(The next day; 8am)
A groan escaped his throat as sunlight caressed his face. Slowly waking up from his slumber, the young child opened his mouth to release a soft yawn.
The first thing Harry noticed once he woke up was the wooden ceiling. Blinking a few times, the raven haired 6 years old child slowly turned his little head around to inspect his surrounding : he was in a rather big bedroom.
The walls were made of the same wood that the ceiling but he had to admit that the room was… cozy. At his right side, there was a wardrobe and to his left, a dresser. Once he took in the place, he looked down at himself : he was no longer wearing the large clothes of the day prior.
Instead, he didn't know how but he had a pair of blue pajamas on him ! Surprisingly, they fitted him perfectly !
For a few seconds, Harry wondered how he got those and how did he got in this room… before he remembered what happened the previous night.
The hungry wolves…
Him using his backpack to bait the canines while he climbed the cedar tree…
Him jumping up a tree and killing one of the wolves…
The arrival of the gigantic Brown Bear…
At the souvenir of the ursine, Harry blinked a few times as he remembered how gentle she was with him despite having only met him. But what he remembered the most was how she turned into a human.
He had never heard about people turning into bears before. Sure he knew about Werewolves but Were-bears (?)… This fact alone made him curious of her.
However, his thought were quickly interrupted by a delicious smell. As if hypnotized, the raven haired boy quickly left the medium sized bed he had been sleeping on before leaving the bedroom to where this divine smell came from.
After almost a minute, he reached another part of the wooden house : the kitchen. He froze on the spot when he heard someone humming from inside. Peeping in, Harry saw that the someone in question was none other than the pretty lady who was so gentle with him yesterday !
Unaware of his presence, her back was turned to him so he was unable to see her face but he could clearly see that she had light brown hair that reached the middle of her back. Like he had noticed the night prior (before falling asleep), she was indeed really tall and rather muscular for a woman.
Thankfully, not enough to be mistaken as a man.
But then his attention went to what she was making : a plate of Pancakes, some Bacons and Eggs and French Toasts.
Harry couldn't help himself as his mouth watered at the sight but then a small voice in his head was telling him that this breakfast was probably making for herself and not for him. Thankfully he had been proven wrong not long after.
Indeed, as he seemed to be entirely focused on the food, Astrid had turned around to pick up something in the fridge… only to stop dead in her track when she saw who was at the kitchen's entrance. Seeing his little mouth watering at the food, she couldn't retain herself for giggling in amusement
"Hello there sleepyhead~" she greeted him with a smile as she came closer to him.
Her voice seemed to wake him up from his little trance and Harry found himself blushing madly at being caught in the act. Tapping his little fingers together, he turned his head away in embarrassment.
"Hi miss Astrid..." he answered back in a really small voice.
Astrid giggled in amusement at the sight of his blushing face while finding him really cute at the moment as she bent down to ruffle his raven hairs in an affectionate manner causing him to whine slightly.
Still smiling, the light brown haired woman gently pushed him toward the front doors and for a second, Harry thought that she was kicking him out. To his surprise, once she opened the door, he saw a terrace where a little white round table standing there along with two chairs. Surrounding the terrace was surrounded by a wooden fence.
But that wasn't what caught his attention.
Harry's eyes shined with amazement as he took in the sight at the other side of the terrace : around him, there was nothing but grasses, trees and he could even see a flowing river not too far ! Then farer, in the background, he could see high mountains.
Seeing his face, Astrid gave him a fond smile but then putted a hand on his right shoulder catching his attention
"Go on and seat little one… I will bring you breakfast~" she inquired him gently.
Harry looked at her with wide eyes of shock : his emerald green eyes sparkling with disbelief as they looked at her darker eyes.
"Really ? I get food ?!" he asked her eagerly but also with surprise as if it was totally something new for him.
Astrid froze at those words as she couldn't help but sighing with sympathy. The night before, once she returned home, the brown haired woman had taken his sleeping form to the bathroom to at least change him.
However, the second she pulled out the over-sized shirt off him, she had been greeted by a sight she will never forget : his tiny body was covered with scars of all size and she could count his ribs because of how skinny he was.
Worse, some of those scars looked infected ! Did he never went to a doctor before ?!
Astrid had realized with anger and little surprise that the little one had been clearly abused. The scars, his tiny frame… There was no doubt. Of course, she had taken care of the scars as best as she could before putting him in the second room.
Now she had another confirmation of his mistreatment with those people. No wonder he was so skinny : he had been denied food.
