A/N: Harry Potter and his world belongs to J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers and anyone that has received licensing rights. I am grateful she gives us the privilege of playing in her world.

-oOo-

Chapter 67

-oOo-

March 13, 1996

Hogwarts, Scotland

Harry stood in the center of the ring. There was a thick mist around him that he had not been able to dissipate yet. Neville had challenge him to a duel without any of his fancy tricks or made up 'mumbo jumbo'. Harry was cursing himself for agreeing to those rules, but he was bullheaded enough to not give into his baser instincts.

"What's wrong, Neville? You still can't take me in a fair fight," Harry taunted before sending off a dozen stun grenades in all directions. The fog was so thick they only left a red glow within 2 feet from him. It did highlight some shadows that had him swearing and ducking. A few vines, inches thick, just missed him.

With the speed from years of physical training, Harry brushed one of the vines with his wand before rolling away. As he did, he cast a shield over his back as the vine suddenly burst, fire flying everywhere.

"Bloody fuck!" Neville cried out. Harry twirled his wand and the mist finally reacted. He had tried everything except actually casting on the air itself. Around him, vine burst and sprayers of fire where all over the place. "Aguamenti Gigantus!"

Harry had no clue what that would do, but he felt the magic around him. He swept his wand down, willing the suddenly liquified ground up and into a broad ark to shield him from the fire and tried to get out of the water as he felt the freezing spell. "Bloody hell. How do people fight like this," he muttered as he avoided the urge to pull on the Latin that was at the tip of his mind.

As the water froze, Harry touched the dry sand that he had just barely been able to get on. Ice licked at his boots. He was in a hole almost three feet deep and close to the bottom of the ring. "Salamandifors!"

A large fire salamander formed out of the sand. He cast it a few more times as vines shot towards him. They looked to be made out of ice. Neville was getting very skilled at his transfigurations. Not surprising after how he had worked on transfiguration and conjuration of plants for the dragon last year and since then only gotten better at his plant control. Harry had a feeling these were some type of magical plant he didn't know about, but Neville did.

The blighter was also more powerful since that bloody soul shard in his head stopped feeding off him. Harry sent an overcharged blasting hex through the ice shield he had built and followed it by three stun bombs and then jammed his wand into the ice. Three large snakes transfigured out of the ice and he jumped out of his hole as the fire salamanders turned the vines to steam.

"Stay still you damned jack rabbit," Neville cursed as a string of stunner, disarming and blasting hexes raced after Harry before Neville suddenly noticed the snakes and had to deal with them. Harry took the chance to cast his own stunners and just missed getting hit by Neville's as he slipped and fell hard onto his back. He felt the wind jump out of his lungs and rolled out clutching his chest.

When he woke, a rather smug looking Hermione was kneeling down. "I think you owe me thirty galleons."

He scrunched his face. "I'm fine. Thanks for asking," he snarked at her. "Bloody hell, Nev. Next time I do this my way," Harry said, sitting up and groaning as his back hurt. A hard-fought fight was going on next to him as Ginny was taking on Astoria.

Neville came over and hit him on the back. "You aren't the only one with bright girls."

Harry winced. "Hermione can have you. She must like trolls."

Hermione harumphed. "He is no troll, you troglodyte."

Harry and Neville chuckled. "He's built like one," Harry tried to get the last word in.

Luna bounced over to him. "That was well fought, my Raven."

"How is our Aster doing," he looked over.

"Astoria is toying with Ginny. Like you do to us most times. Ginny is turning into a damned menace for a fourth year," Sue Li said walking over to them.

Harry nodded. "How'd it go on the runs?"

"You mean before everyone stopped to watch your match and theirs?"

"Yeah, that," Neville put to her.

"Well. Are we going the next competition?" Sue asked.

"I hope so," Susan said coming up to them. She had a determined look to her face. Over the last two months she had changed from someone who looked about broken to someone that was as determined as them to beat anyone she came across. In that time, her skills on the duelling run had become scary good as well.

