Chapter One
Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked quickly down the stairs on their way to the McGonagall's office. Neville had walked in that morning with a written note from their new headmaster that the three of them were to go immediately to see her when they were dressed and ready.
"What do you think it's about?" Hermione asked her friends worriedly, already a number of scenarios running through her head in which they had all been expelled multiple times.
Harry was the first one to answer, also being the one least concerned about their summons from the new headmaster. "It's probably about that food fight Ron started yesterday in supper." he said casually, a mischievous grin playing on his lips. Hermione's face went pale, almost as pale as Ron's.
Luckily, the latter of the two recognized Harry's joke and was able to laugh it off. "Yea right! She probably just wants to talk about how you blasted half the hospital wing mate." Ron joked back with an elbow to Harry's ribs.
Hermione's face went red and she pushed the two boys apart with a huff. "Honestly, I have no idea how either of you has managed to stay in school this long. I wouldn't be surprised if you're both expelled on sight." she snapped, her own anxiety making her edgy. Her words, however, had far from the desired effect and the two boys kept on their jokes until they reached the stone gargoyles that stood outside the circling staircase leading to McGonagall's office.
Taking a deep breath, Harry said the password that had been on the note Neville had given them. "Lemon sherbet." His voice shook slightly with sudden unease. Hermione caught this waver and thought that perhaps her words had scored a little bit of a hit after all.
Silence engulfed the trio as they ascended the stairs and entered the large room that was McGonagall's office. The many paintings of former headmasters circled around the room. Some were empty, some held napping and snoring men. To Harry's dismay, the familiar face of Dumbledore was missing. Probably off scouting in one of his many other portraits scattered across the country.
Ever since the battle between Lord Voldemort and the Order/Hogwarts/anybody else who had joined in to help, the former headmasters had been making frequent visits to their multiple pictures in order to help track down any rogue death eaters still outside of Azkaban. When they weren't on a recon mission, the headmasters would come back to their Hogwarts paintings to sleep before going back out to search.
However, the three students soon found that they weren't alone in the office. Hermione was the first to see the slender form of one of the winged people. Long black hair hung all the way down to a thin waist. Under the thick mane were two swords strapped in an X across the figure's back, two jeweled hilts rising above tense shoulders and sparkling in the candlelight. A silk shirt hung loosely on the figures upper torso, the back cut low. The figure was wearing what looked to be leather pants, probably from a dear that it had skinned. The boots were much the same, simple raw hide boots that rose barely an inch below where the back of the knee should be and having a flat sole. But the thing that startled the three teenagers the most were the wings that cascaded down the figure's back all the way to the lower part of the calves. Like the long hair they were black, but the wings were similar to a crow's or a raven's. Blue and purple undertones were clearly visible when the light shone correctly on the magnificent feathers. To say the least, the young students were in awe.
Hermione nudged Ron who turned from looking at the portraits and dropped his jaw, Harry's eyes widening as he instantly drew his wand and pointed it at the figure's back. A strange noise was audible from the winged figure, it was speaking but in a different language. Suddenly, a hand rested on Harry's shoulder and his faced jerked to look directly at Professor McGonagall. He expected his teacher to be cross with him but her eyes were glued on the shadowed figure standing in front of them. Harry began to wonder if his teacher had known she had a visitor.
Before he had time to contemplate this thought, another winged person materialized by McGonagall's side. This one was a male. He had the same black hair as the first figure, and startling silver eyes. There were many scars on his face and bare chest, the worst of which seemed to be a long, pale line that stretched across the front of his throat. Six throwing knives lined his ribs—three on each side—as well as a broad sword that was strapped to his back. Once again like the first figure, the man also had a pair of dark wings that were folded neatly over the sword. However, the students could see that the wings of the male were colored differently than the figure's when he stepped past them to quickly jump to the side of the shadowed figure. Instead of black with underlying colors of blue and purple, his wings were a silver gray with swirls of shadow among the intricate feathers. Similar to the color of a cloud when a full moon is shining behind it.
Everyone was silent as the man reached the first's side, his arms and wings engulfing the figure in a gentle embrace as if shielding the figure from some invisible force. They stood like that for a few minutes, perfect silence settling over the room. Finally, the male moved away and McGonagall brightened the room with a flourish of her wand. The added brightness allowed the three teenagers to see the rest of their surroundings, and also the four other winged people that were standing against the far wall. Their sudden appearance surprised Hermione and one smirked at her gasp.
McGonagall's sharp voice quickly quieted all snickering and indignant huffs that followed. "Assyrian, I trust will be able keep your men in check while in front of the students?" Annoyance laced her already icy voice making her sound even more formidable.
