Chapter 28 : Mystery of the War-Unicorns
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"You should exercise more Harry." The young man mock scolded him. It was a thought though.
"And what about the second book?" Harry asked ignoring the suggestion.
"That's for a bit of personal research; it's something that popped into my mind while we talked to Minnie today. If I get something precise, I will tell you." Severus said glancing at the black leather book in front of him.
"Okay." Harry agreed readily, knowing he was going to find out sooner or later. "Sev?" The boy asked after a short pause.
"Yes?"
"Could you come with me to explore around the castle a little?" The boy asked shyly.
"I would think you have seen the majority of it by now…" Severus said with humor as the boy blushed.
"There're still the dungeons that I haven't seen, the east wing and tower too and did you know the western tower is being renovated?" The boy asked in one breath.
"So you did see all the rest?" Severus chuckled raising an eyebrow and quite doubting the boy had time to explore everything. "I was only joking you know." Harry narrowed his eyes in an attempt of a stern look that was completely ruined by a small pout that fought its way on his lips.
"I'll let you play around a little more in the library but then you have to come with me mister!" Harry stated in his better Molly Weasley imitation, making Severus burst out in laughter, an example soon followed by the boy.
"Fine, fine, you win!" Severus conceded, wiping a couple stray tears from his eyes. "Just let me take a look around to see if I find anything else that I need. You may do the same." The potions' master said, quite uselessly, as Harry had already approached the closest bookcase and read the titles in the lower selves. "If you find a subject you like but can't reach the books, call for me. Oh, one last thing!" Severus exclaimed as if he had just remembered. He reached in his pocket and produced Harry's wand. The boy's eyes widened. "As long as you're here, you might as well carry it but don't try new spells without me around, or without me knowing." He stated intently and placed the wand in Harry's extended hand.
"I promise Sev!" The excited boy said, looking at his wand in awe. Severus laughed as he watched him practically hop away; Harry's approach of magic was refreshing to say the least. He was interested in every aspect -maybe not divination but still- learning the basics without prejudice and then deciding if he wanted to know more. But even in his young age he could understand the need for a spherical regard of magic and Severus couldn't help but feel a little pride knowing he was the one that had instilled such an understanding in the boy; Harry would grow up to think for himself and that was one of the best things he could wish for the boy.
Severus turned his attention towards the upper floor and ascended the staircase once again; he had come up with something quite interesting on why Minnie had considered Harry and himself family; a soft smile crept into his face. You have to love magic, he thought to himself and strongly resisted the urge to whistle as he moved towards the bookcase he wanted.
Harry, in the meantime was looking over the many titles at his disposal; books on every subject he could think of were flashing before his eyes and he was slowly getting dizzy with trying to choose one. After a couple more minutes wandering around thus, he made the decision to just grab the largest book he could find and start from there. It was a soft brown leather bound book, decorated with carvings of magical animals and entitled The Art Of Warfare Vol.2: Magical Creatures In Battle. Never having come across any strategy book before, the green eyed wizard became engrossed into his reading almost immediately. It wasn't so much the text, he barely got to read that, as it was the pictures; beautifully drawn pictures of soldiers moving on fields preparing for battle an magical creatures such as hippogriffs and trolls aligned, ready to attack. He spent a good fifteen minutes just watching the tactics the book suggested and was just about to search for a different subject when he decided to turn the page.
His eyes widened in awe. The next chapter of the book was devoted to a breed of creatures that were considered to be one of the greatest assets in battlefields. They weren't something Harry had ever heard before and even in the text it was stated they were rare. He stopped reading for a second and instead turned to look at the moving painting on book. There, standing on its two back legs was a war-unicorn. They were -in contrast to normal unicorns- of a dark colour, black or a deep brown, as depicted on the book, and much taller than their white coloured brothers. They were strong and very difficult to tire, with a large silver horn and a much smaller one -barely one fifth of the larger horn's size- right beneath it. But despite the fact the unicorn was amazing on it own merit, that wasn't what had caught Harry's attention. No, what had caught his eye was this; on the side of the unicorn that was visible, right on the top of the war-unicorn's back leg a soft silvery glow could be seen. A silvery glow in the shape of an emblem.
"Sev!" Harry shouted as he picked up the book and ran to the stairs, climbing them as fast as he could. He was on the second floor in a matter of seconds and found himself face to face with a startled Severus Snape, his wand in hand and his eyes searching the area for Death Eaters.
"What happened Harry?" Severus asked when he was certain they weren't being assaulted. "Are you alright?" He crouched on his knees to take a better look at the boy, making sure he was uninjured.
"I'm fine Sev!" Harry reassured the now confused professor.
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