~*~

When he woke up from his nap, he had still two hours until supper, and so he tried to transform completely. He tried hard and was very frustrated. Finally, he almost broke down and lay panting on the floor. His tongue was lolling out of his mouth. No, wait, it was lolling out of his muzzle. Harry blinked, confused. The room smelled different, and he could hear the birds from the Forbidden Forest as if they were in his room. Harry tried to stand up, but lost his balance. After several attempts, he stood, spreading all his four legs shakily. Carefully, he padded over to his mirror. His Animagus looked back at him.

He was big, maybe one and a half meters high. Dark gray fur covered his whole body. Only his chest was white, and he had a black line on his back. The most breathtaking thing was his eyes. They were red. Harry had seen this animal in Alastor's book. It was a hellhound. Harry studied his paws again. They were as big as Poppy's plates, and Harry loved to expose the deep black claws. Harry went closer to the mirror and growled. White teeth were flashing. Oh, yes, he loved his Animagus form. It was powerful and dangerous. Voldemort had better watch out.

~*~

"Alastor! Alastor!" Harry shouted while he ran through the quarters in the direction of the living room. When he ran into the living room, Alastor came striding in his direction.

"What's wrong, Harry?" he asked, his voice full of worry. Poppy immediately drew her wand for a Diagnostic Spell.

"Oh, nothing bad," Harry said, embarrassed that he had worried the adult. He let Poppy cast her Diagnostic Spell nevertheless and tried to regain his breath. He leaned over slightly and steadied himself on his knees, the magical creature book still in his hand.

"He is fine. Just a bit overexcited," Poppy explained to Alastor. When she turned to Harry again, she asked, "Do you want me to leave so you can speak with Alastor alone?"

"No," Harry said, still a bit breathless, and he straightened up. He waved the book in front of the adults. "I did it. I know my Animagus form." Overexcited, he opened the book to the page about hellhounds. "Look!"

"Let's sit down, Harry," Poppy instructed the still quickly-breathing boy and lead him against the couch.

When Harry was sitting between the two elders, he pointed at the hellhound drawing in the book. "I don't look exactly like this one, but I'm sure I'm a hellhound. I'm just a different color." The one in the book was completely gray.

"It's a very powerful Animagus form, Harry. Hellhounds have even better senses than wolves. Legends say that they lead the way to the world of the dead when people lose themselves on the way. They can see in the dark even without the smallest bit of light and they can smell things from kilometers away. They are very seldom now because people feared and killed them. It was once thought that they only led the dead into the hell. I prefer the positive tales about them. As a child, my father told me about them as helpers of the scared and lost once on their way to their final adventure. I like to see it that way. It makes it easier to die one day knowing you aren't alone on the way."

Harry leaned into Poppy while Alastor told him about this. It immediately reminded him of Severus. "Will they lead Severus as well? And where will they lead him to?"

"I don't know where they will lead him to. My father said that the hellhounds feel which way a person has to take. He said that even hell isn't what most people imagine it to be. It's just different from the very cheerful opposite people call heaven. Some people prefer to live on the darker side and some on the lighter side. It's not the same as it is in our world. Not all Dark Wizards will live on the darker side in the afterlife and not all light wizards will live on the lighter side. There is even the possibility to go from one side to the other and visit people there. Once you've found your way, it is no problem. It's as if all things are forgotten and forgiven when you are dead. Only very dark people will loose themselves on their way and won't get help from the hellhounds. They will wander around in gray, almost completely dark fog for eternity. Severus isn't one of those," Alastor explained calmly while almost affectionately stroking the picture of the hellhound in the book.

Harry cried silently and it was the first time he did not feel embarrassed about it. "So even when he decides to die, I can see him again one day?"

"Of course, Harry," Poppy said and stroked his hair. "We will all meet in the afterlife."

"I still don't want him to die," Harry said and turned to cry into Poppy's shoulder.

"He won't. He knows that his family is waiting for him here," Poppy said, her gaze fixed on Severus, who stood silently in the door frame.

Severus had been alarmed by Harry's shouts, but when he saw what it was about, he stopped in the door frame and listened to the conversation. He knew the tale Alastor was telling Harry. He had once told it to him as well. It had taken a big weight from his chest because he was always very afraid of dying and the afterlife. He hoped Alastor's father was right. Severus had not realized that Poppy had noticed him until she looked directly at him. As quickly as possible, he left the room to go back to his own room.

"May I go and show Severus my Animagus form?" Harry asked hopefully.

"Of course, Harry. Here, take the book with you," Alastor said and gave Harry the book.

When Harry had left, Poppy scooted closer to her husband. "That was very sweet of you. I'm sure you took some of his angst away. I always wanted to ask you if it is real, and if it is, do you believe it?"

"Yes, my father really told me about it on his deathbed. I'm sure he believed it because he died calm and happy. He didn't fear death. I was six and was scared like hell, but after this story, I could let him go. Do I believe it? I don't know, but I definitely hope that he was right." With that, he placed his arm around her and drew her closer to him. He gently kissed his wife and sat with her like this until Harry and Severus came into the room around thirty minutes later.

