"You know, Albus" Harry grumbled, "I thought that seeking out exotic creatures in New Zealand would be a bit more interesting than this."

A chuckle emanated from Harry's lap. Looking down, he saw Albus's face shining with mirth from the small mirror, as the man responded.

"I promise there is far more to this expedition than tracking down some harmless creatures, Harry. Knowing Xenophilius, we will likely be climbing mountains or slogging through swamps within the next week. The man has an uncanny knack for finding the most skittish of animals."

Harry sighed. "So you've said, but… how much longer do we have to wait for this Blibbering thing?"

"Blibbering Sockhoarder, and it shouldn't be more than another couple of hours. And they will come out quicker if you stay quiet. Perhaps some light meditation can alleviate your boredom. Once captured, we can move on to the more exciting leg of this journey."

Harry rolled his eyes, specifically exaggerating the roll to ensure it could be clearly seen through the mirror, as Albus was in another building awaiting the appearance of the little creature.

Of course, the fact that Harry was in a building was part of the problem. If he had been sitting in some forest or meadow, or anywhere outside, it wouldn't feel as boring. Instead, for the past three hours he had been sitting in the laundry room of some random house in a muggle neighborhood. According to Mr. Lovegood, there was overwhelming evidence that a small infestation of Blibbering Sockhoarders had sprung up in the neighborhood, and they needed to be relocated to a magical reserve.

The creatures were said (by Mr. Lovegood) to be harmless purplish squirrel-like animals that loved to steal small articles of clothing which they then used as fashionable sweaters to attract mates. They had a strong preference for warm socks, hence their name, so they had grown to love muggle dryers. They had the capability to teleporting small distances, which allowed them to quickly enter a dryer while it was running to steal a sock and then teleport out.

Mr. Lovegood had explained that the creatures were perfectly harmless, and their sock obsession made them relatively simple to track. While most socks lost in the world were mainly the result of common non-magical carelessness, an infestation of Sockhoarders would increase the number of "the dryer ate my sock" jokes told in specific neighborhoods to a statistically unlikely degree. As such, Harry sat by himself in a laundry room one of the four houses spread out across the neighborhood, each of the houses be the source of the highest number of "lost sock" jokes being told, where Luna, Mr. Lovegood, and Albus sat within each of the three other houses.

While getting the creatures relocated would remove a slight annoyance for the muggles, it was apparently more for the Sockhoarders benefit. According to Albus, the creatures gave off the same magical field as the Snorkack, which made them invisible to those who didn't believe in them (which is why Sirius and Remus had stayed at their campsite, due to Remus's steadfastly believing the whole day was a poorly executed prank). The creatures' presence wasn't at risk of exposing magic by themselves. However, they could possibly attract more aggressive animals. The more aggressive creatures would in turn attract even more creatures. That would eventually lead to a large enough population of magical creatures making the neighborhood their home where exposure could become a true risk. Sadly, for the Sockhoarders, by the time magic became exposed, they would likely have all been eaten by the more aggressive creatures (the Sockhoarders were apparently extremely peaceful and wouldn't even attempt to fight back if attacked).

So, Harry sat staring at a dryer as it dried a load of socks… again… for the fifth time. He focused on mediating as he waited for a creature to appear that would likely never… wait, what was that?

Harry leaned forward slightly as he saw some movement from behind the dryer. Had he really seen something? Nah, probably not, it was probably noth… no! He knew he saw… something… yes, he had seen something! Definitely! Right? Maybe? He blinked hard as he felt his mind clear from the magic affecting him. Aha! He was right. There was something there. Though, it didn't look like a purplish squirrel.

"Albus" Harry whispered.

"Yes?" the man whispered back.

"Do the Sockhoarders come in different colors?"

"Certainly, though purple is its most common hue."

"Ah, good. Then I have found our Blibbering Sockhoarder. Though, Mr. Lovegood needs to learn what a squirrel looks like. While still adorable, there is a difference between a squirrel and a bunny. The streaks of green in its fur do look cool though."

There was a pregnant pause as Albus remained silent for a beat longer than expected. When he spoke, he had a tone of nervousness.

"Harry, please show me the creature."

