Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter the book or movies or any of the characters.

AN: Sorry about the cliffhanger before!

I'm going to try and make the chapters a bit longer…..

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Harry's legs wobbled dangerously as he met the eyes of the beast. The creature stared levelly back at him, its unblinking eyes glued to him.

Although the need to run and be away from the danger was lurking in his mind he couldn't help but keep on staring. The eyes of the werewolf were so mysterious and calculating, almost like a shade had been pulled over that of a human's eye and replaced with that of an animal leaving the intelligence still in tact. It was terrifying and amazing at the same time.

The werewolf let out a low growl and instantly Harry was snapped out of his trance. The pains of his journey to the shack and his terror at be confronted by the creature flooded his senses leaving his mouth dry. The creature let out a roar of dominance and stepped forward, its tail levered in mid air, preparing for its attack.

Harry's eyes widened and he pulled out his wand and stepped backwards, his heartbeat drumming in his ears. Moony stepped forward again and the saliva from the werewolf's mouth dripped onto the ground as its lip curled in another growl. The mud squelched as a massive paw pressed even more firmly into the ground.

Casting the first spell that came to his mind he managed to bellow out, "Expelliarmus!"

Letting out a cry of dismay he watched as the spell whacked into Moony's shoulder before disappearing, the only sign of its use for defense being a cocked head from the werewolf and another irritated growl. He had intended to use it as he had seen Snape use it in the shrieking shack when he had first met Sirius. Snape had obviously had a lot more practice with it then he had.

The werewolf lunged forward suddenly and struck out with its massive paw, knocking his wand out of his hand and causing large red scratches to run over the knuckles and skin, the blood already forming and streaming down his hand.

Harry fell to the ground as the werewolf swiped at his chest with the same paw. He gasped for breath from being winded and squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the ending blow. A splatter of liquid fell on his cheek and he opened his eyes and looked up. The crazed animal was standing directly over him, the saliva dripping of its massive jaws and onto him. The eyes of the animal, hollow and dark, no compassion present in them.

A thundering reached his ears and out of the corner of his eye he could see a large animal coming through the forest. The werewolf looked towards it and bared its teeth and claws, ready to defend itself. Harry watched as the large animal came closer and closer, the moonlight (although bright) making it hard to distinguish in the dark forest.

The thudding of terror in his chest suddenly disappeared and was filled with a sense of awe and pride. The large creature leapt out of the forest, its antlers seemingly rocking with the constant motion. Another creature appeared beside it like a lurking shadow, slinking close to the ground as it streaked towards them.

The werewolf roared and started towards Prongs and Padfoot, using all four of its limbs to propel itself towards them. Harry watched in shock as the werewolf gained speed and with a resounding thump of collision, hit the buck. A bellow erupted from the magnificent animal and it tossed its head urgently in Harry's direction.

Taking Prongs advice, Harry jumped up and headed towards his wand. Picking it up he turned to run. A pang of guilt flashed through his mind and he hesitated, looking back towards the group of fighting animals. Prong's was lashing out with his hooves and with a thud of impact, struck Moony on the muzzle. Padfoot, coordinating the attack, lunged instantly at the injured werewolf, hurling it to the ground in a mess of furious growls. He watched as Padfoot bit down hard on one of the werewolf's arms, causing it to howl in agony.

Harry flinched as he heard the howl. It reminded him of the dreadful night in his third year. The only difference was that Harry had actually interfered with the werewolf's attacks and had probably saved his friends from being eaten.

With a new sense of courage Harry sprinted down to the hill towards the group, ignoring his father's bellows to escape while he still could. A small level in the ground kept him at an even distance and with a huge burst of energy he lifted his wand and yelled the word, "Flagrate"

Huge weaving lines of fires burst from his wand with such power that he was nearly knocked off his feat. Pushing his feet firmly into the ground he started towards the werewolf, the fire lashing out as he did making him sweat with the effort and heat. Moony started towards him, his instinct to harm humans turning into a crazed need for Harry as his prey. Blood ran down the coat of Moony making him look like he had just jumped out of a horror fiction.

Lunging towards Harry the werewolf roared in pain as the fire lapped at it. Whining loudly it rolled onto the floor in an attempt to soothe the burns. Raising itself off the muddy ground it gave one furiously swipe of its paw in Harry's direction and a loud growl of warning before turning and running off to the forest, hair falling off from when it had been singed. Prongs and Padfoot gave him one last look before going after him, leaving Harry alone once more.

