Under the Unlucky Star

Under the Unlucky Star

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Chapter 3:

The Full Moon

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'THE BOY WHO LIVED DISAPPEARED!' announced the headlines all around the British Wizarding World. Wizards and witches read the article, then sent owls and had long conversations through the Floo network, all very worried, some even horrified. What exactly had happened to their saviour?

Only one man managed to maintain a perfectly calm appearance. Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts, led the search for the little boy with perfect calmness, never once hesitating. The Wizarding folk once again turned to him in their need of a strong leader, and were not disappointed.

However calm his appearance, in the inside, Dumbledore was getting worried. He had managed to keep the numerous Aurors looking for Harry away from Remus and the boy. However, there was no sign of the search ending any time soon. It must have been very difficult to Remus to hide with the boy. Also, the full moon was fast approaching. How was Remus going to deal with that?

Soon he didn't have much time to worry about that, either. A new piece of news shook the Wizarding World to the core, the headlines now even more desperate than before.

'SIRIUS BLACK ESCAPED FROM AZKABAN!' announced Daily Prophet, making its readers shiver in fear. Everybody remembered the scandal, Sirius Black betraying his best friend. And at the moment, Harry Potter was somewhere, disappeared, and nobody was there to protect him from the murderer.

Even Albus Dumbledore was now showing some signs of distress. He finally even told the Aurors to check Remus Lupin's residence for any signs of a child having been there. However, nothing was to be found, least of all the owner of the house. Finding no marks of the child they were searching, not even the slightest magical traces, however, they had to decide that Lupin probably did not have anything to do with Harry's disappearance. He was only one werewolf less to worry about -- good riddance, they thought.

Somebody knew better, though. And as the full moon drew nearer, this person was getting very distressed. Harry was with Remus, that he was sure about -- it wouldn't have been even difficult for a skilled wizard with werewolf powers to hide the signs of Harry's presence. It was very improbable, however, that Remus had found any place to keep Harry safe during the full moon.

Therefore, a sigh now escaped the Headmaster's lips as he sat in his office, reading ever new reports stating that no, none of the Aurors had found any signs of Harry. He was afraid, very afraid of what Remus might do if he couldn't get Harry somewhere safe for the full moon. Not only would the wolf kill the child, but the knowledge of having done that would most probably destroy Remus, too, driving him insane or making him commit suicide in his depression. The werewolf's worst fear had always been hurting someone during the full moon, but to actually kill the child he loved as his own? There was no way Remus would survive that. And that made Dumbledore fear not only for Harry but for Remus as well.

Also, there was Sirius to consider. The traitorous man was definitely dangerous. Remus' powers would probably be enough to win his old friend, but whether he would be able to do so was another matter altogether. Dumbledore held no illusions; he knew the two had been lovers once. What if Remus' possibly lingering feelings prevented him from taking the measures necessary to save both himself and Harry from the mass murderer? Love was known to have done even stranger things.

However, as long as Remus and Harry stayed in hiding, there was very little he could do but trust Remus to handle the situation. Therefore, he just sat in his office, receiving more useless reports from Aurors, his heart full of worry and fear for two people he loved dearly.

*

A dog ran through a forest. In his best days he might have been a glorious sight to some, frightening to others; an enormous size, jet-black fur, and a close resemblance to a Grim were enough to scare most people. Now, however, the animal was thin and filthy, his once magnificent fur a tangled mess of dirt and trash. His pale eyes shone like two lanterns in the quickly darkening forest as he ran forward.

The dog stopped for a moment and glanced up to the sky, seeing the almost full moon. A shiver went down his spine as the human mind inside his canine body remembered what that meant. It meant a danger to the two people he loved most in the world -- his mate and the pup that might have just as well been his own.

Oh, yes, Padfoot did know better than well that Harry was with Remus. He had managed to sneak into Remus' house shortly after he escaped. The Aurors were indeed looking for him like he had estimated, watching Remus' home in case he sought refuge in the presence of his former lover. However, they were all told to look for a man with long, black hair and grey eyes, possibly armed with a wand, not a black Grim-like dog with pale blue eyes. It had been ridiculously easy to slip in under the cover of the darkness of night, none of the supposedly watchful Aurors noticing. Of course he hadn't found his mate and the pup there, but he had found the scent -- the scent of them both. Even after all these years he remembered those scents, the scent of the one he loved more than his own life, and that of the one he had vowed to care for like he would care for his own son. He hadn't forgotten -- and now, he feared.

It'd soon be the full moon, and Remus and Harry were still on the run. Unless Remus found somewhere safe to put the kid for the full moon night, Harry would be in grave danger. And if Moony managed to hurt the boy, there was no telling what Remus would do, as he was bound to blame himself for it.

So, if something didn't happen and fast, he would lose both of them, his whole remaining pack. And that was something Padfoot would not allow to happen.

Therefore, he ran on despite his exhaustion, trying to find a single hint of his loved ones.

