Chapter Ten

Releases

~~ What are you thinking about, Quiangya? ~~

Their visitors had left to go to bed several hours ago. Harry was stumbling as he showed how wrung out he was, and the phalanx of girls went with him to support him for the long trip to Gryffindor Tower and keep him from falling down all the stairs they had to climb. At the question from Rhiain, the Chinese dragon stretched sinuously, making the Welsh dragon feel clumsy and unbalanced just watching.

~~ I normally don't care one least bit about what happens to wizards, but hearing about what happened to the Speaker from such a young age changes that – just in his case. I intend to help him in whatever way he needs. You? ~~

Rhiain nodded unhappily. From the moment she had heard the Mother Eminence explode in anger in that arena, she felt like she had been buffeted by crosswinds and capricious updrafts and thrown into gales at sea besides and that was just the winds of magic around her. Seeing the Speaker for herself and perceiving the flickering aura of his damaged magic around him that cried out for intervention touched the part of herself that was a mother. She answered, her tone sad but at the same time disbelieving of the memory.

~~ If it can get Annika that fired up, then it's surely something that needs doing. And soon, too, if things are as bad for him as I think. I'm surprised at how… well, stubborn he looks sometimes. ~~

The Chinese dragon nodded.

~~ Adversity and tenacity are old foes. ~~

The Welsh dragon squinted at her. Quiangya had a habit of trotting out quotes she said from her homeland that she felt was applicable in certain situations when she felt like being inscrutable instead of grumpy, and Rhiain was sure that a good number of the quotes had been shamelessly stolen from wherever the other dragon had heard them. She started to say something, but Quiangya cut her off with another.

~~ A child's life is like a piece of paper on which every person leaves a mark. What mark will you leave, Rhiain? ~~

~~ The best I can. ~~

The answer surprised her with the speed with which it came. She didn't think that she'd forged as apparently deep a connection with the Speaker as Tessaies and Annika had since today was really the first time they'd met in any real sense, but what if? She spent a few minutes reviewing the magic that was a part of her and came to a startling conclusion.

The connection was there, entwined and braided with the magics of the other three dragons and overlaid with the singing sheath of the Treaty's magic. Plus, it pulsated with a richness that even with her two centuries of knowledge still left her confounded. She had no idea when or how it had manifested, but there it was.

The astounded look she gave the other dragon as the realization filtered into her consciousness was met with amusement. To see the prickly elder with such a look on her face was amazing in itself. Quiangya looked almost approving of the younger dragon, like a teacher with a student that had mastered a difficult concept of a wider subject.

~~ You'll learn and quickly, young one. Tend to your eggs tonight, as we all will, and reflect upon the things you've learned this day along with the wisdom I've given you here. The Speaker will have need of all of us but in different ways. ~~

Rhiain tilted her head. A thought occurred to her. It took her a moment to put into words that thought as she was still pondering it, and Quiangya paused, waiting to hear what she was thinking. The younger dragon spoke carefully.

~~ Just the Speaker? ~~

An abrupt shake of Quiangya's head was the only answer she got as the other mother dragon left for her nest. Somewhere in the distance, she could hear Annika softly crooning the lullaby that Luna had sung for her. Rhiain would think more on this later. Her eggs had need of her. She found herself singing the same tune as she wandered along, lost in thought. There would be much mental debating with herself in what remained of the night.

It took a while, but soon the dragons had all bedded down to rest if not necessarily to sleep. Tessaies was the last one, her mind flitting from one thing to the other before coming to a series of decisions. She focused on the Castle in the distance and Asked a question.

|:-:|

The next morning, Charlie stumbled into the Great Hall. There were several amused glances at him since his dragon handlers' vest was buttoned wrong and he was wearing different boots on each foot. One black, one green. His eyes had a definite bloodshot look.

"Ah! Mister Weasley! From your appearance you seem to have had a very late and perhaps busy night. Yes?" Dumbledore sounded quite amused at the rumpled sight of the normally put-together wizard. Professor McGonagall eyed him and sniffed loudly.

Charlie Weasley couldn't help but flinch in still-trained reaction at the sound of that sniff.

"Er, yes, Headmaster. There were developments with the dragons last night and new knowledge and lore added to our books. Documenting it was not the easiest."

