Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

If You Can Help Her – Chapter 33 – Wild Things

As Harry lay down in his four-poster bed the night they returned to Hogwarts, he thought about everything that had happened over those few weeks. First, there was the ball where Michael Corner sealed his fate. He smiled as he thought about the plan they'd come up with to deal with his crime. He, Fred, George, Ron, Hermione (who'd insisted on 'defending womanhood'), and Ginny still had a few details to work out, but if Michael had any brains, he wouldn't have come back to Hogwarts after the stunt he'd pulled.

Next was the fact that Sirius Black had been awarded custody. Harry would never have to see the Dursleys again! Next, there was the emotional connection he now had with Ginny. Closing his eyes, he concentrated for a moment before feeling that she was content like he was. They found that they now would be in the same general mood, especially if one of them was feeling a strong emotion. Hermione had suggested that they never fight. If they had a disagreement, they'd need to separate and calm down and discuss it. They'd of course experimented with snogging, 'For the cause; as research into the way our shared emotions react to that particular stimulus,' Ginny had explained to a rather skeptical Hermione. And finally, he and Ginny had been able to perform their animagus meditations yesterday, to very unusual results.

-IYCHH-

Ginny arrived in the fireplace of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place with a look that reflected the nervous excitement that Harry could feel emanating from her. Neither of them had realized how much their feelings were amplified by their bond when they were feeling the same thing until this moment. They naturally kissed when she'd gotten the soot off of herself.

Sirius broke them up by clearing his throat. "As worthy of a pursuit as that is," he announced with a grin, "That's not why we're here. That's why they have broom cupboards at Hogwarts." The young couple chuckled. "We're here to find out just what kind of party animals you really are."

"Very funny," replied Harry.

"Now, before you do the meditation, you need to find some place comfortable to relax."

"Can't we just do it on the couch?" asked Ginny.

"I'm afraid not," answered Sirius. "You'll probably fall to the floor. You'll have to be laying down somewhere. Probably in a couple beds."

"None of the rooms have two beds, but I'd like to be in the same room," responded Harry. "I'll lie down on the floor in whatever room Ginny picks."

"That's ridiculous," countered Ginny. "Why can't we be in the same bed? It's not like we'll be able to do anything, anyway."

Sirius seemed unsure. "Well, I suppose you can't if you're in your animagus meditation. Besides, I'll be in the room with you."

"Good, then let's go to Harry's bedroom."

Without a word, Harry, Sirius, and Ginny walked up the stairs to the appropriate room, which Harry had decorated during the break. The walls were white and the carpet was dark green. His Firebolt was (temporarily) hanging on the wall opposite the bed, along with a few pictures from Gryffindor Quidditch (some of the team, and some taken during games). On another wall, he had a fairly large wizard photo of Harry and Ginny that was taken the night of the Yule Ball in the center.

The same wall also had various pictures of Harry and his friends, including one of Ron and Hermione at the ball. Another wall had a picture of himself facing the horntail as the centerpiece, and the fourth wall had pictures of the Marauders and Lily. James and Lily's wedding photo was the centerpiece. All the photos were waving at them as they entered the room. Sirius sat on a desk chair while Harry and Ginny climbed onto opposite sides of Harry's bed. They each felt a bit nervous and glanced at each other. Harry shot Ginny a small smile, and they joined hands.

Sirius said, "Well, you both have read what to do. Do you have any questions?" When they both answered negatively, Sirius instructed, "Close your eyes and see your true beast within."

Within a few minutes, after using the technique they'd read about, which included a breathing exercise, Harry found himself in pitch blackness and total quiet. He stood still for about a minute until he was startled by a howl. He turned around to see a circle of light, as though shone from a spotlight, shining on a black, vicious-looking wolf. It had a white scar in the shape of a lightning-bolt in the center of its forehead. The bolt ended exactly between its two green eyes. Harry smiled. "I'm a wolf." He walked up to the creature and started petting it.

He was interrupted by the sound of loud flapping wings that was strangely familiar to him. He turned and saw a horrifying sight. He saw what appeared to be a headless Hungarian Horntail dragon in another spotlight. The wings were flapping and the tail was moving around randomly. The tail was about to hit him head on when he woke up from his trance.

