Harry checked the special mixture he had hidden in his wardrobe. Thank Merlin he had thought to buy the supplies needed for this before coming back here. Harry hated the Dursleys with a passion; well, one Dursley in particular. His aunt couldn't do much to protect him, because she had to protect her own son. For his uncle, Vernon, had gone off the deep end after the summer before his third year. After that summer, Harry's situation became worse than ever at Number four Privet Drive. Re-covering the mixture so it could finish fermenting, Harry lay down on his thin mattress to think.

His life had never been pleasant after the first time he had destroyed Voldemort(Harry thought of him as Moldywarts, or Tom most often). He had been regularly neglected until he was four, then the beatings started. By age seven Harry had learned to duck as soon as he sensed an incoming fist or foot. When Harry did that, Vernon decided to make Harry's reflexes useful. So the young boy had started running 'errands' for his uncle's shady business. For when the man wasn't working on drills, he was a drug dealer. He never touched the stuff himself, but he made quite a pretty penny for selling illegal drugs. When Harry became runner, he delivered the drugs and brought back the money. He learned early never to try and hold any of the money back unless he wanted his hide stripped raw.

Besides the beating he received if he tried to cheat his uncle, the running was dangerous in and of itself. The cops would willingly pull over any suspicious characters, and if caught with the drugs the person (even a child) would find themselves under lock-up. Then there were the buyers; if they did not find the merchandise appealing, you could quickly find yourself dying from wounds inflicted on you by angry customers. But Harry had a talent for avoiding trouble outside of 'home'. It served him well, and he still had his skin on even this late in the game.

Harry started out of his dose as he heard loud creaks on the stairs. He prayed it was Dudley and not his uncle, for Dudley rarely tormented him anymore. How he wished Dumbledore had allowed him to go to the Weasley's, or wherever they were staying. His friends and godfather were keeping things vague because of Tom's rebirth, and he daren't try and relate what happened to him at Privet Drive over owl post either. So, while he hated the separation from most wizarding things, he understood the risk of mailing someone. If Tom knew, he would use it to his advantage. Not a good thing by far.

The stomping got louder, approaching his door. Harry got out of bed, making sure his wardrobe door was shut before backing into a corner. The lock clicked open quietly, not wishing to alert anyone who might still be in the house. Harry gulped, for this could only be his uncle. Sure enough, when the door opened Vernon's face appeared, looking menacing. He snarled softly at Harry, "Boy, you haven't been running since you got back. I don't care what type of restrictions you've been put under. You will run those special errands for me. If you garner favour, I'll let you run your own junk too."

Harry blanched slightly, but knew he didn't really have a choice. He had found that the wizard dealers could be just as aggressive as the muggle ones, and they were far more dangerous, having access to painful curses that Harry had a harder time avoiding than he did the physical attacks. With a heavy heart, he moved away from his corner, ready to garner 'favour'.

***

Severus grumbled softly to himself, limping slightly on his way to his rooms. The meeting had not gone well. It was taking too long for Riddle to trust him again. After the episode at the end of the school year, Severus had found himself low man on the totem pole when he returned to spying duties. So it had become far too common-place for him to come injured back to Hogwarts. He was just glad that Albus and/or Poppy never pressed to see him after a meeting. Which left him to his pain potion, and some sleep.

He found his room unoccupied, as expected. Taking the Pain Relieving potion that he always left out when he knew a meeting was in store, Severus crawled into bed. He wished he had taken a Dreamless Sleep potion instead, as his sleep was invaded by disturbing imagery. When he woke shortly before dawn, he shook his head in disgust. That scene could never happen, especially not to that particular person. But why had he dreamed that anyway? He cared nothing for the person except to honor his promise to one he had loved dearly. So why did the person haunt his dreams?

Deciding that it would be better if he lost himself in potion-making that day, the grumpy Bat of the Dungeons got up to eat and prepare for the day. Severus soon lost himself in the potions when he got to it, and almost started when Albus came in un-announced as always. Key word was almost, and he neatly put the potion in stasis after adding the ingredient that had been in his hands at the time. He then turned to Albus in a 'well?' kind of way.

"Severus, I have a job for you." stated the Headmaster. Severus began cursing in his mind. Whenever Albus said those six (or was that seven?) words, it always meant trouble for the Potions Master. His life was about to become difficult. How right he was, though he didn't know just how difficult it would become.

Harry closed the door quietly before turning to walk to the sidewalk. He was dressed in his over-sized shirt and jeans, but he wore a black leather vest with red/gold trim around the edges. Gawd, but the payback had been horrible. At least this past week Vernon had laid off of him. But it was time to do the Run again. Grumbling softly, the boy quickly slipped out of the wards and down the street.

He knew that he was followed by guards. He also knew that they were weak in trying to keep up with him when he was doing his Run. He thought to himself 'Why don't they check inside my supposed safe place? Why follow me to the only place where I have a chance to fight!' Harry's mood was low, and he was sore all over. He just hoped that the Run would go okay.

***

Severus shadowed the child, eyes glinting slightly. A week he had been on the job, and Potter hadn't left his house. But now he would try and find out why Albus had assigned him to watch the brat. He still remembered the meeting last week:

~ "You can't be serious, Albus!" Severus had shouted. Unfortunately the Headmaster was. The Greatest Wizard since the Founder's days was worried. He said Harry had been vanishing once a week down unknown streets. The regular guards hadn't been able to keep up with him. So he told Severus to watch, and see what was going on.~

The Potion's Master had kept the assignment, but didn't like it. He had better things to do then to guard the bloody Boy Who Lived. He was brought out of his thoughts by Potter turning at a particular intersection. It led down a slimy alley-way to a tavern that looked half-way abandoned. Only the seediest of people entered there. Surprisingly, the boy went in the tavern. Quickly following before the door shut in his face, he was grateful that none could see through his spells.

***

Harry walked into The Runner's Gathering silently. Looking around, he spotted his Muggle clients. Heading for the bar, he slapped down the required price while stating "The usual, Grymm." The oddly named bartender gave him the honey mead. Taking his drink, he headed over to where the clients were sitting. Taking a seat, he sipped at his drinks.

The Muggle watched him for a few minutes, before asking "Do you have the delivery, Shade?" Harry nodded, and continued drinking his liquor. His client watched him impatiently. It wasn't too long before Harry finished and said "Ten, Skythe, and not a pence less." Skythe hissed, and bickered with Harry for awhile before handing him the money. The items bought, Harry handed over the packages to the Muggle. He then got up and left, feeling he had got a good deal for such a weak substance.

The Wizard drugs were harder to bargain though, and he ended up with half the amount he asked for. Sighing he headed 'home', making sure never to turn his back on the shadows. When he got there, his Uncle was waiting. Handing over the Muggle money, he went up to his room to deposit the Galleons he had gotten that day into his savings. He then went to his wardrobe and poured himself a fingerful of the Wizard's Rain he had made. It numbed the pain enough that he could sleep, able to ignore his empty stomach.

***

Severus sat by the tree in the Dursley's yard, stunned at what he had witnessed. Not only was the Potter boy drinking, at such a young age, but he was a drug dealer as well. And a very shrewd one to boot. Shade...that's what the Muggle had called him. Curious, Severus continued watching for a few more days. Unfortunately he was called to a Death Eater meeting. Had he known that it was Mudungus' watch that night, he might not have, for trouble happened.

***

Harry blinked, surprised to see Dudley so near his Run. He met up with the other boy, and they began talking. It was surprising that his once-bully could have changed so much. Maybe it was because Vernon had been looking at Dudley with the same look he gave Harry. Whatever the reason, it was nice that they could talk without fighting overly much.

Suddenly the air grew chill, and the lights began to flicker. Dudley looked scared, but could see that Harry didn't have his wand drawn...yet. Harry breathed "No...no, not here!" He felt around in his pocket for his wand. By the time he had it out, however, Dudley had begun to run.

That's when they descended. The awful cloaked figures that smelt like death, their hands scabby and grotesquie. The Dementors, who could only be fought off by one thing. Trying to think up a happy memory, he cast the spell numerous times before finally managing to produce his stag Patronus. Just in time, as Dudley was at the mercy of one Dementor. After the creatures fled, he helped his cousin up. He wouldn't be able to make it back home on his own, so Harry proceeded to half-drag half-carry him. He was confronted by Arabella Figg, who escorted him home all the while cursing 'Dung'.

After they reached Number Four, things became confused for awhile. The only thing that mattered was that he could keep his wand till the fifth of August, and his room until he was picked up. Harry passed two days from the Dementor Event in a daze. On the second day he was dozing when he was startled out of the dream he was caught in, by the car starting. Leaping up, he checked the window. Seeing that it was only Petunia and Dudley leaving that day, he muttered "Shit."

It wasn't long before the locks slammed open and the door to his room was flung open with a bang. In the door stood his livid Uncle, who was stuttering in his rage "B-b-boy, you are g-g-going to p-p-pay for what nearly happened to D-D-Dudley!" Before Harry quite knew what happened, he was flung on his bed with Vernon following. The pain that came next was so sudden and vicious that Harry couldn't help but cry out.

***

Severus cursed softly, watching the house that had Potter in it. Trust 'Dung to mess it up bad. Now he would have to keep a better eye on the brat. He was sitting down on a root that was sticking out of the tree in the yard, just waiting for something to happen. And happen it did. The female and young male were seen off by the adult male, who proceeded to go into the house. Curious, Severus got up to investigate. Only to have the door slam in his face.

Steaming, he drew his wand but hesitated. He didn't want to seem to be invading if the wards were still up. However, the scream decided him, and the Potion's Master did everything to open the door. By the time he did, Number Four had grown deathly quiet. Moving cat-like up the stairs, Severus stopped as a door opened...a door with a row of locks down them. From the room the adult he saw outside came out. Severus sucked in his breath as he saw the state of the man's clothes. As Vernon locked the doors, the Ex-Death Eater was stalking up behind him. Idiot that the whale was, he didn't notice until he felt something jabbing him in the back.

"Open the door. Now." said a chill voice. Vernon hesitated for a second, but quickly opened the locks as he was jabbed harder. Pushing the man aside, Sev whispered before entering the room "Don't think I'm done with you, Dursley." The color drained from the whale's face, and Vernon began edging away as soon as he wasn't being watched. Much the worse for him, as the wizard he was fleeing from had sharp senses. After stunning the tub of lard, Severus turned back to opening the door.

When he did, he wished he had done more then stun Dursley. Harry was sitting next to his small wardrobe, a bottle in one hand, shot glass in the other. His bed was soaked in blood on the lower portion, and a quick look at the boy confirmed there was blood in the same spot. Potter's glazed eyes looked up at his Potion's Professor, and he said in a slurred voice "Pr'fsser Shnape?"

Sighing, Severus murmured under his breath "Oh Potter...." before moving to the child. Taking the bottle, he put a stopper in it before putting it down. Then fishing in his robes, he found a light blue potion. He opened it and held it against the boy's lips while saying "Drink." Harry did so, and was soon fast asleep. The Potion's Master stalked out of the room, his cloak billowing out behind him. With his wand held in one hand, pointed outwards infront of him, he looked for all the world like an Avenging Angel.

Aiming at the unconscious Vernon, he snarled "Vengance lucis super vos (Vengence of light upon you)" Satisfied that the bastard wasn't going to get away with his crimes, he sent a message to the Order before returning to Potter. Collecting the few things the boy had and storing them in the trunk, he shrunk said trunk and put it in a spare pocket. He then took the boy in his arms, and Apparated away to the safest place he knew of just then. The living room of Snape Manor.

When the feeling of being squeezed through a narrow tube stopped, Severus immediately checked on Potter. Even if the child wasn't injured seriously, he could have had a bad reaction to the new magic. The pulse he felt was steady, if a bit fast and the breathing was normal. Catching himself before he sighed in relief, the Potions Master took the brat up to the guest room. The next step would be to fire-call Poppy; for though Severus new enough healing magic to heal minor wounds, she was the true master in Healing.

Going to his study on the ground floor, he took a pinch of Floo powder. Tossing it into the roaring fire, he stuck his head in the resulting green flames shouting "Poppy's office, Hogwarts!" Severus gripped at the rug beneath his hands as his head spun about in the normal traveling fashion while leaving his body anchored. While it was a novel experience for those who hadn't done it before, the Potions Master hated Floo travel as a whole and communicating this way was even worse.

Biting back a wave of nausea, he called out "Poppy! Poppy, if you are for once not tied up with things, answer your fire at once!" Despite the harsh words, there was no true rancor in his voice. Just a sense of dire urgency that wasn't normal for the tactiturn man. Poppy Pomfrey, Healer of Hogwarts, came bustling into her office a few minutes after Severus called. Seeing her associate in the fire, she knelt in front of him while asking "What is it, Severus? Why the urgency?" Snape quickly explained the situation, and Poppy agreed to come immediately after collecting her medi-kit.

Pulling his head out of the fire, he removed the ward that prevented Hogwarts' staff from entering his home. A long three minutes later and the Floo flared green again. Out stepped the Matron, her eyes glinting her business steel. Severus beckoned to her, and they both climbed the stairs to where Harry lay sleeping on top of the covers. Poppy sucked in her breath at the state of the boy, but she quickly shed the feeling of horror. Now was not the time to be sentimental. Quickly and efficiently she removed the boy's clothes with her wand and began treating him. It only took twenty minutes, but for Severus they seemed to be an eternity. Finally Poppy came back downstairs where she had shooed the Potions Master.

"Well?" he asked, his black eyes unable to hide his concern for the boy he claimed he hated. Pomfrey sighed, and stated quite calmly "I treated his injuries. Oddly enough, I found that this incident for some reason caused Glamours I didn't know were in place to fall. On the boy's back are many scars from a whip. A few date to only a couple weeks ago, but the oldest date back to before he came to Hogwarts. It is strange that I would not know of these marks, for I did a complete scan the first time Mr. Potter was admitted to the Infirmary in first year. That he was able to hide them even at that age suggests very strong magic."

Severus remained silent, though inwardly he was amazed. The child had never seemed anything special, despite the damned prophecy made when he was a babe. Poppy proceeded to tell him that she had found scars on the boy's shoulders that did not come from a whip, but from a knife. The interesting thing about these scars were they weren't stab marks but rather as if someone had drawn the edge just hard enough to draw blood. The Potions Master cursed vehemently, at least mentally. That Potter had scars like those suggested that they had been self-inflicted.

As Poppy left, she told Severus "Keep an eye on him, Severus. There's no knowing what the child will do now. Also, I suggest you put a basin near him, as he is likely to suffer from a hang-over after consuming as much alcohol as he did." With that she took her leave, returning to Hogwarts to catch up on some paper work. She left a nicely puzzled Snape behind her.

He paced his study quietly, trying to think. All in all the signs were not good. Dursley had a lot to answer for, but the one who Severus truly wished to question was Albus. More then anyone, Sev knew that the Headmaster had ways to keep tabs on all his students. Especially one as important as Potter. Merlin help them, but the boy was supposed to be the savior of the wizarding world. Some savior he'd make if his mind was infected with madness, or worse the child totally turned his back on the Light and opted to become a Dark tyrant in his own right. If what Poppy said was true, then Harry had enough magic to displace the Dark Lord and become a worse menace. That was the grimmest possible future, for then they would be fighting one who had managed to defeat the greatest evil wizard of the present day. They might not win that battle.

With these dark and dreary thoughts on his mind, Sev decided it might be best if he went to bed. But first he placed a basin near Potter, cast a cleaning charm on the boy, and summoned fresh night clothes onto his body. He then drew the sheet over Harry, for the Manor could become chilly during the night. It wasn't as if he cared for the child, it was just that he didn't wish to deal with a brat with a cold. Though his viewing Harry as a brat was quickly dissipating with the uncomfortable realization that the son of his rival had never been pampered in fourteen years.

***

Twelve hours later

It was slow, but Harry eventually drew out of the potion induced sleep. The first thing that he realized was he wasn't at Privet Drive, or the Infirmary in Hogwarts, for the bed he was laying on was much to comfortable for either place. The second was that he didn't ache nearly as much as he should if his last coherent memory had really happened. He quickly pulled his mind away from that, and opened his eyes. His glasses were off, but Harry could see blurry forms around the room. He was in what appeared to be a guest room.

Trying to sit up so he could reach his glasses, he instantly regretted his movement as his stomach heaved. Grabbing the basin that someone had thoughtfully placed by his elbow, the raven-headed child proceeded to spew the contents of his stomach in it. By the time he was finally done being sick, his head was pounding and his mouth tasted absolutely foul. The basin appeared to be self-cleaning however, for it was still empty thankfully. Reaching over to the nightstand, Harry grabbed his glasses and put them on. He saw that someone had put out a glass of water. He gratefully drank the still cool liquid after rinsing out his mouth with it.

Once his mouth was free of the taste of sick, he looked around. The room seemed simple enough. There was a wardrobe against one wall, with a desk and chair next to it. On another was a bookshelf, filled top to bottom with books(titles which he couldn't see from this vantage point). There were two doors, one presumably leading out of the room. The other was open, and led to what was obviously a bathroom. At the foot of the bed his trunk was, and then of course there was the night table next to him. On it was, oddly enough, an electric lamp. Harry wondered at that, for if the basin was anything to go by, he was in a wizard/witch's house. Muggle items seemed rare in such places, or so he thought.

Shrugging, he got up to head for the bathroom. Though he was a bit stunned to realize that he was in night clothes, he took it in stride. After finishing his bathroom in the loo, Harry went over to the bookshelf, curious despite himself. On it, wizard books rubbed elbows with Muggle ones. One of the titles he recognized was Summer of the Monkeys. He had read that once, before Dudley had completely ruined his reputation at the school library. Pulling it from the shelf, he opened the cover. Written there was the initials S.S. Why those initials seemed so familiar, Harry wasn't quite sure, but he figured it didn't matter. Going back to bed, he turned on the lamp and began to read.

Harry was half-way through the first chapter when the door to the hall opened. Having sharp ears, he heard the barest squeak from it. That was enough for him to make him jerk his head up. At least a minute passed before an astonishing sight greeted his emerald eyes. Professor Snape walked in, dressed not in his usual black robes but in casual Muggle clothes. No wonder the initials seemed so familiar thought Harry while he cursed himself for not figuring it out sooner. But who would've guessed that Snape would own Muggle books? For this was undoubtedly his house.

Severus smirked briefly at the shocked look on the boy's face. Then he saw the book in Potter's hands. Instead of getting angry, as one might expect him to, he decided a bit of humor was in order. Putting on a stern face, he crossed his arms over his chest. He then stated in an emotionless voice "Enjoying ourselves are we?" The reaction wasn't one he hoped for, as the boy's brilliant green eyes seemed to shutter over.

At the words Snape said, Harry felt a pang of fear and anger course through him. Maybe he had only imagined the concerned look that the man had given him during the rescue. Either way, he had been about to consider softening his attitude towards the man. Instead, he drew back into himself while snapping angrily "And what's it to you if I am...sir?" Despite the fact that Snape had never physically hurt him, the anger that briefly crossed the man's face at the blatant disrespect had Harry shuddering mentally. He only then realized that he probably should have stayed silent, for now he was in deep trouble.

Last time:

Severus smirked briefly at the shocked look on the boy's face. Then he saw the book in Potter's hands. Instead of getting angry, as one might expect him to, he decided a bit of humor was in order. Putting on a stern face, he crossed his arms over his chest. He then stated in an emotionless voice "Enjoying ourselves are we?" The reaction wasn't one he hoped for, as the boy's brilliant green eyes seemed to shutter over.

At the words Snape said, Harry felt a pang of fear and anger course through him. Maybe he had only imagined the concerned look that the man had given him during the rescue. Either way, he had been about to consider softening his attitude towards the man. Instead, he drew back into himself while snapping angrily "And what's it to you if I am...sir?" Despite the fact that Snape had never physically hurt him, the anger that briefly crossed the man's face at the blatant disrespect had Harry shuddering mentally. He only then realized that he probably should have stayed silent, for now he was in deep trouble.

Severus gritted his teeth as he forced himself to be calm. It wouldn't do to lose his temper just then, as the boy seemed insecure enough already. Even so, the Potions Master couldn't let such disrespect go unpunished. Perhaps grounding Potter in his room would be in order, at least for the day. Drawing himself up he said in an icy tone "As you cannot open your mouth without sounding entirely juvenile, you will stay in this room until you can show proper respect. I suggest you use your time to think about your actions." With that, Severus stalked out, closing the door silently. The only sound was his billowing robes as he walked away.

Harry felt his stomach clench in shame. He hadn't meant to be disrespectful. But it seemed as if he was always letting his mouth run before he thought things through. Snape hadn't seemed angry that he'd been reading one of the books that had been put in that room to be read in the first place. Something about the man always seemed to get Harry's hackles up, but also feel disappointed that the man didn't like him. Sighing, the boy got up and went to his trunk. Rummaging around, he finally found what he'd been looking for. A knife, faintly stained red but without a single trace of rust on it. Taking this, Harry headed for the bathroom and locked the door behind him.

Removing his pajama top, the boy froze slightly as he realized the scars were showing. The Glamour had fallen without him doing anything! Cursing vehemently, Harry drew his consciousness into himself and down to where his magic was. What he found there caused him to continue cursing. "Damn you Vernon. Why did you have to do that? Why?" muttered the child. Looking at his appearance in the mirror, he traced along the scars that went from his shoulder down his chest. He stopped when he reached the joining scar, realizing that there was something that hadn't been there before. A birthmark in the shape of a feline's paw-print. How very odd, mused Harry.

***

Severus cursed mentally at the brat's inability to be respectful. When he reached his study room, he sighed; a sound he would never let anyone, especially not a student, hear him make. Going over to where there was always a pot of his favorite coffee waiting, he poured himself a cup. The strong scent of the potent Turkish coffee reached his nostrils, heady in it's intensity. Though fairly sweet, the liquid was at boiling temperature so was often served with cold water to cleanse the pallet and allow the drinker to taste it better. Unlike most though, Sev took his coffee without the usual Turkish delight or chocolate sticks, preferring the strong drink alone so as to better appreciate it's complex taste.

