Disclaimer: Usually I write out a very specific disclaimer explaining exactly what it is I don't own but I find myself not really interested in doing so this time as it is very tedious. Suffice it to say I own nothing that was created by anyone else and I am not making any money off of this story or any of the other stories I have written.

AN: This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance.

Chapter 53: Acceptance and Adaptability

The moment Harry had curled up on himself and given his mind entirely over to the avatar of the wolf in his mind he'd expected Zero to show up and strip everything that made him who he was from him. Instead, he found himself sitting inside of the mental projection of his core trapped in what appeared to be his one and a half year old self; exactly as he was just seconds before Voldemort's killing curse had bounced off his head. It was a decidedly odd turn of events and he'd just sat there staring at his reflection in the pale blue waters of his magic as it poured over the marble wall that contained his core while trying to figure out why he appeared as a mere toddler inside of his own mind.

He had wanted to know where his wolf avatar had gone (he'd grown so used to seeing it except for the odd times when he needed hands) but the one time that he'd attempted to venture out of his core he'd been chased right back inside by the memories turned nightmares that protected his mind (his current avatar completely unprotected and more than a little helpless). Memories that were no longer confined to his house of mirrors because his emotional distress had fractured his mindscape and set them free.

It was the catch twenty-two of Mind Magics coming back to bite him in the ass; his mind had been turned against him. He'd been aware that it could happen but he had arrogantly thought that it would never happen to him. Sure, he'd feared being trapped in his mind while dealing with the whole White Fang ordeal but that was mostly because the bastards kept pounding on the back of his head and drugging the shit out of him.

Like the day that saw the nerves in his right hand and arm permanently damaged due to severe frostbite; getting trapped inside of his own mind as a helpless baby helped drive home the idea that even magic had limits. At the same time it had shown him far more than that; it was a declaration that Harry himself had limits. The scariest thing was that it wasn't even torture that had driven him to flee in fear, it had been fear and knowledge; the knowledge that his greatest fears could be made reality because of something he had absolutely no control over.

Recalling exactly what it was that had driven him to lock himself up in his own mind soon had toddler Harry bawling over the unfairness of his past coming to haunt his future. Tiny fingers twisted themselves up in his hair and fisted themselves as he let loose a spectacular temper tantrum that would have impressed Dudley. An hour later, the tears were gone and Harry was just listlessly leaning against the wall surrounding his magical core; his entire being numb. He didn't even have it in him to feel helpless because he was still hung up on the fact that he was carrying around a piece of Tom Riddle's soul stuck to his forehead. It was a concept that disgusted and frightened him in turns.

Harry had no idea how long he'd been sitting trapped in his mind wallowing in self pity before he finally got disgusted with himself. Scrubbing at his face, Harry wearily glanced around his core before turning to stare at his tiny hands. He really hated being short. He glared down at his hands and concentrated hard; attempting to restore himself to his normal size. When that didn't work, he closed his eyes and concentrated even harder but all he ended up doing was giving himself a headache. The lack of response from his mindscape to his intent scared Harry almost as much as the idea of having a piece of Voldemort's soul shoved into his scar did and it sent him spiraling back into another panic attack as he feared that it was proof that his body and his magic had been taken over by the soul fragment.

Several days later (though he had no idea how many), a despondent but no longer panicking Harry came face to face with his inner nature as the winged wolf stepped into his core. The first thing he noticed about the wolf was that it was small; nothing more than a pup really. The other noticeable thing was that the color of the wings on the creature were far different than his wings and it had one red eye and one amber eye instead of one blue and one green. He almost thought it was a chibi-sized Zero standing in front of him but neither Zero nor Wolfstar had ever looked quite so life-like and aside from those few minor differences (wing color, eye color, and size) the wolf was a dead ringer for Harry's wolfish avatar (which had been given to him by Wolfstar).

"You're not Zero," Harry stated bluntly as he climbed to his feet and warily watched the wolf.

"That's because I am you," the wolf replied with a sneeze of laughter as he sat down and scratched behind his ear.

"I'm not a wolf."

"Well, technically right now you are."

"That's not possible; I'm not an animagus."

"You're right; you're not an animagus. Animagi learn how to change themselves back and forth between their creature and human form at will. You, on the other hand, are simply a magical wolf."

"How is that possible? I'm a wizard… a human."

"Correction, you were a human. That changed when you rejected your human self and released me from the cage you'd kept in inside of the back of your mind. In the instant that you rejected your humanity, you gave me control."

That revelation knocked Harry for a loop and he dropped heavily onto the floor as he stared at the wolf in shock. He hadn't consciously intended to give up his humanity but he supposed he hadn't exactly embraced his humanity either as he'd been far too traumatized when he'd learned about Riddle's horcruxes.

