Harry ran along the beach following the direction Hulk had run. As he got closer he could hear Finn screaming for help. The non-wolf made it to the river first, his long legs carrying him quickly over the ground. Harry arrived shortly after, followed quickly by Puck. Harry had only moments to take in the scene before jumping in to help.

In the center of a large still pool of the slowly moving river was the top half of a large white horse with plants stuck in it's long white mane and dripping with water. The most noticeable thing about the creature, and like Mike had told them it was not a horse, was behind the not-horse splashing in the water where the rear of the horse should have been was a long serpent like tail ending in a wide fin.

It looked like Finn had waded in to help the presumably helpless creature and gotten caught because the creature had the fabric of Finn's shorts caught in its mouth and was dragging him backwards into deeper water. Finn had gotten a hold of the root on a water logged tree, but even from his position Harry could see the teen's grip failing.

Hulk let loose a mighty bark, startling Finn into completely letting go of the root. Before the creature could back away further Hulk leaped at Finn catching the boy's shirt in his teeth. It looked like the two huge beasts were playing tug of war with Finn taking the place of the rope. Harry, wand already in hand, joined the fray. He shot a stinging hex at the not-horses neck, the light hit the target and the creature screamed dropping the fabric. Hulk yanked and dragged a terrified Finn onto the shore near his friends and then went back to Harry's side as he faced the still flailing creature.

Harry wouldn't attack unless the not-horse came for them again. He had learned his lesson with the tree creature, he would fire non fatal curses and hexes as long as he was able. The creature charged the shore again and Harry caught sight of its front hooves which were actually fins. Harry spelled the water in front of the not-horse frozen, hoping the soft fins couldn't break through like a hoof would. Sure enough the creature stopped at the edge of the ice, but continued its scream like whinny at the shore.

Beside him Hulk began to growl at the creature, who immediately stopped its cries. Just like with the tree monster the not-wolf and not-horse faced off for long moments until the the water creature stopped treading water and sank beneath the surface. Underneath the water, Harry could see the not-horse racing away at great speed. Hulk stopped his growling and the next few minutes passed in silence until Harry was sure it wasn't coming back.

Harry turned to see a soaking wet, shivering Finn sitting in between Puck and Mike. All three were staring at him with various looks. Mike and Puck looked curious and Finn just looked angry, again.

"What?" Harry sighed.

"Why didn't you kill it! It tried to drown me!" Finn roared.

"I can't just kill everything Finn! I got you away, we were safe. It didn't have to die," Harry tried to explain. "Did it ever occur to you that I don't want to kill anything?"

"It could come back when we are sleeping and kill us!"

"Unless you plan on sleeping in the water I don't think that will be a problem. It didn't have feet."

"You don't know that! And your wolf tried to bite me!"

"He saved you! And he's not a wolf!" Harry yelled back getting angry himself.

"I could see it in his eyes, he was going for my throat and missed," Finn insisted.

Hulk, who had come up behind him, growled. "I think that means if he had gone for your throat he wouldn't have missed," Harry helpfully interpreted.

"Look," Mike broke in before it could get out of hand again, "everyone just calm down."

"No! I'm tired of this. I'm tired of almost dying. I'm tired of this island. I don't even want magic anymore, I just want to go home!" Finn yelled. He pulled his legs up to his chest and buried his face in his knees. "I just want to go home," he repeated, his words mumbled against his legs.

Harry sighed. Sometimes he forgot not everyone had been through what he and his friends had. Finn just wasn't used to dealing with high risk situations like this. The first day had just been sun and fun, but now it wasn't so much unicorns and rainbows. Harry could understand where Finn was coming from, even if he hated the way he was acting. He sent a drying and warming charm at the boy, hoping to make him more comfortable and moved away to let Mike and Puck comfort their friend. He set a temporary ward around the group that would inform him if there was any trouble before walking away.

It had happened before, just like with his Aunt. In Finn's mind Harry had become a link to magic, something that had become scary to the teen. He was angry at Harry not because he couldn't protect him, because Harry had more than one, but because he was the closest and easiest thing related to what scared him. People, especially teenage boys in Harry's experience, didn't cope well with unknown things that scared them. Finn seemed like a good bloke, so Harry knew he would get over it. He just needed some space, which Harry could relate to and took the opportunity to get some of his own.

