"It simply isn't an adventure worth telling if there aren't any dragons.' - Sarah Ban Breathnach

Harry's Theme:

I wanna live, I wanna die under the light of the great Southern sky….

Draco's Theme:

I saw a star slide down the sky,
Blinding the north as it went by…..

Chapter 4: The Phoenix

One month later….

They'd done everything they could. The horcruxes had all been found and destroyed, other than Nagini.

And Harry, thought Lucius morosely.

He had not shared with anyone what he and Snape had discussed the day of the wedding. He looked over where Narcissa was tightening the bracers for the Boy Who Lived. The older wizard sighed.

Should I have told her? he wondered.

He knew his wife had grown close to the lad. For that reason, he had kept the secret of Harry being a horcrux to himself. And of what must happen to secure their victory. But now Lucius was second guessing his choice. Narcissa will grieve. And she's done too much of that already.

He watched as Harry rubbed his scar.

"He's been doing that all day now," observed Ron, standing next to Lucius. "It's never been a good sign. To tell the truth….it's got me proper nervous, it has."

"Aye," agreed the elder Malfoy. It should, he mentally added.

Today was the day. The day they would leave the safety of the wards surrounding the ancient castle to engage in a battle where hopefully, the Dark Lord would meet his doom. Lucius did not deceive himself. He knew it would not be easy. Voldemort knew of Draco's hidden nature. There would no element of surprise this time. Lucius was aware of how the Dark Lord thought; he knew he would be prepared for Draco's attack. He would have come up with a strategy.

He feared what it might be.

Two flights up from his father, Draco also worried. His wife was preparing for battle. The dragon within him was screaming its objections to this.

"Hermione…..see reason. You were hanging over a toilet a week ago. You're not at your best, love." Surprising them both, she'd quickly become up the duff. Preggers.

The speedy conception had shocked all but Luna, who'd reminded the rest that dragons were naturally fertile creatures. The morning sickness struck Hermione hard and fast. She now sympathized with those afflicted with heartburn, for she'd endured the real thing. It had felt like a ball of fire literally rolling around in her belly. She'd initially been scared until Draco suggested their offspring might have dragonish tendencies, too. Thank goodness, the ring came to her rescue. It was totally by accident when Hermione found out wearing it took away the painful nausea. Since then, she hadn't taken it off.

She ignored his protests. "I'm fine, now that I know to keep the ring on."

"But I don't know how I'll be able to concentrate if I'm worried about you. If you go…...you'll be my weakness." Draco hung his head, ashamed of feeling so vulnerable.

Hermione put her arms around her young husband. "The ring will protect me. I feel sure of it."

Draco was by no means as certain as his wife, but he knew that look in her eye. It meant he would not win the argument. Sighing heavily, he said, "I don't like this. Not one bit."

"Noted. But if you can quit acting like a worrywart, I need you to concentrate instead on how we can help Harry. He is the Chosen One. The burden of the prophecy lies on him."

"A curious thing, prophecy. How many other predictions must be fulfilled to have one destiny come true?"

Both Hermione and Draco whirled around when they heard the other voice outside their door. Luna was casually leaning against its frame. Seeing their surprised faces, she shrugged. "There are others, you know. Prophecies, I mean. A foundation must be laid, brick by brick, before a house can rise."

"Luna?" Hermione's brow crinkled. "What are you talking about?"

The blonde Ravenclaw sighed. She loved her Gryffindor friends, but their lionish ways could be tiring. So literal, the whole lot of them. Seeing only black and white. Except for Hermione. She was usually more intuitive than this.

Pregnancy must be a drain on the creative mind. Well, I suppose that makes sense. One's brain is having to focus it's creative abilities on other areas of the body.

"I'm talking about the prophecy I heard in fifth year when we fought at the ministry. Ginny destroyed many of the orbs housed there with her reducto, but I never forgot the one I heard that smashed beside me. It went like this:

The dark shall know its end is near

When stars fall from the hemisphere

The southern sky shall mourn its loss

Its brightest star the fatal cost

Alight, true North! And join the fray

Your mate will seize and save the day

The phoenix cry will once more sing

Its life contained within the Ring.

Draco stared blankly at the blonde. "I….I don't understand."

Luna turned her eyes on the witch standing beside him. "Surely you, do…..don't you?"

Hermione swallowed thickly. "You think Harry is the star from the southern sky?"

