"I warned you, Potter, did I not?" Snape's cool voice snaked through the damp chamber like slime on the stone walls.

Harry stared up at the blurred ceiling and tried to figure out how in blazes he had managed to lose his glasses. Had they been broken? He couldn't remember, and it wasn't as if he could ask Snape about them. He couldn't do more than blink, much less speak. The binding spell that Snape had used on him wasn't likely to wear off anytime soon, but he tried to fight it anyway.

"You really are a foolish boy, Potter. Did you think that I would not notice you were trailing me? Why is it, do you think, that I brought you to this particular place?"

Harry fought to work his jaw. To say something like: "because this is where you feel at home, Snape," but all he could do was lie still and blink. He flicked his eyes toward Snape as the man approached the stone slab he was lying on.

Snape was reaching into his robes for something, but Harry couldn't tell what it was. Snape had it hidden in the clenched fingers of his right hand. Snape bent a bit closer to Harry before withdrawing his wand. Harry blinked quickly several times as his mind screamed at him to move. Do Something! But with his useless body he was as good as sealed to the stone slab. He could feel a chill from the cool stone starting to sink in through his clothing. Snape muttered a spell and Harry felt the stiff muscles in his face relax. The rest of him was still stone dead.

"A bit cold are we, Mister Potter?" Snape asked in a tone that for him was almost light. He seemed to be enjoying his advantage over Harry. Harry realized suddenly that his teeth had started to chatter together loudly, and he tried to stop it at once but failed miserably. "In a few moments you won't feel cold anymore, Potter."

Harry clenched his teeth and tried to keep his jaw from quivering. Snape placed his wand just at the soft spot beneath Harry's chin and pressed inward until Harry's chin pointed up and Harry inhaled a sharp breath.

"Anything you wish to say before we get on with things, Potter?"

Harry's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed from his awkward position. Harry couldn't think of a thing to say. All he could think was: "I'm going to die now."

"Thought this would be an easy mark didn't you, Potter? You assumed that fate would pull you the clutches of your own stupidity so that you could attempt to kill me and leave me to rot. I warned you to keep your guard up, stupid boy, and now we must all suffer the consequences of your idiocy."

Harry furrowed his brow in confusion at Snape's odd choice of words, but he didn't have much time to mull over the meaning of things. There was a moment of relief when he felt Snape's wand withdraw from his chin, and he worked his jaw as he watched the man pocket the thing. He jerked hard when Snape reached for his chin with his now free hand, placing cold fingers on either side of Harry's jaw to squeeze his mouth open. Harry understood now what Snape was holding in his other hand. It must've been some kind of poison, the kind that would cause a slow and agonizing death. Harry clenched his jaw until it hurt and breathed in hard through his nose.

"I suggest that you relax, Potter. Breaking a few of your teeth to get this down your throat would mean little to me."

Harry stared into Snape's cold eyes and was glad that things were dulled from the loss of his glasses. What did broken teeth matter when one was going to die anyway? He felt the cold tickle in his mind as Snape slid into his thoughts and Harry balked away, quickly cutting off the connection. Snape chuckled and Harry wondered what he had managed to see. "I assure you, Potter, that you will meet your end like the rest of us. After all you are nothing special."

Harry could feel cold sweat gathering on his forehead, and he made a strangled sound behind his teeth as Snape squeezed his jaw hard. He wasn't going to open his mouth ever. Harry felt his jaw creak open a little and he tried to bite back down, succeeding in biting down on the insides of his cheeks. It hurt but Harry didn't care. "You will have to give up eventually, boy." Snape dug his fingers in a little deeper and then held his grip there, knowing that it had to be very uncomfortable by now. Snape felt Harry's cheek muscles twitch beneath his fingers, and the boy opened his mouth a tiny bit further. It was enough.

The potion was being poured into his mouth before he'd even realized that Snape had sensed he'd started to give, and the vial was empty in a few seconds. Harry tried to cough the stuff up, but found a cool hand clamped over his mouth. He tried to gag rather than swallow when Snape rubbed a thumb against his throat. A bit of the potion came up his throat and went into his nose and he thought for a moment that he would choke to death.

"Idiot..." Snape growled.

Harry swallowed only because he knew that he would not be able to breathe until he was able to cough. Snape let go of his face and a moment later Harry felt his body released from the binding curse as well. He rolled onto his side and coughed for several moments before he could finally draw in a proper breath. He curled his hands into fists and waited for his insides to twist with fierce pain. Something was supposed to happen to him, right?

Harry could feel his toes tingling and ad the strangest urge to curl his toes in towards the soles of his feet. It didn't work very well with his shoes on, but he didn't seem to be able to stop himself from trying. Harry curled into a little ball on the stone and shivered. Where was the warmth that Snape had promised him?

"It takes several moments to take full effect, Potter."

