Disclaimer – Harry Potter is not ours. We just let our imagination play in JK Rowlings world.

Chapter 20 Inspections and Visits

Light was breaking through the window when Harry was disturbed by a noise near the entrance. Harry had been sitting for the last hour or so just staring into space, holding Remus' hand, idly squeezing it from time to time. Professor Dumbledore entered followed by Professors McGonagall and Snape. Harry didn't move. He just stayed on the floor near Remus.

Professor Dumbledore knelt down next to Harry. Harry lifted his vacant gaze to the Headmaster. He had no emotions left. He felt wrung out. "He's still alive, but I don't know for how long."

The Headmaster nodded and reached for Remus' pulse. His eyes widened and he moved his wand over Remus in a complex pattern. He looked to the other professors. "We need to get him to the Hospital Wing right away."

Harry looked up. The other two professors got to work putting Remus in a binding and floating him back to the entrance. Harry felt like he should protest. They were taking Remus away from him. He wanted to be there when Remus died. They shouldn't take him away.

Before he knew it, the Professors had taken Remus and left. Harry slowly got up. He now noticed that besides being stiff from sitting on a cold floor all night, he ached all over. He also had several long gashes in his side that he had ignored that now demanded his attention. He wrapped an arm around his side and slowly made his way back to Hogwarts.

As Harry made his way to the Hospital Wing he realized he felt quite dizzy. The most painful wound in his side seemed to have broken open again and he kept his hand pressed tightly against it to keep the blood flow down.

Harry slowly opened the doors and walked into the ward. To his surprise he saw Ron sleeping in a bed with several bandages on various parts of his body. Harry collapsed into a chair near him. Further down the ward Harry saw the professors and Madam Pomfrey clustered around a bed. Snatches of conversations floated down from the agitated group of people.

"I have no idea how, Albus."

"…shock. He is definitely slipping away…"

"…like snake venom but different…"

"How is it possible…?"

Harry closed his eyes and stopped listening.

It took Harry a while to notice he was shivering. He was vaguely surprised at that. He usually never felt cold in the infirmary. He looked to the bed next to Ron's. Sure enough, there was a blanket at the foot. Harry raised a slightly shaking wand and muttered, "Accio blanket".

He covered himself with the blanket, but it didn't seem to touch the chill he felt. Strangely he also felt clammy at the same time. He didn't have the strength to keep sitting upright so he slumped in his chair and just watched Ron sleep.

"Mr. Potter." Harry vaguely heard his name being called and opened his eyes. It was surprisingly difficult. Professor Snape was glaring down at him.

"Mr. Potter, how did you get here? Why did you leave Headquarters?"

Harry looked around in a daze. Madam Pomfrey, Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall and Remus' body were gone. "Where are they?"

Snape twitched in irritation at the question. "Madam Pomfrey did not feel she could properly help the werewolf so they brought him to St. Mungo's."

Harry felt even more depressed. So they brought him even further away from him. He had wanted to be with Remus at the end so much, but what right would he have to get his wish when he was his killer?

"Now answer my question, Mr. Potter. How did you get here and why were you found near the werewolf's body?"

Harry winced at the use of the word 'body'. "Ron? Why is he here?"

His Professor's eyes narrowed in anger, but he did answer the question. "When the Order returned to Headquarters, they found Mr. Weasley injured and you missing. Your friends said you had left to go wait at the Shrieking Shack. Very sentimental of you." Snape's sneer was out in full force. He continued. "I can't imagine your friends allowing you to do such a foolhardy thing, so what did you do? Are you the one who injured Mr. Weasley? Come here, Mr. Potter."

Harry took a deep breath and slowly pushed himself to a standing position. He took a dizzying step forward.

The Potions Master hissed out a breath. "Are you aware, Mr. Potter that you were sitting in a pool of blood?" He took a swift step forward and practically pushed Harry into the neighboring bed.

His actions suddenly stilled as a thought seemed to hit him. "Were you bitten by the werewolf, Mr. Potter?"

Harry couldn't believe the question. He gave a semi-hysterical burst of laughter. "I wasn't bitten. I bit."

Snape frowned. "You have become incoherent. You must be going into shock." He swept back across the room and rummaged in some cupboards. He came back carrying a potion. He thrust it under Harry's nose. "Blood replenishing potion. Drink up, Mr. Potter. Madam Pomfrey should return soon."

Harry grimaced and drank it. He set his glasses on the bedside table, closed his eyes and lay back on the bed. He ached all over. He wasn't sure how much of it was from the fight with Moony and how much was from his first transformation from Shadow straight to Flame. He suspected that probably hadn't been a good idea, but he wasn't really thinking clearly at the time.

He must have dozed off for a while because when he awoke, Snape was talking with Professor Dumbledore. Madam Pomfrey was checking on Ron.

"Have they found anything out yet? What happened to him? How Lupin got up here? Where those animals came from or what that one creature was?"

"No, nothing yet. It's too early yet to tell. I'm hoping for some answers this afternoon." Harry noticed the Headmaster glance Ron's way. He noticed Harry laying there. Harry quickly closed his eyes.

"Did Harry decide to rest here for a while instead of returning to Headquarters?" The Headmaster sounded curious.

"I'm afraid we may have another problem. Potter was bleeding. He was also slightly hysterical. I'm afraid Lupin may have bitten him sometime during the night."

The Headmaster straightened up immediately. "Poppy?" His voice was extremely tense. The nurse came over from where she had been tending to Ron.

"Headmaster, I'm afraid Mr. Weasley's fever is rising. I must have missed something. I shall have to do a more thorough scan."

"Poppy! That can wait. Please check Mr. Potter over. Mostly check for any bite marks that may have been caused by a werewolf."

Madam Pomfrey gave a horrified gasp and quickly moved towards Harry. "Wasn't bitten," Harry mumbled.

"Hush now, Mr. Potter. Let me do my job." The school nurse hovered her wand over Harry's body, running it up and down his length.

"As with Mr. Weasley, I am only finding deep scratches and some fever. He is also showing some signs of shock." The Headmaster gave a sigh of relief. Madam Pomfrey fetched a compress with a cooling charm on it for Harry's head. She placed a second on Ron's.

