MERLIN! I am so sorry that it seems like I have forgotten this story! I haven't! Real life has just been INSANE for me recently and this is the first time I have been able to sit down and write for this.

Sadly, this chapter is a bit of a filler, but we are fast approaching the climax of our story!

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Year 1: Hedwig and the Origin of Species
■□Chapter Nine: Unexpected Results


The next few weeks dragged by like flying into a fierce wind that no matter how hard you flapped your wings, you never seemed to more foreword. The other owls had all but ignored Hedwig since she had lashed out at Artemis. In fact, the only acknowledgement she had received was from some haughty barn owl who had flung some of their own scat at her. Errol, of course, was always there with his Miss Hedwig’s and whatnot, but Artemis had been nowhere to be found.

“Errol,” Hedwig said as she used her wings to bat at a stray mouse skull on the ground. “Do you know what has become of Artemis?”

“I have not seen him for several days now,” Errol chirped as spat some fragments of the bones he had been gnawing on – for calcium of course – at her. “I do believe that the Headmaster gave him an important letter to deliver to someone in a distant land. I do suppose it was of the upmost importance for even Fawkes seems to be a bit on edge with the matter.”

Hedwig ruffled her feathers and her head drooped. “I guess… I will never be able to apologize for what happened,” she cooed softly.

“Never say never Miss Hedwig,” Errol responded by placing one of his ratty brown wings on her snowy back. “You never know when an owl may turn into a phoenix you know.”

Hedwig looked at Errol and cocked her head to the side. Yep, this owl was never going to make sense to her. “Um…right, whatever you say Errol,” she responded flapping her wings a bit. “I’m going to go find Harry. His first match is today and I want to wish him good luck.”

“I do say, that is mighty kind of you!” Errol called as Hedwig took off into the morning sky.

As she circled around a tower, Hedwig realized that she had no idea where Harry was. She knew that he wouldn’t think to come visit her in the Owlery, not when he had something like Quidditch to think about. Harry’s visits had become even less frequent since the troll incident, and Hedwig couldn’t help but feel like Harry knew that she was to blame for the whole incident.

Adjusting her wings so that they pointed more downwards, Hedwig sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. Suddenly, she felt her heart grow warm and there was a flash of a stone passageway and a girl whose head looked like it was going to be devoured by her own hair. Where had she seen that place before? As she came around the front of the castle, Hedwig looked down and she screeched loudly.

Of course! The courtyard!

Swerving around air currents that would only slow her down, she made her way towards the student filled area, listening to her heart beats to guide her towards the one she was seeking. It didn’t take her long to find him speaking to the girl she had just seen in an instant only a few moments ago. Screeching cheerfully, Hedwig landed right next to Harry and nipped at his robes to get his attention.

“Hedwig!” Harry smiled with surprise. Hedwig hardly recognized him in his new crimson and gold robes that she assumed were his new Quidditch ones. “What are you doing here?” he asked looking down at her feet, obviously searching for a letter.

“I just wanted to come and wish you luck!” she chirped as she nipped lovingly at his fingers.

“You’re owl’s gone mental,” the red-head boy said peering closely at her. Well, that was a bit uncalled for! Hedwig had thought she had liked this one, but perhaps she needed to reevaluate her decision now. “Bet she’s been hanging around ol’ Errol too much.” Hedwig had to hand it to him on that one, he was right.

“You think so?” Harry asked as he petted the top of her head. She immediately felt warm all over and there was a tingle like electricity flowing through her at his touch. “Maybe she was just worried about me and my first Quidditch match?”

“Harry, she’s an owl,” Hedwig’s new least favorite person said. “I bet she was just lookin’ for a mouse and happened to land by you.”

Hedwig was about to fly into his face, perhaps take a go at the rat in his hands, when Harry’s words stopped her. “Naw, I think she was just fancying paying me a visit.” Hedwig turned her head to look at Harry, and ignored the obvious eye rolling going on in front of her. Could Harry understand her? Hedwig sure hoped that he could, because she could understand everything about him. “Not to worry, Hedwig, I’ll be alright.”

“Harry!” said the bushy hair girl. “You’d better get going. You don’t want to be late.”

“Sorry Hedwig, I’ll come and visit you after the match,” Harry replied in a rush as he took off towards the pitch. Hedwig chirped after him knowing fully that he wouldn’t come and visit. He was far too excited to remember her right now. Hedwig’s heart sank a bit. Her heart was connected with his, the string tied tightly, but it wasn’t yet the same for Harry.

Just then, a shadow appeared on the ground in front of her and Hedwig’s head snapped upwards to see that Artemis was flying overhead towards the Headmaster’s office window. “He’s back!” she thought to herself as she once again took flight. However, she soon found herself distracted when she saw the man with the purple carpet on his head standing alone in a secluded area of the Courtyard.

