A/N: Hello, people!

I don't own Harry Potter.

I have no beta.

ENJOY!

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR. HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON. I FOLLOW BACK.

-Sort of a filler chapter.

-We learn of what makes Harry see Thestrals and why he wants to be a Vet.

^WARNING: ANIMAL ABUSE & DEATH!^ Though it isn't detailed and more of glossed over with a little hint to what happed from describing the end result.

-Someone dies, and it sets up the plot of for a future chapter.

-Fulfilling agreements.

-Friends chillin'.

-Family talking.


Harry could feel the tensions in the air the moment he stepped foot into his family home. Like that time that Hermione was called a 'Mudblood' by some faceless Ravenclaw seventh year and her magic suddenly built up until her thick hair stood on end, sparking here and there.

Without mercy, she'd whirled around and cursed him so thoroughly, he was left unconscious in the corridor. He couldn't even remember his attacker as his back had been turned, and no one felt the need to report the girl for her actions, leaving the situation as 'unresolved'.

Harry's mum wasn't the sort to act outwardly. Unlike Hermione, she wasn't explosive in personality. She let things simmer and gave people a chance to either dig themselves out of the holes that they had created for themselves, or dig an even deeper hole. And when things kept piling on, she would plan out her retaliation thoroughly.

So it wasn't just his mother who seemed unnerved, because with her, she would just close herself off and become quiet. Remus was much the same in temperament. So either it was James or Sirius, or all of them at once, which was a possibility.

"Anyone home?" he called out, though he knew perfectly that all of them were home. Yes, his father included.

"Kitchen!" his mum answered from not afar off.

Harry left his bag at the foot of the stairs - he'd only be home for a few days, so why bring the trunk with him? - and trudged off to the kitchen. The place where the 'family meetings' took place.

"Are you all okay?" he asked when he stepped into the room, finding his father and godfather holding cups of tea, and Remus reclining with Lily at the table.

"Harry, we wanted to have a talk," said Lily, looking calm, and not the calm that made her look like she was planning someone's murder. More serene than anything else.

"Are you pregnant?"

All four stared for a moment, before Sirius' snort broke the silence. His godfather threw his head back to laugh loudly, almost barking in a sense.

"No," Lily murmured. "I'm not pregnant, though not for lack of trying." The last part had been murmured, but Harry still heard it, and he really wished that he hadn't.

"No one died, else you'd be wearing black. Did Sirius finally propose?"

"What?" said Remus and Sirius at once, both looking confused.

Harry looked away. "Nothing. What's up?"

He plonked down at the table and waved a hand to summon a cup from the cupboards, a spoon from the drawer, and the kettle from the stove. Without looking up, he poured himself some of the life-saving liquid and took a cube of sugar from the small bowl on the table.

Looking at his mother for direction, the teen slowly twirled his finger around, making the spoon stir his tea for him.

She stared at his cup for a moment, before clearing her throat. "We wanted to talk to you about the Tournament and to tell you that we know that you didn't enter yourself."

Harry's entire frame stiffened. He'd supposed that she had figured it out, how could she not? But he hadn't expected that she had told anyone else about it.

Lily reached a hand out and patted his forearm. "We're not angry or anything. Remus was the one who figured it out around the Second Task. We just wanted to see if you'd tell us or not."

The teen couldn't help but flush. "I was planning to let all of Great Britain know… when I won. The Great Cockwomble is so sure that I'm going to win, and he's right of course, but he forgot one thing. It never says that the person who wins has to marry him. The winner just wins the right to his hand, that's it. And he'll learn that if he truly wants me, for whatever reason he has, he's going to end up working for it."

There was a moment of silence as the four adults took in his words.

"You're going to deny the Dark Lord, in front of Great Britain?" Sirius asked, as if he was unsure of his words.

"Pretty much. You don't think he's going to make the revelation of the winner a big spectacle? When he does so, he will regret entering me without my permission.

"Sure, he's good at conversation. Would be a good dueling companion. Is kind of funny when the time needs it. I just don't like him more than what could be considered friendly. Also, he is attractive, but not my kind I guess you can say."

