Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter in any way shape or form. I do not claim to own him or anything else that may in fact be the thought of the lovely writer Jo Rowling is, please don't sue me. I do however own all original characters in whole or in part that appear in this story. This story is not HBP compliant, though quite a few things are taken from that book; again I own nothing except for the plot and original characters. Thank you for reading! –Gypsy Jade

Summary: Not fully HBP compliant. Harry starts having strange dreams and they all end the same, with unearthly silver eyes haunting him. Something is going on and for the first time in the last 10 years if not the history of Hogwarts two new teachers grace Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Chapter 11

Care of Magical Creatures

Ron was convinced Harry had been slipped some kind of potion by the time breakfast rolled around. As far as Ron was concerned Harry wasn't feeling well, and it took everything Harry had not to hex him until next Wednesday.

"Ron, mate I'm fine...honest" Harry brushed him off again as they followed behind Hermione and Ginny.

"Ron, just leave him be. So he's in a good mood the world isn't going to implode around you" Harry smiled gratefully at Hermione for finally shutting Ron up as they sat down for breakfast.

"Thanks 'mione; are you girls all set for the Hogsmeade visit this weekend?" Harry successfully turned the subject away from himself and soon they settled into discussing costumes and dates.

"Hermione who are you going with?" Ginny's question took the conversation down a different path. Harry noticed Ron looked a bit uncomfortable and Hermione's cheeks tint just a bit before answering.
"Actually, Gin I'm going with Ron." Harry and Ginny exchanged grins but before either could comment Ron turned to them and dead panned.
"Don't..." Harry had never seen his friend turn so red, so quickly and opted for taking a bite out of his sausages rather than mention anything, a courtesy Ginny completely ignored.

"Aw, how sweet, my big brother is finally growing up...why...it seems just like yesterday...when you were fawning over Krum at the World Cup...oh Ronni-kins...hug me" Every last bit of Harry's resolve came tumbling down and he couldn't help but laugh...long and hard.

Three Gryffindors in hysterics and one very red Weasley was the scene that Professor VanHouten came upon minutes later.

Professor VanHouten watched as the three Gryffindors tried to no avail to quell their laughter, while Ron looked torn between wanting to throttle them all or have the ground beneath him open up and swallow him whole. In an attempt to calm them all down, Professor VanHouten sat herself across from Ron and next to Harry, calmly selecting an apple and taking her time to slice it.
"Ron, how are Fred and George? Have you heard from them recently?" giving him something to focus on, other than his friend's and sister's inevitable payback Ron gratefully answered her question.
"They're doing well Professor, they asked me to extend to you an invitation to their shop this coming weekend, that is if you're going to Hogsmeade" This perked Harry's interest and somewhat disappointedly he noticed Yamele took that opportune time to slip a piece of apple into her mouth allowing her a moment or two before answering.
"Well I have been invited..." Was that a smirk? Harry noted she was using the apple as a means of stalling, so that he would say something. It should be illegal to look that innocent and nonchalant while deliberately making him squirm.

"I invited Yamele to come with us to Hogsmeade..." Harry watched Ron stop mid bite and look at him as if he were hard of hearing. Hermione and Ginny exchanged glances before smiling in a way much akin to the Weasley twins, which was personally unsettling Harry as Hermione was the level headed one. Opting for figuring that out some other time he looked back at Yamele who rewarded him with a smile though she was answering Ron.
"You can tell Fred and George I'll make sure to stop by their shop." Yamele finished her apple and wiped her mouth standing up gracefully. Smiling at each of them in turn and playfully rubbing her hand through Harry's hair, she bid them goodbye and headed out of the Great Hall.

"Yamele?" Harry rolled his eyes at Ron and went back to his breakfast doing his best to ignore the looks Hermione and Ginny were throwing him. That proved to be far more difficult than he had hoped. It didn't take long for Harry to realize that there were more whispers and points directed his way this morning and he wasn't sure he liked the added attention. A somewhat panicked expression crossed his features as he caught one of those excited whispers "Did you hear? Harry Potter is taking Professor VanHouten to the Masquerade ball." Not having been paying much attention to dinner the night before he hadn't quite realized that the rest of the school knew he had asked Yamele to the ball. And if things could get any worse Draco Malfoy was making his way over to their table with Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson trailing behind, it seemed as if what the blonde had seen the day before had finally processed in his brain fully, that or he realized that his cousin had been serious.

