Remus was nearly knocked over by Harry's mad dash, but the werewolf had better reflexes than a human and so he managed to keep his feet.  "Young man, watch where you're going!" he began, annoyed.

Harry ducked his head and cried, "Sorry, sir! Forgot my homework!" Then he started to run down the path again.

Remus froze.  Then he strode after the fleeing figure and yelled, "Stop right there, Harrison Remus Snape!"

Harry skidded to a stop so fast he nearly crashed into a display of cauldrons being hawked by an old witch.  "Watch where you're going, you young hooligan!" she shrieked, and swung at him with her broomstick.

Harry ducked, only to find himself trapped between the broomstick-wielding harridan and a very angry Remus Lupin. 

The look Lupin was giving the boy made Harry shiver all the way down to his toes and recall all the stories he'd ever heard about the wrath of werewolves.  Merlin, I'm so dead! Trelawney was right, I am going to die before the year is out, because my Defense professor and my dad are going to kill me!

Harry swallowed hard as Remus advanced upon him.  He had never known a person's eyes could turn that shade of golden-brown before.  "Uh, hi, Uncle Moony!" Harry began, using the informal form of address in hopes that it would remind the furious werewolf that Harry was his godson and he shouldn't strangle him right away.  "I, uh, can explain . . .er . . ."

"Not another word, Mr. Snape!" Remus growled, and Harry shrank away at the dark tone. The werewolf reached out and took a firm grip on the back of his godson's robes, as well as the shimmery fabric of the Invisibility Cloak. "We're going back to the castle, young man."

"Good for you!" cackled the old witch.  "Teach the brat some respect for his elders."

"I shall, madam, and I'm sorry he nearly knocked you down," the professor apologized to her before hauling Harry away.

Lupin glanced briefly at the fabric bunched in his hand as he marched his rebellious godson back to Hogwarts.  "James's cloak, isn't it? I figured as much."

Harry kept silent, fearing that anything he said would only make everything worse.  Not that there really was anything to say.  He'd been caught coming out of Hogsmeade, a place he'd been expressly forbidden to go, and he knew Remus knew that.

Harry was pretty sure that a detention with Lupin was the least of his worries, especially judging from the look on his godfather's face.  He'd rarely seen Remus angry, and he wished he could've skipped this sight as well. The werewolf's jaw was clenched tightly and a vein stood out in the man's forehead, pulsing with every angry heartbeat. 

He did not speak to Harry at all, simply frog marched him along like a warden with an escaped prisoner. 

Harry felt as though there should be drums beating out the tempo as he was led to the scaffold. 

Damn! Damn! Oh, bloody hell!

No sooner had they crossed the threshold of the castle, then Malfoy raced up to them, grinning his snarky grin.  "Professor Lupin! I just wanted to inform you that I saw Potter-er I mean, Snape-at the Shrieking Shack and . . .oh." Malfoy's grin became even wider as he realized how much trouble Harry was in. Then he added nastily.  "One more thing, sir.  I have a complaint to make against your niece."

Lupin frowned at the ferret-like boy.  "A complaint? For what?"

"She, uh, nearly attacked me, sir," Draco began.  "In her-her cat form.  She changed and growled at me and practically bit me, professor! If my father ever knew we had a shape-slipper at school . . ."

"Mr. Malfoy, there is nothing in Hogwarts rules that excludes a student who can shift shapes from attending school here," Lupin interrupted him coldly, eying the blond with extreme dislike.  "Now, if you will excuse me, I have some business to attend to with Mr. Snape here, and if Aria has done something to make you uncomfortable, I will speak to her about it later and have her offer an apology, if necessary."

Then he swept past Malfoy, who had a look on his face of sour disappointment. Clearly he'd been expecting much more out of his professor than the mere promise of an apology. 

But Lupin had much bigger problems to deal with, namely his godson's disobedience.  He paused beside the stairs, trying to determine where he ought to take Harry, his office or Severus's quarters.  He decided on his office, since it was only one floor up and he wasn't sure if Severus was back yet from his impromptu visit to New Jersey.

Plus, he would feel more comfortable giving Harry a sound scolding in his territory rather than Snape's.  A wolf always feels more comfortable on his own ground. 

Harry followed Remus up the stairs to his professor's office, wishing he'd listened to Aria and gone back to school right after Zonko's.  Why oh why did he always take good advice to heart too late for it to be of any use to him?