"You want Lord Voldemort to fall in love with you," Lily surmised, to which he nodded.

"I have to do all this hard arse work to just get the 'rights' to him, like he's some sort of bloody prize. What makes him worthy of me though?"

"Nothing," James answered suddenly. "I don't care that you're both truly Slytherins, or that you're similar in magical aptitude, he's not worthy of you and I'm going to stand by this belief for the rest of my damn life."

Harry couldn't help but freeze again. How did he know that?

"You heard our talk, didn't you?" he asked, realising the only way he could have known.

"Voldemort didn't put up a ward. It wasn't like you were being quiet," Lily murmured with a shrug.

True. "And you're okay with it?"

"Yes!" Sirius insisted. "We don't care about that. We're not as we used to be you know? We not perfect true, but we're a lot better. Lily was the one to drill it into us that Slytherins as a whole aren't evil or remotely bad. And Remus was the one to point out that we only ever saw what we wanted to see. It's not you who is at fault, it's us."

Harry was touched, to say the least. Sirius wasn't one for touchy/feely things. He preferred the stereotypical 'guy things'. Toughness and sports.

Harry wasn't one for sports, and he didn't learn Karate to be 'tough'. He did it to enhance his training - both physical and magical - and to keep himself in shape. Harry wasn't necessarily tough. Not physically imposing, and his voice wasn't deep. More gravelly instead of deep. A definite tenor.

Harry and all of his five feet and eight and a half inch glory, was just the average bloke, who was lucky enough to grow up with incredibly talented people, who passed on their skills to him. Without his upbringing, he would be just like the average Hogwarts student and there would be nothing particularly amazing, save for his Defence abilities.

Harry knew he didn't come out exactly as had been desired, but they loved him nonetheless. He hadn't ever felt pressured to be something he wasn't, other than at his sorting, when he was unsure of what to do, because he knew what the Marauders had done to Snape for simply being a Slytherin who was friends with the pretty, Gryffindor Princess.

And then the Quidditch wasn't really his thing, but he'd done it to be allowed a time each week where he could fly freely.

Still, Harry hadn't felt boxed or anything.

"It's fine," the teen said quietly. "It's not like I'm not capable of being in any of the other Houses. According to the Hat, I had the ambition and cunning of a Slytherin, the hard-working attitude of a Hufflepuff, the nerve and daring of a Gryffindor, and the Intelligence of a Ravenclaw. It said I could be anything, but Slytherin would 'help me on my way to greatness'. The fact is, I want what I want, and being great doesn't factor into that.

"I don't need people to know me. I just want what I want for the sake of the animals and creatures and myself."

"You made it sound as if you were scared of what would have happened if you had been sorted into Slytherin," said Lily. "We were surprised because we hadn't thought being in Gryffindor was so taxing."

"Gryffindor itself it relatively okay. There are just some people within who annoy the piss out of me and sometimes need to be dealt with swiftly. I've handled myself just fine and when I get fed up, I retreat to a silent room, or just take myself to the Room of Requirement and remain there for as long as I need.

"Yes, I was worried over the sorting, but not to the extent of like being disowned, more of disappointment for breaking the blood Potter tradition of being sorted into Gryffindor. I wasn't too sure of what would happen, and I wouldn't chance it. So I just demanded anywhere by Slytherin, and it placed me in Gryffindor begrudgingly."

He didn't want them to think that they had backed him into a corner or something. Gryffindors were annoying, but as he was anti-social, he found almost everyone to be annoying. People were needy and loud whingers. Animals, not so much.

"Everything is fine. I'm fine and there is nothing wrong at present."

Lily didn't throw her arms around him, but both of her slim hands did take his right hand in a comforting gesture.


φYou humans and your 'education'.φ

Harry sighed as Shelob rubbed up against his leg. She was moody at the moment because he hadn't paid her enough attention at Yule, and she wanted her rubbing in. She jumped onto his bed to get closer to his hands.

