Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Family Means More Than Blood	By : WingsofaDream Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 59826 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 7
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and its associated characters are property of J K Rowling, not me. This story is not being written for profit, just for the lols.

Chapter List
- 39
- 40
- 41
Harry felt depressed. Not terribly depressed, it was nothing debilitating, but he definitely was unhappy.

As if having to pay Fate for allowing him his family and closest friends after the revelation of who his biological parents are, he had lost several other people instead, the most noticeable being Violet and Professor Lupin. Violet all but ignored him now. They never spoke and she would never look him in the eye. He sometimes caught her staring at him out of the corner of her eye across the Gryffindor common room or down the length of the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, but whenever she became aware that he knew what she was doing, she would instantly look away. And Professor Lupin had become more of a teacher than anything else again. They had no friendship outside of the classroom anymore. Although the man was never harsh or unkind to him, there was a definite sense that he felt awkward around Harry now and did not quite know how to treat him. It was understandable but that did not mean Harry had to like it.

The acute guilt he felt over Hermione losing Johnathan and Ron as friends because she kept his secret was not helping to perk up his spirits either. She never complained about it or showed that it affected her, but sometimes, when she thought no one was looking, she could look incredibly sad, sending longing looks in the direction her old friends were in. Harry could not help but feel responsible for it. If he had never involved her, it would never have effected to her and she would still have her friends.

But there was a way to start setting things right and it had made itself known and plausible that very morning. Upon getting ready to go down to breakfast, an owl had tapped on the window in his dorm room. It had carried a note from none other than Johnathan Potter saying that he thought they should meet and talk and try to make peace with each other. At the end, it contained instructions to meet him in the Shrieking Shack at seven o'clock that evening and then directions of how to get there via a secret passage at the base of the Whomping Willow.

Harry had immediately done the smart thing and doubted the note's authenticity. The sudden change in attitude and maturity the note indicated that Potter had undergone was more then a little suspicious so, just to make sure, he had cast a few spells to check whether it was fake or anything like that. However, it all came back pointing towards the explanation that the note was genuine and so Harry was forced to believe that the note, the request and the sentiment behind it were all real. That had then left him with a decision to make; should he go? It did not take him long to decide he would. Things needed to be sorted out. Feelings had to be aired. Truces had to be formed.

And so there he was; belly full of dinner and sneaking out across the Quidditch pitch with Hermione in tow. Naturally, upon hearing that Potter was in the mood to talk, Harry had immediately sought out the girl and asked if she wanted to come in order to try and sort things out with the other boy too. She had taken some persuading, particularly when she found out that the note had said nothing about bringing her along, but she had eventually given in and agreed to tag along in order to try and work out her own problems with Potter.

They made their way across the slightly darkening grounds of Hogwarts silently, not willing to risk any noise in case they alerted someone of their movement. It was only when they were a fair distance away from the castle that Hermione broke the silence. "Oh look, there's Buckbeak!" She whispered happily, pointing to the distance where Hagrid's shack looked like nothing more than a doll's house. Outside, among the orange of the pumpkin patch, was the greyish form of the hippogryph. "Of all the hippogryphs that Hagrid brought to show us, he's my favourite."

"He is a lovely creature." Harry agreed, allowing them a moment to admire the sight of the relaxing Buckbeak. "I got to ride him you know."

"You didn't?!"

Harry nodded. "Hagrid asked for a volunteer to ride him and since no one else offered their services, I sacrificed myself so to speak. It was one of those terrifying-in-a-good-way kind of moments. The look on Draco's face when I landed; he really looked like he might faint at any moment. Refused to leave my side for too long the rest of the day."

He turned and began to walk in the direction of the distant Whomping Willow then and Hermione quickly followed him, looking awkwardly down at her feet. "If you don't mind me saying, isn't that a little extreme of him? I mean, maybe if you were hurt of something..."

"It was during the days of a full moon." Harry told her quietly, all the while wondering at the back of his mind whether he should be talking to Hermione about this. "I think...I think Draco's a Luna Veela."

"Really? Then, you're his mate?"

"I might be I suppose."

"But Draco hasn't turned sixteen yet, has he?"

The older boy shook his head at her question.

"Why is he acting like that during the full moon? He hasn't reached his Inheritance yet."

"He's been acting like it for a couple of years now. I'm starting to think it has more to do with the beginning of puberty rather than starting when they reach sixteen."

