Harry found out that Severus Snape was a man of his word. He had promised Harry that they would spend several days exploring Harry's magical system in great depth, and that was all Harry was allowed to do for almost a week. Hours upon hours were spent in each pool, and copious notes were taken as soon as they emerged.

Hermione was highly upset that, while her skill at Legilimency wasn't all that bad, it wasn't good enough to join the tour as well. She didn't know that Harry was currently trying to solve that problem. After all, his father was convinced he would be the creator of new magics, why not use that to advantage for his best friend?

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Harry peeked around the corner, and after seeing that the coast was clear, he ran to Hermione's room. He cast several wards and charms to keep his presence unknown, gratefully sinking to the floor.

"Hermione! If you have ever cared for me, even a little, you will hide me from that, that...tyrant. I can't take it anymore! I thought Occlumency with the man was torture...I. Was. Wrong! It's not funny, Hermione!" he whined.

Hermione covered her mouth and tried to quit laughing, she just didn't do a very good job of it. "Oh, Harry, it's not really that bad, is it?"

"You have no idea. The Professor Snape that we knew in school was a teddy bear compared to who has been driving me all week! I have a feeling he kept his full "You Must Learn This!" mode until his NEWT classes. And from what I've seen, we were lucky we got Slughorn when we did! I've never been so exhausted in all my life!" Harry said as he got up and collapsed on her bed to emphasize his point. "I swear to you, the man I have been working with this week is one hundred times worse than Professor Snape ever was at Neville's worst!"

Hermione giggled again. "Sounds like it was for the best that I couldn't join you then, I'm not sure any knowledge is worth having to deal with that!"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Oh? So if I thought I might have found a way for us to first explore your system, and then possibly mine, you wouldn't want to take me up on the off...OMPHT! Hermione," Harry squeaked as he struggled for air. "Hermione, there was no need for you to jump onto me, now geroff!" he said as he tried to push the excited witch off of his midsection.

"You really think we can explore my system? I've been meditating as much as time allowed, but I couldn't seem to get anywhere, so I sort of thought it was useless," she admitted dejectedly.

"Aw, Hermione, don't feel so bad. You can't be perfect at everything. Just think how bad you'd make Ron feel. Between the two of us, well, we're lucky he puts up with us," Harry said remembering back to their fourth year, and adding more worry to his shoulders. He turned away to hide his fears.

It was to late though, as usual, Hermione picked up on his change of mood immediately. "Harry? Come on, Harry, look at me. What's going on in that head of yours? You know, we've not talked about all this new stuff that was just dumped on you. They seem to think your shoulders are as strong as Atlas'; they just keep piling it up. You know I'm here for you, is there something I can do to help you?" she asked, as she rubbed his arm.

Harry all at once felt wonderful and guilty from her touch, and suddenly, where Harry had been lying, was a fluffy white kitten with black points, and the brightest green eyes she had ever seen on an animal. He looked so lost and pathetic, that Hermione couldn't help but pick him up and comfort him.

"Poor Harry, you know, you didn't have to resort to this to get me to comfort you. All you ever had to do was ask," she said. She looked into his eyes, and somehow, she suddenly understood. "But you couldn't ask, could you? You've always been too worried about everyone else's needs, but you were never taught how to express your own, were you? You've always been the first to jump in with help for someone else; me with the troll, Ginny and that blasted diary, Pettigrew and his life, several times over with Sirius. Harry, we really need to work on your ‘People Saving Thing'! You deserve to be saved, just as you deserve comfort. Or is this your way of asking for all that?" she asked quietly, as the Harry kitten purred as she rubbed his furry little head.

After what Hermione hoped was only an hour, she decided that it was time for Harry to join the world as himself once again. She faced the kitten and made sure he was listening to her once again. "Come on, Harry, it's time for you to change back."

He nodded, jumped back onto the bed, and then concentrated. After several minutes, Harry looked up at Hermione and she could feel pure panic rolling off the kitten.

