A/N: Firstly, I want to apologise to all those people who were disappointed in the last chapter (I'll be replying to all your reviews after this is posted). To be honest, I was hesitant to even post it, knowing that I would get the reactions that I received. I was a little sad, reading these on my break at work on Tuesday and seeing so many unhappy with what was written. I was also surprised to see that on another website a lot of people referred to my Harry as 'super' and believe that I was making him weak. I got a few reviews like that on here too. And that's the second thing I need to make clear: this is not a Super!Harry fic. I never even intended for it to be viewed as such. I know that by having Ron get the better of Harry it makes him appear weak, but I need for Harry to really want to get rid of Ron. Not to mention that it will be important later on, but that's a huge spoiler and I don't just want to say it. You can ask of course.

The scene will be staying as it is, unless someone finds some major grammatical mistake or something. I know it's selfish, but I've written too far ahead to go back and change this now. A few people mentioned that they don't want to read this unless I fix it, but there is nothing to fix! It was intended, and planned, not just some random thing I decided to write. I have a plan, a plot, which I follow fairly closely, unless someone gives me a good idea I can integrate with it. If you guys choose not to read anymore, okay then. I'm honoured to have kept you reading to this point, and I'm sad to see you go. As for consistency, trust me, this plays a HUGE part in the future chapters, none of which would make sense without this.

A part of why Harry couldn't fight back, one that had nothing to do with Ron, is explained in here as well.

As for the way it was written, I had two reasons for that. One was to keep it vague in order to hopefully keep it in Harry's viewpoint, as this was the way his silver addled, magic refused mind would have comprehended the situation. Harry is not weak; he was caught off guard and left defenceless by several separate spells. I'm not sure if anyone actually picked up on it, but Harry couldn't get to any outside magic, not even the spell he thought was a Silencing spell, and his own magic couldn't find a way past the silver in his body. The second spell was used to magic the silver into his system, rendering any physical reflexes/training/defences fairly useless. And Ron is not smart, nor powerful. He is an idiot who happens to have lucked into this (which is actually explained a little around the middle of this chapter). Nothing more, nothing less.

I've also realised that I haven't really given any sort of back story on Hecatamae, or even Harry's hybrid status, so I'm currently writing a companion piece that hopefully helps anyone left reading to understand everything. Some things are explained in latter chapters but if you need to know, it should be up soon.

Again, I am sorry to disappoint so many. I love you guys, and value your support, as well as your opinions.

Sorry for the long A/N, I hope this chapter is okay…

Chapter twelve-- Padfoot's Dilemma

A large, Grim like black dog lowered its head and sniffed at the prone form partially covered in fresh snow. It had picked up the coppery scent of blood and had come to investigate the source. The fact that the boy smelled of death, blood, fear and sex was disconcerting to say the least. Not to mention that the air was practically saturated with a strange sort of magic, completely different to anything he had ever felt. But he could smell, underneath all that, something ancient, something familiar and something distinctly wolf-like. It was obvious that Hogsmeade, or perhaps Hogwarts, was home again to a young werewolf. And the boy was lying in the snow outside of the Shrieking Shack, which he knew had been used for werewolf transformations for a total of seven years during his own school life.

There was a swirl of magic and the low crunching of bones before the dog vanished and a shaggy haired man remained crouched beside the unnamed boy. Sirius Black was proud of his Auror instincts and they were screaming at him right now. It was obvious that something terrible had befallen the boy; his body was frozen still and his pulse was slow and sluggish, not to mention that his breaths were hardly even there. The mix of scents led him only to one conclusion: this boy had been raped and was inches from death.

A wave of a wand had the snow vanishing from the boy and Sirius clearly saw the blood that had saturated the old snow coming from a head wound and from the boy's backside. He winced and pulled his winter cloak off, wrapping the unconscious boy in it and saving what little dignity he may have had left. The teen did have a black cloak on himself, but it was thin and was definitely not suited to the cold air winter brought with it. Not that being left shirt and pantless in the snow had helped anything.

