James stares forward, eyes fixed on the person standing opposite of him. It was very early, yet he was unwavering and ready to act. The man oposing him, however, was tired and wanted to go back home.

"How dare you" James growled, eyes glaring forward. There was no emotion in his voice, yet it stung like a knife and cut into the man infront of him.

"As the head of the Ministry of Magic-" The man started, the snobbery in his voice was overpowering.

"Ministry Of Magic's assistant's assistant" Jares corrected, he'd done his homework and new every council member of the Ministry of Magic by name, he knew there assistants and he knew about the man that he spoke with now.

The man snorted with frustration, they had been at it scence three that morning, it was five now.

"...Yes, well, it seems you've heard of me before" The man stated, moving his chair and turning the conversation.

"Let's not get off the subject-" James steered the conversation right back.

"God knows we've been on this horrid subject long enough" The man sigh/groans. "Give it a rest!" He snapped.

"A rest, Nathaniel?" James asked, his voice light and quizitive.

"...yeees" Nathaniel answered, cautiously. After being with James for two hours he had learned to be carefull with answers, James asked question with answers he already knew. Like when he asked his daughter something, he knew the answer, he just wanted to hear her's. Nathaniel hated it, it was as if he was reading your soul.

"I'm sure that is exactly what the Graduated students are doing now" James growled, much to the dissapointment of Nathaniel, who shifted his weight and rested his chin on his hand. "Because while we are safe and warm here, they are out in the cold wind, and in danger. They are waking and preparing to fight a battle they will not win!"

"They are supposed to be so much stronger then the average witch or wizard. Yet, I believe I noticed that a lot of them turned tail and ran! They aren't as well trained as the accadamy would have the Ministry believe" Nathaniel argued.

"Who can blame them!" James countered. "They are in their 20's! Who want's to die that early! You'd run too if all along you've been thinking 'I've got more or less then five more years untill I have to go out and fight evil like Voldermort!" (Graduated students who train to be Zagan Riders will be true Zagan riders at the age of 35, upon completing their corses.)

Nathaneil shivered and glared at James. "I understand, but they should have been ready!"

"Lets say you are at school, a second year student. You keep telling yourself you've got five more years to decide what you want to be. Then, suddenly, your headmaster says you are graduating and are now going off into the real worl, far from your parents and any comfort. You are also going into a harsh battle that you know you will loose" James explained.

Nathaniel rubbed his chin, he was starting to understand what James was saying. The graduated students weren't a back up unit, just advanced students. "I-It...It would-"

"Be enough to drive anyone into running?" James proposed.

Nathaniel dropped his head, he'd been a fool and now people would die for his foolishness. He shook his head, no, no it's not his fault. They should have been ready, besides that one, the young one from the student class, he accepted the mission. Nathaneil stared back into James's stone eyes and merely smiled. "I wouldn't have gtotten this far in my line of work if I was a fool" He leaned back in his chair, a cocky smile on his face, his feet up on the railing and his hands behind his head. Waiting with a smug look for any response.

James was silently dissapointed, he wouldn't show it, yet it was strong. He stared at the arrogent man he thought had been so close to an awakening. James had to get him to call the rider's back, but how? James took a breath and prepared to go into another hour of argument, he would argue all day if he had to. 'Cota' James thought. 'Be carefull, I didn't get to tell you to be carefull, I didn't get to say anything, I didn't get the chance to tell you how proud of you I am' James looked at his watch.

****************

Cota lay asleep, the peacful look on his face suggested that nothing was going to happen today. The sun slowely climbed over the hill, casting a thin, golden blanket upon the ground. It fell onto the side of Cota's face, centimeters from his resting eyes. The sun came closer by the second, unaware that six people were begging it not to rise for they felt it would be the last time the sleeping figure ever woke up. Yet, slowely, surely, it reached him. Splashing over his eyes. Cota opened his them, blinking in the morning light. He rolled to the side and got up. Looking around the camp was disalarming, everyone was either sleeping or preparing for the day. Paula was getting water from the stream, Trevor was folding up a tent, Sandra was putting stuff into her bag, Forameir was asleep and Zalik was nowhere to be seen. Cota arose and got to his feet. Trevor looked over at him as the tent fell. Trevor looked at it and continued folding it up. Cota sighed and walked over to the stream. Paula looked at him, he smiled in greeting, but she ignored it and walked away. Pat walked over, eyes meeting Cota's in a comforting look. Cota shrugged and petted Pat's muzzle.

