After another argument, and Dobby complaining about the mess, Harry dismissed the storm cloud and they sat down at the table for breakfast.

"So Remus, how did yesterday go?" Harry asked over pancakes.

"Yes, Remus, how was my dear cousin Tonks yesterday?" Sirius smirked, only to duck the apple Remus through at him.

"It went well. She isn't a Dumbledore fanatic, thankfully. No daughter of Andy would be. I think the only reason she joined the Order was because of you."

"Good old Andy." Sirius smiled fondly. "She never believed I was an insane psycho killer."

"Well, not a killer anyway. And she passed that belief on to her daughter, along with a tiny amount of hero worship it seems."

"Understandable." Sirius nodded.

"Right. Well I think it would be better if we waited before bringing her here. Let me work on her some more. While she may not worship Dumbledore she does respect him. I'll make sure her occulumency is good enough before I say anything."

"Good idea, no need to take risks. And hey, if your work takes you to a restaurant or an movie theatre, well that's just good luck."

Remus valiantly ignored Sirius teasing. "So what do you deviants plan on doing today? I notice you started the prank war already."

"I didn't…"

"I want to learn to be an animagus." Harry cut off Sirius's protest. "Sirius said you would teach me."

"We will Harry but keep in mind that learning to be an animagus is not easy. Most people never even locate an animal to turn into." Remus caught the look Sirius and Harry passed between each other. "What?"

"We already know what he's going to be." Sirius said. "It was just after his first birthday. He wanted to play with Daddy and Uncle Padfoot, and the next thing we know there's this little black kitten crewing on my tail. Vicious little bugger he was." He grinned proudly. "Gets it from my side of the family."

"Clow Reed was fascinated by the ability to shapeshift." Kero said. "It was an almost unheard of ability back in his time. See, for me, I was designed with two forms. Changing between the two requires a certain amount of power, but little actual effort. Clow said the animagus spell was designed to completely redesign your body and give it another form to change into but that form had to be compatible to both your currant body and your personality. Because the other form is as much you as this one is."

"And I did that as a kid?" Harry asked.

"Actually it was probably easier for you to do it as a kid. You'd have watched your family changing around you and seen nothing wrong with having another form yourself."

"B-But… How? You…" Remus shook his head in disbelief. "Why didn't I know about this?"

"Lily swore us to secrecy. You know how she was. I think personally think she was in denial about the whole thing."

Remus nodded ruefully. "I remember." He took a breath. "Alright since you've already skipped stages one and two, we'll move on to stage three."

Stage three involved Harry calling up his magic and watching Sirius change from one form to another. He paid attention to how the magic moved and what it did to him. Kero was having fun directing Sirius, often having him stop halfway and change back. Finally Sirius got fed up and pounced.

"Ahhh!!" Kero screamed as Padfoot snatched him out of midair and shook him.

"Padfoot drop him!" Harry scolded. Padfoot whined. "Now."

"Oh gross, dog drool! That's nasty." Kero whinged, moving higher, out of the dog animagus' reach. "Bad dog!"

"If the children are done playing?" Remus asked hands on hips. "Harry why don't you give it a go."

They had moved outside to enjoy the beautiful summer weather and to have enough room to explore his new form. Harry nodded and concentrated. He pulled his magic up and directed it within himself as he had seen Sirius do. 'Cat,' he thought, 'I want to be a cat.'

Nothing happened.

Frustrated Harry threw up his hands. "Why isn't it working?"

"It's a matter of familiarity. You have to know what you are becoming. Because Sirius has spent a lot of time as Padfoot he knows the form very well."

"Why spend so much time as an animal?" Kero asked. "Wanted to be an actual hound dog? Or was the only way to get the ladies to notice you?"

"As if I needed any help." Sirius scoffed darkly. "No, it was just the only way to stay sane in Azkaban."

"What were you doing in Azkaban? Attack the Minister or something? I knew that temper of yours…"

"Kero, enough!" Harry snapped. Kero obediently backed off, recognising a sore subject.

"As I was saying," Remus continued. "The more familiar you are with your form the easier this will get."

"Try it again Harry." Sirius encouraged. "This time get a firm picture of your form in your head. Imagine the black fur covering your body, and claws on your fingers. You have pointed ears and a long tail." Harry closed his eyes and pictured the animal Sirius was describing. "You walk on four legs, and move gracefully. You can feel the power in your muscles, sharp teeth in your mouth. Your eye sight is keener, your hearing is sharper, your whiskers…

Sirius halted his description as Harry began to shift. The transformation was slow, a gradual change. Fur erupted along his body and he fell forward as his muscles and bones shifted. It took a few minutes but soon Harry stood on all four paws.

