Hey guys, I'm sorry for my late update, I had visitors and I had to play the good host so that wasn't helpful to the cause.
Here I give you this last week's chapter, sorry again. This will be the last chapter of Harry and co. first year.
After counting the votes, I've reached the decision that Hermione will become a brown kitsune with 18 votes. Dire Wolf was second place with 9 votes and White wolf was third with 3 votes. The cat form I had already included it in my plans, I think you'll now why and when.
I'd like to thank you guys for your support, it really makes me feel good when you guys like what I write so I ask you to please post your reviews, if you have ideas to make this story better, please do tell. I won't follow all suggestions but I'll read them all and I'll reply back if possible.
gUYS, I'd like to ask for some volunteers to read the... um... 'script'? of my story, I don't know how to call it. I want help to steer in the good road and I don't knoe if I had mentioned it before but I have already planned what I want my story to be like, but I want advice to add or remove events, so, if somebody has no problems with spoilers, I'd like to you to help me and give me your opinion. Just PM me if you want to read the 'whole script'.
Before I forget. The song that Harry sung to Hermione was the english version of 'Eres' from Café Tacúba (or Café Tacvba) and the song Hermione wrote is 'Truth' from Balmorhea
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter nor its characters and universe.
A couple of days after Valentine's, Harry received great news. While Hermione and him were waiting in the Great Hall to have their breakfast, an owl dropped by, handing Harry his newspaper. The Daily Prophet's front page article told the people about Wormtail's arrest and sentence.
He was still reading the article with Hermione when Susan and Dora approached him.
"Harry, did you see this?!" Dora asked excitedly.
Harry turned his head to see his cousin and sister standing in front of him, "As a matter of fact, yes, I did" he said with a smile on his face that after a few seconds turned into a grin until the three of them couldn't hold it any longer.
Harry literally jumped from his seat to envelope both Puffs into a big loving embrace. The three of them were laughing merrily, glad to know that Pettigrew was in Azkaban, in Sirius' old cell by his request according to the article. A feeling of freedom and joy filled the teens
Hermione looked at the three members of the Black family, happy to see them happy for this was important. The man who was responsible of her boyfriend's parent's deaths. The man responsible of denying his boyfriend's mother and sister a husband and a father and denying their cousin a loving uncle had finally faced justice, and justice deemed him responsible and made him pay for his crimes sentencing him to prison for his entire lifetime.
The three of them separated still smiling.
"I wonder who the one who captured the rat was, it only says that he was delivered to the authorities of the DMLE by an anonymous source" mussed Hermione while waving the newspaper on her hand.
Harry smiled a predatory smile, one that Hermione had seen on him after he had played a prank on someone.
'It was you' she stated more than questioned, 'You are the anonymous source, right Harry?' she asked her boyfriend mentally.
'Yes, but I had help from the Twins' he replied simply.
'But how? How did you caught him?' she questioned back. To which he smiled warmly, amused by his girlfriend's hunger for knowledge, 'I'll tell you later, not now'
Hermione nodded lightly and the four of them proceeded to eat their food with gusto. The other three members of Hogwarts' pack (Neville, Daphne and Tracey) arrived a few minutes later.
Fred and George smiled at Harry when they saw the article, knowing their part on quite an event.
The six first years (Dora had already left to be with her friends) ate merrily when Hagrid passed by their table, heading to his seat. Harry was thoughtful for a moment thinking he hadn't visited Hagrid in a while. It was a Sunday so he decided to go and visit the big man in the afternoon.
"Hermione dearest" he said to his blushing girlfriend, "I was thinking I haven't visited Hagrid since before vacations, and I wanted to go today, want to tag along?" he asked her.
Hermione beamed at him for his thoughtfulness, "Sure, I'd love to"
The Twins, always meddling where nobody called them, heard the raven haired, "Where are we going Harrikins?" they asked in stereo.
He gave them a sideway glare, "Not that you have to know but my girlfriend and I are paying a visit to my friend Hagrid" he told them sternly.
"Oh, ickle Harrikins-"
"Wants some time alone-"
"With Lady Hermione" the Twins mocked.
"What are you talking about? I said we're going to visit Hagrid" Harry told them sternly.
Fred then turned to George, "I believe the 'visit Hagrid' is their secret code to say they want some quality time, Forge"
"FRED!" Hermione shouted indignant, her face flush red in embarrassment and Harry was the same.
"Now, now Freddy, is no good to tease the kids, you might ruin the mood for their alone time" said Dora from behind them when she heard the comments of the twins.
The Gryffindor couple could recognize that voice anywhere, "DORA!" they shouted as they turned to see the Hufflepuff's chaser.
Her grin was evil. The Twins had discovered by now that she was the other New Marauder, "Hey Cam! Came to join our 'Teasing our good friends Harry and Hermione' time?" asked George.
Harry then smirked, "I believe that you shouldn't play with us, George, Fred, I may turn to certain second and third year Gryffindors that would be happy to protect their little brother" he told them as the Twins paled.
It was known in the Gryffindor tower that the three Gryffindor chasers had become extremely protective of Harry after the incident in their match against the Slytherins when Harry almost fell from his broom.
The chasers and Harry always got along in their practices and they began to cherish each other like siblings but after the broom incident and the 'Battle Royale', like the Twins used to call the massive fight against the Slytherins, the three girls 'made the math' and figured Harry was always getting himself into some sort of trouble and they were determined to stop him from hurting himself.
This behavior from them was something that Harry took advantage when the Twins were obnoxious. He could prank them but seeing the Angelina, Alicia and Katie beat the shit out of them with the Twins own beaters bats was too much fun to pass by.
"Come on Harry, there's no need to become violent, we were just goofing around, all in good nature" said George before to his brother, "Right Fred?"
The other Twin nodded nervously. The three Gryffindors laughed at them while Daph, Sue, Nev, Tracy and Dora looked at them curious.
"Why are you laughing?" asked Daphne, sincerely curious of their reactions.
Neville was the one who answered, "Is known housewide that the Three Vixens, that is Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell, Gryffindor's chasers; are extremely protective of their little brother. Is fun to see the Twins being chased by three angry girls every time they prank Harry" he said while looking two embarrassed Weasleys.
The others could see the fun in the facts. The Twins decided to have some payback, "Yeah, yeah, we know, is hilarious, right, Baby Face?" Fred told a now red faced Neville.
When Neville began first year, he had a round face, still with baby fat, and because of that, Seamus and Ron began calling him that way when he became friends with Harry, and they began calling him that more often when Harry and Neville defended Hermione on Halloween past year.
