Hey sorry if I confuse you but I forgot to put a part in teh story. If you
already caught it and told me, thanks. I just remembered my mistake.
Thanks to all my reviewers. Thank you Wolfmoon, A-man, coconut-ice agent h/h, Ranma, ace, star crystal and all you others who reviewed. Feel free to send in your ideas for me to use them.
Thank you Kara Star for giving me ideas for Harry's new form. You go girl!
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Harry awoke an hour later to silence.
"No more singing?" he asked. His eyes were still closed.
"Not this time. Maybe next time," Ashley answered. Harry opened his eyes. His head was resting on the tree trunk. Ashley still had his arm around her shoulders as she wrote in her notebook.
"How long was I asleep?" Harry asked yawning. He removed his arm from Ashley to stretch.
Ashley checked her watch. "A little over an hour," she answered.
"I can't believe I fell asleep," He said looking out over the lake.
"I'm glad you fell asleep. You need rest. All your energy is being used to heal your head."
"I thought you said that Stacy healed my head," Harry recalled.
"She gave you a potion to help your healing process. Mostly to help you heal faster. You still need to be very careful," Ashley answered closing her notebook. She took her notebook, quill and ink and threw them into the air. She waved her hand towards the castle and the items immediately flew towards it and through an opened window. "Are you hungry?" she asked Harry.
"Yea a little" Harry answered putting a hand to his stomach.
"It's lunch time. Come on." Ashley stood and helped Harry up but when Harry stood, he immediately became dizzy. Ashley set him back down.
"Maybe that wasn't the best idea," Harry exclaimed closing his eyes. Ashley sat next to him and reached into her robes. She took out a bottle. Opening it, she put it into Harry's hand.
"Drink a mouthful of this. It'll help," Ashley said taking Harry's hand in her own and directing it up to his mouth. Harry took a sip and immediately his head cleared up.
"What is that?" he asked opening his eyes.
"Stacy gave it to me this morning. She told me it was a painkiller. It would help you if you get a headache or dizziness." Ashley put the bottle back in her robes. "How are you feeling?"
"A lot better actually," Harry answered.
"Ready to try to get up again?" Ashley asked standing up.
Harry took a deep breath. "Yea." He stood up expecting to be dizzy but his vision stayed straight.
"Are you okay?" Ashley asked.
"I'm fine," he replied surprised. Ashley held onto his arm to help him as they made their way towards the castle. They walked through the halls gaining surprised looks by students passing by seeing Harry out of the hospital wing. They finally reached the Great Hall and entered gaining more glares. They walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down. After explaining why he was out of the nurse's care he started to eat his lunch. He went on his day relaxing. He learned that the seventh year Slytherin who hit him in the head was expelled from the school for practical attempted murder. He could've killed Harry easily.
Weeks went by and Harry became fully healed and was back to regular, which consisted of mainly joking around with his friends and completing his training in sword fighting and martial arts with Stacy. Things were going great for most of them until Dumbledore made an announcement.
"Since the success of the ball last year, we are to have two balls this year. We will have our Snow ball in the winter but we'll add on a muggle type party. It will be on All Hallows Eve. We will celebrate it the muggle way. I suggest to the students and parents if desired to dress up as muggle children usually do. Dressing up in costumes will be a great experience all wizards and witches from the wizarding world."
"Not another ball!" Ron exclaimed.
"It will be a great learning experience for people who haven't experienced how muggles celebrate Halloween," Hermione said. Ron glared at her.
"This will be great. Now we get to decide what to wear!" Caroline exclaimed excited.
"We should go shopping in muggle London on our next Hogsmeade trip," Liz suggested.
"This will be so much fun!"
"Who are you taking Harry?" Ron asked.
"I think I know exactly who I'm taking," Harry replied.
"I don't know who I'm taking," Ron said.
"How about Hermione?" Harry asked quiet enough so Hermione couldn't hear him.
"No," Ron said quickly. "Maybe someone else."
"Just don't wait until the last minute," Harry remarked.
"Who are you taking Matt?" Jake asked.
Matt was silent for a minute. "I don't know," he answered. "I'll ask someone soon though."
"Harry? What does Dumbledore mean by costumes?" Fred asked.
"Muggle children dress up like things such as other people or animals for the day," Ashley answered. "They then go around to houses to get candy."
Fred and George looked at each other surprised. "Too bad they only go to the muggle world," George remarked.
"If they did go to the magical world, we would but a sign on the door that said 'Stay Away'," Ginny said. Several people laughed.
"I think it will be fun," Ashley said. "I haven't done this in so long."
"I've never done it," Harry said. He usually didn't dress up for the holiday. It's not like the Dursleys let him dress up.
A few minutes later, lunch was dismissed as the students left to go to their next class still talking about the upcoming ball. Harry and Ashley headed to the common room and sat down on armchairs in front of the fire. They were alone. The other Gryffindors were at their classes.
"Harry?" "Ashley?" They looked at each other. They called each other's names at the same time.
"You can go first," Ashley said looking relieved.
Harry choked. "Well, I wanted to ask you if you'd like to go to the Halloween Ball with me," he said. Ashley smiled at him.
"I'd love to!" she exclaimed.
"What did you want to ask me?" Harry asked happy that she agreed.
"I was going to ask you the same thing!" she exclaimed laughing. The rest of the time, they talked about what they would wear until the portrait opened and in stepped Jake and Matt.
"I did the unthinkable," Jake said sitting on the couch next to Harry.
"Pass a test?" Harry joked. Jake hit him in the arm.
"No, Wolf. I asked a girl to the ball," Jake replied.
Harry was shocked. "Who?" he asked.
"Our good friend Caroline," Matt answered.
Harry and Ashley's mouths dropped open. "Did she say yes?" Ashley asked. Jake nodded.
"Hey don't go wide mouthed on me. Matt's got a girlfriend also," Jake said. This time Harry and Ashley looked at Matt with their wide mouths.
"You're catching flies," Matt said. They closed their mouths.
"Who?" Harry asked.
"The other girl in our little gang," he answered.
"Liz," Harry and Ashley said together. Hermione walked into the common room with her arms full of books. Harry ran over to help his best friend.
"Why do you have so many books?" he asked taking some of the books.
"They looked interesting in the library," she answered setting the books down on the table. Harry set the others next to them. Hermione was panting with the effort of carrying the books. She sat down and pulled one close to her. She opened it and started reading.
"What book are you reading?" Ashley asked walking over to them.
"'Vampires and Their Way of Life'," Hermione answered.
"I read that book," Ashley said. Hermione looked at her in surprise. All her friends normally don't read.
"Was it good?" Hermione asked.
"Full of information. It's amazing what's in that book. You wouldn't think of vampires the same way again," Ashley answered. Harry left the two of them talking as he joined Matt and Jake on the couches. The room was beginning to fill up with people as classes ended. Sirius walked into the common room and spotted Harry. He walked over to where he was sitting.
"Hey kids," he said sitting on one of the armchairs.
"Hey Padfoot," Harry said.
"So, there's two balls this year?" Sirius asked. Harry and the others nodded. "I remember my first ball. It was a disaster. I was fourteen. I couldn't dance for my life." Everyone was laughing when Caroline and Liz walked over.
"What's so funny?" Liz asked.
"Sirius' first ball," Matt answered still laughing. Caroline and Liz looked at Sirius. They sat down next to him.
"Okay continue," Liz said smiling.
"Let's hear it," Caroline added.
Sirius laughed and put up his hands. "Enough about me. So tell me, who are you taking to the ball and what do you plan to wear?" Everyone was silent as they looked at each other.
Harry opened his mouth to speak until the portrait opened and in stepped Ron screaming, "I actually did it!" Harry cheered under his breath for being interrupted.
"Honestly Ron," Hermione said. "How could you possibly think a person can study while you're screaming who knows what?" Ron glared at Hermione.
"I don't see anyone else studying here but you, Hermione," he exclaimed. "You're the only one I know that studies all the time!"
"Maybe I study so I can do good in school and do something I want in my life!"
"OK!" Harry yelled shutting the bickering students up. They looked at him as well as many others in the room. "Everyone who is now in the common room as well as out of it knows exactly what you two just said!" Hermione and Ron stayed quiet after that. Ron approached Harry and the others.
"What did you just do?" Jake asked him as he sat down.
"I got a date for the ball," Ron answered proud of himself. Harry's mouth dropped remembering how it was like getting dates the following year.
"Who?" Harry asked.
"Lavender Brown," Ron answered.
"Who?" Jake asked.
"She's a Gryffindor," Harry said looking around. A few minutes later Lavender came through the portrait. She smiled at Ron before heading up to her friends in a corner of the room.
"That's her," Ron said smiling back.
"Congratulations Ron," Jake said giving a whistle. Caroline hit him in the head.
"Forget someone?" she asked.
"No one, dear" he joked smiling.
"So now that Ron answered one of my questions," Sirius said. "Who are you all going with?"
"I'm going with Jake," Caroline said smiling at Jake who smiled back.
"I don't know what we're going as though," Jake replied.
