Lil' Sphinx- Here's the real chapter. Thanks for waiting. I hope it was worth it and that you enjoy it.

Chapter 15: The Tattoo and the Thief

Classes continued on as normal and Harry's last class before M.A. was Ancient Runes, one of his new electives which he shared with Hermione and much to his delight, Draco. He spent the class thinking about their little run in, what it felt like to be pressed against Draco, his scent, even how the sunlight reflected off his white-blonde hair. Needless to say Harry didn't get much out of that class.

The young man who filled Harry's thoughts sat across the room lost in his own troubled world. He was so confused and trying to figure out why he had felt such rage and jealousy and why he had felt so out of control, which was a truly un-Malfoy like trait. He could understand that he would feel some anger and jealousy because Harry was talking to Shadow, but the sheer fury of his feelings was uncalled for. The two had just been talking, there had been no stuttering on Harry's part nor had there been flirting of any kind. So then why had he felt such emotion? He hadn't felt anything when Blaise was alone with Harry under the tree by the lake. True, he hadn't invaded on that conversation long, just until Blaise promised not to tell anyone, and then he had left, although his curiosity was peaked. He didn't know what Harry and Blaise had talked about, but he didn't feel any rage or jealousy or threatened in anyway. He didn't feel any of that when Harry was with Hermione, either. Or any of Harry's other friends for that matter.

Then, why was it he felt that way when Harry was with Shadow? For cryin' out loud, the woman was a teacher. She was a good ten years older then them. Although, she did act nicer with Harry then the other students. Her voice softened and she smiled more, but she acted more like Harry's big sister than anything else. Was that why he had become so angry, because she was on friendlier terms with Harry then he was?

He thought about it for a while until he realized that wasn't it. When he had seen those two together it was pure rage and jealousy that flowed through him. It had felt like something was inside him just waiting to break free, some beast he couldn't tame. He had want her blood, craved it. But not the way a vampire craves blood; no he didn't thirst for it. He wanted to feel her warm red blood on his hands. That shocked and frightened him, that violence that seethed inside of him. He may have been a lot of things, but he had never wanted to kill anyone.

The bell chimed signaling the end of class and Draco left with everyone else. He went to go get ready for M.A. and wondered if he'd be able to control his newly obtained violent tendencies.


The late summer sun shown weakly in the deep blue sky and a soft breeze blew down from the mountains. Although it was early September it still held a trace of the hot summer. Even with the wind coming down from the mountains it was a comfortable atmosphere being not too hot or too cold. The wind stirred the long draping branches of the willow and caused them to sway in a ghostly manner. The lake sparkled beneath the rays of the sun and the cool water lapped gently against the shore.

Harry sat under the willow next to the lake that he had sat beneath only hours earlier. But this time he was accompanied not only by Blaise, but, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Nisha, and Draco. Everyone sat in a circle beneath the deep shadows of the tree. Hermione sat on his immediate right. She was dressed in a pair of dark blue shorts with a long sleeve baby blue T-shirt. Her long honey brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail and the loose ringlets bounced cheerfully when she moved. Ginny sat next to Hermione. She was also wearing a pair of cotton shorts, only hers were in dark hunter green. She wore a short sleeve T-shirt in gray and her dark red hair was pulled back into a single braid. The two girls were arguing about what to do next to Ron. Ginny was insisting on charming Ron's clothes so that he would walk around all day naked without knowing it. Hermione was adamant about the fact that she didn't want to be scarred for life by the sight of a naked Ron. After living in a boy's dorm room for the last five years and having to share a bathroom with the person in question, Harry had to take Hermione's side of the argument.

Luna smiled dreamily as she sat next to Ginny, dressed in a pair of loose cotton pants that were dark purple. She had on a tank top that was also purple and had "I believe in Faeries" written across the front in light purple glitter. Her hair was pulled back into a careless knot and strands poked out at odd angles or fell free to frame her face. She was watching the argument between Hermione and Ginny like it was an interesting Quidditch match.

Nisha sat next to Luna and slightly in front of Harry. She wore all black, black pants and a black long sleeve shirt. Her long black hair hung loosely to her waist, falling into her face and hiding her dark blue eyes. She sat completely still and in the deep shadows of the willow she seemed to blend in, only the pale gold of her skin stood out. She watched the argument for awhile before finally moving, turning her back on everyone to look towards the lake. Then she became still again.

Blaise sat next to her and Harry. He simply wore a pair of basketball shorts in black and a light blue tank. His shoulder length hair was pulled back into a ponytail and for once didn't hang in his face. He was talking to Harry and a looming Draco about his last class. Evidently Millicent and Pansy had gotten into a fight right in the middle of Muggle Studies. Of course, what Pansy was even doing taking Muggle Studies was anyone's guess.

Draco stood leaning against the willow not quite part of the group but not an outcast either. He wore a pair of loose pants in black and a tank top in Slytherin green that showed off his sleek muscles and pale skin. At the first sight of the blonde Slytherin Harry had to look away for fear that he might start drooling over the sight, and how would he explain that? Harry didn't know whether to be glad that Draco stood slightly behind him or upset that he couldn't see the blonde. But he did catch glimpses of the aristocrat out of the corner of his eye. And the breeze brought with it the scent of sandalwood and just a trace of vanilla. He knew that now he would never be able to smell either of the scents without picturing or thinking of Draco.

Draco on the other hand had an excellent view of Harry's backside. He hardly heard anything Blaise had said for he was too busy staring at Harry, who looked damn good in casual clothes. The loose black pants and dark emerald green long sleeve shirt he wore complemented his dark coloring. Also the long sleeve shirt was just tight enough to cling tantalizingly to Harry's muscles, but it was still loose enough for movement. The pants were loose and rode low on Harry's hips, but sitting down they framed Harry's derrière quite nicely. And Draco's gaze seemed to be drawn there.

Despite the group being a majority of Slytherins and Gryffindors there was no hostility. In fact, the atmosphere was very soothing and relaxed. Harry looked around the group and smiled softly. He leaned back to rest more comfortably against the trunk of the willow. His gaze drifted out over the lake and he sighed contently. Who would have thought that it would be so relaxing in the presence of Slytherins? But it was and Harry decided that he didn't want it to be any other way.