Neville had lost weight and much of the baby fat, however the nickname stayed
The whole group began laughing at him. The Twins just patted him on the back, "We're sorry mate but you asked for it" they said as they left laughing.
Dora, having received her healthy dose of laughter left again to spend the day with her friends.
The others headed to Daphne and Tracey's room to hang out. A few hours later, Harry and Hermione left the room to see the half-giant.
While walking down to the half-giant's hut, Harry told Hermione of his encounter with Peter Pettigrew few days before.
"'Arry, lon' time no see. Come in, come in!" Hagrid invited them as he opened the door. When they entered they noticed the hut was quite warm.
Harry decided to begin with introductions. "Hagrid, I want you to meet my girlfriend Hermione Granger" he told the giant man, he then turned to his girlfriend, "Hermione, meet my friend Hagrid"
Hagrid shook her hand gently, trying to avoid hurting her, "'s nice to meet ya' Hermione" he told her with a smile on his face.
"The pleasure is mine sir" she replied back, feeling amused by the man's grip.
"Non' of that, jus' call me Hagrid, there's no need of formalities" he invited her.
"Alright, thanks Hagrid" she said to the man as they sat in the table while Hagrid gave them some tea, "I've heard a lot about ya' from the professors, Hermione, Brightest Witch of yer' Age they say" he said to a now blushing Hermione.
"I'm just studious" she said shyly.
Hagrid roared in laughter, "Ther's no need to be modest, when yer' smart, yer' smart" he said simply, making Harry smile.
"That you are" he told her while he gave her a brief kiss in her temple.
Hagrid looked at them with narrowed eyes and smiled, "Ya' know, you both remind me of yer' parents 'Arry"
Hermione smiled at his words, "You knew them?" she asked curious.
"Yeah, I knew them both, fine people both, they always smiled, always treat'd me nice, ya' know, never judged me" he said while thinking in James and Lily and turned to Harry, "You may look like James, but yer' all Lily" he said with a fond smile.
Harry smiled at his words. A sound from the fireplace made him turn, his nose picked a smell he hadn't detected before, "Hagrid, what are you cooking?" he asked.
"Eh, um, well, ya' shouldn't know about this, but, um, I'm not exactly cooking" he told them nervously.
Harry, knowing of his fondness to dangerous animals became wary, his behavior telling him he was hiding something.
"Hagrid?" he asked innocently with a semi puppy dog pout, knowing Hagrid couldn't keep a secret for dear life.
"Well… ya' see, I was havin' a nice time in a bar when I met this guy who I made some talk to, one thing led to another and he gave an egg…" he said sheepishly.
Hermione felt Harry's wariness and could see flashes of his previous conversation with the man.
"Hagrid, what kind of egg he gave you?" Harry asked, fearing his answer.
Hagrid had a prideful look, "I always loved dragons and this guy jus' gave me the chance to have my own" he told the kids.
Hermione paled to know he was hatching a dragon egg, 'That explains the heat' she thought to herself.
Harry face palmed, "Hagrid, what kind of dragon?" fearing even more to know. It could be an Irish Razortail or a Hungarian Horntail or even worse, an Armored Behemoth.
Hagrid looked thoughtful, "I believ' he said it was a Norwegian Ridgeback" he answered honestly.
Harry sighed in relief, it wasn't one of the most dangerous one per se.
"Mate, you do realize that the Ridgebacks are poisonous, right?" he asked his friend seriously.
"Yeah, but ter' not dangerous, jus' misunderstood" he replied back.
'Trust only Hagrid could respond this way' he thought to himself.
"When is it scheduled to hatch?" asked Hermione in a mix of fear an excitement, not every day you get to see the birth of a dragon.
The half-giant smiled at her, "Aroun' these days actually, should've hatched yesterday if the man's calculations were right" he answered.
Harry looked sadly at Hagrid, "You do know that you can't keep him here? He could burn your house, he could kill you"
"It wouldn't do that, it jus' need a strong figure to learn from" he shot back tenderly at the thought of a baby dragon.
Hermione was thoughtful, "Hagrid, that may be true for the first weeks, but he'll grow, he's a predator and he likes big preys, you won't be able to keep him for long, he'll get big and you'll be in danger, the castle and the students could be in danger too" she told him sadly, hating be the one to break the big man's heart.
"I know tha', but… where it will go?" he said sadly as well.
Harry decided it was time to leave, he needed to find a way to help his friend, "I don't know Hagrid, but we'll help you finding a place for-"
A cracking sound interrupted him. Hagrid approached cauldron holding the egg and took it out of the fire when he saw that it started to break.
He placed it in the table and the cracks began to grow.
The three of them, regardless of their knowledge of the danger of having a dragon around, could only see expectantly as the dragon came out of the egg.
It was a beautiful little black dragon.
"Can ya see 'ow beautiful he is?" Hagrid said in adoration towards the hatchling.
Harry and Hermione just shook their heads when Hagrid said he recognized his mummy. Harry heard a weird hissing but he couldn't place the source. It sounded like a child making noises with his mouth. Harry figured it must have been the growls of the baby dragon.
When the little dragon started spitting fire, Harry said his goodbyes, Hermione nodding in agreement.
They left the Hut and started walking in silence, until Hermione spoke, "You think we can help him find a place for the dragon?" she asked him.
Harry turned to see her and smiled at him, "Yeah, we will, we'll find somewhere" he said determined.
Hermione got closer to him and hugged him hard. Harry returned the hug but couldn't help but ask, "What was that for? Not that I didn't like it, but why?"
Hermione smiled at him warmly, "For being you Harry, just for being you" she said as she gave him a chaste kiss in the lips.
She grabbed his hand and both headed to Gryffindor Tower.
Harry and Hermione talked to their friends, looking for suggestions when Neville remembered something, "Harry, I believe Percy or Ron once said that one of their older brothers worked in a dragon reserve"
Harry smiled at his friend's suggestion, "We'll let's find out" he said as he left to look for the Twins, Hermione and Daphne at his sides while Neville, Susan and Tracey stayed on the room.
They had the map so finding them was easy.
The Twins were working in one of their prank products in an empty classroom. When they arrived the Weasley brothers greeted them enthusiastically.
"Ladies and gentleman, what can these two lowly pranksters can do for you?" they said in unison.
"Hi guys, Neville told us that he remembered listening to Ron or Percy say that one of your older brothers worked in a dragon reserve, we wanted to know if that was true" Harry explained simply.
