A/N: Yes! Here it is. I finally got chapter 8 submitted! So by now you all know I’m not J.K. Rowling, but I just thought I’d remind you. Hope this was worth the wait!

Luna was humming happily as she strolled along next to Draco on the way to Hogsmeade. She was currently sporting a bright pink shirt with black lettering which read ‘I’m with Draco’. Luna had made a shirt for Draco as well, which he was wearing, but under a dark green jumper. His shirt read ‘I do, I Do, I DO believe in Blue-Crested Willawomps’. As they made their way towards the little village, Luna reached her hand over and absentmindedly twined her fingers with Draco’s, humming the whole time. She swung her and Draco’s arms to the tune she hummed.

Draco glanced sideways at his friend, thinking that he couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt happy like this. Luna came across to most people as rather odd. Draco had become accustomed to her eccentricities. Luna’s actions had embarrassed him a bit at first, but that had faded quickly. As Draco studied Luna, his now familiar conscience piped up.

“She’s rather lovely, don’t you think?”

“Well…sure she’s lovely.”

“You want to kiss her, don’t you? You know you do!”

“NO! She’s…she’s my friend. I don’t want to do anything to screw that up. If I didn’t have her friendship, whose would I have?”

“Maybe Harry Potter. He DID offer to be your partner in class.”

“No way! How could I be friends with Harry? We…we hate each other!”

“Do you…really? I think, Draco, that you are in serious denial.”

Luna’s voice broke into Draco’s reverie. “We’re getting closer, Draco.”

“Uh…um, closer?”

“Yeah, closer to Hogsmeade. Where should we go first?”

“Oh yeah, right…closer to Hogsmeade.”

“Stupid conscience! Now you’ve got me getting all flustered over nothing!”

“Draco?”

“Uh…let’s go get a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks first.”

Luna, still clutching Draco’s hand, dragged him through the village and into the noisy pub. They found a small, corner table by a large, stone fireplace. Luna settled in while Draco went to get the butterbeer. As Draco waited for their drinks, he looked around the pub. It wasn’t terribly crowded yet, as most Hogwarts students preferred to do their shopping before stopping by for refreshment. This was Draco’s favorite time to come.

As he carried the tall mugs of butterbeer back to Luna, he noticed a frown on her usually smiling face. “What’s the matter, pet?” Draco asked, sitting down next to her and handing her a drink.

“A man stopped by while you were gone. He gave me the shivers. At first I thought there might be a Wrackspurt in here, then I realized it was just him. He told me to give you this.”

Luna handed Draco a rolled up parchment closed with a wax seal. Draco recognized the seal as the Malfoy crest. Taking a deep breath, Draco broke the seal, and unrolled the parchment to read his father’s latest correspondence.

So…you’ve found yourself a little girlfriend; how quaint. You’ll have to keep an eye on her. You never can tell when she might go missing. Isn’t she one of the brats that was in the group that landed me in Azkaban? How poor your taste in friends is, Draco. I have such interesting plans for those meddlesome fools who got me arrested, but not as interesting as what I have in mind for you; no, not nearly as interesting. And where are the idiots who are supposed to be keeping watch over you? How easy it was to slip past them! They really thought their disguises could fool me. I’m much too clever for that. Instead, I was able to fool them. I could do it again right now, you know. I could snatch you and your little girlfriend right out from under their noses, but the time isn’t right. I have so many things to prepare. But don’t worry, Draco, I’ll be seeing you…soon.

Draco crumpled up the letter in fury and threw it into the fire, concern for Luna spreading through his every fiber.

“Is it bad, Draco?” Luna asked with concern.

Draco took both of Luna’s hands into his own and stared deeply into her eyes. “Why do you want to be my friend, Luna? I’m afraid associating with me at this point could be dangerous. You should run away from me now. You should go…and not look back.”

Luna squeezed Draco’s hands and flashed him her dreamy smile. “If I didn’t have you, I would have no one. And I’d rather have no one if you wouldn’t be my friend.”

“But, Luna, being my friend could bring you harm. I don’t think I could stand it. I WON’T put you in danger.”

