Abigail paced Blackwell's room biting her thumbnail and wondering what the hell she should do now. Simon must have come back for something and had a run in with Snape. Had he surprised the potion master; caught him unawares? Maybe they had fought or Simon fled and Snape gave chase. She was trying not to imagine the worst, but it kept floating to the front of her mind. What if he hadn't given chase or Simon hadn't simply incapacitated him in some way? What if he was laying dead somewhere or worse, being subjected to the madman's experiments?

Think rationally! What would you do if this were one of your regular cases?!

She withdrew her wand and waved it, golden powder settling over everything. She touched one of the footprints and while it wasn't what she expected she was not surprised. The Alchemy teacher Gerald Winters, their other suspect, was dashing around Simon's personal quarters wild-eyed and frantic looking. He was stuffing as many of the defense teachers personal affects into a bag as possible. A weight settled into her stomach.

Gerald is our guy and he's trying to frame Simon? Why? We were careful; only speaking in Albus' office or mine. He couldn't have known about our suspect list.

Her eyes raked over the room, landing on the footprints that undoubtedly belonged to Snape. Gerald had been working on animals; for him to suddenly switch to taking people for his experiments didn't make sense, didn't fit the pattern. It was too soon. He'd only just started working with magical creatures. She couldn't imagine that he'd progressed far enough to move onto human trials. That meant Simon must have seen something. Mary had been taken because she'd seen his face in the tunnel. Snape most likely had caught Gerald returning.

A thought slammed into her. Simon had disappeared right after Mary had been taken in the tunnel. He must have seen them returning to the castle through another tunnel; most likely the one in Honeydukes. Would he have had time to Obliviate the portraits? She had to hurry so she could ask them if they'd seen anything. She had to be sure. For all she knew they could both be playing her. First, she needed something this room could give her that would help her track him down better than any spell.

I have a pretty good idea what floor his lab is on, based on his preferred passage, but we haven't been able to find it. It's probably a hidden room or perhaps a large open secret passage. There's one way of finding it that he probably hasn't thought of though. It's a shame the things the Wizarding world overlooks. Maybe they should learn not to cut themselves off from the Muggles so much.

Abigail dropped to all fours, her limbs changing and her joints shifting. Her face lengthened into a long muzzle and her ears migrated to the top of her head. A long sweeping tail swished across the floor, disturbing some of the scattered papers. She shook out her thick coat and put her nose to the floor. The familiar smells of her colleagues filled her nose; coffee and tobacco for Simon, Scotch and parchment for Gerald, and various potions ingredients for Snape.

Their more personal smells were revealed to her and she sneezed, sending the golden powdered footsteps across the floor. The smell of Scotch was intermingled with animal smells of all kinds. It made her nose twitch. There was something else; an animal smell that was not intermingled with the Alchemy teacher's scent. It was a large cat smell combined with something she couldn't identify, and a large bird of prey. She sneezed again. It just smelled wrong.

The bastard made a griffin and it was in here. Shit!

With her face pressed to the floor she could make out claw marks but there was, thankfully, no scent of blood. She hoped that meant Snape was in one piece somewhere. How had they gotten out of the room without being seen though? Even if the creature also utilized the Demiguise and Gerald spelled himself invisible the portraits still would have seen the door open. She trotted towards the window. Deep gouges marred the sill, confirming her suspicions.

I think that's enough. Time to speak to those portraits.

Snape groaned as consciousness returned to him. He could feel that he was seated, held upright by ropes wrapped around his torso. His head throbbed dully and he winced. What the hell happened? Moving slowly he lifted his head and took in his surroundings. The room was dimly lit by just a few sconces, but it was enough for him to see that the room was quite large. He was facing the door and various cages lined the walls to his right and left. Directly in front of him a row of smaller cages bisected the room.

On either side were several operating type tables. Most of them were empty. To his right, second table down, was another failed attempt at a Cerberus with Crup. There were three large tables on the left and what he saw on the closest one shocked him. Simon Blackwell and a Unicorn were partially combined in a disastrous attempt at a Centaur. He swallowed thickly, willing away the nausea. Both were quite clearly dead.

Looks like I've found Winters' lab. But where the hell are we?

