A/N: MERRY FREAKIN' CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! (Or happy holidays to those who do not celebrate Christmas) I'm back again in the Christmas spirit and this chapter has bit of action in it, things are moving forward and there is a bit of difference in POV in the middle.

Disclaimer: I'm not J.K but the plot is mine,

Warning: Violence, blood and gore, mentions of slash,

Parsel

Chapter 30:

"Oh good, you're already dressed." Harry said brightly, as he walked in and saw Luna sat waiting for him.

"Yes, I thought we could leave right away." She said, "How was your research?"

"I think I have a lead on Denver," Harry replied, hopping on one foot as he pulled on his dragon hide boots. "Have you got the coins?"

"Yes, they're already packed." Luna confirmed, "If you've gotten a lead on Denver that will help, what else have you been researching?"

"I've compiled the evidence for Rita's next big swoop, and if it's released at the right time Dumbledore should be gone and Fudge should be called for a vote of no confidence." Harry told her,

"That sounds brilliant,"

"Plus, as I'm sure you've noticed, I've been shopping today and picked up a few things."

"I love the shoes." Luna agreed, "Thank you,"

"Any time,"

"I've taken the liberty to have a new wardrobe put in for your materials so they do not get creased."

"Wonderful, thanks,"

"And I sent Winky with Alina's things, she'll see you soon."

"Ok," Harry grabbed his jacket and zipped it up, "Ready?"

"Yes, I've got my potions ready and I've alerted Ellen that we may be bringing in more wolves so she is at the ready."

"Good, let's go." Harry took her arm and they vanished in to the shadows, they appeared in the shallow part of the trees where Harry had killed Smith.

"There are wolves here." Luna murmured and Harry nodded,

"On our guard, but they shouldn't be hostel."

"Have you gotten anything from Greyback yet?" Luna asked, "He said you were welcome in the pack."

"Oh, yes, Moony passed it on through Winky." Harry pulled out a fang on a length of string, "I thought it might lessen the situation." They walked through the woods slowly, Harry was following the slight scent left by the wolves to lead him to their location. They came to a halt when two men stepped out in front of them, they were tense and glaring and Harry held up his hands in a peaceful gesture.

"You have no business here, wizard." One of them said,

"I've come to help you." Harry stated, "The ministry has this forest on their radar, I've come to get you and your pack out of here before they come."

"How do we know you are not with the ministry?" The other demanded,

"I have Greyback's approval." Harry told them, he held up the fang for them to see and they relaxed.

"Follow us,"

They moved deeper in to the woods with the two wolves, Harry made sure Luna stayed close to him just in case.

"Where are we going to go? We have cubs that need places to stay, and we have to stick together."

"Have you not heard of the werewolf sanctuary?" Harry asked,

"Yes, but isn't it just a rumour?"

"No, it's very real." Harry assured,

"How do you know it's safe?"

"Because I created it myself." Harry answered, "My uncle is a werewolf, he means a great deal to me and it's in his honour."

"You have a wolf uncle?"

"The lost cub," Harry tried, and the wolves stopped.

"Your uncle is the Alpha's lost cub?"

"Yeah,"

"Wow,"

They stepped through a clearing and Harry blinked in surprised when he saw a few cabins, which were obviously hand built, there were a few wolves scattered around and the cubs were running around the cabins.

"Knight?"

"Greyback sent them," the first wolf, now identified as Knight, spoke, and the entire camp seemed to relax.

"We haven't got a lot of time. The ministry has this place on its radar, so we need to pack up and leave." Harry said, "I have the portkeys, the location is ready and you'll be able to check in with Greyback when we arrive. I know Moonrise is in wait."

"You know what happened to Moonrise?" One of the females asked, looking nervous.

"We heard her shop was blown up but nothing else."

"I got her out just as they blew the shop, I wasn't going to allow her to be harmed. She is currently helping run the werewolf sanctuary I've set up." Harry explained, and many of them breathed in relief

"This is brilliant news, many of us relied on her and we did not know if she survived or not."

"I am sorry she has not been able to send out a message, but she's been busy running the Sanctuary with Moony." Harry explained and they nodded, "Raven, help the mates,"

"On it,"

"How many have we got here?" Harry asked Knight, catching the bag of galleons Luna threw at him.

"25, including cubs,"

"How many with magical training?"

"None, most of us are non-magical but there are cubs with magic."

"Ok, that's fine." Harry pulled out a few coins, "These are portkeys, the activation words is Sanctuary, pass them around."

"How many can they take?"

"As many as needed, there is no limit. Don't worry about dropping them either, if anyone other than a wolf or those keyed in to the specialist wards they'd be thrown miles away and probably die." Harry said and the wolves smirked. The camp bustled with activity as everything was packed up, Harry helped the wolves moved their cabins and froze when his senses picked up a dense cluster of magic approaching.

"Raven, we have a problem." Harry called, "North east, 16, give or take."

