Reviews:

scyfly: He's not going to let Umbridge walk all over him. As for Snape, yeah he can't just do away with him. Killing random robodies in Knockturn is one thing, but killing Dumbledore's main spy in the middle of Hogwarts when the man hasn't yet posed a great physical danger to him is something else entirely.

hellfire45: I decided to make Venom more like a family member because I believe that that is what would have worked best for Harry, the boy who always wanted a family. Peter Parker probably missed his parents, yeah, but he at least had his aunt and uncle, what Harry wanted and needed most was a family member who was there just for him

IJustWannaReadEpicStories : I had to shut that down because I got far too many messages at far too quick of a pace for me to reply to, especially in my hectic life. Plus I've been doing this since my first ever fic.

edboy4926 : Probably not, but I'm considering it.

GideonBlackthorn: That was the inspiration for it.

YeTianshi : Bro's don't mess with another bro's biological systems

PrinceFroze: Thanks, glad you like it.

Chapter 60 -

"Hey Fleur, looking good," Harry said, feeling like he had just stated the obvious. His date was dressed in fluffy brown boots that extended up her blue-jeaned legs to just under her knee, she wore a blue shirt under a comfortable-looking white winter jacket, her hair was done up in a ponytail and she had a small dose of makeup on her face.

"As always," Fleur smirked, flicking some hair off her shoulder, ignoring the gaping looks from the other boys around them along with the jealous looks shot from the girls.

"No hat or anything?" Harry asked.

"I am a witch, you know, I have access to magic," Fleur replied.

"I told my roommates the exact same thing," Harry said with a smile.

"What? That you're a witch?" Fleur asked 'innocently' as the two started making their way out of Hogwarts and to the carriages. Fleur happily looped an arm around his.

"No," Harry rolled his eyes, partly at her comment and partly at the other people around them who were watching them. Between the dragon-slaying boy who lived and the beautiful French Veela, it was damn near impossible for people not to be staring at them. Still...it was quite annoying."But they insisted I should bring a scarf,"

"Why is that?" She asked curiously.

"Apparently, I am supposed to give it to you when you're cold," Harry informed her.

"I'm a witch," Fleur said, looking a hair breath away from also rolling her eyes. "I don't get cold, if I really wanted to then I could apply the spells to my whole body and walk out in summer clothes."

"That's what I said," Harry shrugged.

"What? So you really are a witch?" Fleur mock gasped.

"You've discovered my secret," Harry said dryly. "Anyway, my friends insisted I have to perform big romantic gestures involving lots of jewellery, flowers and chocolates."

"You can give me the first two if we are ever together long enough to have an anniversary," Fleur told him before suddenly looking quite serious. "Though, with that being said, if I do not receive chocolates today then you're in big trouble, Mr Potter." She warned.

'You know what, I'm starting to like her,' Venoms said honestly.

"There is plenty of chocolate in Hogsmeade," Harry assured her before they reached the carriages. Harry frowned as he stared at the horses that were pulling the carriages. Well, he wasn't exactly sure if 'horse' was the right description for these reptilian-looking creatures. They were completely fleshless, their black coats clinging to their skeletons, of which every bone was visible. Their heads were dragonish, and their pupil-less eyes white and staring. Wings sprouted from each side of their body — vast, black leathery wings that looked as though they ought to belong to giant bats.

They hardly looked like the warmest or friendliest creatures in the world, not that Harry was one to judge. Venom didn't look really warm or friendly either unless you happened to be Harry Potter.

'I'm nice to Hedwig too!' Venom protested. 'Carnage as well!'

'They're the same thing!' Harry replied.

"What are those?" One of the students wondered out loud.

"Are you guys seeing this?" Another asked.

"I thought the carriages were self-pulling! I thought they were working on spells or something!"

"Do you know what they are?" Harry whispered to Fleur.

"No, I do not," Fleur frowned. "They look dangerous,"

"Let's find out," Harry detangled himself from Fleur and walked forward, approaching one of the creatures.