"It's okay, they just don't like newcomers" Cota explained.

"That doesn't excuse it" Came a voice.

Cota turned around swiftly, startled by the sudden noise.

"They are really nice people once you get to know them... they are just a bit mad at being sent out on this death mission" Said the person who jumped out of the tree above Cota's head.

"It's not my fault" Cota mumbled.

"My names Lyle, as representative of the graduated student rider class... Hi" Lyle extended his hand.

He had brown hair that was tipped red, amber eyes and a sturdy build, he looked like an athlete.

"Cota" Cota shook Lyle's hand.

"Lyle!" Sandra called.

"Yeah" he spun around and took a few steps toward her. The horses quickly started to arive at their master's call, everyone was getting ready. Cota saw a white horse with a yellow mane, pink eyes and red/pink hooves run past him and over to Paula. Lyle and Sandra were talking and she looked sad, upset and scared all at once. Lyle looked doomed and sad. Cota ran over as did the other riders.

"What is it?" Paula asked.

"What's going on?" Trevor questioned.

"Why the tears?" Forameir questioned.

Cota remained silent.

"T-the letter is from the Council and the Ministry... W-we... we are go, for the mission" Lyle stated.

"We're at go!?" Trevor cried.

Lyle nodded a slow mornfull nodd. "At 6:17"

Everyone was silent, then in groups of two's and three's they left. Cota was alone he called Patrick and mounted. Everyone else mounted and silence erupted around them. The sun was their starting line, they all knew where the line was, the line of no turning back was quickly aprouching. Cota tossed a rock out to the point where the sun would be at 6:17. He watched the sun climb toward the rock, streching and reaching to grasp it. The sun slithered it's golden rays toward the rock. Closer, closer, closer...

Kira looked out across the field, her and Lily were going home. They had decided last night that the worry was killing them and they would be much better off if they were at the accadamy. Kira didn't care if she was scared, she was trying, just like Lily, to be brave. When they arived home, Lily sadled up Yuki, but what about Kira? She looked over at Kira. She had her hand on a horses muzzle and her eyes were closed. When she opened them again, she smiled.

"Xan says he'll take me"

Lily gave her a bewildered look and Xan layed down. Kira climbed onto him and Trinidy, who had been asleep after her brush with death, yawned and looked around. Relieved to see that everyone was safe. Lily shrugged and Yuki bent low so she could get on. However, try as she might, Lily couldn't get on.

"Mommy?" Kira asked as Lily failed at yet another attempt to mount Yuki.

Lily let out a frustrated sigh. "This might not work" Lily confesed.

"How do people with out horses get to the accadamy?" Kira asked.

"You send a letter and make an appointment time" Lily answered.

Kira looked at the ground, did that mean they couldn't go? She didn't like that thought at all. They had to go. Lily, smiled suddenly, as if remembering something. She led Yuki over to the house and pulled out the chair that was next to the door. She used a levitation spell to get onto the chair, then easily mounted Yuki. Kira clapped and they set off. Kira bounced around all over the horse in their rush. Yet she was happy to be going somewhere, anywhere as long as she was with her family. Lily was driven by the desperate tugging in her heart. She rode on, leading the way. She glanced back every now and then to make sure Kira was alright, the small child simply smiled and clung to the horse. Everything around them was akwardly silent. Was this a sign of doom? Lily shook her head and stared forward, ignoring everying out side the riders trail and caring only about reaching the accadamy.

