Harry, Hedwig, and Nio had been living in the tunnels under the stone circle for a few days and Harry was starting to wonder how long he could survive on carrots. So much so that he was starting to take Nio's suggestions that he branch out to insects seriously. Not for the first time, he found himself sniffing an earthworm when Hedwig's hoot echoed from the long tunnel that ended in a pin-prick of light.

Harry stepped away from the hanging garden and waited until Hedwig had settled on the stone ledge by the pool of water in the main atrium. She growled at him.

"What is it Hedwig?" Harry asked as he found a seat by her and brought his hands up to find her back. She was hopping on one foot.

"Are you injured?" Harry asked, following the contours of her wings down to her legs, gently assuring that she was okay. That's when he discovered a rolled parchment clutched in her talon.

"Oi! What's this? A letter? How could someone find you to send a message to me?" Harry wondered while his stomach clenched at the thought of being found.

He fiddled with the leather ties that secured the scroll to Hedwig's leg and then found an edge so that he could unfurl it. It didn't open easily and he traced his fingers over the tightly rolled scroll until he found a wax seal. The seal had an imprint of swirling lines that he puzzled over for a bit before breaking it. He unrolled it and ran his fingers over the thick parchment, but found the slightly gummy lines of ink instead of the raised dots he expected.

"Someone sent me a written message?" he mused. He shook his staff out of his holster and summoned his anagnóstis so that he could read the message. He found the top edge of the paper, unrolled it, and started running it over the paper until a familiar voice spoke in his ear.

"Harry - Please don't be alarmed." He paused, trying to place the voice.

"Ron's dad, right. Mr. Weasley," he assured himself and let out the breath he was holding.

He touched the anagnóstis to the parchment again and continued listening to the message.

"I know that you've run away from your Aunt and Uncle's house, Professor McGonagall, and the Ministry. We are all very worried about your safety—especially with Sirius Black still evading the Aurors. Please let us know that you are safe. Be assured that we were only able to contact Hedwig through Errol and that only worked because both owls trust us and know that our intentions are in your best interest. We can't follow Hedwig to you, but we have duplicated the slate that your friend Gemma is using to communicate with you. Ron has one and so does Hermione. Please write to them. We want to help you. We will not allow the Ministry of Magic to hold you in the Department of Mysteries. Professor McGonagall deeply regrets the errors she made and wants me to assure you that we'll find a safe place for you away from the Dursleys and away from the Ministry. She is making certain that Hogwarts will be a safe space for you when classes begin in September. We have returned from Egypt and Hermione has returned from France and both families would gladly welcome you into our homes. Your friends are very worried about your well-being. You are not alone in this. Healer Jordan has also asked me to assure you that the Center will support you in any way it can. We all want to make sure that you are safe. You have found a way to hide from all the magical and mundane ways to find you… which is very impressive for a nearly 13-year-old wizard. Even though Gemma and Peter assure us that you are safe, we need to hear from you directly… and we miss you and beg you to return to us—Arthur Weasley on behalf of your friends and loved ones: the Weasleys, the Grangers, the Center, and Hogwarts."

Harry leaned back against the damp wall next to the spring and sighed. He paused in the act of summoning his slate out of his staff. He did want to talk to them. While he felt a certain freedom in these underground tunnels that he couldn't ever recall experiencing before, he was also lonely. Sure, he had Nio and Hedwig and they were great company… it was so much better than the times he'd been locked in his room or the cupboard at Privet Drive… but it wasn't quite the same as the companionship he'd felt at Hogwarts with Ron and Hermione or at the Center with Gemma.

Hedwig's talons were scratching on the stone wall that contained the spring—Harry guessed that she was drinking water.

"So, what do you think, Hedwig? Is it safe for me to go to the Weasley's? Or to the Granger's?" Harry asked without expecting a response.

He was surprised by Hedwig's gentle coo.

"Safer than down here?"

She cooed again, but with a note of concern.

"Hmmm. I wonder what Nio thinks," Harry said, getting to his feet. He was comfortable enough navigating the tunnels now that he didn't need to shake out his staff. Unlike the tunnels under the Center, these were uniformly carved into the earth and there were no unexpected stalactites or stalagmites to worry about. He'd also stashed his glasses in his staff because he didn't have to worry about sudden bright lights. He could even run through the corridors without worrying about tripping, just trailing his fingers on the curved wall to avoid running into walls. When he got chilled, he just went up to the stone circle and sunned on a rock (after making sure no one was nearby).