"18, heading in quickly. They're cloaked,"

"Knight, start getting yours out of here. The ministry have moved quicker than we anticipated." Harry said, and Knight nodded. The coins were thrown around the camp and the first set of wolves vanished just as the first spell threw towards them,

"We'll head them off, get everyone to safety." Harry called, he had already thrown up three shields to protect people's backs. He saw the ministry officials break in to the clearing and cursed, he waved his wand and covered his face with a mask, he made it completely black so it wasn't confused with a Death Eater mask and he saw Luna do the same. Harry tossed two banishing spells and followed it up with a disarmer, he wanted the distracted for now and he had span out of the way to avoid the cutting curse. If they were playing nasty then Harry would be sure to return the favour, he slashed his wand and an expelling hex slammed in to the nearest auror and a bone breaker hit the one behind. Other aurors broke through and spells rained down on them, it was a bit overwhelming and Harry took his first hit. He muttered a curse and fell in to his regular duelling movements, it was awkward because he couldn't fully duel, and he also had to keep shields up around the camp as the wolves were taken away.

Harry heard a scream behind him and saw a female wolf drop to the ground, she vanished in a swirl of a portkey and was followed by her mate and a cub. Harry cracked his wand and his fire whip slashed through the air, it snapped at an aurors arm and Harry yanked him to the ground. He saw Luna twirl her wand and he questioned whether he wanted to know what the inky black curse that came out of her wand did. Harry was forced to roll on the floor when two curses came towards him and he pushed himself back up and flung a hurling hex over his shoulder, he saw more vanish with the porkeys and let up on the shields but then hissed when a cutter sliced across his back.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Luna go down under a torrent of spells, the distraction cost him and a bone breaker shattered his arm and three cutters hit different parts of his body. Harry felt anger seep in to his mind and a red mist began to cover his eyes, he viciously sliced his wand and sent out a blast of raw magic. His spells picked up pace and they grew darker and more violent, the aurors fell in surprise at the sudden onslaught, which allowed Harry to make his way over to Luna and shielded her with his own body. He was relieved to see she was conscious, just bleeding heavily and before he could grab her there was a terrible scream.

"My babies!"

Harry span to see an auror hauling two small cubs out by their hair, the mother was injured and cradling her arm as she was pinned by another auror. The cubs were crying for their mother and Harry took in the scene with narrowed eyes, a cold fury welled up inside of him and he didn't feel the spells that hit him. Luna pulled herself up and darted over to the mother, she kicked the auror in the face and slashed at his throat allowing the mother free. Harry snapped when he saw the auror holding the cubs strike one of them, his magic exploded out of him and he stood calmly. All the spells approaching him fizzled out when they reached his furious magic, he stalked over to where Luna was protecting herself and the mother wolf and threw them a portkey. He was casting as he moved, his wand blurring as he cast,

"Get out of here." He ordered,

"I can't, not without my cubs,"

"Raven, get her out of her." Harry snapped, "I promise you, Miss, I will get your cubs to safety." Luna activated the portkey and Harry stuck, his magic acting as an extension and he stuck down the aurors still standing. He was trying to hit the auror holding the cubs, but he was using them as human shields which meant they were also taking stray curses. Harry had an idea but it was going to be a close call, he rolled on the ground and pushed himself up closer to the auror. He was outmanned and heavily injured, but as his metal spikes went through someone's heart it dropped the numbers down to 5 which he was thankful for. Harry cut down a tree and it fell heavily to the ground giving him a distraction he needed, Harry jumped over some debris and took a flying leap at the auror taking them all tumbling to the ground. He had to fight back his pained cry as his entire body seemed to protest the movement but he pushed it back in favour and punching the filth in the face, he hissed a spell in Parsel which forcefully closed the airways of the auror beneath him before pushing a coin in to the cubs' hands.

"Sanctuary," He spat out and just as he spoke he was blasted back and the cubs vanished without him, Harry slammed in to the ground and he screamed when he felt a white hot pain rip through his spine and his ribs. He felt his throat constrict and his vision swam, spat out blood and rolled over on to his front, his left arm gave out beneath him and his right leg wasn't working. He could feel his ribs moving and it made him queasy, Harry cursed when another cutter ripped through his already abused back but he pushed himself up. He slashed his wand erecting a shield, his vision blacked for a second and he stumbled, he growled and pulled at his shadows, forcing them to surround him and he vanished from the now destroyed clearing. He wasn't concentrating on where he was going, his magic took over and Harry retched when he fell out of the darkness. He recognised the location instantly and offered a cheerful wave to a stunned Tom, Lucius and Snape.

"You should see the other guys." He slurred before his consciousness left him and he collapsed, Tom's reflexes were as good as ever and he lowered the teen to the ground.

"This explains why he didn't make the meeting," Tom mused, shaking his head.

"What in Merlin's name happened?" Lucius exclaimed, as the Dark Lord waved his wand over him, Tom cursed as he saw the results of the diagnostic and snapped his fingers for Harry's elf.

"Where is Harry's sister?"

"Miss Moon is being treated at the wolf Sanctuary." She squeaked, and Tom bit back a snarl.

"Fetch Narcissa Malfoy instantly," He ordered and she popped away, "Severus, help me stabilise him, he has a fractured spine, 4 shattered ribs, a punctured lung and a torn intestine that need to be addressed immediately."