"It should be something that is hard to do," Ashley said walking up to them. "Something that normal wizards and witches can't do. Show off your powers a little. Have fun."
"It sounds like you have an idea," Sirius said.
Ashley smiled. "I know exactly what I'm doing as well as my date." Sirius shot a glance towards Harry who missed it.
"So Harry, do you know who you're taking and what you're wearing?" Sirius asked.
Harry looked up. "You already know," he said simply.
"Oh do I?" Sirius asked laughing. "Ashley, what are you and Harry wearing to the ball?"
"That's a secret," she answered smiling. Harry nodded.
"So Matt, who are you going with?" Sirius asked.
"Liz."
"You said that so simply as if you're not grateful for me going with you!" Liz exclaimed.
"I'm more grateful than you will ever know," Matt replied. Liz smiled at his response.
"Matt, you're out of the hot seat," Jake remarked. Liz and Caroline gave him a look. "What?" he asked. They rolled their eyes.
"Matt, what are we wearing to the dance?" Liz asked.
Matt shrugged. "I don't know. We'll talk about it later." Liz nodded.
"Sirius, are you going with anyone?" Harry asked. Sirius gave a forced laugh.
"No way. I'm fine the way I am," Sirius replied.
"Then what are you going to the dance as?" Ashley asked.
"A big, black dog," he replied.
"But that boring! Come on Sirius, dress up a little," Harry complained.
"You sound like your mother when you do that!" Harry smiled. "She could make anyone do what she wanted. Very creepy. I don't have anything else to go as. Plus, I can't think of anything at all."
"Maybe you could be a muggle," Caroline suggested making everyone laugh.
"A muggle in robes," Sirius corrected. Everyone laughed harder.
"Boring," Harry remarked.
"Hey Prongs Jr., I can't wait to see you in your costume!" Sirius said defending himself.
"At least I will be creative!" he shot back.
"So what are you going to be?" Sirius asked.
"You'll have to wait. You'll see the night of the dance!"
"I miss shopping," Liz said out of the blue. Everyone looked at her.
"Our next Hogsmeade trip is soon," Caroline said. "Shop then. Maybe we can go into muggle London for our costumes!"
"That would be nice. I need to get my costume there anyway. I have to get yours also," Ashley said looking at Harry.
"I can get what I need," Harry said thinking about his costume.
"I might have to make a part of it," she said mysteriously.
"During any of this time, do you plan to tell us what you are going as?" Jake asked.
"Not at all," Harry replied smiling.
"So we really do have to wait till the dance to see it?" Sirius asked.
"Exactly!" Ashley said. They continued talking about their costumes until bedtime.
Days passed until finally the day of the Hogsmeade trip came. The shapeshifters, Hermione, Ron, Lavender, Sirius and Remus headed out of school and right into Hogsmeade. They're first stop was the bank and then they headed out through the Leaky Cauldron and into Muggle London. They walked down the streets looking and stopping in stores.
"Let's go in here!" Liz exclaimed looking in a big department store. They all headed in and separated into separate places. They decided to keep their costumes secret. A few minutes later they walked back out.
"Still didn't find anything?" Ashley asked Harry. He came out bagless.
"Nope," Harry responded. Ashley was carrying a few bags. She had said that she was making her costume but no matter how much Harry asked, she wouldn't tell him what it looks like. They stopped off in more stores and also a place to get lunch.
"This is boring!" Jake exclaimed sitting down in a booth at the local pizza place. Ron, Sirius and Remus haven't had pizza so they decided it was the perfect place to stop.
"This is shopping," Sirius said.
"What did you expect?" Remus asked sitting down next to Sirius.
"Something more exciting," he replied.
"I think I have mostly everything for my costume," Ashley said looking in her bags.
"I had mine from the start," Caroline said. She still had a few bags with her.
"I have mine!" Liz said holding up a bag.
"You need to take this," Harry said giving a bag to Ashley who looked in it and nodded. Harry still had another bag with him.
"I had mine," Matt said.
"I need to get mine still. I just don't want to wear it!" Jake exclaimed looking at Caroline.
"Don't look at me!" she exclaimed.
"I have mine," Hermione said happy. Everyone looked at her. Especially Ron.
"So you're going?" Ron asked.
"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" Hermione said. She looked into her bags.
"Who are you going with?" Ron asked. He was surprised that Hermione had found a date to the dance.
"You'll just have to find out that night," Hermione said. She wasn't going to give any clues to who asked her out. Ron was silent after that. They ate their pizza before heading out once more. They stopped at a few more shops before heading back into Hogsmeade. An hour later, they returned to the castle carrying many bags.
Once inside the common room, they headed up to their rooms to put their packages down before heading off to dinner. The Great Hall was filled with students who came back from Hogsmeade. Many were sharing what they had bought. Dinner was served as conversations arose.
"Did you have fun?" Mrs. Weasley asked. This time Harry wasn't sitting next to her. He was sitting next to Sirius. Harry learned not to sit next to Mrs. Weasley if he didn't want to gain 25 pounds in one sitting.
"I'm going to make you're costume tonight," Ashley said to Harry. She was sitting on the other side of him. They had to be careful on what words they used if they didn't want the others to know what they were planning on. "Does it fit all right?"
"It's perfect," Harry answered.
"When I'm done, you might have to try it on again just in case it became bigger."
"Are you sure that you can do it tonight?" Harry asked thinking about what she needed to do.
"I'm very creative and can use magic. Remember that," Ashley said smiling. Harry nodded at his forgetfulness of her being a witch. "I can do it quickly. I need to spend some time on mine though. That's going to take awhile."
"Should I meet you anywhere tonight?" Harry asked finishing his dinner.
"No. I'll give it to you another day. Maybe tomorrow, but not tonight. For all I know, I might not finish it," she replied wiping her mouth.
"Do you have any ideas for your costume?" Harry asked.
"Yea. I have all the materials I need I think," she answered. There was a hoot from above. When they looked up, they saw Snow flying up to them. She had a letter in her claws. Snow dropped it right in front of Ashley. "Hello Snow. Have a nice flight?" The owl hooted a 'yes' in response. Ashley took the letter off her plate and started to read it. She smiled after reading it and handed it to Harry.
Ashley,
Your father and I think it's a great idea to have a Halloween party at school. It will be tons of fun. Take a lot of pictures! You can never have enough pictures.
So you have a date? Congratulations. I tried visualizing what your dress looks like. It seems beautiful. Save it for future needs. It would great just to show it off as something that you made. Take tons of pictures and send them to us even if you think they're embarrassing. Yes, we do know you too well. Make sure there is tons with you and your date. But most of al, have fun!
Keep up your singing. You have a wonderful voice, don't ever forget or doubt that. Did you sing to your boyfriend yet? He'll enjoy it. Keep recording your singing and send it over. Your father and I listen to it all the time. We even brag that it's you! Don't worry about it. They think it's unbelievable. Well, have fun. It's great to hear from you again!
Mom
"Your mother sounds nice," Harry remarked giving Ashley back the letter.
"She's the best," Ashley answered before taking out a piece of paper and a quill with ink. She took the quill and was about to write until she paused and looked at Harry. "You write to them," she said simply. Harry looked at her if wondering if she was serious.
"What should I write?" he asked taking the quill and paper.
"Anything. Introduce yourself." Harry looked at the paper thinking until he wrote his letter.
Mrs. Strone
My name is Harry Potter. I'm taking your daughter to the Halloween dance in our school. She's a wonderful person. She really is extraordinary and surprises me with something new everyday.
Ashley did sing to me. At our first Quidditch game, one of the opposing teams Beaters clobbered me in the head while I was high in the air. The blow hurt my skull and made me almost loose consciousness while I slipped from my broom. Ashley, being the best flyer there is, caught me before I hit the ground. She stayed with me in the hospital wing until I was better. One time when I awoke, I heard her singing. You were right, she does have a beautiful voice. I would ask her to sing more but it seems to embarrass her. Ever since that day, Ashley is always by my side. She watches out for me as I watch out for her. It's important especially for this time.
The dance is a few days away. Ashley is making my costume as well as her own. She's super creative. She can really keep things from me as well. I keep asking her what her dress looks like but she never tells me. Maybe you could give me a hint?
It's been a pleasure writing to you.
Harry Potter
"There, done," Harry said putting the quill down. Ashley reached for it put Harry grabbed it away from her reach.
"Can I see it?" she asked holding out her hand.
"Nope," Harry answered holding the letter away from her. She reached over and tried to grab it. Harry jumped up and started to run away but she was close behind.
"Let me see!" she yelled laughing. They were running around the Great Hall receiving glares from the other tables as well as bits of laughter.
"No way!" Harry yelled back. He was running in between the tables laughing.
"But it's to my parents!" Ashley shouted from behind him.
"But I wrote it," Harry shouted. They ran around for a while until he heard a roar from behind him. He turned and saw a lioness looking at him. The lioness jumped at Harry who side stepped it. It landed a few feet away. Harry took a few steps back. He quickly put the letter in his pocket. Looking at the lioness, he started to run to it before jumping into the air to jump onto it. In mid jump, he changed from a human to a white tiger. It was one of his favorite cat forms. He landed his jump a few feet in front of Ashley. They circled each other for a while until she attacked. Harry knocked her to the ground. After a few intense moments, the attacking was reduced to playing. It looked like two kittens playing. They played until a shadow appeared over them. They stopped and looked up. There was a huge grizzly bear on its hind paws looking down at them.