He quickly unlocked the door and escorted Harry inside, then he shut the door behind him and gestured for the boy to have a seat on the chair in front of his desk. 

Harry flopped bonelessly into the chair, only to have Remus beckon him out of it again. 

"I'll take the cloak now, Harry. And the map as well, yes, I know exactly what that map is, since I helped create it."

Harry opened his mouth to protest, then thought better of it and wordlessly handed over the cloak and the map.  Their loss hit him rather hard, but he knew they were the least of his worries.

"Sit," Lupin ordered, his face set and filled with disapproval and anger.

Harry winced, his godfather's disapproval was almost as bad as Severus's.

"Well?"  Remus began, and the utter sharpness with which he spoke made Harry tremble involuntarily and nearly start looking about for a belt, which was the way Vernon had preferred to punish him.  "What possible reason could you have for being in Hogsmeade, Harry Remus, when I know you weren't supposed to set foot there? Your father asked me to look out for you and I thought he was merely being overly cautious, because you understood the reasons behind his orders and would obey them.  Instead I find you've played fast and loose with the rules, breaking them just to-to what? To visit a sweet shop and a joke emporium?"

When Remus put it that way, it did sound incredibly juvenile and extremely stupid.  He knew he'd been reckless and impulsive, but he hated being cooped up, he always had, it harkened back to his days of being shut into the cupboard under the stairs for days on end.

"It-it wasn't like that, Uncle Moony," he managed, licking his lip nervously.  "I just  . . .needed to get out . . .I felt like I was in prison, so I just . . ."

"You just totally disregarded your father's orders to stay safe and went your own way," Remus said sternly.  "Using an Invisibility Cloak and a confiscated map you have no business being in possession of."

"The cloak was given to me by James!" Harry cried.  "And the map was a gift."

"Really? A gift from troublemakers just like the Marauders, no doubt.  Harry, if I didn't know better, I'd say you really were James's son, the way you act sometimes.  You act first and think about it later, if at all.  That was James to a T.  And it was that quality above all that got him in the most trouble and eventually led to his death.  For it was he who insisted upon Sirius as his Secret Keeper.  It was a rash decision and he paid for it with his life.  Not the example you should be following, young man. You need to start using your head, Harry.  I know you've got the brains-God Above you're Sev and Lily's child, you're probably more intelligent than half the students here.  But why can't you seem to act like it?"

"I don't know, sir," he mumbled to the floor.  If he knew the answer to that, perhaps he could stop himself from doing things that were guaranteed to get him in trouble.  Such as kicking Malfoy and sneaking into Hogsmeade. 

"I'd suggest you think long and hard about that question, Mr. Snape.  Because you now have detention with me tomorrow night for your reckless behavior. Be prepared to work."

"Yes sir." He looked up at Remus, wondering if the lecture was over. "Are you . . .I mean will you, uh, tell my dad about this?"

"Yes.  I'm sorry Harry, but he needs to be told, as I am responsible for you while he's gone and your disobedience could have had serious consequences for us both."

"Like what?" Harry demanded.  "Everyone's always going on about Black and how afraid they are of him.  But the guy's been in Azkaban for years and doesn't even have a wand anymore, how dangerous could he be?"

"Harry, you do know that Sirius was responsible for the deaths of thirteen Muggles and Peter Pettigrew? That he was a servant of You-Know-Who and probably is still loyal to him to this day? Black is a very dangerous man, with or without a wand.  He could and would kill you quick as blinking and this is why your father insisted you stay in the castle." Lupin steepled his fingers on his desk.  "Have you any idea what Sev would feel if something happened to you, Harry? You're the only family each one has, the last living legacy of Lily that he has, it would destroy him if you died, young man.  That's why he insists you be careful and stay on the grounds, not so he can play prison warden, but so he can protect you."

Harry hung his head, feeling terribly ashamed and guilty.  Of course he knew Severus cared for him, even loved him, but to die if he was no longer alive? Surely that was exaggerated? How could Severus love him so much? Yet Remus seemed to think he did, and Harry had learned over the summer to trust the other's instincts.

"I don't know what Severus will say or do when he gets back, but I will tell you that if you were under my care, you'd be grounded for two weeks and getting your arse warmed for risking your life that way."

Harry blinked.  "You'd really spank me, Uncle Moony?"

"I would, because sometimes kids need a more physical reminder of the consequences of misbehavior than a scolding.  I can tell you that after my dad spanked me, I always thought long and hard about misbehaving afterwards, and I didn't get into trouble for a long time."

