Faolan snarled as he stalked toward Sam. The fox slowly backed away from the cliff, leading the tiger back to the safety of the forest. It would be awful if he accidentally caused Faolan to meet the same fate as Lockhart had. He wondered how much of all this Harry would remember when he turned back.
This must be the insanity Freyr was referring to when one remained in their animagus too long in a perilous time period, Sam thought to himself. He looked around the trees, checking the distance between branches and eyeing trodden paths. He dashed into the forest, the tiger roaring and leaping after him.
Sam jumped for a tree branch just as Faolan leaped for him, and he paused above the pacing tiger, sniffing the air. He was looking for Draco's scent, as he was more familiar with it than the other missing children's scents. The wind blew around him, and he caught a slight whiff of Draco, and it was far away. Must be on the other side of this island, he thought.
Sam yelped as the branch shook violently, Faolan clinging to the end of it as he hissed and swatted at Sam. The fox jumped for another branch in a different tree.
: I must say, Sam said, your fighting instincts are much sharper when you're out of your mind. You're actually treating this as if it's not a game.
Faolan responded with a hiss as he crawled along the branch Sam had just evacuated.
: Come on, let's find the others. Sam jumped to the forest floor and ran along path. He heard Faolan's large feet thud on the ground as the big cat followed his lead.
: What I don't understand, Sam said as he dodged some of the tiger's attacks, is why you're so intent on killing everyone. When your father said one could go mad, I thought he meant you would chase your tail endlessly or something. Not go on a rampage.
Faolan pushed off the trunk of a tree and dove for the fox, missing one of Sam's tails by a hair as Sam turned sharply and jumped on a fallen log. Faolan slid to a halt a few yards away and bared his teeth at the fox, flattening his ears. Sam's own ears perked up.
: Though in retrospect, I guess I should have known better.
Sam continued; the tiger quick to give chase.
: Faolan snap out of it, Sam huffed as his legs began to tire. I was hoping we could have a nice leisure stroll through the jungle.
Faolan did not seem to like that idea. He clawed his way up a tree and stalked through the branches above Sam. Sam kept glancing up to keep an eye on the tiger's movements as he stayed low in the jungle. He'd be better off outmaneuvering the larger tiger than trying to outclimb him. Sam looked ahead and saw a perfect branch for the tiger to ambush him from if they both kept up their pace. He sped up, lighting his tails and flattening his ears. He didn't want to change course and potentially lose sight of Faolan, so he would have to meet the tiger head on.
Faolan reached the branch just as Sam did and the tiger pounced down on the fire fox, tumbling together from the impact. Faolan quickly let go as he felt the heat of Sam's tails. Sam tumbled away, rolling underneath shrubs. He quickly extinguished his tails so he didn't make matters worse by starting a forest fire.
He peered through the thickets to see Faolan creeping toward where he was hidden. Sam slowly backed deeper into the shrubs. He didn't want to hurt Faolan, but he would have no choice but to defend himself if the cat decided to attack. Sunlight broke through the thickets, rays streaking down on Sam, giving the fox an idea.
As Faolan prepared to claw his way through the bushes, Sam jumped into the air, catching the tiger's attention before he disappeared back into the shrubs. He jumped again, and Faolan hissed and swatted at him, but he fell back into the shrubs. He jumped once more, and Faolan dared to leap for him, landing on the other side of the bushes as Sam fell harmlessly back into the shrubs. Sam ran out of the shrubs, yapping loudly at Faolan, who leaped back over the bushes and chased the fox once more.
They did not get far as Faolan managed to nip at Sam's tails, tripping the fox. Faolan snarled down at the fox, and Sam, trapped under Faolan, prepared to breathe a flame at the tiger. Harry would forgive Sam if he permanently scarred the boy's face—right?
Just as Faolan opened his mouth to no doubt deliver a killing bite, another tiger rushed out of the trees and rammed into Faolan.
