Title: Angel
Author: Caitlin ()
Artwork: Picture by Akima
Rating: PG-13
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 Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author's Note: Oy, writing this was like trying to stuff an elephant into a peanut butter jar ::shakes fist at the 3,000 word limit:: I think I might be forced into rewriting this into the plot I had planned originally after all this is over =P So yeah, sorry the story reads so rushed... I'm actually kind of embarrassed to have people reading it. Heh.... well, try to enjoy anyway.
"Hahaha I always knew you were a fairy, Potter!"
"Shutup Malfoy or I swear--"
"Quiet, Ron. It's okay Harry, I'm sure Madame Pomfrey will fix you up in no time. And it doesn't look that bad - they're more angel wings than fairy wings..."
"Oh Merlin, Mr. Potter put your robe back on and get yourself to the clinic post haste, and Mr. Longbottom I'd like to speak to you after class about transfiguration safety!"
"Sorry Professor McGonagall..."
"Harry fairy! It even rhymes!"
"If he weren't the big troll he is he'd be in for it..."
"Shh, Ron, don't cause more problems."
Roars of laughter trailed behind Harry as he trudged sullenly down the hall, majestic white wings adorning his shoulder blades beneath his now oddly fitting robe.
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The sun was almost blinding as it poured through the sheer curtains of the Gryffindor boys' room, illuminating the dust particles dancing through the air, the sleeping forms of Ron, Seamus, and Neville, and the bleary face of Harry Potter.
Harry grunted as he cracked his neck, sore from sleeping at a strange angle, and stood to stretch, his wings expanding fully as he felt his shoulders pop. Stumbling across something, he folded his wings (which felt altogether weird) and pulled his glasses from his bedside table to better focus on the offending object. A box of Bertie's Every Flavor Beans and a card rested at the foot of his bed, "Harry" written in near-illegible script across the front.
"Harry -
I'm so sorry about what happened in class. I really didn't mean to. Crabbe elbowed me really hard and my wand slipped... of course I've already told you all this. I'm just still really sorry. Really.
Sorry,
Neville"
Grinning at the extra "sorry" at the end, Harry shook his head and tossed both into his trunk. He was in a surprisingly good mood considering the fact that he had unexpectedly sprouted wings the day earlier. Madame Pomfrey had assured him that the spell would wear off in a few days, given that the type of transfiguration spell Neville had attempted was meant for inanimate objects rather than human hosts.
He had slept shirtless since he couldn't quite fit any nightclothes over his new "extensions," as Madame Pomfrey had called them, and was presently shivering in the brisk winter air. Two sets of robes were folded neatly on the chair by his trunk, presumably ordered specially by Professor McGonagall. Picking one up for inspection, Harry noted with a bit of amusement that there was a gold lining around the wing-holes. A piece of paper fluttered to Harry's feet as he turned the robe again; he wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry when he realized that they were instructions on how to put the robe on properly.
Several minutes of tangled limbs and creative swearing followed, and finally a very ruffled and crimson Harry appeared through the neck hole (the first time it appeared through the correct hole, one might add). He ignored the muffled sniggering he heard from behind him and instead continued to face the door as he fastened the just recently discovered buttons up the front of his robe.
"Morning everyone."
"Mmf - morning, Harry."
Quiet snickering, "Shh!"
Harry just rolled his eyes and sighed.
"I'm going to breakfast now."
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"Ahem."
For the first time Harry had ever seen in his life, Professor Snape actually smiled when Harry entered his classroom, wings folded behind him.
"Why hello, Mr. Potter."
Okay, maybe it was more of a smirk than a smile.
"Hello, Professor Snape," Harry muttered.
"I heard of your ever so unfortunate accident this morning," his smirk grew as he continued, "my condolences."
"Thank you, sir," Harry glared at Snape as he swept back to the front of the class, hoping that maybe his robes would catch fire as a result (Much to his disappointment, they didn't).
Trying to ignore the constant sympathetic glances coming from Hermione, the giggling from Parvati and Lavender, the outright guffawing of the Slytherins, and the unusual quietness of Ron, Harry settled carefully into his seat, noting thankfully that they had provided him with a stool instead of the usual backed seats. Class started and Harry could still feel the fleeting glances shot in his direction, or rather his back's direction, every five seconds.
He took notes more diligently than usual, not quite understanding everything that he was writing, but writing nonetheless. At last there were a mere five minutes left in class, and Harry had never been more thankful. The novelty of his wings hadn't worn off even after an hour, and he would be grateful to escape back to his room where there would be no one to stare.
He was jerked from his momentary reverie of being away from prying eyes when something started tickling his nose. Holding his breath and closing his eyes, Harry tried desperately to make it stop, but the obnoxious sensation persisted until -
"Ah--AH-- ACHOO!"
Harry's wings sprung out behind him, knocking Ron and Hermione from their seats and causing uproar in the entire classroom.
