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Harry Potter and the Wanderer by The Shadows
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Harry Potter and the Wanderer

The Shadows

There are a few things that could make me a happy writer right about now. The fact that people seem to really appreciate this fic is one of them - so thank you for that. Other than that, though, what I would really like comes in two parts.

1. I want my computer screen to stop flashing on and off every time I hit the qazwsx keys. Or the shift on that side of the computer. That would be great. Thankfully, I'm getting it fixed next Monday when the parts come in. It has been hell trying to write as it stands now. This is beyond everyone's control here, though.

2. What isn't beyond everyone's control is my actual writing - not fanfiction, but one of my novels that I have put online. I put it up because I am looking for advice, but have thus far received a startling lack thereof. If even five people could look at it and answer my query that I posted in the prologue yesterday, I would be beyond happy, and would double my efforts to post the next chapter here sooner.

Here is the site again, for those who don't know where it is.

www. fictionpress. com/read. php? storyid= 1737541

Just take the spaces out. And, in case anyone is wondering, this is basically me begging for people to look at it - I don't like doing it, but I need some input on it!!!

As it is, this chapter is being dedicated to Zapata666. Thanks for looking at my novel, your review does help!

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Chapter Twenty Three: Willow

Warmth. Comforting, loving, gentle warmth.

That was really all Harry could make his mind focus on when he stirred to consciousness again. He wasn't really still tired, but he did feel warm. Not really unbearably warm, though. It was calming. As he took a deep breath to start waking up fully, he had to correct his thoughts.

It was Hermione.

Giving the witch in his arms a bit of a squeeze, he felt her start to stir. Gently, he placed a kiss on the top of her frazzled hair that was even bushier than usual after just waking up. She turned her head up to look at him, and smiled.

"Morning, `Mione," Harry whispered to her. "Sleep well?"

"Better than ever before," she replied, breaking off to yawn before saying anything else. "I can't remember the last time when I woke up feeling like I could just stay in bed forever and not worry about anything ever again. Just so long as you stay here, too."

"Good. I feel the same way... but we both know that can't happen. Minerva will be here before too long to wake us up - if Remus or your parents doesn't beat her to it - so we can keep training."

"I just feel so relaxed now," Hermione whispered as she arched her back in a stretch that was almost more cat like than human. "Better than anything we've done in exercises."

Harry didn't need to be told that she was going to try to shift her form again. If she was more relaxed now than before, it meant that she had a good chance on succeeding. If anyone could become a full animagi in six days or less, it would have to be Hermione.

The white light that had surrounded them each time they attempt the transformation didn't follow her this time. Instead, a whoosh of air filled in where her human body had once been as she suddenly winked out of existence. In her place sat a fully grown brown kneazle looking up at Harry with it's oddly squashed face. She flicked her lion tail at him and then sauntered up his body until she was standing on his chest.

*I did it!* she purred, rubbing the side of his face with her furry one. Without another word, she leapt from the bed and landed on the ground as a human again. "I can do it!" she exclaimed, turning quickly to wrap her arms around Harry. "I've finally done it!"

"Only one problem then, `Mione..." Harry said slowly. The excitement drained from her face slowly as she waited for him to continue, and he broke out into a grin. "Here you are as the fastest witch to ever perfect an animagus transformation, and you can't even tell anyone!"

"I can tell Minerva!" Hermione countered, changing back into a kneazle in an instant and landing on the ground with a soft thump. *Can you open the door and let me out?* she mewed.

*Sure thing, `Mione,* Harry purred back. *Just stay there for a minute while I change, and then we can go down together.* Without waiting for her answer, he threw the rest of the coverings off him onto the floor and leapt out of bed. Her excitement was sort of contagious. Once he had changed out of his robes and into a fresh set, he pulled the green cloaks off the doorknob, and threw Hermione's onto the bed before donning his own. Once he had checked his dagger, he pulled the door open and the kneazle on the ground shot out before he could even blink.

