"You knew he was in the forest, didn't you?" Severus demanded to know from Albus as he paced in the man's office.

"I was aware," Albus answered. "I was only trying to help him. You have no idea the struggles he's had since –"

"Don't start playing the sympathy card, Albus. Remus Lupin is a danger to this school; you of all people and as Headmaster should have known what the consequences of allowing something like Lupin to live near a school would be. What if a child had been bitten?"

"Remus and I did work on coming up with a solution. We made an enchanted container that –"

"Failed to do its job," Severus finished for Albus.

"I will work with Remus on fixing the –"

"Lupin and I have come up with a solution. From this point forward, I will supply Remus with wolfsbane. It is the only solution there is if any of us want to avoid a student being turned into a werewolf or eaten this next year."

"That is very generous of you, Severus. I'm sure this will really help Lupin with his work and moods during the full moons. You have my thanks for willingly acting and seeing to the welfare of this school. I will raise your pay to help with the costs of the potion."

"That's the least you can do. You are a foolish man. You endangered the lives of every student in this school by keeping Lupin's situation a secret. I wonder what the other professors would have thought."

"They would probably think the same thing you do. I apologize for not thinking this through thoroughly enough. I am happy that you are helping."

Severus left Albus's office with a sour taste in his mouth. While he respected Albus greatly, sometimes the decisions the man made left him wondering why. This wasn't the first time Albus's choices made him backpedal and pause. The first had been the decision to let a werewolf in the school years ago. The second had been in his own situation, hiring him as a professor even though he wanted no one to know of his nightly transformations. And then there was Harry's problem. The boy's homelife was questionable, and Albus had to know about at least some aspects of it. But Albus did nothing about it. These choices only reminded Severus that Albus was just as human as the next man, and mistakes were inevitable.

And speaking of Harry Potter . . .

There was the boy, sitting at a windowsill, his face pressed up against the cold glass. Severus frowned and slowly approached. Harry seemed to be searching for someone, his eyes scanning the grounds around the greenhouses and Hagrid's hut. It didn't take a genius to guess who the boy might be looking for.

"Mr. Potter," Severus said, waiting for the boy to look at him. "What are you doing sitting there daydreaming when I'm sure you have homework to be completing. One assignment I know you have is for my class."

"I was just . . ." Harry glanced out the window briefly then looked back at Severus. "Nothing, sir."

"That's all you have to say? Nothing? Such wise words from the savior of the Wizarding World. Perhaps they should write that on your tombstone: he was doing nothing."

Harry glared at the ground before sliding off the windowsill. "I'll go do my homework, sir," he growled.

"Splendid. And you'll lose the attitude before I take points for disrespecting a teacher."

Harry muttered angrily under his breath, causing Severus to roll his eyes and snap, "Do not mumble, Harry."

The boy froze, and Severus quickly realized his slip. Harry turned around and looked at him, a frown forming on his face. Severus's heart picked up as he hoped Harry didn't make the connection between himself and Ajax by the way he had said Harry's name. But what if he did? Then maybe he'd realize that Ajax wasn't worth spending time with. Severus glared down at the boy, deciding to fix his mistake as the boy did nothing but stare.

"Quit staring at me like I'm some zoo animal," Severus snapped. "So I said your name, it's not like I shouted some obscenity. Off with you. You have homework to be doing."

Harry had slowly tilted his head at that, but then turned around and kept going. Severus breathed a sigh of relief, hoping he had not just blown everything sky high. His relationship with the boy as Ajax was really screwing with his ability to maintain a façade. What was wrong with him? Severus continued to his office, planning to look through his potion shelves there for a wolfsbane. He was sure he had a vial of it and it would save him time from having to actually brew it. His heart had slowed, and he prayed that Harry had no idea who he was. It would just complicate too many things. And if Severus was to be honest, he didn't want to give up the little meeting he had with him. He – dare he say it – enjoyed the boy's company.

Severus flicked his wand at his office door, shutting it softly behind him. He sighed and leaned against the door. What was he thinking? He was putting the boy and himself at risk by meeting with him. The centaurs would never allow this to continue and he had to respect their rules.