The only other Professor at the table that early was oddly Professor Snape, who normally took his breakfast in his rooms this day of the week. He leaned forward and examined Charlie with a critical eye.

"And possibly new damage to your liver... perhaps?" The drawl was quite distinct as was the frown. Charlie looked at him with a matching frown.

"If you learned what we did last night, you'd drink too. I can't really discuss it until we finish it ourselves, but suffice it to say that dragonology has some shattered paradigms this morning." The look Professor Snape gave him indicated that he thought that more than paradigms lay in pieces, if Charlie's appearance was any indication.

"Oh?" The Headmaster seemed interested at this statement. "Be sure to send us the information soon, Mister Weasley. I will have to soon announce an upcoming change to Hogwarts, relating to dragons, and every bit of information will help."

"Dragons, Albus?" McGonagall glanced at him.

"Yes. I won't go into it at the breakfast table in any detail, except to say that an old treaty was activated and it will cover Hogwarts. In the staff meeting today after breakfast, I will have more information to share as I expect the morning mail to bring an update to some questions I sent out."

Charlie's eyes sharpened, although with a wince of pain. Professor Snape's frown deepened fractionally and Charlie winced as the other man appeared to become even more stark in his appearance. The thumping headache behind his eyeballs got worse but he did his very best not to show it. He'd had plenty of practice, after all.

"Ah, Headmaster, would that old treaty happen to be the Treaty of Shelleche Notch? If it is, I had one of the Hogwarts elves drop off a copy of that treaty late last night after… well, after last night's events. Those events are directly related to it."

There was a look on the old man's face that he had not seen in years, and Charlie wasn't too happy to see it directed at him. He hurriedly went on.

"And as a direct result and as part of that Treaty, I have to talk to Harry about it because of the events of the First Task and both my career and my position. It's a… tasking, I guess. I really need to do it before classes resume tomorrow morning. It wouldn't do to disrupt things."

There was silence at the table for a moment as the Professors traded looks. Dumbledore spoke after a moment.

"Do you require my assistance in speaking with young Harry about this situation?"

McGonagall glared at him with her lips thinned out.

"Albus, Mister Potter would do well to not have us hovering over him. Mister Weasley will do his job without our supervision, as it is his career as has been since leaving school. He has not needed your interference to do it thus far."

Dumbledore flinched away slightly, and behind her Charlie could see Professor Snape silently applaud while blocked from the old man's view by his Deputy's position. And was that amusement in the dour man's eyes? He didn't think that was even possible. The dragon handler hurried to address the Headmaster before the old wizard could say anything else.

"I'll get with him during breakfast and tell him that I need to talk with him today and what about. It's not a discussion to be held over breakfast. Good day, Headmaster. Professors."

Charlie scurried away from the Staff Table before the old wizard could say anything else. He found a place at the Gryffindor table just in time, as Harry stumbled into the Great Hall. The dragon handler had an odd sense of déjà vu and wondered if Harry had a couple of redheaded brothers find him some of his own brew.

He shook his head at that thought, amused, and immediately moaned at the pain.

It was enough to catch Harry's attention and he altered course to weave his way to the opposite bench from Charlie's seat. Hermione showed up right behind him, but was much more alert. She looked like she always did, and Charlie scowled to himself. Being around morning people was one thing since he was a morning person, but with a hangover changed it. A good look at Hermione's face, and he realized that it was possibly a good thing to not mention it.

She looked a bit off herself, now that Charlie had a good look at her. Harry looked a bit off, too.

Had they had a fight or something? He waited until they had seated themselves and Harry was rubbing his face.

"Morning, you two."

Harry stared at Charlie through splayed fingers.

"Charlie. You look worse than I do."

The dragon handler snorted, then grimaced mightily as the hangover retaliated. He moaned for good effect. It wasn't even an effect, and everyone who could see him knew it.

"Tangle with enough Firewhiskey and you can look just like me," he declared shakily as pain roiled around his head.

Hermione looked askance at him, then asked, "Why didn't you take a Sober-up?"

"The hangover reminds me of the consequences of my actions so I won't do it again," Charlie groaned. Well, it sounded good to him at one point.

