Werewolves at Hogwarts

Chapter 16

The portkey Andy had sent deposited Malcolm on the front portico of an imposing Georgian country home in Surrey. A house-elf opened the door and took his trunk as another showed him to a large morning room were half a dozen people were waiting. Andrea was sitting on a small sofa with a young man, who looked to be a few years older than her. She jumped up as soon as the elf announced him, gliding forward with both hands held out to kiss his cheek. Expecting a sort of continental greeting, Malcolm was not quite prepared for the soft touch of her lips. "Thank Merlin you are here!" she barely breathed the words. "Play the boyfriend, explain later."

"Sure," he breathed back and stroked a finger down her cheek gently.

He straightened and slid an arm around her waist as her mother came forward and held out a hand. Malcolm took it and kissed the fingers most politely, "Madame Leger-Path, so nice to see you again," he murmured like the well brought up young man his parents had tried to make him for years.

"Still so charming," Elanora murmured back, placing her hand on his arm as she took him to introduce him to the company.

The young man, who had been sitting so attentively with Andy, was Nathanial Owlwood a cousin of some sort. He scowled at Malcolm like he was the interloper. Malcolm simply raised a corner of his lip, showing a hint of fang, then ignored the man totally as he made small talk with the girl on his left and his hostess on his right. It wasn't until almost mid afternoon that he managed to get Andy by herself and ask what on earth was going on.

"Oh Godric, I am so sorry, Malcolm. It seems Nathanial has decided that, since my Father died and Mother is on her own, he should step up and marry me. That way he has a shot at the Succession. Not that he does of course, since I am only twelfth in line. There would have to be a terrible disaster for me to step up as Head of Family. The trouble is, he is a bit thick and just doesn't seem to understand the meaning of 'go away'." She sighed, flopping into a chair in the small sitting room attached to Malcolm's bedroom. The suite was something of a shock to his system, but very comfortable. In fact, Andy's whole way of life was that of a young aristocrat, a genuine pureblood after all.

"So you want me to play the boyfriend to scare him away? Does he know about Sweetbriar?"

Andy giggled and stretched vigorously. "Well, I told him, but he seems to think that it is not such a bad thing. I haven't quite worked that one out yet, but there you are. Who can figure out an idiot like Nath? Oh, by the way, Professor Snape came through! A couple of vials of Wolfsbane were delivered to me this morning. We can take them this afternoon and be safe for tomorrow. I had Hetty, my house-elf, go down and fix up my cellar more comfortably. I had her include a couple of more rooms, plus a few platforms and ramps to play on, things we have learned from the Alpha. Here's your potion, cheers!"

They drank and shivered in disgust at the same time, then laughed at each other before strolling out, hand in hand. Jealous eyes followed them as they giggled and hugged. Their easy affection was far too visible for the watcher to cope with.

~~*~~

Waking from her transition induced sleep; Sweetbriar nuzzled Storm's neck then bit his ear when he didn't respond fast enough. He woke with a yelp and whirled on his attacker, only to see the tip of her tail disappearing up a ramp. The chase was on, the pale wolf leading him a merry dance over the ramps and platforms that had been spaced around the large, comfortable cellar. Since the house-elf who had put them there wasn't entirely sure how her mistress wanted them arranged, they were fluid, and moved position and height at random, which added an extra dimension to the game of tag.

When Storm finally cornered Sweetbriar at the very top platform of the cellar, she submitted merrily, licking his chin and fawning over him until he flopped down beside her and they groomed each other while they caught their breath. Finally, shoulder to shoulder, they made their way down through the intricate forest of platforms and ramps to the water source to slake their thirst.

At ground level, Sweetbriar saw the small doorway and went to investigate the opening curiously. Magic tingled over her nose and she yelped; Storm immediately at her side as they both tried to get through the hole together. Using his teeth, Storm nipped her nose and drove her back as he shouldered his way into the next room, cautiously testing the air. It stank of human terror, the sound of harsh, terrified panting strenuously being controlled making his ears perk up. Sweetbriar almost pushed him over onto his nose as she shouldered him out of the way so she could look too. Both wolves approached the whimpering bundle on stiff legs, teeth bared ready for any attack.

Andy, inside Sweetbriar's mind, knew the person was her uncle, a rather pompous man who liked to pontificate on what the family was, and what was owed to the family. When she had last seen him at afternoon tea, he had been trying to convince her mother to find a new husband and get another heir as the current one was now unsuitable. He thought Andy would not be able to hear his low voiced tirade but werewolf ears were much keener than human ones. She sat down as Storm prowled around the man, sniffing at the chain that bound his legs and arms. They both drew back hurriedly when the man fouled himself in terror.