"Did he, uh, use a belt?"

Remus shook his head.  "No, he didn't.  My dad gave out punishments, not whippings.  There is a difference, child, though you wouldn't know that since you were raised by people who didn't know the meaning of the word discipline. When my father walloped me, Harry, he never used anything except his hand and it was controlled, meaning he would tell me how many smacks I'd get and that would be it. And it was never for nothing, I always knew exactly what I'd done and why I'd earned myself a spanking.  And once it was over, he'd hold me and tell me he was sorry, but it was necessary. I always forgave him after awhile." Remus admitted with a smile. 

"Uncle Vernon never did," Harry recalled with a grimace.  "Because I don't think he was."

"Your uncle was a beast who should've been locked away," Remus said angrily.  "He didn't know how to treat a child.  Like Sev's father Tobias."

"I know.  Dad told me a little about him, how nasty he was."

"Yes, and that's why Sev doesn't use much corporal punishment, because he's afraid he'll turn into Tobias.  I disagree, they're complete opposites, night and day.  Tobias had no control whatsoever, Sev has a shade too much to my way of thinking.  But that's not really the issue here, your misbehavior is, Harry Snape.  I can't even begin to tell you how disappointed I am in you, boy, and what I feel is nothing compared to what Sev will feel once he learns what you've done."

Harry shot his godfather a pleading glance.  "Uncle Moony, couldn't you, uh, just keep this between us? You could punish me however you liked, just don't tell my dad. Please?"

But Remus shook his head.  "Oh no, Harry.  You can't bargain your way out this time.  I have to tell Severus and I will.  You'll face the consequences of your actions just like any other child. I refuse to keep secrets from my best friend."

Harry nodded listlessly.  He had expected that response, but still he felt that Remus might have agreed to talk to Severus first, calm him down somewhat before he dismantled his son.  

As it was, Lupin refused to let him out of his sight, insisting he stay in the office and work on his schoolwork until his father returned. 

Ten minutes after issuing that declaration, there came a knock on the office door and Harry felt his heart plummet to his shoes.  But then he heaved a sigh of relief when he heard Aria's voice calling, "Uncle Remmy? Can I come in?"

"Yes," answered her uncle, and Aria entered the office, accompanied by Mandy. 

Both girls seemed slightly out of breath, Harry suspected they had run the entire distance from Hogsmeade. 

Remus favored his niece with a stern glance, and Harry noticed her stiffen, as if anticipating a scolding.  "I need to discuss something with you, young lady."

"It's about Malfoy, isn't it?" she said, making the question more of statement.

"Yes.  He came to me this afternoon with a disturbing tale.  He accused you of attacking him in your cougar shape.  Tell me, Aria, that is not true."

 "It isn't, Uncle Remmy," answered the shape-slipper.  "I did change into a cougar, but I never attacked him.  I didn't even touch him in cat form."

"She's right, sir," spoke up Mandy.  "Malfoy might be a Slytherin, but he's an annoying little rat too.  I told him off myself before he started with Aria, warned him about his attitude towards another House member or else I'd take points.  Didn't work, ‘cause the little snot kept on passing remarks about Snape here and Lupin."

"He threatened to hit her too," Harry added.

Remus went scarlet.  "Malfoy threatened you physically?"

"Yeah, but it was no big deal, sir.  That's why I changed into a cougar, to scare the pants off him.  It worked.  He was shaking like a leaf.  Before that he said he could hit me all he wanted and it would be self-defense ‘cause I was a furry."

"Oh, he did, did he?" her uncle was outraged. "Seems like I need to have a discussion with Mr. Malfoy next." He leveled a penetrating stare at Aria.  "What exactly did you do when you were a cougar?"

"I growled at him a few times, walked towards him and flicked a paw at him."

"Did you, at any time, strike him with your paws or bite him?"

"No." She met his gaze squarely.

Remus hid a sigh of relief.  "That's good. Because Malfoy can't claim injury from a dangerous magical creature."

Aria scowled blackly.  "What do you mean? I'm a shape-slipper, not a magical creature."

"Yes, I know that and you know that, but the Ministry sees things a bit differently, I'm afraid.  They class shapeshifters as dangerous magical creatures, the same as werewolves."

"But that's-that's insane! We're not animals, we're humans who can change form. We're human even in the changed form, our minds are our own, that's a slipper's magic.  Don't they understand that?"

