I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.

Problem

Alex sat down heavily at the Gryffindor table for breakfast and grabbed a few pieces of toast, only to stare at them. After waking from his memories, he'd had to smoke three cigarettes to stave off the panic attack that had resulted as an aftershock. Now he felt sick, tired, and stressed. At the Slytherin table, Malfoy and a gang of his fellow Slytherins were laughing at Harry for fainting, Malfoy pretending to faint over and over. Their laughter was grating on Alex's last nerve, and his right hand was clenching his fork so hard it was beginning to bend. He could feel the other Gryffindors around him casting him sideways glances, and it was doing even more to grate his nerve than the Slytherins. However, just as he was ready to snap, Luna sat beside him, resting a hand on his right forearm. He glanced at her, seeing her usual smile on her face, and his hand relaxed as he felt himself calm slowly. He bent the fork back into shape and sighed, setting it down.

"Good morning," Luna said. "Are you excited for classes?"

"Defense Against the Dark Arts," Alex said. "And Care of Magical Creatures."

"Same," Ron nodded. "It'll be nice having a teacher that favors us for once."

"Oh, god, we're starting some new subject today!" Hermione said suddenly, staring at the schedule she had for her classes.

"Hermione," Ron said, frowning as he peered over her shoulder as her schedule, "they've messed up your timetable. Look, they've got you down for ten classes a day. There isn't enough time."

"I'll manage," Hermione said. "I've fixed it all with Professor McGonagall."

"But look, see this morning?" Ron asked, pointing. "Nine o' clock, Divination. And underneath, nine o' clock, Muggle Studies." He frowned, leaning a little closer. "Look, underneath that, nine o' clock, Arithmancy. I mean, I know you're good, Hermione, but no one's that good. How're you supposed to be in three classes at once?"

"Cloning spell?" Alex suggested.

"Don't be silly," Hermione said. "Of course I won't be in three classes at once. And there's no such thing as a cloning spell."

"Damn," Alex said. "That'd be useful. Imagine Malfoy having to try and duel two of me, or Harry." He hummed thoughtfully for a moment. "Actually, it'd be really useful for just about everything. House work, homework, carrying luggage. It'd even be useful for-"

He stopped abruptly, eyes widening as everyone looked over at him curiously. However, before they could ask what he'd been about to say, he swore harshly and stood.

"I have to go," Alex said, suddenly pale. "See you in class."

"Oh, uh, alright," the others said as he turned and walked away quickly.

"I'll see you...later," Luna said, frowning slightly as he left without so much as a glance her way.

Alex made it to the common room before breaking. He punched a wall hard, swearing loudly and fracturing the stone. He rested his head against it as he suddenly felt hot, the cool stone not helping in the slightest. He closed his eyes and his mind drifted back to the train ride again, though this time, it was after the dementor had left and the chocolate had calmed him slightly. Specifically, it centered on Luna sitting in his lap, riveting itself to the feeling of holding her. He grit his teeth and struggled for force the images out of his head unsuccessfully. After abut ten minutes, he pushed off the wall, smoking a cigarette through his gills before leaving the common room again, heading for his first class. He had Ancient Runes first, without the others, and even though he was interested in the runes, the class itself was boring. It came as a huge relief when the bell signaled the end of class and he left the room quickly. He met Harry and the others just outside Transfiguration, but just as he did, the problem he'd partially suppressed before Ancient Runes returned. He clenched his teeth and walked quickly into the room, sitting a ways away from the others and ahead of them, where they couldn't try to ask him what was wrong. He clenched his left fist hard under his desk, curling his pantleg into his fist. It didn't help. After a couple of minutes, he noticed everyone was glancing at Harry. He ignored it, struggling to avoid his own problem, and focused on what Professor McGonagall was saying about Animagi, wizards who could transform into animals. She demonstrated by turning herself into a cat with dark markings around her eyes matching the shape of her glasses. However, after a moment, she changed back, frowning.

"Really, now, what has gotten into you all?" Professor McGonagall asked. "Not that it matters, but that's the first time my transformation hasn't gotten applause from the class."

Everyone glanced at Harry, Alex following their line of sight to doublecheck.

Finally, Hermione raised her hand. "Please, Professor, we've just had our first Divination class, and we were reading the tea leaves, and-"

"Ah, of course," Professor McGonagall said, everyone turning. "There is no need to say any more, Miss Granger. Tell me, which of you will be dying this year?"

Everyone stared at her in confusion.

"Me," Harry finally said.

"I see," Professor McGonagall said, fixing Harry with a solid stare. "Then you should know, Mr. Potter, that Sibyll Trelawny has predicted the death of one student a year since she arrived at the school. None of them has died yet. Seeing death omens is her favorite way of greeting a new class. If not for the fact that I never speak ill of my colleagues..." she broke off, seeming to be trying to calm herself. "Divination is one of the most imprecise branches of magic. I shall not conceal with you that I have very little patience with it. True Seers are very rare, and Professor Trelawny..." again she paused before speaking again, sounding very matter-of-fact this time. "You look in perfect health to me, Potter, so you will excuse me if I don't let you off homework today. I assure you that if you die, you need not hand it in."

