Werewolves at Hogwarts

Chapter 17

"Take care Remus, we can't afford to lose you."

The words rang in Remus' ears as he entered the Forbidden Forest, the same words Albus always used when sending him on a mission. Only this time there was no war, just a great need to find out what the werewolf population of Britain was up to. Taking the chance while he was without responsibilities, Remus made plans to go to the place where werewolves congregated, a place without a name, just The Place. To that end, he had only drunk three quarters of this month's Wolfsbane potion. He needed the intelligence Wolfsbane allowed him, but he would probably need the strength and ferocity of his wolf nature too.

At the edge of the Forbidden Forest, he found the line where the anti apparation wards finished and dissapparated. The place he was going to was imprinted in his mind and he arrived smoothly without a stumble. The lawn-like stretch of grass was surrounded by tumbled boulders, a remnant from the last ice age. It was cold and snow powdered, but nowhere as heavily banked as in the Scottish Highlands at this time of year.

Looking around quickly, Remus scented the breeze and picked out half a dozen other scents of various levels of rankness. One was just slightly tinged with cologne, a civilised werewolf probably, and a recent turning. He or she hadn't yet learned that you got rid of any human scent from your person before Moon, or you would pay for it in self attacks. Remus held his hands out from his sides slightly, to show he was not holding a wand, and walked slowly into the tumbles of rocks to his left, finding a place to fort up until moonrise. By rearranging a few small boulders, he made a safe hiding place for his clothes and carefully shrank his wand so that even if someone found his clothing, the wand would be very hard to locate.

Shivering in the freezing wind, he huddled inside his cloak until the glow on the horizon announced the rising of their mistress. Someone over to the left gave a guttural groan just before the moon's rays made Remus lose interest in everything but his own pain and struggle.

He didn't dare take the time to rest as soon as he had finished changing, but rose to his paws and slunk to the edge of his concealment to observe. A young stranger was first to enter the arena, moving to the centre and lifting his nose to the wind. He whipped around as the large black wolf walked past him, contemptuously taking a snap at him in passing.

Others emerged; some cautiously, some with a rush, until fifty of the shadow runners were assembled. There were at least thirty packs represented, some in force, some by only one member. Moony waited until he had spotted and plotted as many of the alphas as he could before he strolled out of the cover afforded by the rocks. The majority of the wolves moved out of his way, one or two only giving ground when he growled. Some refused to be intimidated, circling him menacingly as he advanced to the centre of the arena where an old wolf sat on his haunches.

Eyes, burning like fire in the moonlight, watched as Moony approached and sniffed at his tail in greeting. The old one rose and sniffed back, each learning the other's scent again before Moony ventured to lick the old one's face. For a second, the old one resisted then finally licked back, nudging Moony's shoulder almost playfully.

Accepted, Moony sat beside Hayborn and surveyed the assembly, seeing many newcomers, not seeing a number of the old faces or smelling the old scents. Finally, Hayborn gave a sigh and threw back his head, howling praise to the Mistress. Moony joined him, adding his rich deep note to the oldster's bass layer. Others joined in, making up the chorus until the moors rang to the wild and lonely sound. Finally they all settled back and began to socialise cautiously, the older ones conscious of their places in the hierarch, the younger ones eager to appease elders and fight amongst them selves to gain placing in the ranks. Moony lay down with Hayborn and carefully groomed the older wolf's ears, happy to take second place to the revered elder. He knew he would talk to the old man when they reformed.

A pale wolf, reeking of alpha approached, head held low and swinging from side to side. He growled low in his throat, snapping at Moony and pissing on the boulder, barely an inch from Moony's muzzle. Sighing deeply, Moony rose and shook out his coat before springing hard and fast, bowling the challenger off his feet and slamming him down the slight rise. The challenger was fast but not as fast as Moony whose wolf-honed temper, backed by a human keen planning brain, drove at him in a savage and indefensible attack.

The pale wolf tried, tried hard to finish the fight he had picked but the older, more experienced wolf tore into him, literally as well as figuratively. He screamed as Moony's jaws bit down on his windpipe, but the older wolf did not complete the death bite, leaving him gasping and mewling on the grass as Moony stalked back to his position beside the oldest wolf. On the way back, Moony covered the marker the challenger had desecrated, pissing on it thoroughly, and with great satisfaction.