: Freyr! Sam called happily, but Freyr was focused on swatting back at the attacking tiger. Freyr had tracked down the scents and sounds of the scuffle between the tiger and fox and arrived just in time to knock Faolan off Sam.
Faolan stood on two and lunged, forcing Freyr to stand and lunge back, and they clawed and bit at each other, Faolan landing more aggressive bites in between his growls and grunts. Freyr, as he was bigger, used his full strength to drag Faolan down and flip him under Freyr, pinning the cat down with a snarl.
Faolan kicked with his back legs. Freyr jumped away from the assaults on his chest and abdomen, but quickly jumped back on Faolan as the tiger attempted to stand up, pinning him down once more. Faolan kicked again and swatted at Freyr's face before jumping up on all four.
The two tigers circled, creating low growls as they did. Faolan made the first move and jumped with paws and claws out. Freyr followed the tiger's lead, meeting the other halfway. They batted and spat and bit at each other.
Freyr managed to surprise Faolan with a kangaroo-like kick to the stomach. Faolan backed off while Freyr landed back a few paces from his kick. Frustrated, Faolan began to pace while Freyr watched, his ears flicking. Sam's mist solidified at Freyr's side.
: What's the plan, Freyr? Sam asked.
"I think I can reach him through Legilimency," the tiger chuffed at Sam, using telepathy to speak. "But I must be human to do so."
: You can't enter his mind now?
"An animal's mind lacks the emotional and philosophical complexity of a human's."
Sam blinked, then flattened his ears at Freyr.
: Hey.
"You don't count, and you know it. I can't quite use the same magic as Freyr as I can my human self. But when I use Legilimency, I need to maintain eye contact with him."
: You want to look him in the eye?
Faolan was still pacing agitatedly, acting more like a mad tiger now. He paused and hissed in their direction before pacing again.
"Yes," Freyr said, looking at Sam.
: Well, I'll take care of your cremation.
"Are you going to help or not?"
: On it.
Sam grew to his largest size—a wolf—and he charged Faolan, jumping on the tiger's back and biting his scruff, holding on as Faolan spun and twisted, trying to claw at the fox.
Freyr shifted into Severus and watched as Faolan rolled over, forcing Sam off his back. The tiger hissed at Sam but saw Severus out of the corner of his eye. He turned and snarled at Severus, who took the opportunity to dive into his son's head wandlessly and nonverbally. Faolan froze at the sudden onslaught.
He scratched the surface of his son's mind, finding memories: large snakes striking out from under shrubs and falling from branches, a skeleton found on a ship, the hunger and thirst Faolan felt, and the yellow eyes of a black cat snarling . . .
Faolan cried out, closing his eyes and pawing at his face. He snarled and charged Severus angrily. Severus fell backwards as the tiger jumped but Sam came from the side and latched on to the tiger's ear as he had done to save Lockhart, dragging the tiger away from Severus.
"That was my fault," Severus said as he sat up. "Bad images."
: I thought you were trying to bring Harry back not anger the cat!
Sam used a flame to back the tiger off when he managed to slip away from the tiger's smacking paws.
"I needed to know what was running through his mind now."
: I can tell you what's running through his mind—
"Not now, Sam."
Sam snarled at Faolan as the tiger stalked toward him, leading the tiger in Severus's direction before leaping away. Faolan eyed Severus, who caught the tiger's eyes once more and dove into the tiger's mind.
Digging deeper than he had before, Severus found himself in a similar jungle to the one they were all in now. He cut through the brush bit by bit, trying to remove the thick cage trapping Harry's memories deep inside. He pulled the memories he managed to free forward one by one:
Harry sitting in the library with his friends, studying for a test together. The kids in Gryffindor tower playing with the griffin. Sam in human form ruffling Harry's hair after the boy successfully mastered a trick with the kendama. All the late-night games the children played at Harry's sleepover . . .
Severus was surprised when the tiger yanked away and snarled aggressively. Faolan charged for Severus, but Sam ran into the tiger, nipping Faolan's heels. Faolan spun and lashed out at Sam, trying to catch the slimmer fox.