Shaking her head to get rid of those dark thoughts, she shot him a small smile before inquiring gently
"Of course dear ! You clearly need it after all~"
Once she said this, she teased him by tickling his ribs earning a little giggle from the tiny boy. The sound of it warmed her heart and promised to herself to make him laugh more ofter.
Looking at him one more time, the brown haired woman went back into the house to pick up the plates before heading back inside. Harry's attention was entirely on the gorgeous view of the nature surrounding the house.
"Little one here is your breakfast~" Astrid called out gently , breaking him out of his reverie.
"Thank you miss Astrid..." he thanked her gently before looking back at the food hesitating about what to take.
Seeing this, the brown haired woman silently cursed those people for what they did to this cute little one before smiling as she prepared his plate : two eggs, 3 pieces of bacons and a little plate of pancakes with syrup on it.
Harry's eyes widened at the amount of food he was given : he never good so much before (especially with the Dursleys) and once again shyly thanked the kind woman.
"Awww it's nothing sweetie! Now dig in before it get cold~" Astrid inquired him with a soft comforting smile which he timidly returned before slowly eating the food in front of him.
The brown haired woman smiled at him before slowly enjoying her own breakfast. The two ate mostly in silence except for the times Astrid had to inquire Harry to eat slower and soon there were nothing left.
A little burp escaped Harry's mouth once he finished his breakfast and he quickly blushed in embarrassment
"Sorry..." he whispered softy to the kind woman in front of him.
"Its okay dear~" she replied with a giggle before asking with a gentle smile.
"Did you enjoyed your meal ?~"
"Hum hum… It was yummy..." Harry nodded with a tiny smile of his own.
"I'm glad to hear that sweetheart~" Astrid inquired in appreciation to his comment as she picked up the plates to wash them.
"Do you want some help Miss Astrid ?" Harry inquired him almost instinctively when he saw her picking the plates.
The brown haired woman smiled at him but internally she was conflicted : his desire to help was cute but it had clearly be beaten into him.
"No thank you dear… I think I can manage on my own for now… But thank you for asking~" Astrid answered him affectionately before entering the house, leaving him behind.
Harry watched her go before turning his eyes back to the outside. But then he heard a strident screech and he blinked as he looked at the sky. A gasp of excitement, delight and shock escaped his throat when he saw a Bald Eagle approaching the house !
Releasing another strident screech, the magnificent bird descended toward him and Harry had to back away when it landed right in front of him, using the fence as a perch. For a moment, nothing was heard as the child and the Eagle looked at one another in the eyes. When the former titled his head to one side, the latter would mimic him.
"I see you met Aspen~" Astrid's voice echoed after a few minutes with what sounded like amusement in her tone.
Turning away from the majestic bird of prey, Harry looked up at the brown haired woman approached them. The young boy watched with amazement as she extended an arm toward the bird before caressing its head.
"You can caress her too little one if you want~" the woman softly inquired to him as she caressed the bird.
Gulping in nervousness, the tiny boy slowly approached the Bald Eagle, Aspen as Miss Astrid called her, whose yellow eyes landed on him once again. Astrid pulled her hand away to watch the scene with a smile on her face.
Timidly, Harry slowly reached forward for the bird who titled her head to the right in curiosity as she eyed his hand. But a few seconds later, Aspen lowered her head down, allowing him to touch her.
Harry was amazed by how soft her feathers were as he gently caressed them with his fingers. His eyes shined brighter in delight as the Bird released a small pleased sound. Astrid, for her part, clapped her hands in delight at the scene.
"It seems my dear that you get a new friend~" she cooed at him with an amused raise-brow.
Harry blushed slightly at the remark but his whole attention was on the Bald Eagle, who he had stopped caressing at this point, as he whispered softy
"She is so pretty..."
The Magnificent Bird proudly ruffled her feathers, clearly appreciating the praise while Astrid rolled her eyes in fond annoyance, muttering softy
"Great you stroked her ego…"
Aspen screeched at her for that and the brown haired woman shot her friend a smirk before adding while eying a curious Harry
"But yes she is~"
The Bald Eagle firmly nodded her head before looking at her with piercing eyes while released some piping notes. Astrid's playful face turned fell a little as she stared at the magnificent bird straight in the eyes.
After a few seconds, a loud screech left Aspen's beak as if angered about something and the cry caused Harry to back away in slight fear. Seeing it, the Bald Eagle turned her head toward the child with a look of… apology in her yellow eyes.
"She says she is sorry for scaring you dear~" Astrid translated while seating back on one of the chairs with her legs crossed.
The raven haired child looked back and forth between the nice woman and the gorgeous bird of prey, clear confusion written on his face.
"How can you understand her Miss Astrid ?" he asked the brown haired woman with childish curiosity.
Astrid and Aspen looked back at one another for a moment before they both looked back at the curious child who was still patiently waiting for an answer.
"Aspen here is my familiar dear…" the brown haired woman responded with a smile as she reached out to stroke Aspen's brown feathers.
"What is a familiar ?" Harry asked her, still confused.
"Well… Familiars, sweetheart, are, in short companions… They can be used as messengers, spies or simply as guides…" Astrid explained in a calm tone, still caressing the Bald Eagle's feathers.
"Oooooooh !" Harry awed with shiny eyes making him look even cuter.
The brown haired woman smiled fondly at the curious boy before saying gently
"I'm sure one day you will get a familiar of your own~"
"But how do someone get a familiar ?" the raven haired 6 years old boy asked her with his head titled to the side.
"Well… I met Aspen when I was 16 years old… she was injured when I found her… I took care of her and when it was the time for her to leave, she decided to stay. The second we touched again, I felt like something was mixing with my very soul… When I asked my father about it, he said we have formed… a contract for lack of better terms…"
Astrid paused in her explanation to look down at Harry whose face was showing nothing but amazement. Amused by his cute expression, the brown haired woman glanced briefly at Aspen (who was cleaning her feathers at this point with her beak) before resuming
"Me and Aspen are linked and that's why we can understand each other… We can even speak telepathically..."
"Whoah..." Harry gasped with stars in his eyes as he looked back and forth between her and the bird.
Aspen ruffled her feathers with proud as she seemed to enjoy the attention she was receiving from the tiny human while Astrid couldn't retain herself from awing at how cute he looked at the moment.
"My father had a Qrow familiar… He met him during a hunt…" the brown haired woman inquired after a second or two.
"Did he have to save his familiar too ?"
"No no… Apparently, when their eyes met, he felt the same thing that me and he understood that this bird was his familiar..."
Harry then went deep in thought as his little mind processed what he just heard.
"You will understand once you discover your familiar little one… But you are a bit young for that though..." Astrid inquired comfortingly before going softer at the last part.
"Hum ?" Harry asked her with confusion and curiosity.
"Forget what I said… I just remembered something…" Astrid dismissed him with a wave of her hand and he nodded his head in acceptance.
"So any animals can be a familiar ?" Harry asked her to change the subject
"Of course ! You can even have a bear familiar ! But it is rare..." the brown haired woman answered to him.
"How come ?"
"Well… Mostly because Bears tend to hide from any humans..."
Harry nodded in understanding : Bears are solitary animals and were wary of humans. Though it would be great to have a bear as companion. Especially when he literally can speak to bears in general.
"Do you have more questions sweetie ?" Astrid asked him calmly while internally knowing that he HAD questions.
"Yes… How can you turn into a Bear miss Astrid ?" Harry asked her with interest shining in those emerald green eyes of his.
The brown haired woman seemed to hesitate as if she was debating on either or not she should answer. Aspen, for her part, shot her a piercing look and after a few seconds of silence, Astrid sighed deeply.
"Very well… But before I answer dear, you must promise to NOT repeat ANYTHING I'm about to tell you understood ?" the brown haired woman demanded in a stern tone.
Harry quickly nodded, no wanting to anger her. Astrid calmed down quickly before she shot him an apologetic look
"Forgive me sweetheart but it had to be done..."
"Its okay..." the raven haired child inquired in a really soft tone.
He was a bit scared of her now.
Frowning, the brown haired woman thought about how to cheer him up a bit when an idea came into her mind
"Sweetie ?" she called out in a soft tone.
Harry slowly looked at her and seemed to relax a bit at the sight of her maternal smile and her eyes filled with warmth
"Come here~" she inquired him gently as she slowly spread her arms.
Harry slowly climbed down his chair before approaching her. When he was close enough, Astrid gently picked him up before pulling him against her chest with his little head against her breasts (C-cup if you wanna know). He could feel her arms enveloping him into a gentle and comforting hug.
Harry felt something he never felt for a long time : peace. The last time he received a hug was from his brother William after the incident a the zoo two years ago. Lily had never given him hugs… except when she DID remembered him but they were forced and without a lot of genuine love.
But this woman, who he had met just the previous night, showed him more care than his own parents !
The feeling of safety was also something he missed. At the Dursleys, he always had to look above his shoulders in case Dudley or something else attacked him. Astrid's presence radiated nothing but love, care and protection and he liked it…
He liked it a LOT !
Slowly, he pulled himself closer against her before wrapping his tiny arms around her waist. Astrid, who had felt it, tightened her grip on him and even gave him a small kiss on the forehead which caused him to squeak more in surprise than in embarrassment.
"Comfy dear ?~" the brown haired woman asked him teasingly.
"Yes Miss Astrid…" Harry responded in a tiny tone as he buried his face into her to hide his face.
"I'm glad to hear that dearie~" Astrid kissed him again on the forehead before adding
"As for your question… Well, I'm a daughter of the Great Bear..."
"What ?" Harry asked with confusion.
"Well then, it all started with Callisto… " Astrid began to say back in a serious but calm tone before she was interrupted by the boy in her arms.
" Wasn't she the nymph who got turned into a bear by the goddess Artemis ?" the raven haired child responded in an hesitant tone.
"Exactly ! How do you know that little one ?" she asked him with curiosity.
"I read it in a book..." Harry admitted shyly while burying his face against her belly.
"Is that so ? So you must know about her later becoming the Great Bear Constellation after she had almost be killed by her son Arcas ?" Astrid asked him with a raise-brow.
She felt him nodding his tiny head.
"Good then !" Astrid squealed in delight but then turned serious again as she opened her mouth to say
" If I asked you this it was because I wanted to know if you knew this Constellation..."
Harry nodded in understanding and was now looking up at her with curiosity shining in his eyes.
"Everything started in Norway with a couple who was unable to have children… They tried everything, called every healers but nothing could be done for them as both were unfertile..."
"Awwww that's sad..." Harry commented softy and she ruffled his hair in response.
"Yes it is… Anyway, despaired as they wanted to be parents, they prayed the Gods for help…"
"The Norse Gods right ? Seeing that they are in Norway..." Harry inquired with a titled head.
"That's right… but they were so despaired that they didn't care which gods answered them as long as they could have what they always wanted..."
The raven haired child nodded his head in understanding before going silent again.
"For days they prayed fervently but after weeks of silence, they gave up hope…Until one night, when someone from the stars visited them..."
"Who ?" Harry asked her with curiosity.
"It wasn't a god but an ancient spirit… It was the Great Bear, Callisto herself..."
"But she was not from the Norse Pantheon !" Harry replied with confusion and disbelief.
"I know but she is not a Goddess… She became a Constellation and part of the very sky… Even when the Greek civilization disappeared, the Gods still existed… and those associated with them…"
Silent, Harry nodded his head in response.
"Anyway, Callisto was the only one who answered the call… No one know why she came though but in the end, in order to help them to conceive a child, she temporally possessed the woman's body..."
Astrid paused in her story as she looked at the wide eyed child. Smiling, she took a deep breath before resuming
"9 months later, the couple gave birth to twins : Bjorn and Ursa… The other villagers were shocked by this turn of events and banished the whole family..."
"But why ?" Harry asked her with a bit of anger and sympathy for the little family.
"Because one day, the two infants turned into bear cubs ! It was the side effect of Callisto's blessing… Their children were half-human, half-bears… Seen as abominations, they were exiled from the village along with those who supported them..."
Harry staid silent as he let Astrid speaking.
"They walked for a long time and each time they passed near a village, they would be kicked out… Not because of the infants but because they couldn't more mouthes to feed… In the end, they had no choice but to live as Nomads..."
The raven haired child felt sympathetic toward the exiled people as they didn't deserved to be kicked out of their home. He could relate to them in that regard. Abandoned by his parents because he was different.
"As the time passed, more and more Werebears appeared thanks to the twins and to never forget the place they were born, they decided that only Norse names could be given to their descendants… Anyway, many years later, they tried to establish in Europe and for a time, they lived in peace… until they were discovered by the Church..."
Harry couldn't help but feeling like something bad was going to be said. And he wasn't disappointed.
"The Werebears of Europe were hunted and nearly driven to extinction if the survivors hadn't left to the West…" Harry could hear the anger in her tone as she mentioned this part but staid silent
"The leader at that time, a strong man named Ragnar Thorston, received a vision from Callisto about a world where they could live in peace… A country without discrimination… All they had to do was to traverse the Atlantic… which they did..."
A look of sorrow briefly appeared on Astrid's face as she said "Not all of them managed to reach this new country..."
Harry gave her a comforting hug and she gave him a soft smile of appreciation in response.
"After many weeks, they finally an area who will later be called Newfoundland and slowly the Werebears started to spread all around Canada and USA..."
Her expression turned grim as if she was remembered something
"Of course, we had some competitions with the locals but they were mostly accepting of us… Except for a little group who had the ability to turn into Giant Wolves… They tried to kick us out of 'their' territory but in the end, we won and they fled more to the West… After the battle, a treaty was made with them and since then, we didn't have any conflicts with those mangy drooling mutts… "
She really hated wolves and he couldn't blame her.
"Decades passed and another type of enemy came to America : Vampires..."
"They exists ?!" Harry blurted in shock
"Yes dear… They are strong, durable creatures with pale skins and a strong taste for blood… Werebears had battles with them… with many losses…"
"Why ?" Harry asked her with a frown.
"We are not quick enough against them… The Wolves, while not as strong as us, were agile and fast… they were equals with the Vampires… We, on the other end, were more like punching ball for them..."
Astrid seemed a bit angry at this part but then relaxed as a smirk grew on her face
"But then Callisto came to our help… To be able to be on par with those Leeches, the Great Bear blessed us with a new form..."
"What new form ?" Harry asked her with a frown.
Smirking at him, she gently putted him down before jumping at the other side of the fence. Curious, Harry watched as she glanced around as if making sure that no one was watching… before her body changed in front of his very eyes.
He watched with stupor when a few seconds later, Astrid became an humanoid bear. At least 3 meters tall, the creature had the head, fur and claws of a bear but the physical of a human. Its feet were bear' paws. Her breasts were covered in fur as well and was no longer hidden by a bra. In fact, her clothes seemed to have melt into her skin when she transformed.
Along with that, her arms were really big, clearly filled with muscles and, if he was a little older, he would have noticed how curved she was.
Harry looked up at her with stars in his eyes which caused the Humanoid Bear to chuckle a bit as Astrid returned to human form with clothes on. Returning back to her previous spot, the brown haired woman sat back on the chair.
"With this form of ours, Werebears could oppose Vampires and win against them ! Since then, those Leeches tried to avoid us as best as they could … "
"What about the Werewolves ?"
"European Werewolves or Lycans tend to fear us and they aren't that many here in America… They usually get killed by either a Werebear or a Wolf-Shifter… "
Harry nodded at her in response before asking "So you are a Werebear ?"
"Indeed I am little one and proud of it~" Astrid replied with an eye-closed smile.
"I wish I could be one too..." the raven haired child whispered softy to himself as he looked at his feet.
Astrid looked at him with pity before pulling him into a comforting embrace "Maybe you will one day sweetheart~"
"Really ?" he asked her with a hopeful expression.
"Really~" Astrid responded gently before giving him a kiss on the cheek.
A giggle escaped his mouth before he hugged her tightly… a gesture she wholeheartedly returned. They staid like this for a moment, none of them saying anything as they hugged one another.
"Miss Astrid ?" Harry suddenly asked, sounding really sad.
"Yes dear ?"
"What will happen to me now ?"
The brown haired woman blinked as she looked down at him. Without giving her the time to answer, he asked softy
"Are you going to leave me at an orphanage ?"
"Of course not sweetheart ! You are staying with me !" Astrid answered with a grin.
Blinking at the unexpected answer, he looked up at her with wide eyes of shock
"Really ? You mean it ?!"
"Of course ! I have been pretty lonely lately and I won't mind having a cutie like you around~" Astrid responded with a warm smile.
Harry stared at her with a look of pure disbelief on his face before tears started to fall from his eyes. Concerned, the brown haired woman opened her mouth to say something… only for the tiny child to hug her tightly, his little arms wrapped around her tummy.
Smiling warmly at the sobbing boy, she returned the hug while whispering softy in his ear
"Welcome to your new life Harry… I will take care of you don't worry~"
The raven haired child didn't respond as instead he hugged her tighter while enjoying her presence. For the first time in his life, he felt accepted.
(To be continue…)
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A/N : Hey guys I hope you enjoyed this chapter because I loved writing it ! The story Astrid told was invented by myself but I hope it wasn't a problem for you.
For the curious, Harry WILL become a Werebear but not now.
You will have to wait and see !^^
Now I must ask you : what animal would be a great familiar for Harry ? A bear ? A cougar ? A bobcat ? Tell me what you have in mind in the reviews !
See you soon for a new chapter of 'Vampires, Shifters and Teddy Bears' !