He scowled as his head gave a painful throb and the memory came back to him. He had been in Blackwell's room for barely five minutes, looking through papers, when he'd heard the growl. The sound sent a chill down his spine and he turned slowly to face the window. A Griffin appeared there, fur rippling as the illusion faded to reveal it. His wand hand twitched as he gripped the Ebony rod tighter. Which of them would be faster?

"Too damn nosey!"

Snape had jumped; surprised to see Gerald Winters appear atop the beast. Then the spell had knocked him backwards into the wall behind him with enough force to knock him out.

Bastard. I knew something didn't seem right about Blackwell's disappearance. It was to haphazard and unnecessary if only Mary had seen his face.

Two thoughts occurred to him then. O'Connor. She was supposed to meet him in Blackwell's room. Would she be the next one carried in here? He tugged at the ropes keeping his wrist firmly behind the chair and his ankles secured to its legs. Then there was Mary. Was she here? Had the bastard done something to her already? His eyes scanned the room and he caught sight of a few large cages that didn't seem to be making any noise.

"Miss Stillwell! Are you in here?"

For a moment the lab was silent.

"Professor Snape?" Her voice sounded watery and unsure. A small pale hand appeared and gripped the bars of the nearest cage on his right. She pressed her face against them and stared at him. Her eyes were puffy and red and he could see the tears glistening on her cheeks. A small smile split her face and she gave a quiet sob. "You're ok! I thought maybe…"

"Are you injured? Did he do anything to you?"

She shook her head.

"No. He was pretty angry that I saw him and I thought he might, but then when we came out of the passage Professor Blackwell saw us and they started fighting!"

"Do you know where we are, Stillwell?"

"A room on the seventh floor. I've never seen it before. The door just appeared out of the wall."

He narrowed his eyes. There had been whispers of such a room since his time as a student; a room that appeared when you weren't looking and couldn't be found again. Had Winter's figured it out and made it his own?

"Professor, what's going to happen to us?" The girl sounded close to tears and he rolled his eyes. He did not need her getting hysterical at a time like this.

"Nothing is going to happen to us Miss Stillwell. However I need you to remain calm. Did you see what he did with my wand?"

She sniffled and pressed closer to the bars to try and get a better look at him.

"I think he put it in his robes. He was holding two when he levitated you through the door and then I didn't see them again after he tied you to the chair."

He twisted his wrists and tried to focus on getting the rope to untie itself. The pain in the back of his head was making that difficult. Winters was smart and had not left anything out in the open that could assist them in escape. Wandless magic and O'Connor were their best chance at the moment. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on releasing himself from his bindings.

"Professor!"

"Miss Stillwell I am trying to concentrate!"

She brushed off his attitude, used to it after six and a half years in his house, and pointed through the bars.

"The door, professor!"

His head snapped up, throbbing harshly in response, and he stared at the large pair of double doors oozing out of the wall. He willed his heart rate to slow and worked harder at the ropes. Mary whimpered pitifully and disappeared from the bars to huddle in the back of her cage. The doors clicked open and closed, but he couldn't see anyone enter the room.

What the hell?

"Who's there? Show yourself!"

There was a great scraping of nails on stone and one of the biggest wolves he'd ever seen appeared to the right of the center cages. It had to be over three feet tall at the shoulders with thick black fur mottled with red. A shock of white fur scored the right ear and dotted the right thigh. Amber eyes bore into him with a clearly defined intellect. He breathed deeply and stared back, his eyes trained on its shoulder. Staring a wolf in the eyes was a challenge.

Is this one of Winters' creatures? What will it do?

He tugged hard at the ropes. They were slowly untying themselves. He only hoped it would be in time. Having a wolf maul him while he was tied to a chair was not his ideal way to go. The wolf didn't make any threatening moves towards him. Instead it lay down on its belly, chin to the floor, and wagged its tail. He gave it a curious look, the usual deep frown line appearing between his brows.

What the hell?

The wolf whined and began crawling towards him, pushing itself across the floor; tail still waving manically. When it got to Mary's cage it stopped, sat up quickly, and froze. He pulled harshly and felt the burn of the ropes as they dug into his skin.

"Leave her, beast!"

It turned to him slowly, eyes appearing to have widened. Then it gave him a look he could only describe as sly and seemed to smile. It was a look he recognized so well he could place it on any face, man, woman, or beast. One of the white markings made sense now at least. She was missing a small slice out of her right ear from one of her Auror jobs.

