Author's Note: Thanks for all your reviews! They were appreciated. Sorry if anyone objected to me killing off Hedwig. It had to be done. I just couldn't get it to work! I tried to have Harry mediate between Hedwig and Hohn, but I couldn't find a relationship I was satisfied with. And yes, I know there is no way Harry could have mastered so many spells so quickly, but this is fanfiction, and my quill is law. Now THAT was a bad pun. Well, I threw a dragon into the mix. If you have any thoughts or objections on this matter, please put them in your review. Just so you know, it usually takes me somewhere in between one and three days to post a new chapter, so I hope you weren't waiting for too long on this chapter. Hope you enjoy the chapter. Read and Review please. Ferretfriend
"Well, friends, off to Hogwarts!" With that, they took off, enjoying the thrill of flight. Godric was flying on the left side, doing quite a bit of looping and spiraling. Show off. Harry thought. Looking down at the ground, he saw Silver zipping across the ground. He really was fast. He was enjoying riding on Mira, but wanted to try out a few of his animagus forms. The chain was secured to Mira, and he didn't have to worry about the Death Eaters seeing him transform. He had stunned them right after take off.
Turning to his friends, he called, "Hey, watch this!" Jumping off Mira's back, he transformed into a magnificent hippogriff. He flapped his wings, performed a perfect barrel roll. He turned to face his friends, who had watched open-mouthed. Silver had floated up on a block of ice to watch. Deciding to surprise them again, he turned into Hungarian Horntail. His friends all let out noises of shock, especially Mira.
Silver was the first to recover. When'd you learn to do that? Harry grinned at him. "Today." Mira had recovered slightly and snorted. Seriously. Harry's smile widened. "I'm being serious. I learned how to do that today." Godric added his own comment. I have heard of wizards changing into a certain animal apiece, but you can change into many animals. Besides, it takes years to be able to change like that. You couldn't have done it in a day.
Harry just said, "I'll explain later, now c'mon." With that, he changed into a Peruvian Vipertooth, swiftest of the dragons and darted forward. The all took off after him, trying to keep up. Strangely enough, Silver was the first to reach him. Harry supposed it was his speed. Harry transformed into a tiger like Silver, using the strength his potion had supplied him with. He found he was able to keep up, and even had a conversation with him while they were running.
"I can see why you enjoy running. When you're this fast, it gives you a greater thrill than flying." The tiger growled at him, replying. Yes, running is fun. I sometimes wish I could fly, but am content here on the ground. It is good to be humble. Harry nodded his head. "Yeah, I hate all the attention people give me just because I'm the boy who lived. If I'm going to be praised, I want to have earned it." Silver growled out his response. But you have earned it. You have done more since I met you than most wizards alive. You told me that was the second basilisk you killed, right? Harry just nodded, his face feeling hot. Well, how many wizards have destroyed a basilisk, let alone two? None. You are worthy of praise, though your modesty is another trait that empowers you. Perhaps you did not know, but humility is the soul of wizardry itself.
Harry thought about this. There was some truth to that, at least for the higher arts of wizardry. Voldemort wasn't humble, though. Humility was not essential for the lower forms of wizardry. When he was honest with himself, he was indeed humble. Maybe this is why he had been able to master so many spells so quickly.
He observed the landscape around him. It was beautiful around the mountains. Turning to Silver, he said, "I'm going to go back up, okay?" Silver was okay with that, so up Harry went, again in his Peruvian Vipertooth form. He rather liked this form. As a breathed some flame, a glint of something shiny caught his eye. At the same time, he could swear he had heard phoenix song. He ignored it, but made a mental note of where that glimmer had been.
He saw the end of the Alps approaching, and called out to his friends. "We need to turn northwest here! Follow my lead!" And off he shot again, slowing down a bit so they could catch up to him. He kept flying until he saw a village. "Up into the clouds! Hurry, before someone sees you!"
They all followed him up into the clouds, and stayed above that so the muggles wouldn't see them. It was extremely easy for Silver, who had an easy time of freezing paw holds in the chilled water vapor. They continued above the clouds for another thirty minutes before Harry changed into an eagle, swooping down beneath the clouds. It was lucky he did, because they had just crossed the English Channel.
