A/N: I just want you all to know that this late posting is not entirely my fault. It would figure that I would finish a chapter and then would go down.

I have some good and bad news. The good news is that I was accepted into medical school. The bad news is that I don't know if I'll get the next chapter done before I leave. Right now, I have no computer of my own and no internet hook-up because I don't know where I'm living yet. So, the next chapter may be delayed. Sorry. Hey, maybe you'll get a double posting.

Now, on with the story.

Harry Potter: Prophecy of the Phoenix – Chapter 13

"Look, Moony!" Sirius crowed triumphantly, "We surprised him."

"Surprise" in Harry's mind was a severe understatement. "Shocked senseless" seemed to be a more appropriate term but still not quite strong enough for what he was feeling.

Lupin winked at Harry. "It's really quite amazing that he didn't slip and give anything away. He's talked about it non-stop ever since he thought of it. It was actually a relief when he was in dog form. It gave me a couple minutes of peace."

Sirius ignored the obvious jibe and continued babbling enthusiastically.

"I was so afraid that you'd be a magical animagus like your mom, and then we wouldn't be able to do it. When Dumbledore told us that your form was a stag, I just knew that it was meant to be. So what do you think?"

Sirius was so excited that Harry could not bear to try and find a way to decline. Instead, he plastered what he hoped looked like a genuine smile on his face

"It's brilliant. Thank you both."

Lupin had his professor's face on. "Now, before we get to the actual transformation, you have to know something about the theory. I have some reading selections picked out that you must learn before transforming."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Moony the professor lives again."

"Well," Lupin defended himself, "one of us has to be responsible in an undertaking of this magnitude, and it's certainly not going to be you."

"I'm hurt. After all these years, you have absolutely no faith in me."

"I just know you too well."

Harry allowed himself to relax into their easy banter, ignoring the painful beating of his heart that was reminding him that one way or another, he was going to have to severely disappoint his godfather.

If someone would have told Harry earlier in his Hogwarts experience that some day he would travel down to the dungeons to talk to Snape voluntarily, he would told them that they were crazy. Now, that was exactly what he was doing, and a small smile curled upon his lips subconsciously as he pictured what Ron's reaction would be if he knew.

He had managed to procure his freedom from the Hospital wing only moments before with the provisions of returning every morning for a Strengthening potion as well as promising not to push himself too hard.

He found Snape in his classroom, engrossed in viciously marking up essays that had been turned in before Christmas vacation, and his face was scrunched as if he had just eaten something sour.

Harry felt the brief flutter of the proverbial butterflies in his stomach as he approached the desk silently.

"Professor?" Harry called, wincing internally at the insecurity in his voice.

Snape's head snapped up, and his eyes narrowed, "What are you doing here, Potter? Come to gloat that I owe you not one but two life debts now?"

Harry opened his mouth to protest that those were not his intentions at all, but, instead, he heard himself voice a source of confusion that his mind could not reconcile in Snape's comment.

"Two?"

Snape's tone was laced with disgust. "Surely even you could not have forgotten the incident involving the Infidelis Mortis potion from earlier in the year."

Harry eyes widened almost-imperceptibly. He had in fact forgotten completely about the incident. So much had happened since that fateful vision in his Divination class that it seemed as if it occurred a lifetime ago.

His mind awhirl with this bit of information that he had not prepared himself for, he blurted out his response. "I don't want you to feel like you owe me anything."

Harry was not sure what reaction he was expecting from Snape, but he did not expect Snape's eyes to narrow and his face to harden more than they had been previously.

Later, even Snape would admit to himself, but only to himself, that he most likely overreacted to the comment. He hated being indebted to anyone, and the fact that the person to whom he was indebted was Harry Potter only made the situation worse. Despite himself, his opinions concerning the boy were in a state of flux. He was not sure how to view him anymore. The impending outburst stemmed from that confusion.

