Chapter 6 – Separated Ways

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 6 – Separated Ways

"Hey, Unega," Draco shyly greeted the horse, fascinated by his blue eyes. He had the feeling he could see into Unega's soul through those breathtaking eyes.

Draco wished he were brave enough to lay his forehead against Unega's like Severus had done with his horse. It must have been a great feeling. Nothing else around him would matter so much then.

Draco was so absorbed with Unega that he hadn't noticed Severus and Harry leave. When he finally realized they had gone, he stiffened with fear, causing Unega to snort and toss his head nervously.

"Are you okay alone with me, or do you want me to ask Rose to join us?" Black Hawk asked from where he was perched on the gate several feet from Draco.

Draco didn't reply; instead he backed further away from Black Hawk closer to Unega. Sensing Draco's uneasiness, the horse nervously stomped his hoof and searched for the source of Draco's fear. Unable to locate the threat, Unega gently nuzzled Draco's shoulder.

"It's no problem for me to call Rose, Draco," Black Hawk continued. "I'm very glad that you are already feeling comfortable around Unega. I would like to show you how to care for him, but I have to come closer for that."

Taking comfort in the big horse, Draco felt safer than he would have thought possible being alone with a man. "Stop being a ninny, Malfoy. You can't hide for your whole life," he mumbled himself.

"It's okay. I would like to learn how to take care of him," Draco said while holding his head high. "Um... please, just don't touch me."

"Of course not. If I'm too close, just tell me and I will back away, Draco. It's no problem." Black Hawk came over and petted Unega's forehead.

Black Hawk, with experienced hands, showed Draco how to put a halter on Unega. "It would be best if you asked someone to help you the first few times. Unega is a bit skittish, so at first it might be a problem for you to do it by yourself. Just ask one of the other kids if I'm not around." When he was finished, he tied the lead line to the gate, showing Draco the proper way to tie the slipknot.

Draco nodded and fought against the impulse to step back. Black Hawk was uncomfortably close to him now. He wanted to stand near Unega because he felt safer near the horse, but of course Black Hawk had to stand close to Unega as well in order to show Draco how to brush him.

Black Hawk grabbed a brush and showed it to Draco. "Brushes like this one are in the supply shed to the right of the house. Today, I will show you how to brush his coat and mane. Next time, I can show you how to clean his hooves. You can brush him as often as you want, but you need to do it at least once a day. The hooves also have to be cleaned once a day, but it is a little tricky. I want you to have someone around when you do it. Today we don't have to worry about it; Red Horse will clean them this afternoon." He glanced at Draco with concern. "Why don't you move to his head so that you can see what I'm doing?"

Draco fearfully moved past Black Hawk, holding his breath the whole time, but when Black Hawk moved away to the flank of the horse, Draco relaxed, releasing his breath. He watched Black Hawk's every move. When Black Hawk handed him the brush, he nervously started brushing Unega. The horse turned his head to see what Draco was doing; noticing Unega's eyes on him, Draco asked, "Is this right, Unega?"

The horse grunted as if replying and relaxed as Draco continued to groom him.

Draco glanced quickly at Black Hawk, who had made himself comfortable on the gate again.

"You are doing very well, Draco."

Draco smiled shyly at Black Hawk. It felt good to stand close to this big and friendly animal. He had the feeling he could brush him for hours and never get tired of it.

///

Harry had almost reached the group setting up the camp fire when Brian noticed him. "Ah, finally one more to help. Come over here, Harry." He waved Harry over to a shabby, gray-blue pickup. Miscellaneous pieces of wood lined the bed of the truck. "Grab a pair of gloves and help me carry the wood over there." Brian pointed at a growing pile of firewood. Without saying a word, Harry pulled on the gloves and started to carry the pieces Brian gave him.

"You're not very talkative are you?" Brian asked when Harry returned for more wood. Harry just shrugged.

Harry observed the scene around the campfire. Crying Horse and Aiden were chopping the bigger branches. Melissa and Maya were building the campfire and in addition to Brian and himself, Ken was carrying wood over to the stack.

"Need to burn off some energy?" Crying Horse asked Harry, offering him his ax.

Harry looked uncertain. "I've never done this before."

"No problem. I'll show you how," Crying Horse said. After a short lesson and a few miserable attempts, Harry managed to get the hang of it. He enjoyed splitting the big pieces and shortening long branches. The hard work cleared his head, and he forgot everything around him. When he moved to grab a new piece of wood, he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"It's just me." Rose smiled gently at him. She held up a tube of sunscreen. "Sometimes the men forget that newbies aren't as resistant to the sun as they are. Will you let me apply it? It wouldn't be good for you to have it on your hands while chopping wood."

"Okay," Harry said exhausted, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "But I'm sweaty."

Rose raised her eyebrow, and Harry was immediately reminded of Severus. "I live mostly with men here, Harry. Believe me, I'm used to sweating men." She grinned and held Harry's hair out of his face while she applied the sunscreen. When she had finished his arms and neck as well, she said, "All done."

Crying Horse came over, gave his wife a quick kiss on her cheek and finally turned to Harry. "Here, we don't want you to get a sunstroke, do we?" He place a beige Stetson on Harry's head.

