Disclaimer: Quack. I own the plot, Sterling, and the planet Earth. Quack. I don't own Harry P. or his buddies, enemies, pets, belongings, home and small daffodils. Quack. That was a test of the emergency disclaimer duck. (Quack!)
Oh, and since you asked so nicely about 'is Harry an heir', I thought I'd clear it up this chapter. (I love those fics too!)
The offer of e-mail stuff still holds! *Sniff* Only The Red Dragons Order and C. W. S. Matthews wanted the picture. *Sniff* By the way, Autumn is the British word for Fall.
Well, I don't have much to say anymore. . . so on with the show!

 New Spell Guide:
Mutare Elementa - Change Element

Chapter 8: Part I
Of Raven's Return and Revelations of R.O.S.E.
(Or, Why It Makes Things A Lot Easier If You Tell Your Friends
When You Receive Really Weird Messages.)

PART I

Dare to live - don't just spend your life avoiding death.
~ Unknown

"I give up!" Harry growled, slamming the book down on the table. "How much information have we found so far? None! Nought! Nada! Zilch! Zip! Zero! Squat!"
"It would help if you read the books, rather than looking up other words for 'nothing'." Hermione remarked snidely, leafing through the pages of a yellowing book. Harry glared at her. "Verrrrryyy funny. We're going to have to go to the Prefect's meeting soon, you know."
"And I bet you'll leave me behind to research." Ron moaned. He cracked his fingers. "My hands hurt. We've been here nearly two hours!"
Hermione, filled with confidence in the books of the school library, continued searching. "Well, it isn't as if we haven't found out anything. We know. . . hang on. . ."
Ron rolled his eyes at Harry, while Hermione searched under a pile of read books for her notepad.
"Here it is!" she announced triumphantly, holding her prize. "It's nearly finished, though. Maybe I should get a new one. . ." the girl noticed the boys pointed looks. "Oh, sorry!" she said sheepishly. "Okay, the information we've gathered, so far. First of all, Animagus forms of magical animals, or Muggle animals with magic powers are extremely rare. Only one in five thousand people have them; that's including Magical and Muggle."
"Right."
"About the marks on our hands - a few famous wizards used to have them. Namely, Godric Gryffindor, Merlin, and Gwendolyn Gwestepucchi. She was an American witch, born to Italian parents, but she never did anything really important in her lifetime; she was just pretty powerful."
There was silence.
"Is that all?" Harry asked desperately. Hermione looked embarrassed. "Sorry. There's only a bit more, but it's not particularly important."
"Yeah?" Ron coaxed, leaning closer. Hermione looked back at her notebook. "Uh. . . all three got their mark - it doesn't say what they were - when they were fifteen; like us; but they didn't get them from Activus Crystals. That's it, really."
Ron slumped back. "That's it? It doesn't even say how they got them?"
"Well, I remember reading that Merlin got his when a Chinese Fireball attacked him." Hermione sighed as she tried to recall. "When Gryffindor got his is a bit of a mystery; he was apparently always travelling. One day he didn't have it, the next he did it - he wouldn't tell anyone how or why.
"Gwestepucchi had hers after she heard a Fwooper song. For some reason, she didn't go mad."
A thought struck Harry. "Hermione, do you know what Animagus forms they had?" Hermione looked at him, puzzled. "No, but we can find out. There's loads of books on the founders and Merlin. Why?"
Harry held out his palm. "We all got the mark of our Animagus forms, right? Maybe if we can find out what forms they had, we could know their marks. Then, we might find a link."
Ron looked impressed. "Great idea! I'll look for Merlin."
"Harry, you do Gryffindor. I'll look for Gwestepucchi." Hermione said, her excitement restored. She leapt up, and dashed to the reference book of the Dewey Decimal System that the library used.
"She's eager," Ron muttered, and got up. "They keep all the books on the founders behind you and to the left. We'll call each other if we find anything."
Harry shrugged. "Okay."
He got up, and went to the founder section. There were a few books on all of them, and a few on Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw. Mainly, though, the books were about either Salazar Slytherin or Godric Gryffindor; they appeared to be the most powerful of the four.
Looking across the shelf, a thin, red volume stuck out, and grabbed Harry's attention and curiosity. He tried to take it out - it was stuck. Grasping it, he pulled harder, and it finally gave way.
A thick layer of dust covered it, showing it hadn't been read for years. Wiping the thick grey dust dirt off, Harry read the cover.

The Life Story Of Godric Asinald Gryffindor
By Regin Hewitt,
acclaimed biographer and historian.

Opening it, Harry looked first at the previous readers. "Dumbledore took this out, over a century ago?" he muttered to himself in surprise, and ran his eyes down the surprisingly short list. 'T. Riddle' was also listed there, which gave Harry a small jolt; and, there, just two names down, was J. Potter.
It took Harry a moment to digest this news. It wasn't really much; just finding a book that his father had read; but somehow, it seemed to Harry like the greatest thing possible.
Remembering why he had been looking for a book, he flicked through to the table of contents. Finding the chapter named 'Age Fifteen to Twenty', he turned to the chapter, and scanned his eyes through.
He found it quite quickly; Regin Hewitt, also, had no idea how Gryffindor had gained the mark - but fifteen was the age that he finally managed to turn into an Animagus - something that Gryffindor had been trying for two years.
A Golden Griffin.
Forgetting to breathe, Harry stared at the writing.