"'S Ron going t'be okay?"

"Mr. Weasley will be fine as soon as I find the cause of his fever. Do you have any ideas, Mr. Potter?"

Snape broke in with his snarl. "Guilty conscience, Mr. Potter?" Madam Pomfrey turned to glare at the Potions Master. "What? It seems obvious to me what happened. Mr. Potter decided he wouldn't stay where he was safe and instead wanted to sneak out and come to this school. His friends actually had a bit of wisdom for once and tried to stop him. Mr. Weasley and Mr. Potter fought. After damaging his friend, Mr. Potter took the Knight Bus to Hogwarts and made his way to the Shrieking Shack."

Harry couldn't even muster the energy to get angry over Snape's wrong assumptions. He tried to clear his mind. Something was wrong with Ron. Something had happened to Ron… "Ron's thigh. S…something stuck there."

Snape sneered. "Knife broke off?"

Madam Pomfrey hurried to Ron's bedside and scanned his upper thigh area more thoroughly. Harry heard her exclaim as she found where it was. "What in Merlin's name is this? Albus, I will need some help here. Severus, will you keep an eye on Harry for me?"

Sarcasm couldn't get much thicker as the Potions Master said, "Of course. I would love to."

As Madam Pomfrey and the Headmaster levitated Ron to a different room, Snape leaned against another bed with his arms crossed in front of him, staring at Harry. "So how did the werewolf get to the Shack? You must have been awake for that. How did it happen?"

Harry closed his eyes. "'m tired. Gotta sleep." As he drifted off again, he could hear his professor muttering about "someday" and "Veritaserum".

When Harry came to again it was because Ron was being transferred back into the bed next to him. Professor Snape was asking questions again. "What type of knife did Potter use?"

"It wasn't a knife, Severus. It was this." Dumbledore held out a small silver object.

"A silver dart? Why would Potter shoot that at Weasley?"

"I don't believe Harry did. I believe that I was correct in what I said before. We may get many of our questions answered when they wake this afternoon. I have asked Minerva to gather their friends and bring them here as well."

Snape seemed shocked as he put the pieces together. "A silver dart in the thigh…a lion with a red mane…Weasley? What about that other creature; the dark creature?"

"That one is a little more mysterious, but we shall see. Poppy? Do you think we could check Mr. Potter for a similar object as well? Possibly entered from his lower back, right below his ribs?"

Snape kept quiet for once as Madam Pomfrey rolled Harry over and started sweeping his back with her wand. She sounded startled when she said, "How did you know, Albus? He has a foreign object that needs to come out, too."

"That…that…thing…was Potter?"

The Headmaster waved a hand in the air in a dismissive gesture. "All that will have to wait. Poppy, shall we go? I believe we have some more work to do."

Madam Pomfrey forced a vial to Harry's lips and caused him to drink some. After a few swallows, Harry knew no more.

"Afternoon, mate," Harry blinked a few times as things were starting to register. He was lying on his stomach in the Hospital Wing. He ached all over, but was especially sore in his back. He started to reach for his glasses. Before he got very far, they were put in his hand.

"Morning, sleepyhead," Ginny smiled down at him. Hermione was also there. Ron was sitting up in his bed. Harry rolled to his back and grimaced as he tried to sit up. Ginny frowned and reached over to help him. "How are you, Harry?"

"A bit sore, but I'll be fine." Memories started crashing back down on him. He looked frantically around.

Hermione came forward and grabbed his shoulders forcing him back against the pillows. "Harry. Harry! What's wrong?"

Harry clutched at Hermione. "Have you heard anything? Anything about R…Remus?"

Hermione was shaking her head. "No. Only that he was taken to St. Mungo's. Why?"

Harry's eyes fell to his hands that were now twisting the sheets of his bed. His voice was quiet and shaky as he stated, "I bit him, Hermione."

Hermione's eyes were compassionate. "I know, Harry. But you had to. At least he's at St. Mungo's now and they'll be able to revive him. Things will be fine…"

Harry was emphatically shaking his head. "You don't understand. I bit him three times!"

Hermione raised her hand to her mouth in shock. She instantly knew, more than the others what that would mean. Tears started running down her face. Ron and Ginny looked at her in confusion.

Hermione slowly backed to Ron's bed and sat down, blindly reaching out for Ron's hand. She quietly explained to them, "More than one bite could be fatal. Three…"

Harry started to babble. "He just wouldn't go down. The first time had very little effect on him. I had to bite him again. Even after that he still kept going. I could tell that the wolf would never give up. Not until he was dead. After it was done, I could smell it on him. Death. He was so close to it. I didn't want him dying there." Ginny had her arms around Harry and she was rocking him back and forth.

"Remus is not dead," A voice broke through the shared grief of the friends. Harry looked up, startled to see his professors standing there. Professor Dumbledore continued. "He is in a serious condition, but he is expected to recover. Unfortunately the Healers are baffled by what happened to him. I was hoping you could now explain last night's events from your point of view?" The Professor looked to each of them in turn.

Harry turned to his friends. "Oh, yeah. They figured it out."

Hermione seemed nervous, Ginny kept her face blank, but Ron seemed indignant. "How?"

Of course, it had to be Professor Snape who replied with his sarcasm. "How difficult would it be, Mr. Weasley, when creatures are struck with darts and then you and Mr. Potter show up with wounds matching those of the creatures with darts still imbedded?"

Ron blushed and looked down.

Professor Dumbledore broke in. "What matters now is helping the Healers all we can. To do this, we must know everything about what happened last night. I understand that you each became illegal animagi? Why?"

Harry looked at his old Professor. "I found an old journal of my dad's last year. As I'm such a frequent target, I decided that it might be a good idea to get a few surprises to keep up my sleeve." He heard Snape click his tongue in annoyance, but ignored him. "We managed to change into our forms this past year, but at the confrontation on Valentine's Day I couldn't use my form." He got some curious looks from his Professors. "Burning day." More curious looks.

Professor McGonagall asked, "That creature burns?"