He smiled to himself and started down the stairs after her, flipping his fingers over his wand that was in his pocket. Having Hermione in such a great mood to start the day off meant that the 28th was looking to be very promising indeed.

All thoughts went out the window as he pushed the kitchen door open to let Hermione in as she purred to him. She managed to take several steps into the open space before stopping herself, but by then it was too late anyway.

"Hey guys..." Harry said slowly. His house was no longer as empty as it had been last night. Ron was sitting at the table stuffing his face with breakfast as Luna sat right next to him. They weren't alone, either. Neville and Colin were there, eating a little more civilized than Ron was, and both Ginny and Lavender were kneeling in front of the fire as though trying to warm themselves. "When did you get here?"

He stopped watching them as he felt Hermione press herself behind his legs, as though trying not to be seen by their friends. None of the adults were present, but Harry knew there was no way to hide Hermione. He bent down to pet her carefully, trying to pretend that she was actually a kneazle and not his girlfriend in animal form.

"We got here about an hour ago," Lavender replied, looking up. "Had to fly halfway across the country on broomsticks, though. It's cold out there!"

"Been there, done that!" Harry grinned.

"When did you get that kneazle, Harry?" Colin asked, leaning away from the table to look around Neville at the small bushy brown animal. "I heard they were really rare, and was surprised to even see Hermione's Crookshanks, which is half kneazle."

"Well, she..."

"Oh, sorry Harry!" McGonagall said as she pushed the door open before he could go any further. "She sort of got away from me there," she added, kneeling next to him to pet Hermione much as he was doing. Her broad smile at both of them vanished as she stood up to face the others. "Harry asked me to watch her while he came to get something to eat. I gave her to him as an early Christmas present."

With a lopsided grin, Harry shrugged as he stood, picking up Hermione as he did so. "What do you all think?"

To say he was surprised to suddenly find himself surrounded by Lavender, Luna, Colin, Neville, Ginny, and Ron would be an understatement as they all gathered around for a closer look. "What's her name, Harry?"

"Uh..." Harry stammered, thinking as quickly as he could. "She seems to answer to Willow," he offered. "Right Professor?"

McGonagall sighed and shook her head. "Just because there are others around now, Harry, doesn't mean you can go back to calling me that just yet. It is still the holidays, after all."

"Sorry Minerva."

"Better. And I've told you what I think of Willow already. Truly remarkable."

If Harry hadn't known any better, he would swear that Dumbledore had taken over McGonagall's body the way her eyes were twinkling as she looked at him pointedly. "That she is, Minerva. That she is."

"Can I talk to you for a sec, Harry?" Ron whispered as he leaned in a little closer. "Away from all this?" he added, motioning to the crowd around them.

"Do any of you want to hold her for a bit?" Harry asked, looking down to Hermione carefully to gauge her reaction. The look on her face seemed to say that she found the whole situation as a cross between horrifying and amusing.

Once he handed her off to Lavender, he took Ron over to the fireplace, only to find Ginny follow them over. He didn't have the chance to say anything before Ron cut in, though. "Look, mate, I've been a real prat," he explaining, turning his face to the side a bit. "Do you think slugging me a good one would knock some sense into me?" he added, patting his cheek.

"I doubt it," Harry said with a touch of humour in his voice. "You've run into the wall pretty hard a couple of times, and been hit with more bludgers than I can count. My fists aren't hard enough."

"Guess I deserved that, didn't I?" Ron said with a sigh. After a moment, he looked back to Harry carefully. "I'm sorry, Harry. And when Hermione comes down, I'll apologise to her, too. I shouldn't have said anything like that to you during the Ball."

This was exactly the conversation that he had been both dreading and looking forward to. He knew that Hermione would probably burst into tears at the fact that they were talking again, a thought that brought a small smile to his face before drawing a blank again. "Then why did you?" he asked in a firm voice.

"That would be because of me," Ginny piped up finally.

"Oh, talking to me again, are you?" Harry asked as bit harshly. "Trust me enough not to lie for a minute or two, at least?"

