Harry hit Belinda's carpeted floor with a soft thud. He groaned lightly as his head collided with some hard elevated mass. It was just his luck; every other part of his body had collided with something soft. Except his already pounding noggin. He stayed in one position for a moment, sprawled out across the floor with his head and small shoulders pressed against the pale mass that he had fallen onto. He waited for the pain to subside, the mounting nausea and the overwhelming headache. Unfortunately, only one of his ailments had a short life span. Groaning again, he clutched his skull, lifting himself slowly from the ground, allowing his eyes to adjust to the low lighting of the room.

He was in someone's common room he surmised quickly from the beat up old couch to his far right and the zebrawood coffee table with magazines and one framed photo of a young couple that waved at him. There was a television in front of it with modern muggle appliances. A VHS player with a remote controller and a beautifully crafted record player on the left side of the entertainment stand. For a moment, he wondered if he had been transported back to the Dursleys. He quickly banished the thought. The house seemed to lack the same aesthetic style while exhibiting a level of meticulous care that Petunia (or Harry for that matter) had never put in to the home of the Dursleys.

The interior was beautiful to say the least. It had an Art Nouveau style to the structure with herbaceous exuberantly curved windows, most were small but there were two sets adjacent to one another, one set was compiled of small pieces of colored glass combined to make an image of the moon and stars and the second set was similar, only, it depicted what Harry believed to be a giant wolf blazing through the cosmos with the sun quick on it's heels. Through the windows, he could make out the faint hues of dawn on the stretched green canvas of the forest. The walls were shiny and looked well taken care of, though there were definitely signs of wear, like a crack in the polish under one frame that led to a small corridor where a tall blonde woman stared at him out of the darkness and on the wall adjacent were a set of heavily shaded horizontal tallies that had been etched into the wood, as well as the claw marks that the woman was making.

At that moment, it registered to Harry's slow but functioning consciousness that he was not alone. He jumped back a little at the sight of her before a thought passed through his mind and the sheer force of his magic propelled her further into the darkness. Edging back slowly as she began to growl, Harry reached for his wand before realizing that he didn't have it. Bullocks, he thought to himself in exasperation. Before he could figure out a valid plan of action, she leapt forward, out of the darkness on all fours, barreling across the small space toward him. He drew his hand forward quickly and with the speed of lightening brought her up by her throat, suspended in mid air in front of him. He could feel his magic pulsating through him. Beckoning him to end her. As if it had a mind of its own. He backed away slowly, easily, as not to frighten her.

"Who are you?" He asked, fascinated by his surroundings. "Where am I?"

The woman started spluttering, clawing at her throat as her face started to turn a violent purple. He focused his energy instead on her arms and legs, spreading them out in midair as he released her throat.

"What are you?!" Belinda screamed after taking in a couple ragged breaths. "I can smell your magic from here. What are you? Get out of my house!"

With a wave of his other hand she was silenced. She screamed and thrashed against his power but to no avail. Harry was in control.

Advancing a little, he examined her. She wasn't as menacing as she had looked in the darkness, the mildly psychotic gleam in her eyes had subsided, giving way to fear and helplessness. Harry felt her pain and fright but she looked to familiar for him to set her free. For a moment he contemplated letting her go but quickly changed his mind as he took in her sharp claws and even sharper teeth. She was a werewolf and a frightened one at that. He had no idea what she might do to him, much less how he himself might respond.

"I don't want to hurt you. " He spoke calmly, quietly. "I just want to know where I am and how I got here. Where is Fenrir?"

She was shaking now. Most if not all of her energy spent on thrashing. He eased away, lowering her back to the carpeted floor gently but holding her tightly still.

"Speak." One word from his lips and she was able to talk again.

"WHO ARE YOU? Why do you smell-" She faded in to silence as a look of realization came over her face. Her eyes widened as she looked at him. She looked him up and down before fixing on his eyes. She squinted before her eyes widened in surprise and fear. She began to shake violently.

"Y-you-" She gulped, turning to focus on a particularly uninteresting spot on the terra cotta colored carpet. "Y-y-y- you are i-i-i-in my h-h-h-home. M-m-my name is B-B-B-Belinda. I have heard about your k-kind. Is it s-s-s-starlight that y-y-you're after? W-w-we don't have-"

"My kind?" Harry squinted at her. Was she referring to wizards? He wondered if it was possible for a werewolf to have never come across a wizard before. It couldn't have been possible.

