Chapter six: The Fairy Pendant

The fae woke up back at Harry's "home" once he had returned there for the summer.

"Damn blood wards." She muttered even as she felt them restoring her strength as she crouched on the corner of Harry's small room. She took a deep breath and tried to release all the bone deep ache that permeated her entire body. It took energy to move, to breath, even to think.

Energy she needed to save for protecting Harry now that the enemy had returned. From now on it would be a completely different fight than it had been for the last ten years. She just needed enough energy right now to perform one last spell. Or series of spells that is.

With clenched teeth she hulled herself to her feet and stood there swaying until the room stopped spinning. She leaned her head back, face to the ceiling and eyes closed.

Breath in.

Out.

In.

She rolled her neck to the side and listened to it crack. Things would be better this way.

With a now steady step, she walked over to Hedwig's caged and opened to door. Harry was in the garden at the moment and she needed to get this done before he came back to the room.

"Do you understand what you have to do, snowy one?" she asked.

The owl hooted and ruffled her feathers. Of course she knew what to do! Wasn't the boy also under her care? Hedwig nipped at the fae's fingers and she smiled.

"Yes, yes. I trust you. Don't look at me like that, now."

The fae closed her eyes once more and gathered the magic around her. The owl flapped her wings as she contributed to the spell.

Eventually she settled down on her perch and hopped out of the cage. Right where the fae had been standing was a small druidic stone with a hole in the middle. As she watched a leather band appeared through the hole and the stone glowed white the faded back to dark gray; now covered with runes.

She swooped down and gathered the pendant in her claws before settling on top of her cage to wait. When the sun had begun to set, Harry shuffled into his room and threw himself unto his bed.

Hedwig hooted at him. With a tired sigh he looked up at his familiar.

"Sorry, girl. I wasn't able to snag any food. I'll let you out to hunt in a bit okay? We just have to wait for it to get dark out so Uncle Vernon doesn't notice."

She hooted again and fluttered to his bed, landing on his stomach. Bobbing her head up and down, she cackled at him.

Harry sat up confused and she flew back to her cage. He looked down and picked up the necklace up by its leather string and studied it for a moment. He glanced at Hedwig uncertainly and she bobbed her head.

He looked at the stone again and made a face then leaned to the side to put the stone on the desk next to his bed. Hedwig hissed and beat her wings. He quickly straightened, necklace still in his hand.

He stared at her and she looked right back at him, intense yellow eyes unblinking.

"You want me to put it on?" he asked. She bobbed her head once.

Harry looked at the necklace again, turning it over in his hands. He would never admit out loud that he trusted his owl more than he did most people. But he did. He shrugged and slipped the leather strap over his head.

And promptly forgot that it existed.

He scowled in confusion and wondered what he had been thinking about as he stared at Hedwig. But she was nonchalantly preening her feathers.

Harry shrugged and lay back down on his bed, oblivious of the fairy pendant he now wore.