Turning even more to the east, Harry led his friends toward the London area. They flew without disturbance for another thirty minutes, and then checked the ground again. Harry looked down, and could see the city of London. They were within an hour of Hogwarts, less if they hurried. Harry urged his friends to a greater speed, telling them, "I know a place where we can take a short break. Follow me."
After about fifteen minutes, Harry saw the bridge where the train had stopped during his third year. There was a small cave there, underneath the tracks. He had read about it in Hogwarts; A History. They landed outside the cave, and clambered inside.
It was spectacular. The inside was lit by thousands of crystals, shining in different colors. There was a pool to the right, and stalagmites and stalactites everywhere. Godric landed and instantly began to drink some water. Mira too began to drink, and Silver soon joined them. Harry scooped some of the water up with his hand and tasted it. It was cool and had an odd flavor about it. Not a nasty flavor like sulfur, but a pleasant, almost minty. The source of this taste was revealed a minute later when they found a bush of mint leaves by the mouth. The water would hit the leaves and travel down into the pond.
Harry felt strange, like he was being watched, and whirled around. There was nothing there. He must have been imagining things. After they had all refreshed themselves, they were prepared to leave. As they flew off, Harry marked this spot in his mind too. It would be a good place to hide or keep his friends if they were unwelcome at Hogwarts. They flew for about thirty more minutes, and then spotted the tops of the towers. It was Hogwarts.
Turning to his friends, Harry called, "First one to the castle gets a buffet tonight!" The effect was instantaneous. Godric shot forward at a speed Harry didn't think possible. Silver was right on his heels, and both ducked as Mira passed over them. They all snarled when Harry, still in Vipertooth form, blew them off course with his wake. He was winning, and they were trying desperately to catch up, but couldn't.
He touched down on the green lawns of Hogwarts, out of breath and victorious. They all glared at him, thinking wistfully of the wonderful supper that had so narrowly escaped them. He cheered them all up by saying, "Oh, c'mon! You didn't think I was serious, did you? Buffet for everyone!" This was very well received.
Harry turned towards the village of Hogsmeade, and the Shrieking Shack loomed into view. That was where he was meeting Dumbledore. Recalling his last visit to the Shrieking Shack, Harry decided it could use a few homey touches. Reverting back into his human form, he began to stride towards it.
The animals all began to go with him, and Silver asked the question on all of their minds. So where's this Shrieking Shack. My, that doesn't sound like a very friendly name. Harry pointed toward the ominous building in the right horizon. Then why aren't we going that way? "The entrance is boarded up, and the only way is a secret passage. It starts over here."
Harry led them to the Womping Willow, and warned them of its violent personality. Harry changed into a weasel and snuck up to the secret knot. Pressing it with his nose, he changed back. The tree froze instantly. His friends all ran forward, trying to squeeze in between the gap in the roots. Godric and Silver managed it okay, but Mira was having problems. The gap just wasn't big enough.
Pulling out his wand, Harry muttered, "Reducto!" The space around the hole disintegrated, leaving a bigger gap than before. It was still a little small, but Mira could fit through now. Harry put an illusion in place so nobody would notice the difference. Turning, he started down the passage with his friends.
The tunnel down to the Shrieking Shack was just as it had been about two years ago; dark and creepy. They walked for a while until Harry saw the end of the tunnel, motioning for his friends to follow. They did so, and emerged on the threshold of the Shrieking Shack a minute later.
Harry looked around at the common room. It was a mess. All of the furniture was smashed into pieces, and a thick layer of dust covered everything. Silver sneezed. Harry took out his wand again, and held it up in the air. Concentrating, Harry didn't even say the incantation. A blinding light filled the house for a second, and then disappeared. He opened his eyes, and saw that everything was spotless. The chairs were still broken, though. He pointed his wand at each of them in turn and repaired them. He turned to the couch, and put away his wand. Concentrating once more, Harry channeled his magical energy and said the incantation in his mind. The couch sprang back together, looking brand new.
