Peorth

Severus decided to carry Peorth to breakfast, he knew that Peorth could walk but wanted to carry his cub, wanted to keep his cub away from the stupid idiots, otherwise known as students, who might hurt him. The part that annoyed him the most, and he would be discussing torture techniques with Argus in the very near future because of it, was that Peorth wanted to be in his arms because he was scared of the students.

On arrival in the Great Hall instead of running over to the Slytherin table and greeting Draco as he had done for the past few days, he looked over at Draco gave a shiver of fear and frantically tried to get closer to Severus. Severus cursed the youngest male Weasley, swearing the redhead would never pass potions as long as he was the potion’s master at Hogwarts.

He cast a silencing and obscuring spell around them, he may have gone soft on Peorth but the rest of the school didn’t need to know that, “Why don’t you want to eat your breakfast with Draco this morning?” He asked as he stroked the soft fur behind Peorth’s ears, knowing it would calm his cub.

Peorth just tried to get inside Severus’ robes, the only thing coming across their bond was fear. Severus was going to have to think up a punishment so bad that it would scar the youngest male Weasley for life, he had no doubt that the twins would be able to help him with some inside information.

“Peorth, Weasley and his friends are not here and no one here will hurt you. They are stupid boys who don’t have the common sense of a house elf. You know Draco would never hurt you, just as I wouldn’t and I didn’t think you would ever hurt him but you are.”

The small dark head popped up and gave an inquisitive squeak.

“Look at him, he is upset and hurting that you are scared of him, “ Severus said, pointing out the small blond to his cub.

Draco was staring at the pair of them, his face blank but his eyes showed the pain, especially when he looked down at the bowl of fruit in his hands.

“He is your friend, he cares for you and I know you care for him, don’t make him suffer just because some silly Gryffindors are cruel idiots. I should know because I went to school with some but I did not let them run my life using fear and I will not let them run yours. You are brave Peorth and neither I nor Draco will allow anything to happen to you. Now go and eat breakfast with your friend, I will see you afterwards.”

Severus lowered the spells obscuring them and placed Peorth on the ground, he could still feel fear pouring through the bond between them but the small cub stretched his wings and took off. Peorth circled the Great hall twice then glided to the bench beside Draco.

Severus didn’t let his mouth smile but his eyes did as he watched his cub nuzzle Draco’s cheek. Slowly the constant stream of fear over the bond lessened and changed to joy at breakfast and Draco’s stroking.

He ignored the staring students and took his place at the head table between Minerva and Vectra. “Where are they?” He asked Minerva as his bowl of porridge arrived.

“If you are referring to Weasley, Thomas and Finnegan then they are on punishment duty.”

This surprised Severus, he had never heard her speak of Punishment duty before, “Punishment Duty?” he questioned.

“Yes, I haven’t had to use it since your fifth year and a certain incident in the shrieking shack. Albus would not let me punish him more seriously as that would put Remus in trouble. But Black and spent three weeks on punishment duty, he slept in a separate room, ate meals alone and apart from going to classes was on his own. Not even the famed Marauders could get Black out of those rooms to cause mischief.”

Severus gave the strict woman a small smile, barley curling the sides of his mouth, “Thank-you.”

The Older witch nodded her head, knowing that her young colleague was not only saying thank-you for punishing the boys who had hurt his bonded but also the boys who had hurt him. She had known that Albus couldn’t punish Black too harshly without putting Lupin in trouble but she had still thought they had got off light which was why she had used Punishment Duty for the first time in over seventy years for him.

Thinking about that made her wonder about Harry Potter, she had known that leaving him at that house had been a mistake. They were not very pleasant people by any stretch of the imagination, just look at how hard it had been to get him his letter, they had had to send Hagrid in the end and now they couldn’t find the boy.

A trip back to the Dursley’s with some Versitium had revealed little more than they had already known, mainly how bad Harry’s home life had been and Vernon Dursley’s assurance that the little freak couldn’t have got far with a broken wrist and ankle. She had worked with Albus on many location spells over the past few days, trying to locate the boy but they had had no luck. It was like he had vanished into thin air.

With a sigh she turned back to Severus to ask him he knew about any potions that would help them find Harry Potter.

+++

Harry lay on his mat behind Severus’ desk, he knew he shouldn’t be scared, Severus was there in the room with him, he would never let anyone hurt “Peorth” but he couldn’t help it. The attack had come so suddenly and he knew they were still in school somewhere, what if they found him again and beat him even more? What if he had another flashback and Severus saw it and recognised Uncle Vernon? He wouldn’t be able to stand it if his human hated him.

