Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

"talking"

'thinking'

:parseltongue:

:mindspeak or beastspeak:

What's In A Name?

by: Ebona Nite

Chapter Three: Plans and Preparations

Morning came and a quite large congregation of people of all ages was being held in a comfy office, expanded to accommodate the number of people. Gerald Leos, headmaster of Caelum Academy, sat behind his desk jotting down last-minute instructions on a paper which he placed in a folder with several others. Severus Snape, Harry Potter turned Dorian Snape, and Remus Lupin sat on one couch, Bill, Fred, and George Weasley sat on another, Tonks sprawled in a chair by the fire, and Flitwick was just arriving with Neville, Luna, Susan, and Blaise in tow. They all greeted Dorian warmly after being updated about his status as Snape's son (Neville looked a bit nervous around the potions professor, but Dorian was glad to see this didn't extend to himself) and found seats around the room.

Leos stood. "Now, as I'm all sure you know by now, Sirius Black is alive in Azkaban. As Dorian's friends, I'm sure he's told you new-comers that Black is innocent. We need to – what is the muggle phrase? Spring him. Yes, we need to spring him from prison. Severus can't, it would reveal him as a spy. You three Weasleys, Auror Tonks, and Filius would do best especially with animagus forms, and I'm willing to help. On another matter Dorian, Neville, Luna, Blaise, and Susan should be given better training for the war than what they've had so far. I've heard the reports of atrocious DADA teachers nearly every year at Hogwarts, and none of you get any training over the summer which really should be done in times of war. A pity those underage rules are so restricting."

"I can help." Tonks said. "As an Auror I'm more than qualified, and –" here she glanced a bit shyly Dorian, "and, er, I'd like to." she finished a bit lamely, a slight blush on her cheeks.

Leos beamed (Dorian was relieved to see his eyes didn't twinkle merrily like the manipulative old coot at Hogwarts, but rather gleamed with true emotions) and nodded to the young Auror. "Yes, that is a wonderful idea! The six of you come here please."

The five teens and one auror stepped forward and Leos handed each of them a vial of some potion. "There, you'll be needed them, they're permanent, lasts five years. Here Dorian take this folder, and all of you touch this hourglass here with your wands."

Confused, the six did as they were told, and Leos pushed down five of the twelve buttons that were layed out on the top of the hourglass like the twelve points of a clock face. Then he depressed the button at the center of the hourglass and a gold light reached out from the hourglass through their wands and encompassed the six and Hedwig who had landed on Dorian's shoulder. "Make sure I get that folder. It has your scholarships among other things." The clock began to strike ten. Leos handed Dorian the hourglass. "The keyword is tempus fugit."

"Tempus fugit?" Dorian somewhat stupidly repeated aloud. The six young wizards and witches and the young phoenix disappeared in a flask of gold light.

Severus jumped to his feet. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST DO!"

"Relax Severus, I sent them to their training. They'll be in momentarily." He smiled serenely at the enraged man. Opening the locked drawer again, he pulled out a silver hourglass twin to the one that had just disappeared with Dorian and company, and placed it on the desk exactly where the last one had been. It was actually the same instrument but at the moment only Leos knew that particular fact.

The clock finished striking as Severus took a breath to yell again and the others sat with their jaws still hanging open. There was a knock on the door, startling everyone except the headmaster. "Come in." he called.

The door opened and in walked six people. A tall, broad-shouldered young man with sandy hair down to his shoulders and cerulean eyes and a short blonde girl with green eyes next to him. After them came a pale young man half a foot shorter than the blonde, with freckles and strawberry-blonde hair, a black haired brown eyed girl at his side. Finally in walked a strawberry-blonde girl obviously the boy's twin, on the arm of none other than Dorian.