"A couple of years? So each full moon..."

"He gets more than a little weird, yeah. I've been doing some research on it this year and also considering Aunt Narcissa was a Luna Veela, I think it's a pretty likely explanation."

"I see." Hermione murmured before a pause took them over as they drew nearer to the Whomping Willow. "Has he, um...I mean, have you been, uhh..." She asked nervously, obviously not knowing quite how to phrase the question.

"He's Marked me but we haven't Bonded yet." Harry answered the question he knew she was trying to ask. "I don't think he quite understands what's going on with himself so I don't think he knows what he's supposed to be doing."

"Marked you? Like you're his property?" The younger girl cried indignantly, clearly out-raged by the idea.

"Sort of. It's not a visible mark or anything, more of a scent mark. In the times where there were more Veela about, being Marked was a way to declare intent to other Veela and to protect the Mate from them. Nowadays, it's just about instinct. Veela have become more humane and the Marking is just a step that the deep-seated instincts drive them to do before the Bonding." Harry explained as he fished out in his robes for his wand in preparation of dealing with the moving tree ahead of them.

"Oh. So how did he Mark you then?"

Harry's face turned bright red at that and he became even more determined to find his wand. "I, uh, I think that might be something you'll want to research out on your own rather to hear it from me." He told her quickly, finally finding his wand and pulling it out of the pocket it had been hiding in. "Imobulus." He called and the branches of the Whomping Willow instantly stilled. "Right then, we need a hole...Can you see a hole anywhere?"

"What kind of a hole?" Hermione asked as she stepped forwards, closer to the tree in order to have a look around as well.

"Erm, the note described it as like a big rabbit burrow, big enough for a person to get through."

"Where abouts is it supposed to be?"

"Dunno, wasn't specific." Harry side as he began to wander around the trunk of the tree, searching around the back of it.

Hermione wandered around aimlessly for a few seconds, looking everywhere as she did. When she noticed something which could have definitely been a large rabbit hole, she jogged over to it and got onto her knees in order to peer into the darkness inside. "Harry, I think I've found it." She called to her friend, rising up on her knees and turning her head so she was not shouting into the hole.

Harry walked back around the trunk and came to join Hermione by the large hole created from a raised root of the Whomping Willow covered in a ceiling of soil and grass. "Good one, Hermione." He praised before moving past her and peering inside himself. "Let me go in first, just to make sure it's all perfectly safe." He reasoned before sitting down and shuffling forwards, easing himself into the hole carefully. When he discovered there was a good six foot drop straight down right after the hole he was glad he took it slowly. He lowered himself carefully, not letting go of the edge of the hole until he was stretched out as much as possible. After touching down with a soft thud, he wiped his slightly dirty hands off on the sides of his trousers before turning around. "Okay Hermione, come down, I'll catch you."

The sounds of shifting came from outside, out of sight, and Harry waited patiently, with his arms outstretched in preparation for a slow, controlled lowering of the Gryffindor girl. Unfortunately, as Hermione began to lower herself in, she either slipped or some earth gave way because, with a squeal, she suddenly came tumbling down through the hole. Harry moved forward quickly in order to try and catch her, but instead only managed to cushion her fall as he fell backwards and she landed on top of him heavily causing him to grunt sharply in pain.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Hermione apologised to him quickly, heaving herself off of him as quickly as she could in the small space they were now in.

"Don't worry about it." Harry reassured her in a slightly strained voice as he pushed himself up onto his feet. He pulled his wand back out from where he had put it away before and held it out in front of himself. "Lumos." He said softly and the familiar silver glow lit up the tip of his wand. Seeing that, Hermione pulled out her own wand and cast the same spell, light from her wand joining Harry's. They both shared a small smile before they set off down the length of the seemingly endless tunnel ahead of themselves, Hermione sticking closer to the older boy.

For what seemed like an eternity they walked through the gloom, their footsteps sounding soft and grainy on the soil which covered the ground they were walking. Eventually, they came to the end of the tunnel and for several minutes, wondered where they were supposed to go next as there was no immediately obvious way out. They were soon alerted by the sound of creaking and groaning and Hermione quickly noticed the square-shaped hole above their heads, its edges lined with wood. After looking up at it and judging roughly how high above them it was, Harry turned back to Hermione and handed her his wand. Then, with an impressive jump and show of strength, he managed to grab hold of the edge of the hole above and pull himself up and out of it. He popped up by a rickety old staircase and rested for a moment in the dust-covered wooden floor. Once he felt able, he moved onto his knees and reached down into the hole to help Hermione out. When he felt her take his hand and stop adjusting her grip, he gave one big heave and managed to lift her high enough for her to grab hold on the edge herself. With that done, it was easier to get her out as they were both taking an active part in it.