"Harry, be careful!" Fleur called worriedly.

"I'll be fine," Harry said confidently, walking slowly up to the creatures by the closest carriage. It eyed him but did not move much, Harry slowly and gently raised a hand and held it in front of the creature, when it showed no signs of attacking, he gently placed it on its head. "You know what, I kind of like this," He admitted as he petted the creature before glancing back at Fleur who looked more resigned than anything else.

"The first time you see a creature that looks like a walking skeleton and you decide it's in your best interest to pet it?" She asked with a sigh as everyone stared at the two of them.

"Pretty much, yeah," Harry nodded unashamedly.

"Is there a problem here?" A voice said and everyone turned to see Professor McGonagall walking up to the carriages.

"Professor, exactly what are those things?" One student asked, causing Professor McGonagall to frown, her lips thinning as she stared between the students and the horse creatures.

"Those are what we in the magical world call 'thestrals'," She began explaining with a small sigh. "They're quite fierce beasts when they need to be, but for the most part, they are quite calm and not really threats. Hogwarts uses them to pull carriages, most of the time at least, sometimes we have to charm the carriages if the thestrals are unavailable. If you wish to know more then you all may ask Professor Hagrid, he is quite knowledgable about the creatures, he is the one that cares for them."

"But Professor, how come we haven't seen them before?" Another student asked.

"As I said, sometimes we have to charm the carriages so they're not there," Professor McGonagall answered, looking uncomfortable with the topic for some reason. "Other times, well...thestrals have a bit of a bad reputation. They can only be seen by those who have seen death," She said, the silence that accompanied hit like a bullet as everyone around stared at either the professor or the thestral horses.

"But...I've never seen death," One student protested.

"Everyone here has," A voice drawled, everyone turned to Malfoy who had his usual superior look on his face. "We were all at the first task, remember? You all can see these horses? Thank Potter for that," He sneered, everyone turned their attention to Harry who hadn't stopped petting the thestral. Harry simply shrugged his shoulders, Malfoy was right, he had killed the dragon in front of everyone, and now they all had seen death. Still, what annoyed him most was that Malfoy had the gall to do this, he thought that he had scared the little shit straight, but apparently, the blonde ass-hat thought he was safe in public.

'He's not,' Venom assured Harry. 'You do your thing, I'll handle him.'

"Tell me, Malfoy, how many people can now see thestrals thanks to your dear old dad?" Harry asked calmly, causing Malfoy to turn a bright red.

"That's quite enough!" Professor McGonagall cut in firmly. "That'll be ten points from each of you,"

"Me?!" Draco demanded furiously. "What did I do?"

"Knowingly trying to instigate conflict," She stated bluntly. "Now, everyone make your way to Hogsmead, unless you'd all rather go back inside and do your homework?" She asked lightly. Everyone took that as their cue to start heading off, Harry patted the thestral one more time before walking over to the carriage.

"Milady," Harry said, opening the door for Fleur and offering her a hand.

"Such a gentleman," She smiled before taking his hand and stepping into the carriage, he climbed in after her. "So, I've heard great things about this Hogsmead,"

"It's pretty good," Harry nodded just as the carriages started moving. "It's made entirely of wizards and witches, plenty of shops and nice views. It's...usually quite calm," Harry added. "You got an equivalent in France?" He asked.

'What are you planning to do to Malfoy?' He mentally asked Venom whilst listening to Fleur.

'Me?' Venom asked innocently. 'I'm not going to do anything to the blonde brat, though I do know someone who might be less inclined to ignore him.'

"Potter is really getting out of hand," Draco complained as he and Pansy walked in the direction of the Shrieking Shack, followed by his ever-faithful allies, Crabbe and Goyle.

