The smell of rancid, decaying flesh permeated from behind the yellowed fangs. The texture of the brick at his back dug sharply into Harry's skin, as he looked desperately for an escape in the narrow dead-end. Moony snapped at him teasingly as the wolf creeped ever closer to the terrified savior.
Harry couldn't believe how stupid he and Hermione had been to put off finding the ingredients for the Wolfsbane, and looked up at the full moon that seemed to taunt him from it's place in the sky. A blue moon had been the last thing anyone had expected, and Harry regretted more than ever not keeping track of the days, instead of merely expecting it would turn at the start of the next month. An abrupt, practiced howl ruptured the still and terrible silence of the night just as Lupin's claws clicked exceptionally close, grabbing the wolf's attention abruptly. A second howl rent the air just as the wolf turned back to his prey, followed by a third, and Lupin ambled to the mouth of the alleyway, loosing a sad, keening wail in response before taking off in the direction of the other supposed werewolves.
Harry took a deep breath in relief and slid down the wall as his body trembled from the adrenaline. Luckily, they were in an abandoned township, one of many peppering England as the residents relocated to other countries, some even to other continents, and Lupin didn't pose a serious threat to anyone besides them. They had come because they'd heard whispers of a rebellion uprising in the area, but the rumors had resolved into little more than hastily freed House Elves, angry with Voldemort for making their master's too scared to keep them. After a few hours of arguing, they had sent the elves to McGonagall to help with the students around the world, and their families. They'd decided to stay the night, and search the area more thoroughly tomorrow, but that was when everything had gone to hell and Remus had transformed into the beast currently racing across the rooftops towards the surrounding forest.
"Harry? Are you okay?" Tonks came into the alley, followed by Kingsley, Neville, and Ginny.
The young wizard looked up and grinned reassuringly. "Yeah, thanks to 'Mione. Thank Merlin she's a wolf animagus. But where did that first howl come from?"
Kingsley helped the Gryffindor to his feet. "We're not sure. Hermione heard it and took off in that direction, since it was obviously human. She didn't want whoever it was to face Lupin alone."
Harry brushed off his trousers, grimacing as he swiped over the shallow cut in his leg. He'd gotten it racing through the forest, after he'd pulled Remus off Ginny and Neville's scent. He let the others lead him, limping, out of the pinched passageway. "Well, let's hope they stay alive long enough for me to thank them. They must have seen me from the cliffs when I ran through the town square. At least, I think that's the direction the howl came from."
"It was," Came the soft, smoky voice just behind the injured Wizarding Hero.
Harry gasped and stilled as tears sprung immediately to his eyes. The others froze with shock as he turned to face the source of the voice. "You…" He stared hopelessly at the phantom before him for a full minute before his legs gave out and he kneeled on the cobblestones, grasping at the pale, calloused hand that reached out to hold him upright. The astonished young man put his forehead to the cold knuckles as both hands gripped helplessly at the clammy fingers, tears running freely from his eyes. "But you're dead. I killed you…"
The cloaked apparition knelt before him and pulled him into a loose hug, his very real heart thundering against Harry's cheek. "Don't be foolish. If I had died that night, it would've been no more your fault than my own. I'm as alive as anyone has a right to be, believe me."
Harry looked up into the coal black eyes he had dreamed of so often since Voldemort's rise. "But it was his connection to me that exposed your true loyalties. If I had just occluded like you told me, none of this ever would have happened. I was too proud, I thought I was helping by gathering information. I was as selfish as you always accused me of being…I'm so sorry…"
Snape gently brushed away Harry's tears with his thumb, even as more fell. "Stupid boy, you were not at fault. You can't blame yourself for every bad thing that happens. By standards, you were occluded as best you could be. The Dark Lord learned my loyalties from another source, and at his own admission, the majority of your mind was blocked off to him. I am alive because of you, Potter."
Harry sniffed and wiped at his eyes. "How? I couldn't get there…I tried, but when I finally arrived the graveyard had been destroyed…you with it, I thought."
