Potions and Snitches
Snape and Harry Gen Fanfiction Archive

Holly
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all HP recognized characters belong to JK Rowling. Thomas Miller and Danny Latimer are names from the BBC's Broadchurch and I certainly don't own them either. Any other characters are the work of the author who is making no money from this work and has no affiliation with JK Rowling or the BBC.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Prior to Professor Snape's intervention, Harry had been looking forward to the winter holidays just for the fact that he wouldn't have to worry about the general population of the castle turning on him. Now, just about everything had returned to normal, though he was still looking forward to the holidays. Students stared at him a lot more than they normally did, Harry felt, but almost no one was treating him like he was a werewolf. As Harry worked through the Occlumency book Professor Snape had lent him, he found himself having better success with the exercises as his life became less hectic.

The portraits, it turned out, were as gossipy as Harry had feared. A blow by blow recounting of Harry's altercation with Eckelson, with varying embellishments, was all over the school. Though Benjamin had actually been proud of how well Harry had done in the fight, (they both had very different ideas on this matter) the older boy had felt bad for not walking Harry back to the tower that night. Harry was sick of everyone thinking he needed a minder. A minder might have been useful though when he was rather abruptly grabbed as he was making his way back to the dormitory from Professor Snape's quarters. Someone dragged him into the transfiguration classroom as he was passing by and Harry found himself hit by an expelliarmus before he had fully pulled his wand from his pocket. He was shoved up against the wall and had one hand pressing against his chest with the other pointing a wand at him.

"What the hell are you doing with my brother," his assailant demanded.

"What?" Harry asked, trying to think of how best to get out of the older boys grasp.

"Sam," the older boy said. "My brother Sam. You convinced him he was a girl, what the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Justin?" Harry asked. "Crap, look, Sammy really is a girl. I didn't convince her of anything. You can ask Madam Pomfrey; she did a test."

"Shut up," Justin said. "Sam is a boy. He's always been a boy. Little kids play dress up sometimes, it doesn't mean anything. He's just confused, and people like you telling him he can be something he's not is messing with his head. Sam can't be a girl. Now I've got less than two weeks to convince him to give up on this nonsense and you're going to stay away from him, or I'll make what Eckleson did to you look like rough housing. Got it?"

Harry went for the wrist pinning him while he twisted his entire body out from between Justin's hand and the wall. Justin stumbled forward and Harry kept control of his wrist, using his momentum to drive him to his knees. From there he shoved the older boy to the floor and shoved his arm up into the small of his back. He pinned it there with his knee while he grabbed the other wrist and grabbed the wand out of it.

"Get off me," Justin said angrily. "Get the fuck off me."

"Sammy's a girl," Harry said. "Sammy's a girl and that's that. There's never been anything you could have done to change that. If you want to look out for her then you can help make sure no one gives her crap about it. The last thing she needs is for people to see that her own brother doesn't like who she is."

"Fuck you, I love Sam," Justin said, struggling to get out from under Harry. "You don't get it. You don't get it at all. He can't be a girl, he can't, I'm trying to protect him."

"Her," Harry said.

Justin didn't say anything, he just struggled.

"Protect her from who?" Harry asked.

Justin hesitated. "Creeps like you," he said in the end.

"BS," Harry said.

"You don't get it," Justin said

"No I get it," Harry shouted, angry himself now. "I get it really well. I didn't know I was a wizard when I was little, but my family knew. My Aunt and Uncle knew, and they hated it. They hated magic and that caused all sorts of trouble for me. They tried to make me muggle, they wanted me to be something I wasn't. I get what it's like to have your family hate who you are. Sammy's been a girl her whole life and her family's been making her into something she isn't. I get what Sammy's going through with you."

"I don't hate Sammy," Justin said. "Sammy's my little-"

"Your little what?" Harry asked only to be met with silence. "Your little sister. You knew, didn't you?"

"Of course I knew," Justin yelled. "He's… She's been… She's not very good at hiding it. Of course I knew, and I had to be the bad guy. I had to make her be a boy. I had to make sure she would be who she was supposed to be."

"She's supposed to be herself," Harry said, getting up off of Justin's back. He held on to the boy's wand and went over to pick up his own.

"She can't be," Justin said miserably. "I can't hide this. I can't gloss over this. I can't protect her from this."

"Madame Pomfrey did a test," Harry said. "This shouldn't be an issue."

"You don't get it," Justin said.

Harry supposed he didn't. "What's going to happen when you go home?" he asked as Justin picked himself up from off the ground.

"Nothing," Justin said.

Harry nodded. There wasn't any point of talking about something you couldn't change.

"Do you have somewhere you can take Sammy if you need to?" Harry asked. Not every teenager could pay for a room at the Leaky Cauldron over break.

"I don't know," Justin said. He looked very grim.

"Well, think of something," Harry said. "If you want to protect Sammy, then protect her. From everyone."

Justin nodded.

"You should talk to her," Harry said. "If you can accept her as a girl, you should talk to her. She can probably explain everything better than I can. It's great that her housemates accept her but I'm pretty sure your opinion matters a lot more. It really sucks when your family doesn't accept you for who you are."

"I was trying to protect her," Justin said.

"Then support her," Harry said.

"How'd you even get involved?" Justin asked.

Harry shrugged. "She'd heard I usually stay over the holidays so she asked me what it was like staying over at the castle for Christmas and the rest just sort of came out. I took her to Professor Sprout and that was that."

"Dad would never let us stay over the break," Justin said.

Harry nodded. The feeling that there was nothing he could do hurt. "If you need to get her out of there, get her out of there. If you need a get away… I don't know, owl me," he said. "Just, um, she should have your support. Anyway," he turned toward the door. "You should go talk to her." He left Justin's wand by the door.


IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII


Harry worried about Sammy as the two final weeks of term wound down, but there wasn't anything he could do about her home life. In the school though, most of the students didn't even seem to treat Sammy being transgender like it was an issue. Magic said she was a girl and that was that. The first years in particular seemed to take it as a matter of course. This might have had something to do with a coordinated information campaign originating from Hufflepuff House. It wasn't the school that Harry was worried about though. Sammy had to go home for the holidays and Harry was pretty sure hiding her down in the Chamber of Secrets for the two weeks of break would probably do more harm than good. Absent anything constructive to do, Harry focused on his work.

As the last two weeks of term wound down, Harry found himself becoming more and more comfortable with his workload. He managed to go the whole time without having a kip over in the infirmary, so that helped keep him on track with his schoolwork. He did wind up seeing Madame Pomfrey briefly for a dislocated shoulder after a collision during quidditch practice though. No one had thought it was a good idea for Harry to pop it back in himself when Harry had proposed it, though he totally could have.

Both Ron and Hermione signed up to stay over the winter Holidays and Harry felt guilty. Hermione insisted that she had too much classwork to go home, but Harry had his doubts. Ron's excuse, that he couldn't stand to spend two weeks in close quarters with Percy, didn't fly at all, and Harry couldn't help but think of how Ron had admitted that these days, when he didn't know where Harry was, he was worried that something had happened to him. The sooner Greyback was dealt with, the sooner everyone could go back to living their normal lives. Ron and Hermione shouldn't be giving up their time with their families to worry over him.

It was Ron that Harry was worried about, however. Or rather, he was worried about Scabbers. Ron had always complained about his pet rat, but he was becoming evidently more and more worried as the poor animal's health declined. Since the incident the month prior when Scabbers had shown up looking like he had been a cat's plaything, the rat had lost a great deal of weight and was losing fur. Ron had taken him to see Hagrid, who hadn't been able to do much more than give diet suggestions and forewarn Ron that common rats didn't live for very long. Ron rarely took the rat out of the dormitory these days, the animal nestled between the sheets of Ron's bed most of the time. Harry thought it would be a very poor Christmas indeed if Ron's pet died over the holidays.

After Professor Snape's talk about the need to keep matters a secret, Harry had had a talk with Ron and Hermione. He couldn't tell them that Professor Snape was a spy for Dumbledore, but he did tell them that they were keeping family matters private for the time being. As for Harry himself, he didn't much like the prospect. If Voldemort ever did come back, he didn't want Professor Snape spying. He knew enough how dangerous that probably was. Harry had taken to being extra careful when he went to see Professor Snape outside of lab hours, making sure to wear his invisibility cloak and grateful for the Silencing Insoles he had gotten in Diagon Alley.

Harry rather wished that he knew what Professor Snape thought about keeping things a secret. Harry didn't need the world to know, but he couldn't help but think of the boy in the cupboard, who mustn't make a noise, who had to pretend not to exist. Locked out of sight so that the Dursleys could pretend he wasn't there, kept silent so they wouldn't have to deal with the shame of a guest knowing he was in the house. He was uncomfortably aware of all the times he had had his own thoughts of the shame he would feel if others would find out that Professor Snape was his father.

Harry was looking forward to being able to see Professor Snape over the holidays, though. Besides Harry, Ron, and Hermione, only three other students had signed up to stay at the school and Harry figured he wouldn't have much difficulty slipping off without anyone noticing he was nowhere to be found. Though there was plenty to be nervous about the upcoming break.

Professor Snape had only ever dealt with Harry in small doses. Though everything was going well between the two of them, Harry was worried that the man would grow tired of him during longer visits. The holidays would be the best time for Harry to assess if there was any viability for a summer arrangement. Though if Professor Snape wasn't going to acknowledge Harry as his son in the predictable future then Harry didn't know if contemplating a summer with the man was any more wishful thinking than any of the rest of it. Harry also had no idea what he should be getting the man for Christmas or if he should be expecting to receive anything himself.

