"Harry, you ready?" Sirius asked Harry, looking at the boy who kept looking unnervingly like James with every passing day.

"What about the Ministry restrictions on under-age magic?" Harry questioned his godfather.

"I read up about that. It only provides for human tongues, not beast magic. Now calm down, take a deep breath and cast Alohomora on this cask in the first tongue that comes to your mind," Sirius tapped a cask with a lock.

"Alohomora!" Harry chittered, not unlike a monkey. The lock burst open in a cloud of glitter, and the cask sprang open, revealing a Jack-In-The-Box. Sirius and Harry snickered.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Harry cast in the same tongue. Sirius fell to the floor, laughing.

"Stop it, Harry!" Sirius howled, between laughs.

"What did I do?" Harry asked, his face a picture of innocence.

"It tickles! Stop it!" Sirius was going red in the face from laughter.

"It will wear off in an hour," Harry stated matter-of-factly.

An hour passed, and Sirius lay on the floor, taking in big breaths of air, his face a shade of tomato red. "Never do that again!" Sirius scolded Harry.

"On Draco Malfoy?"

"Not for too long. Moving on, try another spell in another tongue."

"Wingardum Leviosa!" Harry twittered, pointing his wand at the mahogany dining table, built to let thirty people have a meal at any given time. It left the floor and was airborne. Usually, to lift something so heavy would require the combined efforts of Harry, Ron and Hermione. Harry was so surprised, he broke the spell and the table crashed to the floor with a 'BANG', turning into a pile of wooden blocks and splinters.

"That was Chippendale, half-blood filth!" Sirius' mother's portrait wailed.

"God, here we go again," Sirius muttered.

"I'll take care of it! REPARO!" Harry whinnied, and in a trice, the table was as good as new. Sirius looked on, astounded.

"That was fast! Which tongue was that?"

"Horse tongue."

"Uh-uh uh! The term is Equitongue! But we know three things- Monkeytongue's good for pranks, Avistongue increases the efficiency of spells that involve flying and air, and Equitongue speeds up spells." Sirius told Harry as he noted it down in a notebook. "Are you ready for something else?"

"Yes!" Harry shouted, enthusiastic.

Hours of experimenting led to them learning several new things. "So- Felistongue is good for espionage-related spells, Canistongue is good for loyalty spells like the Fidelius Charm, Snailtongue slows down spells and Parseltongue must be used only for Unforgivable Curses and other Dark Spells. Is that right?" Sirius questioned, reading the list he had made again.

"Yes, and Pisitongue increases the efficiency of water related spells," Harry added, "and there are some special spells which can be used with each tongue."

"Like?"

"Aquarina taught me a spell that would help me breathe in water," Harry answered, "And maybe if I read up on ancient magic..."

"Naught that will do. The Beastmasters have existed since the dawn of time, and were a pretty secretive community back then too. There is no written material that exists on the Beastmasters, except for that Book which Hermione gave you in the library. That too doesn't say much. You can't do much about it. You're the only one of your kind."

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"You're the only one of your kind," Sirius' statement echoed about Harry's head. He wanted to know more about himself, about this...gift of his. Heat exuded out of his tattoo, a comfortable, pleasing heat, like a hot-water bottle placed on tired limbs. He felt a force pull him towards his trunk. The same force compelled him to open his trunk, rummage around and pull out a book, 'I've never seen that book before,' he pondered. He realized the pages were empty as he flipped through them.

"Hey, Boss-man!" An owl hooted at him from the window. "What's wrong? Human beings are usually asleep at this time."

"The problem is, I'm not normal."

"No one is, Boss-man. That is the beauty of life. Oh, I see you found 'IT'? Prove to 'IT' that you are a Beastmaster. I hear mice scuttling around. Goodbye!" The owl took wing and was soon, airborne.

"Goodbye and good hunting!" Harry called out after it. Taking philosophical advice from an owl? He might really be going crazy. Anyways, advice was advice, and there was no harm in trying it out. Owls were reputed for their wisdom, yes? (Although a few exceptions to that rule did come to mind)

"Reveal!" He uttered in a hodgepodge of animal sounds. Flipping through the pages, he found that they were empty.

"Aparecium!" Harry tried again, desperately uttering the spell for revealing invisible ink. Again, the pages were revealed to be empty. Crestfallen, he placed the book over his face and tried to get some sleep.

"BLOOD! Beastmaster, feed my hungry spirit, the animal running through your veins, so that I may be your servant till the day you die," a voice drawled in Harry's head, slithering into his mind like a snake, making Harry's skull reel.

Harry immediately sat up, and espied a shard of glass next to him. "Do I have to do this?" he asked tiredly, readying the shard.

"Yes..."

"Fine," Harry pricked his index finger, then let a drop of blood fall on the book.

"Not so less, Beastmaster!" The shard moved of its own accord, slicing across Harry's palm. Harry bit the inside of his cheek when he felt the pain of the keen edge of the glass making contact with his skin. A thin ribbon of blood appeared on his palm, resembling the ichor of the gods in the silvery moonlight. He trembled as his palm hovered above the book. Screaming in agony as he felt his blood drain out of him, he fell to the floor, letting unconsciousness surround him like a comforting blanket.

Sirius awoke, hearing Harry's agonised screams. Slipping into his dressing robe, he made his way into Harry's room, to be greeted by the horrible sight of his godson sprawled on the floor, blood draining out of him and onto a certain book at an alarming rate. "Harry!"