Snape shook his head and helped the boy to stand. "I think that explanation is best left for tomorrow. Right now, there is a raving werewolf lose on the countryside, and not all of the residents in the surrounding hills have left. I expect you had a plan in case something like this happened?"
The boy savior cleared his throat and took a step back, nodding. "Yeah…" He looked at his companions, who were still staring speechlessly at Severus. "Tonks, Kingsley, take Ginny and meet us at the Cave. Shouldn't take us more than a few minutes to get Remus' portkey activated. Neville, are you ready to wrestle a werewolf?"
The once shy, clumsy boy nodded firmly and transformed into a bear. Harry looked back at Snape one last time before apparating to a nearby rooftop and taking a running leap, soaring across the town in his animagus form towards the distant howls, followed by Neville's lumbering grizzly form.
*SS*
Snape looked at the three people in front of him, fighting not to glare at them accusingly. "Why are three barely-adult wizards going off to fight the werewolf, when there are two fully-trained Aurors available?" He growled in irritation. "And how in the hell did Potter manage to become a Roc animagus? Neither of his parents were magical animagi."
Tonks blushed. "It's not unusual for the gene to skip a few generations. We think it's from the Peverell line, but we can't be sure Lily doesn't have some magical blood in her family history. As for the three of us, I can't be an animagus, it's a trade off of being able to change my human shape at will, and werewolves aren't exactly vulnerable to magic. Kingsley is…well…"
"I can be of no help to them when it comes to Remus. My animagus form is a spotted jackrabbit, and besides slowing the three of them down, I can serve as little more than bait. Ginny's a panther, but right now she's still working on getting her equilibrium, and is terribly clumsy on her paws. Don't worry, Severus, those three 'barely-trained' wizards are very capable of handling this on their own," Kingsley said gruffly. "We should go to the Cave, so we can be there to do our parts. Severus, do you mind side-along apparition? The location is warded so that we cannot speak its name and you cannot even approach it unless we bring you there or key you to the wards."
Snape nodded and the four of them disappeared.
*HP*
Harry circled overhead, waiting for Neville and Hermione to corral Remus into an area open enough for him to pick him up without risking getting caught in the trees. He couldn't believe Severus was alive…a year and a half since that terrible night in the graveyard. Where had the man been? Who could have betrayed Severus? Who could have possibly known?
The large bird soared higher as Harry searched for stronger currents of warm air in the thick winter air, allowing his mind to wander from the disturbing questions. He had been devastated when he'd realized what happened. When he'd left the Wizarding World with Ron and Hermione they had forced him to tell him what was wrong, they'd always been able to sense with something was weighing on him. After trying so hard to explain how he was at fault for what happened to Snape, and thus every death that had happened since, Ron had blown up. A tear turned to ice on Harry's beak as he remembered how furious Ron had been to find out Harry thought such a stupid thing. He'd spent their year in hiding constantly reminding Harry that Voldemort would've found a way back no matter what, and that it was a waste of time to wallow in grief and self-pity.
With Ron's death in Liverpool, Harry had been furious, half-destroying The Cave as he spitefully shouted everything Ron had said. It had taken a week for him to see the real wisdom in the redhead's words. He knew now that he couldn't save everyone, even those he wanted to save the most, and that he had to cherish every second he had with the people around him. It still hurt to think of the number of times he'd brushed Ron off in favor of doing more research. He wished desperately that he'd seen the logic Ron had tried so hard to show him sooner. It had been Ron who'd helped him work out why he was really so grieved over Severus' apparent death.
At first, Ron had believed Harry might be in love with the "Old Git", but after a while he'd relented on the fact that it was a ludicrous notion. Instead, they had researched it in their spare time. Harry had adamantly refused to admit it then, despite what they'd found, but based on his own reaction moments ago, he knew Ron, and the books, were right. He and Severus were somehow intertwined. Fate, destiny, magic…one or more of the three had joined them in an unbreakable bond sometime during their years of casual interaction. Harry suspected that it had been that very term before Voldemort's rise, when he'd finally realized after so long that everything Severus had ever done had been to protect him, or help him to grow. Even when the man was truly being cruel because of Harry's father, his comments had been a way to keep Harry from becoming the man James had been: stubborn, and filled with foolish, conceited pride. That was what truly devastated him when he'd thought the man dead; he had known deep down that he should've researched the techniques Severus was trying to teach him, but anger at the man for not being more thorough in his lessons had stopped him. He realized after dwelling on it for so long that the man would never have been able to devote the time needed to teach him the techniques himself. In a school with children constantly in need of watching, and Voldemort calling him so frequently, it was amazing the man had found time at all.
