Disclaimer: Harry was Rowling down the road.

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Feathers, Fangs and Flames

Chapter XXV

The Treasure

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He ran towards the hospital wing, thinking if he had chosen correctly. Remus should be there too, he could help. Harry jumped at a few staircases, scaring a couple of first-years, and sliding between a group of students he had no idea even which year they were from. He probably had to go to Dumbledore, or at least, Snape, but he was already near the wing...

He took a deep breath, his wolf beating in his chest together with his heart.

Snape was in the Hospital wing, too? Harry cursed, yet continued on, opening the doors to enter.

There was a Hufflepuff he recognised, Ernie Macmillan, talking with madam Pomfrey, while Snape was using his wand to direct a few bottles onto the stand. Judging by the scents of potions that suddenly assailed Harry, the potions master had just returned from brewing. Also, there was a strong scent of Wolfsbane, one that made Harry feel even more nauseous.

Pomfrey only spared Harry a glance, motioning with her eyes, that he should ask Snape. He gulped, and did one of the craziest things in his life. He took a few steps forward, towards Severus Snape.

"Professor?" he asked with the trembling voice.

Snape turned around and took in the slightly shaking form, the wide eyes and the sweat that was gathering on Harry's face. Then, he sneered and snapped out a spell, waving his wand in short movement. It was something that ended with "-to", but Harry didn't hear much more.

"Well?" Snape drew out the word, looking as patient as possible. Yet, Harry knew that he was on guard – his wolf felt it.

"I feel like it might begin earlier, again," Harry admitted. "I thought Pomfrey or Remus could-"

"Potter." Snape didn't let him finish, grabbing his arm and dragging him out unceremoniously. "We'll put you on observation. And, you will take your Wolfsbane potion this time."

Harry threw a scared glance at Ernie, yet it didn't look like the boy heard them at all. The hospital wing doors closed with a loud slam. That elicited a short shout from Madam Pomfrey, but Snape ignored everything and simply dragged Harry on.

Snape cast a few spells Harry didn't recognise, and then, opened the doors to the nearest classroom. As with every Sunday, most of those were empty, alike the one Snape chose.

"Potter, you're lucky this formula lasts longer." Snape produced a vial of Wolfsbane potion from his robes. "Else, you'd have to wait."

Harry took the vial in his shaking hands. "It still doesn't work," he muttered.

"Drink." Snape started casting a net of spells, warding the room and the doors. "Quick, boy, we don't have all day."

Harry downed the potion, then shook even more violently, letting it fall down from his hands. It clanked on the floor, empty, unbroken. Snape summoned it with a lazy wave of his wand and returned to casting the spells.

"What did you give me?" Harry felt his insides burn.

"Wolfsbane potion." Snape sneered, without looking back.

Harry gulped a few times, catching for air, almost clawing on his chest, his eyes suddenly unseeing. He fell down on the ground, and started twitching violently. Ten, suddenly, there was silence.

He was standing in the Forbidden forest, on all fours, his fur slightly moving from the wind. There was a scent of darkness in the air, its tendrils making his muzzle itch, and his fangs started showing without a single thought. He sniffed the air, trying to understand where it was coming from, when his interest was suddenly drawn the other way. His pack was in danger.

He darted between the trees, trying to move as fast as possible.

"Avada Kedavra!"

A flash of green met him, jumping into the clearing, yet, he was too slow. The colours disappeared, as he watched Sirius fall down. Somebody was running away. He let out a short howl of hunt and started the chase.

"Potter!" his prey shouted.

He didn't recognise the word, leaping forward, fangs bare. Mid leap he was met by some kind of spell, blasting him backwards. His back glancing from a tree, he rolled on the Forest floor, and was again on his pawns, ready for another leap. It hurt, and he guessed that he scratched himself when falling. Nothing serious, though.

"Harry!" someone else arrived at the clearing. A human. Remus. That name was familiar.

Remus wouldn't get between him and his prey, would he? He ignored the pack member's call and jumped onto his prey again. This time, he did it in a few leaps, evading two different spells from hitting him, and then, pounced at the prey, growling, prepared to bite out the throat.

However Remus' spell got him in the side and he was once again blasted aside. The ground was supposed to bet wet and cold, yet it felt dry and hard, alike falling onto the stone. He hit his head hard, making it spin for half a second.

He got up slowly, carefully and started circling them. There was a scent of blood in the air.

"Harry!" Remus shouted again. "Stop!"

He growled, with somewhat less anger than before – he is the one who hurt Sirius. Let me pass.

Remus moved to stand between him and his prey. "Harry, think, you need to think! We're not your enemies!"

