**There is a long long long A/N at the end of this chapter, so see you there, except to tell the people who are interested that I am moving to Melbourne, Australia. Anyone live there? **
Harry stood by the lake.
Memories surfaced in his mind that he had wanted never to recall again after Ron had become his blood brother.
He let the rain fall. He knew countless charms to keep the weather off him, and being a silver wizard, he could have stopped it altogether if he had wanted to, but it was now too late, and would do no good.
Failure.
He could have set Sirius free. He could have. If it hadn't been for Justin -
Harry shook himself mentally. He could not blame this on other people. It was his fault only, and he knew it. He should have been faster.
"Harry?"
Harry didn't say a word, but Sleeve understood. Sleeve understood him better than anyone else. Except maybe Ron, now.
The snake wrapped himself around one of Harry's legs and waited there with him.
"They will come looking for you."
Harry knew. He wished they wouldn't. They would be furious with him, he was sure. Look at all the time Sirius, Remus, and Wendy had put into his training, and what had he given them back?
Nothing. That's what he'd given them. They would all be ashamed of him.
The students would know too. What would they say when they found out that he'd failed? Would it go back to being like it was when everyone had thought he was the heir of Slytherin?
Someone had said that he wasn't ever going back to the Dursleys. They'd go back on that, wouldn't they? He'd have to go and live there again, probably under the watchful eye of some Muggle social worker.
Harry felt Ron trying to get through, and gave what little he had in him into strengthening the barrier. He just wanted to be alone.
And so they stood, the faithful pair, waiting for some ray of hope to shine through the stormy curtain before them.
…
When Justin had finished his story, the entrance hall exploded into complete chaos.
Several people wanted to know what the hell Harry had been doing in the Entrance hall in the first place.
Hannah Abbot and Ernie McMillan demanded to know why they hadn't been told that Professor Lupin was back at Hogwarts, even if not in a teaching position for obvious reasons.
Ron was trying to keep Hermione from bursting into hysterical tears from worry, while frantically hammering on the barrier that was separating his mind from Harry.
When the shield got stronger, he gave up and concentrated on his other friend, who was holding on to his arm so tightly that fingernail marks were starting to show.
"Enough!" said Professor Dumbledore, sharply, which was enough to shut everyone up for a certain amount of time, though no one could say how long, so he continued quickly.
"Teachers, back to your classes please. I imagine that there is a certain amount of mess to be attended to. Tell the students what has happened, excluding Remus in your accounts, if you please. Professor Snape, please watch Professor Little's class until she returns."
Snape nodded. Several of the staff looked reluctant to go, especially Professor Sinistra. They had all grown fond of Harry during the holidays, seeing his politeness and kindness towards others out of class. They also felt rather protective of him since that dreadful newspaper article.
Dumbledore turned to the Hufflepuffs. "Miss Abbot, Mr. McMillan, escort Mr. Finch-Fletchley to the hospital wing, then back to your classes."
He held up a hand to avoid arguments. "I assure you that Remus Lupin is here under my protection, and I would like it to remain that way, please. Kindly do not tell anyone about his presence at the school."
Hannah, Ernie and Justin all nodded. They had liked Professor Lupin as much as the Gryffindors had.
"That goes for you, too," said Dumbledore, turning to the various Gryffindors waiting hopefully on the stairs. "Ron, Hermione, stay here, please."
When he, Ron and Hermione were alone in the room, Dumbledore heaved a huge sigh and rubbed his forefinger and thumb against the bridge of his nose beneath his spectacles.
"Professor Dumbledore –" Ron started to say, then hesitated. Harry would not want him to say anything. But Dumbledore had to know, if only for Harry's own safety.
He shuddered when he thought of what his best friend would do to him if he found out, but steadied his resolve all the same.
"Professor, Harry's going to blame himself for this," he said, as the old man looked up at him.
He rushed on. "I know it sounds stupid, but, well, Harry isn't all too rational right now. He'll twist it somehow so it looks like it was all his fault. If he doesn't catch Pettigrew he'll hate himself for letting Sirius down."
"I fear you are right," said Dumbledore.
"But how can he?" Hermione asked. "He saved Justin's life, took a Crucio for him, then ran off after Pettigrew. Justin couldn't even get up again after seconds of the curse – and Harry had it on him for much longer."
