It's the next chapter! Yay!

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Chapter 2 Not in Kansas Anymore

Two days later, when none but nocturnal creatures were out and about, another flash of light appeared several hundred miles away. It, too, dropped two bodies before disappearing.

Where Ron and Hermione were alarmed, Harry and Salena didn't bat an eyelash at the change in their physical form.

"Well," Salena said. "That was pleasant."

"Indeed, it was." Harry agreed distractedly, as he cast a spell to track down his absent friends.

He groaned. "Ron and Hermione are 1,936 miles that way." He pointed northwest. "And seem to be on the move."

"We better get started then," Salena said. "Anyway we can move faster?"

Harry tested the temperature. "Avian animagus forms."

An hour of flying had led them to a human encampment. Harry settled down in a tree and changed back to a human from his black falcon form. Salena landed on his shoulder.

The lookout was asleep.

"Lousy lookout." Harry muttered. Salena bobbed her white hawk head in agreement.

Apparently, the next man to see agreed as well. When he came out, he woke up the lookout by yelling.

Neither of the two could understand what he was saying.

Harry cast a spell that would allow them to understand and learn the language as they heard the word and translation and focused on making it invisible and undetectable.

"-n't afford to be found! If he learns she's alive, he'll come after us and I assure you, we'll not survive his wrath."

Harry frowned. That did not sound good.

The lecturing man lowered his voice. "Remember, we need her to get that treasure, and we aren't about to get another parselmouth soon."

Salena's claws dug into Harry's shoulder, making him wince. The two men headed back into their camp, presumably so the apparent leader could punish the lousy lookout and set another one.

"Looks like we'll be taking a small detour Salena."

As a merlin, Harry scouted the camp. Within five minutes, he found the girl they were talking about hissing parseltongue prayers and whimpering for help. Luckily in her own room.

Harry gave a squawk to alert Salena about his find.

She took flight as Harry checked the door.

No lock.

Wait, were locks even invented in this time? Hold it even further. What time period were they even in? Were they even in the same world?

Harry put the thoughts away for later.

Right now, he had a fellow parselmouth to rescue!

Why were there no guards? Not that he minded, it made his job all the easier. However, there had to be a reason the girl had yet to make an escape!

If they knew she was a parselmouth, they must have some tie to magic.

These thoughts made Harry even more cautious and paranoid. Better for no reason than for a good one.

He flew into the girl's room through the window and silently transformed back into a human.

The girl was about seven. She had black hair and grey eyes. Shackles without chains bound her hands and feet.

She jumped back when she realized he wasn't just a bird who decided to drop in. She shivered in fear at the sight of him, in the corner furthest away from him. Defensively glaring at him with muttered hisses he couldn't quite catch. None of them seemed particularly inviting...

•Hello little one• Harry hissed.

•You speak!• she hissed back with shock.

•Yes, I do.• He hissed back in amusement, holding back his playful comments. He heard Salena's warning sound. A simple hawk's cry. •Shall we get you out of here? I have a feeling we have little time left.• He held out his hand in a proper, gentlemanly way.

She took it. •Please,• she hissed. •Get me away from here.•

•As the hatchling wishes• he gave a bow and apparated them away. Just as the door opened for someone to check in on her.

The person gave an enraged yell that the escapee didn't hear. Already too far away.

Salena, however, had heard it.

With a satisfied smirk, she left to catch up to Harry and the unnamed girl, but not without leaving a small 'present' for the kidnappers.

The cackling of a hawk would forever haunt the kidnappers til death and beyond. But then, perhaps that had been her goal. Salena could be quite vindictive after all.

Syllia bit her lip in worry as the two magic users before her argued on what to do with her. Both were hissing in parseltongue, so she knew they weren't after her family ability. However, how they had the ability was beyond her. Neither looked like anyone in her family. No one in her family had green eyes or blonde hair, at least, not to her knowledge.

•We can't take her with us! She'll slow us down!• the witch hissed.

