Hello!I'm back to the realm of the internet, and the living. Sorry I was gone for so long. Life sucks in the way that it tears you away from the things that you like sometimes.

Anyway, enjoy this little tidbit.

I don't own Firebreather, or Harry Potter, and this is solely for the enjoyment of myself and/or others and is not sold or that other stuff that goes along with that. Thanks.

Harry felt guilty, he was here because he was running away from his problems, how was that facing them! He voiced his thoughts only to get an amused rumble, "Boy, look in the pouch on that tasty tidbit's leg. You can't run away from your problems, only prepare yourself for them." Hedwig let out an outraged tweet, but she held out her leg, still perched uncomfortably on his shoulder.

He reached to grab it….

Chapter 13

He gently removed the scroll tied to Hedwig's leg, which she good naturedly held out for him. After having it in hand, he took one finger and stroked along he face lightly, and in return he received a delighted hoot.

He couldn't keep the smile off his face. No matter what happened, Hedwig would always be there for him. There was more than one time that he worried about her flying into danger, but she could take care of herself. If anything, he knew that she was always more concerned for his well-being than her own. She was always looking out for him, and she would do anything to keep himself, and follow him into any kind of hell.

"Hedwig…you shouldn't have followed me…. But, thank you."

Unrolling the scroll, he thought he knew who it would be from. She wouldn't allow anyone else other than his friends to go near her, and there was no other reason than delivering letters that would have her near strangers.

The soft parchment was hard to unroll with his clawed hands, but he managed.

In it wasn't what he expected. He thought that it would be his friends wishing that he was coming home, them telling him about their days at Hogwarts.

Oh, he thought wistfully, back when everything was normal.

Which was kind of ironic. But besides that, it wasn't like that. There was some stuff about Hogwarts, i.e. - Snape being a prat, same old Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry, his house's rankings and all, but there was more written in between the lines.

Harry- How is it wherever you are? I hope this letter finds you well.

Life in Hogwarts is much the same as it always is-eventful. I have a lot of homework to do, so we are never bored. The visits to the village have been canceled, it isn't really a safe place anymore. Everyone is enjoying the extracurricular activity we started, but it is getting harder to find people able to come because of all of the homework. Ms. McGonagall is trying to tone down the load, but it isn't working much.

Gryffindor is still in the House rankings, which is brilliant. Not badly anyway. We can't seem to avoid detentions and getting points taken away. II am still getting straight O'S in most of my classes, and I am managing to make sure Ronald is still doing his homework.

It's not really the same without the twins here anymore for all of their stupid antics. But I hear that their shop is doing fine.

We are all saddened by the fact that Ms. Umbridge is accepting a new job at the ministry. Ms. McGonagall is going to be helping out a lot after that. Thankfully.

Not many people are actually writing each other anymore, they're worried about their owls. A lot of kid's birds have run off…. Or something else happened.

We got a new professor, and he is a bit of a character. I swear, he is collecting all of the students that have any bit of fame, and trying to get in their good graces. He hasn't even batted and eye at Ron or I except to ask about you.

He could just imagine her face.

*Sniff* It seems we weren't worth his time. Or we weren't. These days Ronald is doing quite well at potions and I suspect it is due to this old battered book he borrowed from the cupboard. I might have forgotten my book that day- and YES I do forget things sometimes Harry, but he gave me the newer one to use. His was battered and torn and written in (the nerve of some people!). But there are things written in that book Harry, things I don't think anyone else, especially kids, were meant to see. I'm worried. It's attracting a bit of attention, ever since he won that Felix Felicus…. And he has become a bit of a prat to be around, boasting about his 'accomplishments' while hiding that stupid book under his pillow every night. Especially since he got onto the Quidditch team as a keeper… Katie is trying her best to manage the team, but she's having a hard time trying to get people to join. They don't have their wonder boy anymore.

