Somewhere

ok this took longer than expected because I got distracted by Blood+
*swoons over Haji*

severus: but i thought i was the one you swooned over
isis: you still are sweetie, but he can play the cello
severus: yes and i can...
isis: can what?
severus: i'll tell you later
isis: oo!

anyway this took longet than expected to finish even though i only had about half a page to write to get it done!!
it's here now though so enjoy...

on a lighter note they head back to hogwarts tommorrow...
it's getting closer!!

i think it's about 10-11 chapters away.... bear in mind thought that some of those chapters are REALLY long for me!
at least you have something to look forward to though!!!

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That was how they spent the following weeks, testing the range of Harry’s new powers. He learnt how to call singular animals to him or entire groups. Soon he had enough control that he could leave the net mostly open at all times, meaning that he could call or speak to an animal at anytime but otherwise all he heard was a soft kind of chatter, like being in the great hall, that he soon learnt to ignore. If an animal addressed him directly however he heard it clearly through the rest.

They also found out that he could heal animals. After the first incident with the sparrow he was distressed to hear a fox calling out in pain near the cottage. It had caught its leg in a rabbit warren and broken it. Searching out for the animal with his magic he finally found it in the trees near the pond. When he called to it, it asked for help, its voice filled with pain. Going to it he knelt down to comfort it, stroking the soft red fur. Quite suddenly he saw an image of the foxes broken bones flash before his eyes, then he felt an involuntary sure of magic leap from his body and into the fox, just before he blacked out. When he came to he felt dazed and weak. Rolling onto his side he found the fox pressed up against him, completely uninjured.

“You fixed my leg. Thank you,” it yipped.

“Ummm… you’re welcome.”

He wasn’t sure how he’d done it but together with Severus they had worked on it until he could do it of his own free will. Now he fixed the injury layer by layer, setting bones and driving out infection, stitching back together muscle and skin with his magic. By doing it little by little he didn’t pass out and it didn’t drain his magic as much. There were still times when it nearly knocked him out, like when he came across a rabbit that had been attacked by a passing hawk. It was on the brink of death and took him hours to fix all of its injuries and rid it of infection. By the end he was only just conscious and Severus had had to carry him to his room. He’d woken up the next day with the rabbit laid by his head on the pillow.

They’d continued their combat training as well and were now evenly matched in most areas. He’d learnt how to use a sword, knife, bow, staff and his hands to deadly accuracy. The blackbird had taken to watching their training sessions and often sat on Harry’s shoulder as he walked around the garden, much to Hedwig's displeasure.

The Headmaster had turned up a few days after Severus’ little mishap with more Rice Crispies, which Harry had instantly taken and hidden in his room, only to have the taller man summon them into the kitchen and pour himself a bowl. Dumbledore had laughed till he cried at the ensuing argument. While he was there he’d also told them that Harry would be returning to Hogwarts a day early. They would be apparating to Diagon Alley in order for him to retrieve his school supplies and then they would continue on to Hogsmeade before returning to the castle.

As he walked around the garden with the blackbird on his shoulder he contemplated all the things that had happened to him over the summer. He’d finally admitted to himself that he was well and truly, completely and utterly, head over heals in love with Severus and god how he hated it. Every moment around the man was torture. The sound of his voice, the way he smelt, the ease and grace in the way he moved. He was sin personified and oh how Harry wanted him. It was just a shame he’d never see him that way. Life, he’d decided, sucked and the gods hated him.

Taking a detour, he headed down to the pond to see the cat and her kittens. Calling out she told him where they were hidden this time. As he got near the kittens bounded out to see him. Getting on for five weeks old now they each had their own unique personalities. The little black and white female he’d called Bandit was a boisterous trouble maker, where as her sister Sookey was a shy but incredibly sweet little thing. Their brother Fai was an all round happy and hyperactive bundle of fluff like Shale. It still sometimes amazed him that Severus had bought him a kitten, not that he’d be without Shale now. He’d come to love the little kitten, now almost three months old, in the same way that he loved Hedwig. He was family and he’d never give him up. While he’d grown up a bit though, he certainly hadn’t lost any of his childish exuberance. On several occasions he’d woken up to Shale perched on his forehead, peering down at him, asking if they could play. He’d taken him down to meet the younger kittens once and he was quite amazed at the size difference. Shale had really grown while he’d had him and yet he was still a kitten in body and mind. He left after playing with the kittens for a while, saying his goodbyes and heading for the training range at the back of the cottage.

They’d pretty much covered all the combat training they could now, so they continued simply for fun and exercise and to stop Harry getting rusty. Today was one of his all time favourites. Archery. He loved the feel of the wood beneath his hands, the strength and the power. When the range came into view he saw that Severus was already there, firing at targets with his favourite bow, a huge longbow, stained so dark it was almost black. They’d got a huge range of bows in the basement, from longbows to regular ones, recurved kinds and crossbows and he’d learnt to use them all. His favourite however was a longbow, perfect for his height and strength, stained a deep cherry red colour. It felt perfect in his hands and he was determined to take it with him… along with a small armoury if he could get away with it. Picking a quiver he lined up next to Severus and nocked an arrow on the string, putting three more into the ground in front of him. While they’d been training he’d come up with the idea of imbuing the arrows with different spells. Now, focusing on his magic, he found a thread and mentally wound it around the shaft of the arrow.

“Look out,” he said to Severus, just before he swung the bow up, took aim and loosed. The arrow flew straight and true, hitting near the bullseye, where it exploded, turning the target into flying pieces of shrapnel.