Hermione started to say something then fixed him with a knowing stare.

"And… has it worked in the past?"

"Nooooo," Charlie sighed. "Especially when you start off with some hooch they have in Romania and brought with us that ignores the effect of Sober-up."

"So, you're really saying you have plenty of experience with it?"

Hermione said this a little louder and higher-pitched than necessary and grinned when Charlie winced.

"Uggggghhh, Hermione. Must you?"

"If it helps you learn, yes. Knowledge is power."

Charlie wanted to glare at her, but his head was still nixing that idea. He spoke without opening his eyes, hoping that Harry heard him.

"I've arranged for that family meeting that you wanted and the Headmaster graciously let me know yesterday that everyone can come up to Hogwarts for it instead of staying at the Burrow. How did he phrase it?" Charlie's face screwed up in thought before speaking in a more-than-passable imitation of Dumbledore. "'Of course, my dear boy. Family is important in times like these and I imagine that Molly would appreciate seeing young Harry.' Never mind seeing me or Bill, or the Twins, Ron, Ginny or even Hermione!"

"Bill's here?" No mention was made of Percy.

"No, he's still in Egypt. I think. Last I heard, Gringotts had him working on something other than tombs. Anyway, they'll be here in about an hour, so hurry up and eat something."

Hermione nodded, but eyed the empty plate in front of him. It was evident what she was thinking. He looked at Harry, who hadn't moved much.

"I'll eat something if you will, Harry."

There was a mumble of something that even Hermione couldn't hear, and she was right next to him. Whatever it was, food appeared on the plates so maybe the elves had long practice in telling what it was. He didn't complain about the bacon, scrambled eggs, and toast that appeared. They ate in silence for a few minutes, until Ron appeared. He sat next to Harry without a word. He still seemed subdued and ate quietly without saying anything to the others. Charlie reached across the table.

"Ron. Sit tight. Family meeting after we eat."

The younger Weasley nodded, but didn't say anything. Harry and Hermione shared a look between themselves, wondering what was going on with him. Harry was still upset with him, even with all that had been going on but he couldn't act like Malfoy toward him. That would be too pale.

Plus, no Malfoy-sized amount of hair product would help his and he knew it. Harry paused with a bit of bacon in his hand, wondering if that was the reason their hair was so pale. Was it something that simple?

"Harry? Are you all right?"

He shook himself, remembering the bacon.

"Sorry, Hermione. Thinking about Malfoy's hair."

She gave him a look promising that he would be explaining that comment in detail later. To try to distract her from that course of action in what he knew was a futile effort, he addressed Charlie again.

"Charlie? Do dragons act like this a lot? All… well, mothering?"

Charlie stopped in the middle of slurping up the most evil looking cup of coffee anyone had ever seen. The steam wafting off the top of the small dragon skull mug changed colors as they watched but the dragon wrangler didn't seem to notice that or the fact that the walled-in eye sockets held many fiery sparks that bounced out as the level of coffee changed behind them.

"Harry, all I can tell you is that there was a lot of preconceptions about dragons that got shattered last night. Both Malcolm and I submitted our memories before we visited Madam Hooch and her brother Master Firewhiskey. When we dragged ourselves out of bed, we got out of there before anyone could notice and left before anyone could ask us any more questions. He was in worse shape that I am and I hope he stayed away from the lake."

Harry was suddenly glad that the Castle's Flying Instructor and Quidditch referee was nowhere around to hear what Charlie called his tipples of choice.

"Questions?"

Charlie carefully shook his head before slurping up more coffee. The sockets sparked.

"Had there been any questions asked, we would have been there all day, I would have missed the Family Meeting you wanted and Mum would have singed my eardrums."

Hermione grimaced at the thought and focused on the mug.

"Charlie, that mug… well, is that a dragon's skull?"

Charlie looked at the mug as though he'd never seen it before.

"Yes, Hermione, it is. Occasionally a young dragon comes to harm in the first few weeks of life and for whatever reason doesn't make it. The mother dragons have a ritual that they do with the corpses before… I guess the term is 'releasing' the corpses to us for disposal."

