Lucy flew back into the compartment, and said

"Hey, I have to go now. Be seeing you."

"Goodbye," said Harry and Luna as Lucy left. The only thing that everyone else heard was a pattern of hisses from both. Luna relayed the information as Remus got back to breaking chocolate.

Holding a massive chunk of chocolate out to Harry, Remus said, "This will make you feel better; eat. Sorry that I couldn't get you this the first time, but for what it's worth…"

"Sorry, but I can't. I'm a werewolf, remember?"

"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, you are one, don't you know that werewolves can't eat anything but meat?"

"No, they just can't eat plant life. Candy, however, they can eat, but only in relatively small quantities."

"Alright."

Luna interrupted, "That's good to know."

"Yes it is," said Remus, "it allows you to eat chocolate when you are attacked by a dementor. However, I wouldn't make eating desserts a habit, Luna. It would give you the runs like nobody's business."

"Oh. Well…it still has its uses, I guess."

Harry ate the chocolate and found warmth seeping back into his bones almost immediately. "Are you sure this chocolate isn't spiked with a restorative draught, Remus?"

"Very sure. Your brain reacts to chocolate by producing serotonin, a chemical commonly produced when feeling in love and happy. This naturally counteracts the depression felt by the dementor's aura, as well as their aura's physical manifestations. Chocolate, for whatever reason, also fights off the aura's weakening and chilling characteristics. In other words, I don't need to spike the chocolate, since it, by itself, is already a potion."

After everyone in the compartment ate, Remus gave Harry an unopened bar of chocolate, which was about the size of his rib cage and strongly reminded Harry of Hagrid for this very reason, "Just in case you are attacked again."

The train started moving again. Hours later, they arrived at the train station. They left the train and walked to the carriages. Harry and Luna saw the Thestrals pulling them, as usual. Remus, however, saw them for the first time.

"Hey, I didn't know that they had Thestrals here."

Ron spoke up, "What's a thestral?"

"Thestrals are black, boney, winged, horse-like beasts that can only be seen by those that have seen death. I for one do not remember seeing death, exactly, but my wolf form has likely caused it. I remember a few kids going missing in my neighborhood when I was a child. I used to constantly wonder what had happened to some of my best friends. Anyway, tell me, how is it that you haven't seen death, Ron?"

Thrown off by Remus' blunt honesty, he attempted to recover with, "I-I have. I see these Thestrals. I just didn't know what they were," Ron looked at Harry and said, "Well, I guess you weren't lying, Harry."

Harry sat on the carriage, thinking about what Ron had said. Seconds later, Harry asked, "Hey, Ron?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"That time you just spoke of. You know, last year?"

"Yes?"

"You were not with us when I said that."

"I…yes I was…wasn't I?"

"No, the only ones that were there were Hermione and Neville." Ethan instinctively looked for bond threads between Hermione and Ron. What he saw impressed him. "And now I know why you know about it without knowing why. Ron, Hermione has formed an artificial Veela's bond with you. Did you know about this?"

Hermione gasped, "I did what, now?"

"You didn't know either? Well, there's a first time for everything. Have you been noticing any symptoms?"

Ron said, "I have had a fever all summer, if that is to be counted. It was getting worse until I saw you guys."

"How worse?" Asked Harry

Hermione asked, "Have you been throwing up, getting terrible rashes, maybe some nosebleeds and so forth?"

"Yes." Replied Ron

"Me, too. My parents almost forced me to stay home."

Harry continued the conversation, "When was it that the bond might have formed?"

Ron said, "Maybe that moment you were revived by the restorative mandrake potion after being paralyzed?"

Hermione said dreamily, "Oh, right. You were leaning above me with tears in your eyes."

Harry and Remus laughed a little. Ron retorted, "Hey! I thought it wasn't working! Three minutes is a long time, okay!"

Hermione hugged Ron, giggling, "You are so sensitive, Ron!" Their conversation degraded to giggles and slightly irritated comments, and eventually ceased altogether in a fit of calm snuggling. To them, the stars and moon (which was a waning half-moon) seemed to become extremely interesting and beautiful to them. This strange turn of events in a social setting could only be explained by a deep bond with another person. Harry and Luna exchanged knowing glances and began snuggling as well. Remus smiled at the two pairs. Everything was interrupted when a familiar voice called from behind.