"I don't want to be a wolf," Harry whispered tightly. "My life may not have been perfect but… but…"

"A little too late to back out now; it's over and done. You are a wolf whether you wanted to be or not. Why does it matter now? You seemed to like it well enough when it was just a mental representation."

"My family is human… my son, my brothers, Dorothy…"

"Yet they weren't enough to stop you from wishing for death as you rejected your humanity in your fear."

"I don't want to be a monster."

"Then don't be one."

"How? When there's a piece… when I have a fragment of his soul stuffed inside of my head!?"

"How can you be so certain that you are a horcrux?"

"I saw it! I've felt it!"

"And what is it you saw and felt?"

Harry opened his mouth to reply only to close it a second later as he gave the question the consideration it was due. Now that he wasn't in a complete panic after being blindsided by the information on horcruxes, Harry reexamined those memories that had sent him into a panic. The ones he focused on first were those he knew were of the three horcruxes he'd encountered (counting the one in his head as one) and his run-ins with Voldemort's spirit; specifically the parts where he defeated the soul fragments (Voldemort's main soul nothing more than a fragment after having torn it into so many pieces). Harry compared the desperate attack by the fragment inside of the locket with the bloody inky death of the diary and the tar-like substance that had poured from his scar.

"If the stuff that poured out of my scar was the same as the stuff that poured out of the diary and the lock, then does that mean the soul fragment that was in my scar is just as dead as those that were in the other two items? Could the fragment inside of me have been killed at the same time as I killed the one in the locket?" Harry wondered out loud, his tone completely uncertain.

"Would it really matter?"

"Yes! Because if the soul fragment is dead, then it means that it isn't in me anymore and I don't have to fear him taking control of my body and my soul. That would mean that I don't have any reason to fear being human."

"Moot point… you're a wolf now."

"But… but I still look human."

"No, you are just an avatar that represents what little humanity you have left. Why do you think you look like a mere babe? Why do think you've been completely unable to alter how you perceived yourself while inside your mind?" the wolf asked with a feral grin as it cocked its head to one side.

"I can still go back to being a human," Harry retorted automatically, though his tone was far from certain.

"No… your humanity is just a small part of me now. I am a wolf and a wolf is what I will remain."

"A wolf is nothing without his pack and my pack… and therefore your pack, because you are still part of me, is all human," Harry stated as he desperately tried to think of how he could regain control of his inner mind and through that control of his body. "My magic already bonded to Dorothy…"

"Who said any of the bonds you made in your human form survived when you rejected your humanity?"

Harry jerked around to stare at the fountain that was his magical core to search out the bonds that connected him to the unborn children, his elves, and the earth only to pale when he found himself in the middle of a forest clearing and no sign of his core. Turning back, he noticed the wolf had shifted into a rather aggressive stance; indicating that it was preparing to attack him.

"Those bonds have to still be there because I am still here and even if I am nothing but a baby; I am still human."

"Why do you think I am here?" the wolf asked with a malevolent grin as he began circling Harry much as a wolf would circle an enemy or a dangerous prey. "All I have to do is destroy you and I will live as I see fit without you holding me back."

"If you are me; then you are still bound to my family because they are part of me and you would drive yourself mad because you would be trapped on the outside as a wolf."

"I will not allow myself to be forever locked inside of your mind now that I have tasted freedom," the wolf growled as his circling brought him several steps closer. "I will not let you cage me again."

"I didn't know I was caging you," Harry whispered. "I didn't even know you existed. I considered my soul, my magic, and my mind as a whole entity; not as separate pieces. So, how could you have been a prisoner if you were just another part of me?"

That stopped the wolf in his tracks and he sat down and stared at Harry as if he'd never seen him before. His eyes then narrowed as he tilted his nose to the sky and scented the air. The wolf's eyes then widened comically before he huffed and dropped down onto his belly and pouted. Harry completely froze as he watched the wolf, completely clueless as to what had just happened and why the wolf had suddenly stopped threatening him.

"You have two choices, wizard," the wolf stated as he finally stopped pouting and sat up so that he could look Harry in the eye. "If you truly wish to retain your humanity, then you must embrace your inner nature. If you can not accept that portion of you that is me, then I will devour you and all that you once were will forever be lost to you."

"What happens to us once I choose?" Harry inquired carefully as he cast a surreptitious glance around the clearing in an effort to make certain that he wasn't going to be blindsided with an attack.

"Either way we become one; whether we are wizard or wolf depends upon you now."

"I don't want to lose my family," Harry whispered tightly as he sat down on the ground, wrapped his pudgy little toddler arms around equally pudgy little legs, and buried his face against his knees. "I was just so frightened that I would hurt them and it would have killed me to become the monster that has haunted my dreams for so long. There was no time to think after learning about the horcruxes and it just hurt so much to think and believe that everything I'd been working towards could be destroyed by my own ignorance because I'd had a piece of that… that thing trapped inside of me nearly all my life."