"Thank you," Harry said and adjusted the hat so that he could still see. "I'll get back to work, then." With that, he grabbed another piece and went on with his task.

///

"Hello, you two," Rose greeted Draco and Black Hawk.

Draco glanced at Rose in surprise. He had completely lost track of time.

"Really, Black Hawk, he's blond and you let him stand in the sun for over an hour." She shook her head disapprovingly at Black Hawk, who had started to care for Tohiadedi while Draco was lost in his work. Draco had to admit that he been so involved with Unega, he hadn't realized how hot he was.

"It's already too late," Rose said worriedly, pushing Draco's sweat covered hair out of his face to get a closer look at his skin. "Let's go inside and see if White Cloud has something to put on that sunburn before it gets even worse."

Unsure about what to do with Unega, Draco's confused look shifted between Unega, Black Hawk, and Rose.

"I will take care of him, Draco. Just go with Rose and let White Cloud have a look at you. It doesn't look too bad yet, but I should have realized sooner." Black Hawk smiled ruefully, "I will probably get quite a lecture from Light Arrow for not paying attention."

At the house, Draco sat on the big couch while White Cloud and Light Arrow fussed over him. "How are you feeling Draco? Dizzy? Do you have a headache?"

"No. I just feel hot." Draco looked nervously from White Cloud to Light Arrow, concerned by their level of worry.

"Nothing to worry about, Draco. You just have a light sunburn, but if you had spent any longer in the sun without some sunscreen, you might have gotten sunstroke." White Cloud gently stroked his hair, careful not to touch his burned skin. "Next time just remember to wear a hat and apply some sunscreen when you go out. We will give you a hat later, okay?"

"Okay," Draco said, still a bit worried. He wanted to see himself in a mirror to know how badly he was sunburned.

"Here." Light Arrow handed White Cloud a bowl.

White Cloud said in a calm voice: "No need to look so nervous, Draco. It's just curd. It will cool your skin, and with a bit of luck, you will hardly notice that your skin is burned. You'll stay inside and relax for the rest of the day so you are fit to attend the welcome feast this evening. Would you like some ice to suck on?"

"Yes, please," Draco said, eying White Cloud skeptically as she applied the curd to his face and arms. The feeling was unbelievable. The curd was very cool, and it felt fantastic on his hot skin.

Light Arrow came back with an ice cube. "Open up, son!" he said and placed it in Draco's mouth.

Draco slept for some time, only waking up a few times when Light Arrow or White Cloud applied new curd. An hour before the welcome feast, Light Arrow woke Draco. Tiredly, Draco looked around. Severus stood behind Light Arrow, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Come on, you have enough time to have a shower, but before you go up with Severus, I want to know which one you would like." Light Arrow held up two Stetsons, one in black and one in brown.

Draco sat up and looked back and forth between the two hats. "The black one, please."

"Then it's yours now." Light Arrow gave Draco the hat.

"Let's get you cleaned up," Severus said while grinning at the curd-covered boy.

///

Harry had enjoyed chopping wood. The others had given him some space and hadn't bother him with questions. They had taken several breaks, during which they had all had something to drink and had eaten some watermelon.

"What's that over there?" Harry asked, pointing at a frame of thin branches that were bent and stuck in the ground to form a small, dome building.

"That was Tyson's sweat lodge. He left a week ago. It's the last ceremony you have during your stay here. Afterward, you just prepare yourself to leave. It doesn't matter how long it takes for you to decide to leave, but it symbolizes that you are ready to. Light Arrow would never throw someone out, even if you already had the sweat lodge ceremony. Maybe I'll try it out, but I don't want to leave this place, ever." Brain said, a melancholic look on his face. "Red Horse and Black Hawk were here as kids but came back, and now they are staying here forever. Severus also comes back from time to time. Light Arrow and White Cloud always say they are their sons, but in reality, Rose is their only biological child. It feels good to have a family like them."

Harry didn't know what to say. He wasn't ready to share and felt uneasy because they probably expected him to, so he decided to say nothing.

"How did you like Freedom?" Ken asked.

"Freedom?" Harry asked, confused.

"Your horse," Ken stated.

"Oh, I don't think he likes me. I'm not a horse person, I think."

"He is a great horse. I've ridden him once. He is gentle, but sometime stubborn," Ken said. "Just give him a little time to get to know you better. We can help you with that."

"Have you seen Thunderstorm?" Brian joined the conversation again.

"Yes, he looks magnificent," Harry said.

"Yes, he is. I have never seen a horse like him. The white spot on his chest and his white ear are from old wounds. His owners were absolute jerks and beat him. The coat at those spots didn't grow back in black, but instead came back white. Light Arrow once said that when he gets a new horse, he is sure that a teen will come along one day to work with it. He just waits for the teen that belongs to the horse. Unega and Tohiadedi have been standing in the paddock with our horses since this spring, as if he had known you two would come. That's crazy, isn't it?"

Harry felt a cold shiver down the back of his neck, and he heard a crazy sound in his head, like a wing beat of a huge bird. He shook his head to clear it. Maybe I have been in the sun too long, Harry thought, confused. The feeling of chills down his spine wasn't a bad one, though, as it had been with Voldemort; no, there was nothing frightening about it. It was a really good feeling, a safe feeling. Someone had been waiting for him.

"Yes, it is."