Disclaimer: I obviously don't own the idea of Harry Potter or any of the money making forms of it.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews :D

Also: I know one Inferi is supposed to be 'Inferius', but it just sounds wrong, so I'm using 'Inferi' for both singular and plural forms.

Questions/Concerns Concerning:

Animagi: I haven't decided. Maybe.

Dumbledore vs. Riddle: Riddle is about 25 physically, so will be fast. On top of that, he got Lockhart's magic, a decent amount of Susan Bones, and had the improved diary to go into making his new body. He's going to be a force to be reckoned with. With that said, Dumbledore still dodged and took on an impressive amount of magic, dishing out some of his own. I think they are equally matched, for the most part, Riddle just got in a lucky shot that then hindered Dumbledore's other reactions.

Dumbledore and Fawkes: Dumbledore is Fawkes' Steward, like how Harry is with Salandra. Phoenixes don't have masters.

Snape, Dumbledore, and the truth about Mage/Custosae: They have no reason to connect Harry with being Mage or one of the Custosae leaders. To Dumbledore, Harry is just where they got a great deal of their information on Riddle, and to Snape, Draco was the best connection to see what Lucius Malfoy was up to, and the other Death Eaters earlier, while still keeping behind the scenes. Why would they think children were able to organize and run a highly secretive and influential group that has strong ties to goblins and access to impressive magical knowledge? They wouldn't, because they would be more concerned about making sure they were genuinely wanting to help take down Voldemort, and once they were sure of that, they would want to help them do it, instead of wanting to investigate them--that would be sort of counterproductive at the moment, if you know what I mean.

Thanks for the questions, I hope I have answered them all well enough to be understood.


- - - Book 3 — Part 7: Salandra's Magic

All of the Custosae were in the Come and Go Room, save Hagrid, who was waiting anxiously outside the infirmary, having heard a very large commotion before someone had cast a silencing and locking charm on the door. He suspected Snape.

Harry, Teddy, Ron, Draco, Dobby, Neville, Revlis, Hermione, Susan, Vince, Greg, Fred, George, and Ginny were spread out in the Come and Go Room. Most of them gathered around several mirrors, waiting for someone to tell them what was going on.

"Mighty Squib…" they heard.

Susan, Vince, Greg, and Ginny leaned forward, knowing it was Hagrid.

"Little John, what's happening?"

"I don't know, but I think they brought back someone. I think it's serious. They've sealed the infirmary."

Vince and Greg huffed as Susan quickly relayed the message to the others.

"I'll contact you if I get anymore information, but I am certain the attack is over now. As I was coming up here, I was just able to see Snape running towards the dungeons."

"Okay, thanks, Hagrid."

"We are a formation of defenders," he whispered, shutting down the mirror.

"I wish what we knew what was happening," Ron said.

"Sirius and Remus will contact soon," Hermione said.

A few moments after she said that, Sirius called. The others went silent, hiding their presence, as Harry went to the corner of the room to appear as if he was alone—since Sirius and Remus didn't know the whole truth about his Custosae activities or position.

"Griffin, tell the others that Long Beard came back injured. He managed to regain consciousness for a few seconds after his first black out before passing out again. He said, 'He has it, he got it. Tell Mage,'" Sirius said.

Harry and the others paled upon hearing that.

Harry could tell he was in Poppy's office, or what he guessed was her office, and was sure Sirius had cast the appropriate spells.

"McGonagall left to Dumbledore's office just now when I told her I don't know how fast my contact can reach Mage," Sirius said.

Harry felt bad for lying and hiding his other identity, but it couldn't be helped right now, and would only cause more chaos at the moment—not to mention unwanted attention and questions, so he answered as honestly as he was able.

"Can you contact him?" Sirius asked.

"Yes."

"Good, though it might not be needed now, I think Long Beard told Cheshire (McGonagall) how to contact Mage directly in case of an emergency, and maybe he can be reached faster that way," Sirius said. "But just in case, I'll let you go now."

"Wait, how bad is Long Beard?" Harry asked, worry rising.

"We honestly don't know. Better than it could have been, since the curse he was hit with seems to have been completely eliminated, but very bad because now it seems no magic is working on him. Relentless (Poppy) casts and it doesn't do anything…well, if anything, it seems to get worse."

"Tell them to stop casting!" Harry couldn't help but shout, his experience with his chaotic magic urging him to tell them to stop messing with unknown magic.