Wolf language did not cover human situations, but Andy managed to tell Storm that this was a relative and they should just leave him alone. Dropping his jaw in wolf laughter, Storm nudged her shoulder and they trotted off to explore the rest of the cellar, finding it to be very uninteresting to wolves. Sweetbriar checked on the uncle once more before they left the boring place and returned to their game of tag in the bigger, more interesting space. The house-elf had left them some bones and a large tray of both raw and cooked meats, even some cubed and de-boned fish as a treat. Andy ate the fish while Storm shuddered and devoured the grilled t-bone, then both settled to break open the beef bones and feast on the rich marrow inside.

Sated on good food and healthy exercise, they curled up nose to tail and drifted off to sleep until transition woke them both. Malcolm was the first to recover, groaning as strained muscles protested his movement. Getting to his knees, and using the wall as a lever, he made it to the shelf where their wands and clothes were stored. He quickly cast a muscle relief charm over himself, and over the still sleeping Andy, then covered the sleeping girl with a soft blanket. Pulling on the equally soft woollen robe he had left for morning, he padded out of the den area and stretched mightily.

As his muscles moved and the bones cracked into place, he remembered the man in the other room and hurried over to duck in through the low entrance. Calling lumos he blinked at the sad and sorry state of the fellow lying in his own filth surrounded by wolf tracks. The man had a lot of very small cuts and nicks over his skin, and the smell of blood was still quite strong in Malcolm's sensitive nostrils. Undecided, Malcolm was about to approach when a commotion started in the outer room. The man jumped awake, but was prevented from making a noise by Malcolm's hand over his mouth.

"Shush," he murmured softly as they both strained their ears.

"Andrea! Wake up! Oh Merlin, there may have been a terrible tragedy!"

The voice was female, backed by at least four other male voices. Eyes narrowed, Malcolm quickly cast a cleansing charm over the man at his side and tapped the chains at his wrists and ankles, transforming them into a grey robe. The man nodded silently as they both rose and tiptoed to the doorway.

"Your uncle Moses is missing and Aunt Sarah said he was going to fetch a bottle of wine from the cellars last she saw him. We traced him to this cellar," a self important voice said pompously.

"Did you now?" Andy said softly, her voice still raspy from the night before. "And do you think we might have eaten him or something?"

"Oh no, oh Merlin no! Tell me it isn't so Andrea dear! Oh, oh, oh, there's blood and bones all over the floor over there, you animal!"

Malcolm stiffened angrily but the man at his side held him still.

"I'll bet you heard the old boy telling your mother you weren't a fit heir anymore and you decided to get your revenge, as well as move yourself closer to the succession," someone else taunted hatefully.

"You know Nathanial, you really are a fool." Andy laughed, wrapping the blanket around her body as she rose and went to pick up her wand.

"No! Don't let her.... Stop her!" There was a struggle and a yelp and a string of curses.

Andy laughed gently. "I am a werewolf, you idiot, ten times stronger than a normal human and a ruddy sight faster than you. Now before we all have hysterics, who tracked Uncle Moses down here? Well? Oh, so no one tracked him, you just all trooped down here because Nathaniel said so? And how did you know where my cellar was Nath? The wine cellars are over in the east wing not here in the west wing."

"Yes, that is an interesting question, isn't it?" another male voice said quietly, a hard note in its depths.

"Claude," Moses muttered in Malcolm's ear. "He's a sensible chap and current heir. Let's see what he makes of it."

"Well.... Well.... I just assumed if he got lost and started wandering. Bumped into random doors, you know? Found more than he expected," Nathanial blustered, looking around wildly. "Grendal, you tell them, you thought that might be how it was."

"Now that makes more sense than that idiot Nathanial bopping me on the head and tossing me in here in chains. Grendal would think of something like that and let little Andrea take the blame, or you of course, probably better if it was you. And he would use it to blackmail both Andrea and Elanora in the future, he's just the type," Moses muttered as the accusation and counter accusation went on. "I gather this place is apparation proof?"

"Doubt it, wolves don't do magic," Malcolm murmured back.

"I think I will go and get lost in the wine cellars then there will be no questions asked. Tell Andrea I will speak to her and her mother later today. Make a noise to cover my going, will you? What an interesting turn up, this is!"

Malcolm ducked out of the doorway and cleared his throat loudly as he approached the party. "Is there a problem here?" he asked, moving to Andrea's side and putting an arm around her shoulders. "Why don't you go and get dressed, Andy? If you lot will clear off and give us some privacy."

"They think we ate Uncle Moses last night," Andy said in amusement as she looked up at Malcolm, her eyes asking the question.

"Nah, couldn't have eaten half a human last night, I'd be full this morning. I'm still hungry and looking forward to breakfast, aren't you Andrea?"

"Now that you mention it," Andrea muttered, a small smile playing around her lips.