"I don't know yet. Mum... I mean Professor Lupin-Potter isn't sure if it is safe to travel or not. She doesn't like how quiet it has been," Harry answered.

"Harry, just call her mum when you are with us," Sue said, watching the fight in the ring.

Harry watched as Astoria finally got frustrated using the same limitations he had on him. Her hair was in disarray, her face had a few large dirt stains and her eyes were starting to glow. Ginny was tiring, but she was trying to use her speed, casting only short, quick spells and lots of them as she dodged Astoria. The speed did not allow Astoria to use any transfiguration, which was her strong suit, like Harry.

With a scream of annoyance, Astoria cast a shield, wordlessly transfigured a wall, giving her the precious few seconds she needed. Her wand slashed down and then in an arc. Dozens of ropes shot out of the ground. Speeding towards Ginny, Ginny pivoted, using a few cutting curses to cut the ropes, that just kept coming.

Her eyes shot wide open as Astoria twisted as she stood and suddenly she was besides Ginny, Astoria's wand in the girls side. The ropes stopped and fell to the floor of the duelling ring. "Do you yield!" Astoria yelled out.

Ginny's shoulders slumped. "Yeah. What the hell was that! You aren't allowed to apparate," Ginny screamed out.

Astoria stepped back, as her frustration subsided, she just stared Ginny down. "I didn't apparate," she told Ginny.

"Like bloody hell you didn't! That was not a portal like we have seen Harry make and there isn't any other magic that can do that," Ginny accused, taking a step forward. Harry stepped forward. He was team captain for the junior squad and these were his team mates.

Swiping his wand, the wards fell.

"I did not cheat! I used my wand," she took a step towards Ginny.

"That was apparition then," Ginny said in a loud voice.

"That is enough," Harry demanded as he walked through the debris of their duel. "Astoria, was that apparition?"

She looked up at him, the defiance and anger in her face told him he was in for a good ranting at later. "No."

"It was too," Ginny retorted

"Tori, if it wasn't apparation, what was it?" Daphne asked.

As she stared at him, her demeanor dropped more into the pureblood mask she still hid behind at times. "I don't know," Astoria finally admitted.

Harry regarded her for a moment. "For this duel, it is forfeited to Ginny." Astoria's eyes flashed for a brief second. Harry raised his voice. "If this had been a real fight, you should use everything at your disposal. Use every dirty trick and what power you need."

Harry turned away from Astoria and looked around. Some, like Ginny, Colin, George and Fay looked concerned at his statement. Neville, Hermione and Sue looked resigned to the prospect, while the others, like Daphne and Susan, looked resolute and in full agreement.

"I know we are just supposed to be a team practicing for a tournament and having fun, but many of the skills that Neville and I are pushing are for your protection. If a Death Eater or something else comes after you, you do not want to pull punches. If you do, you will die if they want to kill you, or worse," Harry told them.

"We all know the rules," Neville took up. "I will admit that many of the dueling techniques we have been doing are borderline illegal in the ring or on the run, but nothing we have done is illegal outside those doors." He pointed towards the doors of the duelling arena.

It was quiet.

"Alright, I think that is enough for tonight," Harry called out. "I am going to go take a shower and hopefully get a back rub after that."

Many around them laughed. Harry's and Neville's duel had been even more brutal than Astoria's and Ginny's. Astoria caught Ginny before the redhead stomped away. Harry overheard their conversation as Luna came to his side and Susan approached to talk to him.

"Ginny, I wasn't trying to cheat."

Ginny let out a huff. "I wasn't trying to take it out on you. Since dad died, I am just always so angry," Ginny replied.

Susan caught his attention. "Harry, I know you don't want to talk about it much, but would you or Neville go over what it was really like to be in a duel?"

Harry had not given into any requests outside of the generalities. He knew Susan was looking for details. She wanted to know what it was really like. How you thought and reacted. Harry had tried to explain it, and he was pushing the duelling club and teams to react while thinking, but when facing the real thing, it was much different.