"So you fractured your own soul and gave birth to me as you rejected your humanity after discovering the depths of deprivation that one man went through to destroy his own soul in an effort to evade death. The only reason you didn't turn yourself into your own horcrux was because the very idea was abhorrent to you in any form."

Harry lifted his head to meet the wolf's gaze across the few feet that separated them and swallowed thickly as he saw his own fears mirrored within the mismatched eyes. Harry was suddenly reminded of all the times he spent in Wolfstar's consciousness as a wolf and how comfortable he'd grown in that alternate form. He also remembered the terrible battle for dominance they'd fought while inside of Wolfstar's consciousness in their wolf forms. That brought to mind the much harder and in some ways much scarier battle for dominance with the Epyon system that he'd nearly lost because his fears had driven him around in circles within his own mind.

"I'm not going to have permanent furry accessories to go along with the wings if we merge; am I?"

"That depends on whether or not we merge as equals or if you force me to destroy you."

"As equals…? So, it isn't just a choice between wizard or wolf; it's also a choice between animagus or animal?" Harry mused as he shifted forward and crawled closer to the wolf that represented his inner nature.

The grin on the wolf's face as his tongue hung over the side of his jaw let him know he'd just hit the nail on the proverbial head and an answering grin formed on Harry's face. Seconds later, the wolf bounded towards him and began licking his face and Harry stood up so he could wrap his arms around the cub's neck and laughed himself silly as his earlier fear faded completely. The forest around them was slowly replaced with the original heart of Harry's inner mind and his mental projection of his magical core. Standing as they had been in the center of the room, both wolf and boy were soon plunged down into the depths of the large pool of the fountain.

Magic surrounded both wolf and wizard and they both gasped at the sudden shock of the sheer volume of power that suffused their entire bodies. Blackness soon overtook them as the magic began merging the two halves into a whole once more; integrating wizard into wolf and wolf into wizard.

Nine days. Nine long miserable days; that was how long it had been since they'd viewed the memory revealing the method Tom Riddle had used to achieve a form of immortality. That was also how long it had been since Taliesin's magic had transformed him into a rather feral wolf cub in order to protect his shattered mind. Heero sighed and ran a hand over his face before he glanced over to where the wolf cub that was their brother was currently locked up inside of a ten foot by ten foot steel kennel that they'd had to special order in order to keep the cub from running off or attacking anyone that approached him.

Said wolf was currently sleeping half on his side and half on his belly with his head propped on both forelegs that were stretched out in front of him, his hind legs carelessly thrown to his left side (his tail curling over them like a furry blanket), and his wings furled tightly against his back. It killed Heero to essentially lock up his brother but Zero (which is what they'd taken calling that rather feral wolf) had nothing of Taliesin's personality and they couldn't risk him getting lost out in the woods or hurting anyone.

The wolf hadn't even recognized Dorothy or little baby James and that had frightened the five pilots to no end as they'd hoped seeing his fiancée or his son might have snapped Taliesin out of whatever fog had enveloped his brain. That hope had backfired on them and only the actions of the two young house elves had saved both young woman and babe from being harmed. It had also been the catalyst for a complete emotional breakdown from Quatre; the empath blaming himself for Taliesin's current condition.

Trowa had tried numerous times to calm the wolf down long enough to show him that there was nothing to be frightened of but all he had to show for his efforts were several fairly nasty bites on his hands, arms, and legs. The rest of them hadn't come out of the few brief scuffles they'd gotten caught up in unscathed either, though Wufei and Duo hadn't been as persistent as Heero and Trowa and therefore didn't have as many injuries (Quatre far too much of an emotional wreck to contribute and the only one without any injuries at all).

Heero sighed a second time and slumped back in his seat as he threw an arm over his face. He was currently out of ideas on how to get through to the human side of his little brother and at the point where he was cursing himself for ever releasing Taliesin from his oath as he was certain that he could have used the oath to jar the kid enough to get their brother back; or even prevented him from being lost to the wolf in the first place.

They had even tried to use Taliesin's connection to Wolfstar or Grimstar but the sentient suits hadn't been any help at all with Wolfstar tending to exacerbate the situation since the wolf-like suit had gone feral himself and treated Zero as his cub. Grimstar on the other hand might as well have been a statue as the suit had been completely inactive since the day Taliesin had transformed and they didn't even have a way to link to the former Epyon suit since Taliesin had shied away from dealing with the suit beyond pretending it was an ordinary dog and therefore hadn't bothered to connect it to an external computer system like he had with Wolfstar.