Severus shook his head, his brain starting to hurt from the amount of effort it was taking to free Harry from the locked down tiger's mind. While such an invasion of a person's mind could cause some discomfort, Severus had never tried Legilimency on an animal besides Sam, but the fox didn't exactly count. Faolan appeared very sensitive to this type of magic, and despite that, the tiger's mind held strongly and primitively to Harry's mind.
Sam jumped on the tiger's back and leaped for Severus, the tiger following. Severus got in between the two, falling to his knees and holding his hands out. Faolan drew to a halt directly in front of the man with a hiss. Severus quickly jumped back in the tiger's mind. There was still so much overgrowth to dig through, but Severus found the memories he was looking for.
Harry and Draco laughing while writing letters to their parents in the owlery (even though Severus was at the school as well). Sirius and Remus competing over who was the favorite uncle while Harry basked in the middle of it all. Harry and his friends playing quidditch during a free period . . .
Faolan snapped out of it and roared. He swiped a large paw at Severus's robe and the man fell back just as a flame flared above him, backing the tiger away. Severus felt his heart hammering loudly in his chest and he panted. Looking down at his robe, he saw three large tears across the front, but the tiger did not cut his skin, thankfully. He shook his head.
"You are so losing points for that," Severus muttered.
He looked over at the tussle between Sam and Faolan in time to see Faolan bite down on Sam's back and toss the fox aside. Sam rolled into a rock, hitting his head harshly. The fox fell limp, unconscious. Faolan turned amber eyes to Severus with a huff and he growled as he leaped for the man.
"Come on, Harry," Severus said, diving into the tiger's mind as he made eye contact. "I know you're in there. Break free. Remember."
It was easier this time to push aside some of the jungle and find more personal memories.
Harry falling asleep on his father's chest as a small child. Harry, Severus, and Sam sitting near their Christmas tree, enjoying the warmth of a crackling fire in the fireplace. Severus tucking in and kissing Harry goodnight. Harry placing flowers down at his mother's grave a few years back . . .
Severus grunted as his back hit the ground, a large paw pinning him down. Faolan stood over him, but he wasn't snarling. His eyes flickered with something resembling recognition, and the cat tilted his head, his ears flickering. Faolan snorted then bared his teeth.
"You're so close," Severus said, reaching up and holding the tiger's head steady, staring deep into his son's eyes. "Focus on me. You're almost there."
Harry flying on a broom, enjoying the wind in his hair and the freedom of the sky. A young Harry standing on his father's shoes as they danced slowly to the music. Harry cuddling his favorite stuffed animal, Whisker the tiger. Harry's first time shifting into a tiny cub, Faolan, with big brown amber eyes and paws too big for his size . . .
There was no more jungle clouding the boy's mind as Severus slowly withdrew from it. Harry's mind was free from the fearful hold the jungle had held on him. Faolan chuffed gently, and Severus smiled as he watched the tiger slowly shift into Harry, the boy collapsing against his father's chest, breathing hard. Severus squeezed his child to him, Harry slowly finding the strength to return the hug.
"Take it easy," Severus whispered. "You did so well. That's my boy. That's my boy."
Harry shook in his father's arms, his eyes taking in sight of the forest. He managed to lift his head enough to look around, a confused look on his face.
"You found me," Harry said, blinking as he looked down at his father. "Where's everyone else?"
"You left them at the ship," Severus answered honestly. Harry's face fell, but Severus continued, "but you were trying to protect them. You kept them safe to the best of your ability, and you did brilliant. You were so brave."
"I don't remember leaving," Harry frowned.
"It's okay. We can discuss everything later. I'm just glad you're safe now. I have you again and I'm not letting you out of my sight for a long time."
"I've missed you." Harry felt tears escape his eyes. Tears of relief and happiness.
"You've no idea how much I've missed you."
