Natsu Dragneel and the Order of the Phoenix

The Department of Mysteries

Natsu wound his hand tightly into the mane of the nearest Thestral, placed a foot on a stump nearby and scrambled clumsily on to the horses silken back. It did not object, but twisted its head around, fangs bared, and attempted to continue its eager licking of his robes.

He found there was a way of lodging his knees behind the wing joints that made him feel more secure, then looked around at the others. Gajeel had heaved himself over the back of the next Thestral and was now attempting to swing one short leg over the creature's back. Levy was already in place, sitting side-saddle and adjusting her robes as though she did this every day. Gray, Lucy and Juvia, however, were still standing motionless on the spot, open-mouthed and staring.

"What?" he said.

"How're we supposed to get on?" said Gray faintly. "When we can't see the things?"

"Oh, it's easy," said Levy, sliding obligingly from her Thestral and marching over to him, Lucy and Juvia. "Come here..."

She pulled them over to the other Thestrals standing around and one by one managed to help them on to the back of their mount. All three looked extremely nervous as she wound their hands into their horses mane and told them to grip tightly before she got back on to her own steed.

"This is mad," Gray murmured, moving his free hand gingerly up and down his horse's neck. "Mad... if I could just see it -"

"You'd better hope it stays invisible," said Natsu darkly. "We all ready, then?"

They all nodded and he saw five pairs of knees tighten beneath their robes.

"Okay..."

He looked down at the back of his Thestral's glossy black head and swallowed.

"Ministry of Magic, visitors' entrance, London, then," he said uncertainly. "Er... if you know... where to go..."

For a moment Natsu's Thestral did nothing at all; then, with a sweeping movement that nearly unseated him, the wings on either side extended; the horse crouched slowly, then rocketed upwards so fast and so steeply that Natsu had to clench his arms and legs tightly around the horse to avoid sliding backwards over its bony rump. He closed his eyes and pressed his face down into the horse's silky mane as they burst through the topmost branches of the trees and soared out into a blood-red sunset.

Natsu did not think he had ever moved so fast: the Thestral streaked over the castle, its wide wings hardly beating; the cooling air was slapping Natsu's face; eyes screwed up against the rushing wind, he looked round and saw his five fellows soaring along behind him, each of them bent as low as possible into the neck of their Thestral to protect themselves from his slipstream.

They were over the Hogwarts grounds, they had passed Hogsmeade; Natsu could see mountains and gullies below them. As the daylight began to fail, Natsu saw small collections of lights as they passed over more villages, then a winding road on which a single car was beetling its way home through the hills...

"This is bizarre!" Natsu barely heard Gray yell from somewhere behind him, and he imagined how it must feel to be speeding along at this height with no visible means of support.

Twilight fell: the sky was turning to a light, dusky purple littered with tiny silver stars, and soon only the lights of Muggle towns gave them any clue of how far from the ground they were, or how very fast they were traveling. Natsu's arms were wrapped tightly around his horses neck as he willed it to go even faster. How much time had elapsed since he had seen Weiss lying on the Department of Mysteries floor? How much longer would Weiss be able to resist Acnologia? All Natsu knew for sure was that his godfather had neither done as Acnologia wanted, nor died, for he was convinced that either outcome would have caused him to feel Acnologia's jubilation or fury course through his own body, making his scar sear as painfully as it had on the night Mrs. Milkovich was attacked.