Chapter 29 : War-Unicorns and Wanderlust

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"Then why did you shout?" He asked realizing Harry didn't even appear scared.

"Look!" He said pointing to the open book. Severus regarded the boy with a half amused, half exasperated look.

"You scared me half way to death because of a book?" He asked with a smile only to have his eyes widen just as Harry's had a few moments ago when he noticed the emblem.

"See?" Harry asked excited. "What do you think this is?

"One would say it's an emblem…" Severus muttered as his eyes flew over the words, trying to find an explanation. And he did, a few seconds later, but that didn't help with his surprise. "Listen to this." Harry nodded and waited as Severus cleared his throat.

"War-unicorns, besides being the most trusted amongst the equine used for battles, appear to have the ability of forming a close connection with their riders, creating a bond akin to that of friendship. In cases where the wizard or witch has acquired an emblem it is quite often the case that the unicorn will produce a replica of said glyph on itself as a symbol of the bond created. No knowledge of how that is possible has been acquired by the time this book was written, but it is generally believed that the process is the result of some sort of a ritual." Severus stopped reading and looked at Harry with an eyebrow raised.

"Wow." Harry stated. "You think there might be a book on war-unicorns in here somewhere?" The boy asked, looking straight into Severus's eyes.

"There might be." He agreed. "Expect it to be pretty old like this one." Severus commended as he looked skeptically at the tome Harry had brought him. "Tell you what; why don't we go look at the dungeons and ask Minnie to appoint an elf to search for any books on war-unicorns?" The young professor offered. "It will take us forever if we try to search by ourselves and I can't summon a book without knowing its title."

"Can't you just summon it based on its context?" Harry asked after some consideration. Severus smirked at the question; he was definitely doing something right raising him.

"I could but this library is filled with books dating back to a thousand, maybe more, years ago. I even noticed some scrolls back there." Severus explained. "To my knowledge, war-unicorns were used in combat until early in the fifteenth century; can you imagine how many books in this library will mention them?"

"A lot?" The boy asked with a smile.

"A lot." Severus agreed chuckling. "It would be better to ask somebody who already knows where they are." Harry nodded and Severus summoned Minnie who in turn summoned an older elf -called Watt- and explained what they were looking for. He asked for any books found on war-unicorns to be sent at Harry's room while the books he had gathered himself to be left at his quarters. After thanking both elves the two wizards left the library talking vividly.

"War-unicorns are brilliant!" The green eyed boy exclaimed as they walked down the corridor. "How comes I've never heard of them before?"

"Well, since they're no longer used in battles they aren't bred in England anymore." He considered his answer for a while and then added. "Actually they aren't bred in Europe at all; there are some wild war-unicorns in central Europe, I believe, but the only place I've heard of them being bred is the Arabian Peninsula. I even heard some rumors about Morocco, but either way they're not exporting." Harry was listening with amazement.

"I would love to see one…" They boy stated dreamily. "And I would love to travel someday. I've never left England you know." He added wistfully. Severus stopped in his tracks and looked at the boy with wide eyes. His mind flashed back to a time when he was not much older than Harry, during the summer after his first year at Hogwarts.

A black haired boy and a red haired girl with bright emerald eyes were sitting by a lake talking animatedly to each other.

"After finishing school I would like to work at the Ministry." The girl said. "I know it's too soon but I've heard so much about their Charms division!"

"And the whole school knows how much you like charms!" The boy added with a smile.

"What would you like to do after school Severus? Become an Auror or something?" The girl asked.

"I don't know Lils." The boy answered looking at the lake absentmindedly. "I would like to travel someday. You know, I've never left the country."

"Sev?" Harry asked looking at the potions master with a concerned expression. "Sev are you alright?"

"Yeah…" The young man trailed off and then looked at Harry with a smile. "Yes, I'm fine kid. You just reminded me of a boy who had the same dreams as you at your age." Harry looked at him surprised.

"Whom?"

"Me." Severus answered and looked at Harry's eyes earnestly. "I promise you will travel Harry. I'll take you see the world, I swear." He said solemnly, well knowing the burden Harry would have to bear in the future; he would make sure the boy would live his life to the fullest. Harry just stared at him blankly before hugging the life out of him.

"Thanks Dad." He said fighting off his tears.

"Don't mention it Harry." Severus said, feeling the now familiar warmth in his chest. "You've been thanking me an awful lot lately."

"With reason." Harry stated, making Severus chuckle once.

"And as for war-unicorns, well I can't promise you I will show you one, but I can teach you how to ride." Harry's head snapped upwards to look at Severus with amazement.

"You know how to ride?"

"My mother taught me before she died and I was deemed unwanted from her family." Severus said with a soft smile. "You know this castle has stables right?" He asked the boy whose eyes widened for the umpteenth time that day.

"With horses?" He asked and Severus chuckled.

"It's customary to have horses in your stables Harry."

"Well the Potter manor has stables but father said the last one to keep horses there was his grandfather." Harry stated and Severus noted he didn't call James "Dad" but stuck with the more formal term "Father". His heart leapt a little at the implication but he tried to ignore it.

"That's a waste of space." He stated and smiled. "Well there are horses in our stables and they are, of course at your disposal. We can start lessons anytime you want." Severus said smiling at the sparkle his statement created in the boy's eyes. "And I'd better see to that Quidditch pitch being repaired…" He trailed off as he started walking again, looking at Harry with the corner of his eyes.

"You have a Quidditch pitch?" The boy asked excited.

"Potter manor has one too." Severus reminded him with a smile.

"Yeah but I've never used it." Harry explained. "Father and Sirius taught Adrian how to fly this July but they never asked if I wanted to learn too." He blushed and looked at his feet while Severus cursed under his breath.

"Do you want to learn Harry?" He asked already knowing the answer.

"Sure." The boy stated, trying not to look excited.

"Then I'll teach you that too." Severus stated turning at a now smiling Harry. "It's time I started enjoying Quidditch again myself."

"You mean it?"

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