Luna continued to smile at Draco. “Well, I don’t care what you say. You can’t MAKE me go away…I won’t do it. If being with you puts me in danger, and being away from you means safety, then I choose danger. Danger’s more exciting anyways. Besides…your friendship has been the most important of my life.” For all of Luna’s oddness, once in a while she had something truly profound to say.

Through the fear Draco felt for his friend, he smiled a little. “All right, if you won’t stay away, I guess I’ll just have to be your bodyguard. We can’t have anyone messing with my date to the Unity Ball, now can we? Let’s go see if we can find you a smashing new set of robes.”

As Draco and Luna left the Three Broomsticks, he draped a protective arm around her shoulders. Luna smiled that dreamy smile up at Draco, and again he couldn’t help but notice the beauty she possessed that no one else seemed to have recognized.

“Told you that you like her…like that,” his conscience piped up.

“Oh shut up!”

Back in the clearing in the Forbidden Forest, Ginny was trying in vain to call Padfoot back from what definitely appeared to be a dragon. “Oh, Padfoot! Get over here before you get hurt!” Ginny quietly urged, not wanting to alert the dragon to their presence. Ginny realized that she had been unsuccessful, as the dragon made it’s way out of the trees and into the clearing, Padfoot yipping happily at it’s feet.

Even though it was a huge, fire-breathing dragon, it was quite beautiful. Sunlight beamed down into the clearing, making shiny, crystalline patterns against the dragon’s iridescent, pearly scales. Glittering, multi-colored eyes studied the group of terrified teens.

Ron momentarily forgot that they were standing in front of a creature that could flambé them in seconds. “That’s an Antipodean Opaleye! But they’re Australian dragons! What’s it doing in Scotland?”

“Well, mate, you can’t expect me to hang around the Outback all my life. I decided I needed a bit of sightseeing.”

Ron’s face took on a look not unlike that of when he was confronted with spiders. “Did…did that dragon just talk, or am I going nutters?”

“Nah, you’re not off your rocker. I can talk. And don’t worry little girl, I won’t hurt your little crup.” None of the four could seem to find the words to address a speaking dragon.

“Come on now, kangaroo got your tongue?”

“It’s just, well…we didn’t know a dragon could talk,” Harry explained. “It’s a bit unnerving.”

“Don’t worry, I understand. But I’m not really a dragon, I’m a witch. This is my Animagus form. It’ll have to do though, cause I’m afraid I’m stuck like this.”

“You mean, you can’t change back?” Harry asked.

The dragon shook it’s head. “’Fraid not.”

“Can you tell us why?” Ginny asked. “And tell us your name so we know what to call you.”

“Well, the name’s Mortigana Thorncrest, but you can call me Morgan. If you’d like to hear my tale, have a seat.”

Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione sat down in the soft grass of the clearing. Padfoot scurried to get into Ginny’s lap, curling up and closing his eyes. Morgan sat down on her scaly haunches and began her story.

“I received my magical education at a school along the southern coast of Australia called Rockmarner Academy. I’m afraid I wasn’t always a very nice person. I tended to be a bit selfish and self-centered. There was a very clever witch named Millie Rosecroft who attended Rockmarner with me. I made it my mission to make her life miserable; quite bad judgment on my part. By the time we graduated, I had completed all of my Animagus requirements and had registered with the Australian branch of the Improper Use of Magic office. After we graduated, I decided that before I left Rockmarner, I had to play one final, ace prank on Millie. Now, sufficed to say, I wish I hadn’t. I won’t go into the details of what I did right now; I’m still ashamed to think of it. Needless to say, Millie was outraged. Like I mentioned before, she was quite a clever witch. She was able to use a hex on me that I’d never heard of before. After she cast the hex, Millie informed me that until I got over my selfish ways and could perform a truly selfless act, I would be stuck in my Animagus form.”

“But that’s awful!” Hermione exclaimed.