It was while he was slowly relaxing that his Floo activated. A head appeared, belonging of course to the Headmaster. Albus asked "I need to talk to you, Severus. Would you kindly take down your wards so I may come through?" The Potions Master did so, his face set in a grim line. When the Old Meddler came through, it was all Sev could do not to tear into him for his neglect of Potter. It wouldn't do to seem concerned about the boy he had shown nothing but contempt for in the last four years.

"Severus, do you...." began Albus, but the raven-haired man cut him off. Severus sneered "Do I know where Potter is? Indeed I do. He's in my guest room, or at least he should be. And why should you care Albus? After all, you're the one who left him at Number Four with only guards to watch him on the outside!" The black eyes were glittering with rage, while mentally Sev berated himself for getting worked up. So much for not showing that he cared about the brat.

Albus looked surprised at first, then a bit pleased that his most prickly employee was showing his caring side. He asked "Why should it matter if Harry only had guards on the outside? He is safest at his aunt's house." Severus gritted his teeth as a wave of rage swept through him. He said in a deadly cold voice "Wrong, Headmaster. Except for directly in the Dark Lord's clutches, Number Four was the worse place for your precious savior." The discussion went on, with Albus being firmly told off by Sev for his neglect. To give credit to the Headmaster, he did pale when he was told what had happened to Harry. When Albus finally left, the Potions Master went to prepare dinner, a little shaky after the exchange.

***

How long Harry stood there, just staring at the odd mark, the boy didn't know. But he finally shook himself out of his reverie. He fingered the blade in his hands, asking himself if he wished to resort to such a barbaric form of release. Memories flooded him suddenly, deciding him. Putting the blade on the beginning of the scar on one side, he drew down it just hard enough to cause it to bleed. As he started to go down the other scar however, the door to the bedroom banged open loudly. This startled him badly enough that he dug the knife in a lot harder then he meant to.

Hissing with pain and surprise, Harry tried to stem the heavier flow of blood from the bad cut. It was a useless effort, and Harry sat down to try and heal himself with his magic. It was slower then normal, and he paled considerably as he realized he might pass out before the healing was over. Then the knob began to rattle. Whoever was on the other side cursed, and muttered a swift "Alohomora!" unlocking the door. As it opened, the Potions Master was framed in the door way. The stunned look on Snape's face would have been hilarious at any other time, but Harry knew his secret was out. Then the blood loss was too much, and he began to fall. It was with irony that his last conscious thought was to realize the wound had healed just at that precise moment.

Last time:

How long Harry stood there, just staring at the odd mark, the boy didn't know. But he finally shook himself out of his reverie. He fingered the blade in his hands, asking himself if he wished to resort to such a barbaric form of release. Memories flooded him suddenly, deciding him. Putting the blade on the beginning of the scar on one side, he drew down it just hard enough to cause it to bleed. As he started to go down the other scar however, the door to the bedroom banged open loudly. This startled him badly enough that he dug the knife in a lot harder then he meant to.

Hissing with pain and surprise, Harry tried to stem the heavier flow of blood from the bad cut. It was a useless effort, and Harry sat down to try and heal himself with his magic. It was slower then normal, and he paled considerably as he realized he might pass out before the healing was over. Then the knob began to rattle. Whoever was on the other side cursed, and muttered a swift "Alohomora!" unlocking the door. As it opened, the Potions Master was framed in the door way. The stunned look on Snape's face would have been hilarious at any other time, but Harry knew his secret was out. Then the blood loss was too much, and he began to fall. It was with irony that his last conscious thought was to realize the wound had healed just at that precise moment.

Severus had come up to bring the boy his dinner and see if Potter was contrite for once. Opening the door to the bedroom, the knob slipped out of his grasp as he saw the room was empty. It hit the wall with a bang, and a few second later a short yelp came from the bathroom. Putting down the dinner tray, Sev strode over to the door to the loo and attempted to open it. Cursing after finding it was locked, the Potions Master muttered the unlocking spell. The sight that greeted him when he opened the door stunned Sev, and he felt himself blanche at the sight of the child swaying from blood loss. A slight smirk tried to hover over Harry's features before he passed out. It was only due to Severus' fast reflexes that he was able to catch the boy.

A quick check over told the Potions Master that there was no obvious sign of injury besides the child's blood stained front. But the pulse was much too weak to be healthy. Summoning a Blood Replenishing potion, Sev spelled it directly into Potter's stomach. Taking the boy back to bed, he placed him down on the mattress. He then growled "Accio Knives", all the while berating himself for not doing so before Harry awoke. A potion's knife, completely clean came from the trunk and was caught expertly by the man. Then a box that was meant to hold two knives but only held one came, followed by the knife that was stained with blood. Sev examined the box front, finding a label that said 'Two knives for the price of one. Spelled with Anti-rust and Anti-bacterial charms, the only thing a person need worry about is stains.' Sev sighed, muttering "At least I wont have to worry about an infection setting in under the healed skin."

Looking at the unconscious child, the dark eyes soften slightly. When relaxed, one could truly see Lily in Harry's face. Sighing, Sev stalked off after making sure that the boy would be okay. After putting the knives in a secure place he knew the youngling wouldn't be able to get to, he ate his dinner in complete silence, as there was no fireplace in the dining room. After finishing dinner, he set the dishes to washing themselves then headed up to bed. It had been a long day, and his body was protesting to the lack of sleep. His last conscious thought before he fell asleep was that he was getting too old for this sort of thing.

***Some hours later

Harry once again woke up slowly, and felt worse then the last time he had woken up. Closing his eyes he searches his memory to try and find why he felt so weak. When he came to the memory of him cutting too deeply, he sat up quickly. He instantly regretted it as his head swam, but he pushed the feeling away. Instead he chose to explore his torso with his hands. The scars were still tender, but were completely healed over. At least his magic was still working, even if he couldn't control it. For the second time he cursed Vernon and the action that had broken down his temulous control on his magic.

Taking a few minutes to try and collect his thoughts, he sighed softly. Getting on his feet a bit more slowly, he looked about the room. Spying the dinner on the desk, he headed over to it, for he was suddenly very hungry. The meal was light, only soup with some bread, but it was good even cold. At least it filled him up, and that was more then he could say about the meals he was often given at Number Four. Letting his thoughts wander while he ate, they soon turned to his aunt and cousin. He wondered how they were doing, for it was unlikely that Vernon was still with them after Snape had come barging in. Speaking of Snape, where was the man? Harry had expected that there would be wards or something placed on his bed to alert the Potions Master that his unexpected guest was awake.

As if answering a cue, the door shook a bit as someone knocked. Harry called out softly "Come in." forgetting completely that his top was still undressed. In walked Snape, his black eyes unfathonable as always. But when he saw Harry's half-undressed state he raised an eyebrow and stated in a dry voice "It might be a good idea to put on a shirt, Mr. Potter, if you do not wish others to see your scars." Blushing, Harry got up from his nearly finished soup to rummage in his trunk. Pulling out a soft and surprisingly green shirt, he put it on.

Severus was surprised at the boy's color choice, as well as the fact that the shirt seemed to be fairly new. The clothes that had been on the child that Sev had vanished had obviously been hand-me-downs, and old ones too if the holes in them had been anything to go by. He mentally shook himself out of his reverie as Potter turned towards him. Emerald eyes gazed at him with a mixture of curiosity and wariness within their depths. He looked so young, despite his physical age and eyes that seemed far too old to belong to a child.

Harry turned towards his once most hated Professor, feeling a mixture of curiosity and wariness. He wondered just what Snape had to talk about, for that was obviously why the man had come in here. But he was also nervous about it, as the last time he had seen the man was shortly before he passed out from losing a fair amount of blood. Thinking about that reminded Harry that his front was still covered in the spilled blood and had stiffened considerably. Bending over had been uncomfortable, but he had put it to the scars still being tender. He decided he would have to take a shower after the Professor left.

Severus gazed a few minutes more at the child before beginning his lecture. He didn't truly touch upon the events of the past day and a half, but stated that Potter could come to him if there was anything he wished to discuss. Now where had that come from? Severus wondered as he left the boy with strict instructions not to leave the house and not to enter the basement or the rooms at the end of the hall. He hoped that Potter would listen for once.

Harry shook his head in amazement at Snape's lecture once the man had left. Sighing, he went back to his soup and finished it. He then headed for the bathroom, stopping briefly as he noticed that the tiles on the floor were stained red. Looking about, he spotted a towel hanging up. It was, of course, black. Harry decided that it was better to be black, so the cleaned mess would show up less. Wetting it down thoroughly at the sink, Harry took the sopping towel to where the floor was stained. He then proceeded to wash away the blood. It took a good ten minutes, but he finished with enough time to spare for a shower.

Stepping into the shower, he turned on the water to just below burning. He let the pulsing water soothe out his stiff muscles, and wash away the blood on his torso. Grabbing a bottle of shampoo, he scrubbed it into his messy hair. He was glad to be clean, for once. Freshening charms were nice and all, but nothing beat a good hot shower.

***

Severus smiled slightly as he heard the shower turn on. At least the boy was acting as normal as one could expect. Hoping he wouldn't have to bring up the past events, Sev sipped contentedly at his coffee. If he was aware of the tenseness in the air, he gave no sign. Ever the spy, one would say about the Potions Master. Severus would say different, if he heard the one that said that. He would also say a lot more, but some things he would say they wont let me repeat in any context.

***

Harry stepped out of the shower, shaking like a dog to rid himself of the water. Realizing belatedly that the towel he used was the one meant for drying, he hustled back into the room. There he rummaged in his trunk, finally finding some underwear and trousers. He put them on before going back into the bathroom to grab the shirt. It was still fairly clean, as the blood had been dry on his body when he first put it on. Shrugging into it, Harry yawned briefly before opening the door. At least Snape had lifted the ban on him moving about the house.

He wandered down the hallway towards the stairs. One of the doors was open to the side, and Harry looked in. Inside was a library that far outclassed the Hogwart's library. There was barely room to move between the shelves and shelves of books. Quietly tiptoeing in on bare feet, he looked behind him at the hallway. He didn't hear Snape coming up the stairs. Shrugging with relief at that little bit of fortune, Harry let himself explore.

A half-hour later found him in a chair by the far wall, holding an open book in his lap. If one could get close enough to the title they would read: Sudden Birthmarks and Their Meanings. He was flipping slowly from page to page, obviously trying to find something. He stopped on one page, and brought the book closer to his face. After a minute like that, dawning awe spread across his face. In a voice that was soft with amazement, Harry said "No way..."

Last time:

He wandered down the hallway towards the stairs. One of the doors was open to the side, and Harry looked in. Inside was a library that far outclassed the Hogwart's library. There was barely room to move between the shelves and shelves of books. Quietly tiptoeing in on bare feet, he looked behind him at the hallway. He didn't hear Snape coming up the stairs. Shrugging with relief at that little bit of fortune, Harry let himself explore.

A half-hour later found him in a chair by the far wall, holding an open book in his lap. If one could get close enough to the title they would read: Sudden Birthmarks and Their Meanings. He was flipping slowly from page to page, obviously trying to find something. He stopped on one page, and brought the book closer to his face. After a minute like that, dawning awe spread across his face. In a voice that was soft with amazement, Harry said "No way..."

Severus sighed, putting down his empty coffee cup. The boy had been far to quiet for the past half hour. He had expected Potter's explorations would at least take him down the stairs, but he hadn't heard the familiar creak at all. Getting up, he went off in search of the Boy Who Lived to Drive Him Insane. He hoped that the child wasn't into any mischief, as he didn't wish to punish him just at the moment. He mentally back-peddled at that thought, and wondered if he was truly going crazy if the thought of punishing Potter wasn't appealing at all. Maybe he was just losing his touch. Sev decided that going mental was preferable to the latter choice.

The Potions Master walked up the steps silently, black eyes scanning the hall as he reached the top. His sharp eyes quickly spot the open library door, and the flickering light from within. He was surprised, as he wouldn't have pegged Potter for a bookworm. Then again, he wouldn't have pegged the boy for an alcoholic either. Speaking of which, Sev better keep an eye out for the signs of withdrawal. Being unconscious most of the time being here had spared the child that torture for a little while. But it was sure to catch up to him eventually.

Shrugging off that train of thought, Sev entered his personal library. Well technically it was the house's library, but since he owned the house the library was his. Walking down the aisles between the many shelves of books, the Potions Master spotted Potter. Sitting in a relatively comfortable armchair with his legs curled up under him, the child had his nose in a large tome. Severus couldn't see the title, but decided it didn't matter. So long as the boy didn't get into any trouble, he was content to leave Harry alone for another hour. Walking as stealthy out as he did in, Sev returned to his study to read one of his own books.

***

Harry blinked, scrubbed at his eyes, and looked again. The words stayed the same on the page he had stopped on. Next to the words were three pictures of birthmarks like his: One obviously bird, another mammal, the last reptile. The words read and I quote: "So you have a sudden birth mark that resembles the print of some animal? You are one of the lucky few chosen to be a Natural Animagus. While it is inherent in a Natural's genes, the ability can only be triggered by a serious and traumatic event. After the print shows up, the one bearing the mark must undergo a test to find his or her Animagus form. If the test is failed, the child can try again the next year. But if a child reaches their seventeenth birthday without finding their animal form, the ability will be lost to them forever and the mark will vanish. Often the test is shared between two or more people. If this happens and they all find their animal forms, the members of the party who underwent the test will share a mental bond that last for eternity."

Harry pressed his jaw firmly in place after it had fallen. He was one of these special people? Though the idea was enticing, he also knew that it meant more attention for him. He was tired of being in the public's eye. Even when he wasn't believed, they still talked about him he was sure. Shaking his head, he shrugged. There was nothing he could do about his fame. And he was determined to become an Animagus. He wondered where the tests were to be held, for he seriously doubted if the test was undertaken without an adult present. That just wasn't the way things were done.

Sighing, he stood up and stretched his stiff muscles. Checking the time, he was shocked to realize that it was quite late. Deciding to head for bed, he put away the book and blew out the candle. Walking on soft feet back to the guest room, he closed the door behind him. After preparing for bed, he slipped under the covers. Laying his head down on the comfortable pillow, Harry was soon fast asleep.

***

Shortly after Severus had returned to his study, the Floo roared to life. Lupin's head appeared in the fireplace. "May I come through Severus?" asked the werewolf. Sev nodded, and removed the wards that prevented entry. After Lupin stepped through, he replaced them and turned to face his new guest. He breathed irritably "What do you want Lupin?"

Remus smirked softly and stated "You haven't changed a bit, have you Sev?" When the Potions Master nodded in agreement, he continued "You do realize that your little act does not work on me, yes? That's besides the point though. I heard from Albus what happened, is it true?" When Severus nodded, the werewolf blanched and sat down in one of the numerous hard-backed chairs that were always around the house. He breathed softly "Oh Merlin no...."

Severus also sat down, his eyes watching Moony quietly. He murmured "I got him out of there as soon as I could, old friend. No one suspected the Muggle capable of that!" When Remus asked how Harry was doing, he simply replied "As well as could be expected, I suppose. The boy isn't dealing with it. I think he's pushing it away, and that is not going to end well." The werewolf nodded quietly, sighing almost dejectedly. Sev murmured "You didn't answer my first question though. What do you want?"

Moony looked up and spoke softly "A promise, Sev. A promise that you won't intentionally hurt Harry. I don't care about a front you must maintain. If it's so important, tell the child that anything you say to him in public is just that! Given that chance, you two could get over your hatred of each other. After all you don't know the entire truth about the matter anyway."

Severus quickly covered his shock by saying "And you do?" Remus simply said "I can't tell you. You will have to find out on your own. But promise me Sev. You know now that Harry never deserved your hatred or contempt." Sev grumped agreement, then said softly "I swear, Remus, that I shall not hurt Harry Potter knowingly." With that promise made, Remus left Severus to his confusion. The Potions Master poured himself a cup of coffee, warmed it with a spell, and drank. He thought to himself I must be going mad.

Last chapter:

Severus quickly covered his shock by saying "And you do?" Remus simply said "I can't tell you. You will have to find out on your own. But promise me Sev. You know now that Harry never deserved your hatred or contempt." Sev grumped agreement, then said softly "I swear, Remus, that I shall not hurt Harry Potter knowingly." With that promise made, Remus left Severus to his confusion. The Potions Master poured himself a cup of coffee, warmed it with a spell, and drank. He thought to himself I must be going mad.

Harry's breathing quickened as his mind was caught in a web of nightmares. Voldemort turned into Vernon, who proceeded to hurt him. Then the dream turned into an all to familiar style; that of a vision.

~Harry sat on a throne, looking at a half-circle of Death Eaters. He said in a high-pitched voice "Luciusss, come forward." Out of the circle, a masked figure walked sedately. Bowing to Harry, Lucius kissed the skeletal hand. Continuing to speak in that hissing voice "Isss your information correct?"

Nodding, Malfoy Sr. said quietly "There can be no doubt about it. The wards have fallen." Grinning, Harry hissed "Good. Raid the house. Be swift about it, for the fool will have guardsss placed soon enough. If you find anyone alive, bring them back for...questioning." With that last word, Harry laughed; high, cold and cruel, it was a laugh to send shivers down the spine of a demon.~

Jerking awake, Harry sat up straight. Spitting out the sheet that had gotten stuffed in his mouth to prevent his screams from being heard, Harry listened. When he was quite sure that he hadn't woken the Professor, Harry checked the time. It was almost dawn, and much to late to fall back asleep. Getting up, he dressed quickly, groomed himself, and headed downstairs on soft feet.

Finding that he was the first awake, Harry set about making breakfast. Though he could make eggs and bacon, he preferred, oddly enough, porridge. It was simple to make, and the Professor seemed to have more of that food then anything else. After finishing, he served himself and placed a small warming charm on the rest of the cereal.

***

When Severus woke, it was about a half-hour after the dawn. Preparing himself for the day, he wore his usual black robes. Though they seemed to be looser then the Professor's robes. Walking downstairs on soft feet, he was unaware that his guest had done quite the same maybe forty-five minutes before. Thus it came as a great shock to find Potter finishing a bowl of porridge at the kitchen table.

***

Blinking softly, Sev went to get his own bowl of porridge. He found the cereal still warm. Now how could that be? Deciding not to question it just that moment, he sat down at the table and began eating slowly. Potter looked up briefly and said softly "Morning sir." before returning to his breakfast. Which didn't take that long to finish. The Potions Master returned the greeting before watching the boy go to wash his bowl.

***

Turning to Snape, Harry said softly "I'll be upstairs if you need me sir." After the Professor nodded, Harry hurried up the stairs. That had been awkward to say the least. He felt as if something had changed between him and Snape, and he wasn't sure if he liked it. He wasn't one to like change anyway.

Opening the door to his room, Harry went to his trunk. Pulling out his summer homework, he continued what he couldn't finish in Privet Drive. However he soon started dozing, as waking up early made him extremely tired. It didn't help that the essay he was suppose to do was a History of Magic essay and just plain dull. That was how Snape found him, deeply asleep.

Sighing, Severus looked at the essay that was half-finished. Shaking his head, he plucked the quill from the boy's fingers. Cleaning it off with a quick spell, he placed it next to the ink well. Said well he stoppered up so that the child wouldn't knock it over. He then left as quietly as he came. It wouldn't pay to have the child know that he'd been there. Potter might think it odd though that his equipment was put to proper rights though.

***

Harry dreamed again, his voice coming out in a moan of pain each time his face creased. He mumbled in his sleep "Please Uncle Vernon......please don't. I've been good...I've been...good." As the nightmare grew progessively worse, his breath came in shorter and shorter pants, with his pleas becoming more frantic. His hand curled into a fist, totally ruining his essay.

"No...no don't...please...." His eyelids were pressed tightly shut as his voice grew louder. Sweat dribbled down his forehead for all it was a dream he was suffering from. "Please....don't....please...no....No!....NOOO!" The last word was a long drawn out cry that echoed round the room out into the house. From the sitting room the Potions Master's head jerked up, and he jumped to his feet. Dashing for the stairs, he cursed softly that he relaxed at all after what he had seen. He should have realized that the boy would have nightmares! But there was no time to reprimand himself, so he just continued up the stairs to Potter's room.

Last time:

"No...no don't...please...." His eyelids were pressed tightly shut as his voice grew louder. Sweat dribbled down his forehead for all it was a dream he was suffering from. "Please....don't....please...no....No!....NOOO!" The last word was a long drawn out cry that echoed round the room out into the house. From the sitting room the Potions Master's head jerked up, and he jumped to his feet. Dashing for the stairs, he cursed softly that he relaxed at all after what he had seen. He should have realized that the boy would have nightmares! But there was no time to reprimand himself, so he just continued up the stairs to Potter's room.

When Severus got there, he found the child sitting in the chair straight as a board. There seemed to be a glittering about Harry, causing him to pause slightly. He then approached the child slowly. Then the boy spoke, saying in a sharp voice "Don't...touch me." Blinking, Sev stopped where he was, looking at the back of the youngling he had taken in.

Harry forced himself to relax slightly, and murmured "Sorry Professor, but I'd rather not blast you across the room right now." He hoped Snape wouldn't ask any questions about that. He was ashamed that the control he had gained after the 'Aunt Blow-up' had failed. He had prided himself on that control. It was what had kept him alive in the graveyard. He wondered why he hadn't blasted....he quickly pushed that thought to the back of his mind. It wouldn't do to dwell on that memory.

Severus blinked quietly, and nodded to himself. He said just loud enough to be heard "There will be potions in the bedside table tonight. I suggest you get back to studying Mr. Potter." He walked away, now realizing what the glittering was. He cursed mentally, wishing he had been able to do worse then he did to that whale. He had noticed the boy's control over the past two years, though had never mentioned it. He had thought it was merely for mischief purposes (and far be it for the Greasy Git to give a Gryffindor a compliment). For that control to be utterly destroyed, was very grevious indeed.

***

As the days wore on, both were caught up in their own thoughts. Hedwig managed to get Harry's presents for him, for which he was grateful. His friends asked where he was, but he sent back the same message that they had been giving him for the past month or two 'Can't risk anything in a letter.' He knew it was petty to act that way, as there was good reason not to put things in letters, but he had been frustrated with the lack of information.