A loud howl, mimicking the ones in Muggle cartoons, interrupted Harry's thoughts, and Harry focused his sharp eyes on the ground so far below. Hermione and Neville had maneuvered Remus into what once might have been a flourishing wheat field, now dead from the frigid night air that promised yet another layer of snow. Harry immediately brought his wings in close to his body, diving for the three large land creatures. Together, Hermione and Neville were keeping the werewolf from escaping in any direction, tightening their circle of defense slowly as Harry got closer. Finally, after a few moments, Harry threw his wings out, abruptly stopping his descent, and grasped the fierce, snapping canine in one of his massive talons. He beat his wings solidly as he lifted the now horribly frightened beast higher into the air. He saw Neville and Hermione return to their human forms before apparating, then paused in his ascent, soaring on a warm air current. He looked down at the wolf clawing to get out of his grip, and maneuvered his other talon to wrap gently around his neck, touching the tip of one sharp claw to the medallion Remus had sutured onto his back, between his shoulder blades. It had been the only place he could think of that the wolf wouldn't be able to tear it out from. When he was sure his honorary godfather wouldn't be able to struggle free at the wrong moment, he built up the oxygen in his chest and released a horrendous cry. Immediately, Roc and Werewolf disappeared with a crack of displaced air.
*HP*
Harry took a shuddering breath as the portkey deposited them several hundred feet in the air above their home, and looked for an air current that would carry them downwards. He spotted the manipulated air that Kingsley and Tonks were spelling into a slow-moving twister directly over the werewolf's enclosure, and dived for it, relishing the feel of the magically warmed air on his frozen feathers. The spell crackled over his body as he slowly circled downward. Finally he was close enough to the enclosure, and he swept away from the smooth, manipulated air to the more turbulent, natural air. After several yards, he turned abruptly and settled into an even dive. At just the right moment, he released the wolf into the heavily shielded out-building, wincing at the yelp of surprise as Remus rolled across the dirt floor, then landed a few feet away. It had taken weeks for Remus to convince Harry that the drop wouldn't really hurt him, and that his scars and bruises only existed because the wolf had created them himself. Werewolves really were amazingly resilient against anything but their own kind.
Shaking the ice particles from his feathers, Harry spotted Severus standing a little ways off, in the back garden, smirking. His keen, eagle-esque eyes thought he detected a little pride and awed amaze hiding behind the smirk. With a high-pitched cry, he transformed, only to be instantly surrounded by his companions as they heaped blankets onto his shoulders. He smiled as Kingsley and Tonks congratulated him on performing the yet-untested maneuver successfully, then moved away as the five of them turned to ensuring the enclosure's shields would hold, since the blue moon supposedly affected a werewolf's strength. With his chattering teeth and trembling muscles, he'd be of little help for even the smallest task until he'd warmed up properly.
"Cold, Potter?"
Harry looked up and realized Severus had moved from the garden at some point. He chuckled, ignoring the bruising feeling as his knees knocked together from his violent shivers. "It's bloody cold up there. Barely felt it through my feathers, but for some reason the cold always remains even when I land and change back."
Snape lifted a thin eyebrow as he produced a cup of cocoa from the folds of his cloak. "It is likely internal, Potter. As a Roc your organs can withstand the cold, but unfortunately you cannot merely shake off the ice crystals forming around them. Your magic, luckily, keeps whatever ice forms from really damaging you. Here," He handed the steaming the mug to the boy, bracing his hands on either side of Harry's to help him sip. "This will help."
"Where'd you get this?" Harry asked as Severus helped him take another sip.
