Familiars Love

Chapter 30

The pale cougar and falcon landed with a thud. Dropping into a crouch, ears, and whiskers twitched as the large cat sought the scent of its mate. While the falcon flew to the rafters to watch for intruders. Crawling forward with his nose above the ground, Theseus sniffed delicately before shaking his head. Growling a low threat, the cat shifted and slid into the shadows, inhaling deeply as the scent of Athena and her fresh blood filled his nostrils. Shifting uneasily the cougar glided towards the door, head low and tail held straight out behind him. Soft paws carried him quietly across the cell, disturbing not a particle of dust as he eased to a halt next to the heavily clawed wood. 'I have her scent Damian let's go' Theseus growled before moving forward in pursuit of his mate. 

The door rested open, allowing him to peer around and down the hall before slipping carefully from the cell, pausing only once to rub his cheek along the edge of the door. The falcon continued its silent vigil watching its friend to make sure he continued his search unbothered.  Prowling down the dark corridor, the cougar raised its muzzle and called softly. Tail flicking as he waited, he dropped his nose and sniffed deeply, ignoring the stale smells in favor of the fresh. His head jerked up and his ears cocked forward, all senses straining to hear the low cry reverberating down the hall.

With a snap the bond shimmered to life, all parts coming to the fore. Emotions and thoughts swam through his skull before his own magic caught them. Straining against the feelings, Theseus searched through his mind before finding the glowing ball that contained his magic. Inwardly concentrating, the cougar watched the magic surge and glide along with the bond, every piece promising full power. Rumbling to himself, Theseus called out mentally but received a backwash of emotion rather than words. Pain, fear, hope, love, all calling and demanding he aid his bonded immediately. Shaking his head, the cougar curled his lips before throwing his muzzle back and screaming, the sound reverberating down the dark halls. Slinking into the darkness, Theseus began the hunt for his mate.

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Professor Severus Snape crouched next to the writhing form of Pansy Parkinson. His hands trying to pin her still so Madame Pomfrey could administer potions and spells to stop the bleeding and repair damage. The tears and gashes were deep, a steady stream of blood soaking into the floor around them. Students cowered against the walls, some looking very green as they watched the professors try and heal the rogue Slytherin.

"Never in all my life..." Madame Pomfrey muttered. "Look at this, I mean even with the strongest of spells there is no way I can heal this completely. She'll have scars the rest of her life."

"Did you know he could do that?" Professor McGonagall demanded, wincing as Pansy squealed in pain as the professor's hand slipped across a long cut.

"No, Draco has never achieved his animagus form," Severus growled, rising and wiping his blood-smeared hands on the dark cloak he wore. Striding away from the gathering of teachers he dropped down into a chair at the Head Table and conjured himself a glass of brandy. Swirling the amber liquid in its glass, he looked down at the book he had been reading before the cougar incident.

His finger traced the title before he flipped the book open and began turning the stained pages. Dark eyes narrowed as he slid a finger down a list of words. Each spell read off mentally before halting at the one he had been looking for. Chewing his lip, he flipped to the bond detection spell and traced his finger down the list of bonds and the color they were represented by. Gold. He closed his eyes and sat back in the chair, hand tightening on the glass. Gold represented the very rare and almost impossible to achieve Shared Animagus Bond. Opening his eyes he flipped quickly to the index and then to the directed page. Three measly sentences. Slamming the book shut he raised his glass and took a long consoling sip. A pair of feral cats, he thought with a slight smile, Voldemort definitely wouldn't be expecting that.