Harry closed his eyes and waited. The tingling feeling was starting to spread through his whole body and he began to feel almost disconnected as though his thoughts were being cut off from him. He struggled to hold onto himself. Perhaps Snape meant to drive him mad and cut him loose to humiliate him.

"That is a normal reaction, Potter."

Why was Snape talking him through this? This didn't make sense. He could feel his thoughts reorganizing themselves into simpler categories. Food, shelter, survival and a vague sense of self. Not much else seemed to fit, but why he couldn't be sure. Then there was pain. A lot of pain. Harry opened his mouth to cry out, but found himself nearly voiceless, all that came out of him was a high pitched squealing noise. He closed his eyes tighter because he didn't want to see Snape's expression as he suffered through this. He could feel his limbs shifting and his backbone reworking itself. Shifting and growing smaller. Lighter. Soft.

When it was done he lay there quiet. Eyes still closed, but ears listening sharply. His ears twitched at the sound of a familiar voice, but he didn't have the energy to respond. He was sprawled on his belly, in the midst of his shed clothing, panting heavily with an open mouth.

"We must go now," Snape said coolly.

This time at the sound of Snape's voice, Harry felt a tremor course through him an his body tensed into a knot of muscle. Predator? He couldn't exactly be sure. He tucked his back legs beneath him, ready to spring into action if danger came too near.

Snape glared at Potter as he thought how to go about things. The long ears seemed a logical choice for grabbing hold of Potter and assuring a firm grip, but wasn't that the way that muggle magicians went about things? Surely there had to be a better way than a muggle method. Snape wiggled his fingers to be sure that he was ready to move and reached down to grab Potter round the middle.

Potter's ears rotated to listen to the shuffling noises of heavy robes and then he laid them flat against his head. In his current form Potter hardly looked threatening, and Snape wondered if he had it in him to bite. Snape reached down and firmly grasped Potter by his soft middle and lifted him into the air. He grimaced at the feel of soft fur and flesh beneath his fingers. Snape was sure that if he squeezed firmly enough he'd be able to press his fingers together through Potter's empty belly. He started and swore aloud as something stung the forefinger of his left hand. Teeth, Snape realized. Potter had actually bitten him!

Snape almost dropped Potter on his head right there, but he managed to control the urge. After all that was probably what the idiot animal wanted him to do. He shifted his hands to the loose looking skin at the nape of Potter's neck and took hold of him there. Potter kicked out frantically as Snape held him by the scruff, and Snape allowed him to hang there unsupported. He gave Potter a little shake for biting him and then let him hang by his loose skin.

"Be still, Potter," Snape growled. Harry jerked again in Snape's grip as he struggled.

Harry could feel his body hanging freely in the air. He was only a few feet above the floor, but it seemed much higher to him now that he was much smaller. He kicked at Snape again with his back legs and took in heaving breaths through his wiggling nose. He heard Snape chuckle lightly and then felt a cold hand brush the fur behind his tail as Snape finally reached down to support his weight.

Harry blinked and stilled. Having the hand beneath him was far better than hanging freely. He could hear something coming in the distance. He looked to Snape who hadn't seemed to have noticed anything yet and felt his ears twitch towards the sounds that he now recognized as footsteps. Someone was coming towards them. Another Predator?

Harry felt it when Snape finally recognized that someone was approaching their location, as his hand tensed slightly around the loose skin of Harry's scruff. He felt his back feet flail in the air helplessly as Snape let his back end go to reach for his wand. Snape swung Harry's body round so that he was shielded from the view of whoever was coming toward them. Harry shut his eyes, all this swinging about like a tether ball was making him feel more than a bit dizzy.

He winced as he sensed the grip on his skin tighten again. It wasn't really painful. A bit like pinching the loose skin of one's elbow, so he wasn't sure what the matter was if he wasn't in pain. Perhaps it was because he knew that Snape was uncertain of what was to come. Harry could sense that just in the man's body language, and if Snape was nervous then things were probably not going to be pleasant for either of them.

"Ah, so it's you. I didn't think that I would be crossing your path so soon," the smooth voice drawled and Harry's ears perked right up. He knew that voice! He reached up with his short front paws to try and claw at Snape's hand to set him loose, but Snape's fingers were safely out of reach and he only succeeded in scratching at the soft furred places on his face.

Snape relaxed slightly, as he recognized the voice as well, but did not lower his defenses completely. He said nothing, but gave a slight nod of acknowledgment.

"Don't you trust me, Snape?"

Harry felt Snape stiffen at the sound of his name being spoken as though this boy was his better. "Why are you here, Malfoy?"

"You aren't the only one who needs a place to hide every now and then, Snape. I couldn't go home after all."

Harry would have furrowed his brow had the expression held any meaning for him in this new form, but instead he wiggled in Snape's hand as he grew restless of swinging in the air. He was able to swing his back feet up to catch Snape's wrist in a almost acrobatic twist, before flopping back and nearly spinning himself in a full circle from the momentum.

