Werewolves at Hogwarts

Chapter 27

Easter meant chocolate, Remus' favourite holiday of the year. He knew he was a chocoholic but he didn't care, often rationing out the amount he ate so that he didn't gorge on the stuff but Easter was different! Easter meant chocolate frogs, chocolate bunnies, chocolate eggs and a couple of days to enjoy all those chocolatey treats, usually.

"Look Severus, if you don't want to come, you don't have to. I can go up on my own, if you like. I know how terrified you are of werewolves and I wouldn't put you through such a trauma for anything," he said gently, wrapping his arms around Severus' narrow waist and holding him tight.

Severus huffed and unpeeled him, continuing to fold the robe he had been in the process of packing. "I said I would go with you as far as the Isle of Skye and I will. I will find plenty to do tracking down some Greenman's Sea Grapes while you are off howling with the rest of the four legged contingent," he growled, closing the valise and charming the locks.

"I'd rather just stay here and work my way through that wonderfully large box of assorted Honeyduke's bonbons you brought me instead, but duty calls with an insistent voice." Remus sighed again and turned back to his own packing only to have Severus pull him close and drop a kiss on his forehead.

"Are you worried?"

Remus thought about lying, but then smiled ruefully as he linked his hands behind Sev's back. He might know Severus' moods and fancies but Severus was getting far too good at reading him! "Yes, I am a bit. We're introducing the new Alpha Prime to the main body of the werewolf population between Moons, at new moon when no one is in fit condition to exercise their Challenge rights. We are going to discuss law and order, introduce a few new Laws to live by, and I sincerely hope we are going to manage to change our destiny a little, as a people and a nation."

"You sound like one of those American Indian tribesmen holding out for a homeland away from a reservation." Severus sneered, but without any conviction.

"Yeah, well, that's pretty much how I feel at the moment. You wouldn't get me within spitting distance of the Isle of Cardoul if it was anywhere near Moon time, I'm not that rational then. Lord, Severus, being deported and confined to the concentration camp has always been one of my worst nightmares," Remus confessed into the front of his partner's robes.

"We-ell you could always come sea grape hunting with me, if you are that worried love. I wouldn't spurn your company. But if it frightens you that much then I really think you should face your fears head on in the company of your peers." Severus counselled then let out a very put-upon sigh. "I will apparate in with you and make sure you are going to be alright before I go hunting. For Merlin's Sake Remus, I'm not a complete bastard, I can feel you shaking right now at the very thought, so I'm not going to leave you alone until you are more comfortable, I promise you that," he exclaimed impatiently in the face of the werewolf's incredulous stare.

"But you are frightened of werewolves," Remus reminded him uncomfortably.

"Yes, but as you so eloquently pointed out, it is new moon so the likelihood of meeting a werewolf is about as good as that of meeting Tom Riddle at a Festival of Light reunion, yes?"

Remus burst into sniggers of laughter and hugged his partner tightly before straightening. "Thank you Severus, you are wonderful, you know?"

"Idiot werewolf," Severus mumbled, blushing a little as he picked up their cases and shrunk them down to pocket size.

~~*~~

The Isle of Cardoul, the Ministry concentration camp for werewolves, was a place of nightmare and torture and terror. It had featured large in Remus' personal catalogue of fears, and had for a very long time. As he and Severus apparated to the checkpoint, he could feel the build up of terror in his knees and stumbled ungracefully as he approached the small, grey stone building. Severus glanced down and shook his head slightly, wrapping an arm around the slim man, squeezing slightly to convey his support before pushing open the green wooden door and almost carrying Remus over the threshold. Inside was lit with torches, the afternoon sun coming in through the window to spark highlights off the brass fittings on the desk. A young girl in a tartan wrap glanced up and smiled a welcome, as she held out her hand. Severus shook his head when Remus couldn't even get the papers out of his pocket for the shaking in his hands.

