Author’s Notes: Wow, this year is pretty intense. Basically, when the little ~~ occur, assume that the events in-between are what has happened in the books, with the added characters of this story. Enjoy!

There is Always a Choice

Chapter IV: One moment at a time 

“And that is how change happens. One gesture. One person. One moment at a time.” – Libba Bray

“Lupin, you’re next.” Tallie sent a fierce command to her fingers, where they were clamped around the edge of the wooden desk with white knuckles. Watching both Draco and Harry undergo an unforgivable was…oh merlin it was unforgivable to just do nothing! According to her wolf-self anyway. Her human-witch-self firmly told the wolf-self to shut the hell up as she totters to her feet and walks to the front of the classroom. Professor Moody stared her down, his magical eye roving around her head as if sensing something.

When his wand levels at her forehead, Tallie instantly backs up a step, her skin shivering and rippling with the urge to crouch into a spring that would tear out the jugular of the threat. She forces herself to breathe, again, and reminds herself— again! — that this was a lesson. If he tried to hurt her, Draco and Harry would protect her.

The thought calmed her hackles and she closed her eyes as he spoke the incantation. “Imperio”

The voice…it was hard to resist. It called, crooned, told her to let go of the tethers of her mind and let it take over.

Tallie felt her human-self blaze into awareness when they realized that Moody’s voice was nothing more than a whisper. The crooning voice was the wolf.

A fog drifted in and around her mind, making it hard for her thoughts to connect to each other. Harry had fought it off, though.

Harry. Draco. They wouldn’t let anything happen, right?

Yes, yes that was true. If she couldn’t be sure of nothing else, their protection was undeniable.

Outside. Walls around. Four paws. Stone to dirt. Air in pelt. One shiver. Pack. Silver moon. Endless hunt. Endless night. Pack. Pack. Pack!

“Very good, Lupin. You almost threw it. Sit down.” Professor Moody’s voice broke the endless murmur in her mind, and she manages to stumble back to her seat. Uncaring of the rest of the lesson, Tallie folded her arms on the desk and tucked her head on them, breathing through her nose very slowly while she attempted to let those thoughts fall away.

“Tallie?” Seamus whispers worriedly, touching her elbow gently. They had been shaky lately, but still together. She pulls away from his questioning fingers without responding. Professor Moody continues his lecture seemingly unaware.

At last, the bell rang, signaling lunch. As Professor Moody stamps out of the room, with most of the class following, Draco and Harry leap from their seats to Tallie’s desk. Seamus kept his eyes on his girl, starting to freak out. She had begun to tremble a few minutes ago.

“What’s happening?” Seamus demands while Harry reaches out a tentative hand to his best friend’s shoulder.

“Seamus, please inform the Headmaster that we’ve gone for a walk. Discreetly, mind you.” Draco orders. Seamus stands up in indignation.

“She’s my girlfriend, Malfoy. I want to know what’s happening.” Seamus snaps. Tallie groans and lifts her head slowly, as if it weighed a hundred pounds. Draco knelt beside her, looking up into her ashen face.

“Tallie?”

“It woke her up. She won’t go away.” Tallie groans, fisting her hands over her eyes in frustration. Harry grips her under her arm, signaling with his eyes for Draco to do the same with her other arm.

“Seamus, we’ll explain later. Just please, no one can know about this. Except Dumbledore. You have to tell him.” Harry pleads while heading to the door with Tallie between him and Draco. The Irishman nods reluctantly, running forward to step in front of Tallie and brushing her long, silver hair from her still-bronzed skin from the summer.

“Be safe” He says before turning on his heel and rushing off towards the Great Hall. Draco huffs and shakes his head.

“Harry, you’re stronger than I am. Carry her and I’ll clear the path so we won’t be seen.” Draco says, quickly hefting the silver-haired witch into the Gryffindor’s arms. His gold and scarlet tie twisted against Tallie’s arm, but for once he didn’t protest about his precious tie getting displaced. His chin-length black hair tickled Tallie’s forehead, causing her to scrunch up her nose and squirm with the tremors.

Draco whips around with a snap of his robes, a trick picked up by his godfather, Severus, and hurries down the corridor. Harry follows quickly.

They manage to make it out onto the grounds unseen. Draco furtively twists off his tie and hangs it on the branch of a tree on the Forbidden Forest’s edge. A sign for the headmaster, should he need to know exactly where they entered.

