I had been correct in my assumption that it wouldn't take long for word of Daphne and my relationship to spread throughout the school. At first I had decided to take the high ground and just ignore the petty comments. These people didn't know anything about me or Daphne so why should I care?

The most vocal of the student body had obviously been Malfoy and Weasley. It was strange seeing two people who viewed themselves as so different from each other actually arguing for the same thing. After two weeks of being the better man I'd had it. I could see it was starting to grate on Daphne as well. We'd spent as much time together as our schedules allowed for, but it wasn't always easy.

I was concerned she would be ostracized by her own house, but to my surprise it seemed like there were very few who actually cared. It was only the students of some of the notoriously darker families that bothered to say anything about it. I noticed with some relief that she still talked and hung around with the girls from her year like nothing had changed.

I was brought out of my thoughts about the past two weeks when I felt hands slide over my shoulders and come to rest on my chest. I smiled as Daphne leaned down and placed a kiss on top of my head. I had been waiting in the Charms classroom for her so we could start our weekly lesson. She'd been making good progress lately and had even managed to get a mist to come from her wand now. It wasn't very strong and likely wouldn't hold against a real dementor but if she kept it up by the end of the holidays she could probably have a solid shield that would hold.

I watched as she dropped into the seat across from me and started sifting through her bag. "How was your day Daph? Anyone give you trouble today?"

She smiled at me but shook her head. "Nothing today thankfully. The break in the insults is definitely appreciated. Honestly though I'm just glad that my friends took it as well as they did. In fact Pansy who I thought might be the biggest problem seemed overjoyed about it. I think it's because she knew that Draco was interested in me, and everyone knows she wants him to herself. Tracey has been her usual self and making off-handed pervert comments. How about you? How is the house of the brave and noble treating their dissenting lion?"

I laughed at her choice of words. "Like usual really. Ron glares at me while telling anyone who will listen that I'm going dark and that I'm a heart breaker. Apparently his sister Ginny had a crush on me this whole time. Honestly how was I supposed to know that though, the girl barely spoke two words to me since I've met her. The rest of the house pretty much gives me the cold shoulder now which is fine, and this weekend I'm going to put an end to Weasley's comments."

My last statement earned me a raised eyebrow to which I responded with a smirk. "Care to elaborate?"

"Not particularly. I don't have to share everything with you after all. Besides it's better that you not know ahead of time. You know for deniability reasons."

I felt myself shiver a little as Daphne's smile turned into a smirk and her eyes hardened. She stood up and walked around the table. She let her hand run over my shoulder towards my neck before gently coming to rest on my cheek. I was caught off guard when she suddenly twisted my head and bent down so we were only inches apart and I was looking into her eyes. "You can have your secret for now Harry, but just because I act sweet and nice around you don't forget that somewhere in me is that cold and ruthless bitch that the rest of the school sees. Before what happened between us do you know what they called me? Ice Queen. A stupid name really, but I suppose it's better than some other titles." She gave me a very pointed look before dropping her hand and sauntering towards the area I had cleared for her to practice in. I could tell she was putting just a little extra sway in her movements on purpose, but found I couldn't draw my eyes away from her retreating form.

"Was I meant to enjoy that? Because I am suddenly finding myself inexplicably turned on. I think you should act like that more often." I wasn't lying either. I found it incredibly attractive when Daphne would let slip her more devious side. I knew she wasn't all that cold or cruel, but she had that definite edge to her mixed with intelligence and cunning. When you added in that she was drop dead gorgeous it made for a very powerful woman.

"Flattery will get you almost anywhere with a woman Harry." She didn't say anything else as she started to practice the patronus. As she progressed with the spell I could feel the power she was pushing into it practically radiating off of her and the wand. It was intoxicating as I sat and observed occasionally making a remark on her form if it slipped, but mostly just being a silent encouragement. We finished fifteen minutes before eight and I gave a flick of my wand so that the room would set itself right. Daphne grabbed her bag and we walked out of the charms classroom together.

I grabbed her hand and held it loosely in mine as we walked in the direction of the staircases. We separated there with a brief goodnight kiss and she descended towards the dungeons while I made my way to the transfiguration classroom.

The lessons I was receiving from McGonagall were slow going, but it was understandable since the animagus transformation was a very complicated piece of magic. So far all we had done was read through the theory of it and the procedures of how the transformation was accomplished.

I made it to the classroom a few minutes past eight and knocked on the door. I waited for the muffled "enter" from the other side before turning the handle and entering the room.

"Good evening Professor," I said as I walked to the front of the classroom and sat in the chair opposite of her desk.

"Good evening to you as well Mr. Potter. Tell me how your lesson with Ms. Greengrass was this evening?"

I answered her as I pulled out some parchment and a quill so I would be prepared to take notes or write down any questions. "It went very well professor. Daphne is an excellent student and she is always willing to push herself to new limits."

McGonagall gifted me with a rare smile. "That is some very high praise Harry. Are you sure your judgment of her abilities is not effected by other developments?"

I sat in shock. McGonagall, one of the most serious professors at Hogwarts, was now taking the mickey out of me. "I'm positive professor, though it is easier now for us to not have to hide the relationship we have. I'm sure some people assume I'm not actually tutoring her in Charms but that is not at all the case."

She hmm'ed at me before answering. "Yes I suppose there are people in this school who see you dating someone from a different house, Slytherin nonetheless, to be quite an affront. Rest assured that I believe you when you say you are using the time and place that is given to you wisely and appropriately. If things get too out of hand with other students know that you can come to me and I will step in. Enough of the idle chatter for now though I think. You are here for a specific reason after all. Let us set to reviewing what you have read in the theory of the animagus and then I have a surprise for you at the end of the lesson."

I nodded and started to talk about the parts of the theory I could remember from memory. We discussed the finer points of the transformation process in detail for about forty five minutes. I only had to look back at the book three of four times to double check something I was talking about. The rudimentary occlumency I knew was mostly responsible for my increased memory I suppose, but it didn't diminish my pride one bit.

"So tell me Mr. Potter there are two ways to make the first connection with your animagus as we've discussed, but what are the differences between the methods?"