"I guess I deserved that..."

"No you didn't!" Ron butted in. "I know she hurt you, Harry, but that's no reason to..."

"Ron, stop," Ginny cut him of before Harry could say anything again. "I did deserve it. I said some pretty awful things to him over the past month... to Hermione, too." She then turned back to Harry, a fire burning in her eyes as tears started to leak out of them. "But I'm sorry, Harry! I really am! I was just so... hurt... that you didn't say anything earlier. It was so hard!"

Harry took a deep breath before putting a hand on one of her shoulders and wiping at one of her tears gently. "I can't say that we're blameless in this mess either, Gin," he said softly. "I should have told you right up front the first time you asked... but `Mione and I decided to keep it a secret. And not to embarrass you, either, but to keep her safe for a little longer."

"I know," Ginny hiccoughed. "I know. But that doesn't really stop the hurt. But the past month of avoiding both of you and refusing to talk to anyone about you... that was the hardest time of my life. I can't bare not being your friends... and I'm afraid that..."

Harry cut her off by wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a tight embrace. "You didn't lose us, Gin. We thought we had lost you." When they separated again, Ginny looked to the kitchen door. "Don't worry," Harry added, as though sensing what was going through her mind. "She wouldn't be upset with me giving a hug to my little sister..."

"You'd still think of me as... even after I..."

"If you forgive `Mione, too, then..." Harry trailed off with a smile. He then looked to Ron again. "Are we good, mate?"

"Yeah. I think we're good," Ron said, clasping Harry's raised hand. He then broke into a grin. "I've got to admit, it was tough not hanging out with you two. Even with Luna around, it's not quite the same. We always spent a little time together anyway..."

"She's not the pranking type?" Harry joked.

"No, she doesn't help him with his homework!" Ginny butted in. When Ron tried to protest, she smiled and looked to Harry again. "You should thank her, by the way. She's the one who figured out what was going on, and why Ron reacted so badly. Just trying to protect his little sister..."

Harry looked back over to the other group, who were still fawning over kneazle Hermione, or `Willow.' The three stood in amicable silence for a moment before Willow let out a particularly loud hiss and leapt out of their hands, shooting like a bullet over to Harry.

He scooped her up in an instant and forgot everything else in the room as he looked down to her. *What's wrong?* he purred to her.

*Colin wanted to see if petting a kneazle the wrong way hurt or not...* Hermione mewed loudly back to him. *I hadn't thought about that aspect before. Remind me next time I'm with Crookshanks to be especially careful.*

*Alright... Willow,* Harry grinned.

*Honestly, Harry...* she hissed gently back at him before purring. *That was some fast thinking.* She then paused and looked up to Ron and Ginny. *What's going on? Oh, Harry, you're talking kneazle in front of everyone!*

The colour drained out of Harry's face as he realised that, but didn't reply right away. After a moment, he purred back to her. *Well, it's out of the bag, now. Might as well take advantage of it quickly. Ron and Ginny apologised to me, and said they would do the same to you. They'll explain, I'm sure. I hugged Ginny to make her feel better, but that was the only reason... I'd have rather hugged you, but you were kind of busy...*

Whatever she purred back to him was missed entirely as Ron spoke up. "Harry, when did you learn how to talk to kneazles?" he asked. "I mean, snakes is one thing, but..."

Fortunately, Harry didn't have to answer this question, as McGonagall cut him off. "I imagine that his parseltongue must be evolving," she explained. "A rare phenomenon, but Harry is not exactly your average wizard, now is he?" Before anyone could say anything else, she looked to Harry pointedly. "Your training will continue after lunch. This morning, I will let you catch up with your friends."

"Where is Hermione, anyway?" Lavender asked. "I thought she'd be up by now... she's always up so early at Hogwarts."

"Probably reading," Harry said almost instantly. Looking down to the kneazle in his arms, he leaned down and she her on the ground. "Willow, would you mind going to get Hermione and bringing her downstairs?"