Sirius looked down at the teen's face, which looked surprisingly peaceful. He was slightly confused when he saw little bits of his…friend, James Potter, in the boy's features. He couldn't be little Harry now, could he? No, the boy was off somewhere else and had clearly displayed a hatred for James, he would never willingly come anywhere near the wizard. But there was also a hardness that the stillness of whatever form of sleep he was in could not soften. It clearly spoke of the boy's life, and Sirius wondered that if this was Harry, what horrors had befallen Lily in the past nine years?

The trek up to Hogwarts was cold and slightly difficult, what with the still form in his arms. He wouldn't sling the boy over his shoulder; he refused to add to the shame and indignity he had suffered. But what surprised and confused him was the fact that the body would not warm and the cold seemed to roll off him in waves. By the time he reached the Entrance Hall doors, Sirius was half-frozen himself.

Foregoing the customary knock-and-wait that Dumbledore seemed to delight in, he merely pushed open one door and strode in. Warm air surrounded him and he silently thanked the individual who had thought of warming charms. A misty fog rose from the boy's body in small tendrils of silver. There was a high-pitched shrieking and a flying silver form barrelled into him and latched onto the bundled up form in his arms.

A small, silver faerie dragon hissed and cooed and finally gave into an agitated squeaking noise. When Sirius shifted slightly, harsh onyx eyes looked up at him accusingly and the small creature gave an angry hiss.

"I didn't do anything. I found him. I'm going to take him to Madame Pomfrey, you see?"

It appeared to believe in his innocence and he started to wonder if maybe this creature was the teen's familiar. But when he mentioned Pomfrey it gave an indignant squawk and the world flashed bright white. When the light died down he found himself in a dorm room containing six beds. The room was decorated in a mix of black and various shades of yellow. A girl sat on a bed and was contentedly reading a book and stroking the feathers of a black and red phoenix. The little dragon gave an agitated hiss from atop the bundled form of the boy and pale gold eyes snapped up.

The girl gave a pained cry and momentarily pressed a palm to her head, her facial features screwed up with pain. But then she shook her head and cautiously made her way over to him. Sirius knew he should have been focusing on the unconscious teen in his arms, but he found himself entranced by the quiet beauty of the girl before him. Soft brown tresses flowed over her shoulders and down her back, pale gold eyes that held fathomless caring and love and softly tanned skin. She too, wore the thin black cloak that the teen wore with the same gold writing around the hood.

"Harry! Oh my god…" Her eyes snapped to his and narrowed menacingly. "Who are you, how did you get in here and what the hell did you do to him!"

Sirius couldn't answer, he could barely breath. His dark eyes were locked on the pale face of the teen in his arms, the teen he now knew to be named Harry. His heart told him it was the son of James, but he hoped, fervently prayed, that it wasn't.

The silver dragon hissed and its tail curled around the edge of the winter cloak. Claws dug in and it quickly unwrapped the cloak, enough to let Harry's own scent drift out. The girl's eyes widened and he face went pale as she gasped, "Oh good god, no."

"I…I didn't do anything. I found him, just laying there…please miss, tell me he isn't Harry Potter?"

The girl glared at him a moment, before her pale eyes softened. She took him over to a bed and directed him to lay Harry down on it. She turned to a draw and pulled out vial after vial of potions, some of which he didn't recognise. Several minutes ticked by before she said softly, "He isn't Harry Potter."

"Oh thank Merlin."

Her eyes drifted back up to his and they held so much pain that he looked away. "His name is Harry Evans."

Sirius gasped, pain bloomed in his chest and he stumbled back, sitting heavily on the floor. "No. No! It can't…he isn't…Lily?"

She turned her back on him as she began to work over Harry's still body. "Lily Lupin nee Evans is his mother."

"Lupin?"

"Remus Lupin, our Headmaster and Defence teacher."

"Moony…Moony is here."

The girl remained silent and minutes passed in silence before she laid a hand on his cheek and drew it back with a quick hiss. "Bastards!"