Snape smirked. "I heated some water, and mixed it with a packet of powder in a mug I found inside." Harry rolled his eyes, making the smirk morph into something that could almost be considered an indulgent smile. "I keep packets of cocoa mix on my person, as it's a much faster way of dispelling the gloom of Dementors than waiting for solid chocolate to dissolve in your stomach. Besides, the warmth alone helps one to feel better even before the cacao bean takes effect."
Harry nodded, accepting what his former Potions teacher said as truth, and allowed the man to help him sip more of the soothingly warm beverage. Already, he could feel his shivering begin to subside, and his teeth had stopped chattering as hard, a change from the near three hours it normally took. He heard the others approach behind him, and turned, confident that he could hold the cup on his own now.
"Oy, that's my mug," Tonks groused playfully as she ruffled Harry's hair. The young wizard shooed her hand away.
"Blame the professor, he's the one who borrowed it to help me get warm," He said, taking a deliberate sip as Tonks pretended to pout.
"Is that hot cocoa, Harry?" Hermione asked, sniffing at the cup. "Why on earth didn't we think of that?"
Harry shrugged and looked at the enclosure twenty feet away, where Moony was slamming himself against the half-transparent walls. They'd decided it was best they be able to see what the Werewolf was doing at all times when he was locked up, to prevent any surprise escapes, but too cruel to allow the wolf to see out without being able to really leave.
"I'm more surprised that Lupin never thought of this solution," Snape commented. "But I suppose it's understandable that he wouldn't know to think of it, as his expertise is in dark creatures, not human health."
"As evidenced by his scars," Harry pointed out as he turned back to face his friends.
"Harry! That's not fair," Hermione argued. "Remus does what he can for his injuries after a full moon."
Harry sighed. "I wasn't saying he didn't, 'Mione, I was only agreeing that he doesn't have any real medical knowledge. None of us really do, Snape excluded."
Snape straightened his spine when suddenly he became their object of scrutiny. "I do have a more than adequate knowledge of medi-wizardry," He admitted solemnly. "I am not as thoroughly trained as a Healer, but have a slightly wider knowledge base for injuries and illnesses than the average Healer's assistant."
Kingsley hummed thoughtfully. "That could be useful. As Harry said, we're severely lacking in that area. I'm rudimentary at best. Feel like joining our little rebellion, Severus?"
The man raised an eyebrow in question, but before he could say anything, Harry spoke again. "No, not yet." He looked Snape in the eye, and held his gaze firmly. "It's not that I don't trust you, Professor, because I know better than anyone that you can be trusted, but I think it best we get a full background on where you've been and what you've been doing for the last year and a half, and perhaps something on what exactly happened in that graveyard. Without at least a little something to go on, we can't be sure you won't accidentally compromise our position without realizing you're doing so. I realize that sounds paranoid, and you're perfectly capable of having dispelled any targeting or tracking spells that may have been placed on you since then, but I'd rather be safe now than sorry later. I hope you can understand. There's a lot riding on the seven of us, and being incautious just because you're familiar could be a mistake that costs us everything."
Severus bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement. "I agree entirely, Potter, and will be happy to oblige you with whatever information I can."
Tonks and Kingsley looked between the two wizards in surprise, while Hermione, Neville, and Ginny looked at Harry with pride. He had grown up a lot, especially since Ron's death. Ginny stepped forward and hugged the boy she considered to be a brother.
"Now that that's settled, we should all go off to bed. Even if Snape were to try and deliberately betray us, it'd take him days to figure out and dismantle the majority of our wards, so anything we need to talk about can wait until tomorrow." She glanced at the Potions Master, "No offense, sir." Snape shrugged.
Harry yawned, and pulled off the blankets weighing down his shoulders. "Alright. I don't have the power or energy to summon another room tonight, and the couch is still wobbly from our last practice duel, so who's Snape going to bunk with?" He looked around at his friends, all of whom avoided looking him in the eye. He rolled his eyes and looked at Snape, who luckily didn't seem insulted by their reluctance. "I guess you'll be in my room. It's a bit small, but we can split my king bed into two full-size, and have about a foot between the beds. Alright?"