•It's not like we can leave her here without anyone.• her savior calmly replied. •Do you really want to leave someone at her age defenseless and alone?•

The witch flinched. •No.• she muttered guiltily.

"You cannot be much older than me." Syllia said. Both gave her blank looks.

•Sorry, we don't understand the language you are speaking.•

"O-oh." Syllia stuttered before frowning. These two could speak the language of snakes but not simple Anglo-Saxon? How strange. And since when did she stutter?

•I merely stated that you couldn't be much older than I. You seem to be my age. Which is seven, by the way.•

•We are ten,• the other two said as they bristled defensively. •and quite aware we do not look like it.•

•S-sorry.• she said meekly, hoping they wouldn't decide to leave her behind.

•It's fine, we're used to it.• her savior huffed.

•Don't slow us down.• the witch hissed as she left.

•Don't worry about her, she's not very social. However, once you have her trust, she becomes one of the best and most loyal friends you will ever meet.•

•What does 'we're' and 'she's' mean?• Syllia asked shyly.

•It is our dialect.• her savior chuckled. • 'We're' is the short version of 'we are' and 'she's' means 'she is'.•

Syllia nodded in understanding.

•What are your names?• she asked.

•Call me... Silver. Call her... Sena.• he said. •We will tell you our real names later. When we know it is safe.•

Syllia nodded again in understanding. It was a problem of trust since no one else could understand them. Times were hard and names held power after all. Or so she had been told before her kidnapping. It seemed she would have to take the first extension of trust. •I am Syllia.•

Hermione groaned, light had hit her eyes as soon as she opened them. She shut her eyes immediately. They still stung though.

" 'Mione? You okay?" Ron's voice asked from somewhere to her left.

"Peachy." she replied sarcastically. "Where are we?"

/It seems like we're at Hogwarts, just not ours.\ Ron's voice replied in a language the trio had used for the war. The three of them had made at least four new languages (written and verbal) just between them and later Salena had learned them and introduced them to some more that she made. Apparently, she Harry, and her deceased brother had made a couple of their own and Hermione was sure Salena didn't share all of the languages with Ron and her because she wanted some to stay between her, Harry, and her brother. (Completely understandable, really. There was something special about making a new language that could only be understood by the creators, however childish it supposedly was.) The three of them had been rather good with languages, they had used parseltongue as a basis and learned more animal languages. Even some that were more... botanical.

How they managed to get from snakes to plants was beyond her. Salena said something about talking snake plants... speaking of talking plants didn't Harry say something about Devil's snare talking about... oh.

/What do you mean Ron?\ she asked, shaking her head to clear her thoughts.

/It's newer, I don't think we're in our own time.\

Hermione's eyes snapped open. Which she regretted instantly as light once again burned into her eyes. making her close them again.

"Argh!" /Okay, that hurts.\ she mumbled. /Wherever or whenever we are, we better make new names. Just in case we do something we aren't supposed to.\

/Mia and Weastly?\ Ron asked when she could finally see him.

/That would probably be fine.\ They had used them for their years of travel and never had anyone connected them to Ron and Hermione. Harry and Salena were the only ones who knew, just as they were Silver and Sena.

Quite honestly, they were probably more comfortable to those names than the ones they grew up with.

Hermione glanced around the room they were in. She had been on a bed, one that was harder than the ground if you asked her, next to the window and Ron had been on his own bed just a few feet away. There was nothing else in the room besides a table between the beds. Doors on the other side of the room.

/If they're trying to keep us prisoner, they have lousy placement and planning skills.\ she said. Outside the window was a clear view of a much younger forbidden forest and the black lake. Hermione frowned.

The doors swung open and a man walked in.

He spoke in that odd language neither Ron nor Hermione understood. They learned one thing though. The man gestured to himself and said Godric Griffindor.

The two of them froze in shock.

Hermione said the first thing that came to her mind. "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

Is it just me or did Salena's personality take a sudden turn?

Someone tell me if my writing style changes, I can't really tell since I just write and don't really know what my style is. It would be nice to know.

Thanks for reading.

ChArri