Harry panted as he raised his wand and the fire disappeared, leaving a path of smoldered leaves and plants in his wake. His hand shook with trembles as the spell disappeared and was soon replaced by a feeling of pins and needles. Trembles began in his legs and his head started to throb and ache. His cuts had been opened from the fight and now bled freely; his arm was already drenched in red.

Suddenly the world began to grow fuzzy and Harry frowned in confusion, he had his glasses on, there was no need to be fuzzy. As he looked around in confusion his legs abruptly buckled underneath him. Falling to his knees he gasped at the moving surroundings, the world spiraling around him.

The sound of hooves came to his ears and he looked around for the source. A shadow watched him from a nearby grove of trees. Watching it in confusion he saw the shadow move into the moonlight, the blurry outline making the horse like creature appear enormous.

As Harry's vision went black he could see the creature walking slowly towards him, one hoof after the other.

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Hermione walked towards one of the objects in the room speaking as she did so, "Well it's in this room; it has to be."

A small breeze whispered through the room making a piece of parchment float to the floor.

McGonagall regarded her evenly before she spoke, "Hermione," The girl turned to her and she continued, "We must remember that this was most probably a spy who did this, the object may not have been ours that it was transferred into."

Hermione gasped and the other looked at her and McGonagall in confusion, "...do you mean?"

McGonagall gave a small nod in her direction.

Hermione sat down in the arm chair, her eyes wide as she spoke, "So then Voldermort may have him…."

A scream came from Ginny and she burst out crying.

McGonagall silenced her quickly and spoke evenly, "Ms. Weasley don't be so melodramatic. That is just a suggestion, it may not be true. We must start searching for Mr. Potter now though; I believe that these transferences have a limit in which they are kept. We must start now or I believe it may be too late."

Ginny and Ron both jumped up quickly, heading towards the nearest object and shaking it. Even under the stressful situations McGonagall had to suppress a smile. She spoke slowly to them, "I believe the spell is everto." (1)

The Weasley siblings blushed in embarrassment before tapping the objects with their wands and speaking the words. Luna and Neville both stood up and began to help as well, heading to random objects for testing.

More than fifteen minutes passed and there was still more objects to test (the room was filled with them as McGonagall could not bring herself to throw any of Dumbledore's things out.)

A sudden shout erupted from Neville and a thin silvery mist floated above an object. Hermione hurried over to him and gave him a small grin, he grinned back.

Touching the small object with her hand she gave a small yelp as it burned it painfully. She blushed as Ron picked up her hand and examined it carefully. He looked up at her, "You should be more careful!" He moved a step towards her and lowered his hand but keeping the close contact.

Hermione, still blushing, asked McGonagall to have a pensieve ready. The old woman went to one of the draws were she took out one, having a kept a spare as they were very rare and often overpriced. She had found one that had been cheaper than most and had decided to use it if extreme cases ever arrived. It was also very useful for trauma victims as the pressure could be relieved by using a pensieve. She couldn't ignore the fact that trauma was likely to occur in the school sometime so she had always kept one handy.

Raising her wand over the object she spoke the spell.

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Wincing in pain Harry could feel a headache form in his head. He winced again as it traveled from the back of his head to the front.

A rumble sounded nearby and Harry became very aware of the fact that he was VERY hungry.

A prickle of pain erupted in Harry's scar and he jolted up in bed, gasping from the onslaught and surprise. A stream of sunlight his eyes and he blinked stupidly from the temporary blinding.

The prickling stopped and a voice caught his attention, "Are you alright?"

Grabbing his glasses quickly from the nightstand he nearly fell over at the sight of the boy in the bed next to him. Remus Lupin sat beside him in a white bed, frowning in concern at him. Bandages circulated his arm and he held it gently. A large slash covered the boy's nose and numerous cuts littered his neck as well as a large red burn.

Harry gulped as he saw the burn and all of a sudden felt incredibly guilty. From what he could remember last night he had been more than a little harsh of Moony, the boy had been attacked by his friends and him. He had completely forgotten that there was an actual person in side of the vicious werewolf.

Shaking himself out of his trance he answered quickly, "Yeah...y-yeah, I'm fine."

The boy smiled shakily and whispered softly (more to himself than Harry), "that's good."

A silence fell over the two boys as they both thought quietly. Harry knew that he wanted to tell Remus that he was okay with the boys 'illness.' He just didn't know how to confront it, it could be a very sensitive issue if taken the wrong way.

