Harry's not sure why more people don't notice it, or maybe they do and they just keep quiet. Harry notices it right away, the stark white hand print on Adrasteia's dark feathers. Neala points it out as the other boy passes them on the platform. She's sat on his shoulder and he's half listening to Hermione and Ron arguing over which compartment to take.

"Harry," she says softly. "Harry, look."

Adrasteia looks awful. She's sat on Draco's shoulder heavily, eyes closed, trembling slightly. Her feathers are no longer an explosion of subtle colours; they're dark, pitch black, heavy like oil, but for the pale handprint on her side. The implications are grotesque and Neala shivers.

"Do you think...?" she asks, trailing off. She doesn't need to finish because Harry knows what she's implying, who she means.

In the graveyard after Cedric had been killed, after his badger daemon vanished with a pained howl Voldermort had tried to touch Neala. He'd tried to lift her, strangle her but she'd been too quick, had darted so far away from Harry that he'd cried out in pain. But she was safe, hidden amongst the graves and fog and none of the other Death Eaters had gone after her. Even they looked sickened at the idea of touching another person's daemon.

Harry watches as Pansy and Blaise exchange looks, Pansy's pug daemon nestled in her arms turns away, buries his face in Pansy's breast. They don't say anything; they just follow Draco on board.

He knows Draco is up to something, he knows something about Draco is different. When they had seen him at Borgin and Burkes Harry had thought he was a Death Eater, loyal like his father. But now he didn't think Draco had been given much of a choice in the matter.

He settles in to the compartment and Neala clambers down in to his lap. "What do you think he wants Draco to do?" she asks softly.

Harry runs a hand through her messy brown fur. "Something bad."

"What's something bad?" Ron asks loudly, Kirek cocks her head at them.

"Nothing," Harry says, trying his best to smile.

He watches Draco during the feast. He doesn't eat anything and Adrasteia doesn't move at all. Pansy is watching him worriedly, Blaise is trying to pretend nothing is wrong and Crabbe and Goyle look ignorant to the whole thing.

Hermione catches Harry staring and Adrial, her raven daemon, swoops down from where he'd been chatting with a few other bird daemons to sit on her shoulder, matching her questioning glare. She doesn't ask until later when they're safely in the common room. They're alone but for Ron and Kirek who had eaten enough food at the feast to be rendered comatose.

"It's his daemon," he explains. "She has a- has a mark on her. She looks awful."

A sympathetic look crosses Hermione's face, "I know, we noticed." She says flatly.

Adrial shudders, "You think it was Voldermort." He says quietly.

"Who else could it be?" Harry hisses back.

"Why him?"

"In the graveyard," Harry says as Neala presses closer to him. "He tried to touch Neala. He doesn't have a daemon Hermione, I don't think he sees anything wrong with touching anyone elses."

Hermione sighs, "Look, Harry, even if it was there's nothing you can do."

"Why? Because he's a bad guy?" Harry snaps and Neala bristles, "I don't care about that Hermione, Voldermort has probably asked him to do something awful and we have to stop it."

"No, idiot." Adrial caws and Hermione shushes him.

"We know, Harry. But you can't help him because he won't let you."

Harry looks away because he knows Hermione is right. "It's just...I wish we could do something."

Adrial makes a soft, sympathetic sound. "I know you do, Harry." Hermione says. "But please, leave it alone."


Harry can't leave it alone and Neala doesn't help. She sits on his pillow at night, "What if Draco's trying to kill you? Or Hermione? Or if he's trying to destroy Hogwarts? Or raise an army of arcromantula?"

Harry snorts. "Draco in the forbidden forest? Don't you remember our first year?" Neala sniggers fondly at the memory of Draco and Adrasteia, wolf shaped, running screaming through the trees.

"But still, Harry." She says.