With a loud meow, Hermione sauntered out of the room, trying her best to imitate the normal feline behaviour of pretending they owned everything in sight. Once the door swung shut again, Harry looked around the kitchen. "Once Hermione gets down here, I think we'll get some breakfast, and you can all tell me just what's going on."

Breakfast was a much louder affair in Grimmauld Place that morning than it had been for weeks and months. The first thing that happened when Hermione came back was her receiving a massive hug from Ginny, and then a slightly smaller one from Ron. After that, it was mostly chaos and pandemonium as everyone tried to get at food.

Hermione ended up sitting right next to Harry, who gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, but that was it for affectionate gestures. He did keep one hand on her leg for most of the meal... until Lavender, Luna, and Ginny all drag her to the side to talk without "boy interference."

"I've been dying to ask ever since the Ball," Lavender started as soon as they were separate. "Two things. First of all, is Harry a good kisser?"

"Lavender!"

"Alright, sorry, sorry..." she held up her hands in self defense. "Fine, real question... did he give you that necklace?" she asked, pointing to the trinket hanging around Hermione's neck.

She lifted the amulet slightly to finger the four precious stones carefully. "I told you each about the bracelet he gave me, didn't I?" Hermione asked quietly, letting the necklace fall again as she lifted her arm to show it to them again.

"Hermione, you didn't tell anyone about you seeing him at all, remember?" Ginny asked pointedly. "A fact that, if I recall correctly, ended up with a rather horrific scene that ended thanks to a carefully slipped potion."

"I had to take Colin to the hospital wing the next morning, by the way," Lavender interrupted as they all broke out into smiles... save for Luna, who seemed to simply be staring off into space at their feet.

"Alright, then. The bracelet was Harry's first gift to me..." she began, trying to figure out how she was going to explain it to them easily. "Elves have three vows of commitment. Protection, Family, and Love."

"Harry's following elven customs?" Luna asked suddenly, startling the others. "Isn't that a little odd?"

"Coming from you, should that be an insult or a compliment?" Lavender asked with a grin towards the smaller Ravenclaw girl, who happened to ignore the remark completely.

"He wanted something meaningful," Hermione explained. "The bracelet is for protection. By wearing it, I am promising to stop at nothing to protect him from harm. And before you ask, he's wearing one, too."

As one, the three girls looked over to the boys, and, after a few minutes of watching them carefully, caught the glint of gold hidden beneath Harry's robes and cloak.

"Before you go any further, Hermione," Ginny said once they turned back to her. "What's with his cloak? It's not like any wizarding cloak I've ever seen... it's far too light to serve any warmth purpose, right?"

"His... oh blast!" Hermione said as she brought a hand up to her shoulders. She ignored the looks of surprise from the others and she shook her head. "I forgot to put mine on this morning!" When she found them still waiting for an answer, she shrugged. "Talisien gave them to us. Not sure why, but they are quite nice. They are warm or cold, depending on what is needed, and are so light that you can barely even feel it unless necessary. I tried examining it to figure out what it was made out of, but couldn't figure it out."

Lavender exchanged a glance with Ginny - both ignoring Luna again, who was staring at the edge of the fireplace now - and then burst into giggles. "Trust you, girl, to overanalyze a gift like that!"

"Well, then maybe I just won't tell you about the necklaces, then..." Hermione said, turning away from them with a small sniff. She was stopped before even getting halfway around, and hauled back. "Alright, fine. The necklace... is very important. It's family."

"Harry doesn't have any family," Luna said softly. "His parents are dead and he lost his godfather last year."

"I know," Hermione replied sadly. "But that didn't stop him. He spoke to Professor Lupin and both Fred and George about that... and they all agreed before he gave it to me. If anything happens to him, then they'll look after me... help me get back on my feet, like that."

"Fred and George knew?" Ginny asked in surprise. She didn't even wait for an answer before shaking her head. "I should have known they wouldn't say anything. If anyone can keep a secret, it's those two brothers of mine..."