Sirius looked down at his godson. "You know, I think we are going to have to name you Puff." Harry shot him a dirty look but had to admit the name did fit. His fur in this form was just and unruly as his own hair. He took a few experimental steps. Moving was strange, having to move what he thought of as his arms as well as his legs. And he couldn't figure out what to do with his tail.

"Doing good Harry." Sirius encouraged. "When James first changed into a stag he kept tripping over his own legs. It look him ages to work out where everything went."

"As I recall you weren't much better." Remus laughed.

Harry was really starting to like this form. His eye sight was miles better, and he kept getting distracted by all the birds. His hearing was able to pick up sound from a huge distance, and the smells… Amazing.

"Alright Harry, why don't you try changing back now. Just do the same thing you did before only picture you human body."

The change back was slightly quicker but still nothing like Sirius's. "That was so awesome!" He said as soon as he got a human mouth back.

Sirius laughed and picked him up, hugging him tightly. "You were so adorable!"

"I wonder what type of cat you were, though. It looked like a black panther except for the pointed ears."

"I know what he is." Kero said smugly.

"Well, come on don't keep us in suspense." Sirius growled.

"Umbra Feles," he said. "The cats that haunt the Scottish moors. Shadow Cat."

"They're a myth." Remus protested. "There is no documented proof they have ever existed outside peoples imagination."

"Well duh. That's because they are Shadow Cats. They do know how to hide."

"Are they magical?" Sirius asked.

"Yes and no. They are a cross breed between a Panther and a Kneezle. No actual magic of their own. Some sorcerer a couple of hundred years before Clow was after a better familiar. Something big enough to be dangerous and smart enough to be useful. Of course being so smart they didn't want to be pets and got out. Now they avoid all humans."

Sirius nodded. "I think I remember something about that. That's why there are such strict breeding laws."

"Well what ever you are, you're not fully grown." Remus said. "You still had the large paws and lanky awkwardness of a half grown kitten. I'd say when you reach full size you'd probably be just a bit smaller than Padfoot."

"Regular chip off the old block, he is." Sirius grinned ruffling Harry's hair. "How 'bout you change back into Puff and you and me go exploring? The more you get used to your form the easier the change will be."

"You are not calling my animagus form Puff." Harry scowled.

"Come on Harry, it suits."

"Remus!"

"Don't worry Harry. I wont let him call you Puff."

"Thank you."

"How about Blacky? Inky? Darky?"

Harry and Sirius had a fantastic time running around the woods that surrounded the castle. Harry soon got the hang of using his tail for balance and the race was on. They raced through the trees, Harry's eyes perfect for picking out paths in what would have been impassable terrain had he been human, his thick coat protecting him as he passed through dense scrub.

Sirius let the way for the most part, remembering better days from his youth when he ran with a stag by his side. They stopped at a stream, still chilled from the ice melt from the high lands. Sirius changed back and waited for Harry to do the same, his transformation significantly slower.

"That was awesome!" Harry threw himself on Sirius, laughing. "It was so great to be able to move like that, and the things I could see and hear! Wow!"

Sirius laughed as he swung his godson. "That's what we thought too. Though Wormtail was disappointed with his form, but he got what he deserved. You think running here is fun you should try the Forbidden Forest sometime. We… Actually you know what? You are never to go in to the Forbidden Forest."

"Sirius, you know, Hermione and I went into the Forest with Hagrid in first year. We got detention for being out of bed past curfew when we were smuggling Hagrid's dragon out of the school. We had to try and find the thing that was killing the Unicorns and drinking their blood. Found it too, but fortunately the centaurs chased it off so I was alright."

Sirius blinked. He opened his mouth, blinked a second time, and closed his mouth again, not really sure what to say.

"I had heard about that incident. I understand it was you who banished the Unicorn killer, some months later." A voice came from the shadows in trees behind them.

Sirius grabbed Harry and pushed him behind him. He pulled his wand. "Show yourself."

"I mean no harm." A roan stallion centaur walked out from the shadows, a bow and quiver across his back but hands empty. "My name is Ifor. I am a scout from the local herd. I could not help hearing your story."

"I didn't know there was a centaur herd in the area." Sirius said easing up on Harry.

"We are but a small group, only recently split from the larger herd in Eryi. When we came to this land the human dwelling had stood empty for many years. If our presence here is a problem…"

"It's not a problem." Harry said. "But how did you hear about my first year? It's not exactly common knowledge. Not the truth anyway."