"No.  Or rather they don't want to understand it," sighed the werewolf, who'd been dealing with the result of that prejudice for years.  "The government here is very old fashioned and archaic with some of their rulings."

"You can say that again! Back in the States, they had amendments to the laws for us, classifying us as shifters and we weren't allowed to be discriminated against."

"That's not the case here, which is why I asked if you'd bitten Malfoy."

"I should've though!"

"No, you should not have!" her uncle said sharply.  "Then you'd of been brought up on charges by the Malfoys, Aria.  They're an influential family in these parts and they have much sway with Ministry officials.  So it's to your advantage to keep a low profile, my girl."

"So you're saying that I've got to put up with that rattler and let him walk all over me because his father's some Mafia don with pull in the Ministry?"

"I wouldn't put it quite like that, but in a manner of speaking, yes."

Aria set her jaw.  "Well, I won't."

"Excuse me?" rasped the werewolf, locking eyes with her.

"I won't.  I won't give that creep any kind of hold over me.  If I do, he'll think he controls me, and nobody does, especially not him.  I won't hurt him in my other forms, but I'm not going to give in to him either.  I refuse to roll over and show my throat to a slinking little ferret."

"And if I order you to?"

She looked pained, but she answered firmly.  "Please don't.  Because I won't be able to obey.  I'm not ashamed of what I am and I refuse to let Malfoy treat me like a second-class citizen, which is what he wants."

"Aria, all I'm asking is that you show a little prudence and don't provoke him.  For your sake."

"And yours too, right? What about him provoking me? Why should he be allowed to get away with such rotten behavior? Because his dad's some hotshot rich official? That's a load of bull!"

"Moderate your tone, young lady!"

"I can't believe the way all you professors tiptoe around that smarmy brat, afraid to give him what he deserves because you could get fired or whatever," Aria went on, her temper still smoldering.  "No wonder he's such a conceited little prick."

"Aria Lenore, you will not speak to me with such disrespect.  I don't let him get away with anything.  And secondly, you need to work on controlling your temper." Remus told her, his tone like ice.  "You can't afford to let Malfoy get to you, and you most certainly can't afford to threaten him in animal form, no matter what he's done to deserve it.  Walk away, because he's looking for an excuse to hurt you, by whatever means necessary."

"I know that! This is partly because I refused to go out with him, the slimeball." Aria spat, her amber eyes shimmering with fury. 

Remus looked startled.  "He asked you out?"

"Yeah, first day I got here.  I turned him down flat.  I know a rattler when I see one.  Ever since, he's been trying to ruin my reputation here by spreading lies and rumors about me, and I'm sick of it, Uncle Remmy."

"I know you are, Aria, but right now is not a good time to stand up to a Malfoy."

"Then when is a good time, Uncle Remmy? After they run half the government?"

Remus's eyes flashed.  "Don't get smart with me, young lady.  You'd do well to follow my example rather than your father's, for being cautious has kept me alive.  Now is not the time to act, we must wait.  Our time will come."

"When, in the next millennium?"

"That's quite enough, Aria Lenore!  You can join Mr. Snape here in detention tomorrow night and we'll see if I can't impress upon both of you the importance of respect and obedience," growled her uncle. 

"You're giving me detention for expressing an opinion?" she cried in disbelief.

"No, I'm giving you detention for being a disrespectful brat.  I would suggest you spend the rest of the night thinking about ways to modify your behavior. You may go." Remus dismissed her.  As the two girls turned to go, he called after them, "Oh, and if you happen to run into Mr. Malfoy lurking in the corridor, tell him I'd like to speak with him as well."

Once the Slytherins had departed, Professor Lupin turned to Harry and said, "You may finish your homework in my classroom, I want some privacy when I deal with Draco."

Harry simply agreed, though he would have liked to listen to Remus's dressing down Malfoy.  Something told him that Malfoy's comments to Aria had made the werewolf very angry, and he was not going to get off lightly.  Harry had just entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom when he heard the office door open again. 

Well, that was quick.  Malfoy must have been spying right around here for him to get here so fast, the dimwit. 

He was sorely tempted to put his ear to the door, but he restrained himself.  No sense in adding eavesdropping to his list of misdemeanors. He sat down at an empty desk and started to remove his books from his bag when the door to the classroom opened.

Harry looked up and felt himself freeze with dread.

His father had come home.

"Put that away and come with me," Severus ordered, in that deadly soft tone that Harry knew portended his doom.