Harry woke to the growling of a dog playing 'gimme' with someone who had nothing to fear from it.

"Give it back you demon-spawn!" That was the Mage woman. Harry raised his head.

The Mage was trying to get her cloak back from a black lizard dog.

The other Silver stood to one side watching his subordinate try to reclaim her cloak. At his feet sat Hermione gagged and cuffed.

: Sit. Drop it.: Harry rose to tower over the dog thing. The dog obeyed before rolling belly up. Harry swung his head around to glare at the Commander. :Why is she gagged?:

"She is saying that Albus is the second coming of Merlin, and that she is in love with a Ron Weasley."

"The Potions Molly forced down her throat." Harry returned to his human-ish form. The black dog was suddenly rubbing its head on his hip. "And what is this guy?"

"Wrysa." The Commander grunted. "It drained us as we landed, but I believe that it found you to be too much for it to eat. When we woke up, it was licking your throat."

"Fate's Bitch." Harry picked up a stick and chucked it… and the Wrysa blurred into the bush to catch it.

"Stop that!" The Sargent snapped.

"I am going to step away and try to call for a ride Home." The Commander grunted. "Watch them."

For the next thirty minutes Harry played fetch with the Wrysa, in between learning the beast's itchy places. He also learned that it was a male, and had a mind Speech… but where Harry used mostly words, the Wrysa used pictures for the majority of his communication.

"Well good news. We are less than a day's walk from a City Vale…" the Commander returned. "Bad News. That thing's pack is between us and the City."

"Point me in the Direction of the Pack." Harry growled. "You get to the City and get her Flushed and Purged." He reverted to the winged serpent and launched himself into the air. The Wrysa racing to keep up.

It didn't take long for Harry and the Pack to find each other.

He landed in the middle of the Field.

The Female gave a crackle purr, and three of her minion/pups attacked Harry…

Their claws and teeth were detected by his scales and skin.

Harry 'opened' his eyes and the pups crumbled under his gaze.

The Alpha took exception to that. Half of the rest were set on him from the left and the other half from right. Harry rolled left as his gaze raked to the right. His eyes killed the lucky few. Those trapped under his weight were not so lucky.

The Female lunged at the scout … and Harry caught her in his jaws, and swallowed her whole… slowly.

Feeling heavy, and with the Bitch in his Craw, Harry just curled up and took a nap.

When Hermione was led across his nose, he rose up, his eyes blinking but shielded. :Oh… so you caught up. Good, can you help…: He turned his head to look at the dead Wrysa… only to find the crushed to have their throats ripped out and all the corpses to be piled beside him. He blinked. :Can you load the bodies onto my back and tie them down?:

The two Silvers blinked at each other and first began to craft a net for the bodies.

The Wrysa sniffed Hermione. [Pack] or [pet]?:

Harry blinked twice. : Pack. [Image of the Wrysa he ate:

: Confusion.:

: Her Magic is poisoned.:

"I can hear you." Hermione watched the black lizard-dog. "Have you named him?"

:No…: the great snake head shifted to look at the puppy pressed to his side. :Was thinking Shadow or Lithenfold.:

"Okay. No. You just lost your naming privileges." She sat on his coils. While her loyalty and romantic focus has shifted… she was still his friend and was not afraid of him. "Argos*?"

: While I agree with your first thought, I will never leave him behind, unless it's to protect you or Kitten.: and he Flashed the image and smell of little Daphne after a bath, before being put to bed. : And we can't go with Sirius…: He tasted her cheek with his serpent tongue. :Keep trying. The best I can do is Toto.:

Hermione started laughing. "Only you Harry. How does he feel about the name?"

:Ask him.:

"Hey, boy. How do you feel about the name… Toto?"

The Mage Eater 'dog' yipped and wagged his whipcord tail.

Quickly, Harry was loaded up with the Dead Wrysa, and carrying the Humans, he slithered into the Vale City. When the City Guard tried to collect the kills, he bared his fangs. :I killed them. I will honour them.:

"It will cause you to forfeit the Bounty." The Guard tried to take the carcasses again, only for Toto to growl at the man.

"Shit!" The man danced away. "That one's alive!"

"I wouldn't try anything." The Commander chuckled. "Call for the Watch Commander. He is taking his kills back to Snow Point."

"I am not going anywhere but to Hogwarts… Ronald is waiting for me."

: When he isn't feeling up Vane.: Harry snorted. :Saw him with her in a broom closet, last night.:

The Witch stilled on his back.

"Sleep." The Sargent waved her hand at Hermione.

"Just to cover our bases… Why are you taking the girl…"

:A Potion Mistress dosed her the other night. I am planning to give her a purging potion, and then tomorrow, if she still wants to go…: Harry brushed his nose across the sleeping witch. :I will cut her loose.:

SPRB

Hermione slowly awoke.

She didn't remember much from when Albus jumped her… it was all blurry.

"Oh… You're awake." Ward sneered at her. "Maybe I can get the bloody Snake to leave the Hallway outside my Infirmary now."

"Would you prefer the Grunn to be waiting for her to wake up?" A Female in green silks with her hair braided and coiled tight to her skull. "Ignore the Man. When I heard about what was planned for you, I joined the group traveling here. I am incharge of the health of the Females for the rest of the year."