He rose from his seat from behind the desk and closed the distance between them, responding with irritation and anger. Thus allowing his emotions to take precedence over his rational thought processes, he fell back upon the unfounded conclusions that he had drawn rashly upon first seeing the child his first year and had not questioned until recently.

"So, the great Harry Potter thinks that my life is beneath him, that his fame has somehow elevated him above everyone else. You are as arrogant and as pig-headed as your father ever was.

The words were spit out acridly, and Snape actually regretted saying them as soon as it was too late to take them back.

Something moved through the air, a sensation Snape would have equated with muggle electricity

A sudden cacophony echoed throughout the dungeons as desks and cauldrons toppled over as a result of what seemed to be a sudden gale that invaded the dungeons, leaving the room in shambles.

Snape could not entirely suppress his startled expression as he turned his gaze away from the destruction to the pair of emerald orbs blazing in fury,

Harry's voice was frighteningly calm without a hint of anger as if he was beyond that furious.

"I am not my father. In case you've forgotten, I never got the chance to know him or my mother. All I know is that they loved me enough to sacrifice themselves to save me. As for my so-called fame, I will be the first to admit that I did nothing to deserve it, and that is why you shouldn't owe me anything, because I have done nothing. If you want to call that arrogance, go right ahead, but insult me for who I really am. Don't be so petty and so cowardly as to use my parents as a weapon against me."

Without waiting for a response, Harry spun around with the intention of storming from the dungeons, but his equilibrium was disrupted with a bout of dizziness, resulting from his unintentional magical outburst.

As he fell, some irrational part of his mind bemoaned the fact that he would probably be spending the rest of his vacation back in the hospital wing.

He felt someone catch him and ease him down, but even as he registered what was happening with his body, his mind rebelled against it as Snape was the only other person in the room.

Black spots began to play with his vision, and it was only his determination not to faint in front of his professor that kept him conscious.

A goblet was thrust in front of him, and Harry accepted it with a slight tremble of his hand.

After so much exposure to it in the hospital wing, Harry's senses immediately identified the contents as being the Strengthening potion, easing his fleeting concern that it was some sort of poison.

He drank the potion gratefully, finding that the dancing black spots had disappeared and that his dizziness was abated.

Snape took the goblet from Harry. Although Harry had the urge to thank him, he could not forget his anger, so the words stuck in his throat.

Most of his remaining anger was usurped by surprise as Snape offered him a hand. For a moment, he considered ignoring it and pushing himself up on his own, but some inner part of himself that had retained its maturity during the outburst realized how much effort the gesture had cost his surly Potions master.

He took the proffered hand and allowed Snape to help him up. His surroundings blurred briefly but soon righted themselves, and Harry was well aware of Snape eyeing him critically.

The silence was more awkward than the verbal confrontation that they had shared, and it was Harry that broke it first.

"I'll leave now. Thank you." The last two words he managed to forcibly squeeze out though the timbre of his words indicated that fact.

As he reached the door, he heard Snape call out, "One of these days, that Gryffindor attitude of yours is going to get you killed, Potter."

Harry turned to face him, speaking the words "Yes, I know," before leaving Snape to ponder what exactly had just happened.

The first day of term rolled around with a surprising quickness, and Harry found himself breakfasting with his fellow classmates in the Great Hall. The Strengthening potion that Snape had given him in the dungeons had been enough to forgo the need for Harry to spend the remainder of his vacation in the Hospital wing. In fact, he had been told that his magical levels were as replenished as they would ever be just that morning. Today, therefore, would be the moment of truth though Madam Pomfrey still insisted that it would be necessary to take it easy on his magical activities for the next few days.

As he was spooning food onto his plate, he felt a soft nudge in the ribs.

He turned his head to look at Ron, who nodded his head discreetly in the direction of Colin Creevey, whose fingers were twitching excitedly over his camera.

"Well, you certainly didn't waste any time." Harry teased his friend softly.

"Are you kidding? I've been waiting for this moment for years. Besides, I thought that it would be good to start the term off with a bang."

Hermione shot them both disapproving glances but chose to remain silent.