It was the end of the day when he saw the familiar faces of Draco, Neville and the girl who had saved him, he didn’t know her first name, only what Severus called her: Miss Granger. He wanted to go and greet them but he also knew that the redhead and his friends were in this class, it was enough to make him shake in fear. He was still shaking trying to curl as small as he could when strong hands picked him up from under Severus’ desk where he had been hiding.

Harry let Severus hold him to his chest, he buried his face in his human’s neck and let strong hands stroke and calm him.

“Miss Granger where are Misters Weasley, Thomas and Finnegan?”

“Professor McGonagoll told me to tell you that they wouldn’t be attending your classes until Christmas, instead they will be told the correct potions, do the theory during the lesson and then a practical on a Saturday afternoon under her supervision. She said that Peorth did not deserve to be tormented in his own lair.”

Harry purred and wriggled free of Severus’ arms, they wouldn’t be there but Draco was and so was Neville and Miss Granger. He greeted Draco first rubbing his nose against the Blonde’s hand before greeting and saying thank-you to Miss Granger by licking her face and finally taking the spare seat beside Neville.

“Well now you are ready Peorth we will begin.”

+++

Severus watched as Peorth worked with Longbottom, there had been no stopping his cub once the youngster had realised that his tormentors weren’t there. He seemed to enjoy working with Longbottom and if it meant fewer exploded cauldrons he didn’t mind his cub helping the student.

When the bell rang it took only a few moments for the room to empty all except for him, Peorth and Miss Granger.

“Yes Miss Granger?” He asked as Peorth climbed into his knee, settling down in a ball like a house cat would.

“I just wanted to confirm that I could still come here to help tonight, I find potions so interesting, like when you mix dragon blood with crushed limestone-”

“Miss Granger I can assure you that as a Potion’s Master I know exactly what the reaction between dragon’s blood and Limestone,” he said cutting her off and hoped he could get through the next ten evenings with the small know it all without hexing her.

The Bushy haired girl blushed red and mumbled for a few minutes, “I’ll be here at seven,” she finally said in a small voice before backing out of the room as quick as she could.

“I suppose you are looking forward to her return,” he said to Peorth once the door had shut, his strong fingers already massaging the soft fur of his cub’s neck and back.

Peorth just purred and wriggled in his lap, letting Severus know through the bond that he liked the Granger girl as well as Longbottom and Draco. Severus was pleased to note that while two of three students his cub liked were Gryffindors, Draco was by far the cub’s favourite.

Severus continued to stroke his cub as he contemplated the bond between them, it was growing stronger all the time, allowing communication between them to grow. He wondered if it would ever grow so that they could speak to each other telepathically, he knew that Peorth understood English but wondered if the small Panivco could speak it.

His musings were interrupted by hunger that wasn’t his own, a growl and an image of a Great Hall filling his mind.

Severus stood up, making sure to keep hold of Peorth and shook his head to clear the cobwebs, “Yes I suppose it is time to be going for dinner, I wouldn’t want you to be hungry.”

Peorth yelped in happiness and rubbed his head against Severus’ chest.

+++

Severus felt his wards announce the arrival of someone at the door to his classroom, a quick look using his security mirror revealed it to be Miss Granger and she was on her own. “She is at the classroom door, you know how to let her in and don’t forget your note,” Severus said without taking his eyes off the potion he was concentrating on.

The order had come while they were at Dinner, an emergency medical potion for of his old students. Apparently her son had shown his first signs of magic and broken her bottle, she had enough for the next twelve hours but after that would slowly start to deteriorate. So he had given up his evening and a good part of his night to replace it, he just hoped that Peorth would manage with Miss Granger.

Peorth head butted his leg in good-bye and trotted out, his water and tooth proof note held tightly in his mouth. There was a small amount of fear coming across the bond but it made him happy to know that his cub was brave enough to meet Granger on his own. He was glad that his cub trusted him that much.

+++

Harry opened the door and stepped back as Hermione stepped in, it had been Severus who had told him her first name and even though he liked the name, he though Mione suited her better.

“Professor Snape?” She asked as she came in.

Harry yelped and bounded over to her, she looked startled but then noticed the note, “Hello Peorth,” she said as she took the note from him. She read the note with one hand and stroked Peorth with the other.

Harry let her stroke him for a few seconds then left her alone to finnish and went over to where Severus had set up the cauldron and ingredients. He knew what potion Hermione was supposed to be making, he had watched Severus make it and Severus had gone through it with him earlier

“He says that I am to follow the instructions and that you can help if I need it,” Hermione said in a timid voice from behind him.