"To kill a Unicorn a monstrous act. When the Aberdeen herd sent word that some… thing was killing Unicorns many wished to call a Hunt. Only the stars foretelling of the battle between you and the evil one held us back. The stars have foretold many things for you, Harry Potter."

"And once again, it's Harry Potter to the rescue." Sirius snarled. "Cleaning up other people's messes."

Ifor kicked his legs in anger. "The Evil One is not a centaur problem!"

"It's not Harry's either!"

Harry grabbed his godfathers arm. "Sirius, leave it alone. It's not their fault Dumbledore hired a teacher who was possessed by Voldemort."

"He WHAT!?"

Needless to say Sirius was not happy with Harry's recitation of the events of his first year. His indignation was only exasperated by the amusement of Ifor, who seemed to think it was a great tale of adventure and intrigue. Harry wisely decided to leave out the incident with the troll, and almost coming off his broom. He didn't even want to get into the events of his second year. Sirius was seething and only the fact that he didn't seem to be angry at him kept Harry talking. He really didn't want to be Dumbledore though, the next time his godfather got a hold of him.

"…the last thing I remember before waking up in the Hospital Wing is someone calling my name."

"Dumbledore is an idiot!" Sirius raged. "How could he not…"

"Hindsight is 20/20, Sirius."

"It doesn't take 20/20 vision to set up better traps, so that any chess playing, decent flyer with a first years knowledge of herbology, a wand and two brain cells to rub together can't get past! What the hell does he think he's playing at? Not to mention getting the very person you're trying to protect the thing from, to help guard it!"

"Sirius maybe we should go find Remus and Kero now. It's almost lunch."

"Don't change the subject. Merlin, Harry with the stone in first year, me in third and the tournament in fourth, I'm afraid to even ask what happened in second year."

"Um… I'm really hungry Sirius we should go. It was nice meeting you Ifor."

Harry didn't give Sirius a chance to protest before he began the change to cat form.

"Fine Harry. If you don't want to tell me, I wont push." He changed to Padfoot. 'I'll just sick Remus on you instead.' If a dog could smirk this one was doing a very good impression.

The trip back to the Castle was slower and Harry got more of a chance to watch the surroundings. He and Padfoot amused themselves by chasing each other across the fields. They leaped over rocks and streams and darted around the trees. Abruptly Harry broke off his pursuit.

There. A twitch. He dropped, low to the grown. A hare, it's ears turning to located any threat. It hadn't sensed him yet.

Careful. One step. Another. Silent. Closer, almost…

Padfoot noticed he wasn't following and barked a query. The hare froze, and took off! Harry huffed in annoyance and raced after it. Padfoot joined up late in the game, barking with the joy of the hunt. Harry chased the hare through the forest, bounding through bushes, around trees. Closer, almost there! NO! The hare doubled back. Harry skidded to a stop, almost tripping and lunged after it again. He was gaining on it though and every step took him closer. There! He leaped, his front paws outstretched, claws extended to catch the squirming animal. He could almost taste victory!

What?

Where did it go? The animal just disappeared out from under his paws. That's just not right. Harry lifted his nose to the air to try and pick up the animals scent. He could smell where it had been, could taste the fear as it was being hunted. But then nothing, it was as if it had been erased.

Padfoot trotted up to join him. 'Where'd it go, Puff? Don't tell me lost it?' he woofed.

'Wha…?' Harry looked at the dog animagus is shock. 'We can talk?'

'Yeah, this is how I talked Crookshanks into helping two years ago. Now where'd the hare go?'

'I don't know. One minute it was here, the next it was gone.'

'Don't worry about it, Kitten. It's only your first hunt. Now come on lets get back for lunch.' He turned and led the way back to the Castle.

Harry took one last look at where he should have caught his first hare, and made to follow his godfather.

But he couldn't see him.

'Padfoot!' He called, his voice somewhere between a meow and a hiss. 'Sirius! Where'd you go?'

Harry bounded over to where he has last seen him. His scent was there, he could even see some tracks, but then nothing. Now he was beginning to get freaked.

'Sirius!' He yowled, strained his hearing trying to pick up any sort of reply. That's when he noticed something odd. There was no sound. Oh he could hear the wind in the trees and the water moving down stream, but where were the birds? The insects? The animals of the forest? There was no one. Nothing around for miles.

Wait, he could hear something! Hooves! A centaur! Which way? West! He raced in the direction of the only other sign of life he could find, hoping it would still be there when he arrived. He arrived in the clearing and saw Ifor waiting for his arrival. He changed back to human.

