"Oh, you're in for it now, Malfoy," Harry snarled, stroking his friend's
face, hoping she'd get better soon. He knew it wasn't permanent, thank
heavens, but it still meant Hermione and the two Ravenclaws missing out on
lessons for a while. "Damn you..." A few minutes later Madam Pomfrey flounced
over, shooing Harry out of there.
"I see you enough! Get out of here for now."
Sighing, he did what he was told. The clock said it was almost 3 in the afternoon and his Transfiguration class was starting in a matter of moments. He sprinted as fast as he could towards the classroom, which of course was quite a hike from where he had been. With about two minutes to spare, he flopped down in a middle seat next to Ron and laid his head on the table.
"Harry, mate, what's wrong ...and where's Hermione?" "Draco. The stupid git threw some unknown substance into our potions and it exploded over her and two Ravenclaws. Remember the incident with the Polyjuice Potion and the cat hair? Yea, like that..." Ron grimacing of the memory of seeing his friend half a cat and a long tail sticking out of the back of her robes. Luckily Professor McGonagall striding into the room, interrupting their conversation, her robes floating about her in that haughty look she wore sometimes.
"Now, I expect all of you are at least prepared for this class, seeing how you all managed an E or higher on your OWLs. We will starting the semester with changing this rat into a turtle and see how much you can remember from last year, and I daresay it better be more than my previous years teaching."
Ron groaned at the complexity of the spell she was starting them off on. "I swear that woman has it in for us." Harry shook his head, waving his wand and saying the spell, but was only half successful. The rat had at least turned green and had a hard shell surrounding it. "For not having down any magic during the summer, that was a rather good attempt on your first try," McGonagall muttered to him privately. "Better than last year. But concerning Miss Granger, where is she?" Harry quickly explained, and watched the look of horror on his professor's face. "I'm going to strangle that boy myself! Doing something stupid and dangerous as that in a NEWTs class! I'd expect a 1st or 2nd year to try that, but a 6th year! I thought we had at least gotten through to you that much!" She huffed, trying to calm herself down, but paused for a moment and looked back at him and whispered quietly. "I must say though, I believe you'll exceed at this class after your first change, Mr. Potter. It certainly brought up Remus's grade."
The class ended soon after that, the students piling out of the large chamber and into the halls with others. Harry saw Draco sneer distastefully as he approached. "So, Potter, did Snape transfigure you to look different because he couldn't stand to look at your ugly face?" "No, as the matter of fact, he taught me this little spell since he thought it might come in handy." Harry raised his wand quicker than Draco could grab his and cast his spell. Malfoy screeched as he looked down at his body. "You, Potter, are so dead!" Came the high-pitched voice of a now female Draco.
"Am I going to have to regret using that one in front of you now?" Severus asked, walking up next to Harry. "And to get it to work on the first attempt, impressive. I've heard you had difficulties with the simple spells and yet here you are casting a rather complex one with no problems."
"Professor!" Whined Malfoy, tugging at her robes; "He did this to me on purpose."
Snape rolled his eyes and uttered a rather rude phrase about Malfoy's intelligence. "Well, perhaps he did this because you deserved it in some way?" He pressed, wanting to know from the whining girl what she had said. "Iwaspickingonhislooks..." She said quickly, remembering earlier where points had been taken off Slytherin for her attitude. "In that case I'll leave it up to Mr. Potter to decide when to change you back." Snape stated, almost enjoying himself as he picked on Draco, and saw the now girl huff and run away.
"Now I must know, you were able to cast that high level spell on your first attempt and yet you can barely brew a simple potion at times!" He shook his head, knowing Harry definitely took after Lily in his abilities. "But you aren't the idiotic dunderhead you were when you first stepped into my potions class your first day." Harry stood there looking rather cross. "Teasing, teasing. But most students would have thought to crack open a book before starting their classes..."
