Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Harry Potter and the Ashes of Hope ❯ Chapter 28: Arrival 1 ( Chapter 28 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

I do not own Harry Potter and I INSIST you read the note from Chapter 1.

Evergreen Sceptre...- Maybe...maybe not. And as to Harry and his Phoenix form, he is different in the can become one. But he is not Nimue's Phoenix. Their forms are different. She is also inherently fae while he is still inherently human. So their powers are also on different levels...so if he can go and get Sirius....who knows?”

Priya Ashok...- I am glad you think so and I have to tell you. I adore reading your work. Yours is among the best I have ever read.

Folks please forgive this but this is truly irritating me....

Start of rant I KNOW I HAVE PROBLEMS WITH GRAMMAR SO DEAL WITH IT!

My problem is every time I have asked for betas they turn out to be failures. For example when I took this over and posted the first four of what I wrote by myself not Mellyone or Laer-ear, I had five offers to be it right away. I gave them all a chance. I gave them a week which is when I would be busy doing some work in RL. A week to do the first four chapters I alone had written!

I emailed these people, after a week and a half mind you, to check for why they had not sent anything. Two of them said they were to busy, one said that she hadn't started yet and one said they changed their minds. One simply didn't bother.... Nice huh?

So unless you plan on being the beta yourself and can do the same thing I gave to the others and in a week to my satisfaction. DON'T complain, prove you can do it! End of rant....

Chapter 28

Arrival1

For the first two-three weeks Harry had been reunited with Remus and had found himself a family with the wolven pride in France, he was genuinely happy. And on top of that he now fully agreed with Fleur and Remus in their theories on why he was growing.

He feels no pressure to do chores. He feels no pressure to be perfect! The only pressure upon him is to simply be himself....not to be the Golden Boy. He was only allowed to be Harry.

That was something that for the longest time...he could only dream of. Eveytime he ever attempted to be himself, it was always taken away from him. Because of duty...reaching up to scratch Hedwig's feathers, the owl hooted softly as she nuzzled his cheek.

He had wanted to show Isabelle the snowy owl and had brought Hedwig with them today as he, Remus, and Fleur went to visit her and Alexandre in their home.

It was at that moment, lost in thought that Alexandre had come and smiled at Harry with a quiet almost brotherly gaze. Although it has only been a week since he was a little boy easily caught, as he grew he had become stronger and more confident then the boy he had met that first day. And in such a short time...maybe not all humans are that bad. Sometimes they need help to...

“Ready to fly?”

Distracted thoroughly now, as Harry stared back with a puzzled expression, it is Hedwig who understood and hooted her pleasure, while she launched herself into the air. Her eyes turning to her Master she playfully swooped down on him in flight, giving a cool breeze against his skin in the night air.

“This is a good night for a run...” Alexandre mused as he looked at Harry with an expression of delight. It was at that moment several wolves howled into the night air and he grinned, fangs already starting to emerge from the gums of his teeth.

“Change Harry...become your other form...and fly free with us...!”

Running off into the woods, he leaps into the air and it is only seconds later that a brilliant wolf stands with a fangy grin upon its features. Howling at the night sky, he lopes off into the forest where Harry sees others wolves of all shapes and sizes joining their leader.

“Alexandre is right you know Harry...you should go with them.”

Coming up from behind, Remus takes the seat where Alexandre had once stood. Cradling a mug of hot chocolate in his hand, to distract from the chill in the night air, the older man stared at Harry with warm paternal brown eyes. “You should...”

“Remus?”

The werewolf just smiled and gave the gentle youth a shove out and towards the woods. “Go Harry...trust me. You will enjoy it.”

“Okay....but aren't you coming?”

“No.” Remus replied with a wry grin. “Despite what Alexandre has helped me to accomplish with Moony, some old habits are hard to break.”

Taking a moment to listen, Harry understands what the older man is telling him. Remus has learnt much about the misconception perceived by his so called condition. The fact that Alexandre can change at will as can many of his pride is something that was hard to fathom.

He had always believed they could only change while the moon was full. But it seems not only was that false, but that if they could be allowed to change more then that, the wolf inside could get used to the human half. Become like a pet. Rather then a caged beast.

If he had known this so long ago...he might have been more capable of so many things that had been denied him. Remus was disappointed in what much of the ministry has denied him and others by way of knowledge. No wonder Greyback has held on for so long as pride leader back home.