The Weasley twins, completely unaware that anything was amiss, were speaking to one another energetically complete with accompanying hand motions as they bounced ideas off of each other for future pranks. Taking a quick break from the lively conversation, both reached for and drank from their glasses.

George turned back to his twin, his eyes gleaming with the enthusiasm of planning something new, and opened his mouth to speak.

A jet of water shot from his mouth and hit his twin squarely in the face.

Colin Creevey's camera flashed as Fred sputtered at the unexpected occurrence and George clamped his mouth shut, his eyes nearly bugging out of his head.

With the flash, the decibel level of the Great Hall diminished as students and teachers alike began to sense something amiss.

Water still dripping from his hair and running in tiny rivulets down his face and neck, Fred opened his mouth to berate his twin, only to find that this action resulted in the latter also being hit in the face with a stream of water.

Colin's camera flashed again.

By now the Great Hall had grown silent with all attention turned towards the dripping twins, and many of the observers were wearing vindicated smirks. Finally, the tables had been turned on the master pranksters of Hogwarts.

It happened to George first and then Fred shortly after. Water shot out of their ears and magically arched upwards so that it fell directly on the twins' heads.

Laughter echoed throughout the Great Hall, especially as the twins shot each other accusing glares.

Ron was holding his side and tears were streaming down his face because he was laughing so hard, and despite the earlier display of disapproval, Hermione had dropped her prefect persona to join in the humor of the situation.

When the water finally stopped pouring out of their ears, the twins were drenched. Each muttered a drying spell, and to their chagrin, the charm did not work.

The two rose with as much dignity as they could muster, leaving a trail of water from their dripping robes as they exited the Great Hall.

"That was the best Christmas present ever!" Ron managed to gasp in Harry's hearing range.

Harry sneaked a glance over at the staff table only to have Dumbledore catch his eye and give him a knowing wink. Harry quickly looked away but could not quite contain a smile of pleasure.

His first prank had been a wild success.

Potions had the great potential for being quite awkward, but Snape went through the period ignoring Harry, which, in Harry's opinion, was quite improved from Snape's normal treatment.

However, Neville had managed to lose Gryffindor another thirty points as he melted yet another cauldron.

As he entered Transfiguration, McGonagall motioned for him to come to the front of the classroom. He approached with a bit of unease, certain that she had discovered that he was the mastermind behind that morning's prank.

"Potter," she spoke softly, "I'm afraid that you will only get one shot at today's assignment, Madam Pomfrey's orders. I'm sure that you understand that the necessity to heal completely takes complete precedence over any lesson. However, I will not penalize you for failure to complete the assignment today."

Harry simply nodded and made his way to his seat.

"What's wrong?" Hermione whispered.

"Nothing." He whispered back, not feeling up to explaining why he was bothered by McGonagall's statement and knowing that she would understand once the practical aspect of the class began.

Harry found himself unable to pay attention to McGonagall's opening lecture beyond the fact that they were transfiguring toadstools into toads and that the spell was "Bufo."

Harry raised his wand, and for the first time felt the dread of unease move through him first as a sheet of ice and then as a wave of fire. Sure he had been able to transform into his animagus form and had displayed wandless magic in the dungeons, but this was the first time with his wand that he would be using magic since he had fully recovered from draining his reserves.

Hermione squeezed him on the arm and gave him a supportive smile.

Forcing his doubts to the side for a moment, he brought his mind to the task at hand. He had one shot to complete the assignment, so he should not waste it while his mind was occupied on other things.

"Bufo" Harry commanded as if he had no doubts and physically gasped as his spell spread like a rolling fog over the classroom, and all of the toadstools in various stages of transfiguration changed into perfect toads.

The silence of the room was interrupted by the clatter of Harry's wand hitting the desk as he dropped it in shock.

McGonagall quickly overcame her own shock and summoned all of the toads to the front of the room and reversed the spell. She redistributed them though Harry was aware through the haze that had clouded his mind that his had not been returned.