Harry shook his head. "No. Not that one. The phoenix form."

McGonagall weakly sat down on a nearby bed. "You have more than one form? But that's impossible! No one has more than one form."

Harry shrugged. "The best I can figure is that it was another 'gift' from Voldemort when he gave me the scar. I wasn't too anxious to use that second form until I realized I couldn't always access the phoenix."

McGonagall flinched from the name but tried to get back on track. "So you have two forms. What is that second form?"

Harry just looked at her and shrugged. "I don't know."

Snape couldn't hold back any longer. "You don't know? You turned yourself into a creature that you didn't know what it was or what it could do?"

Harry just shrugged again. Snape let out a frustrated snort. "Imbecilic child."

Hermione broke in. "We figure it's some sort of cross between a wolf, thestral and snake. It has the form of a wolf, the skin, eyes and wings of a thestral and fangs like a cobra." Harry winced at the fangs.

"When you are feeling better, I must insist you show me your forms. All of you." McGonagall started talking to Harry, but then included the others as well. They all reluctantly nodded.

Professor Dumbledore prodded Harry to continue with his story. "So what happened last night?"

Harry bit his lip. "I couldn't just stay to wait for news about Remus being killed in some street. I thought maybe I could get him away from everyone. I flashed us over to a side alley…"

"Flashed?"

"Transported as a phoenix. You know, with the fire thing."

"Oh, go on."

"Then we went searching for him. Eventually he showed up and we tried to keep him away from everyone. But he wouldn't…wouldn't…" Harry couldn't continue.

Professor Dumbledore rested a hand on his shoulder. "I believe we heard this part. How did you and Remus disappear?"

"I changed to the phoenix and flashed him to the Shrieking Shack." He just seemed to realize he didn't know what had happened to his friends. "Sorry I left you guys. What did you do?"

Ginny answered him. "We made it out of Diagon Alley and changed back. Hermione had fare for a taxi that we took back to Headquarters. We patched Ron up a bit, but eventually Professor Dumbledore came and had Ron come here. We told him you had gone to the Shrieking Shack."

The Headmaster tried to get them back on track. "Speaking of the Shrieking Shack, did anything happen while you were there, Harry? Anything at all? We could find no bite marks on Remus."

Harry started breathing a little heavier, remembering his feelings as Remus lay dying before him. "I knew he was almost dead. I cried." Harry felt a little uncomfortable talking about it, but the Headmaster seemed to understand.

"Healing tears?" Harry just nodded. The Headmaster leaned back with a thoughtful expression on his face.

Snape looked confused. "Headmaster?"

Professor Dumbledore lightly clapped his hands together and formed a steeple which he lightly tapped his chin with. He directed his reply to both Harry and the Potions Professor. "As I said before, Remus is recovering. What is baffling the Healers is that while they can find a slight trace of some venom in his blood, it seems to have been neutralized. Their main concern stems from the fact they no longer can find any trace of his lycanthropy. Remus has been treated there before and his medical history goes back to when he was a small child. There never has been a case where someone with lycanthropy suddenly is cured." The Headmaster smiled as he could tell his audience was still confused. "I'm just wondering what effect Harry's venom combined with his tears had on Remus."

Snape's eyes widened as he moved his head to stare at Harry.

The Headmaster's words made quite a stir. Hermione's eyes instantly lit with enthusiasm. With a quick, "I'll get Neville," Hermione dashed out of the wing. Snape definitely looked puzzled as to what Neville Longbottom had to do with anything.

Harry turned to the Headmaster. "Has Remus woken up yet?"

The Headmaster frowned. "Not yet, but the staff at St. Mungo's assure me that he should." Harry visibly deflated. "What is wrong, Harry?"

Harry miserably shook his head. "It sounds strange, but I could smell that some part of Remus had died before I brought him to the Shrieking Shack. Until he wakes up…I just can't believe."

The Headmaster closed his eyes and inclined his head. "I understand. I will keep in contact with St. Mungo's and let you know the moment I hear anything."

Hermione came in at that moment dragging Neville behind her. Neville was carrying a box. "Here's the rest of the venom. We had only needed a few of the samples we had taken for the tests we had run but we saved the rest in case we thought of something else. Do you think it would help if we sent it to St. Mungo's?"

Neville was looking nervously from the Headmaster to his Head of House. Suddenly Snape swooped up behind him, startling Neville. "So Longbottom is an accessory in this little illegal animagi conspiracy?" His tone was accusatory and coming unexpectedly like that rattled Neville's composure.

The box in Neville's hands slipped a bit, but he managed to hang on to it. Harry silently cursed Snape for trying to intimidate Neville like that again. He gave a look to Hermione and spoke to Snape. "Neville was the one who knew how to test the venom so we could see what it could do. Professor Sprout has a lot of trust in his capabilities."

Hermione caught on. "He did a terrific job. He let me watch him work. We have the documentation of his findings in this box as well as the remaining samples."

Neville flushed a little but stood up straighter. One thing Neville was confident in was Herbology. His testing of plants had been praised by Professor Sprout over and over. Harry gave him a proud smile.

Professor Snape gave a look of scorn and rudely grabbed the box from Neville. He set it on the foot of Harry's bed and started to go through it. His eyes passed over the fifteen capped vials and he lifted the parchment with Neville's findings. His eyes narrowed as they scanned over the parchment. He scanned it lightly at first, then again with more concentration. One eyebrow raised. He looked over to Neville with a focused expression on his face.

"Longbottom, you say here that the substance is of the neurotoxic variety? What is the speed of the polypeptides and phospholipases?"

Neville looked startled at the question. "It's totally effective within thirty seconds. Sometimes less." He started to get a little excited about his findings. "What's amazing though, is it binds instantly to the Vagus cells of the cranial nerve, but not to the others. It causes a temporary paralysis and slows the heart rate down. The victim will black out for about thirty minutes. Additional amounts increase the paralysis and can cause death."

It was a surreal sight. Neville and Professor Snape were talking back and forth as equals. It was obvious that Snape was really listening to what Neville was saying. Harry just wished they wouldn't talk about it in front of him. He didn't want to think about what more than one bite could do when he'd bitten Remus three times.