Harry's other classes that week went along fairly smooth, Draco avoiding him at all costs and it made listening to the classes much easier without a distraction. Most of his free time he spent up in the Room of Requirements using the books as good resources for his homework and once it was finished, the remaining time he looked up information on werewolves. Sometimes his father would stop in, scanning over a few books he hadn't seen before or just grading papers up there to keep Harry company. Severus knew that many of Harry's friends had distanced themselves from him since they'd heard that first night, others just working it out on their own and decided it would just be easier to avoid him. Ron of course, still clung to him everywhere, making his own appearance once in awhile with Harry as he helped look over books. Other than that, he didn't have too many people to hang around with at the moment, and his only other good friend was still recovering in the hospital ward, and last he'd heard, she was finally starting to look human in the face again. At one point a couple weeks later, Draco finally got up the nerve to approach Harry, but she was shot down by the boy saying he couldn't remember the reverse of the spell. When she'd gone to McGonagall, it was evident that Snape had mentioned the ordeal to her and said she wouldn't undo it, as he'd deserved what he got.
"Harry," Snape started, approaching him on a late September day. "You know what today is, right?" The boy nodded slowly, how could he have forgotten. "Here, I just finished making this since your own was sabotaged. As you might have heard from Lupin, sugar makes it useless so drink it straight and grimace the taste. I've been told to collect the two of you can escort you back up towards your 'special' room," Harry sighed, dragging his heels, dreading what the night was. They came to Lupin's quarters, but Snape stopped Harry for a moment.
"S-son, I wanted to ask you something. Would you mind if I stayed in the room with you, at least until you've finished changing?" He asked cautiously, not knowing how the boy would respond. Harry blinked, looking up at him. "Why?" Was all he said. "Because I'm concerned and quite frankly, I feel I have good reasons to be that way." "Aren't you worried that I'll bite you...?" Snape looked down at him with a smile. "I think I'll take the risk to make sure you're alright."
Lupin opened the door, looking rather tired and pale, as he knew it was time. He accepted the awful tasting potion, Harry wrinkling his nose in disgust as he could still taste it on his tongue. Harry looked at neither of the other two as they walked up the long staircase to the Room. This inside was different this time, as he had expected. The door barred itself with a large iron plank, letting neither in nor out. Along the walls were a pile of cushions for sitting on or tearing, whichever came first, and a long bed for Severus to lie on. A large window let the moon shine in, the time nearing very closely. Harry was shaking badly, sitting down into a corner, and looking away from the two others. A hand came down on each shoulder, one from Remus and the other from his father. Remus didn't want to tell him that even though the potion would let him keep his mind, the changes still hurt, more than he probably knew, and Severus couldn't say he knew what he was feeling or how to comfort him since he had no clue.
Harry looked cautiously up at Lupin, seeing his face hollow out, the dirty brown and grey hairs sprouting from his skin. He felt a similar feeling come from his face, pain shooting through his body as his mouth pushed forward into a long muzzle. The pain was so terrible he lifted his hands up, trying to claw at it, but him arms were caught by a very worried looking father.
"Harry, you need to calm down, I can't tell you I know what it feels like, but hurting yourself isn't going to help at all."
The young werewolf tried, he did, but the pain racking through his body made him just want to strike out at anyone in front of him, hoping to transfer it away from him. He struggled to get his changing arms out of his father's grasp, but it was too strong for him to break. Panting heavily, he went limp under the force, fainting from the throbbing that was in his body. Unlike the previous times he'd blanked out, this one only lasted a few moments. The next time he opened his eyes, the world was black and white to him, still aching in his muscles. A mirror had been in the room but he hadn't noticed it before, and saw a raven black wolf with a white lightning bolt scar on his forehead near a pointed ear. He still had his mind, there was no doubt about that, but it took almost all his will not to attack the other wolf in the room, knowing it was him who'd inflicted this all upon him.
Slowly he got to his feet, padding gently over towards the window and settling down on the fluffy pillows. The scent of meat suddenly filled the air as he saw a large hunk of some unknown animal had been placed infront of him. At first he turned his nose in disgust at eating raw meat, but his wolf body differed and finally won out in the end. As he finished his dinner, he stole a glance at Lupin, who was sitting at the window as well and gazing into the moon, howling mournfully. Harry was surprised to note how well his senses now were. Although the older wolf didn't look it, there was a definite sadness lingering about him.