"Dear Merlin, just what does he do with his spare time?" Severus demanded, pulling out his potions. "His back needs to be attended too immediately but I cannot do that, his lungs need emptying and fixing." Tom waved his wand clearing his airways as Severus poured potions down the teen's throat, the floo flared to life and Narcissa stepped out, she was already flustered and she rushed over.

"I am guessing he is in a worst state than Miss Lovegood?" Narcissa asked rhetorically,

"Here," Tom thrust the diagnostic at her,

"Merlin, does he ever catch a break?" She sighed, waving her wand over the teen.

"No," Tom answered. Narcissa jabbed her wand and there was a sickening crack as Harry's back was reset, she ran her wand down his front to set up temporary supports for his chest before vanishing the remnants of his ribs and pouring a double dose of Skele-grow down his throat. She set his arm and leg in to position for the potion to work and begun on his other injuries, Narcissa had to cut away the remains of his destroyed t-shirt before she healed the burns as Snape covered them in salve and started sealing the many cutting wounds, drawing out the dirt and debris as Tom covered them in anti-scaring, anti-inflammatory salve.

"What is this?" Snape asked, indicating the snake tattoo. It was the only part of the teen that didn't seem to have a cut on it.

"That is a communication device." Tom told him, "Miss Granger and Mr Weasley also have a design, it allows them to speak without others knowledge."

"How?" Lucius questioned amazed,

"Harry and his group are very intelligent," Tom said and the others blinked, knowing it was extremely high praise from the Dark Lord, "It was created by his twins."

"Extraordinary,"

"He also wears a glamour," Snape noted, not being able to see the teen properly due to bruises, cuts and blood.

"Yes, a strong one."

"Strange,"

Once Narcissa saw the Skele-gro taking effect, she gave him a double dose of Muscle-gro to fix the ligament damage and the intestinal tear, she waved her wand to fill his lungs up with clean air to make sure they were clear and nodded. She gave him a dose of blood replenisher, remembering to add in a neutralizer to allow them to take effect, she waved her wands over the developing bruises and then covered them in salve to speed up the healing process.

"That's as much as I can do." Narcissa sighed, wiping her brow, "He'll be in a coma until he's ready."

"Can he be moved?" Tom asked,

"Yes, but his body has to stay straight, along with his arm and leg." She told him, "I'll strap them to make sure." She tapped her wand and muttered Ferula, the bandages sprung out and wound themselves tightly around the affected limbs.

"One moment," Tom waved his wand and Harry gently lifted off the ground, with extra care to make sure his body was not jolted, he moved him in to the bedroom and placed him on the bed. He warded his room as he left and went back in to the sitting area, Severus and Narcissa were packing their things away while Lucius waved his wand to clean up the blood.

"Do you have any idea what happened, My Lord?" Lucius asked,

"Narcissa, did you happen to have an influx of wolves today?"

"Yes, they came through in sections, some were injured and then Miss Lovegood arrived heavily injured with a hysterical woman, she was screaming about how they had her cubs." Narcissa shook her head, "It was highly distressing, and Miss Lovegood was not much better. She was trying to heal herself to return, yelling that 'he' was left alone with too many against him. I assume, now, that she was speaking of Mr Potter-Black."

"Harry spoke of a location he knew of where wolves were residing, he said the ministry knew about it so he was going to go there and get them out before it was too late. It seems that the ministry were a bit quicker than he assumed." Tom said to them, his mind constantly probing at his link with Harry, it was decidedly odd not having Harry's presence in the back of his mind and it was something he did not like.

"But to obtain such injuries, he would have had to have been against many opponents."

"Knowing Harry, he probably got everyone out before going after the cubs himself," Tom said and didn't mention that if he would have seen an auror attacking a child he would have done the same. "Is Miss Lovegood conscious?"

"No, she had to be put to sleep to heal. She was bleeding out."

"Then we cannot gain answers until they are conscious, unless you are able to speak with some of the wolves?"

"I can return and see if they have any details, if you wish, My Lord?"

"I would appreciate knowing what has proceeded," Tom agreed, she nodded and kissed her husband before vanishing in to the flames.

"Is this ordinary behaviour, My Lord?" Severus questioned, belatedly realising that he knew very little about the real Harry Potter.

"For Harry? Yes." Tom sighed, "He is still a puzzle too me, he acts a certain way and then proceeds to something such as this."

"Why didn't he get out when he could?" Lucius questioned, "It was obvious he was outnumbered, why not leave?"

"I do not believe he was outnumbered per se, I believe, given the state of his back, he was unable to fully duel as he was too busy shielding the wolves."

"With himself?" Snape demanded, and Tom sighed through his nose.

"More than likely,"

"Has he got any self-preservation whatsoever?"

"I am still discovering the answer myself."

"What is his business with the wolves?"

"He created a werewolf sanctuary to protect them."

"You have spoken of a safe haven for the werewolves, but you did not speak of very many details, My Lord."