"They already have, though the Dark Knight is confident potions might help. He went to get some earlier."

"Okay. I'll contact Mage and the other Custosae; I'll see if they have any suggestions."

Sirius nodded and ended the connection.

"Hermione, Neville, I think it would be best for me to talk with Cheshire, if she does try to make contact," Harry said, Teddy gazing up at him from the top of his foot.

The others nodded in agreement, casting the needed spells before handing him the mirror, just as it heated up.

Harry closed his eyes, wishing for the room to look like the outside. He got his wish, making his corner look as if he was out in some dark forest.

Draco and Vince cast the needed privacy spells around him, (which allowed them to hear what he and McGonagall were saying, but prevented sound from entering his area) before he gave the nod and answered McGonagall. Soon after, they stepped back, turning to their own mirrors, hoping for Hagrid or one of the others to give them more information about what had and was happening.

"Hermit?" McGonagall asked.

"No, Cheshire, I'm Mage," Harry said gently, slowly moving down to sit on the forest floor, darkness around him. "Please, tell me what has happened."

McGonagall looked stunned for a moment, actually finding herself talking to the leader of the Custosae, but she quickly regained her composure.

"Long Beard was injured during a fight with Riddle. Al—Long Beard managed to tell us that V-voldemort got it," she said, clearly shaken, but holding herself together. Harry continued to listen. "His left knee suffered a Bone Splintering Hex, but a new kind of curse Voldemort seems to have just created hit his chest."

Harry straightened, not able to hide the extreme flash of worry passing over his face.

"What was this curse? What does it do? Has Riddle made any other new curses?" he asked.

"It's purple with specks of green within." McGonagall grew very grim. "During the attack, nearly all victims of the curse were immediately killed and converted into inferi…."

"Nearly all?" Harry questioned.

"That curse was the one that hit Long Beard, but something seems to have stopped and eliminated it. Relentless cannot even find a trace of it, Peg having offered her some samples to compare her scans to."

"Alright. Is that the only curse?"

"No, there's a yellow one. It controls the body instead of the mind."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, unlike the Imperius, which can be fought with a strong mind, this yellow curse controls the body itself. We don't know if someone can fight it, but one man Peg saw get hit with it ran towards the inferi, and well, you can imagine what happened then. Peg has dubbed it, 'the Dummy Curse'."

Harry took a moment before moving on, storing the new information for later. There were more important things to think about.

"How is Long Beard doing right now? What's his condition?"

"Whatever stopped the curse seems to be preventing all other magic from penetrating his skin. Relentless had to use a lot of power just to get a decent magical scan from him."

"Does this cover his whole body?"

"No, just his leg and the right side of his chest. Right where we need to cast healing spells," McGonagall nearly spat, clearly annoyed at feeling helpless. "It's as if his magic has a mind of its own."

Harry looked up, looking to the others, all of them thinking along the same lines as he was. Salandra's magic may have something to do with this. It was the only thing that made any sense.

"Viper, can I assume you know what to do?" Harry asked, McGonagall hearing his request and knowing he was speaking to someone on his side.

Draco nodded and looked at Dobby. They disappeared with a pop (though Harry and McGonagall didn't hear it), going down to speak with Salandra.

That night, it had been decided that a few of them needed a 'Custosae' codename, namely Draco, just as a security precaution. Fred and George definitely agreed, saying that if Snape heard Tavi's name, if it somehow came up, he'd know something was up (if he didn't already). They decided Draco's 'Custosae' codename — just as Harry's was 'Mage' — would be Viper. Neville's was Thorn, and Ron's was Phoenix.

Harry was now thankful Ginny had suggested the double names for those who had frequent contact with Amici members. It would not only provide more cover, but it would get them into the mindset of being a leader, instead of merely a messenger, which was what most of the Amici thought of them if they had them as a contact.

"What happened during the attack?" Harry asked.

McGonagall told him what Sirius and Remus did, no doubt saving hundreds of lives, getting them to evacuate immediately. She then went into what Moody, Bill, Bones, and the others did.

"Peg, Breaker (Bill), and Iron Man (Kingsley) tried to prevent the Death Eaters from entering the Department of Mysteries, but due to the Infuri and V-voldemort, they were just able to stop the Death Eaters and Inferi. Aurors came soon after, but by the time they reached where Voldemort had gone, Long Beard had fought him."