He wandered into the nearby hills, Hulk trotting along side him. When he got far enough away, Harry looked back to make sure none of the others were following or could see him before shifting into his animagus form. In this form he was only a few inches shorter than Hulk, but still significantly less mass than the huge beast. The not-wolf didn't look too surprised at the transformation, so Harry bowed his legs before nudging the beast playfully. Hulk got the hint and dropped into a crouch. Harry stilled for a moment and then sped off as fast as his long legs could carry him. Harry's more agile frame a was more than a match for Hulk's powerful muscles, both of their bodies suited to the environment.

When he first saw the hills they day before he knew they would be fun to run in and was glad he got the chance, and for the company as well. Being in his animagus form was always so freeing. When his friends had learned their forms with him, he had been disappointed that none could keep up with him so this was the first time he was able to put his speed to the max for anything fun. It had saved his life more than once, and ultimately helped him defeat Voldemort that summer, but it was good to know it was for more than just war.

The reason he had told Puck he would never guess, is that Harry himself knew very little about his animagus form. Strange things happened when he was changed, but he didn't know how to control it himself. Because of this he actually had no clue what he was capable of. Hermione found a picture that matched his form in an old book and had to have the few sentences underneath translated for her as they were written in Japanese which ended up being just a name and brief description. Harry already had plans to visit the country after school in search of more information.

They played in the grassy hills for over an hour, before Harry noticed the day was getting late. They wouldn't be getting any further that day, and they needed to make camp before nightfall. Harry steered them back towards where they had left the boys, transforming back before they got to close. He made deliberate noise as he approached so he wouldn't startle the quietly talking teens.

"Hey, it's getting late. We should probably set up camp," Harry suggested.

The others nodded and Finn added, "Just not near the water, please?"

"No, good idea. There's a tall hill a few minutes that way," Harry said pointing to the direction he had just come from. "If we set up on top we should be able to see if anything comes close."

The atmosphere that night was tense compared to the night before. Harry sent Prongs to Neville warning him of unknown creatures on the island. He kicked himself for not having thought to do it earlier, potentially endangering their friends. When he got the message back though Neville told him all was fine and they hadn't run into any trouble. Harry was concerned about that, but figured he had always been a trouble magnet. Finn seemed to brighten up after exchanging words with his brother and Harry was just glad the boy had stopped yelling.

They quietly sat around the fire eating without talking after the messages stopped. Hulk had disappeared to find his own sleeping spot, so Harry was alone with the others. After finishing eating, Harry quickly excused himself and went to get ready for bed, not wanting to deal with the awkwardness anymore. Harry had just laid down when a few moments later Puck entered the tent.

"Don't worry, Harry. You can cuddle me tonight," Puck said with a grin.

Harry scoffed. " I am perfectly content to stay on my side of the tent. I think you want the cuddles more than me anyway," Harry told him, rolling over to hide his smile. He heard movement as Puck settled down on his side.

"You might be right about that," Puck replied softly. Harry smiled at the tone of voice. It was silent in the tent for a few minutes, but unlike the campfire earlier it wasn't awkward at all with just him and Puck.

"Will you tell me?" Puck asked quietly.

Harry rolled over to face him. Puck was on his side looking at Harry. "Tell you what?"

"About what happened. There's something that you keep talking around, something big. You don't have to tell me if you don't want."

Harry sighed. "It's a long story."

"Like you said, we've got time."

"Before I was born there was a dark wizard named Voldemort. Think Hitler, only with magic," Puck grimaced, "Yeah. It got pretty bad. Some people fought against him and his followers, my parents included. When I was 15 months old he came to our house to kill me. There is a curse, creatively enough called the Killing Curse, that kills every time without fail. It leaves no marks, you just drop dead. He killed my father first as he tried to fight him off, then my mother as she tried to protect me in my crib. Then he cast the same curse, the infallible curse, at me. Only this time it failed, and rebounded against him."

