Been awhile, but inspiration just wasn't coming for this one. But thankfully my brain went, wait.. your off today right? look a wild update appears!

"Where.. am I?"

"Hooo..." Hedwig hooted from a branch above, her form barely visible in the night.

"I.. don't think this is Reapertale," Harry said looking around, there were huge spruce trees everywhere with snow on the ground that crunched under his feet.

The small monster child was exhausted, he'd followed Hedwig without a thought which meant he'd left late at night with nowhere near enough sleep. Sleep he really needed.

"Hooo!" Hedwig said leaping off her branch, gliding off.

With a sigh Harry followed his familiar, no reason to stop now.

Thankfully she led him to a cave shelter, looking around it looked like nothing not even animals had stayed here for awhile.

Frowning he pulled some branches off a tree, and used them to brush his tracks away in the snow in hopes of deterring any animals to use it to track him. Then used them to mostly block the small cave entrance, except the top.

He kind of needed that for any smoke, as finding a good stony spot he built up a campfire from dried branches and bit of dead grass in the cave.

"Oh... much better," Harry said in relief, as warmth and unfortunately smoke filled the air.

"Hoo.." Hedwig said from her perch of a knotted bit of roots jutting from a cave wall, her eyes gleaming eerily in the flickering firelight.

"So..." Harry said as he lay on the ground, only spruce nettles keeping him from being on the rocks "Any reason you came back as a ghost?"

Hedwigs gaze never changed, but she shook herself a bit then tucked herself into position to sleep.

"Thought as much," Harry grumbled, he pulled his jacket closer to him and fell asleep listening to the fire crackled a few feet away.

------

"AND THE POWER HE KNOWS NOT IS......"

"Why are you talking in caps?" Harry asked the voice.

"DRAMA!"

"Your not about to say its love right?"

"I'M NOT TALKING TO YOU NOW."

"This is a dream isn't it..." Harry said looking around, at the trees and flowers made out of knitting supplies.

"..."

"Destiny is that you?"

"I AM TOTALLY NOT INVADING YOUR DREAMS."

"I'm waking up now," Harry sighed.

------

Following the owl, within the next day Harry found himself in the dying remains of an AU.

He thought it might have been nice once, but.. something had happened here as the very land seemed to almost feel sorrowful.

"Hoo hoo!" Hedwig barked when he paused to long, frowning he followed her to where everything seemed worse. In the distance he could see the ruins of a village, a grimace on his face as he saw some human skeletons still visible yellow with age and extremely fragile looking.

"Something... happened here didn't it..." Harry whispered rubbing his arms, but continued to follow the ghost owl.

Then.. he knew they were there, the remains of a broken tree that would have once spread across the sky. He placed a hand on the brittle bark, it looked dead... but a spark seemed to be buried deep within its form.

"Surviving here barely, stubbornness is a tree thing.. you cling to survive to the end," Harry sadly told the tree.

I Regret... that I failed so badly

Harry froze, as the words weakly entered his mind and he knew it was the tree.

"Failed what?" he asked confused.

My children, my duty... but mostly my children little apple

"Little apple?" Harry asked confused at what it called him.

I.. sense... one of my beloved... children is your parent

"I.. don't know who they are," Harry responded.

My... little... star

"Star huh..." Harry said hearing the fondness the tree had for there children.

My Dream... your... parent... they do not... realize I am still here...

"I'm sorry they don't know," Harry responded but wondered if Dream was a title or a name.

Its... okay... enough to meet grandchild

"Hello.. grandparent," Harry whispered.

Time.. short

"Oh..." Harry said face falling, knowing that this tree.. his grandparent was ready to let go.

You... need training... Dangerous.. otherwise

"I know..." Harry sighed.

My... final gift

Then there was light.

------

"Mother?" Dream said, then shook his head.

Nim had been gone for a very long time.

Something wet landed on his hand, he reached up and touched his face.

"I'm.. crying?" he said confused.

------

Nightmare stared at the moon of the AU he was in silently, his singular cyan eye blank.

"Goodbye mother..."

------

Harry chocked back a sob as his hands separated from the Tree of feelings bark, it had only been seconds.. but it felt like years.

In those few seconds it had given him the training he'd needed till he met his parents, things he would have learned growing up.

"Goodbye Nim..." he whispered softly.

This time the tree stayed silent, its final spark gone.