Harry had gathered a few owl order forms to start on his Christmas shopping when he received an offer a couple of days before the end of term that would make shopping a lot more fun.

"There is to be a surprise Hogsmeade visit this Saturday," Professor Snape said over a plate of pork chops and mashed potatoes. "They will be announcing tomorrow at breakfast."

Harry frowned and put down his utensils. "You're not going to try to lure Greyback out again, are you?"

"No," Professor Snape said. "That would be most unwise."

"Will it be safe for the other students though?" Harry asked.

"Though Greyback seems to be the only one of the escapees still in Britain, and he seems to be fixated solely on you, there will be a visible increase in the Auror presence during the visit, and students will be prevented from leaving the center of town," Professor Snape said. "You will of course not be going.

"That's alright," said Harry, who hadn't figured on going anyways.

"I have thought though that for your… surprisingly good conduct this term, I should reward you," Professor Snape said.

"Surprisingly good?" Harry asked.

"Besides your improved schoolwork, you have managed to not receive a single detention this term," Professor Snape said.

"It was hard not getting detention last year," Harry groused. "Lockheart was always looking for an excuse to have me answer his fan mail and give me celebrity advice. I think he wanted us to be some sort of weird celebrity duo. And it was hard taking his class seriously besides."

"Yes, well I do recall mentioning the possibility of escorting you to Hogsmeade when I had the time to do so," Professor Snape said.

Harry's eyes shot up to Professor Snape. "Really," he asked.

"In disguise of course," Professor Snape said. "I understand you are familiar with Polyjuice Potion."

"Hypothetically speaking?" Harry asked with a grin.

"Of course," Professor Snape said. "I thought the twentieth would be a good day to go."

"Well that would be great, Professor," Harry said, already looking forward to the trip.

"I have been curious to know how your lessons with Lupin have progressed," Professor Snape said.

"He hasn't tried anything," Harry said.

"Well I would have hoped you would have said something if he had," Professor Snape said. "I was more referring to the lessons themselves."

"Oh," Harry said. "I last longer before I knock out. I've also gotten some silvery mist now and then."

"That is an improvement then," Professor Snape said. "How have you been handling the after effects of the dementor?"

"Oh, it's alright," Harry said, looking at his plate. It wasn't alright, but he wasn't going to say that. Everyone kept telling him that the Patronus Charm was too advanced for him, that he should just trust that the adults would protect him, but he couldn't do that. He couldn't be helpless like that again. He could put up with the dark memories and the feelings they dredged up; he could deal with the dreams that plagued him at night, but it wasn't alright. It wasn't alright because each time a memory was played back it became more firmly cemented in the forefront of his mind. Details he couldn't have remembered before were being filled in, or made up as horribly as his twisted psyche could imagine. He remembered more and more of the night his parents had been murdered. There were plenty of other memories to play back, but that one was always there; it was always first.

He now knew the sound of his dad's voice, he knew his father had tried to fight Voldemort, to give his mum and him time. He had fought and died, wand in hand, knowing he hadn't had a chance. It seemed pointless in the after haze of the dementor. It seemed pointless. His father had been a great wizard, Harry had been told, but he had never stood a chance against Voldemort. The act had seemed pointless, but Harry had changed his mind over time. He knew that he would do the same. He hoped he could do the same. It had seemed pointless, but then Harry had understood. It didn't matter if it had been hopeless, he had had to do whatever he could, even if it was impossible, it wasn't pointless, it still mattered in the end.

He knew also, now, that there had been something his mother had been trying to find, something that was missing. A portkey he supposed. He knew that his mother had understood the totality of their betrayal before she had died, before she had died for him, and what a mess he had made of that sacrifice. Everyone always told him what great people his parents had been, as if he should be happy that the world had lost something far greater than he could ever be. He thought of Ginny, alive today, so he could shake that thought off; he tried.

He wasn't going to tell Professor Snape about any of that though, or Professor Lupin.

"And the book on occlumency?" Professor Snape asked.

"I've read it," Harry said. "And I've been doing the exercises too."

"Good," Professor Snape said. "Keep practicing, we can start lessons soon."

Harry smiled at that. He was sure occlumency was the key to mastering the patronus. The prospect that there were random mind readers out there was also motivation to learn. His dad being a mind reader…

"I have a favor to ask," Professor Snape said.

"Oh," Harry said, caught off guard by that. "All right," he said, feeling a bit nervous.

"There will only be one Slytherin student staying for the holidays," Professor Snape said. "A first year, Mr. Latimer, I would rather he was not completely alone for the entirety of the two weeks of winter break."

"You want me to make friends with him?" Harry asked.

"Merely to invite him from time to time to join you and your friends in your activities," Professor Snape said. "If that is no more than studying in the library together, then so be it, but I'd rather he was not isolated for the holidays."

"I can do that," Harry thought. Ron was alright with Harry having a Slytherin for a father, he probably wouldn't mind having a Slytherin first year hang around for a bit during the holidays.

It was Friday night, Harry's last class of term would be midnight astronomy the following night when Jupiter and Mars would be aligned, so Harry didn't fret about homework and stayed later than he normally did. He wound up helping Professor Snape brew for the hospital wing. It didn't seem like it should be a nice way to spend a Friday evening, but it was.


IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII


"Do you want me to pick you up anything?" Ron asked as they made their way to the carriages across the lawn.

"I don't really need anything right now," Harry said. "Nothing that can't wait for later anyways."

"What was the name of that tonic Hagrid mentioned?" Ron asked.

"Goldstein's Pet Vitalizers," Hermione said.

"Same Goldstein do you think?" Ron asked.

Harry shrugged.

Ron snagged a carriage and hopped aboard before turning to help Hermione up.

"Are you going to be alright with us going without you again?" Hermione asked.

"I'll manage somehow," Harry said. "Besides, I'm not spending the day alone, I'm going to go see my dad, probably brew something."

"Have fun mate," Ron said, not sounding like he thought brewing in the dungeons would be any fun at all.

Hermione turned to look at something to Harry's side.

"Harry! Look out!" Hermione screamed.

Harry drew his wand in a flash. A body collided with him before he could turn around, though. He lurched sideways and crashed to the ground, a heavy body on top of him. Harry just had time to see a mouth full of file sharpened teeth before he was locked in a desperate attempt to keep them away from his face. Greyback had a manic glint in his eyes and snarled like a wild animal; Harry could smell the putrid stink of rotted meat on his breath. Harry jabbed his fingers into the soft tissue between Greyback's collarbones causing the man to rear back.

"Stupefy," Harry incanted in his moment's respite. Nothing happened.

Greyback slugged him in the face and plucked his wand from his hands.

"You have to mean it, boy," Greyback said. "You have to mean it. But you want this, don't you. You want what I have to offer. We'll howl at the moon together. You'll see, it's a gift."

'No,' Harry wanted to scream out. He tried to say it with every fiber of his will but no words came out.

"Get off him," Ron cried out.

"Stay back," Harry said desperately. "He's dangerous."

"I said get off him," Ron said. "Now."

It was Greyback's turn to be tackled from the side. Ron was all fists and knees, and Greyback was all savage ferocity. It was only a moment before Greyback was on top. It took no time at all for there to be blood everywhere.

"Ron," Harry cried out, rushing over. He tried to shove Greyback off of Ron, but Greyback grabbed him by the collar and stood up, lifting Harry off the ground.

"Let's have some fun," Greyback said, taking a couple of steps back, drawing his wand, Harry tried to reach for it, but couldn't.

Greyback brought his wand down in a sharp movement, roaring words Harry knew he had heard before. Ron's face had only a moment to show shock before the spell ripped into his chest.

Harry gasped a shuddering breath as he bolted upright in bed before he slapped a hand over his mouth to hold back a scream. The next thing he knew, he was curled up on his side, trying not to throw up. He told himself over and over that it was just a dream. He told himself that Ron was in the bed across from his own. Everyone was fine.

"No," a strangled cry broke the silence of the boys dormitory. Ron. Fear and horror and rage rose up in Harry and he grabbed his wand off of his bedside table, scrambling to disentangle himself from his bedsheets. He tumbled out from behind the curtains of his four-post bed ready for action, expecting to see… something. But there was nothing, and in the pounding of the blood in his ears and the raggedness of his breath, he almost didn't hear the mournful moan, "Harry no," from behind Ron's curtains. Harry took a moment to process everything, his wand still at the ready, his breathing still coming back under his control. He could hear Ron twisting about in his sheets.

Harry padded over to Ron's bed and pulled back the curtain. Ron was clearly in the throes of a nightmare.

"Ron," Harry hissed, trying to shake him awake. Ron was already moving about so much himself though that it seemed a wonder that he didn't wake up from it.

"No," Ron said, his voice miserable.

"Ron," Harry hissed again. He pinched Ron's arm. Ron gasped and stopped moving.

"Harry," Ron said after a moment, clearly shocked. "You're alright." It was an exclamation. It was almost a question. He was half asleep, but he was also loud.

"Yeah, of course," Harry whispered. "Everyone's asleep Ron."

"What's going on," Ron asked in a voice approaching a whisper.

"Nothing," Harry said. "You had a bad dream."

Ron rubbed the palm of his hand into his eye.

"Did I wake you?" Ron asked.

"No," Harry said. "I was just on my way to the loo, so, um, yeah… I'll just."

