Well, here ya go. chapter 8. hope you enjoy. thanks to all who have reviewed. oh and also, in the a/n last chapter when it said to 'do be afraid to ..' i ment to say dont. DONT be afriad to tell me what you want to see and be honest. please do tell.

Chapter 8- Love and War, Man

Harry tried to sneak into the tower, hoping all hopes that he would not run into Ron and Hermione tonight. He really didn't have the strength to explain it all to them. And then telling them about Draco. Good lord no. He had no energy for that. Lady luck was not on his side. Not only were Ron and Hermione waiting for him, but also Ginny, Fred, and George. Hurray for me.

When the door swung open, they all turned to look at him. He wanted to run into his room and dive into his bed. But they would follow him and he knew it. He sighed and sat on the couch next to Fred. Nobody said anything, all waiting for Harry to speak first.

"So.... start with the questions," Harry said with a gesture of his hand. Hermione spoke first.

"Well, what happened then?"

"Well, to start off I found out that my mum wasn't a muggle born. But from a long line of squibs."

"So.... you're a pure blood then?" Ron asked.

"Yeah..."

"Well, I bet Malfoy is thrilled about that. Now he can fancy you without the other Slytherins nagging him," Ron said in an aggravated tone, which in turn made Harry angry. He didn't know why he was mad, he just was. And he let Ron know.

"Well, actually Ronald... that is the farthest thing from his mind. He has more important things to worry about," Harry said with a cocked eyebrow. He never called Ron, Ronald. Ron got the point and shut his trap. Hermione knew the meeting had little or nothing to do with his mother's status in the wizarding world. And whatever it was it made him jumpy.

"Harry, you can tell us. We're with you no matter what. We love you," Hermione said, scooting next to Harry and wrapping an arm around him.

"I know Mione it's just...... I'm so stressed out," Harry said putting his head in his hands.

"I know Harry, come on, let it all out, mate. Look I'm sorry about what I said about Malfoy. I'm just not used to seeing him be nice, is all."

"I'm sorry Ron.... sigh I found out stuff about my mum that nobody except my dad and a few close friends knew about. My mum was a Grimalkis."

Hermione was shocked, along with everybody else in the room. All of the differences in Harry's appearance made sense now.

"And that makes you one too. Harry, this is amazing. You are part of a race of people that was said to have died out in the wars. Wow." Hermione ran her hand through the front of Harry's hair. His eyes fluttered closed and he leaned into the touch. Harry looked like he was in ecstacy. Ron was jealous. Why was his girlfriend, alright fine, girlfriend-to-be, touching Harry like that?!

"Mione, what are you doing to him?" Ron sounded more jealous then he wanted to. Hermione rolled her eyes and looked at him.

"I'm just testing Harry's whiskers. This long part in his hair here; I wanted to see how sensitive they are. By the looks of Harry's reaction, they are almost done forming."

"How'd you know they were there?" Harry had finally snapped back into reality.

"I read about them in the book I got for you, Harry. Not much is known about the Grimalkii. But this is one of the things that is. Most of the records on your kind were destroyed after the war."

"The war? I keep on hearing about this war, yet I know nothing. When did it happen?"

"Ever hear of the Salem Witch trials, Harry?" He nodded. "That was part of the war. The muggle-wizard war. They actually faced off. Muggles thought that cats were the source of the witches' power. So they went around and killed all the cats they could find. Many were just normal house cats, but the others were Familiars to many witches and wizards. The muggles couldn't separate the two, so they just tried to kill them all. Then the shortages of cats led to the rise in numbers of the mice and rats, which was blamed on the witches."

"Christ, it was a vicious cycle."

"Yeah, it was. Women and men who were suspected of witchcraft were burned at the stake. Most of the people who were killed weren't even magical. But every so often they would get one. One of the wizards they got had a Familiar, and that Familiar was a Grimalkis. Of course the Grimalkis would do anything in their power to protect their mate; even if it meant exposing their secrets. And that is exactly what happened. The Grimalkis jumped up on the platform, tail and ears visible, and distinguished the fire with a wave of his hand. The townsmen drew their guns to fire at the creature, but the wizard had already summoned his wand, and set a shield around him and his Familiar. A reverend that was there wrote down all the visible features of the Grimalkis, having a feeling there were more of them out there. And so the hunt began to find the rest of them. They realized that the Grimalkis didn't need a wand to do magic, which made them more dangerous. More evil in their eyes. The way the animal could call on nature and control the elements was considered the devil's work. Everyone they could find that fit the description of the creature was killed without a trial."

"Why were the documents destroyed?" Harry was in awe of what happened.

"Mostly out of guilt. After the war the ministries in Europe and America couldn't find any of the Grimalkii. They felt guilty because they didn't protect them in fear of being exposed themselves. So the records were destroyed in hopes that if nobody knew about the creatures, then nobody could blame them. But many did. The wizards and witches who lost their mates were furious to say the least. A Grimalkis isn't just a Familiar, it's your life mate. You bond almost like a veela."

"I know."

"I know you do, I said that for everybody else. But anyway, those witches and wizards wrote everything down about the Grimalkii. Even published a few books. After a few years, there were a few sightings of Grimalkii. The ministries banded together to try to find them, and created a program to mate them, to bring the specie back. You can't force a creature like this to mate, but the ministries didn't understand this, or if they did, they didn't care. Some Grimalkii were taken from their mates, or even went so far as to take the children. After that started happening, there was an unwritten law amongst those with Familiar Grimalkii that they would keep it a secret, and protect their mates. So then all word of them stopped, and the Ministry couldn't find them anymore."