Harry lost himself in his dark thoughts. Slowly it dawned on him that the room was silent and everyone seemed to be looking at him, waiting for him to say something.

"Sorry?"

The Headmaster gave a slight smile. "We were just wondering if, when you are feeling up to it, you would be willing to provide more samples for testing. St. Mungo's would be very interested in these, but they do have quite a backlog of work and it may be some time before they can experiment with it. Professor Snape could take some time to start an independent research if you are willing."

Harry looked at the silent Professor. His face was totally impassive. It was impossible to know what he was thinking. "Yeah, no problem."

The Headmaster gave a pleased smile. "Well then, I believe we should leave you to your rest."

Poppy Pomfrey took that as her cue to start shooing everyone out of the Hospital Wing. The only one left was Ron in the next bed. Harry looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Was it my imagination or were Neville and Professor Snape actually talking to each other like normal people?"

Ron looked rather bemused as well. "More like Hermione than normal people, but I know what you mean." Ron shook his head. "It either happened or you have a very strong imagination, 'cause I saw it, too."

Ron was released in time for dinner, which he was eternally grateful for, but Harry was required to stay overnight. He had lost more blood due to not having received medical attention right away and he still had some stiffness from the transformation. The next morning Harry had his final check up and received permission to leave the Hospital Wing when Professor Dumbledore came in.

"I have good news, Harry," he started. "I have heard from St. Mungo's and Remus has awoken." At Harry's hopeful look, he continued. "He is coherent, but will not be allowed visitors until later in the day. I will make arrangements for you to see him this evening."

Harry gave a relieved smile. "Thank you, sir, I would like that."

Dumbledore smiled and said, "Now I believe your friends are waiting for you in the Great Hall. Hurry along and you may be able to enjoy some breakfast with them."

Harry nodded. He hurriedly got dressed after the Headmaster left, thanked Madam Pomfrey and quickly made his way to the Great Hall.

Harry found his friends at the Gryffindor table. They greeted him happily when they saw him. Ginny gave him a kiss on the cheek. Harry sat down and began to pile his plate full. He gave a brief look around. About half the students were still at Hogwarts. The Easter Holidays weren't as long as the Christmas ones and many of the students just stayed instead of putting themselves through the long trip home and back.

Harry was almost finished with his meal when he was approached by Professor Snape. He was handed a note. He was to meet him in the potions classroom after breakfast.

Harry made his way down to the classroom. There were several collecting jars on a table. The potions master was already there.

"Potter, I need you to fill as many jars as you are able. Do you have any confirmation of how long one dose lasts?"

Harry shook his head. "The only time I used it, beside the other night, I didn't stick around until they woke."

The potions master frowned in confusion for a moment until realization dawned in his dark eyes. "Lucius' mysterious beast. He was telling the truth." Harry shifted uncomfortably. The dark man continued, "Then a phoenix was sighted. The Dark Lord assumed it to be the Headmaster's. He added wards to prevent magical creature transportation. The house elves were displeased, not that that matters."

"He's got house elves?" Harry felt sick for the poor creatures. He supposed those new wards were the reason he couldn't get to Remus.

"Of course. Especially since Pettigrew's death. They never last for long. Replacements are supplied by the Dark Lord's followers." The man seemed to recollect himself and snapped, "Well, enough chatter. Are you going to just stand around all day wasting my time?"

Harry rolled his eyes. The man just couldn't stop being a git for long. Harry transformed with barely a thought. Harry heard an expletive come from Snape's direction. Shadow took a step towards the table and the Professor. He paused. He could smell the fear coming from the tall man in front of him. He supposed Snape had plenty of reason to dislike the wolf shape given his history with Moony. Snape was very tense and had one hand on his wand.

Shadow sat down calmly. Snape lowered his hand from his wand, but was still wary. Harry transformed back. He was sitting on the floor. "Professor, you know, I can do this alone. You don't have to help me. Why don't we set the containers on the floor and I'll try to fill them myself?" Harry hoped some distance would settle the man down. He wanted to reassure the man that he was in no danger, but wasn't sure his reassurances would be appreciated. "It's still me, professor. Just a different look." Harry gave a lopsided grin. "You never did like how I looked anyway."

Harry almost thought it looked like the professor was going to roll his eyes at Harry's last comment, but he just muttered, "If you insist, Potter," and started putting the containers on the stone floor. Harry got up and helped him. When they were all on the floor the professor straightened up. His eyes were guarded, but he seemed more relaxed. Harry imagined he would be feeling a little uncomfortable with how he had reacted in front of a student, Harry no less, but was willing to take Harry's offer of space between them.

Harry sat on the floor in front of the containers until the Potions Master was settled some distance away. Harry transformed again into Shadow. He heard a sharp intake of breath across the room and could almost feel the tension, but no action was taken.

He looked down at the containers. It had been much easier when Neville had been willing to hold the jars to Shadows fangs. Harry would have to figure out how to hold the containers steady with his paws and bite down on the top without upsetting the whole thing. The first couple of tries didn't work. The jars tipped over or skidded across the room when too much pressure was applied. He gave a huff of annoyance which he thought he heard echoed from Snape. Finally he had success. He nosed a jar against the leg of a table and trapped it with his paws. Then he could gently bite down on the top and eject some venom. He briefly wondered if Fred and George would be interested in testing this venom for their inventions.

Removing the jar from his fangs wasn't easy either. If he lifted his head up without a good hold on the jar, it stuck to his teeth. He was quite proud when he had finally completed one container. Only another twenty-two or so to go. That thought brought him back down with a thump. He shook his head, gently pushed the completed jar aside with his nose and cornered another one.

He could feel Snape approaching slowly as he worked on his seventh jar. Snape started picking up the jars that had gone skidding across the floor. His eyes were intent on Harry's form, analyzing it. Harry didn't mind that so much. When people got to the analyzing stage it usually meant that the fear would soon be gone.

