The wedding lasted long into the wee hours of the morning, and soon , way before midnight, but after dessert, Harry curled up on a chair near Remus at the table and slept. Remus put his coat over him and told a house elf to watch the boy, then he spoke briefly to Lily about the sleeping child before taking himself off to the dessert buffet. It was there he met Lucinda Nott, whom he'd had a nodding acquaintance with in school. She was scooping up a piece of cake and a strawberry tart while he was getting some rich chocolate rice pudding and a slice of cake as well. He bumped elbows with her and said, "So sorry, I almost made you spill that."

"Oh, no harm done," she laughed softly, her eyes sparkling above her pretty emerald dress. "I'm used to getting shoved by impatient teenagers on their way out the kitchen so you're nothing compared to them." She cocked her head. "You seem familiar? Have we met before?"

"I used to go to school with you. I'm Remus Lupin."

"Oh! I remember you! I'm Lucy—Lucinda Nott."

"Nice to meet you." Remus offered her a friendly smile. "Why don't we, uh, sit down and eat together. We could, uh, reminisce about our crazy schooldays, though I'll bet mine were nuttier than yours."

Lucy chuckled. "You'd win, since you hung out with the Marauders, as Lily terms them." She carried her dessert over to Remus' table. "My brother was the crazy one in my family. He was a Quidditch player and obsessed—with the game and with winning. He drove me crazy."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Sometimes that makes me glad I was an only child," Remus said.

Lucy noticed Harry. "Aww, poor luv! He's fallen asleep. Lily or Sev ought to tuck him in bed."

"I told Lily he was here and she said she'd see to it, but right now they were talking to their guests. He seems fine where he is," Remus said. "He's a good kid, I enjoyed talking to him tonight. He reminds of Lily sometimes and then he also reminds me of James, especially when he has guts enough to give Snape cheek," he explained about the comment Harry made and it made Lucy giggle.

"That boy! Him and my Theo—sassy and cheeky as the day is long! He's lucky Sev was in a good mood and not of a mind to make him scrub cauldrons or beakers."

"Is that what he does when they misbehave? Makes them clean stuff?"

"Oh, sometimes. But first he lectures them, makes them know they've been out of line. Sometimes he had them write lines, or weed the garden, clean up after dinner. But usually he leaves the punishments to me if my boy misbehaves, which isn't often. Same with Lily. Though now he's married to her, he'll probably take a more active role in disciplining Harry."

"Harry said he spanked him once."

"Aye, and it was Harry's idea, not Severus'. The boy felt guilty about crashing his broom into Severus and causing them to fall and nearly die. If it weren't for Lily catching Sev . . . well . . .Severus was in a coma and needed surgery . . ." Lucy explained about the injury and Harry's and his subsequent guilt, though she left out Theo's being able to transform into a cold drake. That was a closely guarded Nott family secret.

Remus listened, astonished, about Severus gradual recovery. "He's lucky he's alive, much less functioning the way he is."

"Aye, and he knows it. Harry does too, which was why he felt so guilty."

"I still can't believe he asked Severus to spank him. Most boys go out of their way to avoid punishment."

"'Tis true. He couldn't seem to stop feeling guilty, even when Severus forgave him. Harry's an unusual boy, Remus. He . . . feels things deeper than most and he was raised by these awful Muggles who taught him than anything that went wrong was his fault. So when Sev's accident happened, he naturally blamed himself and nothing me, Theo, or even his mum could say would change his mind. Severus felt Harry punished himself enough, but the boy didn't feel the same way. So he did what Harry wanted, and it was the only time he did." Lucy cleared her throat. "Understand, Lupin, Severus isn't a violent or cruel man like you believe most Slytherins to be. He's a Healer, one who works with pediatrics, and most of his patients adore him. He hates seeing children in pain and does his best to end it. He's been like a father to my Theo since I came here, and he treats me with the love and respect not even my own family gave me. So don't be getting on your high horse and trying to preach Slytherin intolerance to me, mister! Because I'm a former Slytherin too, don't you know?"

Remus sat with his mouth agape for two seconds before he said quietly, "Forgive me, Lucy. Sometimes I have a big mouth and I used to hang out with people who swore Slytherins were devils incarnate. I know that's not so, but old habits die hard and I . . . I just was worried about Harry, based on what he went through with his relatives."

"Humph! I hope you mean those pretty words, mister. Severus Snape's the archangel Gabriel compared to those Dursleys! More abusive nasty people I've never seen and that's saying a thing or two!"

Remus held up his hands. "I'm sorry if I've offended you, Miss Nott. It wasn't my intention. I don't mean to badmouth Severus or Lily, in fact I'm here to bury the hatchet." He sighed ruefully. "Looks like I keep putting my foot in my mouth. That's why I tend to stay away from people, I always seem to say the wrong thing. I was just concerned for Harry. I had assumed that he was being taken care of properly by the Dursleys, I trusted Dumbledore too much. I was wrong. I'm glad Lily is awake and able to raise Harry and she's found happiness with Severus. All I wanted was to put the past behind me and to see how Harry was doing."

Lucy blushed faintly. "'Tis much my fault as yours, Remus. I've always had a bit of a temper and been defensive where Severus' been concerned. It's a way of making sure no nasty rumors got started between me and him when I first came to work for him as his housekeeper. Once I was from a fine family, as I'm sure you know, till I defied my father and married my husband Finn, a Muggleborn without a pedigree and bore a Squib child by him. I was at the end of my wits before Severus took us in, and he's always treated us decent, never made comments about me or Theo, just accepted us for what we were. I was used to being an outcast, but Severus made me feel like I was somebody—and he did it without offering me marriage to make me "respectable". And yes, there's allus been rumors here and there about the good doctor and the widowed housekeeper in the village, but they're all rubbish. Severus and I are like brother and sister, even if Theo considers him a father figure."

"He's always loved Lily. Since school, I've known that."

"And you never told anyone?"

Remus shrugged. "It wasn't my place. But I'm glad they've found each other now. They deserve each other. And so does Harry. What about you, Miss Nott? Would you ever consider another man?"

"That depends, Mr. Lupin, on the man. For one he'd have to accept my Theo—no magic and a crippled foot as well. He can walk, but he limps. For the other, he'd have to accept a former fine lady turned Yorkshire housewife. Not many would."

Remus' eyes twinkled. "What would you say, Lucy, if I told you I have a secret as well to share? One that's caused me no end of trouble."

"I'd say best ye mind who ye share it with."

"Can I trust you?"

"I can keep mum wi' the best of 'em, mannie," she said, reverting to her full Yorkshire.

Remus looked at her steadily. "This something that's never been well known, but if I'm to have any kind of relationship at all—even as a friend—I feel you need to know." He leaned over and whispered in her ear, "I'm a werewolf."

"So," was all she said for a long moment. There was no revulsion or horror in her eyes.

Remus watched her carefully, expecting her to bolt from the table, as was the usual reaction when a woman learned of his furry problem.

Then she laid a hand on his arm. "Was it something you sought, or was it an attack?"

"I never sought it!" he growled vehemently. "I was a child when I was bitten. I was around five. My parents and I were on a camping trip when Fenrir Greyback found us. Do you know of him? He deliberately seeks out children to bite, trying to make for himself a new race of weres. I was bitten and contracted lycanthropy. And for years I suffered the curse. I was lucky Dumbledore allowed me to attend Hogwarts. That was where I met James, Sirius, and Peter. They didn't know what I was, until one night they followed me . . ."

He told about the Marauders becoming Animagi to try and help him, he even explained about the awful night they had lured Severus to the Shrieking Shack. He told about his shame and anger. Then he told her about the Wolfsbane. "It makes me safe . . . makes me less dangerous. It's a Godsend. I don't have to suffer the rage, the horrible hatred, the madness anymore. It's expensive, the potions maker I go to charges me an arm and a leg, but it's worth it. With it, I'm finally normal. In a way."

"Have you ever considered asking someone else to brew the Wolfsbane?"

"Like whom?"

"Severus can. Or Lily too. Both are expert potioneers."

A light came into the werewolf's eyes. "I . . . never thought about asking them."

"Well. Now you can. I'm sure they'd be more reasonable." Lucy said.

"Then you're not . . . disgusted by me?"

"If I was, would I still be here? Lycanthropy's a terrible disease, not something to be disgusted over. Like my Theo, you have a handicap. What matters is how you deal with it, not what it is." She squeezed his hand. "Would you care to dance, Remus? I've been longing to twirl my skirts all evening."

"Why haven't you?"

"I hadn't found the right gentleman to partner me," she answered impishly.

"And now?" he asked, greatly daring.

"Now I have," she said simply, and pulled him up and together they went onto the dance floor, where they danced till the dawn came over the horizon.

Page~*~*~*~*~Break

Malfoy Manor

A few days before Christmas:

"Can you believe there's only two days till Christmas?" exclaimed Draco. He was sprawled carelessly on his huge four poster bed in his room, his head on his hands as he lay on his stomach, messing up the expensive green and gold duvet. After the wedding he'd gone back to school long enough for midterm exams and then come home again for the holidays. He would be home through New Year's.

"Three," Theo corrected, sitting on a comfy chair to the side of the bed, resting his bad foot on a padded stool.

"I'm not counting today, since it's already here," Draco said, waving a hand in dismissal. "I just can't wait for Christmas. Father promised me one of the new brooms—the Nimbus 2001—if I behaved at school. I did, and I got good marks in spite of my stupid teachers in Defense and History of Magic. Now I just have to wait and see. I hate waiting!" He looked at Theo and Harry. "How about you two? Anything new since I've been gone? My mother mentioned that your mum's been seeing someone she used to go to school with named Remus Lupin, Theo. How's that one working out?"

Theo chuckled. "Not bad, if I say so myself. Remus is all right, he really likes my mum, takes her out to eat, nothing fancy, but nice, know what I mean? He's got a job as a groundskeeper on some fancy estate, I forgot what, but he makes enough money to take Harry and me to Quidditch games."

"He took us to one last week," Harry said. "It was the Wasps vs. the Cannons. It was wicked, especially the fight during the second half."

"I'd have liked to see that, instead of Binn's boring old backside," Draco groused. "Maybe Father can get us into a game sometime this holiday. He usually knows people in Magical Sports and Games who owe him favors."

"That'd be good," Harry said. "It's been the usual around Heatherting, except for my mum and dad making out in the corridor when they think we can't see them." He rolled his eyes. "You'd think they were teenagers or something! Or that we were six, right Theo?"

"Yeah, it's pretty funny, how they act. I keep expecting them to announce Lily's expecting any day now."

Draco whistled. "A baby? How would that go over with you two?"

Theo shrugged. "It's bound to happen someday, so I don't really mind. I like little kids."

"As long as it's a boy. I could teach a little brother some things, like how to fly and stuff. I don't know how I'd be with a girl, like you, Draco," Harry admitted.

"Sometimes Aradia's a little pain. Makes me pick her up, tell her stupid fairy stories, and comb her hair. Once she even made me play house," the scion of Malfoy Manor's face went red. "Don't ever tell anybody that, or I'll kill you. She can also have tantrums when I won't do what she wants. But other times she's sweet and likes to hug me or says I'm the best brother in the world. It all depends. And someday I'll teach her how to cast spells and ride a broom. Having a little brother or sister is sort of like having a puppy—some days you want to hug them and pet them and other days you want to kick them out of the house. So be prepared, Harry."

Harry winced. "Maybe I'm not ready for this. I'll keep praying for them not to have a baby yet."

Draco nodded. "What do you want for Christmas?"

"I want the same thing as you—a new broom. I only have my dad's old one now. But maybe I'll get a new one for Christmas. Maybe not a Nimbus, that costs a lot, but something better than my old one." Harry said wistfully. He would have liked a Nimbus 2000 but knew better than to expect one. Severus and Lily weren't rich as Creosus like the Malfoys.

"And I want the new Encyclopedia of Drafts, Solutions, and Potions," Theo announced. "Plus a new cauldron and stirrers. I'll probably never get the first one, I know what it costs, seen it in Slug and Jiggers last month, it's almost as much as a good racing broom. But I can hope."

"Hmm. Maybe your mum can get you one at a time?" Draco said. Sometimes he felt awkward, knowing he could afford things his friends couldn't. Maybe he could ask Lucius to lend him money to get Theo some of the set as a present. And he could get Harry tickets to a Quidditch game with front box seats.

"Maybe." Theo shifted slightly in his seat, moving his foot to keep it from growing stiff.

Draco yawned. "Merlin, I'm bored! We ought to do something."

"We could play Quidditch," Theo suggested.

"Before we do that, would you mind if I looked in your library?" asked Harry. "Lucius told me about a book about wizarding criminals that I'd like to read. It contains information about Sirius Black, who betrayed my parents."

"Remus told me that Black was forced into it, because his brother Regulus was a werewolf," Theo interjected. "He said Voldemort told him either he told where you were or his brother would die a horrible death."

"Well, whatever happened, I want to read about it," Harry said. "Would you mind waiting, Draco?"

"No. I've got nothing better to do. Go ahead."

Harry slipped out of the room and down the hall to the library. It was very large, with shelves and shelves of books. He looked at them in dismay, before a house lf asked if he could help. Harry told the elf the book he was looking for and the elf brought it to him.

There was a picture of a man's face on the cover, dressed in prison garb with a sign with numbers on it. It looked like a wanted poster. Harry tucked the book under his arm and went back to find Theo and Draco.

The boys went out back and played one on one Quidditch for awhile, with Theo keeping score. Theo wished suddenly he could show Draco his cold drake form and become Tempest, but he knew it wasn't allowed. The shapeshifting talent the Nott family possessed had always been kept secret, except to those who were related to them, by blood or marriage. Since Draco wasn't, Theo couldn't show him, though he really wished he could. Draco's eyes would pop out for sure.

Finally, Harry and Draco tired and they went in for lunch, provided by the Malfoy house elves. Lucius was in his study, speaking to some important officials at the Ministry and Narcissa was shopping with Aradia for Christmas outfits, along with Lily.

Once lunch was finished, the boys were at loose ends. Harry thought about reading his book, but decided to wait till he got home, after dinner. He was pondering what to do next when he recalled the tunnels beneath the manor. "Hey, Draco. Aren't their tunnels beneath here where smugglers used to bring stuff? I heard your dad tell Severus that once." He blushed at his slip, he sometimes forgot to refer to Severus as "Dad" now.

Draco frowned. "Yes, there are, but we're not supposed to go into them. Father says they're dangerous, they could collapse or have spells on them to make us detour away from the house and wander around lost forever. Some of my family used to smuggle illegal magic items back and forth for gold, or even people who wanted to get out of the country. It was a big business back then, but the risks paid off, since we're rich now."

"Do you know where they are?" Theo whispered. "Could we take a quick look at them?"

Draco hesitated. He knew he'd be breaking one of the number one rules if he took his friends down there, to the cellars. But they wouldn't be going in the tunnels, he reasoned, just seeing them. There was no harm in that. It wasn't like they were going to explore them.

"All right. But just a quick look, no going down one." He looked around before trying the cellar door off the main foyer. "Come on, quick, before someone sees."

"Like who? A house elf?" asked Harry, following. "Would they tell on you?"

"I thought the elves had to do whatever you said," Theo recalled, puzzled.

"Mine does, and I could command him not to tell anything," Draco sighed, as they went down the stairs, lit by a single mageglobe. "But the rest of the elves serve the manor, which means my father, and they do what he tells them. When I was small, he told almost all of them to keep an eye on me, like he does Aradia now, and that means if I go somewhere I shouldn't, they'll either tell me not to and if I don't listen, they'll go and get him. So that's why I want to hurry."

The stairs were long and the smell from the cellar was dank, of old mold and stake air and Harry thought he smelled wine too. "Is there . . . wine down here, Draco?"

"Yes, there's some. Part of this is a wine cellar," answered the blond boy.

"Is it true that there's torture chambers down here too?" asked Theo. "My mum said a lot of the old pureblood houses were once castles with stuff like that. The Nott manor had one . . . I think."

Draco snickered. "If I told you yes, would you run back upstairs?"

Theo glared at him. "I'm just asking."

"No. There were some unused rooms here for holding smuggled goods, but not a torture chamber. This manor was built on the ruins of the original way back in the 1700's there was a fire that destroyed the upper floors and all, I forgot how it started, but the upstairs is all new, less than three hundred years old. Come on. The tunnels are this way."

He led them across the floor and past several racks of casks of wine. The cellar was dimly lit by small mageglobes attached to the wall.

"Where do they lead?" asked Harry.

"Outside to some kind of hidden place," Draco said shortly. "I really don't know, Potter, 'cause I never went down to the end of them."

Harry glanced around at the old flagstones on the floor, covered with moss in some spots and saw various doors leading off to other rooms. He was beginning to get an eerie feeling being down here and just wanted to take a look at the tunnels and leave.

Finally, Draco stopped in front of a barred wooden door and laid his hand on the old iron latch. It glowed for a moment and there was a loud click. Then it swung open.

Draco stepped back. "That'll only open for a Malfoy. It's spelled to do so for blood only."

He put a foot across the threshold and a flickering yellow light went on. "Take a look." He beckoned his friends forward.

Harry and Theo crowded into the entrance.

They saw a long tunnel dug out of solid rock, the rock was gray with yellow streaks and the floor was earthen. There was a smell of damp earth and stone coming from it and Harry wrinkled his nose. The tunnel went down on a slant and the only thing visible was the way down. A long way down he could see a gaping hole, like a passage.

"Wow! It looks like it heads to the center of the earth."

"It looks kind of dank and wet," Theo said. "I wonder if it leads to the sea somehow?"

"No. We're miles from the ocean," Draco disagreed. "This is Wiltshire."

Harry's eyes lit. "Imagine we were some old Malfoy ancestors, trading in forbidden magic items—like cloaks and daggers and stuff!"

"Or chests of gold and jewels," Theo said.

"And the Aurors or whoever were chasing us," Draco added.

The boys started to make up more of a tale, and Harry and Theo started to walk across the threshold, caught up in their mythical playacting.

Draco saw, but before he could say anything, he heard a sharp cold voice exclaim, "Well. Well. Mr. Potter and Mr. Nott, what on earth are you doing?"

Everyone froze.

It was Lucius, lighting up the tip of his dragon cane. He did not look happy.

Draco gulped. "Uh, hello, Father. I can explain . . ."

"Good. I would hope you have a very good explanation for bringing your two friends down here where you know it's expressly forbidden for you to go, Draco."

"We're sorry, sir," began Theo, jumping back to the safe ground."

"We asked Draco to show us, don't be mad at him," Harry said loyally.

"Mr. Potter," Lucius said, his voice colder than ice, "My son knows the rules of this house and knows why they are here. He also knows better than to be swayed by the opinion of his friends."

"I'm sorry, Father," Draco began.

"There are dangerous things in these tunnels, old magic and unsound construction," Lucius began. "They're not for children to be playing about in."

"We weren't playing, sir," Harry protested. "Not exactly."

Lucius snorted. "That's a typical excuse if I've ever heard one. Come with me, boys. We're going upstairs where I can keep an eye on you until Cissy and Lily come home. That way you won't be tempted into more mischief." He frowned at all of them, but especially Draco, who hung his head. "Draco, I am disappointed in you. I thought you had better sense . . ."

He lectured them all the way to his study, where he had them all sit in uncomfortable hard backed chairs in front of his desk while he wrote correspondences until Narcissa, Aradia, and Lily came back.

Aradia provided a distraction for a few moments, laughing and hugging all the boys, but then Lily asked why Luc was frowning, and once she found out what had almost happened, was embarrassed and apologetic. "I'm so sorry, Luc. I'll speak to Harry and Theo at home, as will Lucy and Severus. Thank goodness you caught them in time."

"Nothing happened, Mum!" Harry cried.

"You be quiet, young man," she ordered. "Nothing happened, but not because you were obeying the rules. Now come along, we're going to have a long talk when we get home about listening to people when you're over their houses."

Harry just remembered to grab the book before Lily towed him, Theo, and her packages back to their cottage.

Both boys endured similar lectures from Lucy and Severus about disobeying rules and discussions about what could have happened even though Harry and Theo had barely gone a few feet down the tunnel. All of the parents decided that the boys were to have no dessert tonight as a reminder to not encourage a friend to disobey rules again, and Lucy was going out with Remus tonight, so Lily and Severus ordered some food from the village and picked it up to eat.

Once dinner was over and the dishes done, Harry was banished to his room, as was Theo, though he was allowed to stay over at the main cottage because Lucy was gone and Severus didn't want him staying at the gardener's house alone. Theo was put in a spare room a few doors down from Harry.

Harry began to read the book he'd borrowed from the Malfoy library, concentrating first on Sirius Black. The chapter concerning him was quite long and by the time Harry finished it, he was growing a little sleepy. He was thirsty and wanted a glass of milk, but didn't know if he was allowed to have it. He knocked on the door of Severus' bedroom, which Lily now shared. "Mum? Can I talk to you?"

"What is it, Harry?" came Lily's voice. "I'm getting into pajamas."

"I'm thirsty. Can I get a glass of milk?"

"Yes. Just mind you drink it in your room. You can bring the empty glass back in the morning."

Harry quickly went into the kitchen and got the milk. He supposed the punishment for their forbidden excursion wasn't too bad. They could have been grounded for the break. Or gotten a present taken away. He hurried back into the room and got into pajamas too.

Harry hoped Draco hadn't gotten in too much trouble. Then again, he sighed, there was nothing he could do about it. He settled down with the book again. Besides Sirius Black, there were a variety of other criminals who were written about, some had done murder and other things in the eighteen hundreds. There was one that caught his eye—it was of a man named Joyce Carew.

He was standing on a street and throwing his head back. There was an odd look on his face, almost like ecstasy. He was lifting his arms up and there was rain coming down. Rain and lightning bolts striking the ground beside him. No, as Harry studied the picture, he saw that the lightning wasn't hitting the ground, but hitting Carew. And Carew's eyes—they were glowing.

Harry knew the picture felt familiar. Then it hit him. Carew's eyes were glowing like his did when he felt or called a storm. Carew wasn't getting hit by lightning, he was absorbing it. Carew was a stormcaller.

Like me.

Harry turned the page, and sure enough, there it was—Joyce Carew, stormcaller.

He wondered what his crime was. He began to read.

As he read, his eyes grew bigger and bigger. Not only had Carew delighted in using his powers to control storms, he'd deliberately hurt people with them, blowing up houses and building and killing people, even children. Harry would have dismissed it as the actions of a horrible person, but then he read a paragraph that chilled him to his soul.

It was written by a young witch who was studying the case as a Mind Healer dissertation. She wrote that Carew can hardly be totally blameless for his crimes, heinous as they are, because it is a proven fact that all those born with the lightning mark of the stormcaller are bound to go mad eventually. Carew is a criminal of the first order, a sociopath without remorse or conscience, but can we truly blame him for his spree of killing? Is this not a result of his growing storm powers, and the fact that he is going mad from using them? I believe a case can be made . . .

He read the paragraph over and over, shaking his head in denial. Surely what was written here was wrong. Carew was a killer, he chose to hurt people with his power. The young witch was wrong, stormcallers did not all go mad.

He continued reading, noting how the witch cited different sources for her case, documenting more studies about stormcallers . . .all of whom were mad before their seventeenth birthday. Or dead.

Harry thought about how many times Severus had stressed control during their lessons. It was the number one thing he taught. He recalled the grave look on the man's face when he spoke with Lily once, Harry had overheard a partial conversation before leaving the house to gather herbs from the garden. " . . . learning as best he can. There is no danger . . . yes, I'm aware of it . . . but with time and patience . . . it may not occur . . . trust me . . ."

Harry had ignored that whispered speech then, but now it came back to him. They had known. Known about a stormcaller's abilities. Known that the fate of those who called storms was to die a mad thing . . . . crazed and vicious, like a rabid animal. None had ever survived to adulthood.

He flipped through the rest of the book, finding several references to other books about stormcallers in the bibliography.

Heedless of breaking his punishment, the horror and betrayal mounting, he ran from his room and into the library where Severus kept all of his books. He looked for the titles of several, most were case studies, Severus was a Mind Healer, he was bound to have some.

But he could find none of them. They were gone. Or missing.

Harry's heart pounded. It seemed impossible they could have hid something this big, this life altering, this terrible from him. But they had.

Stormcallers were destined to go mad.

And Severus and Lily and maybe even Lucy had known it.

And they had hid the truth from him.

Angry and scared and sickened all at the same time, Harry stood in the middle of the library, the borrowed book clutched in his hand. He wished he had never learned the truth. At the same time he was glad he finally knew. He felt sick to his stomach, like he was going to vomit from the lies he'd been told.

He groaned as he wrapped his arms about his middle. He needed to talk to his mother, to confront her. Her and Severus, they were in this together. But at the same time he didn't want to. He wanted to crawl under his bed and hide from the awful truth.

He was going to go crazy. And no one could stop it.

No! NO! I'll . . . I'll run away first!

He turned and bolted out the door.

Running right into Severus, who was coming down the hall towards his room to relax with Lily.

Harry gasped he fell backwards.

Severus grabbed him, holding him upright. "Harry, what are you doing? You're supposed to be in your room, what are you doing here? You look pale, are you sick?"

The slightly stern yet concerned tone made Harry furious. "Yes, I'm sick! Sick of you and Mum bloody lying to me the whole time!"

Severus frowned. "I don't know what you're talking about. Now stop shouting and talk to me, young man, like a normal human being."

"But I'm not normal, am I, Severus?" Harry hissed. "I'm a stormcaller. And stormcallers always go mad, don't they? Don't they?" he screamed.

Power surged up within him and he wrenched away from the other man, lifting his hands. He could feel the power roiling within him, begging to be released. He lfited his hands and blue lightning shot from them.

Severus had a mere second to form a spell. Then the blue lightning slammed into him.