Chapter dedicated to Wolfia, my 900th reviewer!

In Every Darkness

Chapter Twenty Nine: Many Happy Returns

9.8.1996 (Night)

"Sirius!" Harry flung himself into his godfathers arms with a laugh.

 "Hey there Harry!" Sirius laughed also.

 "Have you remembered what Remus wanted you to tell me to tell Snape yet?" Harry asked, grinning. It had become the normal question to which Sirius usually replied with a shrug and a shake of his head.

 Today, however, Sirius looked troubled. "No, I've not remembered what it was, but I haven't seen Remus for some days now. He does disappear sometimes, but it's been far longer than normal this time. Your parents haven't seen him either.

 "I went looking for him, but I couldn't find him anywhere, which is somewhat scary, because any person in the Realms of the Dead can find any other … Or so it should be," Sirius finished.

 "Well, I'll see if I can do anything to find out what's happening, but I don't think that I'd be able to," Harry said doubtfully.

 Sirius nodded distractedly, then shook himself. "I don't know why I'm worried – its not like he can be harmed. He's dead already!" he said.

 Harry smiled slightly. "Sirius, do you know what's up with Snape's nightmares?" he asked suddenly, remembering the look of his potions master a few days ago.

 "Ye – what the hell is that!" Sirius exclaimed, looking over Harry's shoulder. Harry spun around and saw Grypis – in his full grown form – prowling towards them.

 "That's Gryphon," Harry said, remembering just in time to use Grypis's other name. "I told you about him, remember?"

 "Oh, yes. I didn't think he was so big though," Sirius replied.

 "He isn't, not in the waking world. But in dreams he seems to be whoever he wills," Harry replied, shrugging slightly as the majestic creature reached them.

 He absently stroked Grypis's neck as he turned back to his godfather.

 "But how did he come here?" Sirius asked.

 "Methinks you should tell your godfather," Grypis urged Harry. "It is not like he will tell any of the waking world this secret. I trust him."

 "Thanks Grypis," Harry responded, then sat down, as the scenery around them changed to Diagon Alley. Shades of people walked down the street, none of them noticing Harry and Sirius, or indeed, anyone bar themselves.

 "Sit," he bid his godfather, who reluctantly did so, watching Harry and knowing that there was a lot more than his godson had yet revealed. Harry began to speak, telling of his and Grypis's – whom he still referred to as Gryphon – bonding, and of their connection, mind to mind, and the few griffin powers that he knew of so far.

 By the end of Harry's tale, Sirius was gaping. "Well, I wasn't expecting that," he remarked.

 "Obviously not. Now, I've told you what you wanted to know, so what's up with Snape's nightmares?" Harry demanded, grinning.

 "I've been visiting him … in his dreams. Trying to get him to be a better person," Sirius said with a shrug. "I don't think it's working. He's still screaming at me that I'm dead and I have no right to be visiting his dreams."

 "What exactly do you say to him in the dreams?"

 "I tell him that he should have a made an effort to do something, or at least to tell you that I was in no danger … things like that. Snivellus tells me that he's never had a conscience before, and that he shouldn't be getting one now."

 Harry laughed. "Serves him right," he said. He doubted that he would ever get over Snape's betrayal.

 "So, what are we going to do tonight?" Sirius asked, sounding like an eager child.

 "Perhaps some duelling?" Harry suggested with a grin.

 "You know, that could just be a good idea," Sirius smiled back, taking out a wand.

 When Harry awoke in the morning, he was smiling, and there was a warm weight on his chest. He absently reached out and stroked Grypis's feathered head.

 Though still sleeping, Grypis rubbed against Harry's hand in an unconscious demand for more attention.

 Suddenly there was a knock on Harry's door. "Come in!" he called sleepily, jerking Grypis out of his doze. The door opened and Harry smiled when he saw Tatsu walk in.

 "Still in bed?" Tatsu asked with a grin. "The suns been up for hours!"

 Harry made sure that the door was closed as he got out of bed.

 "Had a dream last night," Harry replied.

 "Ah," Tatsu nodded in understanding. "Well, since you are awake now, we may as well have a training session. If that fur and feather ball over there doesn't mind."

 Harry laughed. "Gryphon? He won't mind, he knows the difference between friend and enemy now."

 "Good," Tatsu growled, though playfully. "Let's begin then! I've left your studies for too long as it is!"