Sirius jumped up and was by her side in half a heartbeat. "What? What's wrong? What's happened?"

She looked down at Harry and closed her eyes. "Silver. It's been spelled into his veins. Without his magic…Harry can't fight that off." She opened her eyes and looked up at him with a desperate look. "And I can't heal him."

He blinked at her. "You're a werewolf too?"

She shook her head. "Werefox."

"Silver affects all Were…I can do it."

A doubtful look was sent his way. "You are not a trained Healer."

"Than Pomfrey can."

"No! I will not send him to that woman. This requires the work of a Healer, not a medi-witch. All they do is wave wands, do silly incantations and shove potions down throats." She sighed. "I'll direct you, but you have to listen and do everything I tell you! I will not have some pig-headed Auror ruin the only chance Harry has."

"Hey!" He shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not pig-headed…anymore."

A roll of pale gold eyes was his only answer. "Now, place one hand on his forehead and one over the centre of his chest, palm down. Now, exert a slight amount of pressure and imagine your magic flowing out of your palms and gradually remove the traces of silver. It should look like black-rimmed silver balls floating about his magical core. You're going to need to close your eyes."

Sirius followed her instructions with dogged determination. If she said to do it, he did it without question. The girl hovered by his side, randomly waving her wand and muttering, or moving her hands down Harry's body, palms a mere inch from his skin. Gradually, slowly, Sirius pushed all the little balls away from the grey core, a core that seemed to be surrounded by a thin layer of icy frost.

"Miss?"

"Yes?"

"I've never really looked at another persons core, so I could be wrong…"

"Just get on with it!" She snapped and her eyes flared in anger.

"Well…is it supposed to look frozen?"

Her eyes widened in fear. "Is all the silver gone?"

"As far as I can tell…"

"Move!" She roughly pushed him away and took his position on the bed by Harry's side. Her hands landed in the same place his had been, and her eyes closed.

Sirius rubbed his palms together and breathed hot air onto them. They felt as if he'd stuck them into a bucket of icy water. He chewed his lip as the girl frowned and shifted. His eyes watched as Harry glowed a faint silver-blue colour and the girl sat back, panting from obvious magical exhaustion. Pale eyes met his.

"I can't explain this…it shouldn't have happened, unless…no, he wouldn't…would he?"

"What are you talking about?"

She sighed as she stood. "I'm sorry, but I can't talk to you about."

"What? No! Harry is my friends son, I will not allow you to keep me in the dark!"

"That's why I can't tell you! If you are friends with James Potter, than telling you could put Harry in more danger." Her eyes flashed and turned slightly feral. "I can't allow that. I won't allow that!"

Shouts met their ears. It seemed there was a commotion in the common room of…Hufflepuff House. Sirius inwardly groaned. He was in the domain of 'puffs!

"Marci! Marci!" Foot falls sounded on the stairs.

"We can't find Harry anywhere. We checked Hogsmeade and the whole fucking castle and we can't think of…anywhere…else."

Two students stood at the door, staring at Sirius and the werefox he now knew was Marci. Gold and amber eyes glowed and faint growls sounded as the girl started forward. She was quick, quicker than he had thought she would be. Her hand wrapped around his throat and she slammed him into the bedpost.

"Sirius Black!"

He gulped. The male sighed and roughly dragged the girl away. "Come on, Mere, what would Harry say if he saw you?"

Mere gave the wizard a pointed glare before her amber eyes fell on the still form of Harry. "Mon Dieu."

She moved slowly, as if she didn't want to believe it, didn't want to allow herself to see it. She stood next to the bed and stared down at Harry, silent. The gold-eyed boy gave a startled cry and rushed over, immediately grabbing a hand. He recoiled and dropped the hand, eyes wide and turned on Marci.

The smaller werefox gave a sigh and looked pointedly at Sirius. Mere frowned and took her wand out and pointed it at him.

"Whoa!" He put his hands up, refusing to fight it out against the younger generation. "I'm not doing anything."