Harry gave a positive yelp and dragged her over to the table before scrambling up onto the stool his human had kindly left for him so he could see what was going on.

+++

Hermione had found that out of all the different subjects she had read about, Potions was probably the one she found the most interesting, the way that the different ingredients interacted and how the way you stirred could effect what the potion did.

Approaching the bench where Peorth was sat, she saw ingredient jars, hand written instructions and all the other equipment she would need. Reading through the instructions she recognised a low level healing potion that would heal small cuts and grazes. A Potion she guessed was used a lot in the infirmary.

It didn’t look very complicated so she started preparing her ingredients and talking to Peorth. Hermione found herself pouring her heart out to the small and attentive cub, telling how excited she had been when she had got her letter and how disappointed she was when the magic world had turned out just like the muggle world. She was still the cleverest girl in year and still had no friends, she wished sometimes she could keep her mouth shut and not show people up.

“You know what Peorth,” she suddenly said, turning to look at the small cub, she could have sworn he answered with a smile and a shrug of his shoulders, “I’m going to become the best witch ever and I’ll show Ron Weasley what a real witch is.”

Peorth grinned at her and Hermione carried on talking, telling the cub about everything she had learnt so far in lessons and from books and about some of the other things she wanted to learn. As she was finishing the potion she found herself telling the cub about what she had learnt about Harry Potter and the Dark Lord.

“I wonder where Harry Potter is, from my research he should have started school with me,” she said as she looked about for container to put the potion in. She knew that this potion would go off if it wasn’t put in an air proof container, “I know the headmaster says he is fine but he looked as surprised as the rest of the staff when he didn’t turn up for the sorting-”

Hermione was cut off as the door swung open and and Professor Snape swept into the room, his cloak billowing around him. It would have been a very dramatic entrance if Peorth hadn’t yelped happily and thrown himself into the man’s arms. The Professor caught his cub and Hermione thought they looked quite cute, completely ruining any git image she had of the greasy haired man.

Holding Peorth to his chest with one arm Snape approached her cauldron, he stirred it, sniffed it, tasted it and finally nodded his head, “This is acceptable Miss Granger, I am sure Madame Pomfrey will appreciate it. You may return tomorrow at seven if you wish to do another potion.”

“I would like that Professor,” She said, recognising a dismissal when she heard one, “Will you seal the potion?”

“Yes,” he said gruffly.

Hermione gave him a small smile and left, if she was quick enough then she could get a book on medical potions from the library and get back to the common room before curfew.

+++

Harry sat comfortably in his human’s arms as Severus bottled the potion, “I trust you had no problems.”

Harry shook his head no, making sure to transmit it over the bond, it had in fact been a lot of fun and nice, learning about Hermione and magic and how the letter thing should have worked. Hermione was clever and had explained a lot of magic to him, it had been a lot of fun. She had also told him about being an Animageous apparently Professor McGonagoll was one, she could turn into a cat which of course explained the cat smell, rather than his first idea that like Mrs Figg she had what seemed like a thousand cats.

He wondered if that was what he was, he could turn into an animal and although he was fairly certain he could turn back into a boy, he wasn’t one hundred percent sure. Hermione had told him it took lots of training to become a proper animageous and he had had none but she had also told him that young children could do some amazing things with their magic when in trouble.

Either way it din’t matter, he wasn’t ever going to turn into a boy again if it meant he would loose Severus.

“Good I will work in here tomorrow and she may assist. Are you tired or would you like a bath first?”

Harry was tired but he wanted a bath, it would help him relax and he wanted to be clean. He sent his human the image of a bath and then sitting on Severus’ lap while he read to him.

“I think that can be arranged,” his human replied as they started the trek back towards their room.

It had been interesting listening to Hermione telling him about him or rather about Harry Potter. He knew that he could be in Gryffindor with her learning magic but there wasn’t anywhere he would rather be than in his Severus’ arms.

Chapter Eight : The Twins

Harry ran between Hermione and Severus, he liked watching Hermione work, it was so different to how his human worked but no less effective but he always preferred to watch his human. Severus was so graceful when he made potions, it was Hermione’s third night of “reward” making potions. The previous night they had made a potion together but tonight they were making separate potions.

He was just returning to Hermione’s side when he heard a strange noise in his head that he knew came from Severus through their bond. He watched Severus cast a stasis spell on his potion and seal it stop anything falling in the half finished potion. “I must attend to some visitors, Peorth keep on eye Miss Granger and when she has finished join me in the upper year lab.”

Harry nodded his head and gave a “Yes” chirp.