A sudden arm wrapped around Harry's shoulder, startling him to the point of almost nipping the hand, but suppressed the feeling as he saw his dad try to give him a comforting hug. It was the first time Severus had done this, and for probably about the first time, Harry was truthfully glad he was here.
"I know you can't answer me, but it'll get better. Or at least that's what Remus and Dumbledore have told me. And I know I've never experienced what you just went through, well, unless it was like the Crucio curse, and then in that case, I do have some idea." He saw the wolf nodding his head. "I thought it might. Voldemort loved using that one, I don't doubt you've already experienced it that night in the graveyard. Once you change back tomorrow morning though, I have a half a dozen or so potions for you to take that will ease the pain in your muscles and so you aren't so drowsy as you saw Remus look much of the time when he was teaching here."
He trailed off, seeing his son's muzzle droop towards the pillow and his eyes fluttering slowly as he drifted off into a light sleep. A swift glance around the room let him know that Remus was already curled up and asleep under a nearby table, using it as a makeshift cave. Severus sighed tiredly, remembering just how late it was and that he needed sleep himself unless he wanted to take his own potions the next morning to remain awake during the classes. It wouldn't look too good if their own professor fell asleep during the middle of the lesson. He settled himself down onto the bed, and before letting himself drift off, placed an impenetrable field around himself incase either of the two wolves weren't in their right minds if they woke up during the night.
A soft crying awoke him later, the sun breaking through the windows and he saw Harry on all fours, tears dripping off his nose as they poured out of his eyes. Snape bent down, his own eyes looking at the boy with distress, and used his fingers to lift his son's chin up towards him. "Harry, listen to me, it'll be alright. Shh," Severus was surprised as the boy curled up next to him, using the black robes to dry his face. He could tell it really hurt Harry and pulled the vials of potions from inside his outer robes and poured it slowly into his son's mouth, hoping it'd relieve the pain enough.
"I can't go through it again. I just can't..." Harry sobbed, clinging to his father, feeling a real compassion now alive from the ordeal he'd just faced.
Sighing, he did what he was told. The clock said it was almost 3 in the afternoon and his Transfiguration class was starting in a matter of moments. He sprinted as fast as he could towards the classroom, which of course was quite a hike from where he had been. With about two minutes to spare, he flopped down in a middle seat next to Ron and laid his head on the table.
"Harry, mate, what's wrong ...and where's Hermione?" "Draco. The stupid git threw some unknown substance into our potions and it exploded over her and two Ravenclaws. Remember the incident with the Polyjuice Potion and the cat hair? Yea, like that..." Ron grimacing of the memory of seeing his friend half a cat and a long tail sticking out of the back of her robes. Luckily Professor McGonagall striding into the room, interrupting their conversation, her robes floating about her in that haughty look she wore sometimes.
"Now, I expect all of you are at least prepared for this class, seeing how you all managed an E or higher on your OWLs. We will starting the semester with changing this rat into a turtle and see how much you can remember from last year, and I daresay it better be more than my previous years teaching."
Ron groaned at the complexity of the spell she was starting them off on. "I swear that woman has it in for us." Harry shook his head, waving his wand and saying the spell, but was only half successful. The rat had at least turned green and had a hard shell surrounding it. "For not having down any magic during the summer, that was a rather good attempt on your first try," McGonagall muttered to him privately. "Better than last year. But concerning Miss Granger, where is she?" Harry quickly explained, and watched the look of horror on his professor's face. "I'm going to strangle that boy myself! Doing something stupid and dangerous as that in a NEWTs class! I'd expect a 1st or 2nd year to try that, but a 6th year! I thought we had at least gotten through to you that much!" She huffed, trying to calm herself down, but paused for a moment and looked back at him and whispered quietly. "I must say though, I believe you'll exceed at this class after your first change, Mr. Potter. It certainly brought up Remus's grade."