On that day, Godric perfected his form of Animagus, the creature that best suited his personality.
It was the final effort of a practice that dated from when he was thirteen. (See previous chapter, for his beginnings to become an Animagus.)
The news of his choice was released to his parents and those who knew him, as a Golden Griffin.

Harry quickly checked that the librarian wasn't around, and called out, "I found something!" He brought the book over to the table, and re-read it, checking his eyes weren't deceiving him. As he finished, Hermione came round the corner, carrying a thick book; 'Famous Wizards and Witches Throughout History, Volume Four'.
"Is it anything important?" she asked, taking a seat behind him, and flipping through her book. Harry choked a strangled confirmation, when Ron also appeared. "I found something as well!" he announced. "I was just double checking when you called." He took a seat opposite Harry. "Your news first."
"Okay." Harry said, calming himself. "I found Gryffindor's biography, and it says his Animagus form was a Golden Griffin."
Hermione blinked.
"Like your Spirit Guide form?" Ron asked slowly.
"Yeah." Harry sighed. Hermione blinked again. "Can I see the book?"
Harry passed it over, and leaned back. The girl took it, and looked intently at the pages, reading quickly.
"How did you make it appear?" Ron asked, peering over Hermione's shoulder. Harry and Hermione looked at him strangely. "Ron? It's right there." Hermione said slowly, showing him the book. "'On that day,' and so on."
Ron frowned. "I don't see anything. It looks like a blank page to me."
Harry glanced over at it. "It's still there." he said, and Hermione gave a gasp. "Maybe there's something you have to do or be, to read it," she suggested, and turned back to the introduction.
"Hey!" Harry shouted, alarmed.
"Honestly, I'm not losing your page. I swear, you're turning into- never mind."
"She was going to say herself." Ron nodded wisely.
"Here!" she said proudly, and held the book closer. "I was right. Listen to this. 'Be warned that not everyone shall be
able to read this book. Only certain people can look within and see the writing; namely, the -'" Her voice trailed off.
"The. . .?" questioned Ron, watching as her face turned to one of utmost shock. She looked up at Harry. "Namely, the heirs of the Founders." she whispered, barely heard.
Ron gave a small whistle, and Harry nearly fell off his chair. "The heirs of the Founders? You mean, their descendants?"
Hermione nodded, and turned a few of the pages. "The contents say there's Gryffindor's family tree near the end of the book. It updates automatically. I suppose in the biographies of the other Founders, their family trees are at the back."
"Check the tree." Ron said automatically. "If you two are related to the Founders, you'll be on one of the pages."
Harry agreed immediately, and waited as Hermione flicked through. "There." she announced. "Godric Gryffindor married Evelyn Wanscott, and they had Thomas Gryffindor. . . hang on. . ." Turn, turn, turn - after about fifty more page turns, she found the end of the family tree. "Lucille Varin married Darrell Potter. They had James Potter, who married Lily Evans."
Ron swore. "Bloody Hell! You're the heir of Gryffindor, Harry!"
Harry stopped as the thoughts sank in. "No. . . that can't be right. I mean, I'm nothing special-"
Hermione snorted. "Honestly, Harry! You defeated Voldemort, you stopped Quirrel, you fought Riddle - and you're nothing special? Stop denying it!"
Harry opened his mouth to retort, but then thought better of it. "Is Dumbledore there? He took the book out, so he must be an heir of one of the Founders."
Hermione looked back up the list. "Yes, he's here. . . son of Tameron Caitling and Marcus Dumbledore. He's not too far up the list, actually. That would make Dumbledore your great, great grandfather, twice removed, Harry!"
The boy held up his hands. "Okay, wait. This is going far too fast. Before we start working out family relations, are you on it?" Hermione shook her head. "I should be down the bottom, but I'm not there. I must be the heir of another."
"You get all the fun." Ron sighed, leaning back. "By the way, about my book? Merlin had a dragon form. And guess what it was? A Chinese Fireball."
Hermione took a breath. "So his form was a dragon; which means his mark was of the same type; and he gets in after being attacked by a dragon?"
"Bit of a coincidence." Ron smirked. "And I'd bet my new dress robes that Gwenda-thingy's Animagus form was a Fwooper."
Hermione frowned. "That's what my book says. So, these two come into contact with their forms - and they get the mark?"
Harry frowned. "That sounds likely. It was probably chance that we got our mark when we discovered what our forms were."
"Okay, great." Ron said, closing his book. "And now for the jackpot questions; why have we got it? What's it for? And what's it do?"
Hermione was first to answer. "The third question's easy; it marks us as something. The real question is, as what? My guess is that Harry's got it from his ancestor, Godric Gryffindor. Something passed down, like Gene Curses, or Family Blessings.
"After all, they had the same mark and the same form. They both got it when they were fifteen. Don't you think that's a little suspicious?"
"So what about us?" quizzed Ron. "None of the other Founders had a mark, so it's not the same reason for you, and definitely none of my relatives did."
Hermione sighed. "I don't know."
"I know one thing." Harry said grimly. "This is what Dumbledore didn't want to tell me. Maybe even why Voldemort wanted to kill me."
Silence.
"Oh, heck." Ron groaned, closing his eyes. "This is way too much."

