My name is Hedwig, I am a snowy owl, and I belong to Harry Potter. I sat in a magical pet shop for a long time before Hagrid bought me for Harry’s birthday. For the past six years, I have been Harry’s companion and his link to the magical world during summers. I have proudly carried his letters and packages to his friends.
This summer Harry has not let me out to hunt very much. I know he only wants to keep me safe, but this cage is so boring.
Maybe if I ignore him and pretend to sleep, he will let me out for a while. Doesn’t he know I need to fly?
“Don’t you want to take a last look at the place?” Harry asked me.*
No, I don’t want to look around this house. The only thing in this revolting place that matters to me is Harry.
That cupboard is barely big enough for me… How did he live in it for all those years?
What is that noise?
Oh, how great! We are leaving! Maybe when we get there Harry will let me out to hunt.
What are those things? They don’t look anything like me.
All right! I might not be flapping my wings, but I am definitely flying! YES!
Whoa, that was close. That fall would have killed me. Great catch Harry. I am sorry you lost your broom though.
HARRY! LOOK OUT!!!!
Where did my cage go? Why is Harry leaving me? I have to catch up and help him.
“Hello Hedwig. You need to stay here with us.” The voice came from behind me.
Turning my head, I could see four people standing in midair. How is that possible?
Just then, I heard an explosion and my head jerked around to watch Harry. He blew up the sidecar he had been riding in. And is that feathers I see burning? What was left of the sidecar and what looked to be my cage were falling to the ground.
What happened? What did I miss? I need to help him!
“Hedwig, you can’t help him. You have to stay here with us,” said the man who already told me I couldn’t go.
All I want to do is go to Harry and make sure he is all right. Why won’t they let me go to him?
“You can’t go to Harry, Hedwig.” The woman was talking to me this time. “He has to get through this on his own.”
Why? Why does he always have to do it on his own? I know I could help him. I could peck and claw those people on the brooms, or I could…
“No, Hedwig, you couldn’t. You are not a part of that world anymore. You belong here, with us, on this side.” Another man was talking now. He had a long beard and long hair.
Finally, Harry was out of sight, and I turned my attention back to the people. There were five now. I recognized three of them. The other two looked familiar, but I knew I had never delivered a letter to either of them.
Professor Dumbledore was trying to tell me I am dead? That cannot be right. Moody is here too, he wouldn’t be here if I were dead.
“No, it just means I’m dead too,” Moody growled at me.
So, what do we do now? Can we go to Harry now?
“I am truly sorry, Hedwig,” the lady said, “We only get to watch him when he might die.”
Does that mean he is safe now? I was starting to get anxious about where they wanted to take me, so I tried to keep them talking.
It didn’t work; everything faded around us, and turned white. In the blink of an eye, we were in a very large room, and were surrounded by people and animals.
I turned my head all the way around in each direction to see all of them. There were all types of animals here, and they, along with the people kept popping in and out around me. I could hear the buzz of conversations, but I could not make out the words.
The ones popping in and out, were they going to check on the ones they loved?
“Yes, that’s exactly where they’re going.” He is the man I did not recognize. “I’m James Potter, Harry’s dad,” he introduced himself.
Oh, so that would make the woman…
“That’s right. I’m Lily. Thank you for loving our son as much as you did, and apparently still do, since you’re here with us keeping watch.”
Is that what this place is? A place to keep watch on our loved ones?
“Yeah.” Sirius looked younger than the last time I had seen him. “We go every time Harry is in real trouble and wait here in between times.”
I looked at Moody, who was receiving this information with me when he asked, “Do we get any warning on when we pop in and out of here? You know I don’t react very well to surprises.”
“You should start to feel anxious right before we go to him,” Professor Dumbledore told us.
I already felt anxious. Harry was always so good to me, and I was so rude to him the last few days…all because he wanted to keep me safe. Now he won’t know I love him, and I was not really mad at him, I was just sulking.
“Harry knew how you felt about him, Hedwig,” Sirius told me. “That’s why he blew your cage and body up. He didn’t want your body being used against him by Voldemort. He knew how you would’ve felt about that.”
I had not nipped his fingers or his ear, or chattered to him in so long. He kept talking to me and I ignored him. Now he has lost another loved one. How much more can one boy take?