"The first method is deemed to be the harder of the two, Professor, and can take more time for the individual attempting it to find their animagus form. It is a form of meditation and not recommended for someone who lacks patience or time." Receiving a nod I continued on, "The individual attempting this method will find a comfortable place to perform the revealing process. Then they have to clear their mind of everything but the intent to find their inner animagus. If they are able to clear their mind and focus on the singular thought of what they want then the person's magic should start to take root and 'guide' them in a sense. It's been reported to take anywhere from thirty minutes to many hours for this process to complete and is entirely dependent on the individual which or wizard. The bonus of this method is that it makes the actual transformation process easier as you will be forced to learn how to channel your magic which is the only way to make the animagus transformation work."

McGonagall nodded at me. "That is a very thorough description of the first revealing process Mr. Potter I am impressed. Now the second method is much simpler and faster. It is actually done with the aid of a potion to relax your body and help guide your magic to the intent. It takes roughly thirty minutes to an hour to complete. However the downside to this method is that the potion is often expensive if you are not a transfiguration master as it is highly restricted because it can be taken in surplus as and used as a hallucinogen. The other down side is that you do not gain the experience of channeling your magic to do what you desire it to. However this can also be circumvented if the individual witch or wizard has any experience in the mind arts."

I knew all this and had deduced that McGonagall was probably going to make me take the longer route for the transformation. I was shocked though when she opened her drawer and pulled out a bottle that held a strangely luminescent blue liquid in it. It matched the description of the revealing potion listed in the book perfectly. "Professor is that the revealing potion?"

"It is. I had thought you might be interested in discovering your animagus form tonight. You have taken to the theory faster than anyone I have seen before. Your progress is simply remarkable and I admit to finding myself curious as to whether or not you will continue this pace with the actual transformation process. If you did then it would be possible you complete the change for the first time on your own by the winter holidays."

My eyes widened slightly at that news. That was so much faster than I had thought and I found myself anxious to start. "I would like to do it now Professor." She handed me the bottle which I quickly uncorked and gulped down. Almost immediately I felt the potion starting to work and my body sagged a little in the chair. My eyelids became very heavy and soon I was no longer able to hold them open.

When my eyes shut instead of the blackness that I had expected to find there was thin fog. It was rolling along the ground and swirling around the bushes and trees that were now appearing in my vision. I slowly was becoming more aware of what was going on around me. I wanted to fight what was going on but it was like I was there and not there. Finally I gave up my struggle to make sense of what was happening and that's when it happened.

I felt myself mold into something else. I was lower to the ground now and I felt like I could hear every little step an insect would take. A sniff of the air and I could pick up hints of a fire burning that was probably miles away. My nose had elongated into a snout of sorts and I felt it as my teeth changed to sharp points.

I slowly moved my neck getting used to the body I was in now as I tried to decipher what animal I was. I had four, long, powerful-looking, fur covered legs and a bushy tail that swayed lightly behind me in the night time breeze. My fur was jet black just like my hair color so I supposed that would be the feature that transferred with me in the animagus form. That had been the most interesting thing to learn in the past weeks I thought. Every animagus displayed one feature from their human body in their animal form to make them somewhat identifiable.

It didn't take me long to realize what animal I was. I had seen something similar in my third year after all. Only this time I was an actual wolf as opposed to the werewolf that Professor Lupin had turned into.

As if realizing what I was triggered my magic I felt my body start to move. It wasn't automatic exactly I knew I was still in control, but at the same time I felt no need to stop or deviate from the course I was currently walking. I crouched low to the ground with my nose to the dirt almost sniff frequently looking for the scent of something. After what felt like an hour but was probably only five minutes or so of prowling my ears perked up at the rustle of a bush maybe ten feet to my left flank.

I did not immediately deviate to my flank though as I did not want to alert whatever was in the bush that I was there. So I continued on my path for six feet or so before slowly slinking off course and looping back around. My dark fur coat and the shadows from overhanging trees kept me well concealed. I was able to get within five feet of the offending bush before I spotted what had made the noise. There were two fairly large hares sitting behind it curled protectively into each other. I tensed my hind legs and prepared to push off as I stared down at what was about to become my prey. The human part of me felt bad for what I was about to do, but the wolf's natural predator instincts overpowered it quickly as I pushed off with my hind legs and quickly closed the distance between myself and the unaware hares. By the time they woke from the sleep they had fallen into it was too late as my front paws came down hard onto them. One died immediately as I heard the faint crunching and snapping of bones as my paw landed heavy on its neck and head. The other one I managed to catch by the back legs making it impossible for the hare to escape thanks to the broken bones present there. I quickly finished the job by sinking my canines into its neck and twisting.

Surprising myself I did not immediately start to devour the prey like I had assumed, instead I pushed them close and then picked them up with my mouth before starting off at a brisk pace back in the direction from which I had come.

After ten minutes of running the forest I was in finally thinned and I found myself in a small rocky clearing at the base of a mountain side. Immediately I noticed the presence of something else in the area. I felt my tail start to swoosh back and forth though as I turned my head and saw another wolf come out of the shallow indent in the side of the mountain. Behind her, I just knew it was a her, were two tiny cubs that couldn't be any more than a month old. I trotted over and dropped the two hares at her feet before stepping back and lying down.

The two cubs took that as their invite to come closer and rushed at one of the hares. They pounced on it and I watched fascinated at their tiny claws and new teeth tore through the fur and skin of the rabbit. They ate almost everything from the hare; fur included, and when they were done with the meat and organs there was only a small skeletal frame with a few stains of blood on it. The cubs soon set to work on the skeleton to though pulling ribs from it and gnawing at the bones to help strengthen their teeth.

While I had been watching the young wolves eat the other female wolf had eaten part of the other hare I had brought back. When she was full she used her snout and front paws to push the carcass to me. I set into it hungrily and lapped at the small pool of blood inside of it reveling in the bitter taste it held.

I felt my consciousness starting to separate suddenly and it was like I was being pulled upwards as the scene in front of me faded and light began to flood my vision.

