Werewolves at Hogwarts

Chapter 36

Snape knew how to judge the moon to the second, he knew how long it took Moony to change into Lupin, and he was in the bathroom even as the last convulsion finished.

"Ah Gods, Remy, what are we to do here?" he asked aloud as he studied the length of splintered femur poking out of the torn thigh muscle, the blood flecked foam on the last remnants of a muzzle.

Amazingly, Remus' eyelids flickered at the sound of his voice, the faintest suggestion of a smile lifting the bloodied lips. "Sev..." he managed to whisper before the frail thread of consciousness left him.

Long thin fingers dissolved the collar and bucket without a wand but did not remove the cushioning sack. Instead Severus cast Acclaro over the contents and quickly added further potions as the bathroom door was thrown open and the five werewolves from the other room tried to pile in at once. The younger ones paused when they saw Professor Snape crouched beside their Alpha. The stranger was not fazed, squatting opposite and flicking a hand out to take the pulse on the other side of Remus' neck.

"He's very bad," Drajan said softly. "We have to get him to a hospital that specialises in werewolves."

Snape curled a lip in disgust. "A vet's you mean?"

Drajan drew back as if slapped.

"This is England, werewolves are animals, no better than the family pet, worse as they are probably rabid," Snape stated baldly, staring at the non-human across the injured body of his lover.

"How good are you really at Apparating?" Drajan asked challengingly.

"Good enough to go anywhere you need me to, and carry Remy with me, on my own if I have to." Snape met his bet and doubled it.

Drajan grinned and held out his hand. "Romania, Bucharest, and La Lupus Infirmus" he stated with a feral grin.

"On three?"

"On three!"

~~*~~

Kingsley apparated into the dungeon and made himself comfortable in the position he had occupied for the past five days. Four Aurors hidden under chameleon spells were posted around the walls and best part of the department were waiting for the call. They were barely into position when the cell door creaked open and a head peered around reluctantly. When he saw the captive still swinging on his chains he pushed the door further open and stared around with a puzzled air.

"Looking for someone?" Kingsley asked quietly.

The man jerked up his head and frowned deeply. "Well they did drop off the werewolf so I sort of expected him to still be here," the man offered as if chatting with an acquaintance rather than his prisoner. "I don't know what they expect me to do with a pair of werewolves in my dungeon. It's not like I asked them to bring their troubles to my house, all I wanted was a leg up in the succession, not to be embroiled in their machinations. Did you get Turned by the way?"

"No, no thanks to you, mind. What do you mean a leg-up in the Succession?"

"I don't suppose it matters anymore but all I wanted was for Andrea to accidentally eat my Uncle Moses, then my Aunt Sarah would have been much easier to influence and she would have eventually left me her money. My stupid brother would have married Andrea and taken control of their money and together we could have had a comfortable life instead of eking out this precarious existence taking in Muggle tourists. Believe me, it's no life for a Pureblood."

"And you would have been a party to the murder of how many people just for that?" Kingsley asked in disgust, as the man sighed and sat down on a loose stone.

"Well, no, I don't give a toss about werewolves really. I have a sort of massive indifference, no matter what the Talbots think, but when you owe Samuel Parkinson one hundred and twenty five thousand galleons and he says, 'no interest, no hitwizards, no repercussions, just pay the principal and do me a little favour now and then' what are you supposed to do? Knowing what I know now, I'd say leave the country because those little favours are more costly than his thirty percent interest ever would be."

"Were you a gambler?"

"Worse, I traded a few stocks and bonds on the Goblin Exchange and had to make up a loss. Parkinson stepped in to keep me out of Goblin hands. I might have been better off if he hadn't."

"So instead you took to keeping his victims while he forced a transition on them and killed them for the black market?"

"Or let him bring his marks here to be entertained and softened up before real estate deals. Let him meet unsavoury characters or Muggle business people here without his Pureblood relatives getting wind of his dealings."

"You mentioned the Talbots; do you mean Auror Rodney Talbot?" Kingsley asked as he sat up a little more alertly.

"Who else would he be? How do you think I knew you were coming, that you had escaped but I wasn't sure if you were going to take the werewolf away with you too, that's all? Oh, don't worry; Talbot is long gone back to his crazy wife. If he wasn't do you think I would be sitting here talking to you? You can give up the pretence with the chains too; I did a finite incantatem before I entered so you're slightly undone there. Besides, I won't be going to Azkaban. No matter how little I think of the Family, I wouldn't dishonour them in that way. Upstairs, in my study you will find a Pensieve with all the memories I have of the dealings with the black market potions scammers. It should be admissible as evidence against the lot of them. I hope you will excuse me, I am feeling rather unwell. Must be the Arsenic and Aconite I took earlier, hard on the digestion, really." He laughed as the first really strong cramp hit him then folded up in a convulsion.

The Aurors materialised and hurried forward but they were too late, Grendal Owlwood's heart burst even as they turned him over.

