The Return of the Griffin

Chapter 3

Harry was outside shaking the columbines for their seeds onto a sheet of parchment when Davey came running up to him.

"Daddy, can I go to Seirah in the woods?" he asked, hopping from one foot to the other.

"Davey, we've talked about this. You can't go into the woods by yourself. Mum or I have to be with you--or Seirah." Harry folded the paper into a cup, and went to the next bunch of flowers.

"Well, can we go? Seirah doesn't know we're leaving!" Davey's lip trembled.

"Come sit here, Davey," Harry said, patting a spot on the ground next to him. "We're going to be leaving soon. You know that. Do you want to forget anything?" Davey shook his head. "Well, that means we need to get an awful lot done. Mum is even staying home tomorrow to help, now that her big match is done. Would it make you feel better if I send Hedwig out to find her, and ask her to come back here?"

Davey threw his arms around Harry's neck. Harry wrapped his arms around him, squeezing him. He was still so small, and Harry hugged him a bit tighter.

"Let me put these seeds up with the other seeds and stuff for Mr. Longbottom and then we'll go get Hedwig, okay?" Davey jumped up, as Harry stood and went into the house.

"Harry, where is our wedding album?" Ginny asked frantically. "I can't find it anywhere."

"I haven't seen it in a while. Isn't the spell for finding things Vestigo item?" Harry said over his shoulder as he put the other packets of seeds and some sprouts into a chest for Neville.

"Harry, darling, you ARE a genius!" Ginny sang out a few moments later, walking in with the wedding album in hand.

"Thank Merlin someone thinks so!" he laughed, and caught her on her way past to give her a kiss. "Check Neville's chest? I don't want to forget anything for him."

Ginny looked quickly into the chest.

"Foxglove. For some reason American foxglove has more fur than English. Oh, and he wanted some shoots of Beebalm. Severus used the dried beebalm we sent; seems it works great against some poisons. He wants Neville to try and propagate it."

"If I harvest some plants, will you Desicatium them? Who knows what we'll need for the dragons. It wouldn't hurt to have it along with us."

"Sure, that's not a problem--not a bad idea either," Ginny answered.

"All right, I'll pick them when I dig some up. I have to send Hedwig out first though. Davey doesn't want to miss Seirah." Harry looked around. "Where's Tory?"

"She's taking a nap. I put an imperturbable charm on her door, so we won't wake her up by accident. She should be up in a half hour or so."

"Remind me to thank your mum for that book."

"Which book is that, Harry?"

He gave her a look that said she should know. "Charms and Spells for Infants and Children? Half our brilliant ideas have come from that."

Ginny grinned. "Remember the Bogey Man in Davey's closet? He wouldn't sleep for a week, until I found the repelling charm in that book. The nightlight spell was from that book, too."

"Like I said--remind me to thank your mum," Harry smiled.

"Well, I got everything in Davey's room packed, and I started on our bedroom," Ginny said as she brushed an errant strand of hair off her face.

"What about the kitchen?" Harry asked.

Ginny sighed, "I haven't even started yet."

Harry grinned, "Just so we know where we are. When is Ruth supposed to show up? You're going to put her to work, aren't you?"

Ginny grinned back, "Of course!"

Harry laughed as he moved back outdoors. Davey caught up with him, and followed him to the owlery. On a piece of parchment, he wrote a message to Seirah, asking her to come as they had news for her. He tied it to Hedwig's leg, and told her, "Find Seirah. She's out in the forest somewhere. I just hope she isn't in her tree."

Hedwig hooted quietly, and took off on silent wings out the window.

"There you go, Davey. I suspect we'll see Seirah sometime today or tomorrow," he smiled down at his son who was yawning. "You know, Seirah might not show up until late. Why don't you toddle off and take a little nap."

"Daddy," Davey whined, "I'm too big for naps!"

Harry grinned. "Of course you are, but then why do mum and I take them when we can?"

Davey couldn't think of an argument, though Harry could see the wheels turning.

"After all, you don't want to be asleep if she comes tonight," Harry wheedled. That did it. Davey hugged Harry, and dragged his feet into the house.

Harry pulled out the shovel to dig up some of the beebalm at the wooded edge of the yard. He took the smallest sprouts at the edges of the plantings and put them in a bucket with compost and plenty of water. Dragon dung fertilizer was terribly hard to get in America. Then he stripped a good portion of the leaves from the plants for Ginny to dry out.

He carried the bucket and leaves into the house, and put that with the rest of Neville's things. Harry realized he forgot the foxglove, so he ran out the door and began plucking leaves.

"Harry Potter?" he heard a quiet hiss.

"Hi Sandy. I forgot this was your favorite spot. Didn't mean to interrupt your snooze."

"That is okay. I find I sleep far more than I used to."

Harry wondered at that. How long do snakes like Sandy live anyway? Perhaps the climate really was that bad for Sandy.

"Would you prefer to be left alone, or would you like to keep me company?" Harry asked solicitously.

"I think I should like to sun myself now that I am awake. I will be on my rock in the garden, if you should need me."

Harry acknowledged, and watched Sandy slither along the path to a stone sundial in the center of the garden. He was plucking the last of the foxglove leaves when he heard Ginny squeal.