The younger two grimaced, wondering what mother dragons did. Hermione looked like she wanted to ask Tessaies what she did and Harry looked like he didn't want to know what Annika would do. Hermione looked at Charlie, waiting for him to go on.

"So this at one time was a Pyrope dragon whose mother took a shine to me."

"Took a what?" Harry had to know. He put down his bacon to hear and wondered if Hedwig would have approved of him discarding the meaty goodness.

Charlie motioned to his hair.

"Pyropes are generally the same color as my hair. They would be all over Bill, with his long hair. Especially the female dragons, at least in my case. Anyway, the mother had a baby that for whatever reason, struggled to live. He made it almost six months, with both me and the mother caring for him. As tiny as he was, there wasn't much hope but I tried. Some in that situation have survived to become strong if undersized. When he was found deceased one morning the mother grieved. The truth be told, so did a lot of us."

There was silence as the small group, and some around them that had been eavesdropping said nothing.

"She was quiet for a few days and I continued to check on her. Grieving mother dragons are not quite as touchy as when they're nesting, but they do have to be fed, watered and cared for regardless. We found the corpse released to us one morning, but without the head. She was watching us take charge of the body, and looked pretty sad. I could understand why, too. I was there, with a mug of coffee as I supervised a younger crew and I turned to see her watching me. I didn't know she had gotten behind me."

The group looked at each other uneasily. Several shivered at the thought of being in that situation.

"She blew smoke at me and got my attention, then set the skull down on a rock and moved the whole thing toward me. She had used her dragonfire at some point to clean and purify the skull and wanted me to have it. I was standing there like an idiot when she took the mug from me and poured the coffee out onto the skull. You'll never guess what happened next."

"The skull disappeared in a flash of twinkling rainbow colored light, ethereal music played, and a commanding voice spoke from the heavens saying you have been chosen as Tribute for the Running of the Dragons?"

Charlie squinted at Harry, who grinned at him.

"Oh be quiet. Hermione, make him be quiet."

She did, and there was a couple of wolf whistles that instantly went silent when she glared at them. As a result of her ministrations, Harry's queristic quips quite quickly quieted. They turned their attention back to Charlie, although Harry was distracted and looked a little silly. The dragon wrangler grinned at him as his eyes slowly uncrossed. Hermione looked quite self-satisfied.

"No, Harry, none of that. The top of the skull folded into itself and filled in the eye and ear holes. It made a mug that really doesn't need a handle and would look silly anyway. She gave me the skull for a coffee mug to remember her baby with. There's dragon magic that keeps whatever I put in it hot. I don't go anywhere without it."

"Why not? I mean, it's sweet that she wanted to acknowledge you, but it's also a bit icky."

He shrugged.

"We found out that anyone who isn't me that tries to drink from it regrets it. Really regrets it. It's worse if that person has no intentions of returning it to me. She imbued it with a kind of ownership charm or something that's keyed to me somehow. I think it renders any poison sneaked into whatever's in it inert, too, but I don't exactly want to test that."

He didn't go into details about what happened and looking at the mug again with the colored steam still wafting from it, and no one wanted them.

"Best damn coffee I've ever had, too. She looked so pleased when I took it and thanked her. Never had a problem with her while she was there after that, too."

"What happened to her?"

Charlie shrugged.

"She was a transient dragon, there one month and gone the next. She might show up again sometime. We really don't know."

"Did she have a name, like Tessaies and the others do?"

"No, not really. We just called her 'Little Mama.' If you happen to be around if she does visit, I'll have you ask her. She reminded me of Luna, actually. Tiny for her breed, had odd mannerisms, but scary smart and chilling when she got upset."

Everyone looked at Ron, who'd wandered in somewhere in the middle of Charlie's story. He didn't notice.

"Glad you're up, little brother. Family Meeting in a little while. Eat quickly."

The others looked at him like he was crazy, but Ron didn't notice. He reached for the first food on the table and got started.

|:-:|

"Where are they supposed to be?"

The question from a familiar woman's voice echoed down the stone corridor from outside and Charlie looked up a bit quicker than the others. It had taken a few minutes to drag Ron away from the table, but he didn't put up the usual fuss about it and went with them. Charlie, Ron, Harry, and Hermione was in a loose group, with Ron keeping Charlie in between himself and Hermione. This amused Charlie to no end but directed Ron where to go.