"Hey, Harry, is it true that you were attacked by dementors on the train?" It was Draco, who had jumped out of his carriage and ran towards theirs. As he jumped into the carriage, Shadow and Fang growled at the sudden entrance of a new threat to Harry. Harry gave them a mentally calming feeling and then answered,

"Yes. How did you know about that?"

"I could sense it. Why did it attack you?"

"Apparently my mental openness and purity is too much to resist for them." Harry heard laughter coming from the carriage behind them

"What was that, Potter? Did a little dementor scare you?" It was Crab sitting next to Goyle, both of which seemed to have assembled around a new leader, who was Pansy Parkinson; a rather uncomfortable girl to be around for Harry, who was reminded of Aunt Petunia whenever he saw her or felt her mind. Their mental faculties felt pretty much identical to each other, despite their differing views on magic. They both took pride in their hate of things, including their hate of pride.

For a second, his head screamed in pain. The others noticed that Harry was grabbing his head and groaning. Dozens of minds entered his to find out what was wrong. The pain wasn't caused by any physical ailment or injury. It seemed to have been caused by a…warping of…something, but even Luna couldn't be sure.

Harry had felt incredibly depressed. He had left his home weeks ago and got on something called the Knight Bus to go to Diagon Ally, where he stayed until today. On the way to the school, he had been attacked by a dementor and had passed out during the attack. Upon hearing about this, Draco had made fun of him. Then he experienced another torturing pain and collapsed onto the floor of the carriage. Something in his mind snapped and the false memories disappeared. The minds in his head withdrew once they knew that he was ok.

Luna asked, temperature around her rising, "What was that, Harry?"

"I don't know." He said. "Hopefully it won't happen again." He sat back up and put his arm around Luna. Her skin eventually began returning to a normal temperature. She then asked,

"Why is it that your patronus of me starts out as an adult Hungarian Horntail?"

Remus spoke up, "A Hungarian horntail? Why aren't you fiercer? More passionate?"

Ron and Hermione were impressed, "Your patronus has reached that size?"

Remus said, "Do you two normally speak at the same time?" They blushed at this question but didn't answer.

Harry said, "Now they will be speaking at the same time, and yes, my patronus has reached that size. Also, there are many ways to be fierce and passionate." That last part he answered smiling and leaning his head on Luna's head, which was leaning on his shoulder. "Anyway, I don't know why it starts out as a dragon. If I did, you would already know anyway."

Silence stretched on for a few seconds, and then Ron asked the question, "Weren't we talking about becoming werewolves?"

Harry raised his head from Luna's, "When?"

Hermione picked up Ron's next thought, "When we were heading home for this last summer break."

Harry cocked his head and squinted at a randomly picked star, and then when he couldn't remember it, he thought to Luna, "Can you help me out, here?"

Luna said, "You know, when I revealed my nickname for you, Furry Potter." Remus grinned upon hearing this.

Harry said, "Oh, that's right. I'm glad you guys didn't go off the handle when you found out that I was a werewolf."

Ron said, "Well, I don't know, mate. I guess I'm not that surprised after you had faced certain death three times and lived. I knew there was something strange about you this whole time. You being a werewolf, slash, lamia wasn't something I had marked off my notes as too powerful for you. In fact, I'm surprised that that's all that it was."

"It wasn't, but thank you. Now, so you want to become werewolves? Ah, but not you, Hermione?" Harry looked at her questioningly. Hermione had rejected the idea the last time they had ridden the train. Why anyone would pass this opportunity up was a mystery to him.

"Actually, I've changed my mind."

"Excellent. I will tell Dumbledore immediately and we can do it this Saturday. I had been building a small collection of essence of dittany infused with silver ever since I became a werewolf. I believe I have enough for all of you. It would take about a day to recuperate, so if we do it in the morning you should be fine for most of Sunday and able to attend class on Monday."

Remus interrupted, "You are going to infect a group of students with Lycanthropy? Do you realize that you could be expelled for this? It could be seen as many things by those government types! Given the current werewolf activity; knowing that you gave them the cure, they will be looking for an excuse to expel you! You didn't force them to revolt, but at this point you are supporting their cause, which is just enough evidence to have you publically executed for supporting a terrorist organization! And what if you dodge that killing curse? If the wrong people find out, they could have Dumbledore sacked for allowing this to occur! And that is just the beginning, especially if you consider the reactions of the parents who find out!"