Arf.

Hermione turned to look at the 'Dog' on the cushion beside her bed. "You must be Toto." She reached down and the long snaky tongue flicked out over her hand.

: Alpha.:

"Yeah…and get that thing out of my Infirmary!" Ward yelled from across the Hall.

Hermione noticed that a set of her togs were folded on the end table along with a pair of her underwear. She quickly dressed, and lacking her Foci, called Toto to heel and exited the Hall. The Basi-Coatl was resting, coiled into a knot.

The sight of her caused him to shift back to his human form… and he was even able to complete the transformation. "Now… before we do anything else, I need your true feelings about Albus Dumbledore."

"Arragrent Old Fool." Her face twisted in anger. "When I see him again, I will be wanting to put a toe in."

"Ronald Weasley."

"Did I hear you correctly… he was exploring Broom closets with Vane?"

"I sent Miss Norris after him." Harry grinned. "Also, to prevent me from retaking you, Albus threw an AK at you." He took her hands. "I swatted it back at him… and he tried to block instead of ducking. I don't know what happened as I was already grabbing you three and lunging across the Ward line."

"You need to write to your managers and Proxies." Hermione leaned on his shoulder as he walked her back to their room. As he held the flap for her to proceed him into the Tent… they found that the Tree had increased in size by about forty percent. Two new Room Suites had developed in the time since they were last in the Tree-tent. It had also grown a third Bath.

"Dobby so Happy!" The Elf latched onto Harry's leg. "Master Great Wizard Harry Potter Sir has returned!" He leaned back to look up at his Wizard. "Treehouse protect Dobby…drain away excess Magic. The Eggs well fed, but sleeping. Grungy sleeping off Growth. Dobby keep side of Pig for Grungy to eat when Grungy wake."

Harry rubbed Dobby's head. "And the others?"

"Bony and Grassy are busy with Masters. Birdies are Training Combat. And Rhal Building Minion." Dobby nodded.

"Good. Is the Huntmaster in?"

"Not yet. They hunt Wrysa. Same Pack as Great Master."

"Just keep the bodies in Stasis. I will butcher them later."

"Dobby butcher?" The Elf stepped away.

"I need the Hides, whole. The meat scraped from the bone, and the organs sealed in jars."

"Dobby do." and the Elf vanished.

"He is a strange one." Hermione smiled.

A picture of Dobby bouncing and a feeling of curiosity washed over Harry. "Pack. Provider."

Tish bounded into the room from outside the Tent. : Dhorisha'ke'a'char! I will need to get the whole story…: She froze as she saw the Wrysa. : You Didn't!:

Harry started laughing. "Tish. This is Toto. Toto, this is Tish. Pack. Watcher. Shadow."

The black dog thing bumped noses and 'tasted' her magic.

:This is why you don't leave me behind!: The Kyree now looked him in the eye.

"How is your Breastplate?"

:Harness needed to be adjusted… but it still fits, but the Helm was too small. Traded it to Mora for a book on Shaman Practices of the Shin'a'in Tribes. If I need it, you should be able to pound out a new one.:

"If I do that, I will first rig you a saddle for Kitten." Harry rubbed her head, between her ears. "Unless you can carry Hermione."

Hermione slapped the back of his head.

[Curiosity:

Harry pictured the Alpha Female.

Toto rolled belly up.

Tish looked at the pup, the Male, and at the Female. :And I chose to follow you.:

Harry grinned as he brushed the wall where he first learned that the Tree-tent was alive. This time he felt something like a sleeping dragon. "Gucci Gucci goo."

Hermione looked at him … before swatting his head again. "No!"

: Now I am missing the Joke.: Tish cocked her head.

"Hogwarts has a Slogan." Hermione sighed. "Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus, which is Latin for 'Never tickle a sleeping dragon'." Hermione saw something shift in Harry's eyes. "No!" She hit him again. "No tickling Soran."

SPRB

Fudge blinked. "Repeat that please."

Malfoy leaned forward. "I have it on Good Authority that Albus's Death was caused by Harry Potter. Now I know that Auror Hammer is tracking and tracing every thread of evidence, but Harry Potter was there, and if you were to file the paperwork…

"If you are wrong… I will throw you under the Dragon." Fudge glared at his greatest financial backer. "But if Potter is responsible…found guilty… Draco resumes being the Heir of Black."

"I knew you would see it my Direction." Lucious Malfoy smiled smoothly as he shook hands with Minister Fudge and left.

Fudge sighed as he looked at the small silk bag of gold coins in his palm. "I better talk to Amelia." He stood, collected his bowler, and pocketed the pouch.

He made his way to Director Bones office in a trance… and entered into a busy Bullpen.

"Ah, Minister Fudge." A pink punky pixie piped up. "How can we help you?"

"How…who…where…."

"Lord Potter donated directly to the Director." The Auror smiled at the stout Wizard. "Again Sir, how can we help you?"

"I have a line on who killed Dumbledore." The Ministry Official looked at the Red Robe. "I need to see the Director."

TBC

AN: Que used Argos. I double checked the information on this loyal animal, and while I think a dog that would wait twenty years for his human to come home is something great, what Happened to Loyal Argos is a deal breaker. So I went with a joke. Besides, this way I get to Quote Dorothy.