The day after the party, Severus and his sons, the Lupins, Hermione, Halle Cole and her children made the journey to Hogwarts to allow Halle and her children time to settle into their new quarters near Severus' quarters in the Slytherin dungeons. Hermione moved into the Lupins' rooms near Gryffindor Tower.

The room they had given her in their quarters had two large windows that overlooked the lake. Under one window was a large desk with plenty of room to spread out her books while studying. The other window had a comfortable window seat with several throw pillows. It would be the perfect place to lose herself in a book. A picture of her parents rested on the table next to her bed and on the bed were several of her old stuffed animals that she never would have admitted to owning even though she still loved them dearly. She was so overwhelmed by the gesture that she had promptly turned and buried her face in Remus' robes, sobbing quietly. He had led her to the small sofa in front of the fireplace and had held her as she cried. His kindness had only made her cry harder.

She had done fairly well handling her parents' deaths, but sometimes the grief overwhelmed her and all she could do was cry. Ever since Beau had mastered the Animagus transformation, his wolf form had become her greatest comfort. He spent as much time as Remus would allow in his Animagus form, taking long walks around the lake with her or just sitting at her feet while she read.

The day before school began found the five friends lounging in the middle of the Quidditch pitch, enjoying their last day of freedom. Beau was in his Animagus form allowing Hermione to use him as a pillow. Rae, Draco and Harry were sprawled out on the grass nearby.

"You really need a name for your Animagus form," Rae told her brother, who raised his head and looked at her.

"She's right," Draco replied. "The Marauders all had names for their Animagus forms."

Harry rolled over onto his stomach, resting his head on his folded arms. "The names started with their Animagus forms, but they became their nicknames as well. Sirius was always calling Uncle Remus 'Moony'..."

"How weird is it to have your godfather become your little brother?" Rae asked the two boys.

It was Draco who answered her first. "It is a little strange, but then, we really hadn't known him for very long as our godfather."

"And it's almost like they are two different people," Harry added. "But also the same. Honestly, I think I like him more as Siri."

"Because you never had a family before," Hermione told him.

"Aren't we getting a little off topic here?" Draco asked. "I thought we were going to name the wolf there?" Beau gave him a low growl and snapped playfully at the hand near his mouth.

Rae kicked Draco in the foot. "What about 'one' or 'first' in some language since he was the first of us to master the transformation?"

"That's not a bad idea, Rae," Harry said. "But I don't know any other languages."

Draco rolled his eyes and sat up. "Lucius ought to be good for something. He had me learning a bunch of different languages as a kid." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes to remember his old lessons. "Eins? Cyntaf? Protos? Ar dtus? Primo? Primero? Pyearvee? Primum? Premier?"

Beau gave a loud bark. "What language was what?"

"French," the blond replied. stretching back out on the grass.

"Figures."

"Premier, huh?" Hermione asked, scratching behind the wolf's ears. The wolf got up and easily snatched the ribbon from her hair, before racing back toward the castle. "Come back here, you overgrown furball," she yelled, changing into her Animagus form and chasing after the wolf. She had finally mastered the transformation their first evening at Hogwarts.

Draco turned his head toward his fellow Slytherin. "I think she's been spending too much time with you, Rae."

Rae's only response was to make a face at him.

--

The five members of the Young Order who had been staying at Hogwarts with their parents and guardians begged the Headmaster's permission to ride the Hogwarts Express to London in order to ride back to the school with the rest of the students. Dumbledore happily granted permission, saying that it would do them all good to get out of the castle for the day.

They found the largest of the carriages and staked their claim to it, so that there would be room for the others when they got on the train in London. Cedric dropped his trunk in the carriage and then went to join the other prefects with a roll of his eyes and a promise to return later.

Beau settled in next to Hermione, who had her nose buried in a book. She hadn't really wanted to come today, not wanting to see the other students with their parents, but Remus had convinced her to come anyway promising that she could change into her newfound Animagus form for a short time if she wished.

Rae sat across from them rereading the Animagus book that Remus had given all of them at the beginning of the summer. She felt that she was very close to being able to master the transformation and would attempt it within the next few weeks. Rae was eager to see what her form would be.

Harry, Draco, Ron and Ginny sat at the table. The three boys were arguing Quidditch with Ginny occasionally throwing in her own comments. Her brothers had only this summer discovered that their little sister was as Quidditch obsessed as they were. She planned to try out for the reserve Chaser position on the Gryffindor team.

Fred and George were huddled in the corner whispering quietly to each other over a journal and the others were smart enough to leave them alone with whatever it was they were planning.

About an hour after they left the station, the door opened and Pansy Parkinson and Daphne Greengrass entered the carriage. "Hello girls," Rae greeted her roommates. Once they had helped her after Draco tripped her down the stairs, the group of female Slytherins had become quite close, with these three becoming closer than the others. "Have a seat."

The two girls sat on the bench across from Rae, Hermione and Beau. "How was your summer?" Pansy asked her friend.

