A/N- I don't have a valid excuse for delaying this chapter. I handed in my thesis three weeks back. I'm a lousy author. Sorry, I got addicted to another fandom and started a story in it and though I've not very started to post it, I wrote a lot in that. The fandom is Gundam wing and you can blame Stray for getting me addicted. If you are interest in reading that, drop me a line. Comments for this chapter are also welcome though with my rate of updating, I think I've lost a few readers.

I've included humor into the category as well coz ppl keep telling me what I write is funny.

Chapter 25: It begins.

Harry leaned forward then knelt and finally lay back on the ground gasping for breath. He couldn't believe it. He was going to be sick and on the top of it all he couldn't afford get caught being sick, now. It would only make people reach for their Healing Charms or Spell books because if their champion was sick then everything else failed as well.

However, he could not find the strength to pull himself together enough to stand up and walk to the chair which was just three feet away. He found the power to sit up at last, still gasping for breath, his hair stuck with sweat and dust when the door to the attic burst open.

"Harry, mate, you here?" Ron asked as he came barreling through. "Hermione did it; she found the spell for the power transfer Lucius was talking about."

"Yes, Harry," said Hermione bursting in, her cheeks flushed with excitement. "It was the ingredients Draco mentioned. I only had to cross match it with fifteen books to find it and it was so easy in the end and…What are you doing on the floor."

"I …I…" Harry looked at his two friend's anxious faces and sighed. "I've a problem."

"You're sick," said Ron in an instant. "Wait Harry, don't move. I'll call Mum and she'll be here as soon as possible…"

"Ron," Harry said hurriedly before the redhead could go dashing out. "Stop. It's not that serious."

"Then what is it?" Hermione asked as she came closer and knelt next to him. She put a hand on his shoulder and peered down at him. "You look awfully pale Harry, as if you're about to pass out or something. Maybe I should call Molly."

"It's just…" he swallowed and then finally spat out. "I just found out what my Animagus form is."

"Oh, that's so nice," Hermione said with that tone of envy which made him cringe.

"Well," said Ron, shrewdly. "Shouldn't you be dancing on the roof nude or something instead of trying to absorb the dust in the attic?"

"It's not exactly what I expected to be," Harry told him. "I thought a bird of some sort 'cause I'm good at flying and …as Draco pointed out we are all featherbrains but instead…I was…a…"

"You might as well tell us," Ron said as Harry hesitated. "I mean, if you turn into a mouse or something it's better we know so we don't accidentally have Hermione's monster of a cat…" glare from Hermione but Ron refused to back down. "…gobble you up."

Hermione looked torn between wanting to defend her pet's honor and what Harry's Animagus form was. Finally, her curiosity won and with a glare at Ron which promised painful retribution later on, she turned her attention to Harry. "So, what was it?"

"Just... Don't want to tell anyone else," Harry held back. "Where is everybody?"

"The twins are out checking the Perimeter Wards," Ron said. "Someone tripped them again and we still don't know who did it."

"Fifth time this week," Harry counted. "Someone knows we're here."

"The house is not going to be breach, again," Hermione said. "But someone suspects we're close by."

"And they're not looking for us to give us free tickets for the next Quidditch season," Ron said worriedly. "Oh, well, back to the subject we were on. Spill mate, before we all regret this."

So Harry told them.

"Oh," said Hermione. "I need to sit down."

"You are sitting down," Ron told her, looking slightly shocked himself.

"Well, then, it's not too bad," said Hermione after a pause. "I mean, you won't be able to run cross a living room and it isn't going have anyone cheering but I suppose you'd have had the same problem if you were a hippopotamus or a gnat."

"Thank you for the image," Ron said weakly. "I think you're slipping a bit there Hermione."

"As in, I'm off to la la land," she said with a grin. "Not yet by Revenclaw, I'm tired. Going through those books wasn't fun."

"So we have the spell right," Harry said perking up. "If the spell is there then we can have it ready for the transfer and …and…"

"Harry," said Hermione thoughtfully. "Remember, you told me that you had a dream last semester, when you saw Lucius and Voldemort having some sort of conversation in a room."

"Faintly," Harry replied. "I'd all but forgotten about it. This was where I saw him holding a green …something in his hand right."

"Exactly," said Hermione enthusiastically. "That's what is needed to trap the power of each individual during the transfer. Now this spell calls for you to draw a circle and have protection shields up because …well…if the power leaks out, you have no idea what'll happen."

