The Traveler's Secret

CHAPTER 17 WOLFBANE'S PREDICAMENT

Johnny Wolfbane watched the retreating backs of Jean Fulver and Frederick Dumbledore as they walked down the hall away from Albus' office. Wolfbane waited until they rounded the corner, and then allowed himself to breathe. He had sucked up a large breath, and had held it in his barrel chest during his confrontation with Fulver. The Muggle had been perilously close to being mauled.

The oxygen restriction and increased burning sensation in Wolfbane's lungs had been a necessary distraction for his body. Even now, after Jean Fulver had left, Wolfbane's jaw itched to enlarge, his teeth to lengthen, and his back to bend into the shape of a wolf.

Johnny Wolfbane had managed to gain good self control over his transformations over the past couple years, but there was still a lot he had to learn. The situation with Jean Fulver just proved it. When Fulver tried to force his way into Dumbledore's office, the shockwave of anger that flowed through Wolfbane had caught the American off guard. Johnny had felt his body as it began to change.

He hated that his emotions still triggered his transformations. Even now his entire being still trembled in horror as to what had almost happened. He didn't like the Muggle, couldn't trust him, but he hadn't wanted him dead, and dead by his own hands none the less. The idea that Wolfbane was his own worst enemy, the beast in his own nightmares terrified the American. Of course, none of this fear or emotional upheaval showed on Wolfbane's face. He had been taught by his parents that showing fear, showing your emotions gave a potential enemy an advantage; they now knew which buttons to push, what lever to use. Wolfbane had learned to show strength even when he felt none inside.

That was why most people mistook the American for being cold, and a little too terrifying to talk to. Johnny Wolfbane had never been a social creature; he could never fit in with normal people, or really understand them. Wolfbane could be said to be socially awkward.

Besides most people would never believe that a person like Wolfbane could even exist; Johnny's father had told him that he came from a rare bloodline of shape shifters. Because of this rare ability, it had opened the world of magic up to Wolfbane, but the ability carried a heavy price. Wolfbane experienced the magical world, when he was younger, completely alone. His parents had moved him out into a small shack deep within a Louisiana Bayou. They had rightly kept him away from the human population; when Johnny was younger, his transformations were out of control, and his bloodlust for the hunt had been overwhelming. Becoming an animal brought out all the bestial primal needs and drives, like the need to hunt fresh prey. If those needs had not been watched, and kept in check, Wolfbane would have become a menace to society.

His parents were patient, teaching their son to control his ability by the slow and sure method. His father was an expert in transformation control, and his mother, with her gift of foresight, could predict if any unsuspecting human was getting to close to her still volatile son, or could even catch her son in a wrong doing before it happened. That part of his mother's gift had irked him when he was younger, but he now knew how important it had been that she had used it in that way.

Wolfbane shifted uncomfortably in the now silent and empty hall. He had tried to stay as still as possible as he waited for Sergei Krum, trying to keep a calm mind, but the worries that plagued his thoughts would not allow him peace. It had been the thought of his mother's gift of foresight that had bothered him. He remembered his mother being able to focus her ability around certain people, and predict the major dangers that lay in that person's path. Johnny Wolfbane was supposed to have inherited that gift, and, until he had come to England, he had had pretty accurate visions of the future. Now it was like the future was close to him.

Try as he might, nothing he did could help him see the danger that surrounded Sergei Krum. Wolfbane was first alerted to his faulty ability when Jean Fulver had followed Krum out the back door at the Leaky Bucket. The American hadn't seen anything beforehand that would have alerted him to Jean Fulver's presence. Wolfbane could sense that there was something or someone in Fulver's world that had a part in this struggle; the Muggle had some place in the fluid future that Wolfbane could never seem to see. That was what bothered Wolfbane the most about Fulver.

Johnny's mother would have told Wolfbane, if she were with him, that he couldn't force visions to come; God decided what or what not to show people who had the sight. Wolfbane did believe that the universe was ordered by some higher power. Where else would prophetic visions come from? Despite this belief, it still frustrated him that he couldn't have some sort of control over his foresight. He felt that he was missing something, doing something wrong.

