Chapter 42 – Life Goes On

To Harry's consternation, he didn't get a chance to talk to everyone until after the evening meal- which he didn't prepare (and if anyone noticed that he pouted over this fact, it was carefully hidden from the teen).

"Starting tomorrow," he began once everyone except the very youngest were seated, "I will be doing an in-depth medical scan on everyone. I would have started today, but I over-estimated how much magic I had used so I am a bit drained."

He grimaced as he sipped at the overly bitter tea Severus had made him.

"I will be starting from the youngest ones first as they should be the easiest to deal with as they have had less time to be harmed by anything. I will warn you all now," he stated seriously, "That this will be difficult for some of you I will be checking everything I think of; including traces of mind manipulation, sexual assault and other forms of unpleasantness. If I find any form of mental barriers, I will break them but I will NOT force anyone to deal with the results alone. All of you will have appointments with either me or my sister for mind healing sessions."

He took another mouthful and gagged slightly.

"We will also be looking for your family's," Hermione stated from the doorway, causing most of the youngsters to tense or jump in an attempt to hide behind Harry.

Harry glared at Hermione; who in turn looked sheepishly at having scared the skittish individuals. When Harry's glare got stronger, Hermione let out a small 'eep' and quickly left the room.

"I apologise for her," he stated as he calmed the more anxious individuals with a few gentle strokes of his hand, ignoring the knowing look on Hedwig's face.

"That was Hermione, my big sister," he continued. "She can be a bit annoying at times, but she is a good person."

A soft, "I heard that" came through the door from down the Hall, making the now calmed group giggle softly.

Harry smiled softly.

"She is right though. We will be looking for your families but before we bring them here to re-unite you, we will be testing them to ensure they had nothing to do with you being taken."

He lifted a hand as the group started to mutter.

"We do not believe your parents had anything to do with you being taken," he said firmly, causing all noise to stop, "but that doesn't rule out the possibility of them being under the influence of a foreign spell or potion that didn't give them a choice. They will also be told the results of what you were put through so they can aid in your healing between visits with us."

"What will happen if our families are found to have been a part of this?" one almost fourteen-year-old asked.

"It depends," Harry responded as he gestured for Willa, Hermione and Nicholas to come into the room with their trays of hot drinks. "If they are guilty of nothing more than being under a spell, potion or not being strong enough to fight back, they will undergo therapy just like all of you will. If they did have something to do with your disappearance, they will be taken before the council who will decide what to do with them."

Harry downed the rest of his drink with a grimace before taking the hot chocolate Hermione handed him.

"One thing that will be told to them is whatever I find in the tests and for those of you old enough, I will ask what you want done in the case of some things."

"What if we are pregnant?" one of the older girls asked softly.

"If any of you are, I will ask what you want. If it is early enough, termination is an option, but it isn't one I recommend if you are a submissive," Harry said completely professional even though he felt sick at the thought of anyone killing a kitten. "If there are any pregnancies past that time then you can choose to keep them or adopt them out: But the point is … it is YOUR choice. Not your parents, not your clans and not your Clan's Council."

"For those who do not want to go home or whose parents do not approve of your decision if you do decide to keep any possible children," Willa stated, "You will be welcome to stay in a house built on the land at Zabini Manor. You will have the support of me, my mate, my children and everyone who is here."

"What's the point?" one of the teens stated sadly. "Even if none of us were impregnated, no one will want to look at us as life-partners because we are used."

"And whoever told you that is full of shit," Nicholas stated firmly as he helped by handing the cups to Hermione and Willa. "Just because someone stole that which they shouldn't doesn't mean no-one will want you. The right man or woman will come along one day and they won't care that you aren't a virgin or that you have kids. Sure, they will want to kill whoever was responsible, but they will not hold it against you."

"How do you know?" the same girl asked tearfully.

Nicholas looked at Willa, who nodded her agreement. He then looked at the girl and smiled softly.

