Chapter Forty-four

Snape and Harry still hadn't found Slyther yet. Harry spent all of his time looking for the snake, and in the end Harry ended up looking everywhere without any sign of Slyther. Still, he wouldn't give up looking, because Slyther might be somewhere—anywhere—in the school, though he still tried to fight the feeling that… maybe… Slyther wasn't anywhere near the school. How could that be, though? It wasn't as if Slyther could transform into a human or something with legs, and walk away from Hogwarts.

January soon slipped into February, still without any sightings of Slyther. Harry was becoming more and more worried about him as each day went by, and he often looked in the exact same spot for the snake as before, since he was running out of spaces and was getting desperate.

Valentines Day was soon, Harry realized, and knew that until Slyther was found, no holiday would be the same without Slyther making a sarcastic comment about it. He badly wished for Slyther to be at Hogwarts with him, for Slyther to comment about Valentines Day being some unwanted holiday that was all about sappy mushiness that nobody needed.

Harry currently lay on his bed, staring into space. He didn't know what else to do, since he felt… exhausted. Exhausted of being worried and concerned about Slyther, but he wanted to be concerned and worried about the snake. He had to, since Slyther could be anywhere on the planet, but he just didn't understand how Slyther could just disappear in one night. Like that.

"There's nothing I can do to cheer you up, is there?" Snape asked, opening Harry's door and standing in the doorway.

Harry didn't bother to look up at the Potions Master when he heard his voice. He kept his eyes straightforward; staring into space. "Nope," he replied numbly. "Well… unless you can magically get Slyther back. But if not, then no, nothing will cheer me up."

Snape gave a low sigh. "Nothing at all? What about a new snake?"

This time, Harry turned his head around and glared at Snape. "A new snake? Slyther goes missing and you offer a new snake?"

With a snort, Harry turned his head back around and resumed staring into space.

"What do you want me to do?" Snape asked, sounding frustrated. "I can't 'bring Slyther back' at the snap of my fingers. If I could, I would, but I can't."

Harry looked down at his hands before looking up at Snape, who still stood in the middle of the doorway. "Would you?"

Snape hesitated for a moment. "Yes, I would. But like I said, I can't. What if… instead of getting you a new snake… I get you an ice cream? Would you feel better? At least a bit better?"

Harry had a thoughtful look on his face, and kept quiet for several minutes, until: "Maybe a bit better, but just a bit. It's not as good as having Slyther back, though…"

Then, Harry paused, a look of realization crossing his face. "What about your class?"

"I can get Albus to take care of my class while I'm out with you," Snape replied.

"Well, then," Harry said, looking more cheerful than when he did a while ago. He jumped up from the bed and made his way towards the door. "Lets go."

-

"This is outrageous," Nathaniel muttered to himself while Aureus watched him in amusement. She sat on one of the beds in the room, looking pleased with herself. "Can't you just let me go? Who knows how long it's been? Harry must be really upset… Do you really want Harry to be upset?"

Aureus's pleased look soon went away. "Of course not, you fool! Why would I want Harry to be sad? Can you give me three good reasons? No, see, you can't! I don't want my poor boy to be sad… but this is the only way, you see. That fool—Snape—just had to be the hero and get their memories back, didn't he? He just couldn't leave things be, could he?"

"I don't know!" Nathaniel cried. "Just let me go! What did I ever do to you, except frighten you? Hmm? Answer me that. What did I do? Nothing! Just please let me go."

Aureus shook her head firmly. "No way. You're staying here, right Quirrel?"

Quirrel, who sat quietly in the corner of the room in the chair, just shrugged his shoulders. "I suppose so. I still don't know why you're going through all this trouble just to get Potter, Aureus. Just let me kill him."

Aureus shook her head at Quirrel. "I don't think so. By the way, if you even think of killing Harry in his dreams—nonetheless actually do it—well… just remember that if you do, it's not only me you're betraying but also the Dark Lord."

"How am I betraying you?" Quirrel demanded.

"You promised that you wouldn't," Aureus replied simply. "And you definitely don't want to break your promise to me."

"I didn't promise you anything," Quirrel said back. "Nor do I have a good reputation of keeping promises to people like you, either."

Aureus raised her eyebrows. "People like me, Quirrel? Who're like me?"

"Oh, shut up!" Nathaniel finally cried out, fed up with Quirrel and Aureus's argument. It was enough to drive somebody crazy. "Do you two ever stop arguing? You go non-stop! Now, I'm asking you once again quite nicely: let me go and when I return to my snake form I will not bite you."

Aureus turned her attention back to Nathaniel. "I'm not holding you. Get up and leave if you want. You do have two feet," she added with an innocent smile.