By the twelfth jar, Snape was comfortable enough to be right next to Shadow. He picked up the completed containers and placed them on top of the table. The sound of faint footsteps approaching startled Harry. Shadows ears pricked up and he looked intently at the door. Snape noticed this behavior and took out his wand. Harry suddenly lurched to his feet and dashed into the shadows under the table. Snape was startled by the sudden movement and raised his wand, ready to send a curse. The door abruptly opened and Draco Malfoy stepped into the room. Snape whirled to face the door.

"Professor Snape, I wondered if you'd be in here. I needed to ask you a question. If powdered hellebore is added to a swelling solution…"

"Mr. Malfoy! Now is not the time for questions. I will be available in one hour in my office. You may see me at that time. You will also knock in the future!"

Harry finally was able to remove the jar that was stuck on his fangs. It clanked quietly on the stone as it tipped over. Draco gave a quick glance towards the sound.

Draco looked rather put out at being yelled at. It obviously wasn't something he was used to. He looked around and his eyes fell on the containers on the table. "What's in those?"

"A venom I was collecting."

"Where's the snake?"

Snape glared his patented glare at Draco and his voice became smooth condescension. "Now that would be the question, wouldn't it? That is why you should never just walk into this room without knocking first."

Draco's eyes widened. They started darting around the room looking for some snake he believed was loose. Harry stifled a chuckle.

"Is it poisonous?"

Snape did actually roll his eyes at this. "To my knowledge that is what venom is defined as. Now if you would take your leave, I could continue with what I was doing. I will see you in one hour."

Snape turned his back on Draco and Harry saw Draco start to leave. Draco's eyes flicked back to where he had heard the noise. He noticed the jar lying under the desk where Harry was and his eyes suddenly narrowed with calculation. He cast a quick glance back at his potions teacher and then quickly bent to retrieve the lost jar. Harry had the feeling Draco had plans of his own if he could get one of the jars. As Draco's fingers were about to close over the jar, Harry breathed on his hand. Draco jumped back at the sensation, falling to the floor and started to peer frantically into the darkness.

At the noise, Snape turned back to the fallen wizard. "Mr. Malfoy…."

Draco scrambled up. "I'm going," and he hurried out of the classroom door, slamming it behind him.

Snape cast a locking and silencing charm on the door. He turned back to the table Harry was under. He cautiously peered into the darkness. "Potter?"

Shadow slowly moved into the light. Snape's eyes widened and he looked briefly startled. Harry changed back. He stretched. "He was trying to get the jar under the table. He probably thinks the snake is under there."

"Why couldn't I see you?"

"We're assuming it has something to do with Thestrals. Thestrals have properties of invisibility. People who haven't seen death can't see them. Shadow seems to have invisible properties as well, but only when I'm in shadows. In the light I'm visible to everyone."

Harry heard his professor mumble something that sounded like, "As if an invisibility cloak isn't enough…." The professor drummed his fingers on the table. Finally he nodded. "That explains some things." At Harry's look of surprise he continued, "The other night it was dusk. The lighting was inadequate in that area. The torches and full moon threw some light, but mostly shadows. We could see Weasley clearly, but the other one…you…seemed to keep disappearing. I believe the auror that shot you with the dart hadn't been aiming for you. I don't believe he saw you until after you were hit. He'd only seen the werewolf."

"Oh," Harry thought about it for a moment, and then shrugged. "They probably would have shot me anyway if they could see me. Shadow's not the friendliest looking creature. Even I admit that. I think a lot of it is the eyes. They bother people." Snape made a noise of some sort. Harry couldn't tell if it was of agreement or aggravation. He decided he'd better get back to work. He looked at the remaining containers and sighed. "Oh, well, back to work."

Harry stepped back and transformed again. He started nosing the next jar into place. Snape made a click of annoyance. "We'll be here all morning at this pace. Here, Potter," Snape lifted the jar and held it in front of Harry. Harry looked at him a moment. His professor seemed to be over his fear of him. He was cautious, but not fearful. Harry slowly approached and carefully bit into the top. When finished, Snape pulled it away from him and offered another. They were able to finish the rest of the jars quickly after that. In all, twenty-two jars were filled this time.

About an hour before lunch, Harry and his friends made their way to the transfiguration classroom. They were being called to display their animagi forms. Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall were there with the addition of Hagrid. Harry gave him a small grin and Hagrid acknowledged it with a nod of his own, his beetle black eyes smiling back at him. Professor McGonagall was frowning in disapproval. The Headmaster just serenely bid them enter.

The room had been cleared of desks except for four empty ones facing the chairs the professors were using. There was a large platform that Harry guessed was a scale of some sort in one area. The students nervously found their seats in the desks. Professor McGonagall stood up.

She looked down at the students seated in front of her and frowned. "I must say that I am very disappointed that you went about doing something like this on your own. You, Miss Granger especially should know of the risks involved in trying something of this magnitude without supervision. There have been cases in the past where things have gone horribly wrong. Partial transformations are not a pretty sight and if help is not summoned promptly, there can be grave results." She started pacing back and forth. "I suppose this is all water under the bridge now, but I cannot impress upon you enough that chances like this should not be taken again."

She stopped her pacing and fixed each of them with a death glare. Each student quickly agreed.

"Now how many years ago did you start working on this and where did you get the information to do so?" Professor McGonagall retook her seat.

The students looked at each other. Harry cleared his throat. "As I said before, I found my dad's journal last summer…."

McGonagall interrupted him. "Are you telling me that you only started thinking about this six months before you transformed?" Harry nodded. McGonagall closed her eyes. "Four students suddenly decide to become animagi and achieve it in six months? How?"

"Well, we had some help….There were books in both the Potter library and the Black library and those, with the journal explaining things in simpler language, gave us the basics." Harry looked over at Ginny and Ron. Ron was frowning and biting his lip.

Ron suddenly spoke up. "Do you know about the trunk I gave Harry?"

Professor McGonagall looked a little confused at the change of subject. "I heard you gave him one for his birthday."

Albus Dumbledore cleared his throat. "It is a dimensional truck which matches Miss Weasley's." She obviously realized what it was, but still had no idea what it had to do with this subject. She turned to Harry.