"Because that is how I was with my wife," he replied honestly. "She is one of the Ancient Clan. I am just a human magic-user. Unlike her and those like her, I am not instinctually attuned to my magic, but I could not resist the feeling of contentment I had when I was in her presence."

"It's true," Willa said with a smile at Nicholas, "my family gave me to a man I didn't know for companionship for thirty galleons. Because I refused to do as I was told, I was drugged to believe he was my mate. He left the same minute we discovered I was pregnant and those who sold me tried getting me to abort my child and get my memory wiped of everything that happened. I refused and ran as soon as I had my son and my Father attempted to sign him over to an orphanage."

"I met Willa through work and befriended her, wanting to know more about her. After a few coffee dates with work colleagues, she told me about her Heritage and that she had a son. At the time, I assumed she was in a relationship with someone and had him before she came into her inheritance late or her previous partner died, so I insisted the next time we met up she bring her son with her. When I found out the rest of her history, I wanted to hunt her ex-family and her son's biological father down and tear them apart."

"I managed to talk him out of it and he took my last name when we Bonded. We now have five children together: One of whom isn't his responsibility, b"

"But he is still just as much my son as my biological children are." Nicholas stated. "Blaise is a part of Willa's life from before she met me and the most important part of a relationship is loving your partner; both the good and the bad."

Willa smiled at him again and gently placed her hands on the teen's shoulders and pulled her into a hug as she started to quietly sob.

"Every one of you are welcome in the Zabini lands," she said, "no matter if you have your family's support or not. Sometimes you just need someone who knows without you having to talk, or someone who doesn't expect you to be – or go back to – what you were like before."

"Come on everyone," Harry said into the following silence. "Drink up your hot chocolate and off to bed with you. We all have a busy day tomorrow."

He smiled softly at the older teens, eyes full of understanding.

"I don't recommend this normally," he said, "but tonight everyone will get one full dose of dreamless sleep … including me."

He made a face that was halfway between being a pout and disgruntled, making everyone there laugh and start on their drinks.

As Harry finished his mug off, he smiled at the lightening atmosphere that came with knowing you were safe and surrounded by people who wouldn't judge you. He grimaced slightly; now if only he could somehow get out of taking the Dreamless Sleep Potion.

A glance at Hermione's narrowed eyes made him pout and lower his shoulders in defeat. He wasn't that lucky, it seemed.

~~~librariesaregod~~~

The first thing Harry became aware of as he regained consciousness was the hand that was alternating between running through his hair and rubbing his right ear. The second thing he noticed was the soft giggling and cooing that was coming from the doorway.

With a sleepy hum, he opened his eyes to see – not Hermione, like he had thought, but Draco stroking his ear and several of the pre-teens from the meeting the previous night watching them.

"They decided we needed a Chaperone," Draco said with a humorous glint in his eye. "It also seems that, though I am a Dominant, I am one of them since I am your mate."

Harry purred softly and semi-roused himself enough to press his cheek to Draco's in greeting. When he pulled back and playfully nipped the tip of Draco's nose, the audience in the doorway let out an actual laugh.

Draco huffed in mock annoyance and softly poked Harry's ribs, grinning at the small 'eep' that his mate let out before hiding in his bed.

"It looks like Harry doesn't want to get up for me today," Draco said with a very put-on sigh, "if only there were some people who could help me get him up,"

Harry twitched as Draco poked his side again, revealing the tip of his ears and a part of his tail.

It didn't take long for one of the younger children, who had been attracted by the sound of laughter, to become enamoured with the fluffy black rope that twitched back and forth. Once one of them tried to catch it, all of them wanted to catch it and soon the sound of innocent, childish laughter emanated from the room and filled the house.

From her spot just down the hall, Hedwig closed her eyes and listened with a smile on her face. It had been a long time since some of those children laughed: It truly was a soothing balm to the soul.

~~~allhailtheyoutubegods~~~

By the time everyone trooped downstairs, breakfast was already underway and they were greeted with an array of amused expressions.

