Harry stood over his father's sleeping form. Snape was sprawled on his back, the blankets that covered him showed no sign of movement, not even breathing. Harry knew the older Wizard was alive though. He always slept like this now.

Harry sat carefully on the bed beside his father. He watched the man's face for a moment, then leaned down to rest his cheek over the Potions Master's heart. His eyes closed as a slight smile turned up his lips. He listened as soft thumps reassured him of his father's life and let the man's warmth melt away his tension to soothe him better than any massage. He allowed it to carry him away from the dark bedroom, off to a place devoid of the fear and anguish that had been his constant companion for the majority of his young life.

After a short while, Harry sat back up and sighed. His body turned cold at the loss of his father, but he ignored it and stood. "Sleep well, Father. I'll see you in the morning."

He left the room, closing the door with a soft click, and made his way back over to the sofa in the living area. The book lay open on one of the cushions, its pages shining slightly in the dim light from the fire, next to a notebook and writing utensils. Harry shook his head, grabbed up the book and stuffed along with his notes into his school, produced from under the coffee table. He walked quickly over to a desk sitting against the wall farthest from the door. He picked up his wand, scribbled down a note on a spare piece of parchment and then made his way across the room and through the door.

The castle corridors were quiet, but then it was almost midnight. He heard a howl echo down the hall to him, followed by a second, less chilling, one. He smiled slightly, "Sirius and Remus. Forgot it was the full moon tonight."

He hurried through the halls anyway. He definitely didn't want to be caught going outside and there were too many people walking the corridors of Hogwarts this summer. Too many had yet to finish rebuilding Hogsmeade and lived in the castle still. The devastation had been so bad that night that much of the town was still in ruins, only a few of the stores had been rebuilt, the homes being last to give the residents a means of supporting themselves and a little longer under the protective roof of the school. Unfortunately, this made the place nearly impossible for a boy such as Harry, whose Marauder's Map had been confiscated for the adults' use, to wander unnoticed.

"Harry!"

He recognized that voice, "Hello Madame Rosmerta. How are you doing tonight?" He turned to face the woman as she came scurrying towards him.

"Oh as good as I can be. I drew first night duty tonight. Up til 2, I'm afraid. What are you doing up and out here this late?" She stopped in front of him and regarded him with a smile one would give a four headed toad while lying about its beauty. Harry wondered if she knew she was so transparent.

"Couldn't sleep, so I decided to get some homework done. Just trying to find a good spot to see the moon while I work." Over the past year, Snape had been teaching him a technique called Occulmency and now he put his training to good use, showing the woman an absolute angelic face.

"Well, all right," she told him with a wider smile that wasn't quite so strained. "Just be careful not to wander out."

"Good night, Madame," Harry told her. "Have a good watch then."

Harry turned and forced his feet not to hurry around the next corner. He didn't run into any of the other adults on guard duty before he came to his destination: a tall portrait of a woman wearing the clothing of a medieval nun.

"Hello, Harry," she said in a small, breathy voice. "You really shouldn't, you know. It's too dangerous now."

"You're not going to tell on me, are you, Sister?" He kept glancing around himself to be sure no one was anywhere near him. This was one secret he wasn't going to tell even Hermione and Ron about.

The nun gave a little shake of her head. "No, but I really think you should remain within the castle walls. Even without You-Know-Who wandering around out there, this is the night of the Werewolves. And not all of them are as lucky as Remus to take the Wolfsbane Potion."

"I know, but..." Harry sighed.

"But you're feeling claustrophobic," she finished for him. "I know, that's why I first showed you this passage. You were the first I've shown it to in generations."

"I'll stay close and won't be long, I promise. I just can't stay inside any longer!"

"One hour then, love," the nun told him. "Password?"

"Ara."

"Be careful," the woman told him in a sad voice as her portrait swung to the side to allow him entry into a small dark passage.

"Promise," Harry called back as he raced through the door and into the darkness.

The tunnel seemed to last forever for Harry the first time he used it, but now it felt like only a moment before he pushed through some brush and popped out into a thick patch of bush and tree that was so large and overgrown, it was only a few years away from joining the Forbidden Forest itself.

Harry pushed through the undergrowth a small ways to find a stone shaped like a bench facing another that looked to be a desk beneath a tree and clambered up onto its seat. Once settled, he took out his books and writing materials and went to light up his wand, but then noticed something very strange was happening. The book was glowing.

He blinked and then looked up, the book was in the direct path of the moonlight. It was just a trick of light.

He opened the book up anyway and gasped. The pages glowed as well and the letters... The letters came alive. They moved with the agility of a cat and the grace of a snake. They shifted into recognizable characters and then moved to become Modern English words.

Harry's eyes widened behind his glasses and he glanced up at the moon again. "No wonder we couldn't read it. I bet it only works by the light of a full moon!"

He grinned and turned back to the book, unconsciously picking up his quill and dipping it in the inkpot.

This is the memory of the War of Magic. Collected by Salazar Slytherin

and Godric Gryffindor. Written with the intention to warn future

generations of their ancestors folly and grant them warning of the

evils that might yet exist among them. May all who read be blessed to

never meet with the curse of the Bassil.

"The Bassil," Harry exclaimed happily and he turned the page. The first chapter covered the events that lead up to the war, the second covered the side of the fairies while the third covered the side of the wizards, centaurs and other creatures made and ruled by the fairies that had joined in a revolt. The fourth chapter contained what he wanted. The creatures created and used by the fairies in the war.

The Bassil was created with the sole intention of total and complete

destruction. The fairies found that the most powerful creatures they

created were sentient with the blood of both human and fairie. To offset this

they took the blood of a werewolf, a full muggle human, a dragon, the

unicorn and the strongest fairie prince. They added in the skin of a

Basilisk and a Stone of Amator. This created a sentient being that would

be loyal only to one it has fallen in love with. The blood of the prince

ensured that the Fairie Queen would be that one.