"They... uh... they actually all swore wizard's oaths on the matter," Hermione added, looking right at Ginny to make sure the youngest Weasley heard and understood what she said. "Harry convinced them to."

"He made my brothers swear an oath to look after you?" Ginny all but shouted in surprise. "And they agreed?"

"Harry didn't go into much detail, but in the end... yes, they did." She then looked over at Harry, who was laughing at something one of the boys had said. "I gave him a necklace, too. My parents promised me the same for Harry."

The four girls were actually silent for a moment before Lavender piped up again. "So what's the last symbol? I mean, it represents love, right? It's a ring, isn't it?"

"If only you applied yourself so strongly in... say... transfiguration, Lavender..." Hermione said with a smile. "Yes, it's a ring. In the elven society, the ring is basically an engagement. But for us, I think it will be the end of the elven vows, and where we take it from there is uncharted waters."

"So, he gave you both the bracelet and necklace first, did he?" Lavender asked.

"No, I gave him the bracelet, and then he explained to me what it meant. He gave me the necklace," Hermione explained.

"I'm glad you two are happy together," Ginny whispered a little sadly. "I really am."

"I know, Gin. But don't worry... you'll find someone," Hermione promised her.

Remus coming into the room interrupted the conversations as all the dishes vanished, along with the table. "Alright, who would like a tour of the house you are staying at for the next two weeks?"

The tour that the old Marauder took the group on started in the basement with several large rooms that were set up like classrooms. In one corner of the stone basement, however, was a smaller room with a foot thick door and steel bars surrounding the room. He explained to them the purpose of the room with two words.

Full moon.

Beyond the basement, on the first floor there was the kitchen, which they were all familiar with, as well as two studies and a large family room. There appeared to be a fireplace in each room on the first floor. The second floor contained the bedrooms - Harry's room which had once been Sirius's study, Remus's room, a room for the Granger's which held two beds, a large room with six beds for the boys, a large room with six beds for the girls, and two more rooms with several beds in them as spares. There were also, surprisingly enough, no less than three bathrooms, though Harry was sure one of them at least had been a closet when he had opened the door even the day before.

On the third floor that Harry had never really explored was really only one room that encompassed all of it. This was the library that Hermione had mentioned to him earlier, and he could only stare in awe as he looked around the massive compilation of books. They were everywhere... the room looked like it had been magically enhanced to be larger than even the school library. It was not challenge to imagine Hermione spending all her free time in the room, which was exactly what everyone assumed she had done. There was even a stack of old leather bound books sitting on one table with a stack of parchment and several quills sitting next to it.

The last floor was the attic, which housed Buckbeak's room, as well as several large storage rooms and passages to many of the rooms in the basement and first floors, and a hallway that lead to a balcony.

It was with no great surprise after the tour was over that Hermione dragged Harry back to the library while the others took the time to move their things into their rooms. Harry quickly explained what had gone on with Ron and Ginny - despite the fact that they had both told her the same thing when she had entered the kitchen earlier in the morning.

"So, what have you been reading up here, anyway?" Harry asked as he looked down for the first time at the table of books. Picking up the closest one, he read the cover. " `The Rise and Fall of the Dark Phoenix Gortendra the Black,' by Mist Palada and Lisa Asil," he read aloud. "Interesting reading material..."

He trailed off when he saw Hermione looking at him in surprise. Lowering the book, he waited for her to say something. "You can read that?" she asked in a hushed voice.

"Um... yeah..." he said slowly, looking at the book again. "Here, I'll show you." He opened the book to a random page and started to read aloud. " ` "When I release you, do not yell or scream. Do not speak until I ask you to. Do you understand?" a deep male voice asked her. When she nodded agreement, the pressure on her face was removed, and she turned around to face the male. She saw a man of black skin, with black hair and, stranger still, black eyes. No colour came from them. He wore black clothing as well, and had a black sword at his side. But he was mostly concealed beneath a strange looking cloak that was, not surprisingly, black as well. She looked at him, waiting for him to speak.' "

"Harry, I've been working on translating these whenever I have the time," Hermione explained slowly. "Look carefully at the words again," she suggested, putting a hand on his and forcing him to lower the book to the table. Leaning over the book, he was a little confused by her suggestion, but complied nonetheless.

