Luck of Nines

84

       Snape. Theo scowled viciously, his hand clenching tightly around his wand. 

      Harry tilted his head, wondering how Theo had leapt to that conclusion, from what little he knew, after the disastrous first year the ministry had taken up the role of education.

      There was motion of a second form. There's at least two of them. Then a third, a fourth. There were five, the fifth lingering carefully in the shadows, watching, waiting, as if the others were merely bait.

       Now Theo frowned. He shouldn't have any supporters. For the most part his only power was his skill in potions and the leverage that snake thought keeping Snape around would have on me if I failed.  No one would risk everything for a sinking ship.

Harry watched as one of them shot down, they're form warping in the manner which suggested a transformation. He froze.

They've got an animagus. Our scents.

Theo hurriedly cast the spell, but it was too late, scents lingered and a cleaning spell at this point would be even more conspicuous. The mouse was already rushing towards them before the spell even took effect.

Theo scowled. We're going to have to fight.

I'll take the animagus if you provide cover once they attack. Harry offered, his form already shifting into that of an oversized house cat.

Fine, Theo agreed, but make sure you keep an eye out as well, we don't know they're skills yet, but Snape would be dead already if he wasn't a good dueler.

Harry lunged. The mouse skidded away, managing to escape with only a small cut as Harry landed and spun around in the same motion; the chase was on.

Not for long. Harry was gaining quickly, and seemingly overrun with panic, the mouse had not shifted back to its human form or any other.

They passed under the balcony, no longer within view of the other intruders and Harry suddenly had no reservations of transforming. He was on the mouse in a fraction of a second, jaws clamping down and snapping the neck and back in a swift motion. He was a normal house cat again before the mouse even finished twitching.

A man was left in its place, even as a human though, it seemed they were more accustomed to being a rat than human. Or perhaps that was simply because of the form they had died in.

      Either way, the men were rushing down the stairs, annoyed at how the mouse had taken off without any warning.

      "Did they move?"

     "No way, you saw the cat, the coward probably just forgot he was a person again."

      "Most likely, yes." A familiar voice drawled as the potioneer swept past the others and stepped to the head, "Either way they're either aware of our presence here or beyond that door, there's not point wasting time with your inane chatter."

       The group of four now quickly moved, their movements even at this distance still near entirely hushed with magic, "The door."  The potioneer, Snape, Harry realized, motioned and one of the remaining three moved to open the door all the way

        Attack. It was Theo.

      The one who touched the door was immediately struck down, although Harry only heard the thud of their body hitting the ground, his attention already locked onto one of the stronger looking of the few remaining.

They smelled like Goyle he realized as he plowed into them, both he and the large male toppling to the floor, his jaws already around their neck and clamping down before the realization had fully hit him. Blood sprayed everywhere before he could even stop himself.

There was no time for horror.

Without anything distinct but sight to guide him, and even just barely that, he had misjudged. Goyle might have been larger, but the stronger threat he was not. Had not. This was not the time.

Harry skidded away from the slowly cooling body as spells struck nearby, this one was quick with casting and had something feral about him.

Survival came first.

Harry dodged about the spells and destruction caused from them with relative ease, but this intruder was managing to limit his progress in this manner. A battle of stamina.

Dodging and leaping every which way, Harry wasn't confident that he would win if he didn't change the way the fight was progressing.

Not far away Theo was shouting, rage clouding his usually composed voice, it sounded sometimes more like an animal bellowing than a human voice at some points. Harry could hear Snape sneering back in usual, sharp manner, but even his voice was chipped with hatred. 

Theo, what's the plan? Harry asked.

         Spells were being cast too, but not quickly.

       Either way, Theo wouldn't win in an endurance contest, his condition may have improved, but he still had less than most in terms of raw magical power and was already worn out from many nights of lost sleep. Seemingly blinded by boiling hot rage, something Harry hadn't seen from them ever before, he wasn't sure if there even was a strategy in place for how Theo would win. 

        Time ticked by and Harry still hadn't gotten a response.  It took a few moments after that for him to come to a decision.  Finally, after several more dodges, he managed to throw them enough off balance that he had an opening to leave, even if it wasn't enough for him to charge- especially not with the floor damaged between him and his opponent as badly as it was.

Switch with me. Harry demanded, as he shifted, nimbly racing as quickly as he could and then shifted back as he lunged. Despite his mind still trying to catch on to which side Snape was supposedly on, despite how Snape had always looked out for the Slytherins while in Hogwarts- at least to some extent- Harry still knew what side he was on. Theo was his pack, his family, and Snape was not holding back as both cast dangerous spells back and forth with no mercy. He didn't have to know what had happened in those years he was held captive.

       All the same; he was too slow. 

     Before he could latch his claws in, Snape's form also twisted and a haggard looking jaguar quickly scampered away as Harry skidded onto the ground. His green eyes meeting Theo's shocked and frozen ones.

Snap out of it; focus.

Theo didn't get the chance to respond as a large snarling form lunged out from the shadows before Harry could turn back to his original opponent.

      It took a moment of scrambling to find his footing, where he was only dimly aware of Theo setting protection and alarm wards being set up about the area, before he realized that this was Snape in his animagus form, and that his original opponent was nowhere that his senses could catch, at least without distracting himself from the fight at hand. One Theo could no longer safely interfere with unless he risked Harry getting caught in the crossfire.

But that was no problem. Harry roared, a thunderous noise which nearly threw Theo to his feet, as he shifted, fully utilizing his Manticore form for what was only the second time in his life. Snape was flung, ribs crushed and fur shredded by a  final attack, through the air and against a wall, leaving noticeable cracks as he collided and collapsed down at its base.

     Harry caught sight of the last intruder, their silhouette barely visible, masked in spells used for hiding which Theo would be more familiar with. A grey spell going straight for the defensive barriers Theo had erected. He didn't bother to dodge casting his glance about for further threats only to meet Theo's panicked eyes.

     Harry caught sight of the grey spell again just moments before it hit him, leaving the world dark with only a final, desperate, resounding scream;

     "NOOO!"