In that instance it didn't matter.

He wasn't focusing on her words anymore but the slow moving mass rising behind him. He heard a growl and before he could register what was happening he was whirled around. Staring down at him with a look of sheer fatigue and amusement was a very bruised Fenrir Greyback. One of his eyes was swollen shut but the amusement in the other was enough to support a furtive stare. Harry moved to force him away but the beast held his arms down in place. It was his turn to feel afraid. He struggled against the man halfheartedly. This had been all he wanted all night but for a split second he questioned the werewolf's motives. Against himself he stepped closer, drawn in by the man who had claimed him. He wanted to be wrapped in Fenrir's arms. To heal him, to love and be loved by him. He tried to shake it away. To feel anything other than the overwhelming sense of relief flooding him but to no avail.

"Hello, pet." Fenrir smiled lazily and with one smooth movement he drew him into his arms.

Inexplicably, all of Harry's anxiety seemed to fade under the gaze of that tantalizing honey eye. All of his worry and confusion faded away. It was as if all the complexities of his existence were being washed away with the tide of Fenrir's energy. He was alive. He was sated and now he felt an overwhelming sense of peace. He was Harry. Harry Potter, not the boy who lived, but himself and at that moment, it was enough. He sighed gently, falling to his knees as the residual pain took its toll.

"Please," Harry closed his eyes as fatigue washed over him in waves. "Please…" He breathed out gently as his eyelids began to feel heavy. He didn't want to be hurt again or left behind. The thought of being ripped limb from limb had been gone for quite sometime by then but he'd heard of Fenrir's reputation and he didn't want to be another victim. Briefly, he wondered if Fenrir was causing the strange change in him. Easing his head on to one of the werewolf's broad shoulders, Harry moaned. Distinctively, he could feel goose bumps rising on Fenrir's skin. Even someone with his reputation, Harry thought, isn't above human sensations. He smiled as his eyes closed completely. This time, he fell into a fitful dreamless sleep. Fenrir brushed his hair with a softness that seemed out of place and awkward for him. Slowly, with wobbly aching legs he lifted himself from the ground, scooping Harry up in his arms.

Shortly after Harry's eyes closed, Belinda was released from the hold of his magic. She fell to the ground, gasped and scurried away into the kitchen.

Fenrir breathed through gritted teeth as Belinda returned in a flash with a small vial in hand. He had never seen it before. She held it up to his face with shaking hands.

"Did he attack you?! Drink this quickly!" Belinda screeched, which was abnormal for her. "Hurry!"

Her eyes conveyed an internal fear that Fenrir had never seen before. He looked down at the pallid youth in his arms. The kid was harmless, Fenrir chuckled lightly, to him anyway. She quickly popped the cork and proceeded to press the vial against his clenched lips.

"Steady on!" He growled. Stepping forward to take Harry up to what had at one point been his bedroom. Belinda stepped in front of him in a flash. With arms outstretched she blocked the corridor with a look of defiance on her face. 'What are you on about?"

"Get that- that- THING out of my house!" Belinda screamed, her arms and legs shaking. "Fenrir, you need to drink this." She held the vial out for him but Fenrir didn't take it. He shook his head tiredly. He was beginning to lose patience.

"He's harmless! Bloody hell." Fenrir scowled, adjusting the young man in his arms. He couldn't understand what had made her so upset. Then he realized. She had probably scented the boy and understood the trouble that could come from having him in the cottage. He shook his head. "If you're that worried, strengthen the wards." He tried to ease passed her but to no avail. Harry's head gently stroked her arm as he tried to maneuver passed her. She moved away quickly as if her arm had been scorched by the flames of a dragon.

"You don't understand-" Belinda started. She gripped her skull in disbelief.

"Yes, I do. It's Harry Potter. I know. We'll be fine. Go strengthen the wards." Fenrir cut her off quickly before turning back to mount the sturdy wooden spiral staircase.

"Fenrir, you don't understand! You need to drink this! He's not human!" Belinda tried to follow him up the stairs but he stopped her with one look.

"Belinda," Fenrir started, his eye flashed red for a moment causing her to back away. "Strengthen the wards." With that her gaze fell in dejection.

"Please just drink it." Belinda whispered quietly, placing the vial on the spiral staircase, daring to go no further.