He was glad for the presents, though. Especially for Hermoine's gift of 'Meditation: it's uses in magic'. So he added in his letter to Hermoine: Thanks for the book, by the way. It will truly be useful to me in the coming days. He gave minimal thanks to the others for their gifts, though he did show he was appreciative. But it wouldn't do to seem to pleased through letters.

Harry was right about the book being useful. Studying the various Meditation techniques as well as how they related to the magic-world, put things in perspective. As he began to do the meditations, he soon regained the control that he had lost. It was still a tremulous control however, for it didn't take only a few days to have an iron grip on ones magic. And soon enough it was two days till his trial when the Professor called him down to the study.

As the boy came in, Severus studied him discreetly. He no longer saw that glimmering of uncontrolled magic, and the face was as calm as ever. When the boy took the seat that Sev directed him to, the Potions Master gathered his thoughts. He then began to speak "The Headmaster has requested that we go to Headquarters. As I am sure your friends would much like to be there for you in two days, I would like to know if you wish to stay there after my busineiss there is finished."

Harry looked surprised, briefly. Then he returned to his calm state. That was merely to hide his disappointment. He had actually been enjoying his time with the Professor, despite the fact that he wasn't allowed to forget his homework. To be asked if he would like to leave was a blow. Not knowing what to say, he stalled for a bit. He needed more time to think about this.

Last time:

Harry looked surprised, briefly. Then he returned to his calm state. That was merely to hide his disappointment. He had actually been enjoying his time with the Professor, despite the fact that he wasn't allowed to forget his homework. To be asked if he would like to leave was a blow. Not knowing what to say, he stalled for a bit. He needed more time to think about this.

Severus waited for the child to reply, surprised that he hadn't jumped at the chance to get away from the 'bat of the dungeons'. His observant eyes noticed that Harry seemed to be torn about something. Why, though, did the boy hesitate? He would have thought it was a very easy answer, not one deserving of so much thought. Perhaps he had read the situation wrong.

Finally having decided on a course of action, Harry prayed that it was one that wouldn't make Snape mad. Speaking up, he said in a quiet voice "Alright..but I would ask a favor, if I may?" When the Professor motioned him to go on, he did so saying "If the trial goes well, I would, if I may, return here for the rest of the summer. If that's alright with you?" Harry watched the Potions Master carefully, trying not to look too hopeful.

It took all of Severus' self control to prevent his jaw from dropping in shock. He was stunned that the boy would wish to return here after the trial. One would have thought that Potter would have wished to stay with his dogfather and his friends. Apparently the child had somehow gotten attached to Severus in a weird way. Though that put him in an awkward position, he couldn't help but be slightly pleased that Harry had decided to trust him.

When it took a few minutes for Snape to answer, Harry was afraid that he had overstepped the bounds of politeness. When the Professor did speak, Harry was pleasantly surprised at his words. "Very well, Mr. Potter. However, it is with one condition that I say yes, and that is that we work on your potion making skills. I won't have it said that you learned nothing this summer."

Harry nodded vigorously, eager to agree just so he could spend more time in this safe haven. It was then with a light heart that he went up to his room to back some stuff for a stay of a few days. The Professor had said that he would send over the rest if the trial went poorly. Harry didn't wish to think about that, knowing that his life might as well be over if they took his wand from him.

Severus waited for the child to be done packing, shaking his head in wonder. He thought to himself The world must be shaking on it's axis. Will I one day find that the Poles have shifted position, and England is south of the equator instead of to the north? Though that was foolish thinking, he couldn't help but wonder it. And it might just be possible for that to happen, with magic.

Harry was soon back in the study, having only taken about five minutes to pack his things. He had remembered to pack his nicest clothes for the trial. Besides his Runner's jacket, it was the smartest thing he had to wear. And he wasn't about to wear the jacket that marked him as an outlaw to a trial to see if he would remain a wizard. That would be just plain stupid.

Severus watched as the child walked in, a bag of anonymous items slung over his shoulder. He sighed mentally, and handed the boy a slip of paper saying "Read this." He knew what it would say. The other children had been given the same parchment so that they could enter Headquarters by Floo. There were other means to go to Grimmauld Place, but all were risky and took up far too much time. Flooing was the fastest way to get there.

Harry blinked when he finished reading, and stated "Ready sir." Following his Professor to the fireplace, he took the handful of Floo Powder required to activate the Floo. He then watched as Snape said "Number 12, Grimmauld Place, Phoenix Fire!" After the Potions Master had disappeared, Harry followed his example. He realized the last bit must be a password of some sort. He wondered what would happen if one did not speak the password while Flooing. It was keeping to these thoughts that kept Harry from realizing that the trip was nearly over, and it helped him to land far more gracefully then he was used to.

Severus smirked at the boy's distracted gaze, knowing that he was soon about to be brought back to reality rather sharply. As if on cue, Black entered the kitchen to see who had used the Floo. He glared at the other black-haired man, who returned with his own steely gaze. Then Black's eyes looked past the Potions Master, to see the child who still looked very distracted.

"Harry!" cried Sirius as he ran over to his godson. Catching him up in a hug, he murmured "Missed you, kiddo." Because his arms were around the boy's shoulders, he noticed how Harry stiffened briefly before relaxing into a hug. As he pulled away, he smiled when Harry returned the words he had said, besides the kiddo part of course. Harry's green eyes were dancing with delight at seeing Sirius again, and neither noticed when Severus turned his back, acting as if with disgust.

The little reunion was cut short as Albus seemed to appear out of nowhere, though he obviously had walked through the door. He said quietly "I think that Harry should join the other children upstairs. The Order needs to hold the meeting very soon, as it is imperative we get to all the subjects to be brought up today." He nodded briefly at Harry as he took a seat at the kitchen table.

Harry gave Sirius a brief hug, then was shooed off to the stairs with the words "The others should be in the third bedroom on the right, Harry" Walking steadily upstairs, he moved as quiet as the creaking floors allowed. When he finally reached the door, his heart went pit-a-pat with nervousness. He wondered if his friends were irate at him for his last letters.

Finally deciding that he couldn't hesitate anymore, he entered the bedroom. He had barely gotten in there when he was tackled by a hug. As he recognized Hermoine's bushy hair, he calmed down almost immediately. She was speaking a mile a minute, saying how glad she was to see him and how worried they had been. He smiled quietly, saying "It's good to see you too, Hermoine. Hey Ron, how's things?" The red head nodded in his direction, a smile on his freckled face.

"Harry, we have some news for you." began Hermoine. Before she could finish, however, the door opened behind the raven-haired teen. Turning around, Harry was stunned to see who was standing in the doorway. Looking at him in equal shock, was his number one enemy in Hogwarts, Draco Malfoy. As his world turned red, he barely noticed that Ron had leaped off the bed he'd been sitting on to grab him from behind. All he could think about was lunging at Malfoy with all his strength, as his anger that had built up over the summer came pouring out in truck loads.

Draco backed up, his eyes wide with fright as he (to use a muggle expression) stared down the horns of a bull. He could tell that Potter was in a rage, something he himself had never seen. Indeed, it seemed to be apparent that the other two of the Golden Trio had never seen Harry this angry at anyone. He wouldn’t bet on it, but he was sure that if it hadn’t been for Weasley’s quick action, he would be experiencing pain from those fists that Potter clenched.

"Harry, stop it mate!" cried Ron as he struggled to keep Harry from attacking Malfoy. It was a hard battle, despite the fact that Harry was shorter and scrawnier than either he or Hermoine. Speaking of the bushy-haired witch, she had slowly put herself in front of Harry, blocking his view of the blonde. Harry seemed to calm down as he no longer saw his nemesis, but Ron kept a hold on him anyway, just in case.

"What is that ferret doing here? How did he get past the Fidelus charms anyway?" Harry asked through gritted teeth. Hermoine spoke, her voice quiet "His father approached Dumbledore a couple weeks ago. According to the Headmaster, Malfoy Sr. said that Tom wished for Draco to be brought forward to be initiated. That didn’t sit well with Draco’s father, so he asked Professor Dumbledore for help. As you can see, he agreed, as did the rest of the Order."

Harry snarled a bit, and then shook his head. He spat "I will reserve judgment, Malfoy, but step out of line here, and you will know what it’s like to feel pain." With that he shrugged out of Ron’s hold, and stalked away, heading upstairs on cat-like feet.

"That went well" murmured Ron sardonically. Hermoine glared at him, and Draco just rolled his eyes. He sat down, saying "So that’s my goal, is it? To try and prove that I’m not as Dark as my father was at my age? How will I do that?" Hermoine sighed, and sat down, stating "You’ll do your best. That’s all anyone can ask of you."

***

Severus sighed, rubbing his aching head. While the younger wizards were in a tableau upstairs, things were rather hectic at the Order’s Meeting. He had just found out about Draco, and knew that Ha…Potter didn’t know. He hoped that everything had turned out okay in the end. He glared at Albus for not warning him that this had happened.

Albus shook his head lightly at the younger wizard, for once seeing the glare directed at him. They both returned their attention to the Meeting, where Shacklebot was ending his report. After he was finished, Albus turned to a slight woman who looked about Minerva’s age. She was thin and short, with waist-length silver-hair. A patch that was sewn to her robes marked her as something different.

She smiled as Albus motioned her to make her report. She began, her voice soft, sounding like wind through ancient trees "My duties go well. Tom doesn’t suspect me to be a double-agent. I think it might be because I’m female. He merely crows that he seems to have one of the S.o.N.A. as a minion. He is blind to the fact that I’m destroying bit by bit his hope to survive the final battle. There are three items left to find, two of which I know. Also, we of S.o.N.A. have scouted two new recruits. After the fifth, I suggest someone bring the Malfoy scion and the Potter child to our place in Diagon Alley. That is all."

As the strange woman sat back down, others gazed at her in awe. Severus merely gazed in disbelief, though he wasn’t sure what he was disbelieving of. His mind wandered briefly, wondering if it was true. He had seen that strange birthmark on Potter. If it was true, then it meant the boy would have to undergo another trial after his Ministry one. He decided to worry about that later, after the Meeting. He couldn’t do everything at once, after all.

The day before the trial had to be the longest one in Harry's life. With his friends walking on egg shells around him, the adults being far too careful not to talk about anything worth anything around him, and Malfoy trying oh so carefully to prove himself, it was with no surprise when Harry retreated to the highest and farthest room in the house. He took two doses of the Wizard's Rain (that had been hidden in his trunk after he made it) with him. He wondered why Snape had never noticed the alcohol in his trunk, and figured it must have been sheer luck.

After closing the door, he poured one dose, setting the other aside. Sipping at the dosage, and contemplating the following day's Trial, he didn't notice as Malfoy entered the room. So it was with a start that he heard his nemesis' voice behind him saying "Thought I would find you here Potter." Harry turned sharply, glaring at the blond. Malfoy held up his hands in a peaceful gesture. He said softly "I can understand your point of view, you know. Finding your worst school enemy hiding in your godfather's house. I think I would have reacted the same way if I was sent to stay at Professor Snape's house instead of Grimmauld Place."

Harry blinked with surprise at this mini-speech. He said in a strained voice "So, does that..?" He hesitated, unable to finish the sentence. Malfoy did it for him "Make the Professor my God-father? Yes, it does. Not that it matters where the Dark Lord is concerned. He'd try to convert me no matter what connections I have." Harry sighed, and sat down. He offered the other dose of Wizard's Rain to Malfoy, stating "It's good to numb things." The other boy nodded his thanks, accepting the drink. They pretty much sat there companionably, drinking the magical moonshine.

When they finished, they stood a bit shakily. Nodding to each other, they left and went their separate ways. Though neither said it, both knew that at least part of their enmity was erased and a clean foundation was put down. What they were unaware of, though, was that foundation would prove essential for their very survival in the coming year. Indeed all and sundry would never suspect that the two who had been enemies for the longest time would soon come to depend on each other.

***

"You've got to be kidding me, Albus!" snarled Severus. He glared at his mentor with all the force he possessed. This, of course, had absolutely no effect on the Headmaster, who just sat there serenely. As his Potions Master continued to rage, Albus couldn't help but smile at himself. When Severus stopped his angry tirade, and glared at him, Albus simply stated "Would you trust anyone else? If not, how can you expect her not to do the same?"

Severus snarled softly, and muttered "I still don't see why it has to be me who should sit as witness." Whatever Albus might have said, however, would be for nothing as Severus gripped his left arm convulsively. Nodding at the Headmaster, he walked out so he could Apperate. As he went, he transformed his clothes into his Death-Eater robes, and slipped on the silver mask. Then it was just a simple matter of Apperating to the Dark Lord.

***

Harry tossed and turned in silence as his sleep was interrupted by a vision.

Harry sat up panting, feeling the blood drain from his face. He bit back a whimper as his scar throbbed from the blasted vision. Checking the clock, he saw it was a mere fifteen minutes from sun-up. Deciding to get ready for the Trial, he got out of bed. It took him a little over twenty minutes to prepare for the day, and as the sun started to shine on the block outside he was in the kitchen making himself breakfast. Oddly, no one else seemed to be up, though if the snoring from the living room could be trusted, he suspected that Sirius had stayed up as long as he was able.

It was as he was near the end of his bowl of cereal that the house seemed to come alive. Mrs. Weasley smiled gently at him, and straightened his black and gold shirt as much as he'd let her. Sirius gave him a hug as he entered, murmuring "Everything will be fine, Harry. You're in the right, they can't deny that." Harry sipped at a cup of coffee, trying to calm his nerves. Despite what everyone said about things going right that day, he couldn't help but worry. He was surprised to see Remus enter the kitchen a mere ten minutes before he and Mr. Weasley planned to leave. Remus smiled at him, saying "I'll be escorting Mr. Malfoy to Diagon Alley today, while Arthur will do so after your Trial."

That presented Harry a puzzle, and he was still concentrating on it even after he'd said good-bye to his friends and headed off to the Ministry of Magic for the Trial. Arthur smirked slightly, and thanked Remus mentally for distracting the child so he wouldn't worry. He hoped everything would turn out alright, but Harry didn't need to worry as it would only make him fumble-tongued. It was in silence that they got on the Underground to head to the Ministry that early morning.

Last time:

Maybe half a minute later, light started to show at their feet. Shortly afterwards, Harry was looking about the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic in awe. It was at least as large as the Dining Hall at Hogwarts, and it glittered like it was made of gold. Right in the center was a fountain, with statues he couldn't see at a distance. Not that it mattered, for they were approaching the wizard that would check them into the Ministry. That, apparently, included wand checks. After he had received his wand back, Harry followed Mr. Weasley at a bit of a dog-trot, for his legs just didn't seem to want to go at a walking pace. He pinned his legs unusual acting up as nerves.

Whether it was sheer luck, or someone was watching over them, Harry didn't know. All he knew was that the time and place had been changed. Mr. Weasley had gotten this message just shortly before they entered the elevator. As they headed down to the old court room, Harry wondered why things had changed like that. Was it so he might be late for his trial, or entirely miss it? It took all his control to bite down on the anger that rushed through his system briefly. He would not let his temper get him into trouble.

As they reached the court room door, Mr. Weasley turned to him. "I'm not allowed to go in with you. Good luck, Harry." stated the older man. Harry gulped quietly, and walked into the court room. He walked to the center, where a chained chair waited for him. As he sat down, fully expecting chains that never did wrap around him, a voice spoke. "You were very nearly late, Mr. Potter." As Harry looked up, he saw that it was Fudge who had spoken. Indeed, it appeared to be a full-fledged trial, not just a hearing.

"Sorry, sir. We barely caught the message that the time and place had been changed." answered Harry in a voice just loud enough to be heard. Fudge grunted angrily, and stated "Oh very well. Court is now in session. On this August fifth, one Harry Potter sits accused of performing magic underage and in front of a Muggle. Sitting as judges: Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic." As each person named themselves and their jobs in the Ministry, Harry discreetly rubbed his sweating palms clean on the sides of his trousers. Then a voice sounded that made him look over his shoulder sharply. "Attorney for the Defense, one Albus Brian Wulfric Dumbledore."

Looking up at the judges, he repressed a smirk. Most of them look completely stunned that Dumbledore had made it to the Trial. The ones that didn't seemed very pleased to see him. Only one face was tightening with coming anger, and Harry expected that. The bloody Minister had better keep his bloody mouth shut thought Harry to himself. Dumbledore, meanwhile, didn't seem to care what he was making the others feel. He was a serene as ever, if a bit sterner then normal.

The Trial ran rather smoothly after that. The only hiccup in the proceeding was when Dumbledore suggested that the Dementors had been sent. One toadish woman, who was introduced as the Under-Secretary to the Minister, said "Are you suggesting that the Ministry sent out Dementors to attack this boy?" When he said that it might be another, and tried to plead to Fudge to see reason, the Minister nearly went into a rage. It was with barely controlled fury that Fudge bit out "Those in favor of having Mr. Potter expelled, raise your hands." He and the toadish woman did so, as well as a handful of others. When he asked for those who didn't want him expelled to raise their hands, the majority did. Cleared of all charges, Harry left the court-room last, simply because he couldn't have easily gotten to the head of the flood of people leaving.

Meeting Mr. Weasley outside the court-room, he gave a smile and a thumbs-up. The look of worry that had been on the red-heads face dissolved into relief. He said softly "Come on, Harry. I have just enough time before my shift starts to escort you where you're suppose to be now." They then walked out of the Ministry, heading for Diagon Alley. Now that the Trial was over, Harry wondered just what else was going to happen that day.

***

"Are you sure about this, Mr. Weasley?" Harry asked as they stood in front of the oddest wizarding store he had ever been to. When Mr. Weasley nodded, Harry sighed and opened the door to the shop 'Madame Sel's Collection of Curios'. As the name had suggested, there were many curious knick-knacks around, both muggle and wizarding. They went straight to the desk, behind which a shop assistant sat. When they told their names, she said in a soft voice "Madame Sel has been expecting you. This way, Mr. Potter. Mr. Weasley, you may look around if you wish."

Harry shivered slightly, not liking the fact that he was separated from the red-head. However, he followed the witch without protest to a Room 3 in the back. When he entered, he was not surprised to see Remus and Malfoy there. He was, however, stunned when he realized that the third occupant was none other than Professor Snape. Feeling very self-conscious at being the last one to enter, he took one of the seats that was on the wall. Afterwards, he waited with the others. They didn't have to wait long, as the most impressive female walked in from a curtained off portion of the room in back. Of course, when the curtain was closed, it just looked like a plain white wall.

The woman was tall, with an almost fae like quality to her. Her white hair was long, more than waist-length. And despite looking as old as their Transfiguration Professor, she stepped with the grace of one far younger. Her eyes, however, held centuries long wisdom that was in much contention of her middle-aged appearance. This had to be Madam Sel, the owner of the Curio shop. Her voice was breathy, reminding Harry of wind through the ancient trees in the Forbidden Forest. She said "Welcome, young Animagi. And welcome also to the witnesses, who have agreed to watch over you while you undergo the Trial of Animagus."

Harry blanched slightly, his eyes flickering. There was going to be another Trial, another test? He glared accusingly at Remus for not warning him. When the other caught his look, he simply shrugged quietly. Harry sighed, and got up when instructed. Joining Malfoy in the middle of the room, he sat down cross-legged. Whatever the Trial threw at him, he would handle it. He would not appear weak in front of everyone else. He would soon end up cursing his Gryffindor pride, though he didn't know it before the Trial started. They were first told to meditate, and then let their awareness drift from their bodies. That was fairly easy for Harry, and for Malfoy as well, and they were soon speeding towards the Realm of Half-Realities. Otherwise known to the world, the Realm of Dreams.

Last time:

When the world slowed to a stop around them, Harry looked about in curiosity. They seemed to be on a plain with plenty of grass and scrubs, but nothing in the way of substantial cover. After looking about for a bit, he noticed that Madam Sel had appeared in front of them. In this strange land she appeared even more fae like, and if he looked at a certain angle he could almost see a silhouette over the lithe form of the woman. She was smiling slightly, with her eyes glittering in hidden humor.

Her voice sounded again, and he couldn't help but be captivated by it. It spoke "Welcome to the Realm of Half-Realities. This is where your Trial takes place. Look to the north, do you see that dim shadow of a mountain?" Both Malfoy and Harry nodded. Despite it being dim, it was too obviously a mountain, and Harry was sure that it was huge up close. After all, the clearer one could see an object in the distance, the bigger the object. Sel spoke again "That is your goal. You have twenty-four days to make the peak of the mountain. Before you reach the peak you shall face two Challenges, one for each of you. The greatest test though, is survival. Despite you not being in the real world, your body will feel everything it would there. Hunger, thirst and exhaustion will all take their tole if you do not take care of yourself. And because your magic is what is keeping the Trial alive, and providing the Challenges, you can not just simply summon food to you. You must work together to survive. For if one of you should get to the point that you cannot make it to the mountain even with help, you both shall Fail."

This seemed a bit extreme, and both boys could not help but show their outrage on their faces. The woman merely said "On a side note, the worst test takers who have succeeded, made the peak within twenty-one days. The best made it in fourteen. The test will start as soon as I disappear. I wish you both Good Luck, and I will see you on the mountain peak." At the end of her speech, she faded away. Harry mouthed indignantly for awhile before he got a hold of himself. He then glanced over at Malfoy, who seemed to be having even greater difficulty controlling his outrage.

Harry sighed, and said "Come on Malfoy, we might as well get started. I'd like to be away from here before we have to sleep. I think I see trees in the distance towards the north. We'll probably find food there." The blond, instead of arguing like he would have just a week ago, nodded. Then they both started off, beginning their long journey. What they didn't know was though it seemed like days to them, it would only take a single day of real time. Though, this would feel like eternity for those waiting back in the real world.

***

Speaking of the real world, Sel had just come out of her trance when the two would-be Animagi had started their journey. She looked at the two adults, the ones who were there as witnesses. She sighed slightly, speaking as she uncurled from the rather uncomfortable position "They have begun their journey. Thank you both for agreeing to watch them. They might need help to come out of their trance if they get stuck. However, I ask that you do not wake them prematurely. The trance cannot be replicated, and should they be pulled out of it before they fail or succeed on their own, they will be angry that they lost the chance to find their Animagus forms." Both males simply nodded, too nervous at being asked to pretty much be guardians to the boys for that day.