~ ~ ~

After the library, there was the Prefect's meeting with the heads of house. The dates of Hogsmeade weren't that important to the three; as fifth years they could visit any time they wanted.
Then, after that, it was Lunch, during which Harry had a crowd of people hanging round and asking whether he was alright after his trance in Transfiguration. After Harry had shaken Dennis Creevey off him for the fourth time, the three decided to go back to the Gryffindor tower, and hide away in one of the dorms, where they could finish the books in peace.
"This is interesting," Hermione pointed out, as she munched on a sandwich, whilst reading one of her books. "It seems Gryffindor was just a normal wizard until he got his mark. Only then did he start becoming really powerful."
"Same for Merlin." Ron announced. "There's nothing about Gwendolyn, unfortunately. If she were a bit more famous, there'd be a biography of her. No such luck, though."
Harry made a vague 'm' sound to show that he'd heard, and reached out for another Chocolate Frog.
"Hey!" he said suddenly, sitting bolt upright on his bed, staring at the biography. "Listen to this - Gryffindor had a pet - a 'jet-black raven', named Sterling, because of her silver beak!"
"Sterling?"
"Raven?"
"Is there anything else?" Hermione urged, hurrying to look over Harry's shoulder.
"Yeah," he told her in amazement. "She was an Aldor Raven. Just like my Sterling." Ron looked at him. "Are you sure they're not both your Sterling?"
Harry narrowed his eyes. "What?"
"Don't you think it a little strange," Ron said coolly, "that you and Gryffindor both have a black raven, of the same species. They're the same gender, they have the same beak, and they have the same name. Hm?"
Hermione shook her head. "That's impossible. They live for a long time, but nowhere near over a millennia. Besides, I bet it doesn't say anything about the gem, and that's pretty important."
"But that gem could easily have been added after the biography was written!" argued Ron. He slumped back on his bed. "This is way too confusing."
"I'll say." Harry groaned. "Charms for us next, then potions. Astronomy at midnight. Herm'?"
"Charms and Herbology. I had Astronomy last night." she replied, and closed her book. "I'm going to find the other Founders books." Hermione declared. "Then I'll find out who I'm an heir of."
"Ravenclaw." Ron sad with certainty. Hermione looked at him thoughtfully. "Maybe, but it could be Hufflepuff. Or, I might be another heir of Slytherin."
"But in the Chamber of Secrets, he said he was the last heir." Harry thought aloud. Hermione smiled. "He was probably bragging. For all he knows, his great, great, great grandparents could have had siblings; and their family would be heirs too."
Ron shuddered. "Don't mention it Herm'. I think I'd have a heart attack if you were related to You-Know-Who."
"Thanks." Hermione said. She rose, and took her book. "Best get to Charms. We're starting weather changing, which I think sounds fascinating."
"Yeah, well. You thought Flobberworms were 'fascinating' when you first saw them." Ron retorted, but did the same.