With orders to Hermione to mind the classroom, McGonagall scooped up Harry's wand.

"Mr. Potter, if you'd come with me please."

He stood, feeling numb and grateful for the fact that his legs seemed about to move without any conscious thought.

"All right, Potter. Let's get you back up to the hospital wing."

"No." Harry marveled how his voice was able to work on its own as well. "I need to see the headmaster."

McGonagall looked him up and down. She did not respond, but soon they were in front of the stone gargoyle.

"Acid pops."

McGonagall actually started forward before she noticed that the gargoyle had not moved. Frowning she repeated what she had known to be the password earlier that morning and then began to list every candy that she could think of. With each name, she was becoming more and more exasperated, and the stone gargoyle seemed quite amused.

It can't be. Harry thought to himself. Still, he voiced aloud, "Fountain fizzies."

The gargoyle moved aside, and McGonagall shot him an appraising look with one eyebrow raised.

As they made their way to the top of the staircase, McGonagall found her voice, "Fountain fizzies?"

Harry could not meet her eyes, so he did not see the small smile that betrayed her.

"That will be ten points to Gryffindor."

Her expression was back in place as he raised his gaze again, stunned. His brain was still hazy, and he was having a lot of trouble comprehending the fact that McGonagall had actually rewarded him for pulling a prank.

Harry followed McGonagall into Dumbledore's office, still feeling numb and overwhelmed. He had prepared himself for a possible reduction in magical abilities as per Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey's earlier warnings, but he had been ill prepared for the opposite situation.

There was a definite element of teasing in the headmaster's voice as he greeted them, "If my memory does not fail me, the two of you should be in class."

"I'm afraid, headmaster, Potter does not understand that the words 'take it easy' do not include transfiguring every object in the classroom."

If Harry was not mistaken, he could sense an element of tease to McGonagall's voice as well, despite the seriousness of her words.

Dumbledore blinked in surprise, "Indeed? Well that certainly is unexpected but not altogether unpleasant news."

"I wanted to take him straight to the hospital wing, but he insisted upon coming here."

"He's just following a set of instructions that I gave him in the beginning of the year." Dumbledore assuaged his deputy headmistress though he too was worried. "I'll take care of him. I'm sure that you want to make sure that your classroom is in one piece."

She nodded sharply, eyes demanding to be told what happened later on. Before leaving, she placed Harry's wand on Dumbledore's desk, and his eyes flashed with obvious concern that Harry had allowed himself to be parted from his wand.

"Sit down, Harry." Dumbledore invited.

Harry collapsed into a chair as Dumbledore scanned him with the charm that had become all too familiar.

Dumbledore's smile communicated that everything was still as it should be. "You seem to have an aversion to doing what's expected of you."

"Sir, what happened?"

Things were beginning to seem more real though his senses still did not seem to be functioning correctly.

"I believe that you nearly gave Professor McGonagall a stroke." His blue eyes were twinkling merrily.

When Harry did not crack a smile at his attempt to lighten the mood, he became more serious.

"It would be my guess that the secret to unlocking the potential that you worked so hard to conceal was to place people that you care about in a situation that required you to force whatever magic that you had to the surface in order to save them."

The words that his mother had spoken about the walls that he had built up flashed through his mind as Dumbledore continued.

"I've been watching you closely, Harry, since that unfortunate occurrence with Mr. Malfoy. Until now, your self-inflicted barriers were dropping slowly, and your magic was increasing at such a rate that you were able to maintain control. I believe that in your desperation to save Sirius and Remus, you were forced to realize your potential prematurely. So, I'd like to make you an offer." Dumbledore's eyes began to dance at a faster tempo. "I can't very well send you back to your lessons without your control being in peak condition, so what would you say to some private instruction?"

"With you?" Harry blurted in surprise.

"I assure you that I was an adequate professor in my day before I took up the position as headmaster. I may be a little out of practice, but I do believe that I can still teach you something."

There was a faint trace of impishness to him as Harry responded with the question, "When do we start?"