"Bloody Hell! Find Talbot!" Kingsley roared furiously as he straightened his robes.

~~*~~

"The Ministry representative from the Department for the Control of Magical Creatures is here, Sir," Hardy announced as Ron sat tense by his fire, waiting for some word from Kingsley.

He sighed and nodded. "Send him in."

"It's Mrs Stevie Robinson-Talbot," Hardy said, emphasising the Missus with a grin.

The woman entered with a grim glare and took the seat Ron offered, flicking her robes straight with a disgusted air. "I'll get right to the point, Inspector Weasley. You have two werewolves in your holding cells and you have not reported the fact to my department as per regulations. This is a distinct breach of the Werewolf Control Act, and I want to know why?"

Taken aback, Ron frowned. "Because one of them is an Auror injured on duty and the other has done no wrong except be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Regardless, 'if a werewolf is apprehended at the scene of a crime then he is deemed to have been a participant unless indisputable evidence to the contrary is witnessed by at least four persons of fully human stock.' That is the law Weasley so I want those two in my department for sterilising and shipping in the next ten minutes, is that understood?"

"No, it is not understood!" Ron snapped furiously. "For a start, one of them is charged with murder under the Criminal Code of Wizarding Justice and the other is one of the witnesses, not a participant and there are at least seven people to witness that fact! So you can just march your arse back to your little club for anally retentive busybodies and want!"

She swelled furiously and rose to rest her knuckles on the desk, leaning forward to shout in Ron's face. "I know all about your werewolf loving tendencies, Ronald Weasley, and as soon as I leave this place, I am reporting you to the Minister, is that clear?"

"You do that, Mrs Robinson-Talbot, you do just that!" he roared back, rising to tower over her. "And while you are at it, you can tell him that you are totally incompetent at your job, incapable of protecting those under your care and that you need to be replaced in the worst possible way."

She stopped panting and laughed in his face. "Do you really think it is my job to protect the animals? How naïve are you really, you fool. I will return with the order for the werewolves' destruction in twenty minutes. Better get your resignation ready, you stupid little boy."

She swept out, almost bowling Hardy over. "Nice one, Sir, what shall I do?"

"Get those two out of there and stash them at a safe house. Then find Kingsley and get him back here as soon as possible. This means war!"

~~*~~

"My dear Stevie, much as I would like to help you, my hands are tied," Minister Freeburn said regretfully, spreading his hands and holding his wrists together to demonstrate his words. "You know how much interest there has been in the werewolves and other non-human species this last few months, especially when the Family Snape have started investigating the rights and responsibilities of vampires here, compared to those overseas."

"Yes and you should have had that bloody, so-called human Severus Snape in here for real testing! If he's not a vampire, I will resign personally."

Franklin Freeburn shook his head in sadly, "I wish you hadn't said that, Stevie, especially not in those tones. You know they have put sincerity charms on this office in an attempt to er, keep the politicians honest? Well, I'm afraid; you may be forced to resign your position after that statement. You see, Severus Snape was put to rigorous testing at the end of the war and was proved to be utterly human, to all ten places. If that chute delivers a... Oh dear, I believe that is your resignation document ready for your signature."

"What, that's impossible! You cannot force a resignation like that!" Mrs Robinson-Talbot screeched, surging to her feet in a fury.

"No, I can't, but the blasted Wizengamot can, and have. My hands are tied in this matter too...! My dear, please, control yourself. You will be awarded a very good pension, I assure you," he offered with an ingratiating smile that did nothing to soften the woman's ire.

She snatched up the document and tore it in half, tossed the pieces in his face and stormed out of the door.

"Phew, well, that went well," he remarked to fresh air and grinned gleefully. He didn't like Stevie Robinson, never had, and was just as glad that she had forced her own resignation rather than him having to fire her. And it didn't matter that she hadn't signed it, or that she had torn it, it was now official. He rang the bell for his secretary and handed her the pieces. "Stick some spellotape on that lot, Gracie, and activate it immediately."

"Congratulations, Minister, one down three more to go. Who do you want in her place?"

"Who was that young fellow Harry Potter mentioned the other day when we spoke on the fire, Ambrose or some such name?"

"Ambrose French-Jordan," Grace supplied readily.

"Yes, yes, that's him. Bring him in as a Departmental Assistant, can't just make him Ministerial Representative on his first day, now can we. Promote Watts-Bacon up to the position of Acting Representative for the time being."

~~*~~

"Did you give her Murphy and Frazer?" Kingsley bellowed as he came out of the fire in a cloud of ashes, a Pensieve clutched in his arms.

"'Course not, I have them locked down in a safe place, well away from here. That woman is a menace when it comes to protecting those under her care," Ron fumed, still furious after his run in with the arrogant woman.

"Oh, I think she is a bit more than that," Kingsley grinned toothily. She's old Wallatian Robinson's granddaughter, you know Robinson's The Apothecary. Good Lord, Weasley, did you sleep through potions at school?"