"Go." Fenrir said as he dismounted the stairs and without hesitation she went to strengthen the wards. If he would not listen, she would not waste her breath trying to warn him. That night, she would sleep in the cellar and perhaps in the morning Fenrir would be willing to hear what she had to say and remove the creature from their home.

Chapter Break

Sirius paced in his room. He didn't know what to do. He could sense that the headmaster was hiding something but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what it was. In his mind, he went over all the events of that night. One thing that was etched in to his mind was Dumbledore's demeanor at the hospital. He seemed wild and agitated though he tried his hardest to maintain his peaceful image. Sirius didn't like it. Whatever the headmaster had been planning.

He sat in a chair near the antiquated fireplace to mull over the headmaster's strange behavior and his godson's rampage. He shook his head. None of it made sense. Dumbledore had tried to explain what had happened or his version of what had happened but Sirius wouldn't hear it. After all, what reason would Harry have to attack Remus or Dumbledore for that matter. Harry loved them all like family, that he knew without a doubt. Before he could get comfortable, there was a knock on the door. For a moment, he considered ignoring it. Before Tonks called out his name.

"Sirius, are you alright?" Tonks called through the door. Sirius cursed his luck. While he enjoyed his cousin's company, at times he enjoyed the solace of solitude. Especially when he needed to cope. He wanted to ignore her but he knew how resilient and determined the young woman was. Eventually, she would find a way in. Moony had proven that. Slowly, begrudgingly, he got up from his chair and walked to the door. With a heavy sigh he opened it.

"Yes, Tonks." He said, standing to the side to let her in.

"Are you alright? I know…you saw Harry." She looked away with an expression of worry and confusion on her face. He wondered what Dumbledore had told her. What the old man had told them all.

"I'm not. Yes, I did. I saw him." Sirius looked away from her to stare out of his window. The motorcycle stickers of his youth seemed to frame the sunrise perfectly but even the nostalgic beauty of the image couldn't wash away the memory of Harry's blood stained body or his back as he apparated away from St. Mungo's. Sirius gulped and pinched the bridge of his nose. He had tried so hard to protect the people that he cared for. First James and Lily. Why did he keep failing? He asked himself. Just as he began to sank into a deep depression Tonks placed her hands on his shoulders forcing him out of the cold depths of his failure.

"Sirius, look at me." Tonks urged, rubbing her warmth into his cold shoulders. He looked up at her, closing the door. He was in a vulnerable state and the last thing he wanted was to have someone spy on him from the stairs. She stared at him, her big dark eyes looking into his soul. "It isn't your fault."

He looked away instinctively, pulling away from her as if her touch burned. He backed up against the door. "Don't, Tonks." Sirius whispered as the fatigue began to set in. "Please."

"But it isn't!" She cried, advancing on him. "None of this is your fault, Sirius. Sometimes-"

"Sometimes, what?!" Sirius almost screamed. "James and Lily- they trusted me. Remus-" She moved in, enveloping him in a hug. An embrace that he didn't feel he deserved. He tried to push her away but she just hugged him tighter. He closed his eyes as they began to prickle but images flashed behind his closed lids. Images of Remus, of James' body in his casket, of Lily's pallid face and of Harry's broken body. He couldn't take it, in utter dejection he slid down the door. For the first time in a long time, he crumbled and began to cry. Instinctively Tonks curled around him, rocking him back and forth.

"Sirius, it's okay." Tonks whispered as she rubbed his back gently. "This isn't your fault. You tried. We all did. What is important now is that we find Harry and we stay strong for Remus." She caressed his hair in an almost motherly way and Sirius cringed at the unfamiliar touch. He wanted her to understand. How he felt. What he had done.

"I have to protect them." He hugged himself, trying hard to fend off the cold settling in his chest. "I just want to protect them." He felt that he had failed them and somewhere deep down he would never forgive himself. He knew that he would spend the rest of his life trying to make it up to Harry; and Remus.

"You couldn't stop what happened tonight. None of us could." Tonks continued. She sighed deeply. "Sometimes, things happen in life that are beyond our control. We may be wizards," She moved to look him the eye and Sirius didn't pull away. "but we are still human." With that she moved to lift him up but he refused.

"Please, not right now. I just," Sirius gulped. He felt even worse relying on his younger cousin for support but she was the only person in Grimmauld Place that he felt he could trust in that moment. "I can't right now."