"You just had to choose today of all days to sleep in, didn't you?" Hermione asked, laughter in her eyes.

"I thought I was supposed to sleep," Harry said with faux innocence, "I was given a dreamless sleep potion after all."

Hermione laughed softly.

"Silly Kitty," she chuckled, "You know as well as I do that you were given that to ensure you didn't spend all night wandering between the rooms."

"Hush!" Harry pouted, "I'm pretending that isn't what I would have done."

Everyone in the room laughed as the stragglers joined the rest at the table for what seemed to be shaping up to be a loud meal; and it was until five familiar-to-Harry faces joined them.

As soon as the four ICMB members and Master Healer Head appeared in the room, everything went silent and several of the younger kids moved closer to Harry, Hedwig or Willa.

"We apologise for interrupting," Blake said softly. "We need to talk with Hermione and Harry for a moment."

"We can stay in the room with a barrier for sound," Zelenia said when the young ones around Harry moved close enough to tangle their hands in his shirt.

It took several minutes and Harry promising to not only stay in the room where they could see him, but also take Draco with him for protection. Once he promised, the children moved towards the others and watched closely as both of their protectors walked away from them. They relaxed when Harry turned so he could still watch them and Draco wrapped his arms around Harry's waist.

Behind the barrier, Ezra smiled at the teen.

"It seems you have found some admirers," she softly teased the younger submissive.

"You have no idea," Draco snorted in amusement. "I had no shortage of little chaperones when I went to wake him up this morning."

"I'm surprised he slept last night," Blake stated.

"I gave all of those we found yesterday a dose of dreamless sleep," Harry admitted. "The older teens wouldn't drink theirs unless I did, so I took the one you left for me before they took theirs."

"As soon as Harry was out, everyone else went to bed and took theirs," Hermione stated. "I am surprised that Harry wasn't awake when I got up thought."

"He had a lot of magic to replenish," Blake told her softly, "that is why. If things were normal, I would have forbidden anyone from waking him at all."

"I didn't realise he had used so much magic yesterday," Hermione frowned.

"It wasn't just getting everyone out of there Rinie," Harry sighed. "The human Council was being an arse so I had to use magic to keep both me and Draco calm and then more to keep them away from the little ones when we bought them out. I don't trust people who think that people like that red-headed family are up-standing citizens."

"In any case," Blake interrupted, "I'm here mainly to ensure that Harry here has recovered enough of his magic to focus on what he need to today. I'm also playing messenger for Lady Evangeline. She has said that she will be joining the team of Healers who inspect the parents of the children you have found so none of them get near you unless she is happy, they had nothing to do with their child's disappearance."

"She is an amazing woman," Alastair stated. "She also managed to convince the entire ICMB to send out a notice to all of those we are responsible for saying an underground child smuggling ring has been found and for everyone who has lost children or been one of the victims to come forth for blood tests just in case we found one of their children/grandchildren."

Harry laughed in relief as he relaxed against his mate. One thing that had been worrying him had been finding family or all the people they had – and wold hopefully – find and rescue during their investigations.

"We also have made it a sign of guilt if the family doesn't come forth, thought exceptions will be made for those whose memories have been messed with," Zelenia stated cheerily. This was obviously news that excited her more than the other. "The first people went in this morning as soon as they got the news what was happening."

"That was quick," Hermione blinked.

"They were my mates," Zelenia said with a half-smile. "They are twins – one soul, two bodies – and they had two younger siblings taken roughly twenty years ago. They never returned but they never gave up hope they would be found."

"Even if we don't find them," Harry stated, "After they and you yourself are tested you are all welcome to come and help here just in case someone comes in."

"Some of the older kids and teens will also be trying to escape their families as they remember how they got to where there were," Draco added softly. "If you could possibly ask around any of the innocent families who have lost family members if they would mind considering taking one or two extra individuals in while their families are investigated, or act as mentors for the kids and teens while they are settling back into their families, it could help."

