Harry wasn't scared to meet the others like Draco; he just didn't care, and he would just ignore them. In the hall, they met Rose and Draco, who immediately moved closer to Harry.

"Stay calm, Draco." Harry tried to calm him.

"Where is Severus?" Draco asked insecurely.

Before Harry could say that he didn't know where Severus was, Black Hawk said, "He is resting."

That made Draco stop completely halfway down the stairs. "I won't go down there if Severus isn't there."

"Draco," Rose said calmly as she laid a hand on his shoulder. She let her soothing magic flow into Draco, but he remained stiff like a board.

Harry also had stopped and was now struggling against Black Hawk, who was trying to convince him to move away from Draco. "No, I won't leave him alone!" Harry said with determination. He didn't care that the voices from downstairs had become silent, nor that the people were probably listening to what was happening on the stairs. When he heard heavy foot steps, he looked down the stairs; Light Arrow was coming up.

When Light Arrow arrive at the small group, he gestured for Black Hawk to go down and took his place at Harry's side.

"No, I won't go. You can't make me leave Draco. You promised!" Harry backed away, but Light Arrow grabbed his arm.

"Nobody wants you to leave him, but you have to calm down or Draco won't calm down," Light Arrow said calmly.

Harry looked at Draco. The normally pale boy was now as white as a sheet. "Come on, Draco. Let's just get it over with. We can go back to my room after it," Harry said gently to calm Draco down.

"Why is Severus not there. I want him to be here," Draco said in panic.

"Severus is resting, Draco. He was very exhausted. At supper he will join us again," Light Arrow explained.

"Oh, no, Harry, he has left us here, alone! He is already back at Hogwarts, and left us alone." Draco was panicking more and more.

"Draco, look at me," Harry said strictly. When he had Draco's full attention, he said, "Severus is still here. He wouldn't leave us alone."

"Of course he wouldn't," a deep baritone came from the top of the stairs. "What's all this about?"

"Severus, you should still be resting. Why can't you for once do something good for yourself?" Rose asked, disappointed that Severus had left his bed.

"I will do something good for me and go riding." He looked at Draco. "After we have met the other kids."

Draco's face got some color back, and he let out the breath he had been holding.

"Yes, riding will do you some good. Thunderstorm is eagerly waiting for you," Light Arrow said to Severus. "Let's go downstairs. The others are waiting for you." With that he let his hand change its place from Harry's arm to Harry's neck. It was laying there lightly, but the hand gave Harry a lot of comfort.

When they arrived in the kitchen, the other kids were sitting around the table together with White Cloud and a man whom Harry hadn't seen before. The man stood up. He had long black hair and sun glasses on his face. "I'm Crying Horse. I'm glad you are here. We need help to make the campfire ready for your welcome feast." He gave Harry's hand a shake, hugged Severus, and nodded to Draco, who was trying to melt into Severus' side.

"I fear you have to do this with the other kids. I want Black Hawk to show Draco and Harry the horses," Light Arrow said.

"Always the luck of the newbies, we have to work our asses off," a boy with short blonde hair said. "I'm Brain and that's my buddy Ken." He gestured to the sandy-haired boy with a lot of freckles. "Over there is Aiden." He pointed at a bored looking guy with long black hair and a goaty. He looked as if he had Latin heritage. It was hard to tell how old they all were; Brain and Ken seemed to be around Harry's age. They reminded him of Dean and Seamus. Aiden looked older, maybe seventeen or eighteen. "The blonde girl is Melissa, and the brunette one is Maya. Melissa came from England and Maya from Chile. We boys are all from the States."

"This is Harry, and over there is Draco. Some of you already know Severus, but for those who don't know him, he is one of my sons," Light Arrow stated.

"Wow, then Thunderstorm is your horse? He is magnificent. Which horses will Draco and Harry get?" Brain asked Black Hawk.

"Tohiadedi and Unega," Black Hawk answered while casually standing in the doorway. "So do you want to go?" he asked in Harry's and Draco's direction.

Harry looked hesitantly at Draco.

"Come on, I will join you and then I will go for a ride," Severus said and guided Draco out of the house.

The sunlight was blinding them, and before Harry's eyes could adjust to it Black Hawk had sneaked a hand onto his neck. What is this with them always touching us? And why the hell do I like it? It was crazy, but Harry felt much safer with this hand in his neck, even when it belonged to Black Hawk. "Has one of you ridden before?" Black Hawk asked.

"No," Harry lied. What if he had forgotten all and made a total fool of himself? Draco shook his head. He had left Severus side a bit. Outside he felt safer because he had the feeling he could run if necessary. All the men held their distance from him. In one way he was happy about it, but in another way he hated it because it meant they all knew what had happened and what was wrong with him.

They passed a paddock where seven horses were standing. "That is one of the herds of our horses," Black Hawk said and watched Severus approach the gate and whistle.