Harry paused for a moment and stared off into the distance. When he came back, he said, "Thank you, Remus. That could have gone very badly. But I will still be telling Dumbledore about it, as I am sure you will, too. Perhaps we could go together?"

"Yes, of course." Remus said, calming down a little.

"Good. Now only one more thing to take care of." And with that, Harry's wand was out in a flash and he spoke the incantation, "Obliviate."

Remus flinched and drew his wand a bit too late. Thankfully, Remus was not Harry's target, but a small, innocent-looking beetle that was sitting on his shoulder. Memories flowed from the small beetle in the form of a green mist into Harry's wand. Everyone except Luna seemed impressed.

Harry had mentally discovered the beetle as he had entered the train from platform 9 ¾. He had ignored its abnormally high intelligence and assumed that it was simply a magical insect, as he had come in contact with at least three others. Then, when it had hijacked Remus, he had begun to suspect something. Finally, he was able to poke around in its mind without alerting the beetle to his mental presence only to find that she was really Rita Skeeter, the reporter whose quill and parchment they had burned. This led to the conclusion that Rita Skeeter was looking for revenge. It made sense to follow the Harry Potter just so she could blab his juicy secrets. Unfortunately for her, that meant that she had witnessed one of his juiciest.

Harry had alerted Luna to this because she was the only one who knew to keep absolutely natural in these types of situations. Even the slightest clue that they knew that she was there would have caused her to fly off. Harry spoke while picking up the briefly stunned beetle and putting her in the palm of his hand.

"Ladies and gentleman, this is Rita Skeeter's animagus form. She had just witnessed our little conversation. While I am not certain why she would find our...private and …..unsupervised activities an interesting thing, I still must not let her know the finer details as she would be able to make a rather attractive love story with it."

The others held blank faces as Harry had told them to act as if he wasn't lying. Harry continued, "Now, Rita Skeeter, reporter for the Daily Prophet, I will tell no-one that you had sneaked into a private conversation using an unregistered animagus form as long as you never do something like this to me again. And, I will know if you do, because my mind can reach several miles and penetrate even solid stone walls. If you doubt that I tell the truth, stay and let me crush you with my hand."

At that, the beetle reporter flew off as fast as she could towards Hogwarts' property-line. Harry hoped that she didn't find out that there was a way to hide her mental presence. Otherwise he would be reduced to using his eyes to find her animagus form. He wondered if this was how all of his secrets eventually got leaked to the press. Or, could it be a spy in Hogwarts? Someone that he trusted?

It couldn't be Dumbledore, Snape, or any other teacher or staff; they go through memory checks yearly, carried out by Madam Pomfrey, who is herself checked by Severus Snape. There are just too many people trying to kill Harry for Dumbledore to be lackadaisical about security. It couldn't be someone that he was deeply bonded to, since he can see into the very core of their being. No, this spy had to be someone that he hardly ever thought about and probably hasn't met yet.

The mounting tension in Harry's mind grew until Luna decided to sooth it. Her feelings of calm and ease washed over him like a stream of snowmelt, quenching the hottest, most abused portions of his mind. With it came its own form of flame. Luna's promise to Harry.

"I will let nothing touch you."

"I am not worrying for me."

"Nothing can touch us or our friends. This spy is nothing to worry about."

"But…you had died, Luna."

"In the Chamber? Obviously not," She carried on in an amused voice, "I am alive, aren't I?"

"I don't know how, but you came back."

"No, I was simply knocked unconscious."

"Knocked out by the killing curse?"

"By the shockwave. Fawkes flew in front of the curse and the shockwave of his explosion threw us back, remember?"

"Yes."

"I had simply hit my head on something. It put me in a deep sleep. Dumbledore had healed me after regaining consciousness himself."

"…That…makes a lot more sense than you coming back from the dead."

"Yes, it does. Harry, we have too many allies to be in any real danger. We are practically untouchable. If you want, we can sleep out in the Forbidden Forest."

"No. I would prefer sleeping in front of the picture above the hearth with Cuddles, Hedwig, and Asmund around us."

"OK, but not naked."

"….Definitely not in front of the picture….Hmm….Maybe we should sleep in our normal spot instead."

Humor shot through Harry's mind from Luna. "Oh, you naughty wolf! You just want to be naked with me! What happened to security, hmm?"

"That old bat in the picture sleeps like a rock anyway. Hedwig is our real security system."

Another voice broke in, "Would you want to sleep under my wing tonight?"

