If silence is golden, then why is duct tape silver?

"Harry James Potter. You are attending this hearing today to discuss what seems to some to be a systemic loss of your humanity and what seems to others to be nothing more than the physical consequences of the various diseases and curses you have encountered in your endeavors with little to no impact on your core mental faculty. The purpose of this meeting is to discover and record every such change you have encountered that effects you in every way imaginable. Do you understand?"

Harry spoke loud and clear to Minister Fudge, "Yes."

Leading up to this moment, Harry, Luna, and Tiberius went to the hearing. They were led to an interrogation room where they met a full panel of what looked to Harry to be about 120 members. The moment he sat down, the chair he sat on clamped down on his arms and legs. When Harry didn't react, Fudge said to 'release the restraints' and the chair let go. Fudge then said a word of apology, some excuse of precaution, then asked the above, beginning the hearing.

"Good. You will be given a vial of veritaserum so that we may know that every word that comes out of your mouth is the entire uncorrupted truth. Every word you speak will be recorded. If you attempt to escape you will be detained. Do you understand?" He clenched his teeth at weird times and stopped his speech in strange places for no apparent reason, hinting at some deep mental issue. The entire thing reminded him of an actor by the name of Peter Stormare.

Again, Harry spoke, "Yes."

"Very well." Fudge said to Harry, and then he spoke to a gentleman in a blue cloak, "Administer the veritaserum." The man took a small vial out of his coat pocket and walked over to Harry, who willingly took and drank the vial. It had no flavor. "Good. Now the questions will begin."

Mafalda Hopkirk asked the first question. "Tell me about your connections to your dragon; Norberta."

Harry's mouth began moving immediately and of its own accord, "We share a 'Mother's Love Bond' that formed the moment I witnessed her hatch. This normally would only happen to women, who are far more accepting of bonds on a subconscious level, but I bonded because of my past endeavors in Soul Magic. By that time, I had already bonded to most of Hogwart's students, all but one of the teachers, the headmaster, Hagrid's dog, and several other creatures that are now located in the Forbidden Forest. Immediately upon bonding, I experienced a second set of instincts in my mind. It wanted to protect and love the dragon. I accepted this side and our bond became stronger over time rather than breaking down as a result."

Mafalda continued, "How were you able to acquire this egg?"

Fudge interrupted, "We already have on record the answer to that question and does not have to be answered today. Ask another question."

Mafalda asked, "We are aware that you are a werewolf. Is this true?"

"No."

"We have on record that you are a werewolf. Here-" at this point she held up a piece of parchment, "is a statement from Albus Dumbledore explaining your condition. How can you deny that you are a werewolf under veritaserum?"

"On a night of the full moon, Luna visited me in my hiding place. Just before I killed her, she tore out a part of my mind that divided the wolf and man parts of me. This enabled the mentally superior man to control the wolf, which allowed me to stop myself from killing her. Over time, wolf and man became one in my mind. This has caused many things to occur. I can now control the changes, the changes are much faster, I do not become as weak as I used to on the full moon, the full moon now only tempts me to change, my general attitude became slightly more aggressive at first, but I have a grip on it and it is back to normal, the change can be triggered by activating some form of hunting or attacking instinct, and I can now control myself in wolf form. I have tested myself with the werewolf detection spell. As the law dictates, it would turn me red for a moment. Now, it only turns me blue, telling me that I am not a werewolf."

A woman who was wearing pink under her black cloak spoke. She reminded Harry of a toad. She spoke in a voice that sounded like sugar should taste, yet the tone reminded him of poison. "Are you the one who has given the other werewolves the ability to attack us at any time?"

Harry, unable to answer any other way, said, "Yes." Many of the others looked greatly concerned about this. Fudge looked angry, but was hiding it. However, there were some there who seemed impressed and perhaps glad that Harry had done so. Harry spoke again, "However, I did not intend for this to be the case. I had no idea that this is how things would develop. To tell you the truth, I have been rather closed off from the media. Can any of you tell me what has been going on relative to werewolves?

Fudge, reserve breaking, spoke in a strangled, silently raging voice. "You bastard! My daughter was bitten three days ago! What future does she have now?!"

Harry spoke calmly, "Do not worry, Minister. Your daughter's future will be that of a normal girl since the cure carries on with the bite. She will probably only transform on her first full moon if she so wished to not change. Considering that this is effecting the public arena, I don't doubt that your daughter will be unaffected by public opinion if she does decide to be open with others on the matter, since most people will soon be a werewolf. She also has a very useful form of self defense that will stay with her till the day she dies. The only thing that I think people will find odd is her eating habits, and that will soon be remedied as well. Remember that werewolves are people, too, and should be given the same rights and responsibilities as any other human being."

Fudge was quivering with rage, speechless. The toad lady calmly took over, "You enabled several werewolves to strategically attack innocent civilians. You armed them against us. You should be sent to Azkaban."