"Fine, we'll put it to vote. Harry what do you think?" Hermione huffed wanting to put an end to the ridiculous argument.

Harry blinked at the question pulling himself from his thoughts. "Well, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to agree with 'Mione on this one, Gin. As funny as it would be to have Ron walking around naked and not knowing it, you'll have to think how traumatizing that would be to the younger students not to mention to some of us older ones."

"Like me," Hermione muttered.

"I didn't think about that," Ginny admitted, "And you don't count 'Mione. Honestly, I never realized that you were such a prude."

"I'm not a prude," Hermione huffed. "I just don't see what the...why we would...never mind...let's just change the topic."

Harry grinned. "You are a prude. I would have thought that having two guys as your best friends would have crushed any and all modesty that you had."

"I said change the topic," Hermione growled but the blush that stained her cheeks ruined it.

"We're going to have to work on that," Harry stated.

"So, what are we going to do to Ron?" Ginny asked changing the topic much to Hermione's relief. "I know Hermione has some more ideas but she said that they'd take time to pull off."

"Nothing," Harry said cheerfully closing his eyes.

"What? We're not going to do anything to him?" Ginny asked bewildered.

"Exactly. We're not going to do anything to him." Harry confirmed.

"But, Harry! He pretended to be your and 'Mione's friend. He used the both of you. Then he accused you of sleeping with 'Mione and then called her a slut. Not long after that he told the entire school that you were gay. And what have you done, dye his hair pink and green and then feathered him. That's it. And those are pranks that Fred and George would have pulled," Ginny stated.

Harry grinned. "Where do you think I got them? And anyway, it's his move now," he answered.

"His move? What the hell is this, a chess game?" Ginny nearly shouted.

"If you want to look at it like that, then yes. His first move was calling our 'Mione a slut and I countered by dyeing his hair. His next move was telling everyone that I was gay and I turned him into a brightly colored pigeon."

Hermione and Blaise both snickered at Harry's remark of Ron being a pigeon. And Draco smirked knowingly.

"Oh, I see the two of you caught the other meaning behind that," Harry laughed. "Hermione, my sister, my love, my walking dictionary, please enlighten everyone else."

Hermione smiled and shook her head at Harry's antics. "Pigeon a widely distributed dove of the family Columbidae, having a prominent chest short legs and a small head. Pigeon, slang; one who is easily swindled, Dupe."

"Also known as a sucker, a sap, a chump, a sitting duck, basically your all around loser," Blaise filled in.

Ginny started laughing. "Oh that's great. But I'm still not sure why we aren't going to do anything to him. I don't really care if it's his turn or not."

Harry sighed. "Even when he does do something, we aren't going to do anything. That includes you. And you better pass the word on to the others. Nothing is to be done to Ron. Not yet anyways."

"But, why?" Ginny stressed.

"It's so that he'll lower his guard. And that's when you'll strike, when he least expects it," Draco said.

Harry turned his head slightly and gave Draco a smile. "Exactly," he murmured turning back to the others.

"Oh, that makes sense. Why didn't I think of that?" Ginny muttered.

"Maybe 'cause you're having too much fun pranking Ron," Harry said

Ginny nodded. It was a lot of fun playing tricks on Ron. And as a little sister she knew how to be sneaky. She learned a lot from Fred and George in that department. She would have been a good Slytherin; to bad the Sorting Hat hadn't put her there. The resulting chaos from that would have been hilarious.

"Good afternoon class," Alyssum greeted stopping all conversation as she came to stand by the willow. "I see everyone is wearing something comfortable, that's good. But we're missing one."

"I'm here!" shouted Michael as he jogged up to the tree.

"Don't be late again," Shadow said coldly, "Or don't bother showing up for class. Understood?"

"Yes," Michael all but squeaked.

"Good. Now sit down," Shadow demanded.

Michael sat down right where he was standing which happened to be right next to Blaise. He looked a little shaken by Shadow's cold attitude. Mean while, Blaise was grinning like the Cheshire cat and Harry couldn't figure out what was so amusing. That was, until Blaise leaned over and whispered that Shadow was like a female version of Snape and wasn't it great. Harry shook his head. It was official; Blaise definitely had a few too many screws loose. Growing up with Snape had obviously addled his brains.

"I have a question," Hermione said.

"Yes?" Shadow asked.

"What does M.A. stand for?"

"It stands for Magical Advancement," Shadow answered. Hermione nodded to show that Shadow could move on.

"Okay, today, we're going to start on the Martial Arts portion of this class," Shadow started.

Harry's head whipped around at those words. She had told him that they weren't going to start on that for at least another week and a half. What was he going to do? He couldn't touch anyone. Oh this wasn't good. He looked up at Alyssum's cloaked form and beneath the shadow's covering her face he caught a glimpse of a smile.

"So, I'm going to have all of you run around the lake," Shadow finished and Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

"What!? But that's like 11 kilometers," Michael exclaimed. (Lil' Sphinx: Roughly 6.8 miles for all of us stupid Americans who don't use the metric system.)

"You're exaggerating. It's only 4.8 km," Shadow corrected. (Roughly 3 miles)

"Why do we even have to run around the lake? What does that have to do with martial arts?" Michael demanded.

"Can anyone answer Michael's question?" Shadow inquired. She sat down on the grass before them just out of reach from the willow's shade.

Harry stared at her in puzzlement. Something about her sitting in the sun bothered him. It was something that he just couldn't quite put his finger on. It just seemed wrong, he decided, a black shadow in the midst of the light. It was like the light was tainted. But he let the thoughts drifted out of his mind as he saw Hermione raise her hand. He would analyze those thoughts later when he wasn't in class and had the time to shift through them.

Hermione wasn't the only one to raise her hand, for much to everyone's surprise so did Nisha.

"Nisha would you like to explain?" Shadow asked.

Nisha spoke softly, her voice barely drifting above the wind and the rustling of the willow's hanging branches. "Running will help get the body into shape and build up stamina. It, along with other exercise I'm sure you'll have us do, will allow us to better understand our bodies, which is a key point of martial arts."