“F-F-Forgive me M-M-Master,” he stammered as his fingers aimlessly intertwined themselves with one another. “I-I-I did not expect the t-t-troll to get l-l-l-loose the way it did…t-t-t-that was not p-p-part of the p-p-plan!”

There was the eerie hissing noise that Hedwig had heard the day of the troll and it made all her feathers stand on end and even the temperature around her seemed to drop. She had assumed that the man had been talking to Ugly previously, but now there was no one else around – unless this mad made it a habit to talk to walls.

“I-I-I know he suspects us, Master,” the man continued. “B-B-But you saw just as I did. H-H-He had returned to the castle.”

The hissing noise intensified and Hedwig felt a sudden surge of pain in her head that made her lose focus on her flight path and she went tumbling right into a nearby tree. The hissing continued and it seemed as though Mr. Mop Head was also in pain.

“N-N-No one else was around, Master! I-I-I swear!” The man was now cowering on the ground, as if some invisible force were pushing him down into the ground. “I-I-I promise I will be m-m-more careful…t-t-today…yes…no one will suspect u-u-us at the match…”

The surge ceased and Hedwig found herself able to see straight once more. What…had just happened? Blinking her owl eyes for a moment, Hedwig stumbled across the branch until her head was able to peek out of the leaves of the trees only to see that the man was already halfway across the courtyard and heading towards the pitch.

What in the name of the moon was going on? Her thoughts completely distracted from wanting to speak with Artemis, Hedwig took off towards the pitch, but was unfortunately interrupted by another unwanted visitor.

“Gorsh! It’s you!” the great dog barked shaking his head and sending slobber all over the place. “Hagrid left me to go watch them match. I thou’t I’d come ‘ere to look at them clouds. They make all sorts of pretty shapes! Saw one that look just like a rabbit the other day.”

Hagrid, right, that would be Sausage Fingers. Hedwig really didn’t have time to discuss clouds and their shapes at the moment, she was on a mission to follow Carpet. “That’s, lovely, really,” Hedwig clucked as she tried to maneuver her way around the dog, but he only matched her movement.

“I didn’t know you liked to play tag!” the dog yelped, spraying more saliva around the area.

“I don’t,” she replied. “If you will excuse me, I really need to go…” However, she had already lost sight of the man. Sighing she turned her golden eyes at the dog and very much wanted to pull out his frizzy whiskers one by one. “Never mind. What do you want?”

“Gorsh, I want many things,” he replied flopping over on his side. “I want my belly rubbed…a nice big steak…”

Hedwig stared at the canine as he continued to list of desires. Obviously, that isn’t what she had asked. Now she was even more frustrated with the mutt. Not only had he distracted her from following Mr. Carpet Head, now he was entirely wasting her time.

“Well, I hope that all works out for you,” she scoffed as she pruned a few stray feathers before turning her attention back to the sky. She could hear the crowd from the Quidditch stadium now as they loudly cheered on the match – their voices carried on the wind. Bloody dog, getting in the way.

“You aren’t leaving already, are you?” he whimpered rolling onto his stomach.

“I was seriously considering it…”

“Gorsh, I thought we could keep each other company! Hagrid’s been acting all funny-like ever since the troll incident. He’s been payin’ more attention to Fluffy than me!”

Hedwig’s head snapped around again when Fang mentioned Fluffy and she remembered the brief conversation they had had a while back. “Why is he spending more time with Fluffy? Isn’t…isn’t Fluffy busy protecting whatever needs protecting?”

“Yep, which is why Hagrid is spending more time with ‘em. He wants to make sure that Fluffly is in tip top condition at all times.”

Right, that did make some sense to Hedwig. “Is what Fluffy is guarding really THAT important?” she asked in somewhat disbelief.

“I reckon it is,” he nodded. “When the troll got into the castle, Professor Snape got in a bit of a scuff with Fluffy. Fluffy bit him actually. Poor bloke.”

“Fluffy bit him?!”

“Yarp! Hagrid ain’t too worried about that though. Says Professor Snape knows what he’s doin’. He reckons that someone else was trying to sneak past Fluffy. But they don’t know how to. That, and Professor Snape was there to stop him.”

Hedwig’s head began to spin as she recalled the events on the day and what she had just heard right now. Could it be possible that her leading the troll to the castle when she had had actually done more good than bad? She flapped her wings at this realization. THAT WAS IT! Mr. Carpet Head had been wanting to sneak past Fluffy and get whatever it was that the beast was protecting.

“Fang! Thank you!” she chirped as she didn’t wait for him to respond and took off immediately towards the castle. She needed an audience with Fawkes right away.