'Bear,' Harry said to Ashley. In their animal forms, they could talk to each other through their heads. Harry's the only one who could do it as a human.
'No duh,' Ashley responded.
'I mean its Jake,' Harry explained. He quickly looked up at the staff table. Dumbledore looked amused. Looking at the students most looked excited and amazed.
'I know,' Ashley said back. Suddenly the bear roared and stood on all fours. He looked ready to attack.
'What are you doing?' Harry asked Jake.
'Seeing who's better,' he replied.
'Oh no,' he heard Ashley say.
'We need different animals,' Harry said back. He knew just how powerful a grizzly bear is. Without warning, the bear attacked Harry sending him a few feet back. Harry landed on his side but quickly arose as the bear approached again. The white tiger showed it's teeth and claws. The bear came up to him and stood on his hind legs making himself eight feet tall and towering over the tiger. The bear swung his claws and hit Harry right in the head. Something clicked in Harry's head. They've done this many times but not to hurt each other. Harry looked down and saw blood on the ground. Jake had struck to hurt.
'What's wrong with you?' Harry asked angry. He saw the lioness behind him. It seemed to notice that something wasn't right either.
'Absolutely nothing,' was his response. The bear rose again. Harry looked around at the students. They weren't amused anymore. Stacy stood and approached the animal with her wand raised. The other shapeshifters were around her. They didn't look happy. Harry watched as Stacy approached leaving the others behind. She walked but soon stopped as if she hit a barrier. The barrier gave her a shock. A very powerful shock. Harry looked at her in fear. Why was there a barrier up? Harry was so distracted that he forgot about the psycho bear and was brought back by a hit in the face again, drawing more blood.
'Stacy!' Harry called. She looked at him in fear. 'What's wrong with him?!' Stacy shrugged her shoulders. He saw Matt transform into powerful lion and run to them but was stopped fifteen feet away by a shock shooting through his body. He changed back in pain. Stacy said a spell and revealed a barrier around the white tiger and bear. It was powered by lightning as bolts moved along the barrier.
Another smack hit Harry only this time in the side. Ashley went to rush up to him until Harry screamed in her head. 'Stop!' The lioness stopped right in front of it. Ashley turned back. Her eyes showed how angry and afraid she was. Harry saw Sirius next to Stacy.
The bear went to strike again but Harry moved just in time. The bear might be big but the tiger was fast. It jumped right onto the bear and left claw marks in its back before jumping off. The bear looked at Harry before trying to attack again. This time Harry couldn't move as fast as he was picked up and thrown across the room.
Harry stayed on the ground. The last impact broke a few of his ribs. Harry could barley breathe. He thought about what he should do next. If he returned to his human form, he would be no match for the bear. He saw the bear looking at him. Waiting for him to attack. Waiting for him to do something. Harry suddenly had an idea. Using his human telepathy skills, Harry called out after trying out a new power. He made it able for someone to talk back to him.
'Jake?' he asked. Pain was in his voice. A small voice answered back.
'Wolf?' it said. It sounded like Jake.
'Where are you?" Harry asked. He still kept his eye on the bear.
'I really have no clue,' he responded. 'Someone put me here after knocking me out.'
'Describe where it is quickly. The power I'm using that enables you to talk back only lasts a small amount of time. I can't hold it for long.' Sensing the problem, Jake described his surroundings.
'A tower of some sort, huge window overlooking the pitch, small area,' he said. Harry searched his mind for the place. The Astronomy Tower!
'Get down here quickly. Someone is attacking us and pretending he's you. They put up a barrier and I can't get away.' Harry told Jake how to get out. Jake followed them. In the mean time, Harry concentrated on his next form. He wanted something fast and powerful but isn't hurt easily. Something that could do damage. Suddenly he felt pain leave him as his body switched forms. He was able to hear a few gasps as he changed. He felt an immense amount of energy leave him as well. He opened his eyes and almost screamed out in surprise as he saw himself. He saw a horn of a unicorn pointing out from the top of his noise but had the body of a wolf. A mane was sprouting from his neck. It was the mane of a golden lion.
Getting over his shock, he looked toward the bear. It looked at him in surprise right before attacking. Harry quickly moved out of the way. He fought back using his teeth and horn. Soon the bear was too tired to do anything but lay down. The bear was defeated. It transformed into a unicorn and tried to attack again. Harry quickly sidestepped it and was out of the way. He used his horn to hurt the unicorn enough that it was unable to attack. When the unicorn was down, it transformed into the form of Jake.
"Enough with the animals, Potter," he sneered. Harry cautiously changed back. When changing back, he made sure that he changed back to his original appearance. His appearance with glasses, black hair and a scar. 'Jake' brought his wand up to attack just before his body blurred. It must've been a polyjuice potion. It regained the image of a Death Eater Harry never saw before. Harry sighed in relief. The Death Eater must've known about shape shifting but nothing about elemental magic.
Harry looked at the Death Eater with a cold glare. He reached into his pocket to take out his wand. Pointing it at the Death Eater, they both shouted the disarming spell at the same time. They met in the air and disappeared. A stunning spell was sent to Harry who dodged it but didn't see the disarming spell sent his way. His wand flew out through the barrier. Harry watched as it soared out. He wasn't worried. He had wandless magic. Suddenly, a pain ripped through his entire body from his back. Harry fell to the floor in pain. Looking up he saw Lucius Malfoy standing above him with a dagger in his hand. Blood was dripping from it.
"That didn't hurt did it Potter?" he sneered. Harry bit back a cry of pain when he tried to stand up. With one quick spell, the unknown Death Eater flew across the room and onto the floor. Suddenly the barrier disappeared but reappeared when the Death Eater gained his footing. He was the one controlling the shield. When the barrier disappeared, it reappeared quickly but not before Ashley got in, wand in her hand. She made Malfoy fly through the air before running over to Harry. She knelt down by him and helped him up. They turned to face the Death Eaters until they were grabbed roughly. Harry was wondering why the others didn't warn them until he realized that the barrier blocked sounds coming in.
The Death Eaters grabbed the two of them roughly and held a dagger up to their throats. Harry couldn't break free of their grasp. He tried to blast the Death Eaters away. They moved a few inches before laughing. Harry's eyes went wide. He used up most of his energy while talking to Jake and doing animal transformations. Since they are all only 15, the smallest things take away the most amount of energy. Too much energy that a 15 year old doesn't have. Harry looked up at Ashley frightened. She tried to make the wind blow but couldn't do much. She and many others had been using spells to try to break through the barrier but were unsuccessful.
"It's finally the last of Harry Potter!" Malfoy yelled. Harry glanced at Draco. He looked furious. He was doing something that Harry couldn't recognize until he realized what was happening. Draco was trying to stop the time through the barrier but his attempted were unsuccessful as well.
"Master will be happy," the other one said. He was holding a dagger close to Ashley's throat.
"Maybe we should kill them now," Malfoy suggested. He was holding Harry. A dagger was placed close to his throat. "It would be a pleasure to do. Wouldn't it be, Ken?" he asked the other Death Eater.
"Let go of Ashley! She's not part of this!" Harry yelled still trying to get out or Malfoy's arms but getting weaker with his attempts.
"What are you going to do about it?" Malfoy asked holding the dagger so close to Harry that it made a small cut along his throat. They laughed as it bled.
"Let us go!" Ashley screamed. She was furious. She tried to kick Ken. She kicked and moved so much that Ken couldn't keep a hold on her. She slipped away. She grabbed her wand and pointed at Ken. She stunned him and turned to Malfoy. "Let him go," she said coldly.
"What are you going to do?" Malfoy sneered. "If you cast a spell, your boyfriend here will be hit instead." He lifted Harry up so that he couldn't touch the ground. "Don't waste your breath." Harry started struggling again but was awarded with a bigger cut on his throat. The top of his shirt was beginning to get soaked. "Stop struggling!" Malfoy screamed before taking his wand and pointing it at Ashley. He tried to stun her but she did a back flip to get out of the way. She landed perfectly on her feet. She did a sweep at Malfoy's feet to knock him to the ground. She was successful. He fell to the ground and let go of Harry who tried to quickly gain his ground. His throat hurt like crazy and he was getting lightheaded. Ashley quickly did a charm to stop the blood flow.
"You'll pay for that," Malfoy said standing up. He awoke his partner who also gained up on them. Ashley was pushed back with no where to go. They disarmed her and threw her wand across the floor. Harry closed his eyes and concentrated. Suddenly he heard a yell as the Death Eaters were lifted into the air. Harry used less and less energy to keep them up as Ashley contributed what she could. It was a bit more than Harry. On the count of three, they threw the partners right into the barrier. They were shocked unconscious before the barrier disappeared.
