Not for the first time Harry was cursing his stubbornness...and his stupidity. This had been a stupid idea, a very, very stupid idea. He could barely walk, he was sweating profusely, and he was pretty sure that his leg was bleeding again. He decided about a mile back that it would just be wiser to not look at his leg. Could horses pass out?
It was taking him longer to get to his and Jasper's' spot than what he had planned. At this rate, he would only get to spend a minute or two with Jasper before he had to make his way back to the Reservation. He had to get home before Jake, he didn't want to worry him or stress him out. Jake acted like more of a big brother to him then just the godson of a distant relative, he was very protective of him and worried about him.
Heading rearing back, he was taken by surprise when Jasper was all of a sudden there in front of him, his eyes black as night and nostrils flaring. Not sure if he was getting ready to become his crush's next meal, Harry gave a soft welcoming nicker as he lowered his head submissively to the vampire.
"Mischief!" Jasper cried in disbelief. "Where the hell have you been? I have been looking everywhere for you." As if fearing the horse would disappear if he touched him, Jasper slowly brought his hand up and very gently placed it on his neck.
Harry gasped in pleasure when his magic sang just from Jasper's cool touch. Merlin how he had missed this. Not just the feel of his magic, but also the feel of Jasper. He needed Jasper like he needed air.
"You awfully sweaty," Jasper murmured as he ran his hand down the equine's neck. Nostrils flaring, he dropped to his knees when he scented blood. "Shit, your leg!" he cried, his hand hovering above the wound but not touching it. "You need a vet."
Harry tried to dance away from Jasper's touch. Touching his neck and the rest of his body was ok, but his leg hurt too bad to be touched. He didn't know how he was going to make it back to the Reservation, and just the thought of shifting back made him want to throw up.
"Easy, Mischief," Jasper said softly, trying to calm his horse down. "You're hurt real bad, beautiful."
Nickering, Harry butted his nose into Jasper's stomach. He was so tired, maybe a five minute nap would be ok before heading back to the Reservation.
Jasper looked back towards the creek that was almost a mile away. He didn't want to make Mischief walk that far, but he had supplies there that could help. He could run fast, he was a vampire after all, but he was afraid to leave his injured horse in case he disappeared on him again.
Taking off his shirt, Jasper knelt back by the injured and bleeding leg. "Easy there, handsome, I'm just going to wrap this around your injury to keep the dirt out of it."
Licking his lips, Harry eyed his vampire's bare chest. He didn't have the bulging muscles that Jacob or the rest of the pack had, but he was still solid muscle and absolutely mouth watering. He was so into checking the vampire out, that he didn't realize that Jasper was heading towards his injury until after he started wrapping his aching leg with his shirt.
Squealing in a very undignified equine way, Harry reared up on his hind legs and tried to move away from Jasper. Wrapping his wound had bloody hell hurt!
"Easy boy," Jasper sang, trying settle the injured horse. "You're going to be ok, I'm going to take good care of you."
With his injured leg raised, Harry carefully tried to lower his large body to the ground. He needed off his bad leg, even for just five minutes.
Jasper helped support his horse as he laid down on the forest floor. "I'm going to get a few supplies, please stay here." With that he took off in a blur.
Harry knew that he had to get back up and go home, it was getting late and Jacob was sure to be home by now. He was just so tired and in so much pain. Stretching his head out in front of him on the soft moss, he closed his eyes with the intention of only sleeping for a few minutes. A few minutes was all he would need to feel refreshed and to be able to make it home.
Jasper was relieved when he returned to find Mischief still where he left him. He had only gone a few minutes thanks to his vampire speed, but Mischief had a way of disappearing on him. Not this time though...this time he was prepared.
Harry woke with a start when he felt something on his face. Shaking his head, his eyes widened in horror when whatever was on him refused to come off.
"Easy boy, it's just a halter," Jasper explained.
Lunging forward, Harry struggled to get to his feet, pain erupting in his bad leg as he stood on it.
He tried to turn his body to head back towards home, but something was preventing him from moving.
Jasper gripped the lead rope tightly, the strong equine no match for his vampire strength. He didn't want to frighten or hurt his horse, but he couldn't allow him to get away from him this time. "Easy, settle, you're safe," Jasper coo'd. "I'm going to take you home where you will be warm, dry, safe, and loved. I can't call a vet out because I don't want those damn wolves knowing that I have you, but Carlisle will see to that bad leg of yours."