Hayborn chuffed his amusement as Moony settled beside him, head on his paws as he surveyed the now subdued crowd. A female in early season sidled up, offering herself to either of them, the scent of her heat making the hairs on the back of Moony's neck rise. Hayborn rose and hurriedly covered her, fast and hard as wolves usually coupled. Moony knew his elder would be caught up in the action for at least an hour, and rolled on his back, his paws waving as he continued to watch over the gathering. Another young wolf came up and abased himself before Moony, who made a token showing, acknowledging his existence and sending him on his way. Settling his head on his paws, Moony continued to act the regal second in command to the assembled packs, watching the drama unfold until the moon began to slide below the horizon again.

~~*~~

Transition was grim, the cold making every sinew and fibre ache. Remus wished he could just go home, but he had to talk to Jonathon McCarthy, Hayborn's alter ego. The old man was still powerfully built, but the signs of age were evident in the sagging skin and slightly stooped posture. Remus knew that at their next Clan meeting, he would have to challenge the old one for position, and he would win; there was no doubt about that. McCarthy acknowledged his second in command with a lifted bottle, taking a sip and sighing deeply.

"I'm getting too old for this, Lupin, far too old," he said between sips. "Oh, don't worry, this is analgesic potion, not whiskey, more is the pity. How have you been keeping these last few years, Remus?"

"Good, Jon, been working for a Muggle Security Company, but now I am back at Hogwarts with a new pack to train up."

"I heard about Albus' little experiment. Glad you are protected. There's some bad juju around at the moment, my friend. People going missing, people forced to change even when the Mistress is not in the sky, so that their pelts can be culled and made into trophies."

"Albus said ten of our packs had been skinned and cured."

"True, more even. Ah, the names of the dead! Some of the most powerful members of the packs, cut down before their time. It's one of us who puts the finger on the victim but it has to be someone with excellent charms and or potions master skills who does the hunting and killing. I suspected your mate for a while, but then it doesn't smell like his work, too plain and straightforward. No, it's someone we don't suspect, and for a reason we do not comprehend."

"Have you any theories that might be useful?" Remus asked, blowing on his fingers in a vain hope of warming them up.

"No. If it was just the conservative leaders being killed then perhaps there would be a theory, but it's not. Aritmus Aguis was not conservative, a rebel without a cause since the war ended, and such a loose canon. Tobias Horfund was also a radical, but they still suffered the same fate as Moira McDougal and Paddy O'Connell who were middle of the road. Their ideas and political leanings do not seem to be the common denominator, I'm afraid."

"They weren't all alphas, so that doesn't quite cut it either. I mean, they aren't trying to take over the packs with their own people."

"No, I thought of that and tried to contact as many alphas as I could. I think Gorum called to you, yes?"

"Yes he did, he caught up to me in Diagon Ally and slipped a note into my pocket, while acting the drunk. So, what happens now? What can we do?"

"Not much, I don't think, just listen to the wind and keep a nose to the ground, hope someone hears something useful." The old man shivered hard and began to cough. "Let's get out of here. I know a nice little pub in East Anglia, if you fancy a pint."

"Sure, give me the destination," Remus agreed as they both rose and stretched creakily. Taking his apparation target from the other, Remus left a millisecond after the old man.

The stupefy spell slashed through almost empty space, splashing harmlessly on the boulders at the far side of the clearing. A furious string of curses rang out and another slight pop of an apparation echoed.

~~*~~

"The arsehole was too fast for me!"

"I do not need the curses, Mr Blue, a simple 'I failed' will do." The voice was haughty and contemptuous as it came through the flames.

"Yeah, yeah, I failed, like everyone else who had gone after him. The bastard has the luck of the Darkness in him."