"So that is why you wanted me to give your wand to Miss Weasley and have her put it in her trunk. You would be able to access it?"

Harry nodded and Ron continued, "Well, I reckon you probably don't know that the trunks belonged to my uncles. They put their portraits inside the trunk. They helped us get the spells down that we needed to learn and helped us learn wandless magic. Then, after Harry discovered that wandless magic isn't tracked outside of the trunk, we could practice as much as we wanted."

Professor McGonagall covered her eyes with her hand. "I don't want to be hearing this."

Ginny threw in, "The law that says magic can't be used outside of school is a stupid one anyway."

"Miss Weasley! That is not the point. The point is you shouldn't have done it in the first place!"

"I disagree, Professor," Harry said. "If we hadn't, I would never have made it out of St. Mungo's and they might not have escaped on Valentine's Day. I don't regret it at all."

Professor Dumbledore interrupted at this point. "I believe we have digressed from the topic at hand. The 'should have's' are past. Let us focus on what to do now."

Professor McGonagall took a breath and calmed down. She started again more calmly. "The proper thing to do would be to register you with the Improper Use of Magic Office. They would need a record of what animal you are and what markings you have." The children all looked at her with mutinous faces. "But we do agree, the Headmaster and I, that it can wait until after this war is over." At their relieved looks, she continued, "However, we do want to have the paperwork filled out just in case. We will keep it here at Hogwarts. We will need to document your animals and markings." She looked at them sternly. "I hope you realize that we are going out on a limb for you. You are not to abuse the power of these forms."

Harry briefly thought of all the times he'd used his forms; leaving St. Mungo's with Fudge, breaking Remus and the other werewolves out of jail, biting the Death Eater's and escaping with the Dursleys, Diagon Alley…. He looked up and tentatively asked, "Abuse…?"

The Headmaster smiled at him. "I believe the definition of abuse is 'to use wrongly or improperly'. I don't believe anything you have done to date qualifies under that definition. I believe you have pretty good instincts on when and where this talent should be used. We are trusting you," his look encompassed all of them, "all of you, to use these talents only in extreme emergencies. You are correct that it could be a powerful tool to have at your disposal should something unfortunate happen. I would recommend you keep a low profile and let as few people know about it as possible."

When the students all nodded, Professor McGonagall took over again. She pulled a clipboard with some forms off from her desk and took a quill in hand. "We'll start ladies first. Miss Weasley, I would like you to transform so I can record your form and markings and then I'll have a few questions about your abilities while in the form. Hagrid will be helping with the measurements." Ginny stepped forward to the cleared section and transformed. McGonagall first drew a brief sketch and carefully recorded the details of Ginny's form. Hagrid measured her weight on a scale. He measured the spread of her wings and even had her fly a few laps around the room. Finally they called her down and had Ginny transform back. McGonagall asked her questions like if she knew how fast she could fly, could she communicate, or how her eyesight was. Ginny answered as best she could. McGonagall was intrigued with the idea of cross-species communication. There were so few recorded animagi that they rarely came into contact with each other. She had Ginny send her an image while she was in her cat form.

Next was Hermione's turn to become Spots. All the same procedures and questions happened along with a thorough examination of the claws and teeth. Then Ron had his turn as Leo. McGonagall was quite impressed with the two cats. She turned herself into her form and was able to communicate with each of them easily in a feline language.

Then it was Harry's turn. He started with Flame. He was duly measured and his markings recorded. He could tell the Professors were amused at his messy crest and twisted 'lightning bolt' feathers. They had him sing, flash, fly, but Harry couldn't cry. When he turned back he apologized. "I just can't do that on demand."

McGonagall nodded. "Understandable, Mr. Potter. We do know that the tears do have healing properties so I will record it as an attribute."

She was rather surprised when Harry said he could understand Fawkes, even when he wasn't in his form. Dumbledore just had a pleased smile on his face. Harry just knew he had suspected that from earlier before the Christmas dinner.

Finally Flame's review was over. McGonagall got a clean form in front of her and looked to Harry again. "I don't believe anyone had a clear view of your other form. Would you mind changing into it now?"

Hagrid had quite enjoyed the different transformations taking place, but it was clear that he was anxious to see Shadow. From what he'd heard, he was by far the most interesting of the creatures.

Harry was still reluctant to turn into that form in front of other people, but took a deep breath and did so.

McGonagall inhaled sharply and recoiled back. Dumbledore peered curiously over his half-moon glasses. Hagrid went into raptures.

"Wha' a beauty. Ah, Harry, Tha's incredible. Yer magnificent!" Hagrid looked up at the others. McGonagall was still frozen in place. He turned to Ron, Hermione and Ginny. "Wha' all can he do?"

That seemed to unfreeze McGonagall. She started moving her quill to the parchment, but then stopped, seemingly puzzled. "Albus, what do I put for 'type of animal'?"

The Headmaster just smiled benignly at her. "Just leave it blank for now, Minerva,"

Ron started answering Hagrid's question. "He can fly wicked fast,"

Hermione added, "His venom can incapacitate a wizard for half an hour,"

Ginny then said, "He can't be seen in the shadows,"

With each answer Hagrid's smile grew wider and wider. "Whadda form! I'm that impressed, I am. Well, let's get yeh on the scale." Hagrid started with the weighing and measuring. He kept running his huge hands over the leathery skin on Harry's back and muttering to himself about "Wha' a beauty he was". Hagrid's reaction wasn't quite what Harry had experienced from any others, but he supposed he should have expected it from his large friend. Hagrid always did appreciate the more unusual creatures. Unusual meaning dangerous.

Hagrid had Harry extend his large, bat-like wings and gently traced each fragile, but strong bone which lined them. His fangs were examined closely as well. He felt the ridge of scar tissue that couldn't be seen. Then they tested Harry's invisibility by extinguishing all but one torch that lit the room. When Harry stepped into the shadows Hagrid was like a giddy schoolgirl when he could feel Harry's form but couldn't see him. McGonagall and Dumbledore also were quite intrigued with this phenomena. McGonagall had quickly gotten over her reserve. Harry guessed it would be hard not to when Hagrid was so enthusiastic.