Harry felt the world slowly disappear before he was lifted up. He looked up and saw that Sirius had picked him up. Harry changed back his appearance. He struggled to keep awake. Next to him, Remus had Ashley in his arms. She looked terrible. She had passed out. Harry figured that they both looked terrible. Harry managed to put his arms around Sirius' neck. Sirius, Stacy, Remus, the rest of the shapeshifters, the Weasley's, Hermione, McGonagall, Snape, Draco, and Dumbledore all headed out to the Hospital wing. Along the way, Harry heard Snape and Dumbledore talking.
"He didn't tell me anything," Snape said. "I didn't know he was attacking tonight. He said tomorrow night."
"He knows," Harry said weakly. Everyone looked at him surprised he was still awake. "He caught us off guard. He knows."
Dumbledore looked grave. He saw Harry's eyes unfocus for a minute until they appeared normal. He was falling asleep. Too much energy and blood lost. "Indeed he has found out," he said looking deeply at Harry. "We need to be prepared for anything. I don't know how Voldermort found out but he did." They arrived at the Hospital Wing. Immediately they put Ashley onto a bed. Sirius went to lay Harry down on a bed but Harry refused to let go.
"Come on. Let go, Harry," Sirius said trying to get Harry into the bed. Even though he was tired, Harry wouldn't let go. He would fall asleep if he laid down. He didn't want to do that, not now. He needed to stay awake.
"Go into bed Harry," Dumbledore said surprised by the child's behavior. Harry didn't do anything. When they tried again, Harry still wouldn't let go.
"Come on dear, you need sleep," Mrs. Weasley said trying to get Harry to sleep. He looked dead in Sirius' arms. Everyone thought that. He looked as if he hadn't slept in weeks or months. Still Harry wouldn't let go.
Harry didn't let go for the fear of falling asleep. If Voldermort attacked, Harry had to be up. Even if he didn't have any energy, he could gather what he could and use that but most of all, he was scared. Out of nowhere, Harry was almost killed. Harry wasn't prepared. He didn't want to be left alone right now. Even if they would be at his side, Harry felt better with his Godfather. Harry wasn't going to let go for anything.
The whole time that people tried to get Harry into bed, Stacy stood studying him. She was scared about what just happened. She knew exactly what happened but next time her students must fight together. And they must be prepared for it. Stacy stood studying Harry. She knew how her students reacted to things. She knows how they act.
"Leave him be," she said simply. They were all scared and the best place to be was where they felt safe. Stacy understood that. Everyone looked at her in surprise. Harry looked at her in relief. "If he wants to stay with Sirius, then leave him be. He has his reasons." Everyone left Harry alone after that.
They all carried on conversation about possibly training the other students to fight and duel while Harry drifted off to sleep. Sirius felt Harry's body relax. He smiled down at his Godson's form. Harry had fallen asleep with his head on Sirius' shoulder. He looked up and saw Stacy watching him. He nodded to her as if to tell her that Harry had finally given in to sleep. She smiled and nodded back. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Ashley still asleep in her bed. The beds in the wing were given up to the people in the room. The other shapeshifters were going to sleep in Gryffindor tower until Stacy reminded them that they should remain together. Without any objections, they claimed beds around the room and had fallen asleep a few minutes earlier. The Weasley children as well as Draco, and Hermione were sent back to their rooms.
Sirius looked down at Harry. He saw a small cut across his neck where it was cut. Madam Pomfrey wanted to heal it but Stacy didn't let her. She was very protective over the shapeshifters. Especially now. A few hours later they had all fallen asleep in their chair.
Sirius awoke the next morning with Harry still in his arms. Harry as well as Ashley were still sleeping. The others were all awake. They crowded around a table with Dumbledore, Stacy, Snape, Remus and McGonagall. They seemed to be discussing something. Sirius slowly stood up and walked over to the group with Harry in his arms.
"He's still sleeping?" Stacy asked as Sirius approached.
"Yea. This reminds me of when he was a baby. He used to fall asleep in my arms all the time and I would get stuck carrying him around," Sirius recalled.
"Do you know why Harry didn't let go yesterday?" she asked. Sirius shook his head. "He was scared. I was scared. We were all scared. Harry felt safe in your arms and that is what he needs to feel right now. The safer he feels, the better." Sirius smiled down at Harry. He was still sleeping with his head on Sirius' shoulder.
"What are you planning?" he asked quietly.
"We think that all if not most students in this school should be trained to deal with something like this when it happens again," Remus answered. Sirius looked down at a piece of parchment spread out upon the table. It held a list of things such as self-defense, animagus training, and dueling.
"Is this all that will be trained to them?" Sirius asked looking over the list.
"It's not all," Dumbledore answered. There was no sparkle in his eyes. For one of the first times, he looks old. He looked tired and worn down. "We still need to add a lot more. Anything that could be taught that might help, they need to learn."
"You should welcome them to boot camp," Sirius remarked receiving small smiles from those who understood what he meant.
"Lunch starts in a few minutes," Dumbledore said. "I must get down top the Great Hall."
"Lunch?!" Sirius asked. "What time is it?"
Remus looked down at his watch. "11:40."
"I didn't know it was that late!" Sirius exclaimed. He never slept that late. It must've been the 'excitement' from yesterday.
"You needed the sleep," Remus remarked. "When you don't get enough sleep, you're very grumpy." Sirius was going to push Remus but reminded himself that he couldn't if he didn't want to drop Harry.
They continued talking for a while until Jake walked into the room.
"Stacy?" he asked. Stacy turned to him. The rest of the shapeshifters were around the school. Stacy had told them not to use any magic. The attack might still be on that day and they needed to be prepared.
"What is it Jake?" Stacy asked kindly.
"I have just a question," he replied. "Yesterday, Harry used his skills to talk to me in my mind but I was able to talk back. He said that it was another power he developed. What happened?"
Stacy thought about what she was going to say. "You are all very young," she began. "When you get older, you'll develop more energy. With this energy, you can do harder spells or even, in your case, learns more abilities dealing with your element. When you get older or have enough energy, you can start doing things like rearranging and creating mountains and volcanoes. That is what happened last night. Harry must've been old enough to learn something new. He learned to give someone the ability to use telepathy and also take it away. It's very energy draining. He could only hold it for so long. You'll all learn many things and become very powerful. It's just that you're young now. Try to see if you can do a tougher ability. Just not now. You all need your energy."
"We'll all learn new things?" Jake asked. "I thought we could only do what we could now."
Stacy gave a small laugh. "What you can do now is nothing compared to what you'll be able to do next year and the year after that and so on." Jake smiled before looking at the sleeping forms of his friends.
"Will they be okay?"
Stacy walked over to Ashley's bed. "They should be. They just need to sleep for a while. Let's hope there isn't an attack tonight. They used almost all of their energy last night." Jake nodded with her answer and started to walk away but stopped.
"What was that shield that was up?"
Stacy sighed. "I don't know. I've never seen one like it. It was a shield composed of all lightning. It was easily destroyed with defeating the caster though. I looked into it but have had no luck." Jake started to head back again but stopped in the doorway.
"What did Harry transform into last night?" he asked referring to the unicorn, wolf, and lion mix.
"That is what happens when you concentrate on something hard enough. Harry must've wanted to be an animal that had some qualities of all of them. They must've been compatible and mixed themselves together. My guess is that you can all do it because it has nothing to do with Harry's element." Jake nodded for the last time before walking out of the room.
"How powerful do you think Harry will get?" Sirius asked.
"I don't know. He's a rare element. He'll figure them out on his own," Stacy replied before sitting in a chair.
"We should get down to lunch," McGonagall said. She gave Ashley and Harry a last look of encouragement before walking out of the Hospital Wing.
"I guess I'm staying here," Sirius said looking down at Harry. Just when he said that, Harry began to stir. He let out a moan of pain as he moved. "His back!" Sirius remembered. "We never healed that did we?" Stacy shook her head before walking over to them.
"Harry, it's okay," she said before trying to look around for where Harry had been stabbed. Finding it, she healed it. His moaning stopped.
"You okay now Kido?" Sirius asked. Harry remained still but opened his eyes. He nodded before looking around the room. His eyes fell on Ashley.
"I'm surprised that you're awake," Stacy said. Harry looked at her.
"Are you hungry?" Sirius asked. Harry shook his head slightly. He closed his eyes and rested his head against Sirius again.
"He's tired," Stacy stated. "Harry, its lunch time now and Sirius has been with you all day. Would you like to come down to eat or stay here and sleep? You'll have to go into a bed if you want to sleep because Sirius has to eat. He hasn't eaten all day."
Harry thought about his options but kept his eyes closed. He didn't feel like going to the Great Hall. He wasn't hungry and he definitely wasn't going to get much sleep there. While Harry was thinking, he felt himself being put down. They took his silence as wanting to stay and sleep. For the first time, Harry let go of Sirius' neck.
"Get some sleep," Sirius said ruffling Harry's hair. Harry heard his footsteps leave the room. Harry fell asleep as few minutes later.
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There you go! I was going to end this a while back but I decided to keep going. Hope you like this! Send your ideas and comments to me. Question: Do you think Sirius and Stacy should go together? Yes/ No? review you're answer.
