See chapter one for disclaimers/suggestions/warnings. Many happy returns if you have actually read that entire note! *happy dancin'!* :D

NOTE: In the original fic, things picked up around chapter 13-14-ish, I'm slicing chapters in half and rewriting snippets. There's going to be scene jumping in future chapters, so watch for the page breaks! :)

PREVIOUSLY:

Harry's professors have warned him about his lack of magic and advised him to visit Madam Pomfrey. Not wanting to reveal his creature nature, Harry has been avoiding it for the past three days, while trying to figure out some of his other classmates.

It was three days before a certain pair of professors caught on to the fact that he hadn't visited Madam Pomfrey.

Professor McGonagall didn't quite scowl at him through the entire class, but he could feel her eyes following his every move.

Professor Flitwick responded in similar fashion and frowned pointedly as Harry scooted out of class before anything else could happen.

Professor Terius was back to his normal self, literally the day after the Pansy-Draco attempt, though he did shoot Harry a few annoyed looks every so often as if he were a particular wrinkle that he couldn't quite iron out. Terius had charged back into classes as usual the very next day afterward and since then, the class had begun to discuss one topic that had Hermione ranting and raving through every meal since—Blood Magic. Harry hadn't cared. It had sounded interesting and even though he'd listened to Hermione's complaints, he felt a strangely alluring call towards the sheer power that Blood Magic promised. It was personal, intimate and so beautifully dark.

He shouldn't like it—or so he felt the whispers in his ears—but oh, how he did love to think and dream of it.

He couldn't wait until they touched on the practical points. Terius had all but promised them that they would see actual Blood Magic in action and in a safe environment, courtesy of Headmaster Dumbledore. It was sure to be a very interesting lesson. Of course, that wasn't the only interesting thing he had to focus on. Harry had ordered a new box of chocolate frogs and eagerly awaited the chance to trade them for Meg's mysterious encyclopedia in Potions that very afternoon. He was itching to get his fingers on that book, sure that the creature encyclopedia would have something on Dragels after all of the books in the Hogwarts library seemed exempt from the very term—well, at least in terms of useful information. Nearly all of them had the same textbook definition as his Care of Magical Creatures textbook and they all had less than flattering things to say of the dearly departed creatures.

Nearly every other text he'd gotten his hands on, seemed to be written from the viewpoints of authors that wished they knew how the extinct race had lived, breathed and survived. There was nothing really useful or concrete between all the speculation scribbled there and Harry couldn't help feeling as if the Dragels had been some sort of very secret society, complete with special passwords and secret handshakes.

It was as if he didn't know the password and because of it, he wouldn't be able to learn the handshake.

It was certainly confusing.

Thankfully, none of his other professors seemed to really be worrying or paying attention to other things—such as his new lack of magic—but then again, he didn't necessarily need magic in Herbology and it wasn't like Professor Binns would care as he droned on about the Goblin wars. Harry was more than grateful for that. It allowed him some leeway and he didn't have to act as much as he did in other classes.

A long yawn sneaked out of his mouth and Harry sighed to himself. He hated feeling this way—so strung out and exhausted and out of sorts, he wanted the week to be over so he could sleep in for the weekend and fix it. For all the wonders that his Dragel inheritance was supposed to be, it was starting to become a little bit of a royal pain. With some effort, Harry pushed the depressing thoughts away and tried to focus on more enjoyable things.

Such as talking to Meg.

Borrowing books from Meg.

Possibly having a longer conversation with Meg.

Maybe doing something more than just talking with Meg—minus a certain redhead's interruption.

Harry sighed.

She was not his girlfriend, but he certainly wasn't about to object to the fact that he kind of wishes that she was. He did have a feeling if he ever did work up the nerve to direct their friendship in that direct, she'd be holding the reins. There was simply something about her that let him know she was in charge and it was best that way.

Harry was surprised to find that such a revelation didn't really bother him. Sometimes it was exhausting and tiring to have to make all sorts of little decisions on his own, especially when everyone else wanted a hand in running his life. There was a difference there though—some people were running it without his permission and in Meg's case, Harry readily admitted to himself that he'd give her the control, if she wanted it. Taking versus giving.

He sighed. He was definitely looking forward to spending the afternoon reading and he'd carefully stowed his stash of chocolate frogs in his bookbag, with a smile to Meg as they'd passed in the corridor to let his friend know that he'd gotten his hands on the necessary sweets.

Meg's soft smile in return left him blushing.

Harry ducked his head and skittered off to the next class.

If he had a silly grin on his face for the first period, no one commented on it.

They probably didn't even notice.

It was in Potions that his luck first ran out.

Harry didn't realize it until it was far too late.

