For eight hours the searchers did not stop. The Ravenclaws scoured the castle, Damien governed the Hufflepuffs' search of the grounds and Draco led the Slytherins into the Forest. Blaise caught up with them as they started into the tree line, reporting that she was nowhere in the Ravenclaw common. Blaise was furious with himself, and his stress level shot up a million more points when Nott (a leader in the party) suddenly dropped to one knee.

"What it is Theodore?" Draco demanded, drawing even with him.

"It's blood Prince. I'm not sure if it's human or not." Nott brought his red-stained hand up to stare at it. "There's a trail though."

Draco drew in a deep breath. "It could be her, so we'll have to follow it. Come on."

…

Damien was by the lake when he heard it, an terrified scream from the direction of the forest. He summoned his house and took off toward the sound.

'Oh God Alex, please be okay.' Damien pleaded, his heart pumping out of fear for his twin.

They broke into the trees, all twenty of them spreading out into a fan. Damien shouted orders as they charged through the trees, wands out and at the ready. The outside most edges had immobilizing spells on the tips of their tongues, the leaders something a little more deadly.

They crashed into a clearing ringed by the Slytherin students. Wands were immediately aimed at the intruders. Draco ordered a stand down. "Damien get your ass over here."

Damien trotted over, hand pressed to a stitch in his side. "Who screamed Draco? Was it Alex? Have you found her?"

"It was Rebecca, and yes we've found her." He gestured to a ring in the very center of the meadow.

This ring was not made up of students, but of Thestrals. Their black wings were folded in tight in response to the threat posed by the group of students. Damien knelt down so he could peer through their legs. He saw one of them on the ground, and his sister knelt at the hind end of the thing. It seemed to be giving birth.

Damien heaved a sigh of relief and stayed kneeling on the ground. He could feel Pansy coming up behind him and putting a hand on his shoulder. "She'll be alright. I don't think they want to hurt her."

"Let's hope not." Draco replied eyeing the herd, "They look like they could do some damage."

Blaise nodded pale as death. "If they start to threaten we're going to have to leave her."

…

Alex was currently up to her elbows in blood. The Thestral mare had been in labor for hours now. Alex's spell was showing normal signs, but three heartbeats. The strongest she assumed was the dams; the other two were supposedly the twin foals she carried. The mare's dragonish head turned to stare at the girl, her white eyes glowing softly in pain. Alex murmured to her, stroking one of her skinny hipbones.

'This is disgraceful! These poor things need to be fed more! I'll bet it's that stupid reputation playing into effect again…well I'm going to talk to that CoMC professor and see if we can feed them some meat from the kitchens.' She nodded sharply to herself and under her hand; she felt the mare give a great contraction.

She readjusted her position and prepared to catch and break the bag. This process was nothing new to her; she had been at the birth of countless equine like creatures. At least with the thestrals one didn't have to worry about internal rupture like with a unicorn birth. But that was neither here nor there and the mare was progressing rapidly now. The foals head came out with its forelegs and as soon as she was sure it would not be sucked back in with the next contraction she placed her hands on the bag and pulled. Five minutes later the foal was on the ground, Alex cleaning the rest of the post-natal goo off the little thing. She checked the sex and found it was a filly, a huge foal by any standards.

'Oh no, if this one's that large the other one's probably a stillborn.' Alex glanced back at the mare to find the other foal already on the ground and moving weakly. She left the bigger one and crab-walked over to the newest addition.

The poor little thing was struggling to lift its head. It had a finer bone structure than its sire (who was standing a few feet from the mare, snuffling at her worriedly), it clearly traced its look through the dam's side. The little one rested its head back on the grass, making a strange keening noise. The Older one picked up on it and the Mare stood to usher the older foal into standing and the herd moved slowly off. The little one tried to stand and follow, making the keening noise louder. One of its wings got caught under it and it shrieked, collapsing back to the ground.

Alex sighed and ran a bloody hand through her hair. 'Alright, I can't leave it. I know it's too weak to survive in the wild, and that's why she left it. It happens all the time with the wild herds. I'm sure that the CoMC professor will know what to do with it.'

She saw the other students now holding up a hand to stall their approach. She knelt by the foal and freed its wing. She eyed it for a moment before picking it up in her arms. It snorted at her, but settled down since she still smelled like the Mare. She turned to her classmates with the thing in her arms and smiled.

Blaise approached her slowly and wrapped his arms around her. "What the hell were you thinking, Mon Ange? There are things in this forest that would have done worse than kill you."

She sighed and leaned against him, the foal sagging in exhaustion, "I was the only one who could help, love. I'm sorry I worried you."

Just then the foal nipped her and she giggled tiredly. Blaise chuckled and turned to the rest of the students. "For those of you who can't see what just happened, the Winged One just delivered twin Thestral foals. The Mare left the weaker one behind and she's obviously decided to adopt it. We need to form a protective ring around her and leave before the predator's get wind of all the blood. Let's head back okay?"

They all nodded and walked three deep around Alex back to the castle. The emerged from the forest to the glaring eyes of Professors Snape and Sprout.

Draco eyed his Head warily, "We heard shrieking, Sir. And discovered Alex missing. We thought she'd be killed."

Snape glared at him, "So you endangered all of these other students to save one?"

The groups all started denying being 'forced to go anywhere' one young girl even went so far as latching onto Alex's leg and saying she was like the sister she never had. (Her elder sister pulled her off after the Thestral nearly took her arm.)

Snape looked faintly amused at this point and crossed his arms. Sprout sighed and dismissed her house, then turned to Snape and shrugged.

"Can't find fault with them. Protecting a fellow student they was." Sprout nodded and waddled off back to her green houses.

Snape glared at his house. "All of you better remember we have a 'slimy, cheating, git' reputation to uphold! You can't go off saving people, or you'll be compared to those bloody Gryffindors! You're dismissed. A moment Draco, Blaise."

Draco froze, wincing. Blaise stood coolly glaring at Snape's staff badge. "Sir?"

"Draco as Prince you can't send your people off on missions that could get them killed! You are their protector, not the friggin' fire brigade!" Snape turned his cool black eyes to Blaise, "And you Mr. Zabini! You are his Deuxième Serpent, his second in command! You're supposed to prevent him from doing idiotic things, not go with him!"

Blaise lifted an eyebrow, "Ah, but Professor; I am also Ravenclaw's amoureux à ailes, and as such I have an obligation to serve, comfort and protect their Prince."

Snape looked at him shocked, "Ravenclaw doesn't have a Prince. Just those two idiots that make a mockery of the whole system!"

"Actually sir I am the Envolé of Ravenclaw." Alex stepped around the two boys, the foal making that keening noise again. "And if you don't mind I need to feed the foal before he decides that I'd make a good first meal. So if you'd escort us to the Kitchens I'll explain everything there. Is that acceptable?"

….