“Miss Granger carry on as you are, bottle it when you are finished and label, I am sure Madame Pomfrey will be grateful for it in the infirmary.”

“Yes Professor.”

Harry watched his human go and started reading the recipe Hermione had been given, working out where she was. He hoped she started talking to him again and after less than a minute she did, telling him about her lessons for the past two days, having been too intimidated by Severus to do it the previous day.

+++

Severus strode into the upper years lab, not surprised to find the Weasley twins setting up various cauldrons. The lab was for 6th and 7th years to work on private projects if they wished to, he had offered the twins space the previous year and had expected them earlier this year.

“Professor,” they said as he entered.

“Misters Weasley, I was expecting you a few night ago.”

“So were we Professor..... But then Ronald was rather stupid.... And we had to deal with him..... You will be pleased to know... that while he has already received a howler from our mother... we intercepted it and repeated it.... he will receive it in the Great Hall... the first day after his punishment duty.. has finished.” The pair said together in their twin speak.

“I trust that dealing with your brother was both humiliating and painful for him,” Severus said with a dark glean in his eye that the twins had never seen before but recognised, it was hate, concern and love all wrapped up together.

It didn’t take them long to realise that it was all for Peorth, this cold emotionless man loved his bonded cub and like any mother with a cub would attack anything to keep it safe. They were sensible enough not to mention this to the older man and instead stated telling him about the various punishments they were still working on for their youngest brother that would continue to be used over the following months.

+++

Harry chirped good-bye to Hermione and entered the upper year lab. He saw his Severus and ran towards him, screeching to stop in fear when he saw the two red heads stood beside his human. Harry could feel the fear starting to swell up, fear of the red -heads, of his uncle and strangely of Severus.

+++

Severus looked over as he felt Peorth enter the room and smiled at the small cub, he braced himself for an armful of cub when Peorth screeched to a stop and he could feel the fear. The Potions Master swore and moved quickly to sweep his bonded into his arms before a full panic attack occurred.

He ignored the presence of the twins, he could blackmail them later, his first and only priority at the moment was keeping his cub calm. He wrapped his arms around the small animal, ignoring the spike of fear at his touch, Weasley would be a shell of a human being by the time he had finished with the red head for making his bonded fear him.

He flooded their bond with positive emotions, caring and what he thought might be love, the love of a parent for their child, he half recognised it from his mother. He ran his hands over the soft fur, making sure to focus on the points where his cubs wings met his back, an area he knew was sensitive and calming for his bonded.

It took a few minutes but eventually Peorth was just snuggling into his front, returning his feelings across the bond. “You are safe my cub, no-one here will harm you.”

He just received an image of the twins overlaid with a picture of the youngest male Weasley.

“The twins I have found that while they are pranksters are not cruel, I can almost guarantee that you will like them. I trust you remember the first day the students were here, how they protected you.”

Peorth gave him an affirmative squeak, then seemed to calm himself before wriggling free and approaching the twins. Severus knew the youngster was scared, he could feel it but he was also so proud of how brave his bonded was being.

+++

Harry remembered them, they had stroked him and then protected him from a larger redhead. He walked slowly towards them and relaxed slightly when he found the scent, the scent that was like Severus but not and weaker. It was the same scent that Draco, Neville and Hermione had, all to varying levels, The twins had the weakest amount of scent but it was definitely there.

He still nervous as he approached them but not scared, they had both crouched down and as he got closer they kept their hands low. He nuzzled against one then the other until fours hands were stroking him, he let out a purr and collapsed into their body.

Harry could feel Severus’ amusement through the bond but didn’t care, four hands was brilliant. They could stroke him head, back, tail and wings all at the same time, he could hear them speaking and focused enough to listen to them.

“..would never hurt such a beautiful creature.... Our brother is an idiot... And he will regret every having hurt... such a wonderful creature.”

The talked strange but Harry liked them, and as long as they kept doing exactly what they were they could stay.

+++

Severus chuckled at the pure tactile pleasure that was coming across their bond from Peorth, the small cub was in heaven. For a split second he was jealous, he pushed it out of his mind but not before Peorth felt it and sent him a blast of love. Letting Severus know he was preferred above all others.

Sitting in the lab watching the Weasley twins pet his cub, Severus wondered what this small animal had done to him. It had been twenty years since he had let anyone dictate his feelings as much as Peorth did. His Mother had been the last and only other person who had influenced his emotions so much, like Peorth she had made him feel loved, cared for, important in someone else’s world.