~ ~ ~

The Charms lesson turned out to be outside for the day, apparently because they would be starting with creating water and fire. Charms, as with most of the core subjects, was just the Gryffindors. Ignoring the worried looks he received from Lavender and Parvati, who were talking in hushed whispers about omens and Trelawney, Harry took out his wand, and gathered round Professor Flitwick with the rest of the class.
"First, we shall be practicing creating rain," the diminutive teacher squeaked, holding his wand up high, "and after, we'll be creating fire. After that, you will create a fire, and make rain to put it out. Understand?"
There were murmurs of affirmation from the class. Professor Flitwick smiled. "Good. Now, the way you hold your wand doesn't matter with weather spells. Just focus on the desired element, and say 'mutare elementa'. Everyone, space out."
Moving further away from the teacher and class, Harry listened to the next instructions.
"Remember, focus on rain!" Flitwick repeated, and held his wand up. "This is what will happen. Mutare Elementa! " The tip of his wand glowed pale blue for a second, and then a litre or so of water fell like rain from no where, out of the sky in front of him, and landed in the grass. "Now, that was a pretty powerful one." he explained, "So you won't be able to do anything like that for a while - especially not today." Flitwick looked round at his class. "You're all spaced out well, so begin."
Harry watched the others at first, to see whether there was a particular way to perform the spell.
Seamus managed to get a faint glow, and about a tenth as much water as Flitwick. Dean, who performed the charm at the same time, managed to get a more powerful glow, but slightly less water.
Harry didn't see Parvati, but Lavender got about half a litre, something that surprised Harry, and even Neville got a small glow and a few drops.
Hermione, brilliant as ever, got a whole litre, as much as the professor, for which Flitwick applauded her.
Ron's was even more surprising than Lavenders. He only got a bit more than Neville, for which he stared at his wand in shock, and tried shaking it, as if water would start flowing out of it if he broke it.
Turning away, Harry held his wand in front of him. "Okay then," he commanded, "Mutare Elementa!"
A bright blue shone around the entirety of Harry's wand, which was nothing to what happened next. A small, dark grey, storm cloud grew in the air a few feet in front of Harry and above, and with a sudden roar, a torrent of flood water rushed down, tens of litres, soaking the dry ground below.
Jumping back, to escape the quickly forming puddle, Harry stared at the storm cloud, that was now slowly starting to dissipate. "What on Earth. . .?" he muttered, lowering his wand, and noticing the astounded faces of the others.
Professor Flitwick gave a tiny shriek. "That - that was. . . very good, Mr Potter! Excellent work. Twenty points to Gryffindor." he said, looking faint.
Harry looked around at the others. The Trelawney Fan Club were looking thrilled, and Dean and Seamus seemed to think it was 'cool'. Neville was impressed, Hermione was pleased, and Ron was. . . jealous. 'Damn.' Harry thought, and put his wand away.
Hermione won ten points for getting a litre of water, and Lavender got five for making half as much.
Class continued as usual for the rest of the lesson, except for even more funny looks. 'Great.' Harry thought angrily, kicking at the grass. 'Just what I wanted. More attention.'
Soon, everyone could managed manage at least half a litre - even Neville. Strangely, it took Ron longer than Neville to create the same amount, which no-one could explain. It seemed Ron had some kind of natural disability for water spells.
However, he did make up for it in the second half of the lesson, with fire.
The incantation for fire was the same, but instead, the students would focus on that element, rather than water.
"Now, the fire spell is different to the blue-fire spell you learnt in first year." Flitwick enlightened them. "First, it's a proper fire, rather than a blue one. Next, it's much more powerful, and burns hotter and faster than normal fire. Plus, it can burn even inflammable material. Because of this, you'll do it one at a time, in case they get out of control. Everyone, stand back. . . good. Now, unless we have any more surprises," he glanced at Harry, "it should look like this. Mutare Elementa!"
This time, the tip of his wand glowed an iridescent red, and a sudden, flickering jet of flame blew up from the grass in front of him. "Mutare Elementa." he said again, and a bout of water fell down, destroying it.
"In alphabetical order, come out, and try to burn the ground. Miss Brown, you first." He moved aside, and let Lavender take his place. She cast the spell, and a small burst of flame shot up from the grass, burning merrily. Flitwick clapped excitedly, and put it out with a different water spell. "Mr Finnigan."
Seamus seemed to be as good with water as with fire. His jet of flame was slightly larger than Lavenders', reaching higher, and taking more space on the ground.
Hermione was next; she too had a success. Her flame roared loudly, reaching nearly three feet in height, and half that in width, which meant another five points for Gryffindor.
Neville, unfortunately, broke their good streak. His flame would barely be strong enough to light a match. Disappointed, Neville moved out the way so Parvati could try; she got her flame nearly as tall as Lavender, though it wasn't as wide.
Harry came up next, and the crowd of people sub-consciously moved further back. "Mutare Elementa." he said. After the water, it came as no surprise when the brilliant red glow was all round his wand, and a roaring jet of fire lanced up, thick black smoke pouring off the top.
However, it was a surprise that it was as big as a bonfire.
The grass surrounding it was incinerated within seconds by the heat pouring off, and Harry quickly cast a rain spell. This time, the dark cloud hovered over the fire, and more then ten litres came out; the fire was out within half a minute, as Ron's face darkened considerably with anger, and Professor Flitwick nearly hyperventilated with a mixture of shock and excitement, which he came out of to award another twenty points, putting Gryffindor in the lead for the house cup.
Harry kept his head low, and pretended he hadn't done anything unusual as Dean had his turn - he managed to get an incredibly hot, but small fire, that scorched the already burnt earth.
Even Harry's display, however, was nothing to Ron's.
'Weasley' was last up, and with his failure at the water, it was expected that he would be as bad at fire. Could anyone have been any more wrong?
Ron raised his wand, and pointed it at the grass, eyes narrowed. "Mutare Elementa." he said loudly, and the others threw their hands in front of their faces, to protect themselves from the heat, which burst onto them fiercely, with incredible force and speed.

~ ~ ~

"I just can't believe it!" Hermione exclaimed happily, as the three made their way to their respective classes. "I mean, Harry was great at them both. But that fire, Ron; that was - unbelievable!"
"It was incredible." Harry agreed, remembering the fire. "It must have been twenty feet tall!"
"You know, if we'd have been any closer, we'd have really bad burns." Hermione pointed out. "That thing was huge."
"Like I didn't see," Ron laughed. "I just can't believe I did that. I mean, I was terrible at the water, but I was even better than Harry at fire."
"Well, it does make sense." Hermione pointed out. "It's like having less of one, so you have more of another. You're really bad at water, so you're incredible at fire, or the other way round. Fire and water are opposites of each other, after all."
"We're heading left, here." Harry said, interrupting the pair. "See you after lessons."
"See you." Hermione said cheerfully, and continued walking, while Ron and Harry turned off. "I've been thinking," Ron said slowly, "about the books."
Harry looked at him, interested. "Yeah?"
"Well, the books say that they became more powerful after they got the you-know-whats." Ron said slowly. "And, I mean, Hermione's good, but not enough to get as much water as the teacher on her first go, or get that much fire. And there's no way I could get that much fire in my life; or you with either of the spells. So, maybe our magic power has gone up?"
Harry thought about it. "That makes sense, actually. You're right, none of us are - were that good. And the books did say th- Potions."
"Huh? Oh, right." Ron said, as he realised they had reached the classroom. "Pity it won't increase our knowledge of poisons."
"It's something I'd trade for." Harry sighed, and went in.

