Farewell... for now

As Oz walked through the school he saw all kinds of students with their luggage rushing around. Today was the end of the school term and in a few hours time was when everyone in the school would make the trip to the Hogwarts express. He had seen this same hustle and bustle twice before now however this time it seemed different, maybe because he wouldn't see it again for another two years.

As he walked through the halls he found himself at the headmasters office. The gryphon staircase presented itself to Oz as he walked up and into Dumbledore's office. As he entered he saw the headmaster sat at his desk with a smile.

"This was certainly a surprise Oz, for you to call a meeting between us. To what do I owe the pleasure".

Oz walked up to Dumbledore's desk and faced the headmaster.

"There's some information I'd like to request and in return I can give you information on a potential horcrux location".

Dumbledore's eyes widened as he heard Oz wanting to enact an information deal.

"'Potential' you say... so It's not set in stone?".

"It's better than nothing don't you think? After all im sure your order has nothing to go on at the moment considering you've probably just started the search".

Dumbledore flinched at Oz's cutting words. Stroking his beard he looked at the enigmatic young boy with a light smile.

"Okay Oz I'll bite... What information do you require?".

"In the Order meeting we had a couple days back there were those two Weasleys right? Molly and Arthur I believe their names were? Someone told me that their son handles dragons in Romania. I wanted to ask you if you knew where that son was situated".

Dumbledore looked at Oz curiously as he decided to press him.

"What makes you think I know the exact location of their son?".

"If you're building up your order to fight Voldemort it only makes sense you'd want connections with someone who has experience with dragons. Dragons can be an effective and deadly asset in an army after all".

Dumbledore let out an exasperated sigh looking at Oz. Sighing he began to speak.

"The Romanian Dragon Sanctuary is the full name of the place you seek. I believe you'll find the sanctuary warded off in the Carpathian Mountains. I can send a note to Molly and Arthur who can relay the information to their son Charlie about your arrival in the coming months... Is that enough?".

Oz absorbed the information told to him and nodded at Dumbledore. His first stop after his short stay at Merlin's hideout was to be Romania in order to take Norberta back personally. Going there he wanted to meet with this 'Charlie' as he should have further knowledge about dragons. The dragon sanctuary was also an interesting point of interest for Oz as he wondered what it actually entailed considering the dragons he was aware of were intelligent enough to not be held in a sanctuary.

"Now Oz... I believe It's your turn to give information".

Oz nodded as he began to give Dumbledore a lead on one of the horcruxes.

"Before I tell you this information you are not to ask how I know got it okay?".

Dumbledore nodded as he leaned in closer to listen to Oz's words.

"Grimmauld place. I'm sure you are aware of who used to live there? Well I found out a while ago that a certain person from that family got their hands on a particular locket that Riddle used to own. I imagine that could be a horcrux potentially... Of course you'd need permission from the owner of such a place to enter however I believe that you will easily sort that out this year coming...".

Dumbledore leant back in his chair defeated hearing the end of Oz's explanation. When he heard about grimmauld place he immediately remembered the black family that lived there. Next year from Remus there was talk of Sirius Black making his escape from Azkaban after being wrongly accused. Dumbledore had no idea how but Oz seemed to already know this information. Oz telling them now that the locket was in grimmauld place before hand though eliminated Mundungus from grabbing it sooner.

"If this locket is where you say it is Oz then you would have helped us greatly... thanks for the information, I'll be sure to hold up my end of the bargain as well".

Oz nodded as he started to leave the office. Before he exited the door though he decided to give a slight piece of advice to Dumbledore in regards to the people in his order.

"That Mundungus... I'd be careful of him Dumbledore. I'm sure you know that he is from the underworld of the wizarding community and deals in dark artefacts. An artefact like the locket would be something he would want to hide from you and sell. Just be mindful when you search the place for it... better yet search it with people you trust".

Dumbledore nodded coarsely at Oz's advice returning his own advice to Oz in the process.

"Here's my advice to you then as well Oz. The attention you're receiving now is even greater than before considering your OWL results are being made public by the governors. Voldemort and his army will eventually have their eyes on you. Whilst you are travelling it will be prudent of you to remain cautious as they could attack you at any turn or even try to coax you over to their side...".

Oz lightly smiled at Dumbledore's advice and walked out of the office. Dumbledore now left alone stood up from his chair and let out a long sigh.

"That boy is far too much for my old mind to handle. Thankfully I'll get some peace next year whilst he's gone... I've been sighing too much recently".

.

After departing from Dumbledore's office, Oz headed back to his dorm and packed up the last few things he left. With his pouch and the extension charm placed on it packing up was easy for him as he stuffed everything he had into there. He took one last look at his dorm that had housed him for the previous three years before heading off to meet the gang.

Walking through the halls of Hogwarts he took his time to stroll peacefully considering that the train still had a couple of hours before its departure. As he finally arrived at the schools exit that headed down towards the train, he spotted a familiar group stood there.

"There you are Oz!"

Looking towards the direction of the voice he saw Hermione who was calling out to him. Around here were Harry, Daphne, Cho, Luna and Rose who were all waving him over. He walked over and joined them as they started to walk down towards the train.

"I can't believe thats another year done... so many things happened this year".

