Chapter One

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and associated characters belong to JKR. All else belongs to me.

Author’s Note: This is the sequel to Velvet Song’s “Damsels and Dragons”, which she allowed me to complete in her stead last year. I want to thank her for encouraging me to write this story, and noybate for being my beta. The story is complete, and I am hoping to post a chapter a week.

Chapter One

The wind rushed out over the hills, splitting itself in two to wind around obstacles in its path and, flowing back together on the other side, created eddies and currents that swept up dead leaves and light twigs to dance along before dropping them back to the ground in a different place from where they lay before.

The black dragon sat perched on the highest point of the wind’s current obstacle and watched the leaves and twigs in their dance. Spreading his wings wide, he toppled off the Astronomy Tower to soar, allowing the wind to catch him up under his wings, and joined in the dance.

Anyone watching—and there could not have been many, as it was after midnight and all within should have been in their beds—would have seen a large black shadow cross over the moon in its fullness and then dive, disappearing into the dark forest on the outskirts of the wide lawn that spread in front of the darkened castle.

However, there were at least two pairs of eyes watching the flight of the black dragon. One pair of eyes, yellow in colour, belonged to the brown and grey wolf who stood in the shadows at the edge of the forest, waiting. The other pair, black in colour, belonged to the half-giant who stood in the doorway of his hut, the light from his fireplace spilling out from behind him.

He sighed deeply—a combination of awe, delight, and sorrow—at the sight of the dragon soaring across the moon above him. “Merlin luv ye, Perfessor,” he whispered. “Perfessor Lupin’s waitin’ fer ye ta come an’ play wi’ ‛im. I ‛ope ‛ermione’s not watchin’, too. It’d break ‛er ‛eart, it would, after all she’s done fer ye.” Shaking his head forlornly, he stepped back into the hut and closed the door.

Meanwhile, in the castle, alone in her bed, a young witch tossed, turned, and twitched, as if she were also soaring in the wind. Suddenly, her eyes blinked open, and she sat up. “Severus?” She scrambled out of bed, pulling on a dressing gown as she pulled back her window curtains and pushed opened the window. “Severus!” she yelled, desperately seeking the black dragon. Her only answer: the howl of a wolf hunting in the Forbidden Forest. “Oh, Severus,” Hermione whispered into the wind.

§§§§§§§

Severus wandered into the Great Hall for breakfast the next morning, sat next to Hermione as had become his habit, and nodded sparingly to the other teachers at the table. He had a splitting headache, and his body felt like someone had Crucio’d him while he slept.

Hagrid grinned at him from the end of the single table used by the teachers in the summer and winked as if they shared a secret. “Did ye ‛ave a nice flight, Perfessor?” the half-giant asked with a big smile. “Ye and Perfessor Lupin must’ve ‛ad quite the night.”

“What the devil are you rattling on about, Hagrid?” Severus snarled. “I wasn’t flying anywhere last night. I was in my own bed.”

“But— but— I saw ye,” Hagrid stuttered. “Ye was flyin’ ‛cross the moon. I watched ye come from the ‛Stronomy Tower meself when I left Fang out ta do his bizness.”

“And I’m telling you—” Severus was interrupted by Minerva’s suddenly solemn voice.

“Severus? Is what Hagrid’s saying true?” Her questions rang out over a suddenly silent table. “Did you turn back into a dragon last night?” The other teachers looked over the table at him in confusion. Hadn’t they just gone through this?

Before Severus could answer the Headmistress’ questions, Remus limped his way into the Great Hall. “Good morning, everyone,” he whispered hoarsely. “Sorry about my voice. Seems I did some extra howling last night.” He grinned, then winced in pain. “Hermione, could I trouble you for a painkiller after breakfast?”

Hermione smiled wanly at the Transfiguration instructor. “I’ll join you in that,” she said. “I’m not feeling so great myself.”

Severus took a good look at the young Potions mistress. Her eyes were sunken in her head, and she had dark circles under her eyes as if she’d had little sleep. “Did you stay up all night watching for the dolt?” he asked crossly. “Remus is a big boy. I’m sure he’s used to taking care of himself.”

“No,” she snapped. “I stayed up all night watching out my window for you!”

“For me?” Severus was aghast. “I assure you, Madam Granger, I spent the night in my bed, in my room, in the dungeons. There was no need for you to look for me outside your window.”

“You know,” Remus said with some hesitation, “while I don’t always remember what I’m doing when I’m a wolf, even with the Wolfsbane—”

“Well, spit it out, man!” Severus snarled. “Some of us don’t have all morning.”

“Now, that’s harsh,” Harry protested from his place across the table. “He’s obviously had a hard night, and there’s still two more nights of the full moon to go.”

“Mr Potter, I am fully aware of how many nights it takes for the moon to turn full,” Severus said with a sneer. “You need not try to lecture me.”

“Enough, both of you,” Minerva said, scowling at the verbal duelling. “Remus, did something happen last night?” She turned to the werewolf courteously.

Remus cleared his throat. “As I was saying,” he said with a wry look at Severus’s scowl, “I may not remember everything, but I had the distinct impression that a dragon flew over my head last night. That’s not something I would forget in a hurry. Not after eight years of living with a dragon in the Forbidden Forest.”

Severus sputtered into his coffee. “That’s preposterous!” he said. “We beat the curse. I’m human again, and I’m going to stay human. Me, a dragon again,” he muttered into his cup.

“It’s not so preposterous,” Hermione said suddenly. “I felt you in my head, just like last time.” Everyone at the table stared at her in astonishment.

“Hermione, are you sure?” Lucius asked suddenly. “You weren’t dreaming all this?” Narcissa placed her hand on his arm and squeezed it tight.

“I’m sure, Lucius,” Hermione reassured him. “I was wide awake the rest of the night after I woke up, and I felt Severus in the back of my mind. Of course, he didn’t talk to me, but I felt him there.” She nodded emphatically.

Severus sat at the table, seemingly lost in thought as he listened to the conversation around him. Hermione was definitely showing signs of a lack of sleep; his head and body ached fiercely—he could probably use a pain-killer potion himself—and Remus and that dolt, Hagrid, had obviously seen something. Was there a small chance that—? He shook his head in denial, then groaned as his headache worsened.

Minerva frowned at the groan. “Severus, are you quite all right?” she asked with evident concern. “Did you need something?”

“A headache potion wouldn’t go amiss just now, Minerva,” he answered. “As to the accusations…” He scowled as Remus and Hagrid started blustering. “They might—I say might—have some basis in fact, if only because Hermione is stating the very same thing. I cannot say where I was last night if I was not in my bed, but I am certain I was not flying around the Forbidden Forest as a dragon. Other than that, I cannot say.”

Reaching over, he covered Hermione’s hand with his own, stroking it gently. “I do know,” he continued, “that I have missed the feeling of having Hermione in the back of my head as much as she apparently has missed me. If she was not dreaming last night, then something serious must have happened.”