A/N Sorry about the wait. I've posted about half of what I have now but I have'nt written any more on it for about three or four months. Hope I haven't lost too many fans. I'm thinking about rewriting a whole two or three chapters cuz they aren't adding much to the story. Pirates soon to come. Sorry for those of you who thought the rest of this was too dark and gory. Oh and by the way, I don't like hermione or ron that much so if you're a fan then you probably won't like future chapters... although all will come good in the end...maybe. P.S REVIEW!!!

Just then a groan drew his attention to the boy in his arms. He looked down at Harry's eyes, which were now shut hard in pain as he anticipated the next wave of intense agony that was to come. Snape increased his hold so he wouldn't fall off as Harry's body began to spasm. Snape saw him bring his arm up to the other; as though holding something, and try to drag the imaginary object across the blood soaked bandage. With horror he comprehended what he was trying to do. Harry thought he still was holding the razor.

As the castle grew closer Harry's jerking also grew, until Snape was desperately trying to control the broom for a landing. There was no way he could make it to the castle before he fell so he would have to take his chances on the ground. But beneath them was the forbidden forest, and the scent of Harry's blood would draw all the evil creatures of the wood to them like honey to a bee. Using both arms to keep hold of the arching Harry, he steered the broom with his knees. Just a little further he urged. As the last of the dark tree's past them by Snape breathed a sigh of relief, until a particularly violent convulsion knocked him off balance and Snape's grip loosened. Harry's thrashing figure went flying one way and Snape went off the other, both heading towards the ground at frightening speeds.

'So this is it' Snape thought 'a Potter was the end of me after all'.

But just before he hit the ground, he heard a whoosh and felt his stomach do a backflip. And he was flying. He opened his eyes, though he didn't even recall having closed them and looked down at the ground rushing beneath him at incredible speeds, and then he looked across at Potter, who was no more than fifteen metres away. Snape's cloak had fallen off and Harry's almost naked body was contorted in what Snape would have thought impossible positions in mid air. Within seconds they were by the great doors to the castle, with a certain Professor Dumbledore by his side. No words were spoken as Snape was set down and Harry levitated beside him as they all rushed to the hospital ward. Dumbledore's face was unreadable, which was strange because Snape had always been able to tell what the Headmaster was thinking.

Poppy's expression was one of immense anxiety as the three of them entered.

"Oh..." again there were no words to say to express the devastation that faced them. She hurried him to a bed and removed the bandages with one careful spell.

The wound's still bled freely onto the bed. Despite the urgency of the situation the experienced nurse couldn't help but falter it her actions.

Dumbledore and Snape stood back and let Poppy do her work, both staring dumbly at the form on the bed.

A long silence followed before Dumbledore spoke up.

'Was it Voldemort?'

Was it? Snape didn't know for sure.

'Possibly, at least for part of it. Have you read the letters from your inbox yet?'

Dumbledore shook his head. He had responded to Snape's call as fast as possible and had only just arrived and was about to enter the castle when he'd spotted the two flying low over the forest. He thought Snape was in trouble, for that is why he'd given the marble to him, incase a deatheater meeting went horribly wrong. He'd never used the yellow dot before, even during some of Voldemort's routine torture/interrogation meetings where he'd been subject to several cruciatus' and almost been found out, so for Snape to use it was an urgent summoning indeed. But he'd never expected this.

He was aware of a bundle of letters being shoved in his hands, which he took and after tearing his eyes off Poppy buzzing urgently around the bed two metres in front of him, he opened and began to read.

So Harry had written to him and Lupin about believing he was going through the changing. But had dismissed it later on because he was too young. But perhaps... no, it couldn't be that. Surely it couldn't come this early.

Harry soon calmed down somewhat. Poppy had pumped him full of pain potions and had managed to stop the bleeding and apply some skinny-gro to the shredded remains of his arms. She turned to Dumbledore and Snape with a confused look on her face.

'Well my diagnosis is rather confused. If I was reading the signs right then I believe that Harry is going through...'

'The changing?' Snape interrupted.