Mere sighed and shook her head. "Idiot. I'm just going to make sure that old Dumbles and his merry band of cockheads can't get anything out of you." He was so stunned by her words that he didn't react as a soft purple spell hit him square in the head. He blinked stupidly back at her. "Wasn't hard now, was it?"

"What the hell did you do?"

"Merde, how stupid are you people?"

"Mere." The gold-eyed teen growled low in warning.

"What, Darren? You're worried about me insulting some stupid English wizard when Harry is ice cold and laying there comatose?!"

Marci rolled her eyes. "Sirius, Mere used a spell to make sure that any memories tied to this conversation are protected from outside influences. Until you leave this room the spell is in play. It will protect us, and you."

"Okay. I think."

Darren shook his head before looking back down at Harry. "What's wrong with him, Marci?"

Marci bit her lip. "I…well, I don't know if Harry would want us all to know, you know how he is…"

"Marci, please?" Mere pleaded with the little witch who sighed.

"It looks like he was…well, raped."

Sirius rocked back as if he'd been hit, while the other two started swearing loudly and colourfully. Harry had been raped? By who? Who would be so sick as to want to do that little Harry? And the silver…

"Harry wouldn't have just gone down without a fight, would he?"

Mere glared at him. "Of course not! He isn't our alpha for nothing!"

"Mere!" Darren gave her a pointed look, which she rolled her eyes at.

"He can't share this! We don't have to lie, Darren!"

The two continued to glare at one another before Marci cleared her throat. "If you guys don't mind? That wasn't all. Harry was full of silver. It was spelled into him somehow." She looked at Sirius. "That's why Harry was unable to fight back, though if I hazard a guess, he would have marked his attackers somehow." She ran a hand over her face and sighed. "He also had a couple of broken ribs, the same as before, a rather nasty gash to the back of his head, and his right arm was broken in several places."

"Marci?"

She bit her lip and looked at the other two nervously. "Yeah?"

"What else?"

She swallowed and looked back at Harry. "His core is almost completely frozen. His magic was probably attacking him before it realised what was going on."

Sirius blinked. "Attacking him? I don't understand."

Mere sighed and sat down on the bed beside Harry. She was careful not to touch him though. "Harry's magic has a life of its own. We think it's because of his hybrid status. When he's in danger, his magic will lash out and attack if he ever becomes unable to do so himself."

"Unfortunately," Darren said with a slight sneer. "There are some really old spells that can render that defence mechanism useless. It was used on the Hecatamae a long time ago. You have to catch them off guard and cause a small gap to appear in their shields, which are pure magic."

"Harry is incredibly alert, and he's always tense. It would be hard to catch him off guard."

"But," Sirius was beginning to feel his anger building up inside of him. "Who the hell would want to hurt Harry?"

"Weasley." The three teens chorused at the exact same time, before shrugging simultaneously.

"Weasley? Which Weasley?"

"Not the twins. We met them today…Harry always said they were a little odd. He forgot to mention the whole talking together thing." Mere blinked.

Darren shook his head. "Ron Weasley. He's been constantly at Harry since we got here. First day here he broke several of Harry's ribs. Hasn't stopped threatening him since."

Sirius frowned. "I can bring him in and charge him for assault. I judge that Dumbledore isn't doing anything?"

"That old coot? Why would he want to help us?" Marci bit out, bitterness filling her voice.

"Okay, then." He raised an eyebrow but said nothing. "Is Harry going to be okay here?"

"You think we can't protect him? Our pack is here, and if we want, Harry's familial pack could be here. He'd be safer if Dumbledore and Weasley happened to just drop dead, but that's asking a fair bit of Fate."

Sirius snorted. A thought occurred to him and he frowned. "How can I get Ron Weasley charged if I can't talk about this?"

Mere had the decency to blush, though she didn't stop from staring at him in that odd way all three had. "Sorry, but we can't have Dumbles figure anything out just yet. You can talk to Remus and Lily, them we trust."

