Harry entered the Great Hall shortly after the mid-day meal began. He could real the mild annoyed look on Minerva's face, though he wanted nothing more than to be teaching his students.

"I trust Severus is still in bed," Minerva said, passing a sheaf of parchment to him.

"Yes, ma'am," Harry said, leafing through the notes. "Sirius covered my 4th year Gryffindor and Slytherin class and he's still alive?"

"Of course, cub," Sirius said, leaning forward a bit. "Azkaban couldn't do me in, measly 4th years would have quite the challenge."

"At least Remus covered my advanced class," Harry said, still chuckling. "He's the one with the brains in that duo."

Harry heard an insulted grunt and felt a roll bounce off his cheek. He grinned, enjoying getting a rise out of Sirius.

"Enough, Padfoot," Remus said, after stifling his own snickering. "You know he learned some tricks from Severus.

The rest of the meal went well. Sirius calmed down just in time to leave the hall with Harry and Remus.

"Hey, thank you so much for covering my classes, you two," Harry said, as they approached his office. "I had a long night with Severus. This full moon seems to have affected him worse than the normal full moon."

Sirius gasped as Harry revealed his forearms, which were littered with fresh cuts and scabs.

"Harry, you need to be careful! You could be infected now," Remus said, worry evident in his voice.

"Nah, I'm naturally immune, Remus," Harry said, rolling his sleeves down carefully. "Apparently my dad's side of the family has been passing down a dormant gene or something, and it just manifested in me. And Sirius, Severus is more than worth the scratches I get when I'm helping him."

The group dashed to Harry's office door when they heard a weak voice calling from within.

"Harry, I need you..." Severus called, weakly.

"Cover my classes again? Owl me the notes, please," Harry said, stepping to his desk to grab his lesson plans.

Severus did his best to keep himself from calling his younger lover. He had managed for about an hour before he felt that he needed his Harry.

Wincing at the movement, Severus lowered himself into a crawling position and went over to the floo.

"Harry, I need you..." he called weakly, hoping he was heard.

"Severus, keep the connection open," Sirius called. "Harry is just grabbing his lesson plans for this afternoon, and he'll be through.

Severus nodded and pulled his head from the fire. Just as he leaned against the wall behind him, the connection flared and Harry tumbled out of the floo.

"What are you doing on the floor, Sev?" Harry asked, helping the older man back into bed.

"I needed you, and I felt unstable on my feet," Severus said, as he relaxed into the pillows.

"Alright," Harry said, making sure Severus was comfortable. "I'm going to call Poppy and have her take a look at you. Last night was exceptionally hard on you."

"No complaints," Severus wheezed. "I feel as though I was splinched multiple times..."

Harry turned back into their room, watching Severus fall into a fitful sleep.

Potter had been a rather surprising helper as he attempted to return to Hogwarts. Severus would sneer and bark at the boy whenever help was offered, even though he usually accepted after a few moments.

"Really, professor," Harry said, after watching Severus struggle to walk one day. "If you would just let me help you, we could have been back at the castle already."

"I would be there already if you hadn't insisted on following me, you brat," Severus snapped, fed up with the younger male. "I am more than capable of caring for myself. I have survived 20-plus years in the service of two madmen, during which time I have sustained more than my fair share of injuries."

Harry looked confused at the mention of two madmen, but his expression turned stony when he realized who the second was.

"I have no use for Dumbledore," he said, coldly. "He got sacked last year, anyway. He attempted to seduce me at the end of my 6th year. It took a while to prosecute him, because I was off taking care of some items that your first master thought no one else knew of. When I returned, I was able to confirm the rumors and get that old bastard sacked.

"In light of the accusations surrounding Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall was appointed Headmistress. She'll do much more for the school than that old fraud ever did."

Harry sat on a nearby log after his rant. Severus was shocked to silence by the hatred in the young man's voice. He had never expected to hear a disparaging word against Dumbledore from him.

"There is much to me that the majority of the people in my life haven't got a clue about," Harry said, pulling Severus from his thoughts. "I would rather like to find a person who has never seen my unwanted fame, but it seems that my quest will be fruitless once again."

Severus looked at the young man. He had taken on a look beyond his years. His hair was closely cropped, to be out of the way Severus assumed. The glasses were no longer a fixture on Harry's face, as the young man had magicked his eyesight to be perfect. Without the glasses, you could see the haunted look in the young man's eyes, presumably from immersing himself so completely in his quest to defeat Voldemort.

"Well, Harry, it seems that you have somehow managed to mature beyond your years," Severus said, after an awkward silence. "I no longer resent you following me. Perhaps we could attempt to be friends."

If only Severus had known what he was in for...

"Severus seems to be exceptionally affected this moon because, I believe, it has been one year since he has been bitten," Madame Pomfrey said. "Unfortunately, I foresee him being unable to teach for the remainder of the week."

Harry felt his shoulders fall, though he was unsure whether it was due to disappointment or exhaustion.

"I suggest you also consider taking at least one more day off, Harry," the mediwitch said. "You look rather haggard yourself."

Harry nodded, earning himself a rare smile from the grandmotherly witch.

"I've taken to staying with Severus while he's in his wolf form," Harry said, stifling a yawn. "Even his potion doesn't always help, though."

"Well, I have heard that the Werewolf infection, somehow, doesn't affect you, which is extremely lucky in your case," Poppy said, placing a few potions on Harry's bedside table. "Severus is a very difficult, yet passionate, man. You seem to know this already. That said, I'm sure he would feel horrible if he were to find out that he had inflicted his condition on you as well."

"St. Mungo's has already procured a fair amount of my blood, in hopes of isolating the gene that prevents the Werewolf infection from affecting me," Harry said, chuckling. "I'm one-of-a-kind."

"I'd suggest you get some rest, Harry," Poppy said, putting her things into her bag. "You're beginning to look like Death warmed over."

"See you, Poppy. Thanks for everything," Harry said, seeing her to the door.

Once she was gone, Harry gratefully returned to his bed, snuggled up to Severus, and passed out.

A/N: Sorry I've been rather patchy on getting this story updated. I've been writing it while I'm at one of my jobs, and when I have a day off there, I work my other job. So I'm updating at 3:30 am, because I wanted to get this out to you guys. Hope you're enjoying this story.
- Freake