Shadow lay, half-dozing, after he finished grooming Viridian and himself. There were many things to consider about their odd predicament. Not much could be deduced about the potion, as he had no idea what potion Albus used or what he had done wrong. He also considered why he was able to regain all of his memories of being Severus, while Viridian had very few of being Harry.

He recalled a large man, possibly the uncle Dumbledore place him with, and he recalls abuse at the hands of that man. The name Severus Snape means nothing to him, so it is obvious he remembers nothing about Hogwarts. His behavior is rather odd as well. When we were transformed, Potter was eleven, almost twelve. He is a cub though, and a relatively young one at that. Perhaps that is the reason for his behavior and his memory loss. He is acting his age, which is younger because Viridian is younger, possibly four or five human years. It would follow that he has only regained his human memories up to that time.

Shadow huffed in annoyance, waking up fully. Considering theories is all well and good, but he has no way to test them. Cooperating with Albus will lead to being separated from Viridian, as Severus Snape and Harry Potter would never be able to tolerate being in the same room with each other, and Albus is unaware that anything has changed. Viridian would be unnecessarily stressed by that, and the stress could be detrimental to his well-being. There was also the problem that Shadow could regain his human shape first, because he regained his memory first. If that happened, how would he take care of Viridian then?

There are too many variables, Shadow thought, rising carefully so as not to wake Viridian as he began to pace. He paced for several minutes, trying to find a plausible way that they would be able to regain their human forms without the interference of Albus Dumbledore. There was no way that he could see, which annoyed him to no end.  I told him this would end in disaster; I told him. There is a reason I am in charge of brewing the school’s potions and not Albus. I would have double checked the recipe and ingredients before I even considered brewing it. He must have missed something, or added something in the wrong order.

The panther continued to pace, barely noting the passage of time as he tried to find a way out of the mess they found themselves in. He found himself wishing that his memories of Severus were slower to return, lamenting the peace he had found in animal form. As Shadow, his needs and wants were simple. Food and shelter, as well as protection for his cub. As he was perfectly able to provide all three of those things, his life was perfectly content, as was Viridian’s, as the panther cub had had no knowledge of abuse at the hand of another. Who would have thought that I would ever want to remain as an animal, but there is no denying that this life is much easier than one spent spying.

There was another possible consequence of this mess. Viridian was clearly younger than Harry was, in age and in mentality. What would happen when they found a way to reverse the transformation? Would Harry still be an eleven, almost twelve, year old boy in both mind and body? Would Viridian’s age affect Harry, making him younger when he re-transforms? That could potentially be a problem for Shadow as well, but Severus was closer in age to Shadow than Viridian was to Harry. At most, Severus would only lose a few years. He wouldn’t change much, but Harry….

Sleep, Shadow thought, going over to where Viridian lay sleeping and curling up around him. Sleep for now, and perhaps you will be better equipped to solve these problems when you are more well rested. Enjoy the time you have with your cub, while you can.