Only You Can Set Me Free

Disclaimer: I do not own, never will. I merely write for enjoyment.

No flaming wanted

Chapter 25
Animagus Take Shape

Not carrying his wand, The Boy Who Lived decided to use his next best weapon, hell, the better one. Harry rushed on all fours, lunging at the smirking red head. Ron’s lack of concern further enraged the snarling boy. He almost collided with the other boy when suddenly he was tossed back roughly. He flew back, landing on his side.

Ron waved the wand mockingly after casting his dispelling charm on the dog boy effectively.

Draco stood back, looking for his fallen wand once again. In which time, Harry was running at the other boy madly, his sharp claws tearing up the earth beneath him.

Ron quickly side stepped the boy, laughing joyously, as if this ordeal was of great amusement to him. Harry skidded to a halt, turning to glare at his old and past best friend. Ron held up a hand.

“We should make this even, don’t you think so? I’ve learned a few new tricks since the last time we met. Let’s settle this animal to animal.”

“Are you afraid to fight me as you are Ronny? Your master would be deeply sour with you if he knew of how cowardly you were.”

“Oh… says the boy who hides behind his mangy dog demon. My master alludes to the crazy notion that you bested him in your last meeting. I find that highly implausible, though he is sporting a nasty looking scar. Even the greatest have a few weak points I suppose… Fight me, or I will destroy you where you stand.”

Harry regarded the red head grimly, ready to fight this boy claw for claw, tooth for tooth. The wild dog within him growled and snarled, anxious to do battle, to dominate and destroy. His body tingled as the dog demon caused his body to change yet again. Once completed, he stared at the other boy, waiting for him to make his move.

Before either Harry or Draco could react to the power that emanated from the outsider, Ron began to change, his body becoming longer, wider. Fur sprouted from his body, with a roar, his final shape was revealed, much to Draco’s horror.

The medium sized bear lumbered forward, massive paws hitting the ground below threateningly. His reddish brown hair stood on end as he shifted up to stand on his hind legs, roaring while staring intently at Harry.

The dog boy growled threateningly at the tall, imposing figure, making a dash for his mate, interposing himself between the large beast and the blond. His fangs bore, nails digging into the ground, eyes shining hatefully.

Ron in bear form seemed to smirk, dropping to all fours again, galloping toward the two

Harry did not wait for this beast to reach his mate and himself. With a howl of rage, he bounded forward, mouth open, teeth bared in a vicious snarl. A snarl that meant he would die protecting Draco, as long as he brought the red head down with him.

Draco felt the marking on his wrist throb painfully. Forgetting the wand, he decided Harry needed help, and he, too, would have to take his Animagus form.

Harry had dodged the surely lethal blow of the bears’ massive paw and sunk his teeth into the larger animals’ neck. The bear made a noise of faint agitation, not feeling the teeth due to his heavy pelt of fur. With a quick swipe, Ron flung Harry from him. The dark boy jumped up again, persistent in keeping this monster away from the boy he loved. He again flew at the other animal, eyes displaying his murderous intent.

Ron, larger and more powerful in his bear form, rushed forward his jaw lowered in excitement. He reached the dog boy and grabbed him quickly in his massive jaw falling atop him, his teeth gripping Harry’s shoulder viciously.

Throwing caution to the wind, Draco sprinted forward, hell blazing in his eyes as he began to change even as he ran toward the battle. His fierce protectiveness toward the dark haired boy spurred him forward as nothing else would. With a howl, he completed the change from boy to animal, running at full speed toward the pair. His wide silver paws carried him quickly, with a single leap; he landed on the bears’ back, snarling and snapping at any spot he could reach.

Ron roared as a bite hit his face, he climbed off of the snarling dog boy and threw the creature from his back. The silver wolf glared at him from deep silver eyes, his lips pulled back in a hateful growl. Harry looked at the wolf in wonder for a mere moment, he then looked back at the boy-turned-bear. With a resounding howl, he jumped to the wolf’s aid, falling in beside the stoic canine. Draco side glanced, his eyes dancing in merriment at the prospect of fighting beside the dog boy. The two leaped forward simultaneously, as if they had practiced for this many times before.

They made impact with that large creature, knocking it sideways with the force of their double collision. The bear cried out, stumbling before regaining his composure and standing on his hind legs again. He swung first his left then his right paw; narrowly missing both canines as they flew back just in time.

Draco looked to see if Harry was alright, doing so left him vulnerable as the bear took the opportunity to attack, with a sharp slash, his giant clawed paw struck Draco’s side, sending him flying weightlessly.