"I know," Pansy agreed instantly. "The stupid half-blood thinks he's the next coming of Merlin or something,"

"All because he beat that stupid dragon," Draco scowled, Pansy wasn't his first choice of girls, she wasn't the best looking in their year, nor was her voice anything that he enjoyed listening to, but at least the girl was smart enough to listen to Draco and obey, unlike the others. Draco knew that the girl was hoping he would ask her out, that the two would become boyfriend and girlfriend and eventually husband and wife. Unfortunately for her, that wasn't going to happen. Sure, she was fun in more ways than one, but she was nowhere near pretty enough to be a Malfoy bride. Besides, she didn't know that Draco had already had a marriage contract with Astoria Greengrass, a Slytherin girl a couple of years younger than them. She was far prettier than Pansy, still...Pansy would at least be good practice for his wedding night. It's not like she could complain, she didn't love him either, just his money and name, he was pretty sure that was the only reason the girl hung out with him.

With that being said, the main reason he kept her around was because he liked having someone who would agree with him (and do whatever he wanted).

"I bet Dumbledore probably helped him in some way," Pansy said with a glare on her face. "He probably fed the dragon something that weakened it, that's the only way that Potter could beat it."

"Perhaps," Draco frowned. Unfortunately for him - while Pansy did agree with everything he said - she was barely less dimwitted than Crabbe and Goyle on their best day. It would be a real problem if he ever kept her around for her opinion. Even if Dumbledore had weakened the dragon for Potter, it didn't change the fact that the thing was still a giant killing machine capable of swallowing even that oaf Hagrid in a single bite, nor did it change the fact that it probably weighed a good few tons and Potter still managed to throw it around the entire stadium like it was a bloody quaffle. The mere thought of the Gryffindor golden boy was enough to sour his mood.

Though he was sure it was going to be better soon, a lot of muggle-borns always liked to visit the shack, and Draco was in the mood for some fun. A grin spread across his face as he imagined practising a few new spells he had learnt on them. So happy he was that he didn't even notice that Crabbe and Goyle were no longer following him.

"Be quiet," Draco told Pansy as they stopped near the shack, hiding behind a couple of bushes. The pair pulled their wands out when they spotted a couple of third-year muggleborn girls staring at the shack.

"Supposed to be the most haunted building in the country," One girl said to the other.

"Yeah, but how's it any different from Hogwarts ghosts?" The other asked, earning a shrug from the first. "Whatever, come on, we have to meet Julia in the Three Broomsticks." She said before the pair started walking away.

"Oh, this will be good," Draco chuckled as he aimed his wand in their direction. "Ready Pansy?" He asked, waiting for a reply. "Pansy?" He asked again. "Pansy!" He asked once more, irritated. Turning his head he blinked when he saw that Pansy was not here. "Pansy?!" He hissed as he stood up and looked around, wondering where she had gone. "Pansy?!" He called, looking around, not seeing any sign of her. Looking back, he saw the muggle-borns had already gone far enough away that he probably couldn't hex them. But now, he had bigger problems as he realised that Pansy was not here, nor were the other two imbeciles that hung off of him. "Where the buggering hell did you fuckers go?!" Draco demanded before a groaning noise reached his ears.

Draco looked up and froze when he finally found Pansy, the girl in question was draped all over a tree branch with her wand arm bent at an odd angle, clearly unconscious with claw marks on her back, blood dripping down from those marks and staining the snow below. Draco took a step back as his mind tried to process what was happening, he was about to open his mouth when he felt something grab his legs. In the blink of an eye, Draco fell to the floor and was pulled back by whatever it was that had grabbed him, the boy had dropped his wand when he fell and had barely managed to grab it before he started being dragged.

"Get off me!" Draco screamed, unable to even look back as all the snow kept hitting him in the face. Eventually, whatever it was that had grabbed him let go and Draco ended up going another couple of meters back before finally skidding to a halt. The Malfoy heir let out a pained groan as he stood up, his whole body in pain from being dragged, he forced himself up to his feet, only to gasp when a searing pain erupted from his right leg, whatever had grabbed him had not been gentle. He could barely stand. "What the hell?" He wondered eloquently as he looked around before realising that he was now only a meter or so away from the bloody Shrieking Shack! "Oh shit," He gasped, ready to run when a pair of long, red limbs slammed into the ground in front of him, causing him to stumble back and land on his butt.