"Tomorrow during your Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. I do believe that I'll be able to rearrange my schedule accordingly."

Harry looked bewildered, "But sir, shouldn't I go to class?"

"Because of Voldemort's renewed alliance with the dementors, Professor Fletcher will be teaching the patronus spell to all of his classes. I would say that you've quite mastered that spell, wouldn't you?"

Harry felt a hint of color rise to his cheeks.

"Good, I'll see you tomorrow." Dumbledore continued, taking Harry's embarrassment as an affirmation, as he picked up Harry's wand from his desk and handed it to him.

Harry stood to leave but stopped as he remembered something. "Sir, how did you know about the Fountain fizzies? No one but Ron and Hermione knew what they were called."

"I didn't."

"But… but the password."

Dumbledore's face seemed to lose quite a few decades of age as a youthful mischief took over.

"Though I did not know the name of the prank, I did know that you were behind it. It's a gift that you develop when you've been in charge a school for as long as I have. Knowing the frequency at which you tend to visit my office, I programmed the gargoyle to open when you were present only when you offered it a term that it did not recognize. After all my years here, it was a pretty safe bet that you would not be able to name another sweet that the gargoyle had not heard of without giving away the name of your invention, though I did not anticipate you being accompanied by Professor McGonagall."

Harry smiled as he remembered McGonagall naming every sweet in the book. His departure was once again delayed as Dumbledore called out to him once again.

"I believe that you have Divination later this afternoon."

"Yes, sir."

"I'd appreciate it if you did us both a favor and just pretended to see a grim or some other unpleasantness to appease Professor Trelawney just for this afternoon."

Harry did not have the heart to tell him that normally that's what he did in class anyway.

Harry could not remember being so frustrated, even in Potions. Dumbledore had insisted upon taking his wand despite Harry's objections. Apparently, once he had control over his wandless magic, control with his wand would be easy.

Dumbledore had taken a lemon drop from his desk drawer and had placed it on the edge of his desk. All Harry had to do was levitate it.

It sounded easy enough. After all, Wingardium leviosa was the first charm that he had ever learned.

Forty-five minutes later, the lemon drop had not even twitched, which was only a part of the source of his frustration.

The other part stemmed from the fact that Dumbledore had given him no instructions other than that of, "Levitate the lemon drop," and had simply watched Harry's efforts with an amused and pleased smile.

It took only five more minutes for Harry's frustration to mount so high that it spilled over. He turned to say something to Dumbledore, but Dumbledore spoke first.

"Very good, Harry, but I believe the assignment was to levitate the lemon drop."

Harry moved his gaze back to find that the desk was floating in mid-air though he was quite unsure as to how exactly that happened.

There was certain triumph in Dumbledore's countenance as he spoke again, "If you wouldn't mind, I'd appreciate you lowering my desk. It would be quite inconvenient for me to have to fill out all of my paperwork with my desk in its current position."

The desk lowered to the ground just a little too quickly with a definite thud, jarring all of the objects on it.

"I'm sorry, sir." Harry apologized, still wincing from the thud of the desk.

"No harm done." Dumbledore dismissed, motioning for him to take a seat, and as he did so Dumbledore slid open his drawer. "Would you care for a lemon drop, Harry?"

"No, thank you, sir." Harry struggled to remain polite. Right now, he would not care if he never saw another lemon drop again.

Dumbledore smiled widely. "Your show of restraint was quite remarkable. I actually expected you to give into frustration quite some time ago."

"You wanted me to get frustrated?" Harry questioned in disbelief.

"Yes."

"But why?"

Dumbledore smiled again, "As far as I can tell, every experience that you have had with wandless magic has been tied to a strong emotional response, usually anger. Why do you think that is?"

"Because I lost control." Harry admitted quietly.

"No, Harry. I don't believe that you ever lost control. You meant to blow up your Aunt Marge, you meant to stop Mr. Malfoy from talking, and if you had really lost control down in the dungeons, you would have done something to Professor Snape himself and not simply have destroyed the classroom."