Harry walked into the loo. He stopped in front of the sink and splashed cold water on his face with one hand, his wand still fisted in the other. He braced his hands on the edges of the sink and leaned forward, his head limp as he closed his eyes and let the water drip from his face. He took a moment to collect himself before he grabbed a towel and dried his face. He went back out into the dormitory.

Harry had hoped that Ron would already be back asleep, but a rustle and a faint sniffle told him otherwise.

Harry grabbed a couple of chocolate frogs from his trunk and went back to Ron's bed. He hesitated a moment before pulling the curtains back and crawling in.

"Lumos Saltatio," Harry cast, and small motes of light came out of Harry's wand and drifted over their heads. Harry leaned himself against one of the posts opposite Ron.

"Here," Harry said, holding out a frog to Ron. Ron took the frog without a word and opened the box, catching the frog with practiced careless ease. They ate the chocolate in silence.

"Dumbledore," Ron said, looking at the card inside. "They way overprinted for Dumbledore."

"Shh," Harry said. "I think he can hear you. It's probably like portraits. All those pictures carry messages for him I bet. That's why it always seems like he knows everything."

"Well you just let him know that you're onto him," Ron said.

"I guess if I disappear in the next couple of days you'll know what happened to me," Harry said.

Ron looked down at his lap in silence.

"So how often do you worry about me being dead in a ditch?" Harry asked.

"Did I say something?" Ron asked, red faced.

"Not much," Harry said. "I heard you say 'Harry no.' I figured you were either dreaming of something horrible happening to me or I was trying to convince you to follow the spiders into the forbidden forest again."

"Ugh, I don't need more dream fodder, Potter," Ron said.

There was silence.

"It's not like it's a reoccurring dream or something," Ron said.

"But you do worry," Harry said.

Ron shrugged. "You've had a lot of, like, really close calls," he said. "You know? Like all the time, and you make it through, but I've been wondering how long that sort of luck can hold out."

"What about all the bad luck that gets me into that stuff," Harry said. "That's got to run out too. We'll just have to see which one runs out first."

Ron just shrugged.

"I had a dream too," Harry said. "That's why I was awake. It was like when Greyback first attacked me, but… it was you he killed this time."

"Greybacks not coming for me," Ron said.

"Yeah, but if he came for me and you interfered..." Harry said

"You're damned right I'd interfere," Ron said.

Harry looked up at him with haunted eyes and shook his head. "I couldn't stand it if something happened to you," he said.

Ron shrugged. "You don't have a monopoly on that," he said.

They sat in silence for a while until the lights started winking out.

"I think I'll try going back to sleep," Ron said.

"Yeah," Harry said. "Me too. Night." He slipped out and padded over to his own bed. He didn't get much sleep that night, and he wondered if Ron did either.


IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII


The announcement was made the next morning at breakfast and was met with excitement from most of the student body. Harry didn't wind up walking Ron and Hermione to the carriages. He knew that the dream he had had last night had only been a dream, but he wanted to avoid doing anything that would remind him of it. He was stopped by the twins before he could get to the tower.

"Hey Harry," George called. Harry turned around.

"We've got something to show you," Fred said.

"Another invention?" Harry asked.

"Not an invention," George said.

"Though it sure comes in handy," Fred said.

"Come on," George said. They started heading towards the middle of the third-floor corridor.

"I'd have thought you would have wanted to head strait to Hogsmeade," Harry said.

"Oh, this'll only take a moment," Fred said.

"It just wouldn't be right for us to leave you here on your lonesome while everyone else goes to have fun," George said.

"So how many secret passages would you say you know about?" Fred asked.

"Oh, about a dozen," Harry said.

"What would you say was the coolest one you know about?" George asked.

"Well besides the entrance to the chamber of secrets?" Harry asked.

"What would you say was the most useful one you know about?" Fred asked.

"Oh, I suppose that would be the one that cuts from that alcove on the second floor to that wall hanging next to the ancient runes classroom," Harry said.

"Well prepare to be amazed, Harry old boy, because you are about to be amazed," George said, stopping in front of a statue of a one-eyed humped back witch.

"This?" Harry asked. "It's a bit out of the way to be a shortcut."

"It's less of a shortcut," Fred said.

"And more of an access point," George said.

"Access to what?" Harry asked.

"Hogsmeade," Fred said.

"It goes the whole way?" Harry asked.

"From here it goes all the way to the basement of the candy shop, Honeydukes" George said. "No dementors."

Harry paused for a moment. "Is it secure?" Harry asked.

"It's password protected and as far as we can tell it's got the same protections as the portrait holes," Fred said. "Plus, the tunnel's covered by the castle's wards."

"And as far as we can tell we're the only ones who use it," George said.

"It's a muggle trick," Fred said.

"A good wizard will look for magical tripwires," George said.

"But no one notices the strand of hair we spellotape to the base of the statue at one end and the floor at the other," Fred said.

"Here look," George said, indicating behind the statue.

Harry craned his neck behind the statue and saw at it's base a red hair that connected the statue and the flagstone beneath.

"If someone opens the passageway the hair breaks," Fred said.

"And it's never been broken when we've come to use the passageway," George said. "That's how we know we're the only ones who use it.

"Just make sure you put a new one down when you're done using it," Fred said.

"You've got your invisibility cloak, right?" George asked.

Harry nodded, staring at the statue.

"Right well, to activate it you just tap your wand and say 'Discendium.'" Fred said.

"Have fun walking," George said.

"We're taking the carriages of course," Fred said.

"I know you'll be invisible," George said. "But are we going to see you there?"

Harry hesitated. "Tell you what, if you can find me while I'm there, I'll buy you both butterbeers."

"Sounds good," Fred said.

"Have fun," George said.

The two twins walked off towards the entry hall and the carriages outside. Harry looked at the statue.

"Discendium," Harry said, tapping the statue with his wand. He looked down into the pitch black tunnel below.

Harry put the statue back to rights and removed the now broken strand of hair. Plucking a hair from his own head, Harry spellotaped it in the same position the twins had had it. Harry pulled out his invisibility cloak and made his way down into the dungeons.


IIIIIIIIIIIIIII


Term ended the following day and almost all of the students left for the holidays. With only six students in the castle, everything seemed rather special with the whole castle done up for Christmas, just for them. There were a dozen Christmas trees in the Great Hall, and garlands of holy and fairy lights down every corridor. The whole castle seemed warmer

Hermione had drawn up a timetable and planned to finish holiday homework quickly and work ahead in her classes. Harry, who had spent most of term feeling like he was behind in his classes could see the benefit of working ahead over the holidays, though he didn't plan on spending the holiday in the library.

Harry did wind up inviting the Slytherin boy, Danny Latimer, to join them. Ron had acted scandalized when Harry had told him that the Slytherin boy would be joining them, but besides some inter-house ribbing, he had been plenty friendly to the lone Slytherin. The four of them spent most of the day everyone left working on homework; Harry would be spending the following day in Hogsmeade with Professor Snape.

Danny had been a bit odd at first. He came off like a caricature of Slytherin cunning and aristocratic propriety; he had worn aloofness like a cloak. He mellowed out pretty quickly though and Harry wondered how much of that facade was an attempt to fit in with his housemates. When studying had turned into playing cards after dinner, the younger boy had seemed much more like any of the Gryffindor first years and Harry wondered if he himself had changed how he acted when he had gotten to school. He had certainly changed from the boy in the cupboard, but how much of who he was today had been influenced by what he had been through, and how much was just trying to be someone different? Being a Gryffindor seemed so different from who he had been, but sometimes he didn't feel as though he had changed at all from the boy in the cupboard.

Hogsmeade was great though. Polyjuicing into a complete stranger was weird. He'd had a similar experience the year before while infiltrating the Slytherin common room, but today he didn't have an overarching mission to distract him. His body was smaller this time. He was used to being small, but now everything seemed to tower over him. Today he was impersonating a young boy, probably around the age of ten. Professor Snape had told him it was from a random muggle he had passed on the street. Looking at Professor Snape, who looked like a middle-aged man who was much stockier than Professor Snape was, was weird too. He had a bit of fun pretending to be younger than he was. The real odd thing, though, was that the whole day while they roamed the magical village, Harry could publicly treat Professor Snape like his father, and Professor Snape could publicly treat Harry like his son. It felt awkward and stilted at first, it felt like pretending, but towards the end of the day it felt normal. What didn't feel normal was having to retake the Polyjuice Potion throughout the day. Harry wound up drinking the sludge six times and he never got used to the taste. The village was definitely worth it though. It had a certain Victorian Era charm, mixed with holiday decorations and snow that seemed to be strategically (probably magically) distributed to be beautiful.

Harry had had little trouble shopping for his friends. Though purchasing something for the professor, who had kept a close eye on him the whole day, had proved a challenge. They went through most of the shops; Harry was surprised that the Professor had let him go into the joke shop. By the end of the outing, Harry had bags full of candy, school supplies, presents, and refills for his quidditch gear maintenance supplies. They also stopped at a pub called the Three Broomsticks for lunch. Harry had frowned at the stein of butterbeer that had been placed in front of him, the memory of having been drugged still fresh on his mind, but he wound up drinking, and greatly enjoying, the beverage.

The outing had gone perfectly. It was on the walk back that matters seemed to spiral out of Harry's control. He felt like he should have known things couldn't go so well for him without something coming along to muck things up. They had just passed the gates to the castle grounds, the professor's silvery doe patronus walking next to them to keep the dementor guards at bay, when Professor Snape had turned to Harry and ruined everything.