Panicking, Harry started fighting Jasper. This couldn't be happening, he couldn't go home with Jasper. He had to get back before Billy started worrying. He had to go home.
Jasper hadn't been expecting Mischief to fight so much, especially with a bad leg. He felt bad for stressing the horse out, he just wanted to help him. "Please, boy, please don't fight me. I'll make you happy, I promise."
Panting, Harry hung his head in defeat, Jasper was just too strong for him and he was too exhausted and in too much pain to fight. His best hope now would be to try to escape as soon as he got the chance. Jasper couldn't stay with him around the clock. Could he?
***HP
Slamming the door loudly behind him, Jacob entered the kitchen and made a beeline straight for the sink. Grabbing the soap, he started to scrub the dirt, grime, and grease off of his hands and arms. Working on cars was his passion, but damn was it messy.
"Yo, cuz!" Jacob called over his shoulder. "Lets go get some pizza, I'm freaking starving." He wasn't expecting a verbal answer, Harry never gave one, but when he didn't hear the clunking of his crutches, he started to grow concerned.
"Harry!" Jacob bellowed louder in case the kid was sleeping. "Wake up you lazy ass, let's get some food."
Frowning when still no clunking, he turned off the water, tilted his head back, then deeply inhaled. He could scent Harry, but the scent was weak. Cursing, he sprinted to his bedroom, not surprised to find it empty.
"Keep calm, Jake," he scolded himself. "Harry probably just went for a walk." Running his hand nervously through his short cropped hair, he looked out the window, cursing softly when he spotted the forest. "Dammit, Harry, you better not have went back in there."
***HP
Edward's fingers froze on the piano's keys. Eyes snapping towards the large window, he concentrated hard as he started picking up on Jasper's thoughts. Not believing what he was hearing in Jasper's mind, he lunged to his feet and raced out of the house.
Crouching defensively, Jasper stood in front of Mischief, protecting him from his brother. Lips curling back, he snarled warningly when Edward stopped in front of them.
Edward was quick to hold his hands up in surrender. He had never seen his brother look at him like that before, like he was going to tear his limbs off and burn his remains. "Easy, Jaz, I was just coming out to see if you were truly brining the horse home."
Still tense, Jasper stood back up but kept his body between Edward and Mischief. "Now that you can see that I am, could you please get Carlisle for me?"
Edward eyed the stallion warily, his father's conversation with him a few weeks ago replaying in his mind. Could this horse be Harry? He had researched all the myths and legends he could find on shifters, but he didn't find anything, not even a single sentence, about equine shifters.
Growling lowly, Jasper didn't like how his brother was looking at Mischief. "Is there a problem, Edward?"
Edward raised his eyebrows at his brother's snappish tone. His thoughts were currently a bit muddled, but he didn't have to be a mind reader to see that Jasper was close to snapping. His strange and aggressive behavior would make sense if Harry, his unclaimed mate, was indeed the horse.
"I meant no disrespect," Edward quickly apologized. Jasper was a much better fighter than him, he didn't want to fight him over a horse. "This is my first time truly seeing this mystery horse, I was just curious."
Jasper's top lip twitched in agitation. It was strange, before he couldn't wait to get Mischief home, but now he didn't want anyone else around him. He felt very protective of the stallion, even from his own family.
Edward stepped back away from Jasper and the horse, having heard his brother's thoughts. It wasn't normal, Jasper's obsession with the stallion. He had to be Harry, it was the only thing that made sense.
"I'll get Carlisle for you," Edward offered. "I take it you're going to put him in the shed?"
Looking to the old storage shed near back of the side yard, Jasper shook his head no. The old building was falling apart and drafty, it wasn't good enough for his horse. "He's going into the garage until I can make better accommodations."
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Edward cried. "Rosalie will decapitate you if you put that beast in her garage."
"He's not a beast!" Jasper roared, finally losing some of his control.
Nickering in both surprise and fear, Harry nudged Jasper between the shoulder blades with his nose. He didn't understand what made his vampire so angry with his brother, but he didn't like seeing Jasper so scary.
Closing his eyes, Jasper took a couple of unneeded deep breaths. "I apologize, Edward, I'm feeling a bit unsettled. I didn't mean to snap at you."