"Yes, I enabled them to attack like a wand maker enables a wizard to become dark, except I did more than that. I allowed them to choose. I would be guilty of murder if I had forced werewolves to transform every full moon, but instead I freed them from murdering others without being able to choose not to. I allowed them to be good. Just because they decided not to does not mean that I am responsible for their decision. After all, it's their decision!"

An older, more experienced-looking woman spoke up, "Yes, I would have to agree with the boy. He had no control over them. We should be thanking him for his services to humanity. After all, despite the exponential increase in werewolf attacks, there has been an exponential decrease in deaths that result from these attacks. And, a bottle of dittany infused with silver has been reported to just come from nowhere during these attacks, within reach and use of the victim after the attack, as if the werewolf is only trying to infect rather than kill. I believe that these werewolves mean us no harm, and only want to improve their living conditions by invading the political arena with those that share their interests. That would explain why over two thirds of us either have already been attacked by a werewolf or have relatives that are werewolves while most other groups of people are generally unaffected."

Harry spoke now, "Interesting. I wonder if werewolves will have equal rights soon."

The pink toad lady was about to speak up again and looked to be in a rage when Harry interrupted her, "Hey, what is your name? Every time I think of who you might be the only thing I can come up with is 'Pink Toad Lady.'"

Many people gasped and eventually broke down in laughter. Even Fudge joined in a little. Apparently he wasn't the only one who thought she looked like a toad. The most hilarious part is that Harry couldn't have lied when he said that. As soon as Fudge could catch his breath, he said, "Well, that was an amusing observation. Her name is Delores Jane Umbridge."

"Interesting. First name means 'sorrow'. Second means 'to take offense'. Judging by your behavior today, you enjoy inflicting sorrow upon others. Judging by your obsession with vanity, you are shallow and have a very limited state of mind. You likely fear anything that is strange and have a desperate need to control your surroundings. Stemming from that, you likely take great offense if anyone challenges you or your views and very likely have a highly poisonous world view and are obsessed with power. Tell me, are you married?"

Delores didn't answer, her mouth twisted into a snarl and her face was as pink as her clothes. The Minister answered again, "No, she is not."

Harry was disappointed, "How predictable. Why do the bad ones have to be so boring?"

Fudge, now no longer amused said, "Back on topic, Potter. Time for the next question. I believe I will ask it. You are obviously different in other ways. Anyone who looks at you will know that you are not only a werewolf. The eyes suggest a cat or snake and the hair suggests a basilisk or a bad case of new fashion. What has caused you to look this way and what else has this caused?"

"I am sure you have heard of the Chamber of Secrets?"

This drew yet another row of gasps from the crowd. Fudge remained calm, "Yes."

"But you have not heard of why the attacks have stopped?"

"We heard that you found the chamber and tamed the monster within, ending the attacks."

"Yes. The monster, which is a naturally born basilisk, has a name. Her name is Caroline. I have formed a natural bond with her and she now lives in the forbidden forest. In the struggle that occurred between Dumbledore and Slytherin's other heir within the chamber, Caroline's fangs were used as poisonous shrapnel against me by the other heir. I was stabbed in the arm by a fang, after which time I lost consciousness. Dumbledore's phoenix attempted to heal me, but the poison was unaffected, and the only thing Fawkes achieved was closing the wound." Harry said in a controlled and calm voice. He didn't know how, but he was able to leave out Neville, Luna, and Ginny, as well as the identity of the heir and how the heir lived. That would beg too many questions that he would rather not answer or just didn't want to answer.

Fudge spoke, "What do you mean by a naturally born basilisk?"

"Slytherin seemed to have a particular connection to basilisks, so he kept some on his land. These basilisks mated and so Caroline was born a natural basilisk. Her poison is stronger and her killing glare is much more powerful, as is mine. As it seems; I, too, am an heir of Slytherin. For some reason, I can talk to snakes and I am impervious to a basilisk's glare and poison. Following the events in the chamber, I noticed some weird things happen to me. The poison flushed out of my urine and corroded the toilet I was using, yet had no effect on me. After that, my eyes became slitted and I grew three eyelids, the first being clear, and the second being cloudy. My third lids are my normal ones. Then, when I was bathing, the skin above my spine peeled to reveal scales and my hair went bald in a stripe and was replaced by red hair. Then I became cold blooded and slept better in the cold rather than in the warmth. Then my human teeth fell out and were replaced by pointed ones and my tongue became that of a snake's. My teeth could deliver a highly deadly poison that was corrosive, just like Caroline's.

