A/N: Unfortunately it looks like my updates may slow down a little. Cringes. Sorry, but I'm having trouble writing chapter nineteen. I know what I want and how I want it to look, but for some reason the words don't quite work out when they get typed up. Hopefully I can finish that chapter and move on to the next few, which I already have planned out. I can, however, promise that I am not abandoning this fic. I'm still adamant that I finish this before putting more time into any other fics. For anyone reading The Fey Courtesan, I do have chapter two almost finished, so maybe that might go up soon. And the companion piece to this story, The History of The Hecatamae and The Sole Hybrid, will be posted in two volumes, and separate parts, but all under the same title.

This chapter is a little lighter towards the end than most of the ones lately. And I'm still looking for ideas to use for pranks.

Dedicated to my wonderful beta, Jess, who inspired me to make Mere love the Clock Tower. This is my gift to her. Also dedicated to Ignis et Ventus and moonjess who were my 100th and 200th reviewers. I know I am way behind in the thanking, but I never expected to get this many reviews. Big, ginormous cyber cookies to you!

Chapter Sixteen—Clocks, Circles and Whippees!

Mere scowled and the third year Gryffindor scampered out of her way. She was in a foul mood and didn't have the patience required to deal with insufferable brats who insisted on making her life hell. Glaring, she stomped up the stairs of the Clock Tower. Since arriving here, she had found it to be the most peaceful place within the walls of Hogwarts. Although, she had made the mistake of letting the pack know of her newfound haven.

With a sigh she settled down in a shadowy corner and closed her eyes. Harry had refused to return to Gryffindor Tower, not that she blamed him or anything, but Dumbledore was now prying into why they all seemed to come and go from Hufflepuff at their own whims. She mentally snorted, remembering the look on Marci's face when her own Guild had written to her.

Dear Miss Marci Aluie Szina,

It has come to our attention that the Headmaster of Hogwarts, one Albus Dumbledore, has taken it upon himself to inquire as to your role within the Durmstrang social structure. As such, the Guild Council has decided that, in order to protect the true spy, we will be giving him a vital clue in discovering that you are the envoy sent to determine which side of the war requires our assistance.

Regretfully, this will make your day-to-day life more hectic than it has already become. I bid you good luck, and keep Grey safe, to the best of your abilities.

Sale Moae,

Healers Guild Mistress

Marci had chucked a fit; tearing apart her dorm, then tearing it apart again after every time Harry repaired it. It had been amusing for about an hour, but then the other Hufflepuff's had become curious and had ventured up the stairs. Harry had fallen on the floor in laughter at the look of shock on their faces as they stared at their once ordered dorm room.

Stretching, she cracked an eye open, watching as a group of fifth year Durmstrang students cautiously made their way over to her. A loud 'thump' sent them scurrying the rest of the way. She sighed, so much for peace.

Standing, Mere wasn't surprised to see Ron and his cronies. She was, however, surprised to see that Daniel was arguing fiercely with his friend. She strained her ears to hear.

"…can't just attack them!"

"And why not? They're Death Eaters!"

"They aren't marked! Listen, Ron, they're powerful, and could be good allies in the end, why should we alienate them now?"

Ron glared at him before jerking his wand up. A purple spell soared over and slammed into an invisible wall. "What the fuck?"

Mere raised an eyebrow. "Did you really think I would be walking around unprotected after the hell you've put us through?

The red head lifted his chin and raised his wand again. "Coward. I know exactly what you are. And if I have to eliminate every single one of you on my own, then so be it."

The amber eyed wereleopard let out a soft, menacing growl. At the same time one of the fifth years jerked, a hand flying up to a pendant on a thin gold chain. "Mere."

She glanced over and spied Laura. She frowned at the pendant. "Go. I'll foll--." A red spell shot forward and slammed into her shoulder, the invisible ward spell shattering in shards coloured a brilliant array of colour. Shaking her head, she pushed herself up from where she had slammed into the wall. Her eyes landed on her forearm and she let out an annoyed hiss. Her tanned skin was slightly furred and spots were beginning to appear. Concentrating, she pushed the leopard away, ignoring the indignant yowl it gave within her mind.