________________________

Harry knocked on Severus' door cautiously. The last time they spoke, Severus understood Harry and was not mad at him, but Severus' mood changed quickly, and so Harry did not know what was awaiting him.

"Enter," Severus said.

"Ehm...I wanted to tell you that I can change into my Animagus form. Do you want to see it?" Harry asked shyly.

"I prefer to have my room free of any kind of animal hair. Who knows, maybe you are a cat and you will vomit hairballs on my floor." Harry did not know that Severus had listened to the whole conversation, and Severus did not plan to reveal it to him.

"I'm no cat, and I didn't want to change into my Animagus form here." Now that he thought about it, he wondered why he was scared to transform in the presence of someone else. Or at least in the presence of people he liked. He shook his head because he did not want to think about it. "I wanted to show it to you in the book. I'm a hellhound." Harry opened the book to show it to Severus.

"That's a very useful Animagus form," Severus stated and rolled his eyes at the proud grin on Harry's face. "Sometimes you are too like your father, Potter."

"It's Harry, just in case you forgot." Harry was used to Severus' comments and knew he did not mean to be as harsh as he seemed to be.

"I look different than this one. I have a black line on my back and my chest is white. The rest is gray but a bit darker than this one." Harry pointed at the picture in the book.

"How were your senses?" Severus asked curious.

"A bit overwhelming, to be honest. It hurt my ears and the smell was also painful. Like the inside of my nose was very dry." Harry tried to remember how he felt, but it was hard.

"You will get used to it. Not that I have any experience, but that is what I heard. We should tell Albus as soon as possible, but I fear he will not come near these quarters anytime soon. I would not dare if I were him. You got a glimpse of what Alastor is capable of the day he forced us to sleep in his bedroom. I shudder each time I try to imagine what he must have said to Albus." Severus shivered.

"Do you think he is okay?" Harry asked worriedly.

"Albus? Yes, I think so, but nevertheless I never want to be present when those two wizards cross."

"Me too," Harry said deep in thoughts by imagining what it would be like.

"Do they let you out of your quarters?" Severus asked hopefully.

"No. Ron and Hermione wrote me, and I wanted to write them back because they insist on coming to visit me. I don't want them to, and so I wanted to quickly tell them that I have no time, but Poppy didn't let me go to the Owlery, and I had to give Alastor my letters," Harry said disappointedly.

"We have to find a way, but I do not think it will be a problem. They want the fragment of the Dark Lord's soul out of you as soon as possible, and so they will agree. Let us discuss this with them," Severus said and stood up. He paused when he reached Harry and laid a hand on his shoulder. "It will be all right, Harry."

It was the first time in a long time that Severus touched him. For Harry, the last time felt like centuries ago. He sighed and could not resist hugging Severus. To his immense astonishment, Severus drew him in tighter. "It will be all right in the end," Severus whispered.

When they reached the living room, Alastor and Poppy were sitting together on the couch. Severus cleared his throat to make their presence known.

"Ah, so Harry already talked to you about his Animagus form?" Alastor asked and gestured the two over to the other couch.

"Yes, he said he managed to transform into a hellhound. We both know how useful this will be in the final battle," Severus said and eyed Alastor closely for any reaction.

"What are you looking for Severus? Any signs that I will lock you two away?" Alastor prodded.

Severus drew in a sharp breath. "I...I didn't...."

Alastor held his hand up to stop Severus. "I know, lad. I'm sorry for asking it. We are all a bit stressed."

Severus relaxed a bit. "We were wondering if we could inform Albus about this new event. Perhaps he could talk about the extraction with Harry."

Poppy stiffed visibly, and Severus looked, concerned, at her. Alastor drew calming circles on Poppy's shoulder, and she relaxed into his touch. "We would prefer to wait until tomorrow. Poppy will do a final check on Harry, and with a bit luck, he will be deemed healthy enough to speak with Albus and start the spell training." Alastor turned from Harry to Severus. "Your presence at this training session will depend on the result of your examination tomorrow, Severus."

"So I can see Albus tomorrow and extract the fragment of Voldemort's soul from my body?" Harry could not believe his luck and smiled happily.

Alastor looked seriously at Harry and the boy stopped smiling. So, there is a snag, Harry thought disappointedly.

"You will not meet the Headmaster alone. I will be present," Alastor said. The fact that he was using Albus' title was not a good sign. "And there is no way that we will be extracting the soul fragment tomorrow." Harry's smiled vanished from his face. He had hoped that he could get rid of it now. "We will talk about how it will be done, and you will listen carefully to all the risks. You will sleep on it, and when Poppy gives her okay, you can decide if you want to try it or not. That's the deal, Harry."

"Okay," Harry said, disappointed.

"It's not that easy, Harry," Severus said and laid a hand on Harry's leg. "Albus will explain it all to you, but Alastor is right. It is not a decision you should make lightly. You have to think about it for some time and ask any questions you have."

"So, when we have cleared this all, we can eat a bit. You all will need a lot of energy for the next few days," Poppy said and made her way to the kitchen. The three men followed her.

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