A/N: All right, the winner is chibichibi386, but no one voted for any other set of demigods! So, what I'm going to do is simply extend the invite to everyone else. All right, challenge time:

You may write what you would do if you had any pair of the demigods for three days. It can be Porn without Plot (PWP), or a ficlet. It cannot be more than 5,000 words (ten pages on Microsoft Word). You have to write it as if you were there. No "If I had them, I would be...". It has to be "I have them with me and we're doing...". Got it? Good.

And, I uploaded two new stories, both extremely short: one is six pages, the other is nine. Both are songfics and set to rather depressing songs. They are titled Just Like You and Forty Five, taken from and using the lyrics of the two songs by the same titles. So, read them or don't. They're there. Oh, and, please tell me, those of you who have read Just Like You, if you want me to continue it. I've already had a review to that effect, but I don't know where to go with it. Maybe a few flashbacks of training over the summer, and how Remus, Seamus, Dean and a few others wound up in the Death Eater ranks, or how they all survive being Death Eaters, maybe Hermione's story and Voldemort not killing all the Mudbloods...., or maybe the Ministry going belly up and Fudge and Umbridge being mauled by angry Blast-Ended Skrewts..... one can dream.... Anyway, here's the chapter. Enjoy.

Chapter 29

Harry and Draco stumbled into the Great Hall the next morning at seven a.m., still half asleep. Harry wearily laid his head down on the crook of his arm, falling back asleep at the table. Draco yawned and slumped over, fighting to stay awake.

"We spent WAY too long at Privet Drive," Lily griped, looking as sleep deprived as her son. Beside her, James, Severus, and Remus were faring little better, all yawning and reaching for pots of extremely strong coffee. Emily, Ginny and Emily's father strode into the Great Hall cheerfully.

"All right, your training starts now!" Commander George barked, grinning evilly. Harry shot into a sitting position.

"Aunt Petunia, I'm up already!" he yelled, only half awake.

James and Lily stared at him, shaking their heads, not comprehending in the slightest what was going on. Severus let out a soft snore, his head buried in his arms. Alanna and Xander Apparated into the Great Hall and stood there, blinking as they took in everything that was going on.

"TROOPS!!!!" Commander George bellowed, making everyone wake up immediately. "FALL IN!!!!!" Sighing, Alanna and Xander walked over and stood in front of Commander George, waiting for further orders.

"Fall in to what?" Draco mumbled, shaking his head to clear it.

Emily smirked and walked over, pulling on their arms. "It means get up and get ready to walk out of here," she explained.

"Who are the troops?" Harry wondered out loud.

"You, Alanna, Xander, James, Draco, and Severus," Emily snapped, dragging Harry to his feet. "MOVE!!!!!!" she bellowed, sounding exactly like her father. Harry and Draco jumped.

Ten minutes later, the three instructors (Emily, Ginny and Commander George) had managed to drag the still sleepy demigods outside and onto the Quidditch Pitch, which had been warmed to a still chilly sixty degrees, the snow melting and running into the lake. "All right, start running," the Commander instructed, glancing at a Magical watch. "GO!" Harry and Draco, having transfigured their customary clothing into running shoes, black terrycloth pants and tee shirts, took off, running easily.

James and Severus stared at each other incredulously before following in the teenagers' lead, transfiguring their clothing as they went. Alanna and Xander brought up the rear, Alanna looking a little green and about to throw up. Xander watched her carefully, ready to catch her if she fell.

Are you feeling all right, Love? he asked, worried.

A little nauseous, she admitted. I must have eaten something that disagreed with me.

Don't worry if you get sick. Running will make you do that, he reassured her, holding her hand.

Irritated, she yanked her hand from his. I know that, she snapped. I've been training in martial arts for how long? she took off, catching up to Harry and Draco. Xander rolled his eyes and continued at a steady pace.



Dumbledore fire called Minister Fudge's office, dangling the now very much unpetrified rat by the tail. "Yes, Headmaster Dumbledore?" the bored secretary asked, chewing on the tip of her wand.

Dumbledore sighed. "I need to speak with Minister Fudge right away. It's urgent," he calmly stated, ready to tear his hair out if the woman didn't do as he asked.

Thankfully, Cornelius Fudge appeared in the fire within a minute, looking extremely harried. "Yes, Headmaster? I'm extremely busy right now," he snapped, wiping his sweating brow with a pudgy hand.

"I have something I would like for you to do for me," Dumbledore politely started. "I would like you to verify the identification of a Death Eater we captured yesterday." Fudge nodded, and a minute later, stood in Dumbledore's office.

Dumbledore produced the rat and Fudge choked. "Is this some sick joke?" he demanded angrily. "Do you really expect me to believe that Peter Pettigrew is alive, a Death Eater, and dangling from your fingertips?"

Dumbledore produced a wand and forced Peter to revert to his human form. The pudgy, rat faced man quaked before the dumbfounded Minister of Magic. "Petrificus Totalis," the extremely bored Headmaster said, waving his wand. Peter Pettigrew fell over with a loud crash, shaking the floor.

"Does that prove anything to you or do you need to examine him yourself?" Dumbledore asked stifling a yawn. Minister Fudge gulped and nodded absently, looking Pettigrew up and down.

"I'll need to have him perform a spell to check his magical signature, and send a vial of blood for analysis, but," the Minister pulled up Pettigrew's left sleeve, gaping at the Mark. "I see. You weren't lying about that. As soon as the blood and signature check out I'll have the paperwork drawn up to exonerate Sirius Black. Posthumously, of course."

"Actually, he isn't dead, simply detained." Dumbledore said absently, going over some school related paperwork.

"Excuse me?" Fudge asked sharply. "I didn't hear you right. You are telling me that Sirius Black is still alive? He fell through the VEIL!!!! No one survives that!"