Without knowledge, there can be no growth.

So leaving his former professor and adoptive father to his thoughts, Harry runs for the wolves and as he does so begins to shift. Like Alexandre has been teaching Remus control, so has he been working with Harry despite the fact he was not a true shifter.

Animagus magic and that which makes men and women shifters were actually quite similar in many aspects ironically. For a Were of any kind to shift, it requires concentration and the mindset to do so, to connect with your beast. Much like an Animagus must do so when trying to learn his or her form.

Once done, it all became a matter of will power and of course the ability to ignore the first pangs of transforming until it becomes second nature.

Although he is not quite at the level Alexandre was at, it the ability to change parts of his body at will. Harry found that the ease at which he shift to his phoenix form was astounding.

He and his phoenix self were truly bonded....

Now leaping into the air as Alexandre had done, in a flash of scarlet light, the brilliant bird that was Harry flew straight and true, to fly and play alongside Hedwig as the wolves of La Royaute savored the night air.

It was truly freedom....

-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8- 8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-

Having arrived in France the day before, Tonks had stayed in a hotel long enough to get her stuff together for the trek to the Delacourt lands. Dumbledore had given her a letter to give the French family as proof of who she was and that she had come to aide Remus in whatever he was doing.

With the loss of Hedwig recently, Remus had recently become more or less the focus of morale and hope for the light. Without his really even knowing it, these last couple of weeks....

He was best friends with the Potters. He was best friends with Sirius Black...and above all he was the teacher and the one man who taught Harry quite a bit of what he knows.

Despite the honesty of all that, Tonks knows that Remus would be appalled at how the world was going to try and turn to him to fix everything.

Like they once did Harry....

Never really truly having gotten to know the youth, what she had seen Tonks had admittedly liked. He had kind eyes and a gentle almost serene nature about him that seemed almost unreal. Maybe that was why she believed so readily as did other members of the order in his guilt.

There was a saying amongst muggles. If something seems too good to be true. It probably is.

Harry was so good, so kind... it all had to be fake right?

They were all wrong. Harry was indeed like that. He could not have done what he did. All this time Harry had been innocent and they had thought the worst.

Trying to shake free of here thoughts, Tonks now notices from her quiet musings that she had somehow arrived at her destination.

Preparing to make her presence known, the young woman did what she must and pressed a few buttons to gain their attention. Waiting for about twenty minutes, she is rewarded as a young blonde woman approaches. Unlike her elder sister golden appearance, Gabrielle Delacourt's hair was whiter almost like snow. Against her tanned skin and crystal blue eyes, she was indeed a beautiful young woman.

Tonks immediately felt inadequate in her presence, but she forced herself to remember that this woman was also part Veela. Hence she had no reason to feel inferior in the slightest, handing over her letter; the young woman opened it and read with curiosity and clarity of mind.

“You wish to see Monsieur Lupin?”

“Yes....” Tonks stated vehemently. “I must!”

A small smile crossing her lips, Gabrielle gestured for her to follow. The young woman herself has been curious as of late, as Fleur had been asking her for many of their old schoolbooks to take with her. Not to mention she has been staying there as of late longer and longer.

Just what was her elder sister doing?

Maybe by taking this woman to the cabin, she will be able to finally find out what was going on.

Chatting amicably, the two women talked about various things and even then, when Gabrielle had asked why Fleur would be asking for old schoolbooks as of late to take to Remus. Tonks could only think that maybe the other woman was asking Remus to teach her something.

But to both that simply did not make sense and so Tonks was admittedly stumped as to what exactly what her wolf was doing here.

Eventually arriving at their destination, both women became puzzled and for the same reason.

No one was at the cabin....

“I am sure Monsieur Lupin stepped out.” Gabrielle said with a soft and gentle smile. She had noticed the look of worry and hopes that her kind words would reassure the other woman.

“Yes...do you think it would be all right if I waited here?”

“I see no problem with that.” The pale blonde replied. “I will wait with you. Because who knows. He may be gone for ten minutes or even three hours. It is best that I take you back and give you room in our home to stay till he returns then if he does not show up yes?”

Nodding her head, Tonks looked out towards the surrounding woods. Hearing the sound of wolves baying at the moon in the distance and all around, she shivered subconsciously in fear.

“Please be all right Remus....”