The preparations were completed for Severus and Harry's journey. Severus, with Hadwyn's help, had packed up his private Potions lab and readied it for travel. Aside from that, he was only taking clothes and some books. Hadwyn had assured him that his cabin was well stocked and that they would need little in the way of provisions.

Harry had finally finished Hermione's letter and it read like this:

'Dear Hermione,'

'I can't believe,' (it was scribbled out)

'Actually, I can believe that you wouldn't believe me when I was told you I was okay with Snape.

You don't ever,' (it had a large X drawn through it)

'You don't listen to me when I tell you how I am, and I suppose I should have just expected that this time. Snape is a good person!'

'You threatened the headmaster? That's so stupid! He could expel you and he'd be totally right in doing it. I figure you were just trying to keep me safe, yeah? I appreciate it. I do, but I don't need you to take care of me anymore. Snape is doing that and he's doing a real good job too.'

'I need you to just stay out of his business for awhile. Out of OUR business. Snape, well he's adopting me. He's giving me a life away from the Dursleys and if you keep this up, that's where I'm gonna have to go back to this summer. He's not hurting me. He gives me three meals a day and he bought me new clothes, and he wants me to do good in my classes. He says my mum was real smart, and that I could be just like her if I tried.

'So please, just stay outta our hair for a while. This could be really good for me. Please don't mess it up!'

'HARRY'

Both letters had been charmed by Severus, and then he had escorted Harry up to the owlery late that night to get reunited with Hedwig. Harry had taken Snitch with him and had tentatively introduced the two of them. It turned out that he needn't have worried. Hedwig took to Snitch as though he were one of her own, and Snitch had jabbered at her in a series of long squeaks and clicks that had both humans confused. Hedwig had ended the reunion by nipping Harry's hand (presumably in retaliation for his long absence) and then had held still while he attached the two notes to her leg. With one last soft hoot, she had flown out the window towards the Gryffindor tower.

"Is she going to deliver them straight to their dorms?" Harry asked Severus after watching her fly for a few moments.

"That does seem to be the case."

"How's she gonna get in?"

"She's a smart owl. I'm sure she'll find her way," Severus said softly, before slowly putting a hand on his shoulder and leading them away from the window. "Come. It is time for bed. I daresay our trip tomorrow will be tiring and you will need your rest."

. . .

Hadwyn walked them to the apparition point. They had already shrunk all of their necessary belongings, and were going to portkey to a place just outside the dragon reserve. Hadwyn had tried to explain portkeys to Harry, but most of it had gone over his head. To him, it sounded a bit like travelling by bungee cords hooked to your stomach. He wasn't at all sure that he wanted to experience such a thing, but he was trying to be brave.

Snitch was resting within an inner pocket of his robes, and occasionally he ran his fingers over the slight bulge on his chest, just to make sure his friend was still there.

They stopped just on the edge of the Forbidden forest and Hadwyn laid his much larger hand on Harry's shoulder.

"He'll be fine. Yeh'll all be," Hadwyn said with a small grin.

"Yeah," Harry whispered.

"Are you ready, Harry?" Severus looked at him seriously and he found himself nodding his head.

Severus pulled out a broken glass stirring rod.

"This is the portkey, Harry. We must both touch it for it to work."

On a whim, he stepped closer to his professor and then gave a relieved smile as he felt Severus' strong arm pull him against his much warmer side in a one armed hug.

"Three . . . Two . . . One."

The portkey hooked him by his navel and yanked him forwards into space. He could still feel Snape's arm around his shoulders, but he couldn't see and he couldn't breathe. The hook in his stomach reminded him of the unpleasant nightmares that he had experienced just after his last flashback, and although he tried to be brave and bear through it, the feelings overwhelmed him.

. . .

They landed on the side of a lesser used trail near to the Plitvice Lakes. Large leafless trees swathed in bedraggled piles of dirty snow overlooked their path. The last vestiges of winter were clearly still upon the land.

There were no sounds of birds or other small creatures in the surrounding forests. The body of water next to them was frozen over, and the trees were still and unmoving as they watched the land around them. Except for the sound of screaming, the world that greeted them was completely silent.

. . .

Harry was lost in his body's memories. True, he had been unconscious and his mind had been absent from the horrors of what Lupin had done to him, but his body remembered, and more importantly, his magic did as well.

Magic was an odd thing. It had no mass, and yet it could be found in every crevice of a wizard's body. One could not see through magic, but one could sense and one could feel. Harry's magic remembered what his body had gone through. It had not been able to fight Lupin off on its own, but it had borne witness to what had occurred, at least in a limited fashion.

Harry screamed as his body remembered the pain, remembered the sensation of being opened and split and taken. He screamed as his magic added to that memory pain; as it reminded him of the betrayal of another supposedly trusted individual.

Completely unaware of his surroundings, he fought and scrabbled and begged against the forceful onslaught of his memories.

Severus reacted quickly, dropping down to his knees in the cold snow beside Harry and gathering him into his arms. Harry clawed at his own skin, forcing Severus to grab at his hands and hold them tight as well.

"Make it stop, make it stop!" Harry begged into Severus chest, pushing against him as his feet dug further into the snow and the muck underneath.

Somewhere in the far distance, Severus heard a low roar, and his eyes widened as he recognized the sound of a dragon calling out into the late afternoon air. They weren't safe out there in the open, and the temperature was beginning to drop further as the shadows lengthened around them.

And still Harry screamed.

It was the worst flashback yet, and Severus' heart clenched within his chest at his helplessness.

"Harry! Look at me!"

Forcing the child's head up to meet his own was no easy feat, but Severus managed. Bright green eyes wracked with pain met his own as he tried to establish a connection between them, but Harry's mind was too fragile to withstand it and Severus was thrown backwards with the force of the boy's raw defensive magic.

Between them, Snitch tried to hold onto his boy and soothe him with his own kind of magic, but Harry was too out of control, too lost within the horrific memory of what had happened to him. Far too aware that his boy needed help and also knowing that there was none to be had, Snitch did what Severus could not do.

Bursting from Harry's robe pocket, Snitch unfurled his wings and took flight.

"Snitch!" Severus called out below him. "Come back here, damn it!"

Feeling bad, but not having any way to explain himself, Snitch didn't look back as he flew onwards into the woods.

Unaware of the grimace that had taken over his features, Severus fought against the bucking boy in his lap for several more minutes before finally managing to transfer both of Harry's hands to only one of his own. With a hand free, he deftly reached into an inside pocket and pulled out a stoppered vial of calming potion.

"No! Nonononono!" Harry screamed out into his shoulder, jerking his head back hard into Severus' hand and throwing the glass vial to the snowy ground beside them.

"No! I can't! He won't . . . stop," Harry babbled, begging hoarsely into Severus' shoulder.

The sharp scent of ammonia filled the space between them and Severus felt his legs grow warm as the child's bladder released.

Harry didn't realise that he had wet himself. To him, the sensation of something warm trickling down his leg was yet another reminder of what his body had endured after the rape itself.

Severus tried to reach the calming potion, but the small vial was just out of his reach. Keeping a careful hold of Harry, he began sliding sideways across the snow. He hadn't realised how far the cold wet snow had soaked into his trousers until he began trying to move his limbs. They were sluggish and heavy and he hastily cast a wandless heating spell over them both in an effort to stave off the inevitable hypothermia.

Finally snagging the damnable vial between thumb and forefinger, he pulled out his wand and carefully spelled the calming potion directly into Harry's stomach. He would have preferred to feed it to the boy, but with Harry's flailing movements, he more than likely would have choked on it.

The effect of the potion was almost instantaneous. Suddenly the screaming ceased as Harry slumped nearly boneless against his chest.

Severus slumped too for a moment; his tense muscles relaxing briefly as he allowed himself a small period of relief.

. . .

Snitch flew hard into the steadily darkening woods. His boy was in trouble. He had to help his boy. That was all he could think of as he flew.

He followed a path that he could sense more than see. It was a trail that was only visible to those with magic, and instinctively he knew that there would be someone to help at its conclusion.

A twinkling light caught his eye and he let out a soft squeak of relief, adjusting his course slightly at its sight. Barely acknowledging the burnt inscription on the dwelling's front door, Snitch gathered his magic together and with a burst of speed he flew straight into the heavily warded structure.

A woman with long golden silver hair was seated inside, and at his arrival, she looked up sharply; responding to his sudden appearance with a steely eyed gaze of pale blue.

Snitch squeaked loudly, flying around her head and shoulders as she got to her feet too slowly for his taste.

He landed on her outstretched arm and ran up its length to her face, putting his nose to her own; his eyes conveying his worry and fears much better than the words she had been trying to speak to him with.

"Peace, little one," she intoned softly into his ear and he squeaked loudly in return.

My boy! My boy is in trouble! Help help help! His mind all but screamed; volleying a series of images into her mind of both Harry and Severus.

Bending down, he caught a piece of her sleeve in his mouth and began pulling on it. It was cold outside and his boy was sad. His boy was scared. His boy needed him!

With that thought, he jumped into the air and would have flown immediately back, if not for the sound of the woman's voice.

"Wait for me, little one! Let me help your young master," she said, hastily pulling on a wool cloak and grabbing a dark scarf and mittens as she rushed to the door behind him.

. . .

Elena Magija was used to the woods that surrounded her home, as well as the surprises found within. She had lived there for the better part of five decades, and she was accustomed to the dangers that working with dragons presented her with.

She had seen a great deal of unexpected things in her time spent in the woods. She had witnessed the birth of many dragons, including the great Blue that nested in the largest of the Plitvice Lakes. She had seen dragons die and be reborn in a pit of fire and scales. She had seen what they could do when threatened, and she had witnessed their great understanding and kindness in the face of a child's innocent wonder.

And yet, for all that she had seen, never had she witnessed a creature surpass her wards as easily as the young magical pygmy loris had done that evening.

She had looked into its eyes and most surprisingly, images had begun flashing before her eyes. She was accustomed to communicating with the dragons in such a way, but typically, dragon playmates were not capable of the skill.

The cold air hit her like a slap in the face after the warmth of being inside. Just barely visible in front of her, she could see the young primate flying quickly towards the road that ran just north of her property. At seventy-nine, she was just barely past middle-age for wizards, and although running through snow covered woods at dusk was unpleasant, it was at least possible. It helped that she knew these grounds like the back of her hand.

It also helped that the pygmy loris was still in the brightest part of its development. She had never had one as a familiar, but she had seen them in the company of other dragon keepers.

The creature squeaked in front of her as she agilely leapt over a protruding root of the massive tree she was passing. Moving more carefully, she slowed her gait as she ran down the short embankment that led to the road.

Abruptly, the trees cleared and none too gracefully, she tripped onto the road itself, barely managing to keep from falling as the terrain changed. There, not ten feet from her was a weary man walking towards her, a young boy held fast in his arms. Dressed all in black, his face a pale splotch of colour against the dark sky, the man looked like a physical representation of Death himself. If not the colour in the boy's cheeks, she would have thought they were both ghouls walking the path to the Other World.

. . .

When the woman had burst from the dark woods onto the road in front of them, Severus had briefly wondered if he was hallucinating. After getting the calming potion into Harry, he had rocked the boy for several more minutes as he had wept piteously into his shoulder. The most heartbreaking thing had been just before the child had fallen asleep from exhaustion. Whispering in a hoarse voice, Harry had uttered four words.

"I want my mum," Harry had sobbed before finally closing his eyes and surrendering to unconsciousness.

Severus had damned Lupin and the Dark Lord to hell and beyond at that point; damned them all for creating this wretched situation that they both now found themselves in. In fact, he might have still been cursing them all if not for the sudden appearance of the older woman. Clearly magical, she wore her hair loose and it fell nearly to her waist in gold and silver waves. In the dim light of early evening, he couldn't see much beyond that, but her clothes did seem to be made of sturdy materials and perhaps homespun as well.

In addition, the fact that she was willing to travel alone at night spoke highly of her ability to defend herself. With that consideration, Severus felt his estimation of the woman increase a notch.

"I take it that this creature belongs to you?" The woman inquired, pointing to the small figure of Snitch as he flew towards them.

"I do apologize if he has bothered you, madame," Severus answered stiffly; his exhaustion interfering with his ability to be anything beyond strictly courteous.

"Done what no man—magical or not—has managed to do in more than forty-some odd years," she answered, walking closer to them as she spoke.

"And that would be?" Severus asked, raising an eyebrow in interest, despite his fatigue.

"Came into my home uninvited," the woman responded. She was close enough that he could see her teeth as she smiled. It was an easy expression on her face, unlike his own.

"I s'pect you're that stranger Hadwyn wrote me about," she said then. "And this is your son, then?" Her eyes glanced at Harry and Severus self-consciously adjusted his hold on the boy.

"Yes," he answered, resisting the strange urge to slip into her more comfortable form of speech.

At Hadwyn's suggestion, both he and Harry had taken a series of translation potions that would help them understand the numerous dialects and languages that abounded throughout the Dragon Reserve. For all Severus knew, the woman could be speaking Hindi, and it'd still sound like English to his ear.

"Hadn't seen a snowy owl like that in some time either. I take it that she's yours as well?" The woman was still talking, and with a start, Severus realized that he had begun following after her down the road.

"She is," he answered succinctly, not feeling the need to clarify that Hedwig was actually Harry's. "Might I ask where you are leading us?"

"Noticed that, did you!" The woman stopped and turned halfway towards him. "I'm taking you home. That boy isn't in any kind of shape to be out in the cold."

"If Hadwyn contacted you, then surely you know that we will be staying in his cabin. We can manage adequately on our own," he answered carefully, trying not to inadvertently offend this woman.

"You won't last that long," she told him in a far more serious voice. "He will wake soon. You both need to be inside when that happens. Come," she said forcefully, looping her arm into his unoccupied one.

Directing them to the right slightly, she gestured to a path off the main road that was only visible to the magical eye.

"I assure you that I do not need your physical assistance," Severus ground out between clenched teeth.

"You wouldn't even see the gateway if I weren't beside you now," she tutted at him. "And without my touch, you won't last while crossing the wards on my property," she added.

"And Snitch?" He asked, feeling the ripple of the heavily wards pass over him like waves of dense liquid. Snitch was flying behind them, and although he was still annoyed at the small creature for disappearing, he couldn't help but be relieved at his return.

"Ah, so he does have a name! Well, let's put it this way; he's the only thing I've ever seen bypass my wards and not feel the consequences for doing so," she said with a bright laugh.

In his arms, Harry chose that moment to stir and instantly Severus' attention was on him.

"Child?" He whispered into the boy's ear. Harry merely turned his head into Severus' neck and then quieted down again. Severus could feel the soft steady breaths being huffed out against his neck and without thinking he gave a small smile at the sensation.

Beside him, the strange woman smiled as well as she thought rightfully to herself that a new adventure was beginning once more.