"Then came the second most unfortunate experience of my life. Three members of your Department of Mysteries showed up at the house I was staying at in order to discover why certain spells were being triggered. These spells were engineered to detect basilisks within its premises. They came with a device and it flat-lined near me. When they looked at my eyes, they all froze. Then, one of them drew their wand and fired a killing curse at me. My eyes burned for a split second before I ducked. I looked up to see all three of them thrashing violently on the floor; blood and putrid, liquid grey matter leaking out of their mouths and noses for several seconds before they grew still. Luna vomited and I would have if I had a gag reflex, which happened to be missing as a result of my mutations. I could also eat small animals whole because my jaw can dislocate in the middle, and drink blood to sustain myself, though I don't know why that one came about."

Fudge grunted before saying, "So, you accidentally murdered three Department of Mysteries agents just by looking at them?"

"Well, not exactly. Later I found out that I couldn't easily cause my gaze to be deadly. I had to really want to kill something. Otherwise, the only thing that can cause it is a real threat of death, which is why I killed your men by accident. Other than that one exception, my eyes work like a killing curse."

Fudge continued, "Are there any dangerous instincts you have gained from any of your mutations?"

"My werewolf qualities make my emotions harder to handle, but I have grown used to handling them with all of my bondmate's aid. Their support has made me a better person…. a complete person. Also, the basilisk qualities of mine make me want to bite something when threatened. Other than that, no dangerous instincts have been added to my mind."

"Good. Now, are there any other mutations you would like to share with us?"

Harry, noticing the hole in his question, answered, "No, Minister Fudge, there aren't."

Umbridge interrupted, looking vicious, "Have you had any other mutations?"

Harry's mouth moved of its own volition, "Yes."

Fudge's eyes narrowed. Umbridge looked triumphant. Fudge asked the obvious, "What mutations?"

Again, Harry couldn't stop himself, "I can also see thermal vision, feel the life essence of others, I can talk to dementors, and I am resistant to the dementor aura."

Fudge nodded, "And how did you acquire these abilities?"

Through gritted teeth, Harry answered while clawing his chair with his sharpened black nails, scratching poison into the wood, "I bonded with a dementor."

Umbridge looked like Christmas came early, "And how exactly do you bond with this dementor?"

Harry saw another hole, "Well, it's not a process I can explain. It was very easy to do because she is only a child. Despite this, she lives in a prison where most of the people there only have happy memories in the form of murder, betrayal, torture, and worse. Can any of you imagine having to feed on such torturing thoughts to survive? And now I have found that the dementor has escaped from Azkaban because you want to kill her for refusing to give an innocent man the dementor's kiss! I have felt the pain she feels and know what she knows. You torture them daily and you don't even care, do you? You think they are monsters and beasts! I will tell you where she is if you ask, but before you ask, know this."-and here his voice gained a new sense of dangerous power- "I will kill every last man and woman who witnesses my answer."

Umbridge looked mortified, covering her eyes with her hands. A handful of others looked amused, but many were a little annoyed. No one asked the question, not even the amused ones. Instead, one of the amused, a man that reminded him of Draco, said,

"I do not doubt that you tell the truth, but your efforts are pointless. We knew where the dementor was the moment it bonded with you. We did not intervene to take her to Azkaban because Dumbledore had advised Fudge that, and I quote, 'Any creature that Harry bonds with will have a respect of life that most humans cannot claim truthfully.' This tells us that this AWOL dementor is now in a state of mind that would only hurt others in self defense. As a result, we could not, in good conscience, destroy it. Well, most of us, anyway." He finished, glancing at Umbridge, and then sitting down.

Fudge nodded and said, "Yes. You have nothing to worry about, Mr. Potter. We will not harm your dementor. Now…" – at this he put a few papers in a manila folder on his podium – "your hearing is at an end, but will you meet me in private, Harry? In my office, perhaps?"

"Of course, minister. Tell me, do you know of anything else the dementor has done?" Harry asked,

"Well, we have no way to tell if it the dementor does anything, but we did place a spell on you that informs us of when and with what you bond so that we may identify and change the intelligence status of every creature you come in contact with. After all, we don't want to detain a perfectly in-control creature that would otherwise put other people in danger. Likewise, we will not permit an intelligent being to escape the law if they knowingly and willingly commit a crime. Anyway, this hearing is dismissed. Follow me, Harry."

And so, Minister Fudge came down from his podium and led Harry to his office, which was rather messy. It was a simple room with little decoration and paper after unorganized paper strewn about in a disorderly manner. As Harry glanced at a stack in which several exposed documents were stamped TOP SECRET, he caught a glimpse of a few words;

….to reside at a secret location protected by the Fidelius Charm believed to be somewhere on Grimmuald Pl-"

Fudge covered the pile with his coat, nervously looking up at Harry and saying, "How rude of me to leave my secret documents lying around." His face became more self confident when he sat down in his chair and uncorked a half-empty bottle of firewhiskey. He took a swig and asked Harry to sit down. Harry sat on a nearby chair and spread out, waiting for the minister to speak. Several times Fudge opened his mouth as if he would speak, paused, then took another swig of firewhiskey. Finally, after half an hour of drinking and a quarter of a bottle gone, Fudge filled his mouth with words rather than whiskey.

