I don't know how a whol chapter went missing for so long. They'll be 14 now, I'm pushing everything up.

Chapter 9:

Neville watched the Green Pod. Some were pacing, some fiddling with trinkets or the hem of their robes. Harry and Logan each had a snake wrapped around their neck hissing into their ear and were holding hands tightly, likely to keep themselves from barging in on Helena and Professor Snape, who were tending to Lusca. He avoided looking at Draco Malfoy and Theodore Nott, he found both not the most hostile of Slytherins any more but they weren't friendly. Next to him Marline shivered slightly and he wrapped his arm tighter around her.

Emma sat serenely by the fire. The old vampire's face was clam, collected, but beneath that she was furious. Like Helena she view the Green Pod as family, and everyone in Aspasia put family before all else. There was a knock on the door and she stood, waving away they worried looks of some of the children. When she saw who it was, she stepped outside.

Professor McGonagall spoke first. "Is Ms. Serpentine alright?"

This commended her further to Emma, who already respected the Transfiguration Mistress, though she did think her punishment of Mr. Weasley should be stronger. "My wife and your Potions Master are tending to her now. The curse cut deep, but they are skilled and Lusca is not one to let a mere Diffindo stop her."

Dumbledore hummed thoughtfully. Oh the creature was powerful, that he could clearly see. Ice still clung to Ronald, melting only partly even with the strongest of warming and melting charms, and refreezing almost instantly. He wished he knew what she was. "I'm afraid Ms. Rosemont that your student's curse upon Mr. Weasley has not yet been ended."

Emma raised an eyebrow. "Should it have?"

"Of course! She is being tended to, Mr. Weasley has been punished and it far out of range, there should not be ice on his skin."

The vampire's smiled turned cold. "He is fortunate, and you punishment, a loss of House points and detention, was mild."

"I've also suspended him for two weeks and pulled him off the Quidditch team. I'm sure his mother will also want words with him." Prof. McGonagall added.

"How is he fortunate?"

"I approve of your punishment professor." Her expression through long practice remained calm. "He is fortunate Headmaster Dumbledore, because the last person who attacked Lusca's family lost his right hand, foot, and use of those corresponding limbs as well as sustaining damage to his some of his internal organs. It has taken most of these years to keep her from doing such irreversible damage, that she took the curse for Salamat and that your student is a fool only likely helped. If you want her curse to stop, and I promise she can maintain it for a long time, distance or not, I would advise a public apology to both of my students from Mr. Weasley. If he does this, I promise none of my children will take their own vengeance."

"You are a violent lot Ms. Rosemont. I fear you threaten my students' safety."

"Albus!" McGonagall exclaimed. "The lass reacted to an unprovoked attack as is only reasonable! If anyone is threatening the students safety it is Ronald Weasley and you for being foolish enough to leave Harry on the Dursley's in November!"

"You did that?" Emma spoke suddenly, swiftly. The two professors turned back to her and found themselves taking a step back. "You left him with those beasts?"

"He needed the protection of his blood family." The reply was instant, dismissive. "It was the best place for him and undoubtedly foolish for you to remove him!"

"When Helena found him he said his name was freak." Only centuries of practice kept her rage from showing. "It was months before he trusted us, years before he came to us with his problems instead trying to solve them on their own. Harry is family, Albus Dumbledore, and you put him with people who beat the spirit out of him." The old headmaster opened his mouth to speak but Emma continued regardless. "Nothing can excuse that, especially if you did not check up on him. If we find out that you knew about what happened there, pray to your gods for mercy because you will receive none from us." With that she turned around and slammed the door shut.

Helena's eyes jerked to Emma as the vampire entered the room. The last time the Selkie had seen her lover so visibly angry, they had been talking about the people who had hurt Marline. The vampire never let her enemies see her rage unless they were about to die. "What is it love?"

Emma smiled at the term striding across the room and kissing her wife hard on the lips. She found herself needed the comfort. "Later. How is Lusca?"