"Of the thirty-six people we rescued," Harry stated, "Three were born two of the older teens. Overall, fifteen of them are too young to have had their first heat, eight are old enough but haven't started yet due to stress, three have only just been captured within the las month and one was discovered s being too magically powerful for anyone to get near her. This leaves nine individuals who are potentially pregnant."

All of the adults softly swore as Draco summoned a drink form the table for his mate.

"There is a chance that their families will react unfavourably to them because they have been used and/or are pregnant," Hermione stated, "so we have to be prepared for that as well; Especially if they decide they wish to keep it."

"Willa and Nicholas offered them housing if it comes to that," Draco said as he watched Harry drink. "They have several smaller houses on their property they created for this."

"Willa was one of those who was sold by her family," Harry said. "She gave me permission to tell you because she has volunteered to share her story with the parents of anyone we find who has, is or believes they will get the same treatment while being a support for those who refuse to go home."

After several minutes silence, Alastair's deep, rock-fall rumbling chuckles filled the room.

"You certainly have everything organised," he said as the barrier fell. "There is little we can do to help."

"You are helping more than you realise," Harry stated as those that had been rescued the previous day slowly made their way over to them as a group. "Just knowing you are working to capture the bastards who held them captive is enough."

"Oh we aren't just stopping at them," Sephtis said with a predatory grin, "We are aiming for the entire gang: from the bottom to the top."

"Are you serious?" one of the older teens asked. "You are really going after them?"

Ezra got down on her knees so she was on the same height as some of the younger children.

"It is the least we can do," she said, looking up at the youngsters. "Children, no matter their race, clan, age or species are precious. They should be loved and protected until the time they are ready to begin their own lives as adults."

Sephtis slowly moved until he could also crouch down with Ezra between him and the children, knowing they were – rightfully – wary of Dominants.

"Both of our races are long lived," he stated as he wrapped his arms around his mate's waist. "This means we have a slow reproduction rate. Though this lovely lady and I have been mated for just over one hundred years, we have yet to experience our first step to parenthood and it may take up to another seven hundred years before we get it. For us – and those like us – harming a child is the worst that can happen because they are so very rare."

"This doesn't mean we have not raised children," Ezra soothed as some of the more submissive children reacted with depression for the couple. "We have taken three wonderful girls into our family since we have bonded and raised them to be the best they can be."

"Those three girls – who are now aged between forty-five and eighty – have sometimes been the only reason we had woken and got up in the morning," Sephtis admitted. "Yes, even as a Dominant I get days where I am depressed that I don't have a child yet, but those three are always there to remind us we have them."

"You all remind me of them," Ezra stated with a soft smile, "if any of you had been born instead of one of our girls, you would have been ours, but at the same time, any of my girls could have easily been placed in the position you are all in now."

"The saddest thing is more children like yourselves are going to be taken and sometimes we won't be able to get to them the way we got to you unless we track every one of these monsters down. If it makes even one of you feel safer knowing the person or people responsible for all of this was found and punished by our laws, then we will spend the rest of our lives hunting them down."

To everyone's surprise, one of the pre-teens launched herself at the pair with a sob, chanting 'Thank you" over and over again. Ezra just hugged the girl close and muttered soothing nonsense to her in the language of the Fae.

"If … if we ask someone we trust to remove memories of everyone we saw from before and during our captivity," one of the teen shakily asked, "will that help?"

"Anything you are willing to do to help is welcome," Zelenia replied softly, "even if it is just staying here and recovering from your ordeal."

The oldest teens exchanged looks and then looked at the younger ones before turning to Harry.

"When you get to us, would you be willing to take our memories for viewing?" the oldest of them asked.

"Of course, I will," Harry said kindly. "I am honoured and humbled you asked me."

"Us too!" the younger kids yelled out, making everyone jump. "We want to help keep others safe too!"