“Set her down.” He told a panting Harry. He may be lithe, but Tallie was no fairy! Draco reaches out and clasps his hands under her to help Harry lower her to the damp grass. Tallie groans again and her chocolate eyes flutter open. The irises are outlined with silver, a shimmer of the same colour expanding outward in a small wave from her temples. It whispered her wolf-speak, calling to her pack members.

“Let the wolf out, Tallie. We’re right here to bring you back.” Harry whispers into her ear as he places a hand on her shoulder, Draco mirroring him on her left. They trembled at the same moment, the change flowing swiftly through their bodies as they had practiced over the last two summers. Until Tallie trusted herself enough to let the wolf completely in, she kept her caged. Three to four times a year, that cage had to be opened, no ifs, ands, or buts.

The black and grey furred wolf shook out her pelt, stretching her front limbs into the ground while flexing her shoulders out. The silver dragon still marked her back, growing with her. It rippled in the afternoon sun, looking as if it were stretching too.

The lion, with tufts of pale gold hair sticking out here and there about his head in a ring, opens his maw in a creaking yawn, his tail already flicking at the thought of the adventures to come.

The black as night Jaguar moved next, rising to his paws with feline grace and swiping his too pink tongue about his muzzle with a contented purr.

The pack members greeted each other with licks, nuzzling, purrs, and yips before the wolf took point. Together, the three loped off into the forest to run until the world slipped away into the silence of the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Up next, the internationally-known band, the Weird Sisters!” Professor Flitwick squeaked into the microphone amidst the final strains of the waltz. The crowds of students rise up in a mad cheer as the band members troop onto the stage, bedecked in rather strange outfits. Bits of feathers and coils of metal sprang out in the unlikeliest of places.

“Tallie! This way!” Seamus, who polished up very handsomely, let go of her waist in favor of her hand and pulled her through the insane crowd. Tallie was dressed in a black, gothic corset-style (with the corset slanted towards her left shoulder) gown*. The corset, a shiny silk, cut down to mid-dress in sharp endings while the skirt, a layered tulle, fell to her ankles with the straps circled over her collarbone and biceps. A silk ribbon crisscrossed gracefully up her left forearm, holstering her ivory wand. Her sneakers made no noise as they crossed the dance floor. The skirt hid that, thankfully. Otherwise, Pansy would have beheaded her with her bare hands.

As she walked towards the doors, she caught sight of Harry, whose cover date was Parvati since a champion wasn’t allowed a same-sex partner (completely ridiculous!), dancing slowly with Jacob Kurtstaff, a fifth year Hufflepuff he had been seeing the last few weeks. Just behind him, stood Draco with his date, Pansy. They were too…occupied at the moment to catch Tallie’s fond smile in their direction. Both of her boys looked snazzy. 

“What is it, Seamus?” Tallie questions, wiping the back of her right hand across her damp forehead. The frigid corridor was a blissful relief from the sweltering ballroom. Seamus’ face was rather red as well; their dancing had gotten pretty close earlier.

“I can’t do this anymore, Tallie.”

What?

“What?” She echoes her thoughts, her eyes widening with comprehension as her face paled despite the heat. Seamus fiddled the cuffs of his dress robes and dropped his gaze to the flagstones.

“I-I can’t do this anymore. I just…I mean…” He trailed off as she steps back a tiny bit, no longer wanting such an intimate closeness with the boy.

“Spit it out, Seamus.” She snaps. The Irishman’s chest expands with a big breath and he looks up to say what has been bothering him since the DADA incident.

“I’m tired of competin’ with Draco and Harry.” Tallie blinks, a blank look taking over her face.

“At the risk of sounding repetitive, what?” Seamus shrugs.

“I have to constantly battle for yer attention when they’re around. Christ! If they’re even mentioned, it’s like I don’t even exist anymore. Ye’re so fixated on them and I’m tired of bein’ third on yer mind.”

“Are you being serious right now? If you are upset about my lack of attention, then say so! And I’m not sure if you noticed, but my best friend is a bloody Champion! He could die! Of course I’m focused on him all the time!”

“That doesn’t explain Draco.” Seamus insists heatedly, his face starting to purple. Tallie’s voice drops to a whisper.

“We explained that to you. They’re my pack, Seamus. The wolf is half of me and I can’t help it if she latches onto any mention of my pack members. You said you understood.”

“I don’t then. I can’t handle it. I feel like I’m sharin’ you with them and I got the shortest bit.” Her cheeks get high spots of pink.

