Sleeping Harry Part 3
Cherub had been wandering through the forest singing as he went along. Lilly still curled around his neck resting atop his shoulders, and James still trailing along at his feet. As he reached a high cliff over looking the land beyond the forest he rested against a tree. He looked out onto the valley of farms, villages, and the majestic castle in the distance. He smiled faintly as he wondered about the lives of the people that lived in that kingdom. How much more interesting their adventures must be compared to his.
After all, he wasn't allowed to speak to anyone. He'd never shared any of his dreams with anyone. He'd never been able to ask what lie beyond that valley, because he'd never met a soul in all his ramblings. And, even if he had, the stern advice of his aunts would have sent him running home. He tried not resent them for their protectiveness, but it he couldn't understand why they were so insistent on him never making any friends.
He sighed and turned away from the picturesque scene before him and walked down a beaten path toward a pond he knew. "Why do they still insist on treating me like a child?" He said, thinking out loud.
His statement seemed to register something in the mind of the little fox on his shoulder because it playfully nipped at his earlobe. Cherub turned his head to smile at Lilly. Ever since childhood he'd spoken to her and James about anything, and everything. He knew they'd never be able to talk back, but it was comforting to know they were listening. Cherub took Lilly's playful nibbling as a signal to continue.
"Aunt Hermione, Luna, and Ginny." He finished. "I don't know why but they never want me to meet anybody."
Upon reaching the small pond Cherub plopped down on the green bank. Lilly the fox, leapt from his shoulders and began drinking from the ponds glassy surface. Her pink tongue caused ripples across its surface as she lapped.
James, the raccoon, scurried into Cherub's lap as he stared at his own wavering reflection in the water. "You know what though James?" He asked looking down at the gray and black face of his woodland friend. "I fooled them."
The raccoon in his lap cocked its head to the side. Its glassy black eyes seemed to ask what Cherub was talking about. "I have met someone." Cherub continued.
This latest development in the conversation seemed to peak Lilly's curiosity as she quickly perked her head up and turned to face him. She twitched her whiskers and snorted.
"I did Lilly." Cherub reassured. "A man, in fact, I think he's a prince."
Lilly padded over to join James in Cherub's lap. "I mean I don't really know for sure." Cherub began again. "I know that he's as tall as me, and that he's handsome. Although I never really get a good look at his face." He admitted. "But, whenever I see him it makes me feel so good. I feel like I'm walking on air."
The little trio of companions were so wrapped up in each others company that none of them noticed a stunningly handsome man with a shock of ghostly blond hair and steely gray eyes, dismount off of his white horse and walk slowly and carefully toward them. Prince Draco had found the source of that beautiful voice he had heard singing through the forest.
He took pains to move silently so as not to startle the curious boy with raven black hair and emerald green eyes. Who was this boy? And why was he engaged in such a lively conversation with two woodland animals? The prince ducked behind a tree close to the pond and continued to listen to the mysterious and lovely youth talk to his companions.
"When he comes to me, I get to tell him about everything I've ever wanted to do." Cherub said as he leaned back to lay down on the soft earth and stare at the cloudless blue sky above. "I tell him about what it was like to grow up here in the forest, and he walks along with me down every path I've ever explored out here."
Lilly and James seemed to be listening with rapt attention. James had taken to sitting on Cherubs chest his little paws drawn up and his bushy tail twitching excitedly. Lilly was nuzzling at his side and wagging her own tail. "And then..." Cherub continued. "Just before we have to say goodbye. He takes me into his arms, holds me very close...and then...I wake up." Cherub finished with a heavy sigh.
His animal companions seemed just as disappointed in the ending of Cherub's story as he was. James growled and thumped his tail against Cherubs stomach, while Lilly simply snorted again. "I know, I know." said Cherub. "It's only in my dreams. But, I've heard if you dream something more than once it's sure to come true. And, I've been seeing him a lot lately."
Prince Draco felt his heart flutter at the words of the enchanting boy laying beside the pond. He knew that he was supposed to be greeting his father and King James at the castle right now, but he couldn't tear himself away. Taking a daring chance, Draco carefully crept out of his hiding place behind the tree. He stepped lightly toward the young man still laying on his back gazing up at the sky. Unaware of Draco's approach, Cherub continued talking to James and Lilly.