"Alright?" Harry checked quickly once she was out completely, getting to his feet and brushing off the copious amount of dust which had clung to his trousers.

"Yeah, fine." Hermione answered, though she did sound a little out of breath.

"Good. We've gotta go upstairs, to a room with a double bed on the left and a stack of old crates on the right when we enter." Harry explained as he helped her onto her feet and then began to lead the way over and up the stairs.

"This doesn't seem right." Hermione mumbled as they carefully walked up the stairs which could be in no way described as safe.

"What do you mean?"

"John obviously knew about this place before he told you to come here but then why hasn't he told Ron or myself about it before? And he's never left our company for long enough to come here on his own. And that second hole we had to come up through; how could John manage that on his own? You only just managed to grab hold of the edge and pull yourself up. John's about my height and I couldn't have got up if I had been on my own."

"So what are you saying exactly?"

"I don't know, it all just seems a little odd." Hermione answered as they reached the top of the stairs and came to a small landing with a door in front of them, one to their left and one to their right. Harry peered into each one, starting with the right one before finally finding the room they wanted behind the left hand door. They both entered to find it empty of people and completely still. "Are you sure the note was written in John's handwriting?"

"I checked it for spells and there was nothing." Harry assured as they moved further into the room, him looking around himself curiously.

"And it looked like his handwriting?"

"I guess."

"You guess?"

"Well I've hardly spent a lot of time around him, I don't know what his handwriting looks like."

"You don't know what his handwriting looks like? Harry, that note could've been written by anybody then!"

"Why would anyone else want to write it though? To lure us here? Like this is all some sort of trap?" Harry asked, naturally thinking he was joking.

"Exactly." A horribly familiar voice sneered just before the door slammed shut behind them suddenly.

The two Gryffindor teens spun around instantly and Harry's face creased in a glare when he saw who it was through a jagged hole in the door. "Pettigrew!"

"Hello Harry." The fat, rat man sneered through the hole. It was quite amazing that spending so many years in Azkaban he could still easily be called chubby.

Inside, Harry cursed himself for taking the event with Elincia, when she had killed a rat all those months ago, for granted. Since nothing had happened since then, he simply assumed that the rat had been Pettigrew and so had let his guard down. He never would have accepted a note, even if it was apparently signed by his brother, had he known that Pettigrew was still running around.

"You wrote the note." Hermione accused.

"Very clever." He praised mockingly. "Too bad that's been countered by your completely stupid move of coming here when you weren't invited because now, you have to die too."

"No one's dying tonight." Harry corrected, stepping in front of Hermione to shield her and holding his wand up more to threaten and frighten the cowardly man than actually intending to defend them with it.

"That's true, if the company you have in there manages to control himself." The ratty man smirked before he turned and disappeared from sight.

"Hey, wait!" Harry cried, running forward and looking out of the hole to see Pettigrew retreating down the stairs.

"Oh, I almost forgot; do say hello to Remus for me." Pettigrew sneered, turning to look back over his shoulder before running off down the stairs, making horrible creaking thuds with each step which really should've shattered the wooden steps.

Harry leaned forward to watch through the gap as the fat man waddle off before pulling back and grabbing the door handle. "Ugh, it's locked!" He growled angrily after shaking it several times. "He must've used a locking charm. Damn it! Why I didn't I have a dream or a vision warning me about all of this? I've always had warnings before anything's actually happened, why not this time?"

"Did he tell us to say hello to Professor Lupin for him?" Hermione checked nervously.

"He used to be one of his friends along with Black and Potter." Harry grunted as he uselessly shook the door again, totally unaware of the fact that Hermione had inched herself closer to him and was looking around them fearfully, as though searching for something she fully expected to see but desperately did not want to. "Oh my Goddess, how can such a rickety, run-down door be locked so well? I wonder if I can manage to break whatever spell it was he used." He mumbled mostly to himself as he fished around inside his robes for his wand. However, when a very loud, very definite howl of pain came from the back of the room, Harry paused. "What was that?"