He stopped. Harry? That was familiar, was he not...? It wasn't a forest he was standing it. And that wasn't his prey. It was an enemy and Remus. He shook his head, as if trying to get all the water out of his fur. He had no fur. There was only hair, and ripped robes. He tried to clear his mind, stand up and lean onto the wall, but he couldn't stand on two legs. It was too difficult to maintain balance, so he fell back on all fours.

Remus was looking at him intently. The classroom looked slightly messed up – a few stray spells had hit the desks. He wasn't going to attack anymore. He shook his head again, but Remus didn't look convinced.

Then, he laid his head down on the floor and put a paw over his muzzle. A hand over his head.

Remus turned towards Snape. "What did you give him?"

The words that followed were strange, unrecognisable.

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Remus sheathed his wand. "Well?"

Harry, in slightly tattered Quidditch uniform, was sprawled on the ground, in the furthest corner of the class.

"Wolfsbane potion." Snape said carefully, watching Harry intently, wand still drawn. On his voice, Potter twitched, yet didn't stand up. "Modified Wolfsbane potion."

"What's in it?" Remus crossed his arms.

"Like you would understand," Snape sneered at the temporary Defence Professor. "It should have diluted the basic resistance a mind has – and Legilimency would have been a lot safer."

Remus sighed and turned to Harry, taking a few steps towards him. "Harry?"

There was only a silent growl in answer, yet it sounded with a hint of recognition.

"What do you think happened?" Remus took another step, eyes fixed on Harry.

"Maybe the dose was too strong." Snape still was clutching the wand so hard that his fingers where white. "Take a drop of his blood; I'll need to run some tests."

Remus carefully crouched next to Harry. Harry, however wasn't watching him, instead, his gaze was constantly following Snape's wand. Remus sighed and ruffled the unruly hair, conjuring a small vial with his wand. Then, he found the small head wound that was leaking blood, and levitated a few drops into the vial. Then, he cast a simple healing spell, vanishing the wound completely. Through all that he never stopped stroking Harry's hair.

Harry quieted down as the wound healed and remained still.

Snape caught the levitated vial with Harry's blood and quickly pocketed it. "I'm going to call the headmaster," he said, and soon was outside, the classroom door closing behind his billowing robes.

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Remus spent quite a while talking quietly, trying to wake Harry up with his voice. However, he was unresponsive, crawled on the ground, trying to understand what was wrong. The scent of darkness persisted, and then, came pain. He jumped on all fours and started howling, his forehead burning intensely.

The house was vast, and there were two men there. Each of them had a scent that made him snarl, and there were two others – a snake, and an abomination, their own scents screaming darkness at him. They were talking, but he couldn't make sense of the words. The abomination was angry? He heard his name said, and dismissed, then, a talk about some witch and two names that fuelled his own anger – 'Crouch' and 'Wormtail'. The creature screeched, angrily, started flailing its arms about. The pain increased, and he started snarling and biting again, at everything, anything, trying to severe the pain, to escape the vision.

He came to it when he was on top of Remus, his teeth embedded into Remus' arm. Luckily, the bite looked like it was the only one, and ran not very deep. He jumped back, feeling that his arms hurting. His head was threatening to split apart, too.

"Moony?" he asked fearfully, holding onto his forehead with his left arm. "What happened?"

"You're back." Remus laughed a bitter laugher. Then, taking his wand out, he conjured some bandages for the arm. As it was a werewolf bite inflicted wound, his best bet was simply waiting till tomorrow's change.

"How long was I..?" Harry coughed a few times, his throat feeling rough, the taste of blood interfering with his thoughts. "I need to speak with Dumbledore."

"A few minutes," Remus started explaining. "You reacted badly to the new Wolfsbane potion. It should have eased the mental resistance of both you and your wolf, allowing you to win with the help from a Legilimens. However, I believe that that weakened resistance affected your human part more, or, your wolf side is stronger than we hoped. Dumbledore should be on the way with Severus, they will know better. I'm sorry you had to endure the fight with the wolf in a weakened state."

Harry blinked. "There was no fight – it was like flipping a light switch. One minute I felt myself, with the wolf on the edge of my mind, and the other, it was otherwise. I got lost in my own mind." He sighed. "I saw Sirius dying. Again."

"I'm sorry." Remus shook his head. "You don't deserve any of this. Is there anything I could do?"

"Don't let them give me another dose of the potion. It actually does nothing." Harry laughed, weakly. "Snape would be ecstatic – he wouldn't have to brew a custom recipe it for me."

"But how are you going to stay in control on the full moon?" Remus looked shocked by the suggestion. "The potion can still work. Severus is a master of his subject."

"Snape hates me."

"He is doing his best." Remus checked his bandage, and, finally content, sheathed his wand again.

"Please, Moony, do it for me. Give me three moons without anything being shoved my throat – I want to stop feeling like a potions experiment."

"Harry, you have to understand-" Remus never finished his sentence, as the door opened again and Dumbledore strolled in, his face deep in thought.