"I guess I should wonder why I find this man so interesting." He started again. "I mean, is that sort of thing normal?" Then he chuckled. "Then again is there anything normal about being raised in the forest by three women? I just wish he was real. It would be nice to talk to another person just once."
When Draco was finally within a single step of the raven haired boy he leaned over to look into the sparkling green eyes that were staring up. "I'll talk to you about anything you want." Draco said with a wide grin.
Cherub's eyes widened in shock and surprise at the face that was looming above him. He actually cried out and rolled over, scrambling to his feet. Lilly and James were also taken by surprise and scampered off to hide. James scurried up into a tree, while Lilly took shelter behind a rock.
Draco immediately regretted his decision to surprise the boy. "Oh I'm sorry." He said quickly, holding up his hands to calm the boy down. "I didn't mean to frighten you."
Cherub backed away several paces and cast a leery glance at the man in front of him. Though his eyes looked fearful, his heart was racing with a different emotion entirely. The man before him was the most beautiful vision he'd ever seen. His face was long and angular with steely gray eyes and hair so blond it was almost white. He was tall, taller than Cherub in fact, with lean but strong looking limbs. He was wearing simple but clean and very well kept vestments. A dark green traveling cloak was draped about his shoulders.
Cherub didn't know who this man was, and though he desperately wanted to stay and find out, he still inching away. However he did at least find the courage to speak. "It wasn't that you scared me, it's just that you're...well...a..." He stammered.
"...A stranger?" Draco hazarded a guess, completing Cherub's sentence.
Cherub nodded.
"Well what's wrong with that?" Draco asked a small grin returning to his lips.
"Nothing." Cherub answered honestly. "But, I'm not allowed to talk to strangers."
"Why?" Draco asked bemused.
"I'm just not." Cherub said a slight frown creasing his brow. The man standing before him might be beautiful but it also seemed he wasn't going to let him get away. "Besides, I really should be going." Cherub continued as he searched around for the basket of kindling.
Draco retained the smirk on his face, now so entranced by the gorgeous boy that he couldn't help himself. He decided on a change of tactics. "What if I told you I wasn't a stranger?" He asked.
His statement caused Cherub to halt in his tracks and turn to face him once more. "What do you mean?" Cherub returned, with a look of puzzlement.
Draco took it as a sign to come a little closer to the boy. "We've met before." He said giving Cherub a wink.
"We have?" Cherub said. His emerald eyes narrowed.
"You said so yourself." Draco clarified. "In your dreams."
Cherub's cheeks blushed a deep scarlet. "Oh you heard that." He said bashfully. But then a thought popped into his head. "Wait, how do you know I was talking about you?" He asked.
Draco shrugged and gave the boy a sly smile. "In truth I didn't..." He started. "...But, I'm here now, and if you're looking for someone to talk to, I'm more than happy to accommodate you."
Cherub felt his heart do a flip-flop in his chest. He stopped inching away. All his desires were crying out for him to stay, and they were winning out over his better judgment. He felt the corners of his mouth turning up into a smile. "Okay." He said with a bit more confidence.
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High above the canopy of the forest a raven as black as soot, soared on the summer winds scanning the ground with its avian eyes. It had been flying for many days, scouring the forest for any sign of the long lost prince its mistress was searing for. It had visited villages, mountains, and towns, but to no avail. Wherever the young prince had been hiding all these years, it had indeed been a good hiding place. In the back of its small brain, it knew that if it returned with no word, its mistress would have it plucked and baked into a pie. Bellatrix was affectionate to a very small degree. The one thing its mistress would never tolerate was failure. As it caught an updraft it noticed a clearing in the thicket of the dense trees with a cottage on the hill of green pasture.
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Inside the cottage the three fairies were still working at their tasks of preparing for Prince Harry's eighteenth birthday. However, if any other being besides the three of them were able to look in on the preparations; they would have been largely unimpressed.
In the kitchen, Luna was placing lit candles atop a large shapeless mass of dough and frosting that was quickly dissolving despite her best attempts at keeping it solid. Undaunted by the shape and state of the bulbous mass she placed the final candle atop the cupola.