"No, no, remember these people were on the side of Light during the war, they have the protection of their convictions of a better world for werewolves and vampires and other such vermin." The voice was now dripping with venom even thought the cloaked figure was indistinguishable from any other in the Apparation Depot. Still, Mr Blue had the feeling that this figure was female, even though the voice was charm disguised. "No matter, there is still a little time and that bloody Auror's investigation is beginning to interfere with my plans. If you--as our candidate--are not in place by Easter then we are going to have to act more overtly before the June Moon."

The second cloaked figure grinned wolfishly in the depths of his hood. "Oh yes, Mr White," he chortled gleefully.

'Mr White' shook 'his' head and apparated away.

~~*~~

Remus almost fell when they apparated outside the Fordham Lock Pub. His whole body felt partially numb and McCarthy teased him about feeling his age as they pushed into the dark warmth of the old pub. Deciding he was probably right, Remus staggered after his friend, trying to rub some feeling back into his legs as McCarthy ordered two pints of Guinness.

Leaning back against the wall, they surveyed the thin company and sipped their beer in silent harmony. Remus reflected on the long time he had known Jon McCarthy, from being a disillusioned twenty two-year-old who had just learned his best friend and his wife had been murdered by his husband, who was also a mass murderer. He had challenged McCarthy in a vain hope the older wolf would kill him, but he hadn't. Instead, Jon had beaten him soundly and sent him off with his tail between his legs, to lick his wounds. Later that moon, the old man had pulled him out of the ditch transformation had thrown him into, taken him to the small, rather rickety shack he kept in the wilds of Cumbria and talked some sense into Remus, even when he didn't want to hear it!

They had become friends over the following years, and then the second coming of Voldemort had caused them to work closely together to try and keep the majority of the werewolf population out of Voldemort's camp. Since then, they had seen little of each other but that made no difference to their rather unspoken but reliable friendship.

Jon cleared his throat. "You know you are going to have to challenge me next time you see me, don't you?"

Remus nodded morosely.

"You are wise enough to lead the massed packs, but do you have the time, that is the question."

"No, I definitely don't have the time not at the moment, not while working at Hogwarts."

"I thought not. I would have put up with Wind Biter winning and taking over, but of course, he is now a throw rug."

"No, Albus had his pelt confiscated and buried in the Forbidden Forest. I even managed to stop Severus claiming more than a few hairs for his potions," Remus said apologetically.

"Ah, that was good of you both. Well, regardless, he is now out of the contention. Who would you choose as the next Alpha Prime?" Jon asked with a lazy smile in his second's direction.

"No idea." Remus shook his head for emphasis. "I am out of the loop totally so I don't know who the up and coming lights are in the new generations. I suppose we need someone who is intelligent and educated, in both human and wolf ways. We need someone who is like Wind Biter in essence."

"Someone who is intelligent enough to control the masses even in the most turbulent of times, also they must be willing to take advice from you. Excuse the question, but what about a bitch? How would you work under a bitch?"

For a second Remus almost choked on his beer, a most distressing mental image flashing through his mind. Then he grinned. "Depends on the bitch," he said, and hid his mischievous smile in his glass.

Shaking his head, McCarthy slapped his arm and laughed. "Who would have thought your innocent little self would grow up with such a filthy mind? I was thinking of Christiana Edmunds actually, mature enough to fill the post and strong enough to make her will into law, yet sensible enough to know when she is being a total prat."

"Plume? Humm seems a good choice. She is someone I always enjoyed interacting with at pack meetings. However, I have never met her human incarnation. Do you think the others would go for it?"

"She's as big as most males, if not bigger than, and as strong as anyone. She is as aggressive as anyone else during the Moon--and she survived the war--so she knows what is at stake should we ever fall to the Dark. I think she would allow the packs to prosper and make sure rogues did not blacken our name, like Greyback did for so many years. She knows the Ways, and I will work with her to make sure she is versed in Lore as well as Law. I will also make it clear that she may take my position on condition she keeps you as second, and you must allow her to win when she does take my position. She is also someone quite important in the human world, so she is well established and knows what is needed to bring the wolves into line with current society."

"Very well, let the three of us meet sometime soon and make plans. A message to Hogwarts will reach me within hours of sending."

They shook hands, finished their beer and--grinning wickedly at each other--ordered another.