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The Swan Prince

Part 5

Ron looked over and watched as Harry shot yet another arrow at the target. For the hundredth time that day it hit right in the center. Upon seeing Harry get out another arrow he decided that it was time to speak. "Harry come on, give it a rest."

Harry put the arrow down for a moment so he could concentrate on Ron. "Ron, I don't know how many times I have to tell you. I have to practice."

Ron rolled his eyes. Ever since Harry had lost Draco he had been practicing so that he could defeat the great beast. Ron watched as Harry shot another arrow, and again hit dead center. "Harry, you need to face the truth. You are not going to find him. The entire kingdom has searched for him and in the past three months he has not been found."

Harry gritted his teeth. He had heard this for over a month now. No one could understand why he was not giving up, and now he was hearing it from Ron. He turned and glared at his best friend and was please to see that he had gulped. "Ron, I am going to tell you the same thing I told the others. I know Draco is alive out there somewhere, and I am going to find him. And to do that I need to be able to fight and defeat the Great Beast."

Ron threw his hands up in the air. "But, you don't even know what the great beast looks like."

Harry bit his bottom lip and looked off into the distance. "I know, but it does not matter. Whatever the great beast is, I will defeat it. If you need me, I will be in the library researching to find out what the great beast could be." With that he turned and walked back into the castle.

Ron watched as Harry walked off and let out a sigh. He felt sorry for Harry. He was about to get up from the bench he had been sitting on when a hand came down on his shoulder causing him to jump. He turned quickly and sighed in relief when he saw Remus. "What are you doing out here?"

Remus looked down at Ron. "Actually, I came to see how Harry is doing today. Is he any further in getting over Draco yet?"

Ron's response was just a snort. "Yeah right, he just spent the last three hours practicing with his bow and arrow."

Remus nodded his head. "I was hoping that he would get over him by now." He looked around. "Where is he now?"

Ron pointed towards the castle. "He is in the library right now. Researching on the Great Beast again."

"Oh, I think I will go talk to him then. His mother is planning another ball for tomorrow night. I need to give him an early warning before his mother catches up with him." Remus gave Ron a grin before moving off towards the castle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back in the castle Prince Harry was going through one book after another. "What did King Lucius mean?" He had gotten into the habit of talking to himself. He thought back to what King Lucius had said.

~Flashback~

Harry rode as fast as he could. It took him a little over fifteen minutes to reach were they were attacked; the rain was slowing him down. He jumped off the horse and ran over to the overturned carriage. He looked inside but it showed no one. He stepped back and looked around. That is when he saw a person with platinum hair lying on there side. He feared it to be Draco and ran over and turned the body. "King luscious." He watched as lucious looked at him with glazed eyes. "What happened?"

Lucius was gasping for air while he tried to speak. "We were attacked. A Great animal." Lucius then reached up and grabbed Harry's shirt and pulled him closer. "It's... not what it seams."

Harry looked confusedly at him a moment before glancing around. "What's not as it seams? King Lucius, were is your son, Prince Draco?"

Lucius took a deep breath. "He's... he's gone." At that moment Lucius closed his eyes for the last time, leaving Harry there alone.

~End Flashback~

Harry slammed the book he was holding closed. "Dammit, what did he mean? It's not what it seams." He sighed and looked down at the table he had books thrown down on. He noticed two books beside each other. One showed a picture of a mouse and the other of a dragon. He stared at them for a moment until a thought hit him. "Of course, it's not what it seams." He quickly tore off the two pages and started towards the library door.

Before he could reach it however, the door opened and none other then his mother entered. Queen Lilly took one look at her son before hurrying over to him. "Ah, there you are son. I have great news."

Harry looked at his mother confusedly for a moment. "What news is that?"

Lilly grinned. She had been waiting for that question. "We are going to have a ball tomorrow. All the prince and princess of the surrounding kingdoms will be there."

Harry sighed. "Come on mother. I am very busy. I am leaving now to search for the great beast."

Lilly patted Harry's head. "That's good son. Just be here tomorrow night, ok."

Harry took one look at the glare his mother was sending him and nodded his head. "Fine, I will be there." He then turned and left the library only to run into Remus. "Ah Remus, is Ron still out there."

Remus nodded his head. "Yes he is Harry. I also need to warn you about what your mother is doing tomorrow night."

Harry put up his hand. "If you are talking about the ball, I already know. Mom cornered me in the library."

Remus gave Harry an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that, I just found out myself. Your mother is good at keeping secrets until the last moment."

Harry shrugged. "It's alright. I am leaving for the night anyway. I promised to be back by tomorrow."

Remus let out a sigh. "Tell me you are not going out to hunt for the great beast again."

Harry looked at Remus for a moment. "Alright, then I won't tell you." With that said he walked out of the door to go and find Ron. One last glance at Remus just showed him standing there shaking his head.

Harry rushed out to find Ron still sitting on the bench. He walked to stand in front of him and thrust the one of the pages into his hands. "Look at this."

Ron looked at the page in his hand before looking confusedly at Harry. "A mouse?"

Harry shook his head. "No... The Great Animal."

Ron fell of the bench laughing. It took him a few minutes to gather himself before he could look up and see that Harry wasn't smiling. He reached back over and picked up the paper again. "Harry, are you trying to tell me that the Great Animal is a mouse." A few more chuckles escaped his lips.

Harry for his part just crossed his arms and glared. He was not happy that Ron was laughing at him on such a serious matter. "Yes it is, and so is this." He thrust the other picture into Ron's hands.

Ron looked at the picture in his hands. "A dragon. I don't get it. How can it be both?"

Harry smiled. Now he was getting somewhere. "Because that is what King Lucius meant when he said it wasn't what it seemed. You are riding along when you see a harmless animal, like a mouse, come up to you. Then all of a sudden it changes into a more fierce animal."

Ron looked around and gulped. "You mean that the Great Animal could be anything?"

Harry nodded his head. "Yes, that is exactly what I am saying."

Ron looked around and saw the world in a new light. His eyes caught something moving on the bench and he looked closer to see a spider. With a scream Ron jumped up and ran behind Harry. "Save me Harry."

Harry laughed at Ron's antics. "Come on Ron. Be serious."

Ron let out a fake laugh. "Serious.... of course Harry. I was just messing with you." He hoped his face didn't give him away.

Harry gave Ron a dubious look before gesturing towards the stables. "Come on, we need to start hunting."

Ron let out a little whimper as he saw Harry walk off towards the stable. "Why do I have to go?" After a moment he followed Harry towards the stable.

TBC…

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