φI apologise that I'm required by law to attend some kind of educational facility. It breaks my heart that it interrupts your plans.φ

Her nose rose several inches, despite how the rest of her body remained firmly planted on his bed. φYou humans are always so concerned with unimportant matters. Hunting, bathing, mating, and sleeping are the primary needs of life. Nothing else is truly needed.φ

He knew that she wouldn't really understand. Animals weren't well versed in the understanding of human practices. Just as humans would have a hard time understanding an animal's thought process.

Animals didn't really have morals, and shoving human expectations on them wasn't fair. Animals had a sense of kinship and much like humans, if your kin betrayed the blood, they were disposed of. Either by death or banishment.

They were possessive over territory and things that they saw as theirs, people included. They also believed in providing for the 'family' until such a time where the young ones could leave to provide for themselves.

Other than those few points, they differed from humanity.

They didn't mourn the losses of their enemies, nor did they feel bad for their deaths.

Harry grew up surrounded by animal-like mentality. So he could understand why they didn't understand why he couldn't devote all of his time to them. That didn't mean he had to like it though.

φDon't go picking on me,φ he said with a frown. φI am the innocent soul that is afflicted with your demands. The least you can do is be kind.φ

She shook her head. φYour strange terms again.φ

Another thing. Animals didn't have exactly the same words for the same meaning. So while it all sounded English to him, no matter which animal or creature was speaking, he knew that to them, some of the words he was saying were strange and held no meaning.

Speaking multiple languages was a pain at times.

He set his bag on the bed and placed a finger over the photo on his nightstand. His head bowed in respect. It was of Ungoliant, Shelob's mother.

Harry had been seven when it had happened. One moment, they were playing in the back yard, and the next, some nearby children had gotten their hands on the feline. Because she wasn't 'pretty' like other cats were - due to the squished face and perpetual frown - she was considered 'too ugly to live'.

Harry had been much younger than the group of boys, but he was forced to watch as one held him down and the others… it was horrible.

Harry's magic was so out of control, he caused a minor explosion. The boy holding him was severely burned in the process, and his buddies were knocked into the fence guarding the house.

Not caring about them, Harry had rushed to Ungoliant's side, hoping that he'd be able to save her, but he was only little and had no magical training, so he didn't know what to do, and she couldn't talk any more because her throat had been… crushed.

Harry was found lying on the ground, bawling beside the dead feline. The boys were whinging about their injuries and were too busy insulting him to run away, so they had been caught.

The official story that went through the village, was that the bullies had come into the yard to bully Harry and were messing around with fireworks to scare him. That would explain the severe burns on the one boy, and how the other boys had 'fallen' when they lit them all at once. The feline had simply been their 'test dummy'.

That moment was what changed Harry's innocent views of the world. Where everything was once okay and fun, things went topsy turvy, fast. And he was never the same.

It was Ungoliant's death that had spurred him on to became a Magical Veterinarian. As there weren't many, he knew that with his talent, he would do amazing things.

That he wouldn't let what happened to her, happen to other animals.

Harry still had trouble going into the back yard because of it. It had left a traumatising mark on his life and would be what made his dislike of people, appear. 'Cause animal abuse was fun and hilarious to a lot of people and Harry did not get with that.

They weren't there for people's amusement. They weren't created to be hurt. Animals were friends. Animals were companions.

The way of life was kill or be killed in the animal kingdom, which was why he still ate meat. Animals didn't live life going, 'how dare they try to eat me'. It was more of, 'I'll eat them before they eat me,' kind of thing.

φI want my rubbing now! I am old and in need of some relaxation!φ

φOkay! Okay!φ


§Nagini, why do you sulk?§

The great serpent gave an irritated hiss and coiled herself more tightly around her human's throne. §You plan to lock me in a room with two-leggers and I am not allowed to eat any of them!§

Voldemort stroked a hand down Nagini's spine and hissed soothingly, §I will be sure to lavish you with as many mice as you desire once all is said and done, dearest.§

§But the two-leggers are going to be boring. An hour each means that my day will be spent having to watch them try to curry my favour. You know I don't like being touched by strange beings, and I don't like the two-legger language you speak when talking to the meat bags.§

Yes, English grated her nerves apparently.

