Disclaimer - Wish I owned it. Wish I were in it. Alas, neither is true.

"Soul of a Sailor" belongs to Kenny Chesney
"When You Come Back Down" is property of Nickel Creek
This is not a song fic, they forward the story, they are not large chunks of a song. The lines were selected carefully so I ask you read them as they are written, if you choose no to you will miss something. I recommend that you listen to these songs in order to get the full feel for the scene, not necessarily while you are reading, I would find that difficult. Also note that the characters are singing the whole song, even if I don't subject you to it. For clarification's sake the italics regarding the song are for effect they aren't broadcasting telepathically or anything.

Angles and Demons

No one seemed to notice Harry, but then he saw the overly young muggle boy blinded by the hat. I wonder what the sorting hat is up to. The boy looked to be six years old and athletic. He was probably handsome, except that too much of his face was hidden for Harry to decide. The tone of his skin led Harry to believe that his family had immigrated from… he didn't know where. Wherever it was it certainly had more sun that England; he looked a little washed out.

"Mr. Potter! It's good you arrived so soon."

"Hello, Professor McGonagall." Harry's eyes never left the boy on the platform, on the stool, under the hat. "Is he why I'm here?" Now Harry looked up. He seemed to be expecting answers. "And why is he damp?"

"I see you learned your interrogations skills from Professor Snape." He felt a gentle weight on his shoulder and let himself be led. "Albus' portrait told me that the hat had some difficulty placing you. Of course that was a few years ago so I may have put an overly hopeful spin on his comments."

"He told you that?"

"Well, it was relevant at the time. Vivian Montague was having trouble understanding why she hadn't been placed in Slytherin." The Headmistress said this in a mildly absentminded and decidedly unconcerned way. Ah, well. All water under the bridge now. "Perhaps you can explain the hat's function to him in a way we cannot."

Harry suddenly understood. He looked over the sea of little persons who had gathered to stare at the tiny child. Gently, Harry navigated his way through them. His attention was slowly narrowing to the boy; he was impossibly patient, sitting still and quite in the dark.

Harry lifted the brim of the old hat after a brief hello. The face that looked up at him was indeed handsome. Wide black eyes, with features to be jealous of, all framed by coarse black curls. Harry couldn't help but smile. There was something very familiar about the weather worn face.

"How did you get wet?" Harry was nearly whispering, but the volume seemed appropriate even in the noisy room.

"Fun with the squid." The answer was simple, but gave their whole conversation an air of conspiracy that Harry enjoyed. "Do I have to sit here much longer, sir?" By now almost every soul in the room had noticed the interaction and was watching oppressively.

Harry did his best to ignore them. "Just until you're sorted. What's the trouble?"

"This is stupid." Harry had just opened his mouth to respond, when –

"I can be whatever I want when I grow up. No scalp cover is gonna tell me otherwise." The boy was smiling, as if repeating something his mother had told him in the middle of frying bacon.

"Well, it didn't tell…" Harry stopped mid sentence as a noise filled his head. He looked back at the doors. Peeves floated inside, he was staring out into the night, grasping Filch's hand. Harry looked back to the boy; his face was frozen, blank and staring. Harry squeezed his shoulder, and then ran outside.

--

The cool air hit Harry solidly. The sound was loud and seemed to be coming from across the lawns, in the forest. Slipping easily now into the role of commander, Harry began to shout orders to the staff who lined the stairs and doorway. It was dark and the boy-who-lived worried that one of the forbidden forests residents was about to be bold and he wanted plenty of guards to make sure the students stayed in and the noisy thing stayed out.

Quick as a shot something gray stopped next to him. It was the unsorted boy from the great hall. He stood in a stance that clearly said he was ready to fight. He was unafraid. The child again gave Harry reason for pause. The caterwauling reentered his consciousness. Switching his attention to the woods brought his heart to a stop.

Something dark, fast, and quite frankly scary, was bounding their way. Recovering his senses, yet again, the wild haired man drew his wand. If this thing wants a fight that's what it'll get! The surprises, however, were not about to stop.

The small body by his knee walked serenely forward. He hummed, lifting his hand. The creature loped to a stop just out of reach. The angelic voice began to sing. "A brother in arms just like me, I was born a son of the sea…" there was a magic in the melody. The tiny hand rested on a giant black head.

The song continued outside of Harry's concentration. Green eyes studied the frightful mass before him. It was truly a magical creature, of that Harry was sure. Fur and scales blended seamlessly all over its body. As the great head moved affectionately under the slender appendage it became apparent that the strange animal had only one covering that transformed from soft to hard based on movement and intention. A long feline body was attached to that head. A protective ridge ran down its back and tail, which was tipped with a spaded club. Four powerful limbs ended in oversized paws with magnificent claws.

The song penetrated Harry's thoughts. The voice was changing now. The young father forced himself to refocus on the angelic boy. "Said you know we're both a dyin' breed." The spirit of Severus Snape overshadowed the boy, translucent but in color. His face was slowly tipping to the sky. "An' living out life in the boat we're in." Harry couldn't remember the man looking this relaxed and content in all his years. He moved forward hoping to see the expression in those beetle black eyes. They were closed; a peaceful expression lay across the upturned face. The moonlight mad him young. "Let my heart take me, where it wants to go, that's the soul of a sailor, the soul of a sailor."

He faded away. Silence rained supreme in the night, undisturbed by the massive creatures purring. The last strains of song faded from Harry's ears. He had never appreciated, until just now, what a lovely voice his potions master had had. You know I believe he was clean—

Another song reached Harry's ears. He looked up, past Headmaster Dumbledore's tomb. A figure was coming over the rise. Obviously the song was issuing from them. At least this is a person. He felt an inordinate amount of relief at this.

"You gotta leave me now, you gotta go alone, you gotta chase a dream, one that's all your own, before it slips away."

Harry looked down at the unsorted boy. He had dropped to his knees at some point, hugging the thing about the neck. It nuzzled him happily. Harry was put in mind of a two year old Hagrid with a current sized Fang. Quiet a lot of singing tonight, my little friend. And it seems to all be in your honor.

The child stood and looked off at the singer. He took a breath and answered. "When you're soarin' through the air, I'll be your solid ground, take every chance you dare, I'll still be there, when you come back down. When you come back down." A beautiful harmony.

It was becoming clear that it was a boy crossing the ground to them. From here Harry could tell that the boy was wearing a white shirt and had nearly waist length auburn hair. He walked about as fast as he sang.

"I'll be the other hand, that always holds the line, connectin' in between your sweet heart and mine, I'm strung out on that wire."

It was Professor McGonagall who answered this time, in what severed as the chorus, though the words were different than what both boys had sung together. He was almost here now. Close enough for Harry to see that he was about the size of Hermione that first day on the train.

"I'll catch you when you fall." Despite what nonsense it was, the-man-who-defeated-Voldemort was comforted hearing those words in that voice. Now he could see a smile in this new boy's light face. It was clear that he was directing his song to the unsorted child. They stood before each other now. The creature had turned to stand at the black haired boy's side, facing the new comer.

"When you come back down." The second song was finished now. They looked each other in the eyes for a full minute. Harry sensed the darker boy soften at the same moment a grin broke over the larger child's face.

As if he'd been stuck with a hammer by god, the smiling child pitched into the muddy earth.

--

Author's Note: This round of editing is done. Hopefully, I will have another chapter up soon.