Severus nodded without hesitation, and Harry passed off the blankets in his hand to his friends as he led the man back towards the house, bidding the assembly goodnight. As they entered the large three-story, Harry continued to sip at his cocoa. Snape spoke as they reached the stairs. "I apologize for inconveniencing you, Potter." Harry nearly snorted his hot chocolate as the words hit him. Did Snape just apologize?
"It's no problem, sir, really," Harry said at last. "I'd have offered my room anyway, but I chose the smallest bedroom since I spend most of my time in the garden or the library. It will be a bit cramped, but if everything works out as I expect it will tomorrow, I'll make you your own room. The only space left without adding onto the house itself is in the attic with me, though. I hope you don't mind."
"Why would you choose to sleep in the attic?" Snape questioned idly as he followed Harry up the stairs.
The younger wizard shrugged. "It's not as bad as it sounds. It's been completely changed to look like any other floor, and was in fact designed to be a rental space, so there's a kitchen and everything. Comes in handy when I'm up late doing research or practicing my rune work."
"That actually sounds rather nice. As I am sincerely confident in our talk tomorrow having the desired outcome, you should know that I don't require much bedroom space either. I tend to keep very little in my life in the way of 'knick-knacks' beyond a few photos, and prefer to spend my time reading, gathering ingredients, or, of course, brewing." Snape said as they reached the door to the attic, or in this case, the third floor apartment.
Harry hummed in acknowledgement, wondering at the man's confidence and strangely accommodating attitude, as he pulled a key from around his neck. "This door remains locked from the outside, and I'll be keeping it locked from the inside as well, tonight. The key is only solid in my hands, as a precaution, and there's another, magical door that leads directly to the greenhouses or potions lab. That door will also be locked. As I said-"
"You trust me, but you cannot be too careful in your situation," Severus interrupted smoothly. Harry looked over his shoulder to see that not-quite-there smile again. "I not only understand your reasons, Potter, but I condone them wholeheartedly. In these times, people die because they won't believe that someone they know could put them in danger. I was a spy, Mister Potter, I know the danger you risk putting yourself in by merely keeping me in your home for the night, and I am honored that your trust in me has brought me this far into your sanctum sanctorum."
Harry snorted as he led the way to his room. "Honestly, sir, that decision was not mine. You may have noticed that when I left to help Hermione, I never said anything in regards to you coming here. I left the decision to Kingsley and Tonks, because they've known you, if not better, at least longer than I've had opportunity for. Had it been my decision, I'd have left you in that village until morning. It's nothing against you, I've just become more cautious ever since Ron died. Without his paranoia to temper my own, I've lost some of my perspective on what is too cautious, and tend to leave those decisions to people better equipped to deal with them. I still make suggestions when the situation calls for a vote, but I try to keep out of 'indirect safety precautions', as Ginny calls it." He opened the door to his room and set the mug on his dresser.
Severus cleared his throat. "Well, then I am grateful you saw fit to trust the ex-Aurors' decision. I can't say I don't agree with your wish to be cautious, though. This is a war, and even the 'better equipped' can sometimes fail in regards to safety."
Harry smiled softly as he spelled his bed apart. "Thank you, sir, for understanding." He turned. "I have some extra pajama bottoms, but I doubt any of my shirts would really fit you, since they've gotten a bit small on me recently. If it's alright, I prefer to sleep closest to the window." Snape nodded and moved to the bed nearest the door as Harry rummaged through his relatively small chest of drawers. He withdrew two pairs of dark blue cotton pajama bottoms, and tossed one onto Severus' bed. "I'll change in the bathroom, unless you want to shower. Basic spells work up here, but I have wards set to prevent any strong spellwork from anyone but myself, so cleaning spells are relatively weak."
Severus smirked. "I think of the two of us, you are the one most in need of a shower, Mister Potter. Lupin gave quite the chase from what I saw."
Harry blushed and ducked his head, moving towards the door. With his hand on the knob, he looked back over his shoulder. "I'm glad you're here, sir. You've always been the best of us, and if anything can turn the tide of this war, it's you on our side."