The blue-eyed pilot was drawn out of his morose introspection as Zero began growling and snarling and he glanced up to find the wolf cub twitching and jerking in his sleep; as if he was trapped in a nightmare. Jerking upright, Heero whipped out his cell phone and quickly dialed Trowa's number as he stared at Zero in concern and trepidation; the wolf having never before given the appearance of dreaming let alone having a nightmare strong enough to elicit a physical reaction from the creature. While he waited for the green eyed pilot to answer his phone, Heero kept his eyes glued to Zero's form as his cries went from angry to frightened to pain filled in less than a minute.

"Hello?"

"Trowa, get your ass up here; something's going on with Zero," Heero ordered crisply.

"Duo and I are on our way; what happened?"

"I'm not exactly certain yet but I'm guessing Zero is…" Heero began only to trail off as Zero began yelping and howling in turns as he was engulfed in blue green light as the young wolf cub began writhing in pain.

"What the hell is going on, Heero!?"

"Hell if I know, Trowa; one second it looked like Zero was having a nightmare and the next he's having some kind of fit. It almost looks like his magic is attacking him."

A sharp curse was the last thing Heero heard as Trowa cut their connection. Jumping up to his feet, he hurried across the space separating him from the reinforced kennel and used the butt of his gun to break the lock they'd placed on the gate to keep Zero from letting himself out (not wanting to waste time hunting for the key he carried). He quickly opened the gate, stepped inside of the enclosure, and rushed to Zero's side; only to pull up short as heat and electricity sparkled and cracked around the wolf like a shield.

Dropping down into a crouch, Heero tried to push closer but found himself up against an invisible wall that zapped him with a fairly powerful jolt of electricity the moment he touched it. The door burst open within seconds of Heero's entire right arm turning numb as Trowa and Duo finally reached the room where they were holding Zero (Taliesin's tower being ill-suited to house a feral wolf what with all the snakes, the elves, the phoenixes, and the children).

Heero turned to look at his fellow pilots and before he'd finished spinning on his heel, the magical sphere slash shield that was surrounding the wolf burst outwards and clipped him on his left side. Heero grunted in pain as he was hit with the numbing voltage of magic for a second time and was shoved backwards so fast and so hard that he had no time to brace himself. His momentum was abruptly halted just seconds later as he crashed into the heavy duty wire walls of the kennel they'd been keeping Zero in. The force of his impact was enough to make the fence buckle beneath his weight and this time Heero gave a single sharp cry as several sharp points were driven into his side and back as the thick wires of the fence crumpled and snapped beneath his impact.

"Heero!" Trowa cried in shock as he dashed forward to help the downed teen only to pull up short as the magic surrounding Zero flared from blue green to bright white; nearly blinding all three pilots.

The moment the blinding light faded, Trowa began moving forward once more; only for Duo to utter a sharp curse beneath his breath and yank him back. Heero glanced over at the two pilots to find them both wearing grim expressions tinged with true fear as the blood drained from their faces. At that moment, a long low mournful howl filled the room and the hairs on the back of Heero's neck rose as a shiver danced down his back. The sound seemed to swell and grow as it morphed from a song of grief and pain into a song of determination and power, undoubtedly fueled by magic, until the sound of it filled the entire castle.

Heero slowly turned to glance in the direction he had last seen the rather small wolf cub that had once been their brother and felt his stomach knot painfully as he noted the changes that the wolf had gone through. The most obvious change was the fact that Zero was no longer the size of a four month old wolf cub; he was now a fully grown wolf. Like Taliesin himself, the adult wolf was deceptively slender due to his physical proportions; standing a full three foot two inches at the shoulder (most of that height due to his long legs), close to five feet long from nose to tail tip, and weighing an estimated one hundred and forty pounds.

The elegant and powerful wings, covered once more with dark metallic green scale-like feathers, only added to that height as they were easily as large as the wolf itself (though that was hard to see folded on his back as they were); giving the creature a wingspan of at least fifteen feet from wingtip to wingtip. His fur was still black with undertones of russet, dark grey, and dark browns, though the wolf's face, belly, and legs now sported lighter shades of fur with indistinct thin, gold lines encircling both eyes; giving the creature the appearance of wearing glasses. The eyes had also changed from red and amber to blue and green; exactly matching Taliesin's mismatched gaze though they were shot through with tiny slivers of amber that made them glitter and glow in the dim room.

Heero swallowed thickly and tried to stand up when the wolf's song finally trailed off and the creature rose gracefully up onto all four feet to shake himself; his wings rustling and shifting before settling tighter against his back. Unfortunately, the ruined fence kept the blue-eyed pilot pinned firmly in place due to the way it had buckled and folded around him in combination to the many snapped wires digging into his flesh and the lingering numbness in his right arm and along his entire left side from when he came into contact with the magic that had surrounded the wolf didn't help. Worse yet, his attempt had drawn the attention of the now fully grown and extremely dangerous wolf; a wolf that had consistently maintained an aggressive behavior when not sleeping.