Harry's brow furrowed in confused concern as he turned the mirror to look at the cute little bunny-like creature. It was making small hops as it circled the dryer, sniffing at the floor and the dryer's sides. When it got to the very front of the machine, it stopped and stared at the machine's door. It then began to scratch its ear in an adorable fashion, and then thumped its foot in excitement.

An openly nervous Albus spoke in an urgent, nearly inaudible voice. "Harry, Jump out of there. Now!"

Harry hesitated for a moment, but only a moment. Albus wouldn't give that order if it wasn't urgent. With a flex of his magic, he felt the expected energy field forming around him and with another flex… nothing! The magic fizzled around him, and he remained in the same spot. The bunny stopped thumping the floor. With a sense of confusion, Harry tried to Hyper Jump again, with the same results. The bunny began to snuffle. An attempt at apparating failed in the same way. The bunny's ears began to twitch.

Harry looked down while turning the mirror back to look at Albus. There was his mentor's face, but it was filled with a terror he had never seen before. And, judging by the movement behind Albus, the older man seemed to be running. Harry figured the man was probably levitating the mirror in front of him so he could watch the mirror while making his dash.

With increasing nervousness, Harry silently spoke with great urgency. "Albus, I can't Jump out. I also can't Apparate. What is going on?"

In a voice that must have been magically forced to be barely audible, as Albus was clearly shouting, he responded. "Back out of there slowly, Harry. Before it sees you. Just don't…"

A hissing sound distracted Harry from what Albus's warning. Looking away from the mirror, Harry looked up to see the bunny on its four legs as it hissed loudly. It was still looking at the dryer door, looking left and right, while its green streaks of fur began to pulse with an internal light that turned the streaks into a poisonous neon green. Harry began to back up slowly to the laundry room door, his eyes locked on the bunny while Albus's panicked words blurred indistinctly in the background of his consciousness.

The bunny stilled unnaturally. Harry inched backwards. The bunny's head began to turn to the left. Harry inched closer to the door. The bunny's head continued to turn. Harry inched quicker. The bunny's head finished turning, a full 180 degrees to stare directly at Harry. Harry looked into the creature's eyes. The bunny opened its mouth wide. Harry paled.

The bunny's mouth opened impossibly wide, revealing multiple rows of razor-sharp teeth that should not be able to fit inside its mouth. From where one would expect a tongue, there were three wriggling tentacles, each ending in another smaller mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. Each tentacle was wriggling pointedly at Harry.

The "bunny" then screeched. A screech that felt like it vibrated every cell of Harry's body. A distant part of Harry's mind noted a frightened squeak coming from the dryer, along with a terrified Albus shouting for Harry to run. The overwhelming part of Harry's mind was focused on the nightmare creature's legs tensing.

"Oh shi…"

It pounced!

Dear lord, did it pounce!

If it wasn't for his background in Quidditch and all the training with Albus, there was no way he would have had a chance of dodging. Even then, highly honed as they might be, his dodging skills were going to be plainly insufficient to see him walking away from this attack unscathed. Luckily, Albus had trained Harry's magical instincts to work in conjunction with his non-magical instincts. As such, instead of the leap to the left that he was expecting, his magic levitated him and pulled him rapidly to the left wall.

Not allowing himself to be overwhelmed by his surprised state, Harry had his wand pulled out as his feet touched the wall. Standing parallel to the floor, he cast his strongest stunner at the monster as it slammed into the drywall. The spell flew true and hit the center of mass of the creature as its claws dug into the wall, letting it also give the appearance of standing on the wall. The red light of the spell splashed ineffectively against the creature's fur, resulting in only a louder screech as it leapt through the air towards Harry. The jaws of tentacles all snapping viciously.

Frantically, Harry magically summoned himself to the ceiling. No sooner had he touched the ceiling, then the demon bunny had hit Harry's previous spot, its tentacles ripping out a huge junk of the wall. It immediately rebounded up towards the ceiling, leaving Harry no time to cast a spell. He kicked upwards, towards the floor. Thankfully, the flip he performed twisted his body out of the way, as one the mouths came within millimeters of his throat. Not waiting for his feet to touch the floor, he summoned himself to the farthest wall. As he flew towards the wall, he aimed his wand again and cast a cutting spell at the creature as it bounded towards the floor. The spell was set to intersect with the rabbit's expected landing spot. Harry was somewhat sorry to kill the creature, but relieved that the fight would soon be over. Instead, one of its mouth tentacles swung out and batted the spell away, reflecting it towards the washing machine. The spell bisected the appliance cleanly, along with digging into the wall and pipes behind it. Water began to spray into the room, drenching the menacing monster. The water that hit immediately turned to steam, which oddly did not inspire any sense of comfort in Harry.

