Author's Notes: This update has been a little slow, for the sole reason that I was struck with writer's block halfway between finishing chapter four and writing this chapter. However, the chapter is finally finished, slightly shorter than usual due to the fact it's past midnight here in England! Thank you to everybody who had commented; Lady Ron, I haven't read Wheel of Time, so if it's similar, I don't know how!

Disclaimer: See part one for full disclaimer; as usual, practically nothing is mine.

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There was a long silence as Voldemort and Thor gazed at each other measuringly. Draco still stood just behind Thor, and Ron now stood in an opposite position behind Voldemort. Lyth, the little dragonlet, cowered behind Thor's head, his front claws gripping Thor's hair to the point of being painful.

"Well," Thor said at last, still smiling, although the smile had grown a little dangerous. "I thought it might be you, Tom Riddle." Voldemort's eyes narrowed in anger.

"Do not use that name," he snapped. "I am Lord Voldemort."

Draco looked quickly at Thor, expecting him to retaliate. Thor merely raised his eyebrows quizzically. "I will assume," the Mage started, "that you were Named that?"

"Ah, so you found out about that," Voldemort observed, his red eyes glinting in a kind of insane pleasure. "Yes, indeed." Thor nodded slowly, then turned to Draco, pulling Lyth off his head as he did so. He deposited the dragonlet in Draco's arms.

"Draco, could you please go up to the school and fetch Professors Dumbledore and Snape, as well as Sirius, Hermione and the Weasleys," he said in a low voice. Draco looked between his teacher and his father's old master, and nodded silently before turning and leaving at a run. Thor looked back at Voldemort, still watching him carefully. "You've violated a lot of Circle laws, you know," he said suddenly. "Not least of which being the fact that you're a Basilisk-born, in a Chimaera Year, and you are a Mage."

"And you," Voldemort sneered. "I presume you have finally found out why I have always tried to desperately to kill you?" Thor nodded. "Yes," he agreed. "But if I had been you, I wouldn't have bothered. Just because someone is born under a Moon doesn't mean they will become a Mage."

"The fact that you survived Avada Kedavra was enough proof," Voldemort hissed. "Even if no-one else realised it."

"The Circle of Mages is not a public thing!" Thor snapped. "You started its destruction, Riddle, and you will pay for the damage you caused – to the Circle, to me, and to everyone else!" Voldemort stared at him for a moment, then a smile curled his thin lips. "Tut, tut, Harry," he said softly. "Anger poisons power, remember?"

Thor looked taken aback for a moment, then his lips twisted in a faint mockery of a smile. "Indeed," he agreed. "But it's a little hypocritical of you to be saying so, don't you think?"

"Perhaps," Voldemort inclined his head slightly. "Perhaps not. Emotions are an aid to Mages, remember? You appear to have suppressed yours completely." Thor did not flinch, although Voldemort's words had hit home. After Virgo's death two years before, he *had* tried to suppress his feelings as much as possible…

"Well," Voldemort said after a long moment. "Are you intending to challenge me to a duel, little Mage? Or will you merely allow your muggle- loving wizards to take a shot at me?" He nodded over Thor's shoulder, and Thor looked to see Draco leading Dumbledore, Snape, Sirius, Hermione and all the Weasleys down to the barrier. Thor turned back to Voldemort, his eyes flicking to Ron, who was a little pale at the sight of his family.

"No, not today," he smiled. "I'm not ready to duel you, Voldemort."

"And why is that, Harry?"

"My name is Thor," Thor snapped. "Please use it, as I have the courtesy to use your Mage name, when you should not even have one." He took a deep, calming breath. "And I am not ready to duel you because I happen to be babysitting." The look on complete shock on Voldemort's face was well worth the remark, Thor mused almost maliciously as Draco handed back Lyth to him, and the little dragonlet fell asleep in his arms. He turned to face the wizards and witch. "I'm sorry, I appear to have called you down here for no purpose."

"No purpose," Sirius echoed disbelievingly. "Thor, that's –"

"I'm perfectly aware of who it is," Thor said mildly. "He can't get through the barrier." He started walking away from Voldemort and the barrier, and then everything went red. Thor, Draco, Lyth, and anyone else close enough to the barrier were flung into the air as the silvery barrier exploded in a fiery shower. Thor was thrown back from the explosion as if he were no more than a rag-doll. Lyth was ripped from his arms. The last thing Thor was aware of before he hit the ground and unconsciousness was the loud, angry shrieking of a dragonlet.

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"It's Zodiac, isn't it?"

"Yes, that's right. And you're Hermione Granger. I've heard a lot about you."

"Oh…Is Harry – sorry, Thor…is he going to be alright?"

"I'm not sure. I've sent someone to the Unicorn School for the Skyhealers…they'll be able to heal him, if anyone can…"

"Do you think…do you think he can hear us?"

"Probably not. However, it's been my experience with Harry that he does whatever isn't expected of him."



"Well? Can you heal him?"