"There." She said cheerfully, before quickly moving to hold the quivering collective of flour and water from falling over. After a moment however, she realized that trying to hold it up herself was a futile effort. Grabbing a near by broom she braced the globular mass with its handle. She turned her head to call over to her companions that were still involved in making Cherub's garments.
"Well, what do you think of it?" She asked.
Hermione turned away from pinning fabric to inspect Luna's finished masterpiece. She suppressed a gasp at the sight she beheld, then quickly tried to think of a compliment. "Well...it's a very unusual cake isn't it?" She asked, managing to save face.
Luna glanced back at the monstrosity. "Yes." She replied wistfully. She noticed that the candles and frosting were beginning to slip down the broom handle and she had to start moving them back onto the top of the cupola. "Of course it will be much stiffer after it's baked." She added.
"Of course it will." Hermione reassured. Then she motioned over her shoulder to where Ginny was still standing modeling the outfit she was fashioning. "What do you think of the vestments?" She asked.
Luna glanced over to see a very irritated Ginny clad in the finished product that Hermione was beaming over. It was a patchwork mass of fabric that resembled anything but the illustration in the sewing book. The scowl Ginny was wearing on her face was so intense Luna would have thought it could turn her to stone.
"Well it's not exactly like it is in the book." Luna stated forcing an awkward smile.
"Oh I improved it." Hermione responded proudly with a flourish of her hands. But, on second inspection she realized Luna was right. She dutifully ignored the dour expression on Ginny's face and continued. "But, maybe if I add a few more...uh...well...you know, what do you think?"
Luna shrugged slightly trying to keep the small smile plastered on her face. "Um, I think so." She said and then looked to Ginny. "What do you think Ginny?"
At that instant, Ginny's already short fuse finally blew; and she gave an outburst that actually startled her other two companions. "I think I've had enough of this nonsense!" She screamed. "I think we ought to think of Cherub, and what he'll think of this mess!" She continued. As she animatedly waved her arms around in frustration the garments began to shred. Hermione may have been proud of her work, but it was obviously of shoddy make.
"I still think what I thought before!" Ginny pressed on as she started making her way toward the stairs; strips of fabric trailing behind her. "I'm going to get those wands."
Ginny stomped up the stairs to the attic while; back in the kitchen the "cake" Luna had constructed had dissolved into a puddle of dough and frosting. The last light candle snuffed out as it sunk into the soupy mess. Luna grimaced glancing back at what had become of her masterpiece, before turning to look at Hermione again.
"You know...I think she's right." She said.
For a second Hermione felt like she might argue, but quickly realized that Ginny was indeed right. There was no way they were going to accomplish their goal without the use of magic. A second later Ginny came running back down the stairs, now back in her peasant clothes, waving the wands above her head with a jubilant expression. "Here they are, good as new!" She exclaimed.
Hermione shot Ginny an annoyed look. She wasn't pleased with Ginny's carelessness about waving magical items around. "Ah ah ah be careful Ginny!" She chided, as she grabbed the wands away from her.
Once she felt she had the situation under control again she started directing once more. "Alright, Ginny you lock the door. And, you Luna, close the windows."
Ginny and Luna began doing as instructed ensuring that no one and nothing outside the cottage would see them using their fairy magic. "Block up every cranny." Hermione continued. "We can't take any chances."
After Hermione had satisfied herself that they had taken every precaution she doled out the wands to each of her companions. She handed Luna her wand first. "Now you bake the cake..." She started.
"While I..." Ginny pipped up trying to interrupt Hermione's train of thought. But, Hermione didn't miss a beat.
"...Clean up the room, dear." Hermione said finishing Ginny's sentence as she handed over the redhead's wand. "And I'll finish the garments."
Ginny opened her mouth to protest, but Hermione bushed past her. She closed it again in aggravation and rolled her eyes. Clearly she was never going to get her way. She huffed and aimed her wand at a mop, bucket, and broom that rested against the wall. A flick of the wand and few sparkles of blue magic brought the inanimate objects to life.
"Come on, mop, bucket, broom, Hermione says clean up the room." She instructed. The mop, bucket, and broom leaning against the wall sprang to life.
They hopped around animated by the fairy woman's magic and began sweeping, and moping on their own. Since Ginny had been banned from actually participating in the making of the cake or outfit by an over zealous Hermione; she amused herself by dancing around the moving objects if only to stave off boredom.