Looking at the giant tentacle-like limbs in front of him, his gaze followed them up to their source and he damn near shit his pants at the sight that had met him. Sticking to the side of the Shrieking Shack like some kind of nightmare spider was a large red creature with the body of a bird, though he knew of no bird that was the size of a small elephant. The creature's head had a razor-sharp beak filled with teeth as big as his arm, and several other tentacles came out of its body and attached to the building it was perched on. It appeared to be made of some horrible-looking red goo that looked like it was constantly moving, the creature's jagged white teardrop-shaped eyes were locked right on him with a scary focus.

"What the fuck?!" Draco found a new burst of energy and quickly got to his feet, he fired a curse at the creature who leapt off the building with a speed not possible for something its size and landed in front of him. "What are you?!" Draco shrieked as he took several steps back.

"Carnage!" The creature hissed.

"Why...why do you want to kill me?!" Draco asked shakily as he backed up into the shack.

"Not kill, Father doesn't want you killed, only maimed!" The creature told Draco who paled as he heard this monstrous thing sound disappointed it couldn't kill him and downright cheerful at the idea of hurting him.

"Fuck that!" Draco turned and rushed to the door of the shack and ran in, shutting the door behind him. He locked it with the strongest locking spell he knew before rushing for the first set of stairs in front of him, he had barely gotten halfway up the first flight of stairs when he heard a loud knocking on the door.

"Little pig, little pig, let me come in," The creature sang in a menacing voice.

"Did...did it just call me a pig?" Draco asked himself, sounding quite confused. He didn't get an answer as a second later, the creature burst through the door, it spotted him and let out a bone-chilling roar. Draco screamed before he continued rushing up the stairs, he got to the second floor and booked it down the hallway, hearing the creature causing plenty of damage downstairs as it followed him from below before it burst through the floorboards in front of him, causing Draco to slide to a stop as the thing hung upside down from the ceiling above and stared at him.

"Squeal for me, Pig," Carnage grinned at him.

Draco squealed.

"And that one, that one too, oh and that one as well. Hmm, I must have that one," Fleur stated as she walked around the chocolate shop that Harry had brought her to, picking up many, many pieces of chocolates and putting them into the basket that Harry was holding for her. The boy who lived dutifully stayed silent as his date went through the store, grabbing chocolates at random, some she would instantly toss into the basket, others she would inspect and read the packaging before either tossing them in the basket or putting them back on the shelf. "Oh, you must try this one, Harry!" She insisted as she picked up a chocolate bar that read 'Wonka' on it and then dumped five of them into the basket.

'My reservations regarding this girl are slowly disappearing,' Venom stated, Harry could practically feel the symbiote's eyes scanning the whole shop.

"Fleur," Harry called, causing the girl to look from her inspection of a bag full of chocolate-shaped animals. "Do you want some of these?" He asked, pointing to some heart-shaped chocolates on a nearby shelf. Fleur smiled brightly at him before nodding her head. Harry smiled as he dropped the chocolate into the basket.

"Merci," Fleur pecked him on the cheek and Harry reluctantly conceded that the guys were right about the chocolates at least, not that he would ever admit that to them.

"Albus!" Professor McGonagall rushed into his office, looking positively horrified.

"Minerva," Dumbledore jumped to his feet instantly, knowing that his deputy was rarely ever less than in complete control of her emotions. "What has happened?" He asked quickly.

"There was an attack, Albus," She told him. "Four students attacked, fourth-year Slytherins. Crabbe, Goyle, Parkinson and Malfoy."

"Are they hurt?" Dumbledore frowned, looking quite worried.

"Very,"