"Infinitely so." Darren gave a strained smirk, but it dropped almost instantly.

"Lily will be crushed." Marci's eyes widened. "And Remus…Remus will go nuts!" She turned to Darren. "Go with Sirius to see them, or we're going to have one angry beta."

Darren nodded and led Sirius from the room. He threw one last pained glance at his friend before resolutely leaving. As they passed through the common room, Sirius was given odd looks by the students there. Most likely they were trying to figure out where he had come from since they hadn't seen him enter at all. As they walked down the corridors, Sirius ventured out and asked the werewolf what had been bothering him for years.

"Do you know why Lily and Harry left James nine years ago?"

HPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLV

Dumbledore hummed as he leaned back in his chair, gnarled fingers tapping against the clear orb before him. The orb was innocent enough, but any learned individual would know its purpose. Fortunately, Ron Weasley was not a learned individual. In fact, he was a rather stupid boy who was useful, and had been for many years.

Blue eyes twinkled as he watched the wisps of magic swirl sluggishly. Only a few hours earlier they had been lively, coloured in blues, greens, reds, golds, silvers and blacks. And now they were a dead combination of greys. The orb had been linked to both Harry Evans and Ron Weasley, and right now he was watching as Harry sank further towards Death.

No one had listened when the boy was younger; no one listened when he told them he was dangerous. Oh, he was no fool. It was not the werewolf blood that made Harry deadly; rather it was his Hecatamus half. The boy had been born a full-blooded Hecatamae, which meant that the deities of Fate and Balance had had a hand in his conception. Lily and James were not powerful enough to have conceived him on their own. He had watched as Harry grew, had watched as the shields surrounding his Core gained hairline cracks, enough to shorten his temper and patience, enough to warrant an immediate decision for Death from the Wizengamot. But for some reason the Guild Council had intervened, blocking them from destroying the most dangerous individual since Voldemort's defeat.

And yet, when he had sat in this very office, Harry's Core was solid. Or, well, that was what he was able to tell before something had tugged and drawn the magic he had used into the teen's body, making his eyes flare brightly a brief moment. So, Dumbledore had taken it upon himself to complete the Wizengamot's decision.

All he'd had to do was leave a few choice parchments lying around, containing information he knew that Harry would likely do anything to destroy, for they held spells that could render any defence he had useless. One to get through the almost impenetrable shield every single one of his kind instinctively had, which had been used so that a spell used against werewolves could be implemented, magicking a vast amount of silver directly into his system. Another one to keep any outside magic from coming to their aid, because Hecatamae had a nasty habit of using natural resources to their advantage. And finally one to keep any companions defended by their own inner magic from noticing what was going on. It was ingenious really.

Waving his hand, he powered down the orb, before standing and leaving his office. He never looked back, and never saw the small flicker of blue magic as the orb dimmed down.

HPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVPHLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLVHPLV

Sirius bit his lip as he waited for Darren's answer. The auestion had bothered him all these years.

Darren frowned. "He only ever mentioned that James would say his magic was 'dirty'. From what Mere has been able to gather from living with them, it seems he also attacked Harry a few times. Nothing serious…" He frowned. "Nothing major, I suppose. You have a stupid name by the way."

"Dog star."

"Mhmm."

"You said that Mere lives with them. What do you mean?"

"Mere was accidentally turned by her cousin when we were twelve. Her family disowned her, but allowed her to keep their name. The Swiner's are a very proud pureblood family, with a lot of standing in France. I suppose they didn't want their bloodline tainted by Were blood." He waved his hand in the air. "Anyway, Harry decided that Mere should live with them. Ah, I remember that day. He just stood up! And told Lily that Mere was now officially his roommate, in and outside of school. I do believe she lectured him for an hour on actually consulting her when making decisions like that. Of course, she was already inviting Remus to move in."

Sirius blinked. "When…when did Lily and Remus start dating?"

Darren bit his lower lip, his brow creased as he tried to remember. "I dunno really. They already were when Karkaroff hired them for the Charms and Defence positions." He shrugged. "You'd have to ask one of them."