Harry was laying on his back now staring up at the ceiling of the tent, speaking quietly in the small space. He could feel Puck's gaze on his face, encouraging but not pressuring. "He died that night. A Dark Lord that had killed thousands, felled by a baby. I was lauded as a hero; Harry Potter, the-boy-who-lived. They celebrated in the streets, wrote books in my honor. Meanwhile I was left on the doorstep of my mother's sister, a magic hating muggle. For the next 10 years I lived under their stairs thinking my parents had died in a car accident because my father had been driving drunk. Any act of freakish-ness, meaning my uncontrollable accidental magic, was punished."

"Then on my 11th birthday I received a letter. 'Dear Mr. Potter, We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,'" Harry recited in a terrible impression of McGonagall's voice. "It was a dream come true. Magic was real and I was a wizard. But as soon as I stepped into the wizarding world, people expected things of me that I had no clue how to deliver. At first they wanted to know how I had defeated him, they wanted me to do great things."

"As it turned out, Voldemort wasn't as dead as everyone thought. He came back my first and second year, but I managed to keep him from getting a body. Finally in my fourth year he kidnapped me and regained his body using my blood after killing a friend in front of me. I escaped to tell people, to warn them. No one wanted to listen. They would rather think he was gone, that Cedric had died in some terrible accident. The Ministry and the papers printed that I was seeking attention, I had gone around the twist."

"I spent my whole fifth year year with the rumors following me around. People looking at me as if I would kill at a moments notice. At the end of the year I was part of a battle at the Ministry of Magic over a prophecy. People finally found out that he was back when the Minister himself walked in on the battle to see Voldemort standing in front of him. The same people who only months ago were calling me insane were back to applauding me, calling me the 'Chosen One'. Any satisfaction I could have at that was buried under the grief of losing my godfather in the battle."

"After the battle I was called into the headmaster's office. It turns out the prophecy said that I had to be the one to kill him and no one else would be able to. I spent the next two years training to be a murderer. I was only 15 but I had to kill the most evil Dark Lord of the century. I finally succeeded this past summer, I killed him. Now I'm Harry Potter, the-boy-who-lived, the Chosen One and the Savior. I thought I was done, but it seems like I was the only one who thought that. The public expects me to join the Ministry, whom I loathe. I know when I leave it will be just like fifth year with the rumors and speculations. I don't want to live my life under a magnifying glass, I just want to be free. And I would really like those cuddles now," Harry finished.

Puck silently opened his arms, and Harry slid across the space dividing them. He fit naturally against the other teen, accepting the comfort of the arms encircling him. Puck was silent in the wake of his story and Harry was a little nervous as to what the larger teen would say.

"No wonder you never had time to get laid," Puck commented.

Harry rose up on his elbow to look the teen in the face. "That is what you get out of all that? Really?"

"No, I just wanted you to look at me," Puck replied before leaning up to press a gentle kiss to Harry's lips. They settled back down after a minute, Harry's head on Puck's chest. One of Puck's hand tucked under his head, the other carding through Harry's hair in way that Harry never knew he liked. Harry sighed happily and leaned in to the touch.

"My dad walked out on us a few days after my 11th birthday. My life has never been easy, but I couldn't imagine going through the things you have, Harry. You kind of amazing, you know that?"

"Don't make me blush," Harry replied, already turning red and grateful Puck couldn't see his face. Then what Puck said hit him. He popped up again, his own embarrassment fading. "You said your 11th birthday?"

"Yeah. Why?" Puck asked, the confusion written on his face.

"11 is when you get your school letter. That's the last chance for kids who haven't shown any accidental magic. If you don't get your letter, that's when you know your a squib. You said before that your dad talked about magic. Could he have known?" Harry asked.

"I- I don't know."

Harry laid back down. "When we get off this island, I'll help you find out. As much as I hate the ministry I've still got pull there. We'll figure it out," Harry told him with certainty.

After a few silent moments, Puck started to sing softly as he continued to run his hands through Harry's hair. The day had been long and draining in every way. Harry couldn't recall a time he had ever been more comfortable, and he slowly fell asleep, gently lulled away by the boy beneath him.

AN: So I dropped some monster sized hints about Harry's animagus form in this one. Honestly though, its designed to be completely unexpected while fitting perfectly so no one is allowed to yell at me later on.

On a more personal note *I neeeeed reviews. If I don't have them I will explode. That happens to me sometimes.* - tacos for anyone who gets the reference.