"But still, you can be ready with the spell, right?" said Harry. "You or the person casting the spell will be there so the power from Voldemort will not go to Lucius but shift to me instead."

"There's a problem," Hermione said with a slight frown. "We don't know where exactly the spell is going to be cast. We need to mention the place and the time in the spell to get the right alignment of the stars or it wouldn't work correctly. Even if I know the date, I still need the place or it might not work properly."

"And where this is going to take place is one thing Lucius is not telling Draco," Ron said thoughtfully.

"And he wants Draco to bust him out, soon," Harry said biting his lower lip in frustration. "We're running out of time."

"Speaking of lover boy," said Ron. "Where is he?"

"Went to see Cybele with Tonks," Harry said. "Thought it was safer to have the kid out of the way until all this is over. But he should be back soon."

"So," said Hermione cutting through to the original problem. "You going to tell him about your little transformation."

Harry's face fell as he remembered why he was sitting on the dust covered attic feeling sick to his bones. "I… don't know…" he said.

"It's a bit of a shock, but not the end of the world," Ron said reasonably. "With you, I suppose it would have been pretty disappointing if it had been a gnat or a black bird."

"Or a dust mite," Harry said with a grimace. "You don't mind."

"Harry," said Hermione with a giggle. "Sorry if I overreacted before but your Animagus form is so…you."

Impulsively Harry leaned forward and hugged the girl sitting next to him. "I don't know what I'll do without you," he said feeling relieved that his friends weren't freaking out as he'd expected them to. Under all the reassurance, his panic attack seemed unnecessary and hysterical.

"Failed all your assignments," Hermione said smartly getting up and brushing away the dust which clung to her skirts. "I have to go down before Molly sends someone looking for us. She really can't stand the thought of both me and Ron disappearing incase we start doing it like bunnies or something." She grimaced and looked around. "Time for my medication, I guess."

"What medication?" Harry asked after the bushy haired girl had gone down the attic ladder.

"Something Madam Pomfrey cooked up to keep her from saying things when she's stressed or tired," Ron explained. "It's a bit like a calming potion and Hermione doesn't sprout things off the top of her head when she takes it."

"But she's getting better, right?" Harry pressed. "It's not like anything is wrong with her, just the …"

"Pomfrey suggest we get her to rest away from magic for a bit," Ron said. "Go all out Muggle for a while but I guess she's not going to have a holiday anytime soon."

This reminded Harry that he'd taken time off with Draco to, as Hermione would say, do like bunnies do, while the others had been stuck in the house. "I'm sorry," he said feeling guilty. "I went on a bloody holiday and left you two and…"

"It's ok mate," said Ron going towards the chair and sitting down. "I won't say I wasn't mad at you but I think I can understand you needing a break and me and Hermione got a bit of a break as well."

"Oh," said Harry, realizing that once he and Draco had move out Ron must have had the bedroom all to himself. "So," he said a faint leer on his lips. ( i He really should stay away from the twins i/ ) "Did you two do it?"

Ron colored slightly and then suddenly laughed. "I take it that you two used a lot of Lubrication Spells if you're asking me that." Harry stared at Ron until his friend winked. "I've heard the twins talk about it."

"So, did you and Hermione…" Harry asked wondering why he was asking something. "All right, forget it. It's not something I really want to know. I can't imagine the two of you going at each other…"

"It's freaky, isn't it," said Ron. "When I think of you and Draco together…" he grimaced. "Right down scary next to peeking into watch your parents having sex." The two of them stared for moment shocked and uncomfortable. "Of course," Ron amended. "My parents never have sex. We were all brought from a shop …that's why we're so poor."

Then suddenly they were laughing their head off. "I can't believe you said that," Harry gasped.

"But I'm more comfortable with that idea," Ron stated firmly as he wiped tears of laughter from his face. "I wish Mum would backup a bit where Hermione and I were concerned, we aren't going to anything stupid."

"Really," said Harry as he struggled to his feet.

"She was always hovering close by after you two were gone, so we decided not to use those Contraceptive Spells and use one of her Muggle methods…" he grimaced at the memory.

"That bad?" asked Harry, using a non-verbal wandless spell to remove the dust from his clothes.

"Yeah," exclaimed Ron, still trapped in the memory. "She called it a condom or something and… she wanted me to put it on and…" He stopped when he noticed that Harry had turned an interesting shade of purple. "Harry…mate, what's wrong."

