Chapter 51
"Bloody Hell!" Severus yelled loudly as an insanely sharp claw slashed at his arm. He jumped again when he felt a heavy weight spring off his chest and fall to the floor, claws clicking against the floor in a rapid beat as the ocelot tried to gain purchase on the slick floor.
Fuck. He had just terrified his son. Again. Severus shook his head, trying to wake up enough to deal with a scared ocelot. He muttered a quick healing charm to at least stop the heavy flow of blood, all the while wondering why he had only thought to protect his chest from scratches last night when he had performed the charm.
He slid off the bed, kneeling down and dutifully ignoring the deep gouges in the wood floor that the sharp claws had made as he had no doubt tried to regain his footing after his rather hasty exit from the bed.
He peered under the bed, catching a glimpse of the small ocelot curled up in the far corner. The terrified ocelot backing further away when he caught sight of Severus who towered over him like a veritable giant. "I'm sorry," Severus said soothingly. "I didn't mean to yell, I was just startled. I won't hurt you Aegis. Come on out," he said, trying to coax the small animal out from the corner.
Aegis looked back at him unblinkingly, although he was no longer actively backing away. Severus tried for a few more moments before giving up. He walked quickly to Ron's room and knocked briskly on the door, startling Ron and Hermione awake. A sleepy Hermione opened the door, waking up quickly when she caught sight of her Professor. "What's the matter?"
"Aegis startled me this morning and I yelled out without meaning to. He's hiding under my bed. Can you send Mr. Weasley to try to coax him out?" Merlin, he hated having to ask for help. Why the hell hadn't he ever trained to be an animagus before now? He sighed. He was being irrational. There was no way he could have ever foreseen this eventuality, that his fully grown son would transform and hide from him under his own bed and that he would need to be an animagus to calm him down again.
Ron walked up to the door, pulling a shirt on as he went. "Sure thing, Professor." The small group walked down the hall toward Severus' room, Bill and Draco joining them as well after hearing the commotion. Ron immediately shifted upon entering the room and wriggled himself under the enormous bed, moving quickly to calm his friend down.
"Let me heal that, Professor," Hermione said, having noticed her professor's bleeding arm the moment that she opened the door. No wonder he had yelled. The cut was nasty.
Severus reluctantly allowed her to lead him toward his bathroom, Draco following close behind to assist. He had a strong base in healing potions as well and would be able to help her if she needed anything. "Did he sleep the night with you?" Draco asked, digging through the cabinet as Hermione spelled the blood away, cleansing the wound.
"Yes. I think he was scared in his room. He didn't last ten minutes in there."
"It is only recently that he has been able to see such a large bedroom as a comfort," Hermione said as she worked on the deep and jagged cut. "Before that he was terrified of them because it was only in big rooms that his uncle could get to him. His cupboard was too small for Vernon to squeeze into. He's always found safety in small spaces. That's why he keeps hiding in these ridiculously tiny places. He does the same still as a man although it is not quite as noticeable I suppose."
Severus nodded silently, ignoring the sting from the potion that Draco had chosen to rub into the wound. "I was an idiot for not thinking of that earlier," he finally said.
"Hardly. Not many people would have realized it. I only know that because he spent one night in the common room with me rather than go up to the boys' dorm room alone. For one reason or another all of the other boys in his year were spending the night elsewhere and he was terrified to sleep there alone. So we had a slumber party in front of the fireplace and roasted marshmallows and stayed up late telling stories. Toward the early hours of the morning he finally confessed why we were having the slumber party to begin with.
"More than that though he is scared of the dark, at least when he is alone or can't reach a light. The Dursleys used to take his light away from him in the cupboard leaving him in the dark for days on end. As an ocelot he didn't have his wand to create light and he was jumpier than usual yesterday. I'm sure you turned out all the lights when you left, as most people would have done, making him panic that the light wouldn't ever be turned back on." She tied the bandage firmly around his forearm, giving it a pat. "There. That should do it."
"You could have bound that with magic," Draco commented.
"I guess so. I tend to still do some things with my hands without even thinking of it, especially if I am concerned about something else. Do you think Achates has gotten Aegis to come out yet?"
"Perhaps. When do you think he will transform again? He's probably 13 or so today, wouldn't you think?" Severus said.
"If he keeps progressing as he has done then he should be."
Hermione's face fell at Draco's words. "I doubt he'll change back then. Perhaps tomorrow. Ron and I have to go back to school today. Will you three be ok here with him? What will you do if he gets scared again?"
"We'll think of something," Severus said. "If it gets really bad I'll contact Poppy and have her collect you and Ron from class so you can come back."
"If all goes well then expect us around eight tonight," Hermione said as they walked back into the room. Achates was just crawling back out from under the bed, closely followed by Aegis who stayed within inches of his side the entire time, evidently scared to step further away.
"Are you two ready for breakfast?" Bill asked brightly.
Achates barked happily and Aegis looked a bit pleased at the idea although he still kept a wide berth around his Father.
As they were walking down the hall Madam Pomfrey appeared, having portkeyed into the library and was now walking up to her charge's room. "How's my patient today?" she asked cheerfully.