'Yes, but not only that. I see symptoms of the adaptation stage in a wizard's life, the one that should happen at around the age of thirty. The only assumption I can draw is that a whole lot of combined factors led to the premature maturation of Harry's wizarding core. The stress of all his family members dying, the stress of the OWLS, and of all that business with Voldemort over the years has added up along with Harry's already strong magical core, which has hastened the process. The only reasoning I can make is that the trauma has shaken up his internal clock and forced the two stages to manifest as one. The changing and the adaptation. Usually it takes several years for the core to recover from the first changing, and Harry is getting it both at once. To be quite frank I'm surprised he's lasted this long. I think he'll live, though it's only thanks to his own efforts.'

'What do you mean his own efforts?' Snape said. Dumbledore beside him was contemplating the fact that he had very likely been the catalyst of this change with the news of the prophecy, to kill or be killed by Voldemort and save or doom the human race. Poppy interrupted his thoughts with her reply to Snape's question.

'Cutting his arms was probably the best thing to do in the situation he was in, with no magical potions or spells. Though I don't know how he knew about this form of treatment, he would have died if he didn't. The blood carries our magic, and by cutting his arms he released the immense, fatal loads of magical energy rushing through his system. His magic will be replenished when his blood supply is.' She replied. 'At the moment the only thing is whether this experience will decrease or increase his magical core. As I couldn't observe him in the beginning of the changing, I can't determine whether it is gaining or losing. Not that it matters. If he is losing then it is too late for me to treat anyway.'

Snape remembered that from his own changing. His powers had grown and he had found he had the powers of wandless magic, but the boy in the hospital bed next to him lost his magic like water in a holed bucket. He had ended up almost a squibb despite the nurse's efforts. Just then he remembered something.

He removed the notes he had grabbed off Potter's table and hadn't had time to shrink out of his pocket and flattened them out. His chin instantly dropped despite his efforts to the contrary.

'Surely not... this has to be wrong' he muttered, Dumbledore and Poppy where oblivious to his ramblings and were talking still about whether or not Harry would gain or lose magic.

'I...err... think I have the answer' he said surprising them both. He handed them the slightly crumpled papers, which they took, faces clearly curious.

'What is this? It looks like some sort of equation...' said Poppy trailing off. 'Or a potion... what does it mean Severus?' Dumbledore asked.

'It is a potion... to be more precise, it's the polyjuice potion, however Harry has managed to double the changing period to two hours, by integrating in a rather tricky time compression charm and a mimicking potion to copy the voices, previously thought to be impossible due to the conflicting boomslang and Echoberry juices. But he's compensated for that as well by utilizing Dragon's blood in the potion, a previously unknown use for it Dumbledore... a thirteenth use. Bet you never thought of that one did you?' Comprehension dawned on Dumbledore's face as he read through the untidy scrawl of Harry, and he had to agree that this was definitely a good sign.

'...yes definitely an excellent sign' he mumbled to himself. 'Severus, how about you, are you ok?'

He waved a hand at the blood covering him from head to foot. Snape knew however that the old wizard was still lost in thought and was merely trying to fill in the silences.

'Yes, The blood is all Potter's'

Dumbledore winced at the way he said 'potter' but said nothing.

'I suggest then that you go and get changed and wash up and meet me in my office as soon as possible.'

Snape just nodded and did as he bade, and found himself twenty minutes later, clean, and reciting the headmaster's new password to the ugly gargoyle outside his office.

'Ultra mega sour warheads' he said, wondering what the hell it was. To him it sounded like a type of muggle weapon.

He climbed the stairs and upon seeing Dumbledore, greeted him with 'since when have you swapped from muggle sweets, to muggle weapons of mass destruction?'

He heard him chuckle before he said 'yes well I guess they could be considered a weapon'

He was holding out a small wrapped lolly, a mischievous twinkle lighting up his features. Snape took it wary but curious he popped the lolly in his mouth... and immediately wished he hadn't. His cheeks burned and his eyes watered and an automatic reaction to violently suck the round ball made his face contract painfully. Quickly, he spat it out and looked at Dumbledore, who was now smiling benignly at him, holding a magical camera in front of his face.

'That's one for the scrap book' he said.

Snape growled at him before sitting down angrily in a chair.

'An unusual sweet, even for muggles. They coat the boiled lolly in powdered tartaric acid which makes it extremely sour, why anyone would want to I have no idea, but I've recently taken a liking to them.'

'Can we get down to business now? I don't think discussions about sugar are particularly productive, though infinitely interesting' Snape said sarcastically.

Dumbledore nodded, popped a warhead in his own mouth before sitting down and organizing some parchment on his desk and then turning to address Snape.