"Actually, we have six people who have been through the Veil and come back out alive. Apparently, it leads to a different dimension in space."

"Where??"

"Hell, if I'm not mistaken."

"WHAT????" Dumbledore watched the Minister as he passed out.

"Well that went well," Dumbledore remarked to the petrified Pettigrew. Peter just rolled his eyes.



Harry groaned, lying down on the grass of the Quidditch Pitch. I thought I was in shape!!! he complained good-naturedly.

Draco sighed, agreeing. Quidditch does nothing for you!! This is ridiculous! I'm sweating harder than I ever have in my life! He angrily brushed limp tendrils of platinum from his eyes.

"WHAT'RE YOU DOING LYING DOWN???" Commander George yelled. "GET UP!!!!!"

Harry and Draco scrambled to their feet, swearing profusely. "Why?" Harry asked sullenly. "We finished the run, all five miles of it."

"How do you know that?" Commander George asked curiously.

"Well, around the Pitch is a quarter mile, I measured it myself. So, four times five is twenty. We ran twenty and we did it in pretty good time, too."

"Oh." Commander George seemed to mull something over. Just then, the other four ran up and the three guys flopped on the grass, panting for air.

"That was the longest I've ever run in my life," Severus gasped.

Alanna smirked at them all, barely winded. She knelt down, sitting in Lotus position and started meditating. "Bitch," Xander grumbled. "She runs five miles every day. Every bloody morning before anyone else is up."

Hey, Alanna, could you start waking me up? Harry and Draco asked her eagerly. We'll need it.

Sure. The wakeup call is five a.m., and calisthenics afterwards.

Sounds good.

They started paying attention just in time to hear Emily walk up. "Hey, Dad, could you get my computer from home? I want to use the 3D effects for planning the terrain and the movements of the opposition." He nodded and Apparated through the wards, returning two minutes later with a red and black laptop, printer, scanner, and modem. "Thanks, Dad," Emily kissed him on the cheek. "Ginny! I GOT IT!!!!" She Apparated in mid step.

As soon as everyone had rested for five minutes, Cdr. George announced that everyone would be getting up at five a.m. to run and continue training. "Just great," griped James.

"What did you say?" Cdr. George snapped. "I thought I heard a complaint!!!" He strode over to James angrily.

"You dumbass, Potter! When will you learn to shut up?" Severus hissed angrily.

"Hey. It's your soul mate. You go get her!" he shot back.

"Your BEST FRIEND is there as well, idiot!" Severus snapped.

"SHUT UP!!!!!!" Alanna screamed, her eyes still closed. Everyone jumped and closed their mouths. "Thank you." She went back to meditating with a small smile on her face.

Two minutes later, she opened her eyes. "All right, I want pushups," Cdr. George produced a stopwatch, setting up five minutes. "You have five minutes to complete as many as possible. Minimum is one hundred." Everyone got into pushup position. "Go!"



Twenty minutes later, the smirking Navy SEAL led the sweating and gasping Demigods into the Forbidden Forest. "Now, we're going to work on your stealth." He passed out paintball guns and five hundred paintballs to each of them. "The point is to not get hit while taking out as many of the others as possible. If you're hit in a nonvital point, keep going. A head shot or torso shot is considered lethal and you're dead. No magic and no deflecting shots." He handed out small maps, depicting a different specific location to each person. "Apparate to the position you have been given and start from there. The person who has the least amount of hits after a three hour time period passes. Any questions?"

Harry grinned. Just like Harry Hunting, he thought with a smirk.

Draco immediately protested. "Hey, no fair! He's going to win automatically! He already knows how to do this!"

Harry grinned. "Hey, I'll trade my upbringing for yours anytime, Love."

"Go!" Cdr. George yelled, checking his watch. Everyone Apparated, the Cdr. as well, unknown to anyone else. I'm going to teach them a thing or two about stealth, he grinned, loading his own paintball gun and preparing to have fun.

Harry grinned as he took off his shoes, rolled in a convenient mud slick next to a pond, stuck the rifle around his neck, and quickly climbed the nearest tree, shimmying up the branches with years of skill. Now, this is the way to do it, he thought behind his carefully constructed shields. He cautiously crawled from branch to branch, moving west by three trees, his inborn compass flaring to life again. I need to do this more often so I don't lose these skills, he promised himself. Movement below! He looked down, seeing a flash of platinum blond amidst the trees fifty yards away. I see you, Draco, he thought mischievously, carefully moving to sit directly over his unsuspecting soul mate, his own body completely indistinguishable from the branches. He cautiously lowered himself, raising the rifle.

Draco looked up, directly at Harry, not seeing him. SPLAT! Bright pink paint covered his tee-shirt, right over his heart. "SHIT!!!!" he screamed. "WHO DID THAT?????"

"Hey, Love," Harry called down softly. "I got you."

"Harry, you dick, where are you???" Draco whirled around wildly, searching the ground for his elusive soul mate. "Come on, where are you?" Harry didn't reply, as he was already crawling away, trying to keep the branches as still as possible.

One down, four- no five to go, he thought to himself, almost not seeing the Cdr. with a gun, circling below the trees in the underbrush. Hey, he's good! Harry thought, admiring the way he moved without even a ripple of the overgrown grass and bushes. He was about to raise his rifle when the SEAL ducked out of sight, his rifle going off. Xander stumbled from his hiding spot, a bush, swearing loudly. He got him! Now, four!

Harry used the distraction to move quickly through the trees looking for his father, Severus, or Alanna. He found all three of them five minutes later within one hundred feet of each other, scoping each other out, daring someone to make the first move. Cdr. George made the move for them, taking out Severus in under a minute. Harry dispatched the other two just as quickly, both with head shots, moving quickly out of the immediate area.