Smiling, Sel walked away. She would be back in thirteen hours, ready to go into the trance to help the boys at the end. For now, she needed to shake out her aching muscles and bones. She was getting far too old to be sitting on the floor like a kid. However, when Albus had asked her to be the 'judge' for the two Animagi's Trial, she had jumped at the chance to help a new generation along the way. That, and she had owed a favor to her old friend. The old Hawk was too cunning for his own good. She always wondered if he should have been a Snake instead if he hadn't compromised with the Hat. Then again, it was none of her business what her old friend had wanted so many years ago.

***

Harry sighed, waiting for Malfoy to catch up. The blond had tripped because somehow or other his shoes had become untied, and he had had to stop and retie them. Of course, Harry hadn't noticed that until he had nearly passed out of hearing distance from the annoyance. He looked on ahead, grumbling at the delay. If they were lucky, they would now reach the tree-line by mid-morning of the next day. But they would have to set up camp before that. He had hoped to get there that day, but it wasn't going to happen.

Malfoy came up, saying "Sorry about that. Shall we continue?" Harry nodded, and they both set off. It was going to take some time before he trusted the Snake not to stab him in the back, but he rationalized it that Malfoy wanted to reach the peak as much as he did. After all, how many could become Animagi so young? Very few, if Harry knew the ratios at all. He just wished that there was an easier way of become a Natural Animagi then suffering a traumatic event. It would most likely make their minds a bit more stable if it were.

They made fairly good time, despite his initial fears. Instead of mid-morning, they would make the tree-line two hours after dawn if they kept up the pace. Harry was looking forward to it, for there was little if anything to eat or drink around here. They built a fire, knowing that they would be spending the next two to three weeks sleeping it rough. They didn't even have a sleeping bag to lie down on. While this bothered Malfoy just a bit, Harry was used to not having much comfort. They enjoyed the warmth of the fire for a bit, then Harry banked the coals so the fire wouldn't go out.

They lay there for a good time, exchanging small sentences back and forth. Neither one knew when the other fell asleep, but for them it would be the first peaceful night they had in many days. It was hard to have a nightmare in the Dream Realm without that nightmare coming to life. Besides the fact that most of the things they saw were images in their mind anyways. For now they were just grateful for the restful sleep. They both knew they would need it in the coming weeks. They didn't know that they would be lucky to keep having such good nights through out the rest of their journey.

Last time:

They lay there for a good time, exchanging small sentences back and forth. Neither one knew when the other fell asleep, but for them it would be the first peaceful night they had in many days. It was hard to have a nightmare in the Dream Realm without that nightmare coming to life. Besides the fact that most of the things they saw were images in their mind anyways. For now they were just grateful for the restful sleep. They both knew they would need it in the coming weeks. They didn't know that they would be lucky to keep having such good nights through out the rest of their journey.

Harry pushed aside a branch, looking beyond it into yet more dense woods. As he had predicted, they had made the forest two hours after dawn. They had then been forced to slug through deep underbrush, and branches so close together it almost formed a net. But there was food, and a stream a few minutes to their left. It was only by the occasional clearings, though, that Harry was able to tell they were still heading north. If it wasn't for that, they would have long since gotten lost in such deep woods.

Despite the fact that they might get lost, Draco mainly concentrated on the fact that it wasn't a swamp. No telling how many biting insects there would be if it was. Not to mention the large mud puddles they would likely have to wade through. Forests were easier to deal with if you had proper ground under you. Well, the ground was littered with leaves, shrubs and other things that can be found in a deciduous forest. Much of the undergrowth however were berry bushes. Passing one, he picked a plump, ripe blackberry from it. Instead of eating it, like he might have when he was younger, he put it in a pouch that he had formed from a piece of his clothing that had gotten caught in thorns. He had a variety of berries in there now, and Harry had followed his lead once he saw what the Snake had done.

After so many days of hard travel, Harry nearly didn't realize when the branches started to get farther and farther apart. He did, however, notice when it was pine needles instead of leaves he was stepping on. Breathing a sigh of relief, he continued walking. The trees were getting farther and farther apart as they went, until they finally spotted blue sky. However, the thinner the trees got, the more rocks they started to see. Eventually they reached the end of the forest, into the foothills of a range of mountains. The mountain they wanted was very close. It was, however, very close to night-time. They nodded at each other, and began to set up camp. Harry went back into the pine forest to get a fallen branch. Pitch was one of the best conductors around, and it would likely hold the little bit of magic they could use. That of concentrating hard on a target, and pushing bits of magic to it so that it would catch fire.

As Harry was looking around for a branch, he heard a yelp of what could be classed as sheer terror. It came from their camp ground, and thinking Draco was in danger, Harry sped off to where the yelp had sounded, forgetting the branch completely. Leaving the forest, he skidded to a stop as he saw what was in front of Draco. A black cloaked figure, who emanated pure evil. Red eyes glowed as they pinned Draco to the spot, leaving the blond helpless as the evil one got closer and closer. Harry shouted out, trying to distract the Dark One, and let Draco get a hold of his senses. It seem to work, for the other boy backed up slowly. That was when the figure began to speak in a high-pitched voice that leaked darkness "Draaaco, come here my child. Come join usss, and be hailed as a hero."

Harry, realizing what this apparition was trying to do, said softly "Don't listen, Draco. His followers are not hero's, just slaves. Your father didn't give up his freedom so that you in turn could be enslaved." The blond seemed to be undecided, his eyes shifting between them. When the Dark One said that he would free Lucius, Harry said in a harsh whisper "You don't believe him, do you? He'd be more likely to kill him, no longer needing him as bait!" Harry would have said more, but the evil one sent a wave of darkness at him, knocking him off his feet and pinning him down. He was also gagged so he couldn't say anything more. It was now up to Draco to decide what to do.

Draco, seeing Harry being knocked off his feet, made up his mind. Turning to the apparition of Voldemort, he said in a voice firm with conviction "He's right! Father would never want me to join you. And I don't want his sacrifice to be in vain. Be gone, Evil, you have no power here. I am a free soul, to choose whether I fight or not. But I will never go Dark!" After Draco finished, the creature dissolved into nothing more then a black blob, and shrieked as it fled. The Challenge was over, with Draco the victor.

Harry stood, and smiled slightly. "Well done, Draco." he murmured. They then continued setting up camp, exhausted after everything they just went through. Harry, sitting at the fire said "If I had to estimate, I'd say that it's been seven days or so since we started. If we keep this up, we'll make the mountain by day twelve. Then there's just the matter of climbing the giant." Draco nodded, and sighed mentally at the thought of more travel. But there was no help for it, and when Harry banked the coals he lay down. They were both soon asleep, exhausted after many days in the forest.

The foothills turned out to be only slightly easier then the forest, because of the quantity of rocks and boulders around. There was water, however, and they still had some of the berries they had collected in the forest. Then they came to a river. It was huge, and both were glad that they didn't have to cross it. It did grow smaller the closer they got to the mountain, but what had caught their interest in the first place was that there were fish. Harry went at it like a bear would, wading into the shallows which was pretty calm, and waiting for a fish to pass. Draco looked on with a look of disgust on his face. There was nothing to do about it, however. He contented himself with building a fire as near to the river as he dared. He didn't wish to scare the fish away with the roaring fire.

Harry turned out to be a pretty good fisherman, having the patience to 'tickle' the fish out of the water. What that was, precisely, was leaning over and letting his fingers dangle in the water. When a fish came by, and hid in his fingers thinking they were river weeds, he grasped it and threw it to the river bank. He caught five fish this way, before heading back to land. Draco had prepped the fish, and two of them were roasting, while the other three were drying for traveling food. Harry shook the water off away from the fire, and joined the blond at lunch.

This little pit stop had taken them about four hours, and they continued on their way as the sun was starting to set. They decided to keep going until midnight, having wasted enough time fishing. They hadn't realized, with the distraction, that they were close already to the mountain. They reached the base by midnight, and simply lay down when they reached it. They were far to exhausted to make camp that night, and it was too dark to even think about climbing. Dawn, however, found them already started, chewing steadily on the fish they had dried the previous day.

The climbing wasn't too bad, and within a few days they had nearly reached the top. That was when disaster struck. A bulging whale of a man blocked the easiest access to the top, his eyes leering at them. Or, more precisely, at Harry. The raven haired boy likely would have froze with fear had Draco not been there. As it was, it took all his courage to even try to go around. The bastard blocked him, his grin menacing. He didn't say anything, but his evil intent was clear. Suddenly something seemed to snap in Harry, and he saw red. He charged the over-large man, attempting to knock him over. He was so much smaller then the whale of a man, that it was far too easy for him to be pushed aside. His foot missed the cliff, and he found himself falling. He would have fallen to his doom had he not grabbed onto the ledge that Vernon was on.

Draco, who had up till then been un-able to get on the ledge, managed to push the man aside. He then grabbed at Harry, nearly missing him. He could see the fear in the other boy's eyes, and he said "Your going to have to trust me, Harry, as I trusted you." Though this didn't rid Harry entirely of fear, Draco could tell that it was no longer fear that he would purposely be dropped. With a lot of effort, Draco managed to get the raven haired boy on the ledge. Harry smiled at him, and they grasped each-others arms companionably. This caused Vernon, who had been watching with anger and horror written on his features, to vanish in a similar manner that Voldemort had.

The second Challenge finished, the two boys continued climbing. They reached the peak by sunset, exhausted by the climb. Their eyes locked onto the one figure who had been there before them. Madam Sel, who was smiling. She said in her breathy way "Congratulations, Natural Animagi! You have passed the Trial." Harry exchange looks with Draco, and they both let out a whoop of victory. They had made it, where many had failed. And, though they didn't know it, they were one of the few with a time under sixteen days.

Last time:

The second Challenge finished, the two boys continued climbing. They reached the peak by sunset, exhausted by the climb. Their eyes locked onto the one figure who had been there before them. Madam Sel, who was smiling. She said in her breathy way "Congratulations, Natural Animagi! You have passed the Trial." Harry exchange looks with Draco, and they both let out a whoop of victory. They had made it, where many had failed. And, though they didn't know it, they were one of the few with a time under sixteen days.

Once the boys calmed down somewhat, Sel spoke once more "You both showed a great deal of bravery in facing your foes. But even more so, when you came to trust one another. So many Natural Anamagi, for one reason or another, lose their trust in other people. Many of those who failed the test were not able to trust their companion. But as you saw, those who go into the test together have Challenges presented to them as a team. Now, for your animagus forms." Harry and Draco exchanged a look, slightly thrown by the speech. Though they really shouldn't have been, as old people seemed to have a tendency to make long winded speeches. Sel appeared to be no different in that respect.

"You're Animagus aura can be classed as a feline, of some type. Let us see who appears from the dusk mists." Turning, she pointed to the other side of the peak, where the mist and fog was thick. The two boys stared hard into the mist, seeing nothing for a good long time. Then they saw two pairs of shining eyes, missing color just at the moment. Seconds later the faces that they eyes belonged to appeared, soon followed by the rest of the body. Though the fur was as colorless as the eyes, the physique was recognizable as that of a cheetah. But these were different in two very obvious aspects. One was the colorless flames flickering at their paws, the second was they both had a glorious pair of feathery wings. Other than that, they both appeared to be young adolescent cheetahs at about the same size.

Both boys nodded, eyes glittering with a bit of anxiety. They hadn't a clue that if they started feeling bitter after gaining their forms that it could be so devastating. They had only known that they couldn't have unlocked the gene that allowed them to become Animagi if they'd been bitter. However, there was no time to think, as the two cheetahs approached them. The one on the left, who seemed smaller then his companion closer up, went to Harry. As the muzzle of this cheetah touched Harry, it's colors changed. It became a beautiful black cheetah, with white king cheetah markings and teardrops. The wings also became white and black, with the black almost sandwiching the white. The flame was red and black, and burned very brightly. The eyes were a beautiful green, and over one eyebrow was the trademark lightning bolt in white fur. After the color change, the cheetah disappeared, and Harry felt a swelling of completeness inside him; Harry instinctively knew, without a doubt, that the cheetah was now apart of him forever.

The other cheetah, who had approached Draco, also touched his muzzle to the boy. It became an almost exact flip-flop of Harry's form, though missing some of the stripes on it's back. The flames were red and white, and despite their color, burned less brightly then the red and black flames had. It's eyes were silver, and glittered with some unknown mischief on it's mind. It, too, disappeared after it's color changed. What happened next, neither boys could prepare for. For right on the heels of Draco feeling complete, memories that were not their own invaded their minds. The flashing images got faster and faster until they stopped completely, having reached to that day. Though both felt weak from the sheer force of the bonding, they knew, somehow, that what they had seen was correct. As was the bond itself, which would provide them with someone to be there for the other when needed.

***

In the Real Realm

Sel turned to Severus, her mouth still curved into a slight smile. She said "That will go a long way in helping them with their trust issues. Now, Severus, I have something important to say to you." Severus, who had been very glad for Harry's sake (though he would never admit it), nodded thoughtfully in response. The woman continued "The children have made the Animagus Bond. And while that will serve them well later in life, it is a bit of a hindrance in it's first stages. One of the rules about bonding state that the Bonded Pair/Group can be no more then a hundred meters from each other for the first two weeks. Which means that they must be in the same house hold. As you told Albus you would take Harry under your roof again for the rest of the summer, I must ask you: are you prepared to take Draco as well?"

***

Later in the month

Harry looked at the potion, which was a bit too much on the purple side. He checked the instructions, and sighed. It should be lavender in color by this point. He grimaced, and glanced at Draco's potion. While his BondMate's potion was also too dark, it was still lighter in color then his own. He almost wished that he had not made that promise with Snape. Only the strange trust that was building between them had kept him from breaking the deal as soon as it started. Shaking his head to rid himself of any regrets, he returned to his potion. It was starting to let of noxious smelling fumes, though they didn't seem to be poisonous. Snape still banished his potion, and dismissed him for the day. He had tried his best, and was relieved to note that no criticism had come from the Professor. It had been a hard potion after all.

Going up to his room, he grumbled slightly at the feeling of light-headiness. It seemed the fumes had been a bit much, though he didn't feel sick as if they had been toxic. Instead, his mind kept coming up with something he hadn't thought of in a long time. He wondered if he could re-enact it correctly. It would require precise preparations, and might not even be successful. But if it was, the gag would be so worth it. As long as the one at the receiving end acted favorably to it. His mind was spinning with the idea so much, that he almost missed the great horned owl that was sitting on his bed-post. When he did see it, his heart leapt in sheer terror.

~What is it?~ Draco sent urgently. Harry didn't reply, instead taking the small letter and equally small package from the owl. Paying the required amount of coins, he looked with dread upon the message. He murmured "And things had been so peaceful, too." But, as per usual, peace could never last in Harry's life. It was time to once again become Shade, the Runner, lest he sign his own death warrant. As he had no wish to have someone other then Tom hunting him down, he would perform the run without complaint. So he got out his Runner's vest, his green eyes glittering with loathing at it. What he didn't count on though, was for Draco and Snape to appear in his doorway, both looking concerned (though Snape tried to hide it). Harry looked at them, and knew that he was going to have a very difficult time that day.

Last time:

It was time to once again become Shade, the Runner, lest he sign his own death warrant. As he had no wish to have someone other then Tom hunting him down, he would perform the run without complaint. So he got out his Runner's vest, his green eyes glittering with loathing at it. What he didn't count on though, was for Draco and Snape to appear in his doorway, both looking concerned (though Snape tried to hide it). Harry looked at them, and knew that he was going to have a very difficult time that day.

Harry lowered the vest, his body tensing slightly. Draco's feelings were obvious: he was scared, concerned and just a bit angry that Harry was thinking about doing a Run. Snape was a bit more difficult, as his face had returned to the neutral he wore when he was hiding his feelings. Harry, much to his embarrassment, blushed slightly as if he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Pity that the cookies were so bitter, else he might have been more careful about masking the anger and fear that had saturated his every atom since he saw the owl.

"You're crazy, Harry." Draco growled softly. His silver eyes were flickering with the feeling behind those three words. Harry flashed him a grin, as if to say 'What did you expect?' He then look nervously at Snape, unaware his eyes were glittering with a fearful hope. He knew that if Snape said no, there wasn't much he could do. Not with the respect that was starting to build between them. Harry also knew that if he didn't fill his Run quota, that he'd be in a great deal of danger. But for some reason, Snape's regard meant more to him than the potential danger he'd be in. Which was odd, as Harry would never have thought he'd have cared what Snape thought of him. Or at least that had been true a few months ago, but things change, sometimes for the better. Harry hoped that this change was a good one, though he wouldn't let his guard down completely for fear of being disappointed.

Severus sighed mentally, seeing the hope in the child's eyes. He had some idea why the Run was important, but it grated against his nature to let the boy he'd started caring about to put himself in danger. Thus it was with great trepidation that he said "You may go, but not alone." Harry seemed to be a bit put off by that, but accepted the condition for him Running. Severus blinked in surprise, having expect more resistance to the idea of having to be with someone. Or rather, two someones, as he planned to follow at a distance in case he was needed to get the two children out of trouble. Apparently Harry was growing up, fighting less about something that might save his life eventually.

Harry felt a bit aggravated that he had to go with Draco, but knew that Snape wouldn't give him much of a choice. He said softly "Okay. However, Draco needs a disguise of some sort. He is too obviously a Malfoy, and we are going into wizard territory not muggle. Also, he will need a black vest similar to mine but in cotton instead of leather and no trim either." This requirement, of course, took about two hours. Harry explained that the vest designated one as a Runner. The color was their alliance to a certain dealer, and the cloth what rank a Runner was. Harry, as a fully realized Runner, wore leather with a trim. Draco, as a beginner, could not wear leather or a trim. And being in the same color as Harry signaled that he was Harry's apprentice. Thus, any indiscretions that Draco performed, Harry would have to take responsibility for it. This seemed like a ridiculous system to Draco, but he made no protest, only wishing to be there to protect Harry.

Though it seemed like forever, they eventually got everything ready for departure. Draco no longer looked like a Malfoy, instead he looked like a twin to Harry with ebony black hair and fuller face. Harry, meanwhile, had also changed his appearance. His hair had been lengthened to the point that it was in his eyes rakishly, hiding his scar. As an additional protection against being recognized, he blurred the scar into almost non-existence. Of course, this was mostly illusion, with only some physical aspects. But when it was done, neither Harry nor Draco truly looked like themselves. With the Runner vests, the rogue look was complete. Harry took the package and tucked it into a pocket before making sure everything was in place. His wand was easily reachable, as was a sharp dagger (he didn't use it for anything but defense, thus it hadn't been confiscated with the rest of his sharp objects). Then the two of them headed off in search of a wizard tavern, which would be harder to find as they were closer to a muggle neighborhood then a wizard one.

They did manage to find an establishment, which went by the name of Magic Run. It wasn't obvious as a wizard pub, and only the fact that passing muggles didn't notice it suggested that it was indeed magic. They entered warily, noticing that it was far less respectable then the Leaky Cauldron or Three Broomsticks was. Going to the bartender, Harry ordered his usual honey mead, and Draco ordered a butterbeer. They paid for their drinks, and headed for a rather secluded corner. Unlike his usual routes, he was unknown here, so a customer would have to approach him. Thankfully they had been noticed as they bought their drinks, and they were soon approached by a shady character. Harry asked what he was carrying, and Harry replied "Ounce of this, ounce of that." When the would-be customer asked for 'Dragon Fire', Harry pulled out a vial of the red drug. Then began the haggling, starting from fifty galleons and lowering slowly.

While they were doing the haggling, they didn't notice that Severus was hovering in a near-by shadow. He was surprised that Harry had access to that particular drug. It was very dangerous, and required someone with an aptitude with potions to even make. It was one of the more illegal drugs, and the fine was almost as hefty as the five year prison sentence attached to carriers. Of course, the punishment didn't deter determined users or dealers from it. And it was nigh on impossible to stop the production, as none of the Aurors were sure of who could make the drug. The ingredients, though rare, were used in other more useful potions, so they couldn't stop the distribution of them either.

Exhausted, he turned from the window after closing it. Taking off the vest, he folded it up and put it back in his trunk. He scratched at his back, feeling dirty. Closing the door to his room, he went to take a shower. He turned the shower on to the usual just below burning, and entered it. Scrubbing at his body, he washed the sweat. His washing was symbolic of cleaning himself of the dirty feeling of Running, and the memories it brought up. His mind was open after drinking the mead, so he felt Draco sending him soothing thoughts. He let that and the shower un-tense his muscles, feeling the memories retreat. For just awhile, he had some measured peace. He reveled in it, knowing how precious it was. That tremulous peace could and most likely would be interrupted at any time. Or at least that's how he felt at that time.

Last time:

For just awhile, he had some measured peace. He reveled in it, knowing how precious it was. That tremulous peace could and most likely would be interrupted at any time. Or at least that's how he felt at that time.

Harry grimaced, looking at his reflection in the mirror. He was pretty much dressed in the school uniform, sans tie, robes and hat. And as usual, he was uncomfortable in it. He would rather have put on his casual clothes, as he had for the past four years, but felt that it would reflect bad upon his current status. Also, the school uniform helped conceal the SoNA bracer, which he wasn't quite ready to reveal just yet. Harry looked at the door as Draco entered, dressed similarly to him. Without the robes and badges, it was impossible to tell which House they belonged to. Indeed, the uniforms were similar to many Muggle schools, thus allowing them to be worn outside of the wizarding world without too much suspicion.

"You ready?" Draco asked in a soft voice. Harry nodded jerkily, unconsciously gripping where the bracer was for reassurance. They were both nervous, as it would be their first train ride as friends. Harry had another reason to be nervous, as he had an appointment with his 'employer' on the train. He was tired of Running, and he wanted out of it. But to ask would be a very dangerous business, could even cost him his life. He didn't really mind dying, however, so long as he knew he was free. Draco said he was crazy for feeling this way, and would much prefer him to make it out of the meeting alive.