Ron could tell Hermione was still a bit angry with Justin.
"Mr. Potter is a very individual young man," said Dumbledore gravely. "I know that he hates for people to think of him as special in any way… but he cannot escape the fact that he is – individual."
Ron thought that was a rather subtle way of putting it. That was Dumbledore for you, though.
…
Even though the day was not yet over, it was almost pitch black due to the clouds overhead.
There was a light coming from Hagrid's cabin, through the rain.
"Remus!" Wendy yelled. "Over there!"
"Right!" Remus yelled back over the foot of empty air that separated them.
Wendy knocked hard on the door, and Hagrid opened it. Remus could see the interested faces of seventh year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs under Hagrid's arm, which was at about the level of his head.
None of them looked particularly surprised to see him. This made sense, seeing as most of them were prefects, and all the prefects (except the Slytherins) had been informed of Remus' stay in the castle before term started.
"Ali? Remus? What you doing 'ere? Come in, come in."
Wendy was so worried that she didn't bother to berate Hagrid on the use of the shortened version of her real name as they inched into the tiny hut, already crammed full of students.
"Have you seen Harry, Hagrid?" she asked.
Hagrid became alert at once.
"Harry? No, why? What's 'appened?"
"There was a Death Eater in the castle," Remus explained. "Harry's gone after him."
"In the castle?" a Ravenclaw girl exclaimed. "How is that possible?"
"He's a very gifted Death Eater," Remus said quickly. "Harry's got to be in the grounds somewhere."
"Fang!" Hagrid called. "C'mon, outside."
The boarhound, who was getting quite old by now, grumbled at being pushed out into the rain, but got to his feet.
"You lot stay 'ere," said Hagrid to the students. "No sneakin' up to the castle, mind."
"Yes, Hagrid," said Richard Hastings, a Ravenclaw, who happened to be Head Boy.
"Righ' then," said Hagrid to Remus and Wendy. "Let's go."
…
Like Remus and Wendy, Mundungus Fletcher had made the mistake of bypassing the lake entirely on his way to the Forbidden Forest. It seemed like the logical place for a Death Eater to hide, especially if he was right in assuming that the Death Eater had been Peter Pettigrew.
"Come on, Rat Boy," the aged Auror murmured to himself as he used his wand to light up the area of trees he stood in.
He, unlike his fellow searchers, and Harry himself, had erected a weather shield to make sight easier in the ceaseless onslaught of rain and sleet. It glowed a soft, purple-blue around him, the rain bouncing off in torrents, making him look like a walking waterfall.
It soon became clear to him that, if Harry or the supposed Death Eater were to be found, it would not be in the forest. Either Harry came out of there, or they'd never see him again.
Mundungus cursed and swore loudly as he pushed his way back through the overhanging growth in his path. From his own misadventures at Hogwarts when he was a lad, he knew that the trees were doing it on purpose.
"Let me through, can't you?" Mundungus demanded between swear words. "This is an emergency."
The trees, to put it mildly, didn't listen.
"I hate this forest," Mundungus declared to himself as he finally wrenched the last branch out of the way. He stood at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, in plain sight, despite the rain, of a light coming from Hagrid's hut.
"Mundy!!" called three voices he recognised through the storm. The voices were weak against the thunder, but he heard them.
He could see them too, two shorter figures on either side of a huge one, who could only be one man. He noticed with relief that Hagrid had his dog, Fang.
"It's no good!" he called to them, hurrying forward. "We'll never find them in this!!"
"We can't just leave!" Wendy yelled.
"He's right, Wendy!" Remus shouted at her over the next clap of thunder. "Fang can't follow any scent at all this mud, let alone a specific one!"
"Sorry?"
"We have to go back t' the castle!" Hagrid bellowed, loud enough for all of them to hear a little too clearly. Wendy rubbed her ears. "Harry can take care of himself!"
"What if he's hurt, Hagrid?" Wendy screamed at him, half through worry and half through wanting to be heard.
"We can' do anything for 'im now, " Hagrid insisted.
…
After half an hour, Dumbledore sent Ron and Hermione back to Gryffindor Tower, as Transfiguration was almost over.
Hermione didn't say a word to Ron, but ran up the staircase to the girl's dormitories. Ron watched her go, then made his own way up the boy's staircase.