"Potter! I told you to leave her alone. So what in Merlin's name do you think you're doing?" Harry raised an eyebrow and continued sipping his pumpkin juice.

"I think I'm having breakfast Malfoy, you seem a little lost to me perhaps you should have Madam Pompfrey give you a potion to relax your nerves." He wasn't sure where that had come from but he couldn't help but smirk triumphantly at getting a rise out of Draco.

"Mr. Malfoy! Have you lost something?" Professor McGonagall's voice cut anything that Malfoy could have retorted short.
"Professor we're just delivering Potter a message from Professor VanHouten" Pansy interjected smiling sweetly at the Transfiguration teacher.
"And since when does it take three students to deliver a message Ms. Parkinson?" Professor McGonagall's own look rivaled any of the Slytherins.

"Well she gave me the note and Malfoy and Zabini kindly escorted me over to make sure no other student would try and hex me for my lack of Death Eater status" Not one to be deterred Pansy's smile dropped but her gaze never left the Transfiguration teacher's eyes. With a silent raised eyebrow Professor McGonagall inclined her head while Pansy pulled Malfoy over to Zabini and handed Harry a soft piece of parchment, tinted slightly so it looked pink; before he could open it Pansy dragged Malfoy and Blaise from the Gryffindor table.

Harry,

You left your treasure trunk in my office last night. Feel free to come get it after classes today, you might want to bring Ron along as Hermione should already be in my office at that time.

Professor Yamele Rose VanHouten

Harry had very little time to mull over this as Ron and Hermione ushered him to the first class of the day, Care of Magical Creatures. Merlin only knew what Hagrid had in store for them today.

"Thanks Parkinson...for delivering the note" without much though Harry inclined his head as he passed her and she returned with a small smile. An exchange that was not lost on those at the High Table, it seems Professor Vector had lost a bet to Professor Snape; the teachers would not hear the end of this.

"Gather round there! Less talking please, open yer books to pages 493-494. Today's lesson has been provided by Professor O'Riley" Harry could only describe a feeling of pure rock hitting his stomach as out of the padlock near Hagrid's hut strolled Professor O'Riley leading what looked to be a cross between a snake and a Welsh dragon. Royal blue scales that shone deeply in the sunlight with white trimming on the underbelly and around its head caused the appearance of a wise old man, though the glinting golden eyes reminded Harry of Yamele. In fact, much of the animal's demeanor reminded Harry of Yamele, the way it surveyed the class and even the half friendly way it blew smoke rings from its nostrils.

"This is a Japanese ice fire dragon. They are native to the islands of Japan and are one of the few dragons (if not the only dragons) who have ever chosen to spend any of their time with humans but these magnificent creatures are more renown for being particularly difficult to train. Among the many attributes it has a very sensitive sense of smell and can quickly detect poison in all forms proving to be a very useful ally." While she spoke, Professor O'Riley was carefully giving the large dragon small pats and pets along its royal blue hide.

As usual in any class there was a group of students not paying particularly close attention, at some point during the middle of Professor O'Riley's lecture a Slytherin 6th year by the name of McNair who quite foolishly decided to pull out a dungbomb...one that quickly went off.

Harry had never in his 6 years at Hogwarts seen panic set into Hagrid's face; and as if taunting him Professor O'Riley's words came back to echo in his mind as he watched the fully grown dragon rear up a head taller than Hagrid's impressive 8'6" and roar. The panic quickly spread throughout the class, causing most to run from the beast but a few were rooted to the ground. Harry did not move; he was caught by his own morbid fascination of the dragon. He was in no immediate danger however, though his mind was screaming for him to move. The screams of his classmates and the shouting of the teachers grounded Harry long enough to react when someone pushed another of his classmates into his arms. Looking down he identified the form of Pansy Parkinson, staring at the dragon in the same morbid fascination that had only just left Harry.

"Potter! Take her and move! Get my cousin, Pansy call Yamele!" Harry had never seen such pure resolve in Draco Malfoy's voice, let alone seeing the boy turn back and levitate the still smoking dung bomb as far away as he could while still keeping his eyes trained on the enraged dragon who had managed to trap both Professor O'Riley and Hagrid in a ring of ominous looking blue fire. Finally getting his feet to do as he wished Harry felt himself haul Pansy back up the slope to the castle noticing that Ron was only a few leagues ahead of him, carrying what he could only assume to be a fainted Hermione.