What made matters worse for Wolfbane was that he had not foreseen the attack at the Leaky Bucket or on the road to Hogwarts. His lack of visions unnerved him. That only meant that all the things that had happened were suppose to happen. If he were suppose to stop the Dementor attack at the Leaky Bucket, or Marabella's attempt to take the plans from Krum from happening, he would have had visions about them. Those very thoughts had become sharp, constant pinpricks on Wolfbane's mind. He couldn't quite accept that these events were supposed to happen, hating the feeling of helplessness his lack of visions left him with. It was Johnny Wolfbane's job to protect Sergei Krum, but he felt that, without his precognitive ability, he was partially blind.

A horrible shudder rippled throughout Wolfbane's body. He had been getting those cold feelings for awhile. He kept thinking that he was going to fail Sergei, fail Dumbledore, and that Grindelwald was going to win this battle. Though the icy feelings were far from predictive visions, it still frightened Wolfbane. Johnny stilled his thoughts, and his emotions. If he couldn't protect Sergei Krum with visions, he would use a more practical approach; he would watch over Krum every second he could. Nothing was going to get Sergei, not with Johnny watching over him.

Ever since Sergei had arrived at Hogwarts, Wolfbane had been keeping an eye on him. Johnny knew that there was a traitor amongst them, which just brought his vigilance up another notch. Though Johnny never officially came to see Krum, he watched Sergei through the eyes of different animals, mostly mice, squirrels, or bugs. By watching Krum, he was also able to watch Fulver. Expecting to catch Fulver red handed in traitorous activities, he was surprised by the fact that Fulver, up until the Quidditch match, had hardly left the staff corridor. Of course, Wolfbane couldn't be absolutely sure of this due to the fact that he was busy following Krum around the castle; Sergei had no problem with leaving the corridor.

Wolfbane had enlisted the help of some of the more trusted teachers to watch over Fulver when Johnny couldn't. From their report, Fulver hardly ever left the staff hall, and, despite his confrontations with Professor Vikious, hardly ever spoke to the teachers. Johnny wasn't surprised by the clash between Fulver and Vikious. He couldn't see how that could have been avoided. Vikious hated Muggles, and Fulver liked to push people's buttons.

Johnny Wolfbane sighed, as his disjoint thoughts glided through his mind. Minutes passed slowly through the still air of the hall. The wait for Sergei Krum was becoming tedious for the American. Wolfbane entertained himself as he waited by working on patience and stillness exercises. It was something his mother was very adept at, and something she had passed on to Wolfbane. He sucked in a deep breath and held it, trying to clear his mind of all his worries. He then slowly let that breath out, dispelling all the bad thoughts he had floating around his brain. For a few seconds he had clarity, but too soon his doubts in his ability and his fears shot into his quiet space. Wolfbane tried again, this time focusing all of his will on clearing his mind completely. The peace lasted a little longer, but soon crashed down.

He was about to try again, when the door to Dumbledore's office opened, and Sergei Krum stumbled out. Krum's body trembled, and pain paled the man's face; he was doubled over in agony.

Johnny stepped forward, and was about to speak to Krum, but when Sergei looked up at Wolfbane; anything Johnny would have said would have seemed to be insufficient. Pain undulated in Krum's eyes, and a spark of fear flashed across Sergei's face. Despite his pain, Krum was still afraid of Wolfbane.

Johnny stopped where he was. Here was the moment for Wolfbane to prove that he was no one to be afraid of. Words of friendly intentions raced through Wolfbane's mind, but none of them seemed to make it to his lips. Instead he stood as still as a stone, his usual gruff exterior on display. Sergei didn't say a word, and began to walk down the hall away from Wolfbane. Johnny's mind screamed to say something comforting to Krum, but his body and mouth did not seem to want to cooperate with him. Instead, Wolfbane followed Sergei, seeing that that was the only thing his body would allow him to do.

Krum stumbled down the nearby stairs that led to the ground level, and slowly made it to the main entrance of Hogwarts. Wolfbane kept a good distance in order to give Krum his space, but close enough to see where Sergei went.

Krum led Wolfbane outdoors. The sun was bright, and warm. A sweet breeze rustled the grass, and rifled through the leaves of the trees. Marigolds, violets, and daffodils had sprouted up everywhere around them. Wolfbane sucked in a deep, rich breath taking in the whole of summer into his being. He loped down the hill after Krum. Sergei headed to the lake, whose smooth surface shimmered in gold. All around them children ran and played, the birds twittered in the trees, the bees buzzed, and the wind smelled of honeysuckle.

