“You know the plan, correct?” Dougal asked, staring into the tall mirror in front of him.

               Moony walked over to Dougal, sitting at the man’s side and staring into the mirror as well, studying his scruffy wolf appearance. It was strange staring at his reflection in the dark forest. His eyes glowed green back at him from the reflecting light.

               “You really think the mirror of all things will catch him?” Moony asked, looking up at the man.

               “The only way to capture a shadow is to entrap him in a mirror,” Dougal said. “I know it will work. I’ve practiced it.”

               “You trapped yourself in a mirror?”

               “Heavens no. Once a shadow is trapped and the mirror is broken, there is no escape. The shadow is dead.”

               “You said you’ve practiced though? What were you practicing on?”

               Dougal looked down at Moony, but he walked away from the wolf without answering. Moony huffed, his ears pivoting to the side. “Where’s that friend of yours?” Dougal asked. “We need to run the plan over with him.”

               “About Severus . . .” Moony began.

               At that moment, Severus walked toward them in his centaur form, his ears back and his tail twitching. Dougal’s eyebrows raised and the man asked, “Well, well, it seems we’ve all got secrets. May I ask?”

               “You may,” Severus said, pausing in front of Dougal, looking down at the man.

Moony wagged his tail as he came to sit by Severus. Dougal frowned, his eyes scanning the centaur.    

“I’ll take a wild guess,” he said. “A curse.”

Moony sneezed violently, shaking his head. Severus wasn’t too surprised, but he did tilt his head curiously. “What gave it away?” he asked.

“The magical signature you’re giving off. I’ve been around enough cursed people in my research of shadow magic to know the feel. If I may, was this Ruse as well?”

“No, a sphinx.”

“Hmm. That’s unfortunate. So, can you turn at will or is this . . .”

“I am stuck like this until sunrise. Now, my turn to ask some questions. What’s with the mirror?”

“That is how we’ll catch our friend. Moony will act trapped, luring Ruse out thinking he is hunting him. That is where we’ll corner him, catching him off guard and forcing him to fight us. When I engage with him, I will use shadow magic and he should copy, and that is when we will drop the mirror on him. He must be in enclouded in shadows for this to work. Now what took you so long getting here? Were you with that child again?”

“First off, I had to wait for my transformation. And as for Harry, I ran into him while leaving Hogwarts. He was very adamant that he could help Moony and it took some persuasion to make him stay and not follow me. He told me he was heading back to his dorm and hopefully that is where he stays.”

Dougal nodded, sighing. Everyone was silent, only the sounds of owls hooting and night bugs chirping filling the night air.

“Let’s get in position,” Dougal said, covering the mirror with a black sheet.

Moony walked out into the clearing and Dougal used his wand to conjure ropes and loosely tied them around Moony’s muzzle, then legs. He retreated into the trees, taking a position near the mirror. Ajax chose a position opposite of Dougal, lying down to wait.

There was some rustling, like the sounds of footsteps on cracking leaves, then silence.

For an hour or so, there was no movement and no sound.

               And then, a figure stalked through the trees, a golden glow leading the way. Moony let out a loud whine, feeling a wave of excitement and terror rush through him. Ajax lifted his head and torso, pushing off the ground slowly with his arms. He narrowed his eyes at the figure, baring his teeth slightly.

               Moony pretended to struggle against the ropes on him as he saw the cloaked figure draw closer.

               “Well, well, we met again, good sir,” Ruse said, stepping out of the trees and into the clearing. “It seems you find yourself in a predicament, my friend. Someone else is hunting you as well, I see. They shouldn’t have planted traps. I personally prefer the more hands-on approach.”

               Moony snarled at Ruse, showing off his pearly white teeth.

               “None of that, now. You already left your mark on me,” Ruse lowered himself in front of Moony, tilting his head enough to show off the two deep scars on his cheek. “Funny how I was never big on meat before meeting you, eh?”

               Moony struggled in his ropes, trying to kick them off.

               “All I ever wanted to do was make life normal for the less fortunate,” Ruse said, setting down a hunting compass and reaching into his robe and pulling out a large knife. He used a rag to clean the blade as he spoke. “See, I grew up with a dying mother. There was nothing I could do for her; despite all the effort my father and I did to try and save her. You know what killed her? No? Her own animagus form.”