Cota and the others stared, unmovingly at the rock. The sun's light passed it and everyone of them groaned a helpless cry. The had all been hoping, deep inside themselves, that the sun might never reach that rock. It hit them like a hammer as they in turn jerked back with the sudden weight of their mission. The horses stomped their feet and snorted nervously. And so it was to begin. Each rider mounted their horses. Lyle called out the plan of attack and Cota desprately tried to understand it. Then they charged forward. Across the sloping green field they swooped, soundlessly. Gracefully, everyone seemed to combine into a single unit. The horses met each other's pace and gathered into basic combat formation. 'Circle B over north' Cota thought, that was their first attack plan, but what was it? Cota had a creeping feeling and looked over his shoulder. Lyle called his attention forward again as he came up along side him. Lyle gave a lecturing stare and Cota nodded. Lyle then rode to the front of the group, next to Sandra. As they rode, Cota found himself studying each of them, finding their personality. Forameir, who was riding next to him, was a class clown turned pro. The one the teachers secretly thought would suceed even if he would rather silly string a statue and pretend it was snot, then sit at his desk and be quiet. He rode behind Trevor. Trevor was one of those middle people. The one that in a movie would be like the main character's best friend. The one always watching out for the main character, yet striving to do his own thing. He didn't seem to Like Cota at all. Whenever Lyle came near Cota, Trevor was usually there to step in between them. He rode next to Paula. Paula... was a preppy, no doubt about it. Even her horse was. It had pink eyes and hooves. Paula did everything while looking for aproval. He remembered how she had only mounted once Lyle and Trevor were on their horses. She was always trying to be... a princess, eager to help, yet on her own, and at the same time she was kinda fragile, waiting for someone to say 'good job' so she knew she was helping. She rode behind Lyle.

Lyle had probably been the quiditch team captin and shared his love for the game with Foramier. Cota had heard them talking about a game last night, it had seemed like they had played it themselves with how imensly accurate the details were. Lyle apeared to be a leader, yet he didn't know it. He was like the main character. Cota learened from Foramier that Lyle had been at the top of every class. Lyle was the type of person that would encurage his teammates, play his hardest and loved the game. He rode beside Sandra. Sandra was one of those 'I'll do it my way or not at all' type people. She was rugged and tough and wouldn't stand for a helpless act like Paula seemed to do every now and then. She seemed to believe that everything had rules and she was incontrole, so she'd be fine. Yet she reminded Cota of Minerva, that hard, dissaproving stare, yet softness. She had dark brown, almost red, hair that was neatly kept in a french twist. Her eyes were green with very thin striped of blue in them, almost turquise. She was always giving Paula a sideways glance as if asking 'what in the name of everything good on this earth are you doing?' Her horse was a red/brown color with a black mane and tail and black legs, the tail had a white spot on the end that made Cota think of a fox. The horse was well groomed and held it's head proudly. It had the blue eyes of a fox too and black marks around it's muzzle. Paula was about 5'7, had long, strawberry blond, curly hair that bounced lively as she rode, pale skin and bright blue eyes. Her lips were a soft pink and she smiled almost all the time. Tyler was a bit shorter then Lyle, had dark green eyes, not as dazzling as Lily's were (Cota doubted that anyone had eyes as beautiful as Lily) with a bit of gray in them. He had short, light brown hair. His horse was a dark golden brown with thick black markings around it's eyes. It had what apeared to be an ank on it's forehead, a black mane and tail, and black hoves.

Foramier has blue eyes, spiked up black hair, was about 5'11 and always had an grin on his face. His horse was dark brown with white legs and grey hoves, it had a redish circle on it's forehead and what almost resembled a broom on it's rear.

Cota rubbed Pat's neck. "Not long now" He whispered.

They all saw it now, the last hill. The hill that seperated safty and their battle. He-who-must-not-be-named, was on the otherside of that hill. There was a vally on the other side, a deep slope and then two or three aceres of land. In the middle of that... Cota shook his head, he was only scaring himself. The hill was a long ways away, they wouldn't reach it before night fall. However, that had been the ministry's plan all along, to have them fight at dusk. They all stopped to feed their horses and let them rest. Lyle, Sandra and Foramier went to the safety of a small cave to rest. Paula soon followed. Cota decided that it was a good idea and began making his way over. However, he was shoved back by Trevor who pushed him to the ground and glared.

"Why don't you just leave?" Trevor demanded.

"The same reason you don't" Cota replied.

Trevor wasn't satisfied by this answer. "And what is my reason?" Trevor questioned.

"I don't know, but if it's good eough to face death, then it's just as good as mine" Cota answered.

Trevor shook his head and walked away. Cota picked himself up and sighed. He looked around a bit and then climbed into a tree. There he laid back and stared up at the sky. He looked at the clouds, trying to see some kind of image that would signify that they were all going to live through this. Yet the only shape he coud make out was a dragon, a boat and what looked to him like a big dog.