The Heart of Night

Heart of the Night

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Know Your Place

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1 Moon, 3 Nights

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It was a very quiet Severus Snape who walked out of the Infirmary that evening. His injuries had healed much faster than he'd expected -- he suspected it would take a long time before he would get used to these new healing powers, if ever -- and there was still a lingering feeling somewhere in the back of his mind, telling him that something was amiss. He couldn't exactly place that feeling -- just as well somebody could have asked him whether he was sure that his ears belonged to the place where they were -- but he could tell for sure that something was not right.

Suddenly, the feeling of wrongness seemed to -- come nearer. There was no way he could explain it, but the nearer he got to his dungeon quarters, the more he felt like this. He was getting really uncomfortable now.

Then he went round a corner and collided with Remus. Then the feeling reached its peak, making his newly found wolf-instincts scream out loud.

At first he was going to say something, but then froze as he saw Remus's eyes. They were blazing with a golden fire -- and for some reason, he immediately knew that his own eyes were doing exactly the same. Taking a quick step backwards, he clenched his fists at his sides.

For a moment they both just stood there, staring at each other threateningly. Then, however, they both bared their teeth at the same second. A low, angry growl erupted from Severus's chest as he suddenly felt the need to -- to protect his territory from an intruder.

His growl was returned by the other werewolf, just as heated and threatening. Two pairs of golden eyes blazed as the wizards circled each other, slowly moving around in the corridor. An almost predatory glint could be seen in both gazes as they didn't even blink once, just looking at each other.

A couple of times one of them suddenly almost flung himself at the other, but stopped mid-strife, froze for a second, and then continued the circling. Not a sound was heard in the corridor expect for their quickened breathing and an occasional growl.

Severus could feel as the wolf was momentarily gaining power. It was far from taking over him -- it couldn't do that, not outside the full moon night and not even then, thanks to his potion -- but it truly was making its presence known. The growling and struggling wolf inside his mind, added to the strong pull of the moon, was distracting him, but still he forced himself to concentrate. There was another wolf near his territory. He could not let this intruder go by without doing anything! Even though he couldn't know for sure, he suspected that similar thoughts were going around inside Remus's mind.

Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the circling and growling seemed to stop, leaving the two men just staring at each other. To anybody else it maybe looked like that, but to the two werewolves, their fight for dominance hadn't even fully started yet. Instead of their bodies, they were now circling each other by their minds, strong willpowers being channelled through the blazing golden eyes.

For a moment, Severus was undeniably stronger. He could hardly keep a triumphant howl from escaping his lips as his mind reached suddenly further out, striking Remus's, making the other werewolf flinch slightly. This was what he could do, this was what he was good at. A superb Occlumens and Legilimens, Severus had no problem with leading his mind into the fight, channelling it like he knew would make him stronger than any other way. Pure power was on his side, and he was winning, he was winning the battle --

And then there was a sudden change. Severus might have been more powerful, but Remus had a lot more experience. He'd faced numerous werewolves in his life, participated in similar battles for dominance ever since he was just a child. Every battle had made him a tad stronger, a tad more skilled. For the last three years, nobody had ever been able to win him. Nor would be Severus.

The one of the men who'd been a werewolf for a longer time knew just what to do. Instead of relying on raw power, he was cunning. His swift attacks hit the weak spot every time Severus accidentally revealed one -- which wasn't often, the man truly could protect his mind well, but the places you had to protect from Voldemort were partly different from those you had to shield from another werewolf in this kind of a battle -- and as the Slytherin attacked again and again, it was now more often that Remus avoided his hit than not. The Gryffindor's agile and quick mind with its strong defences was maybe not that different from Severus's, but he certainly knew better how to use his strengths to his advantage and how to keep his weaknesses from causing him to fail. Severus was skilled in defending his mind and shielding it, or using it on fast, rash attacks that were soon over. He was not used to this twisted game of hide-and-seek, to this patient form of a battle of wills.

Again the Slytherin tried to hit, and again Remus avoided him, at the same time reaching his mind around Severus's and hitting just at the right spots. No, the Potions Master did not know how to fight this battle. He was all the time trying to clear it for once and all, draining himself with that, while Remus knew that a victory would take time, like he knew just what to do to tire his opponent enough to ensure his own success.

At last Remus's mind reached out for the last time. A mighty mental stroke later, Severus's mind retreated to his body, beaten and humble. The man bowed his head in quiet submission, while Remus straightened his back, smiling broadly. His eyes flashed golden for the last time, and then they returned to their usual amber shade.

"Well, at least that's now in order," he said, smiling at his fellow werewolf. "It was a rather equal match."

"Equal match my arse," huffed Severus, feeling totally humiliated. At the same time, however, he realized that this was exactly like it was meant to be. "You're far more experienced than me. As hard as it is to admit, I stood no chance against you."

"Now where's the self-confident and proud Severus Snape I'm used to?" asked Remus, his smile never faltering. "Come on, Severus. Don't get so upset. It doesn't really mean anything that I'm the alpha of the pack of Hogwarts."

"Pack of Hogwarts?" echoed Severus. "I thought there was only the pack of Forbidden Forest."

His Gryffindor companion shrugged. "A lonely werewolf is always considered a part of the nearest pack willing to take them in," he said. "So, all my Hogwarts years and the one year I taught here before I was truly a member of the pack of the Forbidden Forest. If two or more werewolves reside more or less permanently on the same are, however, they form their own pack. Therefore, as there's two of us, there's also the pack of Hogwarts now."