Alex grinned. That was a surprisingly good way to handle it. Hermione laughed, and Harry seemed to relax. Not everyone was calmed down, but they continued the class anyway. Alex listened with as much attention as he could. He wanted to learn to be an Animagus. He thought it would be great fun to turn himself into a dragon, or a Hippogriff, or a wolf. He'd even settle for a bunny rabbit as long as he could just master the magic. An image formed in his mind, unbidden and unprovoked, of himself as a small white rabbit, curled up in Luna's lap as she stroked his soft fur. However, less than a second later, the image shifted and he forced it out of his mind, his fist once again curling tight in his pantleg. However, as severe as his reaction to that thought had been, it was nothing compared to what happened when Luna joined them for lunch. As soon as she sat down, Alex, who'd been drinking water from his goblet, sucked in a harsh breath, beginning to cough violently.

"Are you alright?" Luna asked worriedly. "You went very pale and ran off during breakfast."

"F-Fine," Alex stammered, cursing himself mentally as his face warmed. He was glad the other three were busy talking about Harry's possible impending death, though Ginny was paying attention. "I'm fine. I just had to take care of something."

"Alright," Luna smiled, nodding, Alex suddenly feeling like he had smoked an entire pack through his gills at once. "You worried me."

Then, seeming to be determined to make Alex suffer through his current crisis, she hugged him. He sucked in a surprised breath, only to have his brain rivet his focus on the smell of her perfume and conditioner, as well as the feeling of holding her against him, which he suddenly realized he was. He pulled his arms back, trying not to act like he'd been burned, and Luna pulled away. Alex could feel his face glowing, and could tell by Ginny's grin that he wasn't wrong, but he ignored both, hastily eating the food on his plate, struggling to keep his eyes from drifting to his right, toward the source of the intoxicating smell his brain was laser-focused on.

Alex stared at the Hippogriff. Hagrid's first class wasn't going well, yet. He hadn't realized no one knew how to read the book without being bitten. They had to stroke the spine, which no one but Hagrid would know how to do, and Malfoy made it a point to make that known, quite rudely. Alex had his book open, leafing through the different pages inside of it in an effort to keep himself from blowing up on Malfoy. However, Hagrid had walked away to get whatever magical creature they were working with for this class, and had brought back a dozen Hippogriffs. They had the hind legs and tails of horses, but the front half of their bodies looked like giant eagles with steel-grey beaks and large, bright, orange eyes. They each had foot-long talons and collars with chains that Hagrid was holding as he came jogging back into the paddock he'd led them to. They were beautiful. Dangerous and powerfully built, but beautiful.

"So," Hagrid said, rubbing his hands together once he'd secured the chains to the fence. "If yeh wan' ter come a bit nearer..."

Alex stepped forward instantly, staring at a Hippogriff with storm-grey feathers and hair, who stared back at him almost appraisingly. He hoped it didn't decide he looked like lunch. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stepped forward a bit more cautiously than Alex did, but the rest of the class stayed well back.

"No, firs' thing yeh gotta know abou' Hippogriffs is, they're proud," Hagrid explained. "Easily offended, Hippogriffs are. Don't ever insult one, 'cause it might be the last thing yeh do."

Alex could hear Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle talking in hushed whispers, and Alex got the distinct impression they were trying to decide how best to disrupt the class. He refrained for jinxing them all with Langlock to stop them talking and make them listen to Hagrid.

"Yeh always wait fer Hippogriffs ter make the firs' move," Hagrid continued. "It's polite, see? Yeh walk toward him, and ye bow, an' yeh wait. If he bows back, yeh're allowed to touch him. If he doesn' bow, then get away from him sharpish, 'cause those talons hurt. Right, who wants ter go first?"

Alex opened his mouth to speak, only for the Hippogriff nearest him to yank on its chain, smacking him in the face with its wing in the process. He stumbled backward, blinking the stars out of his eyes, and once he'd recovered from his surprise and settled the ringing in the ear the wing had hit, Harry had volunteered. Hagrid identified the grey one as Buckbeak, and untied its chain, leading it away from the others. Harry followed. Hagrid took the collar off, warning Harry not to blink if he could avoid it, then bowed. When the Hippogriff didn't immediately bow back, Hagrid warned Harry to back away, only for Buckbeak to bow. Hagrid smiled, delighted, and told Harry he could pet Buckbeak, as long as he was gentle. Then, Hagrid told Harry Buckbeak would probably let him go for a ride on his back. Harry looked pale and less than enthused, but he went anyway. It looked uncomfortable, and Harry had trouble figuring out where to hold on that he wouldn't pull out feathers. Finally, Buckbeak touched back down and the class cheered.

"Good work, Harry!" Hagrid beamed. "Who else wants a go?"

Alex climbed over the fence first, the rest of the class moving forward to take their turns. Hagrid led Alex away with a beautiful, golden-brown Hippogriff, the same that had hit him in the head with its wing before, and Alex stared into the eye it turned toward him as he bowed low. The Hippogriff stared at him in silence for a few moments before bowing. However, just as Alex was standing, its wing swung out, smacking into his head again, gentler this time but still enough to knock Alex to the side a couple steps.