“It wasn’t as awful as how I’d been to Millie. Of course after it happened, I was deeply ashamed. I never went back to my family. I spent my first few years as a dragon hanging around the Australian Outback. After a while, I got bored with the scenery. Ever since then I’ve been traveling all over the world. I’m always very careful to not get spotted by Muggles.”

“I still don’t understand how you can talk,” Hermione noted. “I mean, I don’t know of any other wizard who can talk in their Animagus form.”

“Ah…that’s fairly easy to explain. I’ve spent the past ten years of my life as a dragon, hiding myself from wizards and Muggles alike. It got very lonely never hearing a voice…not even my own. Lucky for me, dragons are magical creatures. Over the years I was able to slowly retrain and reshape my dragon vocal chords. After about eight years, I was again capable of human speech. Since then I’ve spent a lot of time talking to myself. Conversation with myself was better than no conversation at all.”

“So…what brings you to this particular part of Scotland?” Ginny asked.

“Actually, I’m looking for someone. I’ve recently contracted an annoying dragon virus. I’m not sure what it is, but I itch all over! Anyways, amongst my travels I’ve heard that your school is home to a man who is quite good with magical creatures; Hagrid’s his name I believe. I was hoping he might be able to help me.”

“Oh yeah, Hagrid’s great! If anyone can help you, he can,” Harry said with assurance.

“My brother Charlie’s up at the school too,” Ron added. “He works on a dragon reserve, so he knows loads about dragons.”

“And you’d be willing to get Hagrid and Charlie to have a look at me?”

“Sure, Morgan, no problem. We’ll stop by Hagrid’s on our way back to the castle,” said Harry.

“And I’ll let Charlie know about you too,” offered Ron.

“That’d be great; very stand-up of you,” Morgan said. “Would you four come back to see me as well? It’s been years since I’ve had someone to talk to, and I’ve enjoyed the conversation.”

“Sure, we’ll come back,” Ron said.

“Well, I’ll let you four get to it then,” Morgan said. “I’m feeling a bit knackered anyways. G’day!” Morgan tromped back into the grove of elm trees, her tail snaking out behind her.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny carefully made their way back out of the forest, trying hard not to add to the scratches on their arms. Deciding that Morgan was more pressing business, they skipped the path to Hogsmeade and headed back to the school. Ron and Hermione ran back up to the school to fetch Charlie, while Harry and Ginny headed straight for Hagrid’s cabin. They casually chatted with Hagrid, deciding to save the news of Morgan until Ron and Hermione got there with Charlie. Hagrid had just taken the kettle off of the fire for tea when they arrived. He ushered them in and offered them chairs, while he busied himself with the tea.

“All righ’ now, Charlie’s here. What’s this important thin’ yeh had to tell us?” Hagrid asked, pausing from his tea preparations to throw a scrap of meat to a suspicious looking creature in the corner.

Ron, who was still in awe over the presence of a talking dragon in the forest, began. “Well, we were heading to Hogsmeade when Padfoot here got loose and ran off into the forest.”

Ginny scratched the writhing bundle in her lap between the ears. “That’s because you’re such a smart boy, aren’t you Padfoot?”

Ron rolled his eyes. “Anyways, we ran after him and ended up in a clearing…and there was a talking dragon!”

Charlie looked at his brother quizzically. “Ron, I thought you knew enough about dragons to know that it’s impossible for them to talk. And what would a dragon be doing in the forest? They usually prefer caves and wide open spaces.”

“Charlie, I haven’t gone mad. It really was there…and it DID talk!”

Hermione rolled her eyes. “What Ron is so eloquently trying to say is that the dragon in the forest is actually a witch named Morgan. She was hexed and has been stuck in her Animagus form for the last ten years.”

“She’s been traveling all over the place,” continued Harry. “Apparently she’s come down with some kind of dragon virus, and she’s heard Hagrid’s name mentioned in her travels. She thought you might be able to help her.”

Hagrid’s eyes had glazed over and a dreamy expression had come over his bearded face. “Yeh really mean it? There’s really an’ truly a dragon out in tha’ forest?” Hagrid seemed to be conveniently forgetting the fact that the dragon was in fact a witch. The four teens recognized the look on Hagrid’s face as he poured their tea, overfilling the cups. Hermione leaped up to grab a rag, and began to mop up the rivers of tea before anyone got a scalding lapful.