The creatures powers include a fiery breath, a body of serpentine skin and

the magic capacity of a wizard. Its wit is immense and its strength

even greater. None can match it for speed. The only true defense against

this creature of darkness is to be its master. However if you cannot

enslave the beast, you must trap it in a prison of water, for only water

may still its stony heart.

"Worse than a Basilisk," Harry murmured, turning the page.

"What's worse than a Basilisk, Potter?" Harry jumped and cursed as he recognized the voice. "Your looks? You should have known that by now."

"Silent for the entire year and that's the best you can do?" Harry turned to glare at the blonde boy behind him. His eyes widened at the sight of the wand that was pointed at him, but continued on anyway. "You're getting rusty."

Malfoy snorted. "And you're just as stupid as ever. This was easier than I thought it would be. I'm disappointed in you. Some savior."

"I never asked for my role, Malfoy."

Something softened about Malfoy's eyes. "No you didn't, did you, Potter?"

"Voldemort sent you to come fetch me, didn't he? You've joined him finally."

Malfoy flinched. "What is that?"

Harry looked down at his book and quickly scooped it up into his arms. "A book. Ever hear of them?"

"You were reading about a Bassil, weren't you?"

Shock filled Harry and stole his breath. "Wh-What?"

"Don't play stupid, Potter. You may not be the brightest, but I know you understand me. Did you find a way to kill it?"

"Why do you care?"

"I said to stop playing stupid! Answer me!"

"How do I know you won't go running to Voldemort with the information on how to defend his precious pet from its only weakness?"

Malfoy snorted, "He probably already knows, Potter. He's a genius! He would never use a creature without knowing everything about it."

"From what I hear," Harry drawled, "that's how he managed to get himself killed by a baby."

"Crucio!" Harry dropped to the ground and began to writhe. "Tell me!"

Harry lay panting and glared up at his adversary. "No, I'll never give him more power."

"You moron! I want to kill him. It's the only way I can be free of him."

Malfoy looked surprised at his own declaration and Harry stared blankly at him. "How can I believeyou?"

"Why do you think I was so quiet this past year? I don't want to be a servant. Malfoys are to be served, not to serve!"

Harry chuckled and pushed himself up. "There's some of the old Draco Malfoy we all know and hate. And I don't know. It said water can kill it, but the problem would be getting it to a safe body of water."

"Water," Malfoy snarled. "Water the only weakness of the great dark creature to ever exist? You expect me to believe that, Potter?"

"That's what this said," Harry told him. He opened the book and read the passage to the other boy. "And it was written by both Slytherin and Gryffindor, so it must be true."

Malfoy growled and moved quickly to push Harry to the side and take the book from him. "What is this? It's all in the Old English."

"I know it's in Ancient English, but the moonlight translates it." Harry took the book back from him and held it facing him in the moonlight. "See?"

"Is this some kind of trick," Malfoy growled. "The moonlight isn't doing anything!"

Harry looked quickly at the book. "But I can read it..."

"Maybe only crazy people can. Maybe we should just take you to St. Mungo's and save the Wizarding World the grief of knowing its savior is insane!"

Harry glared at him and turned the page. His eyes widened. "Wait! This says there's something in the center of the forest that could help us. A secret weapon built just for the taming of the Bassil."

"This is a trick! There's no way you're dragging me into that Forest ever again!"

"What? Scared? Your freedom's not worth risking a little danger?"

"Only a Gryffindor would think the forest a little dangerous!"

"Well, it's not half as dangerous as the Dark Lord is to traitors."

Harry's shoved his book into his bag and stood quickly while Draco spun around, fear opening his cold eyes wide. A Death Eater stepped out from behind a particularly large tree in his flowing black robe and white mask.

"No, don't move, either of you," he told them. "He'll want you both alive."

Malfoy's wand hung in his hand at his side, but Harry's was still on the stone desk. He'd never make it to it in time. Harry looked over at Malfoy who looked back at him. Even in this dim light, Harry could see his face was a mask of terror. Then the blonde boy nodded, his grey eyes seeming to plead with Harry.

Harry turned and broke for his wand.

Behind him he could hear the Death Eater shout a curse, but he fell to the side and watched as a red beam of light shot past him to blast the stone bench. He heard a faint "Expelliarmus" yelled just as shards of blew past his face, nicking his skin and tearing a scream from his throat. He pushed himself up immediately, however and grabbed his wand. He spun around to see the Death Eater launching himself at Malfoy and screamed the first spell that came to him.

"Impedimenta!" The man stopped in mid air and Harry shouted another one. "Petrificus Totalus!" The man fell back stiff and didn't move again.

"Come on," Malfoy screamed. "We have to get out of here!"

He ran away from the castle and back into the vegetation. Harry looked back at the castle, sighed and then turned. "Hold up! I'm the one with the directions!"

Harry grabbed his bag and disappeared into the darkness. He only hoped Snape would be too out of it to notice him gone...

Author's Notes: Sorry ya'll for the long wait, but I made this chapter nice and long, even though I could have just stopped it when Draco showed up. And I'll bake a cake for whoever figures out what Ara means and cookies for what kind of Stone went into making the Bassil... Virtual of course.

Enahma: If you're still reading, sorry it took me so long again.

Penguin: ::raises eyebrow:: You didn't hunt me down. 'Course, you prolly couldn't find me. I couldn't find me for a while there...

Shorty-girly: Enough Draco for ya? There's more to come too!

Krazy Lunitik: Get over it. Though that flame did make for a couple nice S'mores...

::signs off hoping her charas are in character and wondering where Lycoris went::