The silver winged male turned with a smile on his face, the figure beside him turning as well. Her eyes were the most startling thing about her face. Slanting like a cat's her pupils were just the slightest bit elongated; black ovals in a sea of steely silver that flashed dangerously in the light of the candles. Added to her high cheekbones that also angled upwards and her long dark mane, Harry found her extraordinarily intoxicating.
But her gorgeous features changed in an instant with a menacing snarl. Her wings unfurled and stretched out slightly as she crouched, ready to spring. Her finger tips touched the floor and Harry took a step back, his mind flashing back to the last time a winged creature had stood snarling in front of him.
His thoughts of Buckbeak momentarily brought him peace, but his thoughts quickly returned to the scuffle at hand. Harry took another step back and then felt himself falling; he had stepped on a loose shoelace.
Pain, blood. Ripping, tearing. That was what Harry expected as the back of his head hit the ground and his vision went black. But it never came. Rational thought returned to the teenager and the fact that his eyes were merely closed was quickly realized. When he opened them Harry saw and felt both of his friends pulling him to his feet. The winged girl was standing stiffly behind them, Assyrian grasping her arms so tightly his knuckles had turned white. McGonagall was focused partly on Harry and partly on keeping a thick shield up with her wand.
"What was the meaning of that?!" she cried, her fury briefly causing the headmaster to lose her composure. "You're here to guard the students not attack them!"
The female merely glared at Harry, her silver eyes filled with hate and contempt. Assyrian jerked her arm firmly, turning her to face him. The tall man held her shoulders in his large hands, completely covering them. Harry and his friends expected him to yell, to at least say something. But their expectations were met with quiet glaring between the pair. Finally, the female made an indignant growl/yelp. "They have no right!" she snarled at the male, her lips pulled back to reveal cat-like fangs. "They act like they are better than us even when they are the ones asking us for help! And then you are angry with me?! I believe I have failed to see your reasoning in this brother. Turning against your kin for a stick holding cub who fails to even walk!" Her shoulders heaved with her pants when the rant finished. Her lips still curled back and the feathers on her wings fluffed up.
Assyrian responded instantly with a swift backhand that sent his sister reeling to the floor. He glared at his comrades who moved as if to help her up, obviously trying to prove a point by his brutal actions: Remember your place.
Brother glared at sister for a few quiet seconds before the latter stood, her wings quivering with her anger. "I swore I would stay." she said, her voice thick with rage. "I said nothing about guarding one of them." She spat the word 'them' as if it were a curse, a bad taste in her mouth that she wanted to get out. Either way, it was clear that she detested humans.
"Enough!" McGonagall said sharply, coming to everyone's rescue. "I called these students to my office in order to allow them to meet the people who would be guarding them. Not so they could be attacked by them!" She cast a pointed glare towards Assyrian's sister. "Now, it's almost nine o'clock and it is still to be seen that these three students receive competent guards that won't try to kill them!" Assyrian turned his head away with guilt while his sister glared at the floor. Harry was slightly afraid she might burn a hole in the wood if the fury in her gaze became any more intensified. "Now then," McGonagall stood up tall and straightened her robes with a few quick tugs while simultaneously allowing the shield she had conjured to fade away, "you may return tomorrow and we will sort this matter out then. For now, it's late and the students should be in bed." She quirked a brow and pursed her lips before adding an annoyed afterthought clearly directed at Assyrian's sister. "And I trust by then you will have learned to control your emotions better?"
With that as an end note, the headmaster turned and escorted Harry and his friends back to their dormitory. Muttering about how 'they might seem scary and dangerous' but they were 'actually very sophisticated' and 'carried wisdom from thousands of years ago'. As well as being 'amazing fighters'.
After a few minutes, the four of them reached the fat lady's painting. "Now, off to bed with all of you. No late night walks, and no visits from any one." McGonagall warned them before turning on her heel and walking at a brisk pace towards her office.
"Well done Harry, you managed to not only jeopardize our educations but also our lives!" Hermione said sharply before turning and glaring at the eagerly watching fat lady. "Snorcax!" she almost growled, her feet stomping slightly as she stalked into the Gryffindor common room. Harry and Ron followed her looking back and forth at each other, both with bemused looks on their faces.
The two boys said a quick good night to Hermione once in the common room, and then their ways parted as she went to the girl's dormitories and Harry and Ron went to the boy's. Harry smiled at the familiar sight of his bed, the activities that night having taken an unexpected toll. He quickly dug through his trunk and traded his school robes for a pair of red and white striped pajamas. Flopping down on his sheets, Harry yanked the covers up over his head and turned onto his side before closing his eyes with a sigh.
He fell asleep dreaming of silver eyes and black wings.