"Draco," he managed to squeeze out as his insides turned to jelly.

"Something's happened to him?' asked Ron getting to his feet. "Don't tell me you two went and got Bonded before the final battle while you were away."

No," said Harry making a note to ask about this Bonding stuff once his head was cleared out. "Noting like that, just he said Hermione gave him something to …to not get pregnant and we...we didn't…"

"Didn't use anything," said Ron catching on surprisingly quickly. "Maybe he forgot."

"This is Draco Malfoy we are talking about," Harry said pointedly. "Not Neville Longbottom."

"Please, reassure me that you did not imply just now that you want to have sex with Neville," Ron said in a strangled voice. "Even if his name has that suggestive Bottom part to it."

"I have to find Hermione," Harry said, rushing towards the ladder. "I wonder if Draco is back by now."

"What did you think I gave him?" Hermione asked as Harry continued to pace the room, waiting for Draco to come back from visiting Cybele.

"I don't know," confessed Harry. "I never asked and when we got to the room we were…sort of …"

"Excited," Hermione supplied.

"Over whelmed," Ron offered.

"Horny," Ginny offered.

Harry turned around, spinning on his heels as he realized that they weren't the only people in the study. "How long were you here?" he asked even though the answer was pretty obvious. On one had entered the room since the three of them had trooped in, so Ginny must have already been there.

"I was here first…reading," Ginny said, standing up from the deep velvet colored high back chair she had been sitting, holding up a book in one hand as proof. The chair faced away from them so she had remained hidden from their view until she had decided to join their conversation. "When you came in as if the house was on fire I thought it was something serious."

"It is serious," said Ron. "I mean, Draco is a Malfoy first and foremost and he knows that if he has Harry's baby he can own everything here by killing Harry or when Harry dies."

"Your expectancy of my survival is stunning," Harry deadpanned, ignoring Ginny who had closed her book, marking the page she had been reading with a spell and moved forward to join them.

"I think it's romantic," Hermione giggled. "Think, Draco is risking everything to have a part of Harry to keep with him forever although, a mummified piece of his foreskin could have also done the trick."

"Ron," Harry couldn't help asking despite the graveness of the situation. "You have your parts intact, don't you?"

"It was that stupid book she read," Ron explained hastily. "Where his kind had eunuchs to look after the queen but their tradition implied you can't get a proper afterlife unless you have all your body parts intact so the parts of their body that was cut off was given back to be mummified and placed in their coffins."

Harry shuddered at the thought of the castrated man been given his bloodied balls in a dish and told to get if mummify.

"I soooo don't want to discuss my bother's penis here," Ginny said, clearly making all of them blush apart from Hermione who got hit by a silence spell by Ron before she could open her mouth. "I think you are all over reacting about this. Why don't you ask Draco when he comes back? Anyway, if you want my opinion, I'd say it's a mixture of both. If Draco had Harry's kid then there's no way the Wizarding world would persecute him for any of his war crimes."

"But still…" said Harry. "Why didn't he say anything and go through that elaborate arrangement of taking me out of the house and…"

"Maybe he does love you," Ginny said frankly. "If he just wanted you to father a kid or something then all he needed do was drag you into a broomcloset."

"It's not about love," Harry said evasively as the forbidden word came out.

"Back to the original question," said Hermione more in control of herself. "What did you think I gave Draco?"

"I don't know," said Harry reaching wildly. "Pills or creams or something …women use."

"Why Mr. Potter," said Hermione in a displeased voice. "I do believe you are a sexist."

"He's gay," Ron said casually. "What do you expect?"

"Thank you Ron," Harry snapped back. "I…" he stopped when he saw the object of the discussion standing at the door of the study looking at them worriedly.

"Did I come at a bad time?" Draco said, as they all looked at him. He had just returned from visiting his aunt's house and had taken pains to look his best for the visit. While the rest of them were dressed in casual jeans and t-shirts, Draco was dressed in a dark blue robe with the Malfoy crest embroided to the side, a silk shirt of a shade similar to the robe, black dress pants, dragon hide boots and a haughty expression which reminded Harry of Lucius. If he didn't know better, he'd have said that Draco had just discarded them as being not worth his attention but he had gotten to know his lover a lot better of the past few months and he knew that the expression was a mask with which he hid his insecurities.

