Unleashed Shadows : Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own. J.K Rowling does.

A/N: Not much to say. In this chapter is a lot more on Animagi, so be prepared. Oh and Ron finally gives in – he does the spider. Oh, and the chapter's longer. Be proud.

***

"Excuse me Professor," Harry managed somewhat politely as he was requested to show Snape his brewed potion.

"Yes Potter?" Pretenses were always necessary.

"Can I see you after class?" Harry kept his voice to a whisper.

"Of course. Except for the fact that your Freezing Potion is appalling. You'll be allowed to redo it after class. And anyone talking perhaps would like to join him." Snape raised his voice.

Potion's double ended quicker than Harry imagined and as the students went off to their commons rooms for the last half hour before dinner, Ron and Hermione left too, both giving Harry sympathetic looks. In real fact, Harry's Freezing Potion had been fine and the excuse to stay after class had passed the student's suspicions. Finally, the classroom was empty. Snape sat back down as his desk.

"Yes? What do you want?"

"My real image is showing. I saw it this morning and almost freaked." Harry winced and was surprised he had used language like that to the Potion's Professor. Your father, something inside him said.

Snape let it pass. "I've noticed. And once again, I congratulate those who were blinded to such changes."

"But why is this happening? Wasn't your charm enough?"

"I suppose not. It seems the potion – the Reflectage – is counteracting the charm I placed." Snape said simply.

"And that means what?"

Snape almost snarled. Almost. "It means that we'll have to find another way to hide the changing you until the transformation is complete."

"But Sir, Snape.. er… Professor Snape, wouldn't it better, if not easier, if people saw the changes? I mean, then I wouldn't have to explain the sudden 'new me' or something."

Harry expected him to snap back and not to tell him what to do, or even just laugh at his stupidity in some way or another, but he didn't.

"I doubt…" Snape started, "I doubt there is a difference. You have already undergone most changes, and by lifting the entire spell, you'll be surprised at the amount of difference a couple of weeks could make. Of course, there is also the other thing. The earlier I lift the charm, the earlier we'll have to reveal our relationship."

Harry looked on, surprised. He had never suspected Snape could treat anyone, except maybe Dumbledore, in the way he was treating him. His voice held indifference most of the time, there was no more disgust or malice, and the air almost seemed less suffocating when they were talking.

"Are you listening to me?" Snape asked, and Harry finally recognized the usual tone that he used on most of his students.

"Yeah, I am."

There was a pause. "Yes." Snape said suddenly.

"What? I mean, pardon?"

"Yes. Not yeah." Snape seemed almost sheepish, and if Harry had not known the consequences, he probably would've laughed at the strangeness of the situation.

"Yes, I am." He finally said.

Snape finally shook himself off and prepared to stand up.

"Get up. I'm going to perform the charm again."

Harry didn't say anything for a moment, but he stayed seated. "Can I just let the changes happen? It would be easier for everyone, and for me as well."

Snape observed the squirming boy and finally nodded. "On one condition."

"What?"

"Your circumstance, regarding our relationship, is to remain a secret to everyone."

"What about Ron and Hermione?"

"What about Weasley and Granger?"

"Well, I can avoid everyone except them two, and it would be easier if I told them, instead of them coming to conclusions."

Again, Snape seemed to consider before nodding. "If you are to tell them, if, remind them they too are to keep this matter a secret. If this reaches any ears of –"

"Slytherins? Followers? Yeah.. I mean, yes, I know."

Again, barely a nod. Harry would've given anything to know what was going on in Snape's head at the time. Suddenly, the man seemed to shake out of his stupor.

"Sorry Harry," Snape said, and Harry tried to remember if he had ever heard Snape apologise before – without sarcasm. "One more thing."

"Yes?"

Snape kept his voice low, "I'm no longer going to be teaching as a Potion's Professor. As your information tells us, the Dark Lord knows that I am a spy, and with certain…followers…in this school… I'm sure you understand."

Harry nodded. Then considered what his father had just said. "Then where will you be going? Into hiding?"

