A/N: WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! Hi Peoples!!! Okay, Harry will now be permanently referred to as Malus. BTW, do any of y'all know what Malus Lupus means? Hint: It's Latin, but for what, Hmm???

Chapter Two

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Malus awoke the next morning to find it was raining heavily. He wanted nothing more then to crawl back into bed and sleep, but he now had a duty. So, he got up and got dressed in his black leggings, green shirt and black cloak, using his Magic to make water roll straight off of him. He also made his clothes heated, so he'd stay warm as well as dry. Dagger opted to stay in the cave, which amused Malus.

With a sigh, the boy put up his hood and strode out into the rain to check the forest for traps. It was slow going, what with the mud and falling limbs and such, and there were only rope traps today, which pleased him. He was on his way back when he heard someone crying. Quickly, he headed for the noise and found a little girl with her foot stuck in the mud, caught on a root.

There was a flash of lightening, which struck the rowan tree. Harry watched for a few seconds frozen, as it started to fall on the little girl. She screamed, and it brought him out of his trance. He launched himself forward until he stood over the girl, and threw his hands in the air as if to catch the large tree. His Magic flooded him, stopping the tree mere inches from him. Slowly, he moved it so that the tree landed beside them, sweat glistening on his brow from the effort.

Finally, when his Magic let the tree drop, he turned his glowing green eyes back to the scared, soaked, and trapped child. She had reddish looking hair and soft, dark green eyes. She sniffled, looking up at him through the rain and her terrified tears. He knelt down next to her in the mud, and gently pried her leg out from under the root, and healing the small cuts she'd gotten.

"Th-thank you," she said in a shaking, soft voice; Malus smiled softly.

"No problem, little one, but quick. Let's get you inside and dried off before you catch your death," he scooped her up off the ground and wrapped his cloak around her tightly, before setting a quick pace back to the cave. It took him ten minutes to reach it and get inside, and in the time he'd found out that the girl's name was Mary Falls. Asher's little sister. Malus settled her down on the blankets, wrapping her up tightly and starting the fire with a flick of his fingers. Dagger cuddled up to her to give her his body heat, and Malus set about making soup.

"What are you doing in the forest all alone during a storm?" Malus asked; Marry looked ashamed.

"Asher told me I wasn't allowed in the forest anymore, 'cause I could get hurt or something. Mam and Pap agreed, and I was just so mad that I came here anyways." Malus nodded calmly, stirring the soup and adding a few of the herbs he'd discovered around the forest.

"So, your family wanted you to be safe, and you went into a dangerous forest during a nasty rain storm, just because you were upset," he said calmly; Mary looked down.

"I wasn't thinking," she said honestly, before she started to cry. With a soft sigh, Malus hugged her to his chest and sang softly to her, letting her cry.

"Easy, easy there, little one," he murmured, rubbing soothing circles on her back.

"I w-was so scared!" she sobbed, clinging to him. "I-I thought I w-was going to die, but you s-saved me, a-an-and I j-just want t-to go home!" The last was said in a wail as she started to cry harder. Malus pulled her into his lap, rocking her gently and humming, until she'd cried herself out. He kissed her forehead softly, and gave her a small bowl of soup. She ate it silently, hiccupping every once in a while, her eyes red and swollen.

"I'll take you home once the storm clears, alright?" Malus said, giving a bowl to Dagger before getting some himself. "It's too dangerous at the moment, so you should get some rest and warm up, alright?" Mary nodded meekly, finishing her soup and cuddling into the blankets, her arms wrapped around Daggers neck. The wolf let her do it, settling beside her for his own nap. Malus smiled softly, running a hand threw her hair once before standing and going to investigate some of the tunnels. He wanted to find something to give Tanis for his furs.

It took two hours before he found something. It was a small, thumb-sized ruby. It was small, but there were many of them. Most were rubies, but there were a few emeralds and quartz as well. He used his Magic to make some shiny, smooth, black rocks into a small bracelet, with a single paw-shaped emerald on it for Mary. He liked the little girl a lot. She was sweet and innocent.

He returned to the main chamber and settled down for a nap next to his still-sleeping companions. By the time they woke again, the sun was setting and it had stopped raining. Quickly, Malus bundled the little girl up and carried her, with Dagger at his side, to Shannon's Burg.

When he got there, they already had a search party ready. He cleared his throat, and all thirty of the men, plus Asher, turned to him. Mary waved sleepily as Malus watched them, amused.

"Did you happen to loose something?" He asked, before he was promptly tackled by a crying woman who was desperate to get to her daughter. He blushed bright red when she kissed his cheek and thanked him profusely. "Err, not a problem ma'am. She was near my home as it were, so I just kept her out of the rain, fed her, and brought her home is all…."