"It was busy," she told them. "Professor Snape took us home and helped us back up to move over here. Professor Lupin came too. Then we all went on vacation for two weeks at the beach. My aunt married Professor Lupin. We went to the Quidditch World Cup...that's about it," she told them. They had all been told that no one outside of the Young Order could know of their extra training. "What about you two?"

It was Daphne who answered. "Oh, we both went to France with our mothers for a month."

"They were best friends at Hogwarts," Pansy explained. "And they always go somewhere during the summer. This year we got to go with them." They spent several minutes telling their friend all about the fun they had had in France with their mothers and Daphne's younger sister Astoria.

"We got our dress robes in France too," Daphne added. "Any idea why we need them this year?"

"The professors know," Rae replied. "They just aren't telling us...told us that we would find out at school."

Hermione had been listening to the Slytherins talk about all they had done in France and she started remembering her own holiday in France with her parents the summer before. Her eyes filled with tears and she tried to hide them behind her book.

"Rae..."

The auburn-haired witch looked up to see Cedric standing in the doorway of the carriage.

He nodded toward Hermione who was sitting next to her before turning to Pansy and Daphne. Beau put his arm around the witch sitting next to him, pulling her into a hug and she buried her face in his robes. He whispered something into her ear and she nodded. Beau looked up at Cedric and nodded. "I think they should leave," the Hufflepuff prefect said, looking at Rae and adding. "Swiftpaw."

Rae nodded, obviously understanding the meaning behind the word. "Cedric...they won't say anything..."

"I don't know, Rae..."

"You can trust them," she told her brother's best friend.

Daphne looked back and forth between the two who were arguing and Beau and Hermione. "What's going on?"

Rae turned to look at her friends. "You can't tell anyone what you are about to see." She stood and walked over to the door that Cedric had just closed, running her hand about an inch from the surface of the wood and incanting softly.

"Did you just do wandless magic?" Pansy asked in awe.

"I did," Rae replied, returning to her seat. "But you can't tell anyone." She turned to her brother. "No one will see."

Beau looked down at Hermione. "Can you change?"

She glanced up at him. "Will you change too?" she asked quietly.

"Change?" Daphne asked. "Are you Animagi?"

"We are," Beau answered. "Don't be frightened," he told them before changing into Premier the wolf.

Pansy gave a startled squeak, but said nothing.

Hermione hesitated a moment before changing into her Animagus form as well. A small wild cat appeared next to Premier. The small feline had light brown fur just a few shades lighter than Hermione's hair and small pointed black ears.

"What...what is she?" Pansy asked.

"A caracal," Cedric said, moving to sit on the bench his friends had just vacated when they had traded skin for fur. "Also known as the desert lynx."

"We call her Swiftpaw, or Swift for short," Rae explained as Premier settled on the floor at her feet and Swift curled up next to the much larger animal. "Beau we call Premier."

"Are any of the rest of you Animagi?" Daphne asked.

Rae exchanged a glance with Cedric and he answered. "Before we answer, we need to know what side your parents were on during the last war?"

"My parents were neutral," Daphne answered.

"My father was a Death Eater," Pansy admitted. "But he died at the end of the war. My mother didn't support his decision."

"If you had to choose sides, which would you choose?"

The two girls exchanged a quick glance before answering together. "Light."

He met both of their eyes, using a brief touch of the Legilimency that Professor Snape had been teaching him over the summer. It wasn't much of a Legilimens touch, but it was enough to see that they were telling the truth. "Before the school year is out we will all be Animagi."

"That's pretty neat," Daphne said. "Who is your mentor?"

"Professor Lupin," Fred answered sitting next to her.

George sat next to Pansy. "Are you two interested in learning as well?"

"George..." Cedric fussed, rolling his eyes. "You can't just go making offers like that."

"I'm Professor Lupin won't mind," the Weasley in question answered.

"He's got enough to handle this year without adding anything else."

"It wouldn't hurt to ask," Fred said.

"You two are impossible," Cedric told them.

"But you love us anyway," Fred replied to his old friend.

Cedric sighed dramatically. "Someone has to." His remark caused Pansy and Daphne to giggle.

Grinning, Fred and George turned to the two girls and pulled them into conversation.

"Are you sure about them Rae?" Cedric asked her quietly.

Rae glanced at her two friends. "I don't know about my other two roommates, but these two I'm sure about. Not all Slytherins would side with the Dark. Some of them are wearing masks to make others think that they would. It's like that with blood status within Slytherin. There are half-bloods and Muggleborns, but we are careful to keep it quiet."

He nodded. "But I'm not sure we need to share all of our secrets with them."

Beau changed back, lifting the small cat in his arms and sitting back on the bench. "I agree. However, letting them know that we are Animagi isn't such a big deal. It's not really something that's studied today, but it can be studied as long as one has a mentor who is registered with the Ministry. We'll talk to the professors about what we can and can't tell...and who we can and can't tell." Swift purred quietly as he gently stroked her fur.