"O'Connor?!"

The wolf almost seemed to dance over to him before burying its face in his hair and robes, nose working overtime.

"We are both fine. O'Connor I do not have my wand. He's taken it." He attempted to glare down his nose at her. She was too tall. "You neglected to mention you were an Animagus."

It was strange to see a wolf shrug.

"Did you say that was Professor O'Connor?" Mary appeared at the bars again looking shocked. "You're one big wolf, Professor."

"Blackwell is dead, O'Connor." He jerked his head at the table and she followed his gaze, a small whine escaping her. "Winters has a griffin that he's added a demiguise to. We have to be careful."

She growled as she pulled at the ropes with her teeth. He rubbed his wrists and stared at her.

"How did you find us, and why aren't you changing back?"

She snorted and rolled her eyes, leaving him to free Mary as she sniffed around the room. He realized then that her sense of smell was the only way to find the creatures hiding themselves with the demiguise's ability. Until they were safely out of the room it was best she remained as she was. Snape moved over to Mary's cage and took the lock in his hand, pulling hard.

Alohamora.

The lock gave way and he dropped it to the floor. Mary scrambled out quickly and stood before him looking unsure for a moment. He was about to ask her what was wrong when he threw her arms around his middle and began to cry. O'Connor snickered as much as she could in wolf form. Snape looked shocked and horrified, his arms held up and away from the teen. He was entirely out of his element and it showed.

"I'm sorry! I was just so scared! I thought… I thought…"

Snape seemed to deflate as a heavy sigh left him and he rested his hand on her head, gently ruffling her hair.

"It's all right. You're safe now. We're getting you out of here." He looked up to find O'Connor staring at him with an almost serene expression, her tail swishing lazily. His eyes narrowed fiercely and he almost snarled at her. "What?!"

She shook her head and trotted towards the door. The room was clear of invisible griffins it seemed. He turned to follow her, guiding the slightly hysterical teen clinging to his side. Three feet from the door O'Connor halted, her hackles raised, and let loose a raspy snarling growl that sent chills down his spine. It was definitely not a sound he'd want to here in the forest at night. Mary went rigid and if he weren't holding onto her she might have run back to her cage. The double doors were melting out of the wall.

"We have to get a message to the headmaster, O'Connor! Before that door closes again."

She glanced back at him and rolled her eyes as if to ask him what kind of fool he thought she was. There was a press upon his mind and he immediately delved into hers in response. A memory of her sending Farkas and two others to the headmaster's and headmistress' offices played out. He pulled back and gave her an approving look just as the door opened. Snape covered Mary's mouth when she made to scream and pulled her behind a pillar. O'Connor dived beneath a table.

Gerald Winters pushed the doors wide open and stopped when he noticed the chair across the room was empty. His face paled and he rushed forward, the sound of heavy clawed feet following after him. Snape glanced between the open doors and the crazed Alchemy teacher who was just feet away. His eyes met O'Connor's and she nodded. He returned it and hurled himself towards the door, dragging Mary with him. Five feet from the exit there was a snarl and Winters whirled on the spot.

O'Connor burst from under the table, jaws clamping down on his forearm. The spell aimed at the potion master's head went awry, blowing pieces of stone across the room. Snape practically threw his student through the doors and told her to run straight to Flitwick's office and tell him what was happening; to stay there for protection. Behind him the massive wolf shook Winters like a ragdoll, throwing his body across the floor as he tried to curse her.

The griffin, no doubt responding to its master's attack, was thundering across the floor towards him. He couldn't see it and made a blind leap to get out of its way. Claws tore through his cloak, snagging the fabric and pinning it to the floor. He spun and folded at the waist letting it slide up and over his head. The beast roared angrily as its prey got away and pounced after him. Snape cursed and dived under the row of tables for some protection.

"You bloody beast! I'll kill you!" Something made of fabric tore and the distinct sound of wood clattering across the stone reached his ears. O'Connor had found his wand. "Get back here!"

The first table in the row flew across the room as Snape moved from the second to the third. O'Connor appeared at the end and as she passed under the table she returned to human form. His wand was clutched securely in her right hand. She gave him a cheeky grin and passed it to him. He didn't know how she looked so good natured when there was blood all over her face and robes.

"Go get him tiger."

