Arcane Academy

Chapter 11

Harry stood in the shower, just letting the hot water rain down on him. Five days had passed since Octavius had requested to join him for the holidays, and he still wasn't quite sure what answer he planned to give the shadow demon. Tristan barely spoke to him anymore, and that hurt him more than anything. He'd honestly thought that Tristan was fist and foremost his friend. Apparently not. And if Tristan thought giving him the silent treatment would make him automatically turn Octavius down, he'd best think again. Harry absolutely refused to allow himself to be manipulated like that.

Harry sighed and reached for the shampoo, cursing softly when the bottle slipped through his slick fingers and fell on his foot. He knelt down to pick up the bottle when a flash of black caught his eye. He looked closer and saw a small black mark on the back of his left foot in the shape of a raven. And then to his surprise, the raven moved, shooting up the back of his leg and out of sight. Harry growled angrily and hurriedly finished his shower. There was only one person who'd had the opportunity to get close enough to mark him like that, and that person was Octavius Winters.

Pulling on his clothes with angry, jerky motions, Harry stormed out of his room once he was dressed. He had a shadow demon to find. How dare that bastard mark him without his consent? He was not some little pet to be branded like this.

When Harry finally reached the Entrance Hall, he saw Claudius heading toward the stairs and pounced on the illusion demon. Almost slamming the other teen against the wall, he growled, "Where is Octavius?"

Claudius yelped in surprise as his back hit the wall. He saw the raw fury in Harry's eyes and hurriedly said, "He's in the dining hall." He sighed in relief when Harry immediately released him and turned to leave. However, he just couldn't contain his curiosity anymore. "So what did he do to piss you off so badly?"

Harry just ignored the question and stormed into the dining hall. Claudius refused to miss any of the drama, though, and followed on his heels like an eager little puppy. Harry saw Octavius immediately and stalked over to the shadow demon. Octavius saw him coming and started to stand only to fly backward, hitting the floor hard when Harry punched him in the jaw.

"You bloody bastard," hissed Harry angrily. "Remove it!"

"Remove what?" asked Octavius, probing his jaw gently. Damn, for such a little guy, Harry had a mean right hook.

"Are you seriously going to try to lie to me?" asked Harry incredulously. He glared down at Octavius. "Remove that bloody brand you put on me. And don't even try to deny doing it. You're the only one who has had even the slightest opportunity to do so. I want it gone now."

Octavius scowled and flicked his fingers, pulling the shadow from Harry's body. The shadowy raven flapped its wings once and melded in with the rest of the shadows in the room. "There, it's gone."

Harry leaned down and grabbed the front Octavius' shirt, pulling the demon toward him until their noses were almost touching. "And to think I was almost foolish enough to give you a chance." With a cold glare, Harry shoved Octavius away from him and stepped away from the demon. "If you haven't figured it out already, the answer is no. Find some other poor sod to manipulate." Harry then stalked out of the room, leaving a stunned Octavius in the floor to deal with the stares and whispers.

"Well, brother, you certainly fucked up," said Claudius bluntly. "What will you do now?"

Octavius climbed to his feet with a dark scowl toward his brother. Brushing the dirt off his trousers, he said, “I intend to change his mind, of course.” With that said, he calmly walked into the shadows, searching the darkness for the enraged kit. He found the brunet on the sixth floor dorm corridor and hurried to cut off his prey’s escape. That damn Dracken had somehow managed to ward Harry’s room, so that he couldn’t enter even with his marking on the boy.

Stepping out of the shadows directly in front of Harry, Octavius was immediately rocked back by another punch to the face. “Damn it, will you stop hitting me?”

“Will you stop stalking me?” asked Harry irritably. “I gave you an answer, now leave me alone.”

“I’m sorry, alright,” said Octavius with an exasperated sigh. “I only did it because I didn’t think you would really give me a chance. I figured Hayward, at least, would do his best to convince you that I was evil incarnate or something.”

“That was not the way to go about convincing me otherwise,” snapped Harry.

“I’m sorry,” Octavius repeated softly. “That’s not the only reason I did it, though.” At Harry’s darkening expression, he hastened to explain. “I put it there so that I would be able to find you immediately if something were to happen no matter where you were.”

