When Harry awoke the next day, it was to an unfamiliar room that felt like home. It was the strangest sensation in the world; he could feel magic running through the walls that connected in concert to him and Severus. He could feel Severus nearby though he wasn't in the room, and there was none of the panic that usually threatened when the man was out of sight. Harry knew he was there.

Now that he was more properly awake, Harry began to explore his new room. He crept about in cat form, climbing up the wooden ledges to the top, hidden alcove. Then he climbed down again, wandering about into every corner, even climbing into his closet. Then he changed back into a boy and grimaced as he realized he was still wearing his ceremonial clothes. He changed out of them quickly, and then looked around his room with human eyes. Finally, he went to see the rest of his home, dropping back into panther form to better get a feel for the rooms.

He came to the sitting room first, taking in the usual couches and the tree branches that seemed to grow from the ground. There were also bookshelves filled with books and ornate wooden boxes and a few Muggle and wizard games. Unexpectedly, there was also a piano against one wall as well as a large chest with musical notes carved into it serving as a piano bench. There was a fireplace as well, similar to the ones found in most any room, except that it had pictures on the mantle. Harry had to change into a boy to see what the pictures were of, and even then he had to stand on a chair.

There were only three pictures, all of them moving in the manner of wizard photos. One was of a very young boy with black hair, smiling next to a woman who he supposed was his mother. Harry assumed the boy was Severus. Then there was a picture of Severus, Roo, Basta, and Neffy. Severus was dressed up in a similar ceremonial white gown as Harry had been wearing the night before, but on him it looked less feminine somehow and more ceremonial, and his white cap really was more like a cap than a bonnet. It seemed he still didn't like the robes and he attempted to glare dourly at the camera but didn't quite pull it off. He kept quirking his lips when Neffy or Basta did something silly. And he smiled outright when Roo put a welcoming hand on his shoulder. Then he dropped down into panther form when Neffy started to wrestle with him playfully. The third picture was completely unexpected, and undoubtedly newly added. It featured Jame, Lily, Sirius and Remus surrounding a beaming baby Harry. Pettigrew was not in the photo.

Staring at the picture of his lost family, knowing how much Severus despised his father and Sirius, how he still seemed to bear a grudge against Professor Lupin, it made Harry feel very odd to know he had chosen this picture to put over the fireplace. His seventeen year old memories crashed into his five year old emotions and his eyes started to tear up. He jumped off the chair quickly, not wanting to start bawling in the middle of the room, and stared at a particularly ugly painting over the piano of a scowling dark haired man until the feeling went away.

Then he wandered into the dining room which seemed to double as a very simple kitchen. There was no oven or refrigerator that Harry could find, but there was a tiny stone fireplace too high up for Harry to easily reach over which an iron kettle was hung. Next to that was a large basin. Over the basin was a window, which was odd because Harry was quite certain that particular wall should not have looked outside. He wasn't tall enough to see anything out of it except for sky. Opening the few cabinet doors that he could reach, Harry found one that was charmed cold and contained a pitcher of milk among other food items. Another cabinet contained food items that didn't need to stay cold and yet another held a stack of large, solid looking saucers. He supposed that these were used more for their cat aspects than their human ones.

As he inspected the room, Harry suddenly realized that he was starving. He wondered where Severus was, and if he would want Harry to cook for them or if the house elves were still meant to send up trays of food like they had in the other room. The kitchen fireplace looked big enough to fit trays, even if it wouldn't fit a person. Undecided, he decided the best option would be to find his phiter and ask him.

He approached the final two doors in the suite cautiously. He wanted to bound into Severus's rooms and at the same time he was terrified to. He didn't know where things stood between them anymore. He was his professor and he was his phiter. Harry had been, for all intents and purposes, adopted by the man last night. He had a real live family who didn't hate him or leave him, who wasn't dead. And he felt terrified and ecstatic and shy. So he walked quietly, opening the first door only a crack until he saw that it was the bathroom. That left the final room. He knocked quietly before dropping down into panther form. When no sounds came from within the room, he put a paw against the false part of the door that was meant to let them through in their panther bodies. It allowed him to pass, so finally he stuck his head into the room.

It was dark, the only window in the room covered by a heavy curtain that let in the minimum of morning light. But darkness was a refuge to his cat mind and he walked further into the shadows, reaching out with his other senses to inspect the bedroom while his eyes adjusted. The room was similar to his own except that it was larger and made with an adult in mind. The bed was a real four post bed, such as a human would favor, but the posts were thicker and held up a canopy of branches designed as a second, panther style bed. The way it was designed made it near impossible for a cub to reach the perch, though a grown panther would have no trouble, but there was also a ladder that was so narrow and the rungs so close that a grown man would have had difficulty with it. It was the perfect size for Harry to climb. Even for his own bed, Severus was providing a way for Harry to reach him if he needed to.

The presence of the ladder emboldened Harry, and he used it to climb up onto the high bed where Severus in human form was snuggled under a large blue quilt. Harry had to change into a boy to use the ladder, but once on the bed he changed back into a cub. He padded over and stared intently towards the man, willing him to wake up. He didn't know what weird instinct was effecting him now, but he had the sudden urge to pounce. He crouched down low, ears lowering as he crept forward on his belly. His muscles tensed to spring.

“Don't even think about it,” the sleeping man murmured without opening his eyes, just as he was about to make his move. The pounce turned into a leap straight up in the air from surprise and pent up energy. Harry fell back down into boy form.