Harry sighs, pulls out the map and leaves her to pour over it. This has become a nightly occurrence since the incident with Katie and necklace. He still shudders when he thinks of her levitated, mouth open in a silent scream, her hawk daemon frozen on the ground, trying desperately to move, to get to her.

He closes his eyes but the memory is still there.

Neala nuzzles him, "It's okay. She's okay."

He knows but it was so close. Katie almost died. He nods mutely and Neala goes back to the map. Harry's honestly not sure how she does it but he's glad she does, he doesn't think he could stay awake watching the map and if something were to happen... He shakes his head; it's full of thoughts of Draco and Voldermort.

Earlier that evening Dumbledore had shown Harry a memory from his pensive from a time when Voldermort had still had a daemon. She had been a pale serpent, coiled around his wrist like a bracelet, unmoving. She hadn't spoken, hadn't even looked at him or at the other daemons around her. Harry had wondered if she was already dead inside and Neala had licked his cheek comfortingly.

He rolls over and tries to tune out the gentle buzz of Neala's thoughts and sleep. (He's unsuccessful)


It's Neala's idea to follow Draco to that bathroom. She nips his ear and hisses "Go after him!" so forcefully that Harry's half way out of the great hall before he starts to question his actions.

There are a lot of things Harry thought he might be doing but finding Draco Malfoy sobbing was definitely not one of them. Adrasteia is perched on the other side of the bathroom, watching Draco sombrely and Draco's mumbling, "Sorry, Addie. Sorry, I just can't...I'm going to fail...he's going to...Oh, Addie I'm so sorry."

Adrasteia doesn't speak and Harry's overwhelmed by a mixture of sympathy and the feeling that this is something no one is meant to see. Neala's shaking slightly and Harry whispers, "Why doesn't she go to him?"

"Harry, I don't think she can," Neala whispers, clambering off his shoulders and into his arms. "She's- I don't know- she's angry with him, she wants to go to him but I don't think she can." Neala sounds so unsure and that terrifies Harry. She's always been sure of everything. She's always been the one who guides him.

"Ne-" he begins but he stops because Adrasteia spots them and Draco looks up and his face contorts with rage.

"Potter!" he snarls and Adrasteia swoops down with a terrifying screech and Harry's pretty sure he sees flames dance along her wings. Neala springs out of his arms and Harry draws his wand just in time to block the curse Draco shoots at him.

Spells ricochet across the bathroom and Harry looses himself in it until he feels a sharp tug and Neala cries out. Harry spins around to look for her and Draco mumbles, "Addie..."

The phoenix has the hare caught firmly in her talons, she's flying higher and higher and she looks possessed and Neala is struggling and crying and Harry's crying too because their bond is stretched to the limit. He realises what Adrasteia is about to do a fraction of a second before Draco does, he knows this because Draco doesn't move before him. Adrasteia is going to drop her.

Harry knows that if a human dies their daemon dies with them so if a daemon dies their human should die with them too. He can't move to catch her because Draco's wand is trained on him.

"Draco make her stop!" Harry cries desperately.

Draco blinks at him dazedly and Adrasteia cries out and it's a cry so filled with pain and anguish and longing that it tears Harry in two. Harry points his wand at Malfoy and uses the first spell that comes to mind.

"Sectumsempra!"

Draco falls, blood shoots everywhere. Adrasteia lets out a strangled gasp, bursts of gold flying from her and let's go of the hare. Harry catches her and she clambers in to his shirt and presses as close as she can to him whispering, "Harry, Harry, Harry."

He cradles her, tears blurring his vision and looks up at where Draco lies, whimpering as blood blossoms across the front of his torn robes and runs in to the water around him. Adrasteia is beside him making a low, whining sound and Harry realises she's slowly drifting apart.

Draco is dying.

"Neala," Harry whispers because she needs to tell him what to do but she's still trembling against his chest, her blunt claws scrabbling against him.

He's never been so glad to see to Snape, in fact he's pretty he's more glad than anyone has ever been to see Snape. He sweeps in and pushes Harry out of the way and his hawk daemon lands beside Adrasteia.