Both Twins looked at each other and turned to Harry, "Well, yes, that's true, our older brother Charlie works in a dragon reserve in Romania, been there since he left Hogwarts last year, why do you ask?" said one of the Twins.
Harry and the girls smiled, "If you must know, we need to remove a baby dragon from the school" he said while the Gryffindor Twins smiled as well, 'This will be fun' was their simultaneous thought.
How wrong they were…
The group had to move quickly, in a matter of days, they managed to convince Charlie to help them remove the dragon, now called Norbert by Hagrid, to send him to the reserve.
Only the Twins, Dora and Harry participated in this act since it would be harder to move the whole Pack plus Norbert around the school.
Using the Marauders map they managed to avoid Filch, the prefects, Mrs. Norris and even Snape. It all went well, they reached the Astronomy tower and delivered the dragon to the group of dragon handlers, Harry even managed to meet Charlie and call him cousin much to Dora's embarrassment and anger (because of her still very much alive crush on the redhead).
However they never counted on with an unwanted witness. When they crossed the entrance of the Great Hall, the map indicated that no one was present in the place and they confidently moved the now 2'5" long dragon, 'How in the hell did he grow so much in just seven days!' Harry mused to himself as the moved the silenced baby, through the halls of the school.
The problem with the map was the 'blind spots'. These 'spots' were the areas when the stairs join one floor with another, disappearing any person standing there from the map since it's not registered in neither floor.
And in this particular case, the unnoticed person was one Draco Malfoy.
The blonde, having seeing the four students and the dragon, headed towards McGonagall's office. After the beating he received with his housemates and the detention afterwards, his humiliation released the Slytherin within him.
After a brief discussion with the Head of Gryffindor, he took Hermione's example making an Oath saying that he had seen Potter, Tonks and the Weasleys moving a dragon inside the castle.
Minerva knew he couldn't have lied so she had no choice but to go with him.
-oOo-
Harry sighed in relief, "I thought this would never end" he said as he walked with Dora and the Twins to the badger's house, after all, he didn't wanted to leave his cousin alone.
"Yeah, I know what you mean" complied his cousin.
The Twins were going to speak when the heard a stern voice coming from behind, "Mr. Potter, Miss Tonks and Mr. and Mr. Weasley, come with me"
The four turned around, seeing a stern Professor McGonagall and a smirking Draco Malfoy, the same four groaned in disappointment and followed her reluctantly.
They headed to Hagrid's Hut and being half-way the Transfiguration teacher spoke, "Are you going to tell me what were you doing at this hour moving a dragon inside the castle?" she asked them seriously.
The students turned to each other in astonishment, 'How did she knew?' was their thought.
Harry turned to see her and decided to be honest, he loved the woman as an aunt and he didn't wanted to disappoint her. Besides, he knew she liked the big man and she wouldn't get him in trouble. Despite her famous strict nature, he knew she loved pranks, Quidditch and had a big heart.
"You see, Hagrid somehow got a dragon egg and made it hatch, Hermione and I convinced him to give it to a dragon reserve, since he can't keep it here, and today we got him out of school, that's all we were doing" he said calmly.
Minerva turned to see his nephew-in-all-but-blood and smiled. He had never lied to her, she always thought Harry was a little bit cynical for his own good but that was something she liked about him.
"I'm glad that your reasons for doing this was to help a friend but that doesn't mean you have free reign in school, what would have happened if the dragon turned loose for example?" she said with a frown on her face.
"I'm sorry but the five of you will have detention, and it will be twenty points from each of you" she said in a final tone.
Draco paled and turned angry to his professor, "WHAT?! WHY ME?! I WAS THE ONE WHO TOLD YOU THEY WERE MOVING THE DRAGON!" he shouted Minerva.
"That may be and I appreciate it, but like them, that doesn't excuse you from being out your bed at this hour" she said sternly and then she looked at him with a glare.
"I know why these four were out of bed, but why were YOU outside of yours?" she asked the Scion of the now disgraced House Malfoy.
Draco didn't wanted to answer her question and just turned his head in an arrogant manner refusing to say a thing.
McGonagall just smiled, to everyone's surprise, "If you don't want to speak then I won't force you" she said, "And it will be fifty points for your disrespect to me a few moments ago" she added.
Draco paled even more.
When they were passing the Great Hall Harry heard Hermione on his head, 'Harry where are you guys? Is already past one' she asked concerned.
'Sorry Mai, but… we were busted by McGonagall' he said sheepishly.
'You WHAT?! What about Norbert?' she asked/shouted at her boyfriend.
Harry smiled, 'Norbert is alright, we handed him to Charlie, but somehow, Malfoy saw us and we didn't see him and he told McGonagall, then again, somehow she knew what we were doing, we had to come clean' he answered.
Hermione mental sighed, 'So what now?' she asked depressed.
'Well, we're having detention with Hagrid right now, so go to sleep, I don't think we'll get to the tower early' he said to which Hermione agreed not too happy.
When they arrived to Hagrid's house Minerva called him out and explained why they were there.
After comforting a weeping Hagrid for the loss of his dragon, more than getting Harry and his friends in trouble, she handed him the five of them to have their detention.
Hagrid had been aware of several attacks on Unicorns and he was decided to know what had happened. The six of them plus Fang headed inside the forest. Harry and Hagrid, being the one who knew the forest better separated, Hagrid taking Dora and Malfoy, and Harry taking the Twins and Fang.
After walking for a while, Hagrid's group found a unicorn death, it's neck had bite marks, "Somethin's been kilin' the unicorns, drinkin' their blood so be careful, do you understand?"
The five students nodded and the groups separated again. After walking through a clearing, Harry's group heard a guttural sound coming from the forest, very close to them.
Fred noticed the trail of silver unicorn blood and the four of them followed it without asking for Hagrid's help.
They walked around twenty feet when they saw a wraith-like creature feeding on the young unicorn's blood. Fang left the place quickly in fear while the three students stood there paralyzed, not knowing what to do.
The creature sensed them and left the unicorn alone, heading to their direction. Fred and George snapped out of it when Harry fell to the ground in pain, his hands grabbing his head.
The Twins decided to do something and began throwing hexes towards the creature.
The wraith began gliding, evading the spells getting closer every moment.
Hagrid listened Fang's barking and he headed to his dog along with Dora and Draco.
Harry felt an incredible pain in his head, like if his brain was boiling, and hot knives were piercing his skull. His eyes watered from the pain and he couldn't breathe or think.