~ ~ ~

Although Snape was as much of a git as ever, the lesson was perfectly normal - although the Slytherins were keeping away from Harry and Ron, based on the rumours of last lesson that they had heard on their way to Potions; something that the pair were entirely grateful for.
As Harry got his homework back near the end of the lesson ( Grade C- ), his head snapped up as Snape told off Neville for talking; something that he wasn't doing, anyway. "It would help your scores, Mr Longbottom," he sneered, "if you weren't so vocal during lessons. That will be five points from Gryffindor."
The unfairness of the situation wasn't what made Harry interested; it was the word, 'vocal', which made him remember something. . . he knew it began with 'vo', 'voc', 'voca', 'vocar' - 'Vocare'!
A smile tugged at his lips. Finally, that was it. Vocare, from the letter. No, invitation; for tonight. The smile disappeared, and a frown took it's place. But what was the 'Vocare Room'?
Was it one of Voldemort's tricks? He could answer that one; no. If Voldemort wanted to trick him into going somewhere, he'd give him a reason to go, rather than just the invitation.
He gave a quiet sigh, making sure Snape didn't notice, and carried on with his work. Damn his curiosity. . . no. He wouldn't go, it could be dangerous - but if he took his wand; his magic powers were increasing, after all. . .
Harry's inquisitiveness and common sense battled each other, until common sense finally won, with a well put 'where would you get the Floo Powder from, anyway?'.
The second half of the lesson carried on as normal as the first, losing Gryffindor ten points, and gaining Slytherin fifteen. Interestedly, it was only Neville and Ron who lost points; Harry managed to stay so quiet and out of sight, thinking about 'the Vocare Room' that even Snape couldn't blame him for anything.
Unfortunately, this meant Snape wasn't satisfied with the lesson, and meant extra homework for the class, on the many uses of centaur tail-hairs in antidotes.
"That was Hell," Ron moaned as they left the room, Neville close behind, muttering 'mutare elementa' over and over, under his breath. "I didn't understand half the stuff about reactions between centaur tail-hairs and scorpion venom!"
"Well, we're still in the lead with house points." Harry said optimistically. Ron grinned. "Thanks to me."
"Hey, I got forty points in Charms, you know. You only got thirty for your fire." his friend pointed out, and looked down at his schedule. "No more Potions 'til Friday, thank God."
"My sentiments exactly." Ron smiled. He paused as they passed Lavender, "Didn't you have Herbology with Hermione? Where is she?"
"She's seeing the wyverns!" Lavender called back, as she was swept away by the tide of students, who poured from the corridors as the lessons ended, chattering. Harry heard quite a few mentions of 'Harry...', 'Ron...', 'fire...' and 'Charms...' in the speech, and pushed himself further against the wall in the hopes of not being seen. "Let's get out to Hagrid's hut." Harry told Ron, and walked quickly outside, followed by the taller boy.

