Werewolves at Hogwarts

Chapter 10

Looking around his comfortable suite, Remus sighed heavily and picked up his wand in readiness. It was full moon this evening at eight thirteen pm and he hoped he had remembered all the preparations for his group or he was going to be in a real hole.

Last week he had slipped down the passage under the Whomping Willow and gone to look at the Shrieking Shack. It was a total mess! And the memories had driven him to his knees! He could almost see Sirius; wild and insane as he hurtled at Ron crouched in the corner over his rat. He had flinched when he remembered how Harry of all people had Banished Severus into the wall. All three of them chasing Peter over the piano and under the bed until he escaped and the moon had taken Moony without the benefit of Wolfsbane to blunt him.

It had taken quite some time and a lot of magic to fix the damaged and rotting building. Remus had always hated the shack with its human stink and human trappings, which he couldn't get away from. Now, being so much older and a whole lot wiser, he had a few new ideas on how to make the shack more comfortable for werewolf occupation. After a few minutes' thought, he gutted the building, shrinking all the furniture and fittings and sending them to a cupboard in the cellar. He then 'improved' the kitchen, dining area and bathroom, making them habitable for humans before walling them off and putting the handle high up on the access door. There was no need for locks as werewolves couldn't turn handles but there was a real need for very good de-scenting, strengthening and silencing charms on the walls, floor, ceiling and windows.

Next he considered the wide-open space that had been three bedrooms, a living area and a parlour, plus hallways and staircases. It was a big space and he left most of the floor empty and clear for straight running before he put in platforms and ramps at all different heights and angles, making a huge wooden jungle out of the house. There were places to jump, places to run and places to climb that a four footed creature could use to the best effect for fun and exercise. The children would enjoy playing chasing games and hunting games in that playground.

In one corner he set up a den area with a curtain to give privacy and lots of padding for sleeping and resting. He placed a rack holding never emptying water bowls as well as food bowls close to the den site. House-elves would come and stock the bowls on the day of full moon, as well as deliver breakfast to the kitchen in the morning. A waste disposal area was set up at the far side of the room, well away from the food and nesting areas as werewolves were like ordinary wolves in that respect and wouldn't foul their own nests. The work done and the space made as comfortable as possible, Remus had locked the shack and slipped back into the school.

Last evening, he had owled the children and asked them to meet him in the Infirmary where Severus brought their Wolfsbane potion. None of the children had encountered the vile tasting slop and it was rather funny to watch their faces when they tried to drink it. Remus, a veteran of the foul concoction, downed his portion in one and made sure his stomach did not revolt by will-power alone. He caught Severus giving him a piercing glare and smiled back, determined not to rise to his provocative remarks or inflammatory comments. Besides, the constant smiles and gentle replies drove Severus insane when he couldn't get a rise out of his target.

Even Severus had almost had to smile when Andy managed to empty her goblet then gasped, "gimme a chocky, gimme a chocky", one hand groping in mid air.

"That, wouldn't be wise, Miss Path," Severus said in his measured tones, his lips twitching as he studied her plight.

"Wolfsbane potion has a rather unfortunate reaction to sugar so you have to wait half an hour before you can eat anything," Remus said in commiseration. "You might like to wash your mouths out with some water but do not swallow it."

"You're no fun," Severus muttered out the side of his mouth then snapped his jaw shut when he realised whom he was speaking to.

"I know, Sev, but you know how torture makes your 'blood pressure' rise," Remus teased back, unable to resist.

Severus sneered and snatched up his flask before striding away, Poppy shaking her head as he went. "If that man could be any more contrary, he'd be coming back the other way! It's almost as if he hates you for what you did for him," Poppy said huffily. "Doesn't he realise he would have died or spent the rest of his days in St Mungo's special ward if not for you and Molly?"

"He doesn't remember, Poppy. The day he remembered who he was and what he was, he shut up our love and everything connected with it behind solid walls so that Voldemort would never find it. Unfortunately, he forgot to release it at the end of the war and so it has never come back to him."

"Then you should remind him, Remus. You don't deserve his temper or his constant sniping."

"When its time, Poppy, when it's time," Remus assured her, then turned to smile at the avidly eavesdropping children. "Ten more minutes and you can eat or drink anything you like. In fact, by the time we get down to the Great Hall, it will be perfect timing. Tomorrow night, we will meet at the Whomping willow at seven-thirty after dinner and go in together. Bring your wands and a change of clothes, as well as your schoolbooks. Your teachers will give you some work to do so you don't fall behind. We will be spending the day after tomorrow resting and studying while we recover from the moon."

"You mean we don't get a free day off?" Malcolm complained laughingly.

"Nope, no rest for the wicked--just more homework."

"You're no fun!" Andy proclaimed dramatically, doing as good an imitation of Snape as any Remus had heard.

He burst out laughing and chased all four of them off to dinner.

~~*~~

"Okay, there is a locker each in the bathroom with your name on it, as well as bath towels. I didn't bother with bathrobes as I tend to shred clothes during the change and towels fall off much easier." Remus said trying not to blush. "The wand box is just outside the door; the latch is wolf-proof so we won't get into them by accident. I once ate a wand and it disagreed with me terribly."

Malcolm sniggered and tossed his stuff into the locker. "Does Andy have a room of her own?"

"There is a curtained-off area for Andy until the change hits, then I don't think any of us are going to care."

"Sir?"

"Yes, Charlie?" Remus smiled as he put his own things into his locker and closed the door.

"I--I brought my ball, can I leave it out to play with?" the boy asked uneasily.

"Of course you can. I have a few things for us: a rope pull, a couple of kongs and a Frisbee, which I believe was Andy's request." He grinned slyly at the girl who widened her eyes in outrage, then giggled.