Sergei Krum made his way to a willow tree, and sat down under its long, drooping arms. Wolfbane strode over to a nearby tree, and took up his protective position under its shade. Krum turned slightly to see Wolfbane near him, his eyes darkling in fear, but all to quickly he turned back to the lake. Here was another chance for Wolfbane; he should go over, sit down next to Krum and chat, though he was horrible at making small talk. He had a feeling he was going to start talking about the dire situation they all were in, and that was not what Krum would want to hear. Wolfbane didn't want Krum to be afraid of him anymore, but he couldn't see what it was he could do to dispel Sergei's fear.

Small talk was never Johnny Wolfbane's forte; Johnny could easily massacre words of comfort and wisdom. Wolfbane did the only thing he knew how to do; he transformed. As a grasshopper he could get close to Krum, and just listen. That was what Krum needed the most, was someone to just listen. After he transformed, Wolfbane hopped over to the side of Sergei Krum.

Krum was lost in a world of memory, his large black eyes looking out over the lake. Something in those eyes registered something in Wolfbane; Johnny had never seen so much sorrow on Krum's face before. The man's features were stretched thin in agony. It wasn't a physical pain Krum was in, but emotional type of pain. Krum was lost in it; it looked like the man was on the verge of an emotional meltdown, his entire psyche falling apart. Wolfbane did the only thing he knew he could do. He said hello, in grasshopper language that is.

The chirp caught Krum's attention, and the tired, pain riddled man looked down on the small grasshopper. Sergei Krum made a move to flick the tiny creature away, but then sighed, and decided against the idea.

"Out enjoying the fine weather?" asked Krum.

Wolfbane chirped loudly and Krum laughed heartily, a look of momentary joy appearing on the man's usually defeated face. Wolfbane swelled up in happiness inside. If he couldn't protect Krum as he should, and he couldn't approach the man without scaring him, then at least he could make Krum laugh. Wolfbane waited patiently for a response from Sergei.

"So am I. It seems like I haven't seen the sun for ages, but I'm sure you're use to this English weather much better than I would be," stated Krum.

Wolfbane rubbed his legs together in response, creating a loud chirp. Krum smiled again.

"Besides enjoying the weather what else do you do all day? Eat and watch us bumbling humans I assume."

The American would have chuckled at the comment if he could, but instead contented himself with two very enthusiastic chirps.

"You're a talkative one aren't you!" Sergei responded, a deep rumble of laughter breaking away from the man's usually grim lips. Krum leaned in closer to the grasshopper.

"I must admit that I hadn't expected the foul weather to clear so quickly," Krum whispered, a childlike innocence imbued in his face.

Neither Wolfbane nor Krum had seen Jean Fulver as the Muggle came up from behind Sergei.

"I hope you're not expecting an answer Krum because you may be disappointed," Jean Fulver said sarcastically. "I expect the bug would tell you that you're a bore!"

Both Krum and Wolfbane were startled by the Muggle's arrival. Sergei seemed to be more angry over the comment, but Wolfbane was more concerned on how Fulver had slipped up on them unnoticed. Wolfbane had an uncanny sense of smell, and could hear voices miles away (though maybe not in the form of a grasshopper), but he had not been aware of Fulver until the Muggle was right behind Krum. He would have thought he would have felt the Muggle's footsteps vibrating in the ground, but he must not have felt them over all the other vibrations from the kids playing nearby. Wolfbane took note of how easily Fulver had come up on them. Johnny was beginning to sincerely hope that the Muggle was on their side.

"And I suspect the Grasshopper would tell you that you're a rude, irritating man with a complete lack of decorum," Sergei responded.

Wolfbane would have smiled if he could. He was glad that Krum had finally stood up to Fulver, even if the comeback had fallen flat.

Fulver stepped closer to Krum and Wolfbane. Johnny had an odd feeling he should move, and very soon at that. Wolfbane hopped away as quickly as he could while Krum was distracted by Fulver. No sooner had Johnny the grasshopper left, did Fulver plop down on the ground where Wolfbane had been, saying as he sat down, "Is that all you got for me?"

Ruffled, Wolfbane took shelter in a patch of tall grass nearby. That had been a close call, and his body was feeling it. Adrenaline ran through Wolfbane's tiny grasshopper body like liquid fire; Johnny fought his body's urge to change back into a human. That might not be such a good thing to have happen at the moment, thought Wolfbane.