'Severus, I'm going to record this discussion as it may be important for future research into the changing and the adaptation.' Dumbledore said, setting a dark brown dicta-quill on his desk, hovering above a blank parchment. 'Tell me from the beginning the events of tonight'.

And Snape did. From the owls arrival, to the letters on the lawn and the Dursley's reactions to Harry's injuries, as well as his own attempts at treatment he talked well into the early hours of the morning, until the first rays of dawn were spilling onto the lake outside the window. He said nothing of his own revelations about Harry however and consistently referred to Harry as 'potter' in his talking, spitting the word as though it were a curse, much to Dumbledore's annoyance.

Finally he was finished, and quite a few feet of the neat, structured writing of the dicta-quill covered the parchment on the desk.

Dumbledore sat quietly through the telling, not saying a word until he had deactivated the quill with a swish of his wand.

'I fear this was my fault' he said quietly.

'How so?'

'I believe it was my revealing the prophecy to him that was ultimately the cause of his present condition.' 'You think stress made the changing come early?'

'Yes, though it is also a result of his magical core strength. You cannot tell me that you have not felt it before'

It was true, Severus had always felt a strong aura around the boy, but it was always so mixed up in the jumble of other school children that it had never made itself stand out. And now, after the changing he could almost feel it from the headmaster's office.

'But what about the adaptation? What could have caused that to come at the same time?' Snape said. Dumbledore just shook his head, he didn't know. Well that was a first.

'Well any way' said Dumbledore 'Harry is going to need someone to look after him while he's staying in Hogwarts. I think it's safe to say we will not be sending him back to those muggles.'

He looked pointedly at Snape, raising one bushy grey eyebrow.

'No. No way. I refuse to baby-sit that boy for the rest of the holidays. Out of the question. It's bad enough that I have to put up with the little brats through the school year.' Snape said knowing full well that to argue against Dumbledore was futile. The old wizard's eyes crinkled in sad disappointment and his gaze fell to the ground.

'Oh no... don't give me that Severus-I-thought-I-could-rely-on-you-puppy-dog- look' Snape said fearfully. But Dumbledore didn't stop, in fact his face seemed to sag even more and the twinkle in his eyes extinguished.

'No I won't do it... not this time. That's not going to work' he said desperately, struggling to hold on to his resolve.

Just then a small whimpering sob escaped from the mans withered lips, heartbreaking, and even Severus Snape's armoured emotional defense's, defense's that couldn't be penetrated by the Dark Lord, crumbled and he snapped.

'FINE! I'll do it. But I shall expect a nice bonus in my pay check this month.'

Dumbledore's expression lifted and he beamed at the dark angry wizard sitting in front of him.

'Excellent! I'll have all the arrangements made immediately. I believe you already have Harry's personal effects in your quarters?'

Snape remembered that he had left the shrunken trunk in his robes, which now lay in a sodden heap in the corner of his bathroom.

'Wait a minute. Arrangements? What arrangements?' Snape said suddenly.

'We'll need to keep a close eye on Harry for the next couple of weeks, and he will no doubt have some homework to complete. He will need to be moved to your quarters so we can look after him.' Said Dumbledore matter-of- factly.

So Dumbledore was trying to force Severus to spend time with the boy and realize that he was not James. He wouldn't admit that he had already made this realization. It was more than his reputation was worth.

Besides it wasn't as though he was suddenly under the same spell as every other potter worshipper seemed to be. No, he still hated the boy's arrogance, and disregard of authority not to mention his consistent ignorance towards his studies. He just understood him more.

'Why me...' Snape mumbled to himself.

'Because, you are the only staff member that is not off on Phoenix business that I can fully trust.' It was true, everyone was away, but Snape remained waiting for the calls of the Dark Lord. Only a few staff members remained. Pomfrey, Filch, Vector, Sinistra and Trelawny (though she technically wasn't staff anymore), each either inappropriate or not fully trust worthy. And Poppy spent most of her time at St Mungos lecturing and learning.

Snape sighed in resignation, though inside he was furious at the headmaster for putting him in this position. It would be no use arguing.

Just then a sputter of flames fell from the fireplace and Poppy's white capped head appeared.

' I thought you should know. The pain waves have subsided and I think it's safe to wake him now'

'Thank you Poppy, we shall come at once'.