A/N: Just wanted to thank Henxu for her efforts. She was a great help; always motivating me, digging up information from the wiki, giving me new ideas. Thank you so much, you are great! :)

Chapter 3

It was the middle of december when the first snow fell. His feet were freezing, his cheeks were reddened from the cold, the wind got in his eyes and occasionally - when the wind was too powerful - it was a bit hard to breathe. In less than two hours everything he could see was covered in beautiful, glorious white, the air was fresher than ever and Harry thought it was only fair that he was freezing before - the idea of obtaining such beauty without giving something in return just seemed wrong; nature didn't work that way.

Radagast didn't agree with him though. He glared at the snow, teeth clattering and cheeks as red as Harry's, all the while muttering things about how it was going to be hard for ferrets to find food or how Sebastian was going to have a hard time while trying to keep his hoglets warm. Harry didn't mind it much. At least his mutterings kept Fawkes amused enough that she hadn't demanded a song from him since it started snowing.

They kept walking untill the snow stopped because according to Radagast, his precious babies - they were a breed of enormous rabbits called Rhosgobel Rabbits - were easily affected by the cold and they couldn't use them to pull the sled until it got significantly warmer.

Unsurprisingly, they walked for three hours straight until Radagast decided they should check the map in case they were going on a wrong road. He admitted that he got lost frequently, despite his unrivaled skill with maps. Harry peeked over Radagast's shoulder to get a better view of the map, his long hair tickling the Istari's ear.

Radagast, long used to Harry's love of silence, answered his unasked question. "If you're looking for your forest you're not going to find it. I don't know how it's possible but the winter before I found you there was nothing but ruins there. The forest appeared out of nowhere."

"That's not possible. I've been in that forest for decades, maybe centuries. Certainly more than a year. Are you sure it was the same area?"

Radagast frowned.

"That's not normal. How can you not know if it's been a decade or a century? We're talking about hundreds of years here, how can you not know that?"

Harry didn't say anything, but what the Istari said alarmed him a little. He couldn't remember the most part of his stay in the forest, but from what he could remember it was almost like he had been in a haze. He didn't know how long he had stayed there, only that it had been a very long time and he could remember that he didn't care as long as he was there with the whispers, safe and loved. Loved by whom, by what, that he couldn't remember; though he was sure he knew what it was when he was in the forest.

Fawkes' concerned chirp cut through his thoughts and he gave her a reasurring smile.

He changed the topic, as if to assure Fawkes he was alright.
"I still don't know where we are going, Radagast."

"You've been with me for a long time. You are like a nephew to me now but I taught you everything I know, so you'll be in the safe hands of a fellow Istari, whose knowledge on magic exceeds mine greatly; I am sure he will be willing to share his knowledge with you, and you with him. Your branch of magic is quite different and unusually strong; I am sure he will be interested."

Harry, suddenly aware of the tears in his eyes, looked away.

"Fawkes will be with you, so I expect at least a letter each week." Radagast added with a playful tone to lighten his mood.

It didn't work.

I know it's short and I know you've been waiting for a long time, but truthfully I don't know where this story is going and I am a perfectionist. Sorry :/

A big thank you to those who reviewed, favourited and followed this story. You make me really happy!

Cheers for now and don't forget to review. ;)