OK, chapter 2 of Animagis. Just so you know. I do have a vague idea as to where this is going. It's just filling it out that's a little difficult. Well, anyway, enjoy it.
Chapter 2
-Unknown residence-
If looks could kill, Harry would have been dead nearly three times, and only nearly because Draco just didn't have the energy to make up the difference. The poison was sapping his strength faster than it normally would.
"Honestly Potter, can't you hear? That creature was one of the bad guys-Dagnabit Weasely! Could you try not to destroy my clothes anymore than they already are-these were expensive!"
Ron rolled his eyes and proceeded to rip the shirt the rest of the way up the side, and ignoring the comments of "Worth more than your life you damned Weasel.". He simply said. "Stuff it Ferret." Then he turned to look at Harry and Hermione. "What you saw Harry, was a Chirloc Demon."
"Which is?" Hermione asked her brow furrowing.
Ron looked about to answer but Draco cut across sharply. "Something we shouldn't be discussing!" he shot Ron a warning glare.
Ron ignored him. "No one actually knows-there are no books on them, nothing to explain what they are, or why they do what they do. Just how to release them and how to seal them back up. They take the bodies of muggles and wizards-makes them hell to track. But in their original form they look like what you saw today." He explained.
"So much for secrecy. I knew taking this case was a mistake-we should have deferred it. But no, you just had to see you old friends one last time." Draco muttered drowsily. "And really Weasel, if you must explain do it right."
Ron chuckled, he finished bandaging Draco's side, he had almost fallen asleep. "Draco, Draco drink this." Ron roused him enough to make him drink a potion. "If you guys can give me a minute to put sleeping beauty here to bed I'll explain everything."
"It's supposed to be a secret." Draco muttered. "And I can get all the way to the bedroom on my own Ronald." He forced himself to stand; grimacing in pain, more of his hair had come loose, spilling over his shoulders. With a hand pressed to his side he made his was quickly, if somewhat unsteadily to a door on the far side of the room.
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't talk about this when he's better-the last thing I need is for him to be pissed at me." Ron said as the door shut.
"What the hell is going on?" Harry exploded. "You're supposed to be dead! And him! What are you doing together? What was that thing-why did it attack you-what the hell just happened?" there was a wild look in his eyes.
Clarice began to look as upset as her father.
"Harry, calm down." Hermione said, stroking her daughter's hair.
"Calm down!" Harry exclaimed, suddenly rendered speechless in his utter confusion.
Ron laughed, drawing Harry's attention back to him. "Calm down and I'll explain Harry."
Harry looked at him in angry expectation.
"Right-well, technically-officially, I am dead, and so's Draco."
"Then how-" Hermione began.
"Let me explain Hermione." Ron said. "I am officially dead-not actually dead. That day-the day you all thought I'd died, that was the day I discovered I was an Animagis. I woke up two weeks later, very disorientated, told I was officially dead, part of a secret organisation-with Draco bitching in my ear about being partnered with me."
"What's an Animagis? Hows it different from an Animagus?" Hermione asked.
Ron would have applauded her, she was still the same Hermione, she picked up on everything.
"Why didn't you come back and tell us you were alive?" Harry demanded.
"I couldn't. You have to understand, I'm breaking a lot of rules telling you this at all. An Animagis is someone whose magic takes the form of an animal, unlike an Animagus where you become the animal yourself. It's not really that different except that you don't become an animal-you become one with the magic-and the magic just happens to take on the shape of an animal. One perk is that you don't have to use wands anymore-or say incantations."
"Couldn't you have let us know somehow?" Harry persisted.
Ron smiled and shook his head; soft red curls swiped his cheeks. "If I had of told you, you would have come looking for me and been drawn into this whole mess sooner. It's better if everyone thinks your dead; it makes the job a damn sight easier to do."
"What job? Damnit Ron would you just tell us!"
Ron sighed. Now the real explanation had to start. "Right-when you-know-who was in power, that first time, he managed to enlist the services of some Animagis, and had them let loose the Chirloc. It's basically an Animagis' job to seal the Chirloc away. So during the first war the Animagis were too busy sealing the Chirloc to become involved in the power struggle between you-know-who and Dumbledore. Now, just a few years before the start of the second war the Animagis had managed to reseal all the Chirloc, and then some stupid bugger got it into their head that they could use the Chirloc against you-know-who. But the Chirloc don't fight for anybody. They live only for destruction-that's why you-know-who had them released during the first war. Anyway-because of that round up during and after the first war, we're too few to keep up with the number of Chirloc on the loose now. But, two years ago Chirloc activity reduced dramatically, and the killings went from random to very specific. We believe they're being controlled by someone with a hit list on everyone involved in any major way with the last war."
"So that's why they were after us?" Hermione breathed.
Ron nodded. "They only reason they couldn't find you was because you were so reclusive. I have to say though, I'm glad we took the case-no matter what Draco says. I wouldn't have trusted anyone else to bring you in safely.
"You trust Malfoy?" Harry asked, blinking behind his glasses. "You don't even like him-or you didn't at any rate."
"Ten years of eating, sleep, working and owing my life more times than I can count to the man will do that to a person." Ron shrugged. "Having said that, we just barely tolerated each other that first year or two."
"Tolerated?" Hermione asked, voice faint and confused.