Ron flushed red. "Nah, I was more in the line of 'Plotting Snape's Ultimate Demise' through potions when he picked on the Gryffindors and Harry in particular." He stumbled to a halt as the sense of Kingsley's words penetrated. "Potion ingredients, has she been on a bit of a do-it-yourself mission?"

"We were beginning to think so, but now we have to prove it." He laughed at Ron's sudden grimace. "Oh yes, the new ways are a two edged sword when it comes to proof."

"Or we could just throw her to the wolves," Judy murmured as she passed the two men.

"Women!" they exclaimed in chorus.

Judy, Luanna and Fiona rolled their eyes.

"Right, I want...." Before Kingsley could continue, the fire chimed and a woman's head appeared in the fire. "Yes, can I help you?"

"Perhaps, my name is Christiana Edmunds and I am the Alpha Prime of Werewolves of Great Britain and Ireland. We received a howl from one Keen Nose, er, Drajan Murovski of Romania last night to tell us you had been rescued by the Hogwarts Pack and that my Beta Prime was still alive at that time. I would like to bring a couple of my people in on the hunt for the rest of the colour gang, if you don't mind."

"And if I do mind?" Kingsley asked curiously.

"Then you are not as intelligent as I suspect you might be." The smile was definitely a wolf smile, with teeth and sly knowledge embedded in it.

"How many people do you want to bring?"

"Oh, just three; Tracker who knows the scents, Hayborn who can identify those who attacked him, as well as identify any hides you find, and Scout who will protect Hayborn."

"You know we can't take civilians into combat," Ron said uneasily.

"Oh, they aren't civilians, Auror Weasley; they are werewolves, a bit like taking a squad of crups, except they are more useful." The listening Aurors winced at this cynical but essentially true statement. "Besides, most werewolves are pretty much immune to magic, are twice as strong as most humans and are much better at following scents humans don't even detect. Scout is a trained Arbiter as well as an Alpha and Tracker is a war veteran so he knows how to handle himself in combat. Hayborn is also a war veteran and is the retired Alpha Prime so look after him, please."

"Very well, send them through," Kingsley decided. "Luanna, you are the werewolf liaison officer, aren't you? You keep an eye on them and make sure they don't get in the way or get hurt."

Luanna's jaw dropped and she gaped at her senior officer then saluted with a wry smile. "Yes Sir," she said resignedly as Fiona dug her in the ribs and Hardy leaned forward to mutter 'woof, woof" in her ear. "Wolves don't bark," she muttered back, pinching his nose when he didn't move back quick enough, and then giggled when he yelped. "They do yelp though."

The fire flared, killing the up-welling of gossip as the first of the werewolves entered Auror Headquarters very warily. He was a huge man, swathed in a tartan of traditional Campbell plaid, red hair and beard as bright as the Weasley crop. His nose flared as if scenting and he turned to nod to Kingsley, offering his hand. "Gordon Campbell, Alpha of the Highlands Pack; I was trained as an Auror before Turning and have founded our own regulation force which we call the Arbiters, not exactly Aurors but something close. The Alpha Prime wants this case finished so our people can sleep safe again."

"Kingsley Shacklebolt, Divisional Inspector, it's my department that is responsible for tracing murderers and missing people, as well as robberies and thefts."

"Aye, I know, we've been keeping a track of your people for a while now but we lost you when they took you from Roebottoms. T'was lucky your lassie gets on well with the Hogwarts Betas or we would never have found you in time. They're breeding them smarter these days and the bairns are going to keep us on our toes, especially that Hogwarts pack."

"Humm, it rather caught us on the hop too. Ingenious use of parchments and a well thought out plan of attack, but it could have been disastrous!"

"Hah! You want to tell that pureblood beta bitch so? I certainly do not! I fear I am learning a lot of respect for the bitches of our packs these last few weeks, and it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks."

"Now Gordon, you are upsetting the humans, they don't call their women bitches unless they are being insulting," an old voice said from the fireplace, a very old man leaning on a stick now occupied the hearthrug.

"Yes Alpha," the big man nodded sheepishly. "Where's Tracker, he was supposed to look after you during flooing."

The third man was small and wiry; almost falling out of the fire in his hurry to catch up with his Alphas. He nodded nervously to the red clad Aurors and sidled in behind Gordon who shook his head and laid a hand on his shoulder. "This is Terry McCarthy, best nose in the Highlands. He can pick out a week old scent and follow it better than most of us can follow a new scent with the person walking in front of us."

"Good to have you with us. Detective Constable Murovski was also a tracking expert but he went back to Romania this morning on an emergency mission so you will be the one in charge of trailing."

"Murovski helped Snape take Remus to Romania for treatment," Hayborn put in softly, smiling at Ron who seemed to relax a little at his words.

"So, let's see what our pooled knowledge can bring about." Kingsley motioned them all to the conference table and into seats.

The threads are slowly being pulled together, names revealed and people taken. A number of community members prove to be both more and les than they appear.