Harry's musings were cut short by Snape appearing in the doorway, saying that it was time to go. He trooped after Draco, glad that he had told Hedwig to go to Hogwarts instead of coming back here after delivering the message to his 'employer'. For once he was sure she was safe, and wouldn't have to worry about something happening similar to what had happened the summer before second year. That had been humiliating, and nerve-wracking, to say the least. And Hedwig had taken some time to forgive him for that and being tossed out of the car afterwards. Thankfully she had forgiven him, otherwise his summers would have been unbearable.

They Flooed to Grimmauld Place, and from there walked to the Underground. They made it to King's Cross with a half-hour to spare, and onto Platform 9 and 3/4 before the clock turned quarter to. What was eerie about this trip was that Snape had been with them, in disguise, the whole journey. While one might think it was just because of duty that he was concerned for their safety, Harry suspected it was a bit more then that. Especially as he bid them farewell in his own way, though he didn't make much of a to-do about it. For which Harry was grateful, as he was too old to be fussed over. ~Says you~ sent Draco, when he received that thought from him.

Glaring at Draco briefly, Harry boarded the train when the whistle sounded. He had said his good-byes to the adults he knew (including Snape in disguise), and he was getting uncomfortable with the idea of more. He searched for an empty compartment, but not finding any. He did find one that was only occupied by one person. He asked her if anyone was sitting there, and she gave him a faint 'no', without looking up from the magazine she was reading. Harry shivered slightly, for the voice had been quite beautiful. Or at least what he had heard of it. Draco snickered mentally, saying ~Getting a romantic interest in a fourth year, Harry?~ When asked how he knew the blond was a fourth year, Draco simply replied that most people knew of Luna Lovegood.

Harry shrugged, promptly telling his Bond-Mate to either join him or shove off. Draco chuckled mentally again, and soon after joined him in the compartment. That was where Ginny and Neville found and joined them. Neville was holding a strange plant that spewed pus when prodded. Of course, Neville demonstrated this, and only quick action by all in the compartment saved them from a liberal bath in stinky pus. When that episode was over, Harry asked where Ron and Hermione were. Ginny replied "Didn't you hear? They're the new Gryffindor prefects. They're off doing rounds along with the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff prefects as well as the Head girl and boy." Harry was surprised, but realized it made sense. He should have expected it from one of the fifth years. Hermione especially, as she was a model student.

By the time Hermione and Ron had joined them, the food cart had come and gone. Harry, as per usual, had gotten them all enough sweets and foods to last until the end of the train ride. Harry was constantly checking his watch (a new one he had bought recently from a wizarding catalog), and excused himself at three thirty. Draco watched him sadly, telling him to be safe mentally. The others just thought that he was going to the bathroom, except for Luna, who was gazing at him with turbulent eyes. She has beautiful eyes Harry thought to himself while walking to his 'employer's' compartment. He was expected, and the burly seventh year that was guarding the door let him in. His employer was a sixth year of average height, with the coldest eyes. Even Snape didn't have this measure of calm (especially when dealing with Harry). It was unnerving to say the least. He greeted the boy respectfully with his code name: Scare.

"Ah, Shade. What a pleasure it is to see you today. Now I believe you requested a meeting with me. Will you tell me why?" Scare said in a very cold voice. The supposed request was more of an order said in that tone of voice. Harry told Scare the reason he wished to leave. He then watched the boy's face, feeling his hackles rise as the seventh year got just a bit to close behind him. Scare seemed to frown a bit, before saying in his ice voice "That is a problem, Shade. You see, you are one of my best Runners. I am reluctant to give up any member of my staff, but you are quite unique in your mastery of this business. However, there is a way to get out of it, if that is truly what you want." Harry let it be known that was what he wanted. Scare continued talking "Very well then. The way to leave my employ is to do a Collection Run."

Harry gritted his teeth, before nodding sharply. He was dismissed, being told that his assignment would be given during the school year. Leaving, Harry slowly walked back to his compartment, cursing roundly in his head. Draco asked ~What's up?~ Harry responded by telling Draco that he had to do a Collection Run. That sent Draco into cursing mentally. Having shared all of Harry's memories, he knew what a Collection Run meant. Harry had managed to escape being a Collector by being the best Runner. He had never wanted to taint his hands with the dirty business of collecting money or disposing of people who refused to pay. His hands were clean of blood, but with his luck they would be stained before the year was out.

He had no time to contemplate anymore, however, as they were nearing Hogwarts. Finally making it to the compartment, he got his robe and hat on, making sure that his wand was within reach. Once everything was ready, they left the train when it reached the station. They then boarded the horseless carriages. Except for Harry, they weren't horseless. Bony, winged horses were pulling all the carriages. When he mentioned this to the others, they all looked at him strangely, besides Luna and surprisingly Neville. Instead of asking what they were however, he let the matter drop for the moment.

The trip wasn't too long, and they finally reached Hogwarts. Harry breathed a silent sigh of relief, glad to be back where he had thought he wouldn't set foot in again earlier that summer. Their group separated at the Great Hall, Draco going to the Slytherin table, Luna to the Ravenclaw table, the Weasleys, Harry, Neville and Hermione to the Gryffindor table. They then had to wait through the Sorting, though they were surprised at the new song of the Sorting Hat. They then enjoyed the feast, and were just about ready to leave when Dumbledore stood up. They waited patiently while he introduced the new teacher: Dolores Umbridge. Harry's hackles immediately rose, and he hissed to his friends "She's from the Ministry, she works for Fudge!" This, of course, got Hermione interested.

When Dumbledore would have let them go for the night, Umbridge stood up to address them. Her speech was long and boring, but for the few who were paying attention (Harry, Hermione, Draco and the teachers) the meaning was quite clear. The Ministry was interfering at Hogwarts. Once the speech was finished they were dismissed, and they gratefully went up to their dorm rooms. Hermione and Ron had to escort the First Years, but they were all soon back in Gryffindor Tower. Harry went to bed immediately after his nightly ablutions, to tired to stay up much longer. He sent to Draco ~Good Night, my friend~ and received similar in reply. He also said good night to Ron, and was soon asleep.

He was up again a few hours later, choking on the sheet he had jammed in his mouth to prevent himself from screaming. Panting to slow his heart rate, he also shielded his mind from Draco so as not to wake the other boy. He was soon calm enough to return to sleep, with much more peaceful dreams. He did wonder, however, what the dream about the corridor was all about. He knew, though, that he likely would never find out. His dreams, of course, were difficult to keep from Draco. The other boy, however, didn't press when Harry said he didn't want to discuss it. Draco could understand that well enough, having enough dreams that he didn't wish to discuss.

Breakfast was the same old, with the exception of a new schedule. Harry groaned as he saw what the schedule was. Double Defense, Potions, History of Magic, and Divination blocked out the entire day. And all with the exception of Divination were with the Slytherins. Harry sighed, and made his way to Defense after finishing his porridge. He thought sarcastically ~I'm just going to love today.~ Draco snickered mentally, but agreed with his thought. That day wasn't going to be pleasant.

They were quite right of course, as Defense started out very boring. About half-way through the class, however, Hermione raised her hand. She made it clear that she didn't agree with the author of the book, and when the class was told that theory would be enough, Harry got furious. He posed many uncomfortable questions to Umbridge, finally riling the woman enough that she sent him to McGonagall. He found out that he would serve a week's detention with Umbridge, and that he should keep his head low from that point on. Harry grimaced when he left McGonagall's office, and thought to himself Forget the day, this week is going to be hell. How very little he knew, at that time, just how bad detention would be that night. Had he known, he might not have made such an accurate statement about the week being hell.

Last time:

Harry grimaced when he left McGonagall's office, and thought to himself Forget the day, this week is going to be hell. How very little he knew, at that time, just how bad detention would be that night. Had he known, he might not have made such an accurate statement about the week being hell.

The rest of the day passed rather passively for Harry. He managed to avoid Snape (who looked as if he wished to talk to him), and Trewalney predicted a rather sedate death for him that day. Binns, naturally, was as boring as ever. It took everything Harry had not to fall asleep in that class. But he got to the end of the day with what remained of his dignity (and temper). As the clock struck seven, Harry was in front of Umbridge's office. He entered when told, and stood before her desk for a good few minutes before she addressed him.

When she finally did deign to notice him, it was to tell him he would be writing. Indeed, writing the lines 'I must not tell lies.' This did not seem too bad of a punishment to Harry, who was use to his Uncle's, so he agreed. He was given a black quill and a sheet of parchment. Though he realized he hadn't been given any ink, he didn't make an issue of it. After all, the woman was aggravating enough without him asking her for some ink. So he began to write; and found out just why he had not been given any ink almost immediately. His writing was cutting into his left hand, which provided him with blood 'ink'.

Though this horrified him, he had been too well trained by Vernon to make anything of it. It didn't hurt that much, and he refused to appear weak in front of an enemy. For about three hours he continued as such, making no noise except the scratch of quill on paper. Finally she dismissed him after looking at his hand. She said that he had to come back the next night, and as many nights that week until the message sank in. Harry walked back up to the Gryffindor tower, hugging the shadows to avoid anyone spotting him. It was after curfew, and he had no wish to be caught by another Professor and assigned more detention. Nor did he want someone to spot his hand, which was flaming red just then.

He managed to reach the Tower with no event, and provided the Fat Lady with the password. He then walked up to bed, too exhausted to do the homework the fifth years had been assigned that day. Though he was likely to regret not doing it early, he just didn't have it in him that night. Instead he crawled into his four-poster after getting into his pajamas. It didn't take him long to fall asleep, nor did it take him long to have a vision.

~He hissed with displeasure as he gazed upon his Death Eaters. All of them were trembling, though not all were on their feet. Some of them were twitching from the after-effects of the Crutacius. He had found out from a reliable source that several precious items of his had been captured by the Order, and destroyed. This failure was unforgivable, and also stank of treason. He said to the quivering troops "If I ever find out who was behind the leakage of information and items, that person, or persons, will wish they had never been born." He then cast another bout of Crucio, bringing many of the ones still standing to their knees. He reveled in the screams of pain that echoed off the walls of his throne room.~

Harry sat up panting, heart racing with a mix of emotions. Draco asked him mentally what was up, and he transferred the dream to him. While he normally kept such things to himself, so as not to traumatize anyone else, he needed someone else to know what had happened that night. Draco had grown strangely silent after seeing the vision, then he said ~I will check on Professor Snape in the morning. That is the best I can do.~ Harry nodded, both physically and mentally, and they both tried to settle down for more sleep. They did manage it, though it was difficult.

***

Severus groaned as he pulled himself up to the castle. That night's meeting had not gone well. Tom was furious with them all for the failure, and he suspected too much. Sev's and Sel's positions had nearly been compromised that day. Thankfully they only had one more item that they could destroy. Unfortunately, that one was closely guarded by the Dark Lord himself. Neither of them knew how they were going to destroy it, only that they had to. Shaking his head, Severus downed an anti-crutacius potion, and crawled into bed exhausted.

***

Several days later

Harry sighed, and picked at his food idly. The first week had been severely hectic. He had barely managed to keep up with his homework with the detention, and then to be assigned another weeks worth during Care of Magical Creatures. McGonagall had been furious, and had taken points. The only up note was that no meetings had been called, and Snape had remained safe. Though he was worried for the man, he had been avoiding him just to avoid taking the well-deserved tongue-lashing he knew was coming. Draco had called him a coward for that. So had Hermione.

He looked at the back of his left hand discreetly. No one had yet realized what Umbridge's detentions were truly about, as he had been able to keep them from Draco. He thought defiantly to himself that he was allowed to be a coward every now and again. Especially as he was putting up with more then most students had to. Even Snape's detentions had been so bad, and they had been pretty disgusting. But this was almost as bad as what Vernon had put him through, though Harry was used to it. That, and Draco's mental support, were the only things that kept Harry from going totally mad. He often wondered how his life could get much worse.

He found out that night, the last of his first week's worth of detention. On the table was a new black quill, this one lined with a venomous green that made him think of the Basilisk. He had a strong sense of foreboding from it, though he didn't know why. He found out as soon as he used it. Pain flared from not just the words that were etching deeper into his hand, but every single scar he had gotten in his life. Including his curse scar. This was enough to cause him to suck in breath as silently as possible. When Umbridge looked up, an evil smile playing on her lips, however, he continued writing. He soon became numbed to the pain, though he didn't realize it was doing damage to his nervous system.

Several hours later he left the classroom slowly, his hand bleeding and his nerves jangling with each step. He stopped several corridors from Umbridge's office, and pulled out a handkerchief to wrap around his bloody hand. For the first time in his life he felt loathing for one person nearly overwhelm him. He had loathed Snape, before he had saved him. He still loathed Vernon and Voldemort, but never to this extent. Never to the point where he had to fight it back less he lose his mind to it. Draco, sensing the turbulence over their link, helped beat back the self-destructive feelings. When the hate was under control, Draco asked why Harry had nearly lost his mind to it. Harry refused to answer, and Draco didn't press.

Harry was just about to return to Gryffindor tower, when a light started floating towards him. Harry realized he had stayed still far too long, and had been caught after curfew in the hallways. And when he saw who it was, his heart sank. The man who he had been avoiding had found him breaking curfew. And Snape didn't appear too happy when he realized who he had found. Beckoning to Harry, Snape walked down to his dungeon office. Harry followed with a heavy heart, knowing that this interview wasn't going to be pleasant. He hoped that he wouldn't be assigned more detention on top of Umbridge's, but he knew that hope was fleeting, and often wasn't answered reliably. This just wasn't his week.

Last time:

Beckoning to Harry, Snape walked down to his dungeon office. Harry followed with a heavy heart, knowing that this interview wasn't going to be pleasant. He hoped that he wouldn't be assigned more detention on top of Umbridge's, but he knew that hope was fleeting, and often wasn't answered reliably. This just wasn't his week.

Severus walked at a steady pace, not wishing for Harry to fall behind. This had it so they reached his office door slower then usual. Which gave him time to contemplate, and to put his thoughts into a well organized system. Foremost on his mind was that the boy had been avoiding him like the plague. Sev wondered why, and resolved to find out that night. After all, they were going to have to spend some time in each other's company anyways. Might as well find out all he could before he dismissed Harry.

Harry resisted the urge to squirm. He hoped that Snape hadn't noticed that he'd been avoiding him all week. But he seriously doubted it. The man missed very little, and was sure to be disappointed in Harry, both at getting two weeks worth of detention and at avoiding Snape simply because he didn't want to face that disappointment. He was showing very little Gryffindor bravery lately, and wondered if he shouldn't call himself a 'cowardly lion'. Harry laughed mentally at that, and Draco sent to him that his mind had too many Muggle-culture info. Harry stuck his mental 'tongue' out at Draco childishly.

Their playful banter was interrupted by Snape opening his office door. He motioned for Harry to go first, and followed him in afterwards. This made Harry very nervous, though he tried not to show it. He sat in the seat that was pointed out to him, and waited. He bit his tongue, as he was very tempted to say something fairly rude, and not at all self-preserving. He might not be in trouble at the moment, but if he were to say what he was thinking, he most definitely would be in trouble. Snape never let a student get away with bad-mouthing, even when that student was his ward.

Severus watched as the boy cautiously looked about. Harry was as skittish as a fawn, and Sev knew that he would have to be very careful while questioning him. He didn't want the very fragile trust the child had put in him to break. But he did need to know some things, and he wasn't going to let it go until he had the answers. The thing he needed to remember was to keep his temper. They both were too hot-headed for their own good, and that temper seemed to spark a flame in both of them. That was usually how most of their arguments escalated to unreasonable heights.

Harry sighed mentally, as the man was taking quite a long time to get to the point. Why had he had brought Harry down here, instead of just assigning him detention immediately on the spot? Or after a good tongue-lashing? Why take so long to say something? It disturbed him a great deal, for Snape was not one to hesitate in delivering punishment when catching a student out of bed after curfew. The man may treat Harry better then he had, but he was still a stickler for the rules. He said that it kept the students safe, and to break one was putting oneself in danger. Which, of course, was something Snape couldn't stand.

Severus finally decided to break the silence, and asked in a very gentle tone that he used rarely: "Why have you been avoiding me, Harry?" That got Harry's attention, and the boy looked up with frightened green eyes. Sev almost could see why, and he said "Was it because you thought I'd be angry or disappointed about the detentions?" When Harry nodded, the dour man almost chuckled, and said "Let me assure you, I'm not. Only concerned for you. Minerva might show it differently, but she also cares." Though thought Severus she could have done better by the boy then taking points. That is counterproductive in trying to get Harry to trust in adults. That had annoyed him greatly to find out that the Head Lioness had taken points from her own House because of a child's difficulty in keeping his temper in line. Of course, he hadn't said anything, but he had avoided Minerva for a good couple days after that event, letting her know that he had disapproved of her methods.

Harry, meanwhile, was stunned. The adults were concerned for him? That went against everything he had ever been taught. Though he should have suspected that Snape would be different then others, and he scolded himself for doubting the man. Hadn't he shown some of his mettle this last summer? He had definitely shown without a doubt that he would never hurt Harry purposefully, though some accidents were unavoidable. Also, they were fairly hot-headed, and tended to argue, which led to very sharp tongues, which cut off their owners lips just as they cut the receiver. More then once he had regretted arguing with Snape that summer, especially over small things. And he was very glad that the man wouldn't hurt him, as Vernon would have if Harry had said some of the things he'd said to Snape.

Draco sent to Harry ~Maybe you should tell him what goes on at your detentions. I don't know all of it, but they must be horrible for you to feel the loathing you do towards Umbridge.~ Harry sighed, and thought about it. Then he shook his head, knowing that there was nothing the man could do. The woman was too close to Fudge, and if she wanted to stay there, Fudge would make sure of it. The only one who might have had power was Dumbledore, but he seemed to be letting her have her own way. Besides, Harry didn't trust him, as the man had been avoiding his gaze since Harry had come back to the wizarding world. Harry didn't know why Dumbledore was doing that; all he knew was that it made him very unwanted, for some strange reason.

Severus, seeing that the boy was preoccupied, waited for a bit before saying anything more. He then looked a bit more carefully, as something was triggering his always alert senses. Harry was trembling slightly, and his eyes seemed to have shadows under them from lack of sleep. And he seemed to be keeping his hands hidden, though the left arm was a bit more tense than the right. Sev pondered for a moment, then said softly "May I see your left hand, Harry?" Again the fearful gaze, and a slight negative shake of the head. That hadn't proved useful, so he pondered some more. He had to get to the bottom of this, otherwise something bad might happen. How he knew this he wasn't sure, he only knew that it was true. And whatever happened would effect this boy, whom he had started to care for, the most.

Harry trembled slightly, and pushed the almost instant terror he had felt when Snape had asked about his hand. He was sure the man hadn't caught sight of it when they were coming down here. Then he realized he was tensing his left shoulder, and figured that was how Snape knew. Letting his muscle loosen, he suppressed a wince as the fabric rubbed against the raw, and likely still bleeding cuts. He expected more questioning, which he couldn't answer. His childhood conditioning still held him tight in it's grip. Don't tell, lest your life become even more a misery. He didn't trust Umbridge not to be the same as Vernon on that count.

Sev grinned mentally, finally figuring out a way to find out what had happened that the boy refused to show his hand. He called to the kitchen, and ordered tea and biscuits. If he had to play the trick hand, he would. He wasn't above it, and it might just cause Harry to become incautious. That was what he was hoping for, and he offered the boy a cup of tea. It was accepted, and they sat in quiet contemplation of each other. The child at first refused a biscuit, but he eventually took one with his right hand. Severus nodded encouragement, all the while hoping that Harry would lose that instinct to guard a secret. It might happen, it might not, but he knew that he couldn't force the matter.

Harry watched Snape warily, before testing the biscuit he had chosen. He could sense no difference in taste, instead discovering that it was quite delicious. They continued like that for quite awhile, before Harry made one big blunder. While still holding the tea in his right hand, he reached for another of the amazing biscuits. Before he realized what he had done, and could pull the hand back, Snape's larger, though slender, hand grasped Harry's left hand. Harry looked up quietly, unwittingly displaying his dismay in his brilliant green eyes.

Severus nearly winced backwards from the look in those eyes, but he knew better then to let go. Not when he had managed to get the boy to settle down enough to make a mistake. Putting down his tea-cup, and gesturing for Harry to do so as well, he looked intently at the handkerchief wrapped hand. Though the thing was white, it was almost completely blood stained on the back of the hand portion. Feeling that he had to look at the cut to determine if it needed cleaning, he began to slowly unwrap the boy's hand.

This, of course, caused Harry to jerk in an attempt to pull his hand from Sev's grip. He, in turn, held on long enough to make sure the boy wouldn't get the hand away before he had inspected it. When the handkerchief had finally come off, and Severus had a proper look at it, he almost wished he had allowed Harry to pull away. But that thought was lost with the rage that surged through him on the sight of the words on the boy's hand. How dare that bitch use a Blood Quill on the boy? Those items had been banned for a reason. And when Sev felt the shaking that Harry was trying to suppress, he felt another surge of rage, before finally getting control of himself. This act would not go unpunished, he would make sure of that.

Harry flinched slightly seeing the rage upon Snape's face. But when the man got up and went to the fireplace instead, Harry realized that the anger wasn't directed at him. Or at least he hoped it wasn't. When the Professor tossed powder Harry recognized as Floo powder, and shouted into the Floo "Headmaster's office, Hogwarts, Phoenix cannon balls.", Harry shivered slightly. He could alternately be in trouble, or have gotten an adult in trouble (and in turn be in trouble from that adult.) He just hoped that everything would be alright, though he seriously doubted it.

Severus had rolled his eyes briefly at the new password that Albus had chosen. Honestly, hadn't the muggle cannon ball candy been hot enough? But he shrugged it off in favor of asking the Headmaster if he would consent to stepping through. The man agreed, and was soon in his office. When he saw Harry, he gave Severus a look. The dour man glared back quietly, and said for only Albus' ears "Don't assume to accuse me of setting the boy detention on top of a detention. Look and see before you jump to conclusions." He was grating that the man had even considered that he would punish Harry for being caught after curfew because of detention. He may have done that before, but not this year. The only time his mask was truly up was during the day where his Slytherins might catch him and report should he show any kindness to the child he had claimed to hate for the past four school years.