"You're stuck, aren't you? Hey! Get those claws out of my door! Ok, ok! I get it, you want out, just hold on," she said. "There, now who are you going to go to for help?" she asked, as he took off out the door.

Hearing Narcissa and Draco scream, gave Hermione her answer. She quickly took off in that direction.

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"Draco! Put your wand away this instant! I do not believe it is in the best interest of your health to hex Harry. There are many people, in this house alone, that will answer in kind," Narcissa said, as she put herself between her son and the kitten that was currently climbing onto the table.

"Potter? Why do you believe that is Potter, Mother? It might be a trick of a Death Eater, or the Dark Lord's," Draco said worriedly, not dropping his wand point an inch.

"Goodness, Harry, did you have to scare them like that? I thought you said you were done with Draco baiting?" Hermione asked as she entered the library. "Hello, Mrs. Malfoy, Draco. Mrs. Malfoy, how did you know that this is Harry?"

"I felt his need for help. I do not know how to explain it, but as soon as he ran into the room I knew he wanted my help. Do you happen to know why he is a kitten? Severus said that his form was some sort of snake."

"You were told right, his form is a snake. Harry and I were talking, well, I was trying to get him to talk to me, and all of a sudden he was a kitten. After he calmed down he tried to change back, but he's stuck," Hermione explained.

Draco now had tears of laughter running down his face. "Only you, Potter. Why couldn't this have happened at school? I always thought you were soft, but I never imagined you would show it literally!"

"That is enough, young man!" Narcissa snapped, as she felt hurt coming from Harry. "You stop this pettiness right this moment. This behavior is below you." She then turned to Harry and asked, "May I pick you up, so that I can have a good look at you?"

Harry mewed and then rubbed his head on her hand, his way of agreeing.

"Yes, I am sure it is quite disconcerting getting stuck in a form that you had no idea you possessed. You have no idea how or why you transformed, do you? No, I thought not. I am sorry, Harry. I have no idea how to help you. We really need to talk to Lucius and Severus. I am sure the two of them will be able to figure this out. No, Harry, I will not let Severus lecture you. You did nothing wrong this time. Yes, I promise," Narcissa said as she walked out of the door. Turning back, she looked at Hermione. "Miss Granger, I do believe you should join us."

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"I have never seen anything like it, Lucius, his potential has no bounds! Anything magical he takes interest in should come to him as easy as breathing does. We can only hope he takes the same interest in creation that I have, if so the possible new areas of magic, they are limitless. He's incredible, Lucius. I am almost at a loss on just exactly how to describe it all," Severus explained. He sounded unusually enlivened and proud.

"Why is he only limited to what he takes an interest in? If his potential is as great as you say, shouldn't any of the known magics come as easy for him?" asked Lucius.

"Theologically, yes. Unfortunately, he seems to block areas of himself that he either doesn't like, or has been told he cannot do. I found a massive block in both the Potions and Divination magics, I don't think I need to explain either cause. The most surprising blocks are in Transfiguration and his knowledge base. It almost felt as if he was scared to succeed," Severus said, his tone contemplative.

"Gentlemen, excuse my interruption. But I do believe that it will take all of us to figure this," Narcissa held out the kitten for the men to see, "out."

"Narcissa, dear, why is that nasty little, stray fur-ball such a problem? Do you not think we have enough to worry over?" Lucius asked, giving said nasty ball of fur an utterly evil look.

Harry took neither the look, nor Lucius' tone very well. Before Narcissa could stop him, he was out of her arms hissing and scratching at Lucius.

"Harry James Potter, I am currently unsure how you got to be in this current form, but you will cease this behavior this instant! I will not have any son of mine acting in such a manner," Severus said.

Harry hissed at Severus as well, but then turned and jumped into Hermione's arms trying his best to hide in her hair.

"Professor Snape, how did you know that this was Harry? Narcissa never said who or what the kitten was," Hermione asked as soon as she got Harry quieted down.

"Who else would get themselves into such a state and it be a major problem for the house to figure out? That and I felt his need to change back as soon as the three of you entered the room," Severus explained. "He seems to be projecting not only his needs but his current emotional state. I'm shocked, Lucius, that you didn't pick up on that was well. You are normally quite sensitive, magically speaking at least. You had told me in the past that was how you survived as a Death Eater for so long. You knew how to work around the Dark Lord's current moods."

"Yes, well, I cannot feel a thing coming from that...are you sure it is Mr. Potter?" Lucius questioned.

"Oh, yes, Mr. Malfoy, I'm sure. I was right next to him when he transformed," Hermione explained.

"Well, Miss Granger, it is time for you to do what you love best, share your knowledge with the rest of us," Severus said, only slightly mockingly. "Please tell us how Harry came to be in this form, so that we can figure out how to get him back into his normal self."

She rolled her eyes, but started explaining, nonetheless. "We were talking, and I was trying to get him to open up about how he's feeling about everything that has happened recently. You all don't seem to care that he's had quite a lot dumped on him, but Ron and I do. Problem is, he's never been all that open with us either. He looked like he wanted to talk, but he seemed stuck. Truthfully, I'm not sure he even knows how to open up at all."

"You may be right, Hermione," Petunia said from the doorway. "Vernon never wanted to hear much of anything from the boy. Harry would talk back, as he got older, especially over those letters from that school. But when it came to emotional problems, Harry learned early to keep it to himself." She had slowly walked over to Hermione and started to rub Harry's head. "I'm positive I will never be able to tell you how sorry I am, Harry, but I'm glad you've found a way to show us what you need and how you feel. And it's fitting you found a way that is unique as you are," she said, and with one last scratch she left the room.

Hermione looked as dumbfounded as Harry felt. Severus, on the other hand, was trying to repress his need to kill with the need to solve the puzzle that was currently curled up in Hermione's lap.

"Will someone please explain to me, why even that Muggle can feel his projections, but I cannot?" Lucius asked, highly upset.

Narcissa laughed. "Is it not obvious, dear husband? Harry does not like you; he proved that when he left that lovely scratch across your cheek, and while I would venture to guess that Petunia, Severus, and myself are not at the top of his most favorite list at the moment, Harry has made great strides in over coming his negative feelings for us. You on the other hand keep antagonizing the poor lad, and he could not care less about you, Draco could not feel a thing from him either," Narcissa explained, getting a soft meow of agreement from Harry. He promptly jumped into her lap, curled up, and started to purr, just to tick off Lucius even more.

"Back to the problem at hand," Severus said. "Harry, I shall assume that you have tried the same technique you use to transform back from your snake. I suggest we try and take a look at your system to see where you are stuck, so if you would please, come with me. It would be most awkward if you were to transform back on top of the kitchen table, I do believe just the two of us will suffice for now. I do not think that there is enough space for everyone in Harry's room," Severus said as he picked up the kitten and walked out of the room.

Harry took a slight offence to being manhandled, but for the sake of peace, and for the return of his normal body, he let it go and settled in for the ride.

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Severus carefully set down the kitten, and then conjured a chair for him to sit in as well. "Now, Harry, you know the procedure by now. I doubt this will be much different from any other time we have done this. Only this time, you will be curled up in bed and comfortable. It is important that you relax and don't fight me, do you understand?"

Harry nodded and got into a comfortable position. ‘I hope that I will still be able to take this form again, it is warmer than being a snake, and seems to have many other advantages as well.' Harry thought while mentally laughing at the scratched Lucius Malfoy. He'd wanted to mark the man since the bookstore incident before his second year.

"When you are ready, Harry, lock your eyes with mine," Severus said. He didn't have to wait very long. Harry, almost immediately, look up into his dark eyes.

"Oh, thank goodness, I thought I was going to be stuck as a kitten forever," Harry said to the manifestation Severus took inside Harry's subconscious. "Where do you think we should start? This isn't my Animagus form, so that magic wouldn't be the cause of this, would it?"

"I am not sure we can make that assumption. You took an animal form, so I would think that magic would at least play a part in this. I would also suggest that we first look there, or in your mind magics, since you were projecting your needs as well," Severus suggested.

"So, you think I combined magics to do this, don't you? Aren't those two areas normally unrelated? Why would they combine?" Harry asked as they moved through his system.

Severus sighed. "It is no wonder you do not remember the end of our discussion, you were practically dead on your feet then. I believe you will create new areas of magic, and the easiest way to create something new is to combine two or more old things and mix them into a new form, much like what I do in Potions, if you will."

"I remember the entire conversation. I just didn't believe that you truly had that much faith in me. But here you are, speaking with such conviction; I guess I have to believe you! Wow, look at that. All of those pathways are new, aren't they?" Harry asked in awe, as he took in the new web of pathways flowing to and from his Animagus pool.

"It would seem that you have been busy since we were here last. It appears that you have combined several more areas than just the two we spoke of. Let us see...there is the mind magics flowing in from over there. That peculiar color reminds me of a pool we could not figure out the use for, it seems to be the strongest flow. I also see your intellect base, and Transfigurations as well. The rest just seem to be minor flows controlling the amount of power in the pool, in a way keeping it from getting too low, or overflowing," Severus explained as he pointed out each area.

"I see what you mean, so how do I go about switching back? As much fun as being a kitten is, I highly doubt this was what ‘The Dark Lord knows not' was referring to," said Harry.

Severus studied the webbing in depth for several minutes, before he answered Harry's question. "I want to follow that unknown flow back to its source and take a look at that pool again. I believe that might be the source of this new skill of yours. If you look carefully you can see that the magics are not really staying here, this just seems to be a hub. I have a feeling that they are really mixing here and moving off to work from there."

"Lead the way," Harry said as he held out his hand to motion for Severus to go first.

"Just as I thought, I do believe we have the solution, Harry. The reason why you could not transform back was because you were trying to turn off the wrong pool. When you transform to and from your Snake, you turn your Animagus pool on and off. But that pool is not the one controlling this power, it is only an addition to the whole. You need to turn off this pool, and then you will be yourself once again," Severus explained, almost smugly.

Harry closed his eyes and concentrated on the pool, he went through the same procedure to close off this one as he did his Animagus pool when he wanted to change from a snake back to a human. Suddenly there was a great drain of power and Severus was swept out of his son's subconscious.

"Harry? Harry come on, you need to wake up. I know this is draining on you, but we must make sure you are undamaged. That is it, now open your eyes. Come on, you can do it," Severus spoke quietly, trying his hardest not to let his fear seep into his voice.

"Ugh! What Hippogriff ran me over this time? Oh, I hope it's not always this painful, or I might not create much," Harry whined.

"When is creation ever pain free? I do believe childbirth is highly painful, but without it none of us would be here. You shall survive any pain you come across in your creations, you are stronger than you think," said Severus. "Now, do you think you can try changing again for me? I would like to see if that was just a one time thing."

"I'd like to know as well," Harry agreed before he closed his eyes and concentrated. "Meow!"

"Well, that proves you can change into a kitten form now, let us see you change back. I have a feeling it will be less painful when I am not in there to be in the way of the magic flows," Severus explained.

"Oh! That was much simpler, and no pain involved at all. I hate to say this, but I think we need to spend more time trying to figure out the functions of all the pools we found. There were several others neither of us could identify," Harry suggested.

"I agree, but I think you should rest tonight. Trying to transform back while I was in the way drained you. I want you at top form when we explore further. I shall send Miss Granger up with some dinner for the both of you. She will be most worried about you by now, I imagine," Severus said with a small smile and then left Harry to rest.