From his vantage point in the undergrowth, invisible to anyone on the ground (but not in a tree) Cdr. George stared at the two paint balls that seemed to come out of nowhere and tried to trace the angle. Harry watched, chuckling softly from thirty yards away, as he shot into the lower branches, completely confused. "Where the-" SPLAT! The Cdr. was cut off by Harry deliberately shooting him in the back of the head, turning his camouflage hat purple. "All right, you got me. Where are you?" he conceded.

Harry quietly walked across the branches and climbed down right in front of him. "Boo!" he said, grinning.

"How did you do that?" he asked, an eyebrow cocked. Draco walked up, followed by Xander and they stared at the mud covered Harry with frustration.

Harry shrugged. "Draco was right. I do have an advantage to this as I used to have to hide from my cousin all the time or he'd pound me. I learned how to hide and climb really fast, and from there the hunting in return just followed."

"Do that again," Draco instructed, everyone else nodding in agreement. "Show us how to get up there and hide so well."

Harry obligingly shimmied back up the tree, everyone else took off their shoes and followed suit. "You have to climb higher," he instructed, seeing them stop after about four branches. "It'll hold your weight."

"So how did you climb from branch to branch without causing a huge motion in the tree?" Alanna asked.

"Years of practice?" Harry offered, demonstrating. "I think it's all about where you place your feet and how thick the branch is."

"Interesting," Cdr. George said, quickly figuring out for himself how to move undetected from tree to tree. "This'll help our troops in heavily wooded areas, although this is really hurting my feet. And, I'm assuming that our hiding spots were all visible to you in the air, even though we couldn't see each other on the ground."

They spent an hour following Harry's example and learning stealth in the trees, before Cdr. George called it for lunch. "You get an hour to eat and freshen up," he warned. "After that, we start again, this time the trees being off limits."

Harry grinned. "Sound's like fun!" he chirped. Everyone else looked at him and groaned. "What?" he asked, confused.

"Never mind, Harry," Draco groaned, shaking his head.

"No! Tell me!" They continued arguing all the way to the castle.



"For the fifth time, Sirius Black is alive!" Dumbledore massaged his aching temples. I can see how they get angry with mortals, especially when they're as stupid as the man in front of me, he thought wearily.

Fudge shook his head. "And you expect me to believe this cock and bull story about him being in Hell???" he snapped.

"Look, give us until May to produce him. We will, we just have to go get him. Then, you can draw whatever conclusions you want."

"Fine, fine," Fudge waved his hand. "Oh, Albus, I have a question for you," he produced a sheaf of papers about ten inches thick. "You don't mind, do you?"

Dumbledore sighed. There goes the rest of my day, he thought wearily. "Of course not, Cornelius. How can I help?"

"Well, you see..." They spent the rest of the afternoon and the better part of the night going over new laws, treatises, and other matters of government that Fudge had no idea how to do.



Ginny and Emily sat in front of the two networked laptops in the Chamber of Secrets, loading all the information the Werewolves, Drow and Vampires had compiled into a three dimensional simulation. Neville and Blaise were shooting pool on one table, Seamus and Eric were shooting pool on the other table and Luna was reading. "All right, I can create the Demon hordes," Ginny said absently, "if you program them to move in a specific pattern and attack scenario."

"All right, now which area of the planet should I use?" Emily asked, staring at the maps and diagrams. "There are three different paths to the portals, twelve portals, and then the twelve worlds. While Laurel is most definitely on Clautius's world, Sirius could be anywhere. I know they're getting a meeting place, but that could change, he could be discovered, everything could go to Hell literally, and our plans could be for nothing."

"That's why we need them to have at least a familiarity of the terrain of the different worlds, as many as possible. I hate this! I'm being left behind again, when all I want to do is go with them and help!" Ginny exploded, banging her fist against the table. "I could go, I could help but they won't let me! It isn't fair!"

"Why not?" Emily asked. "The way you've been studying the layouts, you know them almost as well as the spies who get it."

"I hate being tactical Ops," Ginny grumbled, keying in more data into the databank.

"I know, me too. But I have to admit that they're all stronger than me so I'm not going with them. I'm on healing duty, which is a laugh. I would probably kill the person I was trying to help, knowing me."

Ginny scowled and Neville ambled over. "You know, Gin, they only want to protect you."

"But she's a demon," Luna said dreamily. "Everyone's overlooked the idea that maybe she can do magic in their realm without getting caught."

"Yeah right," Blaise smirked. "Power is power and that much power will be detected no matter who it is."

Emily sat, staring at the screen. "Not if... I need to see my father!" She Apparated away immediately.

"What?" Ginny asked, confused. "Oh well." She went back to creating the three dimensional demons on the computer and planning the tracts of terrain.



"Dad?" Emily asked quietly, coming up behind her father and the six muddy, sweaty, paint spattered demigods. "You were playing paintball?" she asked incredulously.

"Tactical maneuvers, Em. The key words are tactical maneuvers," her father corrected her absently. "What is it, Emmy?"

"I have a question. Actually, Luna brought it up. Ginny's a demon, right?" she asked, plotting.

"Yes," Harry and Draco answered immediately.

"And you two bonded blood with her, right?"

"Yes," they answered again suspiciously, staring at her.

"Which means you have Demon blood in you, right?" She grinned innocently.

"Yes- wait, I don't know!" Harry gaped at her while Draco rapidly figured out where this was leading.

"We're not going to chance it, Em. Whether or not we'll be detected is one thing but using magic and hoping they don't come crashing down on us is another."

"No!!! I'm saying you can use spells before you go in and have them affect you! Like Invisibility spells or Speed spells or Endurance spells. Nothing big like Apparation, but you can cast them on yourself outside, go in, and have them still affect you!"

Severus grinned. "Can I adopt Ginny?" he wondered aloud. Then I could share her blood too and she's a nice kid and already Draco and Harry's sister.