Upon the appearance of a third party, Harry and Luna's minds united, "Norberta! We missed you! How was the flight over?"

"I almost got sighted by one of those stinking high-altitude metal-dragons again."

"You mean the high-altitude planes? I told you to fly as high as you can to avoid that."

"I get too tired. There's not enough air to breathe and fly on up there."

"Well….If you do get spotted, just tear the plane to shreds before it can land. That way no one will know what happened."

"Wouldn't that be killing people?"

"Yes, but it would also be saving you from betraying the secrets of our world, which is vastly more important, as it would get you executed."

"Wouldn't killing a bunch of people get me executed?"

"Not if you don't get caught. Also not if you did it to keep our world a secret."

"Why all of the cloak and dagger?"

"Because you are a giant, flying, fire-breathing dragon in a world full of a bunch of dumb and dangerous people that would sooner kill you than touch your scales."

"Good point. So, do you want to sleep under my wing tonight?"

"We will be bringing an alarm clock."

"I dare you to wake up before my morning hunt."

"What time did that start again?"

"Sometime before the sun rises."

"I think we would fail."

"Still much to learn, my dear night-hunters. I love you both."

"We love you too, Norberta."

And with that, Norberta disconnected from them. At about that time, they arrived at the front gate of Hogwarts. Many were talking at the gates and waiting for their friends. Two individuals waiting there, both looking worried out of their minds, were Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey. By the time they spotted Harry, Madam Pomfrey took a huge bar of chocolate out of her bodice, similar in size to the one currently pressing on his chest. Harry then showed her his block of chocolate, yet Madam Pomfrey didn't stop herself from opening the chocolate's package and breaking off a fist-sized piece.

Draco began talking to Harry,

"Hey, Harry, about the dragon-"

"Not in front of everyone!" Harry whispered, several students outside of their group of friends being around them. He switched to thoughts, "Why don't you just think what you want to say?"

"That's so cool! You can talk with your mind?"

"Yes. Now, where you about to ask me about the dragon egg I had promised you?"

"Yes."

"Believe it or not, spare dragon eggs are hard to find. I haven't gotten one yet. You may have to wait a couple of years. Perhaps we could go to Ron's brother's work and steal one?"

"No, too risky. Shouldn't we just go through the legal channels? I can have my father pull a few strings."

"There are no legal channels for getting a dragon egg, since they are illegal."

"I wouldn't be too sure. My dad has connections with some pretty shady people."

"That's still not legal, but now I know that we don't have to do the stealing. How much would that cost, though?"

"Not counting a small fortune? Possibly a strong friendship with my father, and asking him at the right time."

"Perhaps you should be there when I ask?"

"Yes, that would be best. Make sure to include Luna, as well. Lucius has a slight fondness for veela."

"Why is that?"

"He is married to one."

"….So, where are we supposed to get a small fortune?"

"We could spend every Knut you have in your trust fund, we could do something to earn a ton of money, or we could wait until you turn 17 so that you will have access to the Potter family vault."

"Why would I have access to the vault when I am 17?"

"That's when you would legally become an adult."

"A year earlier? Cool."

"….I suppose it is."

"But would I have enough money?"

"Your family is richer than mine is, so yes, I would have to say so."

"Woah…how can I be richer than your family?"

"Wizards don't need money to buy their food if they become able to support themselves with the spells they cast. My family is indulgent and prideful, two personality traits that cost a lot of money. Yours, however, are perfectly fine living separated from society, returning to civilization only when necessary. It also helps to own an insurance company, two renting companies, and a food produce company, each operating in the muggle world. Your family is second richest in the world. The first richest family has gone extinct."

"Which is the richest?"

"You don't know?"

"Raised by muggles, remember?"

"Ah, yes. They are the Slytherins. Their eldest daughter ran from home and was never seen again. Months later, a group of wizards killed the entire family in secret. Many believed that the daughter was killed by the group just after being tortured for information on the location of their home, but her body was never found, which dodged around a clause in banking policy that existed back then that would have otherwise caused their fortune to be dissolved and distributed. It is the greatest mystery in banking that exists."

"What was this 'clause?'"

"Clause XIII of the 'Writ of Bank Operations' states that: "No Gringotts Vault may be dissolved nor its contents disclosed to outside parties if there is a surviving member of the family that owns it. The extinction of any family must be proven by the discovery of the bodies of all previously known and living family members. Upon the official declaration of death, special consideration must also be made upon the family's possibility of creating offspring, as well as the possibility of the last surviving family members travelling several years forward in time. Unless this family has been known to be experimenters in spatial magic or time magic, a note of said experiments must be left in the possession of Gringotts Bank before experiments begin in order to ensure the continued existence of the account and the continued maintenance of the vault."