~ ~ ~

Hermione was, indeed, with the wyverns, along with Ginny and a few other fifth and fourth years, who had obviously been won over with stories of their incredible 'cuteness'.
Ginny seemed to have adopted Prankster, while Hermione was playing a game of tag with Florence, Blur and Nadom. Ron and Harry stopped dead in their tracks at the sight of the usually uppity girl being chased around the wyvern pen, laughing.
"Now, I've seen everything." Ron said in shock, and shook his head clear. "Hey, Nadom's there!" he said, as he saw the Floridian Ice Dragon, and rushed towards him. Harry followed suit, and the boys were soon playing with their wyverns, and explaining Ron's theory of their power increase.
As Harry had thought she would, Hermione agreed with the speculation. "That sounds more than likely." Hermione informed them, struggling to keep hold of a rebellious Florence. "I know I wouldn't normally be able to create so much water or fire; even I'm not that good without any practice. Florence, stop squirming!" She finally gave up and released the wyvern, who immediately ran over to Nadom, and started making purring noises at him. Nadom crouched down, and started purring back.
"What is up with them?" Ron wondered aloud. "They sound like cats."
"Don't even mention cats." Hermione growled. "Crookshanks has been terrible lately." Harry was surprised; he hadn't heard this. "What's wrong with him?"
"He keeps disappearing." Hermione sighed, stroking Harry's wyvern, Blur. "He just grabs his food and disappears outside for days on end."
"Get an owl." Ron said automatically. "Then you won't have to use school ones."
Hermione glared at him. "I am most certainly not replacing him! It's probably just a phase." Ron rolled his eyes. "That's what they all say."
Giving up on the pair, Harry took Blur and drifted over to Ginny, leaving the sounds of the violent argument behind him.
"Hey." he said casually, sitting down next to the girl, and releasing Blur from his grasp. Prankster leapt up and glared at Blur, whose ruff raised angrily. "Oops. Maybe I shouldn't have brought him over here." Harry groaned, watching the pair of wyverns.
"Her." Ginny corrected. Harry looked up at her. "Pardon?"
"Her." she repeated. "Your wyvern's a girl. She's got thicker tail than the males. The ones with thick tails are girls, and the thin tails are boys."
"Oh." Harry said, feeling a bit stupid. "Hagrid didn't mention that." Ginny shrugged. "When Hermione told me how nice they were, I found a book on them. It mentioned tha- NO!" she suddenly shrieked, as the sweet little girl wyvern bit down on the nice little boy wyvern's tail, who let out a squeal of pain, and scratched the others' face. Before Ginny or Harry could stop them, a full fledged fight broke out between the two. Blur's name came into play, and Prankster seemed to be using every trick in the book.
It was impossible to tell where one Longruff began and the other ended, as they viciously fought with fang and claw, pressed tight in a sort of ball, rolling over the ground.
Out the corner of his eye, Harry saw that everyone, even Ron and Hermione, had stopped arguing to watch the pair of hissing, screeching wyverns. 'Ron was right,' Harry thought desperately, 'they really are like cats.'
There seemed to be no other way to stop the pair, so he did the only thing he could thick of. "Mutare Elementa! " he called, pulling out his wand, and pointing at the fighting duo, focusing on a small amount of rain, rather than the torrent he had created previously.
Immediately, a small shower poured down onto them, making them leap apart, hissing in shock.
"Nice work." Ginny complimented, as Harry brought his wand down, and the rain ended. "Thanks." he replied, and looked sternly at the wyverns. He could swear they were looking embarrassed. "Don't do that again." he reprimanded, and gathered Blur in his arms. "Sorry, Ginny."
"That's okay," the girl sighed, looking Prankster over. "The show's over!" she called to the watching crowd, who remembered where they were, and pretended not to have been watching.
"Isn't that boy from your year?" Ginny asked, squinting in the sunlight as she looked towards the school. "He's running."
Harry looked now, and saw a figure running towards them, flat out. Now the individual was closer, Harry recognised it as Seamus Finnigan. "Yeah," he informed Ginny, noticing Hermione was pointing him out to Ron, "That's Seamus Finnigan. He's in my year, and Gryffindor."
"Everyone!" the boy hollered, gasping as he stopped at the wyvern pen. He waved a Daily Prophet in the air. "You won't believe it! There's been a Death Eater attack!"
For a moment, there was a shocked hush. Then, everyone started talking at once.
"What? -"
"Is Voldemort behind it? -"
"What if they -"
"Was anyone killed? -"
"Where? -"
"How many? -"
"Were they caught? -"
"Calm down! " Harry shouted, and everyone turned to look at him. "We're not going to find out anything at this rate. Just tell us the basics of the article, Seamus."
The boy nodded and cleared his throat. "Okay; it only happened this morning, that's why the papers didn't arrive; they cancelled them to get more information on this attack. There were about twenty Death Eaters attacking some streets in Southampton. Forty three Muggles dead, six Wizards. They caught three of the Death Eaters. Dark Marks over all the dead. The Ministry's going nuts!"
"I'm not surprised, with nearly fifty people dead." Hermione gasped in horror. A few others nodded in agreement, while one fourth year boy paled considerably. "My family live in Southampton." he whispered shakily. "Do they say who. . .?"
"No. . ." said Seamus helplessly, not knowing what to say. The boy leapt up, letting go of his wyvern. "I have to send an owl!" he cried, fleeing the pen.
Ginny let out a small sigh, as the former mood of happiness was completely destroyed. "That's. . . terrible."
Harry nodded. "Yeah, it is. I think I'm going to go inside, okay?"
"Sure." Ginny replied quietly, and Prankster gave her a comforting lick. "See you tomorrow, Blur." he said, giving the blue beast a final scratch behind it's pointed ears, and leaving.