Half way up he stopped suddenly, his heart thudding inside his chest.
"Her –" he started to call, then cut himself off.
No.
They'd never reach them in time. Not as they were. The fact that something might have happened to Harry set his mind on fire. The barrier was doing away with his senses, he was sure, but this must work.
He sprinted up the remaining stairs.
Harry's trunk was unlocked. Ron threw it open and started emptying it roughly, throwing clothes and parchment all over the floor. He had no time to be tidy.
He threw it out of the trunk without realising until a second later. He grabbed the old bit of parchment, tapped it with his wand, and whispered.
"I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good."
The map took on lines and dots, outlining the walls and current residents of Hogwarts castle and grounds.
Ron scanned the grounds. There he was, Harry Potter, by the lake. Mundungus Fletcher, Alula Little and Remus Lupin were miles off, at the foot of the Forbidden Forest.
At least Harry wasn't dead, but he could still be hurt. Ron knew that by himself, he'd never be able to get Harry up to the castle, especially if Harry didn't want to.
He was fairly sure that Harry wouldn't listen to Dumbledore either. No, the only people who could possibly help Ron right now where Remus, and possibly Wendy.
But how was he to reach them, without being stopped by Dumbledore?
He knew how, but it was a risk. He knew how to do it, but it was still a risk.
It was a risk he had to take.
Taking a deep breath, he let his mind empty. Since he had watched Harry do it many times, from inside his mind, it wasn't too hard.
He knew that, not only what he was doing, but the way he was doing it was completely absurd, and the craziest way anyone had ever done it – including Harry.
He didn't care.
His heart beating at almost the rate of a mouse, he whispered "Transforma Animagi," and prayed for something with feathers.
…
Harry Potter stood, and watched the rainfall.
…
It took a while (and a lot of hoarse shouting) to persuade Wendy that there was nothing they could do for Harry when they couldn't see where they were going or what they were doing, or hear each other, let alone find a small teenage boy.
Luckily, although it did impeded their vision even more due to the waterfall effect, Mundungus' shield succeeded in shielding himself, Remus, Wendy, Hagrid, and the whole of Hagrid's seventh year Care of Magical Creatures class from the rain.
Remus walked slowly in time with everyone else, to make it easier for Mundungus to keep the shield over the whole lot of them.
He looked up occasionally to see the purple clouds and flashes of lightning. Something wasn't right.
Of course, it wasn't unusual in Britain for the heavens to open their widest at the most unexpected and unhelpful of times, but there was something about the storm that chilled Remus' bones. It seemed somehow unnatural.
Given his unusual situation, Remus had been outside in many a storm, and he knew them. He'd even studied them for a while, in those quiet years when Sirius had been in Azkaban.
He could have sworn that the lightning had just flashed… golden. Lightning wasn't gold. It was blue and silver, usually, which, not coincidentally, reflected the two most powerful colours of magic a wizard could have.
Something was definitely very odd about this storm.
He had no time to ponder, however, because as he surveyed the thunderclouds, he saw a shape moving against them. Surely no bird would be mad enough to fly in this weather?
No normal bird, anyway…
"Mundungus!" Remus called across the heads of the students. "There's something up there!"
The look that his friend shot him said that Mundungus was thinking the same thing he was. Could it be Harry?
"Light!" Mundy called out. "Light, everyone! As bright as you can make it!"
"Lumos!" called several voices.
Wendy stuck her hands in the weather shield and… pushed. Sky-blue light pulsated from her fingers into the network of Mundungus' spell.
The half-globe around them glowed bright as day. It didn't help them to see anything around them, but it certainly helped the shape circling above them to see it.
It dove.
It burst through the weather shield. This more than anything proved that it was no ordinary bird. Only a wizard would know that a weather shield kept out nothing but the elements.
As soon as he saw it, however, Remus' heart dropped considerably. It was a Golden Red-Tailed Eagle, complete with the colours. It wasn't Harry.
He held out his hands to catch it as it collapsed. Hagrid ran forward. "What is it, Remus?"
Remus didn't answer. He handed the bird to Hagrid, but stared in disbelief in what the Eagle had brought him.
It was the Marauder's Map.
…
"They are coming," whispered Sleeve.
"I know. I feel Ron with them. Why, I can't imagine."
"Will you go with them?"
Harry didn't answer.