The, whatever it was, looked at Harry for a moment. Its eyes glowed a deadly green, and then that precious moment of respite was over.

The next five minutes felt like five hours. There was not a single spell Harry had cast that had any effect, aside from causing more damage to the house. On several occasions he had tried to escape the room, but something about the creature caused that to be impossible. Harry had long since blasted the door into bits and filled the walls with holes that he could easily fit through. The window had been completely atomized. Covering every possible exit was an energy field that might as well have been made of steel. The first time he encountered the field, he had only just barely managed to avoid getting knocked out so that he could continue his frantic attempts to fight or flee.

While Harry was covered in knicks and scrapes from the shrapnel of the exploding wood, drywall, and pipes, he had so far had not been bit. He didn't know if the creature was venomous, but he didn't want to risk it. He just hoped the evil being was not immune to basilisk venom.

Two minutes ago, he had given up using his wand and unsheathed his sword. By that point, Harry's magic was working on pure unthinking instinct as it yanked him randomly around the room, without any discernable pattern. The creature meanwhile was shooting its mouth tentacles at various surfaces to swing its body around and change its own mid-air trajectory. One minute ago, with more luck than skill, one of Harry's twists managed to put his sword in such a position that it sliced through a tentacle. He had a moment to enjoy the hiss of pain from the monster before it pounced again and slammed its body into the flat side of the sword. With horror, Harry felt the handle ripped from his hand and the sword went flying through the energy field of the doorway. Because, of course, inanimate objects could pass through the field, just not Harry.

It did seem that the basilisk venom may be having some effect, as the creature's pounces were becoming slightly less powerful. Sadly, they had only shifted from terrifyingly powerful to just frighteningly powerful. And, especially after bashing his head against a broken plank of wood hanging from the ceiling, Harry could feel himself slowing down even more rapidly than the bunny of death. Worse yet, his instincts seemed to be getting a bit muddled from the head trauma. On several occasions, it would jerk him slightly in the direction of the monster. He wasn't sure if he could last much longer at this pace.

"HARRY!"

Harry jerked his head as he heard Albus yell his name. His magic responded to his confusion and redirected attention by tearing him through the air at an immense speed, right at the energy barrier that covered the doorway. His body slammed into the barrier with a thud, as he felt his nose crunch painfully. He was certain that both it and his jaw were now broken.

His survival instincts forced him to turn around to face his attacker, which he managed to do. But his body and magic refused to do anything beyond that. His vision swam with dark spots as he tried to move without success. The creature screeched what Harry assumed was a victory cry as it pounced from the other side of the room, aimed directly at Harry's throat.

Harry felt a breeze brush past his cheek. And then he felt the beast impact against the exposed flesh of his neck.

Rather, he felt chunks of the beast impact again his throat, along with the feeling of having a water balloon full of blood break open against his face.

It wouldn't be until that night, as he reveled in the comfort of his bed and listened to the deep breaths of a large black dog acting as his pillow, that Harry would finally be able to slow down his memory of those final moments enough to see what had happened.

He returned to the moment he felt the breeze brush past his cheek. His memory slowed down that moment to a crawl and he could see a mesh of razor-sharp crisscrossing thin wires (that Albus had transfigured on the spot) flying past his face. He could see the wire impacting against the terrifying face of the Screeching Fleshrender (Albus told him the name of the nightmare beast). The wire mesh passed through the Fleshrender's face, tentacles, and body as if it they were… well, a hot knife through butter still encounters some resistance. The mesh might as well have been flying through empty space as it cubed the Fleshrender into a slurry of meat and blood, and then continued flying as it dug through the wood of the floor and through the cement slab under that floor. Harry had no idea how far it traveled through the earth beneath the cement slab before coming to a stop. But, based on how much power Albus had clearly pumped into his spell, he suspected it took quick some time before the mesh came to its final resting point. Harry stopped recalling the moment once he saw the Fleshrender separating into chunks ready to give Harry the world's most unpleasant spray of confetti.