Harry, Hermione and Blake exchanged smiles, wondering once again at the extraordinary abilities of children wanting to help.

~~~Ineedmoreofalifeiflisteningtoscreamingogatsmakesmelaughthismuch~~~

To the surprise of many, the room Harry had chosen as his work space was almost silent, even though he had vehemently denied the need for a silencing spell.

Hedwig who, much like the teens, had a legitimate reason to worry about those younger than her, snuck a look into the room when the suspense grew too much for her and what she saw made her smile. Hermione was at the desk writing as fast as she could while Harry sat on the floor beside her bouncing one of the toddlers on his lap, a slight glow of magic around his hands.

To the left of them was a small walled-off section with a wide selection of toys designed for young children. A bookcase filled the corner to their right and the rest of the space was filled with chairs, cots and tables with strange designs on the top and small draws on the side.

All of the younger children were playing with the toys quitter than most children their age do until a young girl who Hedwig didn't know started to play with something that made noise.

"You don't haff to be scared," she told the little ones, revealing half-grown adult teeth in her upper jaw, "it is okay to make noise; Harry doesn't mind."

"Of course, I don't mind," Harry stated as he let the child he was holding go and sat in with the group, pulling out a child's set of bongo drums and patting them only just hard enough to hear a sound.

Encouraged by the fact that one of the older people in the room was making noise with a toy, one of the three-year old's started digging in the toy box for more noisy toys and squealed happily when he found things that rattled and squeaked when he moved them. As the others came to see what they could find, Harry stood and picked up the only toddler that didn't run right for the toys.

"Blaise will be back soon Laynee," Harry said as he ran his fingers through the unknown-to-Hedwig child's hair. "Will you be okay by yourself until he comes back?"

"Yes my Draco's Harry," she replied cutely. "He is getting drinks and snacks, right?"

"Right!" Harry laughed, booping her nose with his tail. "It is time for me to stop using magic for a while soon so after I check this little one over, it is break time until after lunch."

"What does that mean?" one of the older children asked as Harry made his way back to his spot on the floor.

"That means," Hermione stated as she flipped to the next page in the note pad she was using, "everyone in this room will be getting cut up fruit and warm cups of hot chocolate before getting bundled up nice and warm so we can enjoy ourselves outside. It snowed again last night so snowball fights, snowmen and sledging is on the books to do until lunch."

Hedwig left the room smiling as the cheers of the older children echoed through the halls.

~~~Ineedsleep~~~

Fifteen minutes later there was a mad rush of young bodies entering the sitting room containing the adults. A loud pop sounded several minutes later and two tables appeared: One full of containers of sliced fruits from around the world and the other holding a large pot of creamy brown liquid and multiple cups.

Everyone either giggled or chuckled when, as soon as Harry moved to start serving, Draco steered him to a seat and Laynee sat on his lap … only for one of the bolder toddlers to happily attempt to climb up to join her. In the end, Hermione decided to walk over and pick up the child, only to dump him on Harry's lap before she took a seat beside her brother.

"You do know that every time you start going on about kittens, Draco will probably send you here to check on the little ones who remain, don't you?" Hermione teased.

"And he would follow soon after," Harry replied from where he was sniffing at the now giggling child on his lap. "After all, I'm not the only one who wants kittens. It is just more socially acceptable for me to announce it every five minutes."

Laynee, who had moved onto Hermione's lap as soon as Harry started to sniff at the new-comer, giggled. She knew her Draco wanted babies because of how he treated her and Carla. It was good to know that her Draco's forever person wanted them too.

Harry ignored both girls as he finished sniffing the youngster and began to lick him, purring his head off in yet another period of kitten induced bliss.

"Is that normal behaviour for him?" Hedwig asked in amusement.

"Only when he wants kittens," Hermione replied, "So at least every three weeks. Poor Draco."

"I would have thought a young Dominant like Draco would enjoy that part," Hedwig stated, obviously not thinking.

"Considering what you and these youngsters have gone through," Willa stated coldly from where she and Nicholas were seated to feed the twins, "I will ignore what you just said and put it down to stress and anxiety as well as the fact you have not yet realised you are fully safe yet: but if you EVER put him into the same category as those monster again, you will regret it."