"You memorized that whole thing?"

"Yes. My father practically obsesses over finding the last living member of Slytherin, which explains why I know that Slytherin even had a vault. The thing is, they aren't allowed to disclose the existence of the vault. Over time, it just faded from the public eye, to the point of only a select few in banking knowing of it."

"Which explains why said heir has never turned up." Harry's jaw dropped, his heart skipped a beat, and he stopped in his tracks.

Noticing the very public show of astonishment, Draco verbally spoke now, "What is it?"

Luna began looking around for possible threats while simultaneously reaching her mind into Harry's to find out what was wrong. Upon the usual transfer of memories that they go through whenever this occurs, she instantly understood. Harry spoke calmly.

"I know of two heirs of Slytherin."

Draco froze, tilted his head a little, then laughed a pure, hardy laugh.

Harry continued, "One of them is Voldemort." Draco started jumping up and down and pumping his fists into the air,

"And the other one is you! You got into the Chamber of Secrets! Woopie!"

Luna relaxed, Ron had no idea what was going on, Remus was right there with him.

Remus spoke, "Will someone please tell me what is going on?"

Harry spoke now, "I have inherited all of Slytherin's property in all of his vaults at Gringotts."

Remus seemed confused, "Wait, no one inherited it before you?"

"Apparently not."

"Why wouldn't they have told you about it after hearing of you opening the Chamber last year?"

Draco cut in, "They aren't allowed to. You are supposed to show them physical evidence that you are the oldest male heir and most direct descendant of Slytherin house before they give you any information on it. As far as they know, you learned how to speak parseltongue by reading up on the language, and then just happened to discover the chamber."

Ron joined in, "Right, how are we supposed to find proof that Harry is related to an age-old family?"

Remus said, "Well, they weren't idiots, and they were a very rich family. Being rich makes you a target, and targets are eventually hit."

Draco said, "So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that they must have left behind a self-updating family tree somewhere."

"Ah, the infamous missing family tree."

"It's missing?"

"Has been ever since the Slytherins were almost wiped from the map."

Luna drawled on in a very sarcastic tone, "Well, if only we knew of someplace that was closed-off and hidden from the outside world for centuries."

Harry caught on before she finished talking, "The Chamber of Secrets!"

"I was wondering why the Chamber had no secrets last time we were there."

"Perhapse the statue of Slytherin?"

"I was thinking the same."

"We should go Saturday. I can't wait very long-"

Remus interrupted, "Are you forgetting something?"

Harry asked, "What?"

"The dementors?"

"What about- oh, right." Harry looked miffed. "I shouldn't forget the more important things."

Luna asked, "What's with the look?"

"I forgot about the dementors in my excitement." Harry now looked guilty for some great crime.

"Do not worry about it. I would have never let you forget anyway."

"That is good. Can you remember everything else I have to do?"

"I have a photographic memory. So, first you need to talk to Dumbledore about fulfilling the dementor's need to siphon happiness, turning a select few into werewolves, and about the Chamber of Secrets. Then you need to cure the dementors, Turn a select few into werewolves, and explore deeper into the Chamber of Secrets. Within the chamber, you need to find your family tree and show it to an official at Gringotts. When you turn 17, you can then explore the Slytherin vault. You also need to find a dragon's egg for Draco and somehow have it bond to him. That means that you and him need to practice Soul Magic."

"Should I talk to Dumbledore about the egg?"

"Probably. It depends on if you are unsure about Draco bonding to it."

"Well, considering the unlikelyness of the bond, I would have to say that I am."

Draco interrupted, "What do you mean, it's unlikely?"

"When forming a 'Mother's Love Bond', One must both care for the dragon immensely in some way, and must be mentally compatible with it. How compatibility is determined or detected is unknown to me, so I must assume that compatibility is unlikely."

"So, what? Do we keep watching eggs hatch until one bonds to me?"

Luna poked in, "Well, you could force compatibility by forming a typical bond with it before birth, couldn't you?"

