"Darling, are you prepared to abandon this hellhole?"

I had returned to the hut, packed my things, and been confronted by my husband. He chanced a glance at my luggage, so I confessed to him everything my father and I had traded on the phone.

"Of course. All I care about is your happiness. If you are ready, I am ready," he responded.

At that moment, some unexpected visitors banged in on us just as we kissed: it was the Weasley twins, Ron, Hermione, and…

My mouth dropped open as I recognized the horrible, platinum blonde teenager holding Hermione's hand.

"Malfoy? What the hell are you doing here? I thought your 'pure blood' was too good for Muggle-borns and half-bloods," I snarled.

"Akela calm down. They've been dating for quite a while," Harry assured me.

"Again, why wasn't I told?" I retorted.

"We knew you'd get pissed and try to break them up, but that's not why we came," Fred said.

"I do have my uses, Potter. You see, while Hermione and I were watching something called a 'movie', we heard your name through the window."

"Fortunately, we were spying on our two lovers," Ron said (Hermione and Draco glared), "with some Extendable Ears, so we heard everything they did. We heard a deep voice saying 'Soon, master, the Potters will be yours. All that is needed is the girl's father.' But there's a problem."

"That man was Lucius Malfoy," Fred said. "He must still serve You-Know-Who."

"FER GOD'S SAKE, JUST SAY VOLDEMORT! HE'S BACK, SO YOU MIGHT AS WELL ACCEPT IT!"

The words were out of me before I could prevent them. Ashamed, I hid my face. Not only had I shouted to close friends (and Draco), but I realized that I had been conned. It had been Malfoy Sr. on that phone or my actual father being tortured to do so.

"Sorry."

"That's OK. We know how hard it must be to hear this," George reassured her.

"I need some time to think. If you'll excuse…"

I stalked to my room to undress and transform. Afterwards, I ran out the door to the forest that skimmed the perimeter of the camp. I scampered up a tree to get to the highest branch I could find. I watched the sun make progress across the sky over the next few hours.

It wasn't until almost midnight that I felt a familiar presence by my side.

A/N: All conversations in foreign languages will be in English.

"Hey, honey, d'you wanna talk?" Harry asked

My head dropped, along with my whiskers. Of course I didn't want to talk! Leopard demons are the best counterintelligence animals in the world, and I couldn't see through the simplest trick! I put the rest of my kind to shame.

"No one would have seen this coming, not even Shahara. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

Still, I made no move that I had heard him.

Suddenly, a rustle in the bushed below made me start. I crouched, ready to spring upon the stalker. Another rustle; I cast off and landed on a furry, human-like creature.

-- It was a monkey.

I bared my fangs, ready to rip this omnivore apart. What happened next caught me by surprise: its shape became furless, taller, freckly, and red-haired. It was Ron.

Out of anger, my claws sank into his back. Ron yelped in pain and pushed me off. Harry leapt from the tree and transformed.

"What is it, Ron?" he asked.

"Your 'father-in-law', or whoever he is, is here," Ron explained. "Are you personally going to go to him, or are you going to send a messenger?"

I tensed. Either my father worked for the Dark Lord or he was being tortured into this dilemma.

Suddenly, an idea came to my mind. I ran back to the hut, dressed, and confronted Inu-Yasha.

"Inu-Yasha, can I borrow something?"