Peorth

Harry Potter stared at Number Four Privet Drive, more than reluctant to go in. Hagrid had just left him with his ticket to Hogwarts and said he would see him in a few weeks. Harry knew that nothing good lay behind that innocent looking door and, even as he was thinking of running away (he could stay at the Leaky Cauldron for the summer, couldn’t he?), his uncle opened the door and motioned him in.

The next two hours were quite possibly the worst of his young life so far, including the beating he had received when he appeared on the roof at school. First his uncle tied him to a chair in the garden and Harry was forced to watch as his newly bought school supplies were burnt.

Harry was very glad he had had the foresight to hide his wand. He couldn’t imagine how much it would hurt to see the wand consumed by the fire. The piece of Holly and Phoenix feather was already part of him.

Even harder to watch was Dudley using a caged Hedwig for target practice with his new air pistol that he had received for his birthday. But the worst part, more awful than the beating he had received, was when Vernon broke Hedwig’s neck and chucked her on the fire without a care in the world, as if he hadn’t just killed a living creature.

Harry woke as his body hit the wall of his cupboard. For a few blissful seconds his body was numb; then the pain hit. His ankle, ribs and wrist hurt the most but it felt like his entire body was bruised. He heard his cupboard door slam shut and lock, then his uncle growling, “You can stay in there for the next six weeks.”

Harry gasped in disbelief; that was more than five times any of his previous punishments. He wondered idly if he would get any food or water. Sometimes he did and sometimes he didn’t. Before he could come to a conclusion, he passed out again.

When Harry next woke, the pain had dulled slightly and his watch told him it was half past two in the morning. The watch was not really Harry’s. It had been Dudley’s until the larger boy had taken the glass off and snapped the second hand off. Harry had cleaned it, covered the exposed remaining hands with some tape and was careful to never let his “family” see it as Dudley would take it back and break it just to spite him.

He knew that if he was going to get to Hogwarts, if he was going to survive, then he had to get out of his cupboard before his uncle nailed it up. Harry had always known he was different and able to do things that other people could not. He had learnt early on to keep those skills to himself. He had revealed his ability with locks to his uncle accidentally when, on the sixth day of a punishment, he had unlocked his door to get some water and was caught by his uncle coming down for a snack.

Ever since then, whenever he was locked in his cupboard, it also meant that wooden planks were nailed across the door. Harry was sure that if it was possible, his uncle would make him nail the planks himself.

But his uncle had not nailed the door yet. Harry assumed it was because the older man thought he would be unconscious or too weak to escape until morning. Luckily, Harry had always been a quick healer. It had not been enough time to heal properly but he could move. It took longer than normal but eventually the door opened with a small click and he saw the moonlight illuminating the hall.

He took his first step and gasped. The pain in his ankle was terrible and Harry guessed it was broken. He knew his ribs and wrist were broken, since he recognised the feelings, but he had never broken his ankle before and it was even more painful than he thought possible. Harry took nothing with him, not even something to lean on, as he hobbled painfully out of the house and down the street, biting his lip so that he would not make a sound and wake his family.

It was not until he reached the end of the street that the injured boy realised that not only did he have no idea where Hogwarts was, but he was not going to be able to walk much further. He wondered if he could do that strange phenomenon where he turned into an animal again. He had only done it three times in the past but never just when he wanted to, always by accident.

He had not been able to work out what animal he was. He had even snuck out to the public library to look but had never found anything. The closest he had come was a black panther with green eyes and black leather wings. The first time it had happened he had been totally black but the second time he had had dark grey markings like a leopard’s and the third time those marks had been lighter, even easier to see.

Harry curled into a ball and wished really hard to be his animal again and finally felt the change. His vision changed from colour to black and white and the images became sharper. He still had half of his limbs broken, which gave him no advantage walking but he did have wings; two huge wings that he hoped would carry his weight.

It took a few minutes to get the movement of his wings synchronised and a few more to work out how to take off and the he was off. He decided to go to Diagon Alley, as it was the only magical place of which he knew the location and luckily London was not too far away. The direction towards London was like the arrow of a compass in his mind, letting him know which way he had to go.

With frequent and quite long breaks for unused muscles, it was not until midmorning that he finally reached the Leaky Cauldron. Tired and sore, he limped through the door after a witch had left and started to look for somewhere to hide so that he could try to turn back into his human form. He was trying to creep past a man dressed all in black who smelt like dampness and sandalwood, when he heard the magic words.

“Are you still teaching at Hogwarts then, Professor Snape?”

Not only did this nice smelling man seem to know Hogwarts but he also appeared to work there and maybe even live there. Harry looked up, saw a nose slightly too large for its owner and greasy hair, and waited for the man to answer.

“Of course Tom, I’ve just ordered the last of the supplies I need for this term.”

It was all Harry needed to know before he let out the most pathetic sound he could muster. Onyx eyes swung down to look at him and he let out another pathetic sound.