Luna nodded. "Yes. He is representative of the Phoenix constellation. And Draco is, of course, the Draco constellation. The stars have long foretold the outcome of today."

"That's not helping me any, Luna." Both women ignored the puff of smoke that emitted from Draco when he huffed in frustration. They had become used to it by now.

Hermione sighed. "Draco…..she's saying Harry is the Phoenix. The brightest star of the Southern Hemisphere."

"And that he must follow the attributes of that magical creature ," Luna added emphatically. "From the ashes, a phoenix is reborn. As must Harry be." She gave Hermione a long, meaningful look. "Do you understand?"

The curly-haired witch's face slowly crumpled. Her eyes began to shine suspiciously. "Are you sure?"

Luna nodded, her face full of sympathy. "I'm afraid so. The stars don't lie. It's been his destiny since Voldemort marked him ."

Tears trickled down Hermione's cheeks. The dragon in Draco shuddered. Was something wrong with its mate?

"Love….are you sick? Is it the baby?" He asked worriedly.

"Hermione and the baby are fine," Luna answered for her friend. "She's just sad that Harry has to die."

Draco's face darkened with disbelief. "What?" He thundered. "Are you crazy? He's got to fulfill the prophecy!"

"And he will. But remember what I said about destiny being built brick by brick? No one ever wants to claim the prophecies heralding calamity, but they are necessary. There's a purpose in the process. It has always been so. The night precedes the dawn. Sorrow before joy. Death before resurrection."

Luna watched the young lovers as they dealt with that hard truth. More gently, she continued, "Now as for you…...you are the true North, Draco. You will fight. And with the powers of the ring, The Phoenix will be reborn. That's why Hermione has to be at the battle, Draco. She is the ring's true bearer. Do you understand now?"

No, not really, he didn't. But Draco nodded his acceptance of what apparently must happen to defeat the dark.

Hermione was surprised when their portkey took them to Skellig Michael off the coast of Ireland. She'd half expected the Dark Lord to draw them out by waging battle against the easily conquered students of Hogwarts. After all, that's what bullies normally did…..attack those perceived as smaller. Weaker. Then she remembered he'd be coming alone.

He wants to meet as few wizards as possible, most likely. Coward.

She knew in his heart of hearts, that's what Voldemort really was. With that thought in mind, she watched as the shadow standing in the entrance of a stone hut, the remnants from an ancient monastery, moved forward into the sunlight. Tom Riddle, the most evil wizard of all time, was by himself, Draco having eliminated his sycophants during the attack at Malfoy Manor. The only exception was Nagini. The large snake was securely wrapped around his neck, hissing angrily at the group facing them.

Hermione's hackles rose. Voldemort looked too confident.

He's laid a trap, her senses screamed.

Beside her, Draco was summing up their positions. The island was rocky; there were few hiding places…...then it hit him. Other than a rocky ledge here and there, there was nowhere for the others to take cover, except in the stone buildings left behind by the monks. And he would bet his last sickle that the Dark Lord would have sealed them magically, so none could enter. Draco swallowed hard. He knew intuitively that Voldemort would meet him as a dragon; and that meant…..

...his family and friends would be little better than kindling for the Dark Lord's rage.

My mate…..our unborn babe…

A deep, ferocious roar erupted from Draco. Beside him, Hermione jumped in fright.

"I'll rip his heart out and eat it," he growled menacingly while grinding his teeth in a seething rage.

"Bet it will need salt," murmured Luna on the other side of him. Standing next to her, Ron snickered. Harry was not amused. His hands were sweating. The constant ache in his head was reaching unbearable limits. Ignoring the constant rumbling from Draco, he walked forward ahead of the rest and shouted out to their enemy, "I'm the one you want, Riddle. This is between the two of us."

Voldemort's face twisted into a sadistic smirk. "How brave. The Boy Who Lived offering himself as a sacrifice for the many. I told you where love would take you, didn't I? I warned you against following the advice of that old fool. Now you will die like him….and tell me, Harry Potter…...what will it have gained? Young Malfoy's powers cannot conquer mine. Know this and die in despair."

Then in a fluid movement no one saw coming, he opened wide his mouth and a flame of what looked like fiendfyre engulfed Harry before anyone had time to raise a shield.

Instantly, the Chosen One was reduced to soot and ash.