"It's fine," Edward nodded stiffly. He hadn't missed how the stallion was able to calm his brother with just one touch. There was no way that that was an ordinary horse.
Smiling weakly, Jasper rubbed Mischief on his withers. "He's hurt badly and it's been a long walk back for him. Could you please get Carlisle?"
Edward couldn't see the wound on the horses leg because of Jasper's shirt wrapped around it, but he did find it interesting that the wound was on the same leg as Harry's wound. "Yeah, no problem. After I get Carlisle for you, I'll remove Rosalie's car out of the garage. I just hope you're prepared to deal with her when she gets home and goes psycho on your ass."
Wincing, Jasper looked back towards the old shed. It would be smarter to put his horse in there, and it would save him from having to listen to Rosalie's screeching, but he just couldn't bring himself to put Mischief in the dirty shed. Mischief deserved only the best.
Harry was close to collapsing and he couldn't believe that this was happening. He couldn't believe that Jasper had horse-napped him. He could change back now and have Jasper or Edward drive him back towards the Reservation, but he didn't want to risk angering Jasper. He didn't want the vampire to think that he had been deceiving him, or playing a mean prank on him. He also didn't want Jasper to see what a freak he was.
Would Jasper hate him because he could change into an animal like the guys in the pack? The Cullens seem to hate the wolves every bit as much as the wolves hated them. Another piece of him would die if Jasper hated him...and he didn't have that many pieces of himself left.
Jasper led Mischief into the garage, relieved when the stallion remained calm and didn't spook. He had been worried that the stallion, who seemed to live wild in the forest, would have freaked out being in an enclosed space.
"You're safe," Jasper reassured again, hugging the horse's head to his still bare chest. "After Carlisle fixes you up, I'll have Edward run into town for some pine shavings for bedding and hay. How does alfalfa sound? Only the best for my beautiful boy."
Harry was starving, he hadn't eaten all day or the day before, but alfalfa hay didn't sound all that appetizing. Now, he wouldn't go turning his nose up to some of those sugar cubes Jasper had given him, or even the molasses coated grain stuff. That shit had been pretty damn tasty for horse feed.
As if reading his mind, Jasper led the stallion to the back of the garage where a black, rubber trash can was. Chuckling when Mischief started happily nosing it, he popped the top and let the horse have at it.
"Not too much grain," Carlisle warned as he entered the garage carrying his medical bag. "Too much grain, especially if he isn't use to it, can cause him to founder or colic again."
Jasper already knew this having raised horses before his turning, but he just wanted to give his horse a little bite, a treat for being so good. Having Mischief back in his life was helping fill the painful ache that he had in his heart and in his soul over not being able to claim his mate.
Harry stomped his good hoof loudly when Jasper shoved his nose out of the feed bin and replaced the lid. He could have happily eaten the entire thing without getting sick, it wasn't as though he was real horse. At least he didn't think he could get colic or founder...whatever founded was. He honestly didn't know a lot about horses and what he could or couldn't experience while being in his animagus form.
Already having been warned by Edward, Carlisle slowly approached his son and the sleek, black stallion. He had only been around the horse once before, but his keen doctors eye picked up the fact that the horse had lost a considerable amount of weight.
Kneeling down, Jasper very carefully unwrapped his shirt from Mischief's leg. "He's still hurt from when that bastard Paul crashed into him," he snarled. "It looks as though it had healed some, but recently reopened."
"Can I have a look?" Carlisle asked, not wanting to get near the horse without Jasper's permission. Edward said that Jasper had already snapped once at him, he didn't want to move fast near Mischief or upset the horse and risk pushing Jasper over the edge.
Anxiously licking his lips, Jasper reluctantly stepped to Mischief's side. He was so protective of the stallion that he didn't even want Carlisle, a man he respected and trusted with his life, near his horse. He knew that he was completely overreacting, but he just couldn't help it.
Carlisle looked the horse in the eye, feeling a bit stupid for talking to the animal, but his gut was telling him that this was Harry. "Please don't strike me in the head while I see to your wound."
Trembling, Harry stood perfectly still as Dr. Cullen poked and prodded his aching leg. Billy was going to flip when he found out that he reinjured his leg. This would probably push his healing back weeks.
Being the doctor that originally treated and operated on Harry's wound, Carlisle was able to recognize his work. "Mischief, this was very careless of you," he scolded, now almost a hundred percent positive that this was Harry. He could be wrong, it could all just be a crazy coincidence, but he honestly didn't think so.
