A/N: I've decided that he pairing will most likely be Harry/Fleur, though there are still a couple of possibilities that haven't been completely ruled out yet; Fleur just seems to be working well for the planning so far.
Chapter 2: Discovery & Escape
When Harry awoke, the moonlight shining through the window seemed blinding. As he rolled over and held his hand over his eyes, his brain began to wake as well, and memories came flooding back.
He sat up quickly, jumping out of bed, and immediately grasped his glasses, putting them on as he started to walk towards the curtains around his bed in what he now recognized as the Hospital Wing - and promptly tripped. It was only as he rubbed his nose that he realized he couldn't see properly. Confused, he stood up and removed the glasses, wondering at how his vision seemed sharper than it had before. He used a quick transfiguration to turn his lenses into simple glass for the time being, but he froze as he heard Snape's voice from outside, and down the hall.
"-running out of time, Minister! He could be gone by the time the Aurors are able to get here in force!"
"I understand, Snape, really I do, but the Dementors are refusing to assist us - and no wonder why! Even I didn't think Black was capable of hurting Dementors like that...must've picked it up since his escape...this is deeply troubling..."
"Minister, I would be more than happy to assist. I'm familiar with Black, and I'm sure I can catch him!"
Harry's blood boiled as he listened to Snape, and he could feel his body tensing, feeling strangely heavier as-
"Severus, Black could be anywhere, and I have my doubts as to his ability to...destroy a Dementor in the manner we saw, which leaves the possibility that there is something else lurking around the Forbidden Forest, capable of such savagery. No offense to your skills Severus, but surely you would not wish to face anyone - man or beast - who has demonstrated such violence in the face of so many Dementors."
Harry froze again, and felt his body shrink slightly, only now realizing he appeared taller than he remembered. After waving off the strangeness for the time being, he listened to Dumbledore's voice as they continued to approach, their footsteps growing louder.
"Now, Cornelius, Severus, I would like a few minutes to talk with Mr. Potter and Miss Granger alone, as he should be awake by now, and I believe they may both be able to enlighten us as to the events which occured this evening."
"Fine, fine, I'll see how the Aurors are doing. More are apparating in every hour, and there's only so far Black could go." With that, one set of footsteps, the Minister judging by his voice, departed the hallway. He barely heard a quiet argument between Dumbledore and Snape before another set of footsteps trailed off, Snape no doubt, based on the angry sound, an almost violent sound of shoes hitting stone.
Finally, the last set of footsteps, light, swift, and precise, the sound of an old man, though he still had his wits about him, as he'd proven before. Harry heard Dumbledore enter the Hospital Wing, though he veered off to the side, and Harry heard the sound of a drowsy Hermione, startled into wakefulness, which brought a small smile to his lips as he heard her apologizing, no doubt for sleeping, though he never got to hear as the aging Headmaster cut her off.
"Miss Granger, I assure you that you have no need to apologize. Now, I believe Mr. Potter should be among the living once more, so why don't we pay him a visit."
Harry started in surprise for a brief second, fingers twitching as the curtain was swept aside with a wave of the Headmaster's wand. The first thing he noticed was a red-eyed Hermione, who looked incredibly tense, and was nervously flicking her eyes between Harry and Dumbledore. The second thing he noticed was the faint smile, and the vaguely tired look of the elder wizard.
"Now, first of all, in relation to the events on the school grounds-"
Harry opened his mouth to reply, but Hermione beat him to it.
"Headmaster, we don't remember anything, I-I think someone may have used a Memory Charm on us-!"
"Miss Granger, please do not interrupt." The twinkle in his eyes and the smile on his face did nothing to stop her cheeks from turning a bright red, and Harry could swear he smelled the tears collecting before he saw her eyes water, the stress of everything clearly having wrought havoc on her emotions.