They rolled in opposite directions as Winters and his monster obliterated the tables they were hiding under.

"Fumos!"

"Depulso!"

Gerald screamed as he was thrown backwards through the rapidly spreading smokescreen. The griffin roared as it lost sight of its prey and furiously beat its large wings in an effort to clear the smoke. Snape leapt over the center cages and waited for the animal to barrel through them, dodging out of the way as one of them sailed by his head. He raised his wand at the gap between cages and a thick gelatinous liquid spewed forth.

His aim was only slightly off, the glue like liquid coating the beasts hindquarters and right wing. It roared, appearing only briefly, and charged him. He leapt to the side, gasping as sharp claws caught his left arm, and rolled to his feet. Amber-red eyes burned from an unseen face, razor sharp teeth bared in a growl.

"Everte Statum!"

The griffin ducked and lunged forward, knocking Snape off his feet and pinning him to the floor. He grunted as all the air left his lungs in a rush and his wand clattered away across the stones. Hot air ghosted across his face and saliva dripped onto his cheek and forehead. Claws dug into his shoulders as the beast bore down on him. He pushed his hands up against the beast's chest and hoped his head was cleared enough.

Stupefy! The beast jerked and swayed, attempting to pull away. Stupefy dammit!

There was a pitiful yowling sound and the hybrid collapsed on top of him, pinning him to the ground. He groaned at the weight and attempted to free himself. Behind him someone approached on unsteady feet, and looking up he spied Gerald staggering towards him.

"Miserable, interfering, wretches. You just don't recognize greatness!" Winters glared down at him, blood dripping from his nose and mouth. His clothes were singed and blood still ran freely from his tattered arm, his robe hanging in shreds. Snape scowled at him, ready to cast another spell when the man dropped forward right on his face. O'Connor stood behind him, smirking with her hand on her hip. There was a long cut just below her left nostril that stretched down over her chin. Her face, neck, and clothes were still coated in drying blood.

"You ok?" He glared at her.

"I am fine, thank you." He eyed her. She looked unharmed save the cut on her face. "You?"

"No worse for wear." She smiled and levitated the griffin while picking up his wand. "Got thrown once or twice, but no real harm done. We should get those wounds taken care of."

He looked down at his arm and shoulders only now realizing how much they hurt. They weren't serious, only surface wounds, but they did need treatment.

"Abigail! Severus!"

Minerva and Albus were running down the hallway towards the open doors; but before they could reach them they slammed shut with a bang. The last glimpse of their faces showed shock and horror. Snape and O'Connor turned to their crazed colleague, his form shaking with wet sounding laughter. Somehow he'd locked them inside. He tilted his head to smirk at them, eyes sparkling with some hidden knowledge.

"You two won't leave this room alive." He rolled quickly and pointed his wand at the ceiling. "Alohamora!"

The large globe like chandelier above them clicked and twisted open until it more resembled a bowl than a sphere. From inside came the soft sound of something large slithering around the inside of the dish. O'Connor took a step back as a large amber-eyed bird head lifted up and over the edge of its cage and peered down at them with predatory intensity. Its shimmery blue and violet fur rippled before the beast slowly disappeared.

"Shit!"

"Nebulus!"

O'Connor drove her boot hard into Winters face, knocking him out, and ran for cover. Snape followed close behind, a stream of thick cloud cover spilling from his wand.

"Do you think your wolf form will be able to pinpoint it?"

"Not fast enough. I'd be able to find it but probably not before it ate me."

"Dammit."

A soft swish let them know the creature had landed. It cooed softly before they heard the sound of cages and tables being pushed across the floor. They glanced at each other.

"What's it doing?"

"And how exactly would I know, O'Connor?"

Snape moved to peer around the pillar and watched as everything was being pushed outwards from the center of the room as the Occamy rapidly grew to fit its new space. He could almost feel the blood drain from his face.

"It's going to crush us to death O'Connor!"

They moved quickly from their hiding place, firing spell after spell just hoping to hit the damned thing. It was nimble and fast and smart. If it couldn't twist its large thin body out of the way fast enough it propelled a table or cage in the way of their shot. Snape curse and turned his eyes to the windows. He didn't want to show her something he'd learned at the hands of the Dark Lord, but he was going to have to if they wanted to live.

"Keep firing!"

He grabbed her bicep and started directing her towards the window. She gave no argument and let him drag her as she fired blindly at the areas where the furniture was moving. The beast cried out as one of her spells struck its flank and suddenly tables and cages were flying across the room as the creature expanded twice as fast now. Pillars groaned as its body pressed up against them and the beast adjusted its long thin body to wrap around them.

"Snape!"

"Almost there!"

"It's too late!"

The large slender body slammed into them, pinning them against the wall right next to the window Snape had been gunning for. O'Connor groaned and Snape gasped harshly as she was crushed against his wounds. She gave him an apologetic look and jabbed her wand down into the body trapping them.

"Stupefy!"

The beast squawked loudly and pushed harder. O'Connor cried out and Snape clamped down on his lip to suppress his own cry. He could hardly draw breath she was press so tightly against him. Where the hell was Dumbledore? A quick glance at the door made him wonder if they'd even be able to get through.

"Confrigo!"

The beast shrieked as her curse struck it and Snape closed his eyes as blood splattered their faces. Her spell seemed to only enrage the Occamy as its body continued to grow. It shifted then, rolling them sideways along the wall. Snape wasn't able to suppress his cry as his spine, ribs, and shoulders were ground against the stone wall. O'Connor screamed as the muscles in her back were sent into spasms from the pressure and pull of the Occamy's body.

"Snape if it does that again it's going to snap my spine."

"Spells only seem to be irritating it at this point." He gasped. "Hold off on them for now. We just need to get to the window."

He finally managed to pull his arm free from where it was pinned between the wall and her hip and blew out the window. The explosion was much louder than expected, startling them both, until they realized that someone had blown a hole in the locked doors of the room. Through it they could just make out a furious Dumbledore, his blue eyes almost seeming to shoot sparks.

"Stop!"

"It'll crush us!"

The headmaster paused, wand drawn back to launch another spell.

"When I say, we're going out the window." O'Connor stared at Snape like he had three heads.

"First you tell me to stay out of the windows and now you want to throw me out one? Make up your mind!"

He glared at her before they were squeezed again. They groaned in unison.

"Just do as I say!" He pressed the tip of his wand against the Occamy's body. "Diffindo!"

The spell sliced clean through its body and it let loose a deafening shriek. It pulled back away from the attack, Snape dragged her to the window and wrapping his arms securely around her waist and shoulders, toppled them over the sill. O'Connor shrieked and clung to him for dear life as they dropped.

"Calm yourself. We haven't gone far." O'Connor pulled her face from his shoulder to see them hanging suspended seven stories above the ground. She moaned pitifully and buried her face in his chest. "Stand on my toes if it makes you feel better."

"Unsupported flight. Nifty little trick." She squeezed tighter and picked her dangling feet up to rest them on his boots.

He smirked and moved them up just high enough to point his wand in the window. The Occamy was still shrieking and hurling itself around the room. It was still invisible and he was able to easily find Winters' and Blackwell's bodies. Both were horribly mangled. Albus was peering through the hole at him again. He nodded. Feeling a tightness in his chest Snape leveled his wand at the beast and cast Firestorm.

"But Snape! What about-."

"They're both dead."

"But Blackwell's body!"

"His family doesn't need to see it. He was half connected to a Unicorn with his insides hanging out and now he's been crushed on top of that. It's better this way."

When the flames had died down, Snape took them back into the room. As soon as they were both safely on the ground Albus opened the doors and swept inside with Minerva. Abigail turned to greet them and when they got a look at her face the Headmistress staggered into the doorframe. She clamped a hand over her mouth looking horrified and O'Connor looked at her with confusion. Snape rolled his eyes.

"Sanguis Evanesco. The blood isn't hers Minerva."

"Oh my god!" Abigail's hands went to her face. "I didn't even think of that with everything going on; though a good deal of it is probably spread on your shirt now, Snape. Sorry I scared you Minerva." She smiled apologetically and they all grimaced. Even Dumbledore looked disconcerted. Abigail caught on quickly, tested her teeth with her tongue, and promptly lost her breakfast on the floor.

"Oh dear!" Minerva said softly.

"Are you still brushing your teeth?"

