The Devoted Wolf

Chapter 16: The Devoted Wolf

Darkness. The absence of all light. The totally still blackness. Harry was suspended in it. He couldn't move. He was stuck in his place. He could only move his head. When he did indeed move his head, he could only find absolute darkness in every direction. A movement caught his gaze. There was a flicker of something. In front of him, the still darkness was moving, it was coalescing, it was shifting. Few seconds later a woman stood in front of him. Her hair was dark, as dark as their surroundings. Her eyes were black and cold. Staring into it felt like staring in the endless abyss. Harry's attention was gravitated to those eyes. Her face was pale, far paler than normal. Her full lips were blood red. A beautiful contrast to her pale skin. She had an aristocratic face with sharp and long cheekbones and a thin nose. Overall a mature beautiful face. She wore a black robe which covered her whole body, not showing an inch of skin from neck down. This made it hard to distinguish her body from the surrounding darkness. If he wanted then he could imagine her as just a floating head in an unending darkness.

"Stop ogling Harry Potter. It is the only thing you are doing nowadays." she said. Her face and voice showed no emotion but he could have sworn that she was amused.

"Lady Death, I assume. I always think that it shouldn't be considered rude to admire beauty. And you are one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen." he said, tilting his head. "It's good to finally meet you in person or more like in a dream. But I am not complaining."

There was an uncomfortable silence between them. Lady Death just continued staring at him.

"Tell me Harry Potter, how are you going to defeat me? You must have a plan. Let me hear it." she said.

"Why would I do that, milady? It would be foolish of me to tell my plans to my enemy." he said, his lips curving up. Her lips mimicked his in a humorless smile.

"Enemy?" she whispered. She stepped forward and leaned down. Her fingers caressing his cheek. He couldn't help but lean to her touch. Her touch was cold as if she just stepped out of a freezer. A chill went through his body, he couldn't decide if it was good or bad. "Why do you consider me your enemy, Harry Potter?"

Harry seemed confused by her question.

"Because I want to live forever. I want to be immortal. And you are in my way. I know you will try to interfere but I will win. I will defeat you. I am powerful and I will be immortal." Harry said. His voice was full of determination. Death laughed softly. It was the first emotion she showed since he was in this dream. Her laugh wasn't cruel like he had expected from death but it was warm as if she was just another human being.

"Your animosity is quite one sided, Harry Potter. I don't have anything against you. You are just another human trying to defy death. You think that is unique? No it is not, on the contrary it is quite cliche. Every powerful being desires to live forever. You are not the first one and you won't be the last. You think you will win when no one else ever did? You are quite delusional, Harry Potter." she said coldly.

"But some have defeated you. Nicholas Flamel is still alive after hundreds of years. Even Voldemort has achieved it." he said defensively. She chuckled, her fingers still on his cheek.

"Don't lie, Harry Potter. You know that they are not truly immortal. They are pseudo immortal beings. One curse and Flamel will die. It is not immortality. As for Voldemort, he has doomed himself. He has split his soul as you know. He has destroyed his own soul. What will happen when he finally dies after the destruction of his soul pieces? He will disappear. He will be erased from this world. No chance of afterlife or rebirth for him. He is a fool and he will fade into nothingness when his time comes." Death's lip curved into a small smile.

"But you don't want to be like them. You want to become truly immortal. Completely invincible. A man who can't be killed by any means. Am I right, Harry Potter?" she smirked, her hand on his head as if she was belittling an insolent child. Harry remained silent.

"But you are different. You have the 'Deus'." she said in amusement, "You have the blessing from the fading one. An immortal whose time to become mortal is nearing."

"What?" Harry exclaimed. What was she talking about? Who was the fading one? Was he/she the one who gave him his Deus?

"We will meet again, Harry Potter. Don't die in the meantime. There are immortals depending on you. Be a good boy and I may also bless you. And here are some parting questions for you to think about. Do you really want to be immortal? Is it what you really want or...? Do you think someone gave you your Deus for free? That you have to pay nothing for acquiring the world-ending powers?" she said, the corners of her mouth turning up.

Harry woke up with a start. He was Sleeping in Daphne's lap. She was staring at him in concern. He recalled that they were on the Hogwarts express, heading back to London. He had decided to take a nap and had placed his head in Daphne's lap who had just raised an eyebrow and had let him use her hip as a pillow.

