Thestrals and Thunderbirds

Prologue

"Look Mummy! What is it?!" 

Narcissa Malfoy gently held her son back from the large creature standing a few meters away. 

"It's a Thestral honey, be careful, they could hurt you. I want you to be safe, but I don't want you to be afraid of them." She whispered in his ear, crouching down beside him as he looked on in wonder. 

"They're so pretty! Aww look! A baby one!" He squealed, squirming away from her grasp and sprinting towards it before she could catch him.

"Draco! Watch out!" She called after him, but he payed her no mind. All he could think about was the young Thestral in front of him. They both gazed at each other in equal curiosity for a while before Draco hesitantly held out his hand, reaching out to stroke the Thestral's muzzle. 

"Hello. Does this mean that we're friends?" He asked quietly, running his hand down the creatures neck. It pawed the ground and Draco giggled.

"I'll take that as a yes. But I can't just call you Thestral... how about Amicus? I've been learning Latin and it means 'friend'." 

3 YEARS LATER

Draco finished up his lesson and jumped up from his chair, rushing from the room and tugging on his coat as he bolted through the door into the back gardens. 

"Draco! You'll soil your new shoes!" Narcissa called from the doorway, leaning against the frame and watching him continue running towards the forest where the Thestrals were. He was now ten and would leave for Hogwarts the following year. She wasn't sure how he would do without Amicus, his only friend since he was seven, but she could tell he was going to be an exceptional wizard one day, he had first shown signs of his magic at age three, extremely early by any standard. 

But Draco hadn't given it a second thought, surely Amicus could go with him? His feet pounded on the wet grass as he ran into the forest that surrounded the grounds of Malfoy Manor. 

"Amicus!" He yelled, slowing to a halt in a small clearing. He was breathing heavily but there was a huge grin on his face that only widened when he saw his friend trot from out of the woods. 

"Amicus! There you are! I have to tell you about what I learned today!" Draco exclaimed, waving his hands about excitedly. He strolled over to stand beside Amicus and pulled himself onto his back, shifting so that he sat in the dip in between the Thestral's neck and wings. The creature knew what to do and took a running start before gently lifting off of the ground, making sure that Draco didn't fall off in the process, as he wasn't hanging on. This is what they did every day after Draco finished his lessons and he loved it, they  both did.

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Thunder shook the Potter home as lighting crackled overhead. Lily Potter was rushing frantically around the house searching for her son.

"James! James, where's Harry?! Have you got him?!" She shouted up the stairs, panic causing her throat to tighten. 

"No, why? Where is he?"

"That's the problem! I don't know!" Lily was now on the verge of tears. James ran down the stairs to help his wife, yanking open the back door and squinting through the heavy rain. 

There he was. Harry James Potter, standing in the middle of the yard, looking up into the stormy evening sky. 

"HARRY!" Lily screamed, just as a bolt of lightning struck where he stood, illuminating his small form for a split second and then it was gone. Harry stood, frozen, for a minute before crumpling to the ground in a heap. His mother jumped into action, sprinting from the porch to the side of her unconscious son. 

She picked him up, trying to wake him up by calling his name.

"Harry? Harry! Harry wake up! HARRY!" 

No response. 

"Lily... Lily look." James said in a shocked voice, pointing up at the sky. She followed his finger and gasped. Above them was a huge bird like creature with six giant wings and a tail that split off into two ends. Lightening flickered around it and each time it beat it's wings thunder sounded.

"Merlin's beard, James... that's a thunderbird." She said simply.

Harry stirred and opened his eyes. 

"Mummy, put me down!" He demanded, but she only held him tighter.

"No, Harry. That creature hurt you."

"She's my friend! She said that she could make it so that we could talk to each other and she did! I can hear her mum!" Harry exclaimed, fighting as hard as his little six year old body could to get out of his mother's arms. 

'Harry. She won't understand. You're the only one who can because you are special, so, so special.'  The thunderbird spoke in his mind. 

'But Catori! She won't let me visit you if she thinks you hurt me! At least show her that you mean no harm.' Harry argued back, glaring at her through the rain. 

'Fine.'

Catori slowed her wing beats and landed on the grass in front of them, allowing the clouds to clear and bowing her head to show that she was sorry. 

"She says she's sorry mum. She didn't mean to frighten you. Will you let me go now?" Harry pleaded. Lily thought for a second and looked aver at James, who shrugged. 

"Alright."

"Thank you mum! And her name is Catori." He called over his shoulder as he rushed up to his friend and wrapped his arms around her neck. 

'Thank  you, Catori. Thank you for being my friend.'

'I would do anything for you Usdi Tsiskwa. Anything.' 

5 YEARS LATER

"I've got to go tell Catori!" Harry exclaimed, leaping from his chair at the kitchen table and bursting through the door into the yard.

'CATORI!'

'For the last time child! You don't have to yell, I can always hear you no matter what!' 

'Sorry, I'm just really excited. My Hogwarts letter came!' 

'That's lovely Usdi Tsiskwa! When do you leave?'

'That's the problem. I leave tomorrow, but I want you to come with me. You could live around the school during the year and I'm sure it would take you no time at all to get there! Please Oginalii, will you?!' 

'Of course. We are bonded, I couldn't be that far away from you if I tried.'

'Thank you! I have to go pack now, but I'll make sure I come say goodnight and maybe we could go for a fly later!'

'That sounds nice, now go do what you need to do Usdi Tsiskwa, so your mother doesn't get upset.'

'Alright, see ya!'

Harry turned around and went back into the house, a huge grin on his face.

"Catori is coming with me! She says that she'll live around the school during the year and come back with me for the summer!"

Lily smiled and handed him a trunk with his initials on it.

"That's amazing, Harry dear, but you need to make some human friends too when you're at Hogwarts, okay?"

"Okay." Harry agreed, grabbing the trunk and rushing upstairs to pack it, excited for what was to come.

Alright, so I have some stuff to explain. Catori is a Native American name and I thought that it would be fitting, given that thunderbirds are from North America. Usdi Tisiskwa means 'little bird' in Cherokee, or at least that's what I got when I put some words together so... also, Oginalii means 'my friend' in Cherokee as far as I know, please correct me if I'm wrong! I hope you like the story and I'll try to update fairly regularly!

~Orchestral Beats