Harry snarled, jumping at the beast as it advanced on his mate, teeth closing on the unsuspecting bears’ shoulder. His teeth sunk deep and true this time, claws holding the beast, as to not be thrown off again so easily.

Distracted by the stinging pain, Ron reared up, roaring in agony as he fell back. Only then did Harry release his vice grip, not wanting to be crushed by the massive weight.

The dark haired boy rushed toward his mate, searching wildly for any sign of life. The silver wolf lay upon the cool earth, eerily still, slowly reverting back to his human from. Before he could reach Draco, however, he was grasped around the waist, pulled back and away from his love. He howled in agony, not for the sharp pain he felt, but for his fallen Drake, his life.

He was pushed into the ground; hundreds of pounds forced him down, where a mere mortal would have perished, the dog within kept him alive. He lashed out, fangs snapping and claws bared and slashing viciously. His only thought, his only concern was making sure his mate was alright.

‘Will you let this beast control you, whip you like a lowly pup? Remus Lupin nearly destroyed you, your pride, will you let this lowly half witted beast be the better of you two?’ The dog within snarled at him, trying to wake up the beast that had yet to be awoken.

Harry thrashed, landing a vicious swipe across the bears’ cheek. Once the bear flew back, he darted away, his heart thrumming madly in his chest. He ran to Draco, four appendages giving him speed and strength. He felt the marking on his wrist, twin to his mates’, throb softly, like a pulse. Relief washed over him as he came upon the fallen boy, noticing the blond boy stir, blurry grey eyes opening slowly. He could have whimpered and licked the blond without reprieve. The agonized roars of the bear just barely caught his attention. Whirling around, Harry growled, every hair on his body standing on end.

The bear began to shrink in size and ferocity, hair, claws and fangs receding until all that was left was Ron, gripping the side of his face in torture.

Harry relaxed only very slightly, this form was much less horrific than the massive bear. Not taking his eyes from the threat to his partner, he backed up and felt behind him for the blond. His senses told him that Draco was fine, albeit a bit scared and frustrated.

As long as he was alright, nothing else mattered.

The red head used his good eye to glare at the two, pulling his wand out of what appeared to be nowhere, he quickly aimed and fired. The shot missed the pair by more than three feet.

Harry ran, on two strong legs now, at the boy. His chest ached terribly, from both the force exerted upon it by the bear and his self inflicted wounds, which now bled profusely. His shoulder also bled, torrents of crimson blood flowing down his arm.

Before he could come upon the demented boy, he halted in his tracks. Ron was pointing his wand at Harry’s heart.

“We don’t need to draw this out anymore; you can end this Potter… Hand over Malfoy and I will let you leave here unharmed.”

Harry’s eyes went wide in shock; he turned his head to see the boy trying desperately to stand.

“What do you think you are doing Draco?” Harry rushed to Draco and grabbed at the blond as he lurched forward weakly. Catching him softly, he shielded the boy from the red head and his heinous requests.

“I will go with him. I do not want to put you or the... pack... in any more jeopardy.” Draco put on his most arrogant, ‘I will do as I wish’ face.

Harry growled angrily, gripping the boy to him protectively.

“I will not let you go with this monster. You are of my pack, and you are my world. You think I would let you be taken by those freaks?”

Ron smirked.

“Are we the freaks Harry? I think you are sadly mistaken. You are the freak, the self proclaimed hero. Hand the boy over Harry, or I will take him by force. My master does not have need for Malfoy, but you… oh yes, you are his greatest prize.”

Harry made to lunge forward, but before he could, Ron disappeared with a faint pop. He looked around, noting that Draco stiffened behind him in horror.

Turning, almost in slow motion, he looked first into the wide, petrified eyes of his mate then behind them to the shining brown eyes of a smirking Ron. Draco cursed the boy behind him. Ron was holding his wand, aimed at the blonds’ head; an arm circled his arms and chest.

Harry felt a deep, dark rage bubble within him, a rage so powerful it consumed every part of him.

Ron held the blond tightly, smiling viciously at the seething dog boy. He could feel the hate streaming off of the boy as he held his mate so callously. The hand around the boy’s chest slid down. It skimmed down his muscled chest and down his soft and fit stomach. Finally, without breaking Harry’s violent gaze, he cupped Draco’s front.

Draco growled slightly, his eyes stormy in their ferocity. He struggled to break free of the red head, not about to let the prat feel him up.