“Who are you, little one?” The man Professor Snape, asked.

Harry just made a sound of pain and held his broken wrist out for inspection. The man knelt down and carefully took hold of his wrist.

“Looks broken to me, little one.”

Harry mewled in agreement and carefully turned to that the man could see his ankle that was also broken. Professor Snape said nothing but Harry found himself being picked up. He settled his wings to his back as he was gently cradled against a slim chest. Strong fingers stroked though his fur on his chest and Harry shifted slightly to relieve some of the pressure on his chest as the man stood up.

“Is it really a Panivco?” The bartender asked. Harry thought the Professor had called him Tom.

“It looks like it but only a cub and a badly beaten one at that.”

So that’s what he was, a Panivco cub, not that the information told him much but it was nice to know.

“Take him through to Al at the Magical Menagerie. I’m sure he can fix the little guy up.”

“I would rather take him back to Hagrid at Hogwarts. He may only be the groundskeeper but he knows his beasts,” Professor Snape said.

Harry was practically purring. Not only was the nice smelling man holding him more gently and carefully than anyone in memory ever had, but he was also going to take him to Hogwarts to Hagrid, Harry’s only friend.

“May we use your floo?”

“Of course Professor, and take good care of the little guy.”

Harry frowned as they stepped into a fireplace and the professor dropped some powder, making the flames turn green. “Shrieking Shack,” Professor Snape said and then they were tumbling around like they were on a roller coaster before being spat out the other side.

Harry squeaked in protest and tried to get away from the man but strong hands held him tight to the thin chest and that deep voice soothed him. “Stop that you Silly Creature, we are both safe, it was only the floo system.”

Harry made a squeak of enquiry.

“Yes, safe, and only a short walk from Hagrid’s home and medical treatment for you.”

Harry snuggled into the warm chest making a contented sound as they left the shack they had arrived in. He would have missed his first sight of Hogwarts if Professor Snape had not pointed it out to him. “And there is Hogwarts, only a few more minutes before we get some help, Silly Creature.”

Harry squeaked indignantly.

“Yes, you are a Silly Creature. I would never hurt you. Panivcos are very rare and you are only a cub. I would never hurt a cub.”

Harry just settled into the strong, safe and nice smelling arms and waited for the time that he would not hurt any more. It was not long until they reached a very large hut and Hagrid appeared with a large dog. The man looked just as big and safe as he had the other day when he had rescued him from the Dursley’s.

“What you got there, Professor?”

“A Panivco cub. I think he was beaten.”

“A Panivco cub? Long time since I saw one of them and she was nearly full grown. Well, bring him in and I’ll see what I can do.”

Professor Snape carried him into the hut, placed him on a huge table and stepped back. Harry tried to stay relaxed as Hagrid’s huge hands explored all of his small body. He only just stopped himself from scrambling back into Professor Snape’s arms.

“I think you’re right Professor. His left wrist and right hock are broken, as are four of his ribs, and he is covered in cuts and bruises. I have salve for the cuts and bruises and, unless you know a mild bone mending charm, I will splint his limbs.”

“I know the Healico-Summa charm. It is used on children under five who can’t handle the magical strain of the other charms. The disadvantage is that the fracture is soft for the next week.”

Hagrid nodded, “I am sure we’ll manage, if you wouldn’t mind Professor. I’ll sort out the scraps and bruises, then leave both joints and his ribs to you.”

A few minutes later Harry breathed a sigh of relief as the main sources of pain vanished. He gave a content purr as large hands started rubbing something into his skin that made him feel warm and the pain slowly leaked away.

“I will leave him in your capable hands, Hagrid. I assume you can find a safe home for him.”

“Of course, Professor.”

Harry watched as the nice smelling man left Hagrid’s hut. Suddenly, he felt cold and alone. Why was the man leaving him? Where was His man going without him? He started to squeal in distress and try to leap after His man but it was no good. Strong and very large hands held him firmly in place. But it did not stop him from struggling to get free.

Then suddenly they were moving towards the door. Hagrid opened it and there was His man, already walking back towards them. With a sudden burst of movement, Harry broke free from Hagrid and glided to land in His man’s arms, purring contentedly as he head butted Snape’s chin and shoulder.

“What’s wrong with you now, you silly creature?” His man asked. But like the last time, ‘silly creature’ was obviously a term of endearment.

Harry just continued to make sure that His man had his scent all over him so that noone would steal His man.

It was Hagrid who answered the question. “Most Panivcos bond to a mentor figure at around his age. Normally this would be a parent or older brother or sister, but I think he has bonded with you. At the beginning of the bond he won’t like not being able to see you. The bond should allow you to sense his emotions and his location to a point.”

His man stroked his chest and throat. “Well, I suppose we are stuck together. How long will the bond last?”

“As long as the cub needs it.”

“How old do you think he is?”