“What more do you want?” She raises her voice. Seamus waves his arm towards her.

“More than what ye’re giving! I don’t feel like I have a girlfriend anymore. We’re stuck on repeat, nothing new is happening!”

“We’re fourteen! There’s nothing new to do!” Seamus snorts and her eyes narrow dangerously. “I’m not that kind of girl, Seamus. Sex is not on my to-do list.” At Seamus derisive eye-roll, Tallie sneers. “We’ve tried other stuff, you pig! I’m not going to f*ck you just because that’s the next step.”

“Then do it because you love me!” Seamus growls, slapping his palm against the pillar next to him. Tallie’s mouth genuinely drops open.

“Seamus, I think I may love you, but there’s no way on this god-given earth I’m having sex with you just because I love you. We’re Four.Teen.” 

Seamus shook his head in disgust and stuck his hands in his robe pockets. “Then there’s nothin’ more to discuss. I’m not bein’ with a girl who’s there part-time.”

“You’re a bloody prick!” Tallie shouts after him, her hands balled into fists at her side. Her, now ex, boyfriend walks around the corner without replying. Tallie’s chest restricts slightly and she turns and rushes towards the stairs that lead to the dungeons. She didn’t want to go back to the common room, but she didn’t want to be seen crying into her hands either.

It was sometime later, maybe an hour, when a warm cloak was draped around her shoulders. Her higher senses were engulfed in a musky scent and the rough cloth and fur trim of the cloak identified the intruder as a Durmstrang boy. A specific one.

“Nik” She mumbles, lifting her head rapidly from her hands after attempting to scrub her cheeks dry. Nikolai’s rough face came into view as he crouched beside her with a grim expression. The dour boy rarely showed positive emotions, but he could be compassionate. He was certainly a great debater, if how they came to know each other was any indication. (Let’s just say a disagreement over the best type of kelp root for a Frost Draught turned rather nasty…)

“Vat has happened, zmiya?” After learning the history of her house, he had gifted her with the nickname snake. According to Viktor, it was something he very rarely did. She let it slide only because of that. Only that, of course.

“Nothing” Tallie responds sullenly. He tsks and levels his brown eyes at her, slightly blocked by his stringy black hair. His face, though chiseled, was too roughly cut for her tastes. That and he was sixteen, and therefore no romantic interest for her.

“You are sad. Vo has made you so?” His English, thankfully, was a bit better than Viktor’s. Poor Hermione. The thought made her lips twist up slightly and Nikolai claps his hands together once.

“You smiled! That vas easier than I thought. You are also cold. Let me valk you to your rooms.” He offers curtly, standing and holding out his arm. She knew he would be deeply offended if she refused, so she stood and let her arm rest through his. Her head hurt from the crying.

She shivers again as they descend deeper into the castle bowels. Above, the Weird Sisters are playing their usual closing songs and the rumble of feet could be heard as students began to leave the Ball. She looks towards her escort, aware that her hair had fallen around her face, out of the up-do it had taken Millicent an hour to do.

“Did you enjoy the dance, Nik?” She asks, to break the silence. He smiles, shocking her, and shakes his head.

“I had hoped to dance vith someone, but they disappeared before I could ask.”

“I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay. Vould you like to dance, zmiya?” He stops and looks at her. His eyes were reminiscent of kindness. Her lips twitched into a smile again and she nods once. He sweeps his dark eyes around the corridor before resting on an empty classroom. He pulls her inside, leaving the door ajar. His wand is subtly waved and a soft tune begins; a very simple fox-trot beat.

“Thank you” Tallie murmurs a few minutes into the dance, feeling slightly dwarfed. Nikolai smiles down at her, moving the slightest bit closer.

“Sadness does not suit you. Vith a face like yours, only a smile vill fit.” She smiles more broadly and Nik’s eyes widen in surprise, his flawless steps faltering for a brief second.

“Nik?” She asks, when in the next second he slows to a step, still peering down into her face. His eyes blink slowly, as if coming out of his stupor.

“I…may I?” He says quietly, quickly. Unsure of exactly what he was saying, she nods anyway. His fingers of his right hand move to slide against the ribbon around her arm and his head sweeps down to press his lips against hers.

Before she can blink, her body responds. Her arms wrap around his neck, her body arching forward into his, suddenly thirsty for contact. For touch. His own arms trap her to him all the more firmly, his hands spread out along her back with such heat that it feels as if her skin is on fire. A smoky feeling envelopes her mind, her eyes fluttering shut before the lids open halfway to watch the dazed look crawl onto Nikolai’s face. His mouth is hot, wet, and heady.