               Moony stopped pretending to struggle and just listened to Ruse. He was admittedly curious about how an animagus form led to one’s death.

               “Here’s the thing,” Ruse continued, “they say if you mess up the process even the slightest bit, you slowly lose your mind and you can end up trapped in your animal form. But your brain keeps deteriorating and getting worse and worse until you die from brain damage.”

               Ruse shook his head, looking off into the trees. He stared for a long time before he glared down at Moony.

               “You must really take me for a fool,” Ruse held up the knife, but a large shadow engulfed it as Ruse brought it down on Moony, causing the knife to harmlessly pass through the werewolf. The ropes vanished and Moony lunged openmouthed for Ruse’s throat, but the man vanished in a smoky cloud.

               As Ruse reappeared opposite Moony, Dougal sent a curse flying at Ruse, who smoked again to avoid it. Dougal waved both hands and shadows from trees charged at Ruse, wrapping around the man like snakes. Ruse glared angrily at Dougal.

               “I should have known,” Ruse growled.

               “You should have spent your time hunting me rather than innocent people,” Dougal spat.

               "You are no more than a nuisance!"  

Dougal brought his hands closer together and the shadows constricted around the man. Ruse grunted before dropping into the shadows, vanishing. A shadow moved swiftly along the ground and Dougal vanished into the shadows, becoming a shadow that chased after Ruse’s.

               Severus pulled the sheet off the mirror and carried it toward the fighting shadows. It was strange watching shadows move without castors. Supernatural even. The shadows started taking form until human bodied Ruse and Dougal were using shadows once again to try to crush the other. Dougal gave Severus a subtle jerk of his head as he fought Ruse.

               Severus picked up the mirror and charged Ruse.

               He slammed the mirror down on the man, seemingly flattening him. Dougal paused, watching, but he didn’t look convinced that Ruse had been captured.

               A shadow moved along the forest floor behind Dougal before growing and forming into Ruse, who grabbed Dougal in a choke hold. Dougal grabbed at the arms choking him, then used a hand to smash Ruse in the face, a loud crack sounding in the air.

               Ruse released Dougal and clutched his nose, blood starting to trickle through his fingers.

               Severus had managed to move the mirror, so it was behind Ruse during the tussle.

               Moony ran forward and pushed Ruse with his front paws, knocking the man backward and Ruse vanished, evaporating in a big smoky cloud.

               “No,” Dougal said, his eyes widening and his glare deepening. “No! Impossible.”

               Like magnets, the spread-out shadowy substance around them pulled back together into man form and Ruse’s color returned and he glared at everyone around him, dried blood on his nose and cheeks.

               “Is this what it has come to, Dougal?” Ruse shouted. “All for the love of a brother?”

               Dougal shoved his hands forward, and several tree shadows morphed together in one bog monster that hit Ruse like a tsunami. When the shadows disappeared, Ruse had as well, only to reappear at a corner of the clearing and send shadows slithering over to Dougal, intent on crushing the man.

               Severus lifted the mirror and charged at Ruse while the man had his full attention and power on Dougal.

               Ruse looked up, reached into his pocket, and blew a strange powder on Severus as the centaur reared right in front of him.

               Moony barked nervously as the powder surrounded the rearing centaur.

               He could feel the powder seeping into him, morphing the bones and muscles in his body like one of his nightly transformations. But this was worse. He had strangely begun to feel less and less pain on his nightly changes as this year had progressed, but what was happening to him now was excruciating. He turned on his back hooves and dropped back to the ground, the last of the powder disappearing around him.

               He was a horse. A massive black stallion.

               What had happened to him? Why was he this way? How did he control it?

               Severus bolted forward, nearly trampling Moony, who yelped and rolled out of the way in time. Severus ran in circles around the clearing, trying to gather his thoughts and understanding. But he felt as though he was not in control. His ears laid flat on his head and he whinnied nervously.

               “So,” Dougal said, “you’ve been experimenting and training yourself? Finding ways to hasten your hunts, are you?”