"You must. They are your friends. They need you."
"I know they need me. They won't tell me why, though. Where does this power come from, Sleeve? It is really all from Voldemort, or something else?"
"There is not much of the Dark Lord in you. Snake-speech, yes. Perhaps some others."
"There's something they're not telling me."
There was a pause, as they continued to watch the rain on the lake's surface.
"They can never tell you, if you do not go back there. I am young, but this I sense from you. You will not abandon them. You are not the Dark Lord."
Harry didn't answer. His legs ached from standing still for so long. He knelt beside the water, not noticing how dirty his robes became. One hand gently touched the surface.
Ripples spread across the lake.
Suddenly, Harry felt as tired as he had ever been. His other hand hit the sandy bottom, and his head bent forward.
Black hair touched the water.
…
"By the Lake?" Mundungus said incredulously. His eyes narrowed. "How sure are you?"
"Positive," said Remus, checking the map once more. "I trust this thing with my life… and Harry's."
"We're going to talk about this later," Wendy warned him, just loud enough to be heard.
The bird in Hagrid's arms shook itself off, and flapped its wings experimentally. It flew onto Remus' shoulder.
Remus decided to forestall theories about the strange bird until they had found Harry.
They set off towards the lake.
…
"There! There!"
Wendy pushed herself out of the weather shield and ran towards the shape at the lake's edge, as did Remus.
Mundungus followed, after quickly asking Hagrid to take the students back to the castle. Hagrid relented, though reluctantly, to the old Auror.
Mundungus erected another weather shield as soon as he reached the spot where Remus and Wendy were busy pulling Harry out of the lake. On second thought, he added a muffling charm, to stifle the sound of the storm, and wondered vaguely why he hadn't thought of doing that before.
I must be getting old, he thought grimly, and turned his attention to Harry.
He was soaked to the bone, and deathly white.
"He can't have been under for long," Wendy said, trying to convince herself. "He's still breathing. We have to get him back to the castle."
"It'll take too long," Remus cursed. "We need to get that water out of his system."
"Come on, Harry," Wendy said helplessly, shaking him. "Please wake up…"
The Golden Eagle that stood on its talons next to Remus flew up onto Harry's chest.
"Hey!" said Wendy. "Get off, you stupid bird –"
"Wait, Ali," said Remus. He had his suspicions about this bird.
…
Harry was floating. He didn't know how, or where, and he didn't really care.
Am I dead? he wondered.
~You better not be. ~
Ron? Harry tried to check his barriers, but they were no longer there.
~ You stupid prat. What were you doing in the lake? ~
I… I dunno…
~ Listen. I'm not sure if this will work, but I'm going to try to lend you some strength. ~
Leave me alone.
~Er, I don't think so… listen Harry, everyone is in hysterics about you. Hermione's probably still crying. So stop being so bloody selfish and let me help you. ~
It felt like a slap in the face, but one that Harry needed. His mind-self smiled at Ron's.
Not too much. I won't have you fainting on me.
He vaguely heard Ron's grumble - ~That's rich, coming from you…~
In a few seconds, he felt raw energy roaring through his veins. He was jerked out of his floating, far-away state in an instant.
His eyes opened, and he found himself looking straight into a pair of amber eyes.
"I said not too much," he told it.
"Harry!"
"Wendy?"
"Harry, are you Ok?"
"I'm fine, Remus, honest." Harry struggled to get to his feet, but Wendy held him down firmly.
"You certainly didn't look fine when we pulled you out of the lake."
Harry went red. "I'm sorry…"
Remus shook his head. "How much water did you inhale?"
Harry was about to answer that he didn't know what Remus was talking about, when he began to retch. He rolled over, and gave the lake most of it's water back, with a little too much help from Wendy.
"Thanks," he said, when he'd finished coughing up what felt like his whole stomach.
"You're welcome," said Wendy, worriedly. "Are you sure you can walk up to the castle? I can make a stretcher…"
"No," Harry said quickly. "I'm fine, really."
The eagle flew onto Harry's shoulder.
"A friend of yours, Harry?" Fletcher asked.
"I suppose so," said Harry dubiously, sending, When did you find out you could do this?
~You don't sound too surprised. ~
I'm not, really. It makes sense, I guess. Is it your only form?