"Don't make any sudden moves, Heero," Trowa cautioned in a low voice.

The wolf's ears twitched and swiveled though the wolf's eyes never left Heero; his snout lifting slightly as he scented the air. His ears then went flat against his skull and he let out a soft growl and Heero felt his heart skip several beats as the wolf crossed the short distance separating them. If he thought it might do any good, he might have pulled out the pistol he always carried on his back but he was pretty certain that if he reached for it, the wolf would strike out at him without any hesitation. Heero didn't dare blink or allow himself to look away from the dangerous predator that was now standing directly over him. He couldn't help but flinch when the wolf let out another soft growl; his warm breath ghosting over Heero's face as he dropped his muzzle down to sniff at the downed pilot.

If Heero had bothered to meet the wolf's gaze at that precise moment, instead of focusing on the rather sharp teeth that were hovering just inches above his face, the pilot might have noted the mischievous glint in them as the wolf opened his mouth. Thinking he was about to become a snack for what had once been his little brother but was now nothing more than a wild animal, Heero instead closed his eyes and held his breath as he waited for the pain he knew would accompany those teeth tearing and ripping into his face. When the creature finally attacked, Heero yelped out in shock and jerked backwards (tearing his back further) as the wolf attacked him with his tongue instead of his teeth as expected.

"Ahh! Stop it! No!" Heero cried as he tried to fend off the slobbering tongue that was attacking him without aggravating his wounds any further.

The wolf simply sneezed on him as he laughed before he sat back and whined, his ears still pressed flat back against his skull. Heero gasped for breath as he lowered his arms and truly looked into the wolf's eyes; seeing the concern and playfulness in them for the first time. The wolf then dropped down onto his belly and whined again as he reached out to nose the bandages that covered Heero's hands and arms (from where Zero had bitten him each time he'd tried to handle the cub while he was awake).

"Is that you, Taliesin?" Heero asked softly as he felt renewed hope.

"Are you alright, Heero?" Trowa inquired as he carefully approached the ruined enclosure.

"I will be once the two of you stop gawking and peel this damned fence off of me," Heero dryly replied even as he reached out with a shaky hand to lightly run his fingers over the wolf's face after he'd seen the wolf nod in reply to his question.

"Are ya certain ya know what you're doin', Heero?" Duo asked as he followed in Trowa's wake, a pistol in his hand. "I'd hate ta see ya lose a finger or two ta him if he turns on ya again."

The wolf sat up and turned to look at Duo before he suddenly yawned, turned his back on the long haired pilot, dropped back onto his belly, and covered its head with both forelegs. By that time, Trowa had entered the kennel and made a beeline for Heero, ignoring the rather subdued wolf that was far calmer than the cub they'd been dealing with over the past nine days.

"Put a sock in it, Duo," Heero barked irritably.

"We can worry about the wolf's state of mind later," Trowa added as he leaned over Heero to determine how the other teen had been trapped. "Put your gun away and go around to the outside so you can pull the fence off of Heero while I free him on my side."

Heero grunted as he felt the short, sharp spikes of the ruined fence leave his flesh with nearly as much pain as they'd caused going in. Just a foot or two away, Zero whined softly in response as he curled up on himself as if hearing Heero in pain caused the wolf pain. The response was pure Taliesin and it strengthened Heero's belief that it was their little brother trapped in the form of the wolf and no longer Zero.

"Aside from where the fence skewered you, do you have any other injuries?"

"I don't think so but my entire left side is still numb from where Taliesin's magic zapped me with a pretty powerful bolt of electricity; as is my right arm."

"Is just numbness or are you suffering from partial paralysis?"

"Just numbness and a touch of weakness that is already passing; it felt more like I grabbed the spark plug wire of a running engine rather than being struck by lightning. The shock of it was rather startling when it first happened."

The wolf's head jerked up and twisted around to stare at Heero in disbelief for the rather lame pun before he shook his head and snorted. He then climbed up onto his feet and hesitantly crept closer so he could nose Heero's side where his shirt had been ripped and torn as the fence wire cut into him. Both Heero and Trowa held perfectly still while the wolf performed his inspection, though Heero couldn't help but wince when the wolf poked his nose at a couple of the deeper punctures. Trowa tried to push the wolf away when he grabbed hold of Heero's shirt with his teeth and tore the shirt open with a single jerk of his head but the wolf merely pushed Trowa back with a paw. Both teens froze and held their breath when the huge wolf then began diligently cleaning Heero's back and side by licking the various wounds.

"Guys, I don't know much about wolves but even I don't think it's a good idea ta allow one ta lap up your blood like that; he's liable ta take a bit out of ya if he finds he likes da taste enough," Duo stated in a tight voice. "Of course, since it's Heero he's tastin', it'll probably give him indigestion."