"I had thought that with your evening free, that now would be a good time to have that talk we discussed earlier," Professor Snape said.

Harry looked at Professor Snape in horror. "You mean the talk I assured you I had no need of?" he asked.

"Yes," Professor Snape said, amused. "That talk."

"Now?" Harry asked.

"Now seemed as good a time as any," Professor Snape said.

"But, like, right now?" Harry asked.

"Well, more like when we return to my quarters," Professor Snape said.

"It's just I feel like a bloke should be prepared for that sort of thing," Harry said. "You know, like, mentally fortified."

"I think you attribute more weight to this conversation than is warranted," Professor Snape said. "If the prospect is so unpleasant for you, would it not be best to get it over with than spend the intermediate time worrying about it."

"Nope," Harry said. "Worrying's better."

"I suppose you could use the time to think of any questions you might have," Professor Snape said.

"No questions," Harry said, covering his face with his hands.

"As you say," Professor Snape said. "We are agreed then, you have a reprieve. Tomorrow afternoon at three."

Harry groaned. By asking for it to be put off, he had tacitly agreed to participate in the conversation when it came.

Professor Snape had timed their return very well and the Polyjuice Potion wore off just before they arrived at the castle; a wave of Professor Snape's wand resizing Harry's clothes as he grew taller.

"Thanks," Harry said, when he was resized. "I had a lot of fun today."

"I enjoyed our outing as well," Professor Snape said.

"I'm going to go do homework, Hermione's trying to get us done with all our homework as soon as possible, so I guess I'll see you tomorrow," Harry said.

"Tomorrow indeed," Professor Snape said. It felt ominous.

Not as ominous, though, as the look on Professor McGonagall's face when she came upon him as he made his way back to the dormitory.

"A moment of your time, Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall said, turning around with the full expectation that Harry would follow. Worrying about getting the talk from Professor Snape suddenly didn't seem like the worst thing that could happen over break.

Harry followed behind, going over in his head what he could have possibly done to get in trouble. Professor McGonagall led him to an empty hallway and turned around to face him. With the castle practically empty, they wouldn't be disturbed.

Professor McGonagall looked hesitant, which didn't suit her. "Did Miss Eldrich give any indication that she expected difficulties at home?" Professor McGonagall asked.

Though Harry had been expecting something to happen, he felt more than a bit of dread at Professor McGonagall's question. "Is she all right?" he asked.

"She will be," Professor McGonagall said.

"Is she still at home?" Harry asked.

"She will be staying with a friend for the remainder of winter break," Professor McGonagall said. "Did we miss something, Mr. Potter?"

Harry shrugged. "She was nervous about how her dad would take it," he said. "I asked but neither of them would say anything. Besides, I didn't think that was illegal in the wizarding world."

"There are limits," Professor McGonagall said.

"Oh," Harry said, feeling a cold pit of anger form in his stomach and a lump in his throat. "What about Justin?"

"He was the one who removed Miss Eldrich from the house," Professor McGonagall said. "He was uninjured." She sighed. She looked less severe now, she just looked tired. Very well Mr. Potter, I think that is all. The matter is being handled."

"Should I have done something?" Harry asked.

Professor McGonagall frowned. "In these instances, there is little we could have done," she said, and here she looked rather pointedly at Harry. "Though if Miss Eldrich had been muggleborn or otherwise raised by muggles, we would have had more options since muggle law is a good deal less permissive on how parents handle their children."

"Oh," Harry said. "Alright then."

"Your classmates are safe now Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall said. "Enjoy the rest of your holiday."

"Yeah," Harry said. "Um, you too professor."

Harry went on his way to the tower to meet up with his friends. He was conflicted on how he should feel. He was glad that Sammy was now away from her dad; he was glad that Justin had protected her; but she shouldn't have had to go through, whatever had happened, in order to now be safe. Harry hoped she never had to go back.


IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII


"So, as you can see there are a number of methods for preventing unwanted pregnancies," Professor Snape said. "But not all of them prevent sexually transmitted illnesses."

Harry bit his bottom lip and resisted the urge to groan as he had been doing a fair bit over the past hour. This basic message had been drilled into him several times already. They had covered a number of topics, all of them embarrassing. Harry hadn't needed to be told to be wary of drinks people gave him at parties, nor had he needed to be told that no meant no. A lot of it was stuff that he might not have thought of before but made intuitive sense to him. There were other parts that he was skeptical of though, and others he just didn't want to think about. The part Professor Snape kept coming back to, though, was protection.

"Do you have any questions?" Professor Snape asked.

"No questions," Harry assured. He avoided looking at his father who sat across from him at the dinner table. "I am very certain I won't sack you with any unwanted grandchildren any time soon."

Professor Snape hesitated. "Perhaps I have been indelicate," he said.

They were way past indelicate, Harry thought.

"Yeah, well, you know, message loud and clear, don't get anyone pregnant, stay safe, and it's all 'perfectly normal,'" Harry said. Harry hoped there weren't any other bits of wisdom Professor Snape wanted to impart.

"It is only… When I speak of unwanted pregnancies I do not mean to imply that you are unwanted. You may have been unplanned, but it is rather obvious to me that your mother wanted to have you. You would not be here if she hadn't. And while I can definitely say that my teenaged self had no desire for a son, I have found myself very glad that I have you for one."

"You hardly know me yet," Harry mumbled, unwilling to look Professor Snape in the eyes.

"I know enough," Professor Snape said. "And I'd like to get to know you more."

Harry both loved and hated that idea. He felt like an imposter. He thought about it for a bit.

"Green," Harry said.

"What?" Professor Snape asked.

"My favorite color," Harry said. "People usually ask, don't they? When they're getting to know each other."

"It wouldn't be Slytherin green, would it?" Professor Snape asked.

"Not exactly that shade, Professor," Harry said.

"You might laugh if I tell you mine," Professor Snape said.

"I might," Harry agreed.

"Black," Professor Snape said.

Harry grinned.


IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII


"I have the potion," Peter said as he met Greyback for what he hoped would be the last time. It was four days until the full moon, they were in the very early hours of Christmas day. It had been a long time since he had last gotten a Christmas present that wasn't a rat treat and he thought being done with Greyback once and for all was a good Christmas present for himself. He rather thought that killing Greyback was a nice present for Remus too. Not that Remus would ever thank him for it.

Greyback got a predatory glint in his eye after Peter's declaration, but all he said was, "Took you long enough. The hair?"

Peter took out the bottled potion and a phial with a black hair in it. When he had initially hatched this plan, he had intended for Greyback to impersonate one of the twins. He had heard Ron's plans to stay over break and had assumed the twins would as well.

"I made a mistake," Peter said, nervous. "But it's resolved already. Ron Wesley is staying over the break, but his brothers are not. You can't impersonate one of the twins. But you can impersonate one of the professors. The magical creatures professor invites Potter over from time to time. I can forge a note. Potter would follow Hagrid anywhere, he trusts him."

With the potion in hand, Greyback would be checking the map the day of the full moon, he would notice if the boy he was supposed to impersonate wasn't anywhere in the castle.

Greyback dismissed the change in plans. All he cared about was that he would have Harry soon.

Peter handed the potion and the hair to Greyback. Getting into Snape's private stores had proved impossible. All he needed was a sludge with the appropriate ingredients to fool Greyback though, as well as an extra ingredient which would suit his needs just fine.

"The moon rises over those mountains at six thirty on the night of the twenty ninth," Greyback said. "I'll need time to get him away from the grounds before then. Get him out of the castle at two that afternoon."

"That won't be a problem," Peter said. Greyback was holding his own doom.

"This only lasts an hour?" Greyback asked.

Peter nodded. It would only last a few agonizing minutes actually.

"Then we have a narrow window to pull this off," Greyback said. "And I am not wasting this moon." He held the potions flask up to the light of the waxing moon. Suddenly his eyes narrowed and he inhaled deeply through his nose.

Peter stilled.

With a look of fury Greyback cast the flask to the ground.

"Did you think I wouldn't smell the wolfsbane?!" Greyback snarled.

Peter paled but didn't waste any time. He transformed and tried to scamper into the underbrush. He didn't get far. His feet left the ground and he flew through the air landing in Greyback's outstretched hand. He had been summoned. Greyback started squeezing the life out of him and Peter transformed back, gasping for breath as he grabbed for his wand. Greyback wrenched it from his fingers and snapped it in half. Tossing the two pieces aside, Greyback lunged at Peter and dragged him to the ground, ravaging him with his teeth. Peter struggled but it was no contest. The last thing Peter saw was the gibbous moon overhead through the film of blood in his eyes. The last thing he felt was Greyback ripping a chunk of flesh out of his throat.

He hadn't had much time after the haze of his bloodlust had faded to the background. He would have liked to properly dispose of the body, but the wards would have alerted Dumbledore that someone had died within the castle grounds. He got off of the body, blood dripping from his face and hands. He drew his wand.

"Corpus Incendiata!" he incanted. The body went up in in flames that crackled and popped. Greyback took a moment to watch before he disappeared into the woods. He heard a woosh of flames as the Headmaster appeared into the clearing with his phoenix.


IIIIIIIIIIIIII


Being summoned to the headmaster's office bright and early on Christmas morning did not seem like a good sign to Remus. He rather doubted that he was being summoned to exchange Christmas gifts.