Harry sighed softly. He didn’t like what Octavius had done, and he certainly didn’t like how the demon had gone about doing so, but he could see that the demon was sincere in his apology. “Fine, I accept your apology.”

“And the courtship?” asked Octavius a bit hesitantly.

“I will allow it,” said Harry. “However, if you do anything to betray the trust I’ve just given you, that little punch to the jaw will seem like a mere tickle.”

Octavius smirked at the threat. “I actually believe you could do it.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Go away. I have homework to finish, and you’re in the way.”

Octavius just grinned and stepped back into the shadows. Harry sighed once more and shook his head. He really hoped he didn’t come to regret his decision about Octavius. Maybe he was too trusting, but there was a little voice inside of him telling him that the shadow demon could eventually be a valuable friend and possible mate given enough time and care.

Tristan was actually in their room when Harry walked in, reading on his bed. Considering the silence from the past few days, Harry ignored the faerie and grabbed his bag, preparing to leave once more. As he headed toward the door, though, Tristan grabbed him by the arm.

"Harry, wait."

Harry pulled his arm free with a scowl, dropping his bag in the process. "Now you want to talk? You've ignored me for the last four days. Why bother now?"

Tristan just scowled back at him. “Oh, don’t act so offended. You did the same damn thing after I told you how I felt. I needed time to think without distractions.”

“Fair enough,” said Harry, leaning back against the door. “What did you want to talk about?”

“First of all, I don’t like Octavius, and I certainly don’t trust the bastard. However, I plan to ask your guardian for permission to court you regardless of whether or not Octavius is accepted as a suitor,” said Tristan seriously.

Harry’s ears perked up, and his tail waved excitedly behind him. “I’m glad. I’ve missed you lately.” He grinned widely at the faerie. “If it makes you feel better, I punched Octavius this morning.”

Tristan gaped at Harry in surprise. “You punched him? For what?” He shook his head and snickered. “Oh, who cares why you did it. I just wish I could have been there to see it.”

“The sneaky bastard marked me without my permission,” said Harry dryly. “Needless to say, when I found the marking, I got a little angry. I pretty much stormed down to the dining hall and punched him in front of everybody.”

“Does that mean you refused his request to court you?” asked Tristan hopefully.

Harry raised a brow at the redhead and shook his head, snorting softly at the look of disappointment that crossed Tristan’s face. “While not exactly satisfactory, his reasons for marking me were somewhat understandable. So I decided to give him one more chance.”

Tristan smirked at Harry. “Then I have nothing to worry about. The bastard’s bound to screw up again soon, leaving the field open for me and Zenith.”

Harry rolled his eyes. Trust Tristan to look at it that way. He pushed away from the door and picked up his bag. “Well, I’m glad we cleared things up, but I have to meet Zenith in the library. I’ll see you at lunch.”

However, before he could actually turn to leave, Tristan trapped him against the door, arms braced on either side of his head. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“And what would that be?” asked Harry, tilting his head thoughtfully.

Tristan smirked at the brunet. “We made up, but we forgot the kiss.” He leaned down and brushed his lips lightly against Harry’s, nipping teasingly at the brunet’s lips. When Harry’s lips parted in a soft gasp, the redhead swept his tongue past the parted lips, leisurely exploring the moist cavern.

Harry relaxed into the embrace. This kiss was a far cry from the passionate, forceful kiss Octavius had given him, but he had to admit that he enjoyed the light, teasing quality of the kiss just as much as he had the other one.

Tristan finally drew back with a small smile. "Now that's the proper way to make up."

"I'll remember that," said Harry dryly. He slipped out of Tristan's embrace and opened the door. "Well, Zenith's probably wondering where I am by now. I'll see you later, Tristan." Before Tristan could distract him any further, Harry quickly left the room and hurried toward the library. As he expected, Zenith was already there, tapping his fingers on the table with a bored look on his face. "Sorry I'm late. Tristan finally decided to stop being an arse and wanted to talk."

Zenith smiled slightly and shook his head. "It's fine. I was running a little late myself." He flashed a smirk toward Harry. "I must say that this morning's breakfast was the most entertaining I've seen in years."

Harry blushed at that comment. "You saw that?"

Zenith snickered softly. "Harry, most of the school saw that. The great Octavius Winters knocked on his arse by a little sixth year transfer. It's all I've heard today."

Harry groaned and covered his face.