Everyone looked to Harry for feedback, who was more skilled at Soul Magic than everyone there but Luna. He slowly nodded for a few seconds, squinting at a randomly picked wooden plank of Hogwarts' front gate before entering Hogwarts. "Yes, it could work. Typical bonds morph into potent bonds all the time. It would have to be caring and slow, but it could work. That means that we will have to get the egg only days or weeks after it is laid, maybe the day of. There might be other problems as well."

Draco's face would have gotten paler if it were possible, "What problems?"

"You must do it very carefully, very slowly, and must always give it a certain set of responses when given certain stimuli. If you do not slowly introduce yourself with it as if you have already formed a Mother's Love Bond with it, it will assume that you are separate from its mother before it is even born, making a bond impossible. That means that you must suffer every symptom of the bond without mitigating them. Also , feeling that you are experiencing these symptoms, particularly the night terrors, will cause the draclet to become stressed, which has the slight chance to stop its heart. This could easily be avoided if someone is monitoring the draclet's mind at all times. However, that means that those that are monitoring it cannot be there when the draclet hatches, since that risks the bond being made to the wrong person. We must also consider the mental sensitivity of both Luna and I. If we were within mental distance to the draclet while it is hatching, the chances of us forming a Mother's Love Bond to the draclet is far greater than yours, assuming that one of us has formed a bond with it, even if we have a superficial bond already put in place to monitor it and yours has turned grey while you have been experiencing the symptoms of the Mother's Love Bond."

"…Well, I guess that means that you cannot keep it alive."

"No, it just means that if one of us does monitor it, we cannot be there at the hatching. That means that we must know when the hatching will occur. Can you remember that, Luna?"

"Yes." She stated calmly. Harry noticed that her mind was not focused on the conversation. They were walking into the Great Hall now. Remus had left them and joined Severus at the professor's table moments before. Luna's mind darted into his and settled there, eventually melting her thoughts with his.

Waxing romantic tones, Harry whispered with his thoughts, "Your hand is so warm compared to mine, Luna."

"If I were a lamia, I would wrap myself around you at night to warm you."

"That sentence is strangely attractive. I wonder if we could make that happen."

"Knowing you, you probably have at least two different ways to accomplish that by now, just so I could immobilize you with my snake-like lower-half at night."

"In my Wolf Form, perhaps?"

Luna's vocal chords became lupine long enough for her to utter a single, low-pitched howl that sounded more like a growl than a howl. Like the lupine equivalent of moaning. She then pulled on Harry's arm and wrapped her arm around his waist. For a normal couple, walking so close together would have been near impossible to do gracefully, but this couple's movements were synchronized perfectly. Also unlike any normal couple, they were unfazed by the envious glances and whistling noises directed at them by the older members of the Great Hall, not including the professors, of course. Dumbledore and Hagrid did smile at them, though. Snape seemed not to notice.

They took a seat together in the center of the Ravenclaw table closest to the Gryffindors: Neville and Ron were across the aisle from them. Seconds later, everything settled down to a dull hum from the conversations in the Hall. McGonagall stood and brought the sorting hat and stool to the front of the room. She then moved to the Hall's doors to allow the first years in.

The crowd was the usual gaggle of kids with their eyes wide open. As per the usual, half of them spotted him immediately and refused to take their eyes off of him. Whispers of, 'It's Harry Potter!' and, 'The Boy Who Lived!' leaked from the awestruck sorcerers-to-be. Seconds later, the rest of the first years and most of the Great Hall were focused intently upon him. They took note, and were astounded by, the physical changes that had occurred to him over the summer. The red stripe of Hair, slitted eyes, shark-like fangs, and forked, black tongue that flitted out was something that no one had expected Harry Potter to have on him, considering his apparent dislike of Voldemort.

Harry tasted many scents that betrayed a mix of emotions. Mostly awe, a considerable amount of fear, and, (did his tongue betray him?), a slight amount of lust. Harry decided to ignore that last one until Luna held him tighter; forcing him to realize that it was Luna he had tasted. Harry instinctively hugged her back and leaned over. Knowing the other's mind, each knew the other had wanted to kiss for a while. It had been their first. It was followed by an immediate bout of "EEEEEEWWW!" from the eleven-year-olds before them, and a series of hefty laughter from several older men in the room, including Dumbledore. Harry and Luna didn't even flinch.