The class ended soon after that, the students piling out of the large chamber and into the halls with others. Harry saw Draco sneer distastefully as he approached. "So, Potter, did Snape transfigure you to look different because he couldn't stand to look at your ugly face?" "No, as the matter of fact, he taught me this little spell since he thought it might come in handy." Harry raised his wand quicker than Draco could grab his and cast his spell. Malfoy screeched as he looked down at his body. "You, Potter, are so dead!" Came the high-pitched voice of a now female Draco.
"Am I going to have to regret using that one in front of you now?" Severus asked, walking up next to Harry. "And to get it to work on the first attempt, impressive. I've heard you had difficulties with the simple spells and yet here you are casting a rather complex one with no problems."
"Professor!" Whined Malfoy, tugging at her robes; "He did this to me on purpose."
Snape rolled his eyes and uttered a rather rude phrase about Malfoy's intelligence. "Well, perhaps he did this because you deserved it in some way?" He pressed, wanting to know from the whining girl what she had said. "Iwaspickingonhislooks..." She said quickly, remembering earlier where points had been taken off Slytherin for her attitude. "In that case I'll leave it up to Mr. Potter to decide when to change you back." Snape stated, almost enjoying himself as he picked on Draco, and saw the now girl huff and run away.
"Now I must know, you were able to cast that high level spell on your first attempt and yet you can barely brew a simple potion at times!" He shook his head, knowing Harry definitely took after Lily in his abilities. "But you aren't the idiotic dunderhead you were when you first stepped into my potions class your first day." Harry stood there looking rather cross. "Teasing, teasing. But most students would have thought to crack open a book before starting their classes..."
Harry's other classes that week went along fairly smooth, Draco avoiding him at all costs and it made listening to the classes much easier without a distraction. Most of his free time he spent up in the Room of Requirements using the books as good resources for his homework and once it was finished, the remaining time he looked up information on werewolves. Sometimes his father would stop in, scanning over a few books he hadn't seen before or just grading papers up there to keep Harry company. Severus knew that many of Harry's friends had distanced themselves from him since they'd heard that first night, others just working it out on their own and decided it would just be easier to avoid him. Ron of course, still clung to him everywhere, making his own appearance once in awhile with Harry as he helped look over books. Other than that, he didn't have too many people to hang around with at the moment, and his only other good friend was still recovering in the hospital ward, and last he'd heard, she was finally starting to look human in the face again. At one point a couple weeks later, Draco finally got up the nerve to approach Harry, but she was shot down by the boy saying he couldn't remember the reverse of the spell. When she'd gone to McGonagall, it was evident that Snape had mentioned the ordeal to her and said she wouldn't undo it, as he'd deserved what he got.
"Harry," Snape started, approaching him on a late September day. "You know what today is, right?" The boy nodded slowly, how could he have forgotten. "Here, I just finished making this since your own was sabotaged. As you might have heard from Lupin, sugar makes it useless so drink it straight and grimace the taste. I've been told to collect the two of you can escort you back up towards your 'special' room," Harry sighed, dragging his heels, dreading what the night was. They came to Lupin's quarters, but Snape stopped Harry for a moment.
"S-son, I wanted to ask you something. Would you mind if I stayed in the room with you, at least until you've finished changing?" He asked cautiously, not knowing how the boy would respond. Harry blinked, looking up at him. "Why?" Was all he said. "Because I'm concerned and quite frankly, I feel I have good reasons to be that way." "Aren't you worried that I'll bite you...?" Snape looked down at him with a smile. "I think I'll take the risk to make sure you're alright."
Lupin opened the door, looking rather tired and pale, as he knew it was time. He accepted the awful tasting potion, Harry wrinkling his nose in disgust as he could still taste it on his tongue. Harry looked at neither of the other two as they walked up the long staircase to the Room. This inside was different this time, as he had expected. The door barred itself with a large iron plank, letting neither in nor out. Along the walls were a pile of cushions for sitting on or tearing, whichever came first, and a long bed for Severus to lie on. A large window let the moon shine in, the time nearing very closely. Harry was shaking badly, sitting down into a corner, and looking away from the two others. A hand came down on each shoulder, one from Remus and the other from his father. Remus didn't want to tell him that even though the potion would let him keep his mind, the changes still hurt, more than he probably knew, and Severus couldn't say he knew what he was feeling or how to comfort him since he had no clue.
