Author's note: Here you go. Sorry, but my beta didn't get it faster. :-( Thx for your patience and reviews.

/.../ Thestral-language


Chapter 4: Good Bye, Wormtail

Harry darted out of his bed in the morning, nearly missing Bors call, when he realized, that he was still in Hogwarts. He layed back and called for Dobby, to bring him breakfast. After the huge meal he took his weapon and trained the combined fighting of sword and magic.

When Dobby entered to bring his lunch, he stopped and the talked a bit and the afternoon he visited the library, to do some research in the restricted section, under the unfriendly eyes of Madame Pince.

Many students came by and whispered about him, but Harry didn't care. He was accustomed to being admired, even if he would not admit it. He noticed that it were merely girls, watching him and evading his gaze, giggling, every time he looked over. At sunset ,he returned to his room and found a dinner ready. With the firm intention to buy Dobby a pair of socks, he ate in silence. Then he dressed in black robes and walked in the Forbidden Forest, where he melted with the shadows.

He called for a Thestral and waited patiently. A couple of minutes later one of the amazing creatures peeked out of the bushes.

"Hey, you. Don't be shy. I don't bite, at least not you", Harry declared, convincing. The Thestral stepped near, still hesitating. ­­

/Yeah that's right, my boy. Come on, I need your help, Harry lured with calm voice. Moonlight illuminated the animal and Harry noticed that it was larger as a normal Thestral and his features were more royal. Mesmerized by this creature he stepped forward and patted the bony head. He felt an odd connection to this being. /You are special, you know, Harry whispered in the ears of the Thestral.

/You too, a voice answered.

Harry whirled around but no one was to be seen. He registered, that the voice had not passed his ears, but was directly in his head. He gave the magnificent creature a stern look.

/Did you speak to me, he asked a bit worried. /Yes, the voice answered and the animal nodded with his head, the white eyes fixed on Harry. Harry deepened his gaze into the eyes of the being and found that the eyes were not white but silver-coloured.

Lost in his thoughts he asked/What happened to the Thestrals that accompanied us to the Ministry of Magic/

/They are here. Our kind knows when it's needed and when not./

/You are a clever folk, aren't you/

/Yes, I guess so/Do you have a name/

/No, Harry Potter, we don't need such identifications. But name me, if you wish. I do not mind, the voice sounded a bit amused.

Harry considered a moment or two before he answered. /I'll name you Osiris/

/Osiris. An old name. The Egyptian ruler of the underworld. I accept your choice, Harry Potter/

/How do you know my name/

/Every living being in this country knows your name and even some dead can tell your tale. You want me to do something for you, Harry Potter/

/Yeah, and it's Harry, Osiris, reprimanded Harry his new friend.

/Can you take me to the Malfoy Estate, Osiris/

/Do you question my abilities, Harry/

/Of course not/

/Then what are you waiting for? Move your arse/

Harry mounted the horse-reptilian-mix and Osiris spread his wings, before both flew into the night. Harry enjoyed the ride.

He had missed his friends and flying during his time by the Templars. The feeling of the cold air around him brought the careful sealed memories back. The flight from the castle, the ride with the Thestrals, the battle with the Deatheaters and Voldemort and the loss of Sirius.

/You can't save everyone, Osiris tried to comfort him.

/I know, Harry said sadl/But I wish I could/

/That's not the way life works, the Thestral lectured. /Death's a part of it. Even though some living beings have the privilege to choose the time of it/

Harry remained silence and thought about the issue. /Yeah, you're right. Thank you, he spoke quietly, feeling a welcomed sensation wash through him.

The remainder of the journey Harry told his friend the whole story of his life, while they flew through the dark sky.

When they headed down, Harry asked/Where are we/

/In central England, the middle of nowhere, Osiris answered.

A sole castle appeared out of the night, a few dots of light indicating life.

/Do you see the tower? I'll land there, the Thestral told him. Harry looked down at the building and didn't see any activities.

/Be careful. Appearances are sometimes deceptive, Osiris warned, when they stood on the roof.

/Don't worry. I'll watch my back, Harry assured the sceptical animal.

/Your risk. I will be around. just call for me, if you need me. I will be there/

The Thestral moved his wings and was gone.

Harry turned around and opened the door, which led into the castle.

Inside it was as dark as outside, no sound came to his ears.

With a spell his eyes adjusted to the environment and his vision was clear.

A spiral staircase winded in the deep and Harry began his descent.

He reached the first landing and inspected the door. It was closed and the dust on the doorstep told him that it was not used for quite a time. He climbed down further and came to the next landing. Again the door was closed, but the trail of footsteps indicated the use of the hallway. Slowly he opened the door and peeked inside.

When no one was to see, he entered and shut the door behind him. He saw four doors and heard a loud snore from one of the rooms. Silently he approached the first door to his left and listened. Then he heard the noise again and went to the door on his right. He opened the door and entered the chamber.

The furniture consisted in a desk, a chair and a bed. In the bed was a person, over the chair hung a black robe and a white mask laid on the desk. Harry murmured a spell and the Deatheater was engulfed in red light. Satisfied, Harry touched the sleeper and the villain breathed his last. Harry left the chamber and checked the first one. It was empty.