"I didn't think anyone would have heard that," she commented, relaxing a little.

"I'm a werewolf, I can hear a fly land at a hundred paces, don't you know?" Remus said in a snooty accent and avoided her rush nimbly as he shot out of the confined space and into the kitchen area. "We will eat breakfast in here and do some study, also treat any wounds that come to light. First person to recover checks the others for wounds and either wakes me or Malcolm or Andy as soon as possible. I don't anticipate any bad wounds, as the Wolfsbane tends to curb those problems. So, have a good moon change and who gets the bathroom first?"

Very self-consciously, the five of them sat in a row on the thick padding, wrapped in their towels. Charlie was the most relaxed, rolling his ball between his hands as he waited. Paul huddled into himself, gnawing his lip and trying not to cry as the tension moved through him. Remus reached over and drew him close, stroking his hair gently as he knew the boy would be very sensitive.

"I think this is the worst part, the waiting for the inevitable. I know it's hard, but try to relax and go with it. Remember, you aren't alone this time, there are five of us and we are all in the same boat. Remember the water bowls are over there and they are never empty so drink as much as you like. That corner over there is self-cleaning so it will be the designated toilet area. Ha-augh. It's time!" He gasped as the first pains hit.

With surprising speed, he managed to shuffle back and give a little more room to the small body on his left which was in the process of tying itself in a knot as Paul howled in anguish. A second, even higher-pitched howl joined his as Andy convulsed on his right and then he lost interest in any of the others as his own body began to crack apart and rebuild itself.

Time lost meaning as the waves and pulses of change ripped through with claws of fire. Senses changed, sight becoming monochromatic, smell becoming colour and texture. The soft/bone pale wolf cub on his forehand was whimpering softly while the bigger red/sharp cub tried to lick his ears in comfort. To his offside the sweetbriar/golden hay female was just beginning to stir. Beyond her was a challenger, storm dark/sharp bitter who was on his feet and sniffing carefully.

Moony rolled to his feet, shook amber musk/gold over them all and trotted off to examine the area, marking the boundaries with care. Red followed him; bouncing along eagerly on his heels, tail wagging furiously as he pranced. Moony dropped his jaw and panted at the cub's eagerness, but continued to mark his territory before going back to the den. Sweetbriar was on her feet and nosing the small cub carefully, encouraging him to get up and look around. The pale one was weak and unsteady on his legs but there was no scent of sickness around him. Moony nudged him in the ribs and pushed him toward the water. The cub stumbled but managed to get to the bowls and drink. Storm was grumbling and growling, sniffing the markers, and then he did the unthinkable, he cocked his leg and covered the Alpha's mark without permission.

Snarling, Moony hit Storm so hard the younger wolf was thrown off his feet, slammed into one of the platforms and sprawled on the floor. Moony was on him again in a second, grabbing his throat and tossing him aside like a bag of rags. The female and cubs fled back to the den site as Storm managed to get to his feet and fly at Moony, teeth bared. Moony let him come, blunted his charge on one shoulder and buried his teeth in the younger wolf's shoulder, tearing him down and rolling him onto his back. Huge jaws clamped over Storm's windpipe and he gasped a wheezing rasp as the older wolf closed his jaws. A few seconds of futile struggle convinced Storm that he was beaten and he submitted with a whine of terror that turned into panting gasps as his throat was released. He didn't dare move as the older wolf walked away from him, staying exactly where he was, on his back with his tail tucked up over his belly. He stayed there until Moony looked back over his shoulder and wagged his tail slightly, accepting his surrender.

Rolling to his feet, Storm limped heavily over to the water while Moony repaired the marker and Sweetbriar sidled over to rub her head on his jaw. Moony licked her jaw in acceptance and wandered over to the cubs, accepting Red's fawning greeting while he surveyed Cloud. The cub was still shivering but was taking more of an interest in his surroundings, sniffing at the ball Red kept rolling at his legs. Suddenly Sweetbriar grabbed the ball and took off with it, Red yelping and following her as she raced up the nearest ramp and jumped the gap to the next platform.

Red didn't think but followed her in a flurry of paws and tail, sliding into her and knocking her over the side of the platform. She yelped and landed with an ungainly splat on the platform below but jumped up and leaped high trying to get back at the laughing cub that bolted. Storm flicked his chin and asked permission from Moony before he joined in and tackled the robust cub that howled his ire and chased the much bigger beta wolf, jumping and grabbing at the ball he held high in his jaws.

Moony sat down laughing beside Cloud and licked the cub up the side of the neck encouragingly. The cub ventured forward carefully, trying to move like the others but after taking two steps, he stopped short and whined slightly before he very cautiously took another step. He panted hard and took another step then turned to look back with wide, wondering eyes. Suddenly he threw back his head and howled a squeaky, wobbling rise of sheer joy before bouncing clumsily up the ramp. The other four raised their muzzles and howled in harmony, Moony's deep full-blown howl making the charmed windows shudder.

~~*~~

The watcher on the hill shivered as the moon began to set. Even warming charms were not enough protection against the icy bitterness of a bright, clear September night in Scotland. Not that it wasn't a beautiful night; the lights of Hogsmeade all but out in the distance, the stars blazing high in the night sky. Even better, there had been no human or magical interference with the old shack which occupied most of his attention. The few people who knew of his intent thought he was totally mad, even Harry, but still, strange things had been happening to werewolves and the five wolves locked up in the Shrieking Shack were a sitting target if anyone chose to attack them. He was very glad of that as he had no idea of what he would do if there was a problem. Still, he felt better that he was guarding them, he thought wryly as he blew on his fingers for the millionth time and wished the rotten cold night was over without incident.