"I have not been there since the final ward so I cannot say fully, your wife would be a better person to ask." Tom said, he ran a hand through his dark hair and mentally cursed Harry repeatedly in his head for confusing him. He had an odd feeling running through him, it was like he couldn't do anything until he knew the teen was ok, he realised, with a jolt, that he was worried about the brat and cursed in his mind again. The flames flared green again and Narcissa stepped out, she looked more composed this time, minus the stunned expression on her pretty face.

"What is it?" Lucius asked worried,

"That teen is clinically insane." She stated, "There is absolutely no other explanation to why he thought it would be a good idea to deal with 18 fully qualified aurors/werewolf hunters as well as shield the entire wolf camp and Miss Lovegood."

"He did what?" Severus exclaimed while Tom took a deep breath to keep himself from going and cursing said teen.

"I have spoken to the wolves and they all said the same thing." Narcissa shook her head, "And when Miss Lovegood went down he thought it would be a great idea to use himself as a human shield to get her up. It was then the cubs were snatched and he went after them, he sent the mother and Luna back with the portkey and went for the cubs. According to the mother, who calmed as soon as her children were returned, there were 7 still standing when they left."

"He shouldn't be alive." Lucius muttered, "It should be impossible," Tom bit back a scoff,

"That is the truth. But after surviving a direct killing curse, years of abuse, a basilisk bite, a 50ft drop, multiple dementor attacks, the triwizard tournament, many duels and fights with myself, a battle with my elite, being possessed and everything Dumbledore has done to him I honestly don't think 'impossible' is a word that can even be comprehended in respect to Harry Potter." Tom stated,

"When you put it like that then I believe you are correct, My Lord."

"I think he may have broken impossible." Narcissa said seriously. Tom sighed again, he knew he would have to inform Harry's friends, and he wasn't looking forward to speaking to his ever so slightly overprotective werewolf uncle either; he would make the teen pay for this. He snapped his fingers and called back Harry's elf,

"Yous bes calling again, extremely powerful and very terrifying Dark Lord, sir." She said and Tom blinked as the other three muffled their snickers.

"Excuse me?"

"Master Harry bes telling Winky that." She nodded, "He's be saying that or 'oh feared one'." Tom took another slow deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I am going to put him straight back in a coma when he wakes up, but from my one he won't wake." He growled,

"Master Harry's bes telling Winky to expect a death threat from yous, and he bes telling Winky to tell you that-that." She shifted and Tom raised an eyebrow, he knew he was not going to appreciate her next word and that was confirmed when she seemed to pull it together and soldier on, "That yous should be thankful that hes be stroking that massive ego of yours, he bes saying that he would hate for you to be able to fit your normal sized ego in to a normal sized house." By the time she had finished her voice was painfully high, and Tom had developed a twitch in his left eye. The three other occupants were gaping at the elf and they had to fight back the bizarre urge to laugh at the sheer audacity of the Potter Lord.

"You were right, my dear." Lucius said to his wife, "He is clinically insane."

"Fetch me Mr Weasley and Miss Granger," Tom snapped and she popped away instantly, "I'm just going to kill him, excuse me." Tom turned and went to walk away,

"Um, My Lord?" Severus interrupted, stopping the Dark Lord "As much as it pains me to stop you from killing the brat, might I suggest waiting to until you are not in a school where Dumbledore resides."

"I suppose your thoughts have merit, Severus." Tom grudgingly agreed, "What will be the after affects from his injuries?"

"I am unsure, he does not follow usual healing patterns, his healing is accelerated vastly."

"That would be his phoenix animagus." Tom said thoughtfully, "They are regenerative,"

"He has a phoenix animagus?" Lucius repeated, "Draco said he was a snake."

"He has a snake form also,"

"Two forms?"

"Three, he has a shadow wolf form." Tom told them and they blinked,

"Yes, impossible seems rather insipid." Snape muttered. There was a hesitant knock on the door and Tom flicked his hand to open it, Weasley and Granger stepped, Granger raised her eyebrows at the guest but relaxed slightly when she saw it wasn't a teacher matter.

"You summoned us, Dark Lord?" She asked politely, when they had fully entered and shut the door.

"Yes, it's about your idiotic best friend."

"What has he done this time?" Ron sighed, "I swear, we should have had him admitted when he thought it was a good idea to jump out of Gryffindor tower."

"Excuse me?" Narcissa exclaimed, "Why?"

"He was 'testing his reflexes'," Hermione answered shaking his head, "In his defence, he had never actually claimed to be sane."

"Be that as it may," Tom interrupted, deciding to ignore Harry's insanity, "He's put himself in a coma."

"What!" They yelped,

"We leave him for a day," Hermione groused, "What did he do?"

"Went to collect some wolves," Tom told them, "From what the wolves have told Narcissa, there were 18 and Miss Lovegood went down."

"And let me guess, he shielded everyone else except himself and when Luna fell he used himself as a human shield." Swift asked rhetorically, a self suffering sigh escaping him.

"How did you know?" Lucius questioned,

"It's Harry." They answered, as if explained everything,

"What injuries did he receive?" Hermione inquired,

"Here," Narcissa passed them the diagnostic and they blinked,

"Huh, managed to fracture his spine this time." Hermione said,

"That's what? Every bone in his body now?" Swift confirmed and she nodded,

"I believe it is,"

"I am guessing you healed him?" She directed the question at Narcissa,

"Yes, he's in a coma now."

