Mather's Treaty

"Did you drink it all?" Severus Snape rasped in his low voice. Remus nodded as he brushed a shock of brown hair from his eyes. "Wouldn't want any accidents, now would we?" Snape's voice was coldly mocking and Remus could only inwardly sigh. He had nothing against Snape, really, other than the man was a jerk but there were days when the urge to send Snape flying out a window was strong.

"I'll be fine, Severus. Lock the door on your way out, would you?" Remus gave a derisive smile. "We definitely wouldn't want my fate wished on anyone else." Snape's face hardened and he turned sharply on his heel, slamming the door behind him when he exited the room. Remus heard the lock click and sighed again.

He understood perfectly Snape's fear of him, especially on this night. Being a werewolf on the night of a full moon had that effect on people. Fortunately, with the development of the wolf's bane potion, Remus was no longer a monster every full moon; he was merely a wolf with a bit more human awareness than a normal wolf. He would curl up, nose to tail tip, and force himself to sleep through the evening, awaiting the sun's morning rays to transform him to a man again. Remus would then go through the rest of the month as if he didn't turn into a potentially dangerous creature every full moon, desperate to live a normal, wolf-free life.

Unfortunately, some of those who knew of his problem would not let him get away with living a normal life. Snape topped the list.

The sun hadn't quite set and Remus settled down in the office chair, staring around his chambers with interest. His senses always sharpened before the change and this would be the first time he shifted while at Hogwarts as an adult. Well, that wasn't quite true, he reminded himself. He'd taught at Hogwarts before but that one year had a surreal quality to it, as if it had happened to someone else and he had merely watched everything from a distance. So many things were revealed to him. He'd met Harry Potter, the son of one of Remus' best school friends James. He'd learned that another best schoolmate, Sirius Black, wasn't guilty of setting up Harry's parents for the dark wizard Lord Voldemort. Remus had also learned that the real traitor among them was in fact his third best schoolmate, Peter Pettigrew, who now served as one of Voldemort's lackeys. It was disheartening, remembering the bright-eyed boy Peter had once been, that they all had been in fact. Such was life, Remus knew. Now Sirius was on the run from the law that saw him as an escaped prisoner.

And Remus? Well, he was trying to keep his head above the water and the wolf from the door, so to speak.

The sun's rays vanished over the Scottish hills surrounding Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and Remus took a deep breath in preparation. It was supposed to be a clear night, according to the astronomy teacher, Professor Vector, so the change would happen very soon now.

The pain began in his spine and his brain, working its way down the nerves and muscles. His fingers tingled, as did his toes. The end of his nose went numb and he could feel it and his ears begin to shift. They elongated, and in the case of ears, moved entirely to a position on his rapidly shifting head. Fur thrust through the pores of his skin, burning and stinging. Remus kept his mouth clamped tightly shut. As intense as this pain was it was nothing compared to the internal shifting that would be taking place soon -

- now.

"AAAAUUUURRGHHH!" he screamed, doubling over as his insides began to tense, cramp and spasm. He fell to the floor, whimpering, wishing for it to just hurry. The potion seemed to have dulled his body to the pain somewhat, but it was never enough to completely block out the pain of a full physical transformation. Claws literally sprouted from his fingertips as they curled into paws. A sharp biting sting near his buttocks told him the tail was forming. He curled tightly into a ball as much as he was physically able, human whimpers turning into canine whining.

The pain began to lessen and he cautiously opened his eyes. His vision was no longer in color but in black and white, but he could see much clearer in the dark than he had as a human. His last human thought was that there were some perks to the wolf form but not enough to make him like being a werewolf.

The wolf got to trembling four feet and tentatively stretched sore muscles. Ears flicked one way and then another, tracking down the sources of sounds. The black nose twitched and nostrils enlarged, identifying the familiar and unfamiliar smells of the office chamber. Remus the wolf paced a few times, stopped to scratch an ear and began to explore the office in a curious fashion.

The wolf froze behind the desk when a key scratch on the door lock. The door opened and the wolf tensed. Something inside the wolf knew that this wasn't right. The door wasn't supposed to open; he was supposed to be a prisoner here. He knew that with absolute certainty.

"Remus?" came a whisper and the wolf growled softly. "Oy, he's transformed." The voice and the smell was familiar but the wolf instinctively did not trust. Humans were always bad news, though he wasn't exactly sure why that was.

"Remus?" This voice was softer, higher in pitch. The smell was feminine. The wolf backed up until he was beneath the desk. He no longer growled, unwilling to give away his position. "Maybe we should just go."

"Hermione," the first voice, male and low-toned, sounded exasperated. "They said the potion would make him docile."

"Did that growl sound docile to you?" came the female voice almost waspishly. The wolf tensed. That tone was not friendly. He growled again. "See?"

"Keep it down and keep it friendly. Remember, he's a wolf now," came a new voice, one the wolf recognized. This was the voice of a friend. The wolf slowly crept out from the desk and peered through the darkness toward the door. Four figures were standing there, one larger than the other three. "Like any canine, he senses distrust, uneasiness and fear, as well as confidence and friendliness. No harsh tones and don't be afraid. It will make him defensive."

