Hello my lovelies! Thank you for your patience while waiting for another chapter! If you have any questions after reading this, as I'm sure you will, please say so in a review and I will tell you whether or not they will be answered later, and maybe be able to work them into my story. Onward dear friends!

Chapter Ten:

The potion wasn't working.

This was the first thought that crossed Harry's mind when he woke up. The potion had stopped working, which meant his creature was too strong to control. And yet… he didn't feel the need to touch, or be near his mate as much as he had when he first felt the bond. If he didn't feel the pull, but his creature was strong enough to combat the potion, then it was a sure sign that his inheritance was almost upon them.

He sighed before downing the triple dose of his potion, knowing it would only last until midday at most. Severus had been moved off Hogwarts grounds and was on a muggle contraption, something that cleaned the blood. Dialysis, Hermione called it. Apparently it would clear the venom from his bloodstream, and then they could get him into proper surgery. He was still severely injured from battle, and he had stopped talking, his vocal cords unable to handle the strain. They had been torn by Nagini, but mended by Harry and Madam Pomfrey. Unfortunately, it was only temporary; until they got the venom out of his system he would gradually lose the ability to talk.

Harry shook himself out of reliving the delivery of those diagnostics and went to check on his mate. He needed to tell him that his inheritance was going to happen soon.

Severus was reading, silently wishing Harry was there to read to him. He enjoyed listening to the smooth, sure voice form sentences, threading them together to paint a picture of fantasy and tell a story. The sound of familiar footsteps made him look up, wondering if something was wrong. Harry hadn't said anything, but Severus knew he was taking more of the potion.

"Harry?" He questioned, his voice raspy and dry. His alpha hurriedly held a glass of water to his lips, temporarily forgetting his own problems and focusing on his mate. When Severus had drank enough, the glass was moved away and set on the nightstand.

"Severus, we need to talk," Harry began, sitting down on the bed and taking his mate's hand. The panic and fear were clear on the older man's face. Those words almost always meant pain or rejection.

"No, no, no." Harry reassured him. "It's not something bad. Well, okay, maybe it is." He took a deep breath. "My creature inheritance is about to arrive. Soon we will know what I am."

Severus blinked several times, taking this in. Was this really all he was worried about?

"Sev, I could be a Fae. They're dangerous" he reminded him, but his mate shook his head. "How do you know I won't be Fae?" Harry questioned.

With a small smile, Severus touched Harry's forehead and temples, where the raised bumps indicated his horns would be. The relief shown on the dominant's face was more than enough to make Severus happy. He held his mate's hand, giving the younger man support. It was a role reversal for them, but a welcome one. They needed each other equally.

They sat in silence, but soon Harry felt tingling spread along his back, starting from the ridges and reaching out over his shoulder blades, running along his collarbones and down his arms. He stood suddenly, shaking, and began stumbling towards the door.

"It's starting." He gasped, and Severus hurriedly pulled his IV and tubes and everything else tying him to the bed out. He wouldn't let Harry hurt like this. He may not fully trust his mate, but he wouldn't see him hurt. Holding Harry's elbow, he guided him to a room down the hall that had been chosen for this purpose. Harry gave him a weak smile that was broken by the tremors running through him, as he shut the door.

Severus ignored the trembling in his own legs and somehow managed to make it to Madam Pomfrey's office. The medi-witch looked up at the sound of footsteps then stood hurriedly, rushing Severus back to his bed all the while scolding him for getting up when he was supposed to be resting. Severus waved her off impatiently and began to gestured madly. When she only looked confused he decided to risk talking.

"Alpha, inheritance." Was all he managed.

She rushed through putting his IV back in and assured him she would return soon.

Harry braced himself against the door as vibrations ran through his body, growing stronger and stronger until the entire room was shaking and rattling. He burned from the inside out, pain blossoming in the very center of his bones and spreading outward to rush through his bloodstream. He collapsed with a cry, eyes widening as he lost all thought. His back burned and felt stretched and thinned, like butter spread over too much bread. His head was beginning to feel the same way and he screamed as his pain began to become unbearable. He dimly felt the pressure start to cease, but the pain blocked all his senses.

The roaring in his ears didn't completely block the sound of skin splitting or blood splattering. Huge, feathered, black wings burst from his back at the same time as two different sets of horns erupted from his head.

A pair of dark blue horns curved over his ears and dipped down to his neck before tilting up and coming to touch tips at the back of his head, while a dark red pair curved slightly over his head for a short way before ending in sharp, straight tips. Both pair were metallic and so dark they were almost black with razor sharp peaks.

Harry crawled over to the bed in the corner, barely making it into the bed before collapsing into unconsciousness.

When no one came back for over eight hours, Severus began to get annoyed. He couldn't speak, he didn't know if Harry was alright, and no one was telling him anything. Finally, with an irritated huff, he took his IV out for the second time in under twenty-four hours and rushed down the hall to where his mate was. He knew very well he shouldn't be out of bed, but he wasn't going to rest until he knew his Dominant was okay. Hermione, Madam Pomfrey, and the Weasleys were talking in hushed voices near the door.

"It's been hours. It should be over by now!" Hermione whispered fiercely.

"We don't know for sure, and I don't want Harry to have to deal with you in the middle of his awakening," Mrs. Weasley argued, showing a small amount of snobbishness towards the girl.

Snape poked her in the shoulder with a frown, making her and several others jump, before using Flagrate to spell out a sentence.

"It's not an 'awakening' it's an inheritance. Now I want you and everyone else to leave."

They all gave him shocked and affronted looks, but he scowled and shooed them away before hesitantly approaching the closed black door. He pushed it open, swallowing a gasp at the sight within. Blood and bits of flesh splattered the walls and blood pooled on the floor. A large figure was spread out across the small bed in the corner, and Severus shut the door behind him as he approached it carefully. Harry's feet dangled at least a foot off of the bed, and his arms were at odd angles. Severus smiled at how endearing his awkwardness was before gently touching the bare, muscled shoulder.

Amber eyes snapped open and fixed their gaze on him before the creature rose with startling grace. Huge black wings rose ominously, and Severus fought his impulse to step backwards. Harry looked over him by a foot, having grown during the inheritance.

The smaller man closed his eyes, remembering his own inheritance from over twenty years ago. Smaller, black wings melted through his clothes and short horns grew smoothly from his head, finally taking their place permanently. He opened his now amber eyes and waited with baited breath to see if Harry would recognize him.

A thousand and one thanks to my super talented beta, YouSlyGryffindor! She managed to take the small, not-right, image I painted and turned it into a masterpiece!