As the blond stood there, regarding them as if they were under observation Harry felt his heart give a lurch. He might rave and rage but in the end he was very, very fond of his little dragon. "Draco," he said, walking towards the door. "How's Cybele?"

"Thinking of dieing her hair pink," Draco said with a grimace. "Did I walk into a Gryffindor …" he turned his cheek to catch Harry welcome peck on his lips and continued. "…war council."

"Oh, nothing like that," said Harry slipping hand around Draco's waist and drawing him into the room. "We were just…"

And Hermione cast a spell which brought them all to a halt. Draco stopped short as he was enveloped in a white glow which shimmered a little and then faded away to nothing. "You're not pregnant," Hermione said sounding disappointed.

"You…you just discussed i/ that /i with a bunch of people," Draco almost shouted, rounding off to face Harry, sounding angry.

"You're not pregnant," said Harry, feeling strangely relieved and oddly disappointed. He didn't know what to think, he had been sure that Draco was pregnant and this revelation was rather unexpected. Not that he wanted the responsibility of raising a baby or anything but he had been mentally bracing himself for the task ahead of something small, blond and warm and noisy and he wasn't sure whether to scream with joy or feel let down. He had argued with himself that he did not need another burden in the form of Draco expecting his child but he had resigned himself for it and had accepted it in his own way.

"I'm not," Draco said, shaking himself loose from Harry's grip and walking into the study. He dropped into a comfortable reading chair and slumped back, eyes closed. "I checked today in the morning."

"It's only been a week since you and Harry went on your vacation," Hermione said, strangely tactful. "And a week is sometimes too early to tell."

"But I was able to tell…the last time," Draco said, his eyes still closed, head tipped back.

"Sometimes if doesn't work just like that," Ginny said. "I heard Mum and Mrs. Smallgrace talking about how many times she had to try before she got it right."

"Ginny," said Ron in a strangled voice. "Mrs. Smallgrace has twelve children and that includes two sets of triplets."

"Maybe I'm getting the people mixed up," Ginny admitted. "But still, I read somewhere some people don't get pregnant straightaway."

"A week is too early to tell," Hermione said again. "For all we know, Draco could be expecting triplets."

"Malfoys do not litter like common animals," said Draco still not moving. "Such a thing is unheard of."

"I'm not worried," Harry said. "Just angry you decided to do something like that without telling me."

"It was a spur of the moment thing, all right," Draco said jumping to his feet. "It's not like I'm going to repeat it. For Merlin's sake Potter, you have to call a full Gryffindor meeting when you suspect I'm expecting your child. I didn't know it was that despicable to you. I think the Dark Lord storming the house would have met with a lesser force."

"Of course, I don't find the idea despicable," Harry shot back. "You're overreacting as usual. And should Voldemort ever storm the house then he'd have to…"

"Hay, guys…Harry, where are you?" they heard the twins shout. "We caught our ward tripper. Come one down, everyone."

"Oh, saved by an idiot," said Draco the first to flee the room before anyone of them could react.

"I thought that went well," Ron said sarcastically. "Did he just turn the blame for everything onto Harry and walk out."

"I wonder if he gives private lessons," Hermione walked out as well.

"Next time you talk it out with Draco, leave out the entourage," Ginny said as she patted Harry on the back as she moved out as well.

Harry was the last to leave, feeling as if he was floundering in deep water, a feeling which failed to dissipate when he walked into the kitchen to find Blaise Zabini drinking hot cocoa with Mrs. Weasley.

"You're the one who's been tripping the wards," Harry exclaimed as he stared at the dark haired boy.

"How else was I to get an invitation into the house," the boy shrugged and said. "I was getting pretty desperate."

"Then why do you keep on hiding every time we rush out?" one of the twins demanded.

"You were scary," Blaise said. "With your wands and all and don't think I've forgotten the time turned into a canary the last time you cast a spell on me."

"That was in school," the twin had the sense to edge away from Mrs. Weasley.

"What do you want?' Draco demanded pushing past Harry to stand in front of Blaise, his arms crossed.

"All dress up," said Blaise with a raised eyebrow. "Impersonating Lucius Malfoy are we?"

"If I was, then I'd be screwing your mother," Draco snapped back, still in a bad temper.

"Draco," said Mrs. Weasley standing up and Harry became aware of Lupin and Bill in the background, both of whom looked slightly more amused at the situation than anything else.