Luna took his hand. After a moment, he nodded. "I will talk with my mum to see if I can get a pensive or two. I am only going to show those that ask that are on the team."

Susan's eyes widened, as did Hermione's. He wasn't sure how much Neville had told her, but he was pretty sure Neville had never shown anyone but Harry's mum and a very select few.

Neville met his eyes. After a long breath, he nodded. "I can let people see some of mine as well."

"Maybe we can get a few others," Harry commented.

As they walked out, Luna hooked her arm into Astoria's and he fell back to Neville. "I know mum has the Potter's pensive here. Do the Longbottoms have one?"

Neville nodded. "Two, I think. I will mirror Gran and organize to get one here next week. You really want to show them everything?"

Astoria looked over her shoulder.

"I want to show Luna and Astoria first. I am also going to show them some other memories that are only for them, if they want," he replied to his best mate.

"I would like to see them all too," Hermione voiced from the other side of Neville.

They walked out of the Dungeons and up the stairs. "I will show the duels I am letting everyone else see. Some other things are just too personal, Hermione."

Hermione nodded.

When they said their goodbyes, Astoria took his outstretched arm, Luna still on her other. "You really mean you will share things with us?"

Harry sighed. "I have told you everything now. I just don't like reliving it."

"You are being brave, our Raven."

"Very brave," Astoria agreed.

Harry just nodded. "I just don't want any of our friends or their families hurt anymore."

"I know, Harry." Astoria stopped for a moment to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you."

Luna wasn't really paying attention to them.

"What was that you did earlier? I don't think that was apparition," Harry asked her.

Astoria shook her head. "I don't know. I just got frustrated that I wasn't using my magic to its full extent and I just willed myself to be besides her. It was like the space between just folded, like a piece of parchment, and then I was jamming my wand into her side before I realized what I had done."

Harry's eyes looked like they were focusing on something in his head. He was trying to think of what she said. His mum and Uncle Remus always said apparation was like being pulled between two places. Harry agreed with how it felt whenever he side-along apparated with someone. It was like you were trying to squeeze the distance between two spots.

His portals, which no one else had been able to replicate yet, but they knew some Death Eaters knew how to counter it, were more like he had connected the two spots, as though nothing existed between them.

What Astoria just described was something different.

"What are you thinking, Harry?" she queried.

"I'm not sure yet."

"THE POWER OF THE DARK IS FADING- THE TIME APPROACHES WHEN THE NEW POWER SHALL FAIL OR SUCCESS- THE MATES OF THE DARK HAVE BEEN CHOSEN- BEWARE THE MANY THAT IS NOW FEW- THE OTHERS THAT ONCE KEPT HIM ALIVE ARE NOT CONNECTED- THE SONS OF THE OPPOSED ARE IN DANGER- ALL SHALL FAIL IF THE SONS AND THE MATES ARE SUNDERED-" Luna called out.

"Luna!" Astoria cried out. She had turned and grabbed Luna as she spoke. When Luna went limp, Astoria just barely kept her up. Harry moved in and took Luna in his arms.

"We need to go to my mum," Harry told her and they took off for his mum's private quarters.

-oOo-

March 25, 1995

Hogwarts, Scotland

Astoria was thinking about this morning. For almost two months now, You-Know-Who and his followers had been quiet. Way too quiet. The general fear around the school was almost completely replaced with an air of normalcy. She heard people laughing, though it wasn't as carefree as it used to be, but it was there.

Lily and Remus had told them to not let this unexpected lull to cause them to drop their guard.

Mondays were busy days, starting with Care of Magical Creatures. It was still very cold many mornings, and she was happy to have her nice cloak to wrap around her. Luna was craning to see what were in the paddocks today. The horses were returned to the breeders or the forest and Hagrid had told them some new animals should be arriving soon and staying through the end of the year.

Hagrid was greeting everyone on the path, a huge smile on his face and waiving everyone over to the side. "Over here," the giant of a man called out.