Or did he? He wasn't a centaur, and yes, while he did turn in to one each night, he was not them. And never would be. And the centaurs would have to learn to accept that. He respected them, they could at least do the same. Severus remembered when he had first run into the centaurs in his second year . . .

He was running late from Herbology and now the sun was setting. He closed the door to the greenhouse and looked at the castle. He'd never make it back inside and to the room of requirement without shifting somewhere along the way. He'd have to camp outside for the night. And for the first time.

The idea scared him. He knew he would have to hide in the forest. But he had heard so many stories about what lived in the Forbidden Forest. Something could attack him and there would be nothing he could do. It wasn't like he was a big centaur yet. He was practically a half-grown foal.

A lightning bolt lit the sky up in purple light and thunder quickly followed. Severus flinched and ran behind Hagrid's hut. It always confused him on days like today when the weather was bad, and he couldn't see the sun's position compared to the earth. He knew he would be shifting soon so he stripped out of his clothes, making sure to leave on his outer robe.

Then he felt the first twinge in his calf muscle. It was starting. Painfully, everything began to contort and change, his limbs growing along with the addition of two new limbs. He felt his hair lengthen and his face morph and burn. He finally took off his robe.

And just as quickly, he was a centaur. His four legs wobbled unsteadily for a few seconds. He shook himself out, stretched out his legs, and marched in place, exercising his muscles as he usually did.

A bolt of lightning struck the ground near him and he jumped and slipped on his hooves before galloping into the trees. He dodged low branches and jumped over roots. He had no idea where he was going, but the thunder and lightning kept him running, searching for a place to hide from the storm. He skidded across a slippery bit of mud and grass, lost his balance, and fell to the ground, sliding on his side down a slope, grunting as he came to a stop.

Severus stood and shook himself, caked in mud now. He was in a ditch, and lightning was striking the trees around him, a small fire catching on one dead branch. The flaming branch broke from the tree and crashed down into the ditch, the fire catching on the dead pile of leaves. Severus grunted in alarm and began climbing back up the slope.

But it was steep, and he hadn't developed much hoof skill over the years, mostly because he used his nights to sleep or study. He couldn't find any leverage and slid back down the slope, earth crumbling under him. He was trapped, and the fire was growing bigger, thunder rumbling and shaking the ground.

Severus paced around the ditch, looking for a less steep incline. It was as if a spot of the earth had caved in, forming a perfect hole in the ground. The fire licked at Severus hooves and he scrambled up the side of the ditch once more. He had to believe he could make it. It might fool his brain into thinking he had the strength to get out of the ditch.

He was just nearing the top when a rock gave under his weight, tripping him, sending him sliding back towards the flames. He corrected himself and pawed the ground to find a grip but ended up tripping himself and falling. He fell on his legs, catching himself slightly. The fire was spreading around him and growing taller as it ate at some tall dead grass. He needed help, but was there anyone around who could help him? Was Hagrid out in the forest at all?

"Help," Severus more said than shouted as he stood and backed away more from the fire, pressing against the side of the ditch. He shouted louder, "Help!"

The fire grew more, and the heat was making him sweat, drenching his fur yet drying it out. It felt like the heat alone was eating at his flesh. He pushed more into the dirt, trying desperately to get away. He coughed harshly from the smoke drowning his nostrils. His throat was dry, and his entire body felt dry and hot.

"Help! Anyone! Please!"

Then, earth crumbled and fell around him as a huge centaur carefully slid down the slope of the ditch. He paused halfway, dropping a looped rope over Severus's head. He reached down and helped Severus adjust the loop part rope one of his front legs, so it wrapped around his human half's shoulder and under his lower horse half. When the centaur was satisfied, he tugged on the rope and Severus felt a pull. He walked up the slope, aided by the pull of the rope around him. When he slipped halfway up, the centaur still standing on the slope helped him to his feet and up the rest of the way.

Once on top, Severus saw several centaurs; most were gathering large rocks and forming a circle around the ditch. One centaur helped free Severus of the rope. Everyone was staring at him, whispering to each other, and he lowered himself slightly, feeling intimidated, unsure, and very small. He had heard stories of how dangerous and prideful centaurs could be.

One centaur, a dappled grey, stepped forward and motioned with his head for Severus to follow him. Lightning still lit the sky and thunder rumbled as the two walked through the trees. They stopped by some thickets, which provided a little cave-like covering. The grey used a hoof to lift the shrubs slightly, and Severus looked up at him.

"Thank you," he said. He crawled into the thickets, circled twice, and gathered his legs under him, stretching out his torso and resting his head on his arms. The grey lowered the shrubs and nickered gently.

A blue roan trotted up to them, peering through the thickets at Severus.

"He's not like us," it said, "not completely."

"He is a foal," the grey argued.

"Now. But he will grow. And then what will he become?"

"That is in the future. For now, let him sleep."

Severus owed his life to the centaurs of the Forbidden Forest. Yet, they seemed to have forgotten the foal they once had saved from a wildfire. The foal they brought food to in his third year. The foal they aided in finding shelter during the winter months in fourth year. The foal they taught stars to in fifth year. But they clearly remembered the foal they chased out of the forest in seventh year. Severus had never understood what changed. It was custom to chase out foals from herds at a certain age to help keep diversity and expand centaur territory throughout the forest. At the time, he believed it to be a sign that he would no longer receive help from the herds of the forest; he was on his own.

Returning to the forest occasionally when he began teaching seemed to spark an interest in the herds once more, yet they kept their distance. Some of the herds understood his curse and simply ignored him. Some, like the one that had attacked him not long ago, did not care about his curse. They cared only about how he represented centaurs. And having any kind of relationship with a human was a no-go.

Severus pushed away from the door and scanned his shelves for the wolfsbane. He had so many vials and containers of potions and ingredients, some he hadn't even realized he kept on these shelves. He'd have to take stock of what was in his office at some point. He finally found one vial of wolfsbane and set it on his desk. He picked up a piece of parchment and quill and decided now was a good time to take stock. He walked back to the start of his shelves, writing down the objects he saw and tallying how many of each he saw as he started walking along the shelves.

A knock at his door caught his attention and he set down his work on his desk and opened his door. Severus nearly lost his breath.

It was Harry.

"What do you want?" Severus snapped. His mind reeled back to his slip earlier. Please don’t bring that up, he thought in his head. He wasn’t ready to deal with that yet.

"I just have a question about the homework," Harry said, holding up a quill and parchment.

Severus sighed loudly, more in relief than annoyance. "Ask away."

"Err, may I come in? I have a couple questions and it'd hard to write on hard stone walls."

"Fine. You better make this quick."

Harry darted into the office. Severus closed the door and turned to face Harry.

"Well?" he asked.

"Um, about the use of lilies in potions, I know the textbook lists them all, but it doesn't really go in to detail. It said that lilies can be used in potions for heart related problems. That Healers use those potions a lot."

"Yes?" What was the question in this?

"Well, umm, how does it help the heart exactly?"

"I'm not a Healer, Potter. The lilies use in such potions aids in regulating the function of the heart, its regularity and efficiency. That's all I can tell you."

"Oh. Well, what about the roots and treating burns?"

Severus had a vivid memory of the wildfire he had narrowly escaped in his second year. He closed his eyes as he said, "What about it?"

"Well, how does it treat burns?"

"The roots are used in topical potions."

"Oh, and err . . . what about the properties of the lily bulbs?"

Severus watched Harry write small notes on his parchment, using his desk to do so. He furrowed his eyebrows at the boy.

"This is all in your book, Potter."

"I know, and I wrote vitamin C, iron, calcium, phosphorus, and starch, but I don't really know what that means. What are all of those?"

"I am not going into detail on each one. Surely you could have gone to the library to do your own research."

Severus had a gut feeling that these questions were just delays for what the boy wanted to really ask. Harry seemed to have to think about the topic of lilies before coming up with some question. The boy’s eyes glanced around his office a couple times, avoiding Severus’s own eyes.