“As much as Peorth is enjoying your attention, I doubt this was the reason for your visit. Peorth come and sit with me so that the twins can work,” Severus finally said as he sat down at the desk in the corner and summoned the third year essays to him.

Peorth sent disappointment through the bond but obediently wriggled free and sat on Severus’ lap. Severus concentrated on the warm feelings he had for his cub through the bond, making sure that his cub knew he was wanted. He even went so far as to summon a bowl of raspberries for his cub as a treat as he knew they were Peorth’s favourites.

He stroked Peorth with one hand while he marked with the other and kept an eye on the twins, making sure they weren’t going to blow his lab up. It was a nice way to spend the evening.

+++

Severus slowly added the crushed tiger fangs, stirring slowly anticlockwise, the potion turned light green and gave off the faint smell of Strawberries. Letting him know that the potion could be left alone while he investigated who had tripped the wards in the lower years classroom.

He wasn’t that surprised to find Ms Granger stood just inside the door, “Ms Granger it is Saturday, we will resume with your extra lessons on Monday,” he said quietly but firmly, making sure she knew it a dismissal.

“I came to see Peorth,” she said quickly, holding her own ground, showing the courage that had earned her place in the Lion house.

“He is spending the evening with Mr Malfoy.”

Severus was very proud of his bonded, the young cub had been scared to be away from Severus but was being brave. Checking on his cub through their bond, smiling internally when he felt sleepy happiness. When Peorth noticed his attention he sent a burst of warm feeling before his cub returned to his dozing.

“Oh,” Ms Granger said, obviously disappointed.

Against his better judgement Severus did not chuck her out, “Why did you want him?” He asked patiently.

“I made him a gift,” she replied drawing a piece of green material from her bag, “It’s a neck warmer, I asked my mam to send it. I know he has fur but he’s only you and I didn’t want him to get ill. I started to write his name on it but wasn’t sure how to spell it,” she said, pointing at the silver “P” on the emerald material.

Severus wanted nothing more than to shoo her out of the door and deal with the strange jealousy he felt towards his cub and didn’t understand but he knew that Peorth would adore the present.

“It’s spelt P-E-O-R-T-H, pronounced P-yorth.”

The bushy haired girl nodded and drew her wand from her robes, he could almost see her concentrating as she gather her magic and finished the name in silver. Severus watched patiently as she changed the details, as picky as any perfectionist until it was finally finished to her high standards and she handed it too him.

“I am sure he will thank-you next time he sees you,” Severus said as he held the soft material, rubbing it between his fingers, feeling that strange jealously towards his cub again.

Ms Granger nodded and turned to leave, at the door she sudden;y spun around, rushed over to him, pushed another piece of material into his hand and disappeared with a mutter of: “This is for you,” before he could react.

Severus blinked and looked down at the black material, it took a few moment to realise that it was a soft black scarf with small cauldrons glinting on it as it moved. He felt the jealousy drain and realised to his horror that he had been jealous of Peorth getting a gift from someone he didn’t know. Except for the traditional bag of sweets and potion ingredients from Albus and the rest of the staff, he didn’t get presents.

He knew he would have to say thank-you to the girl, maybe add another potions lesson on after her original ten were over. Severus smiled into the room as he fingered his own soft scarf, he might also show her how to add warming chambers to clothing, it would make her gifts more effectively.

It hadn’t occurred to him that Peorth could get cold and he doubted his cub would, he wasn’t just furred but also a magical creature, be he knew that Peorth would still wear the warmer because it had come from Ms Granger.

Severs put both presents in their quarters before returning to his position, determined that this time to get to the first stage of his wolfsbane potion.

+++

Harry lay on Draco’s bed, his wing covering Draco’s back like he did to Severus when they slept. After spending his day with Severus, he had sat with Draco while the boy did his charms homework then they had sat by the lake and Harry had flown for Draco. He thought it was a pity that the other boy couldn’t fly with him on a broom like his Severus did. But he promised himself as soon as Draco could fly on a broom, they would spend hours flying together. They had returned to Draco’s dorm and laid down together, neither awake or sleeping, just drifting.

Harry had realised that Hermione and Draco were very similar, both clever, knew lots about magic and had no real friends. But unlike Hermione, Draco didn’t have any fiends because they were scared of him being so clever, it was just the fact that Draco didn’t seem to like any of the boys.

Crabbe and Goyle seemed to very unintelligent and were heading for a life as Draco’s Goons, and Zambini was just creepy. Harry wondered if he would have become Draco’s friend if he had come to Hogwarts as a boy, he remembered Draco from Madame Malkins and was pretty certain they wouldn’t have been friends, especially after Hagrid had told him he would have been in Gryffindor.