"I'm curious, though," Zenith continued blithely. "What exactly did Octavius do to provoke that kind of reaction?"

"He used his shadows to mark me," sighed Harry.

Zenith growled softly. "I knew I smelled his scent more strongly than I should. That damn bastard, trying to claim you without courting you first." He paused and looked at Harry curiously. "Are you still going to allow him to court you after that?"

"I've allowed him one more chance," said Harry. "He claims that he only marked me because he was afraid you and Tristan would convince me not to allow him to participate in the courtship. Well, that and as a sort of locating device in case I'm in trouble."

"In other words, he was going to use it to find you over the holidays so that he could ask anyway," Zenith concluded.

"Yep," said Harry wryly. "It's kinda cute, though, in a stalkerish kind of way. I'm a little flattered that he would go to such lengths to pursue me. However, if it happens again, he won't get another chance. I'm a person, not a possession, and I expect to be treated as such." He scowled at the mere idea.

"So you and Tristan finally made up," said Zenith, trying to lighten Harry's darkening mood. He was surprised when the brunet blushed, though. "And more, apparently. I'm beginning to feel a little left out here. When do I get my kiss?"

Harry grinned impishly and leaned across the table, kissing Zenith on his forehead. “Better now?” Before he could move back, though, Zenith grabbed the back of his head and pressed their lips together, coaxing Harry’s lips apart with determined sweeps of his tongue. When Harry parted his lips to allow his entrance, Zenith deepened the kiss, pulling a soft moan from the brunet.

Harry just melted into the kiss. His lips tingled with every movement of Zenith’s lips against his. And when Zenith finally broke the kiss for some much needed air, Harry could only stare at the Dracken dazedly.

Zenith smirked at the dazed look on Harry’s face and kissed him gently on the tip of his nose. “Now that was a proper kiss, Harry.”

“I’ll say,” said Harry softly. All Harry could think at that point was that if he got to experience more of those kinds of kisses, he could deal with whole courtship thing.

XxX

Harry practically vibrated with energy as he hurriedly packed his trunk. It was the first day of Christmas holidays, and he was going home today. In fact, the portkey was scheduled to leave in two hours, and he couldn’t wait. He would finally get to see Ron and Hermione again. Of course, they weren’t going to be coming to the cottage for another week because Hogwarts winter break was a little shorter than Arcane Academy’s break, but he was still excited to see them.

Tristan just watched Harry with an amused smile on his face. He was already packed and ready to go, so he was helping Harry with his packing. “You’re going to vibrate right out of your skin if you don’t calm down a bit, Harry.”

“I can’t help it,” said Harry with a small pout. “I haven't seen Ron and Hermione in ages.”

"Well, you'll get to spend three whole weeks catching up," said Tristan wryly. "For now, though, you need to finish packing before we miss our portkey."

Harry checked the time and gasped in surprise. He only had forty-five more minutes to finish. He started just throwing things haphazardly in his trunk, but Tristan gently pushed him out of the way. With a softly muttered spell and flick of his wrist, Harry's clothes folded themselves neatly. Another wave his hand, and Harry's books and the gifts he'd already bought were packed, as well.

"Is there anything else that needs to be packed?" asked Tristan.

Harry grinned and shook his head. "Nope. I definitely need to learn those spells, though." He closed and shrank the trunk, tucking it into his pocket. "Okay, I'm ready whenever you are. Zenith and Octavius are meeting us in the Entrance Hall in..." He checked the time again and cursed softly. "Ten minutes. Let's go." Harry quickly scooped Shadow and Eclipse into his arms and hurried out the door.

Octavius and Zenith were waiting for them when they finally made it to the Entrance Hall, and they only had three minutes until the portkey was scheduled to activate. Harry smiled apologetically and said, “Sorry we’re late. I was having trouble packing this morning.”

Zenith smirked knowingly at the brunet. “You don’t know any household charms do you?”

Harry flushed guiltily. He ignored the question and asked one of his own. “Where’s the portkey? We’ve got one minute left.”

“Right here,” said Zenith, pulling it out of his pocket. He held it out for everyone to touch when someone crashed into him, sending him to the floor and the portkey flying out of his hand.

Tristan lunged for the portkey, trying to catch it, but it disappeared before he could reach it. He saw Harry staring at the space where it had been before the kit turned to the culprit with a growl. However, the growl turned into a snarl when he saw Claudius helping Zenith to his feet.