It took all of a minute before he realised that it was not written in English, but in a language that he didn't recognise. As he stared at the words, though, they again rearranged themselves before his eyes into his native language. "What's going on, `Mione?" he whispered to her.

She didn't answer right away. Instead, she leap up from the table and zipped around the library, pulling down several different books as she went before returning with an armload. "Have a look at these, would you?"

With a confused sigh, he nodded and picked up a book in each hand, reading the cover aloud of each. " `Secrets of the Flying Charm on Brooms Revealed,' by M.A. Murdo. `The Easiest Way to Find Your Way,' by Sinat Jones.' " Putting down both tomes, he picked up two more. " `The Study of Latin Grammar,' by K.J.W. `The Use of Alternate Language Spells,' by Eugene et. al."

"Alright, Harry... now look more carefully at them, please," Hermione suggested.

"Could you just tell me what's going on?" Harry asked instead, looking away from the books in front of him and back to her. Looking into her brown eyes, he saw the fierce determination that he always associated with her trying to solve a complicated problem. "Alright, alright..." Turning his attention away from the witch beside him with considerable effort to return to the books, he leaned over them again, not picking them up this time.

"Well?" she asked after a few minutes of silence.

"French, German, Latin, and Greek," Harry said firmly, tapping each book in turn. "These aren't written in English. And the books that you have here are written in Ancient, aren't they?"

"Excellent, Harry," she said at once. "Now that you've figured that out, let's find out why you can read them all."

He couldn't help but grin as he leaned back a little. "Jealous, are we?" he asked quietly.

The flush that rose in Hermione's cheeks came so quickly that she didn't have a chance to look away. Instead, she simply looked at him carefully. "Yes," she said equally as softly. "You've just learned who knows how many languages without effort, and here I am struggling with this one!" She sighed and looked away from him. "Who wouldn't be jealous? I mean, a translating charm isn't that hard, but I can't use it on the Ancient language, because that charm doesn't exist!"

"Would you let me help you, then?"

She looked back to him in surprise. "You'd do that, for me?"

Harry frowned at her and crossed his arms across his chest as he leaned back. "I thought you knew, Hermione. Considering the fact that I would move the stars for you if you wanted it, I don't think helping you with an unknown language is out of my limits."

Without any warning, Hermione pounced on him in an instant, locking her lips to his as she wrapped her arms around him. She sat down in his lap almost at once as she continued the kiss, and only pulled back after both had thoroughly explored the others' mouth with their tongues.

"Thank you," she whispered into his ear. "I really do love you, you know..."

"I know," he whispered back. When she leaned back again, he smiled to her. "I don't suppose you'd consider waiting for that help for a bit, would you?" he asked. "I have something else in mind for a while..."

"Of course!" she said instantly, leaping out of his lap and starting towards the library shelves again. He caught her hand before she could take two steps, and she looked back to him in surprise when she heard a soft growl. "I guess a bit of our animals are coming over, aren't they?" she said. "But like you said, we'll wait on the translating. For now, we have to find out why you can do it. We need to know more about lyras, I think."

Harry sighed and stood up slowly, never more glad to have been wearing his loose robes than he was right then. In jeans, he imagined he would have had a bit of difficulty standing quite so soon after such a passionate snogging. "That's not quite what I meant, you know..."

"What?" Hermione asked, looking back to him once more and away from the shelves. Almost instantly, a blush rose on her cheeks as she caught his meaning finally. "Oh... sorry, Harry... but we really need to know this before you get stolen away by Minerva for your afternoon lesson."

"Can we make it up tonight, then?"

Hermione's breath caught in her throat despite herself, and she had to force herself to breathe carefully. The sound of his voice right then, coupled with the words spoken, set a fire burning deep within her that she hadn't even quite felt before. Not entirely trusting her voice, she nodded quickly several times and then turned back to the shelves.

It wasn't long before she had pulled down the book that she had apparently been looking for, though Harry didn't join her at the table right away. He continued looking through the various titles in the library, amazed by how many different languages were found within the large library. My library... he thought to himself. Though I think `Mione would appreciate it more than me.

"Here it is!" Her voice called him away from his thoughts, and he sat down next to her, well aware that he was more watching her than listening. Part of his mind was listening, though, because he knew what she was saying was important. Besides, he respected her too much to ignore her completely. "Oh Harry, this is amazing. Lyras can talk to any animal, and even to humans! Any language in the world, known or not!"

"That's fairly powerful magics, isn't it?"

"Not only that, but..."

"But what?" he asked when she trailed off and continued to read.

"Let me try something. Close your eyes," she suggested as she stood up. Once he had his eyes closed, he heard something whoosh passed him. "Alright, now open them." He did as instructed again and looked around.

"So what did you do?" he asked. Looking around, he found her next to the torches by the entrance. She had her wand out, and a light was surrounding it. "Why do you have the Lumos spell active?"

She didn't reply right away. Instead, she walked over and sat down next to him, holding her wand closer to the book to read some more. "Harry, it's pitch black in here without my wand," she explained after a minute or two of silence. "But this little light is enough to let you see everything in here as though it was still bright."

Harry let that information sink into his mind before waving at the torches to light them again. It was one of the things about wizarding life that he still hadn't quite gotten used to, but was working on it - lighting that obeyed commands.

"So, I can understand any language and see in the dark?"

"Pretty much. There is also the possibility that you could fly, but I'd rather you didn't try that. I worry enough when you are on a broom..." she trailed off almost at once when she realised what she had said. There still hadn't been any outcome on the status of his Firebolt.

"They'll figure it out in time," Harry said, sensing why she had stopped. "No way I'm not playing again this year," he added vehemently. "I missed most of last year, it's not happening again." He then looked back to her carefully. "So, I got all this from being able to change into a lyra... or rather, the fact that I will be able to change into a lyra. I haven't perfected it yet like you. What do you get for being a kneazle?"

Hermione smiled and closed the book she had been looking through. "I thought you knew about kneazles. They can tell when someone's lying or being untrustworthy, they never get lost, and have almost perfect hearing. For example, I can hear someone coming upstairs now... I think it's Luna and Ron."

"Does this mean I can't keep any secrets from you any more?" Harry whispered to her quickly before the others arrived.

"Not a one."

Harry pouted as he sat back, making Hermione grin at him. "So much for surprise birthdays or presents, then, right..."

"Well... I suppose I could make an exception every now and then..."

It ended up that Ron and Luna were looking to tell them that lunch was ready. Both vowed, once the other two had left, to spend more time with their friends in the mornings. They had been alone for quite some time, and although neither had any complaints about that, they both wanted to spend time with their friends, too. Especially now that Ron and Ginny were talking to them again.

After the rather loud and enjoyable lunch, Harry was pulled into a basement classroom by McGonagall to work on his animagi form. They all knew that this was his extra training, and no one questioned it. He needed the extra protection, and they all knew it. The session that afternoon was spent mostly working on relaxing more than he had been - nothing they tried seemed to make much headway on it.

Once supper was over, Harry finally felt the drain of the day catching up to him as he dragged himself upstairs to his room. Inside, he found Ron waiting for him, sitting at his desk playing with his miniature Hungarian Horntail that he had received two years ago now.

"What's up, Ron?"

The red head looked up quickly, startled by Harry's sudden reappearance. He put down the small dragon quickly and shrugged. "Just thought I'd take a look at your room, that's all. I've gotta admit, though, I thought you'd be sleeping in the same room as me again."

"Well... this is my house now, you know," Harry said a little uncomfortably. "So it makes sense for me to have my own room, right?"