'Harry!" screamed Hermione. She foolishly turned her attention from Voldemort, which was exactly what he'd wanted. She didn't see it when he and and his snake merged together to transform into a massive and deadly-looking Hydra.

Yamata no Orochi, thought Luna, a cold, prickling fear running down her spine.

Her father had told her the story of that mythical Asian dragon. An eight-headed beast that demanded the blood of a female sacrifice. Luna wasn't afraid for herself; she knew the witch the Dark Lord wanted. The one whose death would cause the most pain. She swiftly sprung into action.

"Protect Hermione!" she shouted to Lucius and Ron. "At all cost!"

She and Narcissa immediately began casting shields around their group. Draco released the beast inside himself and rose into the air to engage the many snapping heads of Tom Riddle, each one spewing out poisonous green fumes. The Dark Lord tried his best to strike at the humans on the ground with either a blast of fire or a powerful sweep with his tail, but Draco kept him too busy on the defensive to mount a successful attack. The young wizard fought with a burning passion, thoughts of his family keeping the flames within him blazing in furious wrath. But he had never fought a matched opponent before, especially one with so many heads to dodge. Draco began to tire. The longer he fought, the slower he became. Finally, one of the heads managed to score a strike on the underside of Draco's belly and bit hard. A roar of pain came from the young dragon that caused a mini-avalanche of rocks to tumble precariously close to the wizards on the ground.

"The Ring! The Ring, 'Mione!" yelled Luna. "Use it!"

"How?" she answered back in between firing hexes at Voldemort that bounced uselessly off his tough hide. She'd already tried to harness the powers in it to take out their enemy, but for the first time, it failed her. Apparently, the strength of the stars could not be used to destroy life.

"Speak the words! The Phoenix must rise from its ashes!"

In spite of her panic, Hermione reddened in shame. She'd completely forgotten their conversation with the Ravenclaw. Real prophecies were all connected together, as if by an invisible thread. Harry's prophecy of defeating Voldemort could not unfold until the one Luna told them about happened first.

The southern sky shall mourn its loss

Its brightest star the fatal cost

And it had happened. Just as Luna said. The pile of ash beside Hermione' feet attested to the fact. Harry had suffered a burning day.

But.

Every phoenix had to burn before….

…..before they could be reborn.

Hermione now understood.

Rising to her feet, she once more spoke the strange words that had haunted her dreams as a child. Just like before, the ring shot out a beam of what looked like starshine into the ruined remains of Harry, hitting in the center of the mound of glowing embers. Hermione watched, astonished, as little points of light grew until they formed into a replica of the constellation of the Phoenix, hovering over what once was her best friend. The dragon that was Voldemort saw what was happening and shrieked in fury. Taking advantage of his distraction, Draco clamped his jaw on the main neck of his enemy. He ground his teeth as hard as he could and did his best to ignore the searing jabs from Tom Riddle's many heads as they tore into his flesh. Draco roared in agony as he held on, his thoughts centered on ending this so his child could live free. He had given up hope for himself.

Meanwhile the others watched spellbound as the brilliant diamonds shone brighter and brighter over the remaining ash where Harry's body had fallen. Finally, in a burst that momentarily blinded everyone, the replica of the constellation disintegrated, tiny particles of light falling down upon a now regenerated Harry. His body had been remade just as it had been, even down to his scuffed trainers and glasses. But oddly, without the lightning-shaped scar on his brow. His eyes slowly opened. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, he looked up and saw Draco losing his fight. With the dexterity and speed he had retained from his former life as a seeker, he aimed his wand and cried out the killing curse. The beam from Harry's wand hit Voldemort in a tiny opening between him and Draco where he had no scales. The Hydra plunged from the sky, taking Draco with it. With a mighty crash, they landed on an outcropping, coming dangerously close to falling off the cliff into the razor sharp rocks below. Draco cried out, the fall making his injuries even more grievous.

The others immediately hastened to his side, with Ron and Lucius levitating the carcass of the dead beast off him. As soon as they did, Draco materialized back. But Hermione wished he had waited. His wounds looked bad before; now they looked….mortal. She felt herself begin to feel lightheaded; her body started swaying. Thankfully, Lucius caught her before she fell. Narcissa gently slapped her cheeks. "Hermione…..please. Draco needs you."