“Well that’s a new one,” came a remark from next to him.

“Yeah, I just got the idea.”

“Well it was certainly effective,” Severus said as he walked over to poke at the smouldering wreckage with the toe of his boot.

“What’s going to happen to all the stuff in the basement when we leave?” he asked innocently, playing with the string of his bow.

“Nothing. I should think that it will just collect dust. The original owner had no next of kin so he left it to the Headmaster instead. It will most likely never see another human face after we leave. Why?”

“Well, I was just thinking that maybe we could take some of the weapons with us. I’ll be able to keep training and I’ve gotten rather attached to some of them.”

“You’d have to ask the Headmaster. Technically they belong to him.”

“I will do.”

So that was how he spent the rest of the week, eagerly awaiting Dumbledore's next visit. Finally he arrived on the Friday with a pop and a flourish, grocery bags floating behind him.

“Sir,” he said almost as soon as he’d entered the room.

“Yes my boy.”

“The weapons, in the basement. What’ll happen to them when we leave?”

“Nothing, there’s no need for them.”

“If you don’t mind may I take a few of them?” he queried innocently, praying to any deity listening that the answer would be yes.

“My boy, take what you want. If you can get some use and enjoyment out of them, better that than they sit here collecting dust,” he said with a laugh and a smile.

“Thank you Sir, that means a lot to me,” he beamed.

“You’re welcome.”

As they waited for Severus, they talked about Harry’s departure the following weekend. Eventually they heard footsteps on the stairs and Severus appeared hair still damp from his shower. Politely excusing himself, Harry ran down to the basement to pick out weapons. He started by picking out the things he wanted to take but suddenly realised that it would be a lot easier to just discard the things he wouldn’t take. He ended up with seven things that were either unsuitable or broken that wouldn’t make it to Hogwarts. They consisted of two children’s bows, a woodworm ridden longbow, a double headed axe with a broken shaft, a child’s sword and two bent throwing knives. Briefly he wondered who had owned the cottage before and just why they’d had all this in the basement. He’d made sure that he’d put Severus’ favourites to one side as well, hoping that their sparring sessions wouldn’t end once they got back.

Picking up a throwing knife he weighed it in his hand. It was perfectly balanced, the hilt equal to the blade. Throwing it in the air, he caught it by the point then span on his heel and threw it at one of the targets, straight past the approaching Headmaster.

“That was close my boy.”

“That was nothing Sir,” he smiled.

“Oh?”

“Would you like to see close Sir?”

“Absolutely.”

“Do you trust me Sir?”

“With my life,” he said honestly.

“Then stand in front of the centre target and I’ll show you close,” he said with a mischievous smile.

Waiting for the Headmaster to move into place he picked up another knife, weighed it carefully, put it back and then chose another. Turning he focused on the sparkling blue hat perched on Dumbledore’s head. Gauging the distance carefully he never saw Severus on the stairs. With one final look he drew his arm back and threw the knife across the room, where it plunged through Albus’ hat, an inch from his head, pinning the material to the target, the knife deeply embedded in the woven straw.

“Now that’s close,” he grinned.

“My dear boy, that is quite amazing.”

“He seems to have a natural talent for muggle combat,” Severus said, making Harry jump.

“Merlin’s balls! How long have you been there?”

“Long enough to have witnessed your feet of daring.”

“Oh,” suddenly embarrassed for some reason.

“Well if we’re all done here I must be leaving,” said Dumbledore as he tried to pull the knife free from his hat, only to find it firmly wedged in place, instead resorting to magic to pull it free, before sealing the hole in the material and putting it back on his head with a smile.

“Thank you again for letting me take these Sir.”

“You’re most welcome. I shall see you next at Hogwarts then, so goodbye for now,” he said before disappearing with a pop.

“Well. What now?” Harry asked with a grin.


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To the ever faithful reviewers who threaten me

Slytherdor -- oo what a coinkeydink! as for harry's pebble... you'll have to wait and see!

Werewolf Mistress -- ah it may be torture to wait but won't it be all that much better when it gets here!

Slowly_Disappearing -- i like begging... but thats just my nature *evil smirk* as for when they get together... about 10 chapters... but i haven't actually written a 'get it on' scene yet... maybe in about 13-14 chapters... i want to take it slow, build up the suspense... i made the mistake of going too quick in my last one

Vidalark -- Shale is kinda like my inner child, whenever i hear him talking in my head it's usually really fast in a super cute voice and hedwig just got the short end of the stick!!

ladyroo88 -- thankies for the cookies and i would put you on the mailing list but... i need your email!!

mis -- lol but that would have made it really akward... they're not about to tell each other yet, hell sev isn't even really sure what he feels is 100% real!

kneeya -- thank you

KrysAlysia -- ummm... did you not read ch. 12 and 13? you have to remember that this story has a very compact story line... ch's. 14 - 18 all happen on the same day.. i went with the plan that shale hadn't seen harry up and about since beofre his birthday

devilzangel07 -- you've got a ONG time to wait before that pebble makes a reappearance!! i added you to the mailing list aswell

Amanda Rose -- haha pork key hadn't noticed that! as for first kiss goodieness.... about 10 chappies so bear with me and hang in there!


right for now... i need to iron clothes and eat food... maybe rice crispies!

the next chappy could be a while in coming because i've got alot of housework to do ready for my holiday the week after next but i'll try my hardest