Ame's Insanity (amejisuto) wrote in the_playground, @ 2008-05-11 13:25:00 |
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Entry tags: | ame's fics, hp/dm/ss |
A Wing And A Prayer Harry/Draco/Severus Rated R 2/?
Sorry this is so late people ... my allergies are trying to kill me I think.
Title: A Wing And A Prayer
Author: amejistuo
Fandom: Harry Potter with a hint of a crossover to be reveled at a later date.
Pairing: Eventual Harry/Draco/Severus
Word Count for this chapter: 3531
Rating: R
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. .
Warnings/Squicks: Total break from canon after OotP. Misguided!Dumbles, Not so good!Order, bad language and misuse of feathers. Abuse of Chalk Horses. Watch out for a Snickering!Snape as well, although he's usually laughing AT Harry, not with him so hopefully he's not too OOC.
Summary: Harry's about to turn seventeen and is planning on making a few changes. Problem is, there are certain changes he isn't expecting, and they'll alter his life more than he could have ever imagined.
Find the previous parts here.
Beta'd by the wonderful suki_blue. Thank you dearest!
Notes: First things first, while this is a Harry has wings fic, it is NOT a Vanterra or Veela fic. He's got wings for a totally different reason, but the reason will be reveled later on in the fic. You'll figure it out with Harry. I do have to admit that a lot of the ideas of how Harry looks, wingspan, weight, height, all that good stuff, comes from three different sources. One is Warren Worthington III, also know to X-men fans as Angel. Another is Carter Hall, aka Hawkman.
The third is a secret, because I'm using bits of that fandom for a crossover. Not any characters or anything but for historical background.
This is gonna be another slow story folks. I'll be updating about once a month. And yet again I ignore the last two books pretty much altogether. I may use some bits of, say, Severus's back story with Lilly, but there isn't any horcruxes and there was never any oath between Severus and Narcissa to keep Draco safe. Sorry folks, but the last two books aren't my favorite. For god's sake JK made Draco BALD! That's just so wrong.
Chapter Two
Harry considered sitting up, finding a wall, and smashing his head into it. Why did everything weird seem to center around him? He made a mental note to never travel to the Bahamas or Tibet; knowing his luck he'd disappear or be molested by a Yeti. Then again, Moaning Myrtle still made it a habit of peeping at him when he was in the shower so a pervy Yeti he could probably get used to.
The only thing keeping Harry from trying to bash his brains in was the fact that he didn't want anyone to hear. Well, that wasn't true. He figured if he could get over the shock of changing species he might actually enjoy having wings. After all, nothing in the world gave him as much pleasure as being on his broom, the ground far beneath him as he soared into the freedom that was the sky.
That was if his wings worked.
Harry slowly got up, trying to keep the bed from creaking. At the end of the school year he had made a few plans about running away on his birthday, and had acted accordingly. All of his belongings that he really cared about, photo album, books, broom, his good clothes, he'd shrunk and hidden in his school messenger bag. He had then cast a Notice Me Not charm on his bag.
Vernon had never even looked at it.
Harry was thankful for that now. His school trunk was locked up, as always, and even if it was in his room, there was no way Harry was going to risk alerting Dumbledore that he was awake by performing a shrinking charm on his stuff. And there was no way he was carrying a huge trunk.
Harry looked around the room as he tried to find some clothes. He'd been sleeping in his boxers and an old sleeveless shirt of Dudley's. He gave up finding a shirt as a bad job since he had no idea how to put a shirt on around the wings and simply pulled on an old pair of school trousers.
Whatever had happened to give him wings, evidently had caused him to have a growth spurt. Harry found he was more muscular and not nearly as scrawny as he had been. Ordinarily that would have been cause for much rejoicing but this morning it just made Harry swear.
His trousers had ripped up the back.
Harry so didn't need that this morning.
Looking around the room, Harry noticed that both Bran and Magus had left sometime during the night, and he sighed in relief. It was bad enough that Hedwig was silently laughing at him.
He went to his old wardrobe and pulled on a pair of Dudley's tattered jeans. They were way too big but he used his belt to tighten them up. It was better than trying to run away from home with his knickers flashing everyone. Especially since they were a pair the Twins had given him last year for his birthday with snitches flying on them. That would be embarrassing.
Sometimes Harry felt as if his life was a bad episode of Blackadder, and then he remembered Minister Fudge and changed it to Monty Python He figured Fudge started out in the Ministry of Silly Walks with that odd shuffle-waddle of his.