"Butter Toffee," Remus said to the stone gargoyle that guarded the headmaster's office. He mounted the spiraling staircase and made his way to the top. Inside, he found Severus and Professor McGonagall sitting in chairs facing the Headmaster's desk with one chair left over for himself. The headmaster was not in the room.

"Has something happened?" Remus asked, taking his seat.

"I have not spoken with the headmaster yet," Professor McGonagall said.

"Perhaps if something has happened it is you we should be questioning," Severus said, giving Remus a dark look.

"You can ask away," Remus said. "But I don't expect I'll be able to tell you anything you don't already know."

"And I suppose I wouldn't find my missing potions ingredients among your personal affects," Severus said.

"Seeing as you won't have access to my personal affects, I expect that that is a rather moot point," Remus said. "However, if you would like help from a qualified Defense Professor in protecting your stores from your students, I would be happy to assist you."

"Enough of that," Professor McGonagall said. "The both of you. Pour yourselves some tea if you must keep your mouths occupied."

Remus was tempted to say that Severus had started it, but the Headmaster chose that moment to walk in. The Headmaster's expression was unreadable, and Remus could not tell if he bore good news or ill.

"Very early this morning the wards alerted me to a death upon the school grounds," Professor Dumbledore said, and Remus's heart thudded in his chest.

"Upon my arrival," the Headmaster continued. "I discovered a burning body in a clearing a short way into the Forbidden Forest. My initial examination has led me to conclude that two people met in that clearing and one of them was Fenrir Greyback, based on the nature of the wounds inflicted on upon the deceased who I have determined to be none other than Peter Pettigrew."

"You've been harboring him this whole time," Severus spat furiously, standing from his chair to face Remus and drawing his wand.

"Put your wand away Severus," Professor McGonagall said.

"Remus is not suspected in this," the Headmaster said. "Though I do believe he can help shed some light on this matter."

"They were thick as thieves up until the end," Severus said. "And now the same time he comes back here, Pettigrew pops up as well, meeting with the other werewolf. I told you from the start that he could not be trusted."

"Peter betrayed us all," Remus said, and Merlin, it still made him feel raw to say that. "If I'd even suspected he had still been alive I would have hunted him down."

"I do believe that Peter Pettigrew has been in this castle much longer than Professor Lupin has, and I believe that I know how," the Headmaster said. "I had my suspicions many years ago, but I find I must ask you to confirm them Remus. I think you may know how he could have stayed hidden within these walls all these years."

Remus felt the blood drain from his face.

"Headmaster," was all Remus could say.

"It is all right," the Headmaster said. "We only need the truth in this matter."

"I…" Remus started. "I heard of his death at the same time I heard of his betrayal. If I suspected that he was still alive…" Remus wasn't sure what he would have done. "Peter was an unregistered animagus; his form was a rat."

Professor McGonagall gasped.

"There are only six students in the castle right now," the headmaster said. "I suspect one of them may be missing a pet rat."

"Mr. Weasley has a pet rat," Professor McGonagall said. "It used to belong to Percy Weasley. It has been in this school for seven years now. I could not speak for the students outside of Gryffindor."

"I don't believe Latimer has a familiar," Severus said. "But I will check."

"I did check with Filius before I arrived," the Headmaster said. "Neither Ms. Jones nor Mr. Miller have pet rat's as far as he is aware."

"Do you believe that Pettigrew could have helped Greyback onto the school grounds?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"He could have told him about the Shrieking Shack," Remus said. "And the Whomping Willow, but it just doesn't make any sense for Peter to have been working with Greyback."

"You would have far more insight into that than any of us," Professor McGonagall said.

"That's just it," Remus said. "Greyback wouldn't hesitate to use Peter if he knew he was here, and Peter would probably cooperate up to the point where he could find an escape if Greyback had any leverage on him, but there should have been no way for Greyback to know if Peter was hiding out at Hogwarts. How would their paths have even crossed? I very much doubt that Peter would have sought Greyback out."

"Perhaps they had an intermediary," Severus said.

"If I were working with Greyback, Severus," Remus said. "I assure you I would have had no need to work with Peter to accomplish Greyback's goals."

"Oh but you always loved to keep your paws clean," Severus said. Remus bristled.

"That's enough Severus," Professor McGonagall said.

The Headmaster ignored the back and forth. "Can you make a guess as to what Greyback's next move will be?"

"What exactly did you find in that clearing?" Remus countered.

"Peter Pettigrew's body had been savaged with teeth, a rather large bite had been taken of his jugular vein," the Headmaster said and Remus shuddered. "I also found this flask of potion. The potion appears to be a rather poor facsimile of Polyjuice Potion with more than enough wolfsbane to kill a werewolf. I will ask you, Severus, to do a full analysis though."

"Peter tried to kill him?" Remus asked.

"It would appear so," the Headmaster said.

Remus thought for a moment. "If Peter had tried to trick him with a laced potion then Greyback would have definitely killed him. With no more inside help… Are we certain Greyback cannot get into this school? There are ways in that Peter would have known about."

"The wards for the school are much more comprehensive than those over the grounds and much stronger as well," Professor McGonagall said. "They're tied deep into the bedrock as well."

"Too deep into the bedrock," the Headmaster said. "Lest the basilisk would have had to pass through them to get into the school last year. The tunnels that Fenrir Greyback would use to gain entry to the castle still pass through the castle wards. In his wolf form, he could pass through if he were taking the Wolfsbane Potion, however, with nothing but the wolf's mind, he would be kept out by the same charms that keep stray animals from entering the castle."

"Greyback would never use Wolfsbane," Remus said. "He has a trick to get the wolf to target who he wants but he would never do anything to tame it. He holds his wolf up almost like a deity."

"So we are reasonably sure he could not get into the castle," Professor McGonagall said. "Yet more importantly, Greyback knows he has no access to the castle. So what will his next move be?"

"He is very single minded and obsessive, but I think he's smart enough to move on at this point," Remus said. "Though after so many years in Azkaban, he may have left reason behind. My best guess is that he will leave and attempt to start laying the groundwork for a new pack. He won't give up on Harry, but he may put it off and attempt to get resources outside of the school that will help him get Harry later. Of course, he may just be reckless enough now to try to grab Harry off the grounds but I do not think that even now he would do that unless he was certain he could get away."

"Then now is the time to use the dementors," Severus said. "We can restrict students to the castle while they do a sweep. Either the dementors finish off Greyback or he is driven off of the school grounds."

"He may retreat deep into the forest," Remus warned.

"The centaurs have been warned to be on the lookout for him and they will not tolerate him in their forest," The headmaster said. "Fenrir Greyback may be at home in the forest, but the centaurs are superior hunters. He would have an even harder time of evading them in four days when the moon is full."

"What did you mean by laying the groundwork for a new pack?" Professor McGonagall asked.

Remus shrugged. "Recruiting followers, identifying targets, scouting out places to camp out," he said. "He doesn't like to do things rashly, he observes, he plans, he stalks."

"And by targets you mean?"

"Children," Remus said. "They're easier to indoctrinate. He'll recruit adult werewolves who are at the end of their prospects, but he won't waste his time targeting an adult for the curse."

"Thank you, Remus," the Headmaster said. "We will keep the grounds clear today. I will ask Madame Bones to handle the dementors."

"We'll want to avoid the outer edges of the castle," Professor McGonagall said. "The towers are heavily exposed as well. We certainly don't want the students to be exposed any more than they have to be. On Christmas no less."

"The dungeons might be the best place for the students then," Remus said. "What do you say Severus, a school Christmas party in the Slytherin common room?"

Severus had a very put upon look on his face.

"I do believe, Professor Lupin, that we are trying to preserve holiday cheer," Professor McGonagall said. "Not smother it."

"Nonsense," the Headmaster said. "We can certainly make more than the best of the situation, the Slytherin common room will be a wonderful place to have a Christmas party. I do think it would be best to keep the students there together. I would not want them to get too close to the dementors while they are hunting."

"Just how long do you intend for the dementors to be on the prowl?" Severus asked.

"A twenty-four hour sweep would be best," the Headmaster said. "Especially since the school is largely empty and we have no need of the grounds today."

Severus looked particularly put out about this and Remus didn't imagine that Severus was happy about his sanctum being invaded by Gryffindors.

"And what will we tell the students?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Only that Fenrir Greyback was spotted upon the grounds and that they are safe in the castle while the dementors perform their search," the Headmaster said.

"What about Harry?" Remus asked. "He should know that the man who probably kidnapped him is dead."

Severus shot him a deadly look.

"Not on Christmas day," Professor McGonagall said.

"I've spoken to him before about Peter," Remus said. "I can tell him about what happened this morning."

"You told him about Pettigrew?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"I hadn't planned on telling him. He asked," Remus said. "He has a letter that mentioned the lot of us."

"After Christmas," the Headmaster agreed. Remus wondered why Severus shot the Headmaster an angry look at that.

"Well," Remus said. "Unless there's anything else, here's to Christmas in the dungeons."


IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII


Harry half opened his eyes as a hand gently shook his shoulder. He could tell by the little light coming in through his curtains that the sun wasn't up yet.

"Come on Ron, gimme more time," Harry said, sleepily. "We'll do presents in a bit."

"I'm afraid this cannot wait, Mr. Potter," came Professor McGonagall's voice from over his shoulder.

Harry turned over quickly in bed to see Professor McGonagall standing over him.

"I shall wake Mr. Weasley and then explain the morning's events to you," Professor McGonagall said. She turned and walked to the bed opposite Harry's. Harry checked his watch. It was barely past six. Ron's head poked out from behind his curtains.