§It won't be too painful, my dear. You can even try scaring them a bit, so long as you don't bite them or squeeze them too hard.§

The serpent hissed again, though she was much happier this time. §Two-legger fear is delicious.§

§If you say so.§

§Which one is your favourite two-legger?§ she asked. §The one you desire as a mate?§

Voldemort tapped her nose and smirked. §I won't tell you. I am certain that you will like him just as much as I, and I would prefer that you came to your own conclusion in regards to him. He is special.§

§It isn't like there are many males left to choose from,§ the serpent huffed.

She was right.


It wasn't a day that anyone felt particularly terrible. Just the average week day. However, there was one thing different about today, compared to the other days.

The prison guard in charge of the Grindelwald/Dumbledore Tower, had brought breakfast at seven thirty like usual, and found Albus Dumbledore kneeling beside Gellert Grindelwald's cot.

A moment of staring revealed that the former Dark Lord was a stiff as a block of wood, and that Dumbledore's face was covered in tears.

The young woman couldn't find it in herself to say anything and merely waited for the old wizard to acknowledge her presence.

Finally, after several moments, Dumbledore looked over, his blue eyes filled with tears. "Do you think he could be cremated and then buried in Godric's Hollow, beside his aunt? She was the only family member he truly cared for and it was his desire to be with family."

"I… I'm sure we can work something out, Mr. Dumbledore," the woman said, unable to stop her voice from cracking just a bit.

She hadn't felt anything toward either man, but she had known of their relationship. It was obvious with how they talked for hours at a time, and how they looked at one another. How different Grindelwald had been once Dumbledore had joined him. It was a significant change.

Once deadened and bleak was alive once more. All because of his best friend/lover.

She felt for the man who had lost his soulmate, and that was what made her cry.

"I'll see what the Dark Lord has to say about it. I'm certain he'll allow it."

The Dark Lord was merciful and a lot more kind than people gave him credit for.

He allowed the two old men scold him for Merlin's sake!

Placing a tray on the floor, she slid it under the bar and took the other tray back to the kitchens.

The warden would have to be notified and the body would need to be dealt with. And the Dark Lord would certainly want to be informed of the premature death of the man he succeeded as 'Greatest Dark Lord in History'.


Hermione was stuffed into a booth, Harry stuffed into the seat across from hers. She was taking away precious study time in order to go out to lunch with him. Though she really had no one to blame but herself, because she had let the Tournament invade the rest of her life.

"We're going to that film, Mione. You've put off a shite tonne of stuff this year and I'm getting in as much fun as I can get."

She sighed and sipped her milkshake. "I know," she murmured.

"Did you hear that Grindelwald died in his sleep?"

Her jaw dropped. "When did that happen?"

"Like two days ago. He was much too young, but I do know that Dumbledore's sentence is ending in a few months, so it's not too hard to extrapolate what happened."

"Dumbledore wouldn't kill his lover, right?"

"No," Harry denied. "The separation might have been too much to consider. Or maybe he was ill. They're talking of cremation, so I don't think anyone is going to find out just how he died. But I'd like to think that he couldn't handle the thought of losing his husband in all but paper."

"So then Dumbledore is just going to be released and have to live with the fact that his lover is gone?"

Harry shrugged. "It beats remaining in the place he used to live with the man."

Merlin, everything was just happening so quickly anymore.

"Let's go see that film now. I want the good seats in the center."

With a roll of the eyes, the witch got up to follow after her friend.


"Where's my baby?!"

Rigel winced as the sound of his mother's strident voice carried throughout the manor. He knew that avoiding her would do him no good. Especially when she could easily just summon him if she wanted.

The teen gave up his hopes of having a calm day, and went to find his mother, who would most likely be in the drawing room. She preferred to take her tea in there, whether they had company or not.

The woman was seated across from his brothers, who both looked stone-faced as usual. Sometimes, Rigel felt like he was born to the wrong family. He seemed to be like none of his relatives.

"My baby is being courted by Weasleys!"

