AN: I HAVE NOT ABANDONED YOU. My goal is to finish this story, and I will always come back to it. This day will be split into three chapters, and I am almost done with the third one. ENJOY!

May 14th, 2008

Draco hated being side-alonged. Harry knew that, but there wasn't another way for them to get to the reserve where Charlie worked. There was a single point of entry via apparition, and only the keepers and their immediate family had access to it. Harry knew he was lucky to still be considered part of the Weasley family, especially since it made hunting easier. However, he still had to find a way to get Draco to agree to be side-alonged to a location that Harry couldn't tell him about. Again.

Narcissa hadn't been much help either, even once she had stopped laughing.

"He is a Malfoy. They are all set in their ways and will do what they want. Reasoning with them is a long, and sometimes painful, process," she said as she walked away.

Out of other ideas, Harry had packed their stuff while Draco was eating, and sent it to Romania ahead of them, and was now parading around the house in his Animagus form. If reasoning with Draco wouldn't work, he figured he might as well just get it over with and deal with the consequences when they came.

Neither of them heard him as he walked into the kitchen. Draco was seated at the island reading a book, facing away from the door, while Narcissa was standing at the sink on the other side, filling a vase of bright red flowers with water. Deciding to make himself known, he plodded up to where Draco was sitting and launched his front paws up onto the counter. Harry smiled at the exaggerated jump it elicited out of him. Narcissa only sighed.

"If you drool on my counters Harry, you will be the one cleaning it up," she threatened. Harry barked his agreement. "You look very much like Sirius."

You knew his Animagus? Harry asked, broadcasting his words for both of them.

"Of course. Everyone in the Black family became an Animagus once they came of age. None of them ever registered with the ministry however. It was a family tradition older than the law and they never thought that it should apply to them. Sirius had his own reasons for not registering, otherwise I'm sure he would have eventually."

Harry looked towards Draco, and tilted his head to the side, asking the question without words.

"Yes, I have an Animagus, and its registered with the French ministry. I'd rather not adhere to that part of the tradition. I have spent too long making up for my and my Father's role in the war to risk my freedom with an old family tradition." Draco grimaced at the mention of the war so Harry pushed off from the counter to rest his head on Draco's lap. He gave Harry a look of exasperation before returning to his newspaper. After a moment, he began to absentmindedly pet his head.

Narcissa, I am going to apparate us to Romania in about 30 seconds before Draco has time to figure out what I'm doing. I'm sure he would want to say good bye himself, but I would rather not give him time to think about being side-alonged. Harry spoke only to her.

"Good luck." Draco looked up from his paper, his hand stilling on Harry's head.

"For what Mother?"

Harry made the jump, leaving Narcissa alone in the kitchen with a soft pop.

They landed in the center of the small village that made up the homes of everyone who worked on the reserve. Harry had kept his feet, and he quickly bounded a short distance from Draco who was sprawled in the dirt. Draco quickly got to his feet.

"What the bloody hell was THAT, Potter? Why in the name of Merlin would you apparate us out of my mother's kitchen with no warning at all?" Harry stayed quiet while Draco ranted. He figured he could explain it better once he had calmed down. "Where even are we? What about our luggage? Where are you so I can hex you?"

Harry barked once to draw his attention towards him. The moment Draco drew his wand Harry shot off around the square, not giving him time to aim. Draco followed him, still shouting, more interested in catching Harry than the few people looking on from a nearby porch. It was only after a couple laps that their laughter was loud enough to distract him from his pursuit. He was hastily shoving his wand away when a flaming shock of hair made its way to the front of the small crowd.

"I should have known the two of you wouldn't show up without making a scene. Charlie Weasley," he introduced himself as he met Draco on the edge of the lawn. Harry trotted up and sat at Draco's side, with his tongue lolling. "Welcome to the dragon reserve. Harry tells me you've been helping him with both his work and his charges."

"I have, although it was not what I expected to be doing when I returned to Britain. Harry has a certain gift for getting me to do things I would never do normally." Harry's ears perked up at the small admittance from Draco. He let his tail wag for a couple of seconds, not caring if it hit the back of Draco's ankle, before controlling himself again. "I was under the impression that no one knew of his charges, as you call them."

"No one in Britain. Here, we operate under secrecy in regards to magical beings, so adding in however many vampires he's managed to collect up there wasn't much of a stretch. Besides, he seems to find the reserve as much of a sanctuary as the dragons do." Charlie paused and looked down at Harry. "Are you ever going to return to your normal form to give us a proper greeting?"

Harry barked sharply before standing and shaking out his coat in response. Charlie only sighed.

"Since you insist on avoiding humanity, you should know that Gin has been asking for you."

At this, Harry started bouncing around the courtyard again. After several seconds, he bolted across the yard and launched himself onto a low overhang on one of the porches. Once he reached the highest point on the roof, he collapsed onto his haunches and began to howl. The moment long song had a wilting melody to it, with sharp changes in pitch. As soon as it ended, he was up, pacing the rooftops while scanning the horizon. Several miles to the north, he saw a quick flash of fire, followed by a plume of smoke. Fixating on it, he leapt into the air, shifted into a bat and flew off into the distance.