"Are you okay?" she asked as he rubbed his eyes and sat up. The others in the compartment stopped what they were doing and looked at him worriedly.

"Just a weird dream." he waved away their concern. They nodded and went back to what they were doing earlier. Iris, Tracey and Astoria were apparently playing cards on the other seat while this side of the seat was occupied by only Daphne and Harry because he needed more space to sleep. He looked out of the window, enjoying the scenery while Daphne went back to reading her book on dueling tactics.

'That was a disconcerting dream. Lady Death seems to be amused by me as if I don't pose even a minor threat. As if I am just a harmless bug. I will show her. I will win. I will become immortal.'

XXX

Harry and Iris spent their early holidays doing things that previously they never got a chance to do. They went for walks. They went to cinemas. They wandered around the neighborhood, playing and enjoying each other's company. They went shopping. All in all it was the best summer for both of them.

They were sitting on their beds, reading some books when Hedwig swooped inside from the window. She landed on Iris's shoulder and presented her leg with a letter. Iris caressed Hedwig's plumage, earning a soft hoot. Iris quickly opened the envelope. Hedwig flew to her perch and watched them curiously. The letter was from Astoria. She wanted Iris to come to Greengrass Manor for Quidditch practice.

"Harry, I want to go to Astoria's house." she said excitedly. She was itching to just sit on the broom and fly away. Harry looked up from his book.

"Why?" he asked as he put the book aside. He knew they were going, there was no way around it but he just wanted to know the reason.

"We are going to practice. We are going to try for the Slytherin team this year." she said proudly. Harry smiled and nodded.

"Okay. Grab your broom. We will go right now. I have missed Daph. It will be fun to see her." he said wistfully.

"You saw her last month at Kings Cross. Don't act like you haven't seen her in years." she said, giving him a baffled look. Harry chuckled as he patted her head.

"If I had my way, I would grab you, Astoria, Daphne and Tracey and never let you all out of my sight for a single day."

Iris rolled her eyes as she picked the broom from beneath her bed.

"You just want to squeeze Daphne's bum." she murmured under her breath.

"What?" Harry asked. She shook her head.

"Nothing. Let's go." she grinned, grabbing his hand with her hand.

"Why are you grabbing my hand?" he asked, amused.

"We are teleporting. Right?"

"Yes."

"So shouldn't I grab you?"

"What you are imagining is Apparition, in which a person is required to be in touch with others to side apparate them. I don't need to physically touch others to teleport them."

"But are you complaining that I am touching you?"

"Well...no."

"Then stop wasting time and just teleport."

"Fine. I was just educating you." he huffed and a second later they both were in Daphne's room.

Daphne jumped in shock from her bed as two unexpected guests materialised in her room.

"Go to the next room. It is Astoria's room. Good luck with the practice." he said, pushing Iris out of the room.

"Stop pushing me Harry!" she grumbled in annoyance. "You can wait a few minutes before pouncing on Daphne. By the way, Hello Daphne. Nice to see you." she said just as the door closed on her face.

"Good to see you too Iris." she heard Daphne's muffled response from the closed room. Iris glared at the closed door for a few seconds and then went to the room beside the current one where Astoria was.

"Daph!" Harry grinned as he hurried towards her and grabbed her in a tight hug. Daphne smiled as her arms closed around his neck.

"It seems you missed me." she grinned as she pulled back. She took his hand in hers and intertwined her fingers with his.

"Of course. It's been a month since I saw you." he whined, swinging their joined hands back and forth.

"Didn't you have my and Tracey's photos to stare at when you are missing us?" she said, her brow rising in amusement, remembering their funny meeting with Colin Creevey.

"Bah! Photos aren't enough." he said. "I also miss Tracey. Any way to contact her instantly? or do I need to teleport to her house and bring her here? I want her with me right now."

"Not needed. She is going to come here in an hour. I invited her. I was getting bored here in the house." she said, rolling her eyes.

"And you didn't contact me when you were bored. I am wounded." he said, putting his palm on his chest.

"Unlike you, we are normal witches. We need to write letters to set up a day to meet. We would have summoned you after Tracey was here." she pointed out.

"Fair point. So we still have an hour to waste. What should we do?" he asked with a mischievous grin. His hands unclasped with hers, sliding up and down her waist.

"Are you thinking what I am thinking?" she asked, matching his grin.