"Mr. Potter can you hear me?" I made a non-committal grunt at the sound of a voice. "I'm going to help you up into the chair Mr. Potter you slipped out of it when you fell into your meditative sleep." Another grunt in response and I felt myself being lifted up and seated in a chair. My vision was clearing up slowly as the bright light I was seeing faded into spots and soon I was once again looking at Professor McGonagall in the Transfiguration classroom.

"Are you fully cognizant again Mr. Potter?"

I looked at my hands and blinked. They were hands again, not paws. Then I looked back up at the professor. "Yes ma'am I'm all here now. That was an incredible experience Professor. If I hadn't been through it I would say there is no way something like that was possible."

A soft chuckle escaped her lips. "Yes the revealing process is something of true wonder. I remember mine like it was just yesterday. But we won't delay as it is getting late and I do not wish to keep you too much longer tonight in case you had plans for tomorrow. So what was it that you saw? Keep in mind you do not need to tell me about what happened just the animal. The events that happen in your…dream…so to speak are direct reflections of which characteristics or attributes of your personality match with your animal. So that could be something entirely personal which you would not want to share and I understand that."

I nodded my head in understanding glad that I wouldn't have to explain what I had done in the dream. "I was a wolf Professor. Not just some average wolf either. I was quite large by my own judgment and I felt strong, powerful."

"You were most likely an alpha male in your dream then. Wolves are notoriously pack animals. Loyal to those that are within their family, but there is always one that rises above the others as the leader. The weaker of the pack will flock to him for protection or assistance in hard times. I can see why this might reflect you in some way Mr. Potter."

I kept the blush out of my cheeks at the praise, but ducked my head in a show of humility. "Thank you Professor I hope I can be all that someday and I won't let people down. So now that I know what I will be the next step is more research again if I remember correctly. I will have to study the wolf biology and learn how the muscles and bones are formed and shaped in the body so that I can will my magic to make the changes to my body."

"All of that is correct. You should be able to find a book detailing all animal biology in the library I'm sure. It is the most crucial part of the transformation process because if you were to try and turn into a wolf and left yourself with the lungs or heart of a human there could be very serious consequences including death. I think that is enough for tonight though. I will see you next week Mr. Potter."

I took the dismissal and rose from my seat gathering my bag as I did. I bid the professor a good night and made my way out of the classroom and back towards the stair cases so I could get to the common room. I hadn't expected it to be empty since it was a Friday night, but I also did not expect the whole Quidditch team to be there waiting for me.

It was a furious looking Katie Bell that approached me first.

"Potter where the hell were you?! We had practice three hours ago to prepare for the match tomorrow!"

That stopped me dead. I had forgotten about the match tomorrow because of everything that had happened with Daphne and now I was busy with my animagus studies. "Listen Katie it slipped my mind I forgot…" But I never got to finish as a victorious looking Ron stepped up.

"Oh save it Potter. No one wants to hear your excuses anymore. First you're helping those slimy snakes to get better with a wand so they can curse us, then you start DATING one, and now you don't even show up for the practice before the game against them. Why don't you just change the colors on your robes because clearly you don't want to be here anymore."

I bristled at the tone he was using against me, but made no outward sign of being affected. "Weasley no one asked your opinion so you can piss off. Katie I'm sorry I missed practice tonight, but I've been really busy between class and detention with McGonagall and the tutoring…"

For a second it looked like Katie might just let it go, but then she shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry Harry, but I can't let you play. We got another seeker for tomorrow so we won't have to forfeit. If you make the rest of the practices I can let you play in the next game."

I couldn't believe it. I missed one bloody practice and was getting benched. I could count on one hand the number of practices I had missed since starting school. "Don't count on me playing anymore. I quit the team as of right now forward."

That caught everyone's attention in the room and I pushed past Ron to go up towards the dormitories but his next sentence stopped me dead in my tracks.

"Poor Potter. Can't handle getting benched for someone better and more devoted to the team, and I bet now you're going to go upstairs and cry yourself to sleep while thinking about your whore of a girlfriend. She's probably being passed around by all those filthy snakes right now."

The common room went silent and I could feel the anger and rage in me about to boil over. I wasn't dumb though and I saw there were people with their hands on or edging towards their wands. I was the pariah, or black sheep, of the house now. Regardless of what Ron said or did if I retaliated I would be at fault. So instead I said nothing and I continued up the stairs towards the dorms. He was going to pay tonight after all.

I changed and got ready for bed without saying a word to anyone in the dorm. Seamus had come in a few minutes after me and had looked rather nervous. I assumed he had been downstairs and heard what had been said. He probably thought I was going to flip out and kill someone. Well the Harry from last year or years past might have, but thankfully I was a new person with a more refined way of dealing with people who wronged me.

Neville had already been asleep when I walked in so I was quiet to make sure not to wake him. I climbed into my four poster and shut the curtains around it. One silencing spell and sticking charm later and I was sitting with my back against the headboard waiting. I pulled the Marauder's map from my robes and watched the dot labeled Ron Weasley.

It seemed like forever before he finally moved from his place on one of the sofas with Hermione to come up to the dorms. I did a quick tempus to show that two hours had passed. Another twenty minutes and he was finally settled only a few feet away in his bed. I cast an alarm spell to let me know when one hour had gone by so that I could start his punishment.

In that hour I let my thoughts wander to recent events and what was happening to me. I would be lying to myself if I said I hadn't noticed a change in my behavior. I had gone from a hot headed Gryffindor who always tried to see the best in everyone to a more vicious version of a Ravenclaw. I didn't crave knowledge but learning now came very easy to me thanks to what I assumed was the horcruxe's influence. Unfortunately it seemed like I had underestimated the differences it had caused in me at first. I had noticed right away that it was easier for me to talk to people, to tell them what they wanted to hear. I was a faster learner now as well, but I was also starting to gain a penchant for using violence and fear to get what I wanted.

Perhaps this wouldn't have bothered me so much if I had felt bad or regretted doing the actions, but I found myself feeling less and less remorseful for the things I did and part of me was worried that I might be losing myself.