In the Kitchen, Luna was also flicking her wand to and fro commanding the ingredients for the cake to come to her. A large bag of flour lumbered toward a large mixing bowl as if it had feet to walk on, while a vat of milk and two eggs floated through the air headed for the same destination. Before they started to mix themselves in the bowl, Luna held open the recipe book in front of them.
"Just do like it says in the book." She said. "I'll put on the candles."
With that the ingredients began working in assembly line fashion one by one adding themselves to the batter mix. A wooden spoon stirred the concoction to proper consistency, before the entire bowl poured itself out in mid air shaping and forming the three layered cake. And, of course as magic does, created the perfect birthday cake for Cherub; baked and ready for decorating in a matter of seconds.
Hermione's own magic was animating fresh bolsters of cloth and shears to cut the outline for the garments, and then form the shape of a young man without any dummy or manikin beneath them. Hermione was meticulous in the design. The flicks and swishes of her wand produced a shirt, then a vest, breeches, and royal cloak, all in varying shades of a rich red.
As Ginny danced past Hermione with the mop and broom trailing behind her, she caught a look at the garments as they neared completion. She frowned as she saw that the color was once again red instead of the blue that she favored.
"Oh no, not red." She huffed under her breath. Then an idea popped into her head. With a stealthy wave of her wand she whispered. "Make it blue." Her magic dutifully obeyed and the red garments were changed to blue in a flash.
Hermione's eyes widened in surprise at the sudden change before narrowing to slits of aggravation. She wiped her head around to see a grinning Ginny.
"Ginny!" She scolded, then returned her attention to her work. "Make it red." Her own magic returned the garments to the color she had intended from the start.
However, Ginny wasn't going to give up that easily. Smirking like an imp, she pretended to turn her attention back to cleaning. But, throwing a charm over her shoulder she whispered again. "Make it blue." The charm hit a thread that was sewing itself into the vest, and like the fuse on stick of dynamite, trailed along throughout the fabric making it blue once more.
Hermione didn't bother to scold Ginny again. She simply stomped her foot, growing angrier by the second, and shouted. "Red!" The outfit returned again to red in color.
Ginny was beginning to find the entire situation quite comical. Deciding to get creative she aimed a charm at a pot that was hanging on the wall. The image of the garments was reflected in it's shiny metallic bottom. "Blue." She sang out, and the charm bounced off the metal pot and shot straight for the vestments.
Unfortunately for Hermione, she chose that exact moment to step in front of the garments and became hit with the charm instead. Her pink dress was instantly changed to blue. Ginny broke out into a fit of laughter at the sight of Hermione clad in all blue. Hermione on the other hand didn't find it the least bit funny. In point of fact, the expression on her face denoted that she was rather upset at Ginny's prank.
Raising her own wand she fired off a charm that struck Ginny dead on changing her blue dress to pink. Nodding in satisfaction Hermione changed herself back returned to the garments. However a split second later she felt the impact from another charm thrown by Ginny and saw that she was wearing blue again. A flame of anger sparked within her and she cast a spell back at Ginny. Anticipating a return attack Ginny ducked and charm bounced off the reflective surface of a pot hanging on the wall. The charm ricocheted and hit Ginny from behind.
Setting her jaw Ginny prepared for total war with her companion. She unleashed a volley of charms in Hermione's direction. Hermione followed suit, and in a matter of seconds the two fairies were involved in an all out battle. Shooting charms back and forth across the cottage they were both determined to be the victor; their dresses flashing between the colors blue and pink.
Luna, still attending to the cake in the kitchen was completely oblivious to the battle raging around her. Still wearing an insipid, dopey smile, she went on decorating the cake. The charms that did not hit their mark began bouncing off the wooden floors and walls of the cottage. With all the windows and doors shut the spells had nowhere to escape except up the chimney. They shot up the stone flue and straight out the top of the cottage's thatch roof.
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High above the canopy of the forest the raven, that had been scanning the trees below, noticed a flashing of lights coming from a clearing in the thick leaves. There was a blinking of blue and pink lights that its precise vision picked up. Curious it swooped on a down draft to fly closer to the source of the disturbance. As its wings carried it into the clearing it could see that the pink and blue lights were shooting out of a chimney attached to a small cottage. It alighted on the ledge of the front door and peaked in.