Harry nodded, trying to digest everything.

"Lone Lantern (Amelia Bones) and Torch (Arthur) managed to get to the Minister. As you had suggested to Long Beard, he has been moved to the safe location. Torch, Dug (Amos Diggery), and Fire Ball (Charlie) are with him now, awaiting further directions from you," she said.

Harry gave a short sigh of relief, knowing the Minister was safe at the Burrow, which had the best Wards money and friendly relations with the goblins could buy.

"They will stay with him there, but can send word to the Wizengamot that he is safe once things settle enough for them to properly receive such information," Harry said, before continuing. "Was any other Amici injured?"

"Iron Man was grazed with a cutting curse, but will be fine. Blade (Joseph Moy) was hit with a bludgeoning curse in the chest and had to go to St. Mungo's. Nightingale (Jean Burry) told us he will be alright, it will just take some time for him to be up and around again because of the damage to his ribcage," she said, spouting out the information she had been given by Moody and Sirius, clueless about who most of the codenames were referring to, but knowing Mage would know them all. "Colossus (Flitwick), Shade (Forshaw Craw), and Galadriel (Somac) have gone to St. Mungo's to provide some more internal protection, since the Ministry has stationed a number of Aurors around the perimeter of the hospital and Ministry."

"Good," Harry said, thinking.

He looked up to Hermione, trying to decide something, before looking back at McGonagall.

"Cheshire, do we need more protection around the Ministry or any other place right now?" he asked.

McGonagall looked piercingly at him, trying to determine why he was asking that.

"I think everything is being covered as well as can be expected, sir, and considering the circumstances, I think we have countered the attack as well as we could have, with or without only a week to prepare. The total number of… casualties," she clearly didn't like that word, "has been estimated by Peg. He believes sixty to eighty people have died, mostly all due to the Inferi Curse, and we are certain the number of injured is around thirty. I can only imagine how bad it would have been without our interference."

"We should have done more… I should have…" Harry muttered, before shaking his head, knowing that 'should have's do nothing but hinder.

McGonagall decided to put in her two cents.

"Sir, Al—Long Beard knows there was only so much we could do, to do anything more than we had initially would have alerted V-voldemort that his plan had been discovered, resulting in him changing his plans and making things worse. I know you know there are spies among the Ministry ranks, a number of them Aurors."

Mage nodded. "Long Beard and I knew the battle would not be clean and that loss of life was inevitable, I just despise that fact."

"So do I."

Harry was about to reply when he saw Draco and Dobby appear.

Draco hurried forward, casting a quick voice altering charm on himself and banished the special buffering spells around Harry.

"Mage, you're needed, right now!" he shouted.

"Cheshire, is there anything else you need to tell me?" he asked hurriedly.

"No, Mage," she said, worried about what the Custosae she couldn't see had yelled about.

"Thank you, I'll send help to Long Beard as soon as my people come up with a solution, Viper is working on it right now. Just keep him stable," he said.

She nodded and deactivated the mirror, not wanting to hold up Mage in what was clearly important as she hurried to the hospital wing.

Harry put the mirror away, quickly looking at Draco and Dobby.

"You have to do the healing spells, only someone with Salandra's magic in them can get through the magical resistance on him. Apparently, something triggered that ability in Salandra's magic within him, and it will continue drawing from his core until it has received a sign that it can shut down. For basilisks, their resistance is something they can maintain once they have first killed by their sight — some odd drawing life from the victim thing or something. It's sort of like an echo of their life force that they get, it never runs out, and the more things they stare-kill, the stronger their resistance becomes, which is another reason why old basilisks are stronger than younger ones. But Dumbledore doesn't have that source; his resistance is drawing power directly from his core instead.

"Salandra said it would probably stop once his magic knows he is safe and is being cared for, but all it knows right now, because it is so weak, is that spells were still recently being cast at his body. If we don't do something, his core will continue to drain and he'll die!"

Hermione and Ginny gasped, the twins dashing up and eliminating the glamour charms on Harry as Ron and Neville yanked Harry towards the door.

"Come on, let's go!" Draco said, Harry, Teddy, Dobby, and him quickly grabbing hands. "I'll come back as soon as I can," Draco yelled over his shoulder to the others, all of them realizing what he was planning to do.

The others just stood and stared as they disappeared with a pop, Dobby taking them directly into the infirmary….

