The sound of clinking chains stirred the wolf, and its eyes flew open before it lunged for the closing door. However, it was jerked to a halt by the chain around its neck, chocking slightly. The chain, which was connected to the metal bed post of the infirmary bed, clanked and jingled as he tugged against them. The wolf spared it a glance before it snarled and attacked the chains, flailing and crunching on the magically reinforced restraints.

            Another chain with a shackle at the end lifted from the ground and attached itself to one of the wolf’s rear paws. It shortened itself back toward the bedframe, tripping the wolf, making him flail and kick while he kept trying to bite the chains at his neck and now on his paw. It howled instinctively for help, a low and mournful sound, before resuming his frustrated snarls and growls as he scraped his nails on the cold floor in an attempt to free himself. 

            Severus watched tightlipped from the other side of the wall. He had charmed a temporary mirror into the wall so he could watch the werewolf while Poppy finished adding the last of the security and locking charms to the door she had just exited. Another charm cast over the room and all sound vanished from within, and silence filled the infirmary. Poppy let out a sigh as he grabbed a parchment that was hovering near her and unrolled it, coming to stand next to Severus to peek in on the wolf.

            Currently, the wolf was snapping at his own back leg, as if desperate enough to start chewing off his own limb. Poppy flicked her wand, and another smaller chain slithered into the room and wrapped itself around the wolf’s muzzle.

            “Do you have to?” Severus asked, startling Poppy, who glanced up at him.

            “What?” she questioned.      

            “The chains.”

            “He’s going to end up hurting himself.”

            “I told him there wouldn’t be any chains.” Severus closed his eyes and rubbed two fingers against his temple where a headache was starting to form. “Or muzzles.”            

            “Maybe you shouldn’t have said that,” Poppy said as she lifted the parchment up to read. “In this state, he is very capable of tearing down every inch of this enclosure. In any case, Harry is unlikely to remember tonight without the final dose of the Wolfsbane in his system. I suppose you have nothing to worry about regarding what you told him.”

            “What do you make of his eyes?” Severus asked as he opened his own eyes to look at the wolf, who was now lying still on the ground under the restraints, panting heavily through his nose. 

            “His eyes?” Poppy glanced up briefly. “Green? Well, it’s unusual but not an unnatural eye color for wolves. Perhaps not as green as Harry’s, but I suppose the transformation may not have registered Harry’s green eye color as separate from a wolf’s green eye color, so no mutation occurred there, unlike say Remus’s, where the mutation changes his eyes to amber. Lycanthropy is not always predictable, you know.”

            Severus stared at the wolf a few minutes longer, and for a moment, he swore the wolf was staring back at him, those green eyes piercing right through him. Severus was sure he had cast a one-way mirror charm, but perhaps the wolf could sense his presence. Severus stepped back and cancelled the spell, and the wolf disappeared behind the thick wall as the mirror charm fizzled away.

            “This is not good,” Poppy said, shaking her head at the parchment.

            “What is it?” Severus asked, peering over Poppy’s shoulder.

            “I just completed a full health work-up charm on Harry,” Poppy explained. She tapped a section of the page. “He’s underweight, but anyone could see that; been that way since he started Hogwarts, really, but he’s lacking in many vitamins and minerals that go beyond poor eating habits. It’s as if he’s been starved periodically. And he has a few old injuries that did not heal correctly: fractured right wrist for starters, it’s put his hand out of alignment.”

            “Probably why he writes so poorly,” Severus commented.

            “It wouldn’t help if he can’t move it correctly. He’s also sprained his ankles so many times, he’s got the start of arthritis. His own lycanthropy may reverse that now, but it would be better to be proactive and tend to that once he is . . . back to himself. Mild trauma has been indicated around the head, could mean he’s had a concussion in the past. Further evaluation will be needed tomorrow to rule out any permanent damage.”

            “Typical child injuries?”

            “Mm, maybe. Given the right circumstances, anything is possible. Only Harry could really tell us otherwise, though I find many of these injuries suspect. And the near starvation? I doubt that was intentional on Harry’s part. Something doesn’t sit well about all of this.”

            Severus frowned at the parchment, reading over the medical jargon that described the exact nature of some of Harry’s injuries, and while he was familiar with some of the terminology, he would have to look further into what exactly was being described. Such as a distal radius malunion with volar angulation . . .

            “Good evening fellow professors,” Huntington said as he entered the infirmary, glancing around the space with his wand at the ready. “I was just patrolling the halls when I heard the strangest howls. You didn’t hear anything come this way, now, did you?”

            “The howls you heard most likely came from outside the castle,” Severus said easily. “There are rumored to be wolves living in the Forbidden Forest.”