Severus turned and motioned toward the two animani.
"Oh," she gasped. She had never seen Tallis' animagus form since the trio had wanted to keep it a secret. "Well, it's probably for the best. May I see you a bit closer, Tallis?"
"Aegis," Draco corrected her.
"What a perfect name. May I see you Aegis?" Aegis walked hesitantly toward her, stopping a few feet away. "You look absolutely lovely," she murmured, bending down toward him. He leaned away but did not run. She stilled her hand for a moment allowing him to become accustomed to her presence and to understand that she wouldn't hurt him. When he settled down again she reached out again, this time being allowed to pet his silky fur gently. "I think you'll do better in this form today," she said quietly to the skittish ocelot. She stood back up. "When did he change?"
"Yesterday morning. A house elf startled him," Hermione explained.
"I see. Well, it is probably for the best that he spend a day or two like this. If he's this skittish as an animal I can't imagine how he would be as a man. He's probably incredibly confused right now. Call me if you need anything, Severus." She turned to the two Gryffindors. "Am I to escort the two of you back to school?"
"Sure Poppy," Ron said, changing back suddenly. Aegis ran and hid behind Draco, peeking out between his legs occasionally.
"Honestly Ronald, did you have to do that right here?" Hermione demanded.
Ron shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry, I wasn't thinking."
"Your form is lovely as well," Poppy said, leading the two Gryffindors back toward the library to portkey out.
"Breakfast?" Severus asked the two who remained.
"Sounds good," Bill answered while Draco merely nodded.
SDSDSDSDSDSDSDSDSDSD
Draco, Bill, Severus and Aegis were sitting in the library, Draco and Severus chatting softly in the corner while Bill read quietly and Aegis dozed in front of the fire. Aegis suddenly woke up and looked around, sniffing the air carefully. Draco and Severus watched in silence as Aegis walked slowly over to Bill and then plopped down heavily on his feet, purring happily. Bill looked up in shock.
"Well," Draco said, smiling. "Guess it looks like he got a bit older than expected this time or else he aged some during his naps."
"What?" Bill asked, still confused.
"It looked like he was scenting for his mate," Severus explained. "He must be older than we expected. Perhaps he will be himself again tomorrow."
Bill simply nodded and reached down to pet Aegis for a moment. The memory of his lover's motionless body after he had healed Severus still brought tears to his eyes. He had been so terrified that Tallis would die. When Tallis had woken the terror was replaced with the cold fear that Tallis would never be the same again. Once he had heard Poppy's confident proclamation that Tallis would be himself one day in the near future he could finally breathe again but these past few days had been incredibly stressful.
He could handle the everyday stresses. He could handle the panic attacks and the flashbacks and the quirky behavior traits that were remnants of his miserable childhood. He couldn't handle losing Tallis completely though. He blinked back the tears that came to his eyes. Just a few days ago they had exchanged their first "I love you-s." They had moved so far from that moment and with such little warning. He smiled when Tallis rolled over, letting him rub his belly. He would have Tallis back soon.
"What are we going to do about all of the press?" Draco whispered to his godfather.
"I'm not sure. We need to talk to Tallis about it when he is better. The thought has occurred to me though that we would no longer need to fake Harry Potter's death in order to have a trial."
Draco was about to answer when Hermione and Ron blinked into sight; their portkeys depositing them in the library as they always had. Tallis started from the disruption, hiding behind Bill's lanky legs, shaking in fear. Although he was clearly older and should know about magic his mind was still in a turmoil from the various memories that were flooding him as well as suffering from the handicap of being in his animagus form and therefore not thinking as clearly.
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "How's he been doing?" she asked quietly.
"Very well. We think he may be more like 14 or 15 with the way he's latched on to Bill," Draco answered.
Ron looked over at the two, watching Bill calm Aegis down quietly and coax him back onto the footstool. "Must be," he agreed. "Have you two seen today's paper?" he asked, starting to pull a copy from his bag but stopping when he saw Hermione's silent gesture.
"Study," Hermione whispered, nodding toward the door.
The three men agreed instantly. "We're going to the study for a moment Bill," Severus called out. "Let us know if you need anything." Bill nodded but kept his attention on Aegis, hoping to help him shift back if he was calm and confident enough. Even if his lover wasn't fully himself yet it would be a relief to have him at least human and remembering him again.
The small group walked quickly to the study, shutting and locking the door behind them. "What does it say?" Severus demanded immediately.
"They're screaming for a trial to determine whether or not the Dursleys abused Harry Potter," Hermione said immediately. "They don't care about the fact that the only evidence that they have is Voldemort's word, they just want punishment and they want it now. They want to determine the list of charges as the trial progresses rather than declaring anything at all up front. Right now they want to charge them merely with improper care of a wizard until they have something to add to it but they are demanding that the trial proceed as though it were a child abuse case. They've gone from wanting to put people in jail without a trial to wanting to try people without charges. They're doing the equivalent of treating a traffic violation like a murder charge in their eagerness to do something. They Dursleys deserve it as we well know but legally, it is certainly unjust. The world is in an uproar."