"Okay so what I don't get is that this was a war with the muggles. So they know about us. Why do we have to hide?"

"Oh there are muggles that know we exist, and that we are real. They just aren't believed. The war isn't considered a war to the muggles. It was a cruel misjudgment on their part. There's even a memorial in Salem, where it started in America. But they play it up to overzealous religious people who killed innocent eccentrics."

"Sirius was a Grimalkis too. He was Remus'."

"Really.. Wow." Ron was once again speechless.

"Ya know Harry, the muggles still have the records of the war. If you want I can have my mum send me the book I have on it. I know there is something about the Grimalkii in it."

"Yeah that would be great, thanks."

They all sat around and Harry told them the rest of the details of what he was told. He even told them about Remus and his delicate condition. All the girls cooed over the news. The boys looked confused, so Harry explained how it happened.

"Well, boys, when two people love each other very much..."

"Shut up, Harry!"

The mood was a bit lighter after that and conversation was smoother. Nobody asked about Draco, which Harry was happy about. He didn't want to make assumptions, and telling people would get his hopes up. After about an hour of talking, everybody went to bed. Harry laid in bed, still thinking about what had happened and what was going to happen. He was hoping that Draco was his mate... little did he know that a certain Slytherin was up hoping the same thing.

The next few weeks passed rather quickly. The women began planning a surprise baby shower for Remus, and James was preparing for teaching the class. Remus decided that it would be best if James sat in on some of the classes so he could see how it was done.

"You know James, you will have to discipline the kids. And you can not, and I mean, can not, favor Gryffindor over Slytherin."

James only nodded, he really wasn't paying any attention. But he knew he would be fair. Draco had become the blonde son he never had, and he wasn't going to jeopardize that for a few house points. The boys had gotten closer too. Harry and Draco would steal kisses in the night, but not going any further than heavy snogging. They didn't want to get too attached, just in case things didn't go their way, yet they were as attached as siamese twins. Remus pulled Harry aside one day and told him that nobody had to know about him and his changes. He did give Harry the option that if he did want to talk then he would teach a class on the Grimalkii so his fellow classmates wouldn't be so nervous. Ron even began to accept Draco as a friend, although he wouldn't say it out loud, everybody knew. Even Draco. The foursome would stay up all night chatting and gossiping. The biggest topic was the James-Narcissa topic.

"I swear, they are going at it."

"I wouldn't be surprised if they were."

"Wouldn't blame them either. It must be lonely having either your spouse be dead or the other one as good as dead."

"Can you honestly see Lucius being a caring man? No. James is, Narcissa needs that."

"I agree."

"I think they both desperately need attention from the opposite sex."

"Yeah, James was in a cell for 15 years, can guarantee he didn't get laid at all. And as far as I know, mum doesn't even share a room with my dad. If that tells you anything."

"I think we should push them in the right direction. All in favor?"

"Here, here."

"How should it be done?"

"Dunno."

"We should pass around a petition, see what everybody else thinks."

"Yeah."

At the feast, things were a bit more interesting. The hall went mad when it was announced that Professor Lupin returned to teach. Even the Slytherins looked pleased. Harry was looking along the head table to find his dad but he was nowhere in sight. Just then the doors to the hall swung open and in walked a very fine looking James Potter. The hall went silent.

"Sorry I'm late."

"Not to worry at all, James. And another announcement. Due to a previous engagement, Professor Lupin will not be able to teach second term. So your defense teacher will be James Potter."

The hall remained deadly silent. James made his way up to the table and sat next to Remus. Chatting began to fill the hall, all eyes shifted from James to Harry. Nobody knew what to say except 'no way' and 'how?' the food appeared on the table and everybody slowly began to eat. Harry could hear the gossip. Some people thought it wasn't the real James, but a clone. Others thought that it was just a weird coincidence. Most of the people who thought that were of his own house. Harry looked at James, who winked back. James leaned over to Remus and said something to him to get a nod out of him. James rose from his seat and walked down the middle aisle. All eyes were on him. James stopped right behind Harry and placed his hands on his shoulders.

"Mind if I sit with you?"

"Sure, dad." Harry made sure to place proper emphasis on 'dad'.

Harry and Ron scooted over to make room for James. Hermione and Ginny nodded to him blushing. Everybody at the table just stared at him. Once Harry, James, and Ron were in proper conversation, Ginny and Hermione started theirs.

"What a man..."

"What a mighty good man."

After dinner, all began to make their way back to the common rooms. Of course everybody was gossiping on how James Potter came back from the dead- even the Slytherins. This told Draco that none of them knew anything about their fathers' past time of torturing the poor man. The other bit of news was the changes in Harry. Draco heard a few of 5th year Slytherin girls talking about him, so of course, he listened in.

"Wow, did you see him? I hate to admit it but he grew up."

"Yeah, his hair is just so yummy now. Before it was all over the place. It's still all over the place but in a very sexy way."

"I think his skin is what does it. So creamy. It's probably so soft."

"It's his eyes. They're like a sea of emeralds."

"Well, aren't you poetic."

"How can I not be?"

Draco had had enough. He was insanely jealous. Although he knew that Harry would never go to them, being gay and all, but still. It just reminded him that within the month Harry might not be his anymore. And it killed him inside. He was past the point of falling for him, he was madly in love. He only hoped Harry felt the same. Or at least felt enough for him to go to Draco during heat. He stood and scoffed at the girls, made his way to his room and slammed the door. He curled himself around his pillow. It still smelled like Harry from the last time he was there.