"Fenrir Greyback was spotted on the grounds very early this morning," Professor McGonagall said. "You are, of course, safe in the castle, however the dementors will be scouring the grounds looking for him over the next twenty-four hours. In order to avoid prolonged exposure to the dementors, we will be keeping all students together in the heart of the castle. Presents will be brought to you there. You will meet me in the common room in ten minutes so I can escort you to where you will be spending Christmas day."

That was a lot to take in when he was half awake.

"Are they going to catch Greyback?" Harry asked.

"We can only wait and see, Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall said. "I will see you in the common room. Ten minutes."

She left the two bleary eyed boys and walked down the stairs.

"Happy Christmas," Ron said.

"Happy Christmas," Harry said. "Oh!"

"What?" Ron asked.

"If they're keeping all the students together," Harry said. "I won't be able to see Professor Snape. We were going to see each other."

"That's rough, mate," Ron said. "Maybe they'll still do the big Christmas dinner, even if we aren't in the Great Hall. You'll see him then."

"Yeah, but…" Harry sighed. He needed to get ready to go.

They opened the packages from Mrs. Weasley, they wanted to wear their new sweaters down to wherever they were going. They were about to leave when Ron realized that he couldn't find Scabbers. The two of them were searching the room when Professor McGonagall came back looking for them.

"The time to leave has very much passed," Professor McGonagall said tersely.

"I can't find Scabbers," Ron said. "My pet rat. He's missing. I can't leave him with the dementors."

Professor McGonagall sighed. "I suppose that that answers that question," she said.

"Professor?" Harry asked.

"Was your pet missing a toe on it's left front paw?" Professor McGonagall asked.

Ron nodded, looking very much like he knew where Professor McGonagall was going.

"One of the house elves found a deceased rat not too far from the tower earlier this morning," Professor McGonagall said. "Since magic keeps wild rats out of the castle, we knew it must have belonged to one of the students."

"Scabbers died," Ron said in a very small voice.

"Yes," Professor McGonagall said. "I believe so."

"Oh," Ron said. "I guess… I guess it's been a long time coming. I just thought… That tonic had been helping you know, he'd looked better."

"Yeah," Harry said. "He was probably happier these past few days. You've been taking good care of him. It was just…" He didn't think that he could say that it was 'just his time.' There wasn't any such thing. "That's rough." He felt rather useless then.

"Why'd he wander off alone like that?" Ron asked no one in particular. "He should have been with me."

Professor McGonagall sighed. "Come along," she said. "We can handle this matter tomorrow."

They went down to the common room where Hermione was waiting for them. While Harry and Ron had thrown a change of clothes and some necessities into their book bags, Hermione looked like she was bringing all of her course books and some extras besides.

"So where's the heart of the castle, Professor?" Harry asked after they were underway, and Ron had told Hermione about Scabbers.

"The center of the dungeons," Professor McGonagall said. "You will be staying in the Slytherin Common Room for the day."

"Great," Ron said, sounding depressed.

"You will be a guest in another house," Professor McGonagall said. "And while matters are rather upsetting right now, I do expect all of you to accept this hospitality."

"Happy Christmas," Hermione said as they set off for the dungeons.

"Happy Christmas," Harry and Ron said.

They made their way down from the tower and even though Harry had been to the Slytherin Common Room once before, he was glad to have Professor McGonagall to guide him since he was sure he would have gotten lost. The way down was mostly silent. Harry found himself largely preoccupied by thoughts of Greyback and dementors. Maybe today would be the last day he had to worry about Greyback. Maybe his luck was turning.

"Broadchurch," Professor McGonagall said at the entrance to the Slytherin dungeons. "This password will of course not be valid tomorrow. You are free to spend your day how you wish so long as you remain here. The dormitories are off limits for you, but you will have pleasant accommodations tonight. There's a table set up for breakfast, and the Christmas feast will be in seven hours. Now, Mr. Latimer is a first year and the only Slytherin in the castle and I do believe he's been spending the holiday break so far by himself down here so perhaps you can include him in your festivities."

"Oh we've had him with us a bunch this week," Ron said. "We'll get on fine professor." In spite of his words, he clearly sounded like he was ready to be done with the conversation. Harry thought Ron probably wanted to be alone, but he very much doubted any of them would have any time to themselves that day.

"Very well," Professor McGonagall said. "I shall return later. Do let Professor Snape know if you need anything. And Happy Christmas to all of you."

"Happy Christmas," they replied with varying levels of enthusiasm.

The three of them walked past the threshold and entered the Slytherin common room. The whole room was decorated in garlands of holly, floating candles, and Christmas colored streamers.

"Intruders," Danny accused, coming up to them with his arms crossed over his chest. "Come to pilfer the dungeons, have you?"

"Well that's the plan," Harry said. "And we're not being stopped by a first year."

"Oh yeah? Well I've got a dozen dungbombs that say different," Danny said.

"You wouldn't." Harry said. "We're all stuck here. It's mutually assured destruction."

"I guess we'll just have to see," Danny said.

"Well I suppose we've been foiled," Harry said.

"That's a relief," Hermione said to Harry before turning to Danny. "We were going to open presents down here, did you want to open yours with us?"

"Oh," Danny said, blushing, his eyes downcast. "I already opened mine, in my dorm, so, you guys go ahead. I was going to… take a shower, so I'll see you in a bit."

Danny beat a hasty retreat and Harry wondered if the boy, who had nowhere to go on Christmas, had had anything to open at all. Harry knew better than to ask though. He spotted a pile of presents sitting on one of the tables and moved over to sit next to them on a couch that was nice and close to the nearest fireplace. He had a nice view of the large window that looked into the depths of the great lake. The two Ravenclaws who were staying in the castle soon joined them, having been dropped off by Professor Flitwick, and they started opening presents.

Hermione had gotten the both of them homework planners that were filled out for the rest of the year. She must have asked all of the professors for insight because it seemed she already knew what assignments were coming up. It wasn't the most exciting gift, but Harry could definitely see the value of it. Harry had gotten Hermione a practical gift in turn; a liner for her book bag that would make it weigh less. Ron had gotten her a box of chocolate roses. The floral aroma mixed with the chocolate was actually really nice, Harry thought. Hermione seemed to like them, but she was a bit quiet after she opened them.

Ron had gotten Harry a number of chocolate frogs, hopefully enough to last for the rest of his Patronus lessons with Professor Lupin.

"You should really start a proper collection," Ron said as Harry pulled out one of the more common chocolate frog cards.

Harry had given Ron a quaffle and a hoop that would float around their dormitory he could toss it through. Ron smiled and thanked Harry for the gift, but Harry could tell his mind was elsewhere.

Harry opened gifts from Hagrid and the twins while Ron opened presents from his whole family. There were no coat hangers or old socks from the Dursleys this year, there was nothing at all, and Harry was just fine with that.

The two Ravenclaws didn't appear to be close with one another and they mostly opened their presents in silence. Hermione struck up a small conversation. They were both, it seemed, staying over the holidays to study.

Harry noticed that there was nothing from Professor Snape, but Harry had been waiting to give his gift in person and maybe if Professor Snape had gotten him anything he was waiting too. They'd probably have to wait until the next day to properly do anything family like. It wasn't the biggest disappointment, but Harry had been looking forward to their Christmas plans.

A table had been set up with breakfast. Nothing too heavy; Harry supposed they were supposed to be saving room for the Christmas feast. Danny joined them while they ate and Harry thought his Christmas cheer looked a little forced.

The impromptu Christmas party was a little droll, with Ron in mourning, the two Ravenclaws reading in the corner, and Danny clearly missing out on an important part of Christmas. Normally it would be Ron getting some activity started, but Harry felt that it was probably going to be up to him if he didn't want the day to devolve into another homework party.

"So we can't do a snowball fight," Harry said. "But what about we play magic tag." He had seen some Hufflepuffs playing the game at the end of the previous school year.

"How does that work?" Hermione asked. Everyone looked to Harry.

"Well we use the glow charm," Harry said. "The person who's it tries to hit someone with the charm. If they get hit, then they're it and the person who hit them calls out the next color. No repeats. We play till everyone's glowing."

The Ravenclaws had put down their books skeptically but Ron looked glad for a distraction.

"Everyone know the spell?" Harry asked, though Danny was the only one he was worried about. "It's Lumiosa and then the color." He got a bunch of nods.

"Good then," Harry said. "The first color is red, rubrum, and Danny's it."

Danny didn't miss a beat. "Lumiosa Rubrum," Danny said, pointing his wand at Harry from two feet away. Harry spun narrowly out of the way and the game was on. Hermione was very accurate with her casting. She never missed, but she also couldn't dodge to save her life. Ron had a very good sense of what was going on around him, but he was hit and miss when he was it. Effie Jones, who was a seventh year in Ravenclaw was the last one to be hit. Her housemate, Thomas Miller, who looked far taller and lankier than he was used to being, was hit the most. Harry was only hit once; he was very light on his feet. He had always had to be. He was glad too when he hit Hermione with his first shot. He actually was capable of hitting his mark, though it wasn't as though it mattered when the only thing at stake was a game.

They were a rainbow of colors and very out of breath when they settled down for a card house building tournament with exploding snap cards. Later, after the glow charms had worn off, they played a magical version of the game Risk which Danny said was very popular in the Slytherin common room. The board was very large and all of the pieces moved and battled on their own in response to their dice rolls. They all had charmed parchment so they could send messages to each other; forming secret alliances and goading other players to attack each other.