"Maybe I shouldn't go through with this tonight." I mused out loud behind the safety of my silencing charm. "No, Ron needs to pay for what he said tonight and what he has said in the past few weeks. Neville was right when he said I would have to show them right away that I wasn't going to just let people control my life or force me to feel and act the way they want."

My mind was made up on this matter, but I also decided in that moment that after this I would need to start watching my actions very carefully. I wanted to learn how to fight the enemy without remorse, that was true, but I did not wish to become like them in the process. I still wanted to be capable of caring and loving a family, my family, when it was over.

Finally the alarm went off and I dismissed it, then I did a check of the map and found the common room to be completely empty. I dispelled the sticking charm on my currents and crept silently from my bed towards the corner where Ron was. I knew he wouldn't bother to place any type of spells on his bed, so I slipped my wand into the edge of the curtain and aimed at his sleeping form. A silent stupefy and a red flash of light later and I was positive that he wouldn't wake up before I was ready.

I flicked my wand at him and levitated him off the bed and proceed to guide his body out of the dorm and down towards the common room. Once down I let him fall to the floor with a thud before quickly setting to work. I moved one of the arm chairs in front of the fireplace so that the back was towards the fire. I carefully maneuvered Ron into the chair before hitting him with a sticking spell. I did a quick search of him before removing him of his wand and silencing him. Once I was sure there was no threat of him getting away or alerting someone else I woke him up. His eyes snapped open and I enjoyed the fear that instantly shot into them at the sight of my wand lazily pointed in his direction.

I could see the boy struggling to move and get free and then the realization setting in that he was completely powerless. "Well that was a pity. I had hoped you would have more fight in you than that. Oh well. I assumed by now you realize why you are where you are, or do you need me to tell you?"

The fear returned to his eyes with a hint of recognition. "Good so we don't need to waste time reliving those terrible lies you were spreading. So let's get right down to fixing that problem shall we?" I reached into my pocket and pulled a shrunken object and set it down on the table in front of Ron before enlarging it. It was a fairly large jar when it was full sized but Ron's eyes were clearly glued to the inside of the jar as all the color left his face and his skin started to tremble.

I had been fortunate enough to wander across a nest of harmless daddy long leg spiders earlier in the week. That was when I had gotten the idea of making an example of Ron. It wasn't initially going to be this bad, but his comments tonight had sealed his own fate.

I pointed my wand at the jar of currently inactive spiders and whispered "Confundus" while concentrating on what I wanted the spiders to do.

Almost immediately they began scurrying towards the side of the jar closest to Ron. Desperately trying to get to him. "You see Ron I just made it so the spiders now believe you to be the new optimum mating and nesting ground. After all I wouldn't want them just wandering off once I dump this jar on you." I carefully picked up the jar and walked over to him. I placed one hand on the lid before speaking again.

"Next time you think to insult someone you should make sure they aren't smarter or stronger than you. Perhaps this will finally get it through your thick skull that I'm not going to deal with your attitude or bloody nonsense anymore. So let this serve as a final warning for you. If you ever insult Daphne again I'll make what I'm about to do look like a joke, and if you get the stupid idea in your brain to report me for doing this…well…just keep in mind detention only lasts for so long."

And then with one motion I unscrewed the jar and turned it over allowing the hundreds of spiders to fall onto the redheaded idiot. Tears were flowing from his eyes within seconds and a dark stain had started to form on the front of his sleeping pants. The trembles from earlier had increased now to violent shakes.

With one last long look at what I had done I turned and headed back up the stairs towards the dorm. It didn't fully hit me until I shut the door behind me that what I had just done was essentially torture someone. The thought made me sick and I quickly made my way to the loo to empty the contents of my stomach into the toilet. Once I was done I flushed it and carefully made my way back to bed in the dark. Part of me wanted to go undo what I did knowing that it was extreme, but another stronger part of me reasoned that if I backed out now he would think I was weak and not able to follow through with my promises.

I climbed back into bed this time settling down for real and falling into a well-deserved but restless sleep as my conscience did battle with itself over what was right and what was needed.

I heard the commotion going on and opened my eyes to try and discern the source of the noises. When I saw a flash of a spell outside of my curtains my body woke up almost instantly. My hand held loosely in my hand as I rolled out the opposite side of the bed and peaked around the corner post to see what was happening.

My eyebrows rose when I saw a furious looking Hermione being held back by one of the twins. Neville was standing in front of her blocking the path to my bed. Hermione was struggling to get free but the twin, Fred I think, was a lot stronger and able to easily hold her back.

Sensing no immediate danger I stepped out from behind my bed and made my presence known to those in the room.

Neville looked relieved to see me while Hermione struggled harder. "Glad you're awake mate, and you're lucky I was already up and moving around otherwise you'd probably be a bad situation right now."

"What's going on Hermione? Why are you storming in here so early in the morning on a bloody Saturday?" I had a good idea what this was about obviously, but I wasn't going to let her know that.

"How could you do that to him?! You know he is terrified of spiders! He hasn't stopped shaking yet and they've been gone for over an hour! Even the calming draught I gave him didn't help any."

Making sure to give no outward sign that I was aware of what she was talking about I spoke up. "Hermione what are you talking about? In case you didn't notice I've been sleeping and the only reason I'm up now is because you charged in here firing off spells."

She shook her head angrily and I could see her tearing up in frustration. "I'm not stupid Harry! I know it was you that left Ron down there like that. He wouldn't say anything this morning, couldn't say anything, but no one else would do anything like that. You've changed and maybe no one else can see it, but I do! Something is different about you and it's not a good something. And yeah Ron may have been an idiot about it, but how do you know what he said wasn't true? How do you know that that girl isn't playing you for a fool and just getting ready to turn you over to Malfoy or you-know..."

"Get out Hermione." I wasn't going to let her finish that sentence. I'd heard enough of it. "Yeah I'm angry at Ron, but I don't know what happened to him last night because after he said what he did to me I came up here and went to bed. Ask Seamus when you see him if you don't believe me. I was crawling into bed when he walked into the dorm."

There was a grunt from over by Seamus's bed. "It's true Hermione, I saw Harry go to bed last night and I was up reading some of my magazines for a while after. He never left his bed…in fact I didn't even see Ron come up to the dorm last night at all before I went to bed."