Harry's sort of mumbling apologies and trying to explain himself but Snape silences him with a look and gives him enough detentions for a lifetime. He's going to miss the Quiditch game and Ginny and her red kite daemon are going to kill him but that's the least of his worries.


"We almost killed him, Neal." He says to her later after he's hidden the book in the room of requirement.

Neala still has talon marks in her side. "If we had killed him at least he wouldn't have done whatever he's supposed to do." She says darkly. Harry would scold her but he knows she doesn't mean it. "We should still probably go and see if he's okay, though." she adds quietly, nipping his finger gently.

Harry agrees so they grab the invisibility cloak and sneak out of the common room and down to the hospital wing.

Draco is the only person in there at the moment; he's covered in bandages and dead to the world. He looks awful, dark circles on under his eyes skin so pale it's almost translucent. Adrasteia is perched on the window sill above his bed. They stop and Harry's not entirely sure what to do now.

"I can see you, you know."

They both jump at the sudden voice and Harry looks up to find the phoenix watching him. "How?" Neala splutters as Harry lets the cloak fall off him.

The phoenix ruffles her feathers. "I don't know, I am a phoenix though."

Harry's not sure what's weirder; the fact that Draco's daemon can see through the cloak or the fact that his daemon is talking to them while he's asleep. Daemons aren't meant to talk to humans other than their own this much, especially not without their human's permission.

"I'm sorry," Harry says quietly. "For what I did to you and Draco."

Adrasteia hops down, on to the bed and Neala stiffens against him. "I know you are," she says softly, watching Neala inquisitively. "I'm sorry for-" she stretches her wings and Harry nods to show he's understood. "I don't...I didn't...I never meant to. Things are difficult for us."

"If Snape and his hawk hadn't been there..." Harry says.

Adrasteia laughs softly. "Algos isn't a hawk."

"What?"

"Snape's daemon, she isn't a hawk. She's a cuckoo hawk."

Harry exchanges a glance with Neala and they both silently agree to trust Snape even less. If your daemon is a reflection of your soul then what does it say about you if your daemon picks an animal that pretends to be something else. Neala, feeling a little bolder scrambles out of Harry's arms and joins Adrasteia on the bed, sniffing at her curiously. "How are you so alert?" she asks.

Adrasteia looks down at her and shivers slightly. "He likes to play with daemons." Her voice could cut steel. They both know she's talking about Voldermort.

Neala looks like she's going to ask further questions and Harry doesn't want to hear what Voldermort does to daemons so he interrupts. "Voldermort asked you to do something, didn't he?"

The phoenix glares at him. "Yes. But no, I won't tell you what."

"We could help you," Harry says immediately.

"No, you couldn't."

"Dumbledore could," Neala tries.

At the mention of Dumbledore Adrasteia shivers. "No, no. He couldn't."

Harry opens his mouth to say something but Draco turns in his sleep and mumbles, "Addie...Addie..." and Adrasteia looks at him sorrowfully.

"You should go."

Harry doesn't want to leave and neither does Neala but they do and just before they go Neala shuffles forwards and touches her nose briefly to the phoenix. Harry shivers at the sudden warmth and on the bed Draco stills.

"If you need help you can always come to us, you know." Neala says softly.

Adrasteia inclines her head and Harry scoops Neala up before leaving. "Do you think they'll ask for help?" the hare asks quietly.

Harry wants to say yes but it's hard to lie to your daemon.

Later when Gryffindor win the cup he kisses Ginny. Her daemon, Aleto is nuzzling Neala with his beak but Neala looks bored, disinterested. Harry's a bit preoccupied with an armful of Ginny when it happens but he can't help but feel her distaste.

He asks her about it later.

"I don't know Harry," she says with a sigh. "It just didn't feel right."

"I thought you liked Al."

"I do, just not like that, I guess."