When a Winged Girl Meets a Magic Boy

Chapter One

POV Max

Nothing makes life more enjoyable than when the world is safe and we can enjoy life the way it was meant to be enjoyed. Need an example? Exploring London mutant-style is one way! Who needs a tour guide when you've got wings? We can cover twice the distance and see twice as much!

We'd been flying for two hours, when it all got very eerie. Suddenly all I saw below me was trees. The people were gone…

I looked ahead of me using my bird eyes. I could see a castle, far off in the distance. "Let's land," I said. We dove downward and landed in a forest. "Alright," I said, "It's a castle. A huge one. Most likely another branch of Itex. I'm gonna check it out for myself. You guys wait here."

Fang looked about ready to say something to stop me, but I didn't give him the chance. Without another word, I got a running start and took to the air.

The castle became larger and larger as I flew toward it. I landed on top of it. No one was in the castle. Not many people, at least. I looked around and saw a stadium to the side. They looked like they were having some kind of celebration or sporting event. Could it be like the one we'd seen – and I'd been in – at the castle in Germany? Gulping down fear, I took off again and headed toward the stadium.

I was high over the crowd, as to avoid being seen. I was just turning back when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. It was a little, round, golden ball. With wings. Was it a hidden camera? I grabbed it and examined it. No…definitely not a camera. It was too solid…and just didn't look like one. A bomb, maybe? With this thought I let go of it and watched it hover by my face. It lingered for only a second, then sped downward again.

Something was approaching me. I began to speed off, but I collided with someone.

I forgot to flap for a second and dropped several feet. Whatever I crashed into had been spinning downward, but was now coming back up.

It was a boy…on a broomstick…wait a minute…that's scientifically impossible…but I guess I was scientifically impossible, too, so who was I to say that's not possible?

In a few minutes, the boy was level with me. He spoke, and at first I didn't understand for the wind in my ears. "What?" I said.

"Who are you?" he asked. His voice had a heavy English accent, but he didn't sound dangerous.

"No one important," I answered.

Below I heard cheers and screams of protest. "Draco Malfoy has caught the snitch! Slytherin wins by a landslide!" The boy's shoulders dropped, like he was disappointed.

"Can you tell me your name?" the boy asked.

I stared him in the face. Was he joking? I snickered, "No." I turned and sped towards the forest. Looking back, I saw the boy turn and head back to the ground. Something deep down told me I hadn't seen the last of him.

I landed beside a little hut just outside the forest. There was a chicken cooking over the fire outside and I took it. I ate it as I ran into the forest.

I stopped and climbed into a tree a ways in. The moon sun was high over the mountains as I rested on a tree branch. Ah…rest…I could almost sleep here…the forest was quiet…

It must've been fifteen minutes later when I heard voices coming from a long way off. It was a man's voice speaking first. "I just don't know what kind of creature would take my chicken," the voice said. It was rough and also had a British accent, "Most everything in the Forbidden Forest stays in the Forbidden Forest."

I knew I should take to the sky, but I would get a sucky takeoff through the trees and I couldn't go to the ground. They were getting close enough to see me if I went down.

"It's not an animal we're looking for, Hagrid," a boy's voice said, "It's a girl. I saw her in the sky during the Quidditch match." I recognized the boy's voice as the one I'd seen in the sky.

"And you say she had wings, Harry?" a girl's voice asked.

"Yeah," the boy answered.

"Wings? Harry, are you sure?" a different boy's voice said.

"I'm positive," the first boy said.

My wings were crunched beneath me and it hurt. I moved slightly, making more noise than I'd anticipated. "Over there!" the first boy said.

I moved again. This time, the branch moved beneath me and I fell off it. "Oof!" I said as I fell. I realized I said it awfully loud.

The group was running, now, to find me. A minute later, they appeared before me.

I examined them. I could take the girl or either of the boys easily. The man…maybe not. He was at least six foot five, if not taller. But I could outrun him without even going top speed.

"That's her!" the boy from the broomstick said, pointing at me.

"Harry, she's just a girl. She doesn't have wings," the girl said.

The boy – Harry – stared at me. "Yes, she does," he said defiantly, "I know she does."

"Can you speak?" the red-haired boy asked. He walked toward me and stuck out a hand, as if to help me up.

I swatted it away and got up on my own. "Of course I can speak, idiot!" I snapped, "And I don't need your help!"

"Have you got wings?" the red-haired boy asked.

There was no use hiding it. I slowly extended my wings. Stretching them out felt good. I'd kept them in so tight in the tree, I didn't think they'd ever loosen up. I glanced at the clearing above me. An escape. Perfect.

"Bloody hell," the redhead said. He stared at my wings like they were a big honkin' piece of chocolate.

"What's your name?" the girl asked. She was also staring at my wings wistfully.

I looked at them, my eyes narrowing. They weren't Erasers. It seemed like this was a regular boarding school. They even had school uniforms that were much cuter than the ones I'd worn to school in Virginia. After a long pause, I said, "Max."

"I'm Harry," Harry said, "This is Ron, Hermione, and Hagrid."

I nodded, on my guard and ready to attack at any moment.

"How old are you?" Harry asked.

"Fourteen," I answered.

"Us, too," Hermione said, nodding.

"What school do you go to?" Ron asked.

"Um…I'm homeschooled," I lied. Well…not completely a lie. I'd gotten all my schooling – as little as there was – at home.

"Where did you get your wings?" Hagrid asked. Ron, Harry and Hermione looked at me with anticipation in their eyes.

These questions were worrying me. Sure they weren't Erasers and weren't working for the School or Itex, but they could still hurt me. Knowledge itself was hurtful. And I didn't want to share too much knowledge with these people.

I looked up to see Ari ((A/N: In this story he's not dead and has not had the attitude adjustment that he gets in STWAOES)) standing over me. He was transformed into an Eraser and had his angry eyes on. "Hey, birdie. Found some new friends?" he asked.

"What is that thing?" I heard Hermione say, and at the same time, I heard Ron repeat, "Bloody hell!"

I swung my feet under his legs and he crashed to the ground. He was up in an instant and the fight began.

I socked Ari in the face and he stopped for only a second. He slashed me with his claws across one cheek just as I kicked his chest, forcing him back several feet. He came at me again with more strength than I'd anticipated. He punched me rapidly, over and over, until I was too weak to even defend myself. I backed away to dodge him, and back right into a tree.

"Nowhere to run, bird girl!" he sneered. He took a bite out of my arm, but I barely flinched.

I used every bit of my strength to punch him one last time, and this seemed to anger him. He brought a gun out of his jacket and aimed it at my left arm and shot, aiming perfectly. He shot me three more times after that: one on my right arm, one on my left leg and one on my right leg. I crumpled to the ground, pain and blood spewing out of each bullethole.

From then on, I wasn't sure what was real and what was just my imagining. I saw Harry go behind Ari and remember thinking 'What the hell? Doesn't he know that you typically stay away from the scary wolf-thing attacking an innocent bird-girl?' Well, apparently not. He took Ari by the shoulders and pulled him back. Ron came and together they held Ari.

Now this is the part I'm sure I imagined. I think I saw Hermione pull out a stick…no…a wand? Anyway, she pulled out a wand and pointed it at Ari and shouted, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

'Alrighty then,' I thought, 'This must be a school for the mentally challenged or something…' But to my surprise, Ari shot into the air. With the flick of her wrist, Hermione sent Ari out into the woods.

And then…I passed out…

So, there's the first chapter to my first crossover story. I hope you liked it! More will be out soon!