Hermione was very good at it and scarily ruthless. Harry and Ron kept an alliance going until Harry was wiped off the board. Harry felt that Ron had largely been carrying him through the game. Danny took Harry's last territory before Ron took him out in vengeance. Effie was next to be taken out and Ron and Tom formed an alliance that lasted until Hermione seemed to be on the ropes. Tom betrayed Ron while he was engaged with Hermione and the two fought ruthlessly until their armies were decimated. Hermione then revealed her forces kept in reserve and swept the board. Harry was rather certain that she had planned the entire thing.

The game had gotten a few spectators along the way as professors had started trickling in as the Christmas feast approached. Professor Snape had watched with a quiet intensity while Professor Flitwick had been full of excitement and bubbly bravos and congratulations. By the time the game had ended the teachers outnumbered the students and Professor Dumbledore arrived as the game was put away. At his bidding to take seats, Harry turned around to find a heavily laden table that he was certain had not been there before the Headmaster had spoken.

Harry, by seeming random happenstance, was seated next to Professor Snape and while they chatted during the meal, it definitely lacked the familiarity that had developed between them over the past weeks. It was alright for them to appear to be on friendly terms in public, it wasn't alright for them to show filial attachment.

The feast was excellent, as it was always, and the dungeons proved to be a perfectly fitting setting, done up as they were. The feast devolved into a student teacher Christmas party that lasted into the evening. Harry watched a rather good game of chess between Ron and Professor Flitwick while he played gobstones with Professor Sprout, Danny, and Thomas. Hermione had to be reminded a couple of times not to ask the Professors about classwork during the party. She spent a lot of time asking them about their careers. He spent time with his father, a card game here, a chess game there, but the whole event was entirely lacking in the anticipated family Christmas feeling that Harry had hoped for. Harry knew that it was a far better Christmas than he could have hoped for before he had come to Hogwarts, and he felt a bit ungrateful for being disappointed. He wondered how Sammy and her brother were doing. They were away from home and away from school for the holidays. They were dealing with a lot more than anything Harry was going through. He couldn't do anything about that though and he focused on trying to enjoy the holiday.

Carols were sung, Christmas crackers were popped, and Ravenclaws were kept from their books. For all that it was lacking, it seemed the picture-perfect Christmas such as he might have seen in one of the movies that was on the telly around the holidays. Harry's mind couldn't help but be drawn to his book bag where a gift-wrapped present sat and the man across the room he wanted to give it to.

The teachers departed one after another after a while and the evening was a rather quiet affair after the eventful day. That night, before they called it quits, Harry gave Danny some chocolate frogs, hastily done up in discarded wrapping paper. He was surprised by a fierce hug before the younger boy ran out to his dormitory. Hermione gave him a sad smile.

Couches were transfigured into beds and they turned in for the night, all of them a little exhausted. A year ago it would have been the perfect Christmas. A year ago he hadn't had a father he couldn't acknowledge.


IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII


The tunnel was protected. Not enough to keep him from feeling the dementors effects as they glided by, but enough to keep him hidden from them. Now and then, one would get too close and he would cling to the wolf inside. Everything had been bollocksed. He had been here for almost four months. He had spent three moons unable to hunt. His chances of getting the boy, of getting cleanly away, had dwindled.

Harry Potter belonged to him. He was Greyback's prey, the boy would be part of Greyback's pack, he would give the boy his mark, and Black would spin in his grave as Potter howled at the moon. There could be no better feather in his cap than to have the Boy-Who-Lived in his pack. The boy was his, and he would make him his. The first step to building his pack. His pack that would make the world tremble. His pack that would hunt. His pack that would grow. His pack that would stand at the top. His wolf at the apex. The wolf brought strength. The wolf gave clarity, focus, purpose. The wolf was everything and Greyback was his vessel. The world would be their hunting grounds.

Potter was in the castle though. Potter was in the castle and Greyback was on the outside where the dementors prowled, and the Aurors plotted, and the Headmaster schemed, and here Greyback sat, waiting for a moon without blood; a moon without the hunt. He would need resources. He had a purpose, a glorious purpose. He could not be caught. He could not waste away. He would come for Potter again and Potter would be his, but until he was ready he needed to go. He needed to prepare. The boy would be his, but not today.

Greyback glanced at the map in his hands and the names that had stopped moving now that night had come. He would return, but until then he had work to do. He turned around and loped through the tunnel. He could feel dementors up ahead. The moment he was past the wards upon the grounds, he portkeyed away.


IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII


Harry and Professor Snape met the next day after the Dementors had been cleared from the castle grounds. Harry was pleased to see that Professor Snape had gotten him a Christmas present, new leather gauntlets for quidditch and an admonishment to stay away from bludgers so he wouldn't need them. Harry gave Professor Snape his gift, a framed picture of his mother and him when he was a baby from his album with some black licorice as well. Harry couldn't stand the stuff, but Professor Snape seemed to like it. They spent the day together, and it was nice, but Harry felt it lacked whatever it was he had been hoping Christmas would be. Their get together took a serious note towards the end though.

"There's something I need to tell you," Professor Snape said, after they had had dinner.

"I already figured you would have said something if Greyback had been captured," Harry had said. Besides Professor McGonagall's explanation for their Christmas accommodations the day prior, no one had mentioned Greyback since. He wasn't exactly a topic for the holidays.

"He was not captured," Professor Snape nodded. "But this has to do with how he was spotted in the first place. Lupin says he told you about Peter Pettigrew and the role he played in your mother's death."

Harry nodded, having no idea where the conversation was going.

"It would appear," Professor Snape said, "that he faked his death twelve years ago. His body was found upon the grounds early yesterday morning. The nature of his death suggests that he was killed by Greyback. It looks like he had been working with Greyback but had attempted to betray him. We think it most likely that he was the one who attempted to kidnap you last month. Especially based on your limited description of the man."

"I don't understand," Harry said. "If Greyback can't get into the castle, how did he? And how did he betray Greyback? And how could he be alive this whole time? He was… He was the one who betrayed my parents. Where's he been hiding?"

"According to Lupin, he was a rat animagus," Professor Snape said. "And it was most likely that he was brought in by a student."

"Scabbers!" Harry said, horrified. "He got rid of scabbers and replaced him to get into the castle."

"It is more likely that he has always been the Weasley's pet rat," Professor Snape said. "The Headmaster visited the Weasleys this morning. They've had that rat since not long after Pettigrew faked his death."

Harry felt sick to his stomach. The very thought that he had effectively been living with the man who had betrayed his parents was entirely too distressing.

"You must still be careful," Professor Snape said. "Do not trust Lupin. We do not know what Greyback will do now, but even without the aid of Pettigrew we can not trust that he does not still have influence in the castle."

"You said Pettigrew was the one who kidnapped me," Harry said.

"There are too many connections between Lupin, Greyback, and Pettigrew," Professor Snape said. "Do not assume that he is what he appears to be."

Harry nodded.

"Does Ron know?" Harry asked. "He was going to see Professor McGonagall today about Scabbers's remains."

"He has been informed," Professor Snape said.

"I should go," Harry said. "He'll be pretty upset."

"I imagine you are as well," Professor Snape said.

Harry shrugged.

"I'll be alright," Harry said.

"Will you be ready for your first Occlumency lesson tomorrow?" Professor Snape asked.

Harry hesitated. He had high hopes that Occlumency was the key to mastering the Patronus Charm. He was also terrified of the prospect of Professor Snape reading his mind, or anyone else for that matter. He would probably feel differently tomorrow, but at that moment, he rather didn't feel like he was capable of clearing his mind or doing any of the exercises.

"Maybe later this week," Harry said. "I just, um, need some time."

"Friday?" Professor Snape asked. "After lunch."

"Yeah," Harry said. "I'll see you… Um, Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas Harry," Professor Snape said. "Although, you should know that Lupin is planning to tell you about Pettigrew. It would be best if you did not tell him that I had already told you."

"Right," Harry said. "Bye."

"Have a good night," Professor Snape said.

"Good night," Harry said. He left and headed to the tower. He shouldn't have been surprised the way the universe had been treating him that day that he should pass Professor Lupin on his way.

"Harry," Professor Lupin said. "How are you, I hope your holiday went well, in spite of the situation."

"It was great," Harry said. "Thanks."

"There's something I wanted to talk to you about," Professor Lupins said.

"Pettigrew," Harry said. "Yeah I know, I overheard… I wasn't eavesdropping, but I… Yeah, I overheard."

"That's not how I would have liked for you to find out," Professor Lupin said. "If you have any questions…"

"I don't," Harry said quickly. "I'm sorry, I've got to go. I'll see you Thursday for our lesson. I mean; I know I've taken up a lot of your holiday."

"Nonsense," Professor Lupin said. "You haven't taken up my holiday, though now that you mention it, I don't think I'll be available Thursday, but your schedule is probably clear for the week, perhaps another day."

"Yeah," Harry said. "Wednesday?" He'd like to keep his time with dementors further away from his Occlumency lesson.

"That won't work either," Professor Lupin said. "How about Friday?"

"In the evening?" Harry asked. Maybe he would have better luck with the spell if he had just been practicing Occlumency.

"That works for me," Professor Lupin said. "I'll let you go, you seem to be a bit in a hurry."

"Thanks, yeah," Harry said. "Happy Christmas, Professor."

"Happy Christmas, Harry," Professor Lupin said.

Harry went up to the tower where he was greeted by a rather upset Ron and a worried Hermione.


IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII


The next few days went rather uneventfully. They studied for the most part. Danny joined them off and on. The thing that was bothering Harry was that there seemed to be something off between him and Ron. He certainly didn't blame Ron for Scabbers being a secret evil wizard who had betrayed his parents and kidnapped him. He could also understand why Ron was upset about Scabbers, but it felt like it was a barrier between the two of them and Harry didn't understand why. It made him feel sick, thinking about the loss of camaraderie between the two of them. It felt wrong to be with Ron and feel like that.

Wednesday came, and with it the full moon. They had a small gathering in the tower, inviting Danny, Tom, and Effie, just so Harry would have an alibi for the day. The next day he spent a lot of time practicing the Occlumency exercises from the book Professor Snape lent him. He wondered where Professor Lupin had gone, since he hadn't noticed him the evening prior at dinner or that morning at breakfast. The small part of him that was suspicious of everyone, and Defense Professors in particular, whispered that he was off meeting Greyback. Professor Lupin reappeared that night at dinner looking slightly ill.

Friday came and with it his first Occlumency lesson. He had lunch with Professor Snape and then they went to the parlor where two chairs were set up opposite one another.

"This exercise is rather simple," Professor Snape said when they had settled. "Think of what you had for breakfast this morning. Now, I'm going to ask you what you had for breakfast and you are going to tell me a lie while at the same time, preventing me from seeing the truth in your mind. From your reading, what methods can you use to accomplish this that will also help you with the Patronus Charm?"

"Umm.. The two most basic methods are Direct Deception where I focus in my mind on the false answer to fool you and Shielded Exclusion, where I'm thinking of something completely different to prevent you from seeing anything to do with my breakfast," Harry said.

"That is correct," Professor Snape said. "Both of those methods will help you with the Patronus Charm. When you use Direct Deception, you don't just think of the answer you want me to see, it must appear in your brain like a true memory, you must experience the deception in your head as if it were something that had truly happened. Shielded Exclusion is very good for focusing yourself on certain matters, so for example, the ability to focus on your happy memory while feeling the effects of a dementor. In protecting your mind, Shielded Exclusion prevents me from having anything to grasp onto that might lead me to seeing what you had for your breakfast. Your book of course has a good many other techniques, but these two in particular will help you with the Patronus."

"I've been practicing them," Harry said.

"Good," Professor Snape said. "Do you have any questions before we start?"

"No," Harry said, though he didn't really feel ready to start.

"Remember," Professor Snape said. "If there is anything you wish me not to see, trying not to think about it is the best way to accidentally think about it. Focus on the exercise, do not worry about anything else. Do not focus on not letting me see what you had for breakfast, focus on selling me on the deception you are telling me. We will start with Direct Deception first. This exercise requires eye contact. I will not be using my wand since I will be using the most passive of Legilimency to begin with. Ready?"

Harry nodded, beginning the exercise.

"What did you have for breakfast?" Professor Snape asked.

"Waffles with syrup and strawberries," Harry said.

"Good," Professor Snape said. "I did not see the truth, but what I did see did not feel like a memory, it felt like your imagination. Again."

Harry nodded.

"What did you have for breakfast?"

"Waffles with syrup and strawberries," Harry said again.

They repeated the exercise several times until Harry got comfortable with it, though when Harry started to get the hang of it, Professor Snape started mixing things up.

"What did you receive from Miss Granger for Christmas?" Professor Snape asked.

"Wait, what?" Harry asked.

"You are currently singularly focused on this breakfast deception," Professor Snape said. "Now we throw in distractions. Simple, innocuous questions that have nothing to do with the deception. Once I have you distracted, I bring you back to what I want to know. It forces you to think quickly and adapt."

"Oh," Harry said. "But it's just questions like that, right?"

"I will not try to catch you out for rule breaking," Professor Snape said.

Harry frowned but nodded.

"What did you receive from Miss Granger for Christmas?" Professor Snape asked.

"A homework planner," Harry said.

"Yes," Professor Snape said. "She came to me to ask about future assignments. How has your studying been going?"

"Good," Harry said. "We're already studying ahead for next term."

"I'm glad to hear it," Professor Snape said. "What was the last essay you worked on?"

"Charms," Harry said. "Reductive Animation."

"And what is thirty nine divided by three?" Professor Snape asked.

"Thirteen," Harry said with a moments thought.

"What did you have for breakfast this morning?" Professor Snape asked.

"Um… Waffles with syrup and strawberries," Harry said. He didn't need Professor Snape to tell him he hadn't done it right.

"Let's try that again," Professor Snape said.

They worked at it for a while before switching to Shielded Exclusion. Harry didn't like any of it. Who knew where an innocuous thought could lead. He did rather well, though, at keeping focused in the moment. Practicing the exercises as much as he had had helped. After a while he thought he could actually feel Professor Snape in his head. The book had said that with practice, he would become sensitive to the presence of others, depending on how delicate they were and how sensitive he was. It was good to know the feeling of someone being in his head, but he didn't like it one bit.

Though he had been sitting the whole time, Harry felt rather exhausted when they were done. It was dinner time already, they had practiced for hours. They ate and Harry left for his lesson with Professor Lupin.

Professor Lupin looked a bit better than he had the day before, and he greeted Harry with a smile and his usual pleasant manner. Harry used the techniques he had just been practicing as he focused on the charm and the feeling of his protection, the feeling of his mothers love that was always there with him, that came to him when he needed it. He used the techniques to focus on the feeling, to experience it while keeping other thoughts away. He wasn't quite there, but he was definitely improving. He was definitely doing better. There was more white mist and he lasted longer before he passed out.

Harry was munching on chocolate towards the end of the lesson while Professor Lupin graded some papers. He was trying to distract himself from everything going through his head when he had a thought about the professor being gone earlier. He thought about how the professor had known ahead of time he would be gone. He thought about all the other times he had been gone. He went over all the conversations he had had with Professor Lupin about werewolves. He pondered for a moment before bringing it up.

"Weren't you worried, coming to Hogwarts, when everyone would be focusing on werewolves and the moon?" Harry asked quietly, keeping an eye on the door.

Professor Lupin froze, not looking up from his grading. "People's prejudices against werewolves protect me actually. They see what they expect to see," He said. He looked over at Harry. "I don't act the way they would expect a werewolf to act so they don't notice what's rather obvious. It took over a year for your father to figure it out."

"Wait," Harry said. "How long have you been…"

"I was eight when I was bitten," Remus said.

"Greyback?" Harry asked.

Professor Lupin nodded. "He tried to take me for his pack, but I was rescued by my father that night."

"That potion Professor Snape makes for you?" Harry asked.

"Wolfsbane Potion," Professor Lupin said. "It keeps my mind from being taken over by the wolf during the transformation."

Harry frowned. "Is that why he doesn't trust you? Professor Snape? Because you're a werewolf?"

"We have a rather long and trying history between us," was all Professor Lupin said. "You should know your father and Sirius… and Peter, became Animagi because they found out about me. There was no Wolfsbane Potion back then. The transformation is extremely trying when the wolf cannot hunt, it will attack itself."

Harry noticed the many scars that marred the professors face and hands in horror.

"Animals are safe though, werewolves only hunt humans," Professor Lupin said. "Transformed, your father and Sirius could keep me company and distract me. It was a godsend."

"What were they?" Harry asked.

"Sirius was a very large black dog, though he acted like a puppy," Professor Lupin said with a sad smile. "Your father was a stag."

Harry smiled. "Did my mom know?" he asked.

"Oh she certainly noticed your father disappearing once a month," Professor Lupin said. "Nothing much got past her. She figured everything out in our seventh year."

Harry smiled at that. He bit his lip.

"Greyback likes being a werewolf," Harry said.

"He does," Professor Lupins said, nodding in agreement. "Most, however, would give anything for a cure. If I'd ever spoken to him I'm sure he would have told me that he had done me a favor, but I'll never not regret that night."

He looked at Harry sadly. "It was the summer, and we normally kept the windows open. I hadn't understood that night why I had to keep it closed. I got too warm and… I opened the window."

"That's why you became an expert on Greyback?" Harry asked.

Professor Lupin nodded.

"Was that why Mr. Black went after him?" Harry asked.

Professor Lupin sighed. "He had made it his personal mission to 'avenge' me. Losing him… Losing him like that was the hardest. He'd been… We had been very close."

Harry could imagine what it would be like to lose Ron like that. He could imagine how he would feel.

"Do you hate him?" Harry asked. "Greyback?"

"More than anyone," Professor Lupin said. "More than Voldemort, more than those who think I should be killed for being what I am, more than those who…" He sighed. "It doesn't help us to dwell on hate though Harry. There are many people who have wronged you in life. It is alright to be angry, it is alright to hate them, but in the end you have to be able to live your life as if they didn't exist. After the war, I tried very hard to do just that."

"How'd that work out?" Harry asked.

"Better some days than others," Professor Lupin said. "Do you want some tea? This feels like a tea conversation."

Harry froze. He knew better. He definitely knew better. But though he knew better, the voice that told him not to trust Professor Lupin was quiet. He knew better but… more than ever now, he felt that he could trust the man.

"Alright," Harry said.

He still watched the man make it. He still felt nervous drinking it. He knew that it would be alright though.

"Can you tell me more about my father?" Harry asked. "Did he ever do anything being an animagus besides keeping you company?"

"Oh the stories I could tell," Professor Lupin said. "You'd best get settled then, this might take a bit."

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