Cho seemed to feel melancholic as she looked back on the year that had occurred. For Oz each year had been hectic however this one had been hectic for not only him but everyone here after the death of Craig. The group all seemed to nod in agreement as Rose chimed in.

"I almost died this year... For the second time in my life so far! I hope next year will be more peaceful for us all".

As Oz heard Rose's comment he sighed.

'Way too obvious of a flag Rose...'.

Everyone continues to chat down the path and eventually the conversation ended up situated on Oz.

"So Oz where is your first destination this year coming on your travels?".

Harry looked up to Oz with sparkling eyes wanting to hear were he was headed off too. Everyone else seemed invested as well as they all turned their attention to Oz.

"If you recall Harry, in your first year we witnessed the birth of Norberta right? Do you remember that little dragon".

Harry nodded at Oz along with Hermione and Daphne who remembered the little dragon hatching. Oz turned to the confused trio of Cho, Luna and Rose deciding to explain to them.

"Norberta is a dragon that the gatekeeper Hagrid had found as an egg. We went down into his hut a year ago now to see its birth. She took a liking to me so I promised to look after her for Hagrid".

Hearing the word dragon Luna, Cho and Rose seemed to pause in shock. Oz went on to explain his plans whilst chuckling internally at their faces.

"You see that little dragon has all grown up now and is becoming far too big to handle... So my first stop will be releasing her to the wild where she can roam. In Romania there's a Dragon Sanctuary that I'll be taking her to so Romania will be my first stop...".

Harry, Daphne and Hermione seemed to be remembering that little dragon and found it hard to believe that it had already grown to a size that was too big to be in a house. When she hatched she was no bigger than one of Hagrid's hand however now she was about the size of Hagrid himself, maybe even slightly bigger.

With Oz explaining his plans they started to hound him for what he'd do after that however Oz explained that he would just go 'wherever he feels like' after. Oz loosely promised to send some letters here and there but Cho wasn't buying it for a second considering how bad he was at keeping in contact. Regarding this Oz spotted sly smirks from Harry and Rose who had a means of communication with Oz that would allow them to hear from him undoubtedly during the next year period.

After a long walk and a long talk, they finally found themselves at Hogsmeade station and looking at the Hogwarts express. In front of the train though Oz could see a large crowd forming around a single point.

'Why am I getting deja vu?'.

Harry and Daphne also seemed to feel the same as they approached the station's platform. The rest of the group all seemed to walk faster in curiosity as to what was there. Sure enough as they approached closer the crowd parted and out walked a beautiful girl.

"There you are master~".

Walking over to Oz was Alfreda who seemed bowed as she approached him. Looking over to Daphne and Harry she greeted them also. To Oz's right however he felt the questioning gazes of 4 girls whose stares seemed to feel like needles on his skin. Turning to the four Oz began to explain.

"Hermione, Cho, Rose, Luna, I'd like you to meet my elf Alfreda. She is an elf that has served Merlin's bloodline for centuries and has looked after me ever since I found her a while ago. She tends to be a bit over-catering sometimes which is why I imagine that shes here now...".

Alfreda smiled brightly and greeted the 4 girls who greeted back. Luna was especially mesmerised by Alfreda's appearance as she called out.

"You aren't a house elf thats for sure... What exactly are you if you mind me asking?".

Alfreda let out a light chuckle at Luna's 'to the point' question as she began to explain.

"I'm a ancestor of those you call 'house-elves'. Due to inbreeding amongst other things elves changed their appearance over the years becoming more and more like the ones you see today. Along with that their lifespans also decreased. Me as an ancient elf is still the same as I was many years ago and still have many years left until I am to return to the earth".

Hermione, Cho and Luna looked at the Alfreda with a mix of shock and also greediness as they realised that her knowledge might even rival Oz's. She was an ancient elf after all who would have lived back even when the founders were around possibly. Sadly for them Oz wanted to keep that knowledge to himself and Alfreda wouldn't say anything more unless Oz allowed her to.

"Alfreda I gather you come to apparate me directly right?".

"That's correct master~ I thought you'd find it better to skip this journey by train~".

Oz smiled gratefully before turning to the group he would now leave behind for a year.

"Well guys, this is where we part for a year. Make sure to all look after yourselves and keep safe. This school seems to be a magnet for trouble these days".

Everyone took turns to say goodbye to Oz with Luna, Rose and Cho giving Oz a hug and the rest giving him a handshake. They all seemed a bit teary eyed as they said their goodbyes, some more than others. Rose and Harry were the least emotionally affected as they knew they had a means of communicating with Oz still while he was gone. Luna was the final one to speak up as Alfreda clasped her master's hand ready to apparate him.

"Stay safe out there Oz"

Oz replied to Luna's goodwill along with the rest of the groups with a light smile and nod. They all smiled back as some tears fell and as soon as those tears hit the ground Oz was apparated along with Alfreda instantly leaving behind the group who stood in front of the Hogwarts express.

"There he goes... Well we'll see him after next year so no need to stay emotional guys".

Daphne cheered everyone up as she led them into the train. The gang sat themselves down in a compartment as they glanced one more time out the window to where Oz was last stood. Turning their heads back they started to talk again. After a few minutes the train started to slowly move, taking them all back to London.