"I would suggest, Weasley, that you stay far away from me, or any others like myself." She stood, locking sparking amber eyes on him. "Or else suffer the consequences."

"I'm not afraid of you. I'll simply deal with you like I did Evans."

Laura froze and spun around. The group she was with continued on, oblivious to the anger thrumming through her veins. "What!"

"Forget it, Laura. Get going."

"No!" She stalked up to Ron, angry eyes narrowing. "What did you do!"

"Showed him the only thing he's good for. Want a go?"

Mere growled and shot forward, pulling the smaller witch behind her. "Didn't think you swang that way."

He laughed, his wand a mere inch from her face. "Reducto!"

Amber eyes widened as the spell suffused the wand, tendrils of magic shooting from the walls about them, binding the spell to its exit point. "Huh. Guess Hogwarts doesn't take too kindly to your actions." She stepped forward, batting the wand away. "Watch how you act around us. All of us are protected by an Heir to this school, it would do you well to stay out of our way!"

She spun and ushered Laura from the room, pausing thoughtfully by the door. "And just so you understand…" She pulled her wand out and flicked it, a barrage of spells slamming into the group of Gryffindor's. She was surprised when a bluish shield sprang up around Daniel, who blinked in confusion, raising a hand to touch the defensive magic. She recognised the shield, because every Durmstrang student in Hogwarts was protected by it. It kept them safe from seriously dangerous spells when they were cast in a cowardly fashion. And it was part of the reason why Harry frequently dropped his guard.

Leaving her sanctuary, Mere grumbled about the loss of Durmstrang's own Clock Tower. It was much more beautiful than the one here, though it would have sufficed had the stupid Gryffindor's not invaded it. Magic swirled beside her and Ferio purred as he rubbed against her leg as they walked.

"Hello, Ferio. Had a nice hunt lately?"

Mostly. This forest lacks my usual prey.The small wings grew until they spanned several feet. The Cutherian flicked its tail. Mistresses Alpha has joined me more than once, though in the last few days he has spent entire nights there.

"Hmm. I was wondering about that. He doesn't seem to be taking this very well, but he refuses to speak to us."

What of the Alpha's Mate? Has he been informed?

Mere blinked. "Laura?"

The witch frowned. "Yes?"

"Has your Lord been advised of what occurred a few days ago?"

The girl shook her head, hazel eyes glimmering with a burning rage. "No. Harry has forbidden us from speaking of it. My Lord is rather concerned as to why he has been unable to contact him."

Mere frowned. "Harry has been refusing the link? I wasn't aware of this."

Phanta spoke of her concern over the Alpha's behaviour. He has become increasingly jittery. His refusal to attend classes has solidified the fact that this is becoming a larger problem.

Silently agreeing with her familiar, she followed Laura through the winding halls of Hogwarts. The witch was probably the youngest she knew of who bore the Mark of the Dark Lord. Though, Tom had been careful to not associate them with his Death Eaters. For starters, the Mark was different, that of a Falcon rather than a skull and snake. She was one of a select group of individuals chosen by Tom to protect Harry when he could not. Namely while they were at school.

Harry tended to drift off while in the sanctuary of Durmstrang, his guard lowered and his defences at a minimum. Of course, his mental barriers were always up full force; Durmstrang turned out students talented in Legilimency like it was as common as the ability to fly a broom. But here in Hogwarts, he was on such a high alert, that his senses were stretched to breaking point. Not to mention the fact his magic was woven around each student, to either alert him to their situation or protect them from attack. It was wearing on him, and the altercation with Ron hadn't helped any.

The amount of silver that had flooded his system was enough to kill any one of the remaining members of their pack. The only reason Harry survived was that his Hecatamus blood would not allow him to die unless his mate died first, or the bond was removed. It was a godsend, really. Unless one counted the fact that Harry was blaming himself for what had happened. And that was why his magic had frozen his core, in an effort to punish himself.