Shadow nodded. "Very good. Hermione, would you care to add anything?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, I think Nisha did a good job of explaining," she said offering Nisha a smile that went unnoticed.

"Okay then, everyone up. We'll do some stretching first before you run the lake. And before any of you groan, I'm only going to have you run half of the lake. And yes, you all will run or jog. No walking allowed," Shadow said standing up gracefully. She lowered her hood and the late afternoon sun glinted off her smoky black hair.

The group of teenagers followed suit, each rising with their own innate grace. Michael rose hurriedly to his feet, obviously still a little shaken by Shadow's cold attitude. Ginny hopped to her feet with fiery enthusiasm that matched her dark red hair. Hermione rose with a calm controlled motion that all but screamed confident female. Luna seemed to rise to her feet as though she had just climbed from bed and was still very much asleep. Nisha moved as though she were a ghost; silent and unseen, she seemed to blend into the shadows. Blaise rose in a swift rush that was both silent and alert like he was ready to spring into action at any moment. Draco moved away from the tree with a feline's predatory grace and a cool elegance. And Harry, he climbed to his feet in his usual manner not even realizing his own liquid grace. But silver eyes noticed and watched Harry's lithe frame move into the sunlight with the others. The deep shade of the willow hid his focused gaze.

The light calisthenics and stretching they went through in good humor. There were no complaints and only a few rude jokes by Blaise that got even Nisha to smile briefly. "Okay everyone, you will run from here to the dock," Shadow directed as the exercises were finished up. She pointed to the wooden dock that jutted out on to the lake halfway around the lake from where they were standing. "And if any of you need some incentive to run that can be arranged."

"Incentive? What kind of incentive?" Ginny asked.

Shadow gave a sly smile before raising her hand to her mouth and giving a shrill whistle. As the whistle ended three creatures emerged from the Forbidden Forest. The first creature to emerge was a large gray wolf. The wolf was the size of a small pony and had a mouth full of very sharp teeth. But the large dog didn't even remotely faze Harry or Hermione having been chased by a werewolf in their third year.

"Aw, look Harry, its Cujo," Hermione joked.

Harry started laughing until he realized that he was the only one. Then he cleared his throat in embarrassment.

"What is a cujo?" Blaise asked which sent Harry and Hermione into a fit of laughter.

"Wait, wasn't Cujo a Saint Bernard?" Harry asked once he got his laughter under control.

Ginny shook her head at the two. "Crazy. The both of you are completely mad."

"Gin," Hermione said throwing an arm over Ginny's shoulders and pulling the smaller girl closer. "We were chased by a werewolf in our third year. Do you really think that that little puppy over there," she said pointing to the huge wolf, "is going to scare us? Not bloody likely."

The next creature to emerge from the forest was a Nera Bellua, a large demonic horse that looked an awful lot like a thestral only with a really, really vile temperament. Also its wings were tattered and it had three pairs of bright red eyes. And, it had a mouthful of razor sharp teeth that could put a piranha to shame.

"What about that one? Please tell me that one scares you," Ginny pleaded, "Because it definitely gives me the creeps."

"That's a lot of teeth," Hermione stated.

"That's a lot of eyes. Do you think it needs all of them?" Harry asked calmly.

"The better to see you with my dear," Hermione murmured with a wicked grin curving her lips, which of course sent Harry into another fit of laughter. The joke was of course lost on everyone else since they hadn't grown up in the muggle world.

"What about that?! Does that one at least give you a tiny chill?" Ginny all but shrieked pointing wildly at the last creature. The creature in question was a really big lizard or a tiny dragon without wings, depending on how one looked at it. It looked like a huge Komodo dragon. It was as big as the Nera Bellua it was standing next to. It didn't look all that fast, but it was known to reach speeds up to 40 km per hour. (That's about 25 miles per hour)

"Wow! A Blue Ringed Drake so named because of the blue bands around its neck and tail. It's a cousin to the Dragon family. And has enough venom in one fang to kill an elephant instantaneously. A human wouldn't even stand a chance," Harry said enthusiastically.

"And he's excited," Ginny muttered shaking her head.

"Gin," Hermione said patronizingly. "Harry and I have been through a lot since our first year. There's not much out there that would really faze us. In our first year alone we dealt with Norbert, a Norwegian Ridgeback."

"Devil's snare," Harry added.

"A giant game of Wizards' chess," Hermione continued.

"Voldemort's face sticking out of the back of a professor's head," Harry finished.

"Then in second year there was the Basilisk," Hermione said.

"You forgot the Whomping Willow, the house elf that did more damage trying to help than if he would have left things alone, giant spiders that wanted to eat you, oh, and Tom Riddles' Diary which is what started the whole thing," Harry filled in.

"Oh so don't remind me of that," Ginny muttered with a small shiver.

"Let's see...what happened third year..." Hermione started and the two went back and forth listing everything they had gone through. If one forgot to mention something or hadn't experienced the event it was filled in by the one who did. And so it went on and Shadow allowed it. It was a good way for her to learn about her students, so she stood silently and let them talk.

"And lastly there was being chased through the Department of Mysteries by Death Eaters and flying brains," Hermione finished with the events at the end of 5th year.

"You were there for the last part, Gin. You should be pretty shock proof by now, especially after living with Fred and George," Harry said.

"My mind tends to block out bad memories," Ginny remarked dryly.

"Really? Then why haven't you blocked out the fact that Ron's your brother?" Hermione asked.

"Because it's still working on Percy," Ginny stated.

Hermione and Harry both snickered.

"Ummm...You really wouldn't make those things chase us, would you?" Michael asked hesitantly.

Shadow cocked her head to the side and gave a wicked smile. "Would you care to find out?"

Michael shook his head wildly. Ginny stared at Shadow with wide eyes. Luna didn't even seem to notice that the topic had changed; she was humming some nameless tune and staring out over the lake like she had never seen anything like it before. Nisha didn't even bat an eyelash. Blaise and Draco both looked bored. Harry and Hermione both looked to be considering the idea.