Harry looked around. It was a pretty good looking place now. He sat on the couch in front of the fireplace, pointing his hand at it. The fire sprang up in its place, licking the wood that had been there. The animals all took a seat. Mira shot a look at Harry, who understood and conjured a giant cushion immediately. Mira gave a grunt of thanks, and they all rested. They were extremely tired after the long journey.
Glancing down at his watch, Harry saw it was already 7:00. Professor Dumbledore was not meeting him until 9:00. He still had two hours. He started to talk to Mira about how dragons could breathe fire. "So, how do dragons breathe fire? I've always wondered about that." Mira gave a lazy hiss. I am not sure myself. It is just something we are born with for what I can tell.
Harry was disappointed, and looked around at the unconscious Death Eaters. He had brought along two vials of veritiserum, incase Dumbledore wanted to question them. They had been searching for something called the gateway. What was it? Harry knew from Lucius Malfoy that it supposedly held two very powerful treasures; the staff of Merlin and the sword of Excalibur. Harry knew that Voldemort would wreak havoc on society if he ever got these ancient tools, and decided to search for this gateway.
His thoughts strayed to the cave they had stopped at on the way here. It had been a beautiful cave. The strange thing was what he had felt inside. It was like a strong magical presence, and Harry had felt like something was watching them. Harry decided to check the cave out again on the way home.
He was snapped out of his reverie by a sound. It was footsteps, echoing from the mouth of the tunnel. Harry looked at his watch. It was only 8:00. Dumbledore was early! Raising his hands above him, he quickly put an invisibility charm on all of them. After that, all they could do was wait.
The footsteps grew louder, and they finally saw an old man appear at the tunnel mouth. It was Professor Dumbledore. He looked around in surprise, obviously not expecting the changes Harry had made. He chuckled and said, "You can come out now, Harry."
Harry appeared, walking forward. "How did you know I was there?" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, and he said, "Who else could have done all this?" Harry looked around, wondering why he hadn't thought about that.
"So," said Dumbledore, changing the subject. "I met Hohn. A wonderful bird, he is. He and Fawkes have been getting on spectacularly. He seems very friendly, and didn't trust any of the other teachers besides me, especially Professor Snape."
Harry smirked at this, making a mental note to congratulate Hohn. "So, where is he now?" Harry's question was answered for him when he heard not one, but two phoenixes singing together. They came out of the tunnel soaring, and landed on their respective owner's chair.
"You seem to be doing well. I had hoped you would come back when I asked you to in my letter. I am glad you decided to talk to me. I don't suppose you're going to tell me where you are hiding?"
Harry shook his head. "No, I won't tell anyone that. I have no intention of returning to the life I lived during the previous summer. I am happy now, happier than I ever have been outside Hogwarts. I respect your opinion, but it has no weight in this matter."
Dumbledore sighed. "I had hoped it would not come to this, but I'm afraid I have no choice. Please try to understand." He stood up, and as he did, members of the Order of the Phoenix appeared. Every member had their wand trained on Harry. "I'm sorry, Harry. I had really hoped it wouldn't come to this, and had to respect the decision of the Order. I did not want you to be taken by force." Dumbledore waited, praying Harry would not put up a fight.
Harry looked around and did something nobody expected him to do; laugh. He just laughed. When he had stopped, his expression darkened, and he whistled. Instantly, his friends appeared. Godric was inches to the side of Moody, who jumped, but didn't fire a spell. Mira had about four Order members cornered, and blew a ring of smoke ominously. Hohn had flown to Harry, and was hovering above his head, ready to defend. Silver had created a thick layer of ice around everyone's feet, so nobody could move except for Harry and friends.
Harry waited for this to sink in, and said, "You see, I too have come prepared. These are my friends, and they have all pledged their allegiance. This house has an anti-apparation jinx on it, so you can't dissapparate. We are on the same side, and must not fight within ourselves. The Order has already lost one brave member to such conflict. His name was Sirius Black, and he was the best man I ever met. I will not let his sacrifice be in vain. If you refuse to listen to reason, I will leave. When the jinx wears off, you can go wherever you want, or we can cooperate and I can release you. It's your choice; go ahead and make it."