Harry looked away as the Headmaster examined him carefully. There was no point in denying it now, and besides, he was too tired to fight any more. Though he was tempted to look up at the horrified gasp that had escaped Dumbledore's mouth, he resisted. Instead he tried to calm Draco down, who was raging and cursing mentally. This, of course, got him told off by the other boy for not going to anyone before it got this bad. He said in his defense that 'how was he to know it would get this bad.' That only seemed to make Draco even madder, but before the blond could scold him some more, Harry pulled away from the conversation to look up at the two Professors through his fringe. They were talking to each other, both very angry, though not at him apparently. Snape, surprisingly, seemed to be having difficulty keeping his temper. Harry wondered at that, but shrugged it off. There was nothing more to do then just wait for the conversation to be over. He assumed that would be when they would confront him about the detentions, and he was dreading it. Instead of concentrating on that, however, he worked on calming his troubled mind. He suspected that he would need to have all of his wits about him when the time came.

Last time:

There was nothing more to do then just wait for the conversation to be over. He assumed that would be when they would confront him about the detentions, and he was dreading it. Instead of concentrating on that, however, he worked on calming his troubled mind. He suspected that he would need to have all of his wits about him when the time came.

Severus growled mentally, frustrated beyond belief at Albus' stubbornness. The old fool was steadfastly trying to de-rail any attempt made to even approach the Toad on this heinous matter. While the Headmaster might agree that something had to be done, he didn't wish to ruffle the Ministry's feathers anymore than what they already are. Damn the Ministry, and their ruffled feathers! This crime could not go unpunished. The child had been through enough as it was, he did not need the few adults he trusted proving him right in his assumption that the older generations were not to be trusted. Especially after the effort Harry had made this summer to try and overcome his hatred of the Potions Master. Severus knew better than any how tenuous trust was, and how precious. He would not waste this chance to solidify said trust. He just wondered how he was going to achieve that goal; Albus' refusal made it even harder for him to do just that.

Harry watches the argument quietly from where he was sitting. Though he didn't understand quite what it entailed, he knew it was about him. He caught some words like `Toad` and `Ministry`, though that was pretty much it. He didn't quite know what to make of that, though he suspected they were trying to figure a way around the Ministry to get at Umbridge. He winced as he felt Draco's almost instant interest in the subject. His BondMate sent ~Tell them what we were told about the bracer. The SoNA may be able to help in this matter!~ Harry sighed, but knew it was only truth that Draco said. He then tried to get the adults' attention, though he was very nervous about the whole process.

Severus blinked slightly as he heard Harry's soft voice trying to get their attention. Turning away from the stubborn Headmaster, he looked at the boy. The child appeared nervous and unsure, though there was a spark of something within those green eyes. Had one of the two thought of something? Going over to Harry, he knelt down to listen to what the child had to say. What was said was almost too incredible to believe. It turned out that the SoNA bracers could be used as communicators, in a way, and that Harry could contact Sel whenever he was in need. Smiling just enough to encourage the boy, he motioned for the Animagus to continue.

Harry just barely returned the smile, and pulled up his sleeve to reveal the bracer he'd been given after is Animagus test. He gazed at it lovingly, as it was a firm proof that he was never alone anymore. Shaking himself out of his maudlin feelings, he began to tap in the sequence he'd been taught. A cheetah's running beat on the paw print, then a double tap on the bird's talon, then three taps on the paw print again. The first two sequences on the paw print and talon were to signal who was calling. The last sequence was the message: one would have been in need of assistance, two would have been growing emergency, but three was 'Come ASAP!' The amount of taps often determined the speed of a SoNA official to come to the aid of the member in need. The three taps were only used in dire emergency, when it was needed for someone to come within five or so minutes of the call. Harry figured that this was a dire enough emergency, as they wouldn't wish to wait and have the Ministry get wind of what was going on before Sel could reach them.

Severus watched his Floo with expectation once Harry had finished 'dialing in' the message. So it was with no surprise that the fire turned green some five minutes later, or that the slender form of Selene stepped out of the fire. The leading SoNA member of the Britain branch had a look that would have done Albus, at his fiercest, proud. Her eyes were hard, and there was a determined look to her face. She glanced over all three of them, before her eyes landed on Harry. She was by his side in an instant, checking to see what was wrong before anyone had even had a chance to speak. When she had seen the damage the Blood Quill had done upon the boy, she seemed even more infuriated.

"I'm going to call my herd members. Once they are here, they can help Harry, both with the damage done to his body, and with retrieving the memory of the use of those Quills. We'll need that memory. I will also be contacting Fudge, as he will need to be here shortly. Albus, get some of the faculty together and guard that woman! We can't have her escaping or contacting Fudge before I can!" Her tone left no doubt about her righteous anger, or her determination to get the Toad convicted of her crime. She had far more power in this matter then Fudge did, and Fudge knew it. This was a big breach in the treaty if he didn't act upon one of the most major laws that had been put in place for the protection of the SoNA members.

Albus sighed mentally, knowing that there was nothing he could do about this. He nodded to Severus, and Flooed back to his own office. Once he was gone, Sel used the Floo to contact two of her herd members. When they came, they were directed over to Harry. One was a petit female, little taller than Harry, with jet black hair and liquid brown eyes. The other was as tall as Sel, and as thin. But she seemed to be half the age of the ancient leader. This was the one who set about healing the nerve damage and wounds the Quill caused. No one spoke much, though Sel had departed with a few words to Severus to stay put for the moment.

Severus did as he was asked, mostly because he didn't wish to leave the child that was starting to grow on his heart alone. Instead, he pulled up a seat, and sat as close as was possible to the trio of Animagus. Harry seemed cowed by the adults around him, but he behaved as well as he could. He was reluctant to give the memories up, but was finally cajoled into doing so by Draco and the other two Animagus. It was a relief, however, to finally feel his body stop shaking. Until that point, he didn't know just how much damage had been done to his body by the last detention and that Quill that looked like basilisk venom. He idly wondered, in the back of his mind, just what Sel was going to say to Fudge to get him to listen and agree when it concerned the one Fudge had been calling a liar all summer. He needn't have worried on that count, for Lune's Alicorn was giving the Minister a piece of her mind.

At the Ministry of Magic, Fudge's office

Selene grinned quietly to herself as she managed to get into Fudge's office with little trouble. The secretary had easily recognized her, and was reluctant to do anything that might anger the Animagus. Not that there was anything the poor secretary could do that would anger Sel further. She was already extremely pissed about Fudge's attitude towards Harry. The newest Animagus members were just children, and that fool had the gall to put that Toad of a woman in charge of teaching Defense at Hogwarts. So it was with understandable anger that she stormed into Fudge's office. The man himself looked surprised, and displeased, to see the SoNA official at this late hour.

Sel, grinning, spat at him "Oh get that scowl off your face, Cornelius, unless you wish me to stick it there. You've messed up again, and this time you're going to have to bow down to the wisdom of others; unless you truly wish to break the treaty with us!"

This, of course, had Fudge paling instantly. The man knew that it was only because of the ancient treaty that the SoNA members didn't mess with affairs of state. If he angered them to the point where they considered it a breach of trust, his term in office would be over, and the Ministry would be under their control. They had made sure that was intertwined with all the laws they had written together with the first Minister of Magic. It had been to both party's benefit to make and keep the treaty for so long. Fudge was the only one since that had come even close to returning the Ministry to the time before the treaty. As this was not what he wanted, he agreed to at least listen to Selene. Though, he didn't think he would much like what the woman had to say. That was the understatement of the century, as he would truly despise what Selene had to present before him that ominous night.

Last time:

Fudge was the only one since that had come even close to returning the Ministry to the time before the treaty. As this was not what he wanted, he agreed to at least listen to Selene. Though, he didn’t think he would much like what the woman had to say. That was the understatement of the century, as he would truly despise what Selene had to present before him that ominous night.

Selene instantly saw that Fudge was willing to at least listen. She sighed mentally, and gathered her thoughts. She then said in a pointed voice “Umbridge has committed the most grevious of crimes: the abuse of a child. Now, you know better than most that SoNA would not get involved if it was just any child, any student. But this student was put under the protection of SoNA this summer, and still she misused her power as an adult and a teacher.” The animagus' eyes glittered with barely suppressed anger. The more she thought about what had happened, the angrier she became.

Fudge grimaced slightly, as he knew what the implications of that were. Abuse of a SoNA member, especially a child, had severe consequenses. By the rules of the treaty, Selene could have Umbridge sentenced to life in prison, or even execution. It depended on the severity of the abuse. He said in a last ditch effort to keep his Undersecratary from getting into major trouble “Perhaps she did not know the child was a SoNA member?” He winced at the look of pure fury that crossed Sel's face.

Sel had to use every ounce of control she possesed not to snarl at the Minister. She instead said in a tightly controlled voice “You utter incompotent nincompoop. There are two reasons why the statement you said was totally idiotic. One is the fact that SoNA alerts all relevant ministry members of all new additions to the group. Second is the fact that it shouldn't matter whether the child is or not. No child should have to go through the torment of abuse at the hands of someone more powerful than they.” At the end of her lecture she was practically radiating anger. Had she been in her animagus form her ears would have been straight back against her skull.

The Minister barely kept himself from flinching away from the furious animagus by a hair. He thought about it for a minute or two, before realizing that she did have a point. Besides, he didn't want to be kicked out of office because he breeched the treaty with his stupidity. He sighed, and said quietly “What would you have me do then?” His eyes were wary, and he tensed slightly, fear starting to perculate through his stubborn brain.

Selene barely suppressed a smirk, eyeing Corneilus with something akin to contempt. She said in a tone she would use if talking to somebody with limited mental facilities “A simple matter of attending that woman's trial will suffice. You can be there to prove we do everything by the book, while also showing that you do not condone what she has done.” Her eyes sparkeled with an almost malicious glee. Umbridge would forever be taken out of the picture (which they'd been trying to do for many years), and Fudge would have it drilled into him that he could not do whatever he pleased when it involved the children of Hogwarts.

Fudge nodded slightly in almost instant agreement. That planned worked fine for him. He could make sure justice was upheld, while also appearing as if he gave a whit about the children. Lucius had had it right in the beginning, though it had been rehprehensible of him. Corneilius Fudge was most goded by power and money. He could care less about what happened to children, especially the freakish Natural Animagi. They were little better then the tainted werewolves, and while he didn't have Dolores' extent of hatred to anything half-human, he was still predjuidiced against those that refused to stay in a fully human form. Never mind the fact that to many Animagus, transforming was as natural as breathing, or that werewolves couldn't stop the transformation. They were both as bad as the other in Fudge's eyes. But it wouldn't do to let those who had the power to stop him know his attitudes. Especially not the SoNA.

0o0o0o

Harry blinked quickly as he swayed in his chair. The memories of the detentions had been taken for proof of what had happened, and it seemed that the adults were merely waiting for the return of Sel. The raven-haired child was tired, however, and he longed for the comfort of his bed. He suspected, though, that he might wish to stay awake, at least long enough to see the Toad get hers. Draco was telling him that he should go to bed, and it was unlikely that the trial would be held before he could wake up. Instead of listening to him, Harry spoke aloud something that had been bugging him “How can Madam Sel even know that she can influence Fudge into doing what she wanted? I don't remember reading anything to the point that she can influence the Minister.”

The one who was as tall as Selene, who had called herself Ivy, grinned slightly. She said “It all has to do with the Treaty.” Seeing the boy's further confusion (as well as Severus' hidden puzzlement) she grinned further and continued “Tari can answer you better. I'm simply a healer, not a historian like she is.”

Tari glared at Ivy, and muttered something about 'medlesome herdmates'. She sighed, then began to speak in a very gentle voice “The Ministry is young, younger than Hogwarts by about six hundred years. SoNA on the other hand, as been around since two hundred years before Hogwarts was founded. As the first Natural Animagus was seen at shortly after the time of Merlin, it is no wonder that SoNA is so old. Anyways, when the Ministry was formed, the first Minister that was elected was a very paranoid and predjuidiced individual. This was near the time of the Inquisitions, when the Muggle priests were persecuting all they thought were heretics or had magic of sometime. But few realize that wizards had their own Inquisition going. They were hunting down werewolves, and any others they considered half-human. The First Minister put Natural Animagus on this list, which would prove his downfall.

“Now, NA's are a powerful, if secluded group of humans. But there is always a price to power. Because they get their ability to transform through suffering some sort of trauma while still remaining bitter free, they cannot take any negative feelings once they are realized. Thus, the persecution of Natural Animagus slowly dwindled the pure numbers. Those that didn't die outright, went mad from grief, pain and bitterness. A mad Animagus is a dangerous one, though the Ministry found out nearly too late. At that time, there were far too many of us for the normal wizards to totally stomp out. We had suffered our share of tragedy from the Muggles, as well as the persecution of our families from the Ministry. So, after the First Minister died, the Second Minister elected quickly made a treaty with the remaining SoNA members. And one of the very first laws on that Treaty is that no SoNA member is to be abused by anyone. Especially the newer members under the heel of an adult. That is why Umbridge's treatement of you is so deplorable, and why Fudge will not risk breaking the Treaty just to support her. He will not risk things going back to how they were before the Treaty.” Tari came to a stop, and drank a long drought of water from a glass Severus had given her about half way through her story.

Professor and student looked at each other, stunned. Neither one knew about this information, and from the way Draco was ranting, neither had he. The little group in Severus' office grew quiet, contemplating on what had just been said, and what might be happening. They had no way of knowing that events were happening a lot quicker than they might if SoNA hadn't gotten involved.

0o0o0o0

Dolores was an impertinant and impatient woman. She expected everyone to listen and respect her because of her position as Undersecretary. That was probably why it came as such a shock when, as she left her quarters to get her day ready at seven a.m., she found herself facing three angry Heads of House, and two other equally furious professors. She was about to ask what was going on when Minerva McGonagall, Head Lioness of Gryffindor House, stepped forward and said in her tightest voice that practically thrummed with fury “Dolores Jane Umbridge, you are hereforth under house arrest for the abuse of a student. You shall remain in your quarters until such time as a trial can be put together. May God have mercy on your soul, for I seriously doubt the SoNA will.”

Umbridge may have been a stupid woman, but not that stupid. She knew what would come from the Society getting involved. Which is likely why it did not surprise any of the teachers guarding her that she tried to escape from pure panic. They easily stopped her, and she was once again locked in her quarters. The Toad found out the hard way that Hogwarts had made sure she would stay there, as badly stung fingers could attest from futile attempts at the windows had proven. The predator had quickly become the prey, and the hawk that circled her was an unmerciful one. Umbridge's days were numbered to meer hours.

Last time:The predator had quickly become the prey, and the hawk that circled her was an unmerciful one. Umbridge's days were numbered to mere hours.

Madam Amelia Bones, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, was a strict, if fair woman. She was a no nonsense witch, and when she and the rest of the Wizengamot had been called to put on trial one Harry Potter for underage magic, she had been utterly annoyed. If it wasn’t for the fact that Fudge would have had no problem removing her from her spot if she’d even attempted to stop what easily could have evolved into a kangaroo court without Albus, she would have stopped it. She knew, however, that she would do the wizard society no good if she was out of a job, even if that job disgusted her sometimes.

More than one person knew that she could be somewhat grouchy when woken up at three in the morning, however, so it was with some surprise when Amelia answered a Floo call at that hour. The caller was none other than Selene, the head of the local Society of Natural Animagus branch. Selene rarely ever called Madam Bones, and when she did it was never for a social visit; particularly when the visit came at such an early hour. Amelia let the slim woman through the Floo, wondering just what it could be this time.

Sel greeted her host graciously, knowing that she needed to be polite if she was going to get the help of this particular woman. Amelia may not be one of the strict pure-bloods that considered the public before family, but she did appreciate respect as much as anyone of her age. So it was with slow and careful maneuvering of words before Sel dared to go to the heart of the matter. She need not have worried so much, for as soon as Amelia heard that she was to be one of the judges in the trial against Umbridge, who was being accused of child abuse, Madam Bones knew immediately that she was going to agree.

So, at five o’clock when the teachers were making sure Dolores wouldn’t leave her quarters, two women of about the same age went through the Floo to Hogwarts. One knew exactly what awaited them there, while the other only had the barest hint gleaned from the power of deduction.

Once they were through, Albus (who had been waiting for their return) convinced Amelia to have an early breakfast. Selene, on the other hand, started calling together five other leading SoNA members. She knew more than most that neither she, nor Severus or Minerva, would be able to sit at this trial no matter how much they wanted to. They were too close to the victim; therefore their judgment would be tainted with bias and favor towards Harry. So, the only way to get around that was for five other leaders and teachers to sit in, making a balanced section in each with Amelia acting as tie breaker if needed.

***

Ron Weasley was a good friend, though he wasn’t quite aware of it. Even with his faults, which were as numerous as any human’s, he still cared deeply for his friends. Harry and Hermione were as close to him as his own siblings were, and earned the same level of concern when they weren’t around or were otherwise occupied. So when Ron woke at seven (an unholy time to wake up in his opinion, but necessary if he wanted to make the Quidditch team that year) he was extremely worried when he noticed Harry wasn’t in his bed, nor did it look like he had even come back up to the tower after his detention with Umbridge.

The teen normally didn’t worry when Harry was gone this early, as his friend had important things to do (or had nightmares that he didn’t want his dorm mates to know about). However, Ron knew that Harry had not been in the tower when he and Hermione had to go to bed. They’d nearly fallen asleep in the Common Room waiting, and had finally decided to go to bed when the clock chimed two.

He felt bad for going to sleep instead of going to McGonagall, but he had barely made it up the stairs and into his bed the previous night. Now though, he wished he had, because something was not right. Harry always returned to the Tower, or at least left a message when he didn’t. Panic makes incredible things happen, which is how Ron Weasley, the typical teenager who was groggy if he didn’t get ten hours of sleep, was up and about and looking for his friend after only five hours of sleep.

***

Harry dozed quietly, having finally fallen asleep in the chair he’d been perched in for most of the night. Thankfully Professor Snape had transfigured the chair into something a little softer than the hard wooden chairs he normally had in his office. His dreams were undisturbed, though later he would wonder why. Especially as it hadn’t been a fully deep sleep one gets past the dream point. He would suspect something, but it was doubtful he would ever really find out.

Severus hid a grin as he watched his ward sleep, amused at the little bit of drool that was escaping Harry’s mouth. The two SoNA members had gone to see about bringing together the jury that would try Umbridge for her crime. They had gotten the message from Sel, and it hadn’t been that hard of a decision to leave seeing as the child had fallen asleep an hour before the call.

He worried about the boy, knowing that even with the healing the other two had given him the memories would still plague Harry. Indeed, he fully expected that if it hadn’t been for the presence of the Animagi, then the young fledgling would have had nightmares to wake the dead. This knowledge was why Severus was up at seven in the morning after a night of no sleep, cursing Voldemort, Vernon and Umbridge in his head roundly. If he had the opportunity, he would see all three of them hanged for what they had done to this teen. Until then though, he would have to be content with just watching over Harry and making sure the boy didn’t get himself into anything he couldn’t get out of. That was the promise he had made to Lily so many years ago, but now it was more so. Though he would never admit it, Harry had awoken his long dead heart. He had made his snarky Potions Master care.

Last time:

Though he would never admit it, Harry had awoken his long dead heart. He had made his snarky Potions Master care.

The trial of Dolores Jane Umbridge was held at twelve o'clock on the first Saturday of the semester. Those trying her were Professors Sprout, Flitwick, Burbage, Sinistra and Vector for the teachers. For the Society were the elder Animagus Derrik (America), Lukas (German), Aleta (Spain), Anfisa (Russian) and Jahi (Egyptian). In the middle was Amelia Bones acting as tie-breaker as well as overseeing the Trial as a ministry official.

Harry was seated with Selene, Ivy and Tari, as well as his own Bond-mate Draco. His friends, as well as the entirety of the fifth year were seated on the other side of the Dining Hall. The students who were not subject to the memory and information exchange that Harry and Draco shared had been made to swear an oath of silence on their magic. It was the only way that the Slytherin fifth years had been allowed in, as no one, not even their beloved Head of House, wanted those whose families were under the thumb of one Tom Riddle to have the opportunity or need to spread the news to him, or the papers what this trial was about. If they had, it would have been a miserable time for all concerned, including the Slytherins though they didn’t know it at the time.

Fudge was seated with the Teachers up front, his face grim. He knew better than most that the defense attorney, while forced to argue against the evidence that proved Dolores guilty, had no love for either her or the Ministry. The attorney had even made clear to Cornelius that, once the trial was over, he was retiring from the lawyer business. He had made enough money with other, more respectable clients, to do so, and he wanted to spend time away from the dirty business of politics. That included looking for love, a thing which the attorney (one Robert by name) hated Fudge for ruining for him.

So it was no surprise then, what with all the evidence and the reluctance of Robert, that Fudge quite suspected that this would be little better than a kangaroo trial. He wondered somewhat, if this trial was to be punishment for his trying to railroad the boy without a scrap of true evidence. It certainly seemed that way, though the truth was likely more to the fact that it was punishment for him trusting in a woman like Dolores. Prejudiced people were starting to become the minority these days, and a few brave souls were even beginning to speak out against the unjust werewolf laws. Souls that had no connection to a werewolf, besides a feeling of sympathy for the suppressed.

Harry and Draco only listened with half an ear, standing and sitting when necessary. Most of their concentration was on each other; Harry was trying to sooth Draco’s ruffled feathers, and Draco was trying to convince Harry that he really needed to get help when he needed it more often than he did. They barely noticed when the small bit of evidence that the defense provided was shot down by the prosecution’s evidence. They did, however, notice when the judges entered Harry’s memories of those accursed detentions.