O o O o O

Infirmary

-POP-

"Bloody Hell!" Sirius shouted as Poppy blurted an undignified swear, making Remus whip his head around to stare and Sirius gape at her in surprise.

Moody had to stop himself from hexing the forms that had just appeared by Dumbledore's bed as he moved between them and Dumbledore, pushing Harry and Teddy back. Snape had to catch (gracefully) a potion bottle he was about to hand to Poppy, and McGonagall halting what she was saying about Mage.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Poppy questioned, ignoring the fact Sirius was still staring at her in amazement upon hearing her less than appropriate words earlier.

"The Custosae!" Draco managed, still trying to catch his breath from telling Harry and the others what Salandra had told him. "Harry has to do the spells. The resistance the Headmaster has is drawing from his core, we have to hurry!"

All of the adults conscious gaped at him, well, except Snape, since Draco was his link to the Custosae.

"Do as he says!" Snape ordered, seeing that no one was moving and Moody was still preventing Harry from getting to Dumbledore.

"How…?" Pomfrey began.

"Draco is my link to the Custosae," Snape stated. "He'll explain the Custosae reasoning for this later, I'm sure. Mad-eye, limp out of the way. Poppy, tell Harry the spells that need to be cast. Harry, do whatever Draco told you to do."

No one argued with Snape, instantly doing as they were told.

Harry stepped up, unable to stop himself from staring, horrified, at Dumbledore's exposed chest. He was a fairly toned old man (due to both Salandra's magic and his natural physique), but an old man none the less. This would have been fine, but there was a huge bruise covering half of his chest, the darkest portions being overlapped with a painful looking electrical-like burn, which was all slightly hued by an odd green glow. Understandably, it made him look very sickly and frail.

Harry and Teddy (who had read the book Poppy had given them that summer on anatomy) knew just by looking that Dumbledore's collar bone was broken, as well as his second and third rib from the top. It was all morbidly colorful, and the unsteady rise and fall of his chest was all that told them he was alive.

Teddy, who was being held by Harry's left arm, released a terrified gasp and yelled, "His stuffing! Hurry, Harry, help him!"

Harry looked up to Poppy. "What do I do?"

Poppy quickly told him the spells, which Harry immediately cast, not looking at Poppy's worried eyes, which would have told him no one his age should be able to cast such spells yet.

She kept that knowledge to herself, hoping it would somehow work, that Harry Potter's luck would show itself once again. It did.

The bones mended and the harsh breathing and bruising disappeared, the burn-like marks faded into barely raised scars, and the deep bruising became very light; however, the green hue was still present. Harry hoped it would disappear once he fixed Dumbledore's knee.

Harry moved around the bed, ignoring how tired he was, the cloth of Dumbledore's pants over his knee already having been cut away.

It was wrapped in a very faint and thin green mist, though Harry could make out a very curious looking scar that covered the majority of his knee. He could have sworn it was a map of some kind, but didn't dwell on what it was because there were more important things to think about.

Poppy told him the needed spells, fighting with herself for doing so, seeing how tired he was from doing the other ones. He cast the first one, suddenly feeling unsteady on his feet. He closed his eyes, hoping for just enough magic to finish his task. Suddenly, he felt his magic churn, much like it did before a flare. Grasping his wand, he waited for the feeling to grow before saying the spell, letting his magic come.

He was too scared to even imagine what letting chaotic magic go through his wand would do, but only hoped that his will and Teddy would be able to stabilize it and allow it to do what he wanted.

The spell spread through Dumbledore's leg, Pomfrey having explained it would banish all of the damaged portion of bone so that he could take Skele-grow.

The infirmary was extremely quiet, so quiet in fact that he could hear Dumbledore's breathing become more steady, but he was disappointed when he found that Dumbledore's leg and chest were still coated in the green hue.

Not knowing what else to do, but knowing every second was important, Teddy decided to take matters into his own paws and leapt forward and hugged Dumbledore's chest before anyone could even try to stop him. Harry, still feeling his magic was unstable, did the only thing he could do, and shot his hand onto Teddy's back in case of a sudden flare.

There was a big flash of very faint green light.

Teddy and Harry were thrown back, slamming into poor Snape who just happened to be behind them.

"Harry!" Sirius shouted, hurrying forward.

"I'm okay," Harry said, Teddy patting him on the chest.

"Is your stuffing okay, not going to turn green or anything?" he asked worriedly.