Hermione tilted her head thoughtfully,

"That means, given the severity of the injuries, the full healing, the potions, his animagus and the fact that he's Harry and doesn't do normal… he should be up and fine tomorrow."

"I highly doubt that he will be awake tomorrow." Snape said, "Not after such an attack."

"Hm, you are right, maybe this evening." She agreed, missing his meaning purposely,

"He took overnight to heal at the manor," Narcissa remembered,

"Yes, but those were older injures and his animagus had been separated from him. When we went to the Flamel residence, he was injured during our… venture but he was completely fine, minus exhaustion, when he returned." Swift pointed out,

"Are we to assume that Raven was also injured?"

"Yes, she is at the sanctuary in a healing coma also."

"Winky?"

"Yes Miss Paws,"

"Listen out for Raven waking up, she'll panic and you'll have to assure her that Snake is fine."

"Yes Miss,"

"Have you told Remus yet?" Swift asked the Dark Lord,

"No, not as of yet," He replied and they smirked,

"Good luck,"

"You can leave now." He stated and they left, but Tom was not pleased with the smirks on their faces. "Harry is an extremely bad influence to the entire human race."

"They were oddly calm about this situation." Lucius noted,

"It's Harry, they are more that aware of his erratic behaviour." Tom said,

"True,"

"Now, as we were discussing before the interruption, Lucius, if you could give a detailed report of those who are currently satisfactory within the ministry. Use the report given in today to do so, your knowledge of the ministry is much greater than anyone else."

"It will be done, My Lord."

"Severus, you're hand at potions may be required, but I cannot be sure until Harry wakes up. Otherwise, be prepared for the Orders celebration and note it, they will believe they have the upper hand soon, we must select the correct time to prove their belief incorrect."

"As you wish, My Lord."

"Narcissa, as you are here now, your observation skills around the Wizengamot would be highly beneficial."

"I'll pick out any weak or wavering spots, My Lord, and my eyes are on the old man."

"Good. Send Rabastan through when you return, he should still be at your manor." Tom instructed Lucius and the blonde nodded, the two Malfoys vanished in to the green flames, one going to their manor the other to the sanctuary, while Snape left for his dungeons. The Dark Lord breathed easily for a moment and took a large gulp of scotch before blanking his face and waiting for the second Lestrange to step through, he was not kept in wait as Rabastan fell out of the fire and brushed himself off.

"You require me, My Lord?" He asked,

"Yes, your expertise in wards is needed. I do not know how long this task will take, but you will be required to reside here during your work. This will give you access to a library, and give you somewhere to work." Tom explained, and Rabastan looked interested.

"Am I to assume that I am going to be looking in to the castle wards?"

"Yes, you shall not be alone however, one of Harry's friends is also working on them and you shall be with him." Tom said,

"Very well,"

Tom nodded, he grabbed Rabastan by the arm and apperated to the Gryffindor rooms, he walked through the living area and towards the library, he amused himself by watching Rabastan's reaction to the vast library.

"These are Gryffindor's Private Quarters, everything here is accessible to you as long as it does not leave here without Harry's permission." Tom stated, he led him to the ward room, and he wasn't surprised to see Swift there.

"Oh, hello, I had forgotten I was getting someone else to work with now that Moony has been put back on research." Swift mused,

"Rabastan is my expert on wards," Tom told him, "Rabastan, you are allowed any room as long as it is not already in use or the heir/Lord rooms." with that the Dark Lord left, he had spotted Harry's wolf within the shelves of the library and sighed. He was going to kill that teen when he woke up. Tom sat in his ordinary spot and waited for the wolf to immerge, he was carrying a mixture of language books and history books which meant he was multitasking.

"Evening," Remus greeted, "Come to translate?"

"Unfortunately no," Tom answered, "I came to speak with you about your nephew."

"Harry? What about him?" Remus asked, looking up from his book and giving the Dark Lord his full attention. Tom debated the best way to go about this and decided it was best like a plaster; quickly.

"He's in a coma after battling with aurors and wolf hunters." He stated and watched as brown eyes blinked twice before flaring livid amber, a feral growl rippled through the room and Tom saw as his canines elongated.

"Where is he?"

"Currently in my rooms, he appeared there and he cannot be moved until he wakes. He fractured his spine so his body must remain straight." Tom explained, and Moony's eyes flashed,

"I want to see him." Moony stated and Tom nodded once,

"Very well," He apperated them to his rooms, straight to Harry's side, and Moony whined at the sight of his cub. He ran gentle hands over him, sniffing to pick out all the different scents,

"Narcissa Malfoy has been to heal him," He noted, "And Severus has used potions on him."

"Yes,"

"He is healing, he will fine." Moony decided, after another examination.

"Miss Granger believes he will be up tomorrow." Tom said and Moony nodded,

"That's good,"

Tom apperated him back and watched the wolf revert back in to the man, it was odd really, but he had never held the stigma against werewolves like many other people within the wizarding world. When you came from the Muggle world after 11 years of being told you were the devils child, werewolves were completely ordinary.