"You two can not be thinking about having those animals chase you," Ginny said.

"Hmm...I don't think I need any motivation," Harry said to Shadow. "I'm not really in the mood to be chased by anything today."

"I'm a little disappointed. All those animals and not one crazed psychopath with a chainsaw," Hermione sighed. "Oh well, I guess I'm with Harry then."

Harry gave Shadow a mock salute and took off at a jog with Hermione matching his strides. Ginny followed shaking her head in dismay, her two friends were completely mad. Luna smiled dreamily and matched Ginny's pace. Nisha looked towards Blaise and Draco and the three took off at any easy lope. Michael was left alone standing next to Shadow still staring at the three creatures. Shadow cleared her throat quietly jarring Michael who then realized that everyone had left him and hurriedly ran to catch up.

Shadow shook her head and mumbled "Teenagers." She moved towards the creatures at the edge of the forest and bowed her head to them. All three creatures bowed their heads in response before moving back to stand in the gloom of the forest.

The Nera Bellua slowly began to change. Shifting from a winged horse to a winged man that appeared ageless, neither young nor old, as if time had simply passed him by. As a man, he still held traces of his Nera Bellua form. He had slanted red eyes with two slashing scars under each eye where his other eyes would have been had he been in his horse form. His hair was long falling to his knees in a wave of midnight and his skin was so black it looked almost blue. When he opened his mouth to speak sharp pointy teeth gleamed in the dim light.

"You called us," the once horse said. His voice sounded neither male nor female, it wasn't high pitched or low, and it was neither animated nor monotone. It was just a blend of sound that couldn't be described as any one thing.

"Still, I didn't expect you to come, Alatus," she said to the winged man.

Alatus nodded regally to Shadow. The Blue Ringed Drake shifted forms into a woman. Like Alatus, the woman appeared ageless and kept some traces of her animal form. There were blue bands around her slim neck and her electric blue eyes were slanted like a lizard's. She had the sharp venomous fangs and the forked tongue. But her hair and skin were the exact opposite of her animal's form, where the Blue Ringed Drake had been black, the hair and skin of her human form were almost snow-white. She also nodded ceremoniously to Shadow, but said nothing.

The wolf also shifted forms and turned into a man. He held the most human like appearance only having the teeth of his animal form. His hair was a shaggy mass of dark gray around his lean face. His eyes were as black as an abyss. He was shorter than the other two with lean well-toned muscles. He also nodded to Shadow, but it was a quick slashing nodded that acknowledged Shadow just as it dismissed her. Shadow nodded back just as curtly. He was a wolf, a watcher; his job was to protect the other two from harm, so Shadow took no offense to his brisk manner.

"Why did you call us here, shadowed one?" Alatus asked.

"I called you here so there wouldn't be war," Shadow stated calmly. "I know that my kind is not welcomed here."

"Your kind is not welcomed anywhere, shadow dweller," hissed the woman Lacerta. She probably would have said more if Alatus hadn't motioned for her to be silent.

"Regardless, I am here and I have a mission to carry out," Alyssum replied back in her calm voice. Although it didn't show on her face or in her voice, she was angered by Lacerta's hateful attitude towards her kind or at least the dormant blood that ran through her veins and those of her people.

"A mission should never be entrusted to one of your kind," Lacerta hissed, pure venom dripping from her voice.

"A mission? Here, among the Wizards?" Alatus asked "Why?"

"Yes, a mission here amongst the Wizards," Shadow answered Alatus. Then she turned to Lacerta, "And this mission was entrusted to me because I am the only one that can fully comprehend the events that are about to take place. It is my 'tainted blood' that you're so abhorrent to that will allow this mission to go according to everyone's best interest. Now, if you came here just to insult my bloodline then I will allow nature to take its course and watch from the safety of my realm as this world and your kind are annihilated."

"We wouldn't let that happen," Lacerta, snarled, "We would simply destroy the cause before it got that far."

Shadow's dark garnet eyes narrowed dangerously. "You show your ignorance in that statement, Lacerta."

"Enough," commanded Alatus. "We won't attack you, but we will not help you either."

"I never asked for your help, Alatus. I'd sooner slit my own throat," Shadow replied.

"That can be arranged," growled the gray haired man.

Shadow looked towards the wolf man and cocked her head to the side. "Was that a threat, puppy?" she asked. Then she moved, quickly knocking the man to his knees and twisting one of his arms behind his back. "Because, I don't handle threats every well," she hissed in his ear. Then she thrust the man away from her and walked away from the trio. "Next time, keep your little puppy on a leash or you'll be finding a new one," she called over her shoulder.

Lacerta huffed. "I really hate her kind."

"So do I love," Alatus agreed. "But, they do serve their purpose. They do the jobs that are believed impossible and always succeed. We might not like her, but whatever she was sent here to do by the Fates, she will make sure that it happens. For everyone's best interest, even ours."

Shadow arrived at the dock a few minutes before her students did. Harry arrived first with Draco not to far behind. Hermione and Blaise arrived after them, followed by Nisha, Ginny, and Luna. Michael arrived a few minutes after them. Shadow closely observed the group. Harry and Draco were the most fit out of the group, being only slightly winded after the run. Blaise, Nisha, and Hermione were next, followed by a panting Ginny and Luna, then a wheezing Michael.

"That's it for today class. Tomorrow night we will meet right here at 7:00. Also, you will have homework for the rest of this week. I want each of you to find a place that soothes you. Now this place can be anywhere, as long as it's on school grounds and it has to be a place where you feel at peace. This will be the place that you do your meditation. Now, some of you may know how to meditate correctly while the others wouldn't even know where to start. And that's fine, for now all I want you to do is sit or even lie in that place and control your breathing. Let your mind drift and try not to analyze anything or fall asleep. I want you to do this every day for at least 15 minutes. And if you find that you relax better at night, don't get caught outside of your common room after curfew," Shadow instructed. "Class dismissed." With that she turned and walked away from the group of teenagers.

"Man, I'm going to take a shower," Michael muttered before sluggishly walking towards the school.

