Disclaimer: The characters and places and stuff belong to JKR. But for now, they are at my mercy. *evil grin* I'll return them as soon as I'm finished…maybe.

This is the sequel to "What Is Happiness?" To understand this story, you must first read that one. It is located at http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=946096

In this chapter: What's the deal with Harry and Ron? And is Harry having family problems?

~~~

Dear Harry,

I miss you, honey. I hope you're doing well, and I hope your visit with the Weasleys went all right. If Ron gave you any problems, let me know.

We won't be home for another five days yet. I like Australia, but I don't like being away from you. Perhaps I should just stop worrying. Remus and Sirius are there; what could go wrong?

I watched the sun set on the beach last night, and I thought of you. It was beautiful, just like you, and I remembered the time we enchanted your bedroom ceiling to look like a sunset. It was amazing.

I'm sorry this letter is so short; we're getting ready for dinner at a Muggle restaurant. This should be interesting. Write back soon and tell me about the visit and everything.

I love you,

Draco

Dearest Draco,

I miss you, too. The visit went all right, I suppose. Except for when I got nervous, started stuttering, panicked, and nearly passed out. Ron didn't say anything to me. He wasn't even around much; just for lunch, and then he went to his room.

Speaking of the Weasleys... Since you're not here, I have to stay at The Burrow during the full moon in two days. Dad's staying at the house with Daddy, Sean, and Kayla, and he doesn't want me to be left alone.

I want to become an Animagus. If I do that, then I can spend the moons with my family and not feel, I don't know, left out, I guess. Because I do feel left out. They're all a lot closer because of the bonding or whatever during that time,even if it is a terrible thing to happen, and I just feel like I'm not a part of the family sometimes. Do you get what I mean? Anyway, I'm going to read up on it and see if I can do it. Maybe you can do it with me?

Awaiting our next sunset,

Harry

~~~

Two nights later, Harry sat on the Weasleys' sofa, curled up with a book in his lap. He scribbled on a piece of parchment as he read the text, and he didn't even notice when someone sat at the other end of the couch.

"Harry?"

He sighed when he recognized the voice. Ron. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw that the red-haired boy looked nervous and was wringing his hands. He decided to be polite.

"Yes?"

"Um... I just wanted to--" Ron hesitated. Trying to cover up his stuttering, he quickly asked, "What are you studying?"

"Animagi," Harry replied, simply. He lifted the book so that Ron could see the cover.

"You want to be one?" Harry nodded. "What do you want to be?"

"I don't know," Harry said. "But it doesn't matter. You can't choose what animal you'll be; it's determined by who you are as a person."

"Any special reason why you've decided to become an Animagus?" Ron wondered, curiously. Harry sighed.

"I want to be able to spend the full moon with my family."

"Is the Wolfsbane still helping Remus?" Harry nodded.

"They're using it on Kayla and Sean, too, but they need to refine it a little. The side effects are pretty bad for kids."

The two were silent for a moment as Harry continued to take notes. Finally, he dropped his quill on the parchment and looked at Ron.

"There are some things we need to get straight, all right?" Ron nodded. "I will never, ever forgive you for the things you've said about me and about Draco. I will never, ever forgive you for the things you've done to us and the way you've treated us. I will, however, give you a chance. I'll be nice to you. I'll not ignore you or avoid you. But that doesn't mean we'll be friends. Our friendship was destroyed that day, and we both know that we'll never get it back. It will never be the same. I may try to start over, so that we can be friends, but it depends on you. And mark my words: if I ever find out that you've been talking shite about Draco, Severus, anyone I care about... You will regret it, and you know full-well that I have the power to make you regret it. Is all of that clear?"

"Yeah," Ron replied, nodding his head as he stood up. "I am sorry, Harry."

"I know you are," Harry said, softly. "But 'sorry' doesn't always fix things overnight. 'Sorry' isn't instant gratification."

Just then, Draco's eagle owl flew into the window and perched on the arm of the sofa, dropping a letter in Harry's lap. Harry scratched the owl's head as he read the note.

Harry,

I understand what you mean about the full moon thing. But before you try to become an Animagus, wait until we get home. 1. I want to become one with you, and 2. Assuming that you want to surprise your family, Dad wants to help you. He's an Animagus, but not many people know. Also, we just want to make sure nothing goes wrong. So wait for us, all right? We may be leaving early. Mum feels worse every day she comes closer to the due date, and although she doesn't feel REALLY bad, we might come home early, just in case.

All of my love,

Draco

~~~

Early the next afternoon, Sirius came to The Burrow to pick Harry up. They returned to their house, and Harry curled up on the sofa to do some homework.

"The kids and Daddy are resting," Sirius told him, yawning. "And I think I'll go take a nap, too. Will you be all right down here by yourself?"

"Mmm-hmm, go ahead," Harry assured him. As Sirius headed for the stairs, Harry spoke again. "Hey, Dad?" Sirius turned back and looked at the boy. "Are Daddy, Sean, and Kay all right? I mean, after last night¼" His words trailed to an end.

"They'll be just fine in a few hours, kiddo," Sirius replied with a reassuring smile. "Transformations take a lot out of them, and they become quite tired. But don't worry; they'll be all right."

Harry nodded, then turned back to his homework. He made sure that Sirius was gone before taking a charm off of his textbook and notes. Before, they'd been Transfiguration notes. Now they were Animagi notes.

Revealus Formus, Harry read to himself. Point your wand at yourself and say these words, and an image of your Animagus form will appear in front of you.

"Revealus Formus," Harry said, firmly, as he pointed his wand. Almost immediately, an image appeared in front of him. It took the form of a large black cat--a panther. Harry smiled to himself and yawned, closing his eyes.

When Harry opened his eyes again, he was being carried up a flight of stairs. He let out a sleepy sigh and laid his head against the chest of his carrier. The arms around him tightened, and he felt a light kiss on his forehead. Within seconds, he was being lowered to his bed. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly when he saw Draco sit next to him.

"Hey, love," Draco murmured, stroking Harry's hair.

"Missed you," Harry replied, laying his head in Draco's lap. "How was Australia?"

"Great," Draco responded, touching his fingers to Harry's lips. Harry took Draco's hand in his own and kissed his fingertips. "We went to the beach, did all kinds of stuff."

"You're tan," Harry commented.

"Yeah, well... It looks kind of weird with my hair being so light, but...whatever." Harry chuckled. "So I found you sleeping over your Animagus notes. Did you find out what you'll be?"

"Black panther."

"I did the spell yesterday," Draco told him. "My form is a dog of some sort." Harry smiled a little.

"You said Sev's an Animagus..." he mumbled. "What's his form?"

"Raven," Draco replied. "Go back to sleep, honey." Harry nodded, closing his eyes.

"Love you..." he murmured.