"Ifor do you know what's happening? Everything's disappearing."

Ifor looked at him, his expression serious. "Wild magic has been released. With out control it must act on it's nature, causing great disruption." Ifor looked down and when Harry followed his gaze he noticed the centaurs legs were vanishing! The effect was moving up. Slowly more of the centaur's body and torso was disappearing. "To defeat your foe you must first know it for what it is. Feel around you, you must…" He was gone!

'Know your foe? What did he mean? Wild magic?' "A Clow Card!" It must be. But which one? "Power of Darkness, power of Light. Surrender the wand the force ignite. Release!" He felt much better with the sealing wand in his hand. "'Feel around you.' Okay." Harry closed his eyes and pulled up his magic. He didn't bother with the long distance scrying as he could feel the card in the area. He opened his eyes and looked around. There was no concentrated magic around but he could see the natural magic of the world. Strange though, bits seemed missing. Gapes and spaces where something and been…

"Erase!" At his word magic swirled and moved. A bank of grey mist appeared. The mist solidified into a cloth which dropped to the ground revealing small imp dressed in a yellow-and-white-patterned court jesters outfit with a long hat with two points that trail almost to the ground. The avatar smiled at Harry and raised it's hands, bowing like a magician after performing a trick. Harry didn't waste any time. He raised his wand.

"Return to your power confined. Erase card!" As soon as card sank into his hand and the Clow circle disappeared, the forest exploded with sound. Compared to the unnatural silence, it was wonderful to hear. In the distance he could hear Padfoot's barking, no doubt wondering where he had gone.

"Well done," Ifor said, once again standing in front of him. "Events are shaping up to prepare you for your destiny and you rise well to the challenge. The true test will come, however, when loyalties are torn between old and new." Harry had no idea what this meant. "I wish you continued good luck, Harry Potter, and I hope we will meet again." He sketched a short bow and disappeared back into the forest.

Harry looked at the card once more before changing and racing to find Padfoot.

"Where the hell have you two been!" Kero yelled. "Do you have any idea what time it is? Wolf Boy wouldn't let me have lunch until you got back! I'm wasting away here!"

"Considering the amount you ate for breakfast it's a wonder you're not fatter than you are." Sirius commented, once he returned to human form.

"I have a very stressful job, you know. I… Hey did you just call me fat!?"

"Kero." Harry interrupted. "Check it out. I found another card. The Erase." He held it up.

"Wow Harry that's great. The Erase, yeah." Kero sounded less than enthused. "Can we have lunch now?"

"So how exactly is your job stressful?" Sirius asked, as the four of them walked, (or floated,) inside the Castle. "'Cause it seems to me that Harry's doing all the work."

"Hey, I'll have you know my job is very demanding. I have to guide and protect Harry while he captures the cards-"

"Speaking of protection," Sirius interrupted, rounding on Remus. "Remus, did you know what Harry was doing in his first year? Hmm? In our first year, we were still learning the secret passageways. He was out exploring the Forbidden Forest, hunting down Unicorn killers, smuggling dragons, fighting Dark Lords and who knows what else! What the hell kind of school is the barmy old goat running?!"

"Dragon smuggling?" Kero exclaimed. "That's so cool. Clow had a pet dragon. It was-"

"Not now!" Sirius's and Remus's voices echoed around the front hall.

"Harry," Remus said softly. "Did all that really happen?"

"Um… Well… yeah. But Remus…"

"It's okay Harry, we're not mad at you-"

"We're mad at Dumbledore." Sirius muttered

Remus shook his head. "What was he thinking? Harry, Dumbledore's whole job description is to provide a safe learning environment for young wizards and witches. If that was your first year and given what I know from last year he hasn't been doing a very good job."

"None of this was your fault." Sirius sighed. "I almost wish we could pull you out off school altogether-"

"Sirius, no!"

"But," Remus cut off his protest. "That wouldn't solve anything. And we'd be in more trouble than just taking you for the summer."

"We're just going to have to make sure you know how to protect yourself." Sirius said fiercely. "You've done a pretty good job, so far of getting yourself out of situations. We're just going to have to teach you how to avoid them."

"Right," Remus agreed. "We'll just teach you to do the opposite of what we used to do."

I'm fairly sure Eryi is what the locals call Snowdonia, but this was found by looking through the internet so please correct me if I'm wrong. Aberdeen is suppost to be where Howarts is located. Ifor means bowman in Welsh.

Well here's the new chapters. I'm short on time so please tell us what you think. Something about our story please. We can't improve things unless we know what our readers like. "Wow your story is great." is good but doesn't tell us anything.