Draco groaned, burying his face in Harry's shoulder. "That's not nice, Uncle Sev. Adopt her if you want her to be your niece, not just because of her powers!"

Severus frowned. "That wouldn't be the only reason," he muttered.

"Right..." Draco drawled. Severus just glared at them as they walked back to the castle.

"So, would it work?" Emily asked, bouncing from foot to foot.

"Actually, it should," Alanna said, furrowing her brow. "I think you've got something!" she exclaimed happily, hugging Emily and getting her full of mud. "Oops, sorry," Alanna giggled. "And then, they could cast the spells on the rest of us and it'll be so cool! We actually have a shot at this!!!!"

What's up with her mood swings? Harry asked Draco quietly. Draco just shrugged.



Two hours later, Harry was having the time of his life. Everyone else had been dispatched early on, and sat in the lower branches of the trees, watching avidly as Cdr. George and Harry circled each other, dodging, hiding, and trying to 'kill' each other. Harry had already taken a leg shot, while Cdr. George had a neon yellow splat right on his left buttock. All right, where are you, Harry thought in exasperation. Movement! He scuttled to the left, and brought his rifle up to fire, when he suddenly stopped.

He and Commander George stood up, their rifles trained on each other, both ready for the kill. "Bang!" they both said, smirking. Commander George walked over and shook his hand. "You want to be a Navy SEAL?" he asked hopefully. "You could get in, I'll guarantee it. You already have most of the abilities, and you should be up to par with the endurance by the time I'm done with all of you."

Harry grinned. "I'll think about it," he promised. Draco hopped down.

"No way in hell, Harry," he growled. "I'm not going to wait for you to come back after a six month deployment in some Godforsaken part of the world."

"Hello- Apparation?" Harry smirked. "I could be home for dinner."

"No."

"You both could, although Draco would have to cut his hair," Severus began.

"HELL NO!!!!" the blond demigod yelled.

"Will you quit arguing?" Alanna snapped. "Let's do this again. I don't know about the rest of you but I want to be prepared!"

With a wave of Severus's hand, everyone was clean. "Harry, how come you wind up so muddy?" he asked, staring at his nephew incredulously.

"Don't take it off!" Harry protested, staring at his sparkling tee shirt in dismay. "Now I'll have to go roll in the mud again." he walked off, leaving Commander George to explain the finer points camouflage and how the mud and grass worked to Harry's and everyone else's advantage.



Over the next several days, they ran in the morning, did calisthenics and weight training until lunch, ran some more, learned from Alanna's memories about various martial arts, and then worked in their groups of three, learning to coordinate their movements without telepathy or anything that Clautius could intercept. For Severus, Harry and Draco, that meant working almost exclusively on their shielding and employing the stealth techniques Harry and Severus had learned as a result of their pasts. Draco even got over his upbringing enough to employ Harry's camouflage techniques, but he spent the next two hours scrubbing himself clean with Harry willingly helping him.

They practiced because, at the end of the week, they would be working with paintball guns against each other again in the forest, team against team, and both teams against a Navy SEAL team Commander George was bringing in. It would be interesting to say the least. So, they practiced over and over, pushing themselves to the ends of their endurance, one day blurring into another.

Finally, at six a.m. the day before term started, the three groups faced off in the Forest. "All right, you have your assignments," Cdr. George said, handing out pieces of paper with coordinates on them. You must remain in contact at all times with your group members, and the team with the least amount of people hit the least amount of times wins." He paused as Draco raised a hand. "Yes, Mr. Malfoy?"

"But your guys have twice as many people on the team."

"They aren't telepaths," Commander George explained wearily. Trust him to find something to complain about.

"I'm not complaining!" Draco protested, then caught himself. "Um, yeah, I am," he admitted quietly.

Harry laughed and hugged him. "Hey, Love, relax. We're faster and more powerful. Besides, we have Alanna's memories, should anything go wrong. What's to worry about?"

Draco grumbled. It's not fair. We have to up against fully trained SEALS. We have no chance in hell of winning.

But think of how much better at this we will be. Relax, Draco. We don't have to beat them.

But I want to! Draco turned impossibly huge silver eyes up to his soul mate. I want to, Harry.

If you two are done, Alanna's cool voice broke into their thoughts. We would like to start sometime in the next century.

Harry grabbed Draco's hand and Apparated, along with Severus to a completely still part of the Forbidden Forest about a five minute hike from the spring they had frequented for the better part of the school year. Hey! Draco exclaimed, looking around, I know where we are!

And I know some good hiding spots, Harry grinned evilly, leading them forward. First, let's get muddy.

Only if you promise to scrub me clean afterwards, Draco hissed back.

Severus just rolled his eyes.

Five minutes later, the three of them looked like they had taken on mud monsters and lost. Harry shoved Severus up a tree and Draco into the next, and himself in a third. On Harry's count, they moved, allowing his expertise and inborn compass guide them into a loose triangle formation almost one hundred yards away from their landing point. They sat in the trees for almost an hour before Harry saw movement. Dead ahead. Let's do it. Noiselessly and effortlessly, they dropped from the trees, sliding into the dense undergrowth with ease. They tracked the movement for over twenty minutes before Harry saw his shot.

Fire, Harry thought, letting a paint ball fly. THWACK! It hit someone, James, straight in the bum, and he let out an earsplitting screech. Ouch! Sorry, Dad, Harry thought, laughing as his father hopped around, yelping in pain. Severus finished him off with a shot to the back of the head, sending him flying forward into the dirt.

"You shitheads!!!" he swore violently, rubbing his head and smearing the paint even worse. Harry bit back a giggle.

There. Movement to the left. He waited for the shot and took it. Alanna stood up, her face splattered with paint.