"Carlisle?" Jasper asked concern.
"Mischief's leg had been healing nicely," Carlisle explained, "until he decided to venture out in search of you. The damage done to the muscles and tendons in his leg by Paul had been severe, but he had been healing. Even the open wound from where the stick or rock had punctured his leg had almost completely healed. Walking on his leg to see you had been very stupid of him, this leg once again looks horrible.
"You can heal him, right?"
Raising a single eyebrow, Carlisle looked up at the horse who was doing his best to not look at him. He had never before seen an animal look so guilty before. "If he was human this kind of injury would heal in a few weeks, but in a horse you are looking at months. You're going to have to keep him stalled up, at least until the swelling goes down some."
"And the bleeding?"
"I'm going to have to stitch it," Carlisle sighed. Looking to Edward, he shook his head subtly at him. He would keep Harry's secret for now, wanting to earn the boy's trust, but he had a feeling that this was going to be the first place that the shifters looked when they noticed Harry was missing.
Jasper buried his face in Mischief's mane, he blamed himself for the stallion's injury. "I'm so sorry, beautiful. I should have noticed that you were galloping towards the Reservation earlier and stopped you. I should have screwed the treaty and helped you when Paul first injured you. You must have been so scared, hurt, and alone these past two weeks."
"I guess I'm getting hay and bedding?" Edward asked.
"Please," Jasper answered without removing his face from Mischief's mane.
"I'll pick up some ear plugs too. Rosalie is going to lose her shit when she sees him in her garage."
***HP
Jacob was now officially freaking out. He had followed Harry's scent into the woods about a half a mile from the house, found his crutches hidden behind a rotting tree, but then his scent all of a sudden disappeared. He had circled the spot multiple times where he last had Harry's scent, but he couldn't pick up his scent again anywhere. It was as though his cousin had just up and vanished.
"Am I the only one who finds it odd that the horse hoof prints are back?" Seth asked. "Harry once again disappears and the horse reappears. Coincidence? I think not."
"I have never heard of a horse shifter," Paul scoffed.
"And had you heard of wolf shifters before you actually shifted into one," Seth shot back.
"He's got you there," Quil snickered.
"It sounds fucking crazy, but I'm with Seth on this one," Jacob agreed. "I scented Harry on that horse, it was feint, but the scent was there."
Grinning, Seth was happy that Jake was agreeing with him. "Not to mention, Harry hurt the same leg that the horse did...on the same day. I'm telling you, Harry is this wild horse."
"Then that means that the pup had been hanging out with the leech for weeks," Paul growled angrily. "He even let the rotting corpse ride him."
"Ok, first, that sounds completely wrong," Jacob said, his face scrunched up in disgust. He now had the image of the empath vampire doing something very bad, and very wrong with a horse...probably illegal too. "And second, even if Harry had been hanging out with the leech as a horse, he wouldn't have known that he was a vampire. Harry probably doesn't know of the existence of vampires like us."
"We need to call Sam and your father," Jared pointed out. "Even if Harry is this horse, he's still injured and still in danger. Let's not forget what the Cullens snack on."
"Animal blood!" Seth gasped in horror.
Closing his eyes, Jacob let out a loud groan. "No, Jasper wouldn't drain Harry the Horse, deep down his vampire will know that the stallion is his mate. That explains why the vampire had been so drawn to the horse in the first place and why he had been frantic when he couldn't find him. He had almost broken the treaty to get to that horse."
"I can't believe that we are standing here actually believing that Harry...little, tiny, shy Harry, is a horse shapeshifter." Paul said in disbelief. "It's just crazy."
Pulling out his phone, Jacob started calling his father. "We should have told him about us. I begged Sam multiple times, but he always said no because he didn't want to freak him out. If we would have come clean with him, he probably would have come clean with us."
"Do you think the leech has him?" Seth asked.
Jacob was struggling to contain his wolf, it was freaking out over losing Harry. "I do. Let's just hope that the leech doesn't realize that the horse is his unclaimed mate. If he does, there's a good chance that we will never see Harry again."
"At least not human Harry," Paul added.
Jacob's fists clenched tightly in anger. "Phase and follow horse Harry's tracks. I'll catch up after I talk to dad and Sam. If you see Harry with the leech, hang back and wait for Sam. Do not start anything with the leech, we don't want Harry to get hurt."