"Why are we waiting over here?" Hermione asked next to her.

"No idea," she said looking down towards the paddocks by the Professors hut. They were covered with huge white canvas cloths.

Luna nudged her and when she looked, Harry was regarding her with a frown. "We shouldn't go near," Luna told them.

"What do you see, Luna," Harry questioned.

Luna just shook her head. Hagrid was still collecting everyone. "Come here. Closer in. I have a big surprise today," the man boomed out. Luna was far away, looking towards the paddocks. Harry turned his attention towards the forest.

Hermione and Neville were looking at them, picking up on their mood. "What's going on," Neville asked.

"I don't know. Luna, what do you see?"

"Right, you lot, let's go down and see what I have," Hagrid called to them. Luna didn't look like she wanted to, but they all followed Hagrid down the hill. The man stopped about twenty feet away. "This should be a big treat today."

Luna shook her head and took a step back. She had never seen Luna do that when a creature was involved. "Professor, hold up," Neville called out.

Hagrid didn't hear him, but the others around them did and many stopped. "Stay here," Harry ordered everyone around them. He then moved toward Hagrid.

Astoria knew right away what Harry was going to do. "Harry, stop," she called to him.

"Hagrid, stop," Harry called out. They never slipped and called him anything but Professor when they were in class. The man stopped about half-way to the paddocks. It was only one more step for the man to reach out and grab the canvas cloth.

"Harry, I promise there is nothing dangerous in here?"

"Don't hurt them," Luna called out. Harry hesitated just a second. It was all the time Hagrid needed to grab the cloth and pull it off. The canvas cloth must have been enchanted because it pulled off all three paddocks in one fluid motion. Astoria moved, feeling like there was a danger. "Scutum contra creaturae!"

A blueish shield covered most of the people around them. Someone screamed, followed by Parvati screaming next to them. "Bloody hell!" Michael called out.

Astoria took in the scene. Her stomach roiled. A dozen or more large carcasses, blood and innards were all over the paddocks. The fences had been crushed between the paddocks and in the center was a mass of sinewy, green scaled worm like bodies.

Harry had his own shield up while Hagrid stood there dumbfounded. The mass started to move at Padma's scream and two heads came up. "Beautiful," Luna said as she took another step back.

"Get back to the school!" Harry yelled.

"We can't just let him do this on his own," Hermione told Neville. As one of the things hissed, there were more screams and most everyone started to run towards the school. Harry was moving, hissing back at the lindworms.

His shield was curling around to try and capture the creatures. One of the heads shot out a nasty green fog. "Green Mist Lindworms," Luna said. "Harry can't touch the mist."

Neville nodded. "You, Hermione and Luna get everyone back and protect them."

"I am not going to let you just go there," Hermione shot back.

"I am not going to argue. If they get past us, you and Astoria are the best bet to have everyone else survive," Neville told her. Hermione grabbed for his arm.

"Luna, how do we defeat them," Hermione spun on the blonde.

Luna watched as Harry flicked his hand and Hagrid was thrown a good thirty feet up the hill as one of the things crashed through the green mist and hit his shield. The shield glowed a hard blue and radiated lightening like spikes along its surface. "Purified water from a crystal spring or water from the River Lieth are the only known ways to purify a person if they inhale the mist. Their only weakness, if you can't stun them, is through their mouths or to use silver to sap their magic, but silver is too malleable to hold them. They are far more resistant than any other dragon to spells. Some say they are a great serpent and dragon mix."

"What happens if you breathe that stuff in?" Neville asked.

"If not treated within an hour, you die within two," Luna told him.

"Oh, we have to help," Astoria finally made her decision. She dropped her shield and pointed her fingers towards the ground. Hagrid had gotten up and was running towards Harry. He was doing his best to subdue them without hurting the lindworms. Astoria could see that would not work.

"Ferro argentum monilia," she determinately said. It was perhaps the largest transfiguration and force of will she had done so far as a mage. Arm thick chains of iron and silver shot out of the ground, making a large hole and clanking loudly as she shot the chains out.