By the time Andrea came back from changing, most of her relatives were wise enough to make their way up to the breakfast room where the house-elves had laid down a veritable feast of breakfast goodies, including, Malcolm noted with a smile, Muggle cornflakes and Rice Crispies. It was one thing to confront a lone teenage girl whom they had known all their lives, quite another to face a full grown man of unknown temper and strength.

The uncles and aunts were still shooting the young couple accusing and frightened looks when the door opened and Moses wandered in with his nose in a large book. He was quite amazed at the commotion his appearance caused, glancing about in surprise as his wife threw herself on him with wails and tears. Malcolm and Andy watched the people around the table, catching a couple out, as the older man managed to shake off his wife and find a seat at table.

"That Andy ate me? Dear oh dear, no. I found some very nice Bordeaux and made myself comfortable in the library for a little read. Damme if I didn't fall asleep and I gave myself a terrible crick in the neck. Must have dropped my wand somewhere in the wine cellar, couldn't find it this morning."

"There! I told you my little girl would not be so rude as to eat her uncle," Elanora exclaimed to the table in general. "Now may we all eat in peace, instead of being so silly?"

Later that afternoon when Elanora heard the real story, she was shocked and horrified. "But who hates us so much that they would want to hurt my daughter like that?"

"Well it would solve the inheritance problem very nicely," Moses mused, stroking his beard.

"How would that help?" Malcolm asked when no one else seemed disposed to explain.

"I told you I'm twelfth in line, mother is eleventh and Uncle Moses is fifth. If three of us are taken out then everyone budges up one or three places. Now, if they take out Uncle Moses, blame you and marry mother or me using the incident as a blackmail tool, then we would all have to look out for our lives."

Malcolm stared at the girl then at the other two in the room. "My God, you purebloods are totally crazy! What could be worth so much that you scheme to kill your own family for it?"

Moses and Elanora looked at each other and shrugged. "Family politics, he who controls it... controls it."

"Like I said, mad!" Malcolm shook his head. "So what happens now?"

"Nothing much, we keep our eyes open for any unexplained incidents and see if we can decide who the problem is, and who the driving force is. I'm glad Andrea is going back to school as soon as the holidays are over. It may become too dangerous for her if someone is really trying to use her as a pawn." Moses said thoughtfully. "By the way, why didn't you eat me last night?"

"Wolfsbane potion, one of our professors brews it for us."

"Ah, that would be Snivellus then, sorry Severus Snape. He has a brilliant mind, the personality of a rabid snake and the temper of badger with its paw in a trap?"

The two younger people looked at each other and grinned. "That would be him."

"I went to school with him - and the Marauders too - always at each other's throats. Yes, Snape would be capable of brewing such a potion successfully. Does he still look like an unwashed vampire just emerging from the crypt?" Moses asked then laughed sharply when they both nodded. "Look out for him lad, he's a shirt lifter, you know, no big secret, not after Black finished with him but all the same, a little caution goes a long way. The school board were somewhat miffed, but they can't afford to lose his abilities with potions, or the prestige he brings to the school as a published and well respected author. As long as he keeps his aberration away from the children, they tolerate him. Well, this is not carrying our cause any further. What time does this shindig of yours start Elanora? Oh dear, Sarah will want me to get dressed far too early as usual." The older man rose, shook Malcolm's hand, kissed his niece and her mother, and wandered out.

"Yes indeed I had better go up too. Just call a house-elf if you need anything, Malcolm, dear," Elanora said helpfully and hurried off.

Malcolm sat thoughtfully for a few minutes then turned to Andy with a sigh. "I know he is your relative and everything, but I can't help disliking your uncle somewhat. He has a mean streak in him, and he was very nasty over Snape."

"Humm, he is a bit much at times. Oh well, the ordeal is nearly over, New Year's Eve at last. Have you got your robes all sorted out?"

"Formal black velvet and silk," Malcolm told her cheerfully. "Dad even gave me some of the family jewellery to wear for the evening. Hope you like earrings on men."

"Hope you like them on women," Andy teased as they left the small parlour and parted ways on the stairs.

~~*~~

"I'm sorry Mr White, the plan didn't work, and both Moses and the werewolves are alive and well this morning."

The green flames crackled but a head didn't appear even though the voice came through clear enough, although a bit high pitched, he thought. "Failure is not acceptable, Mr Yellow! You will try again over the holidays and see if you may compromise your targets in any way. Moses may need to be--eliminated--in another way, but that is now none of your concern. Goodbye."

'Mr Yellow' drew away from the fire and glared at the mantelshelf for a long few minutes, drawing down mental curses on 'Mr White's' head, and on his targets for being so disobliging as to not murder Moses Leger. For Moses, he hoped the new death was just as terrifying and just as painful as being torn apart by werewolves. "And a damned sight more effective," his alter-ego jeered as he stormed out of the room.