The creak of the door as it is hastily shut goes unnoticed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The whispers assaulted her the next morning the minute she stepped into the Great Hall for breakfast. Still fiddling with the hood of her robes, she didn’t notice when the whisperers pointed at her and heads began to turn to watch.

“Good morning, Pansy.” She mumbles tiredly, covering a wide yawn with her palm as she spoons bangers onto her plate with the other. The dark-haired girl, bubblier this year, smirks at her with a raised brow.

“Certainly for you as well.” The silver-haired girl stops chewing her delicious sausage at her friend’s tone.

“I’m sorry?” Pansy, and Millicent beside her, leans closer across the table conspiratorially.

“How was it?” They whisper, ending in giggles. Her brows now knitted together with deep confusion, Tallie opens her mouth to either hex them to silence or demand what was going on when the whispers suddenly increase in sound throughout the hall and a finger taps softly against her shoulder.

She twists her torso around to see Nikolai, pale and furious, standing there.

“Can ve talk?” She nods and gets to her feet, looking strangely at the other tables as they gossiped even harder.

“What is going on?” She demands as soon as they are outside the doors of the Entrance Hall, the snow crunching under their feet. “And Happy Christmas.” She adds cheerfully. Nikolai stops to smile hopelessly at her before returning to solemnity.

“Apparently, someone saw us last night and exaggerated vat had happened.” Comprehension dawned on the witch’s face.

“By exaggerate…?”

His face was deepening in indignant anger. “The kiss did not stop but vent further. No one else knows you broke up with Seamus, do they?” At her shaking head, Nikolai mutters something in Bulgarian and runs his hand through his hair. “This is my fault. I should not have kissed you.”

“We talked about this last night, Nik. I have no regrets. You really helped me.” Tallie said bluntly, her lips pressed together in a ‘don’t you dare contradict what I just said’ line. His own twitched slightly at his stubborn friend and he mussed his hair again.

“Still, I vould not vish this stain on your reputation.”

“I could give less of a rat’s ass about what others think. Nik, you said it yourself last night. The kiss itself was pleasant. Rather hot, actually.” At this she winked, and the barest of blushes hinted at the poor Bulgarian wizard’s cheeks. “But the meaning behind it was comfort and friendship. It was a more intimate way of being there for each other. Remember this?” She finishes chidingly. The boy smiles ruefully.

“Venever I speak vith you, I feel as if you are the adult and I am the child.” He mutters. She laughs and shoves him slightly in the gut, making his breath whoosh out.

“Only when you act like it.” She retorts playfully. He chuckles and tugs her morning ponytail.

“I stand by my statement, zmiya. Only a smile vill fit your face.” She truly smiles; her eyes gaining back some of the sparkle from before.

“The same applies to you, you know.” She hints. He shakes his head.

“I have a reputation to keep. If I smile, vat vill that do?” She only shakes her head with a giggle.

“I’m hungry, so I’m heading back inside for some food. Are you coming, big-stoic-wizard-man?” She teases. He pokes her side casually as he slips through the doors, her indignant squeak echoing behind him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It took approximately a minute after stepping into Gryffindor Tower for the present-giving for her boys to drag her right back out, both hopping-mad.

“You will explain.” Harry growls, his emerald eyes flashing intensely in the morning light from the windows. His tie is actually slightly undone and circles are under his eyes.

“Right. Now.” Draco spits, his face cherry red. His perfect hair is mussed. Tallie shrinks back at the seriousness of this confrontation. It’s Christmas, people! Is there no mercy?

“Explain what?” Their eyes narrow dangerously, causing Tallie to lift her shoulders against the misplaced anger.

“What exactly happened between you and that…that…” Harry struggles with an insulting-enough term.

“Cradle-robbing, flobberworm-brained, twat!” Draco finishes for him. Tallie’s face opens in shock.

“You believe those rumors being spread about me?” She whispers. The boys’ glares intensify. Without warning, her face flushes a deep red and her eyes narrow to slits. “I am sick and tired of dealing with you hotheaded, heads-in-your-arses, bigoted, unjustified boys! I cannot believe that you would take such rumors about me to heart! You’re supposed to be my pack, not my condemners! What the hell do I have to do to stay in everyone’s good graces for more than a bloody f*cking minute around here? No, I don’t want to hear a d*mn thing that either of you have to say!” She adds shrilly when Harry opens his mouth to interrupt. “I’m done! I am done with you both! You can go to hell for all I f*cking care!” She screams, pouring all of her frustration into her tirade, getting so worked up that the two stunned boys back up a few steps.

