Chrysalis

"Potter you're late something four legs should have been able to prevent," Snape remarked the moment I entered the dungeons. His tone was the same, his eyes scathing and everything about him told me as far I he was concerned nothing had changed. A welcome relief in all honesty as I knew even when something shocking happened I could rely on Snape to remain the same.

"I'm sorry professor," I told him earnestly, indeed I was. I was met with a glare

"Take your seat," was his eventual order and I slunk into it; Ron was gone as had everyone else. I was by myself and looking around I saw everyone glaring with ferocity, either with fear or anger.

"I thought I was the teacher here," Snape hissed and all eyes were back on him as he swept around the room, his robes billowing behind him.

"Now today I will give you an introduction to the expectations of a NEWT course, you are to brew the most potent poison you can in the hour, all ingredients are available to you, begin." He instructed quickly and not wanting to displease him everyone jumped to attention. I however began to think, he would have been briefed on what I was so why was he not excluding me from using myself? In fact why had he not taken point or encouraged the others to ostracize me. It was strange indeed.

Though as my thinking passed I realised I had some work to do and took a small vial from the desk, I spat a tiny amount of a shining blue liquid into the vial and corked it. When my fangs injected the poison into the blood it caused the subject to turn into a thrall. However if drank the poison would shut down the entire body, the only other more potent poison was the one lacing my claws but transforming was not something I intended to do in front of Snape.

"Potter you seem to have forgotten you are in a class, tell me do you remember that work is needed?" The man in question asked.

"No professor I have simply finished the task," was my quick response handing him the vial. It took the rest of the class less than ten seconds to realise what I had done.

"He cheated!" Ron accused immediately

"I said all ingredients are available to you," Snape hissed in reply dipping a leaf into the vial. My poison worked well and within a second it was a sickly black mess which Snape dropped to the floor. He leaned over to give me the vial back.

"They may exclude you Potter but remember your talents are far greater," he whispered before standing to attention.

"Well seeing as Potter has brewed the best poison in ten minutes he can leave, it is only fair that the rest of spent the rest of the lesson trying to brew a more potent poison,"

"Is there one sir?" came the first question from Seamus who was glaring at me.

"Of course not," Snape smirked before sending me out, and I realised what had changed between us. I was in the same position he was once, excluded and disliked. Perhaps Snape was not the person I had assumed.

Evening

None of the DA apart from Ginny were talking to me, all had dismissed as a liar or monster depending on which offended them more. In all honesty who could blame them? Their leader had turned out to be what they considered a monster and for a while at least they were going to judge me.

"Drinks master?" Lucius had not helped matters, the ministry or order had sent him back and while he had not bumped into his son just yet it was only a matter of time. It didn't help that I had a slave when I was trying to tell people I had no interest in murder or enslavement.

"Are you sure we should me using him like this?" Ginny asked taking a butterbeer from the silver haired man,

"Nothing else to do with him, " I muttered, he had no real place in my life but I was stuck with him, maybe I should have finished him off in the ministry rather than have a thrall. A thrall who was not helping my already destroyed image and it while I didn't like Draco or his family this would be cruel. For all intensive purposes Lucius was dead, he had no mind and yet his family could see him walking around, speaking and serving,

"Can't you let him go?" Ginny wondered

"No, when I bite the venom corrupts his brain, it's irreversible process and it shortens his life expectancy by quite some time," I muttered, I knew he was weak inside, I could feel it in my mind though the link we had but there was nothing I could do.

"Disgusting," Ron snarled, he had been let out of the hospital wing right after Ginny it seemed, Luna and Neville were still there for now but he was here. He also seemed to have been declared leader of the DA.

"Shut up Ron!" Ginny retorted a I had no wish to do it, he really was getting annoying and his continually dismissal of me and my species was just childish. He couldn't accept he had been my friend for so long,

"Why are you still over there with him?" Ron demanded, I was sat by the fire on one of the armchairs with Ginny on the sofa; no one else would come near me.

"Because he's my friend!" Ginny spat

"He lied to us!" Ron was indignantly shouting

"Because he knew you would act like this!" Ginny continued, she was defensive of me to quite a large degree.

"Ron I'm going to tell you to shut up! You are going to comply!" I growled sending a look of daggers to greet his reddening face. My warning was enough, he was scared of me deep down as was almost everyone else who shuddered.

"Lucius sit down," I ordered realising he was still stood in front of the fire, he needed micromanaging. Thralls were not designed for this use, they were best for short term combat and hosting, two things I had no intention of doing. At least not yet.

"Sorry about him," Ginny began

"Ginny don't, it's not your fault he's like this, he doesn't like most creatures whatever they are." I cut her off, not wanting an apology.