~ ~ ~

However, although Harry was heading in the direction of the school, we wasn't going to be staying in it for a long time. Ten minutes later, he was at the window of his dorm, stretching his snow-white wings, freckled with long, black circles of coloured feathers.
'Okay,' he thought calmly, preparing himself for what was coming. 'Pretty simple, really. Just let the bird do the flying. If anything goes wrong, you'll be a nice, messy mark on the ground. If you get it right, you have a new form of stress relief.' He thought about the two cases. 'Okay, I'm nuts.' he groaned silently, and gave in.
He dived.
Suddenly, the ground was rushing up at him, the air shooting past his brilliant feathers, slowing him down slightly. Still, though, he plummeted. 'Wings! Spread my wings! ' he thought desperately, and finally, his body kicked in to what his mind was saying. As the grass below neared ever closer, his wings shot out from his sides, slowing his descent.
At first, he hovered shakily in the air, uncertain of what to do, before deciding that he'd have to start flying some time, if not now. Oh, stuff it all. he grumbled aloud, even though there was no-one around to hear him, and tilted his wings slightly upwards, which he found made him go lower, slowly and gently.
However, he soon discovered, if he tilted his head down, and his body up, whilst slanting his wings as before, then he shot down to the ground at top speed.
Needless to say, he was a bit terrified when he discovered that one at first.
After ten minutes of testing, trying and practicing, he could finally slow or speed up to however fast he wanted to go, with no difficulty. Dives were a little worrying, as it was completely different to being on a broom. Going lower slowly, or going higher at any speed, he quickly got the hang of, as well as normal flapping or gliding, and turning.
He quickly stopped when he realised that he was, in fact, rather obvious, flapping about outside the Gryffindor tower, and looked around with his heightened vision to see whether anyone was watching, hovering with his wings spread wide.
He cursed his stupidity as he saw a gaggle of five or so first years watching his progress and pointing, and felt slightly humiliated; hoping that they hadn't been watching when he was making a fool of himself, he glanced around again. A sixth year boy was watching from one of the towers, but it seemed he'd only just looked out.
Not wishing to stop flying - he had to admit, it was nearly as fun as Quidditch; it would be possibly more so, once he was used to it - he rose a few metres higher into the air, which meant he would be faster, and swooped down, past the students, and over the Forbidden Forest.
Now that he was properly flying, over a distance, rather than in a small area, his form's natural mind and instincts kicked in.
Every feather moved individually, acting as rudder or propeller, to let him twist himself, shift angles, or change height and speed. Catching sight of a glimmer of movement at the edge of the Forest, Harry slowed to an almost top, gently flapping on the light, cool breeze.
The clouds were so much closer here, and with Harry's new eyesight, meant that it seemed only a few inches, sometimes less, away.
Drifting slightly closer, Harry realised the person was none other than Draco Malfoy, stealing out of the grounds. Confused, he settled lower, and landed on a dying tree, keeping a pair of beady eyes fixed on his rival.
Malfoy looked like his normal, smirking self, dressed in a black robe that hung low on the ground, rustling over the few leaves that had fallen off the trees after Autumn.
A faint, boiling anger overcame Harry. Was he going to a Death Eater meeting? To be initiated, or was he already? With the thoughts of informing Dumbledore running through his mind, Harry took flight again, and followed the boy stealthily.
Malfoy pushed on, deeper into the Forest, following the practically invisible path and nearly straying from it a few times, Harry gliding softly behind and overhead, where he wouldn't be seen.
The boy stopped when he came to a small clearing, devoid of animal life. Malfoy got down on his hands and knees, looking on the ground in front of one of the trees. Finding nothing in the grass, he moved on to the next.
Although he couldn't see it, Harry could, easily. A small, blue, plastic ring, looking entirely out of place in the uninhabited wooded area, was nestled in a patch of grass. What made it more out of place, however, was that it was glowing a pale yellow.
Malfoy finally found it, and either didn't notice the glow, or didn't think it strange, as he didn't react to it in the slightest. Picking it up, he slipped it on one of his fingers, and held it to his mouth. "Four, oh, three." he spoke into it, and suddenly disappeared.
Harry blinked, and looked around. No, he was definitely gone. Sighing slightly, Harry briefly wondered about the glowing ring, and the reason for 'four, oh three'.
With his proof gone, it was hardly likely he could go to Dumbledore; although, he admitted to himself as he thought about it, he'd rather be the one to prove Malfoy as a Death Eater, than to wait for others to get the much needed evidence; like that personalised Portkey, or whatever it had been.
On the other hand, Portkeys didn't glow like that. . .
And Death Eaters seemed to only have their meetings at night. . .
Deciding his doubts were ludicrous, and turning back, Harry rose into the air and flew swiftly back towards the school. After all, if Malfoy wasn't a Death Eater in training, then what was he. . .?

