A/N: I just realized that I'm fluctuating the amount of detail I give :/ Sorry!

Chapter Sixteen

Hermione was ecstatic; she couldn't wait to go back to Hogwarts. The letter said that she was to board the Hogwarts Express tomorrow, and her training would begin the next day. She was going to be staying in a guest chamber instead of the Gryffindor Common Room, but Hermione didn't care; she was just amazed that she could go back. She'd loved it there; it really had felt like home to her. Of course, it would be only her and her trainers, but she was going to try to bring Dragon.

Hermione froze, as she brought her tea up for a sip, she was actually going to get a vacation. They had extended the training until the end of summer instead of the month limit they had before, so she could have more free time. Hermione really wished she could bring her friends, but this way no one would interrupt her while she was in the library. Hermione smiled, I'm going to have a good summer, she thought, as she drifted off.

Hermione dreamt that she was back in third year; it was the year they'd gained more freedom and had gotten to choice some subjects. It had to of been her favorite year. She was skipping down the old rickety path to visit Hagrid; she wanted to know if he had a unicorn horn she could use for a potion assignment.

It was a bright sunny day; the leaves were changing colors and falling off the trees and if you got to close to the forest, you could get caught up in a swirl of leaves. She was trotting down the hill, when she saw a dark shadow moving about in the forest; pulling out her wand, Hermione stopped skipping and slowly turned towards it. She was just about to send in a jinx when her black wolf came jumping out. Hermione started to smile before she realized that he was being chased by something.

Hermione jolted awake, she was covered in a thin layer of sweat and had fallen off the couch. Glancing out her window she saw that it was dark outside. Sighing, Hermione pulled herself off the floor and tottered towards her room. She flopped down on top of her bed and felt her eyes start dropping down; just as she was falling asleep she realized that Dragon was still outside. Hermione was about to get up and go look for him, when she remembered that he was a wolf, wolves can take care of themselves, she thought, sighing into her pillows.

When Hermione woke up again the next morning, she was too excited to eat. She spent most of the morning racing around her apartment looking for things to pack; she was going to be there all summer, so she had to bring Crookshank's medicine and his bed. But she didn't need to bring all her books, so her trunk was easier to pack.

She packed some trousers and jumpers, some hoodies and shoes; she even backed a swimsuit. Hermione had just finished closing the clasps on her trunk, when her wand started to glow. Looking up, Hermione saw that it was nine; the train didn't leave until eleven, so she still had some time to find Dragon.

Hermione disapparated from her apartment with a *POP*, and appeared in their forest a few moments later. Setting her wand to send up sparks in an hour, she shifted into her wolf; she knew she didn't have a lot of time, but she was convinced she could find him.

Racing up through the trees, Hermione sped towards the creek searching for a sent. She was only able to find a faint one leading down a hill away from the water. Shaking her head, Hermione followed it; the trail led her under rocks, and over fallen trees. She felt like she was going in circles; she was just about to turn around when her head poked out of a bush and she was staring out across a field.

Hermione pricked her ears, maybe he's out here, she thought, scanning the grassy plain. She trotted out from the bush, and made her way across the field. She went over some hills and past some trees. There was a faint breeze brushing at her fur as she went, and the sun was high in the sky.

As she came over the next hill, she saw a building looming ahead. Hermione narrowed her eyes; it looked familiar, but she couldn't remember why. Shaking her head, Hermione carried on along the trail; as she neared the structure, she realized it was someone's house. Giving it a wide berth, Hermione trotted over to some trees, hoping to pick the scent back up. She was having trouble finding one, when she heard snarling from over a ridge. Hermione bounded up the hill and peered out from behind a rock; it was her black wolf, she shifted on her paws, but he seemed to be being attacked and he was being pushed closer and closer to the edge of a cliff with every step.

Horrified, Hermione jumped onto the rock and growled; it seemed to be some form of mountain lion lunging at him. She didn't have time to think about what one would be doing out here, she just attacked. Speeding towards the deranged lion, Hermione jumped on to its back and sunk her teeth into its rump. She felt warm liquid gush into her mouth as the animal reared backwards.

The black wolf spat at the lion before lunging for its exposed stomach; Hermione felt the beast lurch to the side, as Dragon crashed into it. Leaping back to the ground, she spun around and snapped at its legs, hopping to knock it to the ground. They were just about to push it off the rugged cliff, when it flipped around and shot off into the woods.

Hermione flopped on the ground, and began licking at her wounds. She didn't have very many, and her deepest on had stopped bleeding when she sat down. Looking over at Dragon, she saw that he had quite a few more; getting back on her feet, Hermione padded over to him and started sniffing at his back. He'd managed to get some dirt in some and, the others were still bleeding. She didn't know how long he'd been fighting the lion before she got there, but he looked pretty beat up.

Transforming back to her human form, Hermione fumbled for her wand crouched down and began closing as many wounds as she could; Hermione couldn't get some of the larger ones completely closed, but he'd stopped bleeding. Feeling satisfied, Hermione stood up and dusted off her hands. She was looking around, trying to figure out where she was, when her wand started setting off tiny fireworks; she had to get back for her train.

Bending over Dragon, she apparated them both back to her apartment with a *POP*. Floating the quiet wolf on to her couch, Hermione fled into her bathroom to find her first-aid kit. Grabbing a bowl of water, she returned to her living room. She had a few minutes to wash out his remaining cuts, before she left for King's Cross.

Setting to work, Hermione found that there was a lot more dirt in the wolf's cut's than she'd anticipated; her bowl of water had turned a mudding brown color, but Dragon's wounds were noticeably cleaner.

Sighing, Hermione glanced at the clock, "Bloody hell!" she exclaimed, jumping to her feet; her train was leaving in twenty minutes. Racing to her bedroom, she grabbed trunk and threw the first-aid kit in it; dumping the gross water into the sink, she chucked the bowl in too. Strolling back out to her living room, she grabbed Crookshanks's carrier and knelt over the wolf, disapparated with a *POP*.

They appeared at King's Cross with ten minutes to spare; Hermione threw her trunk onto a trolley and set Dragon on top of it with Crookshanks. Speeding towards the barrier, Hermione took out her letter; it said that she'd be taking the train with the other instructors and Mafalda Hopkirk. McGonagall was still at Hogwarts; now that she was headmistress, she had to stay later than the other professors to close up the school. But this year she was just keeping it open for Hermione's training.

Hermione smiled as she stepped through the barrier to platform nine and three quarters; Professor McGonagall seemed thoroughly pleased with Hermione's wish to become an animagus. As far as Hermione knew, she didn't know that Hermione had already successfully learned how to transform without a wand.

On the other side of the barrier, Hermione saw Thomas walking onto the train and Mafalda staring out through a window. Levitating Dragon and her trunk onto the train, Hermione carried her cat on board and chose an empty compartment; and settled back to cleaning the wolf's wounds. She took out her bowl and filled it with water; grabbing her wand she heated the water to sterilize it. Taking out a cloth, she re-washed the cuts, and put some antibacterial cream on them before covering them with gauze. When she was done, she feed the wolf some of the meat, she'd brought with her.

Poking her head out of the compartment, Hermione closed the blinds and let Crookshanks out to stretch. When he padded over to Dragon and curled up for a nap, Hermione smiled, That's a good idea, she thought, lying down for a nap. It was a long way still to Hogwarts, and fighting of that Mountain Lion had really tuckered her out.