She watched as Laura paced before a bare wall. Three times she passed it before a large oak door shimmered into being. "Room of Requirement?"

The witch nodded. "Harry decided this was the best place to hold meetings of any sort. He claims that--."

"That Hogwarts can protect us from the prying eyes of Dumbledore." Harry raised an eyebrow as the door swung open. "And what the hell have you been doing?"

Mere glared at him. "I should ask you the same thing!" Stalking passed him, she took in the twenty-seven students within the room. The pack was there, along with Tom's Circle.

Harry blinked as the door shut softly. "What have I done this time?"

Growling, she spun and slammed him into the door. "Why won't you talk about it!"

Harry froze, a tendril of fear and shame creeping into sparking emerald eyes. He jerked his body from her grasp. "Because I choose not to!"

"You can't keep doing that!"

He growled, "Why not? Is it not my decision?"

"No! You are putting yourself in danger, and sending that fool after us!"

In a smooth flash of magic, a sleek black wolf took the place of Harry. He looked up at her with begging eyes, a high-pitched whine echoing about the room. Phanta gave a coo from her perch on the back of an empty chair. The wolf padded over and curled up in front of the fire, emerald and gold eyes filled with pain.

One of the Circle members, a violet eyed wizard, sighed. "Our Lord has expressed a desire to meet and pry the information from Harry, but it appears that the Guild Council is more interested in learning of the information first. They have forbidden it."

Mere kneeled beside Harry, petting the velvety soft fur on his head. "I am so sorry, Harry. This is not your fault; you should not be doing this. We are here to protect you, yet you are defending every one of us instead." She leaned forward and placed her forehead against the top of his head. "I am sorry, my brother. I failed to defend you when your back was turned."

Magic touched and slithered along her skin and Harry wrapped arms around her. "It is not your fault, Mere. But I cannot talk of this."

"Why?"

He sighed, pulling back to look at sad amber eyes. "The Council requires the first hand knowledge before everyone else. I'll be going to a meeting tomorrow night."

"Have you spoken to Tom?"

He shook his head. "No, not since it happened. Mere, he…he was trying to get to me and it made it worse. How can I explain that to him?"

The lost look on Harry's face was something she had never before seen, and it scared her. He had always been sure of his actions, though she had learned that each step was carefully planned and had been that way since his childhood. "Perhaps you can simply tell him what happened. 'The truth always comes with time.'"

A small smile tugged at his lips. "Are you quoting me again?"

She smirked, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Perhaps."

The rest of the meeting was spent laying around the comfortable room Hogwarts had given them, which looked surprisingly similar to their old Social Rooms back at Durmstrang. Harry remained on the floor before the fire, curled up with his head in Mere's lap. Ferio and Phanta had commandeered his empty chair, watching them with alert eyes.

HPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLV

Laura grinned at Darren and Karl as they stood in the empty Gryffindor Common Room. In the grey light of the early morn, the room was much more welcoming with the shadows calming the vibrant red and gold colour scheme. The moon was nearing its full phase and they could all feel their Were halves stirring more than usual. Surprisingly, tonight's escapade was calming them somewhat.

In their hands, they each held a small black and purple velvet bag. Bottomless and stronger than the toughest Dragon hide, anything could be placed within and it could neither get out nor be destroyed. As they moved towards their respective staircases, they began to shake the bags vigorously, aggravating whatever it was that was trapped within. Small, high-pitched voices squeaked in indignation, but they ignored them as they continued to move along.

Laura stopped just before the seven doors that separated each year of girls from one another. Smirking she gave the bag another shake before setting it on the ground and placing a Timing Charm upon it. Pointing her wand at each door, she repeated the spell, charming each door to open just as the bag would release its captives. Stepping back, she moved halfway down the stairs, before spinning and flicking her wand, sealing the fates of the students behind a ward spell.