"Oh no...Professor Lupin's in here with us." Hermione breathed, taking a step or two back and grabbing for the older boy's arm.

Another pained howl came as the stack of old, dusty, wooden crates jerked slightly, creating a creepy scraping sound and sending up a cloud of dust made visible by the moon light which was shining in through the window to their left. "What do you mean Professor Lupin's in here with us?" Harry questioned slightly desperately, swinging around to stare over at the crates with wide eyes.

"He's a werewolf, that's why he's been missing classes." She revealed, not taking her eyes off of the stack of crates which was obviously hiding the transforming werewolf from their view.

"How in Merlin's name did you find that out?" Harry gasped in horror as another howl came and he caught a quick glimpse of something grey move through a gap in the crates.

"Soon after Professor Snape set the essays; they put the idea in my head."

Just then, the creature behind the crates gave one, almighty howl before the crates were swept away with one massive swipe of its clawed paw. Harry quickly pulled Hermione behind him to shield her from any splinters of wood that might sail their way as the crates hit the floor and shattered with a loud crash. After wincing at the sound, the two Gryffindors looked up to see there was, indeed, a massive, fully grown werewolf standing on the other side of the room to them, no more than ten feet away from them.

For several seconds, none of them moved, all of them just staring at what was opposite to them. Then, suddenly, Harry seemed to snap out of some kind of trance. He swung around, wand in hand, and pointed it at the lock of the door. "Alohomora!" He hissed quickly. He tried to open the door but found it was still locked. "Alohomora!" He tried again, shaking his wand at the lock several times.

"Harry, wait." Hermione instructed before moving forwards a few steps.

"Hermione, what do you think you are doing!"

She ignored him and kept her eyes on the werewolf who was still watching her, not really appearing to be of any particular threat at that moment. "Professor?" She said carefully, pausing as if to wait for an answer. "Professor Lupin?"

The silence and anticipation hung heavily in the air as the two teenagers waited to see what was going to happen. They both knew that if Lupin had taken his Wolfsbane potion then they would be relatively safe, safe enough in order to escape easily anyway. However, when the werewolf suddenly released a long, drawn out howl which ended in a rather nasty snarl, it did not take either of them long to realise that there was no humanity left in the creature at that moment.

"That's it, forget spells." Harry cried as he lurched forward and grabbed Hermione's arm. "Close your eyes." He instructed before running a few steps and then charging at the old, worn door which had them trapped with the werewolf. The wood gave way easily and Harry went crashing through in a burst of splintered wood, Hermione being dragged through after him with a startled cry. No time was wasted in the recovery after that and as soon as the dark haired boy's feet had touched down on the floor the other side of the door, he was dashing off, the younger girl being dragged after him.

The stairs were leapt down hazardously, no less then two stairs being jumped at a time, the last five steps completely skipped. The sound of the werewolf followed them the whole way, getting gradually closer which only made the two Gryffindors all the more determined to get away. Upon reaching the trap door they entered from, Harry jumped down there without hesitation, pulling Hermione down with him. They landed rather roughly but thankfully got away with nothing more than some bruising bumps.

"You all right?" Harry checked breathlessly as he scrambled to his feet and held out a hand to help Hermione up.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She reassured, taking his hand and allowing herself to be pulled up.

"Good." Harry said simply before he was charging off again, dragging her along with him. "When we get to the way out, you're going first." He told her as they dashed down the dark passageway, only too aware of the sound of the werewolf joining them in the enclosed space.

"But Harry..."

"No time to argue." He interrupted her as they reached the end of the passageway which was illuminated by the light of the full moon which was shining in through the hole they had originally entered through. "Up you go." With no further warning, he grabbed her around the waist and picked her up.

Hermione knew when she was beat and reluctantly began to climb out through the hole. Harry helped her as much as possible, lifting her up until she was able to grab onto the edge of the hole and then lacing his fingers together in order to give her a firm footing to push herself up. It was as she was halfway through climbing up that Harry noticed that the werewolf was now close enough to them that he was able to its yellow eyes shining through the dark again. Finally, Hermione's lower body rose out of the passageway and disappeared over the top. Harry wasted no time in jumping and trying to grab hold of the edge, only he fell short on the first attempt.

"Harry, stun him!" Hermione advised quickly, looking back down the hole and seeing the current situation.