"You've got your answer now so leave. I don't know what happened to Ron, but I didn't do it." Fred let go of Hermione and she looked like she was going to reach for her wand and try to curse me anyway, but stopped when Neville reached towards his. Instead she just let her shoulders slump and walked out of the dorm.

Once she left Neville turned to me. "Sorry about that waking you up mate. I know you've had a rough week and were probably hoping to get some sleep today. It looks like you're good now though so I'm going to finish getting ready then go meet Hannah for some breakfast."

I noticed with a varying amount of concern that the twins were still standing there looking at me. "We'll talk to you after you're done getting dressed Harry."

They turned and left and I took that to mean I was supposed to get ready now. I sighed knowing my sleep was done for the time being. I liked Fred and George and hoped that this incident didn't cause a rift between us. They hadn't spoken one word about Daphne and me dating in fact.

I hurried through my morning routine and pulled out one of my casual robes to wear. When I made it down to the common room there were only a few people scattered throughout it but almost instantly their eyes fell on me. I felt two arms being slung around my shoulders and then saw the twins on either side of me.

"Glad to see you got ready fast mate."

"Yeah we didn't want to draw this out…"

"Because we like you Harry…"

"You're a stand up bloke…"

"Precisely, so let's go somewhere private and have a talk."

I didn't even both to try and move my head back and forth to keep up with their speaking. I just kept my head straight forward and listened as they guided me to the exit of the common room. It didn't take us too long to come across and empty classroom on the floor that the twins deemed good enough for this.

I picked out a desk that looked like it would support me and sat myself on top of it. My eyes never left the twins as they paced back in forth in the front of the room, occasionally stopping to put their heads together and discuss something in hushed tones.

Finally they turned at once and stared at me. "Harry my boy; you're a good friend of ours…"

"Not to mention our anonymous donor…"

"And we feel that what you did to Ron was definitely deserved…"

"Yet you might have gone a tad bit over the top…"

"Just a pinch really…"

"Exactly, so we hope you'll understand when we say…"

"That we're going to have to retaliate…"

"In the name of family honor and all."

The twins gave me their signature smile that promised humiliation to anyone on the receiving end of it. "You two are forgetting one thing though…I didn't play a part in whatever happened to Ron."

The twins laughed at me before speaking again. "Harry, Harry…"

"We're not Hermione…"

"You see we lack the necessary parts…"

"The bushy hair for example…"

"Or the teeth…"

"Or the breasts…"

"Oh good one, we definitely lack those…"

"But back on topic…"

"We know it was you Harry, and there is no point in denying it…"

"It's a fool's errand really."

I stared at them hard for a minute deciding on how to handle the situation. If I kept denying it this would probably go on longer than necessary and may result in them taking offence and actually doing something worse to me.

"Fine. I did it to him, but that doesn't leave this room." The twins nodded their head in unison and I felt slightly relieved. I knew I could trust them anyway, but I figured it couldn't hurt to voice the obvious.

"Now that the messy business is settled…"

"Well maybe not settled…"

"True we still do owe you a prank..."

"So more like terms were agreed upon and waiting approval…"

"Yes, yes that is precisely what is going on…"

"Anyway, we wanted to congratulate you on landing yourself with the beautiful vixen that is Miss Greengrass…"

"To say she was the fantasy of more than one boy at this school would be an understatement…"

"And not only does she look amazing, but she has the intelligence too…"

"True, true. Wicked smart I've heard…"

"Which brings us to wondering what you did to get so lucky…"

"You lack the good looks we possess…"

"And the brains…"

"And the hilarity…"

"And the skills on a broom…"

I couldn't help it at that point and burst out laughing. "I could out fly you two any day of the week and you know it. If you really want to know how I wound up dating Daphne you'll have to go and ask her for yourselves."

One of the twins, George maybe, did a mock faint and fell into Fred's arms.

"Harry you would have us venture into the den of the snakes…"

"Alone and afraid, fearing for our very lives…"

"Just to ask a question you could answer for us."

"Sorry to disappoint you guys, but I am not going to answer it. If you are done being overdramatic though am I free to leave? Now that I'm up and about I do have some things I could be working on." I was going to head to the library and check out a book that would help me with my animagus work since I had most of the day to study. I had asked Daphne if she wanted to hang out but she had already promised Tracey that they could spend the day doing girl things.

"Nope that's it. You're free to go…"

"But keep in mind tomorrow is Halloween and strange things tend to happen."

My back was turned but I could practically feel the feral grin that was on their faces. I just smiled and walked out. I was glad that the twins hadn't flipped out on me for attacking Ron. Truth be told I was obviously not the most popular person in Gryffindor right now and making any enemy of the biggest pranksters was not what I needed.

It didn't take me long to reach the library using the shortcuts I knew from my past adventures. I greeted Madam Pince and asked if she knew where I could locate a book on the anatomy and biology of animals. It was a strange book request, but the librarian made no indication that she minded as she pointed me off towards some shelves against the left wall.

In no time I had found two or three books that looked like they would outline exactly what I would need. One book was very in depth describing every little process that went on in the different animals' body and how it differed from a human. I was getting a headache trying to make heads or tails of some of the words in and set it aside deciding to give the others a shot and hope they were dumbed down versions of it.

The second book was exactly what I needed and I knew it as soon as I opened it. It was categorized by familial affiliation and I was able to use the contents to find the section on wolves very easily. When I turned to the page I was met with a moving diagram of a wolf, but it had no fur. Instead the diagram showed every muscle and bone in its body. The image was slowly rotating so you could see how it looked from all angles.

I stared at the image for what felt like forever committing every detail to memory using my occlumency. I would be able to call up the image at any time and be able to see exactly what I needed to change in my body. It was a blessing and had been much easier than I would have thought. I found myself very excited for Tuesday when I would be meeting with McGonagall again. I put the other two books away as I wouldn't need them and then sat down and started reading. One paragraph in particular caught my interest though.