“Panivcos live to an average of about 250 to 300 years. As a cub, he is less than fifty years old. From the colour of his markings, I would guess somewhere between eight, when the marks start to appear, and thirty five when they turn snow white. I’m guessing somewhere near the earlier end of the scale as the marks are still pretty dark.”

“Thank you, Hagrid. May I take some more of the salve?”

“Of course, Professor. Just rub it in again in about six hours.”

A few minutes later and they were walking towards Hogwarts. A strange smelling finger was rubbing across Harry’s nose and lips. With a small lunge, Harry drew the finger into his mouth and suckled on it, feeling comforted.

His man stopped walking and looked down at him, lifting Harry’s head until he met His man’s eyes. “Silly creature. I make potions! What if I had had something poisonous on my finger?”

Harry gave a muffled apologetic squeak but didn’t let go of His man’s finger.

“You are without a doubt a silly creature and next time you feel the need to remove any of my extremities by suction alone ask first.”

Harry nodded and suckled a bit harder.

“Severus, I don’t believe I have ever seen you being so pleasant to another living being,” a female voice teased from behind them. Harry let go of His man’s finger and turned to look at a woman who smelt like cats and had her hair in a tight bun. Severus, His man’s name was Severus. His Severus.

“Minerva. A pleasure as always and the cub has done nothing to insult me.”

Harry did not like the cold tone in His man’s voice and the cat-lady’s next words made a shiver run through his body.

“And what have the students ever done to you?”

“They are silly children who think that life is a game where they may start over as often as they like.”

“You were like them once, Severus.”

“No, I wasn’t Minerva. James Potter saw to that.” Harry perked up at the mention of his father. No one had ever really told him about his father.

“James Potter was never the monster that you claimed him to be.”

“Neither was he a saint like you claimed him to be. Are you looking forward to the next generation of Potters arriving in less than a month to join your house?”

Harry’s bad feeling returned with a vengeance, telling him that His man would not like Harry much as a human.

“Harry is not James and it would do you well to remember that, Severus.”

“Harry Potter like his father will be a stuck-up idiot who thinks he is superior to everyone else and is used to being waited on hand and foot.”

Harry shivered as he heard Severus talk about him like he was Dudley. He had not even met the man in his human form! What if all of the wizarding world was like that?

Slim hands tipped Harry’s head back where he had hidden it in Severus’ robes and he met concerned eyes, “Are you cold?”

Harry shrugged, unable to tell His man that the shivers were really from fear and anxiety without telling the truth.

Chapter Two: Named

Severus looked back up at his colleague now that the Panivco cub was settled inside his robes. He would really have to think of a name for the Silly creature before the cub started to think that ‘Silly Creature’ was it. Minerva had a very strange look on her face.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you fuss so much, even about yourself. I must see Hagrid. I’ll see you at dinner.”

Severus nodded and the strict teacher strode past him. Severus hated that the Headmaster had made it a rule that all teachers who stayed over the summer had to eat dinner in the Great Hall.

As they approached Hogwarts, Severus turned so that the cub could see the school. “As you know this is Hogwarts, where I work. Is it acceptable as a home?”

The cub yelped in a way that he understood as: ‘yes’. Severus guessed it was part of their bond.

“Maybe we should go to the library and find a book on taking care of Panivcos,”

Severus received no reply from the cub except a contented purr as he stroked the soft head and neck. So he decided the library was his first stop before returning to his rooms in the dungeon.

The Library was deserted and even Madame Pince was not there to follow him around like she had done since his sixth year. It hadn’t even been his fault that those books had been destroyed. It had been James Potter who had thrown the curse that had destroyed them, not that it had mattered. Madame Pince had just seen Golden Potter and him and believed Potter’s innocence.

The Ins and Outs of Mystical Creatures by Janer Somes was the book he wanted and he found it easily without the nosey librarian being there to interfere. Many years earlier, he had read another book that had referred to The Ins and Outs of Mystical Creatures as having more information on magical creatures. He had known the book was in the library but could not be checked out and, as he was not allowed to read in the library anymore and as a student was not allowed to copy pages, he had never bothered to read it before. One tap of his wand later and all the information he needed was neatly bound to be carried back down to his dungeons.

Severus lit the fire in his sitting room and removed his outer robes before sitting down on the sofa and arranging the small cub so he was on his lap. He stroked soft fur with one hand and held the pages in the other as he read.

By the time he had finished, the small creature was asleep on his lap, purring quietly. He continued to stroke the soft fur as he thought about the bond between them. The book said very little about it and what was written down was not much more than Hagrid had told him. And, as the pages were all written as observations of a Panivco pair, they had no way of knowing much about the bond.

It meant that Severus was on his own to understand the bond. Without disturbing the cub, he settled into a meditative position, knowing that physical contact would make what he was about to do easier. He slowly sank into a meditative state, picturing his Occlumency shields. Slowly they formed as a picture; it took a few more minutes to complete the image.