               “You dare think you can kill me?” Ruse yelled. “You do not have the skill, the desire, the will to kill me. You are weak, you always have been. Just as you were too weak to save your brother.”

               Dougal’s eyes flashed red and he looked at the crazed horse.

               “I hope you’re broken,” Dougal said as he approached the large animal, picking up shadows that morphed into a thread like material. He threw the shadows at Severus, keeping a hold of the end.

The shadows latched on to Severus’s snout, taking the shape of a bridle around the horse’s head. Dougal leaped up on the stallion’s back and gave a kick in his side to turn the horse.

Instead of turning, Severus bucked slightly, but Dougal pulled on his shadowy reins, forcing Severus to turn in a tight circle before he kicked the side of the horse again to turn him to face Ruse. Somewhere in Severus’s mind, something told him to follow Dougal’s lead, but another part of his mind wondered who Dougal was and why he was no longer trying to run away from this confusing chaos.

“Weak, eh, Ruse?” Dougal said. “Let me show you how well I’ve been training.”

Dougal kicked Severus’s sides and the horse charged forward at Ruse. Dougal placed a hand on Severus and they both took on a ghostly shadowy figure as they rammed into Ruse. All three dropped into the shadow world, becoming nothing more than a few shadows on the ground in Moony’s eyes.

In the shadow world, Severus snapped at Ruse, trying to bite the man still gliding away in front of him. Dougal, on Severus’s back, waved his hands, bringing shadows to drop down on and wrap around Ruse. Ruse did his best to fend off the shadows and keep away from the horse’s teeth and hooves.

Severus reared, kicking out. Ruse avoided the hits and sent several shadows intertwining between the horse’s hooves. Severus began to panic once more, trying to avoid tripping over the shadows. He neighed uneasily.

Dougal jumped off Severus’s back and kicked at Ruse. He moved his hands together and two shadows collided together where Ruse stood, but Ruse was faster, and he grabbed a shadow and whipped it at Dougal, who disappeared in his shadows. Ruse whipped the shadow in his grasp at the struggling horse.

Slowly from head to toe, Severus became corporeal as he climbed out of the shadow world and galloped away as fast as he could. Moony barked and followed the horse. The chasing wolf concerned Severus more and he bolted faster, kicking up dirt behind him at the wolf.

Severus had no idea where he was going. He knew this place, but he did not know this place. He was disoriented and wild, and he stopped in a new clearing and reared several times, snorting angrily.

“Ajax!” a familiar voice called to him.

Severus jerked his head repeatedly as he turned to face the voice.

A young boy. Harry?

“Ajax?” Harry said again, stepping closer to the horse.  

Snorting aggressively, Severus charged this Harry that dared to approach him.

“Hey, easy, easy,” Harry said, holding his hands up as he backed away. “It’s me! It’s Harry.”

Severus reared in front of Harry, stomping his hooves down and grunting, pawing the ground.

“Easy,” Harry encouraged, stretching a hand outward slowly. “It’s okay. It’s just me. Harry. Remember?”

Severus did remember. Somewhere inside his mind, the name meant something to him. And it meant a lot to him. Severus nickered gently as Harry placed his hand on the horse’s muzzle. Harry smiled as Severus sniffed at his hand.

               “See? It’s okay. You remember me. I’m sorry I followed you out here, I know I shouldn’t have, but I had to make sure Moony was okay. And then I waited to see what you guys were waiting for—stupid, I know. Are . . . are you okay? Do you even understand what I’m saying?”

               A part of Severus understood exactly what Harry was saying and that part of him was furious. But the rest of Severus, and that was the majority of his mind, had no clue what this child was going on about. But his familiar scent made Severus want to protect the boy and keep close to him. He snorted gently.

               Moony ran out into the clearing, sliding to a halt at the sight of Severus and Harry.

               “Harry,” Moony exhaled, the wolf’s eyes filling with fear.

               “I can explain,” Harry said, stepping toward Moony.

               Severus reared and stomped his hooves at Moony angrily, pawing the ground. Moony backed away, tail tucking under him as he whined at Severus. “Same side, Severus. Remember?”