Charlie however, had paid close attention. “Well, if Hagrid and I are going to help Morgan, we’ll need to know about how old she is, where she’s from, and what type of dragon her Animagus form is.”

Hermione began to mentally calculate. “Well, Morgan said she was hexed right after she graduated, so she was probably about seventeen when it happened. If she’s been a dragon for ten years, I guess that would make her about twenty-seven. And Morgan told us she’s from Australia. She’s an…”

“Morgan’s an Antipodean Opaleye, Charlie!” Ron said excitedly, cutting Hermione off. “You should see her! She’s the most beautiful dragon I’ve ever seen!”

If it was possible, Hagrid’s expression seemed to go even dreamier. The look on his face could have given Luna’s dreamiest look a run for it’s money. “An Opaleye? I always wanted at see an Opaleye.”

“All right, Hagrid,” Charlie said, trying to bring Hagrid back down to earth. “Let’s get some supplies and go pay Morgan a visit.”

Hagrid shook himself out of his reverie and began fumbling around for things they might need. Harry told Charlie where they could find Morgan, and the group left the cabin. Charlie had to walk quickly to keep up with the obviously excited Hagrid.

As Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione headed for the castle, they decided to split up.

“Uh, Ginny and I are going to take Padfoot for a walk around the lake; give him a chance to stretch his legs a bit,” Harry said, giving Ginny a meaningful glance.

“All right, mate, we’ll catch up with you later.”

Harry nodded, took Ginny’s hand, and they set out for the lake. Ron turned his attention back to Hermione. “So, what do you want to do?”

Hermione, who’d been quiet since Ron’s last outburst at Hagrid’s, answered him a bit stiffly. “Well, I have some studying to do. You can do whatever you want.” She quickened her pace and entered the castle.

Ron was confused. He went back through his memory, trying to think of anything that could have gotten her mad at him. It didn’t take him long to figure out what it must have been. Ron entered the castle and ran to catch up with Hermione. When he was right behind her, he grabbed her arm and spun her around.

“All right, ‘Mione, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, RONALD. Why don’t you just go back to your BEAUTIFUL dragon and let me go study?”

“’Mione, are you jealous? You can’t really be jealous of a dragon!”

“I can be jealous of whatever I please.”

“’Mione, Morgan’s a twenty-seven year old witch who’s a dragon!” Hermione kept her eyes downcast and her lips clamped together tightly.

“All right, you give me no choice,” Ron said, dragging a protesting Hermione into an empty classroom. He pulled her firmly up against him, clamping his arms around her in a vise-like fashion. “I’ll just have to SHOW you that you have no reason to be jealous, Hot Lips.” Ron roughly pressed his lips against Hermione’s, until her struggling died down.

They emerged from the classroom forty-five minutes and one very happy, not jealous Hermione later. With clasped hands and smiles on their puffy lips, Ron and Hermione entered their dorms.

“So NOW what do you want to do?” asked naughty Ron, waggling his eyebrows at Hermione.

“I really do need to do some studying, Ron. Maybe you should join me?” Hermione suggested. They each ran up to their rooms to fetch books and then settled down on the sofa in front of the fire. Neither one of them had cracked a book before there were two loud pops. Two house-elves stood in front of them.

“Zeppie!” Hermione exclaimed. “And…Winky?”

Winky didn’t look the same as the last time they’d seen her; disheveled and drowning her sorrows in butterbeer. She was wearing a clean, pink sailor dress with a matching hat. She had a smile on her face…and she was holding Zeppie’s hand.

“Hello, Missy Hermy and Mister Wheezy, sir. Zeppie is coming to introduce Missy Hermy to Zeppie’s wife, Winky.”

A/N: Congratulations to Morgan for winning my contest! I’ll be posting a new one at the end of chapter 9. Also, thanks to Aussie Girl, GringottsVault711, and Asphyxiated for all of their help with Aussie terms.