"Very impressive spirit you have, Harry. I hope you do not threaten people very often?"

"No. I think that was the first time."

"Yes…Good man-"

"Minister, why am I here?"

His face sank and Harry could almost hear his heart drop. "To business, then. Harry, there is a man that has escaped from Azkaban. I am sure you have heard of Serious Black?"

"I know of an innocent man who escaped Azkaban. Is this Mr. Black?"

"Well, it is him, but I assure you he is not innocent."

"…If you insist, Minister." Harry did not believe him, of course. He knew that Lucy, the dementor who let Serious Black go, would never let a criminal go, and he had experienced this person's state of mind through Lucy. "What did you arrest him for, anyway?"

Fudge, blustered, said, "Well…um…I don't think I can tell you that, Harry. Just…be careful from now on. Even the most powerful wizard has a weakness."

"Yes. Given that I killed Voldemort as a baby, I would have to agree."

"So, you will be more careful then?"

"Yes."

"Good man. Well, unless you have some way of making my job easier by stopping time, I'm afraid that this meeting has come to an end." He and Harry stood up and Harry left. Eventually; he, Luna, and Tiberius got back to the hotel.

-oOoOo-

When they got to the hotel, Luna had a few rude things to say about Fudge and the Ministry in general. Heat seemed to radiate from her in waves because of how angry she was. She seemed particularly upset by Umbridge, which didn't come as a surprise to Harry. There was something about the woman that screamed 'evil'. She was female, and so should be more open to a spirit bond than a male, yet any attempt Harry made to bond with her didn't even make a change in her barriers. Her mind was so inactive and limited that even Voldemort was more open to making a positive bond than she was, and that was saying something. Harry was disturbed by Umbridge, but Luna was simply infuriated by her, to the point of turning her waist-length hair into pure white fire. Luckily it didn't burn Luna's clothes (supposedly her immunity to fire extends to whatever she is physically touching), which may have made her angry enough to burn the hotel down. Harry and Norberta successfully calmed her down and they went to bed.

-oOoOo-

Harry felt himself drift to vague consciousness. Upon opening his eyes, he saw the hood and cloak of a dementor leaning over him.

"Hello, Lucy." Harry said quietly, stretching.

"Hello, Harry. Where is Luna?"

This caused Harry to pause. The covers next to him were empty. Feeling half of him recoil in fear and the other half laugh knowingly, Harry calmly (yet feverishly) searched his mind for their connection. Upon finding it, he found that she was in Diagon alley, looking through the window of the Magical Menagerie at a small pair of what appeared to be lion cubs. She was fascinated by them, and for good reason. Not only did they look dangerous, despite being cubs, but they were also winged. One was the darkest black, and the other was the brightest white. Harry thought with his mind,

"Ask how much those are worth."

Luna, having been entranced by the….whatever they were, was surprised at first by Harry's mental presence. "They're beautiful, aren't they?" She asked.

"Yes. Would you like to take them to Hogwarts and eventually home?"

"Yes. I'm going to buy them."

"Thank you." Harry said, sending her feelings of love.

"You're welcome." She replied, reciprocating the feelings.

Harry returned to himself and began getting dressed. Lucy floated in the air, absorbing some of the excess happiness bleeding off of Harry, which came in waves for the winged lions Harry and Luna were going to have.

"How are you, Lucy?" Harry asked after pulling a shirt on.

"Happier than I have felt in a very long time. Possibly forever." Lucy said, but Harry didn't feel very much emotion from her. He figured that she was only conserving the happiness she needed.

"Good. Now, Lucy; Luna is going to bring home two young and winged lions. I want you to exclude them from your aura. Do you understand?"

"I exclude everyone but you and Luna anyway."

"Good. Now, do you remember what today is?"

"The first day of school?"

"Yes. Do you know what that means?"

"…" No thoughts came from her. It felt to Harry like he was talking to a brick wall, but didn't let her know that.

"You will be riding with us on the train. That means that you need to be careful about only siphoning off the extra happiness that no one will notice is gone. However, you will do fine. The first day of school tends to get people very excited."

"I'm going with you on the train?"

"Yes, Lucy. Is that OK with you?"

"…" Harry felt Lucy's mind contract into herself. She sank to the floor and put her totally-healed hands on her face, quivering as a hollow moan escaped her mouth. Harry, realizing that she was crying, pried her limp hands from her face and hugged her.

"What is wrong, Lucy?"

"…."

"Lucy, talk to me." Harry whispered lovingly, rubbing her spiny back.

"I…." Harry felt her throat grow sore.

"Yes?"

"I….I…." A shudder rippled through her bony body. Harry stayed silent. "I've never been around good people before. I've never felt a single good human thought before. I've never felt this alive before. I've never been this healthy before. I've never been hugged before. I've never been loved before. I have never even thought – in a million years – that I would ever be considered equal to anything greater than a dementor."