Snape nodded, his expression grim. "For the meanwhile. Though it will be of little use. If you are right, then the Dark Lord can see where I am no matter where I may be, but Dumbledore is in the process of finding a way to sever my bonds with Voldermort. To be in hiding will, at least, stop any first hand information to the Dark Lord from certain senior students."

Again, Harry nodded.

"Only Dumbledore and McGonagall know of this, and you now. This information is to be secret, and it indubitably concerns my safety. This will also most likely be the last I will see of you for a long time."

Harry looked uncomfortable at the news Snape had just given to him. Maybe it was because just as he had started to accept that Snape was, in fact, his father. And maybe, just maybe, he wasn't all that bad, that the man had to leave.

"I guess that's goodbye then."

Snape too, started to feel the beginnings of 'uncomfortable' creeping up. "Yeah. Goodbye Harry."

There was the flicker of a smile on the young boy's face. "Yes, Severus, not yeah."

*

By now, it was almost dinner, and Harry was starving. Apparently so was Ron, as his best friend's plate seemed to be a mountain of different foods no matter when he looked across the table. Next to him was Hermione, who had a habit of eating and studying at the same time.

"Maybe you two should start too, you know." She had commented.

Harry and Ron shrugged, though inside, both knew she was right. They had only two months before their first exam, and neither of them had any idea about any subject – apart from maybe Defence Against the Dark Arts.

"Yeah maybe," Ron answered, his mouth full of chicken.

Dinner finished quickly, and it had been decided between Harry and Hermione they would spend the rest of the night, or at least the three hours until curfew, in Merlin's Room. Ron, on the other hand had his doubts. Or objections, more like it.

"If we're going to you-know-where to do you-know-what, then I'm not coming." He had stated.

"Come off it Ron, meet you there in fifteen minutes." Hermione had replied cheerfully, and left from the table early. Most likely to the library.

Seventeen minutes later, the trio had gathered outside Merlin's portrait and Harry whispered 'Animagus,' before he swung open. But this time, the room inside had changed yet again. It was a dark blue, midnight blue some called it, and mirrors were at every corner. The floor though, was pure white and next to every mirror was a coloured shape, not unlike those you might have played with in pre-school.

Harry and Ron recognized it immediately and they spun around to Hermione. "This was the room!"

"What room?"

Stepping in, the portrait closed. "Remember those lessons me and Ron used to have with Dumbledore, Lupin and Snape? The ones you sneaked in on?"

Hermione nodded as she remembered. "Yeah but it seemed darker then though."

"That's why I didn't realize. We had always come late at night, when even the corridors were basically pitch black. That's why I didn't recognize Merlin."

"I wonder who keeps changing it?"

Both Harry and Ron shrugged. "Maybe it's a magical room," Ron suggested.

"Maybe," Hermione allowed.

"Probably. Wonder if we could do anything ourselves though. I mean, our Defence of Dark Arts skills are okay, and Harry's are better than okay, but I wonder if anyone would be willing to teach us." Harry added.

"Lupin would," remarked Hermione.

"Dumbledore?" Harry shrugged a sort of 'not really'. Hermione agreed.

"Snape would." Harry said.

"Yeah right Harry," Ron replied.

Harry let it go, it didn't feel like the right time.

"Well," Hermione finally said, "let's do what we came here for, I doubt our transformations are going to be affected by their surroundings.

Ron grumbled a bit and went to sit in the corner again, this time on top of a red triangle. He watched intently as Hermione's hair ruffled all the way down her back and ears poked through them. She grew a shiny gold tail that suddenly turned blue as it reached a tip. Then it suddenly stopped, and she remained half fox, half human. It reminded Ron of the incident with the cat's hair and the Polyjuice Potion.

Harry's transformation, on the other hand, was quite strange. Freaky was the word Ron had used to describe it. His upper body seemed to melt as if it were a liquid. It turned green, and then joined back together into a long, thin head. His glasses clattered to the floor. Golden squirls trailed up, as though they were being drawn on the tail by a crayon, large green eyes suddenly appeared, and a split across the middle revealed a mouth. Then, like Hermione's transformation, he suddenly stopped changing. So by now, he looked entirely strange. A snake with legs.