“Are you awake now, Sev?” Harry asked, “Are we going to eat breakfast? I could cook, but I don't know if I can reach everything, or do we call a house elf, though Hermione wouldn't like that. That reminds me, are they free here or just different or what? And do I call you Sev or Phiter or what? What do you call me? Alphurei Aelurus called me Maahes, didn't she, but everyone still says Harry, or they did at the party.” Severus cracked an eye open.

“Oh Merlin, you've turned into Neffy, haven't you?” he mumbled and looked like he was about to go back to sleep.

“Sorry,” Harry said, “You can sleep. I'll just go and make breakfast, then.” His shyness had suddenly returned and he didn't want to make Severus mad on his very first day as being his...as Severus being his phiter. He made it out the door and had just gotten the hang of adjusting the fire to suit his needs (there was a nob on the side which seemed to work rather like an oven burner's knob) when Severus suddenly burst into the room, snatching him off his stool and away from the fire.

“Hywuxkos,” he growled, ignoring Harry's yip of surprise. He was set down in a chair farthest from the kitchen counter. Then Severus turned back towards the fire and pulled out a frying pan and some eggs and bread. Within ten minutes they both had a plate of eggs and toast. Harry also had some milk while Severus had coffee. The preparation was silent, even when Severus had to adjust Harry's chair so that he could reach the table. Harry said 'thank you' when he received his plate, and then they were quiet again while they ate. After they finished, Severus waved his wand and sent the dishes into the basin before turning to face Harry with a serious face. Harry began to squirm.

“Harry...” he began, then he stood and helped him out of his chair, saying, “Why don't we go sit in the living room.” Harry nodded and followed him to a couch. He sat down at the opposite end from Severus, sinking back as though trying to make himself even smaller. The other man stared at him for a long moment, a slight frown marring his features. Suddenly, he leaned over and scooped Harry up, pulling him onto his lap. The fear and anxiety that Harry didn't even realize he was feeling melted away, though he couldn't help but thinking he was getting tired of being tossed around. He might be small, but he was still seventeen.

“Feeling out of sorts today?” Severus asked. Harry nodded, leaning against his chest. “It's hard to take in, all these changes,” Severus continued, “It was hard for me and I got to remain a grown man when I joined them.” Harry nodded again. “Maybe if I explain things, what is expected of you and the rules for this place, then will you feel better?” Swallowing, Harry found himself twisting his head up in an attempt to look at Severus's face.

“What do I call you?” Harry asked.

“That's up to you,” Severus answered, “If you're uncomfortable with phiter, you may continue calling me Severus. You can even...if you wanted to...call me dad. I am your guardian.”

“But you don't mind being Phiter?” Harry asked. It was too weird to call him dad, but phiter...the word was alien enough that he didn't feel like he was betraying his own father. And the house elf Eberik had said it didn't mean father exactly anyway.

“Or Pher for short,” Severus agreed.

“Pher...” Harry whispered, and then, “What am I called? If you're my phiter, what am I to you?”

“Musoi,” Severus answered, “It translates basically as 'my child'. If someone other than me said it, you would be musof, his child.”

“And what about what Alphurei Aelurus said my name was, Maahes?” Harry asked, “Does that mean I'm not Harry Potter anymore?”

“That is what is known as a ceremonial name, or a secret name. Everyone will still call you Harry Potter. Now, I believe we need a few rules in place. Beginning with, you are not to go near the kitchen fire.” Harry frowned. “I know you are seventeen years old,” Severus continued, “But your body is that of a sphinx not a human, and that means you are still a very young child. I would not let a five year old human near a fire and I will not let you.”

“My aunt let me cook when I was really was five,” Harry mumbled dejectedly. He didn't want to be thought of as a small child. He wanted to be a seventeen year old who happened to be extremely short. Severus frowned at that comment and even in his boy form Harry felt the jolt of anger radiating off the man before he managed to contain it. It was followed by gentler emotions directed almost apologetically towards Harry.

“Be that as it may,” Severus answered stoically, “You should not be cooking without supervision, and not over the fire. I will give you other chores to handle, such as setting the table.” Harry nodded. Despite the growing resentment of his limitations, it felt oddly nice having someone there saying he wasn't allowed to do what, at Privet Drive, had often led to cuts and burns. And he did have to admit that his younger body was clumsier than his adult body had been. “On the note of things you are not allowed to do,” Severus continued, “I do not want you wandering around alone. This goes for Hogwarts as well. You will be with me, another trusted professor, or with your friends. Disobeying these rules will result in punishment.” Harry nodded his head nervously, both at the mention of punishments and at the mention of Hogwarts. He still wasn't sure how he felt about returning to school, especially so soon.

“Punishments will include time outs, extra chores, and being grounded,” Severus hastened to say, “I will not hurt you. And speaking of Hogwarts, we will be going there tomorrow. The students will be arriving the following day.”

“Won't I be riding on the train?” Harry asked, “What about my friends; I'll still get to sit with them, right?”

“You will see them when they arrive,” Severus answered, “I will speak with them after dinner to ensure they understand...what has happened.” Harry got the feeling Severus had been about to say something very different and began to feel angry, but it swiftly changed to anxious fear. How were his friends going to react when they saw him? And how would the rest of the school react? Not only was he now a child, a very young child, but he was living, willingly no less, with Professor Severus Snape.