When he was done, Severus stood in the middle of a ten foot square surrounded by a ten foot high brick wall. Even though he could not see them, Severus knew that outside the brick wall there was a steel one, then another brick wall, and finally a wooden one. His bond with his cub was the same green as the cub’s eyes, and it seemed to come through the walls of his mind like they did not even exist and without disturbing them at all. Severus frowned and checked his walls but they were fine and he had to admit that walls strong enough to keep Albus Dumbledore and Lord Voldemort out of his mind were no good against one small Panivco cub. He really had to think of a name for his cub soon.

Severus allowed himself to observe the bond. It was thin in places, so he spent a few minutes strengthening it from his side before returning to full wakefulness. He looked down and met green eyes, smiling at the small creature and feeling only contentment through the bond from his bonded. Severus chuckled. When he had been younger, in the rare moments when he had thought about being happy, it had been because he had bonded to someone else. This wasn’t quite the bond he had had in mind, but like his bonded, he not only felt content but happy about it.

“I suppose I should think of a name for you, then,” he said and got an affirmative chirp, “How about Salazar?” Severus could not help but smile at the cub’s angry growl. It sounded so small and, dare he even think it, cute.

“Not Salazar then, how about Peorth? It is from a rune meaning Fate and seeker of inner transformation. I always wanted a pet when I was younger, a Kneazle that I was going to call Peorth. I would be more than happy to share the name with you.”

The cub purred and butted his head against Severus’s chest.

“Peorth it is then, little one. Now would you please stand up so that I may measure you?”

Curiosity came along their bond. Severus just smiled and motioned for the small cub to stand up.

“Hagrid, the large man who helped heal you, wasn’t sure of your age except for somewhere between eight and thirty-five. According to the pages I copied, some simple measurements and not so simple sums should tell me how old you are.”

Peorth almost seemed to shrug his shoulders and stood up, stretched his legs and wings, then waited patiently. Severus smiled and summoned a tape measure. It took a few minutes to get all the numbers and plug them into the formula. Finally he had the results, which meant according to his size, the cub was at the lowest end of Hagrid’s range, only eight years old.

“Only eight? You should definitely still be with your mother.”

The cub gave a cry of outrage and nudged the paper.

“Not eight?” Severus asked. Peorth nodded, “Older?” The cub nodded, “Nine?” Negative feelings through the bond, “Ten?” Negative again, “Eleven?” he asked in disbelief, remembering the book had said that at ten cubs had a growth spurt, after which they normally bonded to their mentor. But he was getting positive feelings through their bond.

Severus growled in anger and swept the cub against his chest, “Never again, no one will ever mistreat you again,” he vowed, his magic crackling around them, knowing that the young cub was so small because of mistreatment and malnourishment.

“I suppose I should feed you then, and see if I can make you the correct size for an eleven year old.” As if the idea of food had reminded the cub that he was hungry, the small tummy rumbled. “According to the book, you eat fruits, vegetables and roots, which makes me wonder why you have those sharp teeth and claws.”

Severus stood and moved across the room to find the bell he used to summon a house elf when he was pounced on. Claws were just scraping his leg as Peorth climbed up his leg and sharp teeth finally closed on his wrist.

Severus smiled at the cub, “I get the idea, to climb and protect yourself but, as I’m sure the food isn’t going to summon itself, you’ll have to let go of me so I can do it for you.”

The cub gave one last growl before letting go of Severus and returning to the floor. Severus rang the bell and ten minutes later Peorth was demolishing a very large bowl of fruit and the house-elves knew that whenever Severus ordered a meal, a similar bowl of fruit and roots was to come with it.

It was just over a half hour until lunch when the cub finished eating and banged his head against Severus’s legs.

“I am going to finish reading my magazine,” Severus told the youngster, indicating the Potion’s weekly in his hand, “Lunch is in half an hour and I have no doubt you will be hungry again so why don’t you explore our quarters. You can go anywhere but my lab, which won’t open for you as you aren’t yet part of the wards and even when you are, I don’t expect you to go in there without me,”

The cub gave an affirmative chirp and bounded off towards his bedroom. Severus smiled as he felt contentment and happiness through the bond. He could get used to having a bonded friend, Severus thought as he returned to his magazine.

+++

Harry watched the moving portraits in interest as he was carried through the school towards the main hall for dinner. His human had explained that the Headmaster, his boss, demanded that all staff staying at school had to have dinner in the main hall to make sure everyone was still alive, and that Severus did not like it in the least. He had told Harry to stick close and stay away from the strange smelling woman he would soon meet. That was fine with Harry. He was perfectly happy to just sit in His human’s lap, basking mentally and physically in the man’s presence.

He had been included in Severus’s wards after lunch and had spent the afternoon in the lab learning that His human was a Potion Master and what that meant. Severus had made ten potions that afternoon, most of them at the same time, all the while explaining to Harry why he was adding certain things at certain times and why they had to be stirred so many times in certain directions.