Like a shade he opened the third door and gasped in surprise. Peter, you little rat He retreated and peeked in the forth room. No one was in their, but papers on the desk proofed that the room was in use.

He returned to Peter's room and sealed the door. He charmed the room and woke his victim with a kick in the side. The small man shrieked and fell of the bed. Before he could shriek once more, Harry was over him and his blade was at the opposite person's throat.

"Hello, Peter", Harry hissed. Peter, who was blind in the dark room and had not a clue what was going on, struggled with him till he pressed the sword with more pressure against his throat.

"Who are you?", squeaked the Deatheater.

"Oh, Peter. I'm disappointed. You took so much from me. My parents, my god-father and my blood, and still you don't recognize my voice. What a shame!", Harry teased coldly.

"Harry! How … good to meet you. I'm surprised…" "...to see me? You shouldn't be. You own me quite a bit, don't you? The life of my parents, Sirius' life, your life, so tell me, why should I let you alive?", Harry asked, with a threatening glare.

"I-I-I can h-help you. I have n-names", an anxious Peter squeaked. "Then spill it and I will know when you lie to me, so choose your words carefully", Harry warned with a harsh voice. And Pettigrew spilled name after name and locations and everything else that may prolong his life. Harry listened alerted and watched the sweat running from the rat's face.

"That's everything I know. Please spare my life!", Peter finished his brainstorming. "Your debt isn't paid, yet. Good bye, Wormtail", Harry spat out the nickname and smashed his staff on the animagus' head. Harry drew a symbol on the forehead of the unconscious man, which vanished right after and left.

He went back to the entrance and grabbed for the handle, but the door opened just a second before he could reach it.

Suddenly he stood face to face with Bellatrix Lestrange.

A scream escaped her lips and rang through the castle. Hatred flamed up in Harry and with a swift motion he cut the woman in two. He felt a pleasent feeling and went on, but the stairs upwards were gone.

He swore and turned downwards with a disastrous feeling in his stomach. He arrived at the ground level without further contacts, but his bad feeling was stronger then before.

He took the nearest door and stood in a court, surrounded by high walls. He'd already seen it from above. The gate at the other end of the place led outside. He run towards the gate, while throwing worried looks over his shoulder. In the last second he registered a movement in front of him and jumped backwards. A second later, his former location was a large hole.

In awe Harry raised his head and looked at the towering mass that stood before him. The creature was human-shaped, but nearly 9 feet tall and reminded Harry of Hagrid, except the fact that the hide of the beast appeared to be solid stone. It dragged his fist out of the floor and stepped forward to crush Harry into the ground.

Harry commanded, "Stop", but the guardian didn't slow.

Harry rolled further back and evaded another mighty blow that shook the earth. Harry gulped and dismissed the idea to draw his weapon. He wheeled around and spotted another guardian. Trapped between two incoming guardians and the walls he called for Osiris. He then raised his staff and summoned a wall in front of the first golem, but the beast marched right through it.

When both enemies had rised their fists he heard the flapping of wings on his left side.

He jumped to the left, but to late.

One fist pinned his right foot to the ground and a wave of pain ran through his body.

Ignoring the pain he jumped to his feet (foot), walked, with difficulty, to the waiting Osiris and mounted him.

Osiris immediately rose into the air and left the Malfoy Estate.

/Are you okay, Harry, his friend asked, worried.

/Yeah, Harry answered with a trembling voice.

He looked down and saw that his right foot was missing.

Gathering his power and calming his body he turned around and aimed at the floor. A burst of flame erupted his hand and hit his severed foot and burned it to ash.

Osiris looked back and announced /Nice shot/

/Why, thank you, Harry pressed and grimaced his face in pain.

He chanted and touched his leg and out of the bloody stump grew a new foot.

/Good. Where are we going now/

/Edinburgh. A pub called 'The Outpost', if you know where it is, Harry teased his savoir.

/What is there/

/Deatheaters, Harry said icily.

/Ah, I see, Osiris stated in understanding.

They traveled in silence and Harry organized the bits of information Wormtail had given to him.

/We are there, the Thestral proclaimed and Harry dismounted.

/Okay. Do you know the time/

/Yeah, around midnight. Why/

/Nothing, just wait here until I'm back, Harry pleaded. The creature nodded and Harry approached the door.

The house was located in the outer outskirts of Edinburgh and the lights of the city glowed in the distant. Laughter rang from the pub and a raw voice roared, "Dance girl, dance for your life!" More laughter accompanied the call. Harry cast a quick series of spells upon himself and burst into the room.

At once the room was quiet and 20 persons faced him. 18 of them wore black robes and glared at him, one, a girl, stood in the middle of the room and danced, under the Imperius-curse, obviously. The last person, apparently the barkeeper, stood behind the bar and didn't pay any attention to his surroundings.

"Who the bloody hell are you?", a pissed Deatheater yelled.