Later

I was walking to charms when it hit me, an ungainly stench of sweat, grime and food, mixed together to create a single repugnant smell. I knew it well,

"Malfoy," I was being followed and turned to the seemingly empty darkened corridor, I could see no one but my senses never lied, no they were there.

"Stupefy," the red light came from nowhere and I dived on instinct, I was behind a pillar waiting.

"What are you doing Malfoy?" I roared in a screeching voice, he knew what I was and yet he was willing to engage me?

"Avenging my father," was his response, so he had been told about what happened, I didn't want to attack him.

"Reducto," the spell sent the pillar into dust and I was faced with Malfoy and his cronies, all of them glaring at me with ice cold eyes.

"Stop this!" I ordered not wanting to let him get to me. I had resisted all this time and I was not going to give in now.

Malfoy responded with a petrifying spell which I dodged with even more ease as I quickly evaded the spells of Crabbe and Goyle who had suddenly seemed to grow some talent.

"I don't want to hurt you," I declared quickly,

"Well you should have thought of that before you enslaved my father," Draco snarled with venom and hurt lacing his voice.

"He brought it upon himself," I spat angrily.

"Oh really? I thought you did, you inhuman..." he trailed off with a curse word that I missed as another destructive curse soared towards me. They were getting harder to doge and outdueling them was going to be near impossible.

"Your father..."

"Oh what do you know? You don't even have a father! I bet they let themselves be killed just so they didn't have to put up with whatever you are! Even they would hate you!" Draco snarled and then I began to growl in a much deeper, animalistic tone. He had crossed a line. A line that had been created by my exclusion from the school, the hatred of so many and everything else.

"Crucio!" the boy screamed and I felt the curse begin to tingle. So his anger was able to make someone hurt well then I wasn't going to let my anger abstain. My voice was a screech as I glared into his eyes and then I spun. An elegant move which was interrupted by the morphing of flesh, the growing of spikes, claws and fangs, accompanied by four spiked legs. I had finished spinning and i had taken my Chryssalid form and lunged towards my attackers. All three boys were shocked; not expecting this but I was already acting purely on the offense. Crabbe was first, I tore his wand from his hand and my claws pushed him to the floor. My pointed leg pierced into Goyle's knee and into delicate tendons which meant nothing to me. He was on the floor in tears of pain within seconds.

"Crucio!" Draco tired again, hoping more than anything it would work but with a swipe the wand was out of his hands and I then I griped him by the shoulder, lifted him into the air and opened my jaws.

No! I was in the position required for laying an egg and with that I threw him to the ground, scuttling back before allowing flesh to retake my form and I fell to the floor. Clothes town and breathing heavily, I had been inches away from almost killing someone and doing something much worse to them.

Malfoy was in tears, his revenge had been ill thought out and he just needed someone to take his anger out on, he had lost a father and despite everything I felt sorry for him. I would have stayed but instead I just turned and ran.

Dumbledore's office

"Harry?" Dumbledore was shocked to see me barge in but this could not wait,

"Professor, I... I," I had no words, no way to describe the abhorrent act I had almost committed. I had come so close to destroying him.

"What happened?" his voice of fear told me this was the one thing he had been dreading. He had been worried I would end up doing it

"Everyone's fine, well I think a student might need a day in the hospital wing but you see..." I trailed off and explained what had happened. Though I was surprised not to see disgust when I finished,

"Harry, well done," the old man sighed. What? Had he not hear me? I had almost killed three students and laid eggs.

"You resisted, you managed to prevent yourself doing what you did," Dumbledore was almost smiling. He had picked up on the wrong point though,

"You managed to stop yourself, for the last few days I know you have been slowly removed from student life and I was worried something like this would happen but I thought it would be more devastating," so he had thought I would end up killing a student? He had been right to worry.

"It almost..."I began

"Exactly almost, Harry as you know many believe you to be an unstable creature who lives purely for pleasure and nothing more. If that had been true you would have killed Draco Malfoy years ago and considering all you have been through it is amazing you resisted,"

"You know about all that?" I asked, I had not thought anyone had noticed what was going on.

"Harry of course I have, your former class has turned away, your best friend of years gone and the only person left at the moment is Ginny Weasley. No while I am sure others such as Luna Lovegood is waiting to speak to you at the moment that is all you have left in this school, Harry what happened today proves everyone wrong. You defended yourself, and did so without malice and stopping when you won tells me you knew what you were doing," Dumbledore answered softly with a sorrowful look.

"And next time when I give into my instincts?" I questioned

"That Harry is something I am sure you will be able to prevent,"