Harry shook his head to rid himself of his inane thoughts. Now was not a good time to get distracted. Harry spent a few minuets panicking when he noticed the potion Snape had given him was missing from his end table, but relaxed when he found the small bottle hidden in the toe of his old trainers. He looked around the room that had been his on and off for the past six summers, and saw that he had everything that he wanted.
With any luck he'd never set foot in this house again.
He walked over to the window that still had its glass missing. How Moody or any of the others missed it was beyond him. Perhaps it was another mystery that could be blamed on the Felix Felicius. Either way Harry was thankful. Hopefully his odd luck would hold out and no one would see him leaving.
That thought made him pause and he dug out the potion bottle from where he had secured it in his school bag. Harry knew if Dumbledore and the Order were around, he'd need all the luck he could get to get away from Privet Drive without anyone noticing. Another drop of the potion wouldn't hurt and might just help.
Of course that meant that Harry had to wait till the odd reaction he had to the potion had passed. He wished he dared to give Hedwig a bit; Harry's greatest fear was that someone would hurt his owl friend to get to him. And unlike Harry's human friends, she couldn't protect herself nearly as well.
He'd just have to hope his luck would carry over to her.
Harry went to the window and carefully dropped his bag. It had enough charms on it so that nothing would break. His window faced the street so it was unlikely anyone was out there watching from the Order, he'd just have to make sure no car was coming down the street and none of the neighbors were out.
Hedwig seemed to sense he was leaving, and the need for quiet. She silently glided from the old cage she used as a perch to where Harry was standing by the window, and looked at him. Then she went out the window, flying quickly to the oak tree in No. 6’s front yard, hiding herself in the branches.
No one raised the alarm, and none of the neighbors seemed to be peeking out of their houses. The street was quiet.
And so Harry climbed over the window sill and let himself drop.
His wings unfurled and helped slow his decent. He was afraid of trying to fly, unsure if he could actually get very far. He knew that baby birds needed a week or two of practice flights to actually be able to go any distance, and baby hippogriffs had to be watched that they didn't strain their wings. So he figured he'd have to be careful starting out, and trying to go from Surrey to London or Wiltshire would be a bad idea.
His wings helped him glide down to the ground though, and he landed on his feet without falling or breaking anything, or making a huge thudding sound, so Harry felt sure no one in the house had noticed him.
He found his bag and pulled out his invisibility cloak. For a moment he was afraid it would be too small, after all, he had not only grown wings during the night but had gained some muscles and it felt like he'd added more than a few centimeters in height. He pulled it over his head and for a moment he was able to see the bottom of his shins and bony ankles and his scuffed up blue and yellow trainers.
Then the cloak shimmered and seemed to grow and Harry wasn't able to see any of himself anymore when he looked down. He let out a sigh of relief and then quickly walked away from the house that had been his prison, stopping only to let out a low whistle for Hedwig to follow as he made his way down the street. Whatever wards that had stopped him from leaving the property evidently didn't hold, or didn't matter to his new form, something he was grateful for.
He tried to stay on the path rather than the grass verges, figuring that the others might expect him to be invisible, and there was less of a chance that he'd give himself away by leaving tracks. It was a bit difficult though because today was rubbish day on Privet Drive and everyone had their bins out to be taken away. In the end he decided to jog quickly along the path and out in the road and move out of the way if a car was coming.
Every once in a while he would glance upward and see Hedwig soaring high overhead. He always worried about her, afraid that someone would get the bright idea of killing her to get to him. Once he had only worried about the Death Eaters and the Slytherins at school, now he worried about the Order, too. Ron was essentially a good person, but he was also jealous and petty and hotheaded at times. He felt that Harry's support of Draco was a betrayal of their friendship, never mind that Ron was being an arse. He wouldn't put it past his ex-best mate to see Hedwig and in his anger fire a curse off at her.
Oh, he'd be sorry once he'd calmed down. But that wouldn’t help Hedwig if he did something nasty. He didn't put anything like that past Moody either; he wasn't supposed to be communicating with anyone and if the paranoid Auror saw Hedwig, he'd probably hex to kill.
Harry alternated walking and running, afraid to run full out in case someone was listening for footsteps, Hedwig keeping pace with him in the sky. The further away from Privet Drive he got, the more comfortable he felt.