“Octavius, I’m glad I caught you before you left. Dad sent me a letter and asked me to tell you that he expects you to spend Christmas Day with the family,” said Claudius, oblivious to the furious Kitiara behind him.

“Octavius, I’m going to kill your brother,” hissed Harry dangerously.

Claudius actually yelped in surprise and quickly hid behind his brother. “Why? What did I do?”

“Your clumsiness made us miss our portkey,” snapped Tristan irritably. “And it will take hours to arrange for another.”

“Don’t worry, Harry,” said Zenith reassuringly. “Octavius is a shadow demon, remember. He can transport us through the shadows to anywhere in the world.”

“That’s right,” said Claudius quickly, sighing in relief when Harry visibly relaxed. Jeez, even holding two fox kits, that guy could be downright scary when he was angry.

“Fine, you’ve delivered your message. I’ll even think about obeying his demands. You can go now,” said Octavius coolly.

“Gladly,” muttered Claudius, skirting around Harry warily as he headed toward the stairs.

“What in the world did you do to the poor boy, Harry. He’s terrified of you,” said Zenith, lips quirked in amusement.

Harry just shrugged.

Octavius smirked. “He broke through Claudius’ illusions and tried to set him on fire.”

Tristan winced in sympathy. He knew exactly how that felt.

“Serves him right for attacking Harry in the first place,” said Zenith dispassionately.

“Can we just go?” asked Harry irritably. “Remus is probably worried by now.”

Octavius nodded and stepped up behind Harry, pulling the brunet against his chest. “You two place a hand on each shoulder.” Tristan and Zenith quickly grabbed his shoulders, and Octavius pulled the shadows around them. Once enshrouded in the darkness, Octavius said, “I need to know where we’re going, Harry.”

“If you can get us to the Egypt Gringotts, I can get us the rest of the way,” said Harry softly.

Octavius nodded once more, and a few minutes later, the shadows dispersed, revealing the familiar interior of the bank. To Harry’s surprise, he saw Bill and Remus talking to a goblin just a few metres away. His godfather must have come straight here as soon as the portkey appeared without him.

“Moony!” he cried, running toward the werewolf and jumping into his arms.

“Harry!” cried Remus, hugging his kit tightly. “I thought something bad must have happened when that portkey appeared without you. What happened?”

“Octavius’ stupid brother knocked the portkey out of Zenith’s hands just before it activated,” said Harry grumpily.

“Then how did you get here?” asked Remus curiously.

“Octavius is a shadow demon. He brought us here,” said Harry. “It was so much better than apparating or portkeys.”

Remus looked over at the three teens standing together and raised an eyebrow. “Ah, so that’s Octavius.” He walked over to the teen in question and looked at him appraisingly. The dark haired and eyed teen contrasted greatly with the red-haired, violet-eyed Tristan and the silver-haired, blue-eyed Zenith. “I’m Remus Lupin, Harry’s guardian.”

Octavius bowed formally. “It is an honour to finally meet you.”

Bill walked up to the group and grinned at Harry. “Looking good, Harry.”

Harry looked the redhead up and down and grinned impishly. “I could say the same about you, Bill.”

Bill laughed and draped his arm around Harry’s shoulders. “How about you ditch these guys and run away with me?”

“Tempting, but not tempting enough to deal with a jealous, enraged werewolf,” said Harry dryly.

Bill glanced at Remus and snickered at the unimpressed look on said werewolf’s face. “Perhaps you’re right. Besides, I like my own skin too much to chase after you. Not only would Remy kill me for daring to touch his precious kit, if there was anything left of me, the three behind you would take care of the rest.”

“Damn right,” muttered Remus to accompanying nods from the other three.

Harry snickered. “Come on, you big flirt. Let’s go home. Maybe I can convince Remus to make lasagne for supper. It’s the best lasagne ever.”

Remus smiled and ruffled Harry’s hair. “No convincing required, kit. It’s already in the oven.”

“You’re the best, Moony,” said Harry happily. He set Shadow and Eclipse down of the ground, petting each of them on the head. “You’re excited to be home to, aren’t you?” The kits yipped in agreement. “Then lead the way.” The kits yipped once more and ran toward the bank door. Harry raced after them, as eager as they were to get home. He opened the door, flashed everyone an impish grin, and changed into his fox form, racing out into the desert with his two familiars.