Wave after wave of frantic emotion raced through Wolfbane as his heart pumped overtime. It was times like these, when certain events or people caught him off guard, and triggered an unwanted transformation. He had to get his heart under control immediately. Wolfbane slowly eased the rapid flow of his thoughts, as he tried to clear his mind. His tiny grasshopper body was still shaking uncontrollably as his mind fought off the human transformation. He could feel his blood cells racing through his tiny veins. Now it became a challenge to Wolfbane. He would master himself. He was not going to allow his emotions to control his transformations. Johnny bent his entire will on calming his racing heart. Heart beat by heart beat, his heart slowed down to a normal pace, and the violent shaking was reduced to a slight shudder, and then to nothing at all. Wolfbane was able to keep his grasshopper shape. If Johnny was now controlling his transformations better, then maybe there was hope in gaining his visions back.

Wolfbane hopped back to Krum and Fulver. Johnny just realized that if Fulver was the enemy, Wolfbane had left Krum alone with him for too long. Wolfbane was relieved that all the two men did was talk. Johnny relaxed, knowing that stress could be just as effective of a transformation trigger as his emotions.

He came into the conversation as Fulver said to Krum, "You have a son? I didn't know that!"

Wolfbane was just as stunned to hear this bit of news as Fulver seemed to be. Dumbledore had told Wolfbane very little about Krum. Albus had asked the American to watch over and protect Sergei, and Johnny had never asked for more information. Now Wolfbane was curious to hear more.

"My son will be four next month. I was hoping that Dumbledore would have had a way to separate the plans from me by then, and that my family would have been safely brought to England. I was hoping to see my boy for his birthday. He's getting so big, and already is showing signs of magical aptitude. My wife and I are so excited about this. Now it seems I will have to wait awhile longer to see my family. I can't bring them to England now, not when they would be in more danger around me than if they were away from me," Sergei said.

Wolfbane wanted more than ever to have his visions back. Now it wasn't just Sergei Krum he was protecting, but Johnny felt that Sergei's wife and son's lives were in the mixture as well. The American had to find a way to see the enemy that he knew, in his gut, was coming for Krum. As Wolfbane worried once again about his lack of visions, the conversation slipped past him like a stream. Sometimes he would dip into it, catch a snippet of what was going on.

Mostly he tried to stay out of it as much as possible. As the conversation became personal between the two men, Johnny Wolfbane felt more like an eavesdropper than ever before. Jean Fulver may not mind Wolfbane hearing about his past, but Wolfbane knew that Krum would have. To Fulver and Sergei, Johnny was apart of the Hogwarts world, the magical world that was not too fond of people like Krum and Fulver. Though Wolfbane saw Krum and Fulver as his equals, and would never have treated them any different, that still wouldn't have stopped the men from being wary of Wolfbane, especially Krum.

Johnny had instinctually known that Sergei Krum had a dark past before today. Maybe it was the way Krum's eyes would never exactly meet a wizard's eyes, not even Dumbledore's, or maybe it was how terrified Krum became around the Slytherins. Johnny had been with Krum and Fulver the day they met Tom Jr., though at the time he had been a mouse. Now he was hearing about Krum's past for himself, and Wolfbane was discomforted with this. He knew that Sergei would never have told Wolfbane any of this, and Johnny felt it was wrong to hear it.

Wolfbane tried hard not to listen, but caught small bits here and there all the same. He learned that Krum had been ostracized by his family because of his lack of ability. The fact that Sergei had been disowned by his own family had infuriated Johnny, and Wolfbane had to quickly cut off his anger.

Johnny knew what it was like to be treated unfairly for something he had no control over. Though Wolfbane had great magical abilities, and came from a rare blood line of shape shifters, he was not fully accepted by the magical community. His ability to transform tended to be confused with the werewolf breed; werewolves were far from being treated as humans, especially by certain families. Wolfbane was a true shape shifter. If he bit someone, that person wouldn't become a wolf at the full moon, or even change at all. If anything, all they would get was an infection from the bacteria in Wolfbane's mouth, and nothing more. The only people who would get Wolfbane's shape shifting abilities were his future children. That still didn't stop the magical community from being wary of him. People, wizards or not, did not like or accept anything that was different. Wolfbane had been run out of villages before because of his difference.