Harry was immediately – and quite brutally – reminded of the injustice surrounding the European treatment of those who aren't exactly human or aren't human at all. Dementors, dragons, house elves, werewolves, vampires, basilisks, goblins, centaurs, giants, you name it – they are all….abused, for lack of a more powerful term.

"And what is a dementor to you, Lucy?"

"The darkest creature imaginable. Dementors feed off of your worst memories and consider sucking the souls of the helpless a most enjoyable activity. They despise joy and are obsessed with ending laughter. They are a shadow left on the world by death himself. This is what the prison guards think. This is what the prisoners think. This is what the ministry officials think. This is all that I have ever known myself to be. Until I came here and met….well….attacked…." Lucy convulsed in sorrow in a remarkably human way. Harry felt the familiar sting of depression flowing from Lucy like a toxic river. "I am a monster."

"Feel these memories!" Harry yelled with both his mouth and mind, showing Lucy everything that the Dursleys had done and said to him. "I was called a freak, an evil cur, a monster, and for a while I believed them. I was treated terribly!I am like you!"

"You are nothing like me. You don't have to do terrible things to survive."

"Emphasis on the words 'have to.' Lucy, you are forced to siphon off happiness to live. If you could choose differently, you would! That makes you a good person. Just because others can't see that doesn't make it a lie. Don't believe what others say: Believe what Luna and I say, because we are the only ones that care enough to tell you the truth."

"You really think so?" Lucy asked, talking now.

"What I know is you. You are not a bad person. Being the only one in the room who has felt the minds of both Voldemort and Dumbledore, I know this for a fact and that fact is to be treated as such. You are a very good person. You have a beautiful mind and heart. You have no real reason to believe otherwise."

Lucy hugged Harry back, grabbing his clothes as she did. "I love you, Harry."

"I love you too, Lucy."

-oOoOo-

They sat and hugged like that for almost ten minutes, just breathing. Then, breaking away from Lucy, Harry asked, "Do you know how dementors came about?"

"What do you mean?" Asked Lucy, rising above Harry's head, glad that her momentary depression was over.

"Have any of the dementors at Azkaban ever told you how dementors came to be?"

Again Lucy grew dark, but not as deeply as before. "Yes. Do you want to hear it?"

"Yes, please." Harry said politely.

"Well….where do I begin? I guess I could begin with…yes…that will do.

"Twelve years ago, a few of our older dementors met someone who once was a young witch. Her name is lost to the sands of time. She was the only woman near her age in an entire village. She was born in a time that children were a burden and a curse. She was conceived through an extramarital affair. She never knew her mother or father. She lived during a time before the existence of wands, so wizards had to rely on their natural talent. Her only natural talent was in blood magic. She was naturally drawn to it, but not because of a thirst like with vampires, but because she could feel its power. She said that it feels like a hum. She said that blood even has a personality. It holds the emotions that the organism it had left was experiencing.

"Over the course of her life, she was shunned from the community she lived in until she could handle it no more. She left her village for a new one. A month she traveled alone, growing her knowledge of blood magic, seeing a certain beauty in it. Finally, she arrived at a muggle town she had only heard of. There were many travelers there and no one knew her. She decided to live on the outskirts of this town. There, he saw a man about her age hunting small game with a bow. He greeted her and complemented her and brought her home to his family, who welcomed her. He had not yet caught the eye of any woman until that day. She, having never been accepted and being completely blind to the thoughts and emotions of others, immediately fell in love with the man. She began to attempt to give him some sort of a sign that she loved him, but she didn't know how. Her fears of losing him grew as time went on.

"One day, the man was attacked by a werewolf. He returned; pale as death and holding his own intestines in his arms. He had a bite on his neck that, had it hit any major artery or broken any bone, would have killed him before he made it to his home. The man's family was already grieving for their loss, but the woman refused to accept his death until his death had already come. Knowing blood magic as a powerful healing tool, the woman cut her hands even as the man had yet to sit down and began on the intestines. The family saw the blood flowing from her hands into the man and began attacking her, forcing her away. Forcing her to let him die. She ran into a nearby forest known today as the Hoia Baciu Forest in Romania, mind flooding with depression, anger, and sorrow. In that forest she collapsed onto her knees and stabbed her arms with the knife over and over again, trying to take away the pain.

"Soon, a puddle of blood gathered beneath her and she attempted to speak a curse onto the family. What she said is this: 'Let my pain be theirs. Let my pain hang over them and take their happiness like a parasite. Let my pain find them wherever they may be to torture their every living moment. Let them feel my pain as a terrible chill. Let my pain be unending and unrelenting unto them. And so I bind my curse with sorrow and blood and hate so that they meet a most bitter end.' She passed out from the power of the spell.

