Chapter 140 - My CO Stash #40 - Who’s This White Kid by Flameraiser (HarryPotterXMCU) (2/2)

”Alright then… You have any idea where I could find some water? I'm not exactly sure how long I can last without it but I'm probably approaching the limit considering it's still hot out and I am no longer sweating.” Harry asked as he looked over himself. He was downplaying it when in truth his insides felt like there were trying to consume themselves. It was extremely painful but he hadn't broken under hours of the Cruciatus and even as a child he wouldn't let this break him.

The panther said nothing in response not that he really expected it too. Actually, he still wasn't quite sure what he was expecting to happen from this situation. He might be going slightly crazy from the lack of water. Could a crazy person recognize that they were going crazy? Bellatrix had been able to recognize her own insanity but she embraced it to the extreme.

He shivered as he realized he had just compared himself to possibly one of the worst people that had lived in the past century. So consumed in his thoughts, he didn't notice when the panther dropped down from the tree branch and started walking away. He didn't notice until he heard an audible growl which broke him from his thoughts immediately as he tensed.

He looked back up and finally noticed the panther, now a small distance away from him and looking back at him. It was giving him a slight snarl until their eyes met. Once it had Harry's attention, it turned its head back forward and continued to walk away. Harry stared at it walk away for a few moments before shrugging.

'No idea where I am going anyway.' Harry thought before setting out behind the big cat. He wasn't sure if the panther even realized he was following it. It must have, it's not like Harry was being quiet and he was much too weak to even attempt to be light footed.

Harry wasn't sure how long he was following but soon he could start to feel his own heartbeat. Along with that and his breath was starting to become uneven and rapid. The further they walked and the worse it got. Soon his vision was starting to get fuzzy that he almost ran into multiple trees. He grit his teeth and kept moving despite the pain and his body clearly showing signs of shutting down. There was a roaring that started in his ears that might have been his own blood but he couldn't be sure. Soon the world started to seem to get darker at the corner of his vision.

”If… if I die you better… you better eat me.” Harry said out to his companion who he was now having trouble seeing in front of him. Damn this child body. A grown a_d_u_l_t would have been able to go at least another day but he was stuck as something little better than a toddler. He wasn't actually sure if he would die or not. With the older body and the deathly hallows he had been unkillable. In this young form though, he had no idea what would happen. If he did die though, he hoped his new panther friend would at least get a meal out of it. He had no problem being part of the circle of life.

Harry wasn't sure when it happened but at some point, he must have fallen down to the floor as he now had a face full of leaves. Despite that, the next time he opened his blurry eyes, he was on something soft and moving. He used all the energy he could to look up to see what appeared to be the back of the panther which he was now riding on.

Harry couldn't help himself, he let out a delirious chuckle at the situation. He was riding a panther through the jungle to god knows where… or he was hallucinating and really just dying on the jungle floor somewhere.

”You should have just eaten me. Would have been easier on your back.” Harry told the panther. He heard a rumble from its c_h_e_s_t that he could easily believe to be agreement in his delirious state. With that he closed his eyes again.

Harry felt darkness once more. He briefly wondered if he would see his parents this time. He had spent years after the war coming to terms with the fact that he wouldn't be able to due to the hallows. If he got to see them again and Sirius too then this whole little forest fiasco would be worth it.

After his parents, his thoughts drifted to his friends. Ron and Hermione were still together as far as he knew. He had honestly thought they wouldn't last but they had both stuck it through even when times got tough. Harry had literally watched Ron's maturity kick in during that relationship. He had been happy for them but did admittedly feel like a third wheel. Ginny… well he would rather not think of Ginny right now.

He hoped he got to meet Dumbledore on the other side as well. He wanted to kick the man in the balls as hard as he could. Hearing the man, he had trusted from day one practically in the magical world had set him up had been tough. Granted he couldn't say he would have been able to come up with a better plan than the man but still. It was the principle that mattered to Harry, he hated being set up.

It was strange though. It suddenly was very cold all-around Harry. Not only that it felt like something was moving all around him upwards. Mixed with all that, there was this weird spec in the middle of his vision that seemed to get brighter and brighter, or maybe closer? Hmm, was this death?

Harry gasped as he sat up straight with more energy than he had been able to in hours. He looked around him in confusion before his eyes shot open in clarity. Water, everywhere, lots of it!

Harry dove his head back under and started chugging. He chugged and enjoyed the cold feeling spreading into his c_h_e_s_t and then through the rest of his body. It felt like heaven! After a few moments, Harry's mental functions began to boot up enough for him to remember that when someone was extremely dehydrated you couldn't keep letting them chug down water or they would drown themselves. So, with great reluctance, he pulled his face away from the water with a great gasp. He let oxygen reenter his lungs as he finally looked around. He was in a river near the bank but deep enough that he could submerge himself if he sat down.

At the bank sat a familiar figure. His panther companion sat back on its hindlegs as it seemed to watch him with what looked like a bored expression. Its tail moved slightly back and forth behind it for some reason.

Harry dragged himself through the water and over to the panther. He pulled himself to bank with great energy before finally pulling himself next to the giant cat. The cat looked to its right and down at him. Harry might have imagined it but the looked seemed to ask 'Satisfied?'

”I am, thanks to you. Thank you. I suppose that means I was right and you are intelligent after all.” Harry told it. It gave him a look that was clearly, 'Obviously you idiot.'