"Potter, you can stop dragging me now." Pansy's voice seemed rather winded as Harry pulled her level with Ron.
"What're you doing with her?" Ron looked at Pansy suspiciously as the fair girl leaned over a bit grasping her ribs.
"Not now Weasley, we've got to get Yamele" leaning heavily on Harry, the two conscious Gryffindors saw the Slytherin Princess raise her wand towards the castle and a deep black light erupt from the tip, speeding towards the castle looking more and more like a raven against the now clouded sky. The three looked back as they heard and saw evidence of a magical fight going on in the clearing not far from Hagrid's hut.

"We can't just stand here and watch, we should go help." As the words left him mouth Harry felt a hand grip his arm forcefully and stopped to look back into somewhat cold and annoyed green eyes.
"And what in Merlin's name are you going to do Potter? I know you Gryffindors all jump at the opportunity to save the day but there's no point in getting yourself mauled by a creature you barely know anything about." Something in what Pansy said stopped Harry dead in his tracks and he studied the other girl carefully, but his concentration was shattered as he heard two sounds, the crunching of trees behind them and hurried steps ahead of them. Turning in time to see that the spells Draco had been firing off had finally managed to break Professors Hagrid, and O'Riley free Harry could see the dragon was far from amused. The three did their best to attract it's attention away from the school, but the dragon had set it's sights; feeling his heart beat faster in it's ribcage confines, Harry only felt confusion as a gust of wind swept by the three, dark ebony curls streaking behind what could only be Yamele, without her robe.

Not stopping to think Harry took off after her, Pansy's words ringing in his ears as he went. He didn't know what to do to stop the dragon but perhaps he could help in some way. He got their in time to see that the dragon had now set its sights on Yamele, who glared a bit his way as he came sliding in to Draco's side, doing his best to get the Slytherin out from under the branch that had trapped him only yards away from the dragon's fierce claws. The snapping of twigs (or bones) and the hissing of Malfoy at seeing his would be rescuer where enough to once again attract the attention of the beast.

And just as Harry was preparing himself for the inevitable bite, and wondering if this dragon was in any way related to Basilisks and if it could poison him or just swallow him whole, he heard it, and eerie melody that caused the same acrobatic butterflies to take over his stomach that seemed to be only arrive when Yamele was near him.

"Long ago and far away, will your heart to remember. You've only ever served me, just as your name means December. Calm your rage, and come to me, tame as morning's ember. Will yourself to only serve me, my love has always been tender."((a/n: I wrote this on a whim, it is loosely based on the song "Once Upon a December" from the Anastasia movie, don't sue me. Right carry on)) A flute was playing,and no words accompanied the song though Harry could hear them in his mind? ...no in his heart. He looked up from where Draco had nearly passed out due to pure pain and nothing could have prepared him for what he saw.

Floating meters away from the dragon's head was Yamele, a strange ebony and ivory flute to her crimson lips, her hair moving beautifully of it's on accord as if she had been underwater, she looked to Harry like a strange temptress or an Angel. Aiding to his awe Harry watched transfixed as she continued to play and the dragon lifted one of his limbs claw extended for her to stand on.

"She...really is something else...Promise me Potter. You won't let anything happen to her...promise me you'll give her a chance and make your own decision this time" Harry's musing were stopped by Draco's pained voice addressing him. It seemed to Harry that no matter that it was 3 years later Draco was still as dramatic as ever.

"Malfoy, you've broken a leg nothing Poppy can't fix don't be so melodramatic" Harry came to his senses and levitated the branch off of Malfoy's shattered limb; only to have Malfoy grab his arm and force him to look at the other boy.
"I'm deadly serious Potter. Promise me that you will give her a chance no matter what you think you know or what Dumbledore wants you to do. This isn't a decision for the teachers or the Order or anyone else. And don't look so bloody astounded of course I've heard of the Order...they fought...against...V-Voldemort last time...my father curses them enough..." with what could have been a small sarcastic smile Draco Malfoy fainted and the hauntingly beautiful song ended.

A/n:

Well kiddies this chapter certainly kicked my arse and handed it back to me on a silver and gold platter, LOL. I hope you will forgive my absence and the seeming slower pace in this chapter. Next up: the Hogsmeade visit, why do Fred and George want Yamele to visit? All my love! GypsyJade