Apparently Ron had gotten a bit better at sensing emotions, because he stood up and shrugged. "Don't worry, mate, I understand. I know you'd rather still be stuck with the Dursley's than have gotten possession of this place like you did."

"Too true there."

Ron clapped Harry on the shoulder as he walked passed to the doorway. "I probably didn't mention this earlier and all, but you and Hermione... you seem good together."

Harry smiled and then turned. "Thanks mate. You and Luna... you're good too."

"Glad to hear it." Ron stepped to the side as the brown kneazle Willow pranced into the room, half pushing one of his legs out of the way so she could get in. She stopped partway in and looked up to Harry.

*Should I come back later?* she purred to Harry, looking over to Ron. *I'm not interrupting am I?*

*Don't worry about it,* Harry promised. *Ron was just leaving.* "Weren't you, Ron?"

"Wasn't I what?" he asked, looking away from Willow and back to Harry. "Harry, that kneazle talk is crazy you know. I think I prefer it when you talk to snakes. That I can wrap my mind around..."

"Sorry," Harry said instantly, not having realised he had slipped into the other language so easily. It would take great concentration, he was sure. "I told Willow you were just leaving. Right?"

The kneazle mewed back (*Right.*) and Ron nodded. "I was, don't worry, you furry little creature. You know, I think I like her a lot more than Crookshanks. She hasn't tried to take a swipe at me for not doing my homework yet..." No sooner had he spoken than Hermione mewed again and slashed at his ankle lightly with a set of claws. "Alright, alright..." he said with a laugh. "I get the point. Kneazles like it when people do their homework." He looked back to Harry and laughed again. "Looks like you'll be doubly motivated to do your schoolwork now, what with this furball and Hermione after you."

"I guess so," Harry said, carefully looked down at Willow and not at Ron. "Night, Ron."

"Yeah. Night." Ron shut the door quietly, and Harry waved a hand towards it to lock it with a couple of charms that Remus had taught him.

As soon as he had finished, Hermione leapt up onto the bed as she transformed back into her human form. Harry swallowed hard and tried to will himself not to stare at her, but it wasn't working very well. She was wearing a light blue camisole on her top, and her bottoms were silk pajama pants. The way they were clinging to her made it very obvious that she didn't have any panties on underneath.

She caught his smile and smiled back. "I thought we could sleep in our pajamas tonight..." she whispered to him. "I'm sorry I'm so tired, though. I promised you in the library that we could continue what we started there now."

"Don't worry," Harry said at once. "You look amazing, by the way."

Hermione frowned and looked down at herself. "It's just my pajamas, Harry."

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he nodded. "Fine. Could you turn around for a minute, `Mione. I'll change too, and then we can go to bed." Once she had turned, he shed his robes quickly and changed into a new pair of boxers before walking over and sitting on the bed next to her. When she looked back, it was her turn to stare. "These are my pajamas," he whispered.

"Wow..." she replied, reaching out and tracing a line down his front with a single finger.

"Wow yourself," he whispered in return, running his own finger down her bare arm and back up again, nestling into her neck in the end.

"Could you hold me like you always do?" Hermione asked as he crawled onto the bed beside her. "Like we always sleep?"

"My pleasure," he whispered so softly he couldn't even hear his own voice. He was sure she had heard him, though. Lying on his back, he pulled her into his arms, and she rested her head again his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, enjoying the feel of the soft fabric on his chest as he rubbed her back gently. "Like this?"

*Purrfect,* came the quiet response. *Harry?*

*Yeah, `Mione?*

*We're going to have to be careful with the kneazle talk tomorrow.*

* I know.*

*I love you, Harry.*

Harry smiled and held her a little closer as he closed his eyes and listened to the sound of her steadying breath. *I know.*

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I was intending on adding more at the end here, but with my screen flashing so often, I just can't type anymore right now. So it will be added at the beginning of the next chapter. In other words, the posting at fanfiction dot net and portkey dot org are still the same until the next update.

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Until the sun sets upon a broken world...

The Shadows

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