"Not knowing that her pain was an inseparable part of her identity, she became a new creature that was later known as a dementor. The morning after, she awoke from her sleep and, discovering her changed form, new hunger, and new abilities, grieved the loss of her only love and celebrated her new form. Now she can fight against her enemies. Now she stood a chance against them. Immediately she killed several living things around her for energy and went back to the families' house to watch their reactions to her.

"It was not long before she noticed that they could not see her. Another man was there, more official looking than the family. He listened to the report that the family gave and examined the body. At first, the dementor felt that the man was afraid that she would return. Then, when examining the body, the official saw that the body was partially healed. There were scars on each end of the gashes on the body's stomach. The official was very curious and almost couldn't believe his eyes. After a while of thinking, the official said to the family, 'What did the woman do again?'

"The wife responded, 'she had cut her hands open and then the blood darted to my boy's wounds. I thought she was hurting him more.'

"The official said, 'these wounds are partially healed. The woman was healing them. If you had let her continue, your son would still be alive.' The wife was hysterical and a fight ensued. The dementor grew angry and her aura broadened and strengthened. Pretty soon, the family and the official were collapsed on the floor, barely able to move. And finally, one after another, everyone in the dementor's vicinity died. A fog came from her, and thus the first dementors were born."

Lucy stopped the telling the same way that she started it; without emotion. Harry's heart twisted for the woman. Luna interrupted with, "OK. I'm coming home with two gorgeous lions!"

-oOoOo-

When Luna got home, Harry told her the origin story of the dementors and how he had come to know it. Luna and Lucy had a heartfelt moment where they hugged and shared emotions across their bond and then Luna brought up the cage with the two lions from downstairs. They were so big that Harry had to help Luna carry them up the stairs.

Lucy thought that they were beautiful and so did Harry. They were as big as medium size dogs. Their wings were able to hug their backs, but when they extended, each wing was at least twice as long as their bodies. Harry closed all of the exits of the room and Luna opened the cage to set them free. The white one immediately bound to the door and pushed on it with his front paws, then flew to the window on the opposite side of the room in an attempt to get out. Then it simply explored excitedly.

The black one, however, was much more calm. It cautiously poked its nose out of the cage and smelled around. Then it just wandered over to the bed and fell asleep, briefly looking at Lucy and yawning. Harry smiled to see two huge canines protruding from the top of its mouth as it yawned.

"Hey, Luna?" Harry asked.

"Yes?"

"Did you begin bonding to them?" Harry thought that their lack of intelligence was a strange thing.

"I thought we should bond with them together."

"You're so sweet." Harry said lovingly, "Do you want to begin now?"

"Well….isn't it a little late? Shouldn't we be getting to the Hogwarts Express?"

"We can bond on the way. Besides, we have time to kill. The sun hasn't even risen yet."

Rather than say 'good point', Luna just opened her mind to the two winged lions and so did Harry. A few hours later, they had gotten ready for school and were leaving the hotel via flu powder. Next moment Harry, Luna, Lucy, Lupin, and the two lions (The white being Fang, and the other being Shadow) were standing in front of the Hogwarts Express. By the time they had entered the train, Fang and Shadow already knew how to speak English. Since they were now intelligent beings, Luna and Harry held them, rather than put them in their cages. By this point, the press had grown accustomed to expecting Harry to bring something strange on board the Express, so they had to fight through a crowd of parents and reporters to get inside the train.

For Lucy, it was easy to be around this many people. Besides those who flipped out because Lucy was a dementor, she was able to extend her aura to its normal capacities without affecting anyone because of all of the excess happiness floating around in people's minds. Harry and Luna, however, had to close their minds off from the outside world because so many happy thoughts occurring around them made them feel claustrophobic. Harry recalled a quill and pad of paper floating around them and writing like crazy. Luna eventually incinerated them and they all heard a horrified screech from the reporter that it had belonged to. Seconds later, they were inside and it was much quieter in comparison. They found a single empty compartment in the very back of the train. It was strange company: Two students, one only one fifth human, another that simply wasn't human at all, a werewolf who is also a professor for the leading school of witchcraft and wizardry, a dementor that has been freed from the wizard prison by arguably the most powerful young wizard alive, and two lions who have wings and opposing fur colors.

"Well, that was fun," said a smiling Luna.

"I bet it was. Did you hear that reporter's shriek?" Luna, Harry, and Remus laughed. Lucy simply asked,

"Why is that funny to you?"

Harry didn't understand. Remus spoke, "It's funny to me, at least, because that was Rita Skeeter; A reporter notorious for ruining the reputations of many famous individuals. If she was here, then she was looking to put the entire world against Harry by throwing him into a pile of controversy and generalization."

Harry was surprised. So was Luna. It was the first time that they have heard of this reporter. Remus continued, "Had Luna not burned that notepad and quill, her headline would be the beginning of Harry's war against everyone who believes the load of troll bullocks that she spews out, which happens to be quite a few."

