(1) The Phoenix (D. Salvatore)

Chapter One Hundred and Three

Damon can't say that his experiences with portkey gets better with each trip he takes, it doesn't. He still hates it. But it is a time saver. No worrying about plane times or airport trips. Just touch a boot and he's in England. It's incredible. He was never a fan of magic before. He had only ever seen the worst that magic could do. But with Daphne, there is all this other magic. Magic for the simplest of things. Magic for healing. Magic for comfort. Magic that is used as an extension of oneself instead of a weapon to be used. It's so different the way that Daphne's kind use magic to those of the traditional witches. Damon shrugs out of his jacket as the door to the house closes behind him and Daphne who moves ahead of him.

"Kreacher?" Kreacher waddles out of the drawing room and towards Daphne.

"Mistress" He greets and then glares at Damon before mumbling about filthy vampires.

"Nice to see you too" Damon snarks and Daphne gives him a look, he shrugs back at her. Daphne turns to Kreacher.

"Where's Jeremy?" She asks as she sets her bag at the bottom of the stairs. Almost immediately, Kreacher goes to pick it up.

"He left this morning" Kreacher answers. "Like every morning" Daphne raises an eyebrow at him. "Batting cages" Kreacher states but it is clear that he doesn't understand what he is saying because he butchers the words slightly. It's such a muggle thing anyway. Daphne knows there is an American wing at the local sports centre and she did assume Jeremy would check it out. Damon catches Pad as he jumps from the stairs towards them.

"Oh, alright, buddy" Damon teases a little as Pad snuggles into his palm. He wasn't really expecting the animal to give him this sort of welcome back. If anything, he would have expected Pad to be more interested in Daphne. And yet here he is, curling up in his palm before he jumps towards Daphne, landing on her shoulder. "Hey!" Damon scolds when he realises that his watch is gone and Pad is standing on Daphne's shoulder, the watch swinging from his hand. Daphne chuckles and takes the watch from Pad before she turns to Damon.

"He's just showing you how much he missed you" She teases and hands the watch back to him. He hums a little and gives her a look. "Maybe go for a cheaper model next time...the shiny gold detail is what interests him" She adds as he slides the watch back onto his wrist.

......

Damon follows Daphne across the backyard of Grimmauld Place. It's not a pretty garden. It's barely looked after. Weeds growing everywhere. Grass at knee length. Dead trees and bushes. At the back of the yard is a worn and dated shed that looks like it is going to fall apart at any moment. Daphne makes her way straight to the shed where she pulls open the door and steps inside only to pop her head back out when Damon doesn't follow her.

"Are you coming or not?" She asks him.

"Shouldn't we go get Jeremy first?" He counters, suddenly very nervous about facing a creature he has never seen before.

"I thought you wanted to meet Buckbeak," She tells him with a smirk. "Unless...you're...scared" She teases, he gives her a look and steps closer to her.

"I'm not scared of anything" He argues, even puffing his chest out a little to prove his point. "Just with Klaus' threat, I would assume baby bro's life was more important than this right now" She steps out of the shed and touches his chest.

"I sent Kreacher to keep an eye on him" She assures him softly. She likes when Damon shows he cares. Even if it is just for her, she likes it. It shows a depth to him and a trust in her that he shows it to her. "If anything changes, he will let us know...." He lets out a breath and nods, letting her take his hand and lead him inside the shed. And he is a little surprised and confused by what is inside. Because it's just a shed with shelves of garden equipment. Daphne chuckles a little and crouches to flip a rug on the floor to reveal a trapdoor.

"Grab one of those ferrets," She tells him, Damon glances behind him at the row of dead ferrets on the countertop. He pulls a face and Daphne snorts. "You don't get to be squeamish about a couple of dead ferrets" She teases and then heads down through the trapdoor as she opens it up. Damon takes one of the ferrets and follows after her. The ladder leads down into a second shed, this one seemingly more magically equipped. There are jars of glowing liquid and powders and all sorts of different ingredients. She takes the dead ferret from him before stepping out of the shed. Damon takes a deep breath. He doesn't know what to expect, he doesn't know what he is going to see through that door, so it does take him a moment before he follows her steps. It hits him immediately when he does step through the door. He's stepped out of a shed and into what seems to be an underground pasture that looks so much bigger than the yard above them. It's got rolling hills and a wide open space. Daphne watches his face a moment before she turns to look out over the landscape. Daphne places her fingers between her lips and whistles loudly. The sound echoing around them. And it doesn't take long for there to be a response. Wings flap as Buckbeak comes into view, flying towards them. Damon takes a few steps back as it lands before them. Kicking at the ground and flapping his wings out at the side, blowing out dust and dirt out from the ground below. Daphne coos softly as she throws the ferret towards the animal who snatches it up and gobbles it down straight away. Daphne glances back at Damon. "This is Buckbeak" She tells him warmly as the creature flaps its wings and prances closer to them. Damon lets out a breath. Even he has to admit that its beautiful. Daphne can see his age on him as he moves. Slower and there is some wear to him. Buckbeak is older than she is, likely having breached 20 years. His feathers have greyed, and he has packed on some weight with a more comfortable lifestyle. He's still the best thing she has ever seen. She adores him. She holds out her hand and Buckbeak presses his beak into her palm. She chuckles softly and coos as she leans closer to press her forehead to his head. "It's nice to you again, my friend" She whispers warmly before she pulls back and looks at Damon. "Do you want to touch him?" She asks, Damon nods without thinking. He's curious but also slightly unnerved. It's a large animal with a very sharp looking beak that looks like it can cause some serious damage. "You have to let him make the first move" She whispers to him. "They're very proud animals" She places a hand on his back and pushes his forward a little. "Give him a bow and wait for him to bow back....then you can touch him" Damon lets out a breath and then lowers himself into a bow. He can hear the animal moving, stepping closer to Damon who closes his eyes because he doesn't know what is about to happen here. He can't read the animal. "You can touch him now" Daphne offers, sounding rather amused. Damon straightens up to see that Buckbeak did bow to him. The animal straightens as Damon shifts closer to him, holding out his hand to touch him. He lets out an amazed breath as he brushes his fingers over Buckbeak's neck feathers. Daphne watches him softly as he engages in the magical being in front of him. Legend. Myth. All of the stories that were supposed to be just that, stories, and he has no idea what is real any more.

"This is....crazy" He whispers causing Daphne to chuckle. "This shouldn't be real"

"Hmm like vampires" She points out. "Werewolves. Witches...." He glances at her and she raises an eyebrow. "You can't not have an open mind with everything else" She offers as she steps closer to him. "The world is so much bigger than the muggles think it is, and it's so much better" He reaches up and touches her cheek softly. "You should have been a part of it" She adds quieter. "All of this...." He knows. He knows now that Katherine screwed him and Stefan over. That she should have been the ones to teach them about this side of it all.

"You can show me now" She glances up at him and he leans down to kiss her, his hand moving to her neck.

"Mistress" Daphne and Damon pull apart, turning to find Kreacher in the doorway. Daphne immediately understands that he's sensed something off with Jeremy or the place where Jeremy is.

"Time to go" Damon whispers to her, she nods in agreement.