He saw the spells being shot at the wraith not hitting him because of its speed. Harry bit his tongue and he stood up, wand in hand. He forced his Occlumency shields to their max diminishing the pain greatly. Now with a clear head he joined the barrage of spells.
The wraith began to tire and his movements became slower. A few seconds later, Dora's spells and Hagrid's bolts from his crossbow joined the fray.
The creature decided that this wasn't a fight it could win so it left.
"Harry!" screamed Dora when he saw the ragged look on her cousin's face, "Harry are you alright?" she asked him concerned.
"Yeah, I am now, thanks guys" he said to everyone.
Hagrid decided to end the excursion and they all returned to the castle.
"Hagrid, do you know why would that thing kill and drink those unicorns blood?" Harry asked his giant friend when they were walking back to the castle.
Hagrid looked at him serious, "Not sure why, but I do know tha' unicorn's blood can save yer' life, even if yer' dyin', however, doin' tha' to such a pure animal will curs' ya' for half of yer' life" he answered seriously.
"And who would want to do that?" asked George.
"Probably someone who has been seriously wounded, the wraith must be someone on disguise, otherwise it wouldn't have evaded our spell, wraiths are incorporeal and they need exorcising spells to be defeated, like the ghouls" Dora said seriously.
Fred was thoughtful, "Wonder what hurt it, I mean, it has to be something bad to be desperate enough to drink unicorn's blood, maybe he was mauled by a creature, something like Norbert or Fluffy, or maybe-"
Harry cut him off, "What did you just said?"
Fred looked at him curious, "I said it could have been mauled by a creature like Fluffy or Norbert, I mean, come on, were in the Forbidden Forest, there's bound to be many dangerous animals around here" he said.
The gears in Harry's head began to spin in overdrive giving him an epiphany.
"Hagrid, when you got Norbert from the man in the bar, what do you talked about?" he asked his friend.
"Uh, mainly 'bout the animals I raise" he answered.
"Did you told him about Fluffy? And if you did was he interested in him?" Harry asked nervously.
Hagrid thought for a moment, "Yes I did, and of course he was interested in Fluffy, how of'n you get to know 'bout a tamed three headed dog! I told 'm that the secret with any beast is to know how to settl' 'm down… with Fluffy, jus' play some music and he'll fall asleep" he said without realizing what had he done.
Dora and Harry paled, knowing what this meant, the man who gave Hagrid the dragon egg must have been Snape.
He needed to try and get pass the dog in Halloween so he brought the troll, but he couldn't do it. He must have tried again and things gone badly for him to risk drinking unicorn's blood, and because of that he went to Hagrid in disguise to get the information he needed to pass the beast.
Harry and Dora remained quiet the rest of the trip back. They left Dora in the entrance of her common room and then headed to Gryffindor Tower, where Hagrid left the three lions.
Harry knew that Hermione was sleeping, the same with Neville so he decided to wait for the next day to speak with them.
Late next morning, a hyper Harry came out from his bedroom to find Neville and Hermione speaking in the common room.
"Good morning Harry, how are you?" asked Hermione concerned for her boyfriend, after all, he had an all-night detention in the Forbidden Forest.
"I'm good, don't worry about that, guys, we need to talk" he told them seriously.
Both friends nodded to him and Harry explained the whole deal. Before he said his opinion of the matter, Hermione reached to the same conclusion, "Snape! Snape is the one who gave Hagrid the egg and now he knows how to pass Fluffy!" she exclaimed in fear.
Harry nodded, "Just what I thought, Mai, we have to tell Dumbledore, I may not like him but he IS the Headmaster" he told them to which they nodded in agreement.
They headed to look for Minerva, since neither knew the current password to Dumbledore's office.
They found her in her office, grading a few exams.
"Mr. Potter, Mr. Longbottom, Miss Granger, what do I owe the pleasure?" she greeted them.
"Hey Aunt Minnie, I was wondering if could you give us the password to talk to Professor Dumbledore?" he asked.
Minerva looked at them suspiciously; she knew that Harry didn't got along with Albus, so his request to voluntarily see him made her weary.
"May I ask why you need to speak with him?" she asked sternly.
Harry grinned, "Of course you can, but I can't say I'm going to answer" he replied cheekily.
"HARRY!" Hermione scolded him before McGonagall could say anything.
"Okay, alright, sorry, I was just playing" Harry apologized. Minerva smiled at them, those two remembered her the way Lily and James acted with each other.
Harry's voice took her out of her reminiscing, "Aunt Minnie, we believe that someone is trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone" he said while omitting Snape's name. He knew she wouldn't appreciate him for incriminating another professor without physical proof.
McGonagall paled when she heard his words, "I don't know how you got this knowledge but this is none of your business Harry, and besides, Albus left this morning for some ICW issues that presented earlier, he won't be coming back until tomorrow night. Rest assured that the stone is safe" she told them sternly.
"But Professor, we need to-" Hermione began speaking but Minerva cut her off.
"I will not repeat myself, Miss Granger, now please leave my office, I'm really busy" she dismissed them.
The three friends left the office dejectedly, they felt disappointed. McGonagall was supposed to be the one responsible of the school in Dumbledore's absence AND their Head of House; she shouldn't have dismissed them so easily.
"It's going to happen tonight, I'm sure of it, Snape probably faked the ICW calling to lure Dumbledore out of the castle" Harry told them seriously. Neville and Hermione looked at each other, "We know mate" his cousin told him reassuringly.
Harry looked them in the eye, "We need to gather the group… Neville, go to Hufflepuff and look for Susan and Dora; Hermione go to Daph's and explain her and Tracey the situation, I'll go looking for the Twins, we'll meet in half an hour" he instructed.
Neville went to the dungeons and Hermione to the tower. Harry wandered the halls with the Marauder's map; he found them in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
"Guys, we need to talk" he told them seriously when he found them. The Twins saw his fierce look and nodded, knowing this was indeed serious and followed him to Daphne's chamber.
Once the nine of them were together, Harry and Hermione explained the events since the beginning. An hour later, every student on the private common room had frown on their faces.
"We need to stop him" said Daphne concerned.
Tracey was thoughtful, "But why would Snape want the Stone?" she asked to no one in particular.
"Who cares? The issue is that he wants it Stone" said Fred.
Dora shook her head, "While the most important thing to do is stop him, we need to know the reasons why too" she said without her carefree attitude, scaring the shit out of her friends for seeing her so serious.