Lucy's objections seemed subdued, but that didn't affect Harry and Luna's guilt about it. They didn't know that they were doing by laughing at what they had understood as some random reporter. However, they also felt glad for doing it since Luna would likely burn down quite a few things because of it. Harry's head was filled with the image of Hogwarts on fire. Of course, Luna isn't a very sensitive trigger and will probably burn nothing in anger on purpose, but that didn't stop her from being able to cause an inferno capable of wiping out an army.

Harry noticed a growing pressure on his mind. Luna detected it as well, and then united her mind with his to find out what was causing it. The train left the station and the pressure immediately lessened. Luna began to study Harry's mind for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing strange came up. Lucy and Remus noticed the blank look on Harry and Luna's faces and Remus spoke,

"OK, what just happened?" He then turned to Lucy, thinking to her, "Is that normal?"

"Of course it is; they are bonded. They are deep within each other's minds right now. I've no idea why, though."

"Can't you just look into their minds?"

"Well yes, but I don't want to intrude."

Harry and Luna came back from their minds and Harry began speaking. "Someone or something was putting pressure on my mind."

Remus began asking questions immediately, "Do you know its intent?"

"No. It was only applying pressure, like it wanted me to know it was there. It could have easily gotten in unnoticed as long as it didn't do anything too intrusive, but it didn't look at thoughts or memories. It just made its presence known."

Remus and Luna were sitting back and thinking. Remus spoke again, "Perhaps it was checking your sensitivity to Spirit Magic? Trying to test your limits or discover an easy way through your mind?"

Luna spoke now, "Or it could have been a friend, letting you know that they are watching and that you are safe?"

Remus spoke, "Hey, I thought you were supposed to be protective of him?"

"I am. His mind is now impenetrable. However, when it comes to investigation, I follow The Law of 10 Men: If you are one of ten and nine agree on something, it is your duty to disagree and prove them wrong."

"That's smart." Said Lupin.

Lucy interrupted, "I think I might know what it was."

Harry spoke, "What do you mean?"

"Did the pressure change locations in your mind?"

"No. What does that-"

"Did the pressure come from within your mind?"

"Yes, but what-"

"Harry, I think someone was reorganizing a portion of your mind. I've encountered this before. They always report feeling a pressure coming from within their mind and no noticeable changes. However, they soon notice that they could make connections between concepts and ideas that have nothing to do with each other. It can be used to catastrophic effect. Without suspecting an outside agent, some came to believe that life had no purpose, or that they were being watched by their loved ones, or that they were capable of anything. It can be a relatively effective form of assassination, as it is basically a synthetic form of directed insanity. Those that have become victims of this typically end up killing someone else or themselves. It has good uses, too, but these cases are rare. I have heard of one case where it was used to transmit ideas and concepts to another.

"Simply put, Harry, I need to look into your mind to be sure that nothing strange happened."

Luna spoke, "I have already looked into his mind. Nothing has changed."

"If you were in his mind when he felt the pressure, it is very possible that your mind has experienced the same effects. I will have to look into your mind as well as his."

Harry said, "Very well. Hey, how did you know about this?"

"Many inmates of Azkaban do this to kill themselves before they die naturally."

"Why?"

"They wouldn't have the courage otherwise….Let's begin."

Lucy's mental spike went into Harry's mind. He spasmed uncomfortably. She kept on searching his mind until she landed on the same spot Harry felt pressure. Then Harry's vision blurred and he became dizzy. Eventually she left his mind and immediately began speaking.

"Your mind structure was not changed. You were not harmed in any way. You will be fine."

"Why was that so painful?" Harry asked.

"Unfortunately, in order to know whether or not your mind has changed, I have to feel the structure. Normally when in another's mind, we only move through the pathways that already exist. However, we don't know which mind we are in until they tell us or we find out for ourselves. If your mind was changed at all, I had to study your mind without your permission. I went as fast as I could so that your mind was in its most natural state. Only in its natural state will the mind reveal its changes and weaknesses."

"OK. Um…Did the thing that put pressure on my mind do anything?"

"Yes. It was sending you a message. It didn't have long, so I only got part of what it was trying to send you. A name. Peter Pettigrew."

Luna and Harry didn't know who that was. Remus didn't say anything. Lucy simply said, "Whoever sent it to you was trying to warn you of something. It felt urgent. It, or he as we should call him, was very concerned for your health. He felt that you were in eminent danger."

The temperature of the room increased drastically as a result of Luna's protective instincts. Harry put his hand in hers and they searched the train for a mind that had the will to harm him. They found nothing. Luna's hair caught fire and Harry was now becoming worried. They closed up the room they were in and set up wards to detect ill intent and negate offensive spells. Luna felt that it wasn't enough, but Harry wasn't worried. He was confident that the wards already put into place would work. Remus seemed relaxed. No one could tell what mood Lucy was in because she had no facial expressions. However, her head frequently turned away from the window to the door, telling everyone else that she was nervous. Soon, a familiar face showed up at the door.