"I can't." Harry told her, taking another jump. "You're able to fight so I'm not allowed to."

"But I've never tried to actually perform..."

"It doesn't matter, we don't need to." He insisted as he finally managed to grab hold of the edge of the hole. "Help pull me up, quickly."

Hermione did as she was told and grabbed one of Harry's hands. As she pulled on him as hard as possible, he lifted himself with his other hand at the same time as kicking off from the wall he was against. Neither of them no longer had any idea just how close the werewolf was to Harry but having it anywhere near them was too close for comfort. Harry came flying out the hole abruptly, sending Hermione tumbling backwards and him skidding forward for another foot or so outside. Once again, they took no time at all in getting back onto their feet and dashing off again, the Whomping Willow still frozen thankfully.

Once they had left the willow tree behind them, Harry skidded to a stop and grabbed Hermione's arm to hold her back. "Get back to the castle as fast as you can and tell someone what's happened." He managed to pant out, his chest and shoulders heaving with his deep breaths.

"What about you?"

"I'll lead Professor Lupin away from the school. We can't put the other students in danger and being on my own means that I'll be able to defend myself without breaking my vow of pacifism."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, completely." Harry hurried, turning her around in the direction of the school and giving her a small push forwards. "Now hurry." And with that, he turned away from her and faced where the werewolf was now charging towards them.

Hermione hesitated a moment before deciding that Harry probably did know what he was doing and then dashed off towards the castle at top speed. Unfortunately, her sudden movement attracted the attention of the werewolf and it changed its course slightly to chase after her.

Harry frowned in annoyance at that and glanced around himself, quickly spotting a rock. He dipped down and scooped it up before chucking it at the creature, hitting it on its head in what was more likely a fluke than actual skill. "Oi, over here!"

The werewolf, effectively distracted, turned towards Harry and began to charge after him. Harry, too, turned and began to run away, heading into the Forbidden Forest in hope of being able to lose the creature in the trees. Unfortunately, what with all the running and stress he had already endured, he found his legs tiring terribly. Plus his lungs and muscles were burning from the lack of oxygen getting around his system. He would have to rest for at least a moment if he was going to keep on avoiding a confrontation with the creature until help came; just because he was now allowed to attack, did not mean he wanted to.

Finding a large-trunked tree which would be more than enough to cover him for a few minutes, Harry slowed to a stop. He leaned heavily against the tree and panted deeply, leaning over and clutching his aching chest. There was no sound around him which could have either been a good thing or a bad thing. Eventually, he straightened up again and, pressed against the trunk as much as possible, he peered around in an attempt to see if the werewolf was anywhere close by. When he saw nothing when looking to his left, he moved around the trunk to look to his right only to find nothing there as well. He instantly relaxed, his shoulders slumping forward and his head bowing, upon seeing that there was nothing on either side; he was safe...

Until a low growling came from in front of him. Harry's head shot back up and he was horrified to see that he had not lost the werewolf and, in fact, the monster had moved around in order to surprise him. For a long few moments, they stared at each other before the werewolf gave a howl and began to run towards him.

Harry cringed lightly and pulled out his wand and pointed it at the creature. "Sorry, Professor Lupin." He whispered as he steadied his hand. "Expelliarmus." He cried. The spell shot out from the tip of his wand and hurled itself towards the werewolf. Upon hitting it, it sent the creature flying backwards until it collided with a large tree. There was a rather loud thump as the creature hit the trunk, its head richochetting off of the wood violently, and then it slumped to the ground limply. Harry's first instinct was to rush to the werewolf's side and make sure it was not too badly injured, but he stopped himself, instead relishing the fact he no longer had to fight anything.

Slowly, he turned away from the unconscious form of the werewolf, intending on heading back the way he came. However, when a flash of green light suddenly appeared in the corner of his eye, he sped up in a second, diving out of the way of the Killing curse he had no doubt was speeding towards him. The light sailed past him and the large tree, carrying on to disappear in the trees ahead. Harry spun around to look in the direction the spell had come from and saw Peter Pettigrew standing several feet ahead of him, his stolen wand still pointing right at him. The teenager quickly lifted his own wand to the fat man and called out, "Expelliarmus" just as his opponent launched another Killing curse at him. The two spells met half way between them and fought against each other for a second before Harry's spell won. It shattered through the green light, making it fade away into nothing, and then carried on to hit Pettigrew in the chest, sending him toppling backwards and, strangely, disappearing from view instead of landing on ground. Harry took off after him, knowing that he could not let the man get away.