Seconds later, Harry surfaced and now had enough courage to look at the group of young children for the first time. While ignoring Professor McGonagall's severe looks and Snape's sneers, Harry was able to pick out Dudley, who was the largest person in the group of children, being possibly the only person in that group who had begun to experience puberty. By the time Harry spotted him, Dudley had already been looking at him. His face was terribly pale and Harry thought that he was going to feint. Luna, sensing this also, asked with her mind;

"Do you think he'll pass out if we speak into his mind?"

"Yes. Just smile at him. Perhaps wave as well. His comparative size to the others should leave him with enough confidence to stay standing. I think I will need to speak to him tomorrow night, as well."

"Very well"

Harry and Luna smiled brilliantly and waved at him. His color seemed to return as well. He inhaled deeply, letting it out smoothly while looking forward once more. Harry noticed that McGonagall's face seemed sour for a fraction of a second, though the reason for this was unknown, as it seemed disconnected from Dudley.

The professor took out a long scroll of parchment and began reading,

"The Sorting Hat will see into your mind and determine which house you belong to. Each house exemplifies a certain personality. Gryffindor represents courage, Ravenclaw; intelligence, Hufflepuff; loyalty, and Slytherin; cunning. Keep in mind your past decisions and current desires for this to be as accurate as possible."

Harry then zoned out until Luna interrupted his thoughts with, "Why does your mind wander?"

This question was never answered. "Dursley, Dudley!" called McGonagall to the crowd. About one fourth had been sorted already. Harry, feeling tempted to see what the hat had to say to Dudley, snuck inside of his mind. Seconds later, Dudley had made his way to the front and had the hat on. This is what Harry heard.

"Another Potter relation? I sense a dichotomy with you as well. With him, it was between Gryffindor and Slytherin the most, though he fit all of the house requirements. You are much simpler than him, not that it is an insult, but I sense in you a similar challenge. Your mind keeps flitting to all of them, then comes back to Slytherin and Hufflepuff. What is most interesting are the moments that you helped Harry against your parent's will. Let's puzzle this out. Hmm…What do we have here?"

Harry's mind was ripped from Dudley's and trapped inside of one that he hadn't met before. Everything was black and empty. He couldn't get out. However, he felt that there was something around, though he didn't know what. A voice came from all around him,

"You appear to have snagged your cousin, Dudley. Now that he has left your mind I can plainly see that you are not as complicated as I had thought. The choice is obvious."

"HUFFLEPUFF!" cheers came from the Hufflepuff table. Harry felt himself released from the hat's mental cage, now able to expand his mind to its original reach. Dudley got up from the stool looking confused. He looked at Harry one last time before sitting down. Many other kids welcomed him kindly, and he seemed to be relieved because of this. Harry, sensing Luna searching their minds for any information on how to cure the dementors, began doing the same. About an hour later, the first years were sorted.

Dumbledore stood and walked around the professor's table to address the school.

"Excellent. I am sure that you wish to dig into the feast that we have prepared for you, but for that you will have to wait. I would like to make some announcements. I would like to introduce our two newest professors. First, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Remus Lupin."

A round of applause as Remus stood and smiled awkwardly. He sat and Dumbledore began again,

"Next, the new Care of Magical Creatures professor, Rubeus Hagrid."

Another round of applause as Hagrid stood (accidentally moving the table in the process) and smiled at Harry broadly. Harry smiled and waved. Hagrid waved back. Snape looked at Hagrid like he was a smelly troll when he moved the table. The applause, which was much louder than it was for Remus, failed to die down within the minute it began, mixed as it was with laughter.

"Also a few reminders. I would like to inform all students that The Forbidden Forest is off limits to any who wish to avoid a painful death. And, students are not permitted to ride a broomstick during their first year."

The crowd groaned at these reminders, feeling that the laws took away their fun. Some of the first years asked those around them why anyone would be so stupid as to ride a broomstick.

"And finally, a security matter. Recently, a dark wizard has escaped from Azkaban."

Silence filled the hall. Harry's hair stood up on the back of his neck. He could taste the fear swelling in the room.

"Because of this, certain security measures have been put into place. From this point until the threat is taken care of, all packages and letters sent into Hogwarts will be read and checked for harmful artifacts and enchantments. All students will be screened for dark artifacts and enchantments. No students may leave the school except on Christmas break or on specific times and days dedicated to Hogsmead. No students, no matter what the year, may be outside of their dormitories after the sun goes down or after seven in the afternoon. No students may leave their dormitories until after seven in the morning. Any students with classes beyond these time limits are not allowed to be anywhere but inside the classroom during these times. All students will be escorted by staff members to each of their classes. Any students caught breaking these rules will lose their house 50 points automatically, and many more depending on the offense."