Harry truly had no need to fear that the Toad’s word would be taken over his. Abuse was a serious crime, in any society, and the SoNA defended its own. So it was no surprise to Selene when the judges came out of the pensive, all looking white, gray or green around the gills, and all having a furious light in their eyes. It did surprise Harry, but only for a short time. Then hope swelled inside him, for just an instant, hope that he would finally be believed after fourteen years.

Robert sagged mentally with both relief and defeat when the judges came out of the memory. He had, as the attorney for the defense, been allowed to see it, and knew that that one piece of evidence would be the end of the trial. There was no way the judges could find her not guilty after seeing what the horrid woman he was forced to defend had done.

The judges conferred for a short time, and then Madam Bones said “Has the bench seen all the evidence it needs to?” When they all nodded, she continued “All those in favor that Miss Umbridge is guilty?” All ten hands went up with fierceness that only half surprised her. Though she knew that there would be no hands, she asked the obligatory vote for not-guilty. Once that was over, she looked at Umbridge with an indifferent look. Speaking in a stern, ringing tone Amelia ended the trial “Dolores Jane Umbridge, you have been found guilty of the crime of child abuse against a member of the Society of Natural Animagus. The Society will give you your sentencing, but know this: if they are lenient on you, you will henceforth be a pariah, as maligned and hated as the werewolves you have condemned over the years.” She got up, and bid her fellow judges good bye, leaving the wretched woman to her fate.

As the teachers left, ushering the students out and off to do their homework or otherwise occupy themselves, Severus, Albus, Selene and her ‘herd’, and the five elder Animagus, remained for the sentencing of the Toad. Robert had left after telling Fudge that they were finished, and Cornelius had looked at Dolores with a half-sad, half-angry glare before abandoning her as well. The woman shivered in the accused box where she’d been brought at the start of the trial. She knew that her fate was sealed now, and she wondered just what sinister punishment the disgusting animal-shifters would come up with.

Though the Society was known for being peace lovers, they could hand out just punishment. However, they were having difficulty with coming up with one for the Toad. What she had done had been similar to what the LeStranges had done to the Longbottoms. The only blessed difference was it had been spaced out for one week, and the child had had an escape from the torture. It wasn’t so much the physical pain as the emotional battering he’d been put through as well. That, more than any bodily pain, would drive even an elder Animagi over the edge, much less a green one. A suitable punishment for Umbridge would involve the same type of pain, but that also put at risk those administering it. Jahi finally stated that ending the Toad’s life would be the best, even if it was too good for her. The others agreed, as it was a task more easily accomplished than any more creative ones. Execution was the usual end for a child abuser anyways.

Once the sentencing was past, the elders (including Selene) escorted the Toad out of Hogwarts and into the Forbidden Forest. Severus, Minerva, Harry and Draco stayed behind, while Albus followed them. Ivy and Tari left by Floo to mind the Curio shop while Sel was otherwise busy.

The eight people finally stopped in a secluded glen an hour later, though the place was really closer than that. The Toad had struggled as they came closer and closer to the spot that was to be her end, so it had taken them longer than it would have. Once there, though, it was a matter of a moment to set everything up, and Anfisa had the dubious honor of finishing the Toad. Those who had a weak stomach had looked away, though only Albus did so. He could handle a fight, but not such an execution on a human who was protesting as much as Umbitch was. So the only sign that the deed had been done was the whistle-smack-thunk sound that a beheading makes. When he turned around the body was disposed of, and only the live ones were left.

***

After the end of the Toad, most of the student population celebrated. Even after only a week they had started to feel the yoke of suppression. On Monday the fifth years were ready to face a new teacher. They were surprised to see Derrik, whom many remembered had been at the Trial of the Toad.

The surprise turned to joy as they learned that the first half of the class would be spent stretching and learning new spells, and the second half would be learning how to fence. Some were doubtful about this, mostly the Muggleborn and half-bloods, but they were all willing to try it. Especially when they learned that it could easily save their life if they didn’t have a wand on hand, but could find something, anything, that could be used as a sword.

So the fifth year Snakes and Lions practiced, working hard to learn all that Derrik had to teach them. Though many wondered what experience the man had in Defense to be stationed at Hogwarts when he was a SoNA elder, they said nothing. Harry in particular was eager to learn all he could about fencing, as he suspected he would have an easier time taking down the Dark Lord, should it ever come to that, with a sword than a wand.

Though the old pureblood families, those with money, had a distinct edge over the other students because of having the chance to learn some fencing as children, the Muggleborns were quick to pick it up. Derrik smirked to himself watching the students practicing blocks with the wooden practice swords. He knew, better than most of his England kin, that this year’s students would be a force to be reckoned with even by Christmas time; especially the newest SoNA members, Harry and Draco. Those two were working mentally together as Bond-mates should, despite the physical distance between them. Derrik’s thoughts as he watched the younglings were to the fact that Voldemort had better watch out, as his greatest enemy was steadily growing stronger, and would be ready the next time they met. At least he hoped so, with all his might.

Last time:

Derrik’s thoughts as he watched the younglings were to the fact that Voldemort had better watch out, as his greatest enemy was steadily growing stronger, and would be ready the next time they met. At least he hoped so, with all his might.

Harry had always been a bright student, though he very rarely showed it. After ten years under the Dursley’s heavy hand, particularly Vernon who couldn’t stand the thought that the ‘freak’ was smarter than his own little boy, Harry had long since learned to try to fail. And for a mind as brilliant as his, that was a frustrating thought. He had wondered sometimes if his mind had made it through his formative years. As he had gotten good grades for the past four years, however, he somehow suspected that it was fine.

Thus, once Harry was no longer under the strain of trying to hide his brilliant mind, the boy flourished. He began to study more, and goof off less (a fact that Ron despaired of). His mind drank in the knowledge he was given like a thirsty person drinks water. However, even with his extended studying, he still found time to practice both Quidditch and his fencing skills, as well as his hunting on weekends with Draco.

Despite rushing around, seeming as if he should break under the strain, the once procrastinator found he enjoyed getting his work done on time; such was his love for learning what he had been denied by both the Dursley’s and his own fear, that his grades improved rapidly. The first tests showed a stark difference between the first four years, and now; though he didn’t realize it, most of his Professors were kicking themselves that they hadn’t seen the obvious. The truth was hard to swallow: they had neglected to notice the fact that there was something innately wrong for a child of two brilliant people should make it through four years with mediocre marks.

And so a routine formed for Harry, Draco, Hermione, the Quidditch Teams, and the rest of the Fifth Year (including Ron). In spite of a few mishaps, like a misadventure involving a man-eating vine plant, magical porcupines, and polecats, things went normally for all involved. The only truly big exception was the worsening of Harry’s nightmares.

He had always found the visions disturbing, always wondering how supposedly superior purebloods could soil themselves with the blood of innocents; he found the nightmares more disturbing. It was an hour before dawn on Halloween that the nightmares came to a culmination of horror and denial.

~Harry watched with a feeling of dread growing in his midsection as a younger version of himself, not yet fourteen, watered and weeded the garden in the back yard. His younger self realized that he was out of something, such as water for the can. He had never been allowed to use the hose itself when only watering the garden, as there was too much of a risk that the high pressure would destroy the precious flowers.

Thirteen-year Harry sighed, and got up before grabbing the watering can. He then headed for the shed, which was a good few meters from the house. For a reason he could never fathom, the shed had a working sink with hot and cold water. Of course, this made the already small space even smaller, and the shed looked more like a barn work shed or a garage. If one didn’t know the paths between the piles of fertilizer, seeds and various objects, one could easily get lost in the shed.

The older Harry followed a wary pace behind his younger self, still unsure of what was going to happen. He didn’t remember this scene, though he had little doubt that it was one of his memories. The younger Harry was working at filling the can with water, grunting slightly as he struggled to turn the rusty faucet. Vernon had never fixed it, though it would have been in his best interest to do so. Harry always suspected that it had been pure spite on the oldest Dursley’s part.

It was as the just teenager started lifting the heavy watering can out of the sink that a sound came to both Harry’s ears. A sound he knew all too well: that of hopeless pleading. It was not coming from his throat, however, but from one he never thought would utter the words every abused child does ‘Please don’t, please stop’.

The younger Harry put the watering can back in the sink, and snuck outside and behind the shed. In the small space between the shed and the fence was Dudley being pressed against the shed wall by Vernon. With disgusted horror, both Harry’s saw that the younger Dursley was crying softly as large meaty hands groped in places inappropriate for any child.

Both Harrys bit back bile, though for the elder Harry it was for both the horror in front of him, and the knowledge that he had failed Dudley almost utterly. It was then that Harry (13) charged forward, doing something no one expected of him. He punched Vernon in the face. The man, distracted by his actions towards his own son, didn’t notice the unwanted burden until the fist had already landed.

Before Vernon could charge at Harry and punish him, the boy offered a deal to the man. It was one Harry was disgusted to do, but willingly offered if it meant his cousin never having to suffer abuse at the man’s hands. The offer was that Vernon would leave Dudley alone, and instead would have Harry. Vernon agreed with maliciousness, but didn’t expect what came next. Harry (13) had gathered up his magic, and eliminated the memory of the scene that had just happened, as well as any scene similar to it that had happened before. Afterwards the younger Harry stumbled back to his room, exhausted, to await Vernon as well as to block from his own mind the horror of what he had just witnessed.~

Harry awoke choking on his blanket, his heart racing. Pulling the blanket out of his mouth, he silently rushed to the bathroom to sick up. He felt dirty again, like he had felt after Professor Snape had just rescued him. Instead of taking the longed for shower, however, he pulled out a journal he had kept since he joined Hogwarts. He easily found the passage that confirmed his nightmare, and he strengthened his shields, grateful that he had prevented any thought of what had occurred from escaping to Draco. He would hide this until he could better deal with it.

***

Harry was groggy throughout the day and irritable even to his friends. He wasn’t quite sure why he was pushing them away, but it came as naturally as it ever had. The only two who weren’t fooled were Draco, and Luna. His Bondmate he could expect, but the girl came as a surprise. His feelings for the younger girl had grown stronger, much to the amusement of Draco. Despite his embarrassment over the teasing the other boy had given him, he was grateful for the support that she showed him.

Ron and Hermione tried to talk to him, or otherwise get him to open up a little, but even patient Hermione finally got irritated at the harsh rebuffing. By the time classes were over, neither of his friends were talking to him for the day, which was exactly what Harry wanted. So why did he feel so miserable about it?

Instead of going to the Halloween feast, which always got under his skin anyways, he went to the Come and Go room, which Dobby had showed him with great enthusiasm after being asked where two students could study in private. In that room he and Draco, who had followed him, began to go through the steps of the most recent ‘kata’ they had been shown in fencing. It wasn’t a kata like in martial arts, but it was still a series of moves strung together that formed a sort of dance. Should anyone look in on them, they would see the two practicing the same beautiful if awkward movements on opposite sides of the room.

It was as they faced each other to practice their defensive and striking moves that the worse happened.

~Harry’s mind was drawn into Nagini, who had been sent down the hall he’d been dreaming about. The boy could somehow sense that she had gone far too early, that her master was becoming desperate. Unable to pull away from the vision, he was dragged along as the snake made its way towards the door that always avoided him in his dreams. He felt the snake start as someone leapt to their feet dangerously close to the serpent. As she was rearing back to strike, however, something sharp came whistling down. The serpent barely noticed a stinging feeling at the back of her neck. She did, however, notice when her strike failed because her head was no longer attached to her body. As she slipped into the cold embrace of death, Harry was pulled with her, though he struggled with all his might.~

As Harry fell, his mind being drawn ever closer to death, Draco cried out in horror. He grabbed his Bondmate, keeping him from hitting the floor hard. He then reached for the presence that he had grown so used to in only a few months. It was a struggle, but he managed to hold on to his friend, refusing to allow him to follow Nagini in death. He then called Dobby, asking the elf after it had popped to him to bring Professor Snape quickly, that it was a most dire situation. For once Dobby listened to the Malfoy heir who had made his life a nightmare while he lived with them. Though he disliked Draco, Dobby knew that Harry was more important, and it was the loyalty the elf held for the boy who had freed him that made the little house elf quicker than normal, popping directly to Professor Snape without hesitation.

Last time:

Though he disliked Draco, Dobby knew that Harry was more important, and it was the loyalty the elf held for the boy who had freed him that made the little house elf quicker than normal, popping directly to Professor Snape without hesitation.

It is a well-known fact: that fear for one’s charge can create amazing results. After all, it is not unheard of for a mother, from the rush of adrenaline, to pull a car single-handedly off her little boy or girl. This is likely the reason that Severus, the stone faced Potion Master, was seen speeding up to the seventh floor as if the devil himself were on his heels.

His heart hammered, his mind urging his body to go faster. Though he would deny it later, when he had heart Dobby’s whispered urgent message, he felt as if someone had socked him in the stomach, as well as feeling that his heart had stopped beating. Then, without pre-amble, he made his excuses with Albus before leaving the Dining Hall in a swift stride. It wasn’t until he’d made it to the second floor that he really took off, however.

His thoughts were along the lines of the fact that he couldn’t lose Harry, that the boy had better not die on him after he’d rescued him that summer. Despite the fact that he was travelling faster than any human, even a wizard, could truly achieve with only running, he was spending very little noticeable energy. The adrenaline rush likely wouldn’t die down until after he knew for sure whether he could save Harry or not. Then the exhaustion, and pain, would hit him full force, and he would be more than willing to lie down for the night with a pain reliever and Dreamless Sleep.

As Severus reached the seventh floor corridor, he was pleased to note that someone had had the foresight to open the door to the Room of Requirement. It made it far easier for him that way, than if he'd had to pace the three required passings. It also saved time, which they were incredibly short on. He slowed as he reached the door, his breath barely coming in gasps despite the fact that he'd made it there in half the time normally required.

Entering the room, he was not surprised to see Draco holding tight to Harry, a look of intense concentration on his face. It was obvious to Severus that the boy had been fighting to hold on to his BondMate since the event had happened. Without preamble, or much warning, Sev glided over to the two, and sat down next to them. He gazed at Draco briefly, and when the teen finally noticed him and relinquished his physical hold on Harry, he gathered the raven-haired teen in his arms.

The boy was still far too light, despite having had many months to put on weight. He was definitely built to be a Seeker, as well as a cheetah. Shaking his head mentally, he concentrated on making a connection with Harry. This of course required him to gently open the teen's eyes so he could create the link. He was as gentle as possible, but the awareness that should be there was missing. He began his search for the boy's soul, the awareness that had been ripped from the body when the snake had been killed.

He soon found the break, looking much like a sword cut. He also noticed a band of light that shot out into space, but came from Draco. Following this light, Severus was able to find the injured consciousness. He tapped into it, knowing that he had to be careful lest the temulous hold that Draco had on Harry was shattered. As he finally made the connection, his mind was assaulted with both pain and the continuous mantra 'I am dead, I have died'.

Severus had never seen such a case, despite his expertise in the field of mind magics. However, he pushed aside his concern and bemusement in order to concentrate. He began slowly to rebuild the torn connection between the body and soul, while telling Harry that he was not dead. Though it was difficult, a definite up-hill battle, his showing the teen all the proof that he was indeed alive finally got through to the boy. Once Harry was convinced, it wasn’t long afterwards that he finished reconnecting himself to his body with Sev’s help. The wound was healed, but a scar remained.

Once Harry finally woke up, he was gently assaulted by a concerned Draco, who demanded to know that his BondMate was alright. Despite his assurances to the other teen, Harry found that he had a shadow all the way to the Infirmary. There, he was checked over by Madame Pomfrey, who declared him fit but told him to get some sleep. He took the Dreamless Sleep she offered him, and walked back to the Gryffindor Tower, escorted by both Draco and Professor Snape (who said he was only there to make sure the boy didn’t cause any trouble). He bid them both good night when they reached the Fat Lady’s portrait, and headed to bed, grateful for the potion.

Draco was sent off to bed, though he looked somewhat mutinous at the thought. He did obey, however, and Severus went to Albus to inform the Headmaster of the latest development. He knew without a doubt that this event meant the early start of Occlumency lessons and a long end of term for both Harry and Draco.

***

Harry groaned softly to himself as he walked in from Quidditch practice, bundled up as tight as could be. It was the first week of December, the last month having passed even faster than September and October had. If he had thought he had been busy before Halloween, he was sorely mistaken. With the introduction of Occlumency to his and Draco’s schedule, it meant less time for other things. They managed to have some fun, but it was few and far between.

He started heading up to Gryffindor Tower, eager to enjoy the rest of the Saturday by the fire, even if it was to do homework or study. As he reached the sixth floor, however, and the split off from the two House Towers, he managed to glimpse a group of older students surrounding what appeared to be a younger one. Walking over on cat-like feet, he got close enough to see what was happening. There were four sixth year students, and they had formed a semi-circle around an all too familiar blonde: Luna.

Harry hated bullying, his feelings stronger than most because of his upbringing in the Dursley house hold. So when he saw that someone was getting hassled by older students just because she was different from them filled him with righteous anger. The fact that it happened to be the girl he was feeling a bond towards only added to that anger.

Moving over to the group quietly, his anger causing his magic to trail behind him like wings, he pushed his way between the sixth years and the smaller fourth year. He glared at them, and hissed “Aren’t you proud of yourselves, picking on a weaker student?” One of them, a stocky Ravenclaw, replied “What’s it to you, Potter? She isn’t one of yours.”

Harry’s magic flared before settling back into the winged formation it had taken on. He hissed “Besides the fact that you’re showing very poor House loyalty, she is a friend to me, by her own choice!” His lips pulled back in a wordless snarl, and he bit out “And even if she wasn’t, that is no excuse to pick on a weaker student. I claim her as being under my protection!”

The stocky Ravenclaw replied in a sneer “Under whose authority, Potter? We are not your subjects!” Harry growled mentally, and lifted his left arm. Pulling up his shirt sleeve (despite the risk involved) he bore his SoNA bracer proudly. He said in a voice that almost literally hummed with power “As a member of the Society of Natural Animagus, I claim her as under my protection!”

Though the Treaty with the Ministry was only involving the workers of said party, there was an unwritten custom that every SoNA member knew, as well as most pureblood children: that any person who a SoNA member claimed under his protection was also under the protection of the entire Society. While this normally only extended to the member’s friends, it had often been used in the past to protect a future prospective mate. So, once the older students saw that Harry was a Society member, they grumbled and growled but left the two alone.

Harry turned to Luna after that, asking softly if she was okay. She smiled her mysterious smile at him, and replied that she was indeed okay. She then did something totally unexpected: she gave him a light peck on the cheek before moving away. He stood there bemused, and sensed that somehow she also felt the growing connection between them. Though he was stunned at what she had done, his heart soared with gladness, causing Draco to chuckle at him over their link.

***

As Christmas neared, and nothing untoward happened, Harry began to hope things were going to end for the semester quietly. His studies were coming along smoothly, his mind rebuffing Professor Snape’s attempt at intrusion, his fencing and spell work improving immensely. And yet things were not to stay quiet for long, and on the day of the last Hogsmeade visit before Christmas, something unexpected happened that would turn Harry’s life upside down.

Last time:

And yet things were not to stay quiet for long, and on the day of the last Hogsmeade visit before Christmas, something unexpected happened that would turn Harry’s life upside down.

In years to come, Harry would look upon this day as both a curse and a hidden blessing. He had gone down to the Potion Master’s office to attend his last Occlumency lesson before next spring, when a terrible surge of pain attacked his scar. Even when he rammed up his Shields, he was not able to block of the feelings of anger that flickered at him from his forehead. Once the pain ended, however, he moved much more swiftly to the office; only to find that the Professor was reading himself to leave the castle, dressing in his Death Eater garb.

Severus would never understand what possessed the young man to attempt to either go with him at least to Grimmauld place, or to attempt to protect him in asking him not to go at all. Both scenarios were shot down as gently as could be, given the fact that both of them were in growing agony. At the end though, it was a sharp ‘No!’ that ended the argument. Afterwards he Flooed to Headquarters to give the message to the Order that the skirmish they had been waiting for had finally started, as well as to go join the Death Eaters in the attack (though not to fight on their side).

After Snape left, Harry stalked off, his mind awhirl in anger, and resignation that he was helpless to help anyone. He murmured to himself under his breath “You had better come back, Severus.” So distraught was he that he hadn’t even noticed that he called the man by name in voice and in his head. All he could see was the need to do something, anything, to keep himself busy. He then decided it was finally time to get out from under Scare.

Once he had finished telling his ‘employer’ that he was ready to do the collection run, and stuffing the new cloak in his bag, he went to find Luna. Draco mentioned that he had seen her in one of the classrooms just outside the Great Hall, reading a book and looking like she was waiting for someone. Making a beeline to that classroom, he wasn’t disappointed as he did indeed find Luna there.

As he entered the room, she looked up from her book, and smiled that beautiful smile of hers. The way she acted always made him feel as if she was waiting for him. Walking over to her on silent feet, he says softly “There is something I’ve been meaning to give you for a while now, if you will consent to take it?” He waited for her answer while fending off Draco’s curious probes. He needed to do this, for her protection as well as his own peace of mind.

Luna tilted her head, looking at him curiously. She smiled again, and agreed to accept whatever it was that he was going to give her. However, it came as a surprise when he pulled up his left sleeve, undid the catches on his bracer, and removed it. He asked her to pull up her right sleeve, and bear her wrist for him. She did so, still somewhat stunned (though her serene face showed none of her inner feelings). He closed the bracer gently over her wrist, and then shut the clasps.

“While the bracer is important to me, it is even more important that you have it. Please stay safe, Mothwing.” he murmured. She smiled at his pet name for her, and accepted his gentle peck on her cheek. As he left her, she looked in wonder at the bracer, and wondered what the significance was that he had given it to her.

***

An hour later

Harry growled softly to himself, pacing the length of the alleyway a tenth time. His partner had never come, leaving the teen high and dry in the cloak that signaled he was collecting. Sighing with frustration, he began the Run alone. Most of the customers knew him, though he was usually delivering the drugs, not collecting the money. Thankfully, though, up until the last one cooperated in giving the money.

As he neared the last house, he had to grab hold of the wall as a dizzy spell hit him, and his eyes began seeing crawling things. Thankfully it was weaker than it had been months ago, when Snape had taken away the alcohol. Drying up had been harder than the drinking, and Harry was somewhat proud that he had managed to make it four months without the stuff.

