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Harry woke up feeling extremely warm. He pressed a kiss to Bella's cheek and stepped out from the coffin. He stretched and felt the stiffness in his arms and legs. Pulling on his shoes, he stepped out from the dark room and began making his way towards the lake. A swim was exactly what he needed right now.
Just like the last time, he took off his shoes before he stepped onto the velvety soft grass. The sky was awash with various shades of grey, in places a chink of light managed to break through, but otherwise it was almost as dark as pre-dawn. The air was humid and smelt of storms. He walked over the grass and towards the forest. The forest was darker than last time and Harry felt the uneasy sensation of being watched. He remembered those dark horse like creatures he had seen here last time and continued winding his way through trees. A twig snapped somewhere behind him and he whirled around. Standing between two trees, their white eyes gleaming eerily, were two of those creatures, watching him.
His curiosity screamed at him to take a step closer and touch them and as usual, he gave in to the urge and took a step closer. He extended his hand and when the creature didn't move, he gained a little more confidence took another step closer. They tossed their reptilian heads, throwing back long black manes, and Harry stretched out his hand eagerly and patted the nearest one's shining neck. How had he thought that they were dangerous? It was beautiful, utterly beautiful. There were more sounds of twigs snapping and Harry turned. No fewer than six or seven of the creatures were picking their way through the trees now, their great leathery wings folded tight to their bodies, their eyes gleaming through the darkness. But he didn't feel afraid anymore.
He looked at the wings and an idea struck him. They could probably fly. Could he ride them? He squashed the crazy idea as soon as it formed in his head but he was hopelessly reckless and had a knack of following through on his crazy ideas. He patted the creature again and moved his hand over the mane just to reassure himself that it wouldn't toss him off as soon as he would attempt to mount it. He scoffed at himself. He had never even ridden a horse before and here he was, thinking of riding a potentially dangerous magical creature. Nevertheless, he buried his doubts and fears and garnered the courage to take another step closer to the creature.
Harry wound his hand tightly into the mane of the nearest creature, placed a foot on a stump nearby and scrambled clumsily onto the horse's silken back. It did not object, but twisted its head around, fangs bared. Harry patted its head uneasily and it faced forward.
He found there was a way of lodging his knees behind the wing joints that made him feel more secure. He looked down at the back of his creature's glossy black head and swallowed. For a moment, the creature did nothing at all. Harry was forced to wonder if they could really fly. Maybe, he had to talk to it,
"Ummm…fly…"
For a moment, the creature stood still but then, with a sweeping movement that nearly unseated him, the wings on either side extended, the horse crouched slowly and then rocketed upward so fast and so steeply that Harry had to clench his arms and legs tightly around the horse to avoid sliding backward over its bony rump. He closed his eyes and put his face down into the horse's silky mane as they burst through the topmost branches of the trees and soared out into the cloudy sky.
Harry did not think he had ever moved so fast: The creature streaked over the castle, its wide wings hardly beating. The cooling air was slapping Harry's face; eyes screwed up against the rushing wind, To witness the aerial view of the castle was like being hailed by the angels, the view stole his breath away in the most magical way possible. It was so enchanting, so beautiful, so worth living in. he looked around and he saw the mountains and gullies below him.
But then, as soon as the creature crossed some invisible point, his bliss turned into pure agony. The pain wasn't sharp like a needle point or a knife, it burned around his innards better than boiling water. Everything felt scorched and, move or not, he was in more pain than he could have ever imagined was possible. He had enough sense to wrap his arms tightly around the creature's neck as he willed it to turned around. Harry's face felt stiff and cold, his legs numb from gripping the creature's sides so tightly, but he did not dare shift positions lest he slip…His mind screamed out as the pain drove through his insides and increased tenfold. Every thought he just had became confused as the burning pain licked up his body like scorching fire. He was deaf from the thundering in his ears and his mouth was dry and frozen from the rush of cold air. He had lost all sense of everything, all his faith was in the beast below him, still streaking purposefully through the air, barely flapping its wings as it sped ever onward Harry's stomach gave a jolt and he opened his eyes despite the blinding pain. The creature's head was suddenly pointing toward the ground and he had actually slid forward a few inches along its neck.
Harry gripped the creature with every last ounce of his strength, braced for a sudden impact, but the horse touched the dark ground as lightly as a shadow and Harry slid from his back and directly to the forest floor. He didn't have the strength to get up even though the pain was beginning to dull now. He knew what he would find upon lifting his shirt so instead he just curled up on the cool and damp ground and allowed the waves of pain to lull him into unconsciousness.