Harry had actually found the entire thing very interesting and was learning to identify the ingredients by smell. He was learning magic without telling them all who he really was and he loved it.

“As this is your first time to the Great Hall, we are entering through the main door, but normally we would just enter through the side door.”

Harry nodded and looked at the big doors. They swung open as the pair approached and Severus carried him in. Harry thought his head would fall off as he tried to look everywhere at the same time. The ceiling was the most amazing thing he had ever seen and he made a chirp of curiosity.

“The ceiling is charmed to look like the sky and the candles have spells on them to make them float. The tables are for the four houses: Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, and the one where all the people are is the staff table, where we will sit.”

Harry looked at the table at the front of the hall where five people were sitting, then at the other four long tables. He now understood why it was called the Great Hall.

“Not many people are here over the summer. I stay as it means I have my own private lab without all of the noisy brats here. Hagrid stays because he is the groundskeeper and someone has to keep an eye on the school. Madame Sprout, the smaller woman, is the Herbology teacher. She stays to look after her plants, only leaving for the odd weekend on holiday. But like me, she uses this time as research without the children around. The smelly one on the end is Professor Trelawney. She is the one to ignore and avoid as much as possible. She stays because she only leaves her tower for small periods of time and then normally only to predict someone's death.

“You met Professor McGonagall earlier. She normally visits for two or three days three or four times through the summer. She is here at the moment to make sure all the letters got to the students. The final man is the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. He is here three days a week.”

Harry looked at the tall man with a long white beard and hair, glasses and blue twinkling eyes that were watching them walk towards the table. So this was Albus Dumbledore, the man who had sent him the letter and then Hagrid for him. Harry snuggled further into Severus’s arms. While he was glad to see Hagrid and Professor McGonagall again, it was really the Headmaster he wanted to meet.

He felt strangely and unexplainably scared about meeting the powerful wizard. What if the Headmaster could tell that he was really Harry and not Peorth and made him change back to his human form, and His human hated him?

Misinterpreting the feelings through the bond, Severus murmured, “Don’t worry Peorth, you’re only scared because our bond is new. By the time school starts you’ll be fine in the presence of others. For now just stay in my arms while we meet the others and eat.”

Harry nodded and snuggled his face into Severus’s comforting smelling robes, picking out the scents of the different ingredients he had been using that afternoon to make his potions. It smelt like home and safety.

“Albus, Minerva, Pomona and Hagrid, I would like you to meet Peorth. Peorth, you know who everyone is.”

“An unbonded Panivco cub, Severus? Whereever did you find him?” The headmaster asked.

Severus sat down beside Albus and opposite Hagrid before answering, “I didn’t find him, he found me in the Leaky Cauldron this morning. He had been badly beaten so I brought him back to school.”

“And you bonded?”

Severus nodded and Harry felt one of those strong hands starting to massage his shoulders and wings. He purred under His human’s ministrations but still heard the Headmaster’s next question, “And are you happy with the bond Severus or do you wish to break it?”

Harry looked up in surprise and worry. What if the Headmaster could break the bond between him and His Severus? He didn’t know if he could survive without Severus, without their bond, all on his own again. He met onyx eyes and His Severus smiled, “You Silly Creature. Of course I don’t want to break our bond. I already couldn’t imagine my life without you in my head so stop your absurd worrying.”

Harry gave a contented purr and rubbed his head against Severus’s chest.

“Well, you seem to be getting on wonderfully. I’m glad you have a companion in your dungeons. Now I think it is time to eat.”

A few seconds later the food appeared on the table. Severus had meat pie, mashed potatoes, sweet corn and broccoli. Harry stared at Severus’s plate, his mind telling him that it would taste great. But it was the familiar bowl of fruit next to it that really made his mouth water.

Harry rested his front paws on the table and started eating. He had no idea what most of the fruit was as he had never eaten any but oranges and apples before, but it all tasted great. He could definitely get used to this: a man to protect him, food to eat whenever he wanted, and hopefully somewhere warm to sleep.

He had explored Severus’s quarters and found a few corners he would not mind curling up in with a thick blanket. They were all one hundred percent better than a ratty blanket in his cupboard. But the place he truly wanted to sleep was in the huge bed in His Severus’s arms.

The conversation over dinner was about the wizarding world and what was going on. How the cost of cauldrons had gone up, how somewhere called Gladrags - which he guessed was a clothing store - was having a sale and a hundred and one other things that Harry did not care about. And from the boredom coming down the bond from Severus, neither did he.

Finally they left the Great Hall after saying goodnight to the others and they had all patted him, leaving their scents on him. Harry spent the entire walk back to their quarters rubbing himself all over Severus, trying to make sure that His human’s scent was dominant scent, if not the only scent on him.

“Calm down you silly creature or I’m going to drop you.”

Harry stilled and whimpered in complaint. He could still smell Professor Trelawney on him where she had hugged him, almost pulling him from Severus’s arms.