He stood up and moved quickly into the house. She sounded surprised, not hurt, so he stopped to put the leaves in the chest before heading into the living room, where he could hear her talking.

As he walked in, he could see Ruth brushing ash off her robes. Ginny was rattling on a mile a minute about what they still needed to pack and what would be left for her use. Ginny had her wand out, waving it like a baton, as dishes flew out of the cupboards and stacked themselves in boxes.

"How are you going to keep them from breaking?" Harry asked. Ginny's wand stopped, and a plate fell to the floor.

"Harry James Potter! Why do you insist on startling me?" she sighed, exasperated, then muttered, "reparo" before continuing packing.

"I'm putting an unbreakable charm on the boxes, Harry." She turned to Ruth, "We'll leave the regular dishes, but this set was a wedding gift."

"Well, then, guys. I have a couple of hours before I have to go for the recital. So put me to work while you've got me." Ruth brushed her hair back and smiled.

Ginny packed the last dish and then returned to the kitchen table. "Here's the list of what we need to bring. The items in green are things that will need to be shrunk. Are you good with shrinking spells? Or would you prefer to pack the knick-knacks in the hall and living room with an unbreakable charm?"

"You tell me. Which is more important?" Ruth answered.

Ginny thought for a moment. "Oh, blimey. Most of the shrinkables are furniture. We'll need most of that until we know when we're leaving. Why don't you do the knick-knacks--all the framed pictures, curios and such. And you know, Tory is probably ready to get up. There's a charm on her door to keep the noise from waking her. Would you mind checking on her?"

Ruth grinned at the rapid-fire orders, but nodded cheerily. "No problem!"

"And YOU, Mr. Potter, can go through your clothes, and put on the bed what you want to bring with you. That includes shoes, and whatever else is in the bedroom you want. I packed all my stuff already. And could you go up to the attic and pull down our old school trunks?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Harry grinned, then gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Oh! And while I'm thinking of it--do we need anything in the garden shed?" Ginny asked.

"The only things out there are fertilizer, Melt-a-Slug and Davey's play broom." Harry sighed at that. Two brilliant fliers in the family, and the boy couldn't sit on a broom a foot off the ground without falling off. Seeking was definitely not in his future. Harry actually found that amusing.

"Oh. No sense then!" Ginny smiled. "Even better, that's just more work I can make you do in here." She kissed his cheek, "so you better get moving!"

Harry spent a good part of the afternoon running errands, dragging things here and there. It was getting near dusk after the children had eaten dinner. Harry went back out to the garden, feeling like he was forgetting something he promised Neville. He looked around carefully, unable to find what was missing. Maybe he should go to the brook at the edge of the forest and pick some skunk cabbage. Perhaps Serverus, Neville or George would like to experiment with it.

As Harry looked toward the forest, he saw movement at the edge. A gentle movement, almost as if a breeze had blown through, but there was not a breath of movement in the air. He smiled as he saw the lithe green figure of Seirah come into the yard.

"Good evening, Harry. Hedwig found me. You had need of me?" her voice was softly mellifluous.

"Davey did. We've been called back to England." Harry sighed as Seirah jerked, a movement out of character for her.

"Davey is leaving?"

Harry nodded. Seirah paused for a few moments looking hard at Harry. "You don't expect to return, do you? Not to live at least."

"No, Seirah, we don't. Davey doesn't really know that yet though."

"Davey is still young. But such an event requires a token." Before Harry could protest, she added, "Ah, here he comes."

Davey blasted across the yard, tossing himself into Seirah's outstretched arms.

"Seirah! Seirah!" Davey cried out, "I was so afraid I wasn't going to see you!"

"Dear boy! Of course I wouldn't let you leave without seeing me first. As I was just telling your father, you must have something to take with you, so that I can always be by your side."

Davey looked up into her face quizzically, then to his father, who shrugged.

"She hasn't told me yet."

Seirah put Davey down then spoke. "It is still rather light out. We have time. Come." Davey looked over his shoulder, wordlessly asking his father's permission.

"Of course you may," he nodded.

"No. You will need to come with us, Harry." Harry met her gaze, and nodded, not knowing what was going on.

"All right. Let me just let your mum know where we're going."

It took only a few minutes, and Harry jogged back out to the edge of the forest.

"Where are we going, Seirah?" he asked.

"To my tree."

Harry stopped, stunned. Dryads are known to be shy creatures by nature, and her friendship with them was surprising enough. Yet Dryads did not show mortals their tree. It made them too vulnerable, but Seirah was still moving gracefully between the trees, Davey's hand in hers, so Harry rushed to keep up. They continued in silence.

Harry looked around the forest. He would come in on occasion, but not really very often. To the right of the faint trail they were following was a very small brook. Occasionally, he could hear the babbling noise of it. He could see small pools surrounded by skunk cabbage. Here and there, were stands of silver birch, white birch and Norwegian maple. Moss and wintergreen lined the edges of the path they were on.

After about twenty minutes, Seirah stopped in front of a tall and slender silver birch tree on the bank of the brook.