"Particularly as Draco is Severus' godson," Hermione stated with a chilled tone to her formally friendly voice. "Draco has verbally acknowledged both his father and Severus for who he is today and Severus has enough Dominant in him to make Draco uneasy about him being in the same room as Harry without someone being with them."

"I would suggest," Nicholas stated calmly, "that before you do anything, you remove yourself from everyone here and seriously think about everything you went through. Not the children, not what is going to happen to them when they are captured, but YOU. If you have to, write it down. Make an appointment with a mind healer and open up to them. Lastly, I recommend talking to Severus about things because I know him and I know he will not take too kindly to you treating his godson as if he was responsible for everything you and those kids went through. Just because he is a Dominant."

"There is a sixty-five percent chance that any child you have with Severus is Dominant," Harry stated making everyone jump. "If you don't get help, you will treat them differently to any non-dominant children you have, which will lead to them hating you. You know Draco is nothing like those monsters even though he is a dominant, but you still question his motives. Yes, as a dominant he is thrilled I want kittens, but even if he wasn't a Dom, he would still be happy I want kittens because he, like me, wants a family."

"The first challenge Harry and Hermione's ex-guardian set for me ended up forcing Harry into a Heat. I was locked in the room with him for twenty-four hours. The only way I could stop him from hurting himself was to overwhelm his system with pleasure – which I did through a claiming bite. The bastard wasn't even there and called for me to be blocked from MY mate when he saw the result, ignoring me in the other room throwing up due to what I was forced to do to protect him."

Draco placed the platter of fruit and drinks on the table and handed them around before locking eyes with the obviously upset and embarrassed snow-owl demon.

"I'm not going to lie," he stated, "under any other circumstances, I would have claimed him and fully bonded him to me the night I gave him his collar and I wouldn't have hesitated in fulfilling both our desires to start a family at any time when his body goes through a heat cycle, but one thing and one thing only prevented this."

Harry – who had stood and snuggled into Draco's side while he was talking – smiled at him before rubbing their cheeks together.

"I'm not yet of age," he told Hedwig. "My body and mind have been wanting kittens for several years now, but I needed my mate before my heats started. My mother was apparently the same from what I heard. We have a contract and are participating in the farce of a Challenge, but it is my age that prevents us from completing the bond."

Draco kissed Harry on the top of his head and handed Hedwig the last mug of chocolate.

"We aren't telling you these things to hurt or embarrass you Ma'am," he said softly. "Just to show you that while some Dominants are horrible monsters, those of us who aren't are affected as much by their actions against our mates as our mate's are. Sometimes more. When we form a bond with our mates – our forever person, as one little girl puts it – our mind integrates with our mate's so we know how best to be there for them."

"One of my and Draco's oldest friends was a Dominant," Blaise said softly. "She bonded with her mate and discovered the abuse she went through at home. Her mind snapped because she couldn't protect her mate from harm and the next time she saw them, she attacked them. Though she did her best, her mate was killed by her Uncle. After tearing him apart and mourning for her beloved, she killed herself."

"I … I didn't realise …" Hedwig stuttered, fighting tears.

"Not many people do," Draco stated. "In fact, unless the person involved is a Dominant or a bonded submission, then you will never know unless you talk to a dominant."

"Thank you," Hedwig said, "will everyone be okay if I spent the rest of the day in my room?"

"No," Harry stated, shocking everyone. "Being in an enclosed space is bad you're your mind, especially at a time like this. We are going outside once everyone is finished eating and drinking and they are all dressed properly. You should come out with us and fly around a bit: I'm not sure how long you have been in this form for, but I bet your wings are itching to be stretched."

"There is no reason you can't think on the wing: Or even forget about everything that has happened and destress," Draco stated, gently aiding his mate's persuasion. "I know when things get too much for me to handle, I retreat to either my drawing desk or my broom."

"I retreat to the kitchen or the closest room with kittens," Harry chirruped.