The moments between his rescue and resting against his godfather's dog form were… well, he would work through clarifying those memories later.

He only had two distinct (well… less vague) memories from that intervening period.

The first memory was from a few minutes after being rescued. Albus had explained (after performing some initial healing, and while magically fixing the damage caused to the house, while noting what items the magical authorities would have to replace) that the Screeching Fleshrender was a rare creature, but it was known as one of the predators that was attracted by large infestations of Blibbering Sockhoarders. Speaking of the Sockhoarders, one of them was found cowering in the dryer, looking like a terrified purple squirrel, that had immediately sought safety in Albus's beard along with its stolen white gym sock it had chewed down to fit like a sweater. Back on the topic of the demon rabbits, Harry had been fighting against a female Fleshrender, and luckily (for certain definitions of the word "luck") she had not shown signs of having ever given birth, so that meant there was at most one more Fleshrender in the neighborhood. They were an aggressively territorial animal, and the female would only allow one male within her expansive territory (at least 20 kilometers in radius).

Harry's mind overrode his pain and his exhaustion at this revelation. "There could be one more?"

Albus nodded. "Yes, but worry not, Harry, it…"

"NO!" shouted Harry, as he ignored his body's numerous protests. With boost of adrenaline and a slightly healed body, he ran out the door (luckily Albus had already arranged with the local magical authorities to keep the neighborhood empty for the day). "LUNA!"

It was 15 minutes or so later when Harry burst into the laundry room Luna was staking out. His fear of the second Fleshrender being there had proven valid. There was Luna. There was the Fleshrender… being cuddled and stroked by a blissful Luna, purring in joy as its tentacles rubbed against her face affectionately (the purring coming from both Luna and the creature). At that point, with his adrenaline levels crashing, Harry's memories became too blurry. Although, he did remember Albus talking about Luna's very different experience with the bunnies of doom.

Albus had multiple theories as to how Luna pulled off her incredible feat. Perhaps the Lovegood line is just naturally attuned to the creatures that require belief to be seen, much like a Seer for mythical animals. Perhaps the Lovegoods' overabundance of belief in the creatures overwhelmed their magic to the point of confusing their instincts. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps… Harry preferred Albus's final explanation given with a shrug. "I don't know, Harry. The Lovegood family is like the Scamander family. Magical beasts just like them. I don't know why, they don't know why, it's just… sometimes, magic is weird."

As the recollection of the first memory ended, Harry curled deeply into his blanket, while he enjoyed the feeling of an emotionally wrecked Dobby running his fingers through Harry's hair.

The second memory was from shortly after Harry's calming drought had kicked in.

"How are you feeling, Harry?" asked a concerned Albus.

Harry breathed in deeply, enjoying his fixed nose and jaw along with the deep sense of calm that enveloped him. Oddly, he knew it was a false calm, but the magic of the calming draughts ensured he accepted his calm state wasn't temporary with a complete sense of… well… calm. Honestly, he had been mostly emotionally fine before then, however the healer had insisted that was just the shock talking. The man had properly healed Harry's injuries within minutes of his arrival to the campsite. But, despite being healed, the healer had argued strongly that Harry should spend the evening at a hospital due to the severe concussions that had been received. He admitted that the concussions had also been easily treated, so were not likely to be a problem. Still, Harry supposed a person didn't become a healer without gaining a bit of paranoia about their patient's health. In the end, Albus and Remus agreed to stay up all night to observe Harry and cast the appropriate diagnostic spells every quarter hour, and to do whatever it took to keep the injured boy relaxed.

As Remus accompanied the healer back to the hospital, Harry watched Sirius and Dobby silently arguing as they took turns in transfiguring his cot into a ridiculously luxurious and likely comfortable bed. If the calming magic allowed him to feel intense emotions, he might have found himself laughing. Still, it was enjoyable to… wait, did Albus just ask him something. With a curious look he turned towards the concerned older man and answered with a lazy smile on his face.

"Hmm?"

Albus chuckled. "I see that Healer Pond gave you a particularly strong dose of potion. I take it you are feeling well?"

