Chapter 5 – Meeting the others

Thanks a lot to my beta-readers, Tori and Leona, for correcting my mistakes.

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.

I'm not a native speaker of English!

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Chapter 5 – Meeting the others

Harry and Black Hawk joined Rose and Draco in the hall. Draco immediately moved closer to Harry. Unlike Draco, Harry wasn't afraid to meet the others; he just didn't care and he intended to ignore them.

"Stay calm, Draco; it'll be okay," Harry reassured him.

"Where is Severus?"

Before Harry could answer, Black Hawk interjected, "He's resting."

Draco froze halfway down the stairs. "I won't go down if Severus isn't there."

"Draco," Rose said calmly, laying a hand on his shoulder. Despite her soothing magic, he remained stiff as a board.

Black Hawk tried to maneuver Harry away from Draco to give Rose more room.

"No, I won't leave him alone!" Harry struggled against Black Hawk. He didn't care that the voices from downstairs had become silent, nor that everyone was probably listening to what was happening on the stairs. He heard heavy foot steps; Light Arrow was coming up.

Light Arrow gestured for Black Hawk to go downstairs and took his place at Harry's side.

"You can't make me leave Draco. You promised!" Harry backed away, but Light Arrow took him by the arm.

"Nobody wants you to leave him, but you have to calm down for Draco's sake."

Harry looked at Draco. The normally pale boy was now as white as a sheet. "Come on, Draco. Let's just get it over with. We can go back to my room afterward," Harry said gently.

"Why isn't Severus here? I want him to be here," Draco pleaded.

"Severus is resting, Draco. He was very exhausted. He will join us again at supper," Light Arrow explained.

"He has left us here, Harry! He is already back at Hogwarts and left us alone!" Draco said with growing panic.

"Draco, look at me," Harry said strictly. When he had Draco's full attention, he said, "Severus is still here. He wouldn't abandon us."

"Of course he wouldn't," a deep baritone came from the top of the stairs. "What's all this about?"

"Severus, you should still be resting. Why can't you do something good for yourself for once?" Rose admonished.

"I intend to do something good for myself. I am going riding." He looked at Draco. "After we meet the other kids."

Harry was glad to see the color return to Draco's face, and he heard him let out the breath he must have been holding.

"Indeed, Severus, riding will do you some good. Thunderstorm is eagerly waiting for you," Light Arrow said. "Let's go downstairs. The others are waiting." He moved his hand to lay lightly on Harry's neck. Harry found it comforting.

When they arrived in the kitchen, Harry saw White Cloud sitting at the table with a group of kids and a man whom Harry hadn't seen before. He had long black hair and wore sunglasses. The man stood up and introduced himself. "I'm Crying Horse. I'm glad you are here. We need help to make the campfire ready for your welcome feast." He shook Harry's hand, hugged Severus, and nodded to Draco.

"I am sorry, Crying Horse, but I am afraid you will have to make the campfire with the others. I want Black Hawk to show Draco and Harry the horses," Light Arrow said.

"Newbies have all the luck. We have to work our asses off," said a boy with short blonde hair. "I'm Brian and that's my buddy Ken." He gestured to a sandy-haired boy with lots of freckles. "Over there is Aiden." He pointed at a bored-looking guy with long black hair and a goatee. "The blonde girl is Melissa, and the red-haired girl is Maya. Melissa came from England and Maya from Chile. The rest of us are from the States." It was hard for Harry to tell how old they all were; Brian and Ken reminded him of Dean and Seamus and seemed to be around his age, while Aiden looked older, maybe seventeen or eighteen.

"This is Harry, and over there is Draco. Some of you already know Severus, but for those who don't know him, he is one of my sons," Light Arrow stated.

"Wow, then Thunderstorm is your horse, isn't he?" Brian asked Severus.

"Yes," Severus replied with a smile.

"He is magnificent!" Turning to Black Hawk, Brian continued, "which horses will Draco and Harry get?"

"Tohiadedi and Unega," Black Hawk answered while casually standing in the doorway. "So do you want to go?" he asked Harry and Draco.

Harry looked hesitantly at Draco.

"Come on, I will join you and then go for my ride," Severus said, guiding Draco out of the house.

The sunlight was blinding, and before Harry's eyes could adjust, Black Hawk had sneaked a hand onto his neck. Harry couldn't figure out why they were always touching them, and even more puzzling was why he liked it. It was crazy, but Harry felt much safer with a hand on his neck, even when it belonged to Black Hawk.

"Have either of you ridden before?" Black Hawk asked.

"No," Harry lied. Draco shook his head. Harry noticed that Draco had ventured out from Severus' side. He knew Draco felt safer outside, because he could get away if necessary. Harry couldn't help noticing that all the men kept their distance from Draco. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. On the one hand, he was happy about it, but on the another, he hated it because it meant they all knew what had happened and what was wrong with him.