The fear grew considerably. Harry heard the thoughts of those around him as a series of terrified yelling and whispers. Some thought in the form of pictures, and those were nightmarish. Harry's mind began to split into two. One side enjoyed and lusted for the terror; the other feared and hated it. One began to think about slicing with claws and biting with fangs, the other thought of running away. Luna and Norberta intervened powerfully, thrusting memories and sensations of calm and sleep into Harry's mind. It only slowed him down. Dumbledore looked at Harry before he sat down and conversations broke out around him. Nothing of the minds of the others knew about a werewolf on the verge of losing control in their midst. Seconds of silent battling went by and it appeared that the tide had turned and Harry would win. The fear in the hall was dying down. Then Harry heard someone from Gryffindor ask him cordially,

"Is there something wrong, Harry?" Harry didn't realize that he had been grabbing his head because he had a terrible migraine. The person's eyes widened almost immediately. Luna looked at the boy angrily and the temperature around her increased. Harry weakly said,

"Just a migraine. It'll go away soon."

The fear from this one individual mounted, "Why are you having a migraine?"

Harry felt his own fear of being discovered a werewolf cause him to go through an adrenaline rush. Luna yelled into his mind, knowing that he was about to transform,

"The potion, Harry!"

Silver fur slowly began to crop up all over his body as Harry reached into his right coat pocket for a powerful sleeping potion he had forgotten about until now. He saved at least two of these for emergencies such as this; one for him and another werewolf. He opened the bottle and drank all of it in one quick gulp. Just as his teeth and nails began to change, it took effect. Rather than knocking him out (it could knock out an elephant for several hours) it simply calmed him down. His adrenalin rush died and his body felt weak. The transformation was reversed. Luna sighed in relief. Harry looked to the person who was asking him about the migraine. It was Neville.

Harry spoke to him weakly, "Never ask me why I am having a migraine, Neville."

Neville nodded, looking immensely relieved. "Very well, Harry." He then looked around. His eyes stopped at the professor's table. Neville then went back to eating the food that had appeared before them.

Harry looked at the professor's table. The entire staff was looking at him. Dumbledore was smiling, though his eyes appeared serious, unaffected by the smile and piercing as always. Remus' face was pale and blank, eyes going back to his dinner as soon as Harry noticed him, though looking as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders when he did. Snape had an intense look that Harry couldn't read. Hagrid hadn't noticed anything and was waving at him in-between bites of roasted chicken. McGonagall looked even more worried than she had at the front gate, left hand and fork stabbing a scallop while the right hand was undoubtedly clutching her wand within her robes, prepared to incapacitate Harry at a moment's notice. Flitwick looked vastly interested, and was, too, focused on Harry. He also appeared to be writing notes on a parchment he had beside his clam chowder. Seconds later, they resumed their meal, taking no notice of Harry any more. Flitwick put his parchment back into his robes and Dumbledore took out a package of beef jerky, smelling the package with a toothy grin.

Harry was angry that the cure Luna invented had limits and glad that the professors were prepared to do what it took to fix it. Other than the professors, only Luna and Neville seem to have noticed the episode. Half way into his mashed potatoes and gravy, a deep voice toned nasally behind him,

"Follow me, Potter. Bring Lovegood with you." Severus strode away. Luna got up and hauled Harry to his feet. He seemed sluggish from the sleeping potion. Harry noticed that the Professor's table was empty. They followed Snape closely, arriving at the entrance to Dumbledore's study. Snape intoned, "Jerky," with a pronounced sneer. The Gryphon began spiraling upward, producing a spiral staircase in its wake. Riding the staircase, Harry came in range to several minds, all of which seemed to be staff members.

Opening the great doors of the study, Harry realized that everyone that had noticed him at the professor's table were there, as well as Madam Pomfrey. Snape gave a blank stare. Flit wick's eyes were darting from Luna's to Harry's silently, apparently attempting to take in their reactions. McGonagall's hands were in their coat pockets. Remus' eyebrows were scrunched together, as if worried about something.

When Luna and Harry came to a stop, Dumbledore picked up his wand lying on his desk and drew a single line in the air. Behind each person in the room except Dumbledore, a thick and soft chair appeared out of thin air. After this occurred, Dumbledore said,

"I feel that we will have much to talk about tonight, so please sit."