Thanks to all my reviewers. Thank you Wolfmoon, A-man, coconut-ice agent h/h, Ranma, ace, star crystal and all you others who reviewed. Feel free to send in your ideas for me to use them.
Thank you Kara Star for giving me ideas for Harry's new form. You go girl!
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Harry awoke an hour later to silence.
"No more singing?" he asked. His eyes were still closed.
"Not this time. Maybe next time," Ashley answered. Harry opened his eyes. His head was resting on the tree trunk. Ashley still had his arm around her shoulders as she wrote in her notebook.
"How long was I asleep?" Harry asked yawning. He removed his arm from Ashley to stretch.
Ashley checked her watch. "A little over an hour," she answered.
"I can't believe I fell asleep," He said looking out over the lake.
"I'm glad you fell asleep. You need rest. All your energy is being used to heal your head."
"I thought you said that Stacy healed my head," Harry recalled.
"She gave you a potion to help your healing process. Mostly to help you heal faster. You still need to be very careful," Ashley answered closing her notebook. She took her notebook, quill and ink and threw them into the air. She waved her hand towards the castle and the items immediately flew towards it and through an opened window. "Are you hungry?" she asked Harry.
"Yea a little" Harry answered putting a hand to his stomach.
"It's lunch time. Come on." Ashley stood and helped Harry up but when Harry stood, he immediately became dizzy. Ashley set him back down.
"Maybe that wasn't the best idea," Harry exclaimed closing his eyes. Ashley sat next to him and reached into her robes. She took out a bottle. Opening it, she put it into Harry's hand.
"Drink a mouthful of this. It'll help," Ashley said taking Harry's hand in her own and directing it up to his mouth. Harry took a sip and immediately his head cleared up.
"What is that?" he asked opening his eyes.
"Stacy gave it to me this morning. She told me it was a painkiller. It would help you if you get a headache or dizziness." Ashley put the bottle back in her robes. "How are you feeling?"
"A lot better actually," Harry answered.
"Ready to try to get up again?" Ashley asked standing up.
Harry took a deep breath. "Yea." He stood up expecting to be dizzy but his vision stayed straight.
"Are you okay?" Ashley asked.
"I'm fine," he replied surprised. Ashley held onto his arm to help him as they made their way towards the castle. They walked through the halls gaining surprised looks by students passing by seeing Harry out of the hospital wing. They finally reached the Great Hall and entered gaining more glares. They walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down. After explaining why he was out of the nurse's care he started to eat his lunch. He went on his day relaxing. He learned that the seventh year Slytherin who hit him in the head was expelled from the school for practical attempted murder. He could've killed Harry easily.
Weeks went by and Harry became fully healed and was back to regular, which consisted of mainly joking around with his friends and completing his training in sword fighting and martial arts with Stacy. Things were going great for most of them until Dumbledore made an announcement.
"Since the success of the ball last year, we are to have two balls this year. We will have our Snow ball in the winter but we'll add on a muggle type party. It will be on All Hallows Eve. We will celebrate it the muggle way. I suggest to the students and parents if desired to dress up as muggle children usually do. Dressing up in costumes will be a great experience all wizards and witches from the wizarding world."
"Not another ball!" Ron exclaimed.
"It will be a great learning experience for people who haven't experienced how muggles celebrate Halloween," Hermione said. Ron glared at her.
"This will be great. Now we get to decide what to wear!" Caroline exclaimed excited.
"We should go shopping in muggle London on our next Hogsmeade trip," Liz suggested.
"This will be so much fun!"
"Who are you taking Harry?" Ron asked.
"I think I know exactly who I'm taking," Harry replied.
"I don't know who I'm taking," Ron said.
"How about Hermione?" Harry asked quiet enough so Hermione couldn't hear him.
"No," Ron said quickly. "Maybe someone else."
"Just don't wait until the last minute," Harry remarked.
"Who are you taking Matt?" Jake asked.
Matt was silent for a minute. "I don't know," he answered. "I'll ask someone soon though."
"Harry? What does Dumbledore mean by costumes?" Fred asked.
"Muggle children dress up like things such as other people or animals for the day," Ashley answered. "They then go around to houses to get candy."
Fred and George looked at each other surprised. "Too bad they only go to the muggle world," George remarked.
"If they did go to the magical world, we would but a sign on the door that said 'Stay Away'," Ginny said. Several people laughed.
"I think it will be fun," Ashley said. "I haven't done this in so long."
"I've never done it," Harry said. He usually didn't dress up for the holiday. It's not like the Dursleys let him dress up.
A few minutes later, lunch was dismissed as the students left to go to their next class still talking about the upcoming ball. Harry and Ashley headed to the common room and sat down on armchairs in front of the fire. They were alone. The other Gryffindors were at their classes.
"Harry?" "Ashley?" They looked at each other. They called each other's names at the same time.
"You can go first," Ashley said looking relieved.
Harry choked. "Well, I wanted to ask you if you'd like to go to the Halloween Ball with me," he said. Ashley smiled at him.
"I'd love to!" she exclaimed.
"What did you want to ask me?" Harry asked happy that she agreed.
"I was going to ask you the same thing!" she exclaimed laughing. The rest of the time, they talked about what they would wear until the portrait opened and in stepped Jake and Matt.
"I did the unthinkable," Jake said sitting on the couch next to Harry.
"Pass a test?" Harry joked. Jake hit him in the arm.
"No, Wolf. I asked a girl to the ball," Jake replied.
Harry was shocked. "Who?" he asked.
"Our good friend Caroline," Matt answered.
Harry and Ashley's mouths dropped open. "Did she say yes?" Ashley asked. Jake nodded.
"Hey don't go wide mouthed on me. Matt's got a girlfriend also," Jake said. This time Harry and Ashley looked at Matt with their wide mouths.
"You're catching flies," Matt said. They closed their mouths.
"Who?" Harry asked.
"The other girl in our little gang," he answered.
"Liz," Harry and Ashley said together. Hermione walked into the common room with her arms full of books. Harry ran over to help his best friend.
"Why do you have so many books?" he asked taking some of the books.
"They looked interesting in the library," she answered setting the books down on the table. Harry set the others next to them. Hermione was panting with the effort of carrying the books. She sat down and pulled one close to her. She opened it and started reading.
"What book are you reading?" Ashley asked walking over to them.
"'Vampires and Their Way of Life'," Hermione answered.
"I read that book," Ashley said. Hermione looked at her in surprise. All her friends normally don't read.
"Was it good?" Hermione asked.
"Full of information. It's amazing what's in that book. You wouldn't think of vampires the same way again," Ashley answered. Harry left the two of them talking as he joined Matt and Jake on the couches. The room was beginning to fill up with people as classes ended. Sirius walked into the common room and spotted Harry. He walked over to where he was sitting.
"Hey kids," he said sitting on one of the armchairs.
"Hey Padfoot," Harry said.
"So, there's two balls this year?" Sirius asked. Harry and the others nodded. "I remember my first ball. It was a disaster. I was fourteen. I couldn't dance for my life." Everyone was laughing when Caroline and Liz walked over.
"What's so funny?" Liz asked.
"Sirius' first ball," Matt answered still laughing. Caroline and Liz looked at Sirius. They sat down next to him.
"Okay continue," Liz said smiling.
"Let's hear it," Caroline added.
Sirius laughed and put up his hands. "Enough about me. So tell me, who are you taking to the ball and what do you plan to wear?" Everyone was silent as they looked at each other.
Harry opened his mouth to speak until the portrait opened and in stepped Ron screaming, "I actually did it!" Harry cheered under his breath for being interrupted.
"Honestly Ron," Hermione said. "How could you possibly think a person can study while you're screaming who knows what?" Ron glared at Hermione.
"I don't see anyone else studying here but you, Hermione," he exclaimed. "You're the only one I know that studies all the time!"
"Maybe I study so I can do good in school and do something I want in my life!"
"OK!" Harry yelled shutting the bickering students up. They looked at him as well as many others in the room. "Everyone who is now in the common room as well as out of it knows exactly what you two just said!" Hermione and Ron stayed quiet after that. Ron approached Harry and the others.
"What did you just do?" Jake asked him as he sat down.
"I got a date for the ball," Ron answered proud of himself. Harry's mouth dropped remembering how it was like getting dates the following year.
"Who?" Harry asked.
"Lavender Brown," Ron answered.
"Who?" Jake asked.
"She's a Gryffindor," Harry said looking around. A few minutes later Lavender came through the portrait. She smiled at Ron before heading up to her friends in a corner of the room.
"That's her," Ron said smiling back.
"Congratulations Ron," Jake said giving a whistle. Caroline hit him in the head.
"Forget someone?" she asked.
"No one, dear" he joked smiling.
"So now that Ron answered one of my questions," Sirius said. "Who are you all going with?"
"I'm going with Jake," Caroline said smiling at Jake who smiled back.
"I don't know what we're going as though," Jake replied.
"It should be something that is hard to do," Ashley said walking up to them. "Something that normal wizards and witches can't do. Show off your powers a little. Have fun."