"Sonovabitch!" she swore, stalking out of the bushes angrily.

Xander crouched almost five feet away, looking for any sign of the attack that had taken out his other two team members. THWACK!!!! "OUCH!!!" he yelped, seeing the purple, blue and green paint covering his tee shirt. "Guess I'm dead," he said ruefully, standing up and walking over to his team mates. They Apparated from the Forest to clean up.

Harry, Draco and Sev took to the trees again, moving quickly due south before resting for almost forty five minutes, eating lunch quickly, and then continuing when the heard soft noises below. We can't let them see us, Draco panted, sliding from branch to branch. Severus, one tree to the right, couldn't agree more as he slid into the next tree Harry, to Draco's left, landed on an upper branch and saw, to his chagrin, a Navy guy sitting in the lower branches, watching the ground avidly.

Stay for a minute, he sent his team. Harry noiselessly dropped down and grabbed the SEAL, tightening his arms around his neck in a classic choke hold. "Snap," he said out loud, next to the startled man's ear. "You're dead."

Amused brown eyes met green. "You did that well," the unknown soldier whispered and climbed down, sitting on the ground. Harry climbed back up, watching as another SEAL sidled next to the downed soldier. "I'm dead, broken neck," the first one announced cheerfully. The other one sidled back, disappearing into the undergrowth.

They're in this area, he sent worriedly. Draco looked down to see a camouflage jacked below him. He fired, and the jacket jerked.

"I'm hit," came an unfamiliar voice as the soldier slid out of the grass wincing and rubbing his back. "Chest wound, give me morphine and say a prayer. I'm conscious enough to tell you before I die they're in the trees." He Apparated out of the forest. Draco swore softly and shifted to another tree, and then another. Harry and Severus scattered as well, taking trees in an equilateral triangle about sixty feet apart. They scanned the terrain, anxiously trying to spot movement anywhere. Suddenly, Severus slipped, swearing loudly. A shot was fired, Harry tracking its origin. He sighted and fired, taking out the shooter. The yellow splattered SEAL stumbled from the bushes, the paint in an obvious kill zone.

"I'm out," he sighed, Apparating out of the Forest.

Up in the tree, Severus continued to curse quietly. It's my leg, he sent his team mates. I was hit in the leg, nothing fatal. Did you get the ass who shot me?

Yup, he's dead.

Severus slowly aimed his rifle, staring at the bushes under the tree that housed his godson. Draco? There's a SEAL right under you, THERE! he shouted triumphantly, taking him out. Got him!

Two down-OOF! Draco yelled, his muddy tee shirt bright green over his heart. I'm hit, Harry and its lethal. He Apparated, leaving Harry and Severus to find and take out the last two members of the Navy team.

Where did that paintball come from? Harry asked, staring at the spot his soul mate had just occupied.

No clue and I can't see anything! Severus shot back, frustrated. OWWW!! SHIT!!! he suddenly yelled, in quite a bit of pain. That STINGS!

 Where'd you get hit??? Harry demanded worriedly.

Straight on the ass!!!

We better bloody move! Harry snapped, sliding to another tree, Severus doing the same. Suddenly, he was hit in the back and lost his balance, falling out of the tree. "FUCK!!!" he screamed, his magic stopping him inches from hitting the ground. "I'm out!" he yelled in frustration. Seconds later, Severus fell to the ground beside him, furious.

"I was hit as well. Let's go back," he muttered, dusting himself off. Damn SEALS, he mentally swore, the both of them Apparating.



"We were so close!!!" Harry complained once they had gotten back to the castle. They stalked up to the entrance, furious. "We almost had them!"

Draco walked out of the solid oak double doors, still filthy. "You owe me a shower, Potter," he grumbled, grabbing Harry's hand and pulling him back inside and towards the Slytherin Dorms.

"Uncle Sev, tell Cdr. George that his team sucks royally for me, would ya?" Harry threw over his shoulder as Draco dragged him into the dungeons. They Apparated straight to their room, while Draco pulled his soul mate's clothes off as fast as possible.

"It has been way too long," he muttered, finally banishing the clothing in his impatience.

"It's been three days. Relax," Harry soothed, sliding the muddy tee shirt from Draco's tense shoulders and walking him to the bathroom. "I'm here now, so let's make the most of it. Since tomorrow's Sunday, and everyone comes back, and then classes start back up Monday, do you have the energy to go to the Mansion or do we stay here?"

"Mmm, stay here. I'm exhausted." They climbed into the steaming shower, their arms wrapped around each other in comfort.

"Too tired to...." Harry trailed off, teasing. The arm around his tightened and Draco's hands traveled progressively lowered. Harry's smirk turned into a gasp and his eyes widened.

"Never too tired for this," Draco growled, pinning Harry against the wall, kissing him deeply. Harry softly moaned, kissing him back with fervor.

"Oh God, Draco, don't stop," Harry whispered, running his hands through his soul mate's hair as Draco kissed and teased lower, sucking on Harry's collarbone. Harry groaned and lifted his chin, sliding his tongue into Draco's mouth

"Remember that dream?" Draco asked huskily, resting his forehead against Harry's.

"Hmmm. Remind me again?" Harry asked softly, his eyes slightly hazy with desire. Draco grinned as he proceeded to do just that. They didn't emerge from the bathroom until it was time for dinner.



At dinner, Harry and Draco sat next to Ginny and Remus, eating quietly. "So, Professor," Harry began.

"Harry, I've asked you to call me Remus."

"Remus, sorry. Old habits are hard to break. I was wondering, which potion did you wind up taking?"

Remus choked on his dinner roll, and Severus had to pound his back, dislodging to food.

"I'm sorry," Harry apologized, staring at the werewolf anxiously. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, no," Remus waved away his concerns, taking a swig of Pumpkin juice. "It just surprised me, that's all. In truth, I haven't been able to decide. Either is a life changer, for better or worse."