Harry nodded, "I believe this has something to do with Voldemort" he said while half of the students shuddered listening the name of the vile wizard, "Oh come on! Is just a name! I mean is just French, it means 'Flight of Death' in French" he said sternly to his friends.
They all laughed at his tone and the name itself. "When did you learnt French?" asked Hermione curious.
Dora laughed at this, "Sirius taught him so he could try to trap a French bird when he got older, too bad his lessons were not required" she said while she winked to Hermione, making the first year blush.
"Girls, I think we're getting out of the topic" Neville reminded them.
"So you think is You-Know-Who's plot, Harry?" asked George.
The Boy-Who-Lived nodded, "Yeah, Snape was his Death Eater, he might be trying to do something for him, the Stone is known to create the Elixir of Life and turn metal into gold" he said while pondering the reasons why.
They all nodded agreeing that it was possible. The thing now was figure what to do.
Hermione quickly developed a plan with the help of Harry and Daphne.
"Alright, the thing is simple, Sue" she said while the redhead turned to her, "We need you to speak with your Aunt, try to get her and her Aurors here so they can do something" she said while Susan nodded.
Harry handed his mirror to his sister, "Use this to speak with Sirius, he can let you speak to her" he instructed.
"We need diversions to get people away from the corridor as well as Filch and Ms. Norris and the Prefects; McGonagall must have place people there knowing that we know about the Stone" Hermione turned to the Twins, "I want either one of you" she said and then turned to Tracey "And you to create the diversion"
George frowned, "Why one of us?" he asked with Fred nodding.
"Well, Sue is going to be talking to Amelia, and we're all first years except for you two and Dora, who is going with us. We need someone to give us a clear pass, and we'll probably need help from the three older students. I don't think Fluffy is the only thing there protecting the Stone" she answered.
"So is obvious, Harry, Neville, Daphne, Dora, one of you and I go to get the Stone while the other Twin and Tracey create the diversion. Sue is going to be our contact with the DMLE and the one to explain the situation to whoever is needed" she added.
The Twins nodded and started speaking among each other. They nodded again.
"Alright, George is going with you, I'll stay with Tracey and Susan" Fred told them.
Harry smiled, "Alright then" he glanced at his clock, "Is almost midnight so let's go"
-oOo-
Fred and Tracey started their diversion when they saw Filch and Percy near the third floor corridor. A bunch of fireworks began exploding from different directions making Percy and Filch separate, leaving access to the six students.
The group reached the door to Fluffy's chamber and Hermione made a copy of her violin while Harry grabbed an acoustic guitar that Dora conjured.
They both entered the room playing, not wanting to wait to see if the animal was awake.
They played Harry's Medley (the song Hermione made for him), allowing the students to enter the room.
They noticed that the dog was already sleeping because of a silent harp.
"Snape must have passed already" indicated Daphne.
Dora jerked her head, getting Neville and George's attention and indicated them to move the paw of the dog from top of the trapdoor. Both teens nodded did as told trying to be as silent and gentle as possible to avoid the dog waking up.
Daphne opened the trapdoor with Dora on her heels, "Let me go first" Dora told the blonde.
Daph nodded and the metamorphmagus descended into the darkness. A loud THUD could be heard. "It's alright! Is soft in here" she shouted.
Daphne, Neville and George followed along, then Hermione and lastly Harry, vanishing the instruments.
Once they reached down they felt the soft landing. After a brief inspection, the teens discovered they landed on a plant.
"It's Devil's Snare! You have to made little movement" Hermione instructed everyone.
They all obeyed and were still while Hermione muttered in low voice; "Devil's Snare hates fire and the sun" Neville nodded while looking a different colored vine. He inspected the vine and paled when he recognized it and heard Hermione began an incantation, "Lumus So-"
"STOP!" Neville interrupted her, "What? Why?" she asked concerned.
Neville breathed in relief, "You didn't noticed the second plant, right?" he asked to which she shook her head.
Neville grabbed a vine and showed it to them, "This is a 'Firaga Deathvine', is plant does the same the Devil's Snare does but this one activates and grows stronger when sun or fire touches it" he said making Hermione pale in turn.
"Uh, thanks Neville, I didn't know that" she said ashamed, she could have killed them all if she had finished the incantation.
"Don't be" he replied.
"Now what do we do?" asked Daphne.
George had an idea, "I know what to do" he said as he started using Aguamenti on the plant.
"George, what are you doing? You're soaking us!" Dora exclaimed.
George didn't answer. Instead he dried all of his friends and used the Glacius spell, freezing the plant.
Daphne's brows lifted, disappearing from her face, "Of course!" she exclaimed when she figured what George was trying to do. Harry got to the same conclusion, "Everyone, start using cutting curses to release us"
Now the six of them knew what they had to do. A few minutes later, they all were standing in the floor beneath the remains of the killing plants.
"Well, that settles that" George said as they advanced through the door.
The group entered into a room that had a broom and a lot of winged keys flying around the place. Hermione inspected the door and found it locked.
"We probably need a key, and is probably hidden among those ones" Daphne said as she pointed the flying keys.
Upon more inspection, Hermione smiled, "It had to be an old key, big, sturdy and probably rusty" she said.
Harry smiled when he saw the key, "That'll be easy" he pointed his wand to the key, "Accio Old Key"
The rusted key flew to his hand. Hermione and Dora smiled at him while the three pureblooded wizards looked at him agape, "Why didn't we think of that? And more importantly, HOW do you thought of that?!" asked Daphne.
Harry smiled cheekily, "Unfortunately, many wizards lack some common sense, it was obvious that one would instantly use the broom to get the key, but as we know this is a trap, then touching the broom must activate it" Dora explained with the same amused expression her cousin had.
The three astonished students nodded and kept moving forward with their friends.
They entered a hall that had a giant chessboard and human sized pieces of chess.
"Looks like we have to play chess to win" said Daphne. This time Dora was the one who smiled, "Maybe we don't" everyone turned to see her curious.
She winked at her friends and she then turned into a small pink chameleon.
"I don't know how turning in your animagus form is going to help us" he told her.
Dora smiled inside and she suddenly transformed into a condor, one of the biggest and strongest birds that exist in the muggle world.
Everyone's jaws were touching the floor, "How did you do that?!" asked Neville excitedly.
Harry smiled while ignoring Neville's question, "So your metamorphmagus ability can even work in your animagus form, huh?" he asked to his female cousin, to which the pink condor nodded. He understood the plan right away.