He found himself still lying flat on his back holding Ginny's hand. He was sweating profusely. He turned his head and saw Ginny was still in a trance, although she was also sweating. He then lifted up his head to see that Sirius was still on the chair, sound asleep. Ginny then screamed and sat up quickly in the bed, pulling Harry, who was still holding her hand, with her. Even if he weren't able to feel her emotions, Harry would have been able to see that she was frightened. She was breathing very heavily, her face was red, and she was squeezing Harry's hand very tightly. "What happened?" Harry asked.

"I…I saw…it's…"

"Calm down, Ginny," Harry said soothingly, "Relax, breathe deeply, and if it's not too much trouble, could you loosen your grip on my hand?" Sirius, who'd been awakened by her scream, chuckled at that.

"I…I'm sorry Harry," she apologized as she loosened her grip. Harry could feel the circulation begin again in that hand. Harry then took her hand to his lips and kissed it, showing her he wasn't mad.

"It's all right, Ginny," assured Sirius. "Whatever you saw. We're not going to judge you, but please tell us." By now, Sirius had gotten out of the chair and was standing next to her.

Ginny felt Harry take most of her fear, replacing it with calm. "At first," she started a bit shakily, "I saw a cheetah. Its fur was more reddish than usual, but I guess that's from my hair. It had brown eyes. I'd started petting it when I heard a roar. I turned and saw…I saw the head of a…a dragon. It looked a lot like the horntail Harry fought, but its eyes, they were open, and one was green and the other brown. It breathed fire at me…just before I woke up."

Harry was mentally building a dragon from the pieces in their visions while Sirius looked confused. "I…I've never heard of a partial animal before. A dragon is a magical creature. If you could become a whole one, that would be incredible, but as it is, we'll try to concentrate on a cheetah."

"I'm the rest of the dragon," announced Harry calmly, earning looks from both of them. "I saw a wolf, and then the body of a horntail. It swung its tail at me, just as I woke up."

Sirius was staring at the two of them, shaking his head, "That…that's impossible. Two people, however much they like or even love each other, can't share a form."

"The bond," mumbled Ginny, looking at Harry.

"The what?" asked Sirius.

Harry looked at Ginny, who nodded. "Sirius, we have some type of bond, that we guess has something to do with when I saved her in the Chamber of Secrets. Anyway, on the day of the custody hearing we, well, started sharing and feeling each other's emotions.
This has to be part of it, too. We asked Hermione to help us research this. She and Ginny's mum are the only ones who know about it, and um, we'd like to keep it just between us."

Sirius' eyes were very wide right now and his jaw was opened. "Sirius?" said Ginny with a smirk, calling him to attention.

"That…that is amazing guys. Really. I guess that's it, then. Maybe you can only become a dragon when you're holding hands like you are now. And Harry, it looks like Ginny will be the head of the dragon, so she'll most likely be controlling it."

Ginny smiled but added, "But it looks like we'll have to work together if he's the body of the dragon. I doubt it'll be like Harry's being controlled. We'll have to be working in agreement."

"As one," added Harry with a slight blush.

Sirius took a deep breath. "Well, I'd suggest you both learn to become your individual forms of the wolf and cheetah first. That, I can help you with. I'm not entirely sure how to learn the dragon. Maybe after you've individually done it, you'll be able to figure it out." He sighed. "I don't think you'll want McGonagall's help if you don't want to register your forms."

-IYCHH-

Harry, while lying in his four-poster bed at Hogwarts, smiled at the thought of joining with Ginny to form a dragon. He knew it would take several months before they could even begin attempting that if they were going to learn to transform into their individual forms, but he had high hopes of becoming a dragon before the summer was over. He knew that both he and his girlfriend would be working hard to learn as fast as they could. He then chuckled to himself as he contemplated whether or not to tell Hermione about this latest development. He figured that if they told her about it, she, and no doubt Ron, would want to learn to transform as well. He and Ginny hadn't discussed telling Hermione about this latest development yet. He closed his eyes and decided to try getting some sleep.

-IYCHH-

Chapter end