"Right, and that's why I gave you the choice. I know how painful the transformations are, the way you are currently, and I didn't want to appear presumptuous as to which one you'd pick, but I also wanted to help." Harry glumly took a bite. He had only wanted to give Remus, who was like an older brother/uncle, a way to no longer have to go through excruciating pain each month and spend the rest of the time hated and feared.

He does appreciate it, Harry, Draco said conversationally. He just is completely indecisive as to which one to choose. It was a huge shock for him to actually have a solution to something he had resigned himself to accept.

Slightly mollified, Harry returned to eating with gusto.

Ginny grinned slightly, thinking about the day's events. They are gonna get their asses kicked, she thought mischievously, running through the battle simulations she had ran for four hours, finally getting them perfect- and realistic.



The next morning, January third, the rest of the school arrived at ten, chattering and laughing. The students who had remained stared at them in amusement as laughter and noise once again made the walls shake slightly. They're back... Harry thought in a sing song wryly while sitting comfortably in the Slytherin common room, ducking as a stray curse was shot in his direction.

Uh oh- what the hell is going on??? Draco thought angrily, striding into the Common Room and, wading though the entirety of the younger years, separated two second years flinging barely legal curses at one another. "WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING???" he snarled, drawing everyone's attention.

"He- he – HE CALLED ME A BLOODY DEATH EATER!!!!" the first one snapped.

Draco's eyes widened fractionally. "What the hell are you trying to pull???" he snapped at the second one.

"His MUM has the mark, his DAD has the mark, and my damn uncle just told my father that his BROTHER and SISTER have the Mark!!! He's a DEATH EATER!!!!" the second boy screamed at the top of his lungs.

"My parents have the Mark, does that make ME a Death Eater??" Draco hissed angrily.

"Yeah, but your dad PUNCHED the Dark Lord!" the second said, very impressed.

"I was soul bound to Potter before my father had a change of heart and mind," Draco hissed, "and I still wasn't a Death Eater. I chose torture rather than be bound to that lunatic from Hell! Apologize NOW!!!"

The first one sneered. "That's all right, Draco. I don't need a half assed apology he doesn't even mean." Angrily he shoved his sleeve up. It was bare. "See! No mark!" he hissed. Harry Apparated immediately into the middle of the angry group of preteens.

He grabbed the first one, walking him out of the throng and sitting him down. "It's all right," he said quietly. "No one is going to hurt you for this."

"You don't know that," he muttered barely above a whisper.

"Yes I do, because I won't let them. They're nuts if they think they can take me and Draco on and win."

The second year scowled. "I can take care of myself, you know. I'm not helpless."

Harry sighed. "What's your name?"

"Darryl Parkinson, Pansy's brother."

"Oh. Well, Darryl, it may seem I'm only saying things to try to make you feel better, but do you have any idea of what my home life was like?"

"According to the Dark Lord, you were fed from a silver spoon. Then he came back and started talking about rape and torture and did they really treat you like that? How did he know and why did you to work together? And how did he know???" The boy babbled, his burning curiosity getting the better of him.

Harry laughed and he and Draco spent the next hour telling the story of what had happened over break. By the time they were done, they had attracted everyone in the Dorms. The entirety of the Slytherin House was sitting on the floor, in chairs, and in Emily, Crabbe, Goyle, Ginny, Eric, Seamus and Blaise's case in midair. They didn't leave out any details, much to Severus's dismay.

"Harry, I don't think telling the First Years how to properly torture someone is a good idea," Severus warned, seeing visions of the Ickle Firsties practicing on each other and their fellow houses. Oh that would be bad, he thought with a sigh. I can just picture them deliberately hunting down students and dragging them into deserted classrooms for more 'instruction'. Why couldn't my house be normal, sex crazed little bastards? No, instead they're bloodthirsty, sex crazed little bastards! he mused, watching Blaise and Seamus, who had all but moved down into the Slytherin Dorms himself, make out with gusto, oblivious to the younger years watching with interest, two of them taking notes and comparing.

"You should have used a duller knife," one of the second years piped up, drawing his attention back to the conversation.

"Why?" Draco asked curiously.

"Because you would have to saw at it, making it hurt more," the second year answered proudly. "At least that's what my Mum says when she yells at my Dad."

Harry started laughing. "Uncle Sev, we didn't say anything they didn't already know!" he gasped out, holding his sides.

"That's what I was afraid of," the Potions Master muttered dourly. He turned and stared at the assembled Slytherins. "You are NOT to practice torture methods on each other. Is that understood?" They collectively groaned.

"But, sir, what if we caught a Gryffindor and kept him or her down here? We could practice on him," An unknown fourth year asked with a smirk.

"No!" Severus snapped.

"How about a Hufflepuff? They're useless anyway," another one asked with an evil grin.

Harry snorted with laughter. Severus glared at him. "You're not helping, Mr. Potter. They do look up to you."

"S-ss-sorry, Professor Snape, but they're so funny!" Harry hissed in between spurts of laughter.

Draco smirked. "If they can get a Hufflepuff down into the dungeons willingly, then that one deserves to be taken out of the gene pool."

"Hey!" Harry yelled, his eyes dancing with merriment. "That's not nice, Draco! If you could persuade the little gullible dears that you really just wanted to give them a tour of the Dungeons and show them all the neat secret passage ways, then you shouldn't take advantage of that!" he snickered.

Severus groaned as Millicent, Blaise and Eric started plotting about capturing their first Hufflepuff and what they'd do to the unsuspecting person. Emily just grinned from her place on Eric's lap and Seamus, with a giddy Blaise on his lap, just rolled his eyes.

Oh yeah, Harry thought in amusement, opening the Quidditch link. Practice tonight and tomorrow after classes. We have a game on Saturday.

