Harry wondered around the castle in a daze for the next three days. He was staying in Gryffindor Tower while the Headmaster was filing the paperwork to have him removed from the Dursleys’ and reporting them for their past abuse. He only left the tower for meals, which he ate with the Headmaster, Professor Mcgonagall, Hagrid and Madame Pomfrey. They were the only teachers left at the school, other than Professor Snape.

Snape; thinking about him made Harry uneasy. He’d thought a lot about everything that had happened since the Headmaster’s potions transformed them into panthers, and one thing stood out the most. Without any prompting, Shadow had taken him in. Harry knew that, as Viridian, he had been too young to survive the Forest alone, especially since he didn’t know how to hunt. He would have starved to death or been eaten by something relatively quickly. Shadow had taught him to hunt, and protected him from the Acromantulas, among other things.

What he couldn’t figure out was why? Why he had told Viridian that he was his cub. He already had his memories back, even told Viridian that he was really Harry Potter, but he still accepted him. And Harry had screwed it up.

He didn’t know what he was thinking that day. All of the pent up frustrations from the previous year came back with a vengeance, and he just started yelling. He never meant anything he said when he got that way, and he always regretted it afterward, but sometimes his temper got the better of him. That day was one of those times. It didn’t help that the Headmaster had told him part of the reason behind Snape’s snarkiness, that he had a front to present as a spy on Voldemort, if he ever came back. He had apparently taken an oath before his mother died, to protect Harry on her orders. Well, considering everything that had happened in the forest, Snape was certainly keeping his word. Allowing them to lead him like a dog to the castle, offering himself instead of Viridian when there was danger; it was just too much.

It also didn’t help that no one had seen hide nor hair of the Potions Master since he had left the infirmary after Harry’s outburst. He didn’t attend meals with the other occupants of the castle, and his quarters appeared to be deserted, in the same state he left them before he was transformed. Even the classrooms were checked, but there was no sign of any of them being in use. It was as though Snape had just vanished. Dumbledore mentioned that Snape had his own house, where he grew up, but he spent as little time there as possible. Something about an alcoholic father and mother. Harry didn’t ask, sure that he didn’t want to know.

These thoughts were what led Harry to wander the castle that night. He had decided to apologize for yelling like that, but he couldn’t find Snape. Shadow. Snape. Uh.

A rustling noise mad him back into the shadows by a suit of armor, expecting Filch to come around the corner in a moment, muttering about him wandering the castle at night, and was surprised at what he saw. Snape, dressed in his black teaching robes and looking every bit the scary dungeon bat, was heading up from the dungeons and out the front doors. Where did he hide?

Harry tarried for a moment before crossing to the doors, opening them and looking out. He saw Snape crossing the grounds, heading for the Forbidden Forest. Harry’s eyes widened as he saw Snape become Shadow before slipping into the Forest, blending in with the other shadows.

Harry took off running, stopping as he reached the edge of the Forest. Students were forbidden from entering; then again, he had lived here for several weeks. Taking a deep breath, Harry concentrated on how he felt as Viridian. When he opened his eyes, he bounded into the Forest in search of Shadow. Harry had an apology to give, and Viridian was going to follow Shadow until Severus listened.

He looked around for tracks that would show him which way the bigger panther had gone, but saw nothing that would help him. He huffed in annoyance; why was following people so hard? Viridian grew uneasy, as this was the first time he had gone into the Forest at night without Shadow. Well, Shadow was in here, he just needed to find him.

The cub began to walk, heading for the cave where they slept. He knew relatively few places in the Forest where Shadow would go, so if he wasn’t at the cave Viridian would check the hunting grounds as well. But it’s Snape, his Harry side hissed, who knows what he’s up to? Viridian shook those thoughts away. It was so much easier to ignore his anger at Snape’s past cruelty when he was Viridian. Viridian was an innocent; no one had ever harmed him. The experience with the fire and ropes had frightened him, but that had been mostly wiped from his mind when he re-transformed. Right now, he was tired and wanted to curl up with Shadow. That was always the best way to prevent nightmares.

In this manner he continued on to his former home, where he had lived with Shadow before the Headmaster and Professor Mcgonagall found them, complicating everything. It was a surprise, to Harry more than Viridian, that Shadow was lying on the ground just outside their cave. In the daytime, the sunlight filtered through the trees in the bleak forest and both panthers would bathe in the warmth. It was where they were laying when Viridian asked why Shadow wanted him; it was where Shadow stood as he tried to protect Viridian from the others’ magic.

Viridian had been quiet, but he had no idea if Shadow had heard his approach. If he had, he made no sign of it. Viridian watched from the cover of the trees, wondering what had caused Snape to come out here, to lay out in the forest as Shadow. He watched, impatiently waiting for the other to do something, and was thus disappointed when all Shadow did was lie there with his head upon his paws. He appeared to be sleeping, not very peacefully. Viridian was about to turn back when Shadow started, leaping to his feet as though he couldn’t believe he had fallen asleep.

*Stupid Severus, very stupid* Shadow said, stretching. *You tormented the poor boy for months and expected that a few weeks would erase that? Stupid fool, and cowardly as well, hiding in your animal form so they can’t find you. Pathetic.* Shaking his head, Shadow ran from the clearing, as though he could leave his nightmares and doubts behind.

Viridian was left behind, staring at where his teacher/mentor/guardian/father had been, wondering about what he had said.