I HATH RETURNED! ALL SHALL BOW BEFORE SINSIDHE! WORLDS BEST PROCRASTINATOR EVERRRR!

Yeah, sorry about the insanely long wait. I had work to do, and then I was too tired to bother doing anymore writing XD Good news everyone, summer holidays in a month for me, three months of story time. BAH HAHAHAHA

Harry woke up abruptly when Fírnen landed. Shaking his head like a wet dog in an attempt to banish his tiredness, Harry looked around the clearing in which Fírnen's home was located. He reached up and removed the black mask from his face. It glistened slightly in the moonlight, and Harry wondered about the history of such an object. He might as well keep using it. It protected his identity, and so it protected Fírnen. He shoved it into his backpack before he heard another heavy thud behind him, and Harry jerked his head around to see the large, red dragon collapse to the ground, exhausted and trembling from its long flight. Harry cursed, and leapt of Fírnen, stumbling slightly as he hit the ground, his legs having gone numb during his sleep. In a flash, he was at the poor beast's side, running his hands over the chalky scales, soothing the dragon as it took in its surroundings.

"Hey hey hey," Harry said softly, stroking the red dragons snout, smiling as it began to hum happily, "You're safe now. You can sleep in the Tree house. Come on, it's just over there. Just a little bit longer and you can rest."

The dragon whined tiredly, but slowly lumbered ungracefully to its feet, obediently following Harry as he walked over to Fírnen's tree. Reaching it, Harry quickly climbed upwards until he was perched on the ledge that was the entrance to the shelter. A few minutes of encouragement and guiding thoughts, and the red dragon had successfully jumped/flown into the Tree House. Some more beckoning and encouragement, and Harry managed to get the creature nestled into the bowl shaped depression in the floor that was full of soft pillows and blankets he had brought for Fír to make his bed more comfortable.

Harry stumbled forward slightly as Fírnen nudged his back, having followed them into his house. 'Looks like my bed has been commandeered,' he sent humorously. Harry laughed softly as he watched the huge red dragon yawn cutely before tucking its head under a pale red wing. Within seconds, it was asleep.

"This is the saddest thing I have seen in my life," Harry whispered, gazing at the injured creature before kneeling down so he could touch the wooden floor. He began to sing softly, and watched with satisfaction as the bowl-bed grew larger so as to accommodate more than one dragon. "That better?" Fírnen nodded his emerald head wordlessly, and curled up beside the red dragon whose body still trembled even in sleep. Harry sighed and closed his eyes in contemplation.

'No, Harry,' Fírnen interrupted in his mind, having been scanning what Harry was thinking. 'You're too tired. Get some sleep first before you try anything.'

"How am I supposed to sleep when this poor creature is in this state?" Harry whispered sharply, his eyes flashing open. "Look at its scales! It's probably never even flown before in its life before tonight..."

'He,' Fírnen corrected, 'He's male. And I know. Just thinking that one of my kin, no matter how different to me he is, has suffered this much makes me want to destroy every Goblin in existence. This happened in their bank. How DARE they have treated me with such respect when they had him locked in the vaults.'

Harry ran a hand through his hair, and crawled over to the dragons, sliding down the side of the bowl so he was leaning against Fírnen's leg but still in arms reach of the red dragons head. He began to stroke the dull scales again, and the red dragon shuffled closer to him in his sleep. Harry swallowed painfully at the sight, and furrowed his brow in determination.

"It doesn't matter if I'm tired, Fír," Harry muttered, "I will not allow him to suffer any longer. I have to try." Harry placed his hand, the one that shone with the gedwëy ignasia, on one of the rough scales of the red dragons neck. He took a deep breath, before whispering, "Waíse heill." Under his hand, once dull, chalky, barely red scales morphed into bright, blood red ones. They were shiny, and resembled ruby gemstones. Already Harry could feel the drain on his magic reserves. Life Magic was once again proving to be the most difficult of all magic types to cast. Harry ignored his rising levels of tiredness, and continued to run his hands over the dragons scales, smile widening as more scales were transformed into their gem-like true forms.

The dragon was extremely large, and as Harry continued his healing, he was thankful that he had thought to make the Tree House so large. While singing it out of the tree, he had remembered Manin's warnings about how fast a dragon matured, and so had made a home that wouldn't need to be changed as Fírnen grew larger as he aged.