"He's not just licking at the blood, he's cleaning Heero's wounds," Trowa countered as he watched the wolf methodically move from wound to wound cleaning away the blood.

"No, he's healing them," Heero countered with a trace of wonder as he felt the pain steadily receding with each wound the wolf successfully treated.

"That's not possible," Trowa insisted as he shoved the wolf's head aside again to get a better look at the former wounds. "How is he doing that? It shouldn't be possible."

"If Taliesin was in his right mind he'd tell ya is was magic," Duo quipped with a snort.

The wolf shoved back at Trowa so he could continue his ministrations and instead of interfering, the green-eyed pilot helped by removing the rest of Heero's ruined shirt so that the wolf had clear access to the rest of the tiny wounds. Once he had finished tending to the ones made by the fence, Zero (a name it was getting harder and harder for Heero to apply to the rather docile creature tending his wounds) tried to pull off the bandages on his arms; growling softly in frustration when they proved to be too well wrapped for the wolf to remove. Trowa only removed them after he and Heero had shared a long, silent conversation and the wolf stared at the obvious bite marks that were revealed for a long minute before looking up to meet Heero's gaze.

"I don't blame you," Heero assured the troubled wolf which earned him an eye roll and a snort from wolf that sounded half exasperated and half amused. "Don't make me put you on a leash."

The wolf snorted a second time before he began tracing his nose delicately along the bites and bruises Heero had obtained each time he'd tried to handle Zero over the last nine days. Unlike the fresh wounds from where the wire fence had pierced him, the wolf didn't just start cleaning the bite wounds with his tongue. He ran his nose over them several times as if he was searching for a particular scent before he'd draw back just enough to press his tongue against the most recent ones. When the wolf managed to come across one of the deeper ones that had been giving Heero some trouble, a light infection having set in, the wolf growled and before he even knew what the wolf was going to do; he had opened his mouth and ripped through the scab of the festering wound with a sharper than normal canine tooth.

Trowa tried to shove the wolf aside but Heero stopped him as he watched the wolf use his nose to apply just enough pressure on the wound to drain the puss that had been building up beneath the skin. The moment the foul fluid cleared the skin; the wolf reared back and sneezed several times as it pawed its nose and Heero got the distinct impression that the wolf didn't like the smell. Trowa used the wolf's moment of inattention to finish draining and cleaning away the puss until the blood seeping from the wound ran clean and red. By that time, the wolf had recovered enough to tentatively return to his previously activity; gingerly sniffing at the wound while wrinkling his nose up in distaste. After a thorough inspection, the wolf cleaned the open wound with far more intensity than he'd used on the other wounds.

Nearly forty-five minutes later, most of Heero's and Trowa's wounds had been completely healed; the wolf not bothering to tend to the older wounds that were half healed unless they had shown signs of infection. The wolf had then tried to go to Duo in order to check him for wounds, only to stagger drunkenly before slumping to the ground and passing out in exhaustion. Trowa took the opportunity to run his hands over the wolf's body to make certain that he wasn't suffering from any injuries that they couldn't see while Heero made several phone calls to let some of the others know what had happened.

As he gave out his clipped reports, Heero kept staring at his unoccupied hand and arm; his eyes tracking and tracing the scabs that were interspersed with stretches of unbroken skin where the worst of the bite marks had sat just minutes earlier.

Harry's ear twitched as he heard the squeak of a door opening and he cracked open an eye in time to see two shadows slipping into the room. His nose told him that neither individual meant him any harm and Harry allowed his eye to fall shut once more even as he shifted an ear back and forth to follow the sound of footsteps crossing the floor. It had been two days since he'd 'woken' up inside of his animagus form; no longer trapped inside of his mindscape in the avatar of his infant self and he had yet to figure out how to change back into his human form. He had, on the other hand, quickly adjusted to his new form thanks to all of the time he'd spent inside of Wolfstar's consciousness and his own mind as a wolf.

The only real problem that he'd had was adjusting to the heightened senses that was part and parcel with being a wolf which included; improved vision (especially in the dark), exceptional hearing (that drove him nuts at first because everything sounded so loud – doubly so when surrounded by stone walls), an enhanced sense of smell that allowed him to distinguish individuals (and their emotions) from one another, and he was hypersensitive to even the slightest touch (his fur acting like tiny connectors to his nerve endings and tickling him even in the slightest of breezes).

His sense of taste, on the other hand, had been muted which was in some ways a relief when paired with his sense of smell. Thankfully, his wolfish instincts had helped him cope with the changes fairly quickly and he'd quickly learned to distinguish the individual scents of the people he'd interacted with since he'd 'woken up' in addition learning how to read the emotions of those around him based upon minor fluctuations in their scents.

