Sirius lay curled up around the emotionally shattered form of his young godson. He'd retreated to this place of solitude shortly after the muggle healers had finished packing his wounds. Harry, or Evan as he now preferred to be called, had needed the privacy, and the comfort only family could provide. As tragic as it may have been he was the closest thing to a father the boy had ever known, so he'd taken the boy and flown to the lush green orchard shaded hill that was a part of the furthest corner of his clearing. It was relatively remote and out of the way, thus providing the boy with the privacy required for him to truly let himself go. Although for added privacy he'd mantled his wings, encasing the boy in yard upon yard of leathery membrane.

He'd somewhat absently noted that his coloration was darkening, becoming closer to the deep silvery- blue tones of the male's he'd seen in his dreams. Despite himself he wondered how long it would be until he gained the flashy markings on his wing edges.

He pushed thoughts of the odd changes his body would be going through out of his mind and nuzzled the crying form huddled against his chest. "Everything will be alright, Harry. Uncle Padfoot is here Little Fawn, I've got you." He hissed in Parseltongue, trying to mimic the soothing tones he used to use when Harry had been a baby.

"Please don't call me that." Harry hiccupped.

"What? Little Fawn? It's what we called you as a small pup. Drove your mother crazy." He added, voice good natured and almost playful as he recalled all the times they'd annoyed Lily with their perpetual nicknames for baby Harry and their half joking banter over what the boy's animal form would be.

Harry shook his head. "No Harry." He spat his name as if it were a curse.

Sirius reared back slightly at the raw self-loathing he heard in the boy's voice. "That is the name your mother gave you." He chided.

"Harry was a worthless freak, whose family hated him. He hurt the people he loved, starting with his parents and ending with his godfather. He wasn't worth enough for his friends to stand by him against the ministry. The few friends he did have are better off without him! He's nothing but a plague upon decent people."

Sirius carefully rapped the boy atop the head with his wing, "Nobody talks about my godson like that in front of me." He hissed.

Harry gapped at him. "It's true, though." The boy hissed after a moment. "Just look at poor Timothy. He wouldn't have been hurt if it wasn't for me. It's my fault Sirius."

Sirius snorted in contempt, and replied in a firm tone, devoid of any humor. "Harry is a smart boy, a good boy with an amazing capacity for love and compassion. He was, and still is, worth enough that his parents willingly gave up their lives so that he would have a chance to live. Don't cheapen that by forgetting who you are. I love you and I will gladly spend the rest of my life as a flying Iguana if it means you are safe! Hermione stood by you, as did the twins. If you wish to go by Evan from now on, I understand and I will support you in that fact, but do not forget who Harry Potter is. Do not lie to yourself, remember who you are or you forget your parents and dishonor your entire family and their memory. I will not allow it, you, your parents and house Potter deserve better." Leaning in he nuzzled the softly crying boy with the tip of his muzzle. "As for Young Mr. Dale," he continued in softer tones, and in English. "Did you shoot him?"

"No," Harry sobbed.

"did you hold a gun to that French Git's head and force him to pull the trigger?"

"no, but-"

"Did you do anything other then what we have been trained to do?"

"No but -"

"Then do not take the blame for a sin you didn't commit." Sirius said running roughshod over the boy's protests.

"Well said Sirius." Admiral Roland said.

Greatly startled and utterly bewildered by the fact that the woman had managed to sneak up on them Sirius snapped his head up and around so quickly he was surprised he didn't get whiplash.

The Admiral chuckled at his reaction, before turning her attention to the boy in the shelter of the dragon's wings. "Listen to your dragon, Captain Black. He is right. Mr. Dale's injuries are not your fault. The surgeons are optimistic about his chances for a full recovery."

Sirius felt the tension drain out of the boy at Roland's words.

"That's good." The boy responded in a quiet tone, and Sirius sighed in relief.

"Lieutenant Carter?" He enquired after a moment's hesitation.

Roland sighed, "I fear Lieutenant Carter's injuries are such that should he survive, he will be bed bound for quite some time."

Sirius closed his eyes, feeling a brief flash of pain for the young life war had destroyed. He'd seen the wounds the young man bore when they'd pulled his limp body from his harness. He was no healer, but he would be very surprised if the man lived and walked again.

"All things considered, it falls to you to choose his replacement." Roland continued.

His godson looked up at him, a troubled expression on his young face, then he gulped and turned his attention to the Admiral. "Rankin," he said decisively after a moment. She was the first person to regain her wits after Sirius dislodged the bulk of the French borders. She fell into Carter's role and handled his duties effectively."

HPTHPTHPTHPTHPT

Luna shivered as she scrambled higher up the mountain side. She'd gotten separated from her father and the rest of the expedition several hours ago, and had only succeeded in getting more and more turned around in the snow blanketed wilderness. She'd known there was often snow on these peaks, even in the middle of summer, but she had not expected blizzards, nor had she expected the weather to change so swiftly.

She pulled her cloak more tightly around herself and contemplated using magic to warm herself, but she wasn't sure how that would be received. She didn't think she would get in trouble, all things considered, but there were a great many creatures in the world that were sensitive to magic. She didn't want to disturb any of magical fauna in the area. Using her wand could mean the difference between life and death out here on the exposed, snow-covered mountain but it could also be the difference between seeing something wonderful. She really didn't want to be the reason, her father didn't get to see a Crumple-Horned Snorkax. She walked slowly on, searching for her father and the rest of the expedition, while contemplating her options. She didn't fear death. How could she when she knew what or rather who waited for her on the other side of death's vale? It would be nice to see her mother again. Just as it would have been nice to have friends again. Sadly the former looked to be more likely at the moment.

She'd had friends once. Several years ago now. She'd lost her friends, and gained the nickname "loony" shortly after she'd lost her mother. Sometimes she saw Ron and Ginny with their new friends and wondered just what she had done wrong. Sometimes she was so jealous of the friendships they'd found, and others she pitied their new friends because she knew that someday they would let them down. But then, perhaps she was being to judgmental. Mother had always taught her to keep an open mind. Ginny had been just as crushed as Luna when her mother had ended their friendship. simply didn't approve of Luna's family and Ron's tails of "Loony Lovegood" hadn't helped the situation. She sighed, she was overthinking things again and that course of thought was not going to be of any help to her at the moment. She climbed to her feet, with a slow stiffness reminiscent of an old and horribly arthritic person, and wondered just when she'd sat down.

Deciding that that little lapse in both memory and judgement was a truly bad sign, she pulled her wand out from behind her ear and quickly cast a warming spell upon her clothing. Warmth wrapped around her, along with an unpleasant – and vaguely painful - pins and needles filling in her extremities. For a moment she sighed in relief, then she gasped as a truly different sensation swept through her body. It felt as if something large, was breathing down her neck. Frozen in horror, she could only stand there and let the blue green pulse of foreign magic engulf her.

Abruptly the world shook, and she tumbled end over end down a rocky embankment. Absently she noted that despite the very physical fall, there had been an odd sensation accompanying it. Like a strange cross between apperation and portkeying. She climbed to her feet at the base of a large rocky outcrop high on the mountainside. Looking up she screamed.

Gazing down on her out of the rocks, mantling over her nest was an immense dragon unlike any she had ever seen.

AN. I know it's short but after a gap like that I felt it better to post sooner rather than later. This fic is unedited. Stay tuned because I am back. Again sorry for the long wait. My final year of college and 2 years of grad school happened.