As they passed a particularly ugly statue of a wizard with terrible hair but snappy robes, Neville came around the corner with Luna following him. Charlie didn't notice them right away.

"Mum! Over here! Stay there and we'll meet you! Oh, hello, Luna," he continued in a lower voice as she came over to greet him. "And this is Neville, right? Neville Longbottom?"

"Right. Luna and I were on our way to the greenhouses. She said she needed help."

Harry and Hermione glanced at each other as they took in Neville's clueless expression and the look on Luna's face. Charlie's eyebrow rose as he grinned and he started to say something. Luna pinched him in a tender place and he yelped.

All eyes turned to him.

"Sorry, everyone. Charlie had a sudden infestation of Runny Withersnorts. I took care of it for him," she said in a bright tone.

"But did you have to pinch my leg so close to my groin?" Charlie whispered to her. "And should you be doing that?"

"It got you to shut up, didn't it?" She whispered back. "Plenty of other and more painful places to pinch, you know. And I've got these hard fingernails, too."

Luna inspected said fingernails idly, and Charlie shut up.

"Say, shouldn't we get Fred and George?"

Harry sounded unsure, wondering at the exclusion.

Charlie stopped and winced.

"Damn it. I knew I forgot something. Hold on." He waved his wand and stabbed it upward at Gryffindor Tower. "Expecto Patronum! Fred, George, drop what you're doing. I forgot to come get you and Mum is here for Harry's family meeting. Hurry up and get down here."

Everyone goggled at the sight of a teeny-tiny dragon that sped off in a burst of silvery stars and a warp trail that bent light around it. Luna giggled and Charlie sighed.

"I can't have a Horntail as a Patronus," he muttered. "Noooooo, I have to have a Fae dragon. Granted it's the speediest, but still…"

Luna giggled again and hugged him.

"I think a Fae dragon is wonderful, Charlie."

"You would," he mumbled, but relaxed and hugged her back.

Harry waited a beat for Charlie to put his wand away and take a sip from his dragon's head mug, then said. "What about Ginny? Shouldn't she be here too?"

"Damn it!"

It took a moment for Charlie to get that out as he gasped for air. Thankfully for Harry's life and limb, Hermione wasn't the one that got sprayed in Charlie's coughing spit-take.

|:-:|

Molly Weasley was confused. Oh, she was thankful for any chance to see her little boy Charlie and make sure those horrid dragons hadn't hurt him. What she really wanted to do was ask him about the rumors flying out of Hogwarts and the dragons in the task – especially the one that Harry had contended with. It was something that she was feeling very anxious about and it made absolutely no sense whatsoever to her.

Still, one of her boys had felt strongly about something to call a Family Meeting. That she understood, but what was confusing her was that he'd said it was on behalf of Harry and that Harry had asked for it.

While they treated him as an honorary Weasley, he wasn't, not really. Maybe he had something he needed to tell them…

Molly's eyes went wide as a thought landed. A mother didn't raise boys like Fred and George without picking up some of the sneaky thoughts that said boys would have. What if Harry wanted to say something and be covered by Family Magics? She didn't know if that would even work! He was a Potter, not a Weasley, and that was usually something that made all the difference.

She'd ask Arthur when he got here. He was being held up by something at work, but it wasn't anything that would delay him more than maybe twenty minutes. Any moment now, and he would show up, since she had left the Burrow thirty minutes ago. She had filled the time talking to Hagrid before he left to check on a sick unicorn and getting filled in on the chaos her offspring was causing at Hogwarts. He seemed quite proud and very amused at the shenanigans all of them – Harry and Hermione included – got up to.

Charlie's rough voice answered her back from somewhere nearby, so they would be showing up soon. She smoothed out her dress for want of something to do and wondered why she was feeling nervous. It made no sense, since Hogwarts was the safest place in Wizarding Britain.

Right?

"Eh, Molly? Where are you?"

She heard Arthur's voice and hurried to his side. He smiled as he saw her, and she felt her heart sing. She hugged him as she reached him.

"What's wrong, Molly?"

"I can't explain it but I feel uneasy about something."

He shrugged.