Ginny stood up from where she was sitting on one of the dock post. She stretched and yawned. "I'm starving. And if I wasn't all hot and sticky I'd say screw the shower and go eat."

"I know a way around your dilemma," Hermione said innocently.

"Really? And what's that?" Ginny asked not seeing the mischievous gleam in Hermione's golden eyes.

Hermione smiled sweetly and replied, "This," before pushing Ginny into the lake. Ginny gave a startled shriek before she hit the cold water. She came up spitting out water and trying to scream that it was cold at the same time.

Hermione was nearly doubled over with laughter and therefore didn't see Harry come up behind her with his emerald green eyes alight with silent laughter. Ginny saw but said nothing and Hermione hit the water seconds later. She hadn't even had time to scream. When her head emerged from the depths of the water she did nothing more then wipe the water off her face and glare at Harry.

"You are so going to pay for that Harry," vowed Hermione.

"You're forgetting one thing 'Mione," Harry said.

"Oh? And what would that be?" she asked.

"Me," Ginny said right before she lunged at Hermione. An all out water fight started between the two girls and the evening air was filled with shrieks of laughter and splashing water.

Luna smiled and without any assistance dived gracefully into the water. She joined in on the water fight lending Ginny a hand against Hermione who was winning against the younger girl. Harry smiled and watched them play.

"You're not going to join them?" Draco asked coming to stand next to Harry.

Harry looked down at his hands. "I can't."

"Why? I know you can swim; you did in the Tri-Wizards Tournament. Don't tell me the Golden Boy's suddenly afraid of water?"

"Why aren't you in the water?" Harry threw back.

"I'm a Malfoy, we would never do anything so uncivilized," Draco answered.

"Then, you obviously haven't had any fun," Harry said.

"You're right, he hasn't," Blaise said as he shoved Draco off the dock and into the lake.

Harry gaped at the spot where Malfoy had been standing. "Oh Merlin, Blaise you are so dead. I wouldn't even have done that and everyone knows that I lack self preservation instincts."

"As Potter so eloquently put it, you are a dead man," growled Draco.

Blaise laughed and grinned wickedly down at Draco. "Well now, Dray. As I see it, you're down there and I'm up here."

"Is that so," Draco said calmly, a little too calmly.

Blaise tensed. Draco was the most dangerous when he was calm. So this wasn't good, at least for him. "What are you up to?"

Draco cocked an eyebrow and smirked. Blaise hit the water moments later.

"What the hell?" Blaise said once his head broke water. He looked up at the dock and spotted Nisha standing next to Harry. "You pushed me in?" he yelled up at her. Nisha nodded her head once and Blaise started laughing. "My own sister is my down fall. You little traitor," he laughed in good nature.

Nisha's lips twitched into a brief smile that vanished just as quickly as it appeared. She looked at Draco and saw him make a small motion. Before anyone knew what was happening Harry hit the water with a splash. He emerged from beneath the water and blinked surprised green eyes.

Hermione laughed and dunked Harry being careful not to touch his skin. And the water fight continued.

Ginny breathlessly swam to the dock and tried to pull herself out of the water. But the dock was too high and she couldn't pull herself up.

"Hey, do you think you could give me a hand up?" Ginny asked Nisha.

Nisha looked away from the water fight. Harry and Draco had teamed up against Blaise, Hermione and Luna and despite the odds against them Harry and Draco were winning. She looked down at Ginny with her cold dark blue eyes and detached attitude. For a moment Ginny thought that Nisha wouldn't help, but then she knelt down and reached for Ginny's outstretched hand. Ginny smiled up at Nisha and clasped on to the thin pale hand that was offered to her. Then she tugged and pushed herself away from the dock pulling Nisha into the water.

When Nisha surfaced her long black hair was covering her face. Her dark blue eyes were wide with surprise. Ginny smiled and pushed the wet mass of silky hair off of Nisha's face. "Join the fun," she said to Nisha pulling the girl over to the water fight. Nisha followed in a daze not really sure what to make of the redhead. New teams were formed and the fight continued until the sun was almost completely set and everyone's teeth were chattering with cold. It was only then that the group emerged from the lake soaked and breathless with laughter.

"Yuck," 'Mione said holding her arms out as she stood dripping water on to the dock. "It's so unfair."

"What is?" Harry asked as he pulled his sopping wet shirt over his head.

"That you guys can take off your wet shirts while we girls can't," Hermione said motioning to Blaise and Draco who had also taken off their shirts.

Blaise grinned. "I'm not going to reply to that," he muttered.

"That's good Zabini, I'd hate to have to kick your ass," Harry joked turning to head towards the school.

"Harry what's that?" Ginny asked pointing at Harry's back.

"Oh my god! Harry is that a tattoo?" Hermione asked moving to get a better look at Harry's back.

Harry tensed and shifted nervously as all eyes turned to look at him. He felt massively self-conscious and every imperfection he thought he had stood out foremost in his mind. He looked down at the dock so that he wouldn't have to see the others reactions to his body. Since his eyes were lowered he missed the heated silver eyes that swept over his lean sun bronzed chest to his narrow hips where his pants rode low. But Hermione's golden eyes didn't miss the admiration in that heated glance.

"The Golden Boy has a tattoo? Now, this I've got to see," Blaise said as he moved towards the trio to look at Harry's back.

"Is that a...you know Harry I would have thought that you would have gotten a griffin or a snitch or something like that. I never would have guessed that you'd get a tattoo of a dragon," Ginny admitted.

"That's cool," Blaise murmured next to Hermione's ear where he stood looking over her shoulder at Harry's tattoo. Hermione felt a pleasant shiver run down her back at the sound of Blaise's deep voice right next to her ear.

The tattoo took up most of the right side of Harry's back. The dragon was a mix of a European dragon and a Chinese dragon. It had the head of a European dragon, but the snake-like body of a Chinese dragon. The dragon faced towards the left with its head raised towards the crescent moon that was tattooed on the back of Harry's neck. The dragon was done mostly in black as though it were a silhouette. The wings of the dragon were feathered and curved to the right up along the back of his shoulder and almost down the backside of his arm. The dragon's tail twisted and curved around to his left hip.