The Golden Eagle laughed in Harry's mind. ~I'm not that good. I mean, how many animuchi do you get in a millennium? ~
How many animuchi do you get that have a blood brother?
~ Good point – but yes, it's my only form. I don't care though. It suits me. ~
I think that's the whole idea.
"Harry?"
"All right, I'm coming."
…
Harry point blank refused to go to the hospital wing. He was only tired, and not much of that now that Ron had boosted his energy level as high as the empire state building.
The Eagle, however, was swaying on his shoulder.
"You taking him up with you?" asked Remus as they walked up to Gryffindor Tower.
"I might as well. If he sticks around, I'll take him to see Hagrid in the morning."
~You'd better not. ~
You'd better not stick around, then.
"That bird saved your life, you know," Wendy told him gravely.
Harry managed a weak smile. "I know. I'm sorry – I'll try to be more careful."
Remus ruffled his hair as they reached the portrait. "Just… just tell me, next time there's a – a Death Eater in the castle, right?"
"Yeah," said Harry. He went in, and was greeted by utter silence from the common room.
…
"What did you mean, tell me?" Wendy asked as she and Remus went back down the stairs.
Remus shrugged, not wanting to go into details about the mind-to-hand bond he, Harry and Sirius shared.
"He still thinks it was his fault, doesn't he?" said Wendy, apparently not noticing that he hadn't answered.
"And no amount of telling him otherwise is going to persuade him," Remus assured her.
"Who do you think it was?" Wendy asked. "Did Hermione say his name was Peter?"
"Mm," said Remus.
"But Justin said… what was it? Wormtail?"
"Yes…"
"I know that from somewhere… wait a minute…"
~Flashback~
The staff and Harry sat at the breakfast table. "Verita," Harry said, pointing one finger at his forehead. They could hear what was in his mind.
Footsteps growing louder, the soft creak of a door –
"Ah… Wormtail. So good to see you. Everything is according to plan?"
"Y…yes… My Lord."
"Liar. My senses tell me that something is worrying you. Let me in on your little secret, Wormtail."
Harrry started to sweat. Wendy, Flitwick and Dumbledore seemed to be the only ones with the faintest inkling of what he was doing. Still, they listened with rapt attention. The others all looked shocked at that hissing voice, that cringing whine…
Snape had sweat running down his face too, almost as if he knew what was coming next, eyes as cold and unrevealing as usual…
"It is S…S…Snape, m…my lord…"
"Ah yes. Severus. What about him, Wormtail?"
Wendy looked sharply up at Snape. So did several of the other teachers. Snape himself had shaking hands.
"He…he is saying…"
"Get on with it, you fool!"
"Master, he is saying that it is too soon, that we should be trying for smaller targets first, Wizards…"
"The fool! Is he frightened?"
"I don't think so master."
Wendy made a derisive noise at that. Snape looked up at her with a glare.
"You don't think. I do the thinking here."
"Yes master."
"Well, what to do about faithful Severus… What do you think, Wormtail?"
Silence at the staff table.
"Master… you said I wasn't to think…
"Did I say that?"
"Yes, master…"
"Crucio."
Harry slumped in his chair as the air rang with Wormtail's howls. When they stopped some people had their hands over their ears. It didn't help in the slightest to block out Voldemort's next words.
"I know what to do about my little lie spreader. Send some useless incompetent out to kill him."
Someone screamed. Snape jumped, Dumbledore frowned.
"Of course, they'll probably die in the attempt…"
"You mean not to kill him master?"
Baited breath…
"Not in the least, Wormtail. But it will make him wary enough to stop spreading poisoned ideas among my Death Eaters."
"What if the assassin succeeds, master?"
"Then that's too bad. I can't have doubtful feeling among my servants. See to it."
"Yes, master."
Five, four, three, two, one…
The echoes ceased. Everyone felt a brief surge of Harry's relief before he pulled his memory back into himself, thanked it and told it never to obey him again.
Snape stood up without a word. He left his breakfast unfinished and swept out of the Great Hall.
"He didn't even say thank you," said Harry, back to his normal self but breathing heavily.
"He's trying to kill him?" said Professor McGonagall.
Before Harry could answer, however, he was enveloped in Wendy's small arms.
"Harry! Don't you ever, ever scare me like that again! Please tell me you'd practiced that spell before!"