"If you are thinking of doing naughty stuff then yes we are thinking the same thing." he said, pulling her close to him, his one hand coping a feel of her arse.

"Oh, I was rather thinking of doing some school work but this is also fine." she laughed and jumped onto him. She crossed her legs behind his back and her arms were wrapped around his neck. Harry chuckled as wrapped his own arms around her waist and placed a long awaited kiss on her lips and walked towards the bed. They mashed their lips against each other. They lied on the bed and kissed each other more heatedly. Daphne moaned as he probed her mouth with his tongue. His hands trailed downwards. Daphne flipped him, so she was on top of him. Her lips trying to meld with his, her arms under his shirt, roaming on his warm skin. Harry's hands trailed on her back, sending a shiver down her spine. She gasped as his hand cupped her arse cheek and squeezed it. She went back to kissing him passionately as he continued groping her arse. She pulled back after ten minutes of passionate make out session, they both were breathless, their warm breath was blowing on each other's faces. Harry smiled as he placed a soft kiss on her lips.

"I really missed you." Harry said. She smiled sweetly and slid off of him, snuggling against his side. She circled her arm around his chest and threw her one leg on his legs. He wrapped his one arm around her shoulders and pressed her into him.

"I know. Me too." she said in a soft voice, her head on his chest and stared at his adorable green eyes. He caressed her blonde hair and pulled her up to him. He moved his head and caressed her swollen lips with his, soft like feather but still full of love and passion. Daphne's lips tingle due to the soft touch of his lips and his warm breath. They continued staring in each other's eyes. One pair of emeralds and another, a pair of beautiful black eyes.

"So, any particular reason why you are here?" she asked.

"Astoria and Iris planned to practice quidditch. Iris needed to come here and I took that chance to meet my beautiful best friend." he answered, placing a tender kiss on her lips. She smiled at him, her hand wandering in his black unruly hair.

"So what now?" she asked.

"Let's just cuddle until Tracey arrives." he shrugged.

"A perfect idea." she laughed.

An hour later when Tracey entered Daphne's room, she found Harry and Daphne cuddling and laughing. Her lips curved into a content smile. It was nice seeing them again.

"Hello." she waved her hand. Harry and Daphne looked at her. Harry's eyes sparkled at seeing her. A warm feeling filled her from inside. She loved that smile. The smile which made her realise that she was one of the most important people to him. In a tiny corner of her mind, she had a fear that Harry may start ignoring her after she stopped his advances. She felt stupid now. He would never do that. He was her best friend in the first place and they both knew that they would never jeopardize that. He climbed off of the bed and ran to her. His hands snaked around her waist and he lifted her off of her feet in his excitement. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in the crook of his neck. She smiled at his intoxicating smell. She giggled as he carried her towards Daphne who she suspected may have experienced the same treatment. He placed her on the bed beside him as he sat beside Daphne. He placed a kiss on her forehead.

"I missed you so much." he said, pulling her in a side hug. She smiled at him.

"Me too Harry. Me too." she smiled, placing a kiss on his cheek. Daphne stood up from her place and gave her a hug. The trio moved in the centre of the bed, forming a triangle. They spent their time talking with each other, sharing what they had done in the last month.

"Oh I just remember. I have to inform you of something." Daphne suddenly exclaimed. Harry nodded to show that he was listening.

"As you aren't subscribed to the Daily Prophet, you may not know that Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban which is an unprecedented occurrence." she said. Harry frowned and tried to remember if he knew any man with that name. He came up blank. Tracey had leaned forward to hear why Daphne mentioned that. She of course knew about the news but didn't know why it was relevant to them.

"Okay." he shrugged. Daphne lightly smacked her forehead as she recalled that Harry didn't know much about his parents.

"My mother told me that Sirius Black was your father's best friend. It is believed that he betrayed your parents which led to their deaths. My mother thinks he escaped the prison to finish his unfinished work. To kill you. To finally wipe out the Potter family."

Harry wasn't expecting that. He was totally shocked. Harry took a deep breath to control his anger. This wasn't the place to explode. Tracey and Daphne slid to his sides and squeezed his hands. He gave them a shaky smile. He vowed to destroy Black. There was no way that he was going to let him go free. He would have his revenge.

"Thanks for informing me."

XXX

Iris was cuddling against Harry's side. Her head on his chest and her arms across his stomach. There was a radiant smile stuck on her face. Today was her birthday and today she finally had a birthday party. It was one of the happiest days for her.