"It sounds like you have an idea," Sirius said.
Ashley smiled. "I know exactly what I'm doing as well as my date." Sirius shot a glance towards Harry who missed it.
"So Harry, do you know who you're taking and what you're wearing?" Sirius asked.
Harry looked up. "You already know," he said simply.
"Oh do I?" Sirius asked laughing. "Ashley, what are you and Harry wearing to the ball?"
"That's a secret," she answered smiling. Harry nodded.
"So Matt, who are you going with?" Sirius asked.
"Liz."
"You said that so simply as if you're not grateful for me going with you!" Liz exclaimed.
"I'm more grateful than you will ever know," Matt replied. Liz smiled at his response.
"Matt, you're out of the hot seat," Jake remarked. Liz and Caroline gave him a look. "What?" he asked. They rolled their eyes.
"Matt, what are we wearing to the dance?" Liz asked.
Matt shrugged. "I don't know. We'll talk about it later." Liz nodded.
"Sirius, are you going with anyone?" Harry asked. Sirius gave a forced laugh.
"No way. I'm fine the way I am," Sirius replied.
"Then what are you going to the dance as?" Ashley asked.
"A big, black dog," he replied.
"But that boring! Come on Sirius, dress up a little," Harry complained.
"You sound like your mother when you do that!" Harry smiled. "She could make anyone do what she wanted. Very creepy. I don't have anything else to go as. Plus, I can't think of anything at all."
"Maybe you could be a muggle," Caroline suggested making everyone laugh.
"A muggle in robes," Sirius corrected. Everyone laughed harder.
"Boring," Harry remarked.
"Hey Prongs Jr., I can't wait to see you in your costume!" Sirius said defending himself.
"At least I will be creative!" he shot back.
"So what are you going to be?" Sirius asked.
"You'll have to wait. You'll see the night of the dance!"
"I miss shopping," Liz said out of the blue. Everyone looked at her.
"Our next Hogsmeade trip is soon," Caroline said. "Shop then. Maybe we can go into muggle London for our costumes!"
"That would be nice. I need to get my costume there anyway. I have to get yours also," Ashley said looking at Harry.
"I can get what I need," Harry said thinking about his costume.
"I might have to make a part of it," she said mysteriously.
"During any of this time, do you plan to tell us what you are going as?" Jake asked.
"Not at all," Harry replied smiling.
"So we really do have to wait till the dance to see it?" Sirius asked.
"Exactly!" Ashley said. They continued talking about their costumes until bedtime.
Days passed until finally the day of the Hogsmeade trip came. The shapeshifters, Hermione, Ron, Lavender, Sirius and Remus headed out of school and right into Hogsmeade. They're first stop was the bank and then they headed out through the Leaky Cauldron and into Muggle London. They walked down the streets looking and stopping in stores.
"Let's go in here!" Liz exclaimed looking in a big department store. They all headed in and separated into separate places. They decided to keep their costumes secret. A few minutes later they walked back out.
"Still didn't find anything?" Ashley asked Harry. He came out bagless.
"Nope," Harry responded. Ashley was carrying a few bags. She had said that she was making her costume but no matter how much Harry asked, she wouldn't tell him what it looks like. They stopped off in more stores and also a place to get lunch.
"This is boring!" Jake exclaimed sitting down in a booth at the local pizza place. Ron, Sirius and Remus haven't had pizza so they decided it was the perfect place to stop.
"This is shopping," Sirius said.
"What did you expect?" Remus asked sitting down next to Sirius.
"Something more exciting," he replied.
"I think I have mostly everything for my costume," Ashley said looking in her bags.
"I had mine from the start," Caroline said. She still had a few bags with her.
"I have mine!" Liz said holding up a bag.
"You need to take this," Harry said giving a bag to Ashley who looked in it and nodded. Harry still had another bag with him.
"I had mine," Matt said.
"I need to get mine still. I just don't want to wear it!" Jake exclaimed looking at Caroline.
"Don't look at me!" she exclaimed.
"I have mine," Hermione said happy. Everyone looked at her. Especially Ron.
"So you're going?" Ron asked.
"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" Hermione said. She looked into her bags.
"Who are you going with?" Ron asked. He was surprised that Hermione had found a date to the dance.
"You'll just have to find out that night," Hermione said. She wasn't going to give any clues to who asked her out. Ron was silent after that. They ate their pizza before heading out once more. They stopped at a few more shops before heading back into Hogsmeade. An hour later, they returned to the castle carrying many bags.
Once inside the common room, they headed up to their rooms to put their packages down before heading off to dinner. The Great Hall was filled with students who came back from Hogsmeade. Many were sharing what they had bought. Dinner was served as conversations arose.
"Did you have fun?" Mrs. Weasley asked. This time Harry wasn't sitting next to her. He was sitting next to Sirius. Harry learned not to sit next to Mrs. Weasley if he didn't want to gain 25 pounds in one sitting.
"I'm going to make you're costume tonight," Ashley said to Harry. She was sitting on the other side of him. They had to be careful on what words they used if they didn't want the others to know what they were planning on. "Does it fit all right?"
"It's perfect," Harry answered.
"When I'm done, you might have to try it on again just in case it became bigger."
"Are you sure that you can do it tonight?" Harry asked thinking about what she needed to do.
"I'm very creative and can use magic. Remember that," Ashley said smiling. Harry nodded at his forgetfulness of her being a witch. "I can do it quickly. I need to spend some time on mine though. That's going to take awhile."
"Should I meet you anywhere tonight?" Harry asked finishing his dinner.
"No. I'll give it to you another day. Maybe tomorrow, but not tonight. For all I know, I might not finish it," she replied wiping her mouth.
"Do you have any ideas for your costume?" Harry asked.
"Yea. I have all the materials I need I think," she answered. There was a hoot from above. When they looked up, they saw Snow flying up to them. She had a letter in her claws. Snow dropped it right in front of Ashley. "Hello Snow. Have a nice flight?" The owl hooted a 'yes' in response. Ashley took the letter off her plate and started to read it. She smiled after reading it and handed it to Harry.
Ashley,
Your father and I think it's a great idea to have a Halloween party at school. It will be tons of fun. Take a lot of pictures! You can never have enough pictures.
So you have a date? Congratulations. I tried visualizing what your dress looks like. It seems beautiful. Save it for future needs. It would great just to show it off as something that you made. Take tons of pictures and send them to us even if you think they're embarrassing. Yes, we do know you too well. Make sure there is tons with you and your date. But most of al, have fun!
Keep up your singing. You have a wonderful voice, don't ever forget or doubt that. Did you sing to your boyfriend yet? He'll enjoy it. Keep recording your singing and send it over. Your father and I listen to it all the time. We even brag that it's you! Don't worry about it. They think it's unbelievable. Well, have fun. It's great to hear from you again!
Mom
"Your mother sounds nice," Harry remarked giving Ashley back the letter.
"She's the best," Ashley answered before taking out a piece of paper and a quill with ink. She took the quill and was about to write until she paused and looked at Harry. "You write to them," she said simply. Harry looked at her if wondering if she was serious.
"What should I write?" he asked taking the quill and paper.
"Anything. Introduce yourself." Harry looked at the paper thinking until he wrote his letter.
Mrs. Strone
My name is Harry Potter. I'm taking your daughter to the Halloween dance in our school. She's a wonderful person. She really is extraordinary and surprises me with something new everyday.
Ashley did sing to me. At our first Quidditch game, one of the opposing teams Beaters clobbered me in the head while I was high in the air. The blow hurt my skull and made me almost loose consciousness while I slipped from my broom. Ashley, being the best flyer there is, caught me before I hit the ground. She stayed with me in the hospital wing until I was better. One time when I awoke, I heard her singing. You were right, she does have a beautiful voice. I would ask her to sing more but it seems to embarrass her. Ever since that day, Ashley is always by my side. She watches out for me as I watch out for her. It's important especially for this time.
The dance is a few days away. Ashley is making my costume as well as her own. She's super creative. She can really keep things from me as well. I keep asking her what her dress looks like but she never tells me. Maybe you could give me a hint?
It's been a pleasure writing to you.
Harry Potter
"There, done," Harry said putting the quill down. Ashley reached for it put Harry grabbed it away from her reach.
"Can I see it?" she asked holding out her hand.
"Nope," Harry answered holding the letter away from her. She reached over and tried to grab it. Harry jumped up and started to run away but she was close behind.
"Let me see!" she yelled laughing. They were running around the Great Hall receiving glares from the other tables as well as bits of laughter.
"No way!" Harry yelled back. He was running in between the tables laughing.
"But it's to my parents!" Ashley shouted from behind him.
"But I wrote it," Harry shouted. They ran around for a while until he heard a roar from behind him. He turned and saw a lioness looking at him. The lioness jumped at Harry who side stepped it. It landed a few feet away. Harry took a few steps back. He quickly put the letter in his pocket. Looking at the lioness, he started to run to it before jumping into the air to jump onto it. In mid jump, he changed from a human to a white tiger. It was one of his favorite cat forms. He landed his jump a few feet in front of Ashley. They circled each other for a while until she attacked. Harry knocked her to the ground. After a few intense moments, the attacking was reduced to playing. It looked like two kittens playing. They played until a shadow appeared over them. They stopped and looked up. There was a huge grizzly bear on its hind paws looking down at them.