"I think so. However…it is probable that there are parts of it that only he himself can heal when he awakes."

"And when will he wake up?"

"That's…uncertain, I'm afraid."

"You know who he is? You know what happened the other day?"

"I do. There's nothing I can do. He doesn't seem to want to wake up, Mage Zodiac."

"Why wouldn't he want to wake up?"

"Didn't you say that his apprentice was taken by this renegade Mage?"

"Well, yes, but there's no way he could know about that…is there?"

"Who knows exactly what a Dragon Child can do if he puts his mind to it? Perhaps you should consider Summoning a dragon. It might help."

"I don't have a triumvirate of Mages."

"Are not wizards powerful enough?"

"No, not for this…"

"Then your only hope is faith. I'm sorry I can't be more help."

"No, don't be. You've been…a great help."



"What did the healer say?"

"Skyhealer…she was a Skyhealer…she said that he…might not wake up, and there may be some permanent damage."

"What can I do to help?"

"Nothing. There's nothing any of us can do now."

"I can't accept that. There always used to be something I could do to help Harry; I want to help him now too. I *need* to help him now."

"I'm telling you the truth, Hermione. There's nothing anyone can do…except maybe find where they're holding Draco, and get him back."

"Fine. I'll be back later."

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Thor slowly opened his eyes. The room he was in was flooded with light, and he winced for a moment before his eyes gradually grew used to it. He lifted himself to a sitting position, and gazed around himself. He didn't recognise the room he was in…

A door opened, and someone stepped through. With relief Thor recognised Zodiac, and the other Mage grinned on seeing him awake.

"Harry!" he exclaimed. "Thank the Dragons – I almost thought I'd lost you!"

"What – what happened?" Thor croaked. "The last thing I remember…there was an explosion." Zodiac nodded.

"Voldemort evidently found a way to break through your barrier," he explained quietly. "You've been unconscious for nearly a week."

"Where's Draco?" Thor demanded quickly. He caught the look of regret in Zodiac's eyes. "If you're going to tell me something's happened to him, you can leave."

"Harry, he was taken by the Death Eaters before the Dragons arrived," Zodiac told him. "We're still not sure where he's being held." Thor shook his head in disbelief. Zodiac continued. "The dragonlet that you were looking after called his parents, and they came…dozens of them, Harry, they –"

"I don't care about the dragons," Thor said harshly. "All I care about is Draco."

Zodiac stared. "You don't mean that," he soothed finally. "Harry, you were injured pretty badly, you're not thinking properly…"

"Aren't I?" Thor demanded rhetorically. "Oh. I hadn't realised." He lay back down, staring up at the ceiling. "Are – is anybody looking for him?" he demanded, his voice still hoarse. He was answered by silence. He squeezed his eyes shut.

"Hermione is trying," Zodiac admitted softly. "But none of the rest of us have any hope."

"Us?" Thor queried quietly. "Who is here? Where is here?"

"You're still at Hogwarts," Zodiac assured him. "And no-one except Draco was taken. I came as soon as the dragons called me here – and Seraph as well. The Council visited, but they left two days ago." An odd expression flickered onto his face for the barest moment, then he turned away. "I'll be back in a while," he told Thor. "I must contact the Council and tell them that you're awake. I'll send someone in." He left quickly, leaving Thor to his tangled thoughts.

Draco was gone. Draco had been taken. Voldemort had taken Draco. It was an incomprehensible fact, and Thor was not ready to face the reality of it…and why it had happened. He knew why, and he also knew that he would not bring himself to face that fact. Not yet.

The door opened again, and Thor looked up, thankfully disturbed from his musings by Hermione and Seraph, who appeared untied in their concern for him. He sent them a weak smile.

"Thank Merlin," Hermione exclaimed. "Oh, Harry, we never thought you'd –" She cut herself off and hugged him tightly. Seraph ruffled his hair fondly, ignoring his glare, then the two sat down.

"You gave us all quite a scare, Thor," the Veela commented. "At least you're awake now, though." Thor was silent for a moment, then he half- smiled.

"Yes," he agreed. "Being awake is so much better than being asleep on many occasions." Seraph frowned slightly, but he looked away from her to Hermione. "Zodiac said you're looking for Draco."

Hermione nodded, a frustrated look appearing in her eyes. "I haven't been able to trace either him or you-know-who," she admitted. "Or Ron. None of them – they all seem to have disappeared off the face of the earth."

"I suggested that perhaps Voldemort might have taken them to the Dragon- realms," Seraph spoke up quietly. "Zodiac and I have been scrying for them, but we're not attuned enough, not by ourselves at any rate. Perhaps you could…?"

Thor didn't reply for a moment. Then he shook his head. "No," he said softly. "It was my arrogance and pride that got Draco taken in the first place. If we are as sure as we can be that they are in the Dragon-realms, the best choice we have is to go there ourselves. Scrying won't help, not when we're looking for a Mage as powerful as Voldemort."