"I escape into a book or join Harry in the kitchen," Hermione added sheepishly. "I apologise for my words and behaviour Miss Hedwig. I'm a mind healer and should know better than to act like that."

"I apologise as well," Willa sighed, "I'm afraid that with the arrival of these two, my common sense, patience and sleep levels have dropped while my maternal instincts have risen. I swear one of these days I'll start copying Harry here and start licking them clean!"

Everyone, Hedwig included, laughed at the mental image before Harry frowned at Willa.

"As soon as we get inside again I will re-organise my roster to fit everyone of your family in around everyone else. You shouldn't be this exhausted and if looking after the boys all the time is doing it than I will have no option but to take them and the girls away for one weekend a month so you can rest. I'll also take them one day a week – the boys that is – so you can spend quality time with the girls."

"Nothing is wrong with them," Hermione assured Willa and Nicholas, "but speaking from experience, even those who love their younger siblings get the desire to spend time with their parents one on one. With us, it was Mam Figg who we wanted time with. For the younger Orphans, it was Mama P."

The older Zabini' couple looked a Blaise, who shrugged.

"I'll admit that when Carla and then Laynee were born, I would have given anything to spend even thirty minutes with you without them and without Father at times, but I had befriended Draco by this time so when the urge hit and got too much for me to handle, I would go over there and he would stop the depression before it got too bad. By the time both were old enough to be left to play alone in the room with one of the elves watching over them, I was in school and on my way to independence, so it didn't really matter."

The two adults exchanged horrified looks and, as one, stated:

"Fit us in when you can, but don't over burden yourself."

Harry nodded and stood.

"Is everyone finished?" he called. His response was a loud chorus of 'YES', making him laugh.

"Then head upstairs and dress in winter clothes," he cheered, "if the older teens could help the younger ones please? I'm afraid m legs feel a touch jelly-like."

His legs then gave out on him and he smiled sheepishly into Draco's eyes as the older boy caught him.

"I thought you said you were alright," Draco sighed, resigned.

"I am, I promise," Harry replied softly. "I'm just experiencing a little bit of trouble due to being seated for too long in this form. I'll spend some time outside in my animal form to limber up and I'll be back to normal in a few hours."

"And this is why we have to make sure you have frequent breaks," Hermione sighed, shaking her head in slight exasperation.

"But Rinie … Kittens!" Harry whined.

"You're a Kitten!" Hermione stated firmly.

With a playful battle-yell, Harry leapt at Hermione, transforming into his cat form smoothly. Hermione yelped and ran for the now open door as she too transformed into fox form.

"I guess that means it is time to go out," Hedwig laughed. "I must admit my wings are now itching to be stretched now my attention has been bough to how long they've been hidden."

As the adults in the room trooped out, Draco noticed that Hedwig remained.

"Go on," he said with a smile and a tilt of his head. "I'll wait for everyone to come down. You need a fly and Harry is in safe hands."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

Draco smiled at her.

"When Harry said I would follow him here if I sent him here when he started going on about kittens, he wasn't exaggerating. I would follow him: Not only because he is my mate, but because I too want children. I always have. The only reason Harry isn't walking around full with a litter right now is because he is not of age by demon standards."

He threw a fond look outside and then up the stairs and chuckled softly.

"The only reasons neither of us has claimed all of those rescued yesterday as our own are: They have families that may be frantic over their loss, our age and some of them are Close to or over Harry's age. We are just lucky that a good friend of mine has younger siblings and parents who don't mind either of us taking our parental urges on their children."

He turned laughing eyes to Hedwig.

"I honestly believe the only reason Willa and Nicholas have yet to allow us to babysit the boys is because they somehow know they won't get them back without a fight."

"That is not true," Willa stated as she walked towards the open door leading outside with a warmly wrapped baby in her arms and Carla beside her. "I know both of you will give them back. I just don't know when it will happen."

Hedwig burst into laughter at the pout on Draco's face and, feeling better than she had that morning upon waking, followed the woman out into the snow for the first time in what felt like forever.