Dora started flying around the board, passing student after student until four were on the other side of the chessboard, things went awry when she finally lifted Harry, because she was exhausted. No matter how strong and big a condor can be, or a person itself, flying five students became taxing for the usually pink haired girl.
While she took the rest of their friends flying through the edges of the board, she was really tired when she moved Harry so she decided to fly above the chessboard.
They flew pas the black figures without any problem, but when they passed the white ones, the white Queen came to life and grabbed Harry's foot, since he was hanging from Dora's claws, and threw him to the ground.
Dora reached her friends, who had seen Harry fall, and she was taken to a side, she was gasping with difficulty.
Harry felt the jerk on his foot and suddenly he found himself on the ground. He didn't have much time to complain though; he saw three blades swinging in his direction trying to stab him so he moved to a side quickly enough to avoid them.
"Harry!" shouted Hermione and Dora.
"I'm ok-" he began but wisely shut his mouth when all the white pieces were reanimated, moving slowly towards him. He began using Cutting Hexes but the pieces were made of rock doing virtually no damage. Dora and George started using Blasting Hexes but the pieces simply ignored them, after all, the damage was minimal.
"Harry, just run past them!" Harry heard Hermione scream to him. In his mind, he saw what Hermione meant.
Harry smirked and turned into Fenrir.
He began running through the line of white chess pieces that tried to kill him.
Quickly enough, he passed them all and the group of friends quickly entered the next door.
They entered an illuminated room, it was covered by rocks and in front of the door was a square with little pieces with runes inscribed. Upon closer inspection, Hermione deduced it was a solving puzzle; however, the first years were totally clueless to runes.
"These runes… they are simple characters, they are the alphabet along with the numbers…" Dora said when she looked further into the figures.
"How do you know that?" Hermione asked curious.
The pink haired girl smiled, "I may be a troublemaker, a prankster and a rebel to boot, but actually -let me tell you- I do pay attention in class, and I have knowledge of this 'cause I both take this class" he told them with a bi grin on her face, "Runes are very important in warding, and that is a very important subject if you want to become and Auror" she explained.
The group felt relieved to hear that.
Upon closer inspection George spoke again, "This is curious, the number nine is missing" he said quietly.
"You know of this as well?" Hermione asked curious.
The Twin smirked, "You wound me, dear Hermione, that you believe I'm an ignorant" he said while Hermione huffed not bothering to hide her annoyance.
Dora had been looking at the shape of the puzzle, examining it. The missing pieces replaced by solid rock, shaped in odd straight shapes, like pieces of tetris (in the lower part of the puzzle from left to right were solid areas that prevented pieces to cross this limits) made her realize something that made her gasp.
"What?!" Harry asked nervous.
Dora smiled, "This… this is the Chaldean Method of alphanumerical order!" she shouted excitedly.
Everyone was looking at her strangely. To which she giggled.
"Seriously guys, this is one of the basic Arithmancy's method of alphabet, and I'm guessing that this pieces are in disorder, once we arrange them I believe we can pass to the next door" she explained, making everything easier.
She spoke with George for a few minutes and then the redhead used a Sticking Charms to cover the runes with dirt and mark them with their 'normal' character. This way, everyone could see the numbers and the letters clearly instead of being runes.
Dora scratched the sketch of the Chaldean Method in the wall and Daphne proceeded to solve the puzzle. In a matter of minutes they solved the challenge and a door appeared to a side of the runes.
When they entered, they found themselves walking through a corridor with a door on the far end of it.
When they reached the door a foul smell invaded their noses, it was rancid, putrid and they began having a headache. Harry identified the smell easily. He turned to his friends and quietly he spoke to them.
"Guys, this smell is from a troll" they all paled after hearing this, "and we need to pass it no matter what, so this is what we'll do, the best will be to hit him fast and furious, we'll enter through that door and we'll send a barrage of spells to the animal strong enough to make him cower in fear" he paused momentarily, "and remember shoot to the head" he said.
After explaining the rather simple strategy, they all nodded and after taking a deep breath they entered shouting spells to a creature that wasn't there.
They saw that the troll was lying on the floor in a puddle of blood. They all got closer to it and saw that it was either dead or unconscious.
"Well, now I feel stupid" Dora said cheekily after thinking they entered a room screaming like crazy people.
They all nodded sheepishly, their mind thinking the same.
Hermione kept inspecting the creature, "Harry, I thought you said that War Trolls only lived in Asia" she said warily.
"Yeah, that's what I said" he said while he approached the creature and saw what Hermione was seeing. Nobody had bothered to inspect the size of the troll, it was close to twenty feet tall, colored gray and was bulkier than the mountain troll they faced on Halloween, and his face was savage unlike the other kinds of troll that had dumb faces.
When Harry saw its finger move he screamed, "IT'S NOT DEAD! ATTACK HIM!"
The five students did as told and began throwing hex after hex. The troll stood up despite the barrage and began to move towards them slowly.
"Come on! More!" Harry shouted as he sent another Piercing Hex to the troll, hitting him in the eye.
The animal began to move backwards. The troll reached the wall under the heavy fire, overwhelmed by the teens that kept attacking relentlessly.
Dora hit him in the chest with a powerful Blasting hex making a deep gash, Hermione shoot at the same place with a Cutting hex making the wound deeper, Daphne, George and Neville shoot him another barrage of Stinging hexes making the skin bland and Harry finished with a well placed Piercing hex that DID pierced through it after the damage done by the other spells.
Magically and physically exhausted, the six teens dropped to the floor. Taking gasps of air they tried to stand up. Neville, Harry and Hermione, after all the training they had in the year walked to the door, "Guys we need you to seek help, we don't know how many challenges are left, Amelia is probably here already, she can help" Harry said without turning back.
Dora nodded, she was one of the most exhausted but she stood up, pulling Daphne and George up. "We will Harry, just hang on" she said as she left with the other two.
"Are you ready?" Neville asked his friends, Harry laughed, "No, but we have no choice, let's go" he replied.
Hermione took his hand and they entered through the next door. They found flames covering the entrance of the next door and a table with goblets. They all had different potions in them.
A piece of parchment lying in front of them captured Hermione's attention.
She read it and spoke softly, "It's a riddle Harry, one of these goblets has the potion that will let you pass through the flames" she told him.
"And the others?" he asked warily. Hermione bit her lip, "The others will kill you" she said with a broken voice.
Neville looked at them seriously, "I looked the potions, there's enough for one, I'll go back, I'm sorry that you need to do this alone"
The couple nodded.