As she waited in the Common Room, snickers drifted down the stairs as Darren and Karl returned, large grins on their faces. "I suppose the boys are in for Hell?"

Karl wrapped his arms around her. "Little Laura, you have no idea."

Darren simply gave a mock bow. "I believe we have more Fire ones than you."

"Oh my!" She laughed softly. "I almost feel sorry for them...almost…well, maybe not really."

Snorting with laughter, the three left the tower and made their way down to the Hufflepuff dorms, determined to drag Harry, Marci and the petite sized Louie Flaiq. Strolling into the Common Room they gave the early risers an impish grin and continued up the stairs to Marci and Darren's dorm. Karl broke off and entered through a separate door to collect Louie.

When they entered, Darren cracked up laughing at the sight he was greeted with. It seemed like the pranking had already begun.

Harry was blinking owlishly at the sight before him, namely his familiar Phanta with the colouring and feathers of Marci's phoenix, Solisa. The phoenix looked none too pleased with the silver scales she was suddenly covered in.

Marci sighed and turned to them, waving sleepily. "Apparently Draco Malfoy thought this would be amusing."

"He made her feathery."

Laura snorted as Harry continued to stare at Phanta who was hissing angrily at him. "Let me guess, she wants back?"

The raven-haired werewolf nodded slowly. "Yeah, only…he made her feathery."

Louie yawned widely as he came in from the fifth year dorms. Blue-grey eyes blinked sleepily, before he stopped several feet short of the bed he was aiming for. Slowly, he turned and his mouth fell open at the two familiars. "Wha…what happened?"

Marci looked up from where she had been attempting to soothe the irate phoenix. "Draco thought this was a grand idea. I suppose we'll have to ask him what he did. It looks like Harry is more interested in staring, than helping."

"Marci…he made her feathery."

She sighed. "Yes, Harry, I can see that. Did you miss the fact that Solisa is scaly?"

In a flash, the emerald eyes were fixed on the strange sight of a silver scaled phoenix. "Odd."

Karl shook his head. "I wonder if he aimed the prank at all of our familiars?"

Darren's eyes widened. "Oh no. No, no, no! If he did that then…"

An angry growl broke through the room and a sleek panther like cat stepped out of a shadow. "I am feathered!"

All eyes turned onto the Hell Cat, who was indeed covered completely in shimmery, gold feathers. "Oh my." Marci shook her head. "This does not bode well."

Darren cautiously took a step closer to his familiar, only to have it hiss and drop into a crouch. He held his hands up, palms out. "Okay, okay. I'm not moving. How's about we go down to breakfast? Hmm?"

"If I find that any of you has caused this…condition, I promise, my wrath will be great!"

"And no one doubts that Merynes. Food now?"

HPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLV

Dumbledore frowned down at the ancient scroll spread out over his desk. The images shifted and moved away as his finger traced over a single line Ad frango a Hecatamae vinculum (to break a Hecatamae bond). Absently he cast a translating spell over the Latin text, having no patience to do it himself.

The Bond between Hecatamae and their Mates is strong enough to keep the Submissive, which is always the Hecatamae, alive even through a mortal wound or devastating curse/sickness. Unless the Dominant, the human blooded being, dies, no harm can befall them. At the same time, the Mate is protected by the strongest magic a Hecatamae could possibly conjure from the world around them. As they appear to draw power into their core, which keeps them at a constant danger level as their abilities increase with the magic pouring in, this then transfers through the Link they share and strengthens the Defensive Shield surrounding the Mate.

Hecatama, the female of the species, have a significantly smaller Core than their male counterparts. However, their Wings, usually resembling an eagle's wing, are well developed from birth and have the ability to collect Raw Energy and transfer that into their spells. The Hecatamus, being the male, has a Core several times larger than the most powerful Wizarding Core discovered thus far. Their Wings are large enough for flight and resemble a Dragon's Wing, but with the leathery folds having a shimmery property. They are known to be incredibly gifted at tapping into Magical Structures, particularly if those buildings have a partially Sentient being within them, as a result of magical influence.