But he knew he would have been missing something if Draco wasn’t his friend and was once more glad he had come as cub rather than a boy.

“Uncle Severus says he can see things that you send him and feel your emotions too,” Draco suddenly said, “I wish I was bound with someone like that so I was never alone.”

Harry sighed, he knew he could bond with Draco, something in the back of his mind as much but that something said it wasn’t time yet. He nuzzled against Draco’s neck, marking the youth, making sure that anyone else who came close that like Severus, Draco was part of his pack.

A thin arm covered his back and Draco nuzzled back, “Thanks for being my friend,” Draco whispered as they started to drift asleep.

Harry briefly worried about Draco’s clothing but knew Severus would come looking for them and help him undress Draco. He took a deep breath and joined his pack mate in slumber, happy to be somewhere he was wanted.

Chapter Nine : Presents

Severus entered the first year dorm and smirked at the site of Peorth and Draco wrapped around each other. Strangely he wasn’t jealous of Draco as he had been with the twins and Ms Granger, he knew that with Draco he was safe, that the boy would not threaten his bond with Peorth, he could only strengthen it.

He cast a privacy charm around Draco’s bed and slowly pulled the pair apart, ignoring the sleepy murmur and chirps of complaint until he had Peorth curled on the end of the bed and Draco changed into Slytherin Green Silk pyjamas. Severus tucked his godson in, kissing the pale forehead before scooping Peorth into his arms. A flick of his wand brought down the privacy charms and he was on his way back to his quarters.

He noticed Ms Granger’s presents on the table where he had left them but decided that they could wait until morning. All he could feel across their bond was sleepiness and he didn’t want to wake Peorth from his pleasant dreams. He hadn’t really thought of Peorth as young since he had calculated the cub’s age but since Ms Granger had pointed it out, he realised that his cub was little more than a toddler.

He lay Peorth on their bed and wondered, not for the first time, if letting Peorth sleep with him was bad for the cub. There was no book telling him how to be a Panico Mentor, his most useful source of information so far had actually been Hagrid.

The Groundskeeper had explained earlier in his bond with Peorth that Panivcos were pack animals and as such would sleep together. Hagrid had assumed him that it was perfectly normal and that if Peorth ever did want to sleep on his own he would let Severus know.

In a way he was also worried about himself, outside of the occasional one night affair he had never been in a relationship and up until Peorth’s arrival had slept alone. He didn’t know if he wanted or even could go back to sleeping alone without his cub in his arms.

He put the thought out of his mind, deciding not to worry about that bridge until they crossed it. Severus got ready for bed, it was a bit early but he was as tired as Peorth was. He climbed into bed with his cub, smiling contentedly as he was immediately covered by a wing. Life was nice, he thought as he drifted to sleep to join his cub in dreams of catching the snitch.

+++

Harry yawned and plodded through to their sitting room where Severus was sat sipping his first cup fo tea of the day while reading a potions journal.

Harry just yawned again and crawled into his human’s lap, starting to drift back to sleep as Severus alternated between drinking his tea and massaging Harry’s neck.

“Ms Granger brought you a present last night.”

Harry looked up in surprise, he couldn’t remember anyone ever getting him a gift, the Dursley’s certainly never had and he couldn’t really remember anything before than. He let out a confused but excited chirp.

“Accio Peorth’s Neck Warmer,” Severus said and a few seconds later a piece of material was being held up for his approval. He saw that part of it was a different colour and let out a happy chirp when he recognised his name, there was no way that Dudley could steel it off him.

Then maybe for the first time since he last hobbled away from Four Privet Drive, he realised that Dudley would never even see him again, never mind steal his belongings. He let out a very happy chirp and stretched out his neck, sending an image of him with the neck warmer on to make sure Severus knew what he wanted.

His human carefully put the warmer on him, making sure his fur was all laying the correct way. It was the little things like that, that let him know Severus really cared for him.

Harry jumped from Severus’ lap and went to the mirror in Severus’ wardrobe, he looked very nice. He wondered what colour it was as he returned to Severus’ lap. Like everything else it looked grey, he just hoped it wasn’t red he didn’t want anyone to think he was a Gryffindor.

“It is a nice Slytherin Green and your name is in Silver, it looks very smart but now it is time for breakfast.”

Unlike during the school week breakfast was eaten in their rooms, Severus had explained the previous week that while the students were present they would always eat breakfast on a weekend in their rooms. Lunch and Dinner locations would depend on what they were doing and where they were.