"I am guessing he went after a wolf hideout himself and got caught taking them out?" Remus sighed and Tom nodded,

"Yes, he and Miss Lovegood."

"Wonderful," Remus shook his head, "The kid can't catch a break,"

"It seems he can't,"

"Are you taking a book to translate, or are you going to research?" Remus asked, changing the topic from his cub's extremely bad luck.

"I believe I shall take something to translate," Tom said, "Merlin knows I need the distraction."

"Here," Remus tossed him a book that had parchment sticking out, "This was the one you had started."

"Ah yes, I remember now. I also remember the reference book I was using." Tom murmured, "I shall alert you when the brat wakes up."

"Thanks."

Tom nodded and summoned the book he had been using before he apperated to his rooms and dropping down, in a rather undignified manner, on to his chair with a sigh. He didn't know if he had more trouble now he had Harry Potter on his side or before when the teen was against him, at least when they were on opposing sides Tom knew what to expect. He would plot to kill the teen, they would meet in a confrontation of some sorts and Harry would manage to wriggle, twist and contort himself out of whatever situation he found himself in without severe injury. Now, on the other hand, he could not, for the life of him, predict or plan anything the teen was going to do, except the verbal insults Harry tossed around every now and then. Tom found himself liking it though, he couldn't remember the last time he had someone so openly fearless of him, even in the face of his fury Harry goaded him without a touch of apprehension.

Even his elite, who he had regained the more relaxed atmosphere that they had had back during the first war and he was still sane, would never even think of saying anything insulting about him, let alone to his face. Harry, it seemed, didn't care, the amount of times the teen had pointed out his arrogance and egotism was actually amusing. It had, if anything, quelled his temper, and he was, even if only in the privacy of his own mind, thankful for that, because he had truly missed having his elite around him in a free speaking manner. Only this evening he had received a teasing jab from Antonin and instead of cursing him he found himself returning the exchange and enjoying being able to do so. It was easier to work with his elite when they were like this, and he made a note to make sure it continued, as long as it did not bleed in to the rest of his circles, however, he doubted that would be a problem, his elite were nearly as feared as he was and they kept the circles inline if he was unable.

One thing he was able to be certain of with Harry was the teen's continuation to confuse him, the brat seemed incapable to keep to a pattern, bouncing from one extreme to another within seconds and not even thinking anything about his unusual behaviour. Tom couldn't help it, he was just so interested in the teen, he wanted to find out every single layer that was Harry Potter and he had no intent on not fulfilling his wish. Of course, tonight was just another of those things that Harry did, it made him want to strangle the teen for being so incredibly stupid, but at the same time he knew exactly why he did it. What he didn't understand was why he was worried, there was absolutely no rational reason for him to be worried about Harry when this was not the first time he had seen the teen unconscious or even the first time the brat had collapsed in front of him; he was starting to make a habit of it actually. Tom sighed through his nose again and looked down at what he was supposed to be working on, it wasn't going too well currently, his mind was not focussed on the task at hand and too busy trying to solve the mystery that was Harry Potter; with little success. He gathered himself another glass of scotch and forced his mind on task, he was going to be up all night so he might as well be productive.

Harry was aware of two things when his consciousness slowly returned to him. The first being that his entire body ached, it was like he had been working out for three days straight (and yes he did know what that felt like because he, Paws and Swift had attempted to see how long they could run for and ended up in comas), and then dragged through a particularly dense bush backwards… by his hair. The second thing was he was not alone. He couldn't quite remember the end of the battle, he remembered Luna going down and getting over to her and then things began to get hazy as rage overtook rationality, he thought back furiously and remembered the cubs being taken, Luna taking the mother and then his memory faltered. He honestly didn't know if he had made it out with the cubs or not, he couldn't work out if he had been captured and was in holding or he had somehow gotten to safety. Without moving an inch, Harry took a mental inventory of his body, yes he ached, but he didn't feel any lingering sting of open wounds and he was not numb anywhere indicating any broken bones he had were no longer broken so he concluded that he had reached safety somehow. He reached his magic out to tasted the other person in close vicinity and immediately recognised the icy, pulsing magic of one Dark Lord.

"I see you are awake." Tom's tone was just as icy as his magic, it was full of bite and suppressed anger. Harry cracked one eye open and tilted his eye to meet the furious crimson eyes of the Dark Lord, he flashed a sheepish smile,

"Oh. Hey, Tom," He greeted brightly, his voice slightly hoarse and mentally winced when he saw Tom's eyes flash a dangerous red. Harry pushed himself up, fighting the hiss of pain that wanted to escape when his back and ribs gave a serious protest to the abrupt movement, and stretched himself out. He blinked at the cast on his leg and arm and vanished them with a careless wave of his hand, he sighed when his back cracked along with his neck and he rolled his shoulders. He did notice that his back was still not appreciative of his movements and grimaced,

"You know, my back hurts." He mused, and glanced at Tom when the man hissed.

"Of course it hurts, you imbecilic, foolish, aggravating, idiotic, annoyance." He snapped, "You fractured your fucking spine." Harry blinked, and then he blinked again, and then blinked twice more before frowning.

