IX
'When have I become a coward?' he thinks aloud as he watches the snowfall and wonders about being human again. 'I'm a Griffindor but I've been running away for so long.'
Bird-Marcus doesn't answer as she's a bird, but her chicks chirp at him from where they're under her mother. He can barely see their heads, but he doesn't make his tail warmer. He doesn't want them to get used to it and then suffer when he's gone. It'll be hard enough with the lack of food to hunt now that winter is upon them.
Maybe he can visit more frequently between his trips to Asia. At least until the chicks can fly. He can use that time to research about Disillusionment charms to see if there's something about the indigo smoke. He'll try to visit some Chinese city to learn the language in his human form after he knows where that pair is going to. When they settle down in someplace and he knows their language, he can ask them about their country and if they know about any weird creatures. They're now close to the sea, so it won't be long.
In the meantime, he can enjoy his time with bird-Marcus and her neighbors.
This seems to be a good idea as not a week later, he has a great view of some type of weird machine flying up and up in the sky, until it's nothing but a spot he can't see. A great accomplishment considering he has phoenix's eyes.
It's not a plane, of that he's sure. He could barely distinguish some parts of the dot, but he remembers enough to know that what he saw is not something as simple. He also has enough knowledge in muggle history to know that is around this time muggles started trying to go to space.
For all the traveling he's been doing the last years, he's never seen a spatial station. It's his fault as he's been trying to be as far away from humanity since he came into this world, true. Maybe is time to change that. It's been years, after all. He knows spatial stations are packed with people to make it run and if he's going to a city soon, he should start preparing himself by increasing his time around large amounts of people.
He doesn't think he'll still be skittish as he was those first days coming here. Stalking those two has helped him to be around their weird sort of magical core that likes to approach his own a little too much for his liking, too. There isn't anyone who knows him either, which makes him feel better even if it pains him to admit it.
Still.
If he were a human, he knows he would be having an anxiety attack or be in the first stages of one. As he's currently not one, he sings and lets the song of his own making calm him down.
X
In the end, it's curiosity the one making the final decision of apparate as near as he can get to the place the thing came from without being seen, which is the smart thing to do as it only takes him a second after he's reached his destination to notice the great number of people in the place. Most a considerable length away from some metal thing he's fairly sure is where the ship went off, but there are a couple few who seem busy going from place to place.
And he can sense them all.
It's weird, to be honest. A phoenix has better magical senses than most creatures so since the first time he was able to transform into one he's been able to get faint impressions of a wizard's magical core. On the other hand, that should have meant muggles were outside his view as they don't possess magic. The reality was different, of course, as he found out muggles did have some sort of magical core, smaller than a squib's. He wasn't sure what it was. He only knew some had similar flavors, seemed to be intricately connected with their souls, and liked to go near him.
Unsurprisingly, Hermione had a field day when he told her about it. She spent months investigating it and nagging him to give all the descriptions he could about it. However, he was gone before seeing the results of her research.
They learned wizards have this power too, which is interesting. That being said, it is more interesting to find out that while everyone here in this world has that sort of magical core too, theirs is stronger. Again, not enough to ever wield magic, but unlike muggles, and most wizards, they've got a potential to ignite… something.
It disturbed him those first days, as it feels like soul magic, and added to the reasons of why he decided to live as a phoenix. So he doesn't know what as it is small and he doesn't want to get closer to it, but there are some people with larger cores who make a curious tingle go inside him that doesn't feel as awful.
That's why he can't help but trail his gaze to the building he can see from the branches of the tree he's hiding in, where he can sense there's a person with the greatest potential he's felt since coming to this world.
Warm, he thinks, wishing to see and maybe meet this person.
There are people inside too, he notes absently. Not that he cares much. He may admit needing to get used to being around people and learning about this time is something he honestly wishes to do, but… their weird sort of magical cores still creeps him out.
(He's maybe turning more into a phoenix than he's thought if he's this snobbish)
Looking to the window where he knows that mysterious person is, Harry wonders about his options.
Maybe he can hit two birds with a stone?