*

Harry glanced up at the house in front of them. It was a big and old house, looking like nobody had lived in it for a while. He took a tighter grip on Moony's hand. If he'd been alone, he might have been scared, very scared. However, with Moony he was not afraid. At least not as afraid as he would have been alone, anyway. Moony made everything feel safe.

The door was locked, but Moony did some magic and opened the door, like he had opened the front door that Uncle Vernon had locked. They stepped into the empty house. It was dark there, but Moony made light. Dust covered everything, and Harry was sure he had seen a mouse in one corner. Still, it was better than the cold, damp forest they had been in for the last few days. It was beginning to be night again, too, and Harry liked sleeping in a house much more than sleeping outside, even if the house was old and empty.

Moony had told that if they found some good place to hide at, they could stay there until they could go back home. There were still bad men looking for him, he'd said, and they would take him back to Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. Harry didn't want that. With Moony he was never cold or hungry, because Moony knew magic, and he was never alone, either. The adventure was tiring but it was still an adventure, and when Harry got too tired to walk, Moony always carried him. Moony never seemed to get tired.

However, just when they had found a nice room in the upstairs of the house, Moony suddenly seemed to remember something. Then he went very pale, glancing at the only window of the room. "There's no time..." he said, looking desperately around the room like searching for something. "There's simply no time -- I should lock myself up somewhere, but there's no time for it..."

Harry was startled. Why was Moony talking like that? Adults were never locked away. Harry was, if he was bad. Dudley never was. Why should Moony be locked away? Had he been bad, too?

He glanced around, a little nervous. What if Uncle Vernon came from somewhere and locked him and Moony away? There were a lot of dark corners in the room where Uncle Vernon could be hiding. He'd like so much to come up suddenly and frighten Harry.

Well, at least he could be with Moony, even if they were locked in the cupboard. Moony was safe. When he was with Moony, he didn't have to be scared.

The next startle came to him as Moony began taking off his clothes. What was this? Adults never behaved this way, not Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia at least. But, Moony wasn't like them. Moony was nice, so he had to be doing the right thing -- but why'd he take the clothes away? There had to be some reason for it, even though Harry didn't understand it.

At last Moony stood in front of him, naked. He folded the clothes neatly, although his movements didn't seem to be as soft and easy as always -- rather, he was doing it mechanically, like the really expensive robot Dudley had gotten for his birthday and had broken the same evening. Then Moony put the folded clothes on a high shelf.

He turned around to face Harry. Harry was startled to see a sad glint in his eyes. Had Harry been bad? Had he done something to make Moony sad? He didn't want to make Moony upset. And he didn't want to be bad, since bad kids were always punished -- well, bad Harries, anyway. Dudley never was.

Moony took a step towards him, crouching down. Then he pulled Harry into a tight, warm hug, and Harry hugged back, although he didn't understand why Moony was hugging him. Nor did he understand why Moony was now crying, little, silent tears rolling down his cheeks.

"I'm so sorry, Harry," Moony said quietly. "It shouldn't have been like this... Not like this. I should have thought better. It's my fault, Harry. You've done nothing wrong... Gods... I wish I hadn't, either..."

Harry was astonished. What was Moony talking about? What shouldn't have been like what? And what should have Moony thought about? The only thing that relieved the little boy's mind was the fact that he hadn't done anything wrong. So, it was something else Moony was upset about.

He tried to clumsily wipe the tears away in an attempt to comfort his friend, but Moony gently grasped his wrists and pushed him away. "I'm so sorry, Harry, but there's no other way, there's simply no time to do anything," he said softly. "I can just hope it'll happen fast, for I simply couldn't bear the thought of having hurt you so much. Although I'll most probably just kill myself in the morning anyway..."

Now Harry wasn't only confused, he was scared. Why was Moony talking about hurting and killing and -- and all the wrong things? What was going to happen now?

"I'm so sorry, Harry..." Moony said quietly, his voice trailing off. His face was now soaked with tears, and he crawled further away from Harry on the floor.

Harry was confused. He didn't understand why Moony was sorry. He hadn't done anything he should be sorry about. Besides, adults never apologized to children, at least not to Harry, that much he knew.

Then, suddenly, Moony shrieked loudly. It was a clear cry of pain, sharp pain that made the man's whole body tremble. Harry watched in terror as the nice man he'd come to love as a parent started to change form. Moony's limbs reformed, thick, golden brown fur spurted from his skin, his nails grew into claws.

Then, with a horrible howl, the last marks of humanity remaining on Moony vanished as his face was stretched into a muzzle. His kind, golden eyes turned yellow and an evil glint entered them instead of the usual warm glow, and his ears that had always been ready to listen to Harry moved to the top of his head, becoming even more clearly pointy and animal-like.

Then, the pained howling ended. The large wolf that now stood on Moony's place rose to his four huge paws. He opened his mouth, revealing a row of sharp, dangerous-looking fangs.

With a deep growl, the wolf then turned to face Harry, a murderous glow in his yellow eyes.

Harry cried out in horror.

*End Chapter Three*