Harry stood up, his legs shaking a little. "Sir, I saw a vision. About Voldemort, Crouch and Wormtail. They are planning to kill some witch during the Triwizard Tournament. They also mentioned something about me being part of the plan." He rubbed his eyes, pain slowly receding from the scar. "I don't know anything else – it's already slipping from memory."

Headmaster nodded. "Do you, by any chance, remember were the vision took place?"

"It was difficult to understand – the wolf was the one listening, and he tends to see everything happening in a forest. I think there was a wooden house, but I'm not sure. It's probably the same place I saw Voldemort before, in the summer."

"I see." Dumbledore took in the bandages on Remus arm. "I'm venturing to guess that the current crisis has been averted?"

"I simply saw the moon shining in the sky, and it reminded me of tomorrow, sir." Harry was leaning on the nearest table to stand straight. "It was bad, but nothing I couldn't handle. But after drinking the potion, it became worse. I... I think I slipped, and the wolf was there to take over." He tried sounding as calm as he could. "It wasn't a fight; it was more like him trying to protect me while I was unable."

"And why did you attack Professor Snape?" Headmaster gestured to the door, where the Potions Master stood, wand in hand.

"I don't know, sir." Harry turned to face Snape. "I'm sorry, Professor, just – there was some kind of smell that reminded me of the Crouch." His next question was aimed at Dumbledore. "Do you have any idea why it was so?"

"Had you asked me a month ago, I would not have answered." Dumbledore sighed. "Severus, if you will, please show Mr. Potter your arm."

Snape frowned, but did as asked, revealing the Dark Mark on his hand. It was weak, but something was saying Harry that it had looked even weaker before and was getting stronger by the days.

"This is the mark of the Dark Lord." Snape was talking quietly, his voice strangely proud. "He gives it to many of his followers, and with its help he can call them in time of need."

"Them?" Harry was too tired to get really angry. "All this time you were working for Voldemort?"

Snape frowned. "I was. I'm not working for him anymore."

"Because you don't know if he will return or not yet!" Harry was slightly raising his voice, yet his throat felt sore.

"Please, Harry," Dumbledore, nearer to him than before, placed a hand on his shoulder. "I trust Severus Snape. I'm not asking for you to trust him, but I'm asking for you to believe in me."

Harry looked at the old Headmaster, with a long, hard stare. "I'll try."

"Good." Dumbledore's eyes started twinkling. "Now, would you please, ah, sniff the scent, and see if it was indeed a possible trigger to your outburst?"

Harry sniffed the air carefully, from afar. Remus, however, took a few steps towards Snape and even leaned a bit forward.

"Yes." Harry found himself snarling unconsciously. "It reminds me of something that the fake Moody had with him."

"Curious." Remus was scratching his head. "I can almost smell something. Severus, would you mind if we tried this just after the transformation ends?"

"I'm not something for wolves to be sniffing!" Snape was sneering at them all, and rolled down his sleeve again. "Albus – you will let them make fun of me so?"

"But this is quite ingenious – if Harry, and for that matter, Remus, could learn to distinguish the scent of the Dark Mark – the benefit would be substantial. The Dark Mark is primary, a mark on one's soul and its presence cannot be erased even with Polyjuice – having Harry or Remus nearby would increase the difficulty of infiltration considerably. Alastor, I think, would be thrilled to hear this." Dumbledore winked. "The real one, of course."

"Voldemort knows." Harry blinked a few times. "He knows I'm a werewolf."

"It is a safe assumption, yes." Dumbledore agreed. "Alas, while we cannot guess what his move is going to be in that regard, I'd venture to guess his opinion of you has somewhat plummeted. Voldemort has grown up with all the pureblood beliefs while at Hogwarts, so he considers many unworthy of his notice. In the grander scene of things, it might mean that he will turn more attention elsewhere, but we can never be sure."

"But," Harry was slightly panicking. "He might tell everyone."

"Ah, but he has only two servants, both of whom are not in the best position to be talking to anyone." Dumbledore paced a few steps. "Although I admit, that I have been trying to take a few steps to reduce or prevent the possible consequences completely."

Harry looked at the Headmaster questioningly, but the man didn't share any further thoughts.

"Now, would you mind that I performed a few diagnosis spells?" Dumbledore asked carefully. "It has been quite an eventful evening for you, and I would understand if all you desire is rest."

Harry nodded, and Dumbledore began waving his wand in intricate patterns. Snape took another look at the room, and left again, visibly discontent. Remus, as was to be expected remained behind.

After the spellwork was complete, Harry picked up the conversation again. "Professor, I'd like to ask you for a favour."

"If it is within reason and one that I can grant you, I'll do what I can." Dumbledore asked, suddenly more attentive than before. "You have been trough much, and I will forever feel in your debt. But, I am sure, you won't be abusing an old fools beliefs, will you, Harry?"