Ron watched all this is silent fascination, and somehow, though he didn't know how himself, was coaxed into trying his own transformation one more time. Focusing on the spider in his mind, Ron shuddered as the first of the changes began.

His legs grew thin, and the extra appendages of the spider sprouted from this waist. They grew longer and longer until they touched the floor and could skim across it. All this while, Ron had kept his eyes tight shut, but when eight eyes sprouted from his face this was no longer possible. Basically, Ron could be described at the moment as a human with eight eyes and eight legs. All in all, not a pretty sight.

Walking was surprisingly easy, but seeing in all directions at once would take time to get used to. Ron couldn't get rid of the fear that someone would step on him any minute, even though he was still his normal human height, but he managed to keep it in the back of his mind.

"See?" He heard Hermione's voice. "It's not that bad is it?"

Ron tried to answer, but remembered he was still part spider. Changing back, he focused on himself again, and it took almost five full minutes before he was a normal kid again. He noticed Hermione was sitting on the ground watching him, a book in her lap. Harry however, was still half snake, and was moving around next to Hermione, a feat that seemed extremely hard.

"Why does it take so long?" Were Ron's first words.

"Because we haven't exactly mastered the transformation yet. If you want to become faster, sort of like Sirius, then you'll have practice." Hermione answered.

"And why isn't it complete? I feel like a freak. I have the urge to step on myself."

"I still don't know yet. But it's getting really strange. Like the transformation changes every time. Last time I tried, I swear I had paws, but this time I barely had fur on my arms."

Ron nodded knowingly. "Me too. Remember the first time I did it? I had this black stuff on my back. It wasn't there this time."

"What Ron? Not scared anymore?" Hermione grinned.

He gave her an almost dirty look and went to sit next to her. "Yeah sure. So what you looking at?"

Hermione lifted the top book, "Well this is Charms stuff for the exams, and I doubt you'd want to see that, but this -- " she lifted the second book – " is more on that prophecy I was reading to you. Harry, maybe you want to see this too."

The snake head walked over and turned his large green eyes to look at the pages and a long red tongue slid out and flicked the air.

"As full human, Harry. You're scaring me."

The snake's head moved up and down in a sort of nod before he moved into the middle of the room. He thought about himself, imagined himself as if in the mirror everyday. Harry left the snake animagus, but couldn't help feel like he was letting it go of something important. Being an animagus [or at least, part-animagus] was amazing, especially being the snake. He didn't know how a real snake saw the world, but looking at it through the eyes of a Treskiyn was beyond anything he had ever experienced.

His sight was better than his human sight, even with his glasses, and it seemed like when he wanted to, he could almost see through walls. He saw reddish glows behind walls, and inside Ron and Hermione. He deduced this to seeing heat, sort of like in Muggle movies with rays and such. His hearing was average, but his sense of taste was incredible. He could basically taste everything he would've usually needed to see or smell. He tasted the scent of Ron, Hermione and even himself as a human from a few minutes ago. He tasted the remnants of an explosion somewhere in the room and guessed it was probably from the lessons Ron and he had taken a few months ago.

But when Harry was back as a human, everything returned to how it used to be. Average hearing, poor eyesight, but a stronger sense of smell. He looked around for his glasses, and saw them on the floor near Ron. He turned around to face Hermione and Ron and grinned.

"That was weird, but cool. Wonder why I did less than last time." He remarked.

But neither Ron nor Hermione grinned back or had an answer. In fact, both looked rather shaken and Hermione had her mouth open.

"Harry?" she whispered.

"What?" he demanded. "What's wrong?"

It was Ron who answered. Hermione was still in a state of muted shock.

"Why do you look like Snape?"

***

Could that have been considered a cliffhanger? Yeah probably. =)

Anyway, please review.