Reaching the place Pettigrew had last been standing, Harry saw that the ground stopped rather abruptly, a steep slope leading down to the area of wet ground below, a large mass of murky water taking up most of the space. His gaze instantly fell onto the form of the traitorous Gryffindor who was scrambling for his wand.

"Accio wand." Harry called, pointing to the wand. It sailed right over to him and he caught it in his left hand easily as he slid down the dusty, stony slope, small clouds of dirt flying up around his feet. "What in Merlin's name do you think you're doing!" He demanded of the man ahead of him as he slowed to a stop and started walking towards him. "You know Voldemort doesn't want me dead! Of all the Death Eaters who might know, you're the one who would definitely know; you were there for crying out loud! You were there when he marked me!"

"The Dark Lord may not have wanted to kill you when he was alive but he's dead now, isn't he? Dead because you killed him!" Pettigrew told him, sounding angry as well and, curiously, slightly upset.

"I did not kill Voldemort, he killed himself."

"But only because of you, because you just had to save your bastard of a godfather! Mark my word boy," the man said in a threatening tone, jabbing a stumpy finger in the teenager's direction. "I will avenge my master's death and then I will raise the Death Eaters again and continue on the Dark Lord's noble work!"

"You? Round up the Death Eaters again? I'd certainly like to see you try. What makes you think anyone's going to listen to a useless, fat lump like you?"

"I'm sure once the news spreads that I'm the one who killed the adored Boy-Who-Lived, people will start to recognise my skill and power for what it is."

"And how exactly are you planning on killing me without a wand?" Harry challenged him, waving the stolen wand for a moment before slinging it to his side. It landed in the murky water with a plop and that was the last that would ever be seen of it.

"You seem to be forgetting that you still have a wand."

A tense moment of silence passed then, Harry watching the podgy man warily, unsure of what was about to happen next. However, out of all the various possibilities that could have occurred, Pettigrew running up to him with an amazing amount of speed for such a short, fat man was not one of them and so caught him completely off guard. It was not hard for the disgusting man to tackle the teenager to the ground and then start to try and wrestle the boy's wand out of his grip.

For a few minutes they struggled together uselessly until the moment that Harry began to tire from having to fight with such a heavy person. As the teenager weakened, Pettigrew managed to snatch the wand out of Harry's hand before he scrambled off of the boy. Harry immediately got to his feet once the massive weight was off him and he quickly pulled off his pendant, wordlessly releasing his staff which grew in his hand with its shining light. Seconds later, he was in a suitable defensive stance, facing Pettigrew who was pointing his newly stolen wand directly at Harry. They were at a stale-mate. If either attacked first, the other could easily counter the attack before the spell even reached them. They could both die and neither wanted that: Harry did not want to be a murderer and Pettigrew was too much of a coward to sacrifice himself for "the greater good".

Then, simultaneously, they both felt the sudden chill that seemed to creep up from nowhere. Out of the corner of their eyes they saw the shallow edges of the mass of water to their side ice over rapidly and their breath soon became visible as the ghostly puffs of mist from their mouths. Neither needed to look to know that Dementors were coming. Instead, they stared at each other straight in the eyes, daring the other to take the risk of making the first move.

Pettigrew made his move before Harry could even properly comprehend it. In the blink of an eye, the man had pointed the wand at himself and slowly shrank into the form of a rat. Harry cried out in alarm when he realised what Pettigrew was planning and he quickly ran after him, giving chase as the rat scuttled away. All too soon, the fat rat had disappeared underneath a dark bush and Harry slowed to a stop, glaring at the bush in frustration and blaming it for allowing the Azkaban escapee to run away from him so effectively. That moment could last only a moment though before Harry remembered why it was so cold at that moment and he hurried forwards, over to his wand. Reaching it, he picked it up quickly and then shrunk his staff back into its smaller form in order to save energy. He was going to need to cast the Patronus charm and he did not need any extra drain on his magic.