They all (sans Leos who just smiled) stared at Dorian. He was not the 5'9'' skinny boy that had been in the room a moment ago. He had grown to 6'2'' for one thing, and was much more tan for another. He had filled out to a normal rather than emancipated look and was well muscled. The last traces of James Potter had disappeared leaving a rather angular face with Lily's mouth and slightly sharper nose. His eyes were an astonishing dark, smoky blue, but as they watched changed to the familiar avada kedavra green, but the irises were flecked with gold and ringed with a dark forest green that was nearly black. He grinned cheekily at the slack-jawed adults.

"Miss us?"

His companions laughed, the girl on his arm shooting up four inches and gaining purple eyes and short pike spiky hair.

"T-Tonks?" The twins managed to stutter. "Yuppers! And all the rest. Sneaky Headmaster Leos sent us all back in time five years with permanent de-aging potions and scholarships for Caelum Academy! We all just graduated last month."

As she spoke the other four pointed their wands at themselves and spoke "Revealos" ending the glamore charms on themselves. The tall sandy-haired boy became a slightly shorter brunette Neville, the black haired girl became blonde blue eyed Luna, Tonks' "twin" became dark haired olive skinned Blaise and the blonde girl became auburn haired Susan. All of them wore the inky blue-black Caelum robes with the school crest on the left breast.

Dorian smiled. When he spoke, Severus realized his son's voice had dropped to a silky light baritone, much like his own. "We've all had five years to discuss and research and plan how to get Sirius out, plus a heck of a lot of training. I promise we'll tell you all about our last five years once we finalize our plans on getting Sirius out. Also, I think I at least should stay here until the end of summer, Dumbledore won't even know I'm gone since he cut all communication off except the letter every third day which I can send to him from anywhere."

Still dazed, the adults nodded and everyone sat back down. Planning was underway.

SECTION BREAK

Fifteen minutes later found all three Weasleys jumping around in excitement, and Severus looking as restrained as always but with a gleam of excitement in his eyes as well. Dorian had revealed that he'd become quite adepts at potions among other things, and had brought with him five vials of animagus potion. He handed the vials of milky white potion around to his father, the Weasleys, and offered it to Flitwick who declined saying he'd tried years ago and didn't have a form. In due course Severus had discovered his raven form, the Weasley twins had red fox forms, and Bill had the ironically fitting form of a weasel.

Dorian nodded. "The forms fit your personalities. Ravens are considered smart though most wouldn't think so looking on the outside, and Dad is much like that hiding his true self behind his demeanor. Gred and Forge are wily pranksters and foxes are often considered sly tricksters. And Bill, as a curse breaker, needs to slip around booby-traps and the like to get his job done, hence his weasel form."

"I noticed none of you six took the potion – perhaps you already have animagus forms?" Remus said shrewdly.

Dorian grinned at him. "Yep! And I do hope you don't mind but we reinstated the Marauders – well at least in spirit. We called ourselves the Mavericks instead so we would draw unwanted attention from Hogwarts staff, students, or alumni."

The twins were staring at their former DADA professor. He'd known about the Marauders?

Fred started off, the two alternating as they spoke. "Say Professor Lupin mate, we-"

"-just realized you must have gone to school-"

"-with the Marauders-"

"-our heroes-"

"-can you tell us about them please?" they ended together.

Remus laughed at their hopeful faces attempting puppy-dog eyes and turned to Dorian with a mischievous gleam in his eye. "Well what do you say Prongs Jr. Should I tell them?"

"Shadow, please, and Mr. Shadow would like to recommend names for the aspiring Marauders before we are swamped in tales of the old ones."

"Mr. Moony would love to hear the names Mr. Shadow has come up with and begs to know the names of his fellow Mavericks as well."

"Mr. Shadow apologizes for his lack of manners and introduces Mr. Greatpaw," Neville changed into a large brown bear and back again, "Ms. Fae," Luna became a brilliant blue and gold butterfly before returning to her human self, "Ms. Cloudwing," Susan transformed into a trumpeter swan and back, "and Mr. Strongclaw." Blaise became a large Bengal tiger for a moment. Remus applauded them and Severus looked put out that his former rivals had been reinstated by his own son. The twins were speechless.