"Get Hagrid," she growled out as she concentrated and felt the draw on her power.

Luna, seeming to get the fact she should act, summoned a few wolves. They were a blonde hair variety she had never seen. Hermione and Neville moved to stop Hagrid from entering into the shield Harry had made. He was trying to stop them with thick ropes, but they were just too strong and snapped the ropes.

"Stop holding back," she chastised her boy, though he couldn't hear her from where he was. Luna would forgive him if he had to hurt the beasts.

Her chains crashed through Harry's barrier and there was an ear piercing screech as they started to wrap around the creatures and pull them to the ground. Harry got what she was doing and changed his ropes to chains similar to hers.

It took maybe a moment, she felt more than saw, that the creatures had stopped moving, though there was a lot of the green mist.

"Rursus aerem salutis deducere," she clearly heard Harry. His barrier was still mostly up and a moment later the mist had cleared. Two large green-scaled lindworms were heavily wrapped in iron and silver chains. They struggled, but their mouths and bodied were bound tight to the ground.

Hermione and Neville had managed to keep Hagrid back, who looked a little dazed. She turned on Luna, "Are you alright?" she asked.

Luna was looking at the trees, her face was pale. "We need to go," Luna told her.

Astoria looked back. She thought she should be scared of the giant lindworms, but her only thoughts had been to protect Luna, Harry, her friends and their classmates. She hadn't had time to really be scared.

Now, she was afraid. She was more afraid than she could remember being. At the edge of the woods stood a black leopard the size of a Abraxan. It was large, with black spikes over its body and yellow eyes that sent a shiver through her.

"Don't hurt them," Hagrid called out as he pushed Hermione and Neville aside.

"Luna?"

Luna raised her wand. "Nundu," Luna replied.

The creature was regarding the scene unfolding thirty feet away from them. "Harry," she tried to call as loud as she dared.

"Merlin! Hagrid! Lindworms!" Harry yelled at the half-giant. "I don't even know what type those are! Why the bloody hell lindworms!"

"Harry!" she called a little louder. The giant cat-like creature stooped and started to moved, stalking its prey.

"I did not bring lindworms. They usually live on the far side of the forest. They don't much like people," Hagrid was saying. "I had a dozen duricawls to show off."

"Harry!"

This time she screamed it out. The nundu suddenly turned towards them. Harry spun around to them and the nundu let out a roaring growl as it took off at a run. Astoria did scream this time. Luna cast her wand in a broad sweep and a wall shot up a good fifteen feet into the air and wrapped around them in a large U.

Astoria finally took her wand to her hand. "Spicis murum!" The wall grew foot long spikes all over it. A second later there was a cat screech of pain. Luna grabbed her arm and started to pull her away. A black wisp of smoke like substance wafted over the wall, dissolving the wall where it touched.

She turned and scurried up the hill, pushing Luna before her. There were more sounds and when she turned, she saw Hermione levitating Hagrid as Neville cast any stunning or harmful spell he could. Harry was backing up. He had a shield, but the black wisps went through it like it was paper.

Seeing Hermione struggling a little bit to get the huge man up the hill even while levitating him, she veered off towards them, Luna following. She heard Harry cry out in pain. As she turned, he was clutching his left hand and the nundu was rolling before coming to a stop a good hundred feet away.

Astoria was torn which way to go before Harry took a few steps towards the creature, who was getting up, and jammed his wand into the ground. She didn't hear what he said, but the ground shot up like a huge gopher was making a tunnel under it. The nundu tried to jump, but got one of its legs speared through with a ten-foot long silver lance. A dozen others shot out of the ground, but missed.

"Go to Harry," Luna told her.

Astoria took off running. Neville was backing up, protecting Hermione and Hagrid, Luna running to join them. Harry was cradling his hand, but he didn't hesitate to follow up the spikes with a powerful white spell that the nundu avoided, being over a hundred feet away. The creature grabbed the lance in its mouth and ripped it from its leg. Black blood dripped out and the ground smoked where the blood fell. She saw all the plants within a few feet of each drip die instantly.