Harry's hands started to tremble with fatigue, and he began to develop tunnel vision before Fírnen intervened, adding his own strength to the spell. Harry wasn't sure how long it took, possibly hours for all he knew, before he collapsed beside the dragon's head, finally finished. Breathing heavily, Harry propped himself up on his elbows, running a hand down his sweaty face. "Done."

'Well done, Little One.' Fírnen's presence in Harry's mind soothed him, and he allowed his eyes to flutter close. 'I do not know how our new friend managed to sleep through all of that.'

"Probably the first good sleep he's ever had. And he just flew all the way from London to Scotland. I still don't know how dragons are able to fly so fast."

'We fly through a combination of magic and physical movement. Manin has told you that, by my count, fourteen times already.'

"Ugghhh, begone with your intelligence. I want to sleep," Harry groaned, wincing as aching muscles were pulled as he stood up. "At least he's pretty now. Extreme Makeover's got nothing on me, bitch." Fírnen laughed one of his dragon laughs. Indeed, the once chalky red scales now glistened beautifully in the moonlight. The red dragon now looked how he would have look had he been raised above ground and on a good diet. Harry noted that he was rather thin. "You should take him hunting tomorrow. Teahing him the ways of the dragon. Become his draconic mentor. Master Fírnen. Be sure to stay connected with his mind though. It's a mess in there..."

Fírnen sighed, and tilted his head in the direction of exit. 'You should get back to school, Harry. At this rate you'll only get about three hours sleep tonight. And you have double DADA tomorrow. You know you get grumpy when you're sleep deprived,'

"Grrrr, I don't get grumpy," Harry growled, and then paused. "Wait, nevermind."

Fírnen laughed again, and pushed him out of the nest. 'Get back to school, midget.'

Harry rolled his eyes, and hugged Fírnen's neck fiercely. "I'll be back tomorrow to check on you and Mr. Snooze over there. I'll come up with a name for him tomorrow. Hey, do you think I'd be able to convince a centaur to give me a lift back to the castle? Now that I'm a Dragonrider, they all think I'm really cool."

'That's because they don't know you, Harry.'

"Hey!"

'Goodbye, Harry.'

Grumbling, Harry rolled his shoulders, scowling as he remembered what was currently in his backpack. "I'll leave the Hor-Sux here. The destruction of the locket was rather violent, and I'd rather destroy this piece of crap when my eyelids aren't attempting to blind me. Think you'll be okay with it so nearby?"

'I was not the one who fell for the locket's manipulations last time. Before you destroy it, please practice some more Occlumency with Snape.'

Harry groaned again at the thought of Snape's extra lessons. Their relationship may have improved A LOT, but Snape like to teach Harry through a combination of useful information, and 'Haha Harry is a loser' rants. The greasy bat was a difficult person to deal with...

"Fiiine, I'm going. Later, you big, fat, lizard." Harry jumped out of the Tree House before Fírnen could smite him with his tail, cackling manically as he went. He landed in a crouch on the leafy forest floor, bent knees absorbing the impact of his fall. He quickly set of at a brisk sprint, reasoning that the faster he got back to the castle, the sooner he could sleep away the horrendous exhaustion that was wracking his hybrid body.

By the time Harry reached the entrance to the Gryffindor Common room, wrapped in his Invisibility Cloak, he was seconds away from keeling over. Having extreme trouble keeping his eyes open, Harry banged his head against the Fat Lady's portrait, managing to mutter the password amidst his curses, before crawling trough, ignoring the painting's grumblings. He stumbled out into the dimly lit room, and dragged his feet in the direction of the staircase, thoughts focused solely on the warm bed awaiting him. He was so focused on his bed, that he failed to notice a figure springing to their feet from one of the armchairs beside the fire, and lunging at his invisible form.

"Huh?-AGH!" Harry yelled, as he was tackled to the floor by none other than Hermione.

"Ron! Wake up! I caught him!" Hermione called to Ron, who leapt out of the chair he had been snoring in, blearily taking in the sight of Hermione seemingly seated on thin air.

"Hey mate."

"Wha-GET OFF ME, HERMIONE! Jeez, why did you attack me?!"

"Don't you take that tone with me, Harry James Potter! Ron told me you've been sneaking out during the night since the start of the year. We decided that we would wait for you tonight so we could interrogate you about where you've been going. This is all your fault, you know! Making us worry! Have you joined a gang?"

Harry sputtered incoherently, his sluggish brain trying to deal with the fact that RON, of all people, had noticed him sneaking out. "What- a gang?! What the hell?! Why would I- You didn't have to TACKLE ME!"