Bill laughed at the brunet’s antics and ushered everyone toward the exit. It was good to see Harry so happy. The last time he’d seen the teen was at the Dursley’s, and he didn’t ever want to see Harry in that condition. Besides, when Harry was in top form like this, he was amusing as hell.

XxX

Harry tried and failed to keep the blush off his face as Remus sternly told Octavius, Tristan, and Zenith that they had better keep their hands to themselves because they would regret touching his kit under his roof. He blushed even more when Zenith calmly explained that they were there to request Remus’ permission to enter into a formal courtship with Harry, so he needn’t worry about Harry’s virginity at this stage.

Remus finally nodded and said, “You have my permission, but if any of you hurt Harry in any way, you will wish for death. My kit has been through too much already.” He then turned and smirked at his blushing charge. “Damn, Harry, you certainly managed to nab the gorgeous ones didn’t you.”

Harry shrugged. “What can I say? I’m adorable.”

He got three nods of agreement from his new suitors.

“So when is everyone else getting here?” asked Harry curiously.

“Saturday morning,” said Remus.

Harry blinked in surprise. That was only three days away. “I thought their break didn’t start until Wednesday.”

“It doesn’t,” said Remus ruefully. “However, Molly can be quite persuasive when she wants to be, and she convinced Dumbledore to allow them to leave Friday night instead.”

“Go Mrs. Weasley,” said Harry with an impressed grin. He glanced back at Zenith and smirked at the Dracken. “You might want to watch out for Charlie. He’s a dragon tamer in Romania, and he’ll be absolutely fascinated about you.” He paused for a moment, staring at them thoughtfully. “Actually, you all should probably watch out for Hermione, too. She’s a total bookworm, and she’ll be asking you questions as soon as she sees you.”

“Actually, she and Ginny will probably take one look at them and start drooling,” said Bill dryly.

Harry snickered softly. “You’re probably right.”

Tristan scowled at Harry. “We’ll just have to tell them that we’re not interested.”

“That won’t work with Ginny,” said Bill. “She’s the type of girl that believes she can change your mind if given enough time. Just ask Harry. She’s been after him for years.”

Octavius scowled at that. “Well, she better keep her hands to herself. We are courting Harry, not her.”

“Okay,” said Remus loudly, trying to prevent an argument of any kind. “Supper’s ready. Wash up and head to the kitchen.”

Harry’s ears perked up, and his tail started waving madly. He darted to the bathroom and quickly washed up, leaving his three friends staring at him in bemusement. Although Harry wasn’t really a picky eater, they had never seen the Kitiara show this much enthusiasm for food, either. They were still standing there when Harry hurried out of the bathroom and headed straight for the kitchen. Remus had made lasagne. Everyone else could just fend for themselves.

XxX

Harry was rudely awakened on Saturday morning when Ron burst into his room with a shouted, “Wake up, mate,” followed swiftly by a whispered, “I’ll come back later. Ginny is so not going to be happy about this.”

Harry blinked at the empty doorway in confusion until he realised that Tristan had climbed into the bed with him sometime during the night and was curled comfortably around him. Before he could disentangle himself from Tristan’s embrace and crawl out of bed, though, Ginny burst into the room. She took one look at Harry and ran from the room.

“Why the hell do they have to be so loud this early in the morning?” grouched Octavius. “Some of us are trying to sleep here.” He sat up and saw Tristan in Harry’s bed and raised an eyebrow. “I claim tonight.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Harry, finally freeing himself and getting out of bed.

Octavius looked pointedly at the sleeping Tristan. Harry followed his gaze and blushed slightly. Octavius smirked. “Tristan got last night, so I’m claiming tonight.”

“We’ll see,” said Harry, rummaging through the wardrobe for some clothes. “Hurry up and get dressed. I want to introduce you to my friends.” He woke up Zenith and Tristan before going to the bathroom to change. When he was done, he grinned at his three suitors. “Are you ready to face the inquisition?”

Zenith grinned good-naturedly and nodded. “I’m ready whenever you are.”

“Let’s just get this over with,” sighed Tristan. And the morning had started out so pleasantly, too, until those two readheads had ruined it.