They passed a paddock where seven horses were standing. "This is one of our herds," Black Hawk explained as they watched Severus approach the gate and whistle.

Ears twitching, a black horse threw up his head to search for the source of the whistle. The horse neighed, racing toward them. It looked as if the horse wasn't going to stop, so Harry took a nervous step back. Dust whirled into the air as the horse slid to a sudden stop. He tossed his head in excitement until Severus held out his hand for Thunderstorm to rub his head against.

"Hello, my boy, it's so good to see you," Severus said affectionately. The horse answered with small grunting and snorting noises. When he had calmed down, Severus laid his forehead against Thunderstorm's. Harry though they looked magnificent. Their black hair entangled and blew in the wind, so that for a short moment, it looked as if the two were one. "Soon, my boy, soon we will go for a ride," Severus whispered to the horse.

The other horses wandered over, curious. A red horse with three white feet, a white stomach, and an almost completely white head walked over to Black Hawk. A feather was braided into her mane. She was calmer than the black horse. "This is Shallow Water, my horse. She is a mare, unlike Thunderstorm who is a gelding," Black Hawk explained.

Severus petted Thunderstorm one last time, signaling Black Hawk that he was ready to move on to the next paddock. On the way, Black Hawk explained how the horses came to live at the camp. "Most of our horses have come from an organization that rescues abused and neglected horses. They can live here in peace for the rest of their lives. In many cases, we manage to nurse them back to health and to help them learn to trust humans again. Unfortunately, some will always stay wild and fearful, and we let them live wild on the plains. The ones that are here are horses who we have managed to rehabilitate for riding or still need medical care. We use this paddock for some of the geldings and calm mares. The fleabitten gray Quarter Horse mare dozing under that tree is Maude. She's Melissa's horse." Black Hawk clicked his tongue, and all the horses made their way lazily over to them. He dived under the gate to pet an almost entirely white horse, whose only color was black surrounding his eyes. "This is Unega, and he will be your horse Draco. Would you like to greet him?"

Harry watched Draco look uncertainly at the horse. He couldn't blame him; the horse looked very big and intimidating, and Harry knew Draco had never been that close to a horse before.

"Give it a try, Draco." Severus suggested.

That was all the encouragement Draco needed. He climbed under the gate and hesitantly approached the horse. The horse's ears circled nervously, and he abruptly jerked his head up, grunting anxiously as Draco drew close to him. Draco stopped.

"Come on, Draco, don't be scared. He is a very gentle horse, just a little skittish." Black Hawk rubbed the horse's neck, calming it.

Draco reached up to stroke the horse's face, but Unega flinched away before finally lowering his head and sniffing Draco's hand and rubbing against it.

Black Hawk turned to introduce Harry to his horse, a red roan with a flaxen-gold mane and white spots on his flank. "Come on over, Harry. This is Tohiadedi, or Freedom, whichever you prefer. He is an Appaloosa gelding."

As Harry approached the large, muscular horse, he couldn't help but wonder if it had been ponies he had seen in the paddock near his aunt's house. Harry felt as if Tohiadedi was eying him critically, and his snort wasn't friendly as Thunderstorm's had been. Harry paused, unsure if he should really move closer.

"Come on, Harry, it's okay. He has to get to know you. Just try to pet him," Black Hawk encouraged, calmly stroking the neck of the horse.

Harry very cautiously reached for the horse. Freedom bumped his head against his hand. "I don't think he likes me," Harry said, scared.

"He doesn't even know you," Severus said. He laid one hand on Harry's shoulder and reached for the horse with his other hand. "If you are nervous, the horse is nervous. If you are uncertain or angry, he will not trust you." Freedom snuggled his head against Severus' hand, but never stopped watching Harry with his big brown eyes.

Harry let his hand sink to his side. "I don't think I'm a horse person."

"You two just need a bit of time to get to know each other better, Harry," Severus said and guided him out of the paddock again. "You will love the sense of freedom when the wind is blowing in your face as you ride over the open land."

"I can't ride," Harry said dryly.

"You will learn as soon as Tohiadedi trusts you," Black Hawk explained. "From now on, he is your responsibility. You have to feed him, clean his hooves, groom his coat and mane, and when you are able to get his halter on, you will move him around. We will start riding lessons only when you manage all of this."

"So, never," Harry said sullenly.

"Look, the others are over there. Why don't you help them build the camp fire for this evening?" Severus suggested while leading Harry away from the paddock where Draco was still engrossed in the care of his horse.

"Can't I just go back to the house?" Harry asked.

Severus raised an eyebrow. "Didn't we agree to give all this a chance, Harry?"

Harry sighed, defeated. "Yes."

"Then go over and help Crying Horse and the others while I ride Thunderstorm."

"Okay," Harry said and sullenly walked over to the busy group. He had no interest in helping and definitely didn't want to get to know any of them better, but what choice did he have? He had to play the good little boy so he could leave the camp as soon as possible.