Nathaniel glared at her. "You know that I can't walk. But, if you do get off your lazy arse and open the door for me, I can crawl out. Crawling is easy, I've been doing it ever since I can remember. Now, uh, the door…?"

Aureus clenched her teeth. "I'm not lazy, you good-for-nothing snake! If anybody in this room here is lazy, it'd be you."

"Oh me, now?" Nathaniel said with a scowl, sitting on the floor with his back against the peach coloured wall. "I am most certainly not lazy. I just have a habit of being too tired to do something. Now, if you please, the door."

"I'm not opening the door for you," Aureus replied firmly. "If you're calling me lazy, then you can get off of your lazy arse and open the door for yourself."

"You know very well I can't do that!" Nathaniel debated. "If I could walk then I'd most certainly do it. If you can just turn me back into a snake and open the darned door—"

"Oh, and you complain that Aureus and I argue too much," Quirrel interrupted, looking very annoyed. "You two should listen to yourselves. Aureus, why don't you just let the snake go? How is Potter going to know that you took him, and not that it just wandered off on its own? Soon enough Potter is going to come to the conclusion that it's dead and will stop looking for it."

Aureus didn't reply quickly, since she seemed to be acknowledging what Quirrel said. "Perhaps you're right. Maybe I should pay them a little visit, you know? Just to let them know that I took Harry's snake, and for Snape to give Harry to me for the snake in return?"

"Are you crazy?" Quirrel said in disbelief. "You'd just go up to them like that? It's a trap waiting to happen, Aureus. Why would Snape give you Potter for that snake?"

"What else am I suppose to do?" Aureus asked, her brow furrowed with worry. "You're right, I just can't go up to Harry and Snape and say, 'Oh, you remember me. Well, I kidnapped your snake.' No, I can't do that, but what else could I do?"

There was complete silence in the room, except for Nathaniel, who kept going on about changing him back into a snake and letting him go back to Harry.

Aureus sunk into the bed, closing her eyes and thinking. She just couldn't approach Harry and Snape casually and say that she took Harry's snake, nor could she wait until Snape and Harry left for somewhere and then surprise them when they got back.

"What if," Aureus started, a thought striking her. She sat on the bed with her back a bit straighter. "What if you show me how to go into Harry's dreams? Seeing Harry in his dreams would be a lot more better than actually seeing him personally, don't you think?"

"You can't go into his dreams," Quirrel said with a shake of his head. "I can't even go into Potter's dreams. The Dark Lord helps, since he and Potter are linked."

"Well, whatever you do," Aureus said, "to go into Harry's dreams, just let me tag along. You know, hold my hand or something when you go into Harry's dreams. It could work, but then it could not, but we have to at least try."

Without waiting for Quirrel to reply, Aureus let a smile slip onto her lips, and she leaned back against the pillows with a satisfied look to her. "Yeah. We could at least try."

Nathaniel banged his fist on the wall to get their attention. His angry look soon disappeared, and his eyes widened as he started to nurse his hand.

"Let me go!" Nathaniel yelled. "I am of no use to you anymore!"

Aureus wasn't listening to Nathaniel, since she was too wrapped up with planning what she was going to do that night, and she knew that it was going to work. She didn't know how, but she knew it had to. Right now, all her thoughts were focused on Harry.

-

"Are you feeling better now?" Snape asked while he and Harry sat on the couch (which surprised Harry. Usually Snape always sat in his armchair… That made Harry think that maybe he should feel miserable more often).

Harry closed his eyes before answering. "A bit," he replied, opening his eyes once more. "Thanks for the ice cream, Sev'rus. It really did make me feel better, but it wasn't the same as actually having Slyther back."

Harry let out a sigh and stood up. "D'you mind if I go to my room, Severus? I don't feel like talking that much, I think that I just want to lay down and… relax. Maybe I'll even fall asleep, and then when I wake up I'll find out that everything was just some sort of messed up dream and that Slyther isn't actually missing."

Without waiting for any type of reply from Snape, Harry turned around and walked to his room, making sure to close the door behind him. As he fell down on the bed, he tried to close his eyes and wish the world away until he found the snake. Maybe when I wake up I'll be right, and it will be just a dream, Harry wondered as he soon felt himself falling in a deep slumber.

-

"How can you tell if Harry's asleep or not?" Aureus asked excitedly, studying Quirrel. "Is just a feeling you have when he falls asleep? Is it because the Dark Lord is linked to Harry, and you can feel when he's sleeping or not?"

"In a way," Quirrel said softly. "But yes, Potter's asleep."

Aureus smiled. "Excellent. Shall we do it now?"

"You leave Harry alone!" Nathaniel yelled, still in the same spot as before, but looking extremely exhausted from his yells and screams. His voice was growing hoarse. "Just leave him alone. What's he ever done to you, human? Why don't you just go live with your daughter and have a happily ever after? Just leave Harry alone!"

"My daughter is dead," Aureus snapped, all excitement escaping her, leaving her irritated and annoyed. "I had the honors of killing her. Now can you shut up so Quirrel can concentrate and do this?"

Nathaniel glared at Aureus. "Why would I take commands from you, you twisted beast? You'd actually think I'd listen to you? You… you… human! You twisted human! You beast of a human! You should've rotted away in that hospital bed while in the Death Sleep! A mean thing to say... I know... but you don't realize how angry I am, lady!"

"Shut up!" Aureus hollered. "Just keep quiet and let Quirrel do this."

Just then, Quirrel grabbed Aureus's shoulder, and Aureus felt herself being lifted up, and she seemed to be falling...

-

Harry blinked a few times to get used to where he was. Which was… where, exactly? He wondered as he took in the scene: absolutely nothing. Blackness, which wasn't new to Harry, since the whole scenery was familiar. Harry usually always woke to blackness every time Quirrel made a personal visit to Harry's dreams.

He wondered what he was doing here, since Quirrel didn't even seem to be there. It just seemed to be him and blackness.

"It seems like an eternity," Aureus's voice suddenly said, from somewhere in the pitch-blackness. "Doesn't it, Harry? I think it does. You must be very upset with losing your snake, aren't you, love?"

"How do you know about that?" Harry asked loudly, keeping cautious. His heartbeat started to quicken, and he felt nervous. He now knew that Aureus was the one that caused her daughter to have a concussion, and wondered that if she didn't get her way would she do that to him, too?

"How do you think I know?" Aureus asked, finally coming out from the shadows. She was exactly in front of Harry, looking as Topaz Aureus as ever: Her brown hair hung down her shoulders as it always was; her aqua-blue eyes seemed to glitter with something that Harry couldn't describe.

"You took him, didn't you?" Harry guessed, straightening with realization. "You took Slyther. What did you do with him, Aureus? Did you hurt him?"

"Actually," Aureus said airily, "I didn't take 'Slyther'. I took Nathaniel."

Genuine confusion crossed Harry's face. "Nathaniel? Am I suppose to know this person?"

"You should know him! Harry, love, 'Slyther' is an animagus. You do know what an animagus is, don't you?" Aureus gracefully sat down on the air, as if she were sitting on an invisible chair, which she must have been doing.

"I…" Harry paused, racking his brain for an answer. "I'm not sure." Harry, wanting to sit down too, but he didn't know exactly where the 'invisible chair' was, so he just sat down on the spot, hoping that there was a chair there. Instead, he just ended up falling and landing on something hard, like the ground, though when he looked down it was just a black nothing.

"An animagus, if you don't already know," Aureus continued after a laugh, "is a witch or wizard who can transform into an animal and back at will."

"So you're saying that my snake is an animagus?" Harry said with a laugh, standing up. "You really are crazy, Aureus. Slyther is nothing but an ordinary garden snake I found at my aunt and uncles'."

"No, it's not," Aureus argued. "It's an animagus, known as Nathaniel Jacobs. He used to go to Hogwarts with me, and he was an illegal animagus. He was in Slytherin and could transform into a snake, which is really no surprise, since he was, of course, in Slytherin."

Harry paled, wishing that he had something to lean on. "No wonder Slyther wanted to be a Slytherin so badly," he said to himself, remembering when Slyther would call himself 'Slyther the Slytherin'.

"He was actually one of my friends at Hogwarts," Aureus continued, either not hearing or ignoring Harry's mutter of, 'Wow, I really didn't expect you to have any. I am shocked'. "Snape too, if you didn't know. But Snape and Nathaniel really didn't get along all that well. Nathaniel disappeared around our fifth or sixth year of Hogwarts."

"Which really isn't surprising that Snape didn't like Slyther that much," Harry said, as everything started to make sense. "He didn't like Slyther because Slyther reminded him of Nathaniel… and he didn't like Nathaniel when he was at Hogwarts."

"Ooh, you're so clever!" Aureus said with a clap of her hands and a smile. "Anyway, yes, that's all true. Although, since you're so clever, I'm wondering something and maybe you can help me figure it out: Why does Snape dislike me so? I mean, of course I dislike him now since he's always in the way, but why when we were at Hogwarts? Can you answer me that?"

Harry's brow furrowed. "Maybe he just didn't like you. Maybe you were too… um… happy all the time. What is that called when somebody's happy all the time, and their happy too much that it gets on your nerves? And they're too confident in themselves?"

Aureus scowled. "Perky?"

Harry smiled innocently at Aureus. "Yes, that's it. Perky."

Aureus narrowed her eyes, still sitting on thin air, and crossed her legs. "Well, Harry, I'll make sure to take that straight out of you."