He flinched. He hadn't wanted anyone to find out so soon, though the twins weren't very subtle at the Fifth Task.

His mother's eyes weren't full of wrath or even annoyance. She merely looked like she always did. Slightly mad and maybe a little tired.

"Like the Slytherins they are, your older brothers decided to investigate the situation and have informed me that the twin menaces would be good husbands for you, my love."

The boy flushed. Slytherin didn't just 'look into', they situated themselves firmly inside and made their presence well known, in one way or another. He could only imagine what they had done.

And husbands? He wasn't particularly thinking that far ahead. He was turning fifteen for Circe's sake!

"Now if the Weasleys can manage to earn your brothers' approval, then they can't be all that bad, so I'm willing to give them a chance. But if they break your heart, darling…"

Rigel nodded, because he understood what she meant.

Now if only he could get a message to them to warn them ahead of time!


"Fifty creations, like you proposed!"

Harry grinned when the twins waved their arms in a flourish. They had actually managed to create fifty never-before-seen items for their shop, and that meant that he had to follow through with his offer.

Harry Potter, the silent partner to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Or at least, he wanted to be a silent partner, though they might protest and tell everyone about him. He wasn't exactly sure yet.

"You have the building scouted?"

"Number 93 of Diagon Alley, oh gracious benefactor!" said Fred, brandishing the Daily Prophet in his face.

"We've spoken with the owner and we not only plan to use the bottom half as the shop space, but the top half will be our new flat," George explained. "It's got quite a large amount of space and it'll only cost five hundred Galleons as a down payment, and then we can pay off the remaining five hundred Galleons over time."

Harry smirked. "Or, we can take a walk to Gringotts and exchange a couple thousand from my vault to yours."

Their broad grins dropped instantly. "Are you serious?" the two asked.

"No, that's my godfather."

Apparently, the situation had gone too somber to appreciate poor, godfather jokes.

"Yes, I'm serious. It takes a lot to start a business, not just owning the property it stands on. You'll be selling more than your own creations, and you'll have to make agreements and sign contracts with other business, plus services for transportation. It won't be cheap. You'll need at least three thousand to start yourselves off."

The two shared a look of utter shock.

"Yeah," Harry affirmed with a nod. "You'll need more variety, won't you? More than just the fifty items you have. So you'll have to partner with some newer brands, which is where I'll come in because aligning themselves with a Potter would make their business and possibly get them in my family's good graces."

He might not like having to do the dealing, but with his Slytherin side, he was good at pretending to like it. That was all that mattered.

And he was no stranger to using his name in order to pull some strings. Sometimes, the spoken work held a lot of power, even when magic wasn't involved. Sometimes, 'Potter' or 'Black' was enough to get people to leap if he ordered them to.

Fools placed so much importance onto names, but if it benefited him, why should he mind?

"You don't have to give us so much," said Fred.

George was nodding. "We've managed to save up a large amount already."

"Almost a thousand Galleons of our own."

"Then save it for when you're creating more merchandise. You can't just stay stagnant right? There is always going to be lulls and crests in the market, and consumers want to consume. You'll have a lot of work ahead of you already."

The two shared a look, and nodded. "Thanks, Harry."

"Now, have you thought about any shareholders besides us?"

The two leaned even closer and began detailing how they'd managed to gain the support of Snape of all people, as well as Bellatrix Lestrange. As the twins would own sixty percent of the shares, thirty each, and Harry would own thirty himself, the remaining ten percent would be left up to others.

And now those others were Snape and Lestrange. Interesting.

Things were coming together so nicely.


Luna hummed as she scrubbed the wing of the Thestral. Harry had asked for her to join him because he was bringing a large meal for the creatures, as payment for Luxra's assistance in the last Task.

He could have simply put it all in a bag and just dumped it out, but Harry had a certain way he dealt with animals. He was using a thick table cloth to hold the meat and was levitating it while Luna held the buckets of cleaning instruments.

Harry made his own soap for the Thestrals. Their wings had to be treated delicately despite how powerful they were. The leathery muscles needed to remain healthy and Harry had learned of just what would make them shine and what could give them the nutrients they needed to remain healthy.