Harry looked cautiously up at Lupin, seeing his face hollow out, the dirty brown and grey hairs sprouting from his skin. He felt a similar feeling come from his face, pain shooting through his body as his mouth pushed forward into a long muzzle. The pain was so terrible he lifted his hands up, trying to claw at it, but him arms were caught by a very worried looking father.
"Harry, you need to calm down, I can't tell you I know what it feels like, but hurting yourself isn't going to help at all."
The young werewolf tried, he did, but the pain racking through his body made him just want to strike out at anyone in front of him, hoping to transfer it away from him. He struggled to get his changing arms out of his father's grasp, but it was too strong for him to break. Panting heavily, he went limp under the force, fainting from the throbbing that was in his body. Unlike the previous times he'd blanked out, this one only lasted a few moments. The next time he opened his eyes, the world was black and white to him, still aching in his muscles. A mirror had been in the room but he hadn't noticed it before, and saw a raven black wolf with a white lightning bolt scar on his forehead near a pointed ear. He still had his mind, there was no doubt about that, but it took almost all his will not to attack the other wolf in the room, knowing it was him who'd inflicted this all upon him.
Slowly he got to his feet, padding gently over towards the window and settling down on the fluffy pillows. The scent of meat suddenly filled the air as he saw a large hunk of some unknown animal had been placed infront of him. At first he turned his nose in disgust at eating raw meat, but his wolf body differed and finally won out in the end. As he finished his dinner, he stole a glance at Lupin, who was sitting at the window as well and gazing into the moon, howling mournfully. Harry was surprised to note how well his senses now were. Although the older wolf didn't look it, there was a definite sadness lingering about him.
A sudden arm wrapped around Harry's shoulder, startling him to the point of almost nipping the hand, but suppressed the feeling as he saw his dad try to give him a comforting hug. It was the first time Severus had done this, and for probably about the first time, Harry was truthfully glad he was here.
"I know you can't answer me, but it'll get better. Or at least that's what Remus and Dumbledore have told me. And I know I've never experienced what you just went through, well, unless it was like the Crucio curse, and then in that case, I do have some idea." He saw the wolf nodding his head. "I thought it might. Voldemort loved using that one, I don't doubt you've already experienced it that night in the graveyard. Once you change back tomorrow morning though, I have a half a dozen or so potions for you to take that will ease the pain in your muscles and so you aren't so drowsy as you saw Remus look much of the time when he was teaching here."
He trailed off, seeing his son's muzzle droop towards the pillow and his eyes fluttering slowly as he drifted off into a light sleep. A swift glance around the room let him know that Remus was already curled up and asleep under a nearby table, using it as a makeshift cave. Severus sighed tiredly, remembering just how late it was and that he needed sleep himself unless he wanted to take his own potions the next morning to remain awake during the classes. It wouldn't look too good if their own professor fell asleep during the middle of the lesson. He settled himself down onto the bed, and before letting himself drift off, placed an impenetrable field around himself incase either of the two wolves weren't in their right minds if they woke up during the night.
A soft crying awoke him later, the sun breaking through the windows and he saw Harry on all fours, tears dripping off his nose as they poured out of his eyes. Snape bent down, his own eyes looking at the boy with distress, and used his fingers to lift his son's chin up towards him. "Harry, listen to me, it'll be alright. Shh," Severus was surprised as the boy curled up next to him, using the black robes to dry his face. He could tell it really hurt Harry and pulled the vials of potions from inside his outer robes and poured it slowly into his son's mouth, hoping it'd relieve the pain enough.
"I can't go through it again. I just can't..." Harry sobbed, clinging to his father, feeling a real compassion now alive from the ordeal he'd just faced.