But Ron would say "Hello", or he would, if he wasn't being a bloody idiot. We… He is a bit cranky since you up and left without a word. I'm sure that's the other reason he has been avoiding me lately. He's nervous; no one knows what the family is doing anymore, and they haven't bothered to tell us since you aren't around. We're concerned… I'm quite sure that something's happening. The Ministry even gave Mr. Weasely a promotion. They would never have done that before. Not with his blatant support of you.

Not to mention Professor Snape has finally got the position that he has always wanted. DADA teacher for the year. Knowing how that position goes through teachers faster than Ron goes through chocolate frogs or every flavour beans, I don't think we'll have him long. He and Dumbledore haven't spoken in public in weeks, and he is even more short-tempered than usual. I can't get anything right! He just keeps taking off points from anyone that's not a Slytherin. Not that's anything unusual.

Harry, good luck in whatever you're doing, I'm sure it's important. Don't just disappear. We're your friends, and we'll support whatever decision you'll make. I… I just worry. I'm sure Ron does too. Don't write back, Hedwig's a good bird, she should stay safe. Ron'll get it into his head that you have your own decisions to make, and he'll get over it.

Love,

Hermione

Shit. He was such a bloody idiot! He had left his friends behind, and had barely spared them a thought. He had only thought about how he would miss them, not what he would be leaving them to. He should have stayed, should have thought of a way for them to make his new predicament work. Hermione-or Dumbledore could have thought of something. Heck! Dumbledore even gave him an option, but he had to think of his best interests for once, and now he was going to die of guilt.

It was obvious that things were going down at Hogwarts, Snape the Death Eater, in charge of Defense Against the Dark Arts. More likely how to best get yourself killed if you're not a bloody Slytherin, or how to best get your soul eaten by a Dementor. Great.

It seems like all of the wrong people were gaining power. Scrimgeour in the ministry (Though right now still better than Fudge. At least he recognizes the problem.) Snape in DADA, like he needed any other way to beat up his students other than mentally. And now apparently Ron was doing something foolhardy and dangerous. And even worse, he wasn't listening to Hermione. Which was bad. Really bad.

Hermione was the logic behind their whole group. She was the one who kept them from doing something foolhardy that would kill them more than half of the time.

"So, son. Is it good news?" The bastard had to know this would happen. Even without any kind of extensive knowledge of his personal life, which he REALLY shouldn't have, it would be obvious that he just couldn't pick up his bags and leave without any kind of repercussions. Especially for someone like him, with being tied to a deadly prophecy a decade in the making. Even longer if you counted that Voldemort was around long before Harry. He was Dumbledore old.

"I have a name you know!"

"I was aware." He replied rather stiffly, a disgruntled look on his reptilian face.

"Then why the hell don't you use it?" Harry was really starting to get pissed off by the whole thing. If he was talking to him, he might as well use his real name. Not only was it starting to piss him off, but it would invariably become a problem whenever Belloc would be trying to talk to one versus the other.

"I… am not overly fond of what happened to your name."

"…what happened to it?"

"Yes," his nose wrinkled in distaste. "It was such a nice name, and they went and changed it. I don't care much if it was for the sake of hiding your presence, or just because they wanted something easier to say, but I find it… mundane."

"Nothing's wrong with my name!"

"Son,"

He growled at the dragon, one more of irritation rather than actual ferocity.

"…Harry, your original name had much more meaning. Your mother named your brother- as such, I named you. Inti, after the fire that rests in my gullet, the fire that razes my enemies flesh." His glare was definitely in Harry's direction.

"As such, I refuse to address you by that name."

"I'm still going to go by Harry."

"I am not going to argue with you about this. I'm sure one day you will see it my way."

Whatever, dad.

Hedwig cooed softly from his shoulder, and Duncan groaned quietly into the sand.

"Now, let's move your brother, before he wakes up."

Hopefully no typos, but once again, I am not the grammar and spelling mistakes god. Or police. Either way, I only have the power of proof reading, and I'm not omniscient.

So thanks for any reviews, and point out any glaring, or not so glaring, errors on my part that might interrupt the flow of the story, or just plain annoy you.

Thanks

~A Muffin with a Mission 3