriff knelt down and Harry clambered about, sliding his fingers through the short hair over Buckbeak's shoulders before smoothing over the feathers on his neck. Holding on as Buckbeak stood up, Harry couldn't help the enormous smile on his face.

Flying on a broom was exhilarating, the feeling of freedom precious to him with his history with his relatives on Privet Drive. But as Buckbeak tensed beneath him before launching himself into the air, Harry laughed loudly in delight. He wanted to do this forever. Buckbeak trusted him, and he Buckbeak, and through this bond he felt forming with the animal, Harry wanted more. With a vigor he didn't know he could have, he wanted to know hippogriff diets, sleeping habits and care. He wanted to raise his own herd of Hippogriffs somewhere in the mountains with lots of land and airspace. And he wanted to be able to ride whenever he wanted, not just in stolen moments at night or while in class.

Buckbeak seemed to instinctually wing his way over to the Quidditch pitch, and Harry couldn't help but grin wider.

"Fancy a quick pickup game?" he asked his companion with a light pat on the neck.

Buckbeak squawked in agreement before flying close to the grass. Harry, spotting an abandoned set of practice balls someone had left on the pitch after practice, directed Buckbeak over to them. Releasing the practice Snitch, Harry coaxed Buckbeak back into the air, keeping his eye out for the tiny winged ball.

Buckbeak's head snapped to the side moments before he switched direction to head over there. Laughing again, Harry spotted the Snitch fluttering about that the Hippogriff had seen moments earlier.

"Let's get it!" Harry exclaimed, the wind whipping his hair around him as Buckbeak flattened himself a bit more while in flight in order to go faster.

It didn't take long to close in on the Snitch. With Harry's sharp and trained eyes, despite the darkness, and Buckbeak's hunting instincts, the two of them worked together to maneuver around the stadium. Weaving between the seating Towers, Buckbeak realigned himself before darting off, chasing the Golden Snitch, a whooping Harry on his back. At the last second, before the Hippogriff could pounce, the Snitch flew away, and for a moment, Harry lost sight of it.

Buckbeak, however, kept his trained eyes on his prey, and streaked off towards the stands between the Slytherin and Hufflepuff seating towers. They dove behind the stands, and Harry took a moment to marvel at the sight. The last time he had been back here had been in Second Year when he and Draco were going head to head for the Golden Snitch in the Slytherin-Gryffindor match. Keeping himself low on Buckbeak's back to make sure he wasn't unseated by a wooden structural support beam, Harry grinned to himself as the exhilaration of their flight.

Bursting out into the slightly chilly night, Buckbeak dove into a barrel roll, and cries of delight spilled from Harry's lips. Invigorated, Buckbeak let out a screech before doubling his speed to overtake their prey. Harry straightened up before reaching out his hand to snag the Snitch out of the air, a shout of triumph spilling from his lips, alerting the Hippogriff below him that their quarry was caught. Tiny wings beat like a heartbeat against his hand. Harry's chest felt tight, like it would burst from happiness.

This. This is what he had needed.

With the Golden Snitch clenched tightly in his hand and the wind blowing through his hair, Harry couldn't help but throw both hands into the air in triumph, his thighs the only thing keeping him on Buckbeak's back.

"Woohooooooo!" Harry called out into the night as Buckbeak winged his way around the Gryffindor stands. Harry's face hurt from smiling so much, but as terrible as this year had started, with the Dementors and all of the adults keeping secrets pertaining to himself, he was enjoying himself. He deliberately chose not to think about how he was going to get chewed out if he got caught sneaking back in. He would just need to make sure not to get caught.

Feeling the wings of the Snitch beating against his hand once more, Harry released the golden ball once Buckbeak had stilled, landing on the stands to do a full body shake like Harry had seen the neighbor's dog do the previous summer when it had gotten wet. Both of them watched the freed Snitch for a moment as it flitted around their heads before it disappeared into the night sky. He and Buckbeak shared a look, an enormous grin on Harry's face nearly matching the amused expression Buckbeak wore on his.

And then they were off, taking off after the little ball in a new game of cat and mouse.

The Snitch gave a wonderful chase, but was no match for the keen eyes of a predator and the star Seeker of Gryffindor. All too soon, Harry reluctantly put the Golden Snitch away, the moon high in the sky and the stars twinkling overhead. Clouds rested low on the horizon, preceding the storm Harry assumed would come in the next few days.

Harry took a moment while sitting on Buckbeak's back to close his eyes and just breathe. He felt the muscle contractions beneath him as Buckbeak's wings flapped powerfully, keeping them in a fairly stable hover. The wind whipped through his hair, but the peace of the night seeped into Harry's skin and settled in his bones. This is what flying was meant to be. Harry loved Quidditch, loved playing the game and building relationships with his teammates, but nothing could beat free-flying.

Should he survive the next few years and defeat Voldemort, Harry knew exactly what he wanted to do once he graduated Hogwarts. Most people assumed he wanted to be an Auror and continue to fight dark wizards, and at one time he would have thought about it. But now? Now he had a taste of freedom. And he didn't want to give that up.