"I guess,” Harry continued, “What about . . . what about spider bites? Lilies treat –"

"Enough of this! What did you really come here to talk about, Potter? And I want the truth from you."

"Are you Ajax?"

The question threw Severus back a step. His voice caught in his throat and he just stared at Harry, eyes wide yet calculating. Harry had a frown on his face, determined eyes focused on Severus alone, yet the boy also looked upset. Severus frowned back. Should he lie? Tell the truth? There would be little point in pushing off the inevitable much longer. Obviously, Harry had put the pieces together., possibly from the way he had said the boy’s name, the way he spoke, and who knew what else the boy caught on to.  

"Yes," Severus answered, forcing the word through his teeth.

Severus wasn't sure what answer Harry came to his office looking for, but the boy's face fell when he gave his confirmation. Tears welled in his eyes and he outright glared at Severus. With an angry cry, Harry ran forward and pounded on Severus's chest with his fists.

"You lied to me!" he shouted, "you made me think you were someone else. How could you? I told you – Ajax – whoever you are – everything! You . . ."

Severus grabbed Harry's wrists to stop him from punching his chest. Tears were falling down Harry's cheeks. This wasn't the reaction Severus had thought Harry might have. Anger, yes. Hurt, probably. Physically attacking him? That hadn't crossed his mind.

"Cool it, Potter," Severus warned.

"Potter, huh? It's only Harry when you're pretending to be someone else."

"Stop that."

"You never cared about me, did you? You probably hated listening to me talk to you. You couldn't wait to send me back inside. You tried so many times to get rid of me, didn't you? I told you everything!"

Harry pushed against Severus's restraint to keep hitting that man, but Severus kept his grip and took a step back.

"Stop this now. And I'm not sure what exactly you think you've told me, but I can assure you, it wasn't everything."

Harry gave up on trying to hurt Severus and sniffled, tears still falling.

"I thought Ajax liked me," he said softly, looking at Severus with sad, green eyes. "I thought we were friends. We were a herd. You’re not Ajax; not like him."

Severus took in a slow, deep breath, closing his eyes. He had to bring up the herd thing. He wasn't sure where his feelings were for the boy. He cared about his safety. He enjoyed his nightly company. He found the boy's presence to be a relief from his stressful life. Could he say that he liked Harry? Like a friend? A part of a herd? Did he want these meetings to end? He opened his eyes, meeting Harry's.

"Well?" Harry said, glaring at Severus, pulling against Severus's hands that still held Harry's wrists. Severus let Harry go, watching the boy to make sure he didn't lash out again.

"Potter," Severus began, before shaking his head and saying, "Harry, this is complicated . . ."

"How can you be so different?" Harry interrupted. "Ajax is so nice, but you – you treat me like – like you hate me in class."

"As I said, this is complicated. I have a role to play at this school."

"And at night?"

"Let me finish. I cannot be seen showing favoritism towards anyone but Slytherins, and especially not towards a Gryffindor, and especially not towards you. It's too long a story to get into right now, but it has little to do with liking or hating you."

"But you seem to really pick on me in class."

"I . . ." Severus sighed again, pinching the bridge of his nose. Why was he trying to justify his actions to an eleven-year-old? Honestly, he had bullied Harry to a terrible extent, but as Ajax, he had shown some interest in him, even a little care. What the hell was wrong with him? At one time, he had hoped his bullying would make Harry hate him more when he discovered he was Ajax, immediately severing all ties he had with the child. But now, he couldn't imagine giving up seeing Harry at their nightly meetings. He truly did enjoy them. "I guess I should apologize for that, but my treatment towards you will have to continue in class."

"Why?"

"It's a story for another time."

"Then who's the real you? How do you even turn into Ajax? Why did you let me believe you were two different . . .?"

"Beings? Because no one but you and a couple others know who Ajax actually is or that he even exists. I've kept that identity secret for years. Not even the staff knows."

"And you didn't want me to know."

"Exactly."

"But why?"