Most of the Order members looked angry, but Dumbledore was beaming. "Well done, Harry! I did try to tell them that, but they were rather angry with you." Moody cut in, trying to break the ice around his legs. "Damn right we were! What were you thinking running off like that, eh Potter?" Dumbledore chided him. "Alastor…"
Harry interrupted and said, "Look, I know you guys are angry at me for running away, but it's not about to change. You're going to have to accept that, like it or not." Dumbledore smiled around at everyone, with a distinct manner of I told ya so. Moody was the first to speak. "All right, Potter. You win. Now get this infernal ice off our feet."
Harry breathed a silent sigh of relief. He had not wanted confrontation. He gave a signal to Mira, who sent a jet of flame into the air. The intense heat melted the ice almost instantly, and they were able to break free. "Before you ask, I put a shield charm on each of you before I gave the signal."
Several people closed their mouths, their question answered. Tonks, however, piped up a question. "How come you can do magic now? How did you get the detection and tracing spells removed?" Harry smiled, but shook his head. "I can't tell you that. All I'll say is that I had someone remove them for me."
Dumbledore smiled again, and sat back down. "Well, let's all have a seat. I see you have fixed the place up. I'm glad you did. This will be an excellent place to keep your friends if the rest of the staff objects from their presence in the castle."
Harry sat down too, and Silver hopped up beside him. Scratching him behind the ears, Harry spoke to him. "Good thing we didn't have to fight. I'm sure we could have gotten away, but I don't think I need any more enemies." Silver gave a purr of agreement. You're right, but I'm not so sure about the man in the corner, the one with the wooden leg. I think you told me he's called Moody. There's going to be a confrontation between him and Mira. Neither likes each other very much.
Harry looked at Moody, then at Mira. They were glaring at each other. Turning back to Professor Dumbledore, Harry said, "So, what do you need to know? Go ahead and ask the questions. I'll answer the ones that don't give away certain things I'm trying to hide." Dumbledore looked around, and got the questions going himself with, "What do you think about the Board of Directors giving you the Supreme Prefect award?"
Harry thought for a moment, and said, "I don't think it was necessary. I appreciate the authority, but I really didn't need it. You could give to anyone else, I wouldn't bat an eyelash."
Tonks stood up next, saying, "How did you meet all these animals? Where did you find them?" Harry answered, choosing his words carefully. "I found them in the place where I'm staying. For future reference, I'll just call it the Marauders' Manor. I won't tell you where it is, though, so as to not break the contract of the Fideleus Charm."
Turning to Dumbledore, he started to introduce his friends one by one. "The headmaster has already met my phoenix, Hohn. Come on Hohn, give us a tune." The phoenix obliged, give a short burst of song. Everyone appeared much more relaxed. Hohn landed on Harry's shoulder, moving about until he was comfortable. Harry went on.
"This is my griffin. His name is Godric, and he is extremely proud, so be careful lest you insult him." Turning to Godric, Harry gave a chirp. "Anything you want me to tell them?" Godric thought for a moment, and nodded. Tell them I say to calm down. I'm not going to start attacking them. Harry turned to the listeners again and said, "He says to calm down. He's not going to attack any of you unless you thoroughly deserve it."
Moving on to Silver, Harry explained yet again. "This is Silver. Before I tell you what she is, you must all swear to secrecy. Do you?" A few of them looked uneasy, but they all agreed. "All right then. Silver is an escaped experiment from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. He was trying to settle down when he was attacked by a basilisk. I have no idea how a basilisk went unnoticed for so long, but know it won't be a problem anymore. The basilisk was killed, yes, but so was Silver's family. Ever since then, he's been following me around. I'm glad to have his company, and will stop whoever tries to take him by any means possible."
Deciding to move onto Mira, he walked over to her. "Mira is, as you can see, a Swedish Short Snout. She's relatively young dragon-wise, but knows the tricks of the trade. Like Silver, she too has hade her family robbed from her. This time, it was not a basilisk, but Voldemort's Death Eaters." Everyone stiffened at the sound name. "The Death Eaters were looking for something, probably me. I found them attacking Mira and her mother, so I interfered. I tried to save the mother, but I was too late. The Death Eaters were subdued, however. I have brought them with me."