"Despite their fearsome reputation as apex predators, male wolves are attentive, monogamous and fiercely protective dads that live with their she-wolves for life. A wolf pack is essentially a classic nuclear family consisting of a mom, dad and kids. After a female wolf gives birth, she sticks close to her helpless pups and doesn't leave her den for several weeks. Dad stands guard and hunts for food to share with his new family, and doesn't skimp when it comes to sharing edibles with his progeny. Whereas a female wolf will regurgitate meat to share with a litter (pups can start eating meat at three weeks), dad will provide entire pieces of fresh kill. As a young pup grows, dad takes on the role of stern, sometimes playful mentor helping integrate the pup into the pack."

I remembered the scene of what had happened in my revealing process very vividly. That combined with the professor telling me that it showed us the traits that most associated us with the animal made me smile to myself. Apparently I had all the traits of a very strong father figure, and given current circumstances I guess that was a good thing.

I read on more about the symbolism of the wolf to see if there was anything else that might match with me. I was surprised to find out that it really was a good fit for my personality. The wolf was a symbol of intelligence, and while I wasn't the smartest person I wasn't a slouch anymore either. It showed a yearning for freedom as well which matched with my ultimate goal, to be free of the prophecy and dark lords. There was a mention of it also being related to being untrusting of others and while I wasn't the most trusting I still was apt to give people the benefit of the doubt so it didn't fit as much, but I suppose that was why it didn't show me anything to do with that in my dream scene.

I picked up the book and decided to check it out when my stomach gave a rumble and I realized I had forgotten to eat breakfast thanks to the twins meeting. I made my way down to the kitchens to fetch a snack. I skipped all the shortcuts this time as I really had nothing else to do for the day and was looking to kill some time.

Unfortunately I got stopped on my way to the kitchens by none other than Professor Dumbledore. I had been wondering when the man would approach me again and it seemed like it was right now.

"Ah Harry! Good morning my boy, I had hoped to run into you today. Would you be so kind as to join me in my office for a cup of tea and a chat?"

"Actually Headmaster I missed breakfast and was just on my way to the kitchens to get some food."

He hit me with that smile of his and I knew I wasn't getting out of this. "Not to worry Harry I will have the elves bring you some food so that you may eat while we talk. I dare say this meeting might take some time."

Seeing no way out of this and deciding it was better to just get it over with I shrugged and turned to follow him to his office. Fawkes burst into the air in a brilliant ball of fire in front of us though.

"Ah Fawkes, would you be so kind as to take Mr. Potter and myself to my office?" The bird let out a little note of agreement before Dumbledore spoke again. "Grab onto one of his tail feathers lightly Harry and he'll save us the trouble of walking."

I did as I was told and was momentarily surprised by the cold feeling that spread throughout my body as the fire engulfed us and we vanished. I had been expecting a sudden feeling of warmth or maybe nothing at all, but the cold that had settled on me definitely didn't feel normal.

It didn't take us long to get settled in at his office and soon I was digging into a plate of eggs, sausages, and toast. It was delicious and I was thankful that Dumbledore held off his questioning until I had finished eating.

I watched as he poured us both a cup of tea from the pot that had been sitting on the corner of his desk. He passed me the cup and I took it gratefully and offered a quiet thank you in response.

Finally the headmaster seemed ready to start questioning me. I mentally prepared myself with the occlumency I had so that I could control my reactions to anything he might say.

"Well Harry I think we have delayed long enough now. Let me first congratulate you on your new relationship with Miss Greengrass. Love, especially when we are young, is such a wonderful thing is it not?"

I coughed and choked on the sip of tea I had been taking. "Sir I've only been dating her for a few weeks I'm not sure I would really call this love right now." That was true also. Neither of us had even said the word in context to each other and probably wouldn't for a while.

He didn't say argue just smiled and let his eyes twinkle at me. "Nonetheless my boy, it is a wonderful thing that you have been able to move past house lines to find someone that you care for and who cares for you back. I know this cannot be easy for you or her and I applaud you both for handling it as well as you have. Although I understand there was an issue this morning involving your friend Mr. Weasley."

I avoided eye contact with him as much as possible without being completely obvious not wanting to risk him probing me. "Sir, I've explained this to a lot of people already. I don't even know what happened to Ron this morning, and also we are not friends anymore. He lost the right to be called that at the beginning of this year when he told me I killed Cedric."

I was getting good at these half-truths I realized. For a few minutes the old man said nothing to me but just sat staring as if judging my character. "Well allow me to enlighten you then Harry. Mr. Weasley was found this morning by Miss Granger. When she found him he was stuck to a chair and covered in spiders, something we are both aware of that terrifies Mr. Weasley. Needless to say that he had gone into shock and suffered from numerous panic attacks as it seems he had been left there for a few hours. There was no spell damage to him or physical damage as the spiders were not lethal or dangerous, but the mental trauma will take some time to get over."

I schooled my facial features into one of shock. "That seems a tad bit cruel sir. Do you know who might have done it?"

Again I got the long stare before an answer. "No Harry, I have no proof as of yet, but I do have some suspects of course." He sighed and seemed to age as he looked at me. "I would ask that if you learn anything about this incident that you would report it to me or another teacher right away so that we can deal proper punishment." I nodded my head to show that I would definitely help out and waited patiently for him to continue. "While the news of Mr. Weasley being attacked is certainly big it is not the main reason for me pulling you up here though."

"Well then what was the reason sir?" I found myself curious to see what he was going to try and talk to me about now.

"While I think it is wonderful that you and Miss Greengrass are together I find myself worried by the situation. Have you considered the possibility that she is, for lack of a better word, using you for her own agenda or perhaps someone else's?"

I blinked. Then I blinked again. I couldn't believe what I had just heard. Why did everyone seem to think that Daphne was trying to lure me into some dangerous situation? Sure she had used me at first, but that was to get her family as far from Voldemort's influence as possible. There was no way she would be helping to lure me to him now. I couldn't wait for the day it came out in the open and people realized the dumb mistake they made.

"Sir I can tell you for sure that she has no ulterior motive to dating me. We actually met for the first time last year, and have been in correspondence since. Then this year it started out as friendly tutoring and bantering and gradually developed into something more. That is all there is to this relationship sir."