Harry blinked slowly, as his smile remained etched firmly in place. "Yep"

"Once Dobby and Sirius finish sorting out your bed, I believe it will be time for you to get yourself a relaxing night of sleep. If you wish to talk, I am here for you, or you may continue to enjoy staring blankly at nothing. Whatever makes you happy."

"Hmmm" Harry approvingly responded, his eyes sliding along random spots on the walls until it landed on the false window (as their campsite was an extended space built into a hole dug seven feet underground, since the Lovegoods insisted that tents attracted… something). As he stared at the window, he frowned (mentally only, as his facial muscles were to calm to be bothered with the effort of frowning).

"Why couldn't I escape?"

"Do you mean why you couldn't Hyper Jump, or are you asking about the magic preventing you from walking through the doorway?"

"Hmmm"

Albus chuckled at the response. "Well, Xenophilius likely has many theories on that top. I am unsure of how the Fleshrender does it, but it appears to be a hunting technique it uses in response to the abilities of the Sockhoarder. The Sockhoarder has an ability to teleport, as that is how it enters non-magical abodes and then into the running dryers. The Fleshrender blocks that ability, along with using the natural contours of the room to form a trap for its prey. There are wards that can mimic what happened with the walls and doors, though they usually take at least a day to setup, rather than the instant ability of the Fleshrender."

"I didn't think anything could block my Hyper Jumps."

Albus shrugged. "While I have not found a way yet to block your technique, I have warned you that nothing is impossible with magic. The creature's ability was a surprise to me, but then again the only people I know who have successfully gotten near a Fleshrender while keeping it alive are Xenophilius, young Luna, and my friend Newt."

"Hmmm… where is Luna?"

"She went with her father to drop off the Fleshrender in a safe habitat, along with taking the Sockhoarders to a separate habitat. I suspect Xenophilius will go collect the reward from the local authorities from our work today."

"Reward?"

Albus rose an eyebrow. "Did you think I had you spending the day in a laundry room for the fun of it… well, Xenophilius and Luna likely had fun, so… sorry, you are in no state for my tangents. Yes, there is a reward. Xenophilius, Newt, and I are three of the top magical beast handlers in the world. I suppose Hagrid could possibly rank up there if he was willing to leave the Forbidden Forest to its own devices, but he is content where he is. We are called in when the local authorities encounter a problem that is beyond their abilities. The Quibbler has always been a magazine that loses money, so this is how Xenophilius supports his family financially. With the bounty for removing two Fleshrenders, that should cover the next few years of family and business expenses. And, of course, you will be receiving another hefty increase to your vault."

"Hmmm… why couldn't I escape?"

Albus smiled wryly, as he waved his wand over Harry and nodded approvingly at whatever the result was. "I believe you need to get to sleep soon. You've already asked that, my boy."

Harry blinked slowly. "No… how does it stop my Jumps when I could Jump out of Gringotts?"

"Ah… no one knows."

Harry shrugged tiredly. "OK. I guess it's just as well. Imagine what people would do to those creatures if it turned out they held an ingredient or something for making a perfect prison."

Seeing that the bed was now ready, and Sirius had decided to become a living pillow, Harry began to climb in as Albus answered.

"Yes, that would not end well for them. I know that Newt would do anything to protect the magical beasts he loves, even if it meant concealing his own… hmmm… I wonder…"

Whatever Albus wondered, the calming draught ensured Harry didn't care. All cared about was how comfortable he felt cuddling into Sirius furry body and reveling in being fretted over by his friend Dobby.

As the last of his clear memories reran in his mind, Harry found himself slipping into a deep and peaceful sleep, knowing that he would be safe under the watchful eyes of his family.

The next 10 days of the trip were comparatively dull. Though, Harry wasn't complaining about not having to fight for his life. Instead, the days were spent simply traveling to mountains, forests, swamps, underwater caves, and other breathtaking locales.

While they rarely encountered any of the rare creatures they sought, the Lovegoods seemed unperturbed. Xenophilius took copious sketches of clouds, while deriving meaning from their formations. Luna, meanwhile, spent most of her time talking to Rolf Scamander about the local plant life.