“You may say Thank-you to Ms Granger tomorrow at breakfast before joining Draco,” Severus said as he their food appeared, Porridge with blueberries for Severus and what looked like stewed apple for him.

Harry smiled as he took a deep breath of the loverly smells, it had been an interesting few weeks learning what foods his animal form liked and didn’t like. He liked fruit, the sweeter the better, cooked or raw. He also liked some seeds and oats, sunflower being his favourite and strangely enough chocolate, but only if it was dark orange chocolate. He couldn’t stomach any meat and sometimes even the smell made him feel sick.

But stewed apple with sultanas, cinnamon, and honey was his favourite.

They ate in silence, as normal Harry finished first and watched his human eat with his chin resting on Severus’ thigh. “What do you want to do today?” Severus asked him, stroking his head and scratching him behind his ears.

Harry immediately sent an image of them flying together, it seemed like it had been weeks since he had got to fly with Severus.

“I should have guessed,” Severus replied droley but Harry knew that Severus enjoyed their flying as much as he did.

“We are having lunch with Albus in this private dinning room. I am sure Fawkes will be there and you will be able to convince him to fly with you while I talk to Albus.”

Harry gave a happy, chirp, he had only flown with Fawkes once so far and it had been great. The Phoenix had shown him around the castle grounds, pointing out good landing areas and where things inside the castle related to the outside. He liked the fact that he could talk with Fawkes, and that the Phoenix listened to him. Flying with Fawkes wasn’t as good as flying with Severus but the Phoenix had shown him how to fly. Fawkes had wings and had been flying a lot longer than Harry, he had shown him how to fly better. How to use his wings to be quicker, turn faster, be more elegant and all the things he imagined a real Panivco mentor would have taught.

“Well come on, Quidditch Pitch for a while, do you want to take the snitch?” Severus asked him.

Harry sent his bonded a picture of the snitch and one of the quaffles. He could hold the larger ball firmly in his front or back paws and they could play a mini game.

+++

Severus watched his cub leave Albus’ office through his window, following Fawkes as they glided out of sight. He turned back to Albus, keeping an eye on the bond but knowing Fawkes would look after his cub.

“We are waiting for Minerva, Filius and Pomona and then we’ll begin.”

Severus nodded and settled into his seat, he knew that the meeting was to decided on a full DADA teacher. While Albus was coping with both the DADA position and his Headmaster’s duties, Severus was sure that the older wizard must be using a time turned and it wasn’t good for anyone to use it for too long. They needed a full time DADA professor.

It took a few more minutes fo the other professors to arrive, but they were soon all sat around Albus’ enlarged desk holding cups of tea or Hot Chocolate in Filius’ case.

“We had three applicants for the position, Gilderoy Lockehart, Finais Soten and Julian McTane.”

“Not Finias, he is a brilliant man but would focus too much on the creation of the spells rather than the doing. He was always trying to take some magical item or spell apart to see how it worked. He may be an excellent spell crafter but a teacher he is not. You may remember him Severus, a Slytherin three years above you,” Minerva said before even opening any of the three files that Albus had handed each fo them.

Severus nodded, he did remember Finias, a very clever wizard who help up the Slytherin name but was always trying to alter spells and more often than not just altering the common room. “I remember Minerva and agree that he is not a suitable candidate,” He said firmly.

Albus nodded and turned to the next file, “Gilderoy Lockehart.”

It was Pomona who spoke first this time, “Please Albus, DADA is not about teaching the students how to have that perfect photo smile once someone else has killed the beast.”

Severus watched as Albus looked at the rest of the them, frowning when they all nodded in agreement with Pomona. The Headmaster put the second file out of the way and turned to the final one, Julian McTane. Severus didn’t recognise the name but from the look on the other’s faces obviously they did, sometime he hated being the youngest head of house,

He opened the file and was greeted with an image of a wizard in middle age, about Minerva’s age he guessed, with dark red hair, small brown eyes and a deep tan. The photo was frozen in place, or so he thought until the man bared his teeth and vanished with an inaudibly growl.

It only took him a few moments to glance through the man;s credentials. Graduated from Ravenclaw House at Hogwarts in 1958, trained as an Auror but wasn’t really involved in the first war when it became right out battles, he spent years battling Vampires in Australia and recovering from a battle.

“He was three years ahead of me,” Minerva said, “An excellent student.”

“And as he is the only remaining candidate I will interview him this afternoon and hopefully he can start tomorrow, using the same lesson plans I have been using until he can make his own.

“Now onto other matters: Quirinus Quirrel. St. Mungos have finished their autopsy and according to the mortician his skull was melted away, they aren’t sure what by but think it looks like a muggle acid. The only anomaly they have is that it looks like something melted him from the inside out.