There was a sigh and a grunt but the wolf wasn't paying attention. That voice was one he knew and trusted, though he couldn't say why. He crept forward, belly scraping the floor submissively until he entered the shaft of light from the open doorway. The smaller human, the female from her scent, gave a soft gasp of surprise and tried to take a step back but her three male companions wouldn't let her.

The smaller male squatted down and looked the wary wolf in the eyes. "Hey, Remus, it's Harry." He slowly held up a collar and a leash. "You want to go outside? Surely you don't want to be cooped up in here."

The wolf recognized the word 'outside' and his tail gave two hopeful thumps on the worn Oriental rug that covered most of the stone floor of the office. The adult male slowly walked toward the wolf, talking to him in a low tone. "There's a good boy, Remus. You remember Albus, don't you? Here now, there's no need to be frightened of me," Albus Dumbledore soothed when the huge wolf backed away a step at his approach. The wolf paused and watched the old wizard with a tilted head. "Yes, you remember me, don't you? Such a good boy. I don't remember your coat being so handsome, Remus. We must take a picture of you sometime in wolf form so that you'll see what a handsome wolf you are."

The words meant nothing to the wolf but he recognized the tone of friendship. Yes, his instincts in trusting this human were correct. If this human could be trusted, he could probably trust the other humans as well; he'd keep an eye on them just in case though.

"What do you think, Hermione? Doesn't he have a beautiful coat?" Dumbledore urged the girl toward the wolf with an outstretched hand. The girl tentatively reached out, clasped it and walked forward, squatting down to the wolf's level after a brief pause.

Hermione Granger stared into the golden brown eyes of the wolf that was her former Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. She surveyed his lush coat and then smiled tremulously. "Yes, he's a very handsome wolf, Professor Dumbledore. Harry, Ron," she turned carefully to the other two in the doorway. "Come see."

As the boys drew closer, Remus' human self shoved to the fore. 'This is Harry.' The wolf stood up from his crouched position and, tail wagging, approached the shorter boy almost happily. Harry Potter gave a soft laugh and reached a hand down, only to get it licked in canine fashion. He sunk his hands into the gray-brown coat and scratched. Ron carefully followed suit. The wolf gave a rumbling grunt of approval.

The four humans laughed, relieved at being accepted. Harry placed the leather collar around the wolf's neck, careful not to get it too tight. A tag that said “Moony – Hogwarts” glittered in the dim candlelight as it dangled from the collar. The three smaller humans urged the wolf from the office and down the hall. Once the wolf had figured out what was going on, Harry had a devil of a time holding onto the leash.

Snape watched the procession go down the hall with a sneer. Dumbledore paused long enough to grin mischievously at the Potions master before continuing on. At the front entrance, though, the headmaster halted. "Can you three handle him alright?" They nodded eagerly. "If you have any trouble, go find Hagrid and then come and get me. Hagrid will know what to do right off." Again the three students nodded and allowed the wolf to drag them outside.

The wolf was ecstatic. He was outside; he wouldn't be cooped up indoors. Why this was a privilege the animal part of Remus Lupin did not know, he just knew it was special. Harry, Ron and Hermione walked the wolf around the grounds, laughing at his very dog-like attitudes; each remarked that they had never thought a wolf would act like a domestic dog. They had expected wilder behavior, but the wolf merely prowled the grounds, checking for scent and sound, peering into the darkness with ears upright and alert.

As they neared the Forbidden Forest, a large grove of forestry not far from Hogwarts that housed many strange and fantastical magical creatures that was normally off-limits to students, the wolf tensed and his hackles rose. Both Harry and Hermione froze, unsure what to do. Ron missed the action and walked two steps past the animal before coming to a halt as well.

Suddenly the wolf lunged toward the forest, his growls becoming ferocious, his teeth snapping and flashing in the moonlight. Harry clung onto the leash but he was still being drug by the wolf despite his heels digging into the ground. Ron grabbed the leash as well, but it only served to drag him along with Harry.

Harry gritted his teeth and ground out, "Hermione, go for Hagrid. If Remus gets loose and attacks something - "

He didn't get to finish the sentence as the wolf gave another lunge that nearly pulled the leash from the boys' grasp. Hermione spun around and made a dead run for the gamekeeper's ramshackle home not far away. The barking of Hagrid's boarhound, Fang, could be heard erupting inside.

"Remus, please, no, bad wolf!" Harry clutched the leash but the wolf's powerful form drug him and Ron to the edge of the forest. "No, Remus! You can't go in there!" The boy's voice turned pleading and for a moment it seemed as if the animal was going to subside and comply. With one huge powerful lunge, though, the wolf leaped forward, snapping the leash several inches from the collar. Snarling and growling the wolf disappeared into the Forbidden Forest mere moments before Hagrid and Hermione skidded to a halt behind Harry and Ron.