Harry jogged along the tunnel to the alcove where he'd left Nio sleeping off a rather large meal of earthworms.

"Sthei! Is something wrong?" Nio asked in a sleepy slur, when Harry found his coils on the velvety cloak.

"Oh, sorry. No. It's just that Hedwig brought a letter from Mr. Weasley and my friends… they want me to go to their home. They are worried about my safety."

"But this is heaven. They should come here and stay with us. There are enough carrots and earthworms for everyone!" Nio suggested.

Harry smiled at the thought of the Weasleys and the Grangers joining him in this underground paradise.

"Hmmm. That's a thought. I was just kind of thinking that we could keep this place as our secret… in case we need it again. And maybe the next time we stay here, I could pack more food. I mean, it has been great. And I feel really lucky that we found it and that we've been safe here," Harry said as a cool breeze swirled around him, lifting his fringe.

"Do you think your adelphi will welcome me?" Nio said in a low hiss.

"Of course! They have a really great house and there is a huge garden with lots of insects. I think you'll like it there," Harry said. "And I'd really love it if you came with me."

Harry turned his ear toward a sound that echoed down the tunnel. Noises were strange down here. All the surface noises that Harry was used to were gone. It was even more silent than the passages under the Center because there was no city rumbling around them. But down here, when there was a sound, it would echo off the walls, traveling great distances. Water pinged off of rocks and the wind sometimes howled and whistled as it made its way along the tunnels from the seaside cliffs.

And then there was the shrill cacophony above an ocean of flapping wings that heralded Hedwig's surprising nesting bats from one of the alcoves. Harry had jumped in the pool fully clothed to get out of the way, much to Nio's shock. They had crouched in the water waiting for the waves of bats to disappear. Hedwig had quite happily feasted on winged rodents that night, but Harry and Nio had returned to the main atrium so that she could enjoy her feast in peace. Harry wrote to Gemma and Peter after that and asked them to remind him of the spell for drying clothes. He practiced it until it was firmly lodged in his brain.

This time, the noise wasn't a hoard of terrified bats, but an almost imperceivable whispering and the occasional dislodging of pebbles.

"Who's there?" Harry asked in Parseltongue. He felt Nio's head turn to the noise at the same time he asked.

"No one is there, Sthei," Nio confirmed.

"Are you sure? I heard someone."

"I can't see or smell anyone."

"Not even another snake?"

"That's what I said."

Harry shook out his staff and squeezed it for a description of the space as the hairs on the back of his neck prickled. The staff described their sleeping alcove and the tunnel without mentioning anything that could be making the noises that Harry thought he heard. He shrugged it off, reasoning that if it didn't spook Nio, then he was probably fine. It was probably just the breeze from the seaside cliff opening where Hedwig flew in and out of the tunnels.

He and Nio had walked all the way down to the opening the other day and spent the evening listening to the waves crash below on the cliff wall while Hedwig hunted above them. Nio had a hard time coming up with words to describe what he was seeing… the vastness of the ocean, the tremendous drop to jagged rocks below, the angry waves tearing at the cliff walls, and the colors of the ocean and the sky meeting were more than he could express, but in his attempt Harry could imagine. The wet, sea air filled in the rest as did the thunderous storm that hammered the coast that evening and drove them back to the protection of the atrium. Harry winced as he remembered the piercing pain of the lightning tearing across his vision.

"I'm going to write to Ron and tell him that I'm ready to fly to the Burrow. Okay?"

"Yes, Sthei. Talk to your Adelphi. Tell them that we will fly through the air like owls and meet them. I hope they have as many insects as you promise. But I'm with you no matter where we go. We are our own Adelphi now. Even Hedwig is part of our Adelphi, damned though she is with a sharp beak and talons. We'll be safe from all those who wish you harm? Your Adelphi will keep us safe from their blasted sticks and the mad dog?"

"Yes, I think so, Nio. And there will be more for me to eat," Harry sighed, wishing he knew spells for transforming carrots into roasts, buttered rolls, and treacle tarts.

Harry settled onto the ledge that served as his bed and pulled the tablet from his staff.

"Oi, Ron," he wrote.

Moments later, a response vibrated through the tablet and Harry ran his fingertips over it.

"Harry! Is that you? You all right, mate?"

"Peachy," Harry responded. "Your Dad sent a note. I'll fly to the burrow tomorrow morning. Hedwig will go ahead to guide you. All right? I'll message when I'm leaving. Have cloak, so follow Hedwig," Harry wrote, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth as he concentrated on writing in braille. He ran his fingers over the message a few times, assuring himself that he hadn't reversed any e's or i's in the process. He didn't need Ron to take the mickey out of him for spelling.

"Smashing. Can't wait to see you! Egypt was amazing! I have so much to tell you. This slate is bloody brill by the way. Though I'm worried about it in Hermione's hands. She's going to have us writing scrolls for Transfiguration before the term begins."

Harry snorted at this and sighed. He wasn't quite ready to consider how he was going to manage his courses yet. He was still bloody slow at writing in braille, and reading it was still torturous. He supposed some time this summer with Hermione would help. Maybe she'd come to the Burrow, too?

He asked Ron to invite her and then stashed his slate, yawning as he prepared for bed. Harry has asked his staff to wake him at dawn. In the tunnels, he had no idea of the time and so frequently checked his staff. Nio settled in next to him and Hedwig cooed at them as she passed by, taking off down the tunnel for her nightly hunting.

"oO0OooO0OooO0OooO0Oo

Dawn was heralded by the melodic voice emitting from Harry's staff secured in his holster and Harry rubbed his eyes and stretched. Nio protested as Harry stuffed the cloaks they slept on into his staff, then stumbled down the tunnel to the bathing spring. He figured a dip in the waters would help him prepare for the journey. He savored the time in the waters… while cooler than the baths at Hogwarts, they were refreshing and he'd miss the luxury of being able to float around whenever he fancied. He figured that he could always return if he needed. This sanctuary was his secret spot. He had made sure his staff had recorded the location so that he could return here whenever he needed. And he knew that Hedwig and Nio would also be able to direct him here, too.

"I'll never have to return to the Dursleys," Harry whispered to himself as he floated on his back, listening to the water-distorted echoes of the underground stream.

Harry used the drying charm on his curls, running his fingers through his hair until it was dry enough. It was a bit fussy to have to do everything with the cloak on… but if it kept him from being detected by everyone's tracking charms, then it was worth the hassle. Once he was dry, he dressed under the cloak. He stuffed some carrots into his book bag, filled his water bottle, and made sure the ties holding his cloak on his wrists and ankles were secure. He took in a deep breath and then sent a note to Ron on his slate, knowing that he was probably waking Ron up.

Ron's response was quicker than he expected… maybe he was as eager as Harry for the day to start.

"You headed out already, mate?"

"Yep. We're flying your way."

"Which direction do we go?" Ron asked.

"I dunno? Toward the ocean?"

"Right. You said you were on the coast. Okay. We'll follow the Otter River and fly toward Sidmouth."

"Okay. I'll send Hedwig ahead to meet you. See you in a bit."

"Right. SEE you."

Harry groaned and then stuffed his slate back into his staff. He stood in the atrium for a moment.

"Good-bye. You've been good to me. I won't forget you," Harry whispered. He didn't know to whom he spoke, but he felt like there was someone or something listening. A breeze blew across his face, raising the hair on his arms, but not in an alarming way. It was peaceful. Accepting.

"Right. Thank you," he said to the empty air in front of him.

"Who are you talking to?" Nio asked.

"I feel like someone is listening," Harry muttered in Parseltongue. He shrugged at Nio's questioning hiss and walked toward the staircase. When his toe contacted the first step, he brushed his hand over the wall about shoulder height until he located the markings that opened the stone slab.

He stood with his fingertips on the edge of the etched staff and serpents carving and hesitated.

"I want to repay your kindness," he spoke aloud.

The breeze stirred his fringe.

"I'll come back and I'll plant more food… I'll ask Neville… he'll know what can grow down here."

A warm wind brushed his cheek and then whistled softly as it swirled around Harry and then moved away, back down the tunnels.

Relieved, Harry pressed his hand over the snake entwined staff and closed his eyes tight as the stone groaned and air and light flooded the entryway. The early morning air was cooler than the tunnels and Harry shivered and pulled the cloak around him. The sun wasn't high enough yet to be too bright, but he took a moment to put his glasses on for when it would be too bright, and then sat astride his broom. He pulled the cloak around him, trying to cover as much of his broom as he could. Hedgwig hooted from a nearby tree as she took off, chattering as she neared him so that he'd know where she was. Nio squeezed Harry's neck as he lifted into the air and navigated toward the Burrow.

"Hedwig, go on ahead and find Ron. They are following the Otter River to Sidmouth," Harry called out.

She responded with a low hoot that receded as she flew away.

