seeking thestral

[occluminous]

Feral goes back to school. Bella goes to Charlie's house for the rest of the summer. She studies her textbooks and does her summer projects and owls her friends.

She thinks about Dementors.

Comments

[pythbox]

He unfolds a wing and drapes it around her, nuzzling her shoulder. Slowly, the shivering fades.

And then he turns back, and he's a fourteen-year-old boy in slightly old-fashioned and very beat-up clothes, clinging to Bella and crying.

[occluminous]

Hugs. Hugs hugs. "Dad," says Bella, "go away."

[alicornucopia]

Charlie goes.

[pythbox]

"I didn't think," Feral mumbles into her shoulder, "I didn't think he was there, I didn't think he'd see me, I didn't think he'd - and then I was just afraid I was gonna set him on fire - that's why I didn't turn back, I didn't know if it was just being a Thestral that was stopping me. Last time I was that scared I lit up my broom."

[occluminous]

"I'm sorry," says Bella, hugging him tight. "If I thought you were going to come here I would've warned you he might be able to see you - I'm sorry."

[pythbox]

Feral clings some more.

[occluminous]

Hug hug hug hug.

[pythbox]

Hug hug hug snuggle hug sniffle hug.

[occluminous]

"Do you want to come in or are you so spooked you're going to fly home as soon as you're done hugging me?" asks Bella weakly.

[pythbox]

"...dunno," he says. "Not done hugging you yet."

Hug.

[occluminous]

Hug.

[pythbox]

Hug.

"I'll come in as long as your dad isn't gonna shoot me," he half-jokes.

[occluminous]

"He won't shoot you," Bella promises, and she ushers him in, and closes the back door, and plops them both onto a sofa.

[pythbox]

Plop. Snuggle.

"Should I, I dunno, apologize or something?"

[occluminous]

"Maybe. I don't know if Charlie's going to."

[pythbox]

"Figures," shrugs Feral.

[occluminous]

"I'm just glad he called me down to identify you instead of shooting you on sight."

[pythbox]

"Yeah." Feral hugs her some more.

[occluminous]

Hugs.

"Charlie's going to be way less happy about having you crash here than Renée was but I could maybe get him to let you stay a night or two."

[pythbox]

"No big deal," he says, "I can just sleep outside."

[occluminous]

"Well, he might not like you hanging around even if you don't technically sleep here, but that'd probably get you at least a week."

[pythbox]

Feral shrugs. "Okay."

[occluminous]

Snuggle. "He let Tony and Sherlock stay for a long time but they didn't turn into scary-looking critters first."

[pythbox]

"Yeah," says Feral. "Not the best first impression."

[occluminous]

She scritches his hair. "Kinda. I wonder who he's seen die. I knew Renée wouldn't be able to see you but I wasn't sure Charlie would."