“When we get back to our quarters we are going to bathe. I have access to a rather large bath and you will be able to wash off whatever scent is annoying you.”

Harry gave a contented purr. Removing her scent altogether was better than just trying to cover it with His human’s. He started watching the corridors again, wondering if he would ever learn his way around the school, it was so big.

When they finally got back to the rooms that Harry now knew was his home, he was feeling tired but wanted his promised bath first. He guessed that if they were going to bathe together then Severus would want to bathe in warm water and Harry could not even remember washing with warm water.

For as long as he could remember he had been made to wash in the back garden using the hose pipe. He could still remember being eight and asking his Aunt Petunia if he could take a warm shower. She had made him stand outside and had poured a kettle if boiling water over his legs. He knew now it must have been magic that had healed the terribly painful burns so he could go to school the next day.

They walked straight through the living room, bedroom and then through a door he had not noticed when he had been exploring his new home. They stood in a large white and grey room that had a sink, a toilet, a shower and bath tub that must have filled two-thirds of the room. It was the biggest bath he had ever seen, even bigger than the one Uncle Vernon had to buy so he could fit.

Severus put him down on the edge of the huge bath next to a wall. The edge was quite wide and Harry found he could sit on it easily.

“As you seem to actually have a brain in that furry head of yours, I’ll show you how it works. Pressing the green button will fill the bath within ten minutes to my favourite temperature. You can then test it and change the temperature with the red and blue buttons, red hotter and blue colder.”

Harry gave a murmur of complaint, all he saw was three dark buttons on a white brick wall.

“What is wrong now?”

Harry pointed one paw at the buttons and gave a squeak of confusion, he couldn’t tell which was which.

“It is simple Peorth, green: on, red: temperature up and blue...” Severus trailed off and was silent for a few seconds, “You can’t see colour,” he said like it explained everything.

Harry nodded his head and thumped his head against Severus’ chest, expecting him to sort it out for him.

“That we can sort out,” Severus said and got out his wand. A few muttered spells later and all three buttons had symbols on them, “Now then, this one with the circle on it is the green one and will turn the water on. The red one has an arrow pointing up on it and the blue one has an arrow pointing down. Do you understand now?”

Harry gave a chirp of happiness and leaned forward until he could press the button with the circle on it with his nose. Within seconds the sound of running water filled the room and Severus was leaning over him to pour some oil from a bottle into the bath.

“Keep an eye on the water while I get undressed and put some music on.”

Harry bobbed his head up and down and felt more than saw Severus leave the room. With a small jump and a glide he landed in the centre of the bath. The water was coming from sixteen holes all around the bath and it smelt like Severus did, only stronger.

He was happily splashing around in the nearly full bath when Severus returned. Harry looked up and gave a chirp of greeting, glad His human was back in the room. The older man was wearing only a towel, allowing Harry to see that His human was tall, pale, very thin with a pale grey face on his arm.

“It looks like you are having fun. I trust you will be able to bathe on your own when you wish in the future?”

Harry kept out an affirmative chirp and moved into one corner so that Severus could get in. His human dropped his towel and climbed in as classical music echoed through their rooms.

“Is it too hot or cold?”

Harry gave a negative chirp. The temperature was fine. In fact, it was perfect, the best sensation he had ever felt, except, of course, for Severus’s strong hands when he stroked him.

The pair spent the next hour splashing around in the water and washing carefully. Severus’s hands were firm as they washed his fur and wings and His human even allowed Harry to run his claws through his hair but the Potion Master had to do the rest on his own.

“Play a little longer in the water while I get dressed. Then we’ll dry you off and sit in front of the fire to read for a while.”

Harry nodded and waited for Severus to return. It was only a few minutes before a pyjama clad Severus returned and motioned for him to get out. Harry couldn’t help but purr in pleasure as his wings were dried with a towel and then his fur with the magical equivalent of a hairdryer, hot air coming from His human’s wand.

The boy turned cub kept on purring as he was carried into the living room and they sat on the sofa, his head in Severus’ lap.

”I was reading The Two Towers, a book by a man called Tolkein, the second in a trilogy. But as I think you would rather start at the beginning and I have read them all before, we are going to start with the prequel, ‘The Hobbit’.”

Harry wriggled until he was as comfortable as he would get then nodded for Severus to start.

“Bilbo Biggens....”

Harry sighed and let that deep voice take him to Middle Earth.

+++

Severus smiled as he idly stroked the soft fur. Contentment and happiness were coming from his bonded and he was actually happy, too. He had a pretty good idea of what would happen to his reputation if anyone came in now and saw him reading to an animal (using voices), even if said animal seemed to be very intelligent. People would never respect him again.

But he found he enjoyed reading to Peorth and the cub seemed to enjoy it. But then again the cub seemed to enjoy everything they did together. It had been nice to have the cub around while he had been making his potions that afternoon and for the first time he had actually found himself enjoying teaching the potions to the cub. If the students were like Peorth, then he might enjoy his job.

