Everyone was very sorry to see Harry leave, especially Neffy. She made him promise a hundred times that he would write and that he would be visiting during the holidays and maybe even the occasional weekend. The last plea was as much aimed towards Severus as Harry. But at long last, his trunk was packed (Severus let him do it himself but under his supervision), his bracelet to trap him in boy form was on his wrist, and they were leaving the sphinx manor house. It was, in fact, the first time since he arrived that Harry would see its outer wall. Severus lifted him into his arms, their shrunk luggage already in their pockets, and they turned to wave to the clan. Then they vanished.

Harry had learned, when he was still a normal human teenager, how to apparate the year before. Severus had yet to let him try it in sphinx form, and he didn't let him this time either. There were reasons students didn't learn until they were older. In fact, Harry was so nervous about leaving home that it didn't even occur to him to ask to try it alone, and the next moment they were somewhere on the road between Hogsmead and the castle. It was not long before they came to Hogwarts itself, and it seemed even less time before they were walking up the moving stairs to the headmaster's office. Dumbledore, Remus, and Moody were waiting. Harry shrank back into Severus's arms, giving a shy wave in their general direction despite his apparent attempt to hide inside his phiter's cloak.

“Harry, Severus,” Dumbledore said, smiling gently. Remus smiled as well, though he looked a bit pale and Harry could sense the wolf stronger than before. Moody looked as suspicious and accusing as ever, as though he thought Severus might be responsible for the entire situation. He made Harry nervous, the way the man's energy was coiled to strike at any moment. Luckily, being in boy form muted the sensations enough that he didn't feel overwhelmed like he had the last time when he had seen Dumbledore. “The whole order wanted to be here to see you, of course, but I thought you would be more comfortable with just the three of us.”

“Right,” Severus agreed, giving a dark glare in Moody's direction and a disdainful expression towards the werewolf. He moved as though to set Harry down but Harry clung to him tighter and he stopped.

“Harry,” Remus said, radiating concern, “None of us are going to hurt you.”

“I am so sorry for the last time I attempted to come to you,” Dumbledore said in a caring, grandfatherly manner, “I didn't understand, then, but I do now.” The man was sincere, Harry could sense that, but he didn't relinquish his hold of Severus. He didn't know why he suddenly felt so clingy and babyish, and he hated the feeling but he just couldn't let go. Not yet.

“It isn't you,” Severus explained, his tone sounding unconcerned with the entire situation, “He doesn't know this place yet.” The three looked rather taken aback by his careless attitude, but Harry could feel waves of calm and peace wrapping around him and slowly began to uncoil. “Now,” Severus continued, “What is it that needs to be taken care of before we go to our quarters?”

“Ah, yes,” Dumbledore said, “You have been following the news, I assume?”

“If you mean the ridiculous speculation on the whereabouts of our savior, then yes,” Severus answered. Harry looked up, startled. No one had mentioned him making the paper recently, though he shouldn't have been so surprised. His name had generally been mentioned, in some form or other, for years now.

“No one knows you have guardianship, yet,” Remus said, “Of course, that will soon change. We have the story ready, about a potions accident being the reason for his sudden youth, but we should add the illusion before the students arrive.”

“He looks a right pixie,” Moody remarked, his magical eye seeing right past Severus's protective arms, “Why don't you look like that, Snape?” He sounded suspicious. Harry squirmed further into Severus's arms. Severus didn't deign to give him an answer.

“Is that all there is to do here?” he demanded of Dumbledore instead, “Because we really should start to get settled in before the other students are running about the place. We do have an entire castle to cover.”

“Of course,” Dumbledore answered, “Though there is one thing. Poppy has requested that she do a full check up. She has, of course, been reading the book that you loaned her.” Severus's glare was scathing, but he nodded his head curtly. “And of course, there is the matter of the final paperwork, concerning the special circumstances of your ward. Alaster?” Begrudgingly, Moody handed over two rolls of parchment and a quill. Severus shifted awkwardly so that he could hold Harry with one arm and look over the documents with the other. He signed without a word and handed them back again.

“There now, that's all settled,” Dumbledore said, smiling happily at everyone as Moody left by floo and he offered them all tea. Severus declined, and Harry, though no longer hiding, didn't leave his arms. Finally they left, heading for the dungeons.

Harry wasn't sure what he was expecting when they reached the rooms, rooms hidden behind a perfectly ordinary looking door which unlocked with an actual key. He had some hazy notion of dark, cold stone, the sort of place he used to imagine Severus living in before he really got to know the man, but at the same time he had some idea of the rooms in the sphinx mansion that they had left behind. The sitting room that the door opened onto was a mixture of both. It was the same stone build of the dungeons with large tapestries on the wall whose predominant colors seemed to be green and silver, but the room was not dark at all. In fact, it had large windows in between the tapestries, never mind that Harry knew they were underground, and these let in a lot of light. The furniture in the room was all made for humans, but it was otherwise very similar to the sitting room in the mansion, including a piano. There was also a large fireplace but this one had no family pictures over the mantel, only a large portrait of a wooded scene. Altogether, it was a pleasant room, if a bit Slytherin for Harry’s taste.

Once in the room, Severus set Harry down and for the first time the boy let him. He didn’t feel quite so clingy now that they were alone. In fact, he felt a bit embarrassed for how he had been acting and he purposefully moved away, intent on his exploration.

“You can take the bracelet off now,” Severus advised him, “You’ll get a better feel of the rooms in your panther form.” Harry did as he suggested, and then went to one of the two doors leading out of the sitting room. One led through a large, open doorway into a dining area of similar design to the one they just left, except that the table was obviously not meant to be adjusted to accommodate panthers, and it was slightly smaller. The other doorway led into a hall with four doors. Harry was pleased to discover that they all were adjusted with cat doors, except for one. Harry changed into a boy to open it and found out it was a closet. The door across from it led to a toilet and bath. The final two doors led into their bedrooms, and the hall ended in a giant painting of a serpent entwined in a tree, which the artist somehow managed to make look majestic rather than creepy.

Severus walked up behind Harry as he found his bedroom. It looked like a miniature rendition of the Griffyndor dormroom, complete with tower view windows and a four post bed that was every bit as large as the ones back in the tower. Harry, having changed once more into a boy, found that it would be a daunting task just to get into bed now that his body was so small.

“The size is adjustable,” Severus remarked from behind him, “Touch it and you’ll see.” Harry did, and immediately the massive bed lowered itself until the bottom of the mattress was only an inch off the floor. Harry climbed up onto it and the bed raised itself again. He grinned at the sudden rush. Then he watched as Severus pulled out his trunk and resized it for him.

“Can I use magic now?” Harry asked, “You said I’d get my wand back. Can I go flying? Am I even allowed to do magic or do I have to wait for tomorrow? And, will…will I always be that shy around other people?” He felt his face turning red as he said the last bit. Severus considered him for a moment with a raised eyebrow and Harry felt himself growing redder. He supposed he was beginning to sound a bit like Neffy with all his questions, and he decided he would stop. Just because he was small didn’t mean he had to act like it. But he did want his questions answered, all the same.

“You will get your wand this evening and we will discuss your schooling then,” Severus said at last, “And as for flying, we did not go to all the trouble of adjusting your firebolt to your new circumstances just so you could sit on the ground, but you will not fly unsupervised and we are not going flying just now.” Harry nodded, feeling suddenly a bit silly. The firebolt had been one of the gifts at the ceremony but he had forgotten about it. Severus continued talking. “As for how you react to people…it is not…unexpected…that you have some difficulty in the beginning. You will find it easier when you are not in an unfamiliar environment, so before tomorrow we will go over as much of the castle and its grounds as possible until it is familiar. There is no need to be embarrassed.”

“So tomorrow, when all the students come…” Harry said, still nervous. It was bad enough knowing how they would react to him living with the professor. He didn’t want to think about how he would look if he was clinging to the man.

“If you sit next to me during the sorting, you should become used to the crowd by the time dinner is served and can go sit with your friends. If you are still uncomfortable, stay next to me and we’ll invite them over after dinner. I will want to talk with them in any case.” Harry nodded his head, not really reassured. If he had such a shy reaction to Dumbledore and Remus of all people, how would he react when Malfoy and the other Slytherins were present? Though, to be fair, Moody had made him more nervous than the other two.

Then Severus showed Harry that when he touched the bed post the bed would lower again, and the two of them went, in panther form, into the final bedroom. This room also had a large four post bed, though with a deep green covering and a more serpentine design. It didn’t lower at Harry’s touch, but there was a small ladder that rose to his touch placed discretely on the far side where it was unlikely to be noticed. The room also had a skylight and large windows that opened upon a view underwater. Harry guessed that they were seeing the lake, though it couldn’t be very deep down because there was still plenty of light. Harry watched a school of fish swim by with fascination, but Severus scowled at the scene and reached over to tap a stone at the edge of the window. The scene changed immediately to one looking down over the lake, and a cool breeze fluttered the green curtains.

“Can I do that?” Harry asked, “Do they all change?”

“Explore the room, Harry,” Severus said without answering, “And I will ask you that you stay out of this room in the future unless I’m in here to invite you in. You may, of course, always come to me in an emergency.” Harry scowled, but did as Severus suggested, prowling about the room in his panther form. Aside from the bed there was also a large desk, a chest of drawers, a book case filled with books and another filled with vials. Both cases had a feel of magic about them; probably wards to keep others from taking the materials without permission.

Now that Harry had finished his inspection of the quarters, he felt more centered. He had a place to escape to if he had need. Severus studied him for a moment, nodded his head, and led him back towards the entrance. He stopped just before they left, taking something out of his pocket. It was a small metal key put on a chain like a necklace.

“This is a blood key,” Severus explained, “I have a similar one. Our door will not open, not even to an unlocking charm, unless you have this key. Once I set it to you, no one else will be able to use it, not even if they use polyjuice. It is not just set to your blood, it is set to your magical core, and that cannot be faked.” Then he told Harry to hold it, and he touched his own key against it with one hand, and his wand with the other while muttering something under his breath. Harry felt something spark between the keys, and then it was done. Then, much to Harry’s annoyance, Severus insisted on fastening the chain about his neck himself.

“But what if I lose the key?” Harry asked, lifting it up to look at it. He could feel the imprint of Severus’s magic running over it still.

“Don’t,” Severus answered simply. Harry dropped the key behind his shirt. Then he followed Severus out the door.

“We will go as panthers for now,” Severus said, “If anyone starts to get too near, we should have enough warning to transform. But after this day, you are never to leave these rooms without your bracelet on.” Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes as they left the rooms behind, dropping down into their panther forms. Then Severus took off, bounding down the hall and Harry leapt after him. There was still a slight twinge in his hurt shoulder, but it felt good to stretch out all his muscles. In the thrill of the run Harry felt his worries and all the tension that had been building for days melting away. Tomorrow was soon enough for worries. Now it was time to explore.

Many miles away, another figure was running on all fours down stone walls, but it did not bound so much as slink and scuttle through the shadows. Finally, it squeezed under the crack of an a door into a dark, cold room. Then the creature transformed into the shape of a man. Hesitantly, he sidled up to a stone slab. On the slab was another man, one as pale as death and frail in appearance. His hair was wild, his eyes shadowed, and even asleep he looked half wild. The first man approached him with caution. Suddenly, the wild man’s eyes sprung open and with a vicious roar he surged upwards, making as though to leap at the other man’s throat. The first man squeaked and jumped back, but before skeletal fingers could wrap about his throat, harsh shackles caught the man’s wrists and held him back.

“Now, now, old friend,” the first stammered in what he probably meant to be a consoling manner, “No need for that. I am here to help you.” The man snarled in reply, sounding more animal than human. “Your brethren have been alerted,” the first continued, approaching once more but still with great caution, “They will know how to help you face the inner demon. Some call them demons themselves, yes, we used to do the same, remember? Helping poor Moony face his own demon, not knowing what we were awakening within ourselves. But we know now, yes.”

“T-t-trait…” the wild man growled, his tongue finding difficulty with human speech.

“I saved you,” the man answered, his eyes suddenly narrowing, “I have re-redeemed myself. You will see, good friend. I made mistakes, yes, but not now. The old snake his dead, but I found his books. I saved you, and I have made new friends. The wolves are coming, and you will be whole again.”