Harry
The next day he wandered back into the first library he found and tried to find a book about animal transformation. His size and lack of hands made the task nearly impossible. He was only able to read the titles of books on the bottom two shelves. The books seemed to cover everything: Potions, Runes, Spellcrafting, Bloodrites, and something called Dreamwalking, that he wanted to try reading.
But none of the titles he could see mentioned animals or transformations. He pulled a couple potions books off the shelves and winced when they dropped with a thud. But after scanning a few pages, he couldn't find anything like the one the headmaster had used on him.
He finally got so frustrated that he just pulled random books down and looked at them. He was in the process of trying to pull one off the third shelf, standing on his hindlegs he stretched as far as his new body would let him, his claws in the bottom of the book, tugging it out millimeter by millimeter.
"What are you up to?" A voice asked from behind him.
Harry jumped and cried out when the book landed on his head. The man who had startled him, chuckled. The stranger looked exhausted, with dark circles under his blue eyes. His long black hair pulled back into a loose ponytail, pieces hangout out here and there.
"What is it, Rod?" Another voice asked entering the room.
"Luc's kitten is messin' up the library." The man replied before reaching down for Harry. Having a fairly good idea who the two men were from the papers he read at the start of the school year, he ducked under the hand and ran for the door.
He heard one of them chuckle before he was levitated off the floor and flown into the second man's hands.
"Bastan, take him to Barty or Sev, if Narcissa sees the mess he made in her library, she'll skin him."
That didn't sound like a joke.
Landing in the other Death Eater's arms he didn't resist. He figured he would be better off with the animal obsessed Barty or even Snape, than an angry Narcissa. At least that was the idea he was getting from the two men he assumed were the Lestrange brothers.
The one called Bastan carried him down a hallway, where he knocked on a door. When there was no answer they turned and walked away. With a sinking feeling in his stomach Harry realized where they were headed. He wasn't happy at all when they came to the Potions lab he had seen before when searching the Manor. He even scratched the hand of the man holding him, letting him know how he felt about it. The man just shifted his hold on Harry making it harder for him to attack his hands.
Harry had really hoped he'd end up with Barty. Despite the man's actions last year, Harry found he kinda like the blond Death Eater.
Snape didn't look up as they entered, just studied the caldron in front of him. Bastan gently set Harry down and then backed out of the room… carefully. Harry watched feeling a little confused, Was the man trying to sneak out?
He got his answer when Snape looked up at him and his eyes narrowed, "Rabastan! A cat does not belong in my lab! Get it out!"
There was a laugh from outside in the hallway but the man did not come back. Feeling anxious under his Professor's dark glare, Harry turned and jumped onto the nearby shelf.
A bottle fell and Harry winced and climbed higher. He heard Snape curse under his breath but then the man's potion started boiling and he seemed to forget Harry existed. Relieved, Harry found a high spot on the top of one of the many shelves and laid down.
It was strange watching Snape work. In class the man normally prowled the walkways glaring at the non-Slytherin students, muttering and taking off points. But here he seemed different, focused and relaxed. There was a tension missing from his back and shoulders and the always present sneer was missing. The man looked almost content.
Harry wasn't sure how much time went by, but just as Snape started bottling his greyish potion, Harry's stomach grumbled, causing the man's head to swing up towards him. Harry tried wiggling back further but his tail and butt were already pressed against the wall. He settled for ducking his head and trying to become invisible.
There was a sigh as the professor put the bottles down and then walked over to the shelf Harry was hiding on.
"Come here," the potion's master said gently, hand out. Bewildered by the soft tone Harry eyed the man, their eyes met and for a second the world froze.
Snape gasped and reached out quicker than Harry could react. Suddenly he was picked up and dangling from the potion maker's hand. Their eyes locked on each other. It hit him like a punch to the stomach, Snape knew! Somehow the man knew who he was.
Snape waved his wand, closing the door with a loud thud. Then he put Harry down on the work table he had just been brewing at. Harry tried to back away, scared and unsure. Snape caught him by the back of his neck and held him in place.
"Potter?" Snape asked. Part of him said not to react, act like a normal cat and maybe Snape would think he'd made a mistake, the other part, the one desperate to be human again had him whimpering before he could stop himself.
"How?" Snape whispered looking for the first time ever, at least that Harry had seen, confused. Harry hissed angrily because he couldn't actually talk. Not that he was sure Snape would believe him anyways.
He tried not to shake as the man raised his wand and started muttering spell after spell. After a while it became clear the potion's master wasn't liking whatever it was he was seeing.
"A hex, maybe." he heard Snape mutter under his breath.
Then the potion's lab door opened and Malfoy and Voldemort walked in. Harry looked up at the Potion Master in horror, would Snape tell? Snape's reaction was better controlled, he picked up Harry pulling him close to his chest before looking at the other men in the room.