She was humming the birthday song as Harry's fingers traced her spine and waistline absent-mindedly. She shivered and pressed tightly to his body. She was a little frustrated as Harry's hand never lowered below her waist, never reached to her private parts. She was never able to get more than a passionate kiss or cuddle with him. He wouldn't let her grind against him. She couldn't understand why. She liked it. In fact she loved it. Whenever she kissed him or sat in his lap, an itch started blossoming between her legs. It wasn't exactly an itch but she couldn't find a word to describe it. Whenever that itch started she wanted to just force Harry on the bed and start grinding her bum against him. But she didn't do that because she knew Harry would be angry as he had forbidden her to do that. She just didn't know how to stop this itching. Even now, cuddling with Harry, she felt some strange sensation between her legs. She stifled an urge to remove her shorts and panties and sit on Harry's crotch. She just didn't know how to stop this strange sensation. She would ask Daphne or Tracey. They would definitely help her. She could ask Harry but it would be very embarrassing. She shook her head. She would wait and ask Daphne or Tracey at Hogwarts.

The radiant smile again took over her face as she looked at the golden bracelet on her wrist. It was her birthday gift from Harry. She tilted her head to look at his face, he was staring at the ceiling and seemed lost in his thoughts. She pressed her lips on his in a soft kiss. She could feel his smile in the kiss. His hands wandered in her hair and on her back. She shifted her body so she was on top of him. Harry chuckled as he caressed her cheek and looked at her lovingly.

"What was that for?" he asked, his fingers grazing her lips, her nose, her eyebrows and everywhere on her face. She smiled and mouthed thank you. Harry smiled back and kissed her lips. Iris's mind was fogging with desire. She discreetly rubbed her itching private part on his boner and a surprised gasp released from her. Harry gave her a disapproving look and she quickly slid beside him, returning to her previous cuddling position.

"Sorry." she said hastily, blood rushing to her face. She was meant to be discreet. Why did she have to gasp? She berated herself but she didn't regret it. It was extremely fun. Harry didn't say anything but continued running his fingers in her hair. She definitely needed to ask Daphne and Tracey about this strange desire.

XXX

The glass window was frozen. The atmosphere suddenly felt chilly and dangerous. Harry was on alert. The lights flickered off. The compartment door opened slowly and a horrible creature in a black robe stood outside. Its hand was moving towards them. Harry was unaffected, thanks to his Deus but his sister and friends were whimpering in fear.

"Don't leave me Harry, don't…" Iris cried. Daphne and Tracey were huddled against his side, their eyes closed. Astoria was staring at the dementor in horror. Her face was pale and she was trembling.

"ENOUGH!" Harry roared as he stood up in front of the dementor. His wand shot in his hand as he pointed his wand at the dementor.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" he yelled. He recalled every happy memory he had. Smiling faces of Iris, Daphne, Astoria and Tracey emerged in the back of his mind. He filled his body with the warmth he felt every time when seeing their happy faces. A swirling of white mist erupted from his wand. The white lights morphed into a gigantic wolf and pounced on the dementor. An unholy screech escaped from the dementor as it fled away. The wolf patronus stood in the compartment. Letting the positive energy counter against the dense atmosphere of hopelessness. The colour returned to the girls' pale faces.

"Are you okay?" he asked in concern.

"Yeah!" Tracey whispered. Harry continued the patronus spell. Tracey, Daphne and Astoria crowded against it, bathing in its positive feelings. Iris stood up unsteadily and wrapped her arms around his neck. Harry sat on the seat, pulling Iris in his lap. Harry stopped the spell as he thought the girls were nearly back to normal. He combed her red hair and whispered assurances in her ear.

She slid off his lap after a minute but sat beside him, her arms firmly wrapped around his waist and her head on his shoulder. The compartment door again opened and a man in ragged clothes entered.

"Are you all okay?" he asked.

"Mostly." Astoria answered. "Who are you?"

"I am Remus Lupin, your new DADA professor. I am glad that you are fine. I think I saw a patronus. Was there another adult with you?" he asked.

"No. The patronus was Harry's." Tracey said. Professor Lupin gave Harry an amazed look.

"You know how to cast a patronus charm?" he asked.

"I am Harry Potter." Harry shrugged as if that was an answer enough but used his only one shoulder as his other was currently occupied by Iris's head. Professor Lupin chuckled as he pulled out a chocolate from his pocket.