"Ohmygod that was the funniest thing I've ever seen in my entire life!"
"Hahahaha just when I thought he couldn't be any more idiotic--"
Groaning arose from the ground on both sides of Harry as he wished fervently that he were anywhere but where he was at that moment.
"I'm so sorry, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'll be f-"
"Fifteen points from Gryffindor for disturbing my class! Mr. Potter, you will be staying after to clean up the�mess, you left," Snape gestured at the feathers now floating lazily through the air. "The rest of you may go," he waved at the door and scowled once more at Harry before walking away.
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Taking off his glasses to rub his eyes, Harry finally finished cleaning fifteen minutes later - the feathers were constantly dancing away from him whenever he tried to cast a group levitation spell on them, or even when he tried to simply sweep them up. Glowering over his shoulder at his wings, he put his glasses back on and grabbed his books from the table, trudging out the door and muttering angrily to himself.
He was so lost in his current rant that he slammed full-force into a very stagnant body, which had apparently been waiting for him. It stumbled back briefly as Harry took a moment to see exactly who it was he had just knocked into.
"S'not very healthy to mutter to yourself so loudly, Potter. Everyone already knows that you're nutters, but that doesn't mean you have to flaunt it."
"Why're you waiting for me?" he demanded grumpily.
Malfoy shrugged and smirked, "Felt like it."
In a flash Harry had a hand on Draco's chest, hurling his back into the wall and standing mere inches away from him.
Draco reached out and poked one of Harry's wings.
"Nice feathers."
"Just shut up," he grinned, now completely removed from his bad mood, and all at once pressed himself against the Slytherin, attacking his slender neck with his lips and tongue.
"Ahh-" Draco squirmed and glanced around, "you ponce, someone'll see-"
Harry nipped lightly at his collarbone and Draco stopped short, hands now twisting themselves in Harry's hair as he pulled his flushed face up for a kiss. Harry's wings were adjusting and readjusting themselves behind him as the kiss deepened, and Draco sniggered into his mouth.
Harry gasped lightly as he pulled back, "What?"
"Mmph - nothing," Draco smirked.
"What?" Harry prodded, exasperated.
"Your wings are doing funny things."
"My wings?"
Draco nodded and laughed, "Yeah, they're moving around quite a lot."
Harry blushed and scowled, "I can't help it! "
Resisting the urge to burst out laughing at Harry's reddened face, Draco calmed himself long enough to run a soothing hand through Harry's hair, "It's okay, I think it's... uh, cute?"
"Agh! Forget it!" Harry threw his hands up and turned, heading to his dormitory.
Draco's voice echoed after him, "Oh come on, don't be such a sensitive prat, come back here!"
Harry growled and kept walking.
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Draco sighed at Harry's retreating figure and scolded himself angrily.
"Whatever, he's just being hyper-sensitive," his inner Demon-Draco piped in.
"Still, you didn't have to laugh at him."
"Shut up!" he yelled aloud, the voices in his head now quickly silenced.
Night was falling, and most of the students were safely tucked in their dormitories - Filch or Mrs. Norris were sure to begin their prowling of the castle any time now, so Draco instead wandered out to the Quidditch field, taking off his robe and standing clad in a tee shirt and jeans. The pitch glowed with a silvery sheen of frost across the grass, and gray clouds masked the shine of the moon.
His mind jumped back to the sensation of Harry's lips against his throat and he let out an involuntary shudder, closing his eyes to block out the sound of his own conscience admonishing him. He raked both hands through his hair before opening his eyes again, starting a light jog across the pitch, picking up speed as he crossed and entered the Forbidden Forest.
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Harry jumped forward in his sleep, resulting in him flying out of bed and tumbling onto the floor with a loud thump.
"Mmm - you okay there, Harry?" Ron mumbled blearily from his bed.
Wiping the sweat from his brow Harry stood uneasily, shaking the dust of the floor from his wings, "Uh yeah, I'm fine, go back to sleep."
"Mmkay," was all Ron replied, followed soon by a low snore.
Harry's hands were shaking uncontrollably as he opened the door to their room, his feet not quite in sync with his mind as he stumbled down the stairs to the empty common room. A fire sprung to life in the hearth the second he set foot into the room, and he sank against the couch cushions, his mind clouded with confusion as his wings dug into the thick down pillows.
"Oh god where the hell am I?"
The wind blowing fiercely.
"This makes two stupid things in one day--"
That was when Harry had jolted forward and awoke from the incomprehensible dream he had been mired in. The voice was strangely familiar, heavily distorted by the howling wind in the background, and had spurred a strong uneasiness within him. Harry glanced briefly out the window, noting the snow now falling from the sky at a slant. Shivering as a rapid wave of ice raced through his veins, he suddenly wanted to see Draco.