“The war is picking up pace, so I think we should be seeing a lot of Potter real soon,” Moody told the others. “And I have a suspicion we’ll be joined by quite a few others soon, too.”
“Maybe not,” Lily interjected. “Only the ones who love him and die trying to protect him will come here with us. The others will either wait for someone else, or move on.”
James finished her explanation with, “All of us died protecting him in some form or fashion. Others will, too, but unless they love him, they will move on to the Paradise waiting for us all. When Harry dies, we’ll be the ones to guide him there.”
Unless he figures out how to kill Voldemort soon, we might be guiding him on sooner rather than later. There is just so much more he needs to do, and learn. How can he… UH OH…
Everything faded and coalesced into a wedding reception, then a road, and then a diner very quickly. It was a little disconcerting, but I was able to focus on Harry each time, even though he did not look like himself.
Watching Harry fight for his and his friends’ lives was torturous. I wanted to help him so badly.
“Every time this happens, I worry he will come to us, and I pray he doesn’t,” Lily murmured.
“Watching is hard, but I want Harry to live a long and happy life. He deserves that,” James added.
We were back in the huge waiting room very quickly, and I started to wonder about time. How do we know how much time has passed? I cannot seem to focus on how long I have been here.
Professor Dumbledore donned his Professor persona to inform me, “Time passes the same here as there. It just seems faster here. We are here,” he waved his hand around to emphasize where we were, “for the express purpose of watching Harry and guiding him when his time comes. During the waiting, it only seems to be a short amount of time. Days, weeks, months, or years could’ve passed before we go back to him, but it will only seem like a few minutes to us.”
Professor Dumbledore explained more about how time worked, but I was too busy worrying about Harry to pay much attention past the first bit.
We popped in and out of watching Harry several times until Dobby the house-elf joined us. He was so distraught, and like me, he wanted to go back to Harry. I let the others explain to him what had happened and where we were.
I was so proud of Harry. He was growing stronger and holding his own in each fight we witnessed. And we witnessed quite a few fights, and once I thought, he would be joining us. When Nagini had him, I didn’t think he could get away. Hermione helped him, and he did get away, but I was so scared for him.
Remus and Tonks joined us during the final battle. We had been with Harry from the time he set foot in Diagon Alley on his way to Gringotts. Staying with him through the harrowing time in the vault, and then to Hogsmeade, and into the Room of Requirement.
At the castle, we stayed with him every minute, until he opened the Snitch.
He could only see four of us when he held the stone. We were all there, but Professor Dumbledore said they were the ones he needed to hear from at that moment.
When Voldemort killed him, Professor Dumbledore went to talk to him, and told him he could go back. I really thought that was it, but he chose to go back.
Watching the fights in the Great Hall was such a proud moment. Harry fought well and showed more wisdom and maturity than any of us could have hoped.
Years had passed, quite a few of them judging by how old Harry is this time we have come to see him. He is very old, and his family is gathered around him. Oh, look at them. Harry has a wife and children. They are all telling him good-bye and they love him.
Harry closed his eyes, and then he was with us. He looks young again, and oh, he looks happy. We all welcome him in our own ways. My turn came and I immediately perch on his shoulder nip his ear and start chattering to him.
They all can hear what I am saying of course, but I only care that Harry knows, “I have missed you, and I love you so much. I am so proud of you.”
James and Lily led the way, and we all followed. Soon we were in Paradise. It looked like a wonderland. Rolling hills and wide-open skies for me to spread my wings.
As much as I wanted to fly around for a while, I had missed Harry so much; I could not bear to leave him yet.
Spending eternity with the boy I love, and his family, in this wonderful place does not seem like a bad end to my life.
I hope when it is your turn to join us, you think the same. But for now, I am going to soar, and talk to my boy again. Good-bye.
Hedwig's Tale by red haired mom
Story Notes:
I would like to thank my beta; PEMDAS for finding my goofs, I know there were many.
Chapter Endnotes: A/N * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, page 44
Thanks to PEMDAS for switching gears with me for this, and thanks to all of the Turnips and Sprouts who encouraged me to let an Owl tell the story.
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