That was enough to rouse the pregnant witch. Not looking at any part of her husband's body other than his untouched face, she knelt and put her hands against his bloody chest. This time, the ring released its power like a young sun on a balmy summer day. Hermione felt Draco's body began to warm; finally, she dared to watch, fascinated as his wounds became smaller and smaller until they were tiny cravasses of red against his pale skin. Then they disappeared. A moment later, Draco groaned.

"Mione," he whispered, raising a trembling hand to cup her cheek.

"Alright then, mate?" Ron said as he affectionately brushed back Draco's hair from his forehead.

"Peachy," he managed to rasp out. But the sarcastic retort did what he intended; everyone laughed and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Still want to eat Voldemort's heart? I brought my knife," Luna said airily, causing another round of laughter.

"Do you mind if I use it?" Narcissa asked as she held out her hand. Everyone looked questioningly at her; what was she planning to do? The answer became apparent when a very unladylike snarl issued from the older witch as she threw the dagger. Lucius was proud, and Ron impressed, with Narcissa's aim. The knife flew straight into the breast of the dead monster. Sauntering over to the massive beast, she leaned her weight against the blade to drive it even deeper into the carcass of the former Tom Riddle.

"That's for the pain you caused my loved ones," she hissed, "You disgusting, pathetic excuse of a human. You thought hurting others would prove you better; that power would give you worth, but all it did was showcase the fact that you were never anything but a self-absorbed little brat in need of a good spanking. Which thankfully, you have now received."

Then she straightened and looked over at Harry. Patting the back of her hair to ensure her bun was still in place, she called out. "Would you like a turn with the blade, dear? I find it's refreshingly therapeutic."

Harry shook his head, a slow grin blooming across his face. "Thanks, but I think you took care of it for me, Auntie."

Narcissa grinned and actually winked back. "Perhaps I did."

Magically drawing the blade out, she wiped it on the grass before giving it back to Luna.

"I'm afraid I often hold grudges," she admitted, not one whit sorry for what she had done. "This particular one, I've had for awhile. But I'm feeling much better now."

"Remind me never to piss her off," murmured Ron. Beside him, Lucius heard what he'd said and chuckled. "My lad, that is one of the first lessons a man should learn. Always keep the ladies happy."

Just as before, everyone laughed.

Hermione lovingly smiled down at Draco. "A lesson you learned well," she whispered.

The day was a bright one, rare for that location in England, but perfect for the gathering at the now fully restored castle belonging to the Malfoy family. Representatives from the various magical newspapers, along with the Minister of Magic himself had come to honor the family that had saved the wizarding world. All who had fought Voldemort had been awarded the Order of Merlin First Class; in addition, Harry and Draco were also being given the highest award bestowed on non-military personnel; the Founders Cross.

After the awards were given and the press had gotten their pictures, the new minister, Kingsley Shacklebolt, lingered. When the last reporterapparated away, he cleared his throat and said, "With your permission, there is one final thing….a request, if you don't mind."

A request? Draco and Hermione looked at each other and shrugged. Narcissa asked, "What is it, Minister?"

"Kingsley," he smiled. "And the request is a simple one. Your permission, that's all. Change has finally come to wizarding Britain. Hope for the future has returned. Our citizens feel it; you can see it in their faces. I think our ministry should show it, too. I would like to update the seal of the ministry. It's always depicted a scale of balance….rather ironic, isn't it, since this war was fought over that very thing….but now….now, I think it's time for a fresh start."

Narcissa looked at Lucius. Taking her unspoken cue, he cleared his throat. "So, you are proposing…..?"

"I would deem it a great honor if you would permit the ministry to use a likeness of the ring," Kingsley pointed to Hermione's hand, "and of a dragon guarding it."

Draco's jaw dropped. "You want to use an image of the ring? And….me?"

Kingsley nodded.

"It sounds perfect," said Luna as she sidled up to the group. Looking at her friends, she said, "Don't you see? We've come full circle. The terror is behind us; the night is past. What better way to celebrate it than by embracing this new symbol for our world?"

"But what will it be symbolizing?" asked Harry.

"That the truest magic is worth protecting, " said Ron, surprising them all with his insight.

Draco wondered which magic Ron was referring to, but then as he gently pulled Hermione in front of him, his long fingers cradled her still-flat stomach, and he realized he already knew the answer.

AN: I enjoyed writing this little story. Thanks for keeping me company.

Harry's theme is from a poem by Shannon Noll.

Draco's theme is from a poem by Sara Teasdale