On top of dealing with the normal enhancements that one obtains with an animagus form, Harry also had to deal with the added changes that stemmed from the fact that his form was magical in nature rather than mundane like most animagus forms tended to be. The reason for that was due to the fact that he'd acquired his form by force of fear through uncontrolled magic instead of through the typical animagus exercises. Because he was in an emotional state of distress at the time there had been a significantly higher volume of magic involved; meaning that his form had retained the excess magic and in essence made his form a magical creature.

Something that most witches and wizards from his original time would have dismissed as impossible simply because magical creature forms only occurred when a witch or wizard rejected their human self while in a state of abject fear or sheer panic (not that Harry knew any of this yet). All Harry knew was that his form had several abilities that he knew normal wolves didn't have. So far, he'd only uncovered a small handful of those abilities.

The first ability was the fact that he could read the seriousness of an injury by scent alone; including how long ago the injury had been inflicted, if it was healing naturally, if it was infected (even if the infection hadn't quite set in), and if there was an underlying problem (such as internal damage or broken bones). The second ability went hand in hand with the first one as he discovered the tip his tongue had a series of special glands that secreted a substance similar to phoenix tears when he licked an open wound; giving him the ability to heal open wounds (though he could do nothing with internal injuries or broken bones).

He'd also learned, quite by accident, that his upper middle carnassials (the large tooth on either side of his mouth towards the rear of the jaw that overlapped his lower jaw) had needle sharp fangs encased inside of the tooth that would extend down from the tooth and inject venom when those teeth bit down on something. The venom was quite potent but no where near as deadly as basilisk venom and since those teeth were normally used for gnawing on bones (or a stick), they were rarely used; which thankfully meant that there was only a slight risk of envenoming someone or something unless he actively sought to bite or scratch them with those teeth since his canines and incisors were just ordinary teeth.

The most obvious ability Harry had over normal wolves (aside from the fact that he could think both like a wolf and like a human – giving him enhanced cognitive awareness) was the ability to fly. His wings had gone through minimal changes (if one didn't count the initial changes when he first transformed) aside from a minor shift in their placement (closer together and slightly below the shoulder) and the fact that the connection point between wing and wolf was about twice the length of he connection point between wing and wizard. The bones were slightly thicker with more muscle in order to lift Harry's slightly heavier body (his wolfish bones denser than his human bones even if they were still hollow). Other than that, they seemed no different then they had before; still able to generate heat and still made from the hard, leathery scale-like feathers that would shed when damaged.

Fingers scratching behind Harry's ears brought him out of his contemplations of his animagus form's abilities and he let out a groan of pleasure as he leaned into the hand. That was another thing that had changed; though this had more to do with Harry's inhibitions and insecurities rather than a physical change. Prior to his change Harry was very particular about whom he let touch him, where he allowed them to touch him, and whether or not he shied away from their touches or sought them out.

For instance, it had taken him months to tolerate the touch of any of the five pilots; especially if it involved anything beyond a hand shake or a glancing brush of the shoulder and anything more was met with open hostility (barring those times when Heero had ordered him to calm down and relax). He eventually grew comfortable enough with all five pilots that he willingly tolerated back slaps, hugs, the occasional headlock, and being picked up every now an then. On the other hand, he'd never willingly allowed any adult male close enough to touch him; not even the Maganacs (many of whom he considered uncles – though Abdul had on occasion ruffled his hair) and it had taken weeks before he'd allowed Cathy close enough to hug him (the day after his first capture by OZ and that had mostly been because he'd been emotional at the time).

Obduro was the only being he hadn't shown any unease around (bar the first time the centaur had tried to examine his wings) and much of that had to do with his memories of Firenze rescuing him from a Voldemort possessed Quirrell out in the Forbidden Forest and the centaur's close connection with nature. On the opposite end of the spectrum, it had taken Harry well over a year before he'd allow Zechs close enough to touch him (not counting those times when he'd been he'd been the man's virtual prisoner and hadn't really had much of a choice) and the physical contact he did allow never went beyond the occasional handshake or back slap.

In Dorothy's case; Harry had avoided her as much as possible right up until the night they'd been locked inside of his room together (or during the few kisses they'd shared prior to that night). And while he allowed her to explore his body with her hands and he explored hers in return, he had often flinched if she touched him when he wasn't expecting it and had, on a number of occasions, hesitated to initiate contact with her in return. That was especially true in the very beginning of their relationship.

The moment he'd gone from feral (and terrified) wolf cub to fully grown wolf animagus, Harry's learned and long ingrained aversion to touch had disappeared practically overnight. Wolves are very social animals that are very tactile in their demonstrations as they groom each other, wrestle together, and often huddle or cuddle together when they sleep or relax (unless it is too hot). That need for touch transferred over to Harry; who had always craved physical affection (like all children, most teens, and a number of adults) but had been conditioned to equate touch with pain and humiliation for fourteen long years before spending close to two years with no physical contact whatsoever.