"Hey guys, I've been looking for you all over. Where-"

After opening the door a crack, Ron closed it again as he spotted the winged lions and the dementor. "Where did you get those things?!"

Luna spoke, amused, "We got the winged lions at the menagerie and the dementor at a hotel. We bonded with them, they're safe. Now, get in or stay out."

Ron opened the door again tentatively. Fang, the white lion, regally blinked at Ron from his perch on the rack. Shadow, the black lion, was sleeping on top of the suit case on the floor that was put there so that the white lion could have a perch. She awoke and yawned, exposing her massive teeth to Ron, who shivered in a mix of fear and awe then sat. Shadow lay her head down and fell asleep again. Lucy simply nodded her head at Ron before looking out the window again. Ron looked around the room. Eventually he looked at Harry's hair and was about to compliment it when his eyes fell on Harry's.

"Whoa! What happened to your eyes?!"

Harry spoke just after tasting the air with his tongue and smiling broadly at Ron, after which Ron's mouth gaped a little. "Well…You know that bite I got from Caroline?"

"The basilisk from the chamber that Thana likes?"

"Yes," said Harry, grinning at Ron's response, "Well…I don't know how, but it seems to have caused me to mutate some basilisk-like traits. I can now kill with a simple glance if I wanted to in both my wolf and human forms. The same goes for my basilisk poison, except it is also in my wolf form's nails. The skin above my spine has scales on them, which change to red hair when in wolf form. My teeth have become triangular and serrated, and my tongue has become skinny, black, and forked like a snake's."

"Wicked! Are there any other mutations I should know about?"

"I have also gained the ability to speak the dementor language, I can see thermal and sonar vision, I can see other life form's life energy, I can fly without using Shadow Magic, and I can siphon off the life energy, physical feelings, and emotions of others."

-oOoOo-

The train ride seemed to be going smoothly. Hermione eventually showed up as well. Unlike Ron, she immediately took to the winged lions and was hardly surprised by Harry's look. The only thing that she was surprised about was the dementor, who she immediately formed a simple bond with. Neville never showed up for whatever reason.

Harry and Luna were calmly talking about everything that they may have forgotten. They had already told Norberta to fly to Hogwarts days ago. Unfortunately, they couldn't bring Cuddles or Asmund, the snake and wolf that they had brought to Xenophilius' home, because they forgot. They didn't mind because they wanted to stay there anyway. Xenophilius tends to be friendly to them. They tell Harry and Luna about how Xenophilius now sleeps on the banks of the river with them in wolf form rather than in the house. Harry felt a fairly strong bond form between them and Xenophilius. He was glad that his absentmindedness didn't cause his friends an entire year of loneliness.

Suddenly, the train slowed down and then stopped. Remus, Shadow, and Harry were asleep by this time. Ron, Hermione, Luna, Lucy, and Fang were all awake, however. Luna shook Harry awake and Shadow woke up automatically when the temperature in the train started dropping. Lucy announced to those in the room with her mind,

"As I had expected, the other dementors have been ordered to search the train for the fugitive. Harry and Luna; try to keep your minds guarded. We don't want a fully grown dementor trying to kill you, and I can only do so much."

Luna and Harry set barriers around their minds. Their Bondmates helped. The chill became greater until Harry could hear the dry rasping breath of an adult dementor. Its mind raked at theirs, trying to siphon something from their minds, but it found nothing. Harry could feel the anger and frustration. Its thirst was like a burning in Harry's mind. For a slight second, Harry felt sorry that the dementor had to feel this way. For that second, Harry left a gap in his mental armor.

For a moment, nothing registered to Harry but an intensely emotional sinking feeling. Then, a light came out of Remus' wand and the dementor was driven away. Harry's vision came back and now he knew that Remus had cast a patronus. Harry noticed that Lucy had left through the window before the patronus was cast. The patronus was a wolf. It was chasing the dementors out of the train.

It eventually came back to Remus. As it came into Harry's view, it locked eyes with Harry. It's head was bent to one side, as if wondering something. A second later, it growled and pounced at Harry, teeth bared. Shadow intercepted the attack, impacting the patronus with her teeth around its throat, ripping it apart soon after, causing the patronal wolf to disappear. Remus seemed surprised.

"Why did my patronus attack you?" Remus asked, looking at Harry.

"I'm part dementor. Didn't I say that?"

"No, you only said that you had some dementor-like qualities."

"Well…now you know."

Remus smiled and broke out several massive bars of dark chocolate.

Sorry for the wait. I had a lot going on with school. Now I'm back to type away again, hopefully. Either way, what did you think about this chapter?