Sirius nodded, biting his lower lip. His mind was a confused mess, and he wasn't sure how he was meant to sort it all out. On the one hand, there was his loyalty to James and to the Light, even though he had always considered himself more neutral than anything. And on the other hand was the fact that little Harry had been harmed, raped, by a boy who had slept in his home, a boy he had been teaching during the summer months.

When the youngest of the Weasley boys had been introduced to him, he had been wary. The family was notoriously poor, barely scrapped by in fact, but Arthur was a friendly bloke, if only a tad obsessed with muggles and all their devices. The kids had always tried hard to get ahead, striving to do better than their peers. Bill was a successful curse breaker for Gringott's Banks around the world, Charlie made a comfortable living working with Dragons in Romania, Percy was one of several Undersecretary's for the Minister for Magic, Fred and George had started up their very own business selling prank and joke products, as well as a few items destined for use on the battle field. And while Ginny was incredibly talented at high-powered spells, Ron had taken to following Daniel around, doing whatever he did.

The boy wanted fame, and he got it by being the best friend of the Boy Who Lived. Sirius shook his head and straightened his shoulders. It didn't matter. Personal feelings aside, he had to be brought to justice for what he had done to Harry.

Darren paused outside an elegant statue of a wolf curled around a small spotted cat. The cat 'mewed' at them, and he couldn't help the grin. "This is Remus' office statue from Durmstrang." He took a deep breath and spoke the password, "Totalitarian."

Sirius raised an eyebrow, and the werewolf shook his head. The wolf and cat bowed their heads and a doorway appeared to their left. Stepping inside, they followed the narrow hallway into a warmly lit room with a relaxed, cheery atmosphere. Sirius really didn't want to be here when the news was revealed.

Remus looked up and smiled at Darren before his amber eyes hardened upon seeing his old friend. "Sirius."

Lily gave a gasp from another room, and something clattered to the floor. "Remus! Remus!"

The man was up immediately and caught the red head as she flew into the room. "Lily…calm down…what's wrong?"

She sobbed and clutched at him. "The pendant. Remus, the pendant!"

He pulled back and lifted a hand to the thin gold chain about her neck. It was an onyx wolf pendant; animated from within the gold circle of metal it was connected to. The wolf was currently sprawled, unmoving, along the bottom edge. He turned and his eyes flashed in anger. "Darren."

Darren swallowed and stepped in front of Sirius. The man may have been a friend to the older werewolf, and a good Auror, but he was going to be no match if things got out of control. "It's Harry--."

"I know that!" Remus snapped and took a step forward. "Tell me what happened to him!"

"Well, you see, he was attacked, in Hogsmeade."

Lily trembled. "Darren, please…what happened to my baby?"

The gold eyes suddenly dimmed and turned a deep brown, filled with sorrow and anger. "Ron Weasley. He attacked Harry. He…he raped Harry."

The room was suddenly too small in Sirius' opinion. Remus' eyes glowed and turned slightly feral, he growled and started towards the door. A swirl of magic and a large, black, Grim like dog stood before him. Sirius knew just how dangerous Moony was, and Remus was allowing the wolf in him to rein, rather than his more sensible wizard self.

"Move, Sirius."

The only answer was a growling bark. Lily laid a hand on Remus' arm and pulled him back slightly. "Remus…please, this won't help Harry." She gave a sob, followed by a hiccup. "Oh god, my baby."

Abruptly, Remus spun and enclosed Lily in a strong hug, burying his face in her neck. Sirius shifted back, head bowed and eyes closed against the angry tears. Darren was the only one who heard the sharp knock that echoed down the hallway. Frowning, he moved to the door and paused. The door was hidden, and only the teachers and Durmstrang students knew where it was. He waved his hand over a small notch in the wall and the door shimmered.

On the other side, rocking on the balls of his feets and dressed in a horrible purple and orange robe, was Albus Dumbledore.