Snape finally took the hint and pocketed his wand, pulling Harry forward to support his weight with his other hand. Harry noted that as he took in Malfoy's appearance the young man did not have his wand drawn. His clothing was tattered and dirty, like his face, and he looked as though he was ready to drop the floor from exhaustion.

Harry watched quietly as Malfoy's eyes focused on him. "Why do you have that animal down here with you, Snape?"

"That is no concern of yours Malfoy. It is a personal matter of sorts."

"Well, I don't think it likes to be held that way. Seems rather barbaric if you ask me."

"I didn't ask, Malfoy."

"I realize that. Let me hold it." Malfoy strode forward across the damp stone floor, his hands spread in a gesture suggesting that he expected to be obliged.

"No."

"I'm not going to hurt it. I just want to hold it for a second. Please?"

Snape raised an eyebrow at the blond boy. "I don't think that's a good idea, Draco."

Draco stepped forward and grabbed for the rabbit that Snape was holding. He managed to get a grip of the back feet and Snape shot him a glare. Snape tugged slightly on the part of Potter that he was holding. "Let go, Malfoy."

The young man responded by stepping up and taking hold of Harry's soft middle. When Snape pulled back on Harry, the hold that Draco had on him seemed have every intention to squeeze his insides out.

"What's so special about this rabbit that you won't even let me hold it for a second?"

"I need it to be in tact for a potion that I am brewing, Malfoy."

Draco eased his hold on the rabbit as he struggled to get loose. Draco snorted and moved a free hand to the pocket of his robes. "Don't tell me that you were going to brew something down here! I'm not daft."

Snape said nothing.

"What potion are you preparing to brew that requires a rabbit like that one?"

"You wouldn't recognize it by name, Malfoy."

"How can you be sure unless you tell me?"

Harry struggled as he was hit with the feeling that he was in danger and he just caught it from the corner of his eye as Malfoy un-pocketed his wand and turned smoothly to hide it from view. Snape, by the feel of him, hadn't seem the boy take out the weapon.

Draco released his hold on the rabbit and took a step backward. Snape eyed him suspiciously, but didn't reach for his wand. He reached down to adjust his hold on the rabbit instead.

Harry couldn't have warned Snape had he wanted to in his current form. The spell buzzed hotly right between Harry's long ears before slamming into Snape's chest and drawing out all his breath in a sudden whoosh. Then came the sensation of flying as the force of the spell threw Snape backward towards the slimy walls. Harry could still feel the thin fingers gripping his fur as Snape hit the wall with a thud. The man crumpled to the ground, nearly crushing Harry beneath his body weight.

Snape didn't move, and for a moment Harry thought that Draco had killed him. Then Harry felt the little pocket, between Snape an the ground, that he was caged in shrink and grow in a regular pattern. Snape was still breathing then. Harry froze as he heard Draco approaching.

With the toe of his shoe Draco kicked at Snape's middle, just to be sure the man wasn't putting on a show to catch him off guard. Once he was fairly certain that Snape was not faking, Draco knelt and started to turn Snape onto his side. When Harry saw a bit of light from the gloomy room they were in he bolted past Draco and followed the scent of Snape to find his way out.

As Harry scrambled over the threshold that led down the corridor where Snape had taken him earlier he heard Draco swear aloud. The sound of Draco's shoes scraping against he stone rasped in his sharp ears as the boy rose and pivoted around to give chase. Harry skidded round the corner, following the scent of Snape and a very familiar scent from his human form. Harry bolted towards the stone steps that Snape had descended down and stopped just at the foot of the stairs. This was going to take time to make it up all those steps as a little bunny. Harry panted through his mouth and searched for a place to take cover, since there was little chance that he would make it up the entire flight of stairs before Draco could catch him.

Harry found a shadowy corner and squeezed himself as small as he possibly could manage. As Draco approached Harry went perfectly still, even the silent twitching of his nose stopped.

Draco spun full circle and glanced around him. He lit his wand and looked in the darker places near the stairs. When he spotted Harry he grinned brightly. He hadn't thought the rabbit would get very far. "Here bunny," he whispered as he stalked forward, trying to make as little noise as possible.

Without even glancing around him Harry could feel that he was cornered. Draco was going to catch him! Harry didn't move as Draco picked him up by the scruff of his neck and shone the light from his wand in Harry's eyes. Draco held him a little ways out in front of him. "What makes you so special, eh? " Draco finally pocketed his wand and tucked Harry beneath his arm as though he were cradling a football. Harry found that tucked away like this he almost felt safe. Had it not been Draco carrying him he might have found the position comfortable.