Helena gave her a relieved smile and turned to her pups, she had been about to tell them when Emma entered. "Lusca will be fine. The curse was deep, it cut into some of the external muscle of her stomach but did not fully puncture it. Severus's potions were surprisingly useful; I will let you all visit her quickly but after that she needs sleep."

Harry and Logan were up the stairs, the castle had accommodated them wonderfully, before her sentence was finished, Luna at their heels. The rest of the pod followed with less speed but just as much worry. Harry and Logan may be the closest to Lusca but she was a sister to all, a sister who had been injured defending another sister.

Sal wrapped an arm around Hermione; the witch felt her body pressed against her's like a heater. The salamander took Lusca's hand and said with a teasing smile "I guess we're even now."

Lusca gave a weak laugh. Logan and Harry, already under the covers on her uninjured side, smiled warmly. If Lusca could laugh she really would be fine. The other Hogwarts students, dragged along, watched with slight confusion. The three had been introduced as triplets, was this normal for them?

After a few more minutes Helena shooed them out and turned to Lusca. "Would you like a sleeping potion?"

The lamia shook her head. "I'll sleep just fine without it." She said and indeed her eyelids were already drifting shut. Helena turned to Luna, who's small hands were wrapped around Lusca's.

"Are you going back to your dorm?"

The blond shook her head, sitting in a large armchair near the bed and promptly joining the lamias in Morpheus's realm. Helena smiled and pulled a blanket over the young seer. She returned to Ginny and Blaise and wondered. Ginny was already becoming someone special to Harry, she found herself hoping Logan would find that in Blaise. She was fond of both.

"That's normal."

"What?" Blaise asked.

"Them sleeping together. They used to do it all the time when they were children, it was the only way they felt safe. As far as I know they never stopped unless they had another to sleep with." She shrugged. "We are all family and my pups are brothers and sisters but those three, well, they're triplets."

Ginny nodded. Her brothers were family and she was closer to some than others, while the twins were nearly inseparable. "I have twin brothers. I understand."

Severus was signing passes for all the students. He hoped it would not be a problem, but the ball had ended and "better safe than sorry" was a motto he lived his life by. Draco, Theodore, and Blaise escorted Daphne and Tracey to Slytherin, Neville and Seamus brought Ginny to Gryffindor. Susan and Hermione went with Connor and Sal, the latter because she was worried about her friends on their own and the former because someone had just attacked Sal not an hour ago, the Pod wouldn't let her out without a sibling. Krum walked himself back to his ship but not without kissing Lorah deeply first. The old potions master couldn't help but smile as he watched. Somehow he found himself fond of the pod, and saw the joy in Helena and Emma's eyes as they watched their "pups" meet friends that may last a lifetime.

He had slightly dour news to tell them though. "Have you heard of Sirius Black?"

Two pairs of unblinking eyes met his. "He was Harry's godfather. He supposedly betrayed his parents to Voldemort and escaped Azkaban three ago."

"Supposedly?" Severus asked. He knew the truth now, but most of the wizarding world didn't.

"When he escaped Azkaban we looked deeper into the matter." Emma replied. "We questions Death Eaters in Azkaban." How they managed that he did not know. "Bellatrix Lestrange did not know the true traitor, but she knew her cousin would never follow Voldemort. We have been searching for Black ever since."

"Sirius Black is an Animagus." Snape replied. "So were James Potter and Peter Pettigrew, who still lives. They learned this art so that they could accompany their friend, Remus Lupin, when he transformed. He is a werewolf."

He watched the two women mentally add this information to whatever file it should be in behind their Occlumency shields. Having tested said shields, with permission, he knew they were strong. "Black has been hiding in the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix under Dumbledore's orders, unhappily I might add. Lupin spends most of his time with him. Why neither have come to see Harry I do not know, they have searched."

"Do either of these men know Harry is here?" Helena asked.

Severus frowned. "No reason not to. They would have seen it in the paper even if no one told them, which is extremely unlikely."

"Then first thing tomorrow we are going to them." Helena said decisively. Severus nodded.