"Wait, I what?"

"You, being the moronic person you are, thought you would make a great human shield while on your werewolf outing." Tom hissed, "And instead of shielding yourself, you send back Miss Lovegood and went after the captured cubs yourself."

"So I got them, then?" Harry asked, picking out that bit of information.

"Yes, they arrived at the sanctuary relatively unharmed."

"Oh, well that's ok then." Harry shrugged, "I can't actually remember getting them, but whatever I did worked."

"What part of 'you fractured your fucking spine' did you not comprehend?" Tom demanded, "There is literally nothing 'ok' with that, you know you actually need your spine for most things. Not to mention shattering your ribs, tearing your intestines, puncturing your lungs, breaking both your arm and leg and arriving looking like someone had been sharpening their blades on you."

"I'll be more careful next time?" Harry ventured and he spotted Tom's hands twitching like he wanted to curse him or simply strangle him.

"You are the bane of my existence, I swear you were born merely to annoy me." Tom growled, and Harry beamed,

"It makes life exciting, Tom." Harry carefully pushed himself to his feet and stretched again, pushing back the throb that rose up in his back. "I'm having a shower, I feel icky."

"Icky?"

"Yes," Harry decided, and Tom merely sighed,

"Very well, but do try and manage such a menial task without injury. You do have things to do before you go back and show your face to the masses." Tom pointed out, sneering slightly, and Harry grimaced.

"Wonderful," He muttered, before offering Tom a sincere smile and a kiss on the cheek, "Thank you for catching me, and not letting me drop to the ground." Tom rolled his eyes but smiled slightly,

"Go and shower, idiot."

Harry grinned and mock saluted before vanishing in to the bathroom, Tom shook his head and went to his living room, he asked Harry's elf for some food for the teen and shook his head. Why was he not surprised at Harry's attitude, the careless disregard in which he listened to his injuries irked Tom to no end and he could not work out why, he shook his head to remove the thoughts for now. He looked up when Harry came out dressed very nicely and Tom bit back a sigh, he would have thought, by now, he would have stopped being effected by Harry's mere appearance; apparently not.

"Ooo, food," Harry exclaimed, snatching the plate for himself and just sitting exactly where he was stood to eat it.

"You know there is magic available to you to conjure something to sit on, better yet, there is a chair right there." Tom pointed to the chair not three feet from him. Harry looked up and gave him a look of sadness and disappointment,

"But the chair is far away and magic involves effort." He said, shaking his head as if Tom should have known that. The Dark Lord didn't bother to reply, he knew it was pointless and decided on rolling his eyes and sighing, Harry grinned and finished his food.

"So what have I got to do today, and what's the time?"

"It is currently the early afternoon." Tom answered, "As for what you have to do, you have quite a list."

"Oh?"

"You need to meet with Rabastan to confer over the wards, you need to meet with Severus and explain what potions he is needed to brew, you need to explain to my elite exactly what you have going on with your sanctuary – though that is not a priority and can probably wait until the next meeting. We need to discuss what happened during the death eater meeting, you need to actually go over to the sanctuary, you need to check in with Narcissa, you need to check in with your friends and you need to get on with whatever you were supposed to be doing." Tom told him, and Harry looked at him in resignation.

"That sounds delightful,"

"Oh, I nearly forgot,"

"Yes?"

"You also need to check in with your wolf." Tom said and took a lot of pleasure in Harry rapidly paling.

"You didn't…"

"Inform your minutely overprotective werewolf uncle that you were in a coma after fracturing your spine, because you thought it was a good idea to take on 18 aurors/hunters?" Tom said innocently, "No, not at all. Do I look like someone who would do such an evil thing?" Harry was looking at him in utter horror,

"You're a monster," He breathed and Tom cackled,

"That is but one thing in retaliation for your little escapade yesterday."

"It wasn't my fault."

"Maybe so." Tom said with disinterest, "Your house elf on the other hand…" He trailed off and his eyes narrowed when Harry immediately began snickering.

"Well it's true. Just imagine the horror if your ego suddenly became normal sized." Harry whispered the last too words as if it was a taboo and Tom gave him a completely unimpressed look,

"You know, your wolf wished to be informed as soon as you woke." Tom stated and Harry sobered up in a flash.

"I'll just be going,"

"I thought as much."

"I'll see you later." Harry said sullenly, he cast a despairing look at Tom as he left to which he only received a smirk, his shoulders slumped before the shadows covered him and he was gone. Harry stepped out of the shadows in to the Gryffindor rooms warily, he was not looking forward to Remus' reaction and he didn't even have anything to bribe him with; Sirius would be ashamed. With an air about him of a dying man, Harry walked in to the library to his doomed fate. He was not surprised when Moony's amber eyes snapped towards him and he was suddenly being squeezed in a relieved hug, Moony put him down only to whack him around the back of the head with a growl.

"What were you thinking?" He demanded and then held up his hand. "Never mind, you obviously weren't thinking or you would have realised what an irrevocably stupid idea this was."