Snape wrinkled his brow. "You exaggerate my importance greatly, but I appreciate the thought." Harry nodded his head firmly, then left for his much needed shower.
*HP*
Harry rolled over for the fourth time in as many minutes, scratching distractedly at his calf, which was just starting to scab over. He didn't know what it was, but something was bothering him. He tossed himself onto his other side.
"Is this a new form of torture, Mister Potter?"
Harry blushed and looked over his shoulder at the other bed in the moonlight. He'd thought Severus had been asleep even before he returned from his shower. "What do you mean?"
Snape sat up and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "This method of keeping me awake. Are you incapable of staying still for five minutes, or should I simply assume you treat all of your guests to this annoyance as a way of proving their loyalties?"
Harry snorted. "Yeah, sleep deprivation or asking me what's wrong. Obviously the most foolproof manner of determining whose an ally."
Snape rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Obviously," He growled, throwing his sheets off and getting out of his bed to sit on the side of Harry's. "What's the matter, Potter?" He leaned against the headboard, crossing his feet at the ankles.
Harry rolled over onto his back. "You could have asked from your own bed."
Severus grunted noncommittally. "I had a feeling you would prefer I was awake for the conversation, and the likelihood of that happening with a pillow under my head was determinedly slim. What's wrong?"
Harry sat up and stared at his twiddling thumbs in the dark. "I'm not sure, it's just something that feels off. It's not anything to do with you, or your presence here, if it were I would've simply gone to sleep knowing you couldn't do anything until morning at the earliest."
"Then what is it?" The Potions Master inquired tiredly.
Harry shrugged. "This whole day just sort of feels like a set up. First we hear of a group of wizards forming a rebellion, and it turned out to be House Elves. That was strange in itself, because it makes no sense that the families in that village would free their elves when they fled…"
"In the first war, dozens of House Elves turned on their master's because of poor treatment, or sometimes for no reason at all. People don't want to see a repeat of that, Potter, especially when they're fleeing," Snape explained. "And you heard a rumor of Wizard's, rather than House Elves, because I started that rumor months ago hoping it would reach you. I lived in a damp shack for two months praying you would show up."
"I guess that makes sense…" Harry muttered. "But then there's this thing with Remus. He's always careful about the full moon, and he always reminds Hermione and I when we need to start brewing, but lately, in the last few weeks, he's been…distracted, and I have no idea what could possibly distract him so much that he forgets about his curse."
Severus yawned. "I could not say, Potter. Perhaps he and your other two instructors simply wished to test your capabilities, knowing you were in an uninhabited area."
Harry nodded. "That sounds like something those three would come up with. They're constantly trying to push us to do better, practice more, ad nauseum. Less important is the fact that 'Mione's seemed a little distracted lately. She's…I dunno how to put it. It's like she's less concerned about gaining knowledge for it's own sake, and more concerned with improvement in the areas she already knows, you know? Maybe she's just taking the war more seriously, now that she's done grieving over the loss of our best friend?"
A soft snore was his only answer, and Harry turned to see Severus with his head leaned back and his mouth slightly open. He stifled a giggle at seeing the man so unguarded. The young wizard raised his wand and gently used a weak levitation spell to straighten the man out, summoning the pillow from the other bed to put under him. Despite what he'd told the Potion's Master about being the only one able to cast strong spells, his Roc form tended to weaken his magic for several hours when he used it to carry heavy things, because the large bird used an automatic feather-light charm, and separating the bed had drained him of a lot of his energy. He pulled the blankets out from under his former professor and tossed them over him before settling under them himself. He knew deep down that the man could be trusted; it was just a matter of getting his brain to catch up.
A/N: Surprise! Thought I wouldn't update, didn't ya? Decided to change the name, but it's still the same story. Oh, and for those who don't yet know my style: THIS WILL BE SLASH! I just haven't decided who's getting who, though. Who knows, I may just screw with all y'alls heads. Nah, just kidding. But seriously, the only couples I have decided on are Harry/Sev (hyuck, duuuh) and Neville/Ginny. Was thinking Hermione/Remus, but what do you think?