'Bear,' Harry said to Ashley. In their animal forms, they could talk to each other through their heads. Harry's the only one who could do it as a human.
'No duh,' Ashley responded.
'I mean its Jake,' Harry explained. He quickly looked up at the staff table. Dumbledore looked amused. Looking at the students most looked excited and amazed.
'I know,' Ashley said back. Suddenly the bear roared and stood on all fours. He looked ready to attack.
'What are you doing?' Harry asked Jake.
'Seeing who's better,' he replied.
'Oh no,' he heard Ashley say.
'We need different animals,' Harry said back. He knew just how powerful a grizzly bear is. Without warning, the bear attacked Harry sending him a few feet back. Harry landed on his side but quickly arose as the bear approached again. The white tiger showed it's teeth and claws. The bear came up to him and stood on his hind legs making himself eight feet tall and towering over the tiger. The bear swung his claws and hit Harry right in the head. Something clicked in Harry's head. They've done this many times but not to hurt each other. Harry looked down and saw blood on the ground. Jake had struck to hurt.
'What's wrong with you?' Harry asked angry. He saw the lioness behind him. It seemed to notice that something wasn't right either.
'Absolutely nothing,' was his response. The bear rose again. Harry looked around at the students. They weren't amused anymore. Stacy stood and approached the animal with her wand raised. The other shapeshifters were around her. They didn't look happy. Harry watched as Stacy approached leaving the others behind. She walked but soon stopped as if she hit a barrier. The barrier gave her a shock. A very powerful shock. Harry looked at her in fear. Why was there a barrier up? Harry was so distracted that he forgot about the psycho bear and was brought back by a hit in the face again, drawing more blood.
'Stacy!' Harry called. She looked at him in fear. 'What's wrong with him?!' Stacy shrugged her shoulders. He saw Matt transform into powerful lion and run to them but was stopped fifteen feet away by a shock shooting through his body. He changed back in pain. Stacy said a spell and revealed a barrier around the white tiger and bear. It was powered by lightning as bolts moved along the barrier.
Another smack hit Harry only this time in the side. Ashley went to rush up to him until Harry screamed in her head. 'Stop!' The lioness stopped right in front of it. Ashley turned back. Her eyes showed how angry and afraid she was. Harry saw Sirius next to Stacy.
The bear went to strike again but Harry moved just in time. The bear might be big but the tiger was fast. It jumped right onto the bear and left claw marks in its back before jumping off. The bear looked at Harry before trying to attack again. This time Harry couldn't move as fast as he was picked up and thrown across the room.
Harry stayed on the ground. The last impact broke a few of his ribs. Harry could barley breathe. He thought about what he should do next. If he returned to his human form, he would be no match for the bear. He saw the bear looking at him. Waiting for him to attack. Waiting for him to do something. Harry suddenly had an idea. Using his human telepathy skills, Harry called out after trying out a new power. He made it able for someone to talk back to him.
'Jake?' he asked. Pain was in his voice. A small voice answered back.
'Wolf?' it said. It sounded like Jake.
'Where are you?" Harry asked. He still kept his eye on the bear.
'I really have no clue,' he responded. 'Someone put me here after knocking me out.'
'Describe where it is quickly. The power I'm using that enables you to talk back only lasts a small amount of time. I can't hold it for long.' Sensing the problem, Jake described his surroundings.
'A tower of some sort, huge window overlooking the pitch, small area,' he said. Harry searched his mind for the place. The Astronomy Tower!
'Get down here quickly. Someone is attacking us and pretending he's you. They put up a barrier and I can't get away.' Harry told Jake how to get out. Jake followed them. In the mean time, Harry concentrated on his next form. He wanted something fast and powerful but isn't hurt easily. Something that could do damage. Suddenly he felt pain leave him as his body switched forms. He was able to hear a few gasps as he changed. He felt an immense amount of energy leave him as well. He opened his eyes and almost screamed out in surprise as he saw himself. He saw a horn of a unicorn pointing out from the top of his noise but had the body of a wolf. A mane was sprouting from his neck. It was the mane of a golden lion.
Getting over his shock, he looked toward the bear. It looked at him in surprise right before attacking. Harry quickly moved out of the way. He fought back using his teeth and horn. Soon the bear was too tired to do anything but lay down. The bear was defeated. It transformed into a unicorn and tried to attack again. Harry quickly sidestepped it and was out of the way. He used his horn to hurt the unicorn enough that it was unable to attack. When the unicorn was down, it transformed into the form of Jake.
"Enough with the animals, Potter," he sneered. Harry cautiously changed back. When changing back, he made sure that he changed back to his original appearance. His appearance with glasses, black hair and a scar. 'Jake' brought his wand up to attack just before his body blurred. It must've been a polyjuice potion. It regained the image of a Death Eater Harry never saw before. Harry sighed in relief. The Death Eater must've known about shape shifting but nothing about elemental magic.
Harry looked at the Death Eater with a cold glare. He reached into his pocket to take out his wand. Pointing it at the Death Eater, they both shouted the disarming spell at the same time. They met in the air and disappeared. A stunning spell was sent to Harry who dodged it but didn't see the disarming spell sent his way. His wand flew out through the barrier. Harry watched as it soared out. He wasn't worried. He had wandless magic. Suddenly, a pain ripped through his entire body from his back. Harry fell to the floor in pain. Looking up he saw Lucius Malfoy standing above him with a dagger in his hand. Blood was dripping from it.
"That didn't hurt did it Potter?" he sneered. Harry bit back a cry of pain when he tried to stand up. With one quick spell, the unknown Death Eater flew across the room and onto the floor. Suddenly the barrier disappeared but reappeared when the Death Eater gained his footing. He was the one controlling the shield. When the barrier disappeared, it reappeared quickly but not before Ashley got in, wand in her hand. She made Malfoy fly through the air before running over to Harry. She knelt down by him and helped him up. They turned to face the Death Eaters until they were grabbed roughly. Harry was wondering why the others didn't warn them until he realized that the barrier blocked sounds coming in.
The Death Eaters grabbed the two of them roughly and held a dagger up to their throats. Harry couldn't break free of their grasp. He tried to blast the Death Eaters away. They moved a few inches before laughing. Harry's eyes went wide. He used up most of his energy while talking to Jake and doing animal transformations. Since they are all only 15, the smallest things take away the most amount of energy. Too much energy that a 15 year old doesn't have. Harry looked up at Ashley frightened. She tried to make the wind blow but couldn't do much. She and many others had been using spells to try to break through the barrier but were unsuccessful.
"It's finally the last of Harry Potter!" Malfoy yelled. Harry glanced at Draco. He looked furious. He was doing something that Harry couldn't recognize until he realized what was happening. Draco was trying to stop the time through the barrier but his attempted were unsuccessful as well.
"Master will be happy," the other one said. He was holding a dagger close to Ashley's throat.
"Maybe we should kill them now," Malfoy suggested. He was holding Harry. A dagger was placed close to his throat. "It would be a pleasure to do. Wouldn't it be, Ken?" he asked the other Death Eater.
"Let go of Ashley! She's not part of this!" Harry yelled still trying to get out or Malfoy's arms but getting weaker with his attempts.
"What are you going to do about it?" Malfoy asked holding the dagger so close to Harry that it made a small cut along his throat. They laughed as it bled.
"Let us go!" Ashley screamed. She was furious. She tried to kick Ken. She kicked and moved so much that Ken couldn't keep a hold on her. She slipped away. She grabbed her wand and pointed at Ken. She stunned him and turned to Malfoy. "Let him go," she said coldly.
"What are you going to do?" Malfoy sneered. "If you cast a spell, your boyfriend here will be hit instead." He lifted Harry up so that he couldn't touch the ground. "Don't waste your breath." Harry started struggling again but was awarded with a bigger cut on his throat. The top of his shirt was beginning to get soaked. "Stop struggling!" Malfoy screamed before taking his wand and pointing it at Ashley. He tried to stun her but she did a back flip to get out of the way. She landed perfectly on her feet. She did a sweep at Malfoy's feet to knock him to the ground. She was successful. He fell to the ground and let go of Harry who tried to quickly gain his ground. His throat hurt like crazy and he was getting lightheaded. Ashley quickly did a charm to stop the blood flow.
"You'll pay for that," Malfoy said standing up. He awoke his partner who also gained up on them. Ashley was pushed back with no where to go. They disarmed her and threw her wand across the floor. Harry closed his eyes and concentrated. Suddenly he heard a yell as the Death Eaters were lifted into the air. Harry used less and less energy to keep them up as Ashley contributed what she could. It was a bit more than Harry. On the count of three, they threw the partners right into the barrier. They were shocked unconscious before the barrier disappeared.