“Tallie—” Draco begins tentatively but she’s already swung around, her robes flapping about her legs.

“Oh and here! Good f*cking riddance!” She shouts as she throws two preciously wrapped presents towards them. With their Seeker skills, they manage to grab the delicate boxes before they can crash onto the stone floors. But by the time they look up, she’s gone from the corridor.

“What just happened?” Harry whispers. Draco shakes his head, utterly bewildered. Weren’t they the ones supposed to be mad?

“What just happened is that you both were being horrible friends.” Hermione’s voice sounds from behind. Both boys jump to see the portrait open, most of Gryffindor house visible beyond and probably having witnessed the shouting.

“What?” Draco asks heatedly. Hermione glares at him until his mouth closes. She steps out into the hall and lowers her voice.

“Seamus broke it off with Tallie last night. A sixth year Slytherin girl, Jessica Johansson, was the one who saw them kissing. I hunted her down for the exact information and that’s all that they did. Besides, both Nikolai and Tallie are not the kind of people to do that.” She adds crossly at her idiot friends. Both boys hang their heads in shame. Hermione continues ruthlessly. She wanted to get her point across so clearly that it might as well be written across their foreheads. “I also talked with some Hufflepuffs who left the dance early and apparently Tallie had been on the dungeon stairs for a while before that, crying her heart out. The break-up hit her hard and now with this horrible rumor going around, I can guarantee that she’s not feeling very well about herself. You better go apologize in the best way that you know how or I’ll want to know why not. Me, Ginny, Ron, and Pansy. Fred and George added their two-cents in as well. So go.fix.it.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It took a little over an hour to gather all the supplies that they needed. It took about twenty minutes for Draco to convince Harry to knock on the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room, which the Marauder’s Map showed was where Tallie was ensconced.

“Why am I knocking when you know the password?” Harry whispers, his arms juggling his half of the supplies. Draco leans forward and whispers the password.

“To warn her so she can pretend she hasn’t been crying.” He breathes back as they clamber through.

Tallie is sitting on the plush carpet before the emerald fire, her arms wrapped around her knees that are bent to her chest— her innate stillness overtaking her. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun, a sure sign of her sadness. Blaise sat on the couch behind her, attempting to wheedle out the reason for her state.

“Go away” Harry withholds his irritated sigh. Sometimes, Tallie’s extra senses were too good. Draco gives him a warning glare and they walk forward to stand on either side of her after setting the supplies behind her. Blaise wisely wanders off.

Wordlessly, Harry grabs the small, foil-wrapped sweet from the pile and places it on her slippered foot, knowing she would not move her hand. Draco sets a chilled butterbeer between her slippers before reaching out with his pale arms and wrapping it around her shoulders while Harry encases her waist with his arms.

Tallie tenses but stays still, trying to figure out what the gits were doing. After a moment, they both move. Harry takes his right arm while Draco takes his left— the arms wrapped around her front, and grab a hand each. It was a simple hold, fingers lightly placed over the spaces between hers, and the comforting warmth of her pack made her shoulders shake slightly.

“What are—?”

“Shh” The boys say to their best friend. The other third of their lives. Slowly, feeling their hearts speeding up with each second that goes by, they lean forward and press their lips to her cheeks. Harry plucks up his daring and kisses the corner of her eye with Draco following a second later. A sob is choked in Tallie’s throat.

“We may not be your boyfriend, but we will give you everything that you want because we love you.” Draco whispers. Harry pulls his lips away from the drying eye and leans his forehead against the side of her neck.

“With that said, Miss Tallie, would you like to accompany Mister Draco and I to Hogsmeade next weekend? We would be most honoured.” He whispers. He feels Tallie nodding and his hand linked with hers nudged Draco in success.

“We are sorry. For what we said.” Draco adds. Tallie turns her hands over and properly links with theirs.