”You're quite mean to the person you put so much effort into rescuing… Did I ask you to eat me earlier?” Harry asked. His memory for the past few hours was a blur. If a panther could smirk then this one definitely was. It didn't answer the question though, it did however get down on all legs so it could lay down.

”I suppose your tired from carrying my weak a_s_s around for the past few hours. Looks like it's already getting dark. Think we should find shelter soon? I should probably also find something to eat. I'm not very good at hunting. Think you could give me some tips?” Harry asked.

Again, the panther didn't say anything, instead, it got to its feet and started wading through the river current. Harry wondered if he should get up and follow but the panther stopped and seemed to freeze. Harry looked on in confusion before the panther buried its head in the water before rapidly bringing it back up. In it's jaws was something metallic looking and flapping uncontrollably. With that, the panther waded back out of the water and up to him. With a single motion it spat the object out of it's mouth and into Harry's lap.

Harry looked down at his l_a_p and stared at the now dead fish. He looked back at the panther that was now back to laying down as if nothing happened.

”You show off.” Harry finally said as a small smile grew on his face. The panther said nothing but it almost looked as if it preened at his words. He looked back down at the fish and almost drooled as he looked at it. He hadn't been this hungry in years. He didn't know how to make a fire which meant he would have to eat it raw. At this point though, he was just glad to have something in his mouth that he could swallow.

He bit into the fish and tasted the flavor of its guts. It didn't taste as bad as he thought it would which shouldn't be that surprising. Plenty of people around the world had eaten raw forms of fish. Of course, even with his magic not working, he should still be okay from getting any sickness from eating the raw fish. He bit into it again and again. He would sometimes have to spit out the thin bones but didn't let that stop him. Soon enough, the fish was mostly picked clean and he looked back at his companion who was now laying on its side.

”So… are you a boy panther or a girl panther?” Harry asked the creature. The panther lifted its head and eyed him like, 'Really?'

”I'm just curious is all. I don't want to keep referring to you as it in my head.” Harry explained as he tried to look in between its legs to get an idea. After a moment, Harry found what he was looking for, sadly the now identified she seemed to notice what he had been doing and got up with a threatening growl. Harry froze a little at that. She got on her hindlegs again and glared at him before then looking down at his waist. Harry stared at her in confusion before following her gaze. Suddenly he felt very embarrassed.

”Ack! Stop, stop, stop! Okay, I get the point. No more staring at each other's junk, message received.” Harry yelled as he moved to cover his crotch suddenly reminded of his n_a_k_e_dness. Suddenly she was back to looking smug. She then moved on to give him a patronizing look. Harry didn't have to guess what that look was about.

”Leave me alone. I'm apparently four so I'm going to have four-year-old equipment. Trust me, one day I will have no problem finding a mate and you'll know how impressive I am as a human… god I'm bragging to a panther, a female panther, on how impressive my junk will one day be. Somethings probably wrong with me.” Harry trailed off. The panther seemed to almost nod in agreement as it looked back out at the river. Harry joined her in silence for a few moments before breaking it.

”You'll need a name. Any ideas?” Harry asked her. The panther made what Harry assumed was a snort but gave no other sign it was listening.

”What if I just list a few and you can tell me if you like one?” Harry asked her. The panther made no movement in response.

”I shall take your silence as a yes.” Harry told her boldly before thinking of some names.

”Hmm, I'm not good at thinking of African names I am afraid. How about… Amara?” he asked her. She growled at that so, Harry took it as a no.

”Don't like that one then… Hmmm, how about Zana? No, I don't think that quite fits either… Oh how about Nala? She's my favorite character from the Lion King. Granted she was a lion but still. She was this bad a_s_s cat and you're a bad a_s_s cat so what do you think. I think it fits rather well.” Harry told her. The panther opened and eye and looked at him with a bored expression before closing it again. Harry smiled.

”I'll take that as a yes. Nala it is then. So Nala, I am completely and utterly lost so you'll have to lead the way from now on. I would prefer to get to civilization if possible but I am not sure how exactly to get there. Not exactly sure how far panthers normally stray from their territory but do you think you can help me?” Harry questioned. He couldn't exactly take care for himself out here so staying near Nala was kind of vital so if she couldn't help, he might just be screwed.

Nala said nothing and after a moment realized the large cat was actually snoring softly. He sighed before taking a deep breath. He was about to fall asleep when he heard something in the brush behind him. He admittedly made a beeline to Nala's side and nervously looked around. He couldn't see anything but didn't mean nothing was there. He looked back at Nala and saw her awake again and looking at him amus_e_m_e_nt. Harry's eyes narrowed.

”I'm small and helpless, give me a break already.” Harry told her in a whisper though if the ear twitch was any indication then she definitely heard him. Harry idly realized this is the first time he had willingly been so close to Nala. He knew she carried him on her back to the river somehow but he had been a step from death then so that didn't count.

Without really thinking about it, Harry raised and slowly moved it to her side. He finally pressed it into her soft fur. He always imagined animals in the wild had much more of a coarse feel to the fur but Nala's felt as if she had been professionally groomed. He looked to her head to see if she minded him touching her fur but her eyes were closed so he took that to mean she didn't. He started rubbing her side in the same way he might with a house cat just to see if she liked it. Soon a noise emitted from her throat. Harry almost stopped thinking it was a growl but quickly realized that she was actually purring but it sounded deeper due to her size.

He laid his head against her side and stroked her side until he drifted off once more to the land of dreams, uncertain what was next for him but certain that he at least had a friend with him to face it. Harry once fought a war with only two friends at his side. Imagine what he could accomplish with a panther.