Professor Snape didn't even glance at him as he placed the completed and labeled potion on the desk. "Potter, a word, if you would." He said, stiffly. He waited until the other students had placed their potions on the desk and then he began to gather them up, speaking in Harry's general direction as he did. "The Headmaster wishes to see you in his office directly. Go. Now!"

Harry did.

In the opposite direction.

He bolted from the dungeons and headed for Gryffindor Tower. He did not feel like talking to the overly cheerful wizard and he most certainly did not want to put himself in a position where he might give too much away. The last thing he wanted to share with anyone was the fact that he'd become a—well, an extinct creature—there was simply no good way to slip that into a conversation, anyhow. Harry shuddered. He had a feeling that talking or being in a room alone with said wizard would most certainly do that and he did not want to be blurting out things that were best kept under wraps. He was tired enough to know that he couldn't afford to take that risk—not now anyway.

Maybe if he had a little nap…

A wave of tiredness overtook him and Harry gritted his teeth. Why now of all times? He forced himself to keep on walking, knowing that he'd probably end up sleeping through dinner as he'd done the first week of school, until he'd been able to sleep through the weekend.

He'd almost reached the safety of Gryffindor Tower when his breath sudden hitched in his throat.

Harry bit back the groan of disappointment. He knew that feeling—thanks to his lovely, wonderful, brand-spankin' new Dragel instincts. Something bad was going to happen.

It was going to happen right now.

"Mr. Potter." The Potion Master's silky, dark voice made him stiffen into a statue. "The Headmaster's office is in the other direction. I would hope that the potion fumes have not affected your usually muddled brain to the point that simple instructions are too difficult for your feeble mind to comprehend." The man stared down at him with a mixture of a glower and a scowl in place. "Your head of house has worried about you to the point of mentioning it to the headmaster. Of which, I was selected to personally escort you to his office, just in case you forgot the password or some other equally inane excuse."

Harry swallowed. He could feel his Dragel instincts beginning to act up and scream at him. He didn't like what they were screaming at him. They were warning him away from the older man and telling him that he was threading on thin ice.

"Shall we?" The taller man gestured with over-exaggerated politeness.

Harry held his head high as he turned on his heel and began to retrace his steps. He made sure to keep an even distance between them. If Snape noticed, he didn't let on.

They neared the Headmaster's office with a high-pitched scream made Harry clutch at his ears and whimper.

Snape's head snapped to the side to look at him and then the Potions Master went rigid for a split-second before he broke into a dead run, whatever color he possessed already leaving his abnormally pale face. His robes billowed impressively behind him as he literally flew through the corridors.

Harry grimaced and jogged after him once he discovered that the unearthly scream had only sounded once. That was good. He didn't know if he could handle hearing a second one. It was as if that scream had all but ripped every empathic feeling from his body and shoved it down his throat in a way to make him feel complete, utter despair. A strange hollow emptiness that reminded him almost of the Dementors. Only worse. Harry shoved the thought away as forcefully as he could. How could something be worse than those wretched creatures of darkness?

The scrap of black fabric flickered around the edge of the wall, ahead and Harry hurried after it. He flinched as a powerful ripple of magic surged outward from the corridor. He rounded the corner and gave a squeak of surprise when the haunting scream was repeated and simultaneously interrupted by something akin to a screech.

He didn't know what else to call it.

It was immediately followed by a ground-shaking roar that urged him to drop to the ground and make himself as small and inconspicuous as possible.

Harry didn't know who roared.

The sight before his eyes was something he wouldn't be able to forget any time soon.

Draco Malfoy lay on the ground, clutching his bloodied middle. The trim body was contorted in an awkward position with smears of blood decorating most of his visible figure. Beside him, in an equally mauled fashion, lay the Spanish DADA assistant, Calida, with blood-covered arms and a frozen look of terror on her face, eyes open. Professor Terius knelt between them both, minus his teaching robes which had been used to form a makeshift pillow to prop up Draco's blond head, with Calida resting on a hastily cast cushioning charm. His hands hovered about Calida's face, before he quickly brushed a hand over her eyelids, closing them respectfully. Draco coughed and choked, drawing the man's attention. Terius immediately turned to him and lifted up the slender body enough for Draco to turn his head to the side so the blood could trickle out.

At their approach, Terius jerked upright and his grey-blue eyes flashed with power and anger as Snape approached. His lips curled back and an audible snarl filled the corridor. Harry inwardly flinched. He'd never thought his DADA professor could make a sound like that.

Snape jerked around to look at Harry, his black eyes going impossibly darker and then he twisted back to look at Terius and Calida before he gave a low growl, his gaze now fixed on Draco's prone form and Calida's bloodied figure.