All right, came the replies from all over the castle. Harry grinned as everyone trooped from the Dorms, ready for lunch.

That afternoon, they held their practice, reacquainting Blaise and Seamus with first string. Blaise and Seamus, now that they were bonded, were as good, if not better than their predecessors Damien and Nicholai. They slammed the Bludgers back and forth, effectively keeping the two wildly careening balls away from the rest of the team for the entire practice, which was almost four hours.

After practice, Cdr. George pulled Harry, Draco, James, Severus, Alanna and Xander into the Forbidden Forest for night drills. With the SEAL team as their guide, drill instructor and challenger, they tracked, ran, and learned to avoid detection while not tripping and falling on their faces until almost two in the morning.

Draco and Harry, exhausted, flopped onto Draco's bed and cast the accelerated sleep on each other. They both glowed softly for the entire night, neither of them dreaming at all.



A/N: All right, yet another chapter. I dunno, that one seemed a bit boring to me as well, though I promise that in less than two or three chapters it'll pick up again. And yes I threw in the sex to liven things up a bit. Nothing like writing slash at three in the morning!!! Oh, guess what? I PASSED MY EMT EXAMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHOOOOOHOOOOO !!!!!!!!!!! YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY!!!!! Anyway, someone asked for a teaser from the other story I'm working on. Here it is, enjoy.



The Lesser of Two Evils

A crisp Autumn day, 1997- Harry's sixth year

Draco walked alone, having ditched his goons somewhere around the Great Hall. Presumably they were currently stuffing their faces- their favorite pastime. He made his way out the Entrance Hall and onto the grounds, enjoying what could very well be the last warm day before the winter snows dumped on them. He calmly strode, the Slytherin Prince, over to the lake to sit at his favorite spot under an ancient weeping willow right on the lakefront.

I take my Mark at the beginning of Winter Holiday, he thought ruefully. I heard it's incredibly painful. He stared at his unblemished forearm thoughtfully, imagining the rather unattractive burn that would be etched there in just a few months. I don't know if this is what I really want, but Dumbledore's just as bad, if not worse. I wish I could talk to Uncle Sev about this, but no one must know. His feet led him to his spot and he sat down gracefully against the smooth trunk, when...

"What the- Potter?? What are you doing here?" he snapped, unwittingly sitting next to his rival and archenemy.

Harry shrugged, a goofy expression on his face. "Make yourself at home, Malfoy. Pull up a bit of grass." He went back to slowly inhaling on an odd smelling cigarette.

Draco leaned forward, sniffing. "Potter, is that- WEED???" he yelped, staring at Harry as if he had grown an extra head.

"Yup, finest Wizarding Weed in the British Isles. Want some?" Harry asked dreamily, floating about three inches off the ground.

"Erm, no, that's all right," Draco answered, confused. Why is the Savior of the Wizarding World getting stoned off his ass? "I guess I can really call you Pothead and it'll be the truth."

"Yup, oh well. Suit yourself. This is really good shit." Harry went back to toking up with a sad smile.

Draco stared at him for a minute, before sighing. "As your archrival at school and the person who found you, I guess it's my civic duty to ask you what's wrong. So, why are you using pot?"

Harry sniffed, a deep pain surfacing in his eyes. "Do you really want to know or are you just asking in the hope that I'll get mad and stomp off?" He turned to Draco, an unexpected hope lighting his eyes.

Draco stared at him, an unreadable expression on his face. The hope in Harry's eyes dimmed and died. He turned back around. "Figures. I guess I'll just get mad and stomp off, then. See ya around, Ferret." He made to stand up, bracing his hand against the tree trunk behind him.

What- oh well, might as well. Aunt Grace would have my head if she knew that I had the chance to talk to him and didn't. Besides, he looks like he needs someone to talk to- I did NOT just think that! "Wait, Potter. Sit down and talk. I promise, I won't tell Father about anything you say."

Harry sat back down with a thump. "Actually, I would prefer if you told him. Voldemort too." He fumbled in his pocket. "It's in here somewhere." He pulled out an envelope with the name 'Voldemort' written on the back. "Give this to him, would you? I know you're going to see him at Winter Holidays and all."

Draco took the envelope incredulously. "What the- Why are you sending Voldemort mail????"

"It isn't mail, you dork," Harry slurred slightly, turning in circles in midair. "It's a map. I drew it myself," he claimed proudly.

Draco opened it and stared at it. "What's at Number Four, Privet Drive?" he asked curiously.

"Duh, that's where I live! Tell him he has an invitation to come once school ends. Oh, and before he kills me, I want to watch him torture and kill the assholes I live with. After that, he can kill me all he wants. Just no torture. Probably, by the time he gets there it'll be redundant, anyway."

Draco started laughing, falling over and clutching his sides. "Oh- hahahahaha- shit! That's funny! He'll get a kick out of that. Ok, fine, I'll give him this. For a second you really had me going, I actually believed this was a map to your house! HAHAHAHAHA!"

Harry stared at him, all traces of the smiling, dreamy expression gone. "I'm serious, Malfoy. I want to die, and I want my family," he spat the last word as if it were obscene, "to die as well. There is nothing for me here but pain and I want it to END!" His fists clenched at his sides and a lone tear fell down his face. Taking a shuddering, gasping breath, he managed to compose himself. "So, if you would please give that to him, I would be very grateful." He stood up, dusting himself off. "Well, that ruined my high," he said soberly before walking off.

Draco stood up and ran after him and grabbed his arm, dragging him bodily in the direction of the Forbidden Forest. Once they were about thirty feet into the Forest, he let go of Harry's arm. "Now, you are going to talk and you are going to tell me why you feel like dying is your only option!"

Harry cocked an eyebrow. "Dying isn't my only option, it's the most favorable one," he stated simply.