Tonks smiled down at him. "That's okay." She sat back down next to him, staring out the window as the sun began to peak over the buildings across the street. "We have time. I'll be here as long as you need me to cousin." She draped one arm over him and Sirius began to feel warmth flowing through him again. Tonks was right and he knew it. They were only human but he would find a way to be stronger for Harry and Remus. He had to.

"Now stop your blubbering!" Tonks shook him playfully and he laughed a little. "Merlin, I'm the woman here." He rolled his eyes at her.

"Quiet you or I'll send you to the kitchen." Sirius smirked, his face stained with tears but his eyes glowing with a new resolve. Tonks scoffed, shoving him a little. In their own way, they were family.

"It's going to be okay. We'll find Harry." Tonks said, staring down at a piece of lint on her blouse.

"Tonks." Sirius started. "He didn't attack Remus. He couldn't have."

"I know." She said simply. "I don't know Harry as well as you do but he isn't capable of something like that. Not in his right mind anyway." She looked ahead, afraid to meet his eye with her doubt. Dumbledore had said some startling things about the young man's behavior and at that moment Tonks didn't know what to believe besides her own intuition. Trust it always. Her mother had told her shortly after she had finished her Auror training. It will never steer you wrong.

"We just have to prove to every one else that he couldn't." She sighed again as they both turned to watch the rising sun.

Downstairs, Dumbledore spun his web.

"It seems that Mr. Potter-" He began before he was cut off by a very angry Molly Weasley.

"He is a child! A teenage boy and your-" She began before Dumbledore took control of the conversation again.

"An aging wizard." Dumbledore looked down at the red-head over the rim of his glasses. She had some nerve. "Mr. Potter may be under a spell of some sort." They hadn't believed his original story and now he had to compensate.

"But, who would do such a thing?" Arthur asked as he sipped the hot pumpkin juice his wife had prepared. "Deatheaters?"

"Perhaps." Dumbledore spoke solemnly. "Fenrir Greyback could also be the culprit." Dumbledore rubbed his beard gently as Snape examined him. The greasy professor couldn't see through him. He enjoyed that about Snape's company. None of them could. Somewhere deep down he wished that he could tell them the truth but he had lost his faith in wizards a long time ago. Wizards, he thought, were saviors by nature. Especially the ones in The Order but in his old age he had come to understand the thing that they didn't. Not everyone could be saved and not everything was worth saving. An image of his sister flashed through his mind and he quickly willed it away.

"Greyback." Moody whispered in distaste. "He could be trying to start an army again and using Harry to do it." Molly Weasley gasped, sitting next to her husband for comfort.

"Oh," She began to tear up. "Our Harry." She covered her eyes in despair as Arthur wrapped his arms around her and drew her close.

"What are we going to do?" Kingston asked from the corner of the room. "There aren't enough of us to fight two enemies. Especially not two enemies as strong as Greyback and… him."

"We could alert the ministry." Arthur began.

"And what do you suppose we tell them, Mr. Weasley." Snape said, looking away from the fireplace. "The truth? I imagine the news of Mr. Potter's lycanthropy would be poorly received. It could cause some exceptionally unpleasant results."

"He isn't a werewolf." Dumbledore said offhandedly, it was his turn to look into the fire. "The healer tending to him was just as flabbergasted as I am." They all turned to look at him, he could feel their gaze as if it were one massive thumb threatening to crush him to death under the pressure.

"Then what-" Moody began in disbelief. "How?"

"When we spoke to the healer, it was as if his cells were mutating the virus." Kingsley spoke, a chill in his voice. "I believe Mr. Potter is stronger than we originally thought."

"What-" Molly cried, "How is that possible?"

"I do not know." Dumbledore answered, swaying over to the fireplace. But he knew. It was for the very same reason that Tom Riddle had chosen the Potters. The same reason Lily's magic and bloodline had been able to protect him for so long. His vision was blurry and even with the restorative spells that had been used to fortify him after Harry's attack , he could still feel the ache of his wounds. "It seems that young Mr. Potter has vastly exceeded any of my expectations. He is, in a way, the most powerful wizard alive."

"Don't be so presumptuous." Snape sneered from his seat. "He is still a boy, naïve and unskilled. Power is not simply sheer strength or valor."

"How do we find him." Mr. Weasley looked up at Dumbledore with determination.