"My Lord," Snape gave a slight bow of his head, "Lucius, what can I do for you?"
"There is an Order meeting tonight, correct?" Voldemort asked. Harry was sure the man knew the answer already.
"There is." Snape replied and though the man's voice was calm and even, Harry's head was pressed against the man's chest and he could hear just how fast the Professor's heart raced.
"Do you believe Albus will tell them about Potter's disappearance?" The hands holding him tightened a fraction and Harry got the impression Snape was worried...about him.
"I do not know. He still hasn't admitted it to the staff or Potter's friends." Harry couldn't help but hiss at the word, which gained him a squeeze from Snape's arms. "I'm not sure what the old fool is planning."
The room fell silent as Voldemort seemed to think about it,
"Do you think Potter is dead?" Malfoy asked after a second and Harry almost cried out from the way Snape's arms started to crush him. He must have yelped or whined because the man muttered an apology and loosened his hold.
Snape's reaction was nothing compared to the hiss that the Dark Lord let out.
"He is not dead."
Harry watched completely confused as Lucius dropped his head to hide from the angry glare Voldemort turned and gave him. "I apologize, my Lord."
What the hell? He thought, why would Voldemort care if he was dead? Wouldn't that be a good thing for the Dark Lord and his followers?
He looked up at Snape, the man gave a slight shake of his head, like he was telling Harry not now.
Frustrated Harry dug his claws into the Potion's master's hand. He was only slightly impressed when Snape drew in a deep breath from the pain instead of crying out and dropping him... like he had hoped. Although Snape did glare down at him.
"You will tell me everything that happens, Severus, understood?" Voldermort ordered making the man look up.
"Of course, my Lord."
Not a minute later, Snape and him were alone in the room.
"That was childish, Potter." The man snapped before dropping him onto the counter once again. Harry stuck his tongue out at the man feeling a little relieved that he could do something to show he wasn't just a damn cat.
"From your reaction, am I to assume one of your friends did this?" The man asked sitting down on a stool in front of Harry.
He started to shake his head no, then stopped, Dumbledore had been his friend hadn't he? At least Harry had thought he had been, he nodded.
Snape tilted his head. "A friend, but not Granger or Weasley?"
Harry nodded again.
"The headmaster." Snape said a second later and Harry growled.
A bottle near where the man sat exploded, Harry meowed out in surprise and would have fallen off of the counter if Snape hadn't caught him.
Instead of placing him back where he had been, Snape cuddled him. He was confused until the man stood up and walked out of the potions lab. It felt a little weird being held close against the man. Snape knew who he was, knew he was a person and not a cat like the others when they carried him around.
Snape took him down a hallway Harry hadn't explored yet and then dropped him on a large bed. The cover was dark green and smelled like spice, a smell Harry was sure belonged to the Professor. Surprised, he quickly took in the room. Snape's bedroom was different than he expected, brighter, cleaner, less potiony. He snorted at his thought.
Sure Harry could see a number of potions books, well a number of books he assumed were potions. But there were no caldrons, no herbs, spices, or other plants hanging from the ceiling. No strange things in jars amongst the man's shelves.
"Are you finished?" Snape asked in a voice Harry had heard far too many times when he had pissed the professor off. He dropped his head down, hoping it looked like he was sorry. Then he sat down and looked at the man.
"The headmaster did this?" The man said, and even though it wasn't a question, not really, Harry nodded. "Do you know why?"
Harry thought about it, then nodded.
The man sighed and started looking over things on a dark wooden desk in the corner.
"Come here." The man ordered after a second. Harry meowed at him, wishing he could tell Snape off for ordering him around. Then he jumped off the bed and stopped at Snape's feet. The man bent down and gently picked him up. He was placed on the desk, a piece of parchment and a bottle of ink laid out before him.
Getting the idea without Snape saying anything Harry forced out one of his claws and stuck it in the ink.
It was ridiculously difficult to get his paw and claw to move like a human hand, let alone a quill. He growled out as he wrote letter by letter about the memory he had seen.
When he was done, he sat back and watched as Snape read the paper. He felt a little embarrassed by how messy the words were but then he remembered he was a bloody cat and that he shouldn't be ashamed of it.
"Potter…" The man looked down at him. Harry tried to understand the sad look in the man's eyes. Snape hated him, why would he look sad about what Molly and Dumbledore had planned?
Snape cleared his throat, "Harry, I'm sorry. I didn't know and will see if there is a way to destroy the contract." Harry's eyes widened. He wanted to ask why, wanted to thank him, but all that came out was a short whine. Snape seemed to understand because he dropped back on his desk chair.
"Did you know your mother and I were friends?"
Harry forgot how to breath, What?
"We grew up next door to each other. I was the one to tell her she was a witch and about magic. We spent our childhood, running around playing and exploring the little magic we could use."