When McGonagall said Harry could turn back, he was relieved, even though Hagrid was visibly disappointed. Harry would almost bet Hagrid would have liked Harry to stay with him as a pet for a while if he could.

The professors discussed what type of animal Shadow may have been. They decided they would need to do some research, but most likely he was one that had become extinct and may have been lost to time.

The students were dismissed. Dumbledore told Harry that he should come to his office at 6 p.m. He would be escorting him to St. Mungo's to see Remus.

Harry was at the Headmaster's office shortly before six. Harry greeted Dumbledore and Fawkes. Dumbledore looked at him with a twinkle in his eye. "Harry, since I know you don't care for Portkeys and the floo network isn't safe, we really have two options. The first option would be letting me double apparate us to St. Mungo's," Harry didn't think that sounded too bad. The Headmaster continued, the twinkle in his eye growing by the minute, "or you could…what did you call it?...flash…us to St. Mungo's as Fawkes would."

"But, Professor, you just said I shouldn't be seen. What about the 'low profile'?"

The Headmaster was smiling widely behind his long beard. "I believe that you have mostly been taken for Fawkes in the past. I am quite sure the assumption would be made again, especially if you were seen with me."

Harry blinked. "Well, I reckon it's a lot faster than walking off the grounds to apparate." He turned to Fawkes. "What do you think, Fawkes?"

Fawkes puffed his feathers out a bit. /Go ahead, Fledgling. Just be careful with my chick/

Harry gave an amused grin. "Well, Fawkes gives his permission." Harry transformed to Flame.

Dumbledore looked at him. "Harry, do you remember where the receiving area is in the entrance? That is where we need to go."

Harry nodded and offered a tail feather. The Headmaster grabbed it and they disappeared.

They appeared in the busy receiving area near the Welcome Witch. Dumbledore approached her with Flame perched on his shoulder. He waited for the witch to look up at him.

The bored looking witch finally looked to see who it was that was next and obviously recognized Dumbledore. She ran her finger down a list and intoned, "First floor patient?" At Dumbledore's nod, she continued, "Fourth door on the left. Visits are restricted to half an hour."

Dumbledore gave a nod of acknowledgement and said, "I also have the samples for that patient."

"I will let them know and someone will be by to pick them up." She then fell back into her routine.

Dumbledore strode through the double doors and along the narrow corridor beyond. He climbed a flight of stairs and entered the "Creature-Induced Injuries" corridor. The fourth door on the left led into a private room. He explained quietly to the bird on his shoulder that Remus' identity was being kept quiet. The newspapers didn't know which werewolf it was in Diagon Alley and if his name was released, it wouldn't matter that he wasn't there by his own choice, crowds would mob. The story released in the papers was that Aurors had arrived and Silver Darts had been used.

The Headmaster stepped into the room briefly to verify that it was indeed the correct one. Flame's eyes were riveted to the figure in the bed. "Harry? I'll leave you and Remus alone for a while. I do have some others to check on." He pulled a box out of an obviously charmed pocket. It was the box Neville had brought to the infirmary. "I will leave this here with you."

Harry flew off his shoulder and he barely noticed his professor leaving. He changed back to himself and slowly approached the bed. Remus looked so pale and still. He couldn't get his memory of the smell of death he'd had from his mind. He decided to transform to Shadow and see what he could smell now.

Shadow's sense of smell was much better than Harry's. Harry approached mostly silently on four paws, only the faint clicking of his toenails making any sound on the hard floor. Moony's smell was different. Harry tried to place what was different about it. He gently put his front paws on the bed and sniffed. He could still smell the musky scent of a wolf, but it was different, not as strong. Not as feral.

Harry was intrigued by what it could mean and didn't pay as close attention as he should to Remus' waking movements. Remus opened his eyes and saw Shadow partially on his bed. His eyes widened at the perceived threat and with a small pop, he transformed into a wolf. He instinctively bared his teeth at Harry, but it was obvious, though, that he didn't have the energy to fight.

Shadow quickly backed off the bed. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I just needed to know what had changed. I needed to know I didn't hurt you permanently."

"Harry?" The wolf on the bed's eyes widened in surprise. Harry lowered his head and lay submissively on the floor with his head on his paws. "Is that you, Harry?" The posture was a giveaway that the black creature on the floor meant no harm and would not challenge the wolf on the bed.

The skeletal form on the floor looked up at him. "Hi, Moony," His tail gave a brief thump.

"What happened to you?" He finally seemed to notice that he, himself, was not exactly normal. "What happened to ME?" Panic was beginning to rise in his voice. He looked around the room frantically. "I've transformed! It's not safe! Somehow we've got to keep people out of here!" He started mumbling in Harry's mind about a whole hospital full of patients being in danger. Harry just looked at him.

"You've transformed, but I don't think you're a werewolf. You look a bit different, you smell differently, too." Harry searched around the room. He spotted a mirror on a stand across the room. He turned back to himself. The wolf on the bed watched him with cautious eyes. Harry retrieved the mirror and brought it to the bed. He held it in front of Moony.

"See, your snout has changed. Eyes, too. The pupils used to be slitted. Now they're circular." The wolf started to struggle to get out from under the blankets of the bed. Harry helped untangle him. Moony started looking at his tail and paws, searching the other differences of werewolves versus regular wolves. His tail gave a thump.

Harry tilted his head to one side. "I bet you're an animagus now. Probably seeing a wolf form startled you when you woke and you changed to a more defensible form. Sorry 'bout that, by the way. Just close your eyes and think about being human again."

The wolf did that and Remus reappeared. He gave Harry a tired smile and opened his arms. Harry ran into them. They closed around him in a tight hug and Harry hugged him back. Remus' heart was still pounding furiously. "Well, that was one way to wake up," he said with a laugh.

"I'm sorry." Harry buried his head in the older man's chest.

"Don't be," Remus started to struggle to sit up. Harry helped him and arranged pillows behind him. Remus patted the bed next to him and Harry sat. He was glad for the close, reassuring contact.