"Harry, please," Severus groaned and rubbed a hand down his face. Harry looked down at his feet.

"So, I can't tell anyone?"

"No. Not a soul. I'd rather you didn't."

"Can you at least tell me how you turn into Ajax? Can you do it now?"

"It isn't exactly a willing transformation."

"It's not?"

"I'm . . . I'm cursed. And I turn into a centaur every night, right after sundown. I remain that way until sunrise. I told you I'm not a normal centaur before. That’s all I’m saying on that now."

"Oh." Harry chewed on a fingernail before looking up at Severus with a frown. "Do you like me? As a friend?"

Severus walked around Harry and to his desk, sitting in the chair. He rubbed at his head, a headache slowly growing. Without looking at Harry, he said, "I appreciate your company. I usually have no one to talk to at night, and you are a relief from the silence."

Harry didn't say anything. He was staring at his shoes. Severus leaned back in his chair. This was not something he wanted to deal with. He hadn't thought Harry would catch on so quickly. Yes, it had lasted longer than he thought, but it also ended just as quickly. At least he wouldn't have to pretend to be two separate identities now.

"Do you want the visits to stop?" Harry asked softly.

Severus raised an eyebrow. This was curious. Harry sounded as if he didn't want to give up on he visits.

"Do you?"

"I don't know," Harry said. "I liked having Ajax to talk to. But you're . . ."

Severus knew what Harry was trying to say. Harry enjoyed having someone outside of homelife, outside of school-life, and even outside of normal-human-friends-life to talk to and unwind from his days. Ajax had been that for Harry. It was an outside connection, a bit of fantasy to contrast the realities of the world Harry was thrown into, a world where he had a part to play. But with Ajax, he didn't have to do anything but try and make the stubborn centaur see him as a friend. And for Severus, Harry was a break from the stress of being more than a double agent, a hunted beast, and a lonely wanderer.

"We can keep them going if you'd like," Severus suggested.

Harry stared at him for a moment.

"But . . . I could just . . . I don't know, talk to you. But it – it won't be the same anymore knowing Ajax is just you and . . ."

"Just me?" Severus rose his eyebrows at that. "I believe "just me" saved your little rear end twice now, haven't I?"

"Yeah," Harry agreed, looking down. "I didn't mean it like that. It's just I thought Ajax wasn't someone I knew."

"And you suddenly know me?"

"I guess not."

"Think about it, Harry. You don't have to answer now. Give it some thought and come back at a later date with an answer. I do enjoy our talks, they help me relax, as I'm sure they do for you."

"I want to see Ajax – or you, I guess. But I could just come to you now."

"Yes, you could, and you are welcome to. But that might look weird to your friends and passersby outside."

"True. Can I come see you tonight? I have so many questions still . . ."

"Which I will answer in time. And no, actually, not tonight. I have to go see someone."

"Can I come?" Harry asked hopefully, offering a small smile, the first since he arrived.

"No."

Harry pouted and looked back at the ground.

"You may come to our meeting spot tomorrow night, after sundown."

Harry smiled at Severus and nodded. He picked up his quill and parchment off the desk.

"One more thing, Harry," Severus said, waiting until Harry was focused on him. "If you ever physically assault me again, I will have you in detention for weeks."

"Sorry," Harry said, his cheeks flaming.

"You may go."

Harry turned for the door, but just as he grabbed the knob, he looked back at Severus and asked, "Does this make us friends now?"

Severus drummed his fingers on his desk in thought.

"I'd think of this as more of a mentorship."

"Oh," Harry looked down, then smiled at Severus and said, "okay. See you soon?"

Severus nodded and watched Harry leave, waiting for the soft click of his door before leaning forward on his desk and running his hands through his hair, letting out a heavy sigh. He had not signed up for this. His sudden relationship with Harry would complicate a lot of things. He closed his eyes, taking deep breaths. The vial of wolfsbane caught his eye. He'd have to make a stop there once sundown came about. Perhaps Remus might have some insight on his dilemma. But then again, why let the wolf in on any of this? Severus sighed for the hundredth time. What was he going to do?