Harry smiled and the two hugged a second longer before they sat up. Harry groaned as his mangled shoulder stretched new skin and muscle from the shifting. Severus was all over the injury. He had already heard what had happened from the other kids, and he hissed in sympathy. Harry's shoulder and upper back had four puncture wounds that were red and inflamed, and the shoulder joint was swollen. The smell screamed infection at Severus, and he moved Harry's hands away from the injury.
"We need to get that looked at." Severus stood and helped his son to his feet. "Don't touch it. We need to get to the other side of the island and meet with the others."
"Can't we just apparate?" Harry asked, looking down at some of the smaller wounds and scratches he did not remember receiving.
"I would like a healer to be the judge of that," Severus said, looking at Harry's shoulder, splinching at the front of his mind. He watched as Harry traced small scratch marks on his arms, and Severus wondered guiltily if he as Freyr had been the cause of them. He himself had cuts here and there from Faolan, and even his neck bled from skin wounds where Faolan had bit at him. Harry noticed, and he winced.
"Did I hurt you?" Harry asked.
"I am fine. We had to reach you from within Faolan. I think your animagus got too much taste of the wild."
Rustling leaves caught their attention, and Sam stumbled over to them, remarkably without a scratch on him.
"Sam!" Harry cried happily, though his shoulder kept him from leaning down to hug the fox like he really wanted to.
: Good to see you human again. You've got a fierce tiger in you—I'll remember that next time we're wrestling.
Harry gave a weak laugh. Sam brushed up against the boy's leg.
: I'm glad you're unharmed. I've missed you, Harry. Even after you threw me against a rock.
"I did? Sorry about that. And I'm really sorry about the whole tooth thing. I missed you, too, Sam, I thought you would be so angry after you found out everything and . . ."
: Forget about it. You're safe, and that's what matters most to me.
Harry smiled at Sam.
"Are you okay?" Severus asked, kneeling.
: Slight concussion maybe. But I'll live.
Severus stood and pulled Harry close once more as they began the long trek back to the others, where Severus had left them at the ship with the Aurors that had arrived shortly after him. On the way, Sam explained what had happened with Lockhart.
The three emerged from the forest, Harry riding on Freyr's back. When Harry had nearly collapsed, Severus opted to carry the boy, and at some point, Severus had shifted into Freyr to carry him the rest of the way. Sam walked at the tiger's side, lost in thought over everything that had happened. He would not give up on the tooth just yet. He knew it could not be destroyed, and with some time, the tooth's energy would calm and grow dormant again unless he called upon it. He would not allow the tooth to leave his sight and end up in the wrong hands again. He would just have to make everyone else see that.
Ahead, the others were sitting in the sand surrounded by Aurors and Healers. Harry glanced at his friends in the distance, then looked down at Sam.
"I saw another kitsune while I was here," Harry said.
: Kitsune? Sam ruffled his fur, the ends bristling. I don't sense any kitsune.
"It didn't hurt me or even say anything. It led me to water and disappeared. It had five tails, too."
Sam gasped and froze at that, watching Freyr continue on toward the Healers. Sam turned back to the trees, staring at the jungle once more. His fur bristled again as a fox jumped up on a rock at the edge of the tree line, staring at Sam.
Sam walked over to the rock, his tails lowered and his ears flattening. Once he was in front of the rock, he bowed to the fox sitting upon it, five tails hanging over the stone.
"Arigato, Otousan," he spoke in fox tongue, "for taking care of the children when I could not. And for always being there even when I do not deserve it. I hope that I have brought you honor, and you are proud of who I've become."
The fox on the rock smiled and bowed his own head, his ears pivoting back. Sam rose and lifted his three tails proudly as he smiled at his father, who inclined his head in the direction of the ocean.
Sam looked back, watching as Freyr allowed Harry to slip off his back. Draco was the first to run over and embrace Harry, the other three joining in a big group hug as Aurors and healers watched with smiles. When they broke apart, Sirius was the next to pull Harry into a hug, kissing the boy's temple. Freyr turned back into Severus and the man spoke with one of the healers, who was quick to pull Harry away to look at his shoulder.