"Again! Paul snorted.
***HP
Albus was slowly making his way back to his office when he encountered Remus Lupin waiting for him by the gargoyle guarding his office. "Ah, Remus my boy, I'm surprised to see you here. I hope everything is well with Sirius?" Remus had hardly left his mate's side since they retrieved him from the veil, he was surprised to see him here at the school.
"Sirius is waking, but he's fighting." Remus explained tiredly as he followed Albus up the stairs and to his office. "The healers believe that he still thinks that he's battling the Death Eaters at the Ministry and they have sent me here for him. They think hearing his voice will help calm him."
Albus scowled at the werewolf. "Him, Remus? Do I know of this him you are talking about?"
"Sirius' godson!" Remus hissed between clenched teeth. "The healers believe that he will be able to ease Sirius out of his coma."
Taking a seat behind his desk, Albus folded his hands in front of him and looked at his former student over his spectacles in both sadness and disappointment. "You can't even say Harry's name, can you?"
Remus' eyes flashed briefly in anger. "That boy is the reason why my mate went through the veil and almost died. He is the reason why my mate has been in a coma, and he's the reason why the Granger's are mourning the loss of their only child, and why Molly and Arthur are mourning the loss of their youngest son. Forgive me if saying his name is a bit hard for me."
"You're not forgiven," Albus sighed heavily, taking the werewolf by surprise. "I can't believe that you are blaming Harry for everything that happened. I'm very disappointed in you, Remus Lupin."
Remus' top lip twitched, he wanted to snarl at the Headmaster. "Harry is a hot headed little fool who has no regard for anyone's safety. He blindly ran to the Ministry, not only putting himself in danger, but also five of his classmates. If the Order hadn't shown when we had, more than just two families would be mourning the loss of their children. Ron and Hermione are dead...dead because of him. My mate has been in a coma for months and will probably never be completely right in the head because of him. The boy should be in Azkaban, not here at Hogwarts being hailed the Savior of the Wizarding World."
"Do you honestly believe that?" Albus asked sadly.
Clenching and unclenching his back teeth, Remus scrunched his nose up and looked away from Albus' intense eyes. "Just send the boy to the hospital as soon as you get a chance."
Taking of his glasses, Albus rubbed at his tired eyes. "I'm very disappointed in you, my boy. You are blaming a fifteen year old boy for being tricked by the most powerful dark wizard our world has ever seen. Yes, Harry went running to the Ministry to save Sirius, whom he thought was being tortured, but he didn't run off blindly. He floo'd Sirius first looking for him, but Kreacher lied to him. He then got a message to Severus, who then alerted the Order."
"Older and much more knowledgeable witches and wizards have been tricked by Voldemort...including myself. Did you know that Harry tried to go to the Ministry alone, that he had begged his friends to remain behind? Mr. Weasley and Miss. Granger knew the risks they were taking, but they were willing to take them to help a friend and to rescue Sirius. Unlike Sirius, they knew that this wasn't a game."
"What the hell is that suppose to mean?" Remus roared. "My mate almost died for that boy!"
"You're mate almost died," Albus explained softly, "because he was goofing around and not taking the situation seriously. Sirius is one of the best duelers Mad Eye has ever trained, yet he was hit by Bellatrix's curse because he wasn't paying attention. I understand Azkaban messed him up mentally, but him getting hit with that curse and falling into the veil was his own fault."
Remus didn't want to hear this...he didn't want to sit here and listen to Albus because deep down he knew that the man was right. Even before Azkaban everything had always been a big joke with Sirius. "Harry's not blameless," he snarled.
"Harry's not blameless, you're not blameless, Ron and Hermione aren't blameless, I'm not blameless, Remus, no one is blameless. What happened was a tragedy, but you can't put all the blame on Harry. He thought that he was saving his godfather...the only person to ever show him unconditional love. We do crazy things for the ones we love...even risk our lives. Harry was willing to die to save Sirius."
"I hear what you're saying, Albus, but hearing and believing are two different things. I don't want to blame Harry or hurt him, which is why I have stayed away from him, but I felt my mate bond sever when Sirius fell through that veil and I have never felt pain like that before...not even on the full moon. Even now, with Sirius alive, our bond is still severed and it won't heal until I claim Sirius as my mate again."