The Dementors seemed to appear above him as quick as a flash. One moment he was alone and the next there was a whole swarm of Dementors above him. There could easily be twenty of them, maybe a few more than that and they took it in turns, a few at a time, to swoop down on where Harry was. It was because of the constant attacks that Harry was concentrating more on dodging and avoiding the monsters rather than attempting to cast the Patronus charm; he did not have the time or the concentration. He was doing quite well, avoiding any confrontations with the Dementors but, by an act of Fate or simple human clumsiness, Harry tripped over his own feet as he dodged a swooping Dementor. Seconds later, he was surrounded. The Dementors took advantage of the moment of weakness and dove at him. Instantly, Harry felt the horrible pull and a terrible sense of complete aloneness swept through him. Tears filled his eyes and a small gasp of pain escaped him as a Dementor swept past.

He was so cold and alone, so terribly alone, and he knew that no one cared, they would be right there with him if they did. He was abandoned, he was forgotten, no one wanted him. Everyone had left and it was all his fault. There was something wrong with him, there had to be. The Potters had left him at the very beginning of his life and now everyone else had left him because he had lied to them all. Hermione, Fred and George, Lucius, Draco, Severus...

...But wait...No...They had not left him, had they? No, they had not. It had been two months since everything had become common knowledge and no one who really mattered had left him. His family had accepted it, they insisted they still loved him. Fred and George had understood why he had not told them, they had stayed loyal and true. Hermione; she had not blamed him for losing her own friends and she had only left him before to go and get help.

He was not on his own. He was loved. There were people who loved him.

Harry eyes flew open having clenched shut at some point during his mental torture. The Dementors were still swarming around him but it did not hurt as much as it had before and the sense of heart-aching loneliness had almost completely gone. He lay on his side, curled into himself, his wand held loosely in his right hand. He felt weak, extremely weak, like every muscle in his body was coated with a layer of lead which was weighing him down. But he felt light inside, he felt the odd sense of confidence which could only come with the full, sure knowledge that he had support, he was loved, he was not alone.

With a huge heave of effort, Harry rolled himself onto his back and lifted his right hand, pointing his wand straight above himself. "Expecto Patronum!" He called and pushed all the warm, happy feelings he could muster into the spell. Bright, silver light shot out from his wand immediately, shining up and outwards, repelling the Dementors who came close to it, sending them flying away like scared flies. Eventually, as the Dementors continued to be sent away by the spell, the light formed the shape of a giant bat with its wings spread wide on either side of its body. Harry could not help but think of his father at the sight.

Minutes later, the Dementors were gone and Harry was alone. Gradually, his Patronus faded from sight, the silver dissipating into nothingness. Slowly, Harry brought his right arm down, bringing it to rest by his side. He was in awe. He had never managed to cast a Patronus that bright or large before. The most he had ever managed was a concave shaped light which was about as big as himself. This was the first time it had taken a shape and it filled him with a sense of pride that he had managed it. But he was drained and wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and drift off to sleep, paying no mind to the fact this was in no way a safe place to have a nap.

However, when running footsteps reached his ears, the danger all around him became all too apparent. With a wince of effort and strain, Harry pushed himself up into a sitting position before moving onto his knees and pushing himself up the rest of the way. If there was something that wanted him to be their midnight snack, they were going to have to put up a fight because he was not going to take anything laying down. He stood facing the direction he was pretty sure the noises were coming from and stood ready to greet an attacker, his wand pointed, ready. Luckily, it turned out to be unnecessary as it was Hermione who came dashing through the bushes.

"I've found him!" She called behind her before running out into the clearing with him. Upon reaching him, she threw herself into his arms, wrapping her own around him tightly. "I'm so glad you're all right! I was so worried. You are all right yeah? No cuts, or bumps or scraps?"

"I'm exhausted but otherwise fine." He assured her with a smile, giving her a small squeeze in return for her embrace.

"Was that your Patronus we saw?"

Harry nodded.

"It was so big and bright, something I would've thought only a mature wizard, someone of Dumbledore's power, could've managed to do that."

Harry could only shrug slightly. "What can I say? I guess I've got some very happy memories."

"Well come on." She instructed him abruptly after smiling at his reason. "Your dad's around here somewhere as well as your godfather, he was visiting when I ran into your dad. They're really worried about you, seems Professor Snape is the one who brews Professor Lupin's Wolfsbane potion but this month he..."

Hermione continued to fill Harry in on the extra details she had discovered as she ducked under Harry's arm to help support some of his weight and they headed off to find the two men who were most likely already heading their way.
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Family Means More Than Blood