~ ~ ~

Lunch was as brilliant as ever, even though he had to endure questions about where he had been, and what he was doing from Ron and Hermione.
He mouthed an 'I'll tell you later' to Ron when Hermione was distracted, and explained to the girl how he had been in the dorm, reading. He was certain that Hermione wouldn't take kindly to him or Ron sneaking out as Animagus' without her having even started her training yet, and opted not to tell either Ron or Hermione what he had seen Malfoy do. If he had to listen to Ron yell about Malfoy being a Death Eater, one more time. . .
He shook his head clear, and buttered a roll. "So, you were out flying, then?" Hermione asked cheerfully, passing him some more butter (he didn't seem to have enough). Harry nearly cut his finger with the knife, and stared at her.
"Were you watching me?" 'Well, there goes the idea of her being angry.'
"Of course not." Hermione sighed, " - are you even having this butter? - no, it's just I heard a first year saying there was a; and I quote; 'big hawk-thing acting mental'. When I heard it, naturally I thought of you."
"Real smooth way to make him feel insulted, Herm'." Ron grinned, snatching the butter out of her hand. "Harry, why didn't you tell me you were going flying? I'd have gone. . . well, running."
Harry shrugged. "Sorry. I dunno really, just wanted to practice. I didn't tell you now, because I thought Hermione would be annoyed we didn't wait for her."
"Oh, yes. I'm just so angry that you wanted to have some fun without me. You should have waited a year or so, for me to become a -" she shut up as some students passed.
Harry held up his hands in mock surrender. "Okay, okay. No need to be sarcastic. Besides, even if you aren't as fast as me and Ron, you're smart. You'll probably change within a few weeks anyway." Hermione looked a mixture of 'proud' and 'oh, I'm not that good'.
"So, are you sticking with polecat, or changing to unicorn?" Ron asked cheerfully, waving his fork for emphasis. "I think you should change to unicorn, that'd be way cooler."
Hermione, however, didn't agree. "No, I'm sticking with polecat." Ron looked at her in surprise, while this time, Harry did cut himself. "Ow! Why?"
"For the same reasons that I didn't want to change into a wyvern." Hermione explained. "It would attract too much attention, and you two have Muggle animals, so why should I have magical?"
"Well, I don't mind if you have a unicorn!" Ron hissed as loudly as he could without attracting attention. Hermione looked p*ssed. "Oh, so you're choosing my forms, now, are you?" she snapped, standing slightly.
"I didn't me-" Ron hastily added, but Hermione was quicker. "You-"
"That's it!" Harry said in desperation, and grabbed the pair by the neck of their robes. "I've had it with your arguing! We're going to have a nice, civil conversation, with no blowing into a rage. Got it?"
The pair nodded silently.
"Good." Harry said, sitting down calmly, as if nothing had happened. "Now, Hermione. How's your book coming along?"
Hermione shuffled uncomfortably. "Pretty well. I did some more last night. I've finished the draft of the first eight chapters, and I've started writing the introduction and first chapter out properly. At the rate I'm going, I'll probably have it completely finished by next year. And then, you can register as Animagus'." she finished evenly, glaring round at them.
Ron shrugged, but added his own thoughts. "You'll probably be an Animagus by then, so you'll register too, Marbly."
"Don't call me Marbly." Hermione warned, and snapped her figures. "Oh! I just remembered, about the book. I'll need your and Harry's help for the Quidditch section. That's the chapter I'll be doing a rough of next.
Harry nodded. "Sure. I just hope they hurry up and start Quidditch again soon. I haven't flown since last year, and we still need to get a captain, Keeper and two Chasers." He winced. "Damn! We're going to be picking practically the whole team this year! And next, Fred and George will be leaving. . ."
"Well, you'll have me on the team, soon." Ron said proudly. "I've been practicing as Keeper the whole Summer."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Just because you practiced doesn't mean you'll get on the team, Ron. There are loads of people trying out."
"Yeah, well. Just keep your fingers crossed." Ron said, slightly disappointed.
"And hope for the best." joked Harry, finishing the Chudley Cannons' team motto. He rose, and pushed his chair in. "I'm going to the dorm. Have an early night, and all. It's Astronomy at midnight."
"Good point." Ron approved. "But I'll just sleep it off in Free Time tomorrow." Hermione sighed quietly. "Great. Now you're making me wish I'd cancelled Divination properly. I have an extra lesson than you, so I don't get any Free Time at all."
Ron looked sympathetic, and Harry left, feeling slightly sorry for his friend.

~ ~ ~

At his empty dorm, Harry flung himself on his bed, but couldn't get to sleep. Rolling over, he tried again.
Nothing.
"Damn." he muttered, and, poised on the end of his bed to unlock his trunk. 'If anything will, Prefects Who Gained
Power will make me fall asleep.' Harry thought, and opened the lid.
Nearly falling off his bed, he blinked and looked again at what was lying on top of his school books - which he was certain had been on the top when he went to Lunch. Three small pieces of parchment, and something wrapped in a small bag of white paper, tied with a twist at the top. Picking up the parchments first, he read the writing on them.

Four of Wands, reverse. New relationships possible, new goals, new ambitions, action.
then,
Ace of Wands, upright. A creative beginning, a new business venture, a profitable journey, an inheritance, a new career, a birth in the family.
and finally,
The Fool, upright. New beginnings, new adventures, new opportunities, unlimited possibilities, pleasure, passion, thoughtlessness, rashness.

He fished down the side of his trunk quickly - the parchments were still there, with their predictions and possible meanings on. Someone had taken the trouble to find them, copy them out; excluding the meanings; and put them at the top of his belongings? But who, and why? He put the parchments in one of his robe's pockets, and looked warily at the package.
It was small, and quite soft looking. Giving in, he picked it up. It was light, and whatever was in it rubbed against the wrapping, sounding like salt or sugar.
Undoing the twist at the top, he peered inside. There was another note, but on Muggle paper. . . and also. . .


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

End of Chapter 9, Part I

Oooh, I'm eeevvillll!! ^_~
I remembered all your reviews from last time, begging for more cliffies, since you loved it so much; so, how could I not give you another one?
By the way, you can easily work out what the package is, if you just read through the chapter carefully. All the clues are there, just as before!
E-mail or review, ta ta for now! ^_^
(Griffin offer still on, and personally, if you're hooked on this fic, you should take a look at it; otherwise, you won't have a clue what it looks like. It's hard to explain in writing.)