"This will be your first visit then," the girl said sympathetically in a heavily Scottish accented voice. "Ye'll be surprised at how many people are just a wee bit frightened when they first come over. I'm thinking you'll be Remus Lupin, for I have been given a description of you. Welcome home, Beta Prime, you have been expected. I'm Kirsty Campbell, Reba of the Highlands pack, my Alpha is Gordon Campbell, Scout. And you'll be?" She turned her wide unaffected smile on Severus, who glared back with narrowed eyes. "Oh. You'll be the Potions Blender then. Welcome anyway."

Remus couldn't help it, he gave a small, slightly hysterical snort of laughter that made Severus glare even harder, but the arm around his waist was rock steady and terribly reassuring, as the girl stamped the papers he had finally managed to fumble out. "I'm sorry if I seem a little silly but I was here before, a couple of months after it opened, and I...."

The girl's expression went flat as her smile disappeared. "Oh. There's a memorial to the slain at the top of the cliff and another at the bottom, if you care to visit."

"No! I've been up, and I've been down, and I'd rather never see that accursed place again!"

"Aye well, you are one of the few left alive who can say that. There's a room reserved for you at the Island Hotel, and Gwyneth McTavish will have your briefing reports all ready for you, as soon as you get there. Enjoy your stay, and I hope we can change your mind about the place."

"And I want to know exactly what that was all about, as soon as it is feasible," Severus muttered grimly as they took the offered apparation coordinates and dissapparated.

Gwyneth McTavish was not a werewolf but a raw boned Scots woman, who showed them to a room in a rather better hotel than either of them expected. It wasn't luxurious by any standards but it was of a standard acceptable to Severus, very nice to Remus. The woman handed them the key and a folder of papers that was heavy enough to raise Severus' eyebrows as she left and closed the door after her.

"Memorial, cliff, explain," Severus insisted as he engorged the bags and Remus began to unpack.

Manually hanging the robes up, Remus stared into the distant past as he began. "Haven't you ever wondered why so many werewolves fear the Isle? Why its very name inspires terror and hatred? I was eighteen years old and just left Hogwarts when the first whispers of a concentration camp came to my ears. Sirius said not to be such a goat, of course the Ministry wouldn't do that to British citizens, not even non-human citizens. I wondered about it myself then did some research. I found the island's location and apparated up here to the main land. Next day I apparated out to this bloody island. There were no wards to stop people apparating in, just to stop people apparating out. Werewolves weren't stupid enough to apparate onto the island and humans weren't interested, but I thought of that and took a portkey with me." He glared up at Severus who looked back slightly surprised. "Oh, the myths about the Isle were fantastic! It was the middle of winter and freezing cold and you know what I saw? Stone barracks. No problem, stone would keep the cold out, I thought, but no, they were all stone; no furnishings, no fires, nothing but freezing icy stone. Did the fifty or so people confined in those stone barracks have warm clothes? No, they had nothing! Some of them were naked; some had scraps of rag left over from transformation. They didn't even have wands; the guards had seen to that. They couldn't even heal themselves if they were injured. Transfiguration wasn't my strong suit but I did what I could, peering in the window because the damned doors were physically locked and the windows barred, but not glazed. Then the guards came! I thought they had detected my spells and stuff but no, they were looking for some sport and had decided to go on a werewolf hunt. They dragged half a dozen people out by the hair; women, kids, men, they didn't seem to care and they made them run, throwing stinging and whipping hexes at them to make them flee. It was snowing, the ground was broken and they had no shoes, so they were easy to track, blood spoor on snow is a no brainer."

Remus barely registered as Severus took the robe from his hands and pulled him down to sit on the edge of the bed, wrapping him close and holding him tight. The memories had Remus and were not going to let him go just yet.

"There was a girl, she must have been about twelve and she was whimpering and crying so hard she ran into a tree and broke her jaw. She wasn't even a werewolf, just a kid who had gotten caught up in the madness, but they beat her up and drove her on, herding her up with the others, laughing and yelling and having a fine old time. One man broke his ankle early in the hunt and the guard nearest him simply cut his throat and left him there to die before going on. I wasn't great at healing charms either - I got much better at battle field charms after that - but somehow I managed to keep him alive, stop the bleeding and put his ankle back together enough to get him hidden in a gully. Then I followed the spoor up the hill into the high places to a cliff top to where the guards had cornered the remaining five people. They herded them over the edge with torches and whipping charms. I couldn't believe it; they thought it was a great joke, counting the number of seconds until the screams stopped, congratulating each other on another job well done."