Harry spoke again, "What about you? You look like you had quite a night."

Remus smiled sadly before lowering his head and answering, "Yeah….quite a night…."

The silence fell over the room once more but was different from before. Harry wanted so much to be able to tell the poor boy that it was alright but he was at a loss on what to say. The room seemed to be clogged up with the sadness that poured out of the boy.

Suddenly Harry knew just what to ask, the universal conversation starter, "Are going to the next Quidditch game?"

Remus looked up and Harry was relieved to see a small polite smile there, "Yes, I usually have to watch from the ground though."

"Why from the ground."

The boy rolled his eyes and shook his head in amusement, "James is a real wuss before the games. Me, Sirius and Peter always have to wait with him before the game starts to calm his nerves."

Harry chuckled as he thought of the situation. Remus was just about to start talking again when the door burst open and James and Sirius walked in. Harry could see large bags under their eyes and the occasional scratch on their arms and faces as they walked towards them.

James looked at Harry in surprise and traded worried glances with Sirius.

Remus ignored the look and greeted them, "Sirius, James!" The boys face lit up in a grin and they moved over to him.

Sirius stood over Remus and tucked in an extra fold of bandage that had fallen out while James refilled a glass next to him. Harry couldn't help but smile at the motherly affection Moony was receiving. It seemed so natural for them to act like brothers to each other, take care of one while he was sick. He couldn't help but think of what an interference Peter was in the small group.

James turned to Harry and bit his lip before asking, "Harry…what happened to you?"

A lump formed in his throat as he realized that he hadn't thought of an excuse. He had forgotten the safe story he should use in case of questions. Pausing for a moment and putting on a thoughtful face he relayed his story to them, "I had been visiting…Hagrid…down in the forest and was walking up the hill when I was…attacked."

James raised his eyebrows and spoke, "Attacked by what."

Harry paused before answering, "A….A werewolf."

Sirius was the first to react and questioned him severely, "A werewolf? That's terrible! You must have been scared out of your mind. Look what the thing did to you!"

A click sounded in Harry's mind as he realized what Sirius was doing. By Harry's reaction they would be able to find out his opinion of werewolves and whether to be kind to him or not. Now he was able to assure Remus in a more subtle manner that he was okay with the condition.

He answered confidently, "Yeah, I did get beat up quite a bit but it wasn't really the werewolf's fault. He couldn't really control what he was doing, I don't blame him, I even wish I hadn't of hit him with such a bad spell. I bet the poor things going to be feeling it today."

Sirius and James's faces lit up with a huge smile and they turned to each other and nodded slightly, the reaction hardly noticeable unless looked for as Harry had done. Turning his attention to Remus he blinked in amazement as he saw the boy. His eyes had watered slightly and he was looking at Harry with an appreciative look on his face.

Harry turned away in embarrassment and picked at the sheets. With a gasp he touched his forehead again, making the boys look at him in confusion. He had completely forgotten about the prickle he had felt earlier. He had forgotten momentarily at the connection that had been forged between himself and his enemy.

Ignoring the protest in his limbs and the ache in his head he heaved himself out of the bed. Protests instantly came from the marauders as they told him to get back in and rest but Harry waved them off casually.

Sirius stood up and spoke, "You're not well enough to leave!"

Harry held his back as he replied, "I've been through worse; I can handle myself!"

Sirius winced as if a bat had hit him and sat back down, digesting what he had just heard.

Walking out of the hospital wing, Harry nearly slapped himself from his slip up.

Ignoring his body's protests he started towards Dumbledore's office leaving a confused group in his wake.

"Where do you think he's going?" Sirius stared after the boy as he spoke.

Remus was staring as well as he answered, "Hmm….I don't know. But it was urgent….what an odd thing to say…"

James suddenly stood up and exclaimed, "Guys! We have a problem, the map! It's…missing."

A shocked silence followed his statement and Sirius spluttered out a reply, "What do you mean it's missing? It can't be missing! We swore never to let it go missing!"

James frowned as he sat down and spoke again, "I have my suspicions on who has it now. I think it might be Harry," Remus started to protest but James continued, "He said that he came from Hagrid's hut but the direction we saw him coming from last night wasn't the direction of Hagrid's place. Besides, why would he be out that late anyways, it seems a bit stupid to me. I'm pretty sure that Hagrid would have sent him up to castle way before it got dark; he knows how dangerous the area around the forest can be. Besides, what he said before, it makes him sound that he's…well….dangerous to put it bluntly."