When they walked into the kitchen, Molly immediately smiled and fussed over Harry. “Oh, just look at you. You’re just so adorable with those furry little ears.” She unceremoniously grabbed Harry by the arm and dragged him to the table, pushing him into an empty seat between Ron and Ginny. She quickly prepared a plate of food and placed it in front of Harry. “Eat up, dear, and introduce us to these handsome gentlemen with you.”

Harry pointed to Tristan. “He is Tristan Hayward, my roommate at Arcane Academy. He’s a weather faerie.”

Tristan scowled at the introduction. “I’m a Tempest Sidhe, Harry.”

Harry ignored that and pointed to Zenith. “He is Zenith Waverly, and he’s a dragon demon. He’s also the only reason I’ve managed to pass my Blood Rites and Arithmancy classes.”

“That’s not true, Harry. You’ve just had to learn a lot of material in a short amount of time,” said Zenith.

Harry smiled at the Dracken and pointed to Octavius. “And he is Octavius Winter. He’s a shadow demon.”

“Damn, Harry, if all the guys at that school look like them, I want to go, too,” said Ginny, staring at the two demons and the faerie with lust-filled eyes. She slid out of her seat and slinked over to Octavius. “I’m Ginny Weasley.”

“I’m not interested,” said Octavius, stepping past her to stand behind Harry’s chair, one hand stroking the brunet’s ears.

Ginny scowled slightly and turned toward Tristan. Tristan, however, had no compunctions about being blunt to the girl. “Not even in your wildest dreams.” He walked over to stand beside Octavius.

Zenith didn’t even give the girl the opportunity to look at him. He simply walked up to Harry and kissed him on the cheek. “Harry, love, perhaps you should inform your friends of the courtship.”

Harry blushed lightly and looked at his friends. “Zenith, Octavius, and Tristan are formally courting me.”

Hermione looked at them with interest. “A formal courtship? I’ve read about those, but there’s not a lot of information about them. What all does a formal courtship entail?”

Harry smirked at Zenith, mouthing a silent, ‘I told you so.’

“You can’t be serious,” said Ginny.

Harry raised a brow at the girl. “Very much so. Do you have a problem with it, Ginny?”

Ginny sighed and looked down at the floor. “I was just hoping you would finally see me as more than Ron’s baby sister. I’ve liked you for so long, and you never saw me. I thought if I showed interest in someone else, it would make you jealous enough to pursue me.”

“I’m sorry, Ginny. I love you dearly, but I never saw you that way,” said Harry sincerely.

Ginny sniffled softly and nodded. She quietly excused herself and left the room.

Ron looked at Harry and said the first thing on his mind. “Mate, you don’t do anything halfway, do you.”

Harry smiled ruefully. “What’s the fun in that?”

“Zenith, do you have any other dragon attributes besides the wings and tail?” asked Charlie curiously, speaking up for the first time that morning.

“I can transform into a smaller version of the Catalonian Fireball dragon,” said Zenith calmly. “Otherwise, I just retain the heightened senses of a dragon.”

“Amazing,” breathed Charlie, staring at the Dracken in utter fascination. He was almost itching for the chance to see the transformation first hand. “You don’t see many of them around these days. We only have one on the reserve, and he’s practically ancient.”

“I’ve never even heard of a Catalonian Fireball before,” said Harry.

“I can transform for you, if you like,” Zenith offered generously.

“Sure. I’d love to see how you look in dragon form,” said Harry happily. He started to push his plate away so that he could leave the table, but Zenith placed his hand over his.

“Finish your breakfast first. It can wait until then.”

Mrs. Weasley nodded in approval. At least one of Harry’s suitors had a good head on his shoulders. She wasn’t sure about the other two, though. As this was their first meeting, she could by no means claim to know them well, but from what she’d seen so far, Octavius was a little standoffish and barely spoke to anyone but Harry. Tristan, on the other hand, was just downright rude at times. Only time would tell if any of the three teens would be good for Harry.

Watching Harry interact with his three suitors, Molly smiled softly. She was glad that something good had come out the whole situation with the Dursley’s. Harry seemed happier than she’d ever seen the boy. He was more confident and comfortable within his own skin. And although she missed the shy boy she’d met all those years ago, Molly much preferred this happy, healthy Harry, and she vowed to do whatever it took to keep Dumbledore from ruining that happiness.