"I'm okay," he said again, trying to get off of Snape who seemed to be in shock—slamming into a cabinet by a magically thrown boy and teddy bear can do that to a person.

Teddy jumped off of Harry, quickly going to Snape's side as Sirius helped Harry up.

"Are you alright Professor Snape?! Is your gray stuffing squished at all?" Teddy asked, rubbing Snape's head, trying to find bumps or other defects.

Snape suddenly came to his senses, pushing Teddy away, making the little bear fall on his rump and skid across the floor for a few feet.

"I'm fine," he grunted, holding himself back from snapping as he looked up at Pomfrey, who was waving her wand over Dumbledore.

She gave a resigned sigh. "He's magically exhausted, has a few bruises that will take a little more time to heal, and will need to take Skele-grow once he's awake and his core has regained some more strength, but I am certain he will be okay now."

Pomfrey then turned her attention to Harry and Teddy, who had hurried back to Harry's side, still hoping Snape hadn't suffered a brain injury, especially when he seemed so crabby, but then, he supposed, that was normal behavior for him.

"Mr. Potter, lay down right now. After all of that casting, I am not letting you out of this room until you have slept!" Pomfrey ordered.

Sirius and Remus looked apologetically to Harry as they watched McGonagall help him into bed and tuck him in, putting Teddy under the blankets too.

Draco caught Harry's eye and gave a subtle nod, secretly telling him he and the others will take care of anything that may come up as he rests.

Dobby and Draco were then shuffled out, Snape wanting to hear what else the Custosae might have told Draco.

Draco quickly told him what he had told the others — that it was Salandra's magic, but due to the source of Dumbledore's resistance, he needed to get Harry down to the infirmary immediately (hence Dobby's assistance, though it wasn't really needed—but only members of the Custosae knew about Draco, Harry, and Teddy's popping ability).

O o O

The Ministry, not to mention the entire Wizarding World, was on high alert and on guard. Arthur had sent word to the Wizengamot about Fudge's wellbeing, and that he was safe, which was an utter relief for them, since they were still getting names of the fallen.

Even the Minister's secretary hadn't been safe. Her name had joined those who had suffered the Infuri Curse.

The only thing which calmed the hearts of the survivors was knowing that the Infuri victims hadn't done the Dark Lord's bidding for long—despite the morbid truth behind that admission and relief.

Hermione and the others continued juggling messages, Hermit having to show herself to McGonagall later that night to give instructions about defenses and such (like who would take watch over what and whom). McGonagall didn't ask about the whereabouts of Mage.

The twins, Vince, and Greg busied themselves with finishing the inventions they had been working on for weeks, suddenly wishing they had had time to finish them before the battle earlier that day, but at least they had them done now.

Susan and Ginny were working on plans of defense for the Ministry, certain that the Ministry would be enlisting the help of the Custosae to protect its employees now.

At curfew, Ron and the others quickly went to their dorms, Hermione, Ron, and Draco keeping their mirrors close in case one of the Amici needed to speak with them during the night. Thankfully, it was not needed.

O o O o O

Harry woke up to the sound of Teddy giggling quietly, which could be a good or bad sign. Peeking over, he found Teddy sitting up and facing Dumbledore's bed. Harry quickly sat up, hoping to find his headmaster awake.

He wasn't disappointed.

"Good morning, Harry," he said, looking much better than he had a few hours ago.

It was about 2 am now.

"How are you feeling, sir?" he asked.

"Much better, and thank you, Harry. Teddy just began telling me some of what had happened after my second black out," he said.

"How much has he told you?" Harry asked.

"Just what happened to me and what you and he did," he answered, Teddy nodding in agreement. "I wish I knew how the others are doing, both our people and the Ministry's."

"I can't say I know much about that, but I know some."

"Please share, Harry. I would call for Severus or Minerva, but I think it would be unfair to wake them from a sleep they no doubt have just gone into."

"People named Iron Man and Blade were hurt, but they'll be okay," Harry said, deciding a bare minimum amount of information would be okay. "There are some Amici at St. Mungo's giving added security, and I think there are two beyond that door protecting us."

"Do you know anything about the Minister?"

"I was told he's safe."

"Harry, how do you know all of this?"

Great, Harry. Bare minimum. Right.

"Draco was contacted by a Custosae, and I suppose the Custosae figured we had a right to know a sliver of information. He mentioned an Amici by the name of Cheshire who would know more about it all, though. About the battle I mean," Harry said.