"Sirius...what a pleasure. We meet for what, the second time? Didn't know you took such interest in the Beastmasters. All I like about them is the blood that they give me..." The same voice from the book slithered into Sirius' brain.

"Stop it, Herb! You're draining the poor boy's life-force!" Sirius cried, taking Harry's head into his lap.

"I have no intention of stopping, Sirius. Finally, my hunger is appeased! After thirteen years! Here, take the boy back," The blood stopped draining and Harry's wound closed up on its own.

"How much blood did you take?" Sirius demanded of Herb (the book).

"Enough to appease my hunger, and enough to let him live. For now," Herb sneered.

Sirius paled. Herb had been hungry for thirteen years. This bode ill for Harry. Must he use that spell? But it was risky to use it. He fell to reminiscing.

"Sirius! Sirius! Help!" James shouted, the pain in his hand unbearable.

Sirius ran to James, kicking the book out of the way."Vitilia Regenia!" Sirius uttered, poking James' wound with his wand. Blood spurted out of the wand, falling anywhere but in James' wound. "Shit!" Sirius cursed. "I'm sorry, James, I have to open up the crook of your elbow."

James looked up at him, eyes beseeching. Sirius cut an incision in his fellow Marauder's elbow. He repeated the spell, his wand inside the incision. The colour returned to James' mien and Sirius let out a breath of relief. But the problem had not stopped there. James had to endure the side-effects of a mega-transfusion, which involved fever, nausea and headaches.

But this was no time for reminiscing. He had to act-fast. He cut the interior of Harry's elbow and muttered, "Vitilia Regenia!" Fortunately, the colour returned to Harry's face. "Shoo!" Sirius opened the window, shooing away the creatures of the night that had gathered on the windowsill.

"Sirius?" Harry whispered, emerald green eyes appearing like slits in his face.

"Hm?"

"Leave them be," And he fell back into his comatose state.

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When Harry woke up again, it was under his cushy duvet, to the anxious birds twittering, "Boss-man!" And Sirius' kindly mien.

"Hello, Harry!" Sirius greeted him. Harry felt his head throb. "SHUT UP!" He yelled, and then fell back asleep.

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"Harry? Lie down, that's a good boy," Sirius insisted of Harry, when he came round, later in the evening. He felt something cold on his forehead and something hot move down his throat. "Soup," Sirius said, in way of answer, "Chicken and corn," he read, from the can he held in his hand.

"Here, have some more. Open your mouth," Harry did as he was told and a spoon levitated in the air and into his mouth. He swallowed, the soup warming him from the inside.

"Could you...open the window, please?" Harry asked, spying a few birds and a squirrel sitting on the sill.

"After you finish your soup." But Harry fell asleep just after his stomach was filled with soup.

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"What was that thing?" Harry enquired. It was two days since Harry had last stirred. Sirius was still in his room, watching Harry from his seat in an easy chair, moved next to Harry's bed.

"The book?"Sirius asked. Harry nodded.

"That was Herb. I apologise for not telling you about it," Sirius said.

"What nonsense is this? You named that creature Herb? Bloodsucker would have been a more appropriate name. Or maybe Leech. Or Count Dracula!" Harry said.

"I have no idea how it got the name 'Herb'. Anyways, I forgot that Herb was in the game, and I also thought it would be too dangerous for you to engage Herb's services. You yourself know how," Sirius answered.

"How does it work?"

"Herb engaged you in what is called a 'Blood Contract.' Under this contract, you must provide blood to Herb if you want information," Sirius told Harry, but seeing Harry blanch, reassured him, "Only a drop or two will do now that he is fed and content. Now sleep Harry, and rest your agitated body."

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When Harry next opened his eyes, he espied Ron and Hermione standing by his bedside. "What are you'll doing here?" he enquired, propping himself up with his elbow.

"HARRY! You're better! We heard that you had had your blood sucked from you by a book!" Ron exclaimed.

"Don't ...remind me of Herb," Harry immediately paled at the mention of Herb, "The book," he told his friends.

"It has a name?" Ron questioned, sceptically.

"Might be an ancestral spirit which was imbibed into the book," Hermione mused.

"Maybe, who knows? Just...don't talk about it. It gives me chills," Harry shuddered.

"We came to tell you about the Quidditch Finals!" Ron exclaimed again.

"What about them?" Harry asked, fearing the worst.

"You missed them; you were unconscious when we came to pick you up," Hermione said, "Ireland won against Bulgaria, and there was a sudden appearance of Death-Eaters. Besides that, you didn't miss much," she continued.

"How is Sirius? I kind of like his house; except for that portrait of his mother that keeps shouting about bringing in blood traitors, mudbloods and halfbloods. It gives me the creeps. Did Sirius ever try removing it?" Ron rattled on.

"Sirius told us, you idiot; there's a Permanent Sticking Charm on it!" Hermione replied, flicking Ron on the forehead.

"How did you get here?" Harry questioned his friends.

"We went to Privet Drive, and not finding you there, went to search for you, when we saw Sirius' Animagus form. He flew us here on his flying motorcycle," Hermione responded.

"Flying motorcycle? Goodness me, this world is turning upside down!" Harry cried out, and again fell back into his quilt.

Hello, my cherished followers! I apologise for the wait! Anyways, review, if you want to, and any constructive criticism is welcome!

Aayu10 out!