"Now, Davey, I want to warn you not to get scared. I know it might look frightening, but that is why your father came, okay?"

Davey looked at her oddly and nodded.

Seirah closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around the tree. Its thin branches trembled, and her arms hugged the tree tighter. The tree began to sway, and Seirah began to hum. It was low, but resonated throughout the entire grove. In front of them, Seirah's arms disappeared, then her legs, followed by her torso. Davey squeaked and took Harry's hand.

"Remember, Davey. A dryad is a tree spirit. She is just entering her tree. It's okay," Harry explained. Davey looked up at Harry with big eyes, but nodded solemnly. When Davey looked back at the tree, there was no sign of Seirah, except that the tree was still shivering in the stagnant air. As though vibrating from the heart of the tree, the branches continued to quake, harsher and harsher, until a small branch fell and landed in the moist soil, its leaves still trembling.

Davey watched, his eyes wide, then rushed to the tree and wrapped his arms around it. "I love you Seirah!"

A sudden pop, and Davey was hugging a very strained and exhausted Seirah who sat on the forest floor, her back against her tree. Carefully reaching to her side, she lifted up the branch.

"I know you are too young now, but someday, you will need a wand. For a wizard, there is little in this world that is closer to him. I want you to take this." As she hugged Davey close to her, Harry could see a deep gash in her arm that bled slowly. She looked at him and shook her head.

She released Davey, "Remember me wherever you go, Davey. I must stay here. It... It takes a lot of energy to enter and leave my tree. I cannot return with you."

Davey threw himself back into her arms, sloppily kissing her cheeks. "I'll come back. I promise. You're my bestest friend."

Seirah smiled fondly, "and you are mine."

After a few more tearful goodbyes, Harry took Davey's hand in his own and he held the branch in the other. Slowly, they wended their way, using the brook to guide them back to the yard. It took them a bit longer to return home and Harry ended up carrying Davey part of the way back. By the time they entered the yard, dusk had turned to night and Davey was asleep against his father's shoulder.

Ginny met them at the door, a look of surprise on her face. "What's with the stick?" she whispered. Harry handed it to her, answering with a voice that was a bit hoarse, "Be right back." Quickly, Harry took Davey up to his room, and laid him on his bed. Harry peeled off his shoes and put a light blanket over him.

When he got downstairs, the girls were at the kitchen table, drinking tea while looking at the branch on the table. Harry dropped down into the seat next to Ginny and heaved a deep sigh.

"Tory in bed?" Harry asked. Ginny nodded.

"What happened, Harry?" Ruth asked.

"I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. That branch--it's part of Seirah."

"You mean off her tree?" Ginny asked. Then something clicked, "you mean she took you to her tree?"

Harry nodded wearily.

"She entered her tree, and she shook. Shook so hard, this branch came out." He pulled a cup to him, and Ginny poured out the tea for him. "When she popped out, her arm was bleeding pretty badly. She didn't let Davey see it though."

Ruth looked stunned. "Why would she do that?"

"Her explanation to Davey, or what she really meant?" Harry asked, taking a sip of the tea. Firewhiskey would be good right now.

"How about both?" Ginny answered.

"She told Davey that a wizard's wand was always close to him, so she could be close to him always. She wants his wand to be made out of her branch."

Ruth whispered in awe, "Harry, don't you see? With dryad's wood, he won't need to have a magical core, the whole bloody thing will be magical!" The three of them stared at the branch.

"Well, I guess that means we need to add a trip to Ollivander's when we get to Diagon Alley."

Ruth stood. "Speaking of trips, I need to think about going." She took a last swallow of tea. "I'll come back in the morning to help you finish up. When do you think you'll hear about when you need to leave?"

"Depends on how they contact us and how desperate they are. If they owl us back, not for another week or so. We both figure they'll contact us more quickly than that, though. One of the ill dragons is brooding, and they've already lost another brooding dragon." Ginny replied. "Charlie said they would arrange an international portkey, so we'll need to get that as well. We could be leaving tomorrow or next week. No idea."

"Where are you going to stay?" Ruth asked.

Ginny looked at Harry. "You know, we really aren't sure yet. I did owl mum to look for a place for us, but I doubt she's found anything yet. I don't know where the dragon reservation is. Since Harry can't apparate, I'm sure we'll need to be close by. I can always fly or apparate to wherever I find work."

Ruth looked at her watch. "Damn. I need to go guys." She hugged Ginny, then Harry. "I'll see you both tomorrow." She pulled her cloak off the rack next to the door, closed her eyes, and with a loud *pop* she was gone.

"Ginny, you know your mum will be upset if we don't stay at the Burrow until we find a place," Harry said, continuing the conversation.

"I suspect she already told Charlie to have the Burrow be the portkey's destination." Ginny smiled. "She is going to totally and completely spoil the children. She was just saying in her last owl that the Burrow was quiet without all of us. NOT that I want to stay there. I mean, can you imagine having to put an imperturbable charm on the room so we can have some privacy?" Her fingers traced his shoulders, giving him shivers.

"We better use the privacy we have now then," Harry grinned, catching her hand and kissing it. "Race you up the stairs!" and he lunged for the landing with Ginny giggling wildly behind.