"Could be anything. Strange stuff happens around here, you know. Fred and George might have a prank somewhere about to be set off."

She eyed him with a frown, but allowed that this possibility was very real.

"Have you seen the children, Arthur?"

He smiled indulgently at her.

"I saw Charlie in the distance, headed this way with a small group. They're all growing up, Mollywobbles. 'Children' won't be the right term to use for them for very much longer, no matter how you or I see them in our hearts."

She sighed, knowing he was right but not wanting to admit it. They stood quietly for a moment, waiting for the horde to arrive.

"Do you know what this is all about, dear?"

"No, I don't have any idea," he replied. "All I really know is that Harry wanted to talk to us about something. I got the impression that he needed a family around him to help him with something, and since we're practically the only ones he knows and trusts…"

Arthur didn't mention Harry's relatives, but Molly could see his jaw tighten up and a muscle near his left eye twitch. With the reddening of the tips of his ears, that was a sure sign that the generally placid Weasley patriarch was close to losing his temper over the subject.

She understood, of course, but an angry Arthur wouldn't help Harry right now. So Molly did what she had always done to calm her husband down quickly. She unbuttoned one button on his shirt and rubbed the skin of his belly. This usually distracted him from whatever was bothering him. It worked this time, too, and she could see the red fading from his ears.

"Honeycheeks, we're in public. Remember what nearly happened the last time you did that."

She smirked.

"I doubt even that would have spoiled Ron's appetite, although Ginny looked a little green. It didn't look well with her hair."

Arthur chuckled as he buttoned up his shirt and privately reflected that he was going to need a bigger shirt soon. It wasn't as if he could ration himself on Molly's cooking. That was simply ludicrous.

"Here they come."

Sure enough, Ron soon hove into view with Charlie following. The older brother looked apologetic toward the younger brother, and Molly wondered why. Ginny looked a little out of breath, and her eyes narrowed. George was conversing with Harry with Hermione following and talking to… was that Neville Longbottom? He was growing. She wondered what he was going there and where Fred was, until he walked up talking to a young girl that looked so much like Pandora Lovegood that her eyes watered for a moment. Luna was looking more and more like her mother as time passed.

Before she could ask the question, she saw Neville and Luna say something to Harry and break off to head somewhere else. Speculation lit in her eyes as she saw how close Luna was walking to Neville, who looked absolutely clueless.

She looked at Arthur, who'd seen the same thing and was chuckling to himself.

"I don't know who to warn first, Xeno or Augusta."

"Remember how she wanted to adopt every baby animal she could find? Pandora was beside herself a few times before… well…"

"Quite, and from what I hear, practically all the residents of the Forest are wrapped around her little finger."

She eyed him with an eyebrow raised. He chuckled.

"Well, to hear Hagrid tell it, they are."

"Mum, we're here!"

Molly jumped a bit, having forgotten that the others were approaching. Hermione looked like she was thinking she would be intruding, so Molly gathered her into a hug.

"You're welcome here, Hermione."

Harry was looking nervous as she hugged him, but not because of that.

"What's wrong, Harry dear?"

He looked at her and Molly didn't miss that he grabbed Hermione's hand.

"It's stuff that I wanted to talk about in the meeting and I didn't want to say it but once. It's some things that you all need to know."

He seemed to deflate for a moment and Hermione was there to rub his back. Molly locked eyes with her, and nodded. Maybe some of the other rumors flying out of Hogwarts would be addressed today too. She squeezed his shoulder but didn't say anything else. What concerned her was the fact that the Twins seemed to be quiet and not cracking any jokes.

"And we'll talk, Harry. Although I don't know where. We're not in the Castle."

He brightened.

"Charlie's got that settled. It's a special place that has rarely been used in centuries and the Castle is pleased to see it used now."

"What?"

"You'll see, mum," Charlie said. "Come on, let's go see. The Castle generated a nice path for foot traffic there."

He motioned toward a wide footpath with raised edges that presumably hid ground-level torches. The path would remain lit at night, but it would be hard to see where the light was emitting from. The group set off, most wondering where the path led. Charlie knew, of course.

Harry was the first to figure it out, but he had the help of a small grass snake singing about the dragons coming to land. It sounded drunk and Harry wondered what exactly a snake drank to get drunk. Hermione poked him.