Harry frowned. "What?"

"That attitude," Aureus commented. "You've been spending too much time with Snape lately. You've taken on his attitude, but I'll make sure to snap that right out of you."

Harry scowled. "You'll do nothing to me Aureus, since I'm not going anywhere with you." Then he looked around, as if looking for an exit. "I want out of this dream now, please."

Nothing happened.

A cheerful laughter seemed to fill the room of blackness. "Oh, Harry, you silly goose"—Harry frowned here—"you can't just say you want out and poof, there you are. It doesn't work like that."

Harry then remembered something, and then rolled his sleeve up. With another glance at Aureus, he pinched the skin on his arm and let out a yelp.

-

Harry's eyes flew open, and let out a moan. He pinched his arm a little too hard. "Ouch," he muttered, sitting up. Then a thought struck him: what if he could do what he did to Slyther by blocking out his voice, except this time blocking Aureus and Quirrel from intercepting his dreams?

"Severus?" he called, standing up and walking towards the door and opening it. "Severus, are you here?"

He found Snape resting his eyes in his armchair, but Snape soon opened them when he heard Harry approach him.

"Is something the matter?"

"Yes," Harry replied. "Something is the matter. I had another dream, except it was Aureus this time and not Quirrel."

He sat down on the couch and looked at Snape.

"What did she do?" Snape said, looking at Harry warily.

"She said that she was the one who took Slyther," Harry explained, "and that Slyther was an animagus. Um… Nathaniel. I don't know his last name."

Snape's face seemed to change, except Harry couldn't describe the expression, and he said nothing. He kept absolutely quiet.

"She didn't hurt him," Harry continued on. "Thankfully. But I was wondering something. You know how you taught me to block out Slyther's voice with my mind? What if I could try something along the same line, except this time block out Quirrel and Aureus from coming to me in my dreams? D'you think you could help me with that?"

Finally, Snape answered. "I suppose I could try… I've never done anything like that before, but perhaps I can help."

Harry smiled gratefully. "Thanks. Want to start now?"

"Actually," Snape said, "it's lunch, and you must be starved, even after that ice cream. After that, though, we have somebody to meet. Perhaps after that if you feel up to it?"

"Yeah," Harry said with a nod. "Who do we have to meet after lunch again?"

"Somebody that's not looking forward to this," Snape replied.

-

Harry followed Snape down to the hospital wing after their lunch. "What are we doing here? Are you sick?"

"No," Snape responded as they got closer to the wing. "There's somebody here that needs to talk to you. It's very important."

As Snape opened the doors to the hospital wing and led Harry to one of the beds, Harry tried to figure out who this person was that needed to have an 'important talk' with him. But so far, nobody came to mind. Nobody that would need to have an important talk with him, anyway.

"Remus!" Harry blurted out as he saw Remus Lupin in one of the hospital beds. "What're you doing here? Are you hurt, 'cause you don't look too good."

Then Harry's face paled as he continued to stare at Remus's face. The thoughts of what happened before Remus left flooded his memories.

"I have to go... clean toes," Harry said nervously to Snape. "I have to... clean..."

"Toes?" Snape finished, giving Harry an odd look. "No, you'll clean toes after. Now you're going to listen to what Lupin has to tell you."

"No." Harry began backing slowly away from the hospital bed. "He killed Sirius. Sirius was innocent. He was—and Remus killed him—"

"Harry," Snape stepped forward and grabbed Harry's arm, bringing Harry forward again. "Just listen."

Harry looked down at his arm, which Snape had a firm grip on. Then, with a resigned look, Harry forced himself to look back at Remus's face.

"This has nothing to do with Sirius Black," Remus said quietly. "I'm here because a couple days ago was the full moon. Do you remember that night?"

Harry silently nodded.

"I usually have to come here every full moon Harry. Do you know what an animagus is?"

Harry nodded again, and in a soft voice said, "Yeah, I learned about it this morning."

"Well, that's kind of like what I am, except I have no choice but to turn into the animal I am," Remus explained, slowly getting to the point.

"Which is…?" Harry looked at Remus. "A… donkey?"

Remus stared at Harry for a moment before shaking his head. "A wolf."

Harry said nothing, since he really didn't know what to say. How could he react to that? A wolf wasn't bad at all, but didn't wolves eat sheep? He remembered when Dudley watched a show with an animated wolf trying to eat sheep.

"That's all I wanted to say Harry. So you'd know; no secrets."

Wordlessly, Harry only nodded.

"We should get back if you want," Snape said while Harry only nodded again in response, trying to avoid Remus's looks. He still felt surprised at the fact that Remus turned into a wolf during every full moon…

-

A/N: Again, thanks to everybody. I loved reading your reviews; gave me something to look forward to!