"I-,"

"Not to mention you have no regard to your personal safety whatsoever, and unless you have people remind you that you are supposed to stay alive you obviously don't remember." Moony ranted, "It isn't like it was just a few minor injuries, oh no. You went and fractured your spine."

"I-,"

"It is lucky Miss Lovegood is constantly around you, or Merlin knows what you would end up doing." Moony shook his head, "You would have probably killed yourself."

"Moony, I am fine." Harry stated firmly, looking at him imploringly. Moony sighed and hugged him again,

"Can you at least try and not give me heart failure, Cub. I really don't think I can handle much more." Remus muttered in to his hair.

"I'll try my best." Harry assured and Remus snorted. The pair sat down and Harry looked his uncle over, the man was looking like a new person now he paid attention, the little time he had had with the wolves had done him a world of good.

"You're looking great, Moony." Harry told him, and Remus grinned,

"Greyback and Moonrise' doing. They decided that I was not in acceptable condition, despite being fully healed."

"I like the results." Harry said and Moony nodded,

"I do to," He agreed, "I've found out loads of things living with wolves on a daily basis, and I can say that, for the first time in 20 years, I am looking forward to the full moon."

"I'm glad," Harry said pleased, "This is brilliant, I honestly didn't think it would work out so well."

"Cub, you have no idea. You'll see when you come over, but you have changed these people's lives. The look of shock and awe I see when they arrive is something I'll never forget, and the cubs, they are so happy running around in the ground and playing. Plus, being given the chance to learn, both magic, wolf and muggle basics is something that some of them hadn't even comprehended." Remus explained shaking his head,

"That's good, as long as its working." Harry said, "Paws is starting to work on the laws we want put through when we take over, I'm going to hold a meeting with Greyback and a few others to find out exactly what will make the werewolves lives easier."

"That will be good idea, and they will appreciate that because you are taking the time to treat them like people."

"Of course I will treat them like people, they are." Harry rolled his eyes,

"Yes, but Cub, these people are used to be treated like pariahs, to be included is not something they are used to."

"I don't understand it, Moony." Harry admitted, "I can't see why there is so much stigma on a werewolf, I really can't."

"It's just the way things are, I guess." Remus shrugged before snickering, "You should have seen some of the wolves' reactions to when they saw the Lady Malfoy,"

"Oh?"

"They looked at her as if she wasn't real, half terrified, half awed by her presence, it was quite amusing. And the disbelief as they watched he pick up a small Cub was brilliant, it was like they expected her to eat it or something."

Harry snorted,

"Cissa loves children, she was extremely excited to be able to go and help."

"We're in the process of setting up the apprentice system. We were going to have a meeting about it and see what skills the wolves had to see if they could begin training, then we were going to speak to the qualified people we have such as Moonrise, Narcissa and the twins. We were not sure about you and your people because you have so much going on." Remus told him.

"You can ask them, but I don't think it's to be advised for me currently. Once we have Dumbledore out of the castle then yes, we will be able to breathe easier then."

"I thought as much,"

Harry looked around when Swift and Rabastan walked in to the library discussing something, Harry waved them over.

"Gentlemen," He greeted,

"I see you're alive then." Swift noted,

"Of course,"

"You know, now that you've fractured your spine, you've gotten every bone in your body."

"Really?" Harry said interested,

"Yeah, me and Paws have been keeping tabs." Swift confirmed,

"Huh," Harry shrugged, "How are you guys getting on?"

"I've been matching up our previous research on the school wards with the ones on the map, the ones we have actually found don't even come close to all of the ones there. The difficulty is separating them out enough to label them, we're about half way through the ones we've found." He explained, "I was thinking if we could note down everything that is there then we could work out the ones Dumbledore has added or twisted as they would not fit in, and then we could work out what the mysterious ward is."

"That's a good idea actually, that way you will be able to see where Dumbledore has connected his magic and where he's drawing his power from. It should make it easier to cut him off."

"Exactly,"

"How are you finding it, Rabastan?" Harry asked,

"Challenging, but fun." He flashed a grin and Harry laughed,

"There's a lot of that." Harry agreed, and Rabastan chuckled before vanishing in to the shelves, Harry turned back to Swift.

"Is Paws at the Sanctuary?"

"Yes, we were with Bleach and Venom working on a law."

"I have to go and see then, I'm heading that way now." Harry said, "Then I have to check on Raven, she better be ok or I'm going to be pissed at her for taking such a risk." Remus and Swift both gave him a look of utter incredulity and Harry blinked, "What?"

"You'll be pissed at her risk?" Swift repeated, "Her risk,"

"Well yes, she could have died!" Harry said as if it was obvious,

"YOU FRACTURED YOUR SPINE." Remus exclaimed, "If anyone was close to dying it was you,"

"But I'm fine." Harry pointed out, and Remus threw his hands up.

"I give up." He sighed, "Just be careful and don't do anything stupid."

"Yes, Moony," Harry said dutifully, he cast a tempus and nodded. It was approaching three which gave him plenty of time to check in at the Sanctuary and see how everything was working out before going back and living the day for the masses and then going to see Tom; it was already a long day.

There we go, chapter up and finished. I hope you like it, lemme know what you think please:

Jess*