"What?"

"Er, nothing. There's a snake out there. Sounds like Hagrid when he's in his cups."

"A drunken hairy snake?"

"Sounds like the name of a seedy pub, doesn't it?"

Harry didn't laugh like he normally would and Hermione was more concerned. She stopped and grabbed his hand. The others flowed around them, seeing that she wanted to ask him something. Charlie went to hug his parents, then the Twins, then Ron, then Ginny.

"Harry. What's wrong?"

He was still for a moment before turning to her.

"There are things that I need to tell all of you."

"What things, Harry?"

He looked at her and she gasped to see the tears in his eyes.

"I need to unload everything that happened to me at the Dursleys. Annika told me that it would be better for me in the long run."

She held him close.

"I agree, Harry," she whispered in his ear.

"But, Hermione… I can't do by myself," he moaned.

"You don't have to. I'll be with you every step of the way."

Her promise settled on his ears and he squeezed her tightly for a moment. Hermione kissed his cheek and wiped the tear that had escaped as he let her go. Her other hand tracked his and corralled it in its soft grip.

There was a soft clearing of a rough throat and both looked up to see Charlie.

"I hate to interrupt, but we're ready to begin."

They nodded, neither knowing exactly what it meant to 'begin' in the Magical world. Did they sit down in chairs around a fireplace and talk? Did they eat something first? Did they have a stick or something that someone held as they talked? They could see Arthur standing in the middle of a small circle formed by Weasleys. He motioned them to him.

"Harry, Hermione, I know you don't know how we as a family do a formal Family Meeting since every gathering you've ever seen of us has been… um, chaotic at times."

They looked at each other. The snickers that they couldn't help echoed from a few in the Weasley circle as well.

"Yes, well, never mind that, you too. Normally, Bill and Percy would also be here for it, but one's overseas and the other is at work and can't get away. No matter, we have enough family members. Speaking as the Head of House Weasley, you, Harry James Potter and you, Hermione Jean Granger will be considered Weasleys for more than today's meeting. We care for both of you. As such, you are Weasleys in heart, if not in name."

There was a rising glow that came from the ring on Arthur's finger that neither had noticed him wearing before. He traced an intricate pattern in front of himself and everyone could see the ring leave a trail of light as it moved. Arthur made another motion that suspended the assembly of light over their heads and they looked up, curious.

They could see what looked like a shield divided into quadrants, with each quarter filled with shifting symbols that didn't stay static long enough to be made out clearly. When Arthur clapped his hands once, the shield dissipated and fell softly over them like a gentle snow.

Harry could feel himself being wrapped up in one of the warmest hugs that he could ever recall and looked to see if Hermione was embracing him again. She wasn't, and her attention was still watching the Weasley family magics surround them. There was not any sense of a conversation being held with anything, just a feeling that he got. It looked like Hermione had the same sense about it as he did, so maybe they could compare notes later.

They could see Arthur smiling at them.

"Harry, Hermione, the family magics have accepted you as one of our own – as dearly beloved family friends," he paused for a moment, "practically family, actually. You'll be able to call the Family Magic to aid in emergencies. This hasn't been done in many years. In return, we protect and love you just like any other family member. We've been doing that anyway, but it's nice to hear."

Harry nodded, overcome with the emotion, but Hermione was able to thank Arthur.

"So, as Head of House Weasley, I declare that one of our own has begged for Family Council to be put into session and one that had stood with him stands now is here for the same purpose. There is a need that should be met with love and understanding and as family, we will answer! We will stand in place of James and Lily Potter! We will hold you up as one of our own, just as they who have been taken from you would have done!"

The ring on Arthur's hand shivered, the milky-white stone humming. They watched as a staff of energy materialized in his hand and his fingers curled around it. Arthur raised it a foot or so into the air before slamming it down into the ground.

Hermione glanced at the others, who mostly didn't seem concerned but did look a bit confused. Molly didn't looked worried at all and neither did Charlie, but the younger ones was lost. No one moved, since all there trusted Arthur to know what he was doing. It was his family's magic, after all.

