High in the air over the English countryside, over grassy hills and fields, flew a bird. The weather was still cold, but the first glimpses of spring started to appear in the landscape. Harry circled in the sky, playing in the high air currents and watching, sensing for a place to go next. Over the last weeks he had done this often, he had got even better in feeling and tracking magic that was present all around Britain. Those places attracted him and he was forever seeking them out. He was visiting small, wizard houses, forests where magical creatures lived, graveyards that were haunted by whining ghosts,… Some places gave him nice, warm feelings and other dark places gave him cold shivers, however all of them called to him.
There was a big difference with the previous time he had been exploring the land. Before he had always stayed for longer periods when he found an interesting place, now he was always restless. Often he remained only for a few days, or even a few hours before deciding to wander off again. Was it the journey rather than the destination that attracted him? No, because he grew even more nervous as he flew over the landscape, flying as fast as possible to reach his destination and struggling with the winds rather than going with them, like he would have done before.
The thoughts in his head were equally tumultuous, half of the time he did not know if he was dreaming or awake. Images and ideas from his life kept flowing through his brain, mixing and forming a strange mess. He was sitting in his old cupboard at the Dursleys as a crow guarding the philosopher's stone, another time he was a small boy catching tickling charms in his hands on his old school's playground, later he was hunted by Dudley who was riding a broom,… But inevitably his thoughts would always end up at Daphne, at being tucked away under her cloak, at riding along on her shoulder in the alleyways of Hogwarts, at fetching her ingredients when she was brewing potions,…
At this point he usually flew harder, in the hopes that the wind would clear his head from these silly memories of situations that were now unreachable for him. He felt hot anger, for the first time in his life he had known happiness and the beginnings of some kind of family. And he had lost it all.
There were also thoughts and images that were completely new and strange to him, sometimes he was in a large room where cloaked, masked figures kneeled in front of him. He also saw pitiful figures struggling in terror on the ground in front of him as he was pointing a wand at them and sometimes he could feel immense pain himself, in a body that did not seem to be his. His head ached when he had these thoughts and again he was driven to continue his journey.
Now his circling had let them to a large hill that gave him that magical vibe he craved, it was grassy terrain with some trees, rocks and bushes spread across the landscape. He suspected that some kind of magical creature was living here, but he did not see anything at this moment. As he flew around he felt a strange sensation, similar to the feeling he got when approaching Hogwarts or sometimes other magical places. Before he could research what caused this feeling, he heard a loud crack and he saw three people appear on the ground below him. The cloaked figures were holding brooms that they mounted, they took off and started flying towards him.
There was no doubt in Harry's mind that this was bad news, he did not want to meet these people. He quickly turned away and started gaining speed. His suspicions were confirmed when he felt spells flying around him. Of course he could sense the red curses coming and he could easily avoid them, but every manoeuvre slowed him down and the broom riders managed to catch up with him quickly.
The terrain was open, only a few trees offered him any cover, so hiding in the woods was not an option. Harry decided to gain altitude, maybe he could lose them in the clouds? But they were right on top of him now, one wizard conjured a net in the air, that Harry could barely avoid and he managed to catch and snuff out a spell from another wizard with his claws. But the third rider, a witch, took a sharp turn just as Harry passed her and grabbed him from the air. Harry frantically tried to flap his wings and peck at the witch, but he was held firmly under a strong arm.
The wizard that had conjured the net flew towards them and said "I knew this was going to be a seeker's job, nice flying." The witch grinned and said, "Thanks, I am just happy that the work is finally done. I mean setting up detection wards all over the country to find a specific crow, sometimes I believe the old man is losing it."
Harry was desperate, the woman was holding him tight and he had difficulties breathing. But he had one last trick left. Suddenly the witch on the broom felt the crow under her arm grow and become heavier. Before she realized what happened she was holding a struggling boy. The sudden added weight together with the fighting, screaming child made her lose control over her broom. With a final kick in the witch's stomach, Harry broke free and started falling.
Above him he heard shouting, below him the ground was approaching rapidly. This regular transforming between his two forms was new to Harry, it took all his effort to change back into a crow just before he hit the ground, he spread his wings and avoided a large boulder that was lying in the field below. The three pursuers had quickly overcome their surprise and again he felt the spells shooting around him. Surely the transforming trick could not work a second time, he flew downhill towards some trees, but he was closely followed. He had to find an escape now.
At that moment another obstacle came swinging towards him, a giant club which he barely avoided. The witch that had caught him before had been right behind him and was not so lucky. She was struck and catapulted through the air, she landed roughly on the ground. When Harry turned in the air, he saw that the club belonged to a huge creature covered in dirt and leaves, a giant that seemed to be in a foul mood. The two wizards that were still pursuing him had pulled up there brooms and were manoeuvring around the giant now to reach the crow. Harry however was staying close to his large impromptu protector. He was more than capable of avoiding the swings of the club and the giant seemed more focused on the wizards that disturbed his territory then on the small bird that was flying passed his hill.
The giant roared at the two annoying flies that circled him, his left fist shot out surprisingly fast and he grabbed the cloak of one of the riders. A swift cutting curse by his friend severed the piece of clothing from the wizard and he managed to break free, but he had lost his broom and he fell hard on the grass. The last wizard that was on a broom sent a blasting curse to the giant, to distract him from his friends. The beast took a few heavy steps towards him that shook the ground and swung his club at the wizard.
Harry however did not stay to watch and took this opportunity, he had been staying as close as possible to the giant, but now he flew away in a straight line. Behind him he heard the roars of the giant and the screams of the humans. But soon the sounds became more distant until finally he had left the area completely. Exhausted Harry found a tree besides a brook to find shelter. The sun would start setting soon and he needed the rest. But even as he settled down, he started feeling restless again, tomorrow he would fly away, for ever in search of a place where he could finally belong and find safety.