Hermione thought in the riddle and after a few minutes, she solved it, "This is the one Harry" she said as she pointed the goblet with her finger.
Before he took it he faced his girlfriend, "Hermione, before I go through, I want you to remember that I truly love, you're the best thing that have happened to me in my whole life, even more that being rescued from the Dursleys" he told her as he cupped her cheeks.
Hermione was smiling warmly at him, "Harry, you too are the best thing has happened to me in my life, even more than discovering that I was a witch… I love you Harry, you've made me happy since the moment I met you and I'll be damned if you don't survive this, so you better get your cute little bum through those flames, get the Stone and return to me so we can return to our favorite spot by the lake and I can kiss you senseless" she told him with a fierce voice that made him grin wickedly.
"You can bet I will return with that incentive" he said as he kissed her passionately.
After a couple of minutes he broke the kiss, took the goblet and drank the potion.
"I'll see you in a few minutes" he said as he kissed her again and ran through the flames, not turning back.
Hermione decided it would be a good idea to help the others get back.
-oOo-
Harry entered a circular room, the walls covered with small flames, creating an eerie atmosphere that somehow agreed with the bad feeling in Harry's heart and mind.
The circular room contained two significant landmarks; the first was a magnificent mirror, maybe seven feet tall. Its frame was a colored cold gray and an inscription marked the upper part of hits frame. He saw that the markings were letters and the sentence was from end to beginning. It said 'I reflect not yourself but your heart's desire'.
The other landmark was a man in a purple turban, a man that Harry knew from his classes, a man he knew as Quirrinus Quirrel.
"I really thought that Snape was the one who wanted the Stone, I guess I was suspecting the wrong Professor" Harry stated calmly, trying to focus in the unexpected.
He was no fool by all means, even if Quirrel looked like an idiot, that he had fooled everyone meant that he was really good, so Harry decided that it would be bad to underestimate him.
"Hello Potter, yes, it would seem that way given Severus attitude and background makes him easier to suspect, though, you'd be surprised…" Quirrel said, leaving the statement incomplete.
Harry felt nervous; something in his mind told him that maybe he wasn't so wrong after all.
Quirrel turned to the Mirror, "I look at myself holding the Stone, but how do I get it!" he shouted to no one in particular.
"Use the boy" said an ethereal voice that made Harry shiver.
Quirrel moved towards Harry and grabbed him from the collar, pushing him towards the mirror.
"What do you see Potter?!" he asked angrily.
Harry looked at the Mirror and saw his own reflection, watching him intently, his other self smirked and winked him as he took the Stone from his pocket for Harry to see it and put it back in his pocket.
Harry felt a sudden weight appear in his pant's pocket, realizing that his reflection had given him the Stone.
Harry smiled, trying to dissimulate his shock, "I see my family, my parents actually" he replied without looking at his professor.
"He's lying" said the voice, "TELL ME THE TRUTH!" added the professor.
"I am telling the truth" said Harry in a flat tone.
A cold and cruel laugh could be heard in the room, "Let me speak with the boy, now" the voice said and Quirrel did as told.
He removed his turban and turned so Harry could see the back of his head, however, what Harry saw was not a bald head but a face that made him disgusted.
The man's face was old, wrinkled but with red piercing eyes staring at him. It was a frightening sight.
"Harry Potter, we meet again" said the face.
"Voldemort I presume" replied Harry, "Nice to meet the man that killed my parents, this way I won't feel remorse when I kill you" Harry said confidently, when in fact he was terrified.
The Dark Lord laughed cruelly, "You have spirit kid, I'll give you that… Still, spirit alone won't save you… the day I was banished, I felt the magic in you, ancient magic, performed by your parents… you're nothing special, only you survived because of them, so now, tell me, what does it feel to live, knowing you won't see them again?" asked the man coldly.
Harry winced as Voldemort, 'Rubbed salt on his wound', reminding him the loss of those he loved and who loved him more than life itself.
"I may not see them here in Earth, but when this is over I'll see them again, life is, after all, inevitable" he said determined.
Voldemort actually shivered at the thought of dying, being his greatest fear, unknown to Harry.
"You speak bravely, no wonder you're a Gryffindor, however, bravery won't prevent me to take the Stone that you have hiding in your pocket" he stated.
'How did he knew?!' Harry thought to himself, but recomposed quickly.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" the professor shouted. A sudden spell flew past him, almost touching him if he hadn't moved thanks to his fast reflexes.
Quirrel began shooting green spells that Harry immediately began evading, knowing that if one spell connected, he would be irrevocably dead.
He began running around the room shooting back Cutting Curses and Reductos, trying to damage the dark wizard amusing the Dark Lord for his dare.
Quirrel shielded himself from the incoming spells. He shot back and Harry had to dive and roll to evade the spell.
"You are indeed brave, but I'm getting tired of playing games, give me the stone and I'll let you see your parents" Voldemort said in a cold tone.
Harry thought of something that could definitely help if it worked, "If you want it so badly, then come and get it you coward!" Harry said as he taunted the Dark Lord showing him the crimson stone and pocketing it again.
Voldemort raged and Quirrel launched himself against Harry, trying to get the Stone, playing the part the boy thought in his mind he would do if he showed him the Stone
The man grabbed Harry by the neck trying to strangle him. His grip growing in strength until it stopped.
Quirrel's eyes grew wide as he felt a sharp pain in his neck and blood dripping down his throat.
Harry's gaze hardened as he saw blood flowing like a river from his professor's neck when Harry cut his throat with his hidden blade.
"WHAT?! HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!" Harry heard Voldemort scream in rage and astonishment receiving no response as Harry said nothing while he looked his professor fall to his knees grabbing his neck trying to gasp for air. Quirrel's face fell to the floor dead. A sudden flow of magic began to swirl towards the corpse of his instructor when Voldemort's spirit rose from the body, "Good bye, Harry Potter" said the Dark Lord with a smirk on his face as he left the place.
Harry was confused by his nemesis words but his thoughts were cut short as Quirrel's body began to glow, Harry's reaction was insufficient, the body of his Professor exploded in a mater of seconds, Harry's Protego shattered and the explosion sent him flying across the room leaving an unconscious Boy-Who-Lived on the floor.
-oOo-
Harry began to stir, his body sore, pained with tremors. He groggily began opening his eyes, a sudden rush of light entering into his sight making him close his eyes shut.
He felt something pressing his left side, something heavy, warm, soft.