Rolf's presence had been a new addition to the expedition. Three days after the Fleshrender attack, Rolf had appeared in their camp holding a pair of radish earrings that had acted as his portkey. Apparently, the boy (who was a year older than Harry) was sent by his grandfather, Newt Scamander. He had come bearing some research papers that Albus had requested. Rolf had watched closely as Albus reviewed the papers with interest, before dutifully incinerating them and vanishing the ashes. It turned out that Newt had indeed concealed his research and revelations about the more interesting abilities of his beloved beasts, fearing it would be used to cause excessive harm to said animals. After the delivery was complete, Rolf had then shyly given the radish earrings to an equally shy Luna. For the next seven days, the pair was nearly always found next to each other, just centimeters short of holding hands as they discussed whatever trees or bushes or animals they happened to see or hoped to see.

Harry missed his conversations with Luna, but he filled his time with a more aggressive training program. His near-death experience had filled him with a conviction that he would never allow himself to come that close again to meeting his demise.

As such, as Rolf and Luna talked softly about a caterpillar that the two hunched over, with Luna's hair blowing into Rolf's face, Harry was enjoying a less peaceful pastime. Namely, having Dobby recreate his Bludger attack, as Harry flew at breakneck speeds (not quite matching his Nimbus, but he was getting there). Today's training had been made more difficult by adding a blindfold which required Harry to dodge using only his physical and magical senses.

"Ow!"

Harry yelled in pain as the Bludger smacked into his knee (thankfully the thing had a cushioning charm on it to keep from causing real injuries).

"Harry Potter, sir, needs to remember to avoid being hit by the Bludgerry ball!" shouted Dobby. While the elf's tone was sincere, Harry was certain he could detect a whiff of mockery.

"Yes, thank you, Dobby. I will remember that. It's just… OW!"

"Dobby be thinking Harry Potter, sir, needs to remember quicker. Dobby be not knowing how Harry Potter, sir, be dodging the toothy rabbity bun."

A chuckling Albus spoke up before Harry could respond to the cheeky elf. "I believe that is enough practice for the day, Harry. Dobby can abuse you more later. For now, it appears we need to pack up and part ways with our kind hosts."

Harry frowned, as he paused in mid-air. He pulled off his blindfold and was surprised to see the Bludger hovering front of his face, painted to look like a smiling Dobby face. He rolled his eyes. "Very nice, Dobby!"

The smiling face stuck out a painted tongue before making a raspberry sound and flying off. Ignoring his odd friend's humor, Harry landed gently on the ground before transfiguring the grass into a comfy chair.

"I thought we had another week or so before the Lovegoods were heading back for the new school year. Why are we leaving now?"

"I have received an invitation to attend the Quidditch World Cup that is occurring tomorrow, and I believe we should attend."

Harry smiled. "Not that I'm going to complain, but I thought you had received a dozen of those invites already. You kept saying that you didn't want me to miss out on any more possible creatures we might find. What changed?"

Albus nodded agreeably. "That is true, this is the 17th invitation, but the inviter has made a good case for our attendance."

"Who invited us?"

"Lucius."

"Malfoy?"

"The same."

Harry stared at Albus, as the older man stared back placidly. It was clear that the man wanted Harry to ask the obvious follow-up question. Harry waited patiently, hoping the older man would breakdown first and just give the reason. Sadly, Harry was physically tired and did not have the decades of practicing patience under his belt.

With an annoyed huff, after ten minutes of silence, Harry spoke. "Fine. Why are we accepted Malfoy's invitation?"

With the tiniest of victorious smirks, Albus responded. "It appears that Lucius has heard rumors that some completely innocent victims of the Imperious Curse might be suffering, as a group, from a lingering effect of the Curse. As such, they might find themselves involuntarily performing some untoward actions after the Cup's competition has completed. He feels as if my presence might help to weaken the effect of the Curse, especially if they overheard my vocal reassurances that I would vigorously defend my charge from any untoward activities, and how my retirement from my various positions means that I am no longer restrained in how powerful and inventive I can be in your defense."

Harry took a moment to translate the older man's political language into English, and finally sighed in mock annoyance.

"Fine… but I am not attending Lockhart's party!"

Albus's eyes twinkled in response. "That is more than fair. I believe you have already fulfilled this month's quota for defying death."