XI
The-man-turned-phoenix-who-stalks can be his new hyphened title. It has a nice ring to it, he admits. Fitting too, seeing as he's been visiting daily the space station at different hours just to see the owner of that larger-than-normal core. He's even stayed an entire day on a branch after helping bird-Marcus hunt, manning the cold winter, glaring at the window where this person doesn't seem to move from. As if by the force of his stare they would go out.
Unsurprisingly, it doesn't work but Harry Potter is nothing if stubborn.
That's why he comes and goes, exchanging between looking for the Chinese pair, watching the large building and meeting bird-Marcus neighbors, singing when the cold is harsher to lift their moods and warm their souls. He actually becomes quite familiar with most of the birds in the area and some other animals. They can't understand his actions as they're driven by their instincts and can't really be reasonable, but that doesn't mean they can't understand. Simple commands or suggestions they can follow when he thought-talks to them.
They can offer the same and more, too. Animals are really intelligent and fun to spend time with even if they can't talk back.
Still. Entertained or not, after two weeks he's frustrated. He knows people are allowed to leave. There's a city near where most workers seem to go to sleep or to simply have fun. Alas, the mystery person doesn't seem to be interested in following normal human needs.
(The Chinese pair are even in a boat now!)
Actually, Harry is kind of worried. He doesn't know much of the time he's in but maybe it's more awful than he's thought and this person is not allowed to leave or… or is being experimented on because of this power.
Bloody hell, it would just be his luck if that's the case.
He looks from side to side, fidgeting. He tries to think of a plan that will lead him inside but comes with little aside from the overly used barge in and make it up as it goes. It's simple and it has worked before but the phoenix inside him that is elegant and has a penchant for dramatics cringes at just the thought. So that's a no.
After stalking this place for so long he more or less has an idea of how the security works and when it rotates. He only needs to learn more about the security cameras and the kind. He can't just apparate to the window's edge as the flames after a phoenix apparition are too showy, but he can probably reach the roof from the sky with none being the wiser.
The problem is reaching the window without being seen. His feathers may be black and are easier to blend in with the shadows because of it but he's still a large bird with a constant burning tail. He can reduce the flames, true, but it's still visible.
Maybe he can get a distraction. Something flamboyant enough to catch the attraction of everyone and let him slip inside.
… He may have an idea.
XII
The sky is starting to become darker when a sickening thud is heard, one that reminds everyone of broken bones and one can't help but compare to the sound one would expect a person to make at being crushed by a truck. People as the morbid curious beings they are, move closer to the windows or go outside to see what's happening and find the body of a dead brown bear outside.
Murmurs are already starting when two bearded vultures swoop down and snatch it up. People continue watching as they fly higher, some with a frown on their faces as they recognize the bird of prey and to their knowledge, they hunt alone and away from the public. Those people search for cameras to record this anomaly, while the ones who have never known about this winged creature, merely look transfixed as they let go of the body so it can plummet on the ground again.
While this happens, on the opposite side of the building a different type of bird is using the edge of the top floor to peek the window below to get a better view of the inside of the room. There are tables filled with papers and some weird machines, the floor has piles of books and more instruments. It's fairly large even if there's almost no free space left. Not that he pays much attention as he's more concentrated in the person looking to the door where the noise is coming from.
That can't be his natural hair color, is first thought, followed by, Is he going to check what all the commotion is about?
The second thought is the one that makes him anxious. It'd be just his bloody luck to reach the person he's interested in meeting just to see him leave.
So in Griffindor fashion, Harry knocks the window's glass with his beak, quite amused at the way the green-haired young man startles when he turns around, revealing green eyes behind familiar round glasses.
The young man mumbles something in a language he doesn't recognize. Instead of trying to use thought-talk when he might not know English, Harry uses something similar and nudges the impressions of his thoughts onto the young man until the other can understand he's asking if he can go inside.
This would scare a normal person, but it seems the other is more curious than afraid. He quickly empties a space on his table until it's clear of papers and goes to open the window.
Not that it's needed as Harry apparates next on the now free chair, startling even more the young man until he's hissing more strange words at him. Which, rude. Harry's taking his lack of warm clothes into consideration and doesn't want him to get sick for opening the window when it's freezing cold outside. He should receive a thank you and not cursing.
… Though he admits a bird appearing in a burst of flames inside a room filled with papers is not a great idea.
Maybe he should have still warned him.