He opened his eyes and saw the sleeping form of his most important person. Hermione was sleeping quietly with a look of peace he had never seen her wearing before.
He moved his hand and tenderly brushed her cheek, reveling in the feeling of his skin against hers. Hermione moved a bit, shifting her hold on him. Harry smiled at her.
He began looking around and realized he was lying in one of the beds of the infirmary. The one he had been assigned when the troll attacked Hermione he mused to himself and turned to see his girlfriend who was now looking at him with a hint of surprise.
Hermione listened through her sleep the voice of her boyfriend. She opened her eyes slowly and saw that Harry was awake and looking at nowhere in particular, her heart began to beat faster as Harry's awakening began to process in her mind.
Harry turned to see her and she couldn't control her actions. She flung to him, enveloping him with her small, slender arms.
She began sobbing as the concern for his life was replaced for the relief of his apparent well being.
Harry stroked her hair, whispering soothing words to her, "Is okay now my angel, I'm okay, I'm back, there's nothing to worry about now"
She nodded against his chest, but kept crying, the tears cleansing his soul.
Once she was calm, Harry spoke, "Are you alright?" he asked. She nodded in response but before she could answer verbally, the doors of the Medical Wing opened revealing Professor Dumbledore, Minerva, Madam Pomfrey, Sirius and Amelia.
Sirius and Amelia rushed to him when they saw their son awake and alive.
"Harry, are you okay? How are you feeling?" asked Sirius concerned.
"Sore and tired but okay" he replied simply.
Madam Pomfrey began making scanning spells, "It seems that you are better now, your wounds are mostly closed and your core is replenished by half, a couple of days and you'll be as good as new Potter" she informed him.
Harry nodded and asked again what had happened.
"That's what we wanted to know Mr. Potter" answered Professor Dumbledore, receiving the glare from Poppy, Minerva, Sirius, Amelia and Hermione, however he ignored them and added, "I was told everything that happened before you entered the Mirror's Chamber by Miss Tonks and Miss Granger, but we need to know what happened inside with Professor Quirrel"
Harry sighed, "I entered the room and found Quirrel inside, he told me he wanted the Stone and wanted me to get it from him" he said flatly, his mind drifting to the event that had happened a couple of days before.
"I told him I saw my parents, since the inscription on the mirror said that the mirror showed you your heart's desire and not your reflection" Harry talked as Dumbledore nodded, agreeing to this, "What I saw in the reflection of the Mirror was myself with the Stone hiding it in my pocket. I felt the weight of the Stone in my pocket so I told him about my family, like I said, however he didn't believed me and he removed his turban only to reveal Voldemort's face on the back of his head" he spat.
Hermione, Minerva and Poppy gasped, while Amelia and Sirius paled. Dumbledore had a mask of indifference that confused Harry but kept with his story.
"We exchanged words and he revealed he knew I had the Stone, I don't know how he found out, but he did; and he tried to kill me with the AK" he revealed.
Sirius growled in anger, "I tried to fight back but his spells began to get closer so I though in taunting him in order for him to get closer and I could attack" Harry said sadly.
He paused for a moment, "It worked, he rushed against me and he tried to choke me, so I cut his throat… Voldemort's spirit left and Quirrel exploded, that's it" Harry finished.
Everyone was silent in the room. Harry had admitting killing a person, Voldemort's host or not, he had killed someone.
Amelia was thinking in the laws and she acknowledged that this fell on self defense so there would be no problem. Sirius, having been an Auror, got to the same conclusion.
Minerva and Poppy knew Harry was a hunter and he had killed before but that didn't lessen the shock of hearing his words while Dumbledore began fearing Harry was turning dark.
Hermione's heart felt broken. She could see pain in Harry's eyes and that hurt her. His pain was her pain and she couldn't do anything to fix it other than being there for him.
Harry's voice snapped them all from their thoughts. "Could… Could you guys leave me alone for a while?" he asked as the truth of his actions finally reached his conscience.
The adults nodded and left the room, giving him some space. Hermione though, decided to stay, she knew her boyfriend needed her.
"Harry… Harry talk to me" she pleaded with a gentle voice when she hugged him. Her grip was hard, trying to convey all the love and acceptance she felt for him.
Harry was unresponsive for a few moments until he found his voice, "I… I killed a person…" he said to the nothingness and he turned to his soulmate, "Hermione… I killed a person" he said while he began sobbing hard.
A tear fell down rolling down Hermione's cheek, 'You couldn't have done anything else Harry, he would have killed you if you didn't kill him' she told him via their mental link, trying to make her message reach his subconscious and soothe his troubled soul.
Harry began to shake his head in denial, 'I could have stun him, I-I could have ran, I could… I could…' his thoughts were in utter chaos, guilt and regret overflowing inside him. He knew he had to, the he needed to kill Voldemort, but one thing is knowing it and another is doing it.
His heart throbbed, it ached, he had taken a life.
Harry's sobs were getting louder and louder until a thunderous, hurtful scream could be heard coming from his insides.
Sirius, Amelia, Minerva and Poppy entered the Infirmary to see a deranged Harry Potter screaming in agony, not from physical pain but from his soul.
Poppy headed to where Harry was holding Hermione like a lifeline and gently made him drink a Calming Draught.
As Harry's sobs began to diminish, Sirius approached his son, "Harry" he said softly.
Harry turned his tears stained face to the man who was his father now.
Sirius held his face with his hands, "I know what you're feeling, I know, I've killed before, I know you feel guilty, dirty, unworthy of being loved and befriended but that is not the truth"
"Harry, look me in the eyes" he instructed calmly and Harry did as told, "I killed many people when we were in war, many, many people; I had to decapitate people, blew them in pieces, piercing their hearts so my friends, my loved ones and I could survive… so I ask you, knowing this, do you care for me less?" he asked his child.
Harry looked in his gray eyes and shook his head, "No, you're still Padfoot to me, no matter what have you done before" he said in a low raspy voice, result of his screaming.
Sirius allowed himself a brief smile, "Exactly, my friends thought no less of me, and is the same with you, we love you even more, because we know who you are, knowing that it hurts means you're still human. Worry when you stop caring, since I know this won't be your last time killing" he told Harry.
Hermione nodded in agreement, "Sirius is right Harry, we love you no less, we know that despite this, you're still OUR Harry" she said as she snuggled against his chest. Harry putting his arms around her petite form, craving for comfort, comfort that he found in Hermione's embrace and in Sirius words.
This was it, I hope you've liked it. Please post your reviews!