Severus shut the book at the end of the chapter, smiling at the cub’s sleepy complaint. “It is time to sleep you Silly Creature, so you need to decide where you want to sleep.”

Peorth gave a chirp of understanding and got up. The small cub stretched and opened his wings wide, reminding Severus that he would have to see if the cub could or wanted to fly. He watched in amusement as the cub padded over to his bedroom door, pushed it open with his head and jumped on his bed.

“You want to sleep on my bed?” Severus asked, moving to stand in his bedroom doorway.

An affirmative chirp.

“And where do I sleep?”

Peorth moved to one side of the bed and pointed at the far side with a front paw, he nodded his head as if to say: ‘There’.

“You want to share?”

The small furry head bobbled up and down and he was given a look as if to say: ‘And where else would you sleep’.

“Well then, you had better not snore.”

Happiness thrummed through their bond as he pulled down the blankets and they both climbed into bed. Severus lay down and seconds later had two armfuls of warm, furry Panivco cub, a claw in an awkward spot on his groin and a wing in his face.

“If you want to sleep in my arms that is fine but I insist you remove your foot from my groin and wing from my face.”

Peorth made an apologetic sound and they both moved until they had a comfortable position for both parties involved. Severus laying on his back with his bonded’s head on his shoulder and a wing stretched over his torso. He hadn’t expected the leather wings to be so soft or to feel so comforting with the wing covering him.

“Goodnight Peorth.”

All he got in response was a head butt to his chin and content through their bond which quickly faded to sleepy happiness. Severus sighed and made sure his mind was clear before letting himself fall asleep, glad he had picked that morning to get his supplies from Diagon Alley.

Chapter Three:Flight

Severus smiled as the small cub jumped off the highest cupboard in his lab for the fifth time, glided to the other side of the room and, for the fifth time, hit the wall. Severus did not feel any pain through the bond so he knew the cub was not hurt, but was having a fantastic time practising his gliding.

Severus added the last ingredient, stirred it seven and half times clockwise, and smiled when it turned dark blue and the scent of lilies drifted up to his nose. It was a potion for Madame Pomfrey, one of many he made for the hospital wing during the summer and, while Peorth had not been watching his every move like he had done for the previous three days, Severus had still found himself explaining each and every step to the small cub. Through the bond he could tell that Peorth still liked the explanations, liked understanding what was going on even if the cub was not paying attention only to him.

A small chime indicated that lunch had arrived and, even as he washed his hands and cast spells to make sure that the potion would not be damaged, he could feel Peorth getting impatient while he waited for him. In the four days since he had found the small cub, he had noticed that the cub had some of the strangest mannerisms: only eating after everyone was seated, always following one pace behind Severus when they walked, and disliking dark places despite the fact that in the wild, Panivcos were supposed to live in caves. These were just some of his strange behaviours.

Severus sat down to a delicious meal of roast beef, yorkshire puddings and vegetables. It must be Sunday, he thought as he spooned a mouth full of peas, potatoes and gravy. Looking down at Peorth as the cub demolished his bowl of fruit, Severus knew that his afternoon would be spent on the Quidditch pitch. Albus allowed him to stay at Hogwarts over the summer and use the school lab for his experiments as long as he spent Sunday afternoons outside. The facilities were a lot better than he could afford with what was left of the Snape fortune.

Normally he spent the Sundays sitting out by the lake reading, but as Peorth seemed determined to bruise what brains he had by flying into walls, the Quidditch pitch would be a better option.

“Do you want to try flying outside?”

Peorth’s head came up so fast that Severus was scared he would hurt himself. The cub launched himself at Severus, licking and head butting his face and chin. Severus smiled and waited until the cub had calmed down and was sitting impatiently on his knee. “I take it you like that idea,” Severus teased.

He got another head butt for his trouble. “Finish eating and I’ll find my broom so I can fly with you and then we’ll go.”

Peorth always ate his food fast but Severus could have sworn that Peorth apparated the food straight to his stomach, bypassing his mouth altogether. With his bowl empty, the cub sat back on his haunches and looked at Severus expectantly.

“You’ll still have to wait until I have finished my own food,” Severus said with a smile to the cub sitting beside him. Huge green eyes just looked at him, begging him to hurry. “You still have to wait, but you can make yourself useful. You can search my bedroom cupboards for my broom.”

He got an affirmative chirp as Peorth bounded off to their bedroom. Severus wondered how the cub even knew what a broom was.

Severus was just finishing his desert, apple crumble and custard, when Peorth returned. His teeth were no doubt leaving marks on his broom handle as the cub dragged the broom behind him. Severus chuckled at the sight. “Well done, pass it here and we can go to the Quidditch pitch.”

An inquisitive squeak.

“Quidditch?”

Severus got an affirmative trill as he started to lead the way out of the school.