Hermione harrumphed, and grudgingly stood up, pulling the Cloak off of Harry as she went. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Well, where have you been going!" Hermione exclaimed in exasperation. "Merlin, Harry, do you have any idea how worried we are? Sneaking out all the time, always seeming tired, your change during the summer? Please Harry, just tell us what's going on!"

Harry gulped at the upset Hermione, and slightly frowning Ron. Both of them were dressed in their pyjamas, and Harry didn't doubt that they had been waiting up for him since he left earlier in the night. 'Should I tell them what's going on? I don't want to scare them. They'll be so worried. Wait, they already ARE worried. How can I explain any of this? "Hey guys, wanna go for a ride on my dragon?"'

Harry sighed, and sat up, absently taking his backpack of his shoulders and shoving his Cloak inside. Fírnen had told him to tell them, but what if they freaked out? He carefully examined their worried faces, and made his decision.

"Umm, well, you know the way I changed during the summer? Err, this wasn't all," he said, gesturing to his face and body. "I also got these." With a wave of his hand, the glamour concealing his ears dissipated, and Ron and Hermione gasped in surprise.

"An-an elf?" Hermione stuttered, thoroughly shocked. Ron however, just gazed at Harry in confusion.

"You got a creature inheritance? Why didn't you tell us? They're not THAT big a deal. Sure, Purebloods get all high and mighty about wizard hybrids, but since when have you cared about that?"

"It wasn't a creature inheritance," Harry sighed. "I changed because, I, well..."

"Harry, just tell us!"

"I... I'm a Dragonrider..."

As expected, Harry received incredulous looks.

"Isn't that..." Ron whispered, "... bestiality?"

"Ron!" Hermione yelled, "You're so stupid!" She facepalmed before turning to Harry again. "Are you serious? I thought Dragonriders were extinct! How is this even possible!? Where's your dragon? Is it male or female? What colour is it? Can it talk? I read in a book, one on magical creatures, that Dragonriders were leaders of Magical Creatures before they disappeared thousands of years ago! They were said to possess the most potent magic to ever exist! Some said Merlin was a Dragonrider! HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE?!-"

"HERMIONE!" Harry yelled, and she sheepishly fell silent. "If you'd let me SPEAK, I could tell you! And you actually knew all this already? Merlin, Fírnen TOLD me not to be so worried..."

"Sorry," she said, and stared at him in contemplation. "... And you didn't tell us until now becaaaause?"

Harry scratched a pointed ear sheepishly, drawing his friends attention towards them once again.

"Can I touch them?" Ron asked unexpectedly. Harry nodded, and Ron walked over and stared at Harry's ears silently for a moment. Then he flicked one of them, painfully.

"OW! What the hell, Ron! Jesus!"

"Sorry mate," Ron laughed, "But you deserved that. Secrets can destroy friendships, Harry, and I don't know about you, but I kinda like this friendship."

Harry grumbled at him, scowled fiercely, and rubbed his now red ear. "You're such an asshole sometimes, Ron." Ron just grinned cheekily, and went back over to the sofa. Hermione returned to her seat also, and Harry sprawled in front of the fire and stared at the softly glowing embers.

"So... how did it happen?"

"Well, at the start of the summer, I found a green stone..."

It took over an hour for Harry to get through the whole story, but by the end, Ron and Hermione knew everything.

"Blimey mate. These Horcrux', they sound really dark. And you've already destroyed one, and got another in your secret hideout?"

Harry nodded, and sighed as he gazed out of the window. "I dunno about you guys, but I'm gonna go grab that hour or so of sleep." They both nodded at him, eyes extremely wide, and stood up, heading towards their dormitories.

"Wait, Harry," Hermione said softly, "Before you go, can I see Manin?"

Harry smiled slightly, and removed his shirt, revealing the dragon that decorated his skin. "Trying to get me out of my clothes?"

Hermione shot him a glare and slapped him upside the head, and glanced at Ron before returning her attention to the dragon. "This is amazing..."

"I am, aren't I?"

Ron rolled his eyes, and ruffled his orange hair, yawning widely, "Shut up, mate."

Harry's head collided with his desk with an ominous thunk.

"Harry, stop it. Professor Umbridge will be here in a second. Don't give her any reason to give you another detention."

Harry smirked at the thought, recalling the look on Dumbridge's face when he had carved those cats into his arm. Although it had been rather painful, winding her up had been worth it.