-----
-------------------------- Harry nearly dropped the Invisibility Cloak at the sight of Draco's bed, empty and unruffled, the sheets yet to be slept in. It was nearly one in the morning - no one was ever out at this hour. If he had been wandering the castle he would've been caught ages ago.
"Oh god where the hell am I?"
The wind blowing fiercely--
His heart leapt into his throat as he filtered out the sound of the wind - it was Draco. He was somewhere outside. And the idiot had gotten himself lost.
-------------------------------
Flinching as the wind picked up his wings, Harry wrapped his cloak tighter around him as the snow bit at his face, at once seeing Draco's robe lying discarded at the side of the pitch.
"You moron," he groaned, grabbing it and tucking it under his cloak. He had briefly debated bringing his broom for the search, but the wind was racing at such unbelievable speeds he didn't think it could stand the pressure; not only that, but his wings would no doubt interfere with his steering and maneuverability.
Harry had yet to try out his wings on their own, finding no real need as they would soon be gone. The fear in Draco's voice flashed through his mind again and he forgot his fear of one of his wings snapping off, dropping his cloak and spreading his wings to their full expanse.
"Woahhh--"
The wind immediately lifting him in the air, Harry nearly knocked into a wall before turning his wings, suddenly swinging forward. Thinking that he was going to die at any moment, Harry ignored the stinging coldness seeping to his bones and flew clumsily towards the woods, the only place he could think of that Draco would be.
-------------------------------
Draco had stopped talking to himself once his lips had become so cold they were chapped and cracking, instead shivering in a ball on the forest floor. He felt his limbs becoming heavy, eyelids drooping down until all he could see was black...
-------------------------------
As the wind whipped him effortlessly back and forth, Harry was still trying to get used to his wings; it was then that the clouds began to disperse above him, and a sliver of moonlight began spreading across the trees. Holding back a cry of relief at the sudden aid of light, he instead picked up the intensity of his search, skimming for any flash of silvery-blonde hair or movement whatsoever.
However, what his eyes were greeted with was neither moving nor comforting, but rather the vulnerable figure of Draco collapsed on the ground in a small clearing.
With inexplicable newfound energy, Harry dove at full speed, nearly crashing as he landed haphazardly next to Draco, stumbling to his side and brushing the frozen hair from his face.
"Draco? Draco, get up. Draco--"
There was no response as Harry ran his fingers over his chilled face, whispering softly now, "Wake up Draco, look at me. Wake up."
Tears felt like fire behind his eyes as Harry looked up at the gray sky and back down at his motionless form, a scream clawing its way from his chest.
"Draco, get up!" Harry shook him as hard as he could, Draco's head swaying back and forth like a rag doll's. "Oh God, wake up Draco--"
Harry's heart stopped as Draco's bruised lips parted briefly, taking in a small puff of air as blood trickled from a crack in the corner.
"You're okay," Harry felt his heart jump and begin to race as Draco's lips continued stirring slightly, "you're okay," he repeated, shifting Draco so he was sitting up, head still lolling back as his blonde hair fell behind him. Moving so he could lean Draco against his back, Harry tilted Draco's head forward onto his shoulder, his body's weight now supported against Harry's.
Dusting a brief kiss against his head, he stood carefully and secured Draco's abandoned robe around them both, opening his wings and wrapping both arms around Draco's lifeless ones as they lifted into the torrent atmosphere.
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The darkness shifted to light, blinding light, as Draco fluttered his lids open the following morning.
"Wh--" he began to sit up, only to be pushed back on to an unfamiliar bed.
"Shh," Harry was sitting next to him, a finger to his lips as he nodded to the left. "I closed the curtain but they can still hear you."
Draco blinked and looked around, now whispering, "Wait, where the hell am I?"
"My bed."
Draco's eyes widened considerably at that, a slight blush creeping onto his cheeks. "How'd I get here?"
"I carried you."
Draco blinked several more times before the events of the night before finally flashed before his eyes.
"Oh God tell me I didn't get lost."
Harry smirked.
"Don't look so damn satisfied--"
"Harry?" Harry heard Neville squawk next to his bed. Placing a hand over Draco's mouth, Harry grinned at him as he replied.
"Mm?"
"Are you talking to yourself?"
"Yes, Neville, now go to breakfast."
"But--"
"I forgive you now, but please just go!"
"Uh, okay." Neville's voice was uneasy as usual as they heard him shuffle out the door, "Bye, Harry."
The door swung shut and Harry removed his hand from Draco's mouth, grinning like an idiot.
"So, what do you say?"
Draco coughed and sat up slowly, "Excuse me?"
"No, not that," Harry frowned. "Thank... who?"
"Oh." Draco rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall behind Harry's bed. "Thanks."
Grinning, Harry leaned forward and ran a warm hand up Draco's neck and into his hair. "That'll do," he murmured, before moving to kiss the now fully chap-sticked lips moving in a weak form of protest.
"Wait, aren't you gonna tell me what exactly happ- mmph!"
The End