"Thanks for your help, Luna."

"I like it," she said. "It's not fair how pope treat them simply because of how they look and what is required to see them. It's not like they are the only creatures that have a requirement in order to see them."

Harry frowned. "What else is there?"

She grinned. "There is a… creature in the Black Lake that can only be seen by those who have lost their virginity. Unfortunately, I cannot see it, but I await the day that I will."

Harry snorted, but asked, "So is it just physical virginity, or does a perverted mind count?"

She had to consider that. "I don't know," she admitted. "The book never specified just what, because there are people who will never lose their physical virginity."

"What constitutes are virginity anyway?" Harry asked. "Like, masturbation is considered a type of sex, so like, does that count as losing your virginity, or no?"

These were the kinds of conversations they always got into.

Nox trilled something to Harry and he responded, before returning to their conversation. "Nox thinks that our human traditions are silly."

She was right in a sense. Also, to understand English at such a young age was impressive. Luna gave the foal a gentle stroke on the nose and praised her intelligence.

"You're right," she crooned to the creature. "You'll be the best Thestral in the herd when you grow up."

Nox gave her an affectionate nuzzle in response.

"Hey, Luna!"

"Mm?"

"If you're thinking of losing your virginity any time soon, please make sure that the person you're involved with is decent? And perhaps you can give me their name in case they fuck it all up."

"I can handle things just fine, Harry!" scolded the blonde, though she was smiling as she did so. It was nice to know that she had friends who cared about her.

"If you worry that much, just know that when you and the Dark Lord get together, Hermione plans to punch him in the jaw."

Harry fumbled with the brush he was using. "What do you mean when we 'get together'?"

Luna merely hummed and continued to rub the soap in.

"I'm denying him!" Harry sputtered.

"Of course you will."

He actually would too, but that didn't mean that Voldemort would be giving up any time soon. No way, no how.

"I will!"

Luna just kept on humming, giggling once or twice at her friend's frustrations.


"Your favourite thing in the world!" Madam Pomfrey cheered as she waved a hand toward the room full of bed pans she had stored up all for Harry to clean.

The teen stared, unable to process how cruel the world was being to him. What ever did he do to deserved such harsh treatment? It wasn't like he did anything truly bad.

"You vanished a woman's rib cage and left me to handle regrowing it," Pomfrey stated in answer to his silent whinging.

"It couldn't have been that bad," he hedged, trying to lighten her severe frown.

"The first regrowth went wrong because her spine had twisted in the wrong direction, so I had to re-vanish her rib cage, which took more of my magic than I expected, and then realign her frame, to regrow everything again. I will be compensated for your mistakes."

Grumbling, Harry set to the task. He knew it had been coming. He shouldn't have hoped for anything different. It was so obvious. Madam Pomfrey had a very demented sense of humour and he could shed tears over how unfair the world was being.

Why did he choose Healing again?

Because he wanted to help the animals and magical creatures. That was why.

Damn him and his annoying feelings! Feelings did him no good.


Voldemort smirked the moment he laid eyes on Harry Potter, who was stomping across the lawn of Hogwarts, the Runespoor around his neck.

The young man hadn't noticed his presence and he seemed to be in a terrible mood. That made the Dark Lord pause. Would he be making the mood worse or better if he decided to pop on over? And what shocked him the most about the whole situation was that he actually cared about whether or not he offended the teen.

What was Harry James Potter doing to him?


A/N: Another is done!

-Yes, Shelob and Ungoliant were named after LotR characters. The spiders, if you didn't know.

-The reason Harry sees Thestrals is because he witnessed the torture of his Kneazle when he was seven. These kind of things happen a lot more often than people think. My mom took in a kitten that had been named 'Stubbles' by the woman that saved her, because the children she'd saved her from, had cut off her tail. It's a horrible thing and it affected little Harry badly.

How was it? Let me know!

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See ya! :D

CHECK ME OUT ON TUMBLR. HELLY-WATERMELONSMELLINFELLON. I FOLLOW BACK.