There was no pause this time to stare at me like the last few times I'd said something. "We both know that isn't true my boy. Are you sure that there is nothing else to this relationship of yours? Perhaps a condition you wish to tell me about?"

I sat frozen in my chair gripping the arm rests lightly. He knew. I should have known he would be the first to figure it out, but damn it this was too soon. There was still a few months before the baby was born and we couldn't risk this coming out for at least another month or two. "How long have you known about her condition headmaster?"

"I've had my suspicions since the beginning of the year Harry. However I was only recently able to confirm them."

"And how were you able to confirm them sir?" I knew that Dumbledore was aware of almost everything that happened in this castle, but I was curious as to what gave Daphne away.

Dumbledore smiled at me. "You can relax knowing it is nothing that Miss Greengrass did that tipped me off. She has been very careful and must either be taking potions to help keep the symptoms away or experiencing very few. Tell me Harry do you remember first year when I was able to know you were in the room with the mirror even though you were under your cloak? Or again in second year when you were in Hagrid's hut?"

I visibly relaxed knowing that our secret might be safe for now. "Yes sir I had assumed I had done something to give myself away. A noise or something maybe, but was that not the case?"

"No Harry that was not the case. My secret lies within these glasses I wear actually. There is a very complex series of charms on them that allows me to see ambient magic to a degree. For instance each person has a slightly different magical aura or energy that emanates from their core. So I thought it prudent to memorize what yours looks like so that I would be able to spot you in case you were ever in need of assistance."

I nodded at that and was equals parts impressed by the magic in the glasses and creeped out by the fact that the headmaster had taken to practically stalking me. "But that doesn't explain how you knew Daphne was pregnant sir or that you knew it was mine even."

Dumbledore nodded at me. "That is true, but imagine my surprise when I observed Miss Greengrass the other day and she possessed not one, but two auras. There was her normal one which I had observed since my suspicions, but then there was another smaller one around her midsection. When you live as long as I have you see many things and this is hardly the first time I've seen a witch who is carrying a magical child."

I smiled at the thought of my child being magical. Naturally I had assumed he or she would be, but there was always that slight worry that they could be born a squib. "I don't regret anything sir. I just want to make that very clear to you. Everything I've done in the months since I've met Daphne has been very deliberate and I don't regret any of it."

"No Harry I did not expect you to. I just needed to make sure that you were not being used or tricked into doing things against your will, but it seems you are quite happy with the situation you are in. So I thank you for satisfying an old man's curiosity and will not bother you on this subject again, but let me be the first to congratulate you on becoming a father. It is a great responsibility and perhaps not for most people who are as young as you, but you have matured far beyond your years I fear due to the experiences you've had."

I wanted to shout out and interrupt Dumbledore that the only one who was using me was him, but I kept my calm and accepted his congratulations graciously. Our meeting didn't last much longer and soon I found myself exiting the gargoyle staircase and wondering back into the halls.

The conversation with Dumbledore had taken a long time and it was almost time for dinner to be served so I made my way down to the great hall. As luck would have it I bumped into Daphne and Tracey as I was entering.

I smiled at Tracey and gave Daphne a quick kiss. "Hey I need to talk to you after dinner if you have a little bit of time to spare and Tracey doesn't mind me stealing you." I wanted to let her know that Dumbledore had found out after all. Tracey gave me us that wicked pervert smile and said she had no problems with us needing some time to talk, using her hands to make quotations when she said that. I snorted while Daphne just rolled her eyes at the girl.

"Alright just come let me know when you're done eating then I'll be talking with Neville." And we split up after one more quick kiss to go to our respective tables.

Dinner was a quiet affair really. Unsurprisingly I was still receiving wary looks from most of Gryffindor house. Ron was present at dinner, but he sat as far away from me as the table would allow and refused to even look in my direction.

I asked Neville about his day with Hannah and the boy told me about how they'd spent the time just wondering the grounds and tending the plants in the greenhouses. It didn't take long for Daphne to come over and tap me on the shoulder to let me know she had finished eating. I noticed the way many people in the hall had stopped eating and were trying to get a look at what was happening, but no one said anything as we left the hall together hand in hand. The most interesting reaction though was perhaps Snape who I could swear was almost smirking at us. I still hadn't been able to figure out the reason for the sudden attitude change by the man towards me, but as of yet he hadn't taken a single point from me in Potions. It was unnerving honestly and I was constantly on edge in the class waiting for what I figured was the inevitable eruption.

We went to the room we had first met in and I worked on putting up some privacy charms and locking charms on the door while Daphne made herself comfortable on the couch and let her glamour charm drop. I was surprised by the change in her appearance. She now had a noticeable bulge in her stomach which hung a good couple of inches out, but wasn't the disgusting loose skin like Vernon or Dudley had. Her breasts had also grown slightly bigger and I could feel a very slight heating of my cheeks when she coughed because I had been staring.

She was for a lack of better word beautiful and I couldn't take my eyes off of her.

"Potter get that stupid smile off your face and come sit down and talk to me. You said you had something you needed to tell me." I made no immediate movement to do as I was told which caused Daphne to roll her eyes and send a stinging hex at me. The sharp pain got my attention and I finally walked over and sat next to her on the couch.

"Can I touch it?" It seemed odd coming out of my mouth and was probably a strange request but I was drawn to it.

Daphne raised her eyebrow at me. "You're going to have to be more specific about it here Harry. There are a lot of 'its' you can touch, but you'll have to let me know which one it is you want to right now."

I glared at her playfully before gesturing at the bulge that was holding our child. "Can I touch your stomach? Like it won't hurt the child if I do right?"

"You can touch it, but why you would want to I don't know. I look horrible like this." And for once I saw Daphne let her guard down almost completely. She was vulnerable and worried so I did the first thing I thought of.

I grabbed a hold of one of her hands and squeezed it comfortingly while placing my other hand on her stomach and rubbing it softly, caressing the skin and enjoying the feeling of it. "Daphne you are beautiful. This doesn't make you any less attractive if that's what you think, and in fact I think it makes you even more beautiful. You're practically glowing."

She adjusted on the couch so that she was now leaning against me and I wrapped an arm around her as I held her and continued to caress her stomach. I sighed as I decided it was time to tell her though. "Dumbledore knows."