 Harry sighed and slipped into his walk-in wardrobe, changing into his Gi. When he emerged, Tatsu was waiting for him, blinking in the sudden light of his room, Harry barely managed to avoid a blow from Tatsu's fist as he hurriedly sort his centre.

 When he reached his place of safety, he was surprised to find that Grypis's mind rested there beside his own. In this place it seemed very childlike and small. "Watch out," the griffin warned, sleepily.

 Harry slipped to the side, his body not needing his mind to move and counter whatever move Tatsu used. His mind for a moment not on the task at hand, Harry moved only to defend.

 "Well, attack already," Grypis told him, and Harry shook his mind free of its musing, and allowed himself to be fully taken in by the fight at hand.

 Sidestep, punch, sweep kick, turn, duck, high kick … his mind absently labelled his moves, though he did not really notice that he was.

 Roll, sweep kick, jump, low punch, spin, twist … SH!T! Harry couldn't avoid his instructors punch, and felt his mind swim with the impact.

 "Try again!" Tatsu had no sympathy for his slightly injured student. Harry needed to learn to fight on, even when he was injured.

 And fight on Harry did, emerald eyes slightly narrowed, first against the pain and then in determination. He would not allow anything to beat him!

 Several minutes later, Tatsu's kick found its mark on Harry's upper leg. Harry fell backwards, but immediately rolled back to his feet, knowing that Tatsu wanted him to keep fighting.

 Slowly, Harry took more hits, as his bruises took their toll. He'd not been able to touch Tatsu, but that was as it had always been. Harry hadn't been learning nearly long enough to be able to hurt Tatsu at all.

 Finally Tatsu stopped fighting, and Harry collapsed wearily. "You alright?" Tatsu asked, grinning wickedly at his young pupil.

 Harry glared back up at him from where he had collapsed on the bed, but didn't actually say anything.

 "Harry!" It was Ron, hammering on the door, asking to come in.

 "Just a sec Ron!" Harry called back, changing his clothes with a quick magic spell, back into pyjamas, and slipping under the covers of his bed. "Come in!"

 Ron burst into the room. "Harry! We were worried when you didn't come to break…" He trailed off as he saw Tatsu perched on the end of the bed, looking energetic and chirpy.

 Harry, lying in bed, looked as if he'd rather not move for as long as he could avoid it, with the griffin curled up beside him. "It's alright Ron. Tatsu and I just a had a little a training session," Harry said. "I'm a bit tired now, so I might just call Dobby up with some breakfast. I'm sure Tatsu would love to join you though."

 Harry shot a slight smile in Tatsu's direction. Tatsu glared at him for a moment, but Japanese politeness was far to engrained in him to refuse.

 "Ok!" Ron nodded, not thinking any more of it, and led Tatsu out of the room and down to the dining room.

 "Dobby?" Harry called softly, and a moment later the house elf was there.

 "What can Dobby do for Mastery Harry?" Dobby asked, quivering with excitement.

 "Could you bring me some breakfast up here please, Dobby?" Harry asked. "And some meat for Gryphon, if its not too much trouble."

 "Trouble? Master Harry Sir? Never sir!" Dobby squeaked, disappearing with a crack.

 Moments later he had returned, with a tray laden with more food than Harry would normally eat in a single day, and a bowl overflowing with minced meat.

 "Thank you Dobby," Harry smiled at the energetic creature. "That will be all." Dobby bowed and disappeared.

 "That went well," Grypis remarked, eating daintily.

 "Depends on whose perspective you take there," Harry retorted, eating himself. The fighting had made him hungry.

 Unearthly laughter echoing in his mind was the only response. Harry ate quickly, though he was not even half way through the meal before weariness overtook him.

 He slept, the tray still on his lap, and Grypis curled by his side. He did not wake when Dobby returned, and took the tray from his lap, nor when the Weasley Twins came over from their shop in Diagon Alley, and caused an explosion not far from his door.

 His dreaming was wild and vivid. He soared through the sky on feathered wings, diving and racing through the air. He watched the world fanning out below him, felt contempt for the creatures that were forced to crawl on the earth, who would never know the joy and freedom of the open air. 

 He felt another like him nearby, and swooped around the other griffins form, the pair of them dancing on the wind currents, joined in friendship formed over years.

 When he woke, he was calm and relaxed, Grypis stirred next to him, and looked up at him with his predatory golden eyes, gentled in affection.