"They've said my lycanthropy was gone somehow, but I didn't dare believe them. Maybe it's true, but I don't understand how it could be possible. That's never happened before." Harry looked away. He started playing with the edge of a pillowcase. "Harry?"

Harry reluctantly glanced back at Remus who was watching his movements curiously. Harry gave a sigh. "Professor Dumbledore thinks it may have something to do with what I did." At Remus' confused look, he continued. "What do you know about what happened?"

"Nothing much. I remember them placing a Portkey necklace around my neck. I tried to resist, but I was restrained. I couldn't stop them." Remus' eyes darkened at the memory. "I didn't know where they were sending me. Then nothing more as the transformation started."

Harry swallowed. "They sent you to Diagon Alley." Remus grew very still. He knew how crowded that could be.

"Did I…?"

"No. You were … stopped…" Harry choked at that word. The memory of a dying Remus clear in his mind. "…before you got near anyone."

Remus' eyes closed in relief. Then they opened wide as a thought hit him. "You were there?"

Harry felt tears growing behind his eyes. Words started pouring out of his mouth. "They were all practicing the Silver Dart spell. I just thought, maybe, I could do something as Shadow." Remus' eyes grew curious, but he didn't interrupt. "We flashed to the Alley and found you just as you arrived. Ron and I tackled you. He's a lion, by the way. And Hermione and Ginny kept the others back. Then Ron got hit with a Silver Dart and it was just me and you. Then I was hit and I knew I couldn't hold you." Harry paused. Tears starting to slide down his face. "I bit you." Harry took a ragged breath, then started speaking faster, almost pleading with Remus to understand. "Usually one bite would knock someone out, but you wouldn't go down. I ended up biting you three times. Hermione had said no one could survive that." Remus now had his arms around the distraught teen, rocking him back and forth, trying to comfort him. "Finally you stopped struggling. You transformed back in the street." Harry's voice grew quiet. "I could smell that you were dying. That something had died."

Harry stopped to try to pull himself together. He straightened up a bit then continued his story in a determined voice. "I didn't want you to die in some street. I brought you to the Shrieking Shack as Flame. I healed the bite marks with phoenix tears. In the morning Professor Dumbledore came and got you. They took you away from me." The last sentence showed how much it hurt Harry when it happened. Remus gave his shoulders a squeeze.

"Harry, you know I would rather be stopped, or killed, than attack someone while a werewolf."

Harry shuddered. "I know that. But I thought that I'd killed you."

"It wouldn't have been your fault."

"They took you because of me."

"It still is not your fault. It's their fault. Don't ever blame yourself for evil things they do because they are trying to hurt you."

Harry nodded his head silently. He knew what he said made sense, but it was still hard to feel in his heart. For now, though, he was content to lean against Moony's shoulder. After a long moment, Harry quietly stated, "I don't know how much more I can take. After Sirius died, Professor Dumbledore sent me back to his office." Harry's lip quirked up at the side. "I trashed it. He never even tried to stop me. He just sat there telling me he knew what I was feeling. That feeling pain like that was what made me human." Harry glanced up at Remus and quickly looked back down. "It may be what makes me human, but it's an awful feeling. It tears at your soul." Harry's voice quieted to just above a whisper. "It was tearing the other night. I just don't know if I could survive it again."

Remus didn't know what to say so he just held him.

Harry continued. "Dumbledore says that Voldemort doesn't have any feelings like that. He said that those feelings are 'my greatest strength'. How can something that almost destroyed me be my greatest strength?"

"Harry, I've seen you do some amazing things. There are not many 12-year-olds who could survive fighting a basilisk. I know of no other 13-year-olds who could drive off one hundred Dementors. The power level needed to free the Black house was incredible. You did it wandlessly. To save Ginny, to save Sirius and to save Winky, you've done the impossible. The same feelings that almost destroyed you are what empowered you to do those and many other amazing things. You have one of the most open hearts I have ever seen."

Harry looked at Remus curiously. "Do you know much of what's in the Department of Mysteries?"

Remus looked guarded. "I know some."

"Dumbledore said that the locked room was where they studied these feelings or 'force'. He said it was 'more wonderful and more terrible than death or human intelligence or forces of nature'. What do you know about that room?"

Remus looked thoughtful. "I don't know much. I have no idea how they capture what they study; time, space, intelligence, death, or love. All I know is that no one can enter that particular room. No one has yet been able to handle the feelings evoked. A few have tried, but they don't come out the same. Sensory overload or something. All testing is done remotely with spells I believe."

Harry gave another nod. They sat in silence for another minute.

Remus held him for a while, then started a new conversation, obviously trying to lighten the atmosphere. "So tell me about Shadow."

Harry smiled and relayed what he knew. He told of the different reactions from the teachers. Remus laughed about Hagrid's overboard reaction. "I probably could have predicted that, after having seen Shadow."

There was a brief knock on the door. Justina Bosworth stepped in. "I'm here to pick up a sample from Professor Dumbledore." She blinked when she saw Harry sitting on the bed with Remus. "Oh, hi, Harry! Good to see you again." Her eyes flicked around the room. "Professor Dumbledore not here?"

"He had to see to some other people. The box you need is on the table over there." Harry pointed to the box. "Neville has some notes he took on the samples inside. Maybe they can help."

Justina smiled. "I'm sure they will. Will you tell him that the amphibian venom we were researching has finally passed the testing stage? We're about to start dispensing it to some of our long-term care patients. I just know that it's going to help their recovery. I can feel it in my bones. And now with this possibility…. This is such an exciting time to be in research!"

Harry grinned at her enthusiasm. "I'll let him know."

Justina took the box and left the room. The door had barely closed behind her when Professor Dumbledore re-entered. "Harry? Remus? I trust you've had a nice visit? I am told we will shortly need to leave. I am please that you seem to be doing so well, Remus."

Dumbledore sat in the chair alongside the bed for a few minutes, chatting with Harry and Remus. Eventually he told Harry it was time to go. Harry turned to Remus. He gave him one more emotion-filled hug, then turned into Flame and flew to the Headmaster's shoulder. Together Dumbledore and Flame left St. Mungo's and returned to Hogwarts.