Sam smiled and looked back at his father.
"They are as much family to me as my sister and hers."
The five-tails smiled and nodded his head once.
Sam sighed, and looked down at the tooth around his neck.
"Have I failed you with this task? I could not stop the damage before it was too late. I have tried to protect this world from it's magic, but it got the better of me. I could have lost Harry. Am I worthy of this?"
The fox flicked his ears at Sam, then looked back at the humans along the shore. He tilted his head at something, and Sam looked back to see what he was looking at. He saw the healers tending to the children, healing cuts and bruises. Food was handed out in appropriate rations for everyone, and Hermione was busy feeding the griffin a bottle of milk while a female Auror assisted and laughed at the cute baby. Severus and Sirius were assisting the healers with Harry.
Sam understood. Despite what had happened, everyone was safe now, and they were all going home. Sam looked back at the five-tails.
The fox jumped off the rock and brushed against Sam as he past him, the feeling like a shiver down Sam's back. The tooth glowed blue faintly for a second. The fox paused and nodded once more with a smile. Sam smiled back and bowed once more, watching sadly as the fox leaped into the air, fading away as he danced to the sky.
"I will not let you down, Otousan," Sam said, his ears dropping. "May your spirit live through us all."
Sam trotted to the group, sitting at Severus's side as the man told the healer tending to Harry about Harry's animagus trouble. Another healer was applying a salve to some of Severus's wounds, and Sam snorted as the man batted her hands away and told her to tend to his son as well.
"How about you, fox?" a healer asked Sam, and Severus looked down as if just realizing Sam was there.
: I am just fine, Sam said, backing away from the reaching hands, advanced healing magic.
Severus rolled his eyes.
"Do you think you could extend that to these children?" he asked.
: I'm afraid it's a very selfish magic. But if I could, I would.
"I understand. Now, the aurors have a few questions for you and Severus Snape."
The healer turned to attend to the other children while a few Aurors approached Sam and Severus, Harry watching with interest as he forced down a fourth potion his healer handed him.
"Could you tell us what occurred from the time Lockhart left The Black Crow Inn to you two finding young Harry Snape?"
Severus and Sam shared a look, a slight nod, and Sam stepped forward to explain the tale of what happened with the dragon tooth necklace around his neck.
"And so," Dumbledore spoke to the parents of the missing children, "Lockhart attempted to escape once more with the necklace, tripped over his own feet, and fell over a cliff. Sam was able to rescue the necklace before it was lost to sea, and therefore prevent it from ever washing up anywhere and falling into the wrong hands."
After the healers had deemed all the children safe for apparition, even Harry, they were taken to St. Mungo's for further treatment and evaluation. There, the five ran into Ginny, who hugged her brother first. Ron had fretted over her, needing to hear everything she had been through and making sure his little sister was okay. The rest of his family surrounded Ginny and Ron and several hugs and kisses were given out.
Neville had managed to break away and his Grandmother rushed over to him, looking over him critically and hugging him, asking if he was hurt anywhere and if he needed anything at all.
Draco ran over to his parents as soon as he saw them, jumping into their arms and sharing a family hug. Hermione had been surprised to see her parents and gladly ran over to them, hugging them happily, enjoying the way they fawned over her and held her close, even with a small griffin at her feet chirping away, as happy as everyone else with a full stomach of milk.
Harry returned to his father and leaned against the man, allowing Severus to lead him to a hospital bed. His shoulder, upper arm, and upper back and chest was all wrapped up to cover the infected bite wound that needed a few days of healing. While the potions he had taken had helped the swelling and pain, the infection was so advanced it took three potions to clear up a good portion of it and bring his fever down. He will have to take a couple days' worth of potions to completely heal the infection before he can apply the wound healing potion to close his skin up and completely heal. Severus had informed the healer that he would make sure Harry followed all the cleaning and bandaging instructions and took his potions when he should. For now, Harry was happy to just lay back and listen to Dumbledore's story.