When she made it to Harry's side, she could see the black streak across his hand. "It got you," she yelled at him.

"Later," he growled back. "Get a patronus to mum."

He stepped past her, his wand moving and a half-dozen large black wolves sprang out of the ground. She did as Harry told her and in a few seconds her lynx was charging off towards the castle.

Harry was already locked in combat again. She watched in awe for a moment. It was rumored that no less than a hundred wizards had been required to take a nundu down the last time one was found. Harry was going toe-to-toe with the creature. Most direct spells just bounced off or seemed to do very little, even with the power and the one-of-a-kind spells Harry was hurling at it as it tried to jump at him.

She didn't think. "Lapis manum percutiens," she cried out, crouching and jamming her hand onto the ground. A giant fist exploded out of the ground ten feet from Harry and caught the nundu in its side, sending the huge cat twirling through the air and into the fence. The lindworms screeched in terror.

"Harry, use physical objects," she yelled. Her wand was moving and she willed some of the chains on the ground to grab at the nundu. It shook its head and tried to run at Harry again. When the three chains she had managed to wrap around one of its hind legs pulled it up short, the nundu crashed into the ground, snapping two of the chains.

Harry was fast and called up new chains that shot over the creature. It struggled before releasing a roaring growl. Black whispy smoke poured out of its mouth. "Astoria! A stone dome!"

She looked at him. "Capam lapis!"

"Capam lapis!" she yelled just a split second after him. As a dome of grey stone started to form out of the ground, the smoke dissolved it, spreading over the ground about halfway between them and the nundu. Harry flicked his wand and a second circular wall started to grow at the edge of the mist.

The black smoke continued to poor out of the mouth of the creature. It was still struggling against the chains. The walls dissolved where the smoke met it, but Harry and her were able to keep them growing, a quarter of an inch at a time. The effort was already starting to pull on her magic. She pushed harder to help Harry.

It was a desperate struggle for what felt like hours, but it was probably no more than a few minutes, before the chains suddenly started to tighten and a silver spear shot out of the sky and impaled the nundu through its snout and jammed its mouth into the ground. The black smoke lessened and the domes grew around the creature as it struggled and cried out.

"Stop," Lily ordered as three more spears sped past them. They impaled themselves in the side of the creature.

When Astoria stopped her casting, she felt the effort it had taken and fell onto her knees. It was a hard, jarring impact that forced her mouth closed and she pitched forward, just barely catching herself on her hands before collapsing face first into the ground.

More spears sped past her.

She took in breaths like she had just been running miles and her whole body shook.

Harry fell onto his knees at her side after a moment. "It's alright now," he told her and she fell on her side into him. She saw Luna rushing to her before her eyes rolled back into her head.

-oOo-

Hospital Wing, Hogwarts, Scotland

Harry wasn't used to this side of things. Astoria was in the bed, with Luna leaning against him. His hand was wrapped, but the poison from the very tiny wisp of the nundu's breath was already neutralized. It had left a good burn, but he was told that should be healed within a day or so.

Astoria had pushed her magic between the fights and was now close to being magically exhausted. Harry felt tired, but Madam Pomfrey said he just needed a good rest. Astoria needed a few days.

"You should get some sleep, our raven," Luna told him as his head dipped and he sat up.

He kissed Luna on the top of her head. Luna closed her eyes and he wrapped an arm around her as she nuzzled his side. "I will stay up a little more," he told her.

Harry was ready to fall asleep, but he still felt too worked up over today and it wasn't even dinner yet. It had taken almost two dozen of the special silver bladed spears to finally bring the nundu down. Whatever magic it possessed in its breath, it fought Harry and Astoria. For the first time, he found something that was an equal or greater to what his power was. It had taken three of them to finally kill the nundu...