Remus allowed himself a small smile, watching the scene.

"I'd like to stop drinking the Wolfsbane potion." Harry said loudly. However, upon seeing the Headmaster's confusion, he felt like he had to clarify. "Well, not forever, just for a few moons – I'd like to really see what is the difference, and I have..." He cleared his throat. "Come to something of an understanding with my wolf. It's not very strong, but one I'd like to test. Drinking Wolfsbane hasn't done me anything beneficial yet."

Dumbledore stroked his beard a few times. "I will give you this chance. But you will be placed under strict supervision and will have to spend a day before and after in the hospital wing, or with Remus present.. It's for the next two moons only – I'll inform Severus of this myself."

"Thank you, Sir." Harry bowed his head.

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Harry spent all his Monday in the hospital wing, complaining about it to anyone who was visiting. Pomfrey believed that he caught some kind strange disease, and however fine he was feeling, she said that she was going to keep him in the wing for a few days - at least, that was the official version. Cho simply chided him for diving into the lake when it wasn't the time for the task, but didn't pry about the exact disease, even though Harry knew that Pomfrey had something prepared for the occasion of someone inquiring. Hermione, surprisingly, was the only one who did ask, and spent quite a few minutes reading up on the symptoms. She tried to have a hushed conversation about why he had to retreat to the hospital wing early, but Harry was being as vague as with any other visitors.

Diggory came together with Marietta and spent a few minutes talking about Quidditch and Krum. He left not soon after, but not before making Harry promise to try his best both at the task and in the Seeker competition – he believed that with three of them, they had a chance of catching the Snitch from Krum – and that, he laughed, would almost be as good as wining the second task. In the meantime, Cho and Marietta had a short conversation but Harry didn't catch more than a mention of his name.

Ron's visit was actually the longest one, as he had brought a set of chess, and Harry ended up losing two times in a row, even though Ron said that the games were very closely matched. Ginny didn't visit at all, but sent a word through Ron, wishing him a fast recovery.

Then, with the evening coming closer, Pomfrey forced every visitor to leave, and Remus came to bring him to their usual classroom, covering Harry with the invisibility cloak all the way.

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He was expecting something to be different, to hear his wolf better, to feel anything more, but the full moon was just as any other. Full of pain, and in full power of the wolf. Harry liked to believe that the transformation was slightly shorter, as there wasn't any struggle when he allowed the wolf control, but it probably wasn't so.

He spent the night sprawled on the floor, by the side of Remus, dreaming of hunt, dark forest and some strange creature hidden in the shadow. In the morning, he felt as bad as usually – he hurt everywhere and was quickly relocated to the hospital wing, and given the usual droughts. The only good thing he saw, was that he hadn't had to drink the vilest of them all – the Wolfsbane potion.

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A week went by really fast – he was revising the spells for the tournament with Remus, and Cho was revising for her O.W.L.s. with her Ravenclaw friends. Harry woke up in the early morning, feeling that something was wrong. It took him a few deep breaths to focus – he had dreamed many things that mostly didn't make sense – about dark forest, mermaids form the illustrations in the books he had viewed, and something that had to do with the stolen Firebolt, that he couldn't lend to Cho anymore.

Having woken up early, he was alo one of the first ones to arrive to breakfast. He was eating quickly, nervous, looking for Cho everywhere. Not seeing her up, he sniffed the air a few times. Dumbledore had light Cho's scent on him. Feeling even more confused, Harry realised that Hermione and Marietta were missing the breakfast, too.

With the second task going on instead of lessons, it seemed impossible. He took out the Map, whispered the password and started looking though it, but they weren't in the dorms, nor, in fact, anywhere he expected them to be.

He took another look at the staff table – there, he saw Amelia Bones eating and talking together with the headmaster. Two scents belonging to someone outside were also from not around the castle. He had smelt one of those before, but couldn't be sure where. He quickly found two dots in the map, standing still just outside the Hall, waiting patiently. The map identified them as Kingsley Shacklebolt and Nymphadora Tonks. He never remembered hearing the name, but Harry almost remembered meeting the Tonks' family at Sirius funeral. Some kind of distant relative?

He returned to the thoughts about Cho. It was obvious already – she was taken a hostage, someone he would miss most. How had Dumbledore allowed it? He promised that the tasks would be safer... He could barely sit in place, so he just finished drinking a glass of pumpkin juice, and stood up.

He walked right up to the Headmaster, and, eliciting a raised eyebrow from Amelia Bones, he growled out a single sentence. "Tell me they are safe."

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Funnily enough, the next chapter is finally about the Second Task. Like in the fourth book, it's chapter 26 too. I am sorry for the long wait, but there were things that had to be said and done before the Task.