"Oh, Remy, hush, no more," Severus murmured, holding the slight, shaking form tightly, but he didn't stop, the words spilling out of him without end.

"Finally - after the screams stopped - the men apparated out and I apparated down. The stench was appalling. I couldn't count the number of broken bodies twisted in a jumble and left to rot. I threw up so hard, I burst blood vessels in my eyes and still I couldn't stop. Finally, I managed to get back to the hollow where I'd left the man I had rescued. He was there and he was still alive, so we left as soon as I activated the portkey. It was a rough journey but we made it back to 'civilisation' and Jason Thorpey was taken in at St Mungo's for treatment. He wasn't a werewolf - just a random victim - and it was his evidence that caused the ministry to go out to the Isle of Cardoul and hold an inquiry. You see, after all that, the guards were not even from the ministry, Thank Merlin. They were a splinter group of Riddle's who had seen an opportunity in the lax administration of the Ministry and taken advantage to make their own little playground of torture and terror. They mainly took werewolves, but they also took their families, whether they were werewolves or not. I never got over that, I never trusted the Ministry, still don't, but Oh God, I hated Tom Riddle and all the Death Eating sons of bitches he had branded!" The sheer venom in Remus' voice caused Severus to recoil. "I swore then that his lot would never win, that I would do anything in my power to see that he was defeated and destroyed. I never dreamed it would cost me so much personally, or that it would take so long, but I never faltered in that vow."

The dam broke and Remus began to cry, deep, soul wracking sobs that tore at Severus, who had never heard his gentle partner speak out so hatefully over any matter. The pale scar - all that remained of his Dark Mark now that Riddle was dead - seemed to burn through the heavy black material of his robes and mock him. If Remus carried such hate in his heart for those who took the mark then how did he really feel about Severus himself? Did Remus hate him too? The question caused his stomach to burn and the question to hover on his lips unspoken.

"I'm sorry for being such a wimp," Remus apologised, sniffing inelegantly and mumbling his thanks when Severus handed him a handkerchief. "I haven't cried like that for years. This place disturbs me in the worst possible way."

"Not everyone who took the Dark Mark was in it for the torture, or the terror," Severus muttered softly, apologetically.

"Maybe not you, but most were, even those who managed to avoid Azkaban after the fall. If it wasn't the torture or the terror, it was the power."

"I'll grant you that, it was about power, and being empowered, of having a chance to strike back at those who were more powerful than you were. To be able to use that power to punish those who were immune to any other form of retribution, was seductive. Revenge was the great motivator, for some, and for others like Draco; it was simply expected of them without any prospect of escape."

Remus scrubbed his face and turned in Severus' arms to snuggle into him. He sighed deeply, letting the residual tension slip away as his eyes grew heavy and he slowly went limp as he slept. Severus didn't move, leaning against the bedpost with the sleeping werewolf in his arms, wondering why their past choices were still affecting them so long after the fact.

~~*~~

Severus knew he was hovering, but he had little choice. Remus had woken up last evening, listless and almost pliant, following his orders like a sleep walker. They had gone down to dinner and Remus had hardly touched a bite, nibbling and pushing the food around his plate, even though it was quite good. Later that night they had made love but it had been a strangely detached affair, as if it was by rote rather than passion. This morning, Remus had hardly touched a bite again, making Severus crazy with his compliance with anything and everything Severus suggested. Go for a walk? They went for a walk. Have coffee and some rather excellent shortbread at a small tea shop in the main street? Remus had drunk a cup of coffee when he usually turned his nose up at the smell. When Severus suggested they buy one of the souvenir tartan shawls Remus had agreed, and Severus had known there was something very, very wrong!

"You are driving me insane, Lupin!" he finally roared furiously, managing to give the smaller man a good shake for the first time in his life, and that was worrying on its own. "Remy, please, you are starting to worry me."