Ron smiled, doing as his master bid of him would make him indispensible to the snake man. Although he could not stand touching the other boy, the reaction he got from Harry was worth it.

For Harry, that last action pushed him over the edge. He would not allow another to so blatantly disrespect Draco. With a feral growl, he dropped to the ground, his body shivering and stained with blood. His back arched up, bulging slightly. Black fur sprouted out over his entire body, his face elongating into a muzzle. His legs and arms bent and twisted about, his hands and feet morphing into large black paws.

Draco and Ron stared in shock, neither moving an inch as Harry finished his transformation.

The giant black dog stared at the two, flexing his hind legs. He stood almost as big as the bear on all fours. His coal black hair blew in the soft wind, with eyes that shined a brilliant emerald. He looked like a large, healthier form of Sirius in his dog form. If he was to be compared to a breed of dog, it would have to be a Siberian husky, pure coal colored fur and almost three times as big. In this state, he looked more wolfish than dog.

Ron kept the blond in front of him, blood staining the side of his face. He pushed the tip of his wand against Draco’s head, not wanting the dog to make any sudden movements toward himself.

“Wow, fully dog now Potter? You should have willingly given Draco over, now I will have to kill him here and now. Besides, nothing is stopping me from disapparating from here this moment.”

Draco could hear the bluff in the red heads voice. If he could do that, he would have done it already, he is too drained, Draco thought.

Harry must have thought the same thing, because he did not relent on his growls. He advanced cautiously, keeping his eyes on the wand that poked against the blonds’ head. His tail was held straight up, his hackles rose. With a quick movement, he feigned to the right, causing the boy to jump aside and away. Taking the opportunity, he lunged to the left and shouldered the blond away from his captor, reveling in Ron’s folly.

With a snarl, he tackled the red head, teeth sinking into his shoulders.

Ron cried out in pain, using his hand with the wand to beat the dog’s face and shoulders. He was shooting off curses without effectively being able to aim at the black dog.

Draco stood rooted to the spot Harry pushed him to, finally spotting his wand. He ran to it, scooping it up and aiming it at the red head, should he somehow escape the dogs’ agonizing grip.

Harry shook his head back and forth, trying to dislodge the other boy’s shoulder, rivets of blood cascaded down his muzzle.

Suddenly, he was thrown back, he used his nails to dig into the earth and steady himself as a new intruder leaned over the bleeding Weasley.

He growled threateningly, the figure shot him with a curse.

His body racked with pain as he was thrown into the air, his body convulsing.

Draco shot a curse at the stranger, his eyes dark with anger at not noticing the newcomers’ arrival. Seeing Harry writhe in pain tore at his very soul, for he felt some degree of the pain the other was suffering.

The stranger dropped the black dog after effectively scooping up the unconscious red head. His mouth turned up in a cocky smirk. He watched as the large dog slowly sauntered to its paws.

“Master’s orders Potter, you and Malfoy get to live… for now. If it was up to me, I would kill you here; leave your bones for the rats. You won’t live much longer, you can be sure of that.”

Harry looked dizzily at the tall cloaked figure, his body rocked slightly. Draco stepped beside him, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder, softly running his fingers through the soft fur that covered him. He closed his eyes briefly, when opening them, he discovered that the man had indeed left, leaving them to be on their way.

He had no idea why they had been left to live. Somehow, he could not bring himself to worry. With a soft whimper, he collapsed; the last thing he heard before blacking out was Draco, screaming his name.

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“Is he alright?”

‘Female voice…’ Harry thought.

“I don’t know… What happened out there Malfoy?”

‘Male.’

“We were attacked; Harry got the worst of it. We had to use our Animagus forms to even hope to compete.”

‘Draco!’

“Well, that explains this huge black dog lying on the bed, how will we make sure he is alright?” The male voice asked, sounding quite in control of his senses, if Harry did say so himself… if he could say so himself.

There was a pause.

“Look! He is waking up now!”

Opening one eye, Harry scanned his surroundings, everything appeared blurry, and nothing had color. He opened his other eye, shaking his head and whimpering as he pulled a muscle while stretching his front legs. Then with a snarl, he shot up, ignoring his protesting muscles.

“Harry… You should lie down, you are still injured…”

The black dog turned to Luna, his emerald eyes unfocused. He shook his head before leaping off of the bed. The others regarded him wearily.

Harry lumbered around the dimly lit room, feeling as though he had gone to hell and back. Finally, after a few more shakes of his head, his vision became sharper. He looked over his shoulder at the others, doing a twice over of each of them, making sure they were not harmed in any way. They all appeared to be alright.