The staff embedded itself into the ground and grew several feet longer to form a point that a large dome slowly grew to meet the ground. Where the magic of the staff met the ground, there seemed to be a moment of negotiation between it and the ley-line fueled magics of the Hogwarts grounds, but soon it encased the group. Everyone could see figures moving around in the misty walls of the dome, most with the distinct red hair of the Weasleys – which made sense to Harry and Hermione both. To their surprise, they could see various figures with the Potter hair and others with bushy brown hair – and who could only be James and Lily Potter watching the two of them proudly. A gasp from Hermione revealed that she recognized some of the figures in the walls too, and tears fell from her eyes as they waved to her.

Harry found the temperature inside the dome to slightly warm up a bit and wondered if he started carrying a staff around instead of a wand, if he could do that. It would make Quidditch practice easier, although flying around with a staff was probably not the easiest to do.

As soon as he finished that thought, there was a light chime followed by an answering gong from the direction of the Castle. Arthur must have been listening and waiting for that, because he turned to Harry and smiled.

"Harry, the family meeting you asked for is now in session. What's on your mind, and how can we help, son?"

The look in Arthur's blue eyes, waiting for him to speak without recrimination but with support and caring of a father did things to Harry. He sank to the ground, sobbing. Hermione went with him, holding him.

"I've been hurt so many times growing up…" he cried.

As the hurt, pain, despair and poison of his time from that awful Halloween day in 1981 on was released, the Weasley family closed ranks around them. They listened to him tell them of everything that happened to him, of every beating, every punishment, every neglectful action, every malicious hurt. Everything that he had kept to himself to this point and told no one, he finally released. Every word made him feel that much lighter.

Harry left nothing out and every tear that fell to the ground winkled out before soaking into the grass, drawn to the magic of the Castle. Soon Arthur was holding him and Hermione in his arms too, as he spoke and so was Molly. The younger Weasleys held on Harry the best that they could.

As the Castle listened, she grew very upset. Those in the family meeting dome couldn't hear or feel it, but everyone else could feel the shaking in Hogwarts' walls and no one knew what was going on, except maybe a little blonde girl that saw things differently than everyone else and even then she was unsure. Magic sparked in several places and Hagrid was seen dashing to his hut trying to hold shut a huge scorched rip in the seat of his pants. He wasn't successful and there was general relief when the door closed behind him.

Harry continued to talk in between fits of sobs and grief and it was almost two hours before he finished.

Arthur looked at Harry, who sat on the ground with Hermione behind him. He could see that both looked wrung out. He decided that despite how achy he was, he was going to sit down next to Harry. He grabbed Harry's shoulder after he sat on the grass amid cracking knees and the motion prompted the green eyes to meet his.

"Harry, thank you for trusting us enough to tell us that. I can't sit here and say I understand, because I don't. I can't understand why someone would be like that to a child. When I go back to work, I think I'll ask a few questions from some trustworthy people I know to see if I can get you some help. Okay?"

"Okay," Harry nodded.

Arthur didn't tell him that a few people in DMLE was some of those 'trustworthy people.' He looked at his family.

"Anyone want to ask anything of Harry or say anything to him?"

There was quite a good deal of support to express to him and that took another hour. That helped Harry's mood a great deal and so did the soft kisses Hermione covered his face in as she expressed herself to him in turn. As Arthur closed out the Family Meeting and took down the dome, they could see Hedwig perched on a bench waiting for Harry.

"What is it, girl?"

She looked deep in his eyes and the others could see that there was a communication going on. His eyes went wide.

"Really? Now?"

Prek.

"Oh. I… I really don't know what to say."

Ginny looked at him.

"What is it, Harry?" Her voice shook a little. She'd had no idea that his life was like that and she resolved to burn every copy of her Harry Potter Adventures books. He turned to her to answer and they could see the confusion.

"Hedwig says that the dragons are coming to see me."


This chapter was getting too long, so splitting it seemed to be the best thing to do. Next chapter will round this one out.

So when I wasn't looking, I broke 500 followers on this story. That reader was either danashpark or Lady Emeralda – I am really not quite sure who. I'm very pleased to have everyone following (and reading) this story no matter what numerical order or placement, but I did want to mention that nice round number. Maybe I can attract more? Thank you to everyone!