"We can't, not unless Mr. Potter wants to be found." Dumbledore began but as Molly's face turned bright red he finished. "I believe Mr. Potter may be cloaking his magical signature."

"I respectfully disagree." Mad-eye said quickly as he stepped to the center of the room. "He's not even a seventh year. Where would he have learned such magic? When I was in training, it took me over six months to learn the simplest of heavy-duty cloaking spells." He finished with a -hurumph- of disbelief.

"Tonight, Mr. Potter threw Mr. Lupin and myself around the hospital room as if we were ragdolls, without using his wand." He looked pensive and sad in that moment. "There have only been a few students- two students in all my time as Headmaster who could do such a thing on purpose with such skill and power." He walked over to the fireplace, clutching the mantle. His plan had been thwarted and now he had no idea what to do next.

'Tom Riddle-" He began.

"And Lily Evans." Snape finished, whispering her name with a subtle reverence. The room fell quiet for a moment, everyone contemplating the events of the night and news of Harry's condition.

"Could he be-" Kingsley started just as Snape hissed in pain. They all turned to look as the Potions professor clenched the magical tattoo on his arm.

"I am being summoned." He said simply, heading for the door. He would apparate from a distance.

"Snape." Dumbledore stopped him. "Bring back any news, any explanation for last night's events." Snape nodded before turning to head out the door. "And if you see Mr. Potter, bring him back here at any cost." He finished and for a moment Snape's gaze faltered as if contemplating something. He nodded quickly and moved to leave. This time, no one stopped him.

"Dumbledore," Kingsley started again, removing his Kufi for a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow. "I should be going as well. I will keep my ears open while at the Ministry. Perhaps I can gather some intel."

Just then Arthur checked his watch before sighing. It was Sunday. The Ministry wouldn't be open for official business but many people would be there finishing or starting work from the week prior or the week to come. He kissed Molly gently before lifting himself from the sofa.

"I should go as well. I got an owl the day before yesterday about an important project. Perhaps I should start early. While I'm there I'll check with Department of Archives for any spells that cause Harry's symptoms. I know a nice young man who works there. He's a muggleborn but a right friendly-"

"That will be fine, Arthur." Dumbledore smiled gently. Arthur smiled with a nodded.

"I love you, dear!" He called back from the doorway to Mrs. Weasley who was close behind him.

"I love you too!" She gave him a kiss on both cheeks as he exited. "Perhaps I should go check on Fred and George." She thought out loud with a faint smile. First she would make breakfast for her younger children and the other residence of Grimmauld Place, then she would visit them at their shop. She nodded to herself before turning to ask Dumbledore something but he had vanished.

"Albus." She called but there was no response. "Must have gone to get some sleep." She reasoned before heading into the kitchen.

Dumbledore snuck past her quietly, out the door, through the alley to the apparition site. He preferred his quarters at Hogwart's to the musty unfamiliarity of Grimmauld Place.

Back inside the house, at the top of the stairs, Ron and Hermione looked at eachother solemnly. The Extendable Ear that they had been using fell to the ground.

"What are we going to do?" Hermione flopped down on a particularly dusty stair.

"What we always do." Ron began as he straightened his back. "Go rescue him."

"But how?" Hermione said, "You heard them. There is no way to find him unless he wants to be found."

"What are you good at, Hermione?" Ron asked with a smile. She looked up at him, perplexed by the question. "Reading! What ever spell Harry is under, I'm pretty sure we could figure out. It must be catalogued somewhere, right? It may take us some time but we can do it!" She grimaced at him, her eyes squinting in frustration. She knew that he was trying to be sweet but his comment felt more like an insult than a compliment. She sighed deeply.

"We need to go to Diagon Alley." She said as she stood. "But first, I think we both need a moment's rest. Meet me out side of my room in two hours."

"Can do!" He called up at her before running off to his room. "Wait! How will we get past my mum?" He shouted again as he slowly collected the Extendable Ears.

"I'll worry about that." Hermione whispered back with a yawn. "And Ron?"

"Yes, Hermione." He looked up at her then, his freckled face holding a cheerful charm that made her blush slightly.

"Work on your inside voice. You could have awakened half the house." She whispered again before returning her attention to the stairs.

"Okay." Ron whispered loudly from the bottom of the staircase. Hermione groaned. It was going to be a long day.