Now though, he actively sought physical contact when he felt the need and not only tolerated being touched; enjoyed it in a way he hadn't thought possible. People whom he had gone out of his way to keep his physical distance from (Zechs and the Maganacs for example) would find themselves sought out the moment they entered the room and pestered by an affectionate Harry until they finally complied with his wishes and pet him. He still avoided those people he didn't know very well or whom he disliked but that was natural; however, anyone that was in his circle of friends or that he considered family were open game for a good petting or scratching.

He even rough housed with his brothers far more often than he had in the past (well the four of them that visited him anyway); his bond with the five pilots far stronger than any of his other bonds bar the one he shared with Dorothy but he was always extra careful around her because he had no wish to hurt her or the baby. The same thing applied to James, since his son was far too young and fragile for him to interact with beyond a few nose pokes and supervised cuddles while he slept at this point (as were the other children in his care).

He'd also once rough housed with some of the magical canines on the reservation (the small crups behaving like overgrown puppies the one time he'd encountered a small pack of them outside) though the other wolves avoided him (both the magical and non-magical species that made the forest their home). The dire wolves (a magical species of wolf that was related to grey wolves, also called ghost wolves due to their ability to blend into their surroundings much like a chameleon, and thought extinct in the non-magical world) did, on the other hand, answer his cries when he howled at the moon.

"I never thought I'd see da day when ya, of all people, became an attention whore," Duo declared as Harry shifted his head so Duo's fingers were scratching behind his other ear. Harry's response to Duo's accusation was to knock Duo off his feet, drape himself over the pilot's stomach, attack his face with his tongue, and poke him in the neck with his cold nose before he went in for the kill and captured Duo's braid in his teeth and tugged. "Alright! Alright! I won't say it again! I was just makin' an observation."

"You should know better than to insult Taliesin or any of the other magical creatures on the reservation," Quatre chided with amusement as he set a bowl of cubed venison (that had only been lightly browned and seasoned with wild garlic and onion – Harry being just human enough to feel queasy eating raw meat and just wolf enough to find cooked meat unappetizing) down on the floor.

Harry sat up and stared avidly at Quatre as he fought against his wolfish instinct to go for the food he could smell; this being the first time the blonde had come to visit him since he'd regained his sentience (when his human consciousness merged with his wolfish consciousness). He vividly recalled how angry Quatre had been with him the day he fractured his own mind and a second later he dropped down on his belly and groveled at the blonde's feet while whining pathetically.

"Well that was unexpected," Duo quipped as he sat up and watched the wolf's antics. "If I had ta make a guess, I'd say he was beggin' for forgiveness from ya, Quatre."

"Why? If anything he should be angry with me for how I treated him that day."

Harry whined again as he crept close enough so that he could paw at Quatre's leg as he rolled onto his back and bared his neck; a wolf's declaration of submission. The moment Quatre sighed and crouched down so he could rub Harry's belly, Harry let out a soft yawning howl that sounded slightly playful as his tail thumped tentatively on the floor. When Quatre chuckled, Harry yipped and reached up to lick Quatre's face before he rolled over and carefully jumped up so that he could wrap his forelegs around Quatre's waist while he buried his large, wolfish face against his belly. Quatre's fingers sank into the thick fur of Harry's neck and Harry let out a sigh as he rubbed his face up and down against Quatre's belly while his wings swept forward to wrap around the younger teen in the semblance of a hug.

"I'm sorry too, Taliesin, I shouldn't have attacked you the way I did and if you can forgive me for getting angry when I didn't know what had frightened you, then I can forgive you for wanting to hide from your fears."

Upon hearing Quatre's soft declaration, Harry the wolf cried his first tears in his new form; tears that were shaped like tear drops (fat rounded bodies with pointed tips that did not mix into a single stream like normal tears), shimmered and sparkled like diamond dust, and looked like they'd been made from liquid opals mixed with blood and powdered silver. A later analysis of the tears would identify yet another magical ability; Harry's tears were a potent anti-venom composed of a mixture of the healing secretion from his tongue glands and his venom mixed with his blood and magic.

The magical properties of both basilisk venom and phoenix tears still strong due to that magic having been bound to his core therefore his core could now produce both individually as well as a mixture of them. It was an ability his magical core had possessed prior to his forced change but as a human he hadn't had the ability to express those kinds of traits (outside the ability to filter a wide variety of toxins, drugs, and poisons out of his blood stream) so they hadn't shown up until his magic forced him into the form of his inner nature and those traits were subsequently integrated with his new form.

AN: I mean to have this up a couple of days ago but I was lazing about after the holiday and watching movies with the kid-let. Next chapter will have more information on Harry's transformation and I should have it up sometime over the next week. As always, thank you so much for reading and for the reviews! They are always appreciated even if they aren't always answered. =) ~ Jenn