"Well he was a deatheater after all-it was hardly the happiest of partnerships in the beginning."
"So what changed? When did you start trusting deatheaters? What the hell is going on in the wizarding world?" Harry demanded loudly, being quickly shushed by Hermione, who was still stroking Clarice's hair, who, in the typical way of children who have just gone through something as emotionally terrifying, was almost asleep.
"I was like that-the first year. All I did was call him a filthy deatheater. I honestly made his life a living hell. And he took it rather well considering. You don't have allegiances within the Animagis to anyone other than the Animagis. That's just the way it is. So, he wasn't a deatheater, not anymore. He took it a whole year and a half before he snapped."
"What did he do?" Hermione asked, leaning forward, interested.
"Attacked me."
"Attacked you?" Harry asked, stunned, obviously thinking back to a time when Draco Malfoy would have gotten someone else to do the attacking for him.
"Changed into his Animagis ground animal and attacked me." Ron smiled fondly. "It was the biggest fight I'd ever had. Left more than one mark let me tell you, but he had two years on me at that point." He glanced over to the bedroom door. "After a while he kind of grows on you."
"I can imagine." Harry muttered.
Ron checked a sigh. Maybe now wasn't the best time to go into how Draco wasn't really all that bad. "Look-I've gotta get in there." He said looking to the bedroom. "It speeds up the healing process if an Animagis and their partners are close." He explained.
"When you say partners, you don't mean just working partners do you?" Hermione asked.
Ron coughed lightly. "Em… no, most Animagis partnerships are a little bit sexual-being officially dead is a little bit straining on a normal relationship. Besides, you can't spend twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year with a person and expect it to be purely platonic. Though some have managed it. There's an all female team who have I know."
"So and Malfoy are-?" Harry cut himself off with a grimace of disgust.
"That's another reason I never came back-well, after the second year anyway. We are one of the few compatible teams-only natural the way we are really."
"How do you mean?" Hermione asked.
"Our Animagis shapes are compatible. I'm the ordinary red tiger, he's a Siberian, I'm a red kite, he's a silver falcon, I'm a dolphin and he's a shark. Makes perfect sense really. We're very alike, yet very different. A Weasel and a Ferret."
There was an annoyed grumble in the back of his head-even injured, and asleep in the other room, Draco was voicing his objection to Ron telling Harry and Hermione absolutely everything. "Right-if I say anymore I'm going to be done for letting out one too many secrets." He laughed. "You'll be safe here; we'll talk whenever Draco's well about what we're going to do. You can do whatever you want within these rooms. For absolutely no reason leave-don't open a window, nothing. Be ready to leave at a moments notice. I would suggest you get some sleep in now, when Draco wakes up we'll be moving out." Ron smiled, got to his feet and started towards the bedroom on the far side of the room.
He left Harry and Hermione to puzzle through everything he had told them.
He closed the door of the room and leaned against it, looking over at Draco, curled up on his side on the far side of the bed facing the wall. Natural habit, because Ron was paranoid enough to want to always face the door. It was all part of his gryfindorish style of protecting those he was with. Ron pushed off the door and went to the bed.
He was well prepared when he settled himself for Draco's hand, now a wavery white and black stripped claw to swipe at him. Draco had rolled over and was half up to attach before he realised it was Ron, and he relaxed back, grimacing as his side twinged.
"You bastard." He growled.
"It's not my fault you have to attack everything that comes close to you." Ron smiled. "Any better?" he asked.
Draco shook his head, and crawled over the bed until he was practically sitting on Ron. Straddling him. "So did you tell your friends everything?" he asked.
"Most of it." Ron said, starting as Draco's hand began to tug off his shirt.
"We should have deferred the case. I knew you would tell them everything." Draco said, starting work on Ron's trousers.
"They are my best friends Draco." Ron said, reaching over. "I am not being the only on naked here."
"You knew them for all of what-eight years? That is no reason to tell them everything." Draco told him. "And you ripped my shirt. I am naked enough thank you very much." But he didn't protest too much when Ron wrestled the trousers down and kicked them off the bed.
"Why do you only every get like this after you've been poisoned?" Ron asked, laying back and letting Draco hungrily mark his neck and shoulder. "I tell you everything."
"You've known me longer-you sleep in the same bed as me-you're supposed to tell me everything." Draco said, pulling back a little. "And as for this-I do this when I'm not poisoned."
"Not quite as needy though." Ron grinned.
"I am not needy-hungry maybe. Besides-this could be my last ever night of sex. It has to be good." Draco said, returning to what he was doing.
Ron laughed. "You always say that Draco." He flipped Draco over easily so he was on top and he grinned wickedly. "What you gonna do now ferret?" he asked.
Draco cocked his head to the side, a very feline look crossing his face as he smiled. The pain in his side forgotten. Sex always healed him quicker than anything else. And he set out to regain his place on top. A flurry of movement later and Ron was back to laying on the mattress, laughing, with Draco leaning over him, predatory smile on his lips and a gleam in his eyes.
Done. Emm… yeah… it's true, really-if two people spent so much time together you can't expect anything less. Its all about dominance, besides, Ron is just a big kitty cat; Draco's an evil wee bugger of a cat. Sorry, random talking. Anyway, next chapter up soon-hopefully. (I'm pretending like I'm actually posting this until our internet comes back online)