"Eat this, all of you. Chocolate helps to recover from dementor exposure. I will go and check on other students." he suggested before going away. Harry received the chocolate bar and nodded at him in thanks. The compartment door closed after his departure.

"Are you guys totally fine?" he asked them as he broke the chocolate bar and distributed it to everybody. They all ate it and they have to agree that the chocolate did help them a bit. Daphne and Tracey were cuddled against each other, enjoying the warmth of each other's bodies after what just happened. Harry pulled Astoria to his other side, his arms around her shoulders. She gave him a grateful smile and cuddled against his side. She needed it, the heat of another body. When she had seen the dementor she feared that her bones were frozen permanently as if she would never feel warmth again.

"Yes." They all chorused. Harry smiled in relief as he caressed Iris's head with one hand and rubbed Astoria's shoulder with his other hand.

"When did you learn the patronus charm? And why the hell was there a dementor on Hogwarts express?" Daphne asked, giving him an impressed look.

"I keep learning new spells whenever I get time. As for the dementor, we will know when we reach Hogwarts." he shrugged nonchalantly.

"A wolf," Tracey smiled at him lovingly, "Wolves are complex, highly intelligent animals who are caring, playful, and above all devoted to family. Wolves have the ability to make quick and firm emotional attachments, and often need to trust their own instincts. A proper fitting for you."

Harry blushed at that. Tracey had just told his whole personality by just seeing his patronus. Daphne and Tracey chuckled at his reaction while Astoria and Iris looked at him in adoration. 'Devoted to family' just made him more amazing in their eyes and they felt happy that he considered them a family.

XXX

There was a small circular chamber. The chamber's wall was lilac in colour. The floor was red while he couldn't see the ceiling as it was very high up. A black throne sat on a pedestal at one side. The throne was empty, no one was there. There were seven gigantic mirrors arranged at the opposite side of the throne.

Harry couldn't move, he didn't even have a body in this dream. Two people suddenly appeared in the room. One woman had extremely pale skin and luscious black hair while the other woman had silky blonde hair with her skin the colour of cream. Both were extremely beautiful. They both wore strange clothes, if Harry had to guess then he would say that it was a very ancient style of clothing. They both looked scared as they faced the throne. A man was suddenly there, sitting on the throne. One moment the throne was empty and the next instant it wasn't. He had a long grey beard and shoulder length grey hair. His skin was wrinkled. He gave the impression of a typical wise old man. He looked at two women in disappointment.

"You have broken the rule. You must be punished." The old man said softly but his voice echoed loudly in the chamber.

"Forgive us, my lord. We didn't mean to disturb the balance of one of your worlds." The woman with pale skin pleaded.

The old man shook his head sadly.

"Every action has consequences. You will have to accept your punishment."

"If you think that is right then we will receive the punishment, my lord." The blonde woman said, bowing her head in deference.

"You both are now banned from interacting with the mortal world. You will never put your feet in the mortal world from now on. You are hereby confined in this very chamber for eternity." he said gravely. The two women looked up at him in shock. They hadn't thought he would punish them so harshly.

"There must be a way to gain your forgiveness. Please don't take away our freedom." the pale woman pleaded, her eyes shining with unshed tears. The old man remained silent for a minute.

"Fine, I will remove the punishment if you both obtain what you have let loose in the mortal world." he said.

"Thank you my lord. I will just go and bring it back." the blonde woman smiled, her eyes full of hope. The old man shook his head.

"As I said, you are not to set foot in the mortal world. That is your punishment."

"But how will we obtain the three objects back if we can't even leave this very chamber?" the pale woman asked, giving him an unbelievable look.

"I don't know. And don't care. But you can't leave this chamber. Did you really think it would be so easy to find my forgiveness?" the old man asked incredulously. The two women shared a defeated look. They knew they would always be trapped in this chamber. That they wouldn't be able to roam in the mortal worlds.

Harry opened his eyes. He was on his bed in his dorm room with Iris's back pressed to his chest. It was early morning. He still couldn't understand what the dream was? Was this dream related to Lady Death? Or was this just a fantasy conjured by his mind? He didn't know. He shook his head. He will think about it later. Now was not the time. Now he should just enjoy the heat and softness of Iris's body. He pressed his face on Iris' neck and closed his eyes. He smiled as Iris shifted and pressed herself tight against him.