Harry felt the world slowly disappear before he was lifted up. He looked up and saw that Sirius had picked him up. Harry changed back his appearance. He struggled to keep awake. Next to him, Remus had Ashley in his arms. She looked terrible. She had passed out. Harry figured that they both looked terrible. Harry managed to put his arms around Sirius' neck. Sirius, Stacy, Remus, the rest of the shapeshifters, the Weasley's, Hermione, McGonagall, Snape, Draco, and Dumbledore all headed out to the Hospital wing. Along the way, Harry heard Snape and Dumbledore talking.
"He didn't tell me anything," Snape said. "I didn't know he was attacking tonight. He said tomorrow night."
"He knows," Harry said weakly. Everyone looked at him surprised he was still awake. "He caught us off guard. He knows."
Dumbledore looked grave. He saw Harry's eyes unfocus for a minute until they appeared normal. He was falling asleep. Too much energy and blood lost. "Indeed he has found out," he said looking deeply at Harry. "We need to be prepared for anything. I don't know how Voldermort found out but he did." They arrived at the Hospital Wing. Immediately they put Ashley onto a bed. Sirius went to lay Harry down on a bed but Harry refused to let go.
"Come on. Let go, Harry," Sirius said trying to get Harry into the bed. Even though he was tired, Harry wouldn't let go. He would fall asleep if he laid down. He didn't want to do that, not now. He needed to stay awake.
"Go into bed Harry," Dumbledore said surprised by the child's behavior. Harry didn't do anything. When they tried again, Harry still wouldn't let go.
"Come on dear, you need sleep," Mrs. Weasley said trying to get Harry to sleep. He looked dead in Sirius' arms. Everyone thought that. He looked as if he hadn't slept in weeks or months. Still Harry wouldn't let go.
Harry didn't let go for the fear of falling asleep. If Voldermort attacked, Harry had to be up. Even if he didn't have any energy, he could gather what he could and use that but most of all, he was scared. Out of nowhere, Harry was almost killed. Harry wasn't prepared. He didn't want to be left alone right now. Even if they would be at his side, Harry felt better with his Godfather. Harry wasn't going to let go for anything.
The whole time that people tried to get Harry into bed, Stacy stood studying him. She was scared about what just happened. She knew exactly what happened but next time her students must fight together. And they must be prepared for it. Stacy stood studying Harry. She knew how her students reacted to things. She knows how they act.
"Leave him be," she said simply. They were all scared and the best place to be was where they felt safe. Stacy understood that. Everyone looked at her in surprise. Harry looked at her in relief. "If he wants to stay with Sirius, then leave him be. He has his reasons." Everyone left Harry alone after that.
They all carried on conversation about possibly training the other students to fight and duel while Harry drifted off to sleep. Sirius felt Harry's body relax. He smiled down at his Godson's form. Harry had fallen asleep with his head on Sirius' shoulder. He looked up and saw Stacy watching him. He nodded to her as if to tell her that Harry had finally given in to sleep. She smiled and nodded back. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Ashley still asleep in her bed. The beds in the wing were given up to the people in the room. The other shapeshifters were going to sleep in Gryffindor tower until Stacy reminded them that they should remain together. Without any objections, they claimed beds around the room and had fallen asleep a few minutes earlier. The Weasley children as well as Draco, and Hermione were sent back to their rooms.
Sirius looked down at Harry. He saw a small cut across his neck where it was cut. Madam Pomfrey wanted to heal it but Stacy didn't let her. She was very protective over the shapeshifters. Especially now. A few hours later they had all fallen asleep in their chair.
Sirius awoke the next morning with Harry still in his arms. Harry as well as Ashley were still sleeping. The others were all awake. They crowded around a table with Dumbledore, Stacy, Snape, Remus and McGonagall. They seemed to be discussing something. Sirius slowly stood up and walked over to the group with Harry in his arms.
"He's still sleeping?" Stacy asked as Sirius approached.
"Yea. This reminds me of when he was a baby. He used to fall asleep in my arms all the time and I would get stuck carrying him around," Sirius recalled.
"Do you know why Harry didn't let go yesterday?" she asked. Sirius shook his head. "He was scared. I was scared. We were all scared. Harry felt safe in your arms and that is what he needs to feel right now. The safer he feels, the better." Sirius smiled down at Harry. He was still sleeping with his head on Sirius' shoulder.
"What are you planning?" he asked quietly.
"We think that all if not most students in this school should be trained to deal with something like this when it happens again," Remus answered. Sirius looked down at a piece of parchment spread out upon the table. It held a list of things such as self-defense, animagus training, and dueling.
"Is this all that will be trained to them?" Sirius asked looking over the list.
"It's not all," Dumbledore answered. There was no sparkle in his eyes. For one of the first times, he looks old. He looked tired and worn down. "We still need to add a lot more. Anything that could be taught that might help, they need to learn."
"You should welcome them to boot camp," Sirius remarked receiving small smiles from those who understood what he meant.
"Lunch starts in a few minutes," Dumbledore said. "I must get down top the Great Hall."
"Lunch?!" Sirius asked. "What time is it?"
Remus looked down at his watch. "11:40."
"I didn't know it was that late!" Sirius exclaimed. He never slept that late. It must've been the 'excitement' from yesterday.
"You needed the sleep," Remus remarked. "When you don't get enough sleep, you're very grumpy." Sirius was going to push Remus but reminded himself that he couldn't if he didn't want to drop Harry.
They continued talking for a while until Jake walked into the room.
"Stacy?" he asked. Stacy turned to him. The rest of the shapeshifters were around the school. Stacy had told them not to use any magic. The attack might still be on that day and they needed to be prepared.
"What is it Jake?" Stacy asked kindly.
"I have just a question," he replied. "Yesterday, Harry used his skills to talk to me in my mind but I was able to talk back. He said that it was another power he developed. What happened?"
Stacy thought about what she was going to say. "You are all very young," she began. "When you get older, you'll develop more energy. With this energy, you can do harder spells or even, in your case, learns more abilities dealing with your element. When you get older or have enough energy, you can start doing things like rearranging and creating mountains and volcanoes. That is what happened last night. Harry must've been old enough to learn something new. He learned to give someone the ability to use telepathy and also take it away. It's very energy draining. He could only hold it for so long. You'll all learn many things and become very powerful. It's just that you're young now. Try to see if you can do a tougher ability. Just not now. You all need your energy."
"We'll all learn new things?" Jake asked. "I thought we could only do what we could now."
Stacy gave a small laugh. "What you can do now is nothing compared to what you'll be able to do next year and the year after that and so on." Jake smiled before looking at the sleeping forms of his friends.
"Will they be okay?"
Stacy walked over to Ashley's bed. "They should be. They just need to sleep for a while. Let's hope there isn't an attack tonight. They used almost all of their energy last night." Jake nodded with her answer and started to walk away but stopped.
"What was that shield that was up?"
Stacy sighed. "I don't know. I've never seen one like it. It was a shield composed of all lightning. It was easily destroyed with defeating the caster though. I looked into it but have had no luck." Jake started to head back again but stopped in the doorway.
"What did Harry transform into last night?" he asked referring to the unicorn, wolf, and lion mix.
"That is what happens when you concentrate on something hard enough. Harry must've wanted to be an animal that had some qualities of all of them. They must've been compatible and mixed themselves together. My guess is that you can all do it because it has nothing to do with Harry's element." Jake nodded for the last time before walking out of the room.
"How powerful do you think Harry will get?" Sirius asked.
"I don't know. He's a rare element. He'll figure them out on his own," Stacy replied before sitting in a chair.
"We should get down to lunch," McGonagall said. She gave Ashley and Harry a last look of encouragement before walking out of the Hospital Wing.
"I guess I'm staying here," Sirius said looking down at Harry. Just when he said that, Harry began to stir. He let out a moan of pain as he moved. "His back!" Sirius remembered. "We never healed that did we?" Stacy shook her head before walking over to them.
"Harry, it's okay," she said before trying to look around for where Harry had been stabbed. Finding it, she healed it. His moaning stopped.
"You okay now Kido?" Sirius asked. Harry remained still but opened his eyes. He nodded before looking around the room. His eyes fell on Ashley.
"I'm surprised that you're awake," Stacy said. Harry looked at her.
"Are you hungry?" Sirius asked. Harry shook his head slightly. He closed his eyes and rested his head against Sirius again.
"He's tired," Stacy stated. "Harry, its lunch time now and Sirius has been with you all day. Would you like to come down to eat or stay here and sleep? You'll have to go into a bed if you want to sleep because Sirius has to eat. He hasn't eaten all day."
Harry thought about his options but kept his eyes closed. He didn't feel like going to the Great Hall. He wasn't hungry and he definitely wasn't going to get much sleep there. While Harry was thinking, he felt himself being put down. They took his silence as wanting to stay and sleep. For the first time, Harry let go of Sirius' neck.
"Get some sleep," Sirius said ruffling Harry's hair. Harry heard his footsteps leave the room. Harry fell asleep as few minutes later.
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There you go! I was going to end this a while back but I decided to keep going. Hope you like this! Send your ideas and comments to me. Question: Do you think Sirius and Stacy should go together? Yes/ No? review you're answer.