"Now, as I was saying, in relation to the events on the school grounds earlier this evening, I am vaguely aware of the events and what occurred, and while I have my suspicions, I can assure you both that you have my full protection - I protected Remus when he was here, and I shall do the same if needed again. I will do all I can to protect you from the prejudices of the wizarding world. Having said that, I also believe the events which Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger shared with us earlier, though I cannot do anything to assist you, as Severus account has far more weight in the public eye than the word of two teenagers - even if one happens to be the famous Harry Potter."
The twinkle has disappeared from Dumbledore's eyes again, as had the smile, but he gave Hermione a very pointed look.
"I believe what we need...is more time. You may be able to save more than one innocent life tonight. I am going to lock you in. It is...five minutes to midnight. Three turns should do it. Good luck."
And with that, the aging Headmaster closed the door behind him, locking the door before Harry heard his footsteps depart. Harry glanced back at Hermione, who was fumbling with a fine gold chain looped around her neck, pulling a small hourglass from her robes. He opened his mouth to speak but stopped when she tossed the chain around his neck, so it looped around them both, and began to turn the hourglass.
As Harry felt the strange, backwards pull, he stared in shock as the night sky turned back to daylight, however dim it was as night was still close. After everything felt like it was moving at normal speed again, Harry turned back to Hermione, opening his mouth just as she grabbed him and pulled him down the hallway. Suppressing a growl of irritation at the confusing events, Harry opened his mouth again, this time stopped by a familiar voice drifting down the corridor, easily heard in the broom closet in which Hermione had hidden them - his voice.
Harry looked at her again. "Hermione...I think this needs some explaining."
xXx
After a brief explanation of the Time-Turner, explaining the mystery of her overscheduling, and the realization of the Headmaster's subtle instruction, they followed their past selves out to Hagrid's hut, quietly sneaking around back, past Buckbeak, and into the forest, out of sight.
"We'll need to wait until they've seen him tied outside, otherwise they'll just think Hagrid set him free." Harry nodded in agreement, too distracted by the overpowering smells that surrounded the hut to say anything more, wondering if his new senses were related to his transformation earlier - or perhaps later, as the case may be.
After Dumbledore, Fudge, the Committee member, and the executioner saw Buckbeak was tied up, Harry immediately ran up to Buckbeak, struggling to untie the rope as he heard Fudge reading the notice of execution. Growling with frustration at the tight knot, he finally slipped a finger from each hand into the knot, and pulled, feeling the thick rope tear easily, and he smiled slightly as he tried to pull Buckbeak towards the forest. However, he growled again when Buckbeak dug his claws into the ground. "Buckbeak, we don't have time!" He jerked the rope, and the hippogriff finally moved, causing Harry to smile again as they walked quickly into the forest, stopping once they were well out of eight of the hut. "There, was that so hard?" He pet Buckbeak, who seemed slightly nervous, but otherwise back to normal.
After the expected shouts and cries - including the booming, happy cries of Hagrid - they continued back into the forest, walking back to the site of the Whomping Willow. They watched as Sirius grabbed Ron, pulling him into the tunnel, followed quickly by Harry and Hermione. They waited in the chill night air, and Harry noticed Hermione shivering, which made him realize he barely felt the biting cold, even though he remembered how cold the night had been, even without the Dementors.
They both perked up slightly as they saw the first of their motley crew ascend from the tunnel, followed by Lupin's transformation, Pettigrew's escape, and Harry's own transformation. As he watched himself, Harry couldn't stop the flinch, remembering the incredible pain, and he noticed Hermione shivering again as the Dementors approached, watching his own brutal assault.
Finally, as he watched himself collapse, he knew that their time was nearly upon them. They watched as Sirius woke first, approaching Harry until Snape started to stir. After what looked like a brief moment of indecision, Sirius grimaced, and took off in the same direction Pettigrew had taken off.
Having both gotten on Buckbeak while they waited for Sirius to move, they immediately took off, Harry leading Buckbeak through the thick trees, easily catching up to Sirius, who stopped and whirled when Harry called his name, an expression of shock on his face.
"H-Harry? What...?"
"No time to explain, you need to get out of here, and quickly."
Sirius looked Harry in the eye, and opened his mouth to say something - until he was interrupted.
"Siriue, go! We can talk when you're safe."
Sirius started, but nodded, his expression determined as he got onto Buckbeak, and flew off into the night, quickly disappearing.
xXx
Harry and Hermione made their way into the castle, narrowly avoiding an incident with Peeves, and finally made it to the Hospital Wing, hovering out of sight as Snape and Fudge left. Hearing the soft footsteps of Dumbledore again, they darted towards the door, reaching it just as he magically locked the door.
Dumbledore looked up, and a wide smile appeared under the long silver mustache. "Well?" he said quietly.
"We did it. Buckbeak and Sirius are long gone." Harry said, smiling. Dumbledore beamed at him. "Well done. I think...yes, I think you've gone too. Get inside, I'll lock you in."
With that, they slipped inside, and Dumbledore once again locked the door.
Soon after, Madam Pomfrey entered from her office, and forced them both into their beds, where they waited. After Pomfrey left them alone, Harry tried to transfigure one lens back to his prescription, but all he got was a spark of gold light, and a vague feeling of tiredness. Frowning, he tried it again, noticing the feeling of being tired worsened. Not enough to be very noticeable, but he did notice it nonetheless.
'Hmm...I'll have to ask Dumbledore about all of this...'
xXx
Several mornings later, after the Minister and the Aurors had all left, and Harry, Ron and Hermione had been released, Harry decided to pay the Headmaster a visit.
After several long minutes reciting nearly the entire inventory of Honeydukes, Harry finally got lucky with an unexpected Muggle candy he'd heard about but never had the chance to try, Milky Way, and walked up the spiraling staircase, knocking on the door. After Dumbledore said to enter, Harry opened the doors, carefully closing them behind him.
He sat across from the Headmaster, who wore a surprisingly subdued set of dark purple robes. Before Harry could speak, Dumbledore made the familiar offer.
"Lemon Drop?"
"No thank you, Headmaster," he replied, a slight frown on his face, in contrast to the usual smile Dumbledore wore.
"Headmaster...about last night..." Here, he paused, and a matching frown settled across Dumbledore's face as well. "Harry...this is about your...affliction?"
Silently, Harry nodded.
Dumbledore released a soft sigh, closing his eyes briefly before looking Harry in the eyes.
"I've already noticed that your lycanthropy is rather different than is typical...Poppy already noticed some rather abrupt changes in your body, and I inspected you myself, with a magical scan...the changes I've already noted are that your body seems to have aged several years - the most obvious difference. Normal werewolves don't grow additional muscle as you have when not transformed, though I'm sure Remus has made that rather obvious." A faint smile of amusement tugged briefly at the Headmaster's lips, and Harry found himself mimicking the expression, thinking of Professor Lupin's relatively thin build.
"The second difference is that where most werewolves rarely transform immediately, even when marked during the full moon, you have shown the ability to shift at will, as you clearly reverted back to your human form, if admittedly changed, even when the moon shone directly upon you - and don't think I haven't noticed you transforming back and forth in your bed." At the Headmaster's vaguely reprimanding expression, Harry's cheeks colored slightly with embarrassment.
"The third difference is...somewhat less obvious." Harry frowned again, but was cut off before he could speak - something which had begun to irritate him. "I only noticed this with my own scan, as Poppy generally just checks for physical injuries, or depletion of the magical core, both of which were fine, though your magic levels were understandably low. What my scan revealed, however, was that your magic seemed to be siphoned away...no, it didn't leave your body, but I noticed much of the flow was being directed towards your head - to your brain, to be more precise, which led me to the hypothesis that the reason you seemed capable of rational thought when transformed, rather than animalistic rage, which is typical with werewolves, is that your magic is somehow subconsciously suppressing the normally uncontrolled instincts that accompany lycanthropy."
