Wings of Sun

Flying Lessons and Grooming

Harry woke up groggy early the next morning. The sunlight that beamed through the window made him pull the covers over his head, trying his hardest to get away from the annoying light. He heard a soft mewl of protest as he rolled over, and he picked up the kitten and placed him next to his arm. Somehow, Hades had managed to get into his room during the night, and the black kitten slept curled into a small ball on Harry's chest all night, much to the annoyance to Hedwig.

Someone gave three sharp knocks to his door, and Harry jerked upright, unpleasant memories of Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia snatching him out of the cupboard rushing to the surface. Hades went tumbling to the floor, giving a small squeak as he landed on all fours. He flicked his tiny tail, his nose in the air, and sauntered off to the corner of the room where he plopped down, his back turned to Harry.

"Potter?" called a soft voice that definitely did not belong to his uncle. "You need to get up. Breakfast is ready and Minerva will be here in an hour. Hurry up and get dressed."

That's right. He wasn't at the Dursley's. He was with Snape. He was safe. He wasn't in trouble for missing breakfast.

And Grammy Min will be over soon! The thought rushed him into action. He rolled out of bed, throwing the covers off, and slipped his feet in Snape's hand-me-down oversized slippers. He opened the closet, picking clothes at random, and threw them on. He wound up wearing a plain black t-shirt and faded jeans, which suited Harry just fine. He quickly smoothed down his wild wings, which didn't help in the slightest, and ran down the stairs, only slowing down at Snape's shout.

Snape gave a small frown at Harry's jeans when he saw Harry's outfit. "I don't know why I even bought you those," he commented. "They look ridiculous."

"I think they look great," Harry said back, and sat down at the table. His mouth watered at the spread before his eyes, and he had to stop himself from piling too much on his plate at once. Plates toppled with plain, chocolate, strawberry and blueberry pancakes littered the table, with pitchers of maple syrup, whipped cream cans, fruits and nuts surrounding them. Harry piled several chocolate pancakes on his plate and topped them with strawberries before smothering the entire plate with a lake of maple syrup.

Snape went the less diabetic way and took three blueberry pancakes and covered it with a small spiral of whipped cream. Harry cut away a bite and gave a small moan of pleasure as the flavors hit his tongue. He had never tasted anything so good! Not even the spaghetti from last night hadn't tasted nearly as heavenly as the pancakes!

He inhaled them one after the other, as if his food was going to be taken from him at any moment. He had come to expect it from the Dursley's, but he now knew Snape would never do something like deprive him of food, which was why after he ate his plate, he eagerly got a second helping. He ate up to three more pancakes, eating a blueberry, strawberry and plain one instead of chocolate, and had a large, satisfied smile on his face when he was done.

"Thank you so much, sir! It was amazing!" Harry praised. Snape must have been up for a while to make this much food!

Snape gave a simple one-shoulder shrug, sipping at his coffee. Harry spotted two small spots of color high on his cheeks. "It's nothing a little magic can't help with."

Harry gulped down his orange juice then politely excused himself. He finished getting ready, trying once more to smooth down his wings. He didn't even try with his hair. He knew beforehand exactly what would happen: nothing.

Getting his wings smoothed down enough to look at least somewhat presentable was a challenge, but Harry did it. He admired his reflection, sighing in defeat when a feather popped out of place. He knew it was pointless to try again, so he brushed his teeth instead of worrying about it, glad to get rid of all the sticky syrup that coated his teeth.