Harry studied his hands guiltily.

"No, Harry I believe that it's a little more complicated than that. For you, control of your magical abilities became important early in your life, as your relatives were not accepting of your abilities. You had the ability to perform simple wandless spells as a baby, but you had to control that ability to the point that you had to suppress it. The only time that your ability showed itself was when you relaxed your defenses. That relaxation seems to be triggered by your emotions. I needed you to feel it, to understand how to allow yourself to use that ability and to understand that trying to force such ability would prove to be quite fruitless."

"But it didn't really work." Harry protested. "I levitated the wrong thing."

"Ah, again I believe that you are mistaken. You did in fact levitate the lemon drop as it was on the desk. You just levitated more than you had intended. That's simply a matter of focus."

Harry blinked, thinking. "And that's what happened yesterday in Transfiguration. I performed the right spell on the right thing, but I just did more than I intended."

Dumbledore was practically beaming. "That is absolutely correct. I apologize for misleading you by calling what happened yesterday as a lack of control. If you had in fact lost control, it would not have been simply the toadstools that would have been transformed. I should have called it a lack of focus."

Harry's gaze dropped to the seemingly harmless lemon drop. "Should we try it again, then?"

"I believe that we have accomplished enough for the first lesson. Besides, anything more we do today would probably end up being another lesson in frustration. You're going to have to practice finding that state of mental relaxation without the emotional buildup. We will meet again during your next Defense class. We'll discuss regular meeting times after the class is done with the patronus lesson."

Harry could sense a "but" coming.

"However, I am going to have to ask that you do not participate in your classes that require spells until we make more practice on your focus, and that you do not use your wand unless it is necessary."

Harry wanted to protest. How could he learn if he could not participate?

"I'm sorry, Harry. I'm going to have to insist. I do not believe that you'll have to live by this arrangement for long, especially if you practice as I have suggested. A lack of focus could still be dangerous to other students and you."

"Yes, sir." Harry muttered, resigned.

"I do have some good news to deliver. Sirius and Remus will be waiting for you in their quarters after dinner this evening to begin your animagus training."

Harry could not hide his look of disbelief and sent a mental curse to the universe to inform it of its unfairness. "But sir, why-"

"Actually, it was quite fortunate that they made the offer. It takes a great deal of focus to change into another form, and their lessons will coincide very well with ours." His smile grew, "Besides, I don't think that I could take another minute of your godfather nagging me on when you could begin lessons."

Harry forced another smile onto his face. "Thank you."

Harry had made the grave mistake of asking Ron and Hermione the forms of their patroni when he met them in the hallway on their way to Charms.

Hermione simply made a disgruntled sound in her throat and had stalked away in an angry huff.

Harry shot Ron a helpless look.

"She's upset." Ron explained. "The only one in our class that even got a tiny wisp of smoke was Dean. She's not used to having something that she can't do, and it doesn't help that you learned the spell in your third year."

"Oh," was all Harry could reply dumbly.

In fact, Hermione's lack of progress really bothered her, and that bother continued to fester throughout the day. She stayed only long enough at dinner to rush through her plate before leaving to practice. As much as he hated to admit it, Harry noticed that it was almost a relief when she left because the level of tension dropped considerably.

The tension soon began to mount again the nearer it became to the time of his animagus lessons, this time of his own doing. By the time he entered Sirius and Lupin's guest quarters, he was full of nervous energy, stemming both from what he had to get out of and the inevitable disappointment that the lesson's failure would bring.

He had come up with his plan during one of Lupin's reading assignments. It was simple really. All he had to do was focus on becoming a stag. Since that really wasn't his form, nothing would happen. After the failures continued throughout the lessons, they would eventually be forced to give up.

It was perhaps too simple.

Sirius was more alive than Harry had ever seen him. He actually seemed younger as if his excitement had erased some of the age that Azkaban had inflicted upon him, and Lupin simply looked amused.