Harry tried not to look too guilty.
"Er.. if I say no, will you overreact?"
"I should be able to control myself."
"I practised it over and over until I had it right."
"I don't believe you."
"Your problem, not mine." Harry's breath returned to normal and he picked up his fork as if nothing had happened.
"And that happens every night?" said Professor Sprout. Her voice shook.
Harry looked up at her. It seemed to them all that there was a deadened look in his eyes.
"That was a good one."
"A good one?" exclaimed Wendy.
"No one died."
"Who's Wormtail?"
"His henchman. He does all the dirty work."
"It sounds familiar."
"Can't do," said Harry. "This one's pretty new."
"Can you name all of You Know Who's supporters?" she asked. It seemed to be some kind of joke.
Harry looked straight into her eyes. "Do you want them alphabetical?"
She looked shocked. "Then why on earth don't you? Turn them in?"
Harry glared at her.
"You don't know anything, do you?" he hissed. It wasn't Parseltongue, but it had the same effect. Wendy stared at him in shock.
He left his plate, pushed his chair back loudly and made his way in silence to the Gryffindor common room, knowing she'd follow him.
Wendy stared after him. "Was it something I said?"
Dumbledore sighed.
~End Flashback~
"What do you mean, you heard the dream?"
"It was the Verity spell. We heard his memories, but we didn't see them. I think Harry was maybe trying to keep something from us."
'You got that right', thought Remus, but he didn't say anything.
"It was only – I mean, not only did the name sound familiar, but I thought I recognised the voice as well… just as if… oh, never mind."
Remus said good-bye to her at the wolfish gargoyle, went inside and leant against the wall for a minute, breathing heavily, holding the map in his pocket.
Sirius, you better get here soon, he thought frantically. I don't know how long I can keep this up!
…
It took Harry a while to convince people that he was absolutely fine, including Hermione, who berated him for a full five minutes about how he had scared her.
Luckily, no one had noticed that Ron had left, assuming that he'd gone to bed early, though as Hermione put it, 'how he could sleep is beyond me'.
Telling them that he ought to show Ron that he was alive, causing a few first years to laugh nervously, Harry ascended the staircase and entered the boy's dormitories, where Ron transformed the second the door was closed.
"I'm soaked," he complained. "And I smell like a bag full of wet feathers. I need a bath."
"Race you," said Harry.
Harry lost. He started putting his things back in his trunk as he listened to the water running.
Ron, he called through the bathroom door. How the hell did you manage to do the transformation first time?
~Oh, I dunno, ~ came the annoyingly happy answer. ~Maybe I'm just cleverer than you. ~
**You wanted longer chapters, you got longer chapters! Though some of it was courtesy of cut and paste **grin**. It beats me how any of you can remember anything that happens in this fic.
For those of you frantically looking through online thesauruses to find the Red-Tailed Golden Eagle, there is no such bird. I made it up. Sounds lovely though, doesn't it?
As you all know, I enjoy thanks lists almost as much as I love reviews, but, get serious, you DO want to read this chapter, don't you?? It takes me the same length of time to write thanks as to write a chapter!
I have to go back to school tomorrow, (worst luck) but I do have two 21 hour flights ahead of me the week after next to Australia on a school-finding trip, so I think you can count on some proficient writing!!
Some of you are a little upset because in previous chapters, Wendy uses spells that can't be used (like apparating in school) or using them in the wrong way (like expelliarmus instead of accio).
There is a reason for this. True, I only thought it up because people noticed it when I hadn't, but it has now become a rather important part of the future plot.
Hopefully, there shouldn't be too much plot left. I plan to introduce Sirius in a week or so (I know I said it would be earlier, don't grumble) sort the Dursleys out, and the diary, and Hedwig's eggs, and all the various other lovely little plot twists I have introduced so that I can't keep up with them. I AM aware of the more obvious ones – however, if there is something you have noticed which you would like explained, or explained in more detail, do let me know, and you know how!!
I want to finish this story in all haste, so it probably won't last all of Harry's fifth year. Guess why? I want to write a sixth year fic, a real one, after I have read the fifth book. Yippee! Anyway, I am getting ahead of myself. This fic is enough for me at the moment, not to mention some of the others. **grin**.
See you (probably when I get back from Australia on a school-finding trip) he, he.
Laterose.