“Don’t do it ever again. I don’t…I can’— I wouldn’t be able to handle it, alright?” Tallie whispers. Her boys nod and kiss her cheeks again before huddling closer (if that was possible) and enjoying the pack bond flowing between them as the fire changed from emerald green to a soft golden colour.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“This is such delicious pheasant, Lily. What seasoning did you use?” Molly asks eagerly, her kind eyes bright with the holiday cheer. The entire Weasley clan, excepting a very busy Charlie, was present along with the Lupins and Malfoys for the annual Potter Easter Brunch. It was slightly tense, as the Malfoy-Weasley tension was yet to be completely resolved, but both patriarchs were on their utmost best behavior on threat of a very, very long dry season from their wives.

The children were seated at one end of the greatly expanded wooden table— the kitchen had also been extended— and the adults at the other. Except for James and Lily, who sat protectively on either side of their son; the last few months had been too hard, what with the events at the World Cup and Harry becoming a champion.

“Oh just a bit of lemon and radish shavings. I’ll give you the recipe before you go.” Lily remarks happily. Molly nods and leans towards one of the twins to reprimand them for some mannerly err. Lily turns to her blossoming goddaughter a few seats down. Tallie was not as tense as usual while being around her fathers and Lily, as well as the Malfoys and James, was taking that as a hopeful sign.

“Tell me, Tallie, have you spoken with Seamus any since the two of you broke it off?” Lily asks. Tallie takes a sip of her favorite tea before setting down her fork.

“Not really.” Remus and Sirius look up in surprise.

“When did you and Seamus break up?” Sirius questions. James takes Lily’s hand as she sighs in defeat when Tallie’s shoulders tense.

“The Yule Ball” She says curtly. Remus sits up and regards his cub.

“Why?”

“Neither of us were receiving what we wanted from the relationship.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Sirius clarifies for him. Tallie shrugs, her eyes flashing as she regards her parents.

“It’s not that important.” Lucius frowns slightly, feeling the approaching fight as Sirius bristles.

“It is if it involves you!” The animagus growls. Tallie stands up abruptly and leans over to kiss Lily on the cheek.

“Your meal was delicious, Aunt Lily. Thank you. I’ll be on the Quidditch Pitch.” Draco stood up before she could move, hastily wiping his mouth.

“I’ll go with you. We have to practise that Starfish and Stick maneuver for next year.”

“Me too” Harry echoes as he hurriedly kisses his parents’ cheeks and follows them out the door. Sirius stands up with a slam of his palm on the table, his eyes flashing just like his daughters. Remus gently stays him by grabbing his elbow.

“Sirius, leave it be.”

“Leave it be? She can’t act that way towards us!” Sirius snaps. Remus looks at him with sad eyes.

“Leave it.” He says firmly. Sirius stares at him before slowly sitting down. The rest of the table had been quiet, watching the proceedings with a combination of pity and anger. Though Molly and Arthur weren’t clued in to what exactly had happened, they had gotten the gist of it from Ron and Harry. The Weasley siblings were scowling at the ignorant Lupins, except for Bill who had no idea what was going on but wisely saying nothing.

Meanwhile, James was scowling fiercely at his best friends. Lucius and Narcissa quietly strike up a blasé conversation with the others while Lily calms her husband. None were worried about the three blowing off steam outside. The wards about the Potter Cottage were nearly impenetrable.

Draco was practicing a Sloth-Grip Roll in the air while the other two pack members watch to point out any mistakes.

“Have you talked to him about it, yet?” Tallie questions softly to her dark-haired friend. Harry flushes and shakes his head.

“I keep trying, but then I get distracted.”

“How?”

“I keep remembering the look in his eyes when he pulled me onto the platform. I just…” His voice trails off and Tallie caresses his forearm in comfort. Draco had been chosen for the thing that Harry would miss most, which greatly stung Tallie in the heart, and when Harry had found that out he had been forced to admit his changed emotions towards the blonde. To Tallie, anyway. Telling Draco that he was possibly falling in love with him was right below fighting another Dragon, this time without magic.

Tallie had been spending the last few weeks counseling her poor friend through his feelings, trying to help him come to a decision. Completely unaware of his further confusion over the fact that while he had feelings for Draco; his feelings for her had not gone away but had, in fact, increased. He and Draco were counseling each other at the same time with their feelings towards their friend.

It was just very confusing all around.

A gentle rain began to fall and Draco slips back onto his broom before the handle becomes too slippery. He flies to the other two and grins lopsidedly as he sees those emerald eyes focused entirely on him. The mixed signals he was receiving were confusing Draco, but he knew Tallie would help the dark-haired wizard through it.