"I've missed something," Hermione said hesitantly. "Dragon-realms?"

"Where the dragons live," Seraph replied, seeing that Thor was too tired to. "It's not quite in our dimension, but not quite out of it either. It's a different plane of existence, very hard to see into or get into."

"And it's even harder if you haven't been trained in the Dragon Magics," Thor inserted. He had closed his eyes, but now he opened them, gazing up at the ceiling. "Once you're in there, there's no turning back until the dragons let you leave. And they don't always do that. If they think you shouldn't be interfering, they'll detain you until the danger has passed."

"You sound bitter," Hermione observed after a moment. A smile flickered over Thor's face, and he propped himself up on his elbows.

"'Mione, have you ever heard of the Dragon Child Prophecy?" he demanded. She frowned thoughtfully. Seraph's mouth dropped open in shock.

"I think so," Hermione said at last. "Wasn't it that one about some sort of a Dragon Child who will rule everything or something?" She shrugged. "I never did pay much attention to that false Seeing stuff."

"It was a Dragon Prophecy," Thor reminded her. "There's never yet been one of those that hasn't come true."

"Thor," Seraph started warningly. "Don't you even think about it. She's a witch, she's not part of the Circle, you cannot tell her!" Thor ignored her. Hermione glanced between the Mages curiously. Thor gazed evenly at the Veela Mage. "Thor, don't make me order you to be silent."

"I wouldn't obey such an order anyway," Thor pointed out mildly. "You'd do better to blurt out the entire secret anyway, Hermione seems to be well on her way to guessing." Seraph looked quickly at Hermione, who was staring at Thor with something akin to awe. "Oh, 'Mione, don't look at me like that."

"Harry," Hermione said slowly. "Are you saying that you are the Dragon Child the prophecy refers to?" He nodded silently. She leant back in her chair. "Right. Okay." An icy glint suddenly entered her eyes. "And you told no-one about this because…?"

"He was forbidden by the Council," Seraph told her wearily. "It's dangerous knowledge, Hermione. Harry could become the target of a myriad of people. I'm not saying he can't take care of himself, but it's too risky for the Circle."

"Maybe I can't take care of myself," Thor muttered after a pause. "I wasn't paying attention o my barrier, or Voldemort would never have been able to explode it and take Draco." He clenched his fists tight as a wave of emotion threatened to overcome him. Then he looked back up at Seraph. "Seraph, I need your help."

"Doing what?" she inquired hesitantly.

"Forming a triumvirate to create a portal into the Dragon-realms and take some of the people here into them."

She stared. "Thor," she said carefully, "if I ever swore, I'd be swearing now."

"I'll do it for her," came Zodiac's angry voice from the door. "Bloody hell, Thor, what on earth are you thinking? You must really have banged your head, or else I did – I thought I just heard you say that you wanted to form a triumvirate and force your way into the Dragon-realms with a bunch of witches and wizards."

"Yes," Thor agreed calmly. "That's what I said."

"Mother of Dragons, Harry, are you crazy?" Zodiac demanded loudly. "To force your way into the realms – that's a violation of everything we stand for! You cannot simply just –"

"It wouldn't be forcing our way in!" Thor snapped. "If you'd forgotten, they granted me free access. And if we're right, if Voldemort is in there, don't you think they'd be glad of a little help? I certainly think so, even if you don't!" he took a deep breath; his ribs hurt, so he let it out quickly. "Look, it couldn't happen until I'm healed anyway. By then we may have found out if they're keeping Draco in this world or not. If they're not, I'm going to the Dragon-realms, with or without your help."

Zodiac frowned thoughtfully at him, his anger dissipating. "You meant what you said," he realised. "You care more for Draco than you do about being a Mage, about who you are."

Thor nodded. "I care more for Draco than I do about myself," he said quietly. "And I've finally realised it." He shrugged. "Getting Draco back is all that matters to me right now. Voldemort can go hang for all I care." He smiled ghostly, bitter smile. "And besides, now the Mages are involved I don't have to defeat him alone, or even at all."

Seraph and Zodiac exchanged glances. Thor looked between them in mild confusion, then the truth hit him like a dragon tail to the stomach. He closed his eyes again.

"Please," he found his voice. "Please tell me that the Council has taken responsibility for Voldemort." He was not answered. Thor attempted to calm himself; it did not work. The windows of the room smashed to pieces. The mirror shattered. The door started clattering open and shut. "I don't think I want to talk to either of you right now," Thor said over the noise. "I think you should leave."

"Thor," Zodiac said urgently. "The explosion – Voldemort did something to you, your mental control of your powers…"

Thor sat up, probing his own mind. "It's gone," he said finally. "I can't control it." He laughed. "How typical of him. How absolutely bloody typical." The laughter slowly turned to tears, and Seraph silently ushered Hermione from the room. Zodiac moved to sit on the bed and hugged Thor as he had when he had first begun teaching him as a boy.

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To be continued.