A noise in the distance made Harry's ears twitch as Draco began to ascend the stairs. Draco was nearly to the top of the steps when he was hit with a bolt of light from behind. Draco's legs faltered beneath him and he fell forward with a startled cry, thrusting Harry away in an attempt to catch himself.

Harry rolled onto slick cobblestones and into a puddle of dirty rainwater before coming to a halt. He could hear Draco shouting something as he gathered his wits to run. With barely a second thought Harry took off down the dark alley.

Harry stopped behind a crate of rubbish when he felt he had zigged and zagged to put enough distance between himself and the two wizards. He caught a peculiar smell amongst the garbage and pricked his ears, standing up for a second on his hind legs to see if he could figure out what the smell was. He quickly ducked back down when he caught sight of a black bushy tail wagging. A huge black dog was sniffing through a pile of trash in the corner, pawing and growling at nothing in particular.

The dog nibbled at a scrap of rotten lettuce and then tongued it out of his mouth. That was not tasty at all. The dog turned, sniffed the wet cobblestone with his sharp nose and picked up a scent in the slight breeze. Not quite the smell of alley cat, which he rather liked to give a good tease if he could chase one down, but it was worth investigating.

The dog licked his chops free of drool and then let his head drop to the pavement again. He was getting close to whatever this was. It seemed odd that there was a mixture of scents. Human and animal smashed into one being. This wasn't a smell from something that had been touched either. This was coming from whatever creature it was that was hiding nearby.

Harry quivered uncontrollably as the dog's sniffing drew closer and closer. There wouldn't be anyone to save him from this. He had escaped Snape only to be killed by a stray dog. No room to run. Harry backed into the wall and the crate that he was hiding near. As the dog caught site of him it wagged it's tag gently. Harry flattened his ears to his head and held still.

Don't move, was all that he seemed to be able to think. It won't see you if you don't move. The dog nosed at the side of the crate, and gently bumped it with the tip of his muzzle. Then he put his paw between the wall and the crate as though he were using hands and scraped the crate away from the wall to reveal Harry in his hiding place.

Harry sat there, completely frozen with fright. He could see a strand of drool starting to fall from a rather large fang, and it made a slight plop as it hit the cobblestone. "You smell odd, little thing." The dog licked the drool away and Harry could have sworn that it had grinned at him. Well, it had bore it's rather intimidating set of teeth anyway. "Too scared to talk?"

"Er but I thought-" Harry stopped abruptly. He didn't want to give the dog any big ideas if all it wanted was to talk to him for a while.

"Yes?" The dog perked his ears expectantly.

"Never mind," Harry said quickly brushing the backs of his front paws over his long ears without a thought. "I smell funny to you?"

"Yes, your scent is... interesting." The dog sniffed the air, taking in Harry's scent again.

Harry took a backward step in response to the renewed interest in his smell. The dog eyed him with his head cocked to the side and backed up a little to give Harry breathing room. "Skittish, aren't you, little thing?"

Harry gulped. This was after all a much bigger animal with big teeth that could break his small bones in a second if it wanted. The big dog wagged his tail. "Well, shall we go then? A thing like you should not be alone on the street, as not every creature will take kindly to you. I'm sure that my Master would want to meet you."

"Your Master?"

The dog was staring at Harry again, and seemed to be focused on his legs. Perhaps, thought Harry, the dog was hungry for meat after all. "You don't seem suited to travel long distances. It will be easier for us both if I carry you." The dog took a few small steps forward.

"Wait. You don't have hands. How are you supposed to do that?"

"The skin at the nape of your neck looks fairly loose, like a pup," the dog began gently. "It shouldn't hurt you to be carried that way."

Harry flattened himself against the ground in an attempt to meld with the cobblestone. "Er thanks, but I think I'll pass. I can look after myself."

Harry felt his muscles freeze in fright as the dog's hackles rose and he crouched low with a threatening rumble issuing from his dark muzzle. The dog had wanted to help him only a second ago, what had changed that? The dog snarled and showed his teeth.

"I might have known that you would attach yourself to such a mangy creature, Potter. Even as a rabbit you have poor taste in companions."

Harry's ears flicked toward the voice, but other than that he dare not move. The dog was so close... too close to run away.

"I can smell him on you," the dog was saying as he continued to growl.

Harry was silent.

"Do you belong to him? Is this your Master?"

"No!" Harry snapped at once. "I was trying to run away from him, when I found you," Harry said quickly.

"I can outrun him."

Harry chanced a glance back at the figure standing in the shadows. Snape had his wand drawn as if he thought he was about to be attacked at any moment.

"He's got a wand. If you try, he might hurt you."

The dog seemed undeterred.

"Come, Potter," Snape said softly as if Harry would actually respond to and obey his call. Snape stepped toward Harry and the dog. The dog's growl changed and he shifted on his feet so that he could spring forward to attack if Snape came closer. Snape halted at the threat of large fangs and the fierce growl.

TBC Eventually