"Most of Europe has entered the debate as well, publicly denouncing Dumbledore and the Ministry for placing Harry into such a situation," Ron added, handing a second section of the paper over to his Professor. "It's a mess. I don't know what they'll do. It looks like Fudge might actually call a trial even though there is no real evidence and no one can find Harry Potter to testify."
"What about Dumbledore?" Severus asked quickly. This couldn't be good. No one was there that could subdue him. He still had Poppy and Lupin at the school but there was always the chance that they wouldn't be able to succeed and it was virtually impossible to contact them at the manor apart from Poppy's daily visits that could only happen at prearranged times. If there was a true emergency she would have no way of telling them.
"He's been silent but incredibly moody. He stopped appearing at meals after breakfast."
"Do you think he'll tell people?" Draco asked.
Ron and Hermione exchanged a long look. "There might be something we didn't tell you," Hermione hedged. Severus glared at her until she broke down and explained. "We took a vial of Harry's potion and dosed the Headmaster with it."
"How?" Draco asked, completely incredulous.
"Dobby," Ron muttered, almost embarrassed at their actions. They had thought them to be a good idea at the time. It just sounded a bit ludicrous now to admit to using a mind altering potion on the Leader of the Light, however corrupt he may be.
Severus raised a single eyebrow. "There is no way my son had anything to do with this or he would have told me. No—more—he never would have done it in the first place."
"No, he doesn't know. We slipped Dumbledore the potion as well as a sleep potion and then we both spelled him together while he was asleep," Hermione explained in a rush. "He could still crack through it but I doubt he could manage it with a mere reporter asking him a few questions. It would take someone very strong to use mind magics on him and be able to break the compulsions or else it would take himself a lot longer to break through on his own."
"This will essentially force him to stay quiet until we are ready for it. I mean, it might still happen before we are fully ready but it should buy us some time," Ron explained.
"Force?" Draco asked.
Severus had the grace to look a bit embarrassed. "We might have stretched the truth a bit earlier. We implied—"
"Or outright lied," Hermione muttered.
Severus shot her a dirty look. "—that the potion would only work if the person taking it wanted it to work. We allowed people to believe that the potion could never override free will."
"And the truth?"
"It can't fully control someone's words or their actions but no one can get beyond the protections laid out without the spell caster's consent or without it being broken by someone stronger than the caster. With Tallis casting no one could ever break it. With these two as the casters it will eventually be broken. The question is how much time they have bought us," he said, turning back to them.
"This is all unimportant in the long run," Ron said, ignoring the two Slytherin's glares. Draco thought it damn important that he had willingly ingested a mind controlling substance a few days earlier and Severus thought the question of the potion of great import. "The point is," Ron continued, "do we really need a golem anymore?"
"Sev suggested the same thing back in the library. Explain."
"Well, the world wants a trial. They are determined to have one no matter what, even if they have to make up the charges. Why waste our time and energy with obtaining a murder charge when their list of charges is a mile long to begin with?" Ron asked.
Severus thought quietly for a moment. "I can see some definite plusses to skipping the golem but I fear one enormous drawback." Ron looked at him in confusion. "If Harry Potter isn't dead then he is available to testify."
The three students sat in silence.
"He'll never do it," Hermione whispered.
"And he can't even submit memories as testimony in his place," Ron said sadly, "not that I think he would have agreed to that anyhow. What will we do?"
"Let's think about this for a bit longer and see if we can't work something out. I'm sure we can use this to our advantage," Draco said.
"Bill also pointed out the benefits of carefully scheduling this whole fiasco. This is a bit early to reveal our hand. It would be best for Tallis if the bulk of the trial could happen over the winter holiday so he wouldn't have to listen to nonstop speculation about the trial at school," Severus explained.
"He's right. Can you imagine the torture?" Hermione said sadly. "The school talks about him enough as it is, between the gossip about Tallis and the rumors about Harry Potter. Does that poor boy never get a break?"
"It will all work out. I will not lose my son over this," Severus said fiercely.
"Let's talk it over with Bill and Tallis. Maybe Tallis will be well tomorrow and will be ready to start brainstorming. I think it is time to bring him into this a bit more. We've done so much preparation already. We had planned to have a bit more done but at least we've gotten a huge head start on it. He can't object that much," Ron said thoughtfully.
SDSDSDSDSDSDSDSDSDSD
Bill climbed into bed and then leaned over to lift Aegis up onto the bed as well. "Are you sure you want to sleep here tonight?" he whispered. Aegis simply blinked sleepily at him and plopped down into the crook of his arm, batting idly at Bill's long red hair until Bill pulled it out of his reach. "Goodnight," he whispered, spelling the lights off. "Goodnight Draco," he called out to the Slytherin who was sleeping on the sofa near the fire.
"Night," Draco replied sleepily.
Bill awoke a few hours later, feeling something different but unable to identify what was wrong. After lying still for a few moments he was finally able to identify it. He no longer had Aegis curled up at his side; he had Tallis back.