So to hear that Krum had dealt with the same treatment for something he had no control over, gave Wolfbane righteous anger, but it had also endeared Sergei to the American. He had found a fellow person who had been through the same treatment. If only Krum knew who similar they really were, then maybe Krum wouldn't be so terrified of Wolfbane all the time. Maybe they could become friends. Wolfbane didn't have any friends besides Dumbledore, and he wished he had more.

Johnny was surprised by Fulver's reaction to Sergei's story. Sergei had just finished telling Fulver how his Uncle Vladimir was one of the few people in his family who wasn't ashamed of Krum.

"You're damn right he shouldn't have been ashamed. I really can't stand the people who feel the need to push onto others their ideology. Like this war with Germany. This racial cleansing business is a load of horse shit. We're all human, and we should all be treated as equals. It's sad to hear that that type of hatred has found its way into your world Sergei. I had hoped that by joining this war, that I could do my part in stopping such hatred from spreading," Jean spit out, his face flushed in anger.

I couldn't have said it better, well maybe without the use of the word 'shit', Wolfbane thought.

Wolfbane had never seen Fulver as he saw him now. The Frenchman was angry, more than that, he was livid. Johnny had always seen Fulver in his more sarcastic moods, but he had never really seen the Muggle mad.

Wolfbane had to grudgingly admit that Fulver may not be such a bad person. Jean seemed to fully believe in the idea that all people should be treated equally and fairly. In this one way did Fulver and Wolfbane have any similarity to each other. Maybe Johnny and Fulver could get along, sooner or later. The more and more that Wolfbane learned about Fulver, the less suspicious Johnny became of Fulver being a traitor. Wolfbane wasn't sure if he was being beguiled or not, and sincerely hoped he wasn't.

Wolfbane had not heard what was said next, his thoughts bent on trying to figure out the mysterious man named Jean Fulver. Johnny was still slightly suspicious of Fulver because of the fact that the Muggle had known that Krum had had something with him. Wolfbane had also noticed that Fulver was very resourceful. It had not been an easy feat tracking Sergei Krum all the way from Russia to England. This could mean that Jean Fulver was adept at fooling people.

Wolfbane had also been curious about this Marius, who had given Fulver the information about Krum. If Wolfbane was correct, two Muggles had been told or knew information that pertained to the magical world. Johnny had to wonder if there was a major leak in the magical community. How were these Muggles finding out this information?

Wolfbane felt the clash of his rational mind that believed Jean to be a traitor as it butted heads with his instincts that told Wolfbane that Fulver was trustworthy. Even with all this suspicion and doubt that surrounded Jean Fulver, Johnny Wolfbane's instincts won out against his rational mind; Wolfbane rarely ignored his instincts. They tended to be accurate, sort of like a smaller version of the prophetic visions.

As Wolfbane had been rambling through his own thoughts, he had not realized that the sun was setting, and it was close to dinnertime. The American had been alerted to the fall of the sun when his stomach started to growl.

Wolfbane hopped away from Krum and Fulver. When Wolfbane reached the shade of a nearby tree, he waited until no one was around to see him change, then transformed back into his human self.

He came out from behind the tree, dressed in the black robe he had had on earlier, and started to walk towards Krum and Fulver. As he neared the two men, Jean Fulver noticed Wolfbane first. Johnny Wolfbane stopped a few feet away close enough to alert them to his presence, but not close enough to scare Krum.

"Dinner is about to be served in the Great Hall. Are you guys coming?" Wolfbane asked.

Wolfbane watched as Sergei got up confidently; hope seemed to have been restored to the man. Whatever part of the conversation Wolfbane had missed, Fulver had somehow instilled hope where there had been none before. Jean Fulver stood up as well.

The American noticed that Jean Fulver had a mischievous little grin on his face. Fulver kept looking at Wolfbane, and then back down to the spot where the grasshopper had been.

So the Muggle had known that I was the grasshopper! Johnny thought.

Irritation began to prickle under his skin. Jean Fulver was a little too cocky, and too smart for his own good ( and had almost sat on me on purpose, Wolfbane thought). Deep within Johnny, a trickle of respect for Fulver's intelligence had begun to grow, and Wolfbane was annoyed with that fact. Still Johnny had to give credit where credit was due. Johnny could tell that his emotions were on his face, and that Fulver was reading them.

Fulver pretended he hadn't seen Wolfbane's irritation or approval, as he stated loudly, "What? I'm hungry too!"

Wolfbane grinned, and the three men started to walk back up to the castle.