It felt good to fly again. Nio reported that the coastline was below them, which was confirmed by the buffeting winds that carried the strong scent of brine and occasionally fish as they passed over port towns and their fish markets. It didn't take long for the sun to warm them and then to start baking them. Harry was glad that he hadn't put on his jumper. It wasn't too long into the journey when his staff vibrated indicating that they should turn north.

"This is a much shorter trip than when we flew away from Privet Drive," Harry commented to Nio. Nio squirmed at his bellybutton where he'd dropped earlier. He really didn't like flying.

Harry turned his ear north, too, thinking that he'd heard a voice.

"Nio, can you come back up here? I think I heard Ron," Harry said, nudging the snake with his free hand and helping him navigate back up to his neck.

"Eep. We are still very high up, Sthei!" Nio protested.

"Yes, we're not at the Burrow yet."

"This Burrow sounds cozy. Is it underground?" Nio sounded hopeful.

"No, but do you see Hedwig?" Harry was distracted.

"Aw, yes. She's a bright speck headed this way," Nio paused for a second. "And I believe there are two legwalkers on flying sticks are following her… Oh, no wait. There are so many of them… with hair like fire. They are zooming around like swallows."

"The whole family came?" Harry asked in awe. He wondered if Mrs. Weasley was up on a broom, too. "Won't people see them?

Their voices were now reaching Harry, carried by the wind which had changed direction. They were chattering as if on a holiday outing, with no concern about muggles or ministry officials who might see them.

"Of course," Harry laughed as he thought to himself. "If they snuck off they would look more suspicious. This is their perfect undercover operation!"

As their noise grew nearer, he began to wonder if they knew he was there. He was starting to get nervous as his broom warned him of obstacles in his path. He started flying defensively and calling out to them.

"Oi! Watch where you're going!" he yelled as the twigs of a broom clipped him in the forehead, nearly dragging off his hood. He pulled it back into place.

"Harry? Are you here? We can't see you!" hooted George as he sped away.

"The unseeing is unseen? Unheard of!" shouted Fred, not far behind his twin.

Harry thought about pushing the hood of the cloak down so that they'd see his head, but then worried that they'd be set upon by the ministry.

"Did you see Harry?" Ginny called out, zooming uncomfortably close beneath Harry. He pulled up on his broom and then his staff warned him he was on another collision course. Nio was clutching at his neck and not offering any guidance, much to Harry's dismay. He felt like a bludger richoteching off of the beater's clubs.

"Could you at least charm your brooms with bells," Harry called out after another near miss… he was pretty sure it was Mr. Weasley this time.

"He's over here!" Ron called, his voice getting louder as he neared Harry.

"Yes, I'm right here!" Harry called out as he spiraled away from Ron, his trainer connecting uncomfortably with some part of Ron's anatomy.

"Omph! Why'd you do that for?" Ron groaned.

"Couldn't see you, mate!" Harry called over his shoulder. He wasn't sure if he should climb higher or try to land. He decided to go higher and keep flying to the Burrow.

"Where are you going?" Ron called after him.

"Aren't we going to the Burrow?" Harry called.

Mrs. Weasley did seem to be up on a broom. She called out to Harry, "Harry, dear. Where are you? I've got a basket of sandwiches for you!"

"Oh, that sounds heavenly!" Harry called, his mouth watering at the memory of her roast beef sandwiched between hearty pieces of bread dripping with hot horseradish mayonnaise. He caught a whiff of the heavenly concoctions and nearly fell off his broom as he lurched her way. He righted himself and then realized that the object coming at him quickly must be her.

"Oh, I can't manage them up here, Mrs. Weasley. As much as I'd love to be able to!" he said, skirting around her and muttering his apologies over his shoulder.

"Oh, right. Silly me!" she chided herself. "No worries. We're nearly home. They'll still be hot. Ron said you'd been living on carrots for nearly a week!"

"So you fell down the rabbit hole! Have you turned into the Mad Hatter, then?" teased George as he swooped by and then slowed to keep pace with Harry. "Or are you a doormouse now?" asked Fred from his other side.

"Oh, let him be!" Ginny defended Harry from above.

Hedwig hooted from the front of the flying formation and Harry heard her descending.

"So, have we arrived?" he asked.

"Yep, we're going to land on the Quidditch pitch," Ron told him.

"Harry, just stay with us and you'll be fine," Mr. Weasley assured.

Harry wasn't so sure. Nio was hissing incomprehensibly in Parseltongue making Harry wonder if there was a snake deity that he was praying to.

