Chapter Five- A Short Spiel And A New Thought Process

Harry spent the next few days in a state of bliss. He had quite happily refused to tell Hermione and Ron about the memories, keeping the knowledge in them close at hand, in case he needed to understand something. Selean had taken to only coming to him at night, when everyone was asleep but he. The very tips of her wings now glinted with silver, and she seemed to have grown several inches. Her wingspan was now at least a foot wide, making it harder for her to slip through the small window silently.

But he had come to love her, and made sure that he had something sugary for her to eat when the shadows fell across the Burrow. He smiled when he looked up and saw her land on the windowsill, closing her wings briefly before leaping into the room, gliding over to his bed. He ran his fingertips over her wings and gave her the small portion of cauldron cake he'd managed to snag before going to bed.

Selean nudged his fingers and small shimmers of silvery magic sprang between them. This had been happening more and more, something like a bond was beginning to form between them. Every now and then the show of magic was accompanied by-.

Harry?

Selean? The small horse whinnied and he winced as Ron snorted and rolled over. Not so loud!

Sorry. Never been this…easy to speak.

Did you ever do this with anyone else? He ran a fingertip over her wing as she stretched it out and cooed in his mind.

No, couldn't. I chose you, Harry, and you named me.

Did you like your birth name more?

She shook her head furiously. No. I thought it was horrible. Council has weird sense of humour.

He chuckled softly as she curled up in the crook of his arm, her wings draped over him, warming his chilled skin and making him smile. Will you stay now? I'd really like for Ron and Hermione to meet you.

A dark eye twinkled as the moonlight hit them. Yes.

He grinned openly and settled back to sleep. It would certainly be interesting to see his friend's reactions to the small Weylan sleeping in his arms.

The sun dutifully shined its bright rays through the small window and onto Ron's face, blinding him behind his eyelids. He groaned and threw an arm over his eyes, sighing in content when the bright pain ebbed away. He settled back into his bed, ready to sleep away the morning--.

"Ronald Weasley! Get up! Harry! Harry!" Hermione huffed before opening the door and shouting as loud as she could. "Get up! Harry…Harry, what is that?"

"Waswat?"

"That thing on your arm."

"Jus' Slean. S'okay."

Ron frowned and lifted his head, glad that the sun had stopped its annoying habit of shining in his face. He blinked and his mouth fell open at the sight of the small winged creature lying on Harry's stomach. His friend was wrapping an arm protectively around it as Hermione stepped forward, his green eyes apprehensive.

"Harry…what is it?"

Harry frowned. "A Weylan."

"A what?"

"You know those horses I came here on?" They nodded. "Well, Selean is a rather small version. But I think she's growing. And changing colour."

Loud talking. The soft musical voice of Selean butted through the haze of sleep and she lifted her head, her nose now shining silver in the sun's rays. She nuzzled against his neck before standing up on his flat stomach. She stretched her wings and flicked her tail before fixing her curious gaze on Ron and Hermione. This them?

Harry nodded. Yeah, I think they're a little freaked out by you.

She blinked at him and shook her head, laughter reaching out to him and warming his soul. With a small snort she leaped nimbly into the air and landed back on the windowsill, tucking her wings flat against her body. Getting too big for this, she grumbled before gliding outside.

He smiled softly and turned to his stunned friends. Ron was still half-laying in his bed, mouth agape and staring out the window, watching as the little black horse did several loop-de-loops. Hermione…well, she looked about ready to kill Harry.

"Selean is my guardian. And…well, I guess you could say she's special." He shrugged and waited for Hermione to say something, anything.

"Why didn't you tell us, Harry?"

Damn it, she sounded hurt. "Because…Selean disappeared the first night and she didn't seem to keen on meeting anyone." Don't blame me! "And I wasn't sure if I wanted to reveal her. Please, Hermione, don't be angry."

His friend seemed to visibly calm down at that. Her soft brown eyes crinkled when she smiled. "Oh, alright then, Harry. But you two better get up. Mrs Weasley is having a fit down stairs, reckons someone tried to destroy the wards. And stop looking like that, Ronald. Honestly, have you never seen a flying horse before?"

Harry grinned and soon he and Ron were joining the rest of the Weasley's in surveying what damage had been done to the wards that protected the Burrow and its inhabitants. Selean was quite happy to swoop down every now and then, and, surprisingly, everyone took to her quite easily. Molly was soon bossing around her family as if she had never been worried about their protection.

As the day finally wound down to a close and the shadows lengthened along the ground, Harry sat outside with Selean on the ground beside him and Ron and Hermione leaning against a tree nearby. They were all content to simply sit there and watch as the sun set and threw purple and pink highlights across the sky. They didn't think anything was wrong when Selean raised her wings and snorted. They didn't think there was a problem when the little Weylan reared and leaped into the sky.

But they did think something was wrong when a resounding crack echoed around them.

And they definitely knew something was wrong when a dozen Death Eaters stepped within the boundaries of the Burrow.