"Right shoulder," Hermione muttered under her breath over and over again. Something about the tattoo being on or at least over the right shoulder blade nagged at her, it was important somehow. "Marauders," she blurted out with sudden insight. She remembered Harry telling her about the Marauder tradition.

Harry smiled at Hermione over his shoulder. "I knew that you would get the significance of where the tattoo was placed."

"I still can't believe you got one. But then again, after you told me about the Marauder tradition I guess I should have expected it," she said.

"I have a question," Nisha said softly as she stood next to Blaise examining the tattoo.

All eyes turned to look at Nisha in surprise. It was the first time she had said anything without being directly asked.

"What is it Nisha?" Harry asked gently.

"What kind of dragon is that?" she asked in her detached way.

"It's called a Moon Dragon, but it's just a myth. There's no such thing as a dragon with feathered wings. The story goes that the dragons came from the moon and that the phases of the moon held sway over them. It was said that the dragons walked as humans during the day and only transformed into dragons at night. It was also said that there were two types of moon dragons. One was as pale as moonlight while the other was darker then the night itself. Like their coloring that told the dragons apart, their manners were exact opposites." Harry explained to the group as they headed towards the school.

"Let me guess, the light one was good and the dark one was evil," Blaise said dryly.

"Wrong, the dark one was the very essence of good, while the silver one for all its beauty was evil. It was violent and hateful by nature," Draco corrected.

Harry looked towards Draco in surprise. The myth of the Moon Dragon was very rare. The only reason Harry even knew about it was because he had accidentally stumbled over the legend one night when he was "borrowing" a book from the restricted section of the library. Afterward he had tried to find out all he could about the Moon Dragons, but had found nothing. There had been only that one book that had disappeared from the library two days later.

"Right," Harry whispered still staring at Draco with surprised green eyes.

"So that's why you have the dark one," Ginny said.

Harry laughed softly. "But I don't have the dark one, Gin. I have the silver one. If you look at where the moonlight reflects off the wings you'd see that it's bright silver. If the dragon was black then the light's reflection would be a blue color not silver."

Hermione's golden eyes narrowed. "There's more to this then you're telling," she stated.

Harry grinned and shrugged. "Quite possibly," he admitted as the group entered the main foyer of the school.

The group split up and went to their common rooms. Harry headed up the stairs followed by Hermione and Ginny. Ginny was pestering Harry, wanting to know what he wasn't telling them. Hermione simply gave Harry a look that said that he was going to explain everything later. Luna walked off down the hall humming some nameless tune. And the three Slytherins turned and headed for the dungeons.


Shadow paced back and forth in front of the marble fireplace in her sitting room. She hardly made a sound as she moved there was only the soft swishing of her black robe. She needed to reseal Draco's magic. It was too early for the seal to be breaking. And she had to keep it from breaking until All Hollow's Eve. So she was going to have to find a way to reseal it, only she couldn't do it with a ceremony, that would raise too many questions. She had to find a way to do it without drawing any attention to herself or to Draco.

There was a potion that could seal magic away, but it was only temporary, which would be great for her purpose. Because she still needed the seal to break on Halloween. Quickly she turned to her very full bookshelves and began looking. She had to step around and even over other stacks of books that she had piled everywhere around the sitting room. She even had stacks of books piled on every table and even a stack on one of the overstuffed armchairs. She skimmed her fingers over the spines of the books muttering under her breath. She was searching for a book titled "Ancient Runes and Seals." She knew the potion for the seal was in that book; it was now just a matter of finding it.

"Ha! Found you," she purred pulling the book down off the shelf. It only took her twenty minutes of looking to find it. That was a new record. Usually it took her hours to find something. Of course if she could actually remember where she put things it would save a lot of time.

She sat down on the rug before the fireplace and rested the book on her lap. She began riffling through the pages skimming over the titles.

"My lady, what are you doing?" hissed the black viper Artum.

"Looking for something, my friend," Shadow hissed back.

The black viper with dark purple markings and silver-violet eyes uncurled from its pillow beside the fireplace and slithered over to his mistress. He wound himself up her arm and curled around her neck so that his head rested on her left shoulder. Silver-violet eyes gazed down at the book.

Alyssum continued skimming the book, until finally she found what she was looking for: Anima Celo, To Conceal a Soul. "Got to love those Ancient Romans. They knew their stuff," hissed Shadow. She read through the list of ingredients and committed the ones she needed to obtain to memory before book marking the page and closing the book.

"My friend, I have a job for you," Shadow hissed in a purring tone as she caressed the viper's sleek body.

"Yessss, my lady?"

"I need three strands of hair from the silver one," Alyssum told the snake.

"I shall retrieve them for you, my lady," Artum said bowing his head before sliding off her arm and slithering towards the door.

Alyssum stood up and placed the book on the coffee table. She had all the other ingredients so she needn't worry about them, but she still needed a Chrysoprase stone, the bark from a Rowan tree and the blood of a Dark Elf. There was only one place in all of Hogwarts that she was going to be able to get them and that was Professor Severus Snape's Potions' Room.

Severus stalked down the gloomy dungeon corridor headed for the Great Hall, when he noticed that his classroom door was a jar. He scowled at the open door. He knew he had closed it; he always closed his classroom door. Quietly he slipped through the doorway and into the dark classroom. He looked around the room but didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. He was about to leave when he heard a soft rustling noise from the front of the room where the storage closet was. Slinking through the darkness he entered the storage room as nothing more then a dark shadow. He stood silently not so much trying to see but to feel. The room was alive with shadows, filled with information; one just had to listen.

Alyssum reached up for the last item she needed. Pulling the apple green stone from the shelf she froze with her arm in midair. Tensing she slowly looked around the dark room. Her reflective gold eyes allowed her to use what little light spilled into the room to see. She tensed even more when she realized that the room was alive. The shadows were alive, moving like a dark cloud through the room towards her. She shifted a foot back getting ready to move when she was shoved forward against the counter. She placed her hands on the counter top to steady herself, immediately dark shadows wrapped around her wrists like iron bands and kept her restrained to the counter.