“It is a game witches and wizards play on brooms. There are seven members on a team and two teams play at a time. You have two beaters, one keeper, one seeker and three chasers; then you have four balls: a quaffle, the chasers pass this and throw it through hoops to score points; two bludgers that attack the players, the beaters protect the rest of the team from them with bats; and the Golden snitch. Catching the Snitch is the job of the seeker and catching the snitch ends the game.”

It was warm outside but Severus was still glad he had grabbed a thicker robe as they had been leaving their rooms. It would be colder in the air once they started moving, as the wind carried away the body heat they would create.

“Stay on the ground until I come back down.  I want to know I remember how to ride a broom before you go up so I can make sure you are safe.”

The cub pouted but gave an affirmative chirp.

It had been years since Severus had played Quidditch, since he had been on a broom at all so it was with great care that he climbed  onto the broom and took off, flying shakily for a few seconds before calming down and getting his act together. He flew around the field a few times then landed beside Peorth, who was obviously using every inch of his control to stay on the ground.

Severus stood beside the cub and patted his head. “Well,  go on then, but stay low.  I’ll keep my wand on you and when I think you are confident enough, then you can go higher. We can come out again tomorrow and fly together if I think you are ready enough.”

Peorth shrugged his shoulders and nodded. He started running, then spread his wings and flapped. He got about two foot off the ground before crash landing. It took the cub another twenty minutes of trying before he managed to take off and stay in the air for any decent length of time.

Severus smiled as Peorth finally managed to take off, fly around and land. His landing may have been a bit of a crash landing, but it was still a landing. He could feel the cub getting tired as he took off for his third perfect flight and decided that would be the last one. He did not want Peorth to get injured because he was exhausted.

As if Peorth knew what he was thinking, the cub ended his flight with a glide into his arms and a head butt. “Enough?”

An affirmative chirp.

“Come on, then. Let's go back inside and get a drink.”

Another affirmative chirp.

“And you may fly again tomorrow.”

Contentment flooded through the bond and Severus walked back into the school. They would read for a bit before dinner, he decided.

+++

Albus sat in his office trying to get paperwork finished so that he could go home. It had been a long week, something that always came when the last of the school letters went out and responses were received. The only positive points being that Nicholas’s stone was safely in the school and that Harry Potter was coming in September. A shout from outside reminded him of the other good news: Severus's little friend.

He abandoned his work to look out of the window towards the Quidditch pitch. It had been over a week, nearly two, since he had first seen the cub. As far as he could tell, since their first flight on Sunday they had flown for at least an hour every day. He smiled as his glasses allowed him to see close up as Peorth grabbed the Quaffle ball and the happy look on his Potion Master’s face as he chased the cub.

He had no idea when they had added the balls but he thought that they also had a Snitch as well as the Quaffle, although neither seemed particularly interested in catching the small golden ball and ending the game. He could still remember watching them the first time. He tried to be at school every Sunday so that he could make sure Severus left his lab. He had been just about to go down to the dungeons when his clock had informed him that Severus was outside. Albus had been even more surprised when he had checked and found Severus not in his usual place by the lake, but instead on the Quidditch pitch.

He could remember watching Peorth fly shakily around the pitch while Severus held his wand on the small cub like an overprotective parent. He had always known that Severus would make a good parent and he supposed this would be his only chance to show that talent. He was glad to see that something other than his potions was giving Severus a reason to carry on.

Albus watched in horror as Peorth started plummeting head first towards the ground, his wings pulled tight against his back. He could not see if anything had hit the cub and was to far away, even with his powers, to cast any spells to help. Just meters from the ground Peorth spread his wings and glided along the ground, his feet only centimetres from the grass, something gold in his mouth.

He smiled when he realised that the cub had caught the snitch after a flawless Wronski dive. The Headmaster smiled even more when he saw his Potions Master grab Peorth in a possessive grip and started yelling at him. Albus had no doubt the cub was being told off for scaring Severus.

It had been years since anyone had made it through the armour that Severus had built around his heart and Albus had started to worry that no one ever would.  He was especially glad it was the cub, and not a human, because, unlike a human, this cub would never betray Severus.

Albus turned away from the happy picture, determined to finish his work so he could go home to his own family.

+++

Severus held the cub close even as the small body was straining to get away.

“I’m sorry for yelling at you Peorth. I was just worried,” Severus soothed, deciding that yelling at an abused animal was a bad idea.

The cub slowly  stopped trying to escape and mewled at him in confusion.

“Yes, I was worried about you.”

His response was an inquisitive chirp.

“Because you are my cub, my little friend, and I would be very, very upset if you were hurt.”

Peorth snuggled into Severus chest and he felt his own feelings of care and worry returned to him along their bond.

“It’ll be okay Peorth. We’ll be okay. Now should we return inside and finish that potion?”

A positive trill was his reply. They collected up their equipment and returned to their rooms. Severus could no longer imagine his life without Peorth and, while it was different to fly every afternoon, he knew he would miss it if they stopped.