No protests met his words and a thoughtful silence reigned. Remus took a drink from the cup next to him, wincing from the pain.

He spoke after a while, "I don't understand what it is about that boy but something tells me that there's something behind all of this. It feels like….you know how you always hear stories of how mean a parent is because they wouldn't allow the child to go out or do something completely dangerous? It feels kind of like that. Like he may seem suspicious but he really trying to protect us somehow," the boy chuckled and looked down into his hands before clenching them, "I know it sounds stupid but….that just what it feels like for me. Probably just these damn…instinct things coming through from last night."

James patted the werewolf's arm affectionately before speaking, "I know how you feel. It's probably just the fact that he looks like my long lost twin for me though."

They all looked at each other before bursting out laughing; the serious talk seemed so unnatural for them.

As the laughter died down they all delved back into the thoughtful silence. It suddenly dawned on them and Sirius asked quickly, "hey? Where's Peter?"

Remus sighed and looked out the window as he spoke, "Doing his mysterious business again, we hardly ever see him anymore."

"What are you doing in here?"

The marauders looked up to see Madam Pomfrey standing at the door way, her hands on her hips.

She frowned before speaking again, "How many times have I told you not to disturb the patients! You even made one of mine leave!"

Sirius flashed a quick smile but she pointed a finger at the door and spoke demandingly, "OUT! That smile will not work on me Mr. Black!"

Sirius and James walked dejectedly towards the door, waving briefly at Remus before disappearing.

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"Lemon drop?"

Harry shook his head politely and sat down in the chair gestured to him.

Dumbledore popped a candy into his mouth before regarding, "So what do I owe the pleasure to?"

Frowning and thinking for a moment, Harry answered, "This morning…when I was in the hospital wing, my scar prickled."

The old mans eyes widened and he lent forward for a moment, speaking in a hushed whisper, "Your scar you say? From what you have told me I have gathered that it is a connection between Lord Voldermort and yourself?" Harry nodded and Dumbledore continued, "Then am I right in guessing that this is a signal of his return?"

Harry rubbed his sore eyes and answered, "I'm not sure! I think it could be but then I keep on thinking…If I had been able to travel back in time then what's stopping him? I mean, he's is more powerful than me and knows about more stuff and then….I keep on thinking about how he only really became that powerful around this time. What if Voldermort traveled back in time, gave power to his old self and found the means to be able to try and destroy me and everyone."

Dumbledore observed him quietly and popped another candy in his mouth. He chewed on it absentmindedly as he spoke, "that does seem probable. Since your appearance and much thanked advice I have been able to produce a few….how should I say it, observers of my own."

Frowning in confusion Harry asked, "You mean like spies?"

The man smiled and Harry spoke again, "Who?"

Pushing his glasses further up his nose he answered, "I have a keen interest in keeping the school well out of trouble so I hired a few inconspicuous observers. I believe you would know one very well, she has a very interesting viewing point; a toilet I believe."

A silence settled over the room and Harry's eyes nearly bugged out of his head, "Myrtle?!"

The old man smiled.

Harry leant forward, "Are you serious? Myrtle?"

The man pursed his fingertips before replying, "I see no reason as to why it would be absurd. She has the means and times to watch and from what I can see, enjoys it quite a bit."

Harry knew that she spied; he had learnt that from when she had seen him in the prefect's bathroom. He shuddered at the thought and Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.

Harry grew serious again, "Do you think he would attack?"

Dumbledore sighed and spoke truthfully, "Harry that is one thing I would like to know for myself."

Harry knew that the conversation was over and raised himself out of the chair and headed through the door.

Before he walked out he turned back to the man and asked, "When I was attacked, by Remus, something brought me back to the castle. Do you know what it was?"

The man replied, "I'm sure you are familiar with Firenze?"

Harry gasped in shock as he thought of it. It was plausible; he had recognized the shape but at the time couldn't grasp what creature it was.

He spoke again, "So then….Does Firenze know who I am?"

"He knows of you. The stars tell us a lot more than that there is something out there. They tell us that there is something in here. He read the signs and prepared for your arrival, he certainly didn't expect you be presented to him in the way you were."

Harry gave a nod of understanding before heading out of the door and closing it softly behind him.

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(1) According to a Latin translator it means eject.

AN: well hope you enjoyed!

Reviews appreciated!!