"I don't think he came because he couldn't live with out Ginny," one of the twins said hurriedly, to dissipate the situation. "What is it you want, protection?"

"In exchange for information," Blaise said. "Mom's way over this one and she doesn't know what she's doing. Now that the Malfoy estate has been seized everyone is there and …and everyone is awaiting the arrival of Lucius Malfoy."

"Where's your estate?" Hermione asked, interested. "Can you mark it on a map or is it an Unplottable."

"Are you sure it's the place?" Ron asked. "It would be pretty stupid if we prepared a spell for this and then find out the ceremony is going to be held in Scotland."

"No," said Draco, firmly. "I should have thought of it before. My father's being having an affair with his mother for ages. She's completely taken by him so …yes…I'd go out on a limb and say…yes."

"Lock him up," said Lupin speaking suddenly. He took a step forward, bracing his good leg, wincing as if it pained him. "Blaise, I'm putting you under house arrest."

"What!" the boy exclaimed in surprise. Harry saw that it did not stop him from reaching for another cookie. Maybe Blaise had expected this sort of treatment when he'd come there.

"When something looks too good it, usually is," Snape said appearing from behind Lupin, where he had been concealed in the shadows causing the new arrival to drop the cookie he had been biting into.

"You were here too," he said in a low voice, which sounded a lot like betrayal. "All this time."

"Hand over your wand," Snape said. "I'm putting you under house arrest for the duration of the war."

"It's must be a trap," said Ron as he glared.

"We don't have much choice do we," Draco said as he moved out of the kitchen. "Hermione, can you get that spell ready. I'm going to bust my father out of prison tomorrow. It's time we got this started."

"Draco," said Harry moving to get his attention. He grasped Draco by the upper arm and dragged him a fair way away from everybody who was doing a good impression of pixies let loose in classroom.

"Potter," said Draco in a cold voice.

"Do we have time for a kiss," he whispered leaning forward a letting his breath brush Draco's ear.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111

Despite the fact they had all gone to sleep late at night after numerous preparations they were all up at dawn, yawning and grumbling looking for the world as if they hadn't had any sleep during the night. Harry was sure no one had gotten any sleep. He had Draco had spend the night in bed, drawing comfort from each other while Hermione and Ron had spend the night whispering in the corner bed. There had been no sex involved, and the half hearted attempts were merely just that. They had not even continued the conversation they had been having in the study, deeming it unimportant in the wake of everything.

They met in the visitor's parlor, sitting in pairs, even Lupin and Snape in an unusual display of affection.

"Where's Blaise?" Ginny asked as she sat down next to Bill, Flure having gone to her parents house sometimes back.

"Asleep," Snape said. "I slipped him a little sleeping potion last night and he'll sleep for the remainder of the day. Better than him being up to any mischief and by the time he's awake, I have a feeling everything would have run its course."

"Have you contacted Lucius?" Lupin asked in a quiet voice.

"Going to break him out today," Draco replied. "I've got a scheduled meeting at six so that should do it."

"We'll meet you in Willow Keep," Lupin said.

"Isn't it rather odd to name Zabini's house Willow Keep?" said Ron.

"It's because that house came under Mrs. Zabini after her first husband died and he was not called Zabini," Snape said derisive.

"How can we get in?" Ginny asked in a small voice.

"You're not going," Mrs. Weasley said in a firm voice. "You'll stay here and watch over the house."

"As if it needs…" Ginny started then clamped her mouth shut. "Fine, pick on me if you want. We'll see who stays behind."

"How are you going to get us in?" Harry asked before Mrs. Weasley could hound Ginny.

"I have a little status there," Lupin said with a shrug. "Won it the hard way…" he pointed towards his knee. "…but it has some uses."

"What did you do?" Hermione asked as everyone digested the news in silence.

"Something I should have done ages ago," Lupin replied evasively

"He fought Greyback and defeated him in single combat," Snape said with a tinge of pride in his voice. "He leads the werewolves,now."

"Well done," said Bill, his voice low and full of pleasure. "I won't say no if you lead the pack."

"Bill," said Mrs. Weasley looking visibly distressed. "Don't speak like that."

"But I am something in between," Bill countered back. "When this is over, I was thinking of having Lupin bite me so I can be a full werewolf. This one or the other is getting on my never."

"But Flure and you won't be able to have children, son," Mr. Weasley said gently, holding his wife's hand.