            “Ah, I do believe I heard something about that,” Huntington said, lowering his wand. “Forgive me, it is second nature to be on edge when a potential dark creature may be on the premise. Though I swore it sounded a lot closer than the forest.”

            “I did not hear anything,” Poppy said as she rolled up the parchment. “I have been busy with patients.”

            “What’s behind all that?” Huntington asked, gesturing to the new addition in the infirmary.

            “A nasty case of dragon pox,” Poppy answered without missing a beat. “It is best to contain these cases to prevent an outbreak in the entire school.”

            “Oh, yes, I am all too familiar with that,” Huntington said, taking several steps back. “Seeing as this floor seems secure, I believe I will patrol the next level up, just to be safe that nothing breached the wards. For all we know, a new banshee has moved in.”

            “That sounds like a marvelous idea.”

            As Huntington turned around, he paused and stepped aside to allow someone else to walk in.

            “Evening, headmaster,” Huntington greeted causally.

            “Good evening,” Albus greeted in return. “And thank you for being so diligent and proactive on ruling out any threats to the school.”

            “Of course. As your defense professor, I figured I should be your first line of defense, naturally, of course. It is my job after all. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go make sure the next floor level is clear.”

            Huntington vanished in a swirl of gray robes while Albus slowly walked over to the containment, a thousand-yard stare in his eyes as he withdrew his wand and cast a see-through charm.

            The wolf within had managed to free himself from the chain muzzle and was tearing apart the bed he was chained to, his neck and rear paw still shackled. Cotton and foam littered the room as chunks of the material was ripped out of the mattress. The wolf’s ears were flat against his head, but they perked up when Albus cast the charm, and the wolf swung his head and stared directly at Albus, piercing him with vibrant eyes. While the charm did not allow the wolf to see outside of the room, he seemed to have a sixth sense that he was being watched, and his ears flattened once more as he snarled at Albus.

            Albus shook his head sadly at the sight.

            “I am so sorry, Harry,” he said.

            “You should be,” Severus said as he came to stand next to Albus. “This wouldn’t have happened if you had heeded my advice and never hired Lupin to begin with. You’ve—once again—endangered the students’ safety and look what it’s resulted in this time. What will the wizarding world think when they find out their hero is a savage beast.”

            Albus sighed as he closed his eyes.

            “We must not let them find out,” Albus said. “The ministry will see to it that Harry is locked away for “his protection” in an attempt to preserve what is left of Harry’s hero status. At least until a suitable guardian is found for Harry so that he may resume normal daily activities and continue to attend school.”

            “And how do we do that?” Severus asked, crossing his arms as he glanced into the room. Feathers were flying everywhere now as the wolf thrashed a pillow in frustration. “He’s also going to need a steady supply of Wolfsbane to avoid a repeat of tonight.”

            “Yes, Severus, and I was hoping you might consider applying for guardianship.”

            Severus was sure he did not hear that correctly. He blinked a few times, then glared at Albus.

            “Excuse me? You did not just say what I think you said, did you?”

            “Afraid so, dear boy. You are the only one here capable of brewing Wolfsbane and you are a professor at the school which Harry attends. I believe this arrangement would be the most ideal.”

            “No.”

            “It can be a temporary guardianship until another suitable candidate is found.”

            “No. No.” Severus shook his head a took a few steps away. “You cannot ask that of me. How dare you—you know my history with . . . with the likes of that!” Severus pointed at the wolf inside the containment. “No. I couldn’t. I can’t.”

            “Please, Severus,” Albus said, closing his eyes once more. “I won’t force you to do anything you do not wish to do, but I ask that you at least think it over. Reconsider. Harry is alone now. He has nowhere left to go.”

            Severus’s glare deepened as he backed further away. His legs suddenly felt like Jello and his hands shook the slightest. He’s mind was reeling from the request, and many thoughts and images were attacking his brain at once now, so much so, that he was starting to get very lightheaded from the onslaught. He said nothing as he turned for the bathroom in the infirmary and slammed the door shut behind him.

            Inside, Severus paced for a moment as his heart rate swooshed loudly in his ears while images continued to play on repeat in his head.

            “You really want to know what Remus is up to?” Black taunted one day during their fifth year. “Find yourself a stick and poke the knot at the base of the Whomping Willow. It’ll freeze up long enough for you to see exactly what we’ve been up to.”

            Severus leaned heavily over the sink, his palms digging into the cold metal as he felt waves of nausea hit him. After a few seconds, he turned the faucet on and splashed his face with cold water.

            Using a long, sturdy branch, Severus managed to hit the knot at the base of the tree, and the flailing branches froze, just as Black said it would. With only the full moon’s light for vision, he carefully maneuvered into the tunnel, and claustrophobia hit him hard as he realized how narrow the tunnel was. He did not particularly enjoy tight spaces, but if there was any chance he could get Potter and his group of friends expelled, he was going to push through his discomfort and see what was hidden at the end of the tunnel.