Harry didn't answer, he just lifted his hands and jets of fire crushed into the Deatheaters. Completely taken by surprise and much to drunken to fight, the Deatheaters drew their wands. A few managed to cast spells, but non hit.

Harry, filled with rage, moved liked a blur. Screams flew through the night and blood gushed from deadly wounds. Two minutes after Harry entered the pub, every Deatheater present was death. The barkeeper and the girl laid on the floor and didn't move. He went over to the girl and checked her pulse. To his relieve he found it, weak but steady. He undressed a Deatheater, cleared the robe from blood and cloaked the girl. Harry tensed as he heard the door opening.

/She's cute, Osiris spoke in Harry's back. He relaxed and turned around.

/I told you to wait outside, didn't I/

/You did, but the smell was to strong to resist/

/Are you hungry/

/Very/

/Then, go on/ Harry turned towards the girl and shook her gently.

With a sigh she awoke. "Um, I had a bad dream", she groaned, then her eyes widened, "Who are you?" She looked around, saw the blood and screamed at top of her lungs. Harry embraced her and tried to comfort her, while he whispered into her ear, "I'm Harry Potter. You're safe now."

He rubbed her back until she had calmed down. He looked in her face and asked, "Better?" She looked around again and returned her eyes to him.

"They're all dead. Why? Who are those men? I'm here, but I don't know, what happened. Why? Where's my dad and my sister? What happened?", she asked confused, tears streaming down her cheek. Harry reached out and wiped off the tears and asked, "Is another room here where we can go?"

"Yeah, through this door and up the stairs", came the trembling answer. Harry carried her upstairs and entered the first room. It looked like her room. Girls The whole wall was plastered with posters of men and photos. Harry laid down her on the bed as he registered a noise.

Footsteps - to soft for a man He hid himself behind the door and watched a little girl entering.

"Diana?", the little girl called softly. The girl turned her head and gasped, "Mary. Where's the man?" "I'm here", Harry answered.

The small girl turned around but didn't scream.

"Are the bad guys gone?", she asked instead. "How do you know that I'm no bad guy?", he replied. "I know it. You don't feel bad", the girl surprised him.

He lowered to his knees and waved his hand in front of her eyes. A trickling sensation flew through his hand. He rose again and turned to leave. "I'll get your farther out of there."

He returned to the ground floor, found Osiris eating the undressed Deatheaters and walked to the bar. He woke the barkeeper and led him upstairs, before he asked any questions.

Back in the room he found Diana and Mary sitting on Diana's bed, chatting quietly. The barkeeper embraced his children and sat near them. The three of them looked at Harry, waiting for an explanation.

Harry cleared his throat and asked the man, "What's your name?" "Ian. Ian Back." "My name is Harry Potter. Ian, do you believe in magic?"

"Of course not!", exclaimed the man. "You better should. Your daughters are gifted. Diana, how old are you?"

"15"

"And you?", he addressed Mary.

"7" "Do you want to learn this", he covered his left with his right and removed the hand. A deep cut had been slit into his flesh and drops of blood dripped to the floor. Both girls clasped their hands before their mouths. "Or this", he repeated the procedure and the cut was healed. "How did you do that?", a astonished Ian inquired.

"With magic. Your girls can learn it to", Harry explained. Silence met his statement and it lasted long.

"I have many questions to ask, but what about those men? I can remember that they appeared out of thin air, masked, and one of them trained a stick on me. Apparently they developed a new Imperius-curse And then, nothing till you woke me up", a visibly shaken Ian said.

"They are so called Deatheaters. They serve some idiot, who calls him himself Lord Voldemort. Sixteen years ago, a war was fought against him. A magical war. He killed my parents and after that he tried to kill me, as a baby. His curse rebound and finished him. In the magical world I'm known as The-boy-who-lived. Last year he returned. Now I'm on the hunt. This night I killed 20 Deatheaters and for God's sake I'll smite them all", Harry told matter-of-factly.

"Sorry, I got carried away", he added as he saw their anxious faces. They lowered their face to hide their fear.

"Do you want to learn magic?", he asked Diana. The girl cast a worried look at her farther and answered, "Can I stand up against this guys when I do it?" "Yes, but you have to leave your family for at least a year." Diana swallowed and Ian mentioned, "We don't have enough money to pay for this. Cleaning the mess downstairs will cost a hell and what shall I tell the police? How do I explain 18 dead persons in my bar?", Ian looked horrified by the idea.

"Don't worry, Ian. I'll organize a few people, who'll tidy up without asking questions. And you don't have to pay a pound for Diana's education. Sounds okay?", Harry asked. Ian nodded slowly.

"Fine. And Diana, you've decided?" "Yes, I'll come with you." "Wonderful. I'll arrange everything downstairs. Pack your things and wish farewell. We'll leave in an hour", Harry declared and left.

When he arrived downstairs, Osiris was waiting for him.

/Done/Sure/ yawned the Thestral. /I hope you still can fly, Harry suspected. He called for his magic and sent a message to the council. That done, he dragged the Deatheaters outside and burned them. He was almost done, when Amelia and two knights arrived.