“At the moment they are assuming that it must have been a DADA accident, a potion gone wrong. Severus you examined the body, do you agree it could be a potion?”

Severus steepled his fingers and sat in silence for a few moments to gather his thoughts before speaking, “When I examined the body, I also assumed some sort of potion, there are many that could it, mainly dark ones but I couldn’t detect any residues that they would normally leave. But I think I may have seen something similar in a book, if I may?” Severus asked, pointing to Albus’ floo powder.

The Headmaster nodded and two short floo trips later he was back with one of his family history books, one of the more gory ones that he wouldn’t allow Peorth to look at. It hadn’t been until Albus had mentioned it looking like Quirinus had been burnt from the inside out that he had remembered reading the entry during his blood thirsty younger ages.

The four other members of the staff carried on their small talk while Severus found the correct page. He coughed lightly and they turned to look at him, he took a deep breath and started reading.

“In 1652, one Philias Snape was possessed by the spirit of a powerful witch but unlike a normal possession the spirit did not take control, instead lived almost like a parasite on his stomach. As the spirit couldn’t actually possess him, no-one knew of it until he married. It is written that she found it disgusting and demanded he found someway to get rid of it.

“Two months later he was found in his study with his stomach melted away. It was assumed he had tried to use a potion to burn it away. It wasn’t until nearly ten years later when his journal was found that they discovered he had tried to perform an exorcism.”

“You think Quirinus may have been possessed by a spirit this way?” Albus asked the twinkle gone from his eyes.

“It is a possibility,” Severus replied, “As you know an exorcism should never done by one person, at St.Mungos there is normally at least four healers present so that any excess energy produced by the spirit can be dispersed harmlessly. He was alone in his rooms, I detected no potion residue, I don’t know what is room looked like but as a DADA teacher I am sure that he would have all the things needed to perform an exorcism.

“Removing the spirit may have been what had melted his skull. The energy involved was literally so strong that it melted his brain.”

Severus leaned back and waited fo it to sink in, Albus had lost his twinkle and Pomona looked slightly green around the gills/ Not that she actually had gills, he thought wondering why a muggle phrase made reference to a person having gills. Maybe before wizards had hidden themselves from the muggles, it had been widely used.

“Severus,” Albus brought his attention back from his mental ramble, he had always been a mental rambling problem but it seemed to have gotten worse since his bond to Peorth, not that he would change that for being alone again. He didn’t know if he could do alone again. “.....saying was true, we must discover what spirit it was and why Quirinus felt he had to do this on his own, he must have known the risks.” Severus realised he had missed the beginning of Albus speaking and hoped the HeadMaster hadn’t said anything important.

“Now onto other matters: Harry Potter,” Severus sneered at the name, wondering where the precious Potter was hiding, “I have still not been able to find him.” Severus blinked, he had assumed that Albus had the brat by now.

“I have tried all the searching spells I know, as have the Aurors. While they are unable to locate him, I almost seem to find him but something or someone is blocking me. He is under a magical shield so powerful that I can’t penetrate it, yet neither can I sense the shield. We are assuming that he has been kidnapped and is being held somewhere under ancient wards.

“Although an Auror team has visited 4 Privot Drive and spoken to his Uncle, they questioned him and then again under Versitiam in the hope that he was lying, unfortunately both stories matched, if anything the one under Versitiam was worse. I am reading directly from the transcript:

Auror - Mr Vernon we know that your nephew Harry Potter was returned here, where is her?

Suspect - I don’t know where the little freak is, like I told the other one, the little brat ran away.

Auror - After his return from shopping what happened to make him run away?

Suspect - Nothing more than the brat dissevered, we made him watch while we burnt his school stuff, there was no way we were allowing him to go to that freak school. While my Dudders got rid of that pesky owl, who uses animals to carry mail anyway. I beat the brat, he needs to beaten often to keep his freakishness in line before chucking him in his cupboard. He managed to run away before I could nail his door up, must have used his freakishness to unlock the door

“I will stop there, he goes on to tell the Aurors about how he has treated his nephew and none of it good. The same questions under Versitiam brought about more detailed answers, including a blow to blow recount of the latest beating.

“I am sorry to say that I made a great mistake when I placed Harry Potter with his Aunt and Uncle. All we can do now is wait for Harry’s Captor’s to let us know there demands.”

Severus sat quietly letting it all sink in, hoping that Potter turned up soon if only for Albus’ sake, he had never seen the Headmaster look so old.