Dumbledore had finished speaking with the aurors an hour after they had all returned from the island. The headmaster retold the entire story of what happened that day with Lockhart. He had a feeling the ending Dumbledore gave was a stretch of the truth, but he was too exhausted to question it. The parents had several questions, however.
"I wish I had been there to give him a lashing or two from my wand," Lucius grumbled. "He is definitely gone?"
"The aurors searched the cliffs and recovered his remains," Dumbledore answered.
"And what of that tooth?" Augusta asked, sitting on the edge of Neville's bed. "How do we know it is safe in the fox's possession. Look what the fox allowed it to cause and we're just going to let him keep it?"
"The tooth is a dark artifact," an Auror said, looking over at Sam. "It is illegal and should be removed."
"Now hold up," Sirius told his fellow Auror, "a dark artifact can legally be collected as long as it is not used. Sam has not used that for any ill intent."
"You saw the danger it put my little boy in!" Narcissa snapped, holding Draco close.
"Mum, it's okay, it was kind of our—"
"Not another word out of you—you've been through enough as it is."
"I'm not saying Sam would ever intentionally put the kids in harm's way," Arthur spoke up, "but the tooth has proven to be more dangerous than any of us realized. Perhaps some restrictions are needed?"
"Any dark artifact should be taken and destroyed!" Augusta said.
"It was my fault!" Harry shouted above all the arguing parents, silencing everyone as they all looked at the child.
"Harry," Severus gently chided, patting his son's knee.
"No," Harry jerked away, getting off the bed so he could stand. "This is my fault. Sam knew exactly how to control the necklace and he told me not to touch it, but I didn't listen. It's my fault the tooth did what it did and it's my fault Lockhart got ahold of it. I let the tooth use its magic for evil when Sam would never do that. So if you're going to blame anyone for this, blame me."
The parents, healers and aurors looked around at each other, while Dumbledore smiled softly at Harry. Severus sighed as silence engulfed the room, waiting for Harry to retreat back to the bed. The boy swallowed dryly, but looked around the room at everyone, daring anyone to object.
"And me," Hermione said, stepping forward with the baby griffin curled in her arms. Her parents reached for her, hesitated, then pulled back and watched her walk over to Harry. "When the tooth magically showed up in Harry's bedroom, it was my idea to let it finish whatever dangerous task it wanted to do. I wanted—we all wanted answers, but I shouldn't have suggested using it behind Sam's back. And then it started this whole crazy adventure. So, this is my fault, too."
Hermione stood next to Harry and she smiled at him, Harry smiling back, his confidence growing once more. He had been ready to take full responsibility, but it felt nice to have someone else at his side.
"I'm to blame, too," Ron said, escaping his family's clutches and running over to Harry and Hermione. "We all agreed to keep the tooth secret from Sam until we had answers. And I was there when you found you had the tooth but didn't go to Sam about it." Ron said to Harry. "I put our friendship first instead of our safety when I should have been concerned about both. I'm sorry."
"It's my fault, too!" Neville said, slipping off the bed and walking over to the three others.
"Neville, get back here!" Augusta said, standing up but not following.
"I'm the one who let the griffin out," Neville said, joining the three. "I know it was an accident, but Ivan took the tooth right to Lockhart after that. So, it's my fault, too."
"Thanks guys," Harry whispered to his friends.
Draco sighed and slowly walked over to the other four. They waited for him, smiling at him. Draco huffed again as he stopped in front of them.
"I don't want to say I told you so," Draco began.
The children playfully groaned and gave him looks of disbelief, even the griffin gave an indignant croo. Harry laughed while Hermione's jaw dropped and she shoved him back softly, reminding him he was there every step of the way. Ron punched him softly in the shoulder, saying "come on, mate, don't be like that."
"Okay, okay," Draco said, brushing himself off with a smirk. His face grew serious as he said, "I never stopped you guys, even when I knew you had all come up with a stupid and crazy Gryffindor-ish idea."