Of course he didn't dare relax yet. He figured that Dumbledore had multiple ways of tracking him and Harry had no idea how long his luck would last. After traveling at least a good kilometer Harry found a Muggle bus stop, and hoped that one would be coming along. He had no time schedule, and wasn't willing to wait long.
He leaned up against a tree nearby, and Hedwig lighted on a branch above his head, giving him a reassuring sound. He was over his first bout of panic now and was feeling rather tired. Harry wasn't quite sure what he was going to do just yet. He only trusted a handful of people and only Snape and possibly Malfoy had enough power to help him if Dumbledore was looking for him, and Snape was as much under the Headmaster's thumb as Harry was. Draco was on thin ice; he'd had his title confirmed by the Wizengamot but none of the members of the Light trusted him and the Dark members were out for his blood. Well, for the most part. There was a small faction that was claiming Neutrality, but they had little to no power as well.
Neville, well his Gran was in the Order. Not in Dumbledore's Inner Circle but still she supported the old man. And while he was fairly sure he could owl Luna and she'd help him research ... whatever it was he'd become, she couldn't hide him, even for a short while.
There was a noise above him and Harry looked up. Magus had landed on a branch under Hedwig. Harry smiled. Perhaps the bird would take a message to Draco for him. He was unsure if Hedwig could find the blond if he was secure behind Malfoy Manor's wards.
"Hey, Magus. I'm glad to see you." He started to carefully dig through his satchel, hoping to find a quill or a Muggle pen and some parchment.
"Of course you're glad to see me, scar-head. Anyone with half a brain would be glad to see me. I am nice to look at, after all."
Harry spun around, forgetting about his invisibility cloak and grabbing it before it could fall. He was torn between elation and frustration. There, sitting on the same stout branch that Magus had been perching on, was Draco Malfoy. Harry didn't think he'd ever been as glad to see the blond in his entire life.
Then again Draco seemed to sense that somehow, despite the cloak still covering him. The newly confirmed Lord Malfoy was smirking at him, making a small part of Harry wish the branch would break, dumping the smirking prat to the pavement.
Before that could happen though, Draco jumped down. The git really was graceful, he didn't even have the decency to slip and almost fall.
"Please don't tell me you're going to resort to using peasant transportation! They'd notice if someone was in a seat they couldn't see, Muggles aren't that dense."
Harry carefully removed the cloak, keeping it over his wings but allowing the rest of him to be revealed. "I was hoping to stand in the back, or maybe get a seat on the upper deck. And it's public transportation not peasant."
Draco rolled his eyes. "I say peasant, you say public, I say po-tah-toe, you say po-tay-toe. It's the same thing."
Harry rolled his eyes right back at him. "You're a jumped up ponce, Draco Malfoy," and there Harry started to grin. "But I’m glad to see you." His grin turned into a frown. "You could have told me you were Magus, you know! I assume Bran is ..."
"Not out here in the open, you moron!" Draco gave him a death glare that Snape must have taught him. "Just like we're not going to go into your sudden growth spurt from last night. You're not going to go all 'I'm a freak, nobody loves me, everyone hates me I'm going to eat flobberworms!' are you?"
Harry shrugged and couldn't help but noticed how odd it felt now that he had time to acknowledge he had wings. "Probably, for a little bit at least. I should think I'm entitled to one panic attack at the very least."
"Right. Let's get back to the Manor before you indulge your Maidenly fit of the vapors."
Harry snorted but didn't argue. After all he'd give Draco just as much hell if Draco had used that curse on Weasley. They might be friends now but that didn't mean they were going to stop annoying each other. He'd wait until Draco wasn't expecting it and get the blond back. He stepped forward and took hold of the brass ring with the Malfoy Family crest on it as he held up his arm for Hedwig to take hold. He'd never seen the port key before, but he'd heard about it from Snape. Narcissa Malfoy had shoved it into her son's hands, causing the young man to be ported away as the Dark Lord aimed the killing curse at her back.
He wasn't going to ask about it though, not right now and maybe not ever. If Malfoy wanted to talk about the deaths of his parents he would, but Harry knew better than to push. Instead he settled Hedwig on his arm, ignoring how her sharp talons dug into his flesh. "It's okay to port with Hedwig isn't it? I wouldn't want her to be trapped outside your wards."
"Yes, it's okay for her, since your owl has a brain. Which is more than I can say for you. I mean, Hedwig is smarter than half of the Order, and most of the Death Eaters. You should give her more credit."
