A/N: So…here's the next chapter! A little short, but I really just needed to get the point across. NONE OF MY OTHER STORIES ARE UN-WRITER'S-BLOCK-IFYING! So…bad for fans of those stories, good for fans of this one. Anyway…for the chapter ad…just read the Past, Present, and Future Reading the Books series by UnknownUnseenUnheard. They are THE BEST reading the books stories I've ever read! And…the only one with an actual plot…and frequent updates…and overall awesomeness. Anywho…no, I don't own ANYTHING here! Nothing! Got it?

Chapter Four: Awakening and Reflection

I am in pain. Not the fiery all-consuming needle stabs of before, more like an all-around achiness, but still pain. The last thing I can remember before now is a burst of what felt like fire and then blackness. I manage to open my eyes and sit up. I am in a very soft bed. A hallucination then. It had to be. The whitecoats never gave us beds. Only the hard bottom of the dog crates and the fear inducing hospital beds.

I swallow nervously. What were they doing to me now? Why bother with such a cruel mirage of safety? I glance around, carefully observing my surroundings. It seems like a guest bedroom. I clamber out of bed and my legs buckle underneath me, sending me tumbling to the floor. I crawl across the ground and manage to stand up by bracing my hand against the dresser. I lean against the dresser and then the door creaks open.

I whirl around, instinctually bringing my hands up to defend myself. Max?

"You're awake. We were getting worried."

"Save it."

"Scuse me?"

"I know that it's a hallucination. You don't even have to bother to try and fool me anymore."

"Harry…don't you remember what happened?"

I pause briefly. It all comes rushing back, a blur of pain and fear. Being lifted out of somewhere dark and cold, being carried, an intense, burning pain, a woman with a needle that somehow made the pain go away. Quite a surprise, that. Needles never made pain go away.

"Where are we?"

"My mom's house."

"Your mom?"

"I didn't know actually. Remember how I told you about Dr. Martinez? She's actually my mom."

"Wow. Did she know?"

"No, actually. Well, I'd better go. Gotta tell her you're awake and all that."

"How long have I been out?"

"Two days."

"Wait…what's the date?"

"August 28th." She smiles at me quickly, then goes.

And then it hit me. The 28th. That meant that, in four days, I'd be heading back to Hogwarts. But I wasn't really…me anymore. I wasn't even human. I was just a freak.

How long will it be till my friends find out? Hermione is a genius. She figured out Professor Lupin's secret effortlessly. Who's to say she won't discover mine?

I bury my head in my hands, trying to stifle a sob. I don't cry easily. Really, I don't. The fact that the whitecoats could make me only showed how monstrous they are. And in terms of emotional pain…well, becoming a freak would be enough to make anyone break down, I guess.

You might think I'd have come to terms with it when it first happened. But the experiments were so agonizing I really hadn't had time to think of anything else.

And now there's nothing to distract me from this. All I can think about is the fact that I have wings. I have wings. I. Have. Wings.

And I still can't fly.

I stand on shaky legs and mentally slap myself. I can't fly. So I have to learn. Being sorry for myself isn't going to help anyone. I shove all of my emotions out of the way. I'm not going to cry. Not going to be so weak.

I walk out into the hallway. "Max?" I call out.

She sticks her head out from the kitchen. "Yes?"

"Could you teach how to-how to-"

"Fly?"

"Yeah."

She smiles at me, a little sadly. "Sure. No problem. There's a woodsy, hilly area nearby. We could go there tomorrow, when you're a little more rested."

"Harry?"

I turn around to see a friendly looking woman with warm brown eyes smiling at me.

"Hello, Dr. Martinez."

She doesn't seem to really know what to say to me. Probably because I was writhing in pain the last time we spoke.

"Are you feeling better?"

"I'm fine."

She sighs. "You can't be fine. It can take weeks to recover from that kind of toxin."

"Mom? Super fast healing rate, remember?"

"Yes, yes, but still…"

"So," I say abruptly, wanting to change the subject. "How are we getting to England?"

"Max explained everything to me. She said the parents of Muggleborns are allowed to know."

"Yes, that's allowed. What was your reaction?" I ask, remembering my own all those years ago.

"I think I was skeptical, then Angel showed me some 'mind pictures' and…I think I fainted."

"I remember saying that I was 'Just Harry.' Hardly true though. Especially not now." I laugh ruefully.

She smiles awkwardly, while Max gives me a sympathetic look.

"Sorry."

"Don't be. I understand. Anyway, to answer your question about England, I bought you some plane tickets."

"You don't have to-"

"Of course I don't. I want to. Anyway, your flight leaves on the 30th, so you can learn how to…fly and recover from your ordeal."

I nod shortly. "Thank you, Dr. Martinez. Speaking of which… Max- is it Ride still, or Martinez?"

"Both, I just made Ride my middle name. Maximum Ride Martinez."

"Ah." We stand there for a moment, not saying anything.

"Hello!" I turn to see Nudge-smiling like crazy-and the rest of the flock.

"Hey, Nudge. Hey everyone."

"Hi Harry. Mind describing yourself so I can picture you?" One of the ones I don't recognize says. Must be Iggy-Max told me he's blind.

"Sure. Just get me to a mirror first, no idea what I look like now."

"Oh that's right…you wouldn't. Follow me," Max says, leading me into the hallway. Hanging there is a rather large mirror. I stare into it in shock. I look…different. Older. Haunted.

My eyes are more wary, suspicious of everyone and everything around me. My skin is almost chalky in pallor. My hair hangs down almost to my shoulders, and is matted into clumps. I'm covered in dirt and dried blood. My clothes are in tatters and I'm covered in cuts, bruises and red circular marks.

"Do these ever go away?" I ask, touching one of them lightly. I hate each and every last one of these markings, they're all just a reminder of the pain and fear.

Max shakes her head and rolls up her sleeve, showing one or two of the marks, before dropping it again. Apparently she doesn't like them either. And, to be quite frank, I don't blame her.

I turn back to my reflection and stare. I'm almost frightened by myself. If I saw someone like this, my first instinct would be to run.

"I…need a shower." I turn and sprint down the hallway.

"Let him go." I hear Fang say. Probably to Dr. Martinez, as any of the Flock would've had the sense to do so.

I run in the bathroom and slam the door closed behind me, bolting it shut. I turn to the mirror and cautiously extend my wings. Harry Potter does not stare back at me from behind the glass. Some sort of Dark Creature gazes back at me, eyes full of pain, haunted shadows flickering across them.

I do the only thing I can think of doing. I turn away from the mirror so I don't have to see my reflection, turn the shower on full blast, and cry.

A/N: So…Harry's not telling anybody what he's thinking. That can only lead to a loud angst-filled explosion later on (hint, hint.) And…next chapter HARRY LEARNS HOW TO FLY. This should be…interesting to say the least.