“Ow!” Tallie squeals, clapping a hand to her forehead. The boys cover their heads in the next instant as the rain turns to frigid ice chips.

“What the hell?” Draco yells over the thundering storm. Harry shrugs and they descend to the ground and start to trek back across the pitch towards the cottage that lay beyond a small meadow.

Tallie screams out, the broom falling to the ground as she looks up. Harry and Draco drop theirs as well, wands pointed at the gliding figures descending towards them.

There were four dementors, clad in black and already inhaling to catch the flickers of happiness bleeding off of the three teens.

“I don’t know the charm!” Draco yells to Harry, who shakes his head in agreement. The house was too far away, the effect of the dementors would hit them before they could get more than a meter. Tallie backs into their chests, her wand raised straight into the sky.

“Stay behind me!” She orders shakily before closing her eyes and focusing on the memory of running through the Forbidden Forest with Draco and Harry the weekend before they left for the Easter Holidays. For once, she was thankful for Remus’ habit of setting her extra summer homework. “Expecto Patronum!”

A wispy shield spread above the three, weak. Tallie reaches with her free hand and two soaking wet ones claps desperately onto hers. The searing heat of the bond stretches her emotions and she calls on the memory of them holding her before the fire, their lips pressed to the corner of her eyes.

“EXPECTO PATRONUM!” She screams again. The shield above them turns nearly solid. She wasn’t powerful enough for a corporal patronus; had no need to be really, but this would have to be enough.

“Expecto Patronum!” was shouted several times behind them. A weasel, stag, two wolves, and a rather large owl rush onto the scene. The silvery creatures clash with the soul-sucking dementors violently, driving them off beyond the wards. James shouts out the password that would activate the ancient blood wards around the cottage to keep the dark creatures away.

Tallie’s shield faded slowly away and she leans heavily onto her boys as they shiver. All three are too pale and clammy to the touch. The adults rush forward to gently herd the three back inside where they are sat on the plush couch of the main living room.

Narcissa, Lily, and Molly kneel before the shivering youths and wrap them in woolen blankets, tsking worriedly over their pale cheeks.

“What are dementors doing away from Azkaban?” Sirius growls furiously while holding onto Remus’, who was trembling with his own suppressed anger. Lucius, for once, agreed with the degree of anger in the mutt’s tone. It made it even worse that he and Narcissa could do nothing to protect their Dragon from those monsters as they did not know how to produce the Patronus Charm.

“Dumbledore’s been worried about this for years.” Arthur murmurs while holding Ginny close. The other children were scattered before the hearth, feeling safer in numbers. Bill comes forward with a thick bar of Honeyduke’s milk chocolate.

“I hear this helps.” He offers. The three bite hesitantly into the rich treat, relaxing as warmth reinvades their bodies.

“What would cause this?” Molly questions.

“The very thing that the wizarding world has been fearing for thirteen years.” James says solemnly. Lily curves her hand over Harry’s neck as everyone’s gaze flick to the boy’s lightning bolt scar.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Talianna, stay behind after class.” The girl looks up in surprise as she stoppers her potion vial. Draco, beside her, elbows her questioningly.

“I don’t know.” She mouths in reply and slips the vial into the container on his desk before going back to her station to pack up. Harry watches, slightly jealous, as Draco assists her, occasionally brushing her hand. His feelings were growing every day. He was sorely thankful to Hermione and Ron for keeping him so busy training for the maze.

The class files out as a bell tolls. When it is empty but for one, Severus gets to his feet and stalks around to pick up the container to put in his cupboard for later grading. Tallie lingers awkwardly by her desk, waiting for an explanation.

“It was you.” Why does this child make him act compassionate? It puts him into the most awkward situations.

“Pardon?” Tallie tilts her head slightly, tucking a few stray strands back into the potion-fumed-mussed braid.

“There is a spell that the judges performed upon each champion, without their knowing, to discover who they would miss the most for the second task. When it was cast upon Potter, it was a very close call between you and Draco.” Severus pauses as the silver-haired girl’s brown eyes widened in surprise. Why was he doing this again?

“How…?”

“In the end, it was you who Potter would miss most. The judges decided to choose Draco, however, because we felt that it might be detrimental to your mental well-being to be put through such a thing.” Now the girl’s mouth drops open. Really? Why was he being so…so…nice? It wasn’t fun.

“T-th-thank you, sir.” Tallie mumbles as she totters out of the door. Severus sighs and lets his face fall forward slightly as he pinches the bridge of his nose.