Sirius's grin broadened when he saw his godson enter the room.

"Hi Harry! Are you excited? Nervous?"

"Yes." Harry replied, answering truthfully to at least one of the questions.

"Before we get to the actual transformation, we have to make sure that you understand some key points, and don't make that face, Padfoot. You know that it's necessary." Lupin shot his coconspirator an exasperated look before continuing. "All right. What are the two most important things about an animagus transformation?"

"Focus and not panicking." Harry answered easily.

"Very good. Why?"

"Without focus the transformation can not be completed, and if you panic, you run the risk of allowing the animal instincts to take over and forgetting that you're human."

"And how do you focus?"

"On the whole animal, not in parts." At this point, Harry was convinced that he sounded very much like a textbook during his recitation. He wondered what they would think if they knew that he had transformed originally without knowing anything about the process.

"So, Moony, does he pass? Can we get to the good part now?"

"All right, Sirius. Go ahead."

Sirius looked as though he had just been given permission to play with a new toy.

"Good. Now Harry, it's important that you don't try to force anything. Just relax. We're not expecting much to happen tonight, so don't feel pressured."

"Okay."

"Now here comes the fun part. Close your eyes and focus on the stag."

Harry did as he was told, not holding anything back. He had to put in a genuine effort in order for his lack of progress eventually to be accepted.

The familiar process of changing came over him, but this time it felt markedly different. He had enough time to notice that he was standing on four black haired hooves before a sense of an incredible wrongness came over him.

It actually hurt, but the pain was far from the worst of it. The other sensations he could not find accurate words to describe, and he could not bear to stay in that form any longer.

Quickly he returned to his human form.

"Harry, that was amazing. I-"

Sirius's smile fled, and he rushed to his godson as Harry fell, gasping for air with tears stinging in his eyes.

"Harry-"

"Don't touch me, Sirius, please."

Harry was now shaking, as the urgency to transform into his real animagus form was making itself known.

"What can we do, Harry?" Lupin questioned, trying to sound calm.

Harry no longer had control of his words. He was using every ounce of will that he had not to transform though he was aware on some level that his name was still being called in alarm. Somehow he had to get out of there.

Suddenly, he found that the concerned voices of the two Marauders were gone.

The sense of wrongness was fading, and Harry eased his eyes open to find that he was in the Phoenix Chamber and was no longer in human form.

He had just enough time to wonder frantically how he had gotten there and in what form he had left the Marauders' guest quarters before the vision that had flitted through his mind twice before took him, and this time, what he saw would not be denied.

A/N: All right, I know that I promised you answers in this chapter, but it just didn't fit correctly. You'll have them in the beginning of the next chapter. Now for your individual comments:

MJ: How in the world did you manage to leave a review in the midst of the blackout. Now breathe a sigh of relief. There was not permanent damage. The answers to the questions involving the phoenixes' magical powers are already written (You are right on by the way). Dumbledore's form will also be revealed subtly in the next chapter.

Chava Thank you, that is quite a compliment. Lupin's ability will make a reappearance though it won't be an every chapter type of thing. Enjoy this chapter.

Fire panther: Thanks so much. I'm very happy that you're enjoying it.

snufflesI'm glad that you like it.

Crystal Thanks. I updated as soon as I could.

Rachel A. Prongs: With as fickle as it is, perhaps running is a good option after all.

Insane Pineapple from Naboo: Well, Snape didn't have a breakdown, but there was a confrontation. I almost took it out because it seemed to be stretching the characterizations, but I liked it too much to do it and an outside source told me that it was fine. I like talking to people through reviews too.

urainHow did Harry stop Dumbledore from having the vision… Well, you see as Lupin said, the connection was near the breaking point anyway. Harry severed it. He's not even quite sure how. All he knows is that he wanted to save Dumbledore some pain.

Immortal TigerWolf: I hope that you like what Harry did with his gift. I will finish this story. Don't worry.