That seemed to make sense to Dumbledore, so he moved on. He knew Harry knew about the Custosae (being the individual who told them information concerning Riddle-having his memories and all) and that he knew about Sirius and Remus' participation in the Amici, having lived with them during the summer. It was no surprise that the Custosae would give information to him and one of his close friends (Dumbledore not knowing about Draco being Tavi, at the moment).

Dumbledore gave a little hum, twiddling his thumbs for a moment after he shifted slightly in the bed, making himself more comfortable.

"So, he got the prophesy?" Harry asked after a moment.

Dumbledore sighed, turning slightly to face Harry. His shoulder was still a little sore, but nothing like it was before.

"Yes," Dumbledore answered honestly, assuming Sirius or one of the others had told him or he had overheard it.

"Well, it's not like he didn't hate me already," Harry said.

"We are going to need to be much more careful, Harry. Now that he knows only you can kill him, and only he can kill you, he is not going to hold back anything anymore."

"Hold back?" Harry asked, alarmed.

"Yes, you see, before, he had no idea what the rest of the prophesy said. For all he knew, it could have said you would become his greatest ally. The portion of the prophesy he knew only said you have the power to vanquish him, not that you would. Now that he knows that the one the prophesy spoke of is really you — having marked you as his equal — and that neither of you can truly live while the other survives, he has no reason to hold back."

"What do you think he is going to do?" Harry asked.

"I think he will lay low for a little bit, give the Wizarding World a false sense of security, especially since he has no idea why his curse didn't work on me — which reminds me, did anyone explain anything about that curse to you? Teddy didn't get that far earlier. He was amused with my currently jelly-like knee," Dumbledore said, lightening the conversation somewhat. "I'm glad we have no need to know the layout of the London Underground at the moment, it would be very hard to read."

Harry smiled, Dumbledore's eyes twinkling brightly in the darkness.

"So it really was a map?" Harry asked, wondering how on earth anyone would get a scar of such a detailed map on themselves.

"Yes, I accidently acquired it in my youth. A friend mispronounced a spell and lit the map's magic ink on fire. It had been resting on my knee at the time."

"Wow," Harry and Teddy both said.

"It has been very helpful to me over the years, though when I first got it I was not overjoyed with having a magic Underground secret map practically tattooed to my knee."

"I can understand that," Harry agreed.

"So Harry, having gone off on a random tangent, let us return to the subject at hand."

Harry nodded, growing serious again.

"Voldemort made two new curses, the Custosae told us. The Inferi Curse, and one that is being called 'the Dummy Curse.'"

"Which was I hit with?"

"The Inferi one."

Dumbledore's eyebrows rose.

"And what was it supposed to have done?"

Harry looked down, not wanting to say the words out loud. Knowing what the outcome could have been was hard enough. He blinked away the tears that had begun to pool, Teddy scooting closer to him to offer comfort.

"I was supposed to have died and turned into an infuri," Dumbledore whispered, able to draw that conclusion from Harry's reaction.

Harry nodded, giving a little muffled sniffle, quickly collecting himself.

"Well, at least now I know why Tom looked at me the way he did," Dumbledore muttered, before looking back over at Harry who had laid back down, his face hidden in shadow.

Suddenly, Dumbledore froze, swearing he had just heard the words, "I hate Halloween," come from Harry's lips in a startlingly familiar tone.

"What did you say, Harry?" Dumbledore asked softly.

"Hmm?" Harry asked, the need for sleep clearly calling him.

"I thought you said something."

"No, sir, I don't think I did."

"Oh, alright then, my boy."

They laid there in silence. Harry worried he had said too much, while Dumbledore was trying to reason with himself that the thought that he had just had was impossible.

"Harry, before we both go back to sleep - since I am sure if Madam Pomfrey caught us up, we'd be in trouble - you know you can tell me anything, right?"

"I know, sir," Harry answered, quelling the guilty feeling rising inside him. "Thanks."

"And me, sir?" Teddy asked lifting himself up slightly, not wanting to be left out.

"Of course, Teddy," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"And you can tell me anything too, I'm good at keeping secrets," Teddy said proudly.

"I'm sure you are," he said quietly, quite entertained by the little bear.

With that, Harry pulled Teddy closer to him and went to sleep, oblivious to Dumbledore's whirling thoughts in the bed beside him.


Next part: WWW