He padded over to Draco, who sat on the bed, looking at the black dog anxiously.

Harry was tall enough in his canine form to see eye to eye with the blond. With a soft whimper, he nuzzled his nose against the other boys’ neck, reveling in the scent and touch of the other boy.

Draco grabbed the dogs’ hair softly, petting his face carefully. He knew that Harry was showing his own relief, so he did not mind the others watching them.

“Do you think you can turn back Harry?” Cedric asked, regarding the large dog skeptically.

Harry turned to the newest member of the pack and nodded, backing away from the blond and immediately missing the contact.

The dog began to elongate, limbs twisting, fur receding. Then there stood Harry, back to his human self and still sporting a few nasty looking scars.

The others looked at his beaten body in shock. He looked down at himself, then up at them, smiling.

“Don’t worry, I will heal quickly.” Harry ran his hand through his shoulder length hair, trying to nonchalantly untangle the messy locks and failing.

“Are you alright to leave Harry?” Luna asked, smiling as she walked over to the dark haired boy with a rather large brush. Harry smiled appreciatively at the blond girl, nodding as she ran the brush through his hair.

'Already they are taking on pack mentality,' Harry grinned slightly as he thought of the girl grooming him.

“Good to go, how about you guys?”

“All set to go… Wherever it is we’re going. Where are we going anyway?” Cedric smirked at the sight of Harry wincing each time Luna hit a tangle, the girl apologizing each time the dog boy whimpered.

“Your guess is as good as mine. I have no idea why we were allowed to leave, but I say we take advantage and study up on the horcruxes and try to think of where one might be.”

Draco nodded his agreement, believing Harry’s plan was as good as any… if there were any. The blond boy stood.

“Harry is right, we need to find out more before we charge into action and get ourselves killed.”

“From what I remember, Malfoy, you were always more than willing to attack first and ask questions later,” Cedric commented out loud, staring at the ceiling.

The former Slytherin growled under his breath. Harry and Luna chuckled, knowing the blond would not react well.

He did not.

“That was a long time ago, you prat, I have grown up and apart from those childish antics. You don’t know me or what I have been through, being tied up to a bed and being banged and all.”

Cedric jumped forward, his face a mask of fury. Harry moved away from Luna, stepping forward to intervene before the boys were at each others’ throats.

“Why you stupid little…”

Harry placed himself between the two glaring boys. He growled threateningly, and the feuding pair quieted.

“We will have none of that in this pack. We don’t have time to fight like children. We need to contact someone that will be helpful to us, someone that will know more about horcruxes.”

“You mean...”

“Yes, we have to get in touch with Hermione.”

Fawkes, who had been perched on a nearby dresser the entire time, flew over to Harry’s outstretched arm. Helios, still not completely back to his full size, sat patiently on the headboard.

‘You know what to do pal,’ Harry telepathically communicated to the phoenix.

Fawkes nodded once, stretching his large wings and taking off out of the rooms’ open window.

The dark haired boy sighed, turning back to face the others.

“Now we wait.”

Yet waiting was something none of them wanted to do. An awkward silence filled the somewhat small room. Harry looked from Cedric to Draco, the latter of which was completely ignoring the newly rescued boy. Luna looked around at all of the boys, with a snort, she began to laugh.

“What, may I ask, is so funny?” Cedric asked, frowning as the girl continued to snort and chuckle.

“Oh, he he… Sorry, I was… ha ha… I was just imagining you all without your clothes on.”

The boys looked at her briefly, then at each other, then down at themselves. With red faces, either from outrage or embarrassment, they lowered their hands to cover their clothed fronts.

“Must you be a completely bonkers all the time?” Draco bit out, turning away from the giggling girl.

“I suppose so. Oh, but don’t worry, you all have very nice bodies,” she laughed, glad to have changed the dark mood in the room.

“And how would you know that?” Harry joined her laughing.

“I have seen each and every one of you naked at least once or twice.”

The guys became deathly silent, especially Cedric, who had not long ago joined the girls’ club of naked males to ogle. Also, seeing as he barely met the strange girl, the fact made him feel more embarrassed.

“See, so I know first hand,” she smiled as the boys stared at her in stunned silence, having completely forgotten any mention of horcruxes or Voldemort.

Draco stepped forward, his eye twitching slightly.

“WHEN THE HELL DID YOU SEE ME NAKED!?”

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TBC…