"You have nothing to fear, our Raven. Nundu are extremely dangerous and powerful. It is known that it typically takes two dozen or more wizards to even hold them back, never mind what you and Astoria did," Luna assuaged his fears. "I don't even think You-Know-Who could hold one off for as long as you did."

He let out a breath. "What would have happened to everyone, or the school, if it had overpowered us?"

Luna shivered in his arms. "Our brave Raven, you and our Aster didn't fail. Do not worry about what might have been. I can see you again."

Harry pulled her to him as much as he could. She had said his future had been black whenever they went towards the forest since her birthday.

The doors opened and his mum, Lady Greengrass and Head Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt entered. He gave a heavy sigh. He had already talked with the Aurors. Luna just put a hand on his chest as she settled against him. He watched the three come to the bed.

Head Shacklebolt shook his head. "One of these days I will greet you on the streets just to say hello," the man stated.

"Not my fault that trouble always finds me," Harry told the man. Harry liked Kingsley from the Circle.

"It finds you. I just wanted to give you the Official paperwork saying the beast were captured or killed in self-defense. You have full rights over them or their carcasses," the man told him, holding out an envelope.

"Mum, can you take them" Harry asked.

Kingsley handed them over to his mum. "I told you you could have just given them to me and I would have handled it."

"You know regulations, Lily."

Lady Greengrass moved in and kissed Luna on the head and then him on the forehead. "I can never be thankful enough you have decided to love my daughters," Lady Greengrass told him.

"I would do it for anyone," Harry told her, feeling his face heat some.

"I understand, but Astoria is still my daughter and Luna will be. How is your hand?"

Luna moved her hand to the one that was bandaged. "Harry should be healed in a few days."

"I am glad to hear it," Lady Greengrass replied. "Harry, you should get some sleep. Climb into that bed. I will watch over my daughter for the night."

"I don't want to leave her," Harry argued, not moving from his chair.

His mum moved in behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. "You need to rest. That was some display you two put on. We will watch over Astoria."

Harry slumped a little bit in the chair. "I don't like sleeping without her," he pressed.

"Lay in that bed," his mum pointed to the one next to them. "You and Astoria used more magic today than most do in a year. I can see how tired you are, Harry."

Luna tugged on his arm. "You should sleep, my Raven. Are they going to kill the lindworms?" Luna asked.

"Up to Harry and Astoria," his mum responded.

"I want them taken back to their nest, if that is possible. Is it true that the Creature Regulations Department thinks there could be another nundu?" he asked, afraid at the prospect. Even with all the power Astoria and him had, they had just barely contained the creature. He was trying not to kill it. Thinking of what could have really happen, Harry had almost killed them by not killing the numbu until his mother had.

"We don't know. The signs are pointing to the possibility."

"How did it get here?" Lady Greengrass asked.

"We don't know, but there was a hole in the wards that allowed creatures in. That was not made by the nundu or the lindworms. I don't think this was a random act," his mum told them.

Harry frowned. "What about Hogsmeade? The Forbidden forest goes up into the mountains over there. Could something attack the town?"

"I will let Anders and Kingsley know your concerns, Harry. I expect Anders will try to stop by before long. Now, don't worry about this. Get some rest."

"About the nundu," Harry started.

"Harry James, don't worry about it tonight. You look tired. Go. To. Bed."

Luna sat on the bed and pulled him down before she shimmied up to the top of the bed. "You are going to put your head on my lap and get some sleep."

Harry sighed. It was getting hard to say no to either girl.

His mum just shook her head while Lady Greengrass nodded at Luna as though praising her for making him see reason.

He was just getting comfortable as Luna ran a hand through his hair when a silvery cat ran into the hospital wing. "All Professors to report to the Headmasters office. All students are to remain in their houses or the infirmary," the stern voice of Professor McGonagall came out of the cat.

-oOo-

Scutum contra creaturae = shield against creatures

ferro argentum monilia = chains of iron and silver

Rursus aerem salutis deducere= bring back the clean air

lapis manum percutiens = stone hand strike

capam lapis = dome of stone