Remus frowned, and then raised his head as if he had just woken up. "Sorry? Oh, I'm sorry, Sev, I just.... I feel very strange; as if I hadn't slept for months then all of a sudden I had a good week's sleep. I just realised, too, that I might have said something very nasty to you, and I didn't mean to. I love you; you know that, don't you? And I realise you made your choices for very different reasons to why I made mine. I... I think I want to go and see the monuments this afternoon but, Sev, will you come with me?"

Gusting out a heavy sigh, Severus nodded slowly, opening his arms and closing them as Remus threw himself into his chest. "Of course I will, Love, of course I will."

~~*~~

The place was disquieting, the breeze whistling and sighing over barren rock. The edge was not fenced, but flat and uncompromising, the drop-off, sheer and daunting. Bolted to the living rock, a simple bronze plaque lay unpolished and unremarkable. It wasn't even a list of names, just a flat square of unpolished bronze with a simple inscription.

'We went before'

Severus stood back, his black wand discretely in his hand, as Remus paced the lip of the cliff, totally unaffected by the sheer drop before him.

"The little girl fell from here," he said suddenly, rubbing his toes on a particularly shiny spot. "She was shaking her head and saying "no, please, no" when a hex took out her knees, jelly legs, I think. She wobbled and fell, her arms thrashing, but there was nothing to catch."

Half a dozen people at intervals around the cliff stiffened and turned, staring at the small, insignificant looking man who paced and prowled the edge.

"A woman went here, red hair, like Lily's. I thought it was Lily for a moment and I yelled but no one heard me. What was one more yell in that cacophony?" He shivered, fists clenched.

Pacing further, he looked up and down and across then paused, staring at the rock as if it would speak to him. "Here a woman died, she was torn apart before she went over. She tried offering herself to them in a last ditch plea for mercy, but they just laughed, and sent a cutting curse to take off her arms as she held them out, pleading for her life. What was one more werewolf? Just vermin, that's all." He shook his head and paced some more, finding another spot burned deep in his memory.

"And here two men took a stand. They refused to move despite the hexes and the jeers. I thought for a moment they were going to be spared but no, the bastards Banished them over the edge and counted their screams on the way down." Spinning lightly on his toes, he pinned Severus to the spot with blazing eyes. "And those are only the five deaths I witnessed. What of the countless others who had only their tormentors to watch and record their deaths? You wonder why I hate this place - and fear it - and never want to see it ever?"

"And if you had not witnessed?" Severus asked, low and fierce. "If you had witnessed and run away, turning your back on the whole situation? If you had not found one, and pulled him out to allow him speak before the Ministry and their minions? What then, Lupin? What then? How many more would have died a fruitless and unheralded death, to no avail? Oh, come here, you silly werewolf, before you go over by accident!" he admonished, holding out his arms and accepting the slight man as he was almost knocked over. "And what are you lot looking at?" he demanded, glaring at the audience impartially.

"A brave man," a tall red haired Scot said gruffly, wiping his eyes, holding his children close. "My mother had red hair and was Flame Wind. She died here when it was new, and I think I now know how. We're wizards, and none of us are infected, but we honour her memory because she fought like a demon when the guards came to try and take us all in charge. Most of us got away into the glen, but she was wounded and taken, and she died on this Isle. So now we know how and we thank the Beta Prime."

Severus sighed and held Remus closer, wrapping a fold of cloak around his shivering form. "I'm taking him home now; I hope he is better tomorrow." Severus nodded acknowledgement to the man and apparated away.

~~*~~

"I'm fine, Love," Remus chuckled, reaching up to kiss Severus' thin cheek. "I've looked my ghosts in the eye and I can honestly say they are friendly, not vengeful. So, you have to go and look for some sort of green sea grapes while I have to chair a meeting of the alpha pack members, which might be a tedious chore after these last few days of rollercoaster emotional storms."

"It's Greenman's Sea Grape, you ignorant fool," Severus chided but there was no heat in his tone. "Very well, I will be back a week Friday to pick you up. Do not keep me waiting."

"Of course not, Sev," Remus replied demurely, kissed his cheek and stepped back while he dissapparated from the spot.