Harry frowned even more deeply as he grappled with the concepts mentally. After a few moments, a curious expression replaced the frown. "Headmaster...you said 'much of the flow'...what about the rest? And would this cause me to have trouble casting spells? I normally can produce at least something when I practiced the Patronus Charm, but after Professor Lupin scratched me and I transformed, I couldn't even make a cloud, and every attempt just made me feel tired...after I woke up I noticed my eyes were better, so I transfigured the lenses to glass, till I could figure it out. After we got back, I tried to turn one lens back, to compare them...but nothing happened, besides a few sparks."
Dumbledore's expression turned solemn, and Harry noticed the twinkle had disappeared again.
"I'm afraid, Harry...that your ability to use magic will be rather depleted - at least for a time." Noticing Harry's quickly darkening expression, Dumbledore quickly continued. "However, as I said, it will only be for a time. This redirected flow simply seems to be using the magic which normally remains dormant. The reason you rarely feel exhausted is because we typically use so little magic, we barely tap into the natural well of magic we contain, though the constant use of magic during school years depletes the magical core little by little, forcing the core to expand, to hold more energy to accommodate you. This is the reason why most students have roughly similar levels - the identical curriculum tends to even out the natural levels, as those who possess more magic naturally are not pushed, and thus do not grow as quickly, whereas those who possess less magic are pushed, and grow till they approximately match their peers. This is also the reason some spells are only taught to certain ages - overuse of too large a spell can be dangerous. Similarly, with age and use comes a greater reserve of energy, hence my own rather impressive reserves, if I may be so modest." The Headmaster's smile and chuckle managed to pull Harry's darkening mood the rest of the way back, after the curiosity of the explanation had mostly banished the gloom.
"Now, to answer your original question...the other part of your energy seems to be directed throughout your entire body, forming a sort of faint aura. It's invisible to the naked eye - and nearly even to my practiced eyes - but I could see just enough to be curious, hence the scan. I cannot guess at the effects of this aura, but I daresay it should be beneficial. Thus, my final diagnosis is that you are quite fit, albeit a bit less magically able. However, considering the summer holiday approaching, I doubt that will be an issue for too long, as this constant drain on your core will eventually cause your reserves to grow. It might take quite a while to return to your normal levels, but in the meantime, I believe you might wish to practice with the more...physical aspects of your new form. Also...I must congratulate you, Harry - you've beaten even tour father this time."
Harry frowned again, this time in confusion, despite the Headmaster's wide smile, and the bright twinkle in his eyes. "Umm, Headmaster...what are you talking about?"
"Why, you're the youngest Animagus in history, of course. Officially registered - a wolf." Harry's eyes widened in surprise. "B-but...!"
"Harry, you don't seem to understand the full depth of the prejudice against werewolves...even the Boy-Who-Lived would not remain unblemished. This is a nearly perfect excuse, and nearly accurate as well. Your status certainly seems to have more in common with a typical Animagus transformation than lycanthropy. We'll simply claim that somehow, your magic - perhaps different because of your mother's protection - managed to alter the infection, and turning it into a more helpful magical equivalent - an Animagus form."
Harry looked down at his lap, frowning softly in thought, but smiled up at the elder wizard after several moments. "Thank you Headmaster. I'm sure Sirius will be excited to hear."
Dumbledore chuckled with amusement as Harry stood. "I'm quite sure he will. Now run along, I believe the rather delicious pancakes will disappear quickly this morning. To celebrate the departure of the Dementors, I thought we might try a variation of our usual recipe - chocolate chip."
Harry laughed and thanked the Headmaster again before departing, his previously clouded mood long forgotten. After he had departed, Dumbledore's face returned to a worried frown, and he reached into a drawer, removing a small vial containing a thick red substance.
'Forgive me for not telling you the truth, Harry my boy...but if my suspicions are correct, you may have far more to worry about than Pettigrew's escape...'