With that, he waved his hand, and the invisibility spell surrounding the Death Eaters vanished, and they appeared in the middle of the congregation. Everyone, including Dumbledore, jumped. Moody had pulled out his wand and had it trained on the bundle. Dumbledore gave Harry a searching look, and Harry quickly closed his mind. He didn't want anyone to know about the gateway.
Harry looked around again, grinning in satisfaction at the shocked look on their faces. Clearing his throat, he said, "So, what is the Order doing now? How are you guys fighting Voldemort? What's going on?"
Dumbledore answered, taking no notice of the flinch that swept through the room. "Well, we know from Severus that Voldemort is looking for something. We don't know what it is, but we expect it is either Harry or the Prophecy concerning him. We're doing all that we can, but he's been attacking us. It's just like last time; he's picking us off, one by one." Dumbledore looked grim.
Harry digested the information before speaking. "I have something I have been working on. Again, you all must swear to not divulge this secret, for I will know who told. And when I do, it will be a dark day for that person." He looked around darkly. After he saw the nods of consent from everyone, he took out a vial. "This is a potion I have made. It will make the effects of Re'em blood permanent. Professor, I suggest you give some to every member of the Order, so they will be stronger. The making of this potion is a trademark secret, and I intend o guard that myself. I will supply you with the potion, but I will not tell you how to make it."
He tossed the vial to Dumbledore, and took out another. Tossing this to Tonks, he reached for another, He continued like this until everyone in the room had a vial. He spoke, saying, "Okay, you all have your potion. Drink up, and tell me if you feel it working." Again the people looked uneasy, but Dumbledore popped the lid off of his and downed it in a gulp. He sighed, and opened his eyes. Looking around, he addressed the crowd.
"Don't worry, it's not poison. It works, too. I feel much stronger. Let me be the first to thank Harry for this gift. It will surely help us in our battle against Voldemort." The rest of the members seemed bolder now, and took their potion as well. Instantly, the room was filled with sighs, surprised exclamations, and a few choice words from Moody.
When the room had calmed down somewhat, they all turned to Harry, and Moody voiced what they all were thinking. "How in the name of Merlin did you manage that? No offense Potter, but you're not the best in potions. Snape talks of you as a sort of crisis." Harry chuckled at first, but his expression darkened. "Maybe Professor Snape should teach his students the way they should be taught. I re-taught myself all the things he was supposed to, and went further. I am good at potions, but don't need him breathing down my back."
Harry looked at the crowd, and they all looked back. But there was something there that hadn't been before; Respect. They respected him now that he had done something for the Order. Sure, they had respected him for the other things he had done, but their view of him had been significantly low since he had run away. Now the respect was back, and they were a bit friendlier.
Dumbledore stood up, his eyes twinkling, and said, "Well, I think that concludes our business. It's been nice seeing you again. I shall see you when you return to Hogwarts, and perhaps we can have a more personal conversation there. Until then, be careful."
Moody added his own comment. "Yeah, Potter. Don't go doing anything stupid. And keep that lizard of yours in check." Mira gave a snort, and Harry translated for her. "Mira says to keep the remnants of your nose out of other people's business." That was it. Moody whipped his wand out and fired a jinx at Mira. The jinx was repelled by her thick hide, and she let out a jet of fire. In an instant, Moody's wooden leg was gone, and all that remained was pile of ashes on the floor.
Moody seemed to realize defeat, and didn't try to attack again. Mira was smirking triumphantly, and Godric was rolling on the floor laughing. Even Hohn and Silver were chuckling, though it was clear they were resisting as much as they could. They all left the Shrieking Shack, and stopped by the lake. Here, the animals drank some water, while Harry conjured up a soda.
When they had all drunken their fill, they were ready to leave. It was still very dark, and Harry wondered what time it was. Glancing down at his watch, he received a shock. It was 5:00 A.M. It would be dawn soon, and they would be able to see. Harry changed into his Peruvian Vipertooth form, and took off, his friends all flying alongside him. And so began the journey home.