Harry shook his head. He couldn't explain to Draco about how through so many of the summers Hedwig had been his only friend and confident. It was too hard to put into words. "That's no reason to make her fly from Surrey to Wiltshire."
"Whatever you say, Harry. Hold on." Draco pulled him close, a strange sensation for Harry. It was almost as if his skin was more sensitive or something and he had to hold back a shudder. Draco looked at him oddly and then smirked. "And the first thing we're doing is getting you a shower. You stink Potter, should I pull out the badge from Fourth Year?"
Before Harry could snark back, Draco had said the password for the port key and a familiar hooking sensation gripped his middle.
Probably just as well though, for if Harry was honest he was feeling not-so fresh. Who wouldn't after a month and a half of washing in the sink? Still Harry got an odd feeling deep down inside, knowing that the blond was close enough to smell him. He fought the urge to sniff Draco. Instead he worked hard to push those thoughts to the back of his mind, instead focusing on the fact that he was going to Malfoy Manor willingly, and was glad of it.
Because he knew there, in what had been his enemy's home at one time, he would be safe.
*****
Draco had all but shoved him into the guest suite's bath, saying that after Harry was clean and attired in something that hadn't been worn by a hippo, then they would talk, over a late brunch. Harry hadn't fought him, he was too confused and too tired.
The room he was given was unbelievable. There was a walk-in closet that made Harry embarrassed over his lack of wardrobe. He'd bought himself a few things last year to wear around school when he wasn't required to wear his school uniform but not much, since it wasn't as if he needed that much. He'd left most of it behind since it was all things he could easily replace. Of course after his odd growth spurt and wing sproutage, most of it wouldn't fit anyway so it was just as well.
The bed was huge, decorated in blues and ivory with sliver trim on the pillow shams and bed curtains. Fluffy pillows of all shapes and sizes decorated the top and it made Harry even more sleepy just looking at it. There was a fireplace and across from that was a reading corner with a big cushy chair and a sofa that matched the bedding, with a bookcase and end table.
Harry could see himself staying in this room, the warm looking throw over his lap as he curled up in the chair reading. It surprised him how comfortable he felt. He'd always thought Malfoy Manor would be cold and imposing. He hadn't seen much of it, just the foyer and the staircases and hallways leading up to his room, but while everything was posh, it was also soothing somehow.
And Harry loved the bath. Oh, the toilet itself was standard. Harry supposed that he'd expected something more like a throne in a Malfoy loo, but he was glad there wasn't. There was a bidet to the side, something that Harry had very little knowledge over, and even a urinal. The sink was a masterpiece of brass fittings and marble, the mirror huge with torches on either side so it lit up. The mirror was magic but you could mute it if you wished, disabling the troublesome comments one normally got from magic mirrors, and the bath itself was big enough for four people to soak in comfortably. If Harry had more time, it would have been no problem to get him and his new wings in there for a hot bath, and he was looking forward to trying it out.
Right now though it was the shower he was luxuriating in. Somehow, the bath in his guest room was bigger than the bedroom itself, and the shower was as big as the Dursley's entire loo, something quite remarkable since Vernon had bought the house oh-so many years ago on the fact that the bathroom in the Master Bedroom was huge enough to fit his fat arse.
There were three shower heads, and a seemingly never-ending supply of hot water. Harry was pushing the limit since he'd been in there a good half hour. There had been a basket of necessaries on the counter by the sink, containing everything from soap and shampoo to a shaving kit, and Harry had washed the stink of his Muggle relatives off of him gladly, soaping himself twice with the bar of milled soap that smelled of sandalwood and herbs.
After he was clean from top to bottom, he'd stood there under the spray of hot water and spread out his wings. He hadn't really had a chance to look at them before, he'd been too rushed and frankly, too shocked by his change. He knew they were there of course, but it was almost as if he thought if he didn't look at them they wouldn't be real.
Now he stood under the streaming water and unfurled them from his back and watched as the water beaded off his feathers and ran down. They were a deep black, with a sort of bluish highlight that Harry had thought could only be found in Muggle comic books. He reached out a hand and stroked one wing, sinking his fingers down into the feathers, and shuddered. He could understand why Magus, Draco, had melted when Harry scratched his back. It felt wonderful.
Wonderful feeling aside, Harry had wings. WINGS. As far as Harry knew, no human had wings, not even wizards. So that meant that Harry wasn't human, which left the question ...
If he wasn't human, what was he?
*****