            The cold water shocked his face, but it wasn’t enough to shock away the memories. Severus turned the water off and closed his eyes tightly, trying his best to occlude them back into a dark corner of his mind.

            It was very dark in the tunnel. Severus’s wand was illuminated so he could avoid tripping over roots or smashing his head on the jagged rocks. There was a strange snuffling sound at the very end of the tunnel with an occasional scratching that was like nails on a chalkboard, and goosebumps shivered down Severus’s arms.

            Severus felt his chest tighten despite his best efforts at calming down and occluding. He backed up into a wall, then slid down it until he was seated up against a corner in the bathroom, his head in his hands while he rested his forehead against his knees. He focused on taking a breath at a time.

            It happened so fast; Severus didn’t even have a chance to scream. A large beastly animal came thundering around a corner at the end of the tunnel as Severus stepped out of it. A clawed paw swiped through the air and knocked Severus to the ground, slashing against the teenager’s ribs.

            Severus clutched at his left side as memory pains shot up his ribs and back, and he had phantom feelings of blood trickling over his hands. Severus tightened his grip and gritted his teeth as he stretched his legs out in front of him and leaned his head back against the freezing wall. Occlude, he thought, and he closed his eyes.

            The beast stood over Severus on two legs, snarling down at Severus, jaws wide open. Severus held his injured side as he back crawled away, his face white. A bright light illuminated the small space, stunning the wolf, who dropped down to all fours and shook his head. Hands grabbed Severus’s shoulders and yanked him to his feet. “Go!” Someone shouted, and Severus stumbled for the tunnel, sliding through the small space with Potter right behind him.

            The werewolf ran after the teens, but his wider shoulders only allowed him to follow so far into the tunnel, and he dug frantically at a place he could not squeeze through, howling and wailing away.

            Finally, Severus thought as his mind finally went blank. He waited a few minutes to appreciate the darkness behind his lids before he opened his eyes. He was still shaking the slightest and his skin was clammy, but he could at least breathe normally.

            Guardian of a werewolf.

            Severus scoffed at that thought. No, he could never do it. He would never be able to see a werewolf as anything but the terrifying beasts that wanted nothing more than to rip people to pieces. Harry was just more proof of that unchanging nature. They were too dangerous to live normally in society. Why could no one else see that?

            Severus glared at the floor in front of him. He never should have listened to his school nemesis about the tree to begin with. He had been so determined to find something expel-worthy with Sirius Black, James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew that he blindly followed Black’s rules on getting into the tunnel beneath the Whomping Willow just to prove a point. How foolish he had been. He would bear the scars of that mistake for the rest of his life.  

            But he would never make that same mistake again.

            And here he was, being asked to do something that went against every fiber of his being. He couldn’t do it. He would not be fooled twice.

            The look on Harry’s face before he changed struck Severus suddenly.

            He had been so terrified.

            Severus forcefully shook the image away. So what? Who wouldn’t be terrified of such a circumstance?

            “I’m a monster now,” Harry had said. “And all I’ll ever be is locked up.”

            Severus sighed as the words echoed around him. They were true, so why did they bother Severus so much? A sudden image of Lily’s saddened face crossed his mind, and he knew deep down that it was not the life she had envisioned for her son. She wouldn’t want to see her boy locked up like a beast in the Ministry, trapped there until someone found a way to control Harry—for the better or worse. And with no one there to protect the child, it looked like it was up to Severus.

            “You promised me,” Lily’s voice said.

            Severus covered his face with his hands.

            “I promised I would protect him,” Severus said. “I failed you, Lily. I’m so sorry.”

            “But you can still protect him,” the voice said.

            He wasn’t sure if he was hallucinating or just losing his bloody mind, but the words sounded so much like Lily, and they were telling him not to give up on his promise. He owed it to Lily after all, and begrudgingly, he owed it to James Potter. At last, he would be able to pay his life debt to the damn heroic Gryffindor by making sure his son was not ostracized for what he had become.

            Severus found the strength to leave the bathroom, and he walked into the infirmary on slightly unsteady feet. Albus was no longer present, good riddance, Severus couldn’t help but think. Poppy was checking in on Harry through a see-through charm and Severus stepped up to look in as well. The wolf was gnawing on the chain connected to his neck.

            “How are you feeling?” Poppy asked.

            “I’ll live,” Severus said.

            “Have you considered Albus’s request? You don’t have to do it if you don’t think you’ll be able to. It was asking a lot of you.”

            “No. I’ll do it.” Severus watched as the wolf lifted his head and seemingly stared right at him, those bright green eyes too much like Lily’s. Severus swallowed dryly as he said, “I don’t know how yet, but I owe it to his parents. Especially Lily.”