"I seem to have caught a thief," Severus sneered as he came to stand behind her.

"I'm not a thief. I'm just borrowing without permission or the intent of returning," Shadow answered calmly, although she felt anything but calm. Her heart rate had picked up at just the sound of his voice.

Snape's dark eyes narrowed, he knew that smoky voice. He moved closer to the slight figure and leaned down to rest his hands on the counter next to hers. "Well, well, if it isn't the elusive Shadow," he purred to the hooded figure. He whispered a spell and the two sconces closest to them lit up. Pale light flooded the room deepening the shadows. The phantom bands around Alyssum's wrists loosened and disappeared with the soft glow of the light. In one swift move she was spun around and pushed back even more against the counter to the point that she was almost sitting on it. Severus' taller more masculine body dwarfed her smaller leaner figure.

"That's a thief in my book," he growled. "Now, what are you stealing?"

He didn't wait for her answer but took the ingredients from her hand and her robe pocket. He dropped the items one by one on to the counter top, naming each one as it fell. "What do you need a chrysoprase stone, Rowan bark, and Dark Elf blood for?"

"You're an intelligent man, Professor Snape, I'm sure you can figure it out," Shadow whispered.

Snape's eyes narrowed. He reached out and pulled off the hood that hid Shadow's face. She quickly raised a hand to catch the hood and keep it from being pulled off, but Snape was faster and his free hand caught hers. The hood fell and Shadow's face was in plain view. Wide gold eyes stared up into Snape's onyx ones. Snape didn't even blink, although he was stunned that such a beautiful woman would hide beneath a cloak.

She continued to stare into his onyx eyes that were as deep and dark as an abyss. They were the kind of eyes one could fall into and be lost forever in. His eyes weren't windows to his soul but a black mirror that reflected her soul back at her. They were also sensually exotic eyes. Hypnotic, they seemed to suck you in.

Shadow blinked as she realized that she wasn't just being poetic, his eyes really were sucking her in. There was real power in his eyes and it seemed to be working on her. There was a pleasurable hum in her head that seemed to be spreading to the rest of her limbs. A heady, exotic shiver raced down her spine and she gasped, her eyes widening into large silvery green pools. She shifted closer to the Potion's Master, she just had to get closer to him, to be able to feel his body against her, to take in his scent, to do whatever he wanted.

She caught hints of his scent and shifted even closer. He smelled like something familiar that she just couldn't place and she needed to know what it was. She inhaled deeply and his scent filled her head. He smelled of something dark and wild with a trace of frost. Her eyes turned an even brighter green as she realized what exactly his scent was. It was the Adara flower, a wild flower that bloomed only in the winter with petals the color of midnight. And even though it was a flower it wasn't sweet smelling. It had a light airy fragrance that smelled crisp and fresh like the first snowfall of the year. But the Adara flower only grew around the snow-covered mountains of her home, so how could he smell like it?

Snape smirked and lifted the dazed Shadow all the way on to the counter. He shifted closer and the cloak she wore parted to reveal leather-clad legs, which he nudged apart so that he could stand between them. Keeping eye contact he leaned closer and his smirk deepened. He had her. All he had to do was ask a question and she'd spill her guts. And who would have thought that it would be so enjoyable to use this gift of his? Usually he hated his gift and only used it when absolutely necessary. Honestly, putting people in a sensual haze to get them to answer questions had its drawbacks. Having people that you didn't find attractive in the first place crawling all over you was one of them. Another drawback was that because he used lust and sexual feelings as a weapon he basically no long had a sex drive.

But with Shadow it was different. He was actually enjoying the game. And he knew that it wasn't just because she was a beautiful woman, though the Gods knew she was extremely beautiful. Smoky black hair that was the exact color of hematite framed an elfish face and disappeared beneath her cloak in a single braid. Snape actually found himself wondering just how long was her hair. Her eyes were glacier green and Snape noticed that they hadn't changed colors in a while. But the main reason he was enjoying himself was because she was a woman that was always in control and he had taken that control away from her.

He leaned closer to her so that his lips were just a breath away from hers. His hands slide over her leather encased thighs and kneaded the muscles beneath. His breath whispered over her lips as he spoke. "What is the name of the potion you're making?" he asked. His voice was a husky thread of sound meant to seduce, to keep someone enthralled.

"Anima Celo," she answered not even attempting to fight the seduction of his eyes and voice.

Severus made a humming sound in his throat that came out as a purring growl. "Good. Now, who is this potion for?"

Snape's purring growl sent a pleasant shiver down Alyssum's spine. But within the exhilarating feelings she realized this wasn't right. She wasn't supposed to tell. Everything inside of her wanted to tell him and another part of her, a part that was buried beneath all the lust filled haze, told her not to say anything. So she answered in a way that would appease both sides. "The Silver One."

Snape's ebony eyes narrowed slightly. She had fought that one. He decided to move away from that line of questioning, at least for now. He didn't want her to come to her senses quite yet. He was enjoying having her under his control, all softly feminine and wanton. Although, he was surprised; very few people even realized that they were under an enchantment, let alone had the ability to fight it.

His hands slide up to her hips and pulled her to the edge of the counter top, so that he was pressed fully against her. Her back arched slight and his hands followed the curve bring her body even closer to his.

If anyone were to look into the storage room at that moment they would have been shocked at the scene before him or her. Severus was pretty much bent over the slight form of Alyssum who was arched back and wrapped in Severus' arms. Her ice green eyes glowed in the dim light and the shadows around them were alive, shifting and seething as though phantom creatures were in the darkness. Some of the shadows crept forward and wrapped around Alyssum's compliant figure, like tendrils of black mist.

"Why are you at Hogwarts?" he asked his lips just barely brushing against hers with every word spoken and his fathomless black eyes bore into her glacier green ones.

Alyssum sighed with pleasure and her body seemed to liquefy at the sound of his voice. But it was wrong, she shouldn't be feeling this way and her mind was filled with images that she knew weren't her own. They were extremely erotic images that she couldn't have made-up on her own if she tried. Hell, a lot of the images she didn't even think were humanly possible, but they were fascinating all the same. The images were a massive distraction and kept her from really thinking about what he was asking. Although, she still had enough sense left to know that she shouldn't be answering his questions. She blinked rapidly and tried to pull her gaze away. She bit her lip hard to the point of drawing blood and pain rushed through her. Pain was easier to fight than pleasure and with the pain she was able to concentrate enough to shove him away from her.