The man took a breath, "When we started Hogwarts, she swore that even if we were in different houses we would remain friends. And for a while we did." Snape suddenly dropped his head to look down at the floor.
"Over the years, we started drifting apart. Her friends discourage her from being friends with a dark wizard, a Slytherin. Mine telling me I shouldn't waste my time with a Gryffindor or a light witch. For six years we ignored them. The only person that didn't seem bothered was your bloody wolf. He kept Po-James and Black distracted well enough when Lily asked. Lily and I studied together, partnered in potions, spent weekends together in Hogsmeade. I truly thought we'd be friends forever." Snape sighed as he lifted a hand, running it through his pitch black hair, causing it to come loose and fall forward.
"I ruined it." The man muttered, Harry let out a soft whine, needing to know more. Snape looked at him, "Your father and I… we were much like you and Draco. Although you two seem less...hostile towards each other. During one of our many fights, P-James," Snape stopped. He seemed unsure how to finish. "He humiliated me with a prank. I was angry, embarrassed, hurt. Lily tried to help me. She stood up for me and it was worse. That I needed to be defended, that I hadn't been able to handle your bloody father and his mutt friend. I snapped at her. I was cruel and mean and regretted it the second the words left my mouth. But it was too late. I had crushed her. She ran off, and no matter how much I apologized, she never forgave me. With a few careless words I destroyed our friendship."
Harry's head spun. He tried to picture it, the friendship between a young Snape and his mom. But he couldn't. Maybe it was because he didn't know his mother or because picturing Snape young was weird. But still, it made sense. Snape had saved his life several times since he started Hogwarts and it always bothered Harry, because he didn't know why the professor had done it.
The twins had joked about Snape not wanting to deal with the fallout of a dead savior. But if Snape had cared about his mom, maybe he felt like protecting Harry was something she would have wanted. And his clear dislike and cold attitude would be because the man hated James Potter.
Harry looked at the professor who had his head in his hands. He gave it a second of thought, before he jumped off the desk and onto the man's lap. Snape jumped but grabbed Harry as if to stop him from falling off.
"The hell-" Harry couldn't say the words but he meowed and nudged the man's hand. It wasn't just a thank you for telling him or protecting him, it was an apology.
It was clear Snape still cared about Harry's mother and that he had grieved her loss. Harry had met many people that talked about his father, who missed him, and who had grieved his death. But he hadn't met many that felt the same for his mother. He knew Remus and Sirius did, but not in the same way they grieved James. And Harry's aunt hadn't seemed to care at all.
Harry had always felt an ache at being the only person who seemed to mourn her, but finding out he wasn't alone and that there was someone who loved her, cared for her, missed her, it made him… well it hurt... but at the same time it helped. It was like something had been missing. He hadn't realized he started to cry until he heard Snape make a soothing sound and he was pulled close to the man.
He must have fallen asleep because he woke up some time later to the sound of Snape moving around the room. He opened his eyes to see the professor slipping on a long coat and grabbing his wand. Harry remembered Voldemort mentioning an Order meeting. He stood up, a little wobbly from being asleep, and jumped off the bed. He rushed toward the door and stood in the way, blocking the other man's exit.
Snape looked at him with an eyebrow raised, "What?"
Harry wondered how to convey that he wanted to go. He looked at the door and then back at Snape, then he did it again.
"No." The man said, sternly. Harry hissed and looked back and forth again.
"I can't take you. Dumbleore would recognize you and even if by some miracle he didn't, the others would wonder about a strange cat showing up at Headquarters." Harry growled. He knew the man was right, but he needed to see Sirius.
"Pot- Harry, I know you want to go back. Probably for that bloody mutt. But Dumbledore can not know you are alive. He clearly expected you to die when he sent you here. If he learns otherwise, he will try to remedy his mistake." Harry dropped his head.
"Give me time." He looked back up at Snape, "I don't know what he used on you. But almost all hexes and curses have a counter, I just need to find it." The man walked over and bent down to look at Harry. "I will find it." He said before standing back up and leaving the room.
Harry was angry and frustrated when he left Snape's room. He wished he could practice a few spells or fly, anything to take off some of the burning anger inside him. But he couldn't, so instead he explored the manor some more.
He found Barty, the Lestrange brothers, and a man he didn't know sitting by a fireplace a short time later. Not caring about how weird it was, he meowed at Barty's feet until the blond picked him up and placed him in his lap. He crawled up and felt himself relax as Barty's fingers started moving along his spine. It tickled a little at first but slowly he felt his body unwind, some of his anger fading away. He laid there listening to the four banter, mostly about spells they liked or hated, and he drifted in and out of sleep as they talked. Strangely content for the time being, at least until Snape barged in sometime later, panting and red in the face.
"Dumbledore told the Order Potter is dead!" The potion master growled out. Not a second later everything exploded.