"Thanks." Ron rolled his eyes.
"Real nice," Hermione said.
"But you know what," Draco continued. "Yeah, it was wrong, and we could have all made different choices that didn't get us stranded on an island for three days, but at the end of the day, we showed the power of friendship and sticking together. I'd do it all again with you guys."
Harry put a hand on Draco's shoulder. "You're a good friend. Thanks."
"Yeah, but this is the last time you all drag me along on your perilous escapades. From now on, we are adding Slytherin tact into your books."
The five children laughed, and Severus smiled at the show of friendship he saw before him. Sam left Severus's side and walked up to the children.
: You are all good kids, Sam said. He addressed everyone in the room. What caused Lockhart to gain access to the tooth was a great chain of events. We cannot place blame on one person alone. Lockhart made his choices of his own free will, and they all placed a negative image on the Tooth of Requital. But it does not define it or I. The choices we make and the decisions we take have a great impact on who we are and who we become, whether bad, or good.
The tooth around Sam's neck glowed blue and sun shined brighter into the room. Every flower in the room perked up in their vases and bouquets, and a warmth filled the room that relaxed everyone. The children smiled while the adults reluctantly marveled at the magic. Severus winced as Sam collapsed.
"Sam!" Harry cried, kneeling next to the fox.
Sam sat up and shook himself out.
: And there's a price for everything we do, Sam said, chuckling softly. But some energy draining is one I'm willing to take.
"I love you, Sam," Harry said, wrapping his arms around Sam's neck. Sam nuzzled the boy back.
The kids surrounded Sam and stroked his fur, smiling once more, the griffin creeing happily. Dumbledore shook his head at the children's antics as he walked up to all of them, looking down through his spectacles at them.
"I believe we can all say that Sam deserves to keep his antique," Dumbledore decided, and after he heard some consenting grumbles from the adults around him, he reached down and ruffled Ivan's head, earning a happy shrill. "Whatever shall we do about this fellow, I wonder."
The kids shared a sad look, and Hermione picked up Ivan and stepped toward Dumbledore.
"We can't keep him," she said, cradling the little griffin like the baby he was. "We wanted to at first, but he needs to be with his own kind. He needs to be able to fly free."
"You four did a wonderful job at saving the baby," Dumbledore praised. "And I hear your entire dorm helped in raising him and keeping him well-fed."
"Thanks to Ginny," Harry said. "She knew what Ivan needed to eat."
Ginny's face turned red at the statement, and she smiled shyly as everyone looked over at her hospital bed, where she sat surrounded by family. Charlie ruffled her hair, handing back her book she had dropped when she had been taken.
"I see. I believe one hundred points are in order for Gryffindor," Dumbledore decided, and everyone cheered while Draco gave a small smile for them. "And one hundred points to Slytherin."
Draco's eyes widened as he looked up at the headmaster curiously.
"For rescuing Ivan with your friends and staying true to yourself despite what others may have thought of you. You have encouraged a great inter-house mingling that I have not seen in Hogwarts since I was a student, and it is something I must praise and encourage. It is beautiful to see all the students blend together in the Great Hall or in study sessions at the library. You deserve just as many points as the entire Gryffindor house."
"Thank you, sir," Draco said.
"That's my boy!" Narcissa cried, wiping away a tear. Lucius nodded at his son proudly.
"Now," Dumbledore looked down at Ivan. "About the griffin. We will need to find a home for him."
: I think I know a friend who could help us, Sam said, wagging his three tails.
"This better not be the same friend who broke you out of prison," Severus said, crossing his arms.
: Well, what if it is? Come now, I think you'll like him.
Harry smiled as he stood by Hermione, using a finger to rub under Ivan's chin. He would miss the little baby for sure, even after all the trouble he had caused. Ron, Neville, Draco, and even Ginny circled around Hermione, staring down at the baby.
There is still so much more to come, but we are sadly nearing the end. If anyone is interested in a part 3, I do have some ideas, let me know!