Snape stumbled back not expecting her sudden violence. While Snape tried to catch his balance Shadow shoved herself off and away from the counter grabbing the discarded potion items as she went. She shifted into a fighting stance and made sure she kept her gaze a way from his eyes.

"What...what did you do?" she asked shaking her head to rid it of the sexual images that seemed to have been burned into her mind.

"Just a little trick of mine," Severus answered standing calmly before her with his hands resting in his robe pockets.

"What are you?" she asked.

"I could ask you the same thing. I know you're not completely human," he said.

Shadow shifted, slowly moving towards the door. She needed to get away from him. Even now that she was no longer looking into his eyes her body still didn't feel like it was her own. "Why do you say that?"

Snape followed Alyssum's movements towards the door, shifting his body to match hers. "Because you fought the thrall; most don't even know they're under it, and the ones that do can't fight it," he answered calmly, "Only someone who's really powerful or not completely human could fight their way out of it." Severus shrugged carelessly. "Now, the real question is, what are you?"

Alyssum's glacier green eyes changed to gold and narrowed dangerously. She felt something brush the back of her neck, like cool misty fingers and tensed. She looked away from Severus to search the shadows. "Whatever is in the darkness that you're controlling, call it off."

Severus moved swiftly across the distance that separated them. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back against him. "There's nothing alive in the shadows," he purred into her ear. He enjoyed her body pressed snuggly against his and he liked the scent of her. It was something floral and heady that spoke of warm moonlit nights. He breathed deeply enjoying her scent.

"No, there's something in the shadows. Don't you feel it," Alyssum insisted. For the first time in her life she was wary of the darkness. The shadows had always been her home, her sanctuary, the place she felt the safest. Until now that is. There was something in the darkness that she could sense but couldn't see.

"There's nothing in the shadows but the shadows themselves," Severus whispered. His arms wrapped around her and his hands snuck inside her cloak. His left arm wrapped around her waist and his hand cupped her hip. His other arm rested just beneath her breasts. His right hand moved and his fingers caressed her breast through the satin material of her top. His breath fanned her exposed neck and sent shivers racing down her spine. Gently he racked his teeth down that slim neck. She gave a small whimper and squirmed, her backside rubbing seductively against him.

A breeze flowed into the room and the two lights snuffed out with a soft hiss. Darkness descended and the shadows rushed in and wrapped around Alyssum. She felt the darkness twine up her legs and whisper over her cheek. The caresses were gentle, seductive, they whispered over her like silken mist. "You're controlling them, the shadows, aren't you?" she asked as she realized that the mist that caressed her so tenderly smelled like the Adara flower.

Severus said nothing. He just ran his tongue over the shell of her ear before nipping at her earlobe. As his mouth assaulted her ear and neck, his right hand moved to the square neckline of her corset-like top and dipped beneath the satiny material. A warm callused hand cupped the satiny flesh of her left breast and Alyssum gasped. Her breath quickened with a mix of fear and pleasure.

"I...I think I should go now," she whispered.

Before Snape knew what had happened she had disappeared and he was left holding nothing more tangible than smoke. He smirked into the darkness. He may have had a couple of his questions answered and those answers lead to even more questions. But he had found out something important; her weakness. And it was a weakness that he was so going to take pleasure in exploiting. He licked his lips and could still taste her there. His robes held a lingering scent of moonflowers and his hands could still feel the imprint of her soft body. His own body was hard and throbbing for release and just smelling the lingering scent of her wasn't helping to calm his body down any.

Snape's smirk deepened in the darkness. This school year was becoming more and more interesting.


Lil' Sphinx: Hey everyone. First off, I'm sorry I didn't upload this over the weekend. It took me a little longer to fix the scene that was bothering me then I thought it would. Also, my internet is being a pain in the ass. I'm surprised it's working for me now. Second, the Bet still hasn't shown up because the scene before the bet just isn't working. Once that scene's fixed, the bet will show up. Third, Thanks to everyone that gave me ideas on either, abilities or pranks. They were a lot of help. And if you have anymore pranks or abilities I want to hear them. I love getting ideas. Now, moving on;

Big Thanks to Mari and Ash Knight for the ideas on what Snape's ability could be. As you can see I used them both. I just couldn't decide which one I liked better.

Jolande- Thank you, thank you, thank you. Finally someone got all the lifemate hints.

Lis- I will finish this fic. It might take a while but it will be finished. I use to update every week but now that school has started I probably wont update until every other week. Hopefully.

Unforgiven Mistress- Shadow and Amethyst were originally supposed to be the same person but then I changed my mind.

Isis-Mystic- Is Draco a Night Creature? Yes and no.

JeslyMak- Yes, Amethyst is still a kitten. She's going to get a lot bigger. But I'll have her and Volucris meet, okay.

Incessant Darkness- Yes, Oct. means Halloween, as obvious from this chapter. And the glow is the magic seal around Draco breaking which was also found out in this chapter. Oh and No, Harry will never be able to do Draco's little connection thingie.

Esmerelda Black- Yes, Harry could wear gloves but then his gift wouldn't work. Think Rogue from X-men.

Relena- Yes, Hermione is 5'8". And for an average woman, yes that's tall. But it is possible and girls usually stop growing by the time their sixteen.

Tash- No Harry can't control his ability and he will never be able to. And when Harry does touch Draco it wouldn't be like when he touched Blaise. And yes, Draco isn't completely human. In fact he really isn't human at all in my story.

Signeus- Is Shadow an animagus or a shapeshifter? Yes.

Sacaramouch- Loved the idea for the prank on Ron in Quidditch, it actually helps me out with another idea. Thanks.

MJluvsPolar- Yes, the whole touching thing doesn't apply to Dray.

Geminidragon- Volucris will help with the matchmaking. And yes, the loophole has to do with Draco.