Snape leaned against the doorframe to her bathroom, back in his usual frock and cloak. O'Connor rolled her eyes as she put her toothbrush back and dried her face. Her long red hair was still wet from her second shower that day and clung to her face, neck, and shoulders. This was the first time he'd seen her with anything other than long sleeves. Standing before him in a spaghetti strap top and shorts that were far too short for company he could see she had tattoos.

Her entire right arm and left leg were covered in a scene of black lace, gems, and garden greenery covered with roses and lilies and hyacinths; Orchids, Hibiscus, and Dahlias. There was a Water Lily on the outside of her ankle and a Lotus on the inside of her wrist. He looked back to her face to find her staring at him with a look he couldn't quite decipher.

"I didn't realize you had tattoos. You've been keeping them hidden."

"Well, I get enough stares from you and Minerva about my clothing. I didn't want to give you a stroke or something." She sounded slightly bitter.

"They're just unusual. I have nothing against your wearing of muggle clothes." He looked to the side. "Minerva is quite old fashioned. She knows times are different, but she likely thinks you should wear robes at least while you're here at Hogwarts. Though many will probably wear robes till the day they die. It's how our community has always dressed."

"Yes. Not like its 1989 or anything. They're heavy and impractical. Muggles don't even dress the way they did hundreds of years ago."

She turned back to the mirror to dry her hair and he was given a good view of her back. Even though most of it was covered by her shirt he could tell the whole of it was covered by a large Japanese cherry blossom tree. He was almost curious about what the bottom half looked like. Pushing the thought forcefully from his mind he met her eyes in the mirror.

"Poppy patch you up all right?"

"I handled it myself. They were nothing."

She hummed noncommittally.

"The meeting with Dumbledore? Sorry I didn't go with you."

"And have you vomiting all over the Headmaster's office? No. It's best you returned to your quarters. Do you usually maul your targets when you're a wolf?"

"I've only had to do it once before. I hated it just as much then. It's definitely something I've tried to avoid, but I wasn't about to let him hex you. It was either that or a mouthful of blood."

"You have my thanks."

"Of course." She smiled. "What did Dumbledore have to say?"

"The Ministry will be sending Aurors to the castle immediately to take statements and tend to what's left of the bodies."

"Mary?"

"She unharmed and is speaking with Poppy about what happened."

"Good. Good. Go raibh maith agat."

For a moment it was quiet.

"Farkas and the others are werewolves aren't they? How did they find out about you? I'm assuming that's why he spoke to you in the first place."

She smiled.

"I may have gone up there to practice being an Animagus. There's a classroom on that floor that wasn't usually checked on patrols. I got stuck on my third try. I kinda freaked out and ran into the hallway. Tripped over my own four feet and fell flat on my face before changing back." She grinned and turned to lean back against the sink.

"Farkas thought it was hilarious and wouldn't stop laughing. When I went to walk away he stopped me and said I looked like a woman who wasn't afraid to take risks and enjoyed adventures. Turns out he'd been watching me since my first trip up there. He told me I'd make a fine warrior some day and asked if he was right about me enjoying adventures. I said yes and he told me how to get into the passage."

"You were a hellion at school, weren't you?" She laughed, clear and free.

"I got into my share of trouble and detentions. Life's too short to not have fun." A contented sigh left her and she looked up to lock eyes with him. It sent a jolt of electricity through him. He was rooted to the spot, unable to move.

"I was told some months ago that I should trust my gut instincts because they've never steered me wrong before. It's true. I've often reacted without thinking in some situations and it's always put me right where I need to be, physically and metaphorically." She smiled at him. It was so relaxed and so bright it was like staring at the sun.

"You did wonderfully with Mary today. I know a lot of the students don't like you, and rightly so with some of your behaviors, but I feel like your house probably gets to see a different side of you. I'm going to assume you project to them someone they can come to and rely on for help. Even if you're still quite standoffish." She grinned cheekily.

"That girl needed someone today. Someone that gave her assurance and made her feel safe. Apparently she thought that person was you and you didn't disappoint even if you weren't exactly comfortable with it."

"Will you get to the point O'Connor? I hope you're not trying to paint me as some valiant protector or gallant hero."

"Not at all. I'm just saying I guess you're trustworthy in spite of everything I initially thought. Death Eaters don't have hearts after all. I can't imagine any of them caring for a hysterical teen in the face of danger. I was wrong about you."

She placed her hand on his shoulder for a moment, squeezing tightly, and then exited back out to her bedroom.