Zahri Seb Melitor: Well, he tried to fake lack of ability, and he didn't exactly gain a second form. Yes, Dumbledore would be quite suspicious if Harry made no progress. That's one of the reasons why I did what I did. There will be more bonding, but not so sweet and sappy as to make you gag. Just wait until the next chapter when the nightmare of Harry's life becomes much worse.

Mella deRanged: No, revealing himself would not be good, and with the sensations he felt, Harry will never become a stag again.

Shades179: Simply, yes, but the answer isn't quite that simple. It will be explained next chapter.

ravenclawwannabeYou're probably not wrong, but you'll find out soon enough. You've been added to the mailing list.

Thundering Lights: Hopefully this time your electricity will not be as fickle. I hope that you liked the animagus scene and the rest of the chapter.

skysong Thanks.

Lily Skylo: I'm glad to have them back as well. The problem with the animagus thing is sort of solved.

tyger-lily pendragon: Yes, poor Harry. Fate is about to take more of a hand than he realized.

myrhfire I love the faces :

Calen I guess that it was funny. In the next chapter, the explanation for his silence will be known. Besides, if he told them, my ending would be shot, and we don't want that now, do we? There will be shock later if I write a sequel. Dumbledore's form is not quite that imaginative, and you'll know next chapter.

phoenixrising Thank you. I'm glad that you liked the excuse.

baasheep You're back! Welcome. I would like to say right now that I am a bit disappointed that you chose not to continue your story, but I understand. I grappled with the same decision myself. Forgiveness is not necessary. Thank you. That is the best compliment anyone could give. I agree that the Dumbledore/Harry relationship was lacking in the real book 5, and the Marauders are fun to write. The ability of Lupin's will resurface, and what is it with everyone and black animals? All right, he's a black stag the color didn't matter, so I did it because of your request. Also, Harry didn't miss much at the meeting he did not make. It was a meeting relaying what happened at Azkaban. Now remember, you promised to review this chapter.

charlie-potter Thank you very much.

athelas Shhhh… You'll know for sure next chapter (it's not a bumblebee). Dumbledore does not know. Remember, the form Harry showed McGonagall was a stag, and Harry has never told him. Yes, the transformation should have drained him. His phoenix form is part of the reason, and remember that he was also bonded to Dumbledore at the time (hint). I don't know when you had to go, but I hope that you get to read this chapter. Oh, the burning day thing was very clever, but the reason for the fever is simply the effects of the vision when his magical reserves were so low. It's hard to explain. If you want a detailed description, I could send you an e-mail.

dinkum I decided to continue because I already gave up on one story, and I wrote the beginning of this story simply because I liked the ending that I wrote first so much. It would be a shame not to get there.

t.a.g Well, hopefully you will like the Snape interactions in this chapter. Next chapter will be the crux in my opinion.

Sakura Le: It's amazing to me how many people thought that the ending was funny. That poor kid.

JaimeyKay No problem. Yes, evil woman. How could she do it? I also agree that he should have other things to do. Maybe his ego is that big. Sigh.

ranger Thank you so much. I tried.

JerseyGirl03: Lol. I'm glad that you approve.

twinlakesgrl No, he can't find out. Sorry. Explanation will come soon.

Xirleb70: Did he tell you not to read it? I guess that you win by the way because he did not review this chapter. Thanks for the cheer.

Tara You were very close. I hope that you liked what I actually did.

kateydidnt I happy that you liked it. This chapter would have been up days ago but…

Arizosa Harry will be introduced to the Order in the sequel if I write a sequel to this story. It will be quite a shocker in the scene that is in my head, but it will depend if you guys want a sequel to my story or JKR's fifth book.

Von: Hehe.,. I twisted the power thing on you guys. I made Harry a black stag for both you and baasheep. I guess the ending was sort of funny. Poor Harry.

howling wolf: All right. Ten (like the number)-eh-bra(Like the undergarment)-men-sir. The word comes from the Latin words tenebrae (dark) and mens (sense or mind). Does that help?

stayblueThanks. I plan to continue.