"Do you honestly believe that you staying away from Harry isn't hurting him? You almost lost a mate that night, but Harry lost his two best friends and he almost lost the man that he sees as a father."
"You're an adult, Remus, and you have friends and acquaintances helping you through this, Harry has had no one. Did you know that I found him almost beat to do death at his relatives?"
"What?" Remus gasped.
"Minerva was right all those years ago when she told me that the Dursleys were the worst kind of muggles that she had ever met. Remus, they abused and neglected Harry from day one. They worked him like a house elf, starved him, whipped him, broke his bones, and told him everyday that he was worthless, unwanted, and unlovable. It's a miracle that Harry turned out to be as compassionate and as loving as he is."
Knees going weak, Remus collapsed onto one of Albus' many gaudy chairs. "He never said anything. I mean, I could tell that he wasn't happy there, but I never suspected that he was being abused. That explains why he was so eager to move in with Sirius, even after believing for months that he was out to kill him."
"Harry has had a very hard life, Remus," Albus said gravely.
Remus felt sick to his stomach, he had treated Harry so horribly when he visited Sirius over the summer. "That's why he never came back," he mumbled numbly. "Harry, he knew how I felt about him, that's why he stopped visiting Sirius. I had assumed it was because of all the attention he was getting for defeating Voldemort, but it was because he was..."
"Scared of you," Albus finished. "Yes, Remus he was, but like you and Molly, he also blames himself for Ron and Hermione's deaths and for Sirius almost dying."
"I need to see him, Albus," Remus pleaded brokenly, "and not just because the healers are demanding that he come and sit and talk with Sirius. I need to see my pup."
"I'm afraid that that is impossible, my dear boy. Harry is no longer part of the Wizarding World."
Remus jerkily shook his head. "I-I don't understand. Has Harry decided to remain in the muggle world? Why would he do that? Is it because of me?"
"No, Remus, it's nothing like that. Harry didn't want to leave, but with Sirius in a coma, he didn't have a magical guardian that could take him in and I didn't want the Minister sinking his corrupt claws into him."
"So where the hell is he?" Remus raged. "As Sirius' mate, I should have been given custody of Harry."
Leaning back in his chair, Albus raised his bushy eyebrows at Remus' statement. "You, who couldn't be in the same room with Harry without growling at him given custody of Harry, have you lost your mind?"
Remus lowered his head in shame. "I have failed Harry again, Sirius is going to be so disappointed in me. He loves that boy as if he was his own. If you tell me where Harry is I'll go and fetch him and take full responsibility of him."
"I will tell you where Harry is, Remus, but I ask that you leave him there, at least until after Sirius wakes and can look after him."
"I don't understand?"
"Remus, ever since the night that Voldemort killed James and Lily, Harry has been living with a piece of that monster's soul inside of him. Lord Voldemort made numerous Horcruxes to insure his immortality, and that night he accidentally made Harry one."
Grabbing his stomach, Remus doubled over. "I think I'm going to be sick." How had Harry lived for all those years with Voldemort's soul inside of his!. Horcruxes were the worst kind of magic...the darkest. He didn't even know that you could turn a living thing into a horcrux.
Fishing a calming drought out from his desk, Albus passed it over to the distraught man. "It was Voldemort's soul piece that allowed Harry to talk to snakes and to see inside the Dark Lord's mind. It was also the soul piece that allowed Voldemort to send Harry that vision of him torturing Sirius."
"I-I just don't know what to say," Remus mumbled in disbelief. "Is it gone? Is my pup free of that monster's black soul?"
"When Harry destroyed Voldemort, he also destroyed all the horcruxes, including the one inside of him, but I'm afraid that it was too late. Voldemort's soul had already tainted Harry's."
"No!" Remus cried, adamantly shaking his head no. "No, Harry would never go dark."
"Did you know that Harry cast the Cruciatus Curse that night on Bellatrix?"
"So," Remus hissed. "He had just seen his godfather fall through the veil, he was distraught."
"That's no excuse for using dark magic, Remus, and you know that," Albus chastised. "I could see the darkness in him and I couldn't allow it to spread, to eat away at Harry and corrupt him."
Remus felt like a boulder had dropped into his gut. "Albus, what did you do to my pup?"
"I did what I had to do to protect Harry and to protect our world. Harry was too powerful to go dark, there would have been no stopping him."
Remus wanted to lunge across the desk and shake the man. "What did you do to Harry?" he snarled.