The black horse threw his head up, pivoted his ears, and looked over. The horse neighed and then started to race over to them. Harry took a step back when it looked as if the horse wouldn't stop. Dust whirled into the air when the horse suddenly stopped and slid for a few feet. He threw his head in excitement until Severus held out his hand and Thunderstorm rubbed his head against it.

"Hello, my boy, it's so good to see you," Severus said affectionately. The horse made small grunting and snorting noises. When he had calmed down, Severus laid his forehead against Thunderstorm's. The scene was magnificent. The black hair of Severus that was entangling with Thunderstorm's mane blew in the wind, and, for a short moment, it looked as if they are one. "Soon, my boy, soon we will go for a ride," Severus whispered to the horse. The other horses had become curious and came over as well. A red one with three white feet, a white stomach, and almost completely white head went over to Black Hawk. A feather was braided into his mane. She was calmer than the black horse.

"This is Shallow Water, my horse. She is mare and Thunderstorm over there is a gelding," Black Hawk explained.

Severus pet Thunderstorm one last time and signaled Black Hawk that he was ready to move on. Finally they arrived at another paddock which contained a few trees. "Most of our horses have come from an organization that rescues abused and neglected horses. Here they can live in peace for the rest of their life. Some we manage to nurse back to health, and we help them to learn to trust humans again. Others will always stay wild and fearful. We have a wild herd on the plains. Here we only have those who still need medical care, or those we managed to rehabilitate to riding status.

"That is the paddock for some of the geldings and calm mares. The fleabitten gray Quarter Horse mare over there is Maude. She's Melissa's horse." Black Hawk pointed at a horse that stood calmly dozing under a tree near them. He clicked his tongue and all the horses made their way lazily over to them. Black Hawk dived under the gate and pet an almost white horse. Only around his eyes it had an almost round black spot. "This is Unega, and he will be your horse Draco. Would you like to greet him?"

Draco looked uncertainly at the horse. For one moment he wanted to go over and pet the horse, but the next moment the horse looked very big and intimidating. Draco had never been that close to a horse.

"Give it a try, Draco." Severus encouraged Draco.

That was all Draco needed, and he climbed under the gate. Hesitantly, he approached the horse. The ears of the horse circled in all directions, and he abruptly jerk his head up when Draco was close to him. The horse made a nervous grunt and eyed Draco, who had stopped.

"Come on, Draco, don't be scared. He is a very gentle horse, just a little skittish." Black Hawk rubbed the neck of the horse to calm it.

Finally Draco was close enough to reach for the head of the horse. It again jerked back but finally lowered his head and sniffed Draco's hand before rubbing against it. "Hey, Unega," Draco said shyly. It felt good to pet the horse. Draco had the feeling he could look into the soul of the horse through his beautiful big, blue eyes. He wished he could lay his forehead on the horse like Severus had done, but he didn't dare. It must be a great feeling, Draco thought. Everything else around me wouldn't matter so much then.

Black Hawk went over to a red roan horse with a flaxen-gold mane and white spots on his flank. "This is Tohiadedi, or Freedom, whichever you prefer. He is an Appaloosa gelding. Come over, Harry," Black Hawk instructed.

The closer Harry came, the more he wondered if it had been ponies he had seen on a paddock near his aunt's house. This horse was big, and his strong muscles were clearly visible. He didn't jerk his head like Unega did, but he was eying Harry the whole time with a critical look. At least that was how Harry interpreted it. The snorting the horse made when Harry approached wasn't as friendly as Thunderstorm's had been. Harry paused, unsure if he should really move closer.

"No reason to stop, Harry. He has to get to know you. Just try to pet him," Black Hawk said encouragingly and calmly stroked the neck of the horse.

Very cautiously Harry reached for the horse. Freedom bumped his head against his hand. "I don't think he likes me," Harry said, scared.

"He doesn't even know you," Severus said, right behind him. He laid one hand on Harry's shoulder and reached with the other hand to the horse. "If you are nervous the horse is nervous. If you are uncertain or angry, he will eye you sceptically and will not trust you." Freedom snuggled his head against Severus' hand, but never stopped watching Harry with his big brown eyes.

Harry let his hand sink to his side. "I don't think I'm a horse person."

"Just give you two a bit of time to know each other better, Harry," Severus said and guided him out of the paddock again. "You will love the feeling of freedom you attain when the wind is blowing in your face while you ride over the open land."

"I can't ride," Harry said dryly.

"You will learn as soon as Tohiadedi trusts you. From now on, he is your responsibility. You have to feed him, clean his hooves, coat, and mane, and when you are able to get a halter on him you will move him around. Only when you manage this all, we will start riding lessons." Black Hawk explained.

"So never," Harry said sullenly and put his cold and emotionless mask up again.