"Did 'e go in?" asked Hagrid with deceptive calm. Harry only nodded. "'e'll be alright, Harry," soothed Hagrid. "You kids go up to the castle and tell Dumbledore that this wasn't such a great idea after all. I'll find that wolf, don't you worry."

The three students paused a moment and then ran all the way to the school's front entrance, up the steps, through the front hall and straight into Dumbledore, Snape and the head of their house, Professor McGonagall. "Did he get away?" asked Dumbledore needlessly. It was obvious, as they seemed to be missing the wolf and Harry still clutched what was left of the leash in his hand.

"Hagrid went after him," panted Hermione, her brown hair in wild disarray. Harry could only nod numbly, staring at Dumbledore. Ron had turned back to the front door, staring at it and rubbing his upper arms in an absent manner.

"It's all right," consoled Dumbledore. "He'll be okay. I'm surprised he took off though. Did he find a rabbit?" The headmaster seemed amused.

Ron shook his head, diverting his attention from the door and back to the adults. "No sir, I don't know what it was. He began to growl and snarl at something in the Forest then he lunged, the leash broke and he disappeared. It was like he was going to attack something."

Dumbledore seemed to have frozen a moment and both Snape and McGonagall gave him odd looks. "Headmaster?" McGonagall prodded when Dumbledore made no reaction. "Should we go after him? It will be morning when he turns back into a human and he might be lost."

"Plus he has that collar on," snickered Snape lightly. "We wouldn't want him to choke."

The headmaster seemed to shake himself from his trance and without a word ran to the door. He stopped when he saw Harry, Ron and Hermione following. "No, go back to bed. We'll find him." The three students looked at each other and opened their mouths to protest but Dumbledore stopped them. "No. Bed. Now." Everyone was surprised at the brusque tone but Harry, Ron and Hermione reluctantly complied.

Snape and McGonagall exchanged surprised looks. Dumbledore turned to them. "I want you both to go help Hagrid. Get Remus out of there as quickly as you can. I cannot believe I forgot what day it was. I don't normally believe in that superstitious nonsense," he continued muttering to himself, "but werewolves have an enhanced sensitivity to the paranormal. I don't know why I didn't think of it."

"Headmaster?" asked Snape dumbly.

"I'll be there shortly." Dumbledore spun on heels and literally ran out of the hall and in the direction of his office. Snape and McGonagall traded puzzled glances but did as they were bid. Dumbledore always had reasons for everything; they would find out this one once their task was done.

The two professors reached the forest entrance near Hagrid's house to find the half-giant standing there with a perplexed expression. "What's wrong, Hagrid?" demanded McGonagall, her normally pinched expression turning even more sour. "Where's Lupin?"

Hagrid shrugged. "Can't find a trace of 'im anywhere," the man rumbled. "I could follow 'is tracks about five meters into the forest and then they just up and disappeared." Both professors stared at him in disbelief. "I'm telling you it was like 'e just apparated from the last spot 'is paw prints were at."

"That's not possible," Snape exploded.

"See fer yerself if'n you don't believe me, Professor Snape," gestured Hagrid toward the forest. "I left a lantern there at the spot, but you know I can't see it from 'ere." Both teachers whirled back to the forest, peering into the inky blackness before them. There was no trace of a lantern beaming light back to them.

The three of them stared at the forest with stumped expressions until Dumbledore joined them. "I see we have problems," the older wizard commented idly. "Very well. I shall deal with this. No offense, but I might be the only one that can. Go up to the castle with Severus and Minerva, Hagrid, and take Fang with you. The forest isn't safe tonight and your house is too close to it for my peace of mind, old friend."

Hagrid grumbled but did as he was told.

Dumbledore stood at the forest's edge and walked in several steps. He could make out the vague outline of light from the lantern that Hagrid had left. He took out his wand and murmured softly, "Lumos." The wand's tip burst into bright light, flooding the area a bit more than the lantern but not by much. Dumbledore picked up the lantern and began to walk into the heart of the forest.

It was strangely silent, no noises from animals who were awake in the evening hours. Already disturbed, Dumbledore continued to press on. Normally he would have gone back to his office and researched the situation, trying to figure it out from safe distance, but a friend was out there, possibly in grave danger. A danger that Dumbledore had not taken seriously. It disturbed the old wizard that he could have ignored a potential threat to the school and its residents when other headmasters had taken precautions.

"You are an arrogant old fool, Albus," the wizard remonstrated himself before pausing to try and locate sounds of the lost werewolf. He heard none and began walking forward again. It had been sometime since he'd wandered into the Forbidden Forest and he wasn't sure he remembered all the paths. He had not gotten another ten steps when a piercing howl split the heavy silence.

Fear was laced in the howl and the sound sent shivers up Dumbledore's spine. Worry for his friend's safety superceded any need for self-preservation and Dumbledore ran deeper into the inky darkness. His wand and the lantern cast a very small circle of light around him and Dumbledore prayed that his memory was not faulty as he followed the path to the reason the forest had been called Forbidden.

Dumbledore ran for what seemed like a good fifteen minutes. A stitch formed in his side, burning his insides but he pressed on. The forest echoed with the yelps and hollers of the terