The plan was set in action before dawn the next morning. Using magic, Minerva and Albus were able to approach the cave where the panthers slept, unaware of the witch and wizard’s presence.

“When they awake and leave the cave, then we will act,” Albus murmured, glancing uneasily at the coil of rope in his hands; Minerva had a smaller length. The ropes were spelled to repel any attacks of teeth or claws upon it, and should be able to hold Severus and Harry long enough for them to be reasoned with.

“I hope this works Albus,” Minerva murmured. She was to catch Harry while he handled Severus. They would surround the cave with fire to prevent the panthers from fleeing, but she was still uneasy. This whole idea smacked of capturing a dangerous creature in the most inhumane way, yet they were really attempting to help their colleague and student.

Soon, rustling in the cave drew their attention, and soon both panthers emerged, the cub running playful circuits around his elder, which was tolerated with good grace. Odd; Severus is normally so strict when students are fooling around, Albus thought, before nodding at Minerva to signify that it was time.

Shadow had been about to tell Viridian to stop his antics and follow him to their hunting lands, but before he even had time to complete the thought, they were surrounded on all sides by fire, encircling them and preventing them from running anywhere to escape. They were too tall to jump over for Shadow, especially if he was carrying Viridian. The cub came running over, huddling next to him to try to get away from the flames.

*Hush cub, I’ll figure something out*, Shadow promised, although he sounded more confident than he was. He could tell this was a magical fire, which meant there were witches or wizards nearby. What they wanted, he didn’t know.

He and Viridian moved more into the center of the ring, getting as far away from the flames as possible, wary by nature of fire. *Perhaps…* Shadow starting trying to find a way out of their trap, when the lasso closed around his neck. As he immediately began trying to claw it off, a second lasso appeared, closing around Viridian’s neck.

*Daddy!* he cried, twisting and turning to try to get the rope off of him.

Shadow immediately stopped fighting his own lead and turned to Viridian, trying to bite or claw it off. Nothing worked, and he was beginning to despair as he felt someone tugging on the rope.

“Severus, listen to me. We didn’t want to do this, but you left us no choice,” a voice called out, barely audible over the crackle of the flames. “The ropes were the only chance we had of keeping you in one place long enough to explain ourselves.”

Albus, he realized with a start, and Minerva is probably here as well. They did this, but to what end.

“We have the antidote Severus,” another voice called out; this one recognizable as Minerva’s. “You will transform back, and we have no intention of separating you and Harry.”

*Why the ropes?* he called, still trying to remove the one from around Viridian’s neck; his own was forgotten for the moment.

The flames ceased, and Albus and Minerva stepped into view. “To force you to listen to us without running off into the forest Severus; we had no other way to detain you, as you have proven remarkably resistant to magic.”

*Will you remove them now that we are listening civilly?* Shadow asked, still worrying about his cub. Viridian wasn’t usually this quiet, and it boded ill that he wasn’t chattering now. It meant he was worrying.

Minerva answered, instead of translating for Albus. “If you promise to come back to the castle with us. You can regain this form in time, but right now it is imperative that you take the antidote, so that we can be certain there are no lasting effects.”

*Should we go with them?* Viridian asked, breaking his silence and looked at his adopted father worriedly. He was scared, and seeing that Shadow was helpless as well made it worse. If Shadow can’t stop them, what will they do?

*I don’t see that we have a choice cub*, Shadow sighed, before saying to Minerva, *Remove the ropes, we will follow you.*

Albus and Minerva looked at each other, wondering if it wouldn’t be safer to keep them on their makeshift leashes until they got to the school.

Shadow sensed where their minds were headed. *Keep the rope about my neck to ensure my compliance, but remove the one from Viridian. He is only a cub, and he won’t stray far from me.*

They conceded, making the rope on Viridian vanish but keeping Shadow bound, something that stressed Viridian. If it wasn’t for me, he could pull away from them and run away. He’d find some way to get the rope off eventually.

The two panthers followed Minerva and Albus to the school, saying nothing as they were led inside and up to the Infirmary. School had officially ended last week, so all of the students and a majority of the teachers had left for the holidays. As they entered the Infirmary, Poppy instructed they each take a bed and that someone should really take the rope off of Severus.

Minerva picked up Viridian and set him on a bed, with Shadow leaping onto the one beside him, making soothing noises when he saw how frightened his cub was. *Hush little one, it will be over soon.*

Viridian only nodded, watching as the lady in white took a bowl of purple liquid to Shadow and told him to drink it. Shadow complied, and as soon as the bowl was empty he began to change. He grew, turning into a tall man with long black hair, black eyes, and a hooked nose. He seemed vaguely familiar, but Viridian couldn’t tell why.

After the lady in white had pointed her funny stick at Shadow, she said that he was fine. She then gave Viridian a bowl of the same funny smelling liquid, though he had less than Shadow did. After drinking it, Viridian felt odd as his body shifted, as Severus’s had, back to the human Harry Potter. He closed his eyes, gritting his teeth against the deluge of memories.

He opened his eyes after a moment, seeing the tall man in black standing beside his bed, worry on his face. “Harry, are you alright?”

“Snape?” he asked, confused. So many things weren’t making sense. Snape hated him, but Snape was Shadow and Shadow was nice to him. My cub, you are my cub. The words reverberated in his head, mixing with all of the times Snape had called him a selfish spoiled brat.

“Yes,” Severus said, “I am Severus Snape, and you are Harry Potter. Do you remember?” Severus was worried that Harry would be missing patches of his memories, but if he already recognized him then everything should be fine.

Harry nodded his head; he did remember, but nothing made sense. One thing came to the forefront of his mind, and before he could think he blurted out, “You lied to me! You hate me; you picked on me all the time in class! Why’d you pretend to be nice to me?”

Severus recoiled as though Harry had punched him, and indeed that was what it felt like. His cub…but his cub was gone and Harry was back. Harry, who he had mocked and belittled from the moment he had set foot in the school. Severus swallowed, and tried to keep his voice even as he said, “Harry, I do care about you; it wasn’t a trick…”

“You’re lying,” Harry shouted, kneeling on his bed and glaring at Snape. Snape hated him; why wouldn’t he admit it? “Why are you still here; to mock me for not getting back my memories until now, when you’ve had yours back for ages?”

“No, that’s not…” Severus began, unsure how to explain himself. He opened his heart to very few, a product of his past abuse, and seeing that one of the few he had opened his heart to mistrusted him hurt him deeply.

Poppy, Albus, and Minerva were all stunned. They had seen how close the two were, and had assumed that their new bond would survive the change. Apparently that was not to be.

Harry was getting himself worked up, his face flushed and his eyes wet. He thought he could trust Shadow, but Shadow was Snape and Snape hated him.

“Harry…” Severus began, reaching out a hand to the boy. He stopped dead when Harry flinched, recoiling away in terror. Severus dropped his hand to his side, nearly numb from shock. He had enough presence of mind to murmur his goodbyes to everyone before he fled the infirmary.

Harry slumped back onto the bed, feeling as though there was a hole in his heart. It was Snape; he shouldn’t feel so bad about sending the bloody bat away! But Snape was also Shadow; Shadow who taught him how to hunt, who comforted him when he had nightmares, who made him feel like he belonged. Snape wouldn’t do any of those things, would he; but Shadow did. Harry buried his face in his hands as Madame Pomfrey began to run her diagnostic scan. Why was his life so difficult?