 Harry stroked the feathered head, and after a few moments dragged himself out of bed. Looking outside, he saw that the sun was now hanging quite low in the sky.

 "Come on then," he said to Grypis as he changed clothes. With the griffin, having taken its cat form, padding silently beside him.

 Together they headed downstairs, when they reached the bottom, Harry saw Fred, George, Ron, Hermione and Ginny sitting around on the bottom of the stairs, looking bored.

 "They've been in there for hours," Ron said, as Harry joined them. "We're bored – since between you and her," meaning Hermione, "we've done all our homework."

 Harry laughed. "Come on then, lets go upstairs and play Exploding Snap," he offered. "Since we can't listen in anymore."

 Reluctantly, the others left their posts outside the door. "You're right, dammit," Fred said, grinning. "They won't let us join the Order until Christmas time, so we can't be privy to their secret councils until then."

 "Poor things," Ginny said. "All that waiting can't be good for a person," her voice was teasing, but her twin brothers chose to ignore it, nodding in self-sympathy.

 "Here we are," Harry opened the door to his room, and Grypis raced inside, leaping onto the bed to secure the most comfortable position on the cushions.

 "Smart griffin," Hermione remarked, grinning.

 The six of them settled in a circle on the floor and while Ron was shuffling the deck, Harry turned his wizarding radio on, tuning to a good London based station.

 The game commenced, with Harry only half paying attention to the radio in the background. As the cards exploded suddenly, he caught the last words of a sentence.

 "London can expect a bad storm late this afternoon …"

 Evening approached, and with it the promised storm. Harry was alone his room, the others having gone on various errands for Mrs. Weasley. Harry watched the storm coming, seeing the forked lighting dividing the sky, hearing the thunder rolling across the land, watching the veil of rain sweeping towards him.

 Grypis was curled in Harry's arms, shivering slightly.

 "What's wrong?" Harry spoke aloud, knowing that no one would disturb him for a little while, at least. "Don't you like the storm? I do."

 "Storms are a griffins greatest natural enemy," Grypis told him. "They make the air turbulent, and its hard to fly. Loads of young griffins, out testing their wings, have lost control when a storm struck, and been thrown to the ground and killed. We are all warned never to go near a storm, but of course, youngsters think that they know best. My sister was killed in a storm," the last was added a little plaintively.

 "I didn't realise you had a sister," Harry said. "I thought that there were very few griffins."
 "That is what made me and my sister special. We were both born in the same generation. She was five years older than I, and was killed out in a storm a month before I came to you after the Death Eaters killed my family."

 "Ah. I'm sorry."

 "Even experienced fliers land when a storm comes," Grypis, apparently not wanting to talk about his sister, returned to the subject of the dangers of storms. "There have been adults killed too, some who couldn't find a place to land in time have been struck by lightning when the wind moved unpredictably."

 "It mustn't be pleasant, flying in a storm," Harry remarked, watching the storm that was, to his griffin friend, both beautiful and deadly.

 "No," Grypis agreed. "I would advise you never to try it." With that, the creature closed its eyes, drifting into sleep.

 Harry set Grypis down on his bed and headed downstairs to see if there was anything he could do to help prepare for dinner. The meeting had ended an hour or so before.

 That night as they sat around the dinner table, they heard someone knocking on the door. "Who would be around at this time of night?" Mrs. Weasley wondered.

 Harry stood up. "I'll get it," he offered. "It's my house, after all."

 "I'll come with you, child," Dumbledore stood up and joined him immediately.

 Should have known better than to think that they'd let me go alone, Harry thought, somewhat bitterly.

 The knocking came again, more insistently, just before Harry reached the door. The rain was pouring down, drumming on the roof until Harry thought he'd go deaf, so he didn't blame whoever it was outside for wanting to come in.

 Out of the window, he saw sheet lightning light up the sky, and as he opened the door, Severus Snape pushed past him just as the thunder came, almost shaking the building with it's fury.

 Snape ignored Harry as the boy shut the door, turning instead to Dumbledore. "I've done it," he said, looking completely worn out.

 Dumbledore nodded gravely. "I'll call a meeting."

***

 I think I'll leave it there. This has to do with why Remus was killed. Yes, 8-9 chapters after he died, I'm finally giving you something of a reason!

~WolfMoon~