Grace

Chapter 1 - A Bigger Monster

"I'm not a child. I'm a monster."

Grace curled up on the bench hidden in the back garden by a vine-covered arbor, wrapping thin arms around her knees. She could feel the tug of the moon overhead, waxing towards full, making her blood sing with a sensation she'd never felt before. She whimpered, pressing her face against her knees, wishing she had Niobe sitting next to her like she had for so many years, to chase away the demons. To comfort her, and tell her that everything would be all right, no matter what the world thought of her.

But Niobe got to go to Hogwarts, had left almost a month ago while Grace sat locked in the room the twins had shared since their mother had brought them to the north country. Locked away from the world, and told she would never have the chance to be a normal witch, to see the wonders of Hogwarts. Even more than being barred from the parties, from shopping in Diagon Alley, the separation from her sister had driven the loss home.

She froze as something moved in the hedges, raising her head just enough to look out into the darkness, her whimpers stifled by a sudden surge of irritation at whoever had disturbed her. A chuckle came from the darkness to one side, and Grace shifted, crouching on the cold stone of the bench with her hands curled into fists.

"Who's there?" Her voice trembled slightly, though she couldn't tell if fear or anger was the greater cause.

"You're a brave child to be out this late, so close to the full moon." The voice rumbled from the shadows, distinctly male, and gravelly. "Shouldn't you be safely tucked into your bed, dreaming of your Hogwarts letter?"

"You're trespassing on private property. And I'm not a child, I'm a monster." Grace glared in the direction of the voice. "What are you doing out so close to full moon?"

"A monster?" The man chuckled again. "Not a very frightening one, from where I'm standing. All blunted claws and milk-teeth, pup."

Grace growled, baring her teeth. "I'm not a puppy!" She stood straight, lowering her head to tuck her chin against her chest. "I am a daughter of the Avery house, and you are trespassing on my lands. I demand to know who you are!"

"Well now, a daughter of the Avery house, are we?" Something shifted in the shadows, moving along the path in the hedges, coming closer. "And if I say I don't believe you, pup?"

"Than you are a fool." Grace fixed her gaze on the movement, baring her teeth again, refusing to back down. "This is my land, my garden, and I did not invite company."

"You don't really have a choice, pup." The moving shadow resolved itself into a hulking form of a man, his eyes on level with Grace's, even with the bench boosting her height. "And I don't plan to leave."

Grace scowled. "Who are you? No one comes here, not at night. Ever. They know there's a monster here that will tear out their throat if they get too close."

"You won't tear out my throat, pup." The man's voice came out in a growl, and Grace jerked away instinctively. "You can't hurt another monster. Especially a bigger monster."

"You.. A bigger monster? You're a werewolf, like me, aren't you?" Grace felt the fear and anger flow away, to be replaced by a sense of curiosity. "What's your name? Why are you here?"

"Who are you, pup?"

"I asked first." Grace lifted her upper lip in a snarl, meeting the man's eyes in a silent challenge. Her territory here, not his.

The man chuckled again, and reached out to grab her by the arm, lifting her from the bench to set her on the ground. "Amusing, pup. I might even let you live."

"The last werewolf I met is dead, you know." Grace continued to give him a boldly challenging look. "The one who bit me. Who made me what I am now."

"You have protective parents, then."

"My parents were at a party."

"Were they now?" The man raised an eyebrow. "You're a strong little girl."

Grace smiled proudly, ignoring the twinge of guilt for leaving Niobe out of the story. It felt nice to have someone admire her, even a little, for a change, instead of the scorn and wary fear she got from her parents, or the pity she sensed from Niobe.

"Fenrir Greyback is my name, pup."

"Honoria Grace Avery." Grace waved a generous hand at the bench. "And since you have introduced yourself, I invite you to join me in the garden whenever you wish."

"Even on the full moon?"

"I'm never out on the full moon." Grace sat on the bench once more, the buoyant feeling from finding someone who approved of her fading under the gloomy reality that in two more days, she'd be locked into the basement, to claw herself bloody trying to leave, to run free under the moon.

Fenrir crouched next to the bench, bringing his eyes level with hers once again. "Do you want to be outside when the moon is full?"

"I always do. But mother won't let me. She doesn't want a monster in her garden then. She doesn't even want a monster out here, where it can't bother her." She scowled, shooting a glare at the manor house that stood on the hill above her.

"Why don't you leave?"

"Because I have.. had a sister. She left for Hogwarts on the first. She left me behind because you don't let monsters go to school. You don't take them out shopping, you don't take them to parties. You lock in them a room, and you never let them out when someone outside the family can see them."

"I don't lock monsters up. I can show you how to run free, like you should, pup. Free under the moon, where your real sisters, and brothers, are always there for you." He held her gaze, scrutinizing her. "If you're not too human to accept it."

Grace looked up at the house again, hesitating slightly. "Why did you come here tonight? Mother isn't a blood traitor, and there aren't any Muggles for miles. Nothing for a werewolf here."

"Except a pup who wants to run free."

"You didn't come just for me. Unless you know father. He's a Death Eater, you know. And he hates me, because I'm a monster. He wouldn't care if I died, or disappeared."

"Call it a favor he owes me." Fenrir's lips curled up in a smile that looked almost frightening in the moonlight, and strangely comforting.

Grace looked up at the manor house again, briefly. "They'll miss me in the morning, when they check on me. They'll look for me. And mum will write an owl to Niobe. She's my twin. She'll know what happened. She'll know I'm alive."

"Why worry about the humans, pup? They'll never find the pack, never find you." Fenrir's eyes narrowed. "Or are you just a tamed dog, a little puppy that begs for table scraps?"

"I'm no puppy!" Grace glared at Fenrir. "And I don't care what they want." She stood, looking down the path, then up at Fenrir, redirecting her anger towards the house and its occupants. "A monster doesn't listen to anyone but another monster."