"We can't already," Bill said pointedly.

"Oh, that's all right," said Ginny before the mood could become any somber. "When Draco had triplets Harry will be more than happy to give you one."

"I'd rather drown myself than have triplets," Draco said, his upper lip curling in a familiar sneer.

"What I'm going to do is cast a Monitoring Spell n Draco," said Lupin hurriedly. "It's what Mediwizards use to monitor their patients. That way, when you infiltrate Hogwarts and break out your father we'll be able to see how you are doing by monitoring your heart rate and all. And you'll also be wearing this…" Lupin said handing over a small locket. "It's a small charm which will show us what you see. Not exactly but if you want us to see anything you'll have to hold it in that direction and we'll be able to see it too."

"Who's idea was it?" Harry asked.

"Mine," Hermione said. "It's like a small camera only you use magic because you can't get electronics to work within Hogwarts."

"Let's get started," said Snape standing up and Harry noted that he had been holding ands with Lupin under the folds of his cloak. The sight should have made him feel glad but instead drove a cold spine of fear into him.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

They were all crowed around the two crystal balls, one showing a grainy picture of the insides of Hogwarts and the other a squiggle which was Draco's heartbeat and blood pressure. They were all armed and ready to go at a moments notice, tense and uncomfortable and the twins were trying hard to break the somber mood. They had spend most of the morning saying good byes to each other and people seem to want quiet moments with thoes dear to them. Much to his annoyance, Harry found out that the moment he had Draco tired to get a moment's peace someone would want to come and pat his back, hug him or kiss him and act as if he was already dead, then wish his luck.

"Oh," said Fred. "Look at him go." The locket charm did not include sounds so the twins had thought it their duty to provide sound for everyone. "Tap, tap, tap."

"Of course, the only thing you can see is his boots and the ground," Ron pointed out. "The locket is facing downwards."

"He'll adjust it when the time comes," Hermione said confidently.

"He's turned a corner," said George. "Did anyone feel dizzy or was it just me?"

"And he's reached daddy's cell," Fred joined.

Lupin, who had long since stopped trying to shut up the two, rolled his eyes.

"Action," said Fred as the viewer jerked crazily and then there was a pair of legs on the floor.

"He's taken down the Auror on guard outside," Lupin supplied.

"Look at daddy's little feet," Fred cooed as Lucius looking slightly bored sat on his bed to pull on his boots. Even Harry had to admit that the man had dainty feet though why he was thinking such things in a moment like that but the whole thing had a feeling of unreality to him. He watched Draco blow open the lock and hand over the spare wand to Lucius. Then Draco pulled out the Marauders Map Harry had given him and consulted it to make sure they were alone.

"Wow," said George sounding impressed. "Can you see his heartbeat? It's steady all the way. The guy must have nerves of steel."

"Actually," said Hermione. "I found out that my Calming Potion is all gone. He must have drunk it all."

"How much?" Lupin asked looking slight worried.

"Half a bottle or so," Hermione said with a shrug. "I don't think there's an adverse effect from taking too much."

"No, but you're going to have Hermione mooning You-Know-Who," Ron predicted gloomily.

"He's moving again," said Fred as Draco made way to the kitchen.

"Kitchen?" said Fred. "Hungry are we."

"Dobby is there," Harry said quietly. "House elves are the only things that can teleport in and out without Hogwarts magic interfering. He'll follow Draco's order so he'll have them out soon. Hopefully Lucius would know to keep his mouth shut and not scare the daylights out of Dobby."

"Let's go," said Lupin, moving back. "Get you wands ready people. We're going to battle now."

"Good luck," said Ron straightening up from the crystal ball. The reluctant glace he gave was not because he was sorry to leave it but because they all knew the inside of the house was safe and once they left it they did not know what would happen.

"We'll pull through this," said Harry, speaking with confidence he did not feel.

"I know we will," said Hermione in a low voice.

"No last words mate," said Fred with a clap on Harry's back. "Saddle up the horse, or Buckbeak or whatever."

Harry gave the crystal one last glance and smiled faintly. If nothing else, Draco was out of the castle safely and now if was up to him. He wondered how many of them would return to the house the following day and how many of them would be able to.

A/N- one more chapter and epilogue.

As for what Harry's Animagus form is, I'll let you know when the time is right. I might be late with the updates but this is not abandoned. I'm going to finish this.