“I hate myself sometimes.” He mutters before standing up and grabbing his red quill. Some Hufflepuffs were about to get very harsh reviews on their essays.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The band’s fanfare quickly died as those closest began to scream. Tallie fought against both Neville and Ron’s restraining hands. Her entire body convulsed to go to her pack member. She knew! She knew something was going on! She felt it, through the bond— the terror, the pain, the fury, and…the acceptance that he might die tonight. Not acceptable. Not.Acceptable.

Draco was similarly detained by Blaise and Dean. His teeth were bared with his incisors prematurely morphing.

“Draco, Tallie, if you transform now, it won’t help Harry.” Hermione whispers frantically, tears pouring down her face at what all had transpired in the last three minutes. Tallie and Draco had gone rigid as soon as Harry had entered that dratted maze. Tallie had begun shivering about thirty minutes later, her eyes flashing silver.

Both animagi pause and fix their gazes on the brown-haired witch. She gulps and continues. “If you guys stay human, then you can go to him.” Both practically freeze and their restrainers slowly let go. Immediately, Tallie grasps Draco’s hand and they dart through the crowd. It was so thick; it was another five minutes before Tallie reached where Amos Diggory was sobbing over the body of Cedric.

She knelt beside the boy, ignoring Professor McGonagall’s protests, and lays a hand on Amos’ shoulder in comfort, allowing her sorrow at the older boy’s death to wash through her. Tears are already dripping from her lashes. Draco watches with alertness, noting his parents in the approaching crowd. James and Lily were currently shouting at Dumbledore, who was looking shaken.

“Where’s Harry?” Tallie rises to her feet as soon as the Malfoys and Lupins join them. Amos is moved along with Cedric’s body by the team of Aurors and Mediwitches while the students are pressed back into the stands for control. The ministry officials and teachers gathered at the base to discuss what to do next.

“Moody took him to the castle.” Arthur Weasley replies. Dumbledore’s head whips around from the Potter’s in alarm and Tallie and Draco instantly snarl.

“I knew it! I told you! I told you he smelled wrong!” Tallie screams at Remus before she whips her body around, already shifting in midair. A midnight black, almost fully grown wolf drops back to the ground, already running. A mostly matured pale lion loping at her side. Albus and Minerva, with Severus and the other involved adults, quickly follow.

Faster…faster…danger…Harry danger…Draco faster!

I’m trying! Tallie stumbles over a step in the Entrance Hall as Draco answers. Both feel the bond morphing, engulfing them with the emotions of all three. Harry was becoming frightened again, but neither could discern what he was thinking.

Discuss later…

Of course. Draco replies before loosing a roar as he feels pain lancing down the bond from Harry’s end. The adults are right on their trail, surprisingly, and offer a sense of recklessness as both animagi students crash through the fake-professor’s door.

The snarling is terrible. Loud and unforgiving, it echoes about the cluttered space as Draco closes his jaws around the wand hand of the fake wizard. Tallie goes one step further, digging her teeth into the wrinkly skin of the man’s neck, stopping just short of ripping out his jugular. She wouldn’t kill him…yet. Answers were needed.

Lily and James were next through the door, wands held out. When they saw that the threat was effectively taken down, they sweep Harry into their arms. His sobs crack both of their hearts, his broken “He’s back…He’s back…oh gods, he’s back…” making them shiver with dread. Severus and Albus are the next through, with the others crowding the door.

“Miss Lupin, Mister Malfoy, release him.” Albus commands gently, his eyes flashing murderously at the imposter. Draco lets go after slamming the wand far away. Tallie snarls and tightens her jaws.

“Talianna, let go.” Remus orders. She ignores him blatantly, claws digging into the shoulders as the captive flails wildly at the wolf holding him down.

“Tallie” Harry gasps, turning slightly to face his friend. Tallie’s brown eyes swivel upwards to catch the tear-stained face of the boy she loves and slowly unlocks her jaws, swiping at the blood trickling from her white canines. She prances off of the man and leans against Harry’s legs in comfort. He weaves his fingers through her pelt as Draco wraps his arm around Harry’s waist.

“You’re never leaving us out again. Never. I don’t care what it is. I don’t care where it takes us. We are with you.” Draco growls against Harry’s shoulder. Tallie yips in agreement and Harry nods wearily, tears still streaming down his face.

“Together” Harry whispers, closing his eyes and letting the warmth of pack surround him. Protect him from the coming nightmares.