Ignoring Hermione, Harry wrapped his arms around his head, blocking all the light from his vision and snuggling into his jumper sleeves. He was extremely tired, why should he not rest until the toad arrived? Unfortunately, Umbridge chose that exact moment to enter the classroom. Harry winced as the door slammed loudly, and he reluctantly raised his head, wincing as his vision was assaulted by her disgustingly pink clothes.

"Good morning, class," she simpered.

"Good morning, Professor."

She smiled sweetly, toad-like eyes bulging with pleasure.

Already bored and looking for entertainment, Harry began to plot. Just as an idea began to form in his mind, a wad of paper smacked him in the side of his head. Snarling, Harry looked around to see Goyle laughing at him, obviously extremely proud that he had managed to hit Harry.

Harry narrowed his eyes, and scanned the classroom. Umbridge had made her way to the front of the class, and was directing a piece of pink chalk to start writing notes on the black board. His fellow students were either staring at the board with unfocused eyes, or at random bricks in the walls, mouths agape with boredom. An evil smile made its way onto Harry's face. Perfect.

Placing both of his elbows on the table so his wandless hands were in full view of the room, Harry carefully aimed his glamoured silver palm in Goyle's direction. Said brute sat back in his chair, and smiled stupidly at Harry, as if daring him to retaliate. Smirking, Harry waved at him cheerfully, and whispered a few words in the Ancient language.

Goyle's pale face suddenly turned bright red, and he leapt up out of his chair.

Umbridge looked up sharply at the movement, and seeing that it was a Slytherin, fixed a soothing smile on her face. "Is everything alright, dear?"

Goyle's idiotic face grew even redder, and he looked to be constipated. Draco glanced up at his 'friend' curiously, then at Harry. Harry smirked darkly at him, before returning his attention to Goyle, and expectant look on his face.

"Gregory?" Umbridge asked with fake concern, slowly approaching the large brute. Goyle remained silent until she was directly in front of him, and then-

"BUCUUUUUUUCK!"

Umbridge screamed at the unexpected chicken noise that assaulted her eardrums, and stumbled backwards, tripping over a school bag and landing on the floor in a heap. The entire class, even the Slytherins, erupted with howls of laughter, Harry actually falling off of his chair and onto the floor, were he proceeded to roll around, clutching his stomach and laughing uncontrollably.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!"

"BUCUUUUUUUCK!"

"STOP THAT NOISE AT ONCE!"

"BUCUUUUUUUCK!"

"I ORDER YOU TO BE SILENT!"

"BUCUUUUUUUCK!"

"MR. MALFOY! Escort your friend to the Hospital Wing AT ONCE!"

"BUCUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!"

"Yes, Professor Umbridge," Malfoy said, his face calm except for his cheeks which were twitching with suppressed laughter. He may hate Potter, but seeing Goyle, who was so stupid it was difficult to be around him, squawking like a demented chicken, was beyond hilarious.

Draco led Goyle out of the room, closing the door behind them, and the laughter in the class continued as muffled "BUCUUUUUUUCK's made themselves heard.

"SILENCE!" Umbridge shrieked, "I WILL HAVE ORDER!"

Harry pulled himself back into his seat, and covered his face with his hands, his shoulders shaking with silent laughter.

Slowly, the class calmed down, and Umbridge ran stubby hands down her clothes, patting away and dirt that may have lingered on it from her contact with the floor.

"I demand that whoever cast that spell come forward right this moment. If they do not, I will be testing wands to find the origin of the spell." No hands were raised, and Umbridge smiled sadistically. "Very well."

Immediately, she walked over to Harry, and held a hand out for his wand. He handed it to her readily, and watched her face turn an impressive shade of purple as his wand showed the last spell he had used, a tickling hex he had cast on Ron that morning for trying to steal his socks since he hadn't washed any of his own.

She glared at him furiously, before proceeding to check every wand in the room. By the time she was finished, having found no evidence of the spell used on Goyle on anyone's wand, her face was contorted with fury.

"I see," she whispered venomously, yet with a smile. "Know that whoever you are, I WILL find out who you are. I will not tolerate such behaviour in my class, and you WILL suffer the consequences for your actions,-"

Harry held his hand in her direction, and frowned in concentration.

"-Now we will continue our studies on- RIBBIT!"

Such a weird chapter. Next chapter will be set during Christmas and a bit of plot development :) Thanks for reading.