"Malus saved me from a falling tree, Mam," Mary said, yawning. "I like him, even if he is a witch." Everything got really quiet after that, but Harry merely smiled, though it was a bit sad.

"Well, now that she's home, I'll just head back. Gotta make dinner, right Dagger?" The wolf huffed at him and swiped a paw at his leg playfully. Harry snorted. "Damned puppy," he said fondly, ruffling the wolfs' ears. He nodded calmly to Asher and Tanis. "Asher, Mr. Gobs, a pleasure to see you again." Tanis nodded calmly.

"Malus. I have some furs for you, if you'd like to look them over," the tanner said carefully; Malus' face brightened into a delighted smile.

"Oh brilliant!" He exclaimed, clapping his hands together once. "It's starting to get chilly out, and Magic can only do so much. I've got what I was going to trade you right in my pocket anyways… Oh, and that reminds me…" He pulled out the bracelet he'd made for Mary, and placed it gently on her wrist before her mother could say anything. "There you go, munchkin! It has protective spells on it, so nothing that has ill intent towards you or your family can come near you," he finished, smiling when the little girl hugged him tightly around the waist.

"I love it, Malus! I'll never take it off, never!" She looked up at her savior with a adoring eyes, and Malus found his entire being melting and warming towards the little girl, love filling him to the brim. It was a foreign emotion, but he decided he liked it.

"Just no more running off into the forest, little one. Especially by yourself, okay? I won't always be there to keep nasty trees from falling on your pretty head, now will I?" Mary shook her head.

"I wont ever go alone again, Malus! Promise." Malus nodded, satisfied, before turning his attention to the tanner. Silently he followed the large man and his grateful apprentice to his shop, people hurrying out of their way and watching Malus warily.

The furs Tanis showed him were beautiful. There was a large, soft grisly bear pelt, big enough to cover half the floor in his cave. There was a white fox pelt that was warm and flexible. There were gloves with rabbit fur on the inside, a jacket with fleece on the inside to keep body heat contained, and a few deer-hide pants. Harry nodded approvingly, before pulling the thumb-sized ruby from his pocket and handing it to the tanner.

Tanis gaped at the precious stone in his hand, awed. He wondered if the child knew just how precious this stone was. He could but a lot of land, a large house, and herds of animals, and never have to work another day in his life. And this was only a small stone.

"I'm sure we'll have loads of business together," the boy said cheerfully, folding everything up and putting it into his bag. Tanis noticed that the bag still looked empty when he was done, but didn't say anything. "I'll be seeing you in a few days, I hope. For now, farewell, Mr. Gobs."

"Call me Tanis, Malus. I have a feeling that you're going to be my most prized customer very soon." The boy beamed up at him.

"Very well, Tanis. Bye!" He waved slightly, before taking off at a lazy trot, Dagger going ahead to sniff at something on the ground. Malus paused, picked up the small coin, and tossed it to a hungry looking child before resuming his jog.

"What an odd boy," Tanis murmured, admiring his ruby. He decided that he'd save most of it, but that he'd also buy things from far away for the boy witch. He had a feeling that Malus Lupus would appreciate hand-made items that were useful.

Asher was torn. Malus was a witch. But, said witch had saved his little sister, and brought her home. Witches were evil, vile creatures who'd rip out your throat as easily as they'd say hello. Malus disliked metal traps because they caused pain, and had gone out of his way to help. Witches were greedy, but Malus had just given his master a ruby as if it were nothing but a shiny rock, and had given a street urchin enough money to buy himself three hot meals and a room for a week at the inn. Asher couldn't figure out what he was supposed to feel, but he knew one thing. Malus Lupus was nice, but could be vicious if prompted.

And Asher wasn't sure which one he was supposed to know…

Malus sighed as he shifted out of wolf form, shaking a bit of mud from his shoe. He pulled out the new fur things he'd gotten, and quickly set them about. He folded the bear pelt in half to use as a mattress, and put everything else in a hidden crevice that was large enough for him to walk in for five paces, but narrow enough that Dagger wasn't able to turn around properly, and had to walk out backwards.

Quickly, though, the two cave-dwellers were back outside, Malus once again a wolf. They ran through the tree's, looking for prey. They each caught a rabbit, and Malus even managed to get a fat quail and her nest of eggs. He quickly turned human so he could carry them all; Dagger had already returned to the cave to enjoy his well-earned rabbit.

As he was walking, Malus felt something shift in the air, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Quickly, his Magic rose, making him invisible. Something was happening, something big. Malus knew only one thing: Whatever it was, it could wait until after dinner. With this determined thought, the ten-year-old continued walking, staying invisible just in case.

A/N: Okay, I own Mary as well. Might as well say I own all of Shannon's Burg as well, since I do…. Well, Katie came up with the township and the people, but I came up with their names and personalities, so it was a group effort… Anyways, REVIEW!!!