"Very well." Severus nodded slowly. Then he glanced at the other werewolf. "I'm going to go to my quarters now, as Poppy insisted that I should still rest," he said. "Will you accompany me for some time?"

"Of course, Severus," replied his alpha happily. "I'd be more than pleased to do that."

After some time of walking and quietly chattering they reached Severus's quarters. As they sat down in armchairs facing another, Remus narrowed his eyes, locking his gaze at the ceiling. "Tell me, Severus," he said, "have I ever told you the tale of how the first werewolf came to be?"

The Slytherin shook his darkhaired head. "No, you haven't," he replied. "Although I thought that nobody knows it for sure."

"Well, for sure they don't know it," chuckled the more experienced lycanthrope. "But there are many tales. Some of them are almost believable, some are downright ridiculous. However, the tale that werewolves themselves have told generation after generation is the one that intrigues me most."

This time, Severus nodded, looking rather interested. "Tell it to me, then," he said.

"Once upon a time, there was a man," Remus started his tale. "This man had a beautiful wife and five children. He loved them all very much, and especially much he loved his youngest daughter, who was the sweetest and most beautiful of all his children.

"To his great sorrow, however, one day his youngest daughter fell ill. Not a doctor could cure her, not a man could tell what was wrong with her. The man had already lost his hope when he heard a tale of a beautiful flower, the Silver Bell. It was made of pure silver, and whoever heard its beautiful sound, would immediately be cured of any disease or illness. There was only one thing that worried the man: The Silver Bell grew in the far end of the forest, behind a way too long for a man to cross safely in one night. However, the flower would die the morning following the moment it was picked.

"The man knew that the wolf was the fastest and strongest of all animals in the forest. Therefore, having cast powerful spells and charms to protect himself, the man went to the edge of the forest and called for the wolf. The wolf he called was the alpha male of the wolves of the forest; he had a strong and wise she and five lively cubs."

Severus nodded, his eyes never leaving the other werewolf. So, Remus continued with his story.

"The man pleaded the wolf to let him use its body for one night, and one night only. As the wolf asked him why he wanted that, the man told that his daughter was dying. The wolf didn't understand this -- if a cub dies, the wolf is sad, but it accepts the cub's fate as a part of life -- but he did understand the man's sorrow and fear. And the wolf's heart became warm.

"So, the wolf promised the man that he could take his form for one night. He gave him instructions as of what he had to do in order to change into a wolf. However, the wolf had one term the man had to settle on: This couldn't happen on a full moon night, as it was holy to the wolf, and he had to herself be in the forest to sing his praise to the Moon. He was the alpha male; if he didn't praise their heavenly protector, the whole pack would suffer.

"The man of course promised that, wanting badly to achieve his goal. At this point, however, he asked the wolf what he wanted in return. The wolf replied that he wanted to take the man's form for one night. Thinking that not a price would be too high, the man accepted. All he had to do was to leave the dead Silver Bell to the edge of the forest, and that would allow the wolf to enter his human body for one night.

"However, the man's daughter didn't get any better. Every night the man was going to go to get the magic flower, but every night something was keeping him back so that it was already too late. At last, however, he managed to slip away. Running through the forest in the wolf's body he'd borrowed, he got the Silver Bell and brought it to his daughter. Just as he was arriving home, however, he noticed that the moon had been full. He had broken his promise, and nobody had sung praise to the moon that night.

"Ashamed and afraid, the man didn't place the Silver Bell where it should have been put. He feared that if the wolf could come to his form, it would cause misfortune and even death to his family as he'd broken his promise.

"When the alpha male got his body back, he found his whole pack slaughtered. He pleaded to the Moon, telling that it hadn't been he who had forgotten the praise, but a man using his body. His goddess told that she could not give him back his pack, but that he could have revenge at the man who had caused this ill fate. As the man hadn't brought the Silver Bell like he'd promised, the wolf couldn't take his human body, but over a wolf's body the Moon had power.

"So, the next time when the Moon was on her fullest, the man began to feel strange. Then his body suddenly transformed into that of a wolf. When the wolf then stood in front of his terrified family, the alpha male's mind came to him, pushing his own mind aside -- he had promised the wolf a night in his being, after all. The wolf in him forced him to kill his own family, tearing them with his claws and fangs. At last, there was only the youngest daughter left. Her the wolf didn't kill; he just bit her, spreading the curse to the child.

"Then the wolf the man had become found the Silver Bell. The flower had died ages ago and lost its might. However, as the wolf tore it into shreds, the Moon picked those shreds and spread them all over the world, thus creating silver. Because it had been to get this flower that the man had broken his promise and caused the alpha male's pack's death, this new metal, silver, brought pain and death to the man's kind -- werewolves -- instead of the relief and life it had once granted.

"Ever since then, werewolves have run under the full moon, singing their praise to the heavenly light, begging for her forgiveness. It is said that the Moon will not be merciful and lift the curse until a human has suffered a night of that torture for every howl the alpha male howled while mourning his lost pack.

"And if you listen very carefully to the wind, if you listen carefully and believe, you will hear that he still cries for his cubs."

As Remus finished his tale, he noticed that the other werewolf was asleep. Severus hadn't been wholly recovered from his first transformation yet, and clearing out their ranking order had also taken its toll on him. Smiling warmly, the Gryffindor walked over to the Potions Master, easily lifting the lithe man to his arms. Then he carried Severus into his bed, removed his shoes and outer robe, and covered him with a blanket. With a quiet, "Goodnight, Severus," he left the quarters.

Not even his werewolf hearing caught the almost inaudible, "Goodnight, Remus," that he got in response.

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