Draco gaped at him. "Why? You have everything! You have fame and you're one of the best and most powerful people on the planet! You could have anything! Why are you throwing that away?"

"Can you give me my parents?" Harry asked looking him straight in the eye. "Can you give me Sirius back? Can you give me fifteen years where I wasn't beaten or starved or r- or treated like shit by people who were supposed to protect me?" he yelled angrily, tears falling down his face.

Draco just stared at him, his mouth hanging open. "I- I-"

"Don't you DARE tell me I have everything because I have NOTHING! I have no one! All I have are two friends who have lives as fucked up as mine and an entire world that depends on me! E- fucking - nough! I can't do this anymore. So, if you would please see to it that he gets the map, I would appreciate it. Besides, why do you care? You hate me. You want me dead. I'm giving myself to him on a silver platter. I thought you'd be jumping for joy, not questioning my motives."

Draco cocked an eyebrow, trying to regain a sense of decorum. Malfoys never gape, even when told something that completely flies in the face of everything you were taught to believe. Uncle Sev will be pissed, same as Aunt Grace. Oh, they will be furious to hear this. They thought Dumbledore would take care of his Savior, not abuse him. "I don't think you understand me, Potter. I may dislike you, but no one deserves to be treated horribly by the people that are supposed to be protecting them. That is awful and unheard of in the Wizarding world. Now, wait a minute- Weasel and Granger have it bad too???"

Harry shrugged. "No one can help me, since Dumbledore has such control over where I go, plus, I just want to end everything. Get them out of their homes, all right? Please? It's bad. Besides, Hermione isn't a Mudblood like everyone thinks. She's actually from a long line of Pureblood Squibs. I think the last time anyone in her family was magic was six or seven generations ago. Wait- she had a Great Grandmother on her Mum's side that was a pretty decent witch. But, yeah, her parents hate her and all. They yell at her and belittle her constantly, telling her they should have aborted her or abandoned her. Why do you think she always does well in school? She just wants them to care. I keep telling her it won't happen but she doesn't believe me. And Ron- well, let's just say the Twins aren't the best siblings to have. They can be really fucked up. I can't say any more on that because I promised never to tell what I saw and he'd just deny it, but I can't help them anymore, so please get them somewhere safe."

Harry stood up and walked off. Draco pulled him back. "What do you want, Malfoy? Why can't you let me go? It's what I want!"

Draco stared at him. "Potter, why doesn't Dumbledore do anything? You're his Golden Boy!"

Harry snarled at him. "Don't EVER call me that again. I HATE that name. And Dumbledore doesn't do anything because he's behind all this. He could have saved Siri, he could have sent me somewhere else, he could have gotten me out of there. He knows- I sent him letters all summer and he came to my house once. I heard him tell my Aunt she was doing a good job, but not to hurt me too badly. He wanted me submissive when I got back here. I told Ron and Hermione that and they're researching how to get me out of there, but we've had no luck. I doubt you can do better."

Draco snarled, wracking his brain for an answer. No one deserves this and they will all be furious. "I can guarantee that Voldemort, once he hears of this, will be furious, and will get you out of there."

"Well, yeah, that's what I'm counting on," Harry responded.

"No, just hang on, all right? He'll get you out of there and keep you safe. I can almost guarantee it."

Harry stared at him incredulously. "What? He hates me and wants me dead! It's either die or completely break."

"If you want to die so badly, just kill yourself then."

"I can't. Dumbledore put this spell on me at the end of fifth year. It lets him know if I have any injuries and if they're self inflicted or not. The last time I tried," he bared his arms and showed Draco the ugly scars running up the insides. "He healed me and told my Uncle I needed to be punished more." He shuddered at the memory.

Draco's face tightened with anger. "I'll see what I can do. Oh, I'll need addresses for Weaseley and Granger."

"They're on the map. I included the addresses on the other side. Why are you helping us, Malfoy?"

Draco shrugged and walked off quietly telling him over his shoulder, "Because no one deserves to be treated this way. It's criminal."

Harry watched him walk off with a renewed hope in his eyes.

The First week of Summer between Sixth and Seventh Year, 1998, Riddle Manor

"Yes, My Lord," came the drawling reply. Severus Snape stood before Voldemort proudly, his masked face displaying none of the anxiety he felt.

"My Death Eaters are dismissed, you may all go," came the thundering voice.

Severus nodded and strode from Riddle Mansion, sighing silently. I will have much to report to Dumbledore. I learned who three more of Voldemort's followers are, as well as the plans for several key attacks over the summer.

Back inside, masks and hoods were removed with a sigh. Voldemort stood up with a wry grin. "Now that the spy is gone, we can get down to business. Potter has given me a map to his house, as well as the addresses of his two friends. Young Master Malfoy here has informed me that the two of them are waiting for us to make our moves, as they do not trust us at all. Any suggestions?"



Ain't I mean????? Such a teaser. Anyway, I'm gonna complete this one before posting it. Forty four pages and going strong. I'm about half way done. I feel terrible, though. I've managed to justify Voldemort's genocide of Muggles in this story. And it will be genocide. But, there's a good reason. So, what do you think? I think it's interesting- oh, and I'm currently intrigued by the whole Harry being related somehow to Voldie, son, grandson, nephew. It's an interesting concept as I don't like Dumbledore and think he's a manipulating freak of nature... the thought of Bumblefuck pitting the two against each other and their actual relationship is father and son is something I think the bastard could do quite easily... Anyway, tell me what you think and I'll be ever so happy.

B/N: Wow, she can be a right bitch when she wants to be! Such a tease! Tsk, tsk, you will make the readers angry!....... Oh well, on with the story! Stay tuned for the next exciting blah blah blah blah blah blah blah! Did anybody catch that? No? TOO BAD! Bye-bye!