Well, only for a moment.

Then they looked over at Remus with hero-worship and absolute adoration in their eyes. "Blimey, you're-"

"-a Marauder!"

"Teach us! Teach us please! We'll do anything!" Remus was quite startled at this, then smiled and promised them help from time to time from both himself and Padfoot as soon as they got Sirius out.

This brought the conversation back to the break-in and subsequent break-out of Azkaban. Dorian informed them that Sirius had been able to slip past Dementors in his dog form last time he broke out, so he'd felt it would be easiest for the rescue crew to slip in and out using animagus forms themselves. He dubbed Severus "Jetquill," Bill "Swifteye," Fred "Slinks," and George "Slyly" and continuously refused to tell them what his own animagus form was. The twins conjectured that he was a bat like they had thought "that greasy git" was going to be. Dorian just gave them an 'I-know-something-you-don't-know' smile and said nothing.

It was finally agreed that Severus, Bill, Fred, and George would spend the next month learning to change into their animagus forms. On Droian's birthday, the group would take a boat to Azkaban. Bill and Flitwick would be making sure they weren't noticed by the wards, Bill sneaking onto shore with them and Flitwick, Susan and Tonks staying on the boat. Tonks would imitate the ferryman, just in case, and Susan was a skilled Healer so would be standing by to offer medical help. Plus her swan form was far too white to not be noticed. Luna as a butterfly would be the look-out, and Dorian, Remus, and Bill doing the actual rescuing while Fred and George set up a distraction. Severus would be unable to attend, since he could be called by Voldemort at any time.

Since Flitwick had told their parents that they'd been accepted into a summer training program at Caelum Academy, Neville, Luna, Susan, and Blaise would be able to stay at Caelum for the summer with Dorian. Any of the adults (it was strange to include the Weasley twins in that term) could stop by to visit any time they liked. They'd go to King's Cross station to catch the Hogwarts Express on September 1st and return to Hogwarts.

At this Flitwick brought up something that had been bothering him. "Dorian, will you be returning to Hogwarts as Harry Potter or will you be transferring as Dorian Snape? I can cast charms to make you look like Harry Potter again if you'd prefer it."

"Actually it would be unwise to show up as my son. It would bring up questions among the Slytherin students – and their parents. Such as, if I have a son, why haven't I let the Dark Lord or any of the Death Eaters know, and why hasn't he been in Hogwarts? Not to mention we'd have to figure out where Harry Potter has disappeared to." Snape put in.

"I've been thinking on that." Dorian said. "I might have been inclined to go as your son, to get away from the Boy-Who-Lived nonsense for a little while, but that was before I had five years in relative obscurity, and a chance to just be normal, just myself. I think I'm ready to stand two more years of being stared at for something I can't remember. And thank you Professor Flitwick for your offer, but I don't need charms to look like Harry Potter."

Leos spoke up, after being quiet for so long. "Yes, we figured out how Lily and James had gotten him to look so much like James for so long. Young Dorian it turns out is a metamorphmagus, though not quite as good as Miss Tonks who can even change sex and vary her voice greatly. James had used transfiguration to guide 'Harry's' features to look almost exactly like him, though letting him keep his mother's eyes, and Lily used several charms to keep the change stuck. Dorian spent most of his life like that, and so though usually he is limited to changing his eyes and hair and only a few minor changes to his face and body, he can actually morph into his Harry Potter body as if it is a second true form. Although he has long since fixed his eyes."

Dorian smiled and shifted into Harry, confirming the headmaster's words.

A few minutes more of conversation, and the group broke up heading for their respective jobs. They made Dorian and his friends promise to tell them about their trip back in time and their five years training at the prestigious Academy when they met again, which hopefully would be the next Saturday.

Warning: The next couple chapters will basically be massive flashbacks, as Dorian and company tell of their years at Caelum Academy. They may take me a bit of time to write. Please be patient!