Hagrid chuckled. "He's still young, and a bit playful."

Alex stepped toward the Hippogriff, smiling as it allowed him to stroke its beak, then its feathers. Its eyes slipped closed lazily and his smile widened.

"They're beautiful, Hagrid," Alex smiled. "But don't let Malfoy, Crabbe, or Goyle do it. They'll get themselves hurt."

Hagrid nodded as Alex stepped around to the Hippogriff's side. It looked back at him silently and he paused.

"Do you mind?" Alex asked.

The Hippogriff remained silent before bending down onto all four knees to make it easier for him to climb up. He clambered onto its back, holding his legs just behind its wings and gently holding into its feathers. The Hippogriff got a running start and took off, its wings beating and making its body rock, not unlike the feeling of the lake's resident kelpie swimming, or a normal horse running. Alex held on firmly, but was careful not to pull the feathers out. The Hippogriff soared around the paddock, and Alex watched as the other students began to bow to their Hippogriffs. However, without Hagrid having noticed they were even there, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had taken Buckbeak.

"Land, quickly," Alex told his Hippogriff, who swooped down toward the ground, landing roughly.

Alex slid to the ground just as Malfoy made a very grave mistake.

"I bet you're not dangerous at all, are you, you great ugly brute?" Malfoy asked Buckbeak.

Buckbeak reared instantly, slashing with his talons, and caught Malfoy's arm. Hagrid was there in an instant, wrestling Buckbeak back into his collar and trying to lead it away. Alex ran over, bowing in front of Buckbeak to distract him, and after a moment of continuing to fight to get away from Hagrid, Buckbeak bowed. Alex stepped forward, taking the chain from Hagrid as he stroked Buckbeak's feathers, calming him. Hagrid ran to Malfoy, picking him up and running for the castle. once the rest of the class had left the paddock, Alex gave Buckbeak one final stroke and walked backward to the fence before turning and climbing over it. Just as soon as his feet hit the ground, the Hippogriff he'd rode set its head on his shoulder. He smiled, hugging its head gently before stroking its feathers once and jogging to catch up to the others. Later on that day, at dinner, Luna again sat beside Alex, and he swallowed hard, his head spinning slightly.

"I heard what happened," Luna said. "How's Hagrid?"

"He'll be fine," Alex said, pushing himself up. "I'm sorry, I have to go."

He all but ran from the room and up to the common room, tugging furiously at his collar. Once he was in the common room, finding it blessedly empty, and had his cigarettes, he lit one and took several seconds to calm himself before grabbing a glass and filling it with water. Then, he wrote out a hurried not to his family. "It's starting. How do I make it stop?"

He tapped the glass and waited impatiently, smoking his cigarette quickly. Finally, the reply came.

"We don't know how to stop it," the note read. "We don't try to stop it. We just let our instincts guide us until it settles. If you're not going to do the same, you'll need to be careful. It'll make you feel uncontrollably attracted to the person with the strongest bond with you, and also to the person you're most attracted to. We're not entirely certain, but we think it'll happen for about a week every couple months."

Alex felt his gut drop. He wasn't sure who had the strongest bond, but Luna was the one he was most attracted to, whether he was willing to give the Weasleys the satisfaction of admitting it or not. If he had to guess on the strongest bond, though, that would probably also be Luna. He dumped the water out the window, balling up the paper and throwing it into the fire, then lit his next cigarette just as Ginny reached the common room, frowning worriedly.

"What's going on with you?" Ginny asked. "Luna thinks she did something to offend you."

"It's not that," Alex said. "I just...can't be around her right now."

"What did she do?" Ginny asked.

Alex shook her head. "It's not her, it's me. I can't..." He tilted his head back, taking a draw from his cigarette. "The Siren side of my DNA is maturing, so I can't be around her."

"What do you mean its maturing?" Ginny asked.

Alex's face warmed, but he sighed heavily. "It's like the siren equivalent of puberty, except...there's also a heat cycle."

Ginny's face turned scarlet instantly.

"I can't be around Luna, because I'm barely holding myself together as it is," Alex said. "My siren DNA is fixated on her, so I can't be around her until it settles. According to my family, they're pretty sure it should only last a week or so once every couple months."

Ginny nodded, face still dark red. "Do you want me to tell Luna?"

"Reassure her that it's something that's wrong with me, not her, and that I'm sorry," Alex said. "Just...don't tell her what's actually wrong."

Ginny nodded, but seemed hesitant. "Is it...only Luna?"

Alex nodded. "As of right now, yes, though I've been getting angry easier, I've noticed."

Ginny nodded, breathing a sigh of relief. "Okay. Warn me if it starts to...spread, alright?"

"I will," Alex promised.

Ginny nodded and left him to his cigarettes, leaving the common room through the portrait. Alex set his head back against the wall, taking a long pull from his cigarette before exhaling just as slowly. He felt like even more of a freak than ever. Normal people didn't go into heat. Normal people could control themselves. But then, he'd never been normal, had he?

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