"I permanently bound his magic," Albus admitted without shame. "Harry is now free to live his life in the muggle word without the fear of going dark."
"You did what!" Remus roared in fury. "How could you? That is worse than having your soul sucked out by a dementor...not to mention illegal. I can't believe that Harry was ok with your binding his magic."
Putting his glasses back on, Albus awkwardly cleared his throat. "I never said that Harry had been ok with it. He actually begged me not to and fought the binding. Luckily Severus was able to stop his convulsions and he looked after him until he delivered him to his new home."
Remus was to shocked to say anything. He couldn't believe that Albus actually bound Harry's magic. That was the worst thing that could happen to a witch or wizard, worse than even death. Being cut off from you magic was painful and you never truly recovered from it.
"I sent Harry to America to live with a distant cousin of Sirius' and his son." Albus explained. "The man seemed very kind, Severus even liked him."
Remus still couldn't believe what he was hearing. Albus had crippled Harry for life then sent him to a different country to live with strangers. "Are you out of your fucking mind? I need to see him," he growled. "Where the hell is he?"
"Now you're worried about him when just a half hour ago you were crying that he deserved to be rotting in Azkaban?" Albus snapped. "I saved Harry...I gave him a chance at having a real life. All he ever wanted was to be just Harry...so I gave that to him."
"You crippled him," Remus defended hotly.
"He was going to go dark!"
Jumping to his feet, Remus slammed his hands down hard on Albus' desk. "Harry would never go dark. You're just scared. You created Voldemort by leaving Tom Riddle in an abusive and unloving home, then you turned around and did the same thing to Harry. You told me yourself that the two of them were scarily alike."
"Exactly, and look how Tom Riddle turned out. I couldn't do that to Harry, I couldn't sit back and watch as he became a monster and a murderer. I admit, Tom and Harry are a lot alike. Both boys were orphans, both were unloved and abused, both were insanely smart and powerful, both had a thirst to prove themselves, both..."
"None of that meant that Harry would have become the next dark wizard," Remus raged, cutting off the Headmaster. "As much as they were alike, they were also vastly different. Harry loved...he loved with his whole heart. He cared about those around him and befriended kids that others picked on, like poor Neville and Luna. He risked his life countless times protecting this school and everyone else from Voldemort and he even taught students how to defend themselves when you were incapable of hiring a competent Defense teacher. Harry would not have turned dark!"
"It was a risk I wasn't willing to take," Albus said gravely. "Remus, it's been done and the binding can't be reversed. Harry is as good as a muggle now and his place is in the muggle world. It would be cruel to bring him back, back to a world where he no longer belongs."
"You are the one who deserves Azkaban," Remus said feeling sick and shaky. He couldn't imagine how Harry must be suffering now with his magic bound and living with strangers. For all he knew, they could be as abusive as Harry's relatives. "Give me his address."
Pursing his lips, Albus picked up a folder siting on the edge of his desk and reluctantly handed it to Remus. "Harry's new guardian's name is Billy Black, a squib cousin of Sirius'. The man knows nothing of magic and our world, don't go ruining things for Harry by showing up there and talking crazy. I know you will want to bring Harry home, but the Wizarding World is no longer his home. Billy is also his guardian until Sirius is physically and mentally capable of looking after him."
Snarling, Remus snatched the folder from Albus and stormed out of his office. What was he going to do now? Sirius needed Harry, but Harry was in American and no longer a wizard. Dumbledore was right about one thing, it would be cruel to ask Harry to return, but he had to see him for himself, he had to see that he was safe and happy.
He may have hated Harry just an hour ago, but it was hate born of grief. Deep down he never stopped loving his pup, his pain at losing his mate had just blinded him to everything else. Werewolves were known to go crazy after losing their mates, most even committing suicide within days after their death. Sirius may not be truly dead, but him falling through the veil had severed their mate bond. He would continue feeling Sirius' death as if it truly happened until him and Sirius' mated again.
What was he going to do now? He couldn't leave his comatose mate to hunt down Harry, but he also couldn't just leave him in the muggle world without knowing if he was safe. Sirius also needed Harry, he needed to hear his voice to help bring him out of his coma. Sirius was bullheaded, he wouldn't believe that Harry was safe without seeing him with his own eyes.
He didn't know what he was going to do, but he had to come up with something.