In an instant her head shot up off my shoulder and she was staring at me with panic in her eyes. "How did he find out? Was it something I did? Did you say something? What if someone else finds out? It's too soon!"

It took me a few minutes to get her to calm down before I could explain exactly how the headmaster had figured out what was going on, but in the end she at least looked slightly less panicked.

"So there's still a chance that no one else will find out for a while since I'm pretty sure other people don't have access to special glasses like the headmaster's. I wanted to let you know though in case he called you to his office or something, and I didn't want to leave you unprepared."

Daphne nodded against my shoulder. "Harry will you do me a favor and do something with me tomorrow night after the feast?"

I tilted my head to look at her, but she wasn't looking at me. "Sure, but what exactly is it?"

"It's a ceremony of sorts. It's something to celebrate the spirits around us. You know that on Halloween each year the planes of the living and the dead are as close as they can get without overlapping?" I nodded slightly remembering reading about it in one of the books over the years. "Well not too many people honor it anymore because it's old traditions, but I'd like to do just a small portion of one tomorrow and I don't want to be alone for it."

"I can do that for you Daphne. I even have a place we can do it where no one will bother us. We can go as soon as the feast is done if you'd like."

Daphne smiled at me and leaned up to kiss my cheek. "Thank you Harry, and now I just need you to stay here and hold me until it's almost curfew."

And that was exactly what I did. Thirty minutes before curfew I walked her down to the dungeons just to make sure no one would bother her, and then headed back up to Gryffindor tower to get some sleep not sure how long of a night I would be having the next day.

My day passed pretty quickly and before I knew it I found myself sitting at the feast with almost every other student in the school. I noticed Fred and George eyeing me up and decided I should probably ask them to give me a bye for tonight so that I could go to this ceremony with Daphne without looking ridiculous.

I told Neville I would be right back before standing up and walking over to them. I knelt down and whispered the situation to them and they grudgingly accepted it and promised that nothing would happen tonight.

True to the words the twins had left me alone and I survived the feast with nothing happening. Daphne and I left the hall just like we had the night before, but this time without all the eyes on us. It seemed that people were gradually starting to accept that this is how things were going to be and they wouldn't be able to change it by whispering to their friends about it.

I had started to lead Daphne upstairs so I could show her the room of requirement but she stopped and I turned to see what was up. "Actually Harry the first part is a walk outside and I doubt any room you have can give us that."

I smirked at her knowing the room of requirement would provide whatever she needed. "Don't worry I know the perfect place just follow me." And to my surprise she didn't argue any further but instead allowed me to lead her up the stairs. It showed a new level in our relationship that she was willing to trust me at my words.

It didn't take us very long to reach the Room and soon I was pacing back and forth in front of the portrait while Daphne looked at me like I had grown two heads. I turned a victorious smirk on her though when the door appeared.

"After you Daphne." And I held the door open for her to reveal an almost exact copy of the Hogwarts grounds. Even the ceiling had changed to reflect the night sky. She gasped in surprise when I followed her in and shut the door.

"How did you do this? It's amazing!"

"I found this room a while ago, and it can be altered to whatever you need just by thinking about it. There are some exceptions like it can't make food and nothing can be taken from the room, but it's still bloody useful in most cases."

"We'll be having a discussion on why you waited so long to tell me about this place at some point Potter, but for now we should start with the ceremonies. These are things we did as a family when I was younger and I don't know why now I am getting the desire to start doing them again, but I guess it's because I'd like to keep the traditions with our family." She blushed and looked away shyly at the mention of our family.

"I think it's great Daphne. I mean obviously Halloween has never been a happy time for me before because of…well you know…but this could be a new start. It'll give me happy memories with a family to replace the ones I currently have. So what do we do first?"

And for the next few hours I listened and followed along with Daphne as she told me all about her family traditions for what they referred to as Samhain. We started the evening with a meditative nature walk through the grounds and I listened as Daphne told of her family members who had died in the past and reflected on the ones she had been alive to know before their passing. I found myself wishing I had even half of the memories of family that she had.

Next came what she referred to as the Ancestor's Altar. The room provided a marble altar and Daphne produced a bag of pictures and a few heirlooms from her family that she told me she had gathered specifically for this part. The final step involved placing a journal at the foot of the altar and then kneeling in front of it with your eyes closed. We sat in silence for a while just listening to the sounds around us, inhaling the scents from the burning incense on the altar, and feeling the magic in the air swirl around our bodies. When we moved again Daphne picked up the journal and began to write some things down. She didn't share them with me and I didn't ask as I assumed it was something very personal she wasn't ready to share just yet.

"Are you ready for the final part of our evening Harry?" I nodded at her happily. "It's referred to as Bonfire Magic and is a cleansing of sorts. We'll light the bonfire and write down something about ourselves that we would improve or change. Like a bad habit for example and then we move around the bonfire slowly before tossing the paper into the flames and letting it symbolize the release of our habit."

It took us not long at all to finish the last of the ceremonies and I had to admit this probably the happiest I had ever been on a Halloween. No longer would I only have bad memories to associate with the day. "Thank you for allowing me to share this with you Daphne. It's really been a wonderful time for me."

I clasped both of her hands with mine and she stood in front of me just a foot or so away smiling. "Harry would you… never mind I don't know what I was thinking…" She trailed off and I was going to tell her to continue when the room around us began to change. Soon we found ourselves in a much smaller area with a lit fireplace giving off the only light in the room. It was just bright enough for me to make out the outline of a single bed and two robes hanging on the end of it. Daphne wouldn't look at me and I couldn't tell if she was blushing or the fire was making her look red, but I suspected the former.

No words were needed though as I pulled her gently towards the bed. I handed her the clearly female night robe and grabbed mine. I turned around so she would have some privacy to get changed and while she did I used my wand to cast a few spells on the only door in the room so that we would at least have some warning if someone was trying to get in. After she had changed I used a switching spell to change into mine and then slipped into the bed next to her. We fell asleep quickly after that with one of my arms under her head for support and the other wrapped protectively over her and our child.