If one was to seek to break the bond between a Hecatamae and their Mate, they must be aware of the risks involved. Of the dozens of cases, only two have ever been witnessed by the Breaker to the bitter, or bright, end.

The incantation...(and here there was a severe burn mark) should only be used in a time of emergency, where the Mate's death is required for the good of the world. It should not be used to control, or weaken, a Hecatamae, as they will loose what little control they have.

The first case involved a Hecatama whose Mate ran a Slave Trading business, using muggle children who were sold to Wizarding Families. The Hecatama, named Jiloqa, was confined to a cage. The metal bars were spelled to constantly run with sparking electricity, which causes severe disruptions in the beings ability to control Magic. Jiloqa reacted favourably to the breaking of her Bond, and those involved were rewarded with a wealth of riches that neither depleted nor enlarged.

The second, and infinitely the more well known of the cases, involved a Hecatamus whose Mate was a particularly powerful Wizard. During this time, male/male relationships were not looked on favourably, and the Breaker was given the consent from the civilians to remove the Bond. When the Bond was removed, the Wizard was imprisoned deep underground where the Hecatamus, named Keronqa, could have no hope of reaching him. Keronqa reacted badly to the breaking of his Bond. The day after his Mate's imprisonment, the Breaker and all those involved were found brutally murdered. There were no weapons used, as a Hecatamae does not need to be near the victim to kill. The towns and surrounding farms were destroyed in a frightening thunderstorm that killed all and any life.

It is widely believed that should one force the breaking of a Bond, they shall need to wear an amulet of pure metal, infused with the Thunder Stone, a precious stone so rare that only two have been found to date. This will cause the amulet to release electrical pulses should an Unbonded Hecatamae touch the wearer.

Dumbledore tapped his finger on the desk thoughtfully. He would need to do more research. The incantation needed to be discovered. A few years ago, the Research sector of the Ministry was rumoured to have been researching Hecatamae. Perhaps the records, or even those involved were still in existence.

With a wry smile, he popped a Lemon Drop into his mouth.

HPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLV

As the Great Hall continued to fill, Harry yawned widely, ignoring the grumpy looks the familiars were throwing at their Masters. So far Harry hadn't wanted to change the spell, and Draco had yet to emerge from the Dungeons. The thirty or so creatures were disgruntled, angry, hurt and incredibly sarcastic and destructive. Phanta and Merynes had utterly destroyed the Gryffindor table and Harry and Darren had been forced to repair it. Several times.

The Ravenclaw's and Hufflepuff's shot the Durmstrang students odd looks, while the Slytherin's, when they finally arrived, looked amused to see only Laura, Darren, Karl, Harry and Ginny sitting at Gryffindor table. Ginny was confused as to why her housemates were late, and had badgered Laura until he witch had spelled her mouth shut.

There was a crash somewhere in the distance. Several high-pitched screams and a bang. A massive heatwave rolled through the castle to meet with freezing fog. Vines crept over anything that stayed still longer than two seconds and water gushed from the cracks in the stone. Another bang and the doors flung open, the missing members of Gryffindor House screaming as they ran into the Hall. Small Imps followed them; chattering angrily and randomly picking a student up off the ground before letting them fall back down.

Laura, Darren and Karl snickered as Ron ran past, his own scream so high pitched and girly that Harry could only sit and blink in shock. The three gave up when the sixth year Prefects were suspended in mid-air and stripped naked, with a large group of Imps dancing and singing as they painted their bodies in magic. A loud thud sounded and the Hall was shocked silent as Dumbledore's behind suddenly turned into a giant Bee thorax, complete with rubber stinger.

Harry blinked. "Did someone start the Prank War early?"

Somewhere, in the air above the stunned students, came a tiny voice, "Whippee!"

A/N: Like I said, I can't seem to come up with funny pranks, let alone describe them half the time.