               Severus galloped around Moony, jerking his head and flicking his tail. He had to protect this Harry from all harm. He had to.

               Two shadows danced in the trees before one blasted the other across the clearing. Dougal landed harshly on the ground, groaning as he held his head. He opened his eyes and they widened at the sight of the kid. He glared dangerously at Harry.

               The other shadow landed next to Harry, becoming a corporeal Ruse, who grabbed Harry in a choke hold with one arm.

               “Hello, kiddie,” Ruse greeted, looking down at Harry. He angled Harry’s head at the wolf and horse. “You know these two?”

               “Ajax, help!” Harry cried.

               Severus heard the cry, but it took a second to register. The horse stopped circling Moony and faced Harry and Ruse.

               Ruse smirked and looked at Dougal.

               “Fair is fair, old friend,” Ruse smirked. “A deal for a life—and I’ll get my payment however I can.”

               Severus charged Ruse, but both Ruse and Harry disappeared into their shadows and vanished from the forest. Severus galloped right past where the had been standing and the horse circled the clearing anxiously, rearing and kicking out. Moony sniffed the area Ruse and Harry had been standing, whining.

               “Damn it!” Dougal slammed his fists on the ground.

               “Now what, genius?” Moony growled.

               “Don’t take your anger out on me, Wolfie,” Dougal glared, standing up and moving toward the horse. “We have to go after him. That boy is in trouble now. There will be no rest until we get to Ruse.”

               “Where did he take Harry?”

               “His shop most likely.” Dougal picked up a tree root’s shadow and used it like a lasso, capturing Severus. The horse bucked. “Easy, Big Pony,” Dougal encouraged, trying to slow Severus down.

               Severus stopped and reared. When the horse dropped down, Dougal managed to loop another shadow around the horse’s face, and it formed a bridle as it did before. Dougal kept a grip on the bridle to keep the horse in front of him.

               “Listen to me, Severus,” Dougal said. The horse tried to lift his head, but Dougal held tightly. “Obviously that boy means more to you than you think if your crazed horse self was willing to protect him. Now Ruse has him—what’s his name? Harry.”

               Severus neighed at the name.

               “Harry. Harry is in trouble. You need to focus. We have to get to Ruse’s shop as fast as we can—all of us. And unfortunately, I cannot apparate a horse, so you are he transportation until this wears off. The shadow world will help us move quickly through cities unseen, but you need to focus. Think about Harry.”

               Severus nickered, eyeing the strange man in front of him. His ears flattened.  

               “Focus,” Dougal said. “You’re in there somewhere. Think of Harry. He needs you.”

               Severus nickered again, his ears perking up.

               “What happened to him?” Moony asked, looking at Severus.

               “It seems Ruse has been perfecting a quicker way to transform humans into animals,” Dougal said, leading Severus by pulling on the wispy bridle. “It is something I have read about but have not seen. Ruse isn’t far in his research; this will wear off in hours. By morning, he should be back to himself, whichever self that is.”

               “Why is he acting like this though?”

               “As you should know, any cheat to the animagus process can cause damage to the animagi. And such a sudden change as one Severus just went through is enough to make one lose his mind. Severus did not go through the process of learning to balance the animal and human mind, so his mind is scattered somewhere in between. He’ll be fine when this wears off.”

               Severus neighed suddenly and looked off into the distance, anxiety building up in his chest. Dougal snorted. “Convenient how this is your animagus form, eh, Big Pony?”

               Severus’s ears pivoted but the horse did not respond otherwise. Dougal summoned the mirror that had been left behind in the other clearing, shrunk it, then pocketed it.

               “Ruse has Harry,” Moony whined, dropping his head.

               “We have to go to Ruse’s shop now. There’s no telling what that man will do to the young boy in the time he already has.”

               Dougal hopped up on Severus’s back, using his reins to control the horse.

               “Think you can keep up, Wolfie?” Dougal smirked.

               “Try me,” Moony barked.

               Dougal kicked at Severus and they galloped at top speed through the trees, Moony leaping at their side. Dougal clapped his hands and all three vanished into the shadow world, becoming nothing more than three shadows gliding through the trees to the naked eye.