Once the spell ended, he continued to make his way to the last house. He suspected that this one wasn’t going to be easy, as his luck never continued to run smoothly forever. He happened to be correct this time, as the last holdout happened to be a man that didn’t appreciate a shrimp of a boy demanding money for a product he had bought months ago.

The ensuing fight, however, was brief, and Harry collected the money with minimal bloodshed. He had managed to leave the man alive, if a little beat up. However, once he entered into an alleyway to return to the allowed paths of students, he was confronted by his contact. Surprisingly, the contact was angry that Harry had not killed, and demanded to know why. The answer of not wanting to kill wasn’t taken well either.

Turning to leave with a sneer, Harry began to walk down the alleyway again. He was stopped by several cracks, however, as he found himself surrounded by no less than five Death Eaters. It became all too clear that his contact had sold him out, perhaps even Scare.

Try as he might, Harry was no match for five Death Eaters, and was taken down after ten minutes of hard battling. Though the commotion likely drew attention, by the time anyone reached the alleyway, he had been taken away from there. Within five minutes he was facing the creep lord himself, Voldemort.

The man was disturbingly happy to finally have ‘the Potter boy’ under his roof. However, when he noticed that Harry was in no shape to be in his presence, he demanded that the teen be placed with the other prisoner until he had recuperated from the hard battle. Thus, Harry was dragged away only to be tossed lightly into a cell within a cell. As he heard both the cell door shut, and the entrance door locked, he moved towards a wall to curl around his knees and preserve warmth. He barely noticed that there was a window high up, and it was one of the barred kind that can never be shut.

His concentration on how cold it was was broken when something stirred in the other corner. A familiar voice stated in an almost mocking voice (though it was more the accent of a rich person) “So, He finally caught you did He? We are all doomed then.” Harry’s brilliant green eyes gazed in horrified wonder at the sight before him. What had once been a properly groomed gentleman was now a ragged, grimy mess. But the cold gray eyes gave no doubt as to the person’s identity, even if the once white-blonde hair was nearer brown with caked on filth. Harry dreaded to think what he would look like, if as proud and rich a man as this one could be brought down to such a state.

Last time:

Harry dreaded to think what he would look like, if as proud and rich a man as this one could be brought down to such a state.

The first day the two males sat at opposite ends of each other, wary of being in close contact. Lucius also had a bit of vanity to beat down, as he was unused to being seen in such a grimy state. While they were fed and watered, it was never enough. Harry, though he was used to it, longed for the meals at Hogwarts, the same way he had the first day of summer break.

Thankfully, however, they were otherwise ignored that first day. Even if that was a small blessing, it allowed Harry to recuperate after the little skirmish he'd been through, as well as starting to gather his magic in one place behind a block. It was his little store, what he had used for the past two years to keep his magic from totally being depleted. It also allowed him enough control that he could cast some wandless spells with ease.

Night-time was uncomfortable at best, miserable at worst. As the temperature dropped, both men shivered. There was one pile of dirty straw, enough to bury a man Lucius' size, but not enough for Harry as well. And yet it was too cold not to be under the straw. So they compromised, Harry allowing the weaker and more poorly dressed Lucius to be under the straw, while he would cuddle up at Lucius' feet on top of the straw. It wasn't the most ideal of situations, and Harry longed to be far from it, but survival was top priority while captive.

The day dawned bright and cold, and the two were awoken by the craziest woman Harry had ever seen. She bore some superficial resemblance to Sirius, particularly the Sirius at the end of third year. Harry quavered slightly, and wished he could make contact with Draco. But being within Tom's territory made it so that Harry's Shield's were at maximum, and this also blocked off Draco to protect him.

The woman grinned slightly, and stated "The Dark Lord had given orders that you are to be taken up to one of the 'guest' rooms, Potter. You, Lucius, are to remain here." With that, she opened the door and led Harry out, despite his vigorous attempts to remain. He knew that it was better he remain in the cell than to be taken away where any number of sick things could be done to him.

***

Severus paced his quarters irritably, hating the fact that he couldn't storm off and rescue Harry. He had been 'assaulted' almost as soon as he'd come back from the skirmish, bruised and bloody, by an overanxious Draco who said that Harry had been snatched by Death Eaters. That, of course, had gotten his heart pumping faster than anything could after the battle.

Instead of questioning Draco further and wasting time, he went immediately to Albus to see if there was anything to be done. Only to be told that he would have to wait until he was called, as undoubtedly he would be when the final blow was to be struck. He almost cursed the old man out, holding back with extreme force of will. Once he was dismissed, he stalked off to his quarters to think and plan, as well as to release some steam.

It was on his sixth pace that Remus asked permission to come through. Severus allowed it, suspecting that he would need this distraction if he wanted to keep his head on straight. As Moony stepped through, Sev noted that he was carrying a rather thick envelope. The tawny haired man said softly "The lock broke today. I was told to give this to you if the lock broke early."

Severus gave the other man a look of incredulity, then warily took the envelope. Automatically checking it for any curses or hexes, he turned it over to open it. He nearly dropped it when he saw the fire lily stamp that sealed it shut. He knew that stamp, had helped her come up with it before the disastrous day during fifth year.

Opening the envelope carefully, so as to not destroy the stamp, he took out the letter. Unfolding it, he was surprised to see that so little was written, though the paper was of a thick variety. He began reading:

My Dearest Friend,

I had hoped that you would never have to read this particular letter, for it means that Harry, and the secret he carries, is in grave danger. However, before you continue reading, what was our expression for each other?

Yours,

Lily

There was a great big blank spot between the end of the paragraph and the letter ending. Severus sighed, and dredged up the old memory. He then spoke quietly to the letter "Cara Fiáin." It meant, Wild Friend, loosely translated. They had come up with it in second year, both acknowledging their inability to be tamed as well as their close bond. Going back to the letter, he was not surprised to see that the letter had changed and expanded.

Severus,

Now that I am sure it is you, there is something of great importance I must tell you. James was never Harry's sire, though he cared for him dearly. Harry's true sire never knew of him, or the act that had been done to conceive him.

How can that be, you ask? It is rather simple: when I had been married to James for a couple of months, something unexpected happened. I was drugged while enjoying a social drink at a party, and the man who said he would escort me home happened to be a Death Eater. Instead of bringing me home, he led me to a house where a man was lying on the bed unconscious. However, he too had been drugged, though his was the Lustful Somnus potion. It only took a quick Imperio by the Death Eater, and my already drugged mind was under his control, and my body forced to conceive Harry.

I erased the memory of the event from the Death Eater, however, and escaped to tell James what happened. Remus was there as well, and agreed to go and help the man who had been forced into it as well, unwillingly and unknowing.

Why do I tell you this, Severus? Well, the memory that is hidden within the paper should provide the answer. Whatever you discover and decide, however, please get Harry out of danger.

Love,

Lily

Severus blanched slightly at the story, and summoned forth the memory. He viewed it, confirming what happened, but was shell shocked when he found out who exactly the drugged man was. Coming out of the Pensieve, he looked at Remus with a haunted face. He hissed quietly "Those bastards have my son."

***

Harry grimaced quietly, forcing himself not to pound on the door to be let out. It was all he could to to hold the other at bay, and the distraction would have been too much. How they had come to hold Vernon captive, Harry would never know, but he was starting to get sick of the twisted face that promised retribution for something he had never done.

When Dursley said something off-color one time too many, Harry snarled "Shut up, kin traitor. You know something? You disgust me! Oh, I may have let you have your way, but do you know why? To protect Dudley, whom I caught being molested by you!"

Vernon turned an ugly puce color, and hissed that he never had done that. Harry countered that he had it in his journal, the one place he didn't have to lie. Harry's anger was such, however, that the magic he was using to hold the man back lashed out and felled the man as if a Stupefy had been cast.

The door opened shortly after, and he was escorted back to the cell he shared with Lucius. It had been a several hours, and not only was it near dusk, but Harry was exhausted by keeping Vernon from taking him again. Slumping against the wall, he took the piece of bread that Lucius held out to him.

The tense peace was not to last however, as Tom had clearly decided that there was another way to break the boy. Fifteen minutes after Harry had returned to the cell, a battered, bloody and beaten man was tossed in with them. Harry cried out when he saw who it was, and rushed to the man's side. His plea echoed the cell walls, his voice anguished "Sirius, don't die!"

Last time:

His plea echoed the cell walls, his voice anguished "Sirius, don't die!"

It had been several day's since Harry had been captured, and now it was a mere two days from Christmas Eve. The entire Order was up in arms, trying to get their plans together; but, however many times they made out a plan, they knew that they wouldn't be able to execute any of them until Severus had been called by Riddle.

This, of course, rubbed those who cared most deeply for Harry raw. Severus spent his days preparing his emergency medical kit, or pacing his quarters with Remus half-echoing him. Draco, Ron and Hermione were worried sick, though Draco had the benefit of knowing his BondMate still lived. Luna seemed to be the worse off, for despite her apparent smooth face, she was more withdrawn than ever.

They all hoped, planned and prayed that they would manage to get their friend back in one piece. Draco, sly Slytherin that he was, planned a little something extra. He made sure his sword was clean (they had finally obtained metal ones the day before the kidnapping), and his wand was ready for battle. He did not plan on being left out of the final battle in this war, not when his BondMate would be in the thick of it. Getting there, however, was going to be another challenge altogether.

***

Harry growled softly, pacing the length of the cell once again. They had taken Sirius, as they had done for the last several days. Each time they brought him back, the man was in worse condition. With all three wizards, they had managed to push back death, but they were all running out of magic outside of their emergency stock.

When Sirius wasn't in so much pain, however, he was good company for the two wizards. Though he had never gotten on with Lucius before this, they both realized that they were in the same position. Harry had been thrilled to hear that: except for Sirius, everyone else had gotten out okay. Even most of the Death Eaters (or pseudo-Eaters) had survived, even if they had been injured.

Harry turned sharply to the opening door, and Lucius looked up from where he was contemplating the floor. Two guards came in, one to open the doors and keep the prisoners in line, the other to drag a broken Sirius back into the cell. Harry growled low in his throat, and even Malfoy seemed to be incensed at the treatment the other adult had been given. Even if he had done the same in his time as a Death Eater, it was obvious to him it was only to hurt and break Harry, not get information from him.

Once the guards had locked the cell and room back up, Harry rushed over to Sirius. Attempting to put his hands on Padfoot's chest to run a diagnostic, he was surprised when he was stopped by the other Animagus. Sirius moaned softly, and said in a weak voice "Don't waste your energy, Harry. They did too much damage this time." Harry bit back a sob, eyes glittering in the fading light.

Padfoot was gasping for breath, his face pale as sweat and blood trickled through his hair to puddle around his head. He reached for Harry's hand, and said softly "I have something to...ngh..give you Harry. Please accept it, and get out of here." Harry took the hand, nodding quietly; what happened next surprised Harry to no end.

A glowing started at Sirius' solar plexus, a bright burnt orange color. It flowed up his arm into his hand and from there into Harry. As Sirius appeared to get weaker, Harry felt a jolt of power enter him, joining with his core of red/gold/green. After the power transfer, both were panting. Sirius managed to get his voice back enough to say "That's all I got kiddo. Now go and get yourself out of here!"

Harry shook his head, eyes half-glazed as a new wound was made on his psyche. With horror he watched his godfather take his last breath, the hand slipping from Harry's to lay on the ground. Biting his cheek, he closed his eyes tightly as all the memories he had of Padfoot ran through his brain.

He eventually shook himself out of his self-pity, tore a strip off of Sirius' clothes, and tied it around his hand as he had seen someone in a movie or two do (the few he'd been allowed to see). He then stood up, waved his hand to make Sirius feather light, and said "Can you carry him, Lucius? Once we are outta here, you can either leave, or follow me, but I don't want him left in this cell." The man nodded, picking up the corpse easily and with respect.

Harry turned towards the cell door, his eyes nearly black with controlled rage. He was not going to allow this act to go unpunished, even if it meant his death or insanity. Placing his hand over the lock, he easily broke it with the extra magic flowing through him. He then took a sliver of the metal off the lock, and picked the lock on the wooden door as easily as if he'd cast Alohomora.

With Lucius following the teen who was quickly becoming a young man, Harry stalked off to find Tom, his magic curled about him like wings forming a protective cloak. His eyes had a distinctly cat-like gleam, and his mouth was twisted into a snarl. He looked every part of his Animagus form, though he hadn't transformed since he'd been captured.

It wasn't hard to find Riddle, who was arguably the most powerful presence above the dungeons. So it was in a near blast of magic that Harry stormed into the 'Dark Lord's' throne room, looking for the world ready to nuke the entire place with one well aimed magic attack. He roared out as he strode forwards "Tom Marvolo Riddle, you coward! Are you content to sit there while your men try to whittle away my resolve? Or would you rather have it finished and done with for good?!"

Voldemort growled at his name, but looked intrigued at what the teen had said. He spoke in his sibilant voice "What, exactly, would that entail?" When he was told that it would involve a duel by swords, Voldemort agreed, and set the time of the duel for an hour before sun-set so they could both get ready. He also had to make sure his entire army was there to witness the defeat of his greatest enemy. Once Potter was dead, Voldemort could finish his conquest, and no one would stand in his way, not even the old fool.

***

The circle of Death Eaters surrounded the two who were facing off. So intent were they on the upcoming battle that none noticed the extra people, or a moving shadow who was gone when one's eyes fell upon it.

Harry held his sword in front of him in the preparation stance, noticing that Tom echoed him. He had summoned up the sword, somehow, as it was definitely his and not a generic sword. As the opponents faced off, the world itself seemed to hold it's breath. As they made the requisite bow to each other, both scanned for any signs of weakness.

Once the formalities were over, the two started circling, holding their weapons at the ready. It was Tom who finally got impatient enough to launch the first attack. With a flurry of moves, he struck out at Harry with his sword. He wasn't expecting each of his stroked to be met by a block, however, which threw off his balance.

That was all Harry needed, and stepping in quickly, he nicked Voldemort on the arm. It barely drew blood, and was more like a bee sting then anything. It did, however, show that Harry was more than capable of holding his own against his older opponent. For that, Harry thanked Derrik for teaching his class how to fence in an adequate manner.

It continued like that for several minutes, Harry getting nicks upon Tom, and dodging the other's attacks. A nick or two did hit the young Animagus, but nothing serious. However, Harry noticed that Voldemort had let his guard down far too much and was wide open. Taking advantage of the opening, Harry faked an attack at the lower region, then stabbed forward with all his strength when the 'Dark Lord' took the bait.

The sword hit his mark, and slid all the way in, up and out the back, till it was buried to the hilt. But Riddle had pulled his sword up just as the sword pierced him, so that Harry would be speared upon it as the momentum carried him towards the other.

The agony was intense for both of them, and their world turned black. As it grew lighter, Harry was surprised to see that, while he was still wounded, it didn't hurt half as much. But he seemed to be carrying something extremely heavy, and it was not his sword. When he looked down, he was stunned to realize that it seemed to be a ethereal soul of a sorts.

Though he normally would have concentrated on the soul attached to him, something drew his attention. He nearly passed out again as he saw a cloaked figure in front of him: Death. The skull inside the hood seemed to be smiling, and when he spoke, Harry knew the reason why.

"Ah, Harry. I am surprised to see you here so soon after our last meeting. Last time you were only a tiny babe, though. It is good to see you grew up, and found yourself a home as well." The skeleton seemed to chuckle softly, though it was very airy. Despite the over all scariness of Thanatos, he seemed to be somewhat friendly; at least he was to Harry. "I have to thank you, child, for finishing this one off. He made a deal with the Evil One, splitting his soul up. It has taken me this long to collect all his soul pieces. The one you have attached to you will also be removed."

Harry looked surprised, and looked down in half-disgust at the soul on him. However, by the time he looked down, it was already being removed, taking a fragment of his body with it. Thanatos sighed, and engulfed the soul with his cloak. He states "I'm afraid the deed needed to remove the soul from you, hurt you as well. I can take you with me, if you want, but you can also go back. I will tell you that if you choose to follow me, you will never see your family again."

Harry blinked, surprised at that. Then the images of his friends, BondMate, and of all people, Severus, flashed in front of his mind's eye. He grimaced sadly, knowing that Thanatos was right. Sighing, he said quietly "I would love to see those who preceded me, but...I can't leave them behind. Sir, can you send me back?"

Thanatos smiled softly, and nodded. With a flick of his cloak, he waved good bye, seeming to be moving backwards. Then Harry realized it was he who was moving backwards. He nearly got caught in the dark mist between death and life, but two shining flames brought him back to his body.

Groaning, he opened his brilliant emerald eyes, and was not surprised in the least to see both Severus and Draco kneeling above him from where he'd fallen away from Tom's sword. He smiled, firming his connection with Draco. Then, unable to withstand the pain in his body, slipped back into unconsciousness. He would fight for life, but he wasn't about to give up.

***

Harry awoke to the familiar sight of the Hospital Wing. Almost moaning with frustration, he noticed that the pain was almost non-existent. Fighting the urge to sit up, he felt at the wound, only to find it almost totally healed over. He chuckled mentally, thinking I love magic. He got a reply from Draco ~As do I, but if you EVER pull a stunt like that again, and I'll kill you myself I swear! Also, you were positive in giving Luna your bracer?~ Harry responded in the affirmative, chuckling when Draco 'rolled his eyes'.

Harry was brought out of his banter with Draco by Severus chuckling softly. He looked over at the man, and smiled slightly. He murmurs "I should have known. So tell me, how was it that both of you were at the final battle?"

Sev groaned, rolling his eyes sky ward. He told the story of how Draco, hidden under the blasted Cloak, had stowed away with the other apparating adults when he had been called. They had had to hold back while the duel went on, but when it looked as if it ended, the Order attacked and subdued the Death Eaters quickly. It was then that the Auror teams came in, late as usual. Instead of protesting or excusing themselves, they cleaned everything up and made sure evidence was given that Voldemort had indeed returned and was killed by Harry.

They also pardoned Sirius, which meant that Harry was now the richest wizard in England.

Harry didn't care about that, more concerned with the fact that Sirius was dead, and that the closest thing he'd had to a father had left him. Severus, however, threw one last surprise at him. He told Harry the truth of his parentage, which gave Harry a somewhat dizzy spell.

The most disturbing part of what he had been told was the fact that he was a child of rape, and he didn't really care. This man had showed him as much care as James likely had, and had been far better than the Dursley's. He was willing to accept Severus, tentative though the trust may be. He was just happy that Tom was dead, he had his family and friends (as well as a prospective mate in Luna), and he was freed from Scare's power. His heart sang the refrain to the sky's: his Running days were over!

Harry sighed, and looked sadly at the plaque that hung from one of the branches of the tree in front of him. His fingers gently traced the names of all those who had died so many years ago. He murmured quietly "I miss you all you know." Though there were other names, most of the memorial had been taken up by those he'd known and loved.

His thoughts traveled back to several years ago, when he was still fifteen. After the final battle, the wizarding world had been in an uproar. They had certainly not expected that Voldemort had returned, much less the fact that a teen wizard not in his majority would be able to slay him.

It also made things a bit hot for those who were not exactly following the law to the letter; the reason being was that many wizards were searching for hidden Death Eaters. Only two Death Eaters were not arrested, those being Severus and Lucius who had helped when most needed. However, for people like Scare and his little team of drug dealers, the end of Voldemort and the Death Eaters meant some hard prison time for all of them. The one who had sold Harry out, however, as well as Scare himself, were sentenced to life in Azkaban for putting another student's life in danger.

Harry looked up, smiling softly as he heard a little girl's voice pipe from the house "Grandpa! Granpa Harry, it's time to come in! Grandma Luna says that the guests will be here soon!" Chuckling softly, he lay the flowers near the memorial, then went over to pick up the red head with the emerald eyes. He said in good humour "She did, did she? Well then, we'll have to greet them, won't we Lily?"

His three children: Severus, James and Luna had grown up some time ago, and his grand-kids were now nearly eleven! While it was amazing to think that the four little ones he had watched over during busy times for the adults were going to be going to Hogwarts or another magical school soon, Harry was content to enjoy the Christmas holiday with his family.

The first people to Floo in was the four youngest Weasleys. The rest of the family, so they told Harry, were busy trying to finish a few surprises and would be along tomorrow for Christmas itself. This did not surprise Harry, as the older Weasley's tended to dally a bit, even Percy who was feeling very much his fifty-five or so years. Even wizards began to slow down a bit at sixty, despite the longer life span.

The next two people to pop up were unsurprisingly Draco and his wife, Hermione. How those two ever managed to get over their differences, Harry would never know. But they had, and now they were very much content with their love life, as well as their age. Harry sent to Draco ~Looking good, Ivory. 'Mione keeping you on your paws?~ Draco glared at Harry, and replied scathingly ~Haha, Onyx. Like Mothwing hasn't been keeping you in line as well!~

Harry blushed quietly, and turned away from the conversations to try and get his embarresment under control. He saw his beautiful, and still very mysterious wife, bringing the Christmas dinner together. His Mothwing, Luna; he loved her more than life itself at times. He only wished his two sons could be here. His daughter, who had been named for her mother, though her nickname tended to be Moon, was upstairs taking care of her other child, Lily's twin Violet. The poor youngster had come down with a cold a few days ago, and likely would be in bed the entire night.

His thinking was brought to a close as the final two people that were expected came through. Harry grinned as Lily shouted "Poppy Severus! Uncle Moony!" and squirmed down to greet two aged men. Both looked as old as Albus had, showing the hard life they had lived for many years. Yet both lit up like a flashlight at the sight of their great-grandaughter, who was the spitting image of her great-grandma.

Harry greeted his dad and Remus with open arms and heart. He then was called out of the room to help Luna set up the dinner. Responding in kind, he sighed with contentment to see the great big family he had. As a child coming from a house that had a small family, he had always wanted a large one. People he could call his own, and not be alone any more. He had gotten all that he hoped for. After all, fifty isn't so old that one can't enjoy their family and friends on Christmas Eve.