Harry stumbled backwards and fell when another powerful wave of magic snapped out, all but throwing him to the hard ground. He stared in fascination as Snape purposefully strode closer to the duo and easily shrugged out of his own robes with the intent of covering Draco's injured body, while shooing Terius towards Calida—or rather—trying to.

Terius growled at him again as he wrapped his arms protectively around Draco, his grey-blue eyes sparking with emotions that Harry couldn't even begin to understand.

Snape growled in reply and repeated the earlier motions.

Terius answered with a faint hiss that trailed off to be something like a whine, before he inclined his head to the side.

A low rumble sounded from the Potions Master.

Two answering whines of distress came from the Draco-Terius pair on the ground. Calida was silent.

Harry felt his breath catch in his throat. He didn't dare breathe. The urge to fall to the ground hadn't really lessened, but seeing as he was already flat on the ground, Harry simply stayed where he was. He wished desperately he had his magic back. But the bizarre scene continued to play out in front of him. Harry couldn't tear his eyes away as Snape drew nearer to the duo and draped his precious teaching robes over Draco's form. Within seconds, his wand slid out into his hand and he began casting spells. In between of the hastily whispered words, the Potions Master hissed and growled at the younger professor. Terius bowed his head, leaning away from the angry sounds, but continuing to support and rub warmth into the pale pureblood. In what was merely a matter of minutes, but somehow seemed to be much longer, Snape rose in his usual dramatic way, cradling Draco in his arms as he scowled at the bloody floor.

Terius followed his gaze as he slowly rose, keeping a cautious eye on the older man. When Severus scowled at him, Terius waved his hand at the mess and it disappeared, before he bent and gently scooped up Calida in his arms, tucking her head beneath his chin, protectively.

A curt nod from the Potions Master was the only sign of approval.

Harry swallowed hard. There definitely had been no wand involved with that. The entire episode seemed rather surreal as if such a thing could never happen. But Harry found he still couldn't look away as he watched the drama play out between the four. A faint, stirring of hope sparked through him as his Dragel self identified with fellow creatures of its kind.

Terius cast the same cleaning charms on himself and waited while his clothes were cleaned of the blood. When he was finished, grey-blue eyes zeroed in on Harry's surprised form. "Mr. Potter." His voice was strained as if it took too much effort to speak in slow, measured tones. "Follow." The DADA professor turned and instead of hanging back, he started forward and squinted down the corridor. A quick glance around seemed to satisfy him and he motioned to Snape to move first.

Surprisingly, Snape did.

Terius fell into step, intent on keeping himself between Harry and the other two before he realized that Harry wasn't following. "Is there something wrong with your feet?" He snapped, turning with his precious armful, a look of pure annoyance on his face. "As you can see, my hands are full and as I have no intention of carrying you anywhere, I would suggest you walk now unless you would prefer to be, what do you call it here—ah—obliviated?"

That worked.

Harry was on his feet in seconds and glaring at the man he had almost come to respect. Almost. There would be no one carrying or obliviating him if he could help it—regardless of whether he had magic or not.

Terius merely gave a curt nod and turned around, breaking into an even trot to keep up with Snape's long strides, careful not to jostle Calida's unconscious form. They passed by Dumbledore's office, at which the Gargoyle leapt to the side and the aged wizard in question appeared at the bottom of the steps.

"Severus!" Dumbledore called out, cheerfully. "And Professor Terius! To what do I owe the—oh dear." The smile and twinkle faded at once as he caught sight of Severus' armful. "Poppy?" He suggested, switching instantly to a serious mode as he falling directly into step with a billow of bright blue and silver brocaded robes.

Snape walked right past him without a word or glance. Terius followed suit. Draco whimpered and curled further into the arms holding him.

Harry trailed along, finding himself walking directly beside the Headmaster. He gulped.

The Headmaster seemed not to notice.

A/N: And two chapters within the same day. ^_^ I'm at chapter 40 for the original fic and now that I've worked out a few points, I can give this version some attention, hence the quick update time. This is a turning point for Harry and the starting event that prompts him to get into action. I'm also at a wedding this weekend, so updates/review replies and whatnot will be rather random and erratic, as I have a speech to give and a few other things to sort. Oh joys. ^_^

ungodlyone: Thanks for reading and reviewing! Since this is a rewrite of a slash-oriented fic, there's a lot of little subplots that would up and die if I completely rewrote the entire thing. I have started this alternate version as a favor to a rather dear reviewer of mine and only removed the very obvious slash moments. There's also a reason for Harry's submissiveness, but it's part of the larger plot and takes a while to come into play.

Amanda Mau: Thanks a bunch! ^_^

Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed! I really do appreciate it. If I missed your review, my apologies! FF has been eating and alternately spitting out my alerts and reviews, so I haven't seen them yet. Sorry!