"Give him some space, Fred and George," Percy shouted imperiously from behind.

"All right, we're landing now. Everyone make room for Harry to land," a voice deep like Mr. Weasley's commanded, but different. Harry momentarily lost focus and then pulled up on his broom as the vibrations indicated that he was closer to the earth than he realized. He jumped off his broom, the cloak tied to his ankle catching in the twigs and tripping a bit. He hoped that the cloak kept his stumbled landing from being apparent to everyone and straightened up.

"Is it over?" Nio wheezed from his neck. Harry put a finger under his coils and pulled gently.

"Yes, we're here."

"Oh, I imagine there are all sorts of tasty bugs in the rotting apples under these trees," Nio observed.

"I imagine!" Harry chuckled as Nio's head bobbed as he looked around. Harry pulled in a deep breath. Even though it wasn't so far from where he'd been hiding, the air here was distinctly Burrow-ish. It was a good aroma.

"Why are you hissing? Can't you take the cloak off so we can see you? You're safe now," Ron said as he dismounted near Harry.

"Harry!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed as she fumbled, smacking him on the shoulder as she tried to find him, then pulled him into an embrace. "There you are! We were so worried about you! Come on now. Let's get you to the kitchen. A spot of tea, that's what you need."

She started pulling Harry across the Quidditch pitch. Harry stopped and shook out his staff.

"Oh right. That's it dear! You've got this," she said, her voice holding an unexpected admiration as she let him make his way across the apple strewn field. He wondered if she could see his staff… He wasn't trying to conceal it under the cloak now that they were at the Burrow.

A thundering of footfalls and laughter sounded as the twins, Ginny, and Ron raced off to the broom shed to put away the brooms.

"Harry, you can take off the cloak now. I've made special arrangements with the Ministry and Hogwarts for you to stay here with us. You're safe now. We have extra protections and wards in case Sirius Black comes this way," Mr. Weasley assured him.

Harry cautiously pushed the hood of his cloak back onto his shoulders. George and Fred took great delight in Harry's floating head, "Off with his head!" The gaggle of Weasleys charged up the steps to the kitchen where the mint was fragrant.

The Weasley family buzzed around him, filling Harry in on their adventures in Egypt and peppering him with questions about how he managed to evade both the Ministry and Sirius Black on his broom.

He stood in the center of the kitchen and struggled with the laces that kept the cloak tied to his wrists and ankles. They had become very tight with all the water and wind they'd been subjected to in the last week.

"Harry, can I help you with that?" the deep voice asked. He was taller than Mr. Weasley.

Harry's eyebrows pulled together.

"I'm Bill Weasley! I came back to help track Sirius Black. He was spotted in Surrey yesterday, but not captured. They are pretty sure he's tracking you."

"Bill!" Mrs. Weasley said sharply. "You'll frighten him!"

"Oh! Bill. That's right. Ron's oldest brother," Harry said, trying to hide his shock that Black had tracked him to Privet Drive. Harry held his wrists out to Bill who tapped the ties with his wand while muttering a spell. Then they tackled his ankles and the tie at his throat. Harry swung the cloak off and was stuffing it into his staff along with his broom when Bill paused in midsentence asking if he could see it.

"There's a snake on your neck!" he said, stepping back.

"Oh, yes. This is Nio," Harry introduced and then explained to Nio in parseltongue that Bill was Ron's older brother. Nio reminded him that he didn't know who Ron was either and then Harry introduced Nio to the whole family. They had different degrees of acceptance. George and Fred were the most accepting and Bill seemed to be afraid of snakes. He was relieved when Nio, overwhelmed with all the leg walkers, decided to retreat to Harry's navel. Bill asked to see the cloak again.

"Oh, this is no ordinary invisibility cloak. Incredible. Where did you get it?" Bill asked as he turned around, the air stirring as he put it on.

"It was my dad's," Harry said quietly.

"Huh. A family heirloom. This is a treasure. Keep it safe," Bill said, brushing it against Harry's hand as he handed it back.

The warmth of the Burrow's kitchen filling his senses, Harry gulped a deep breath and smiled when Ron thumped him on the back and pushed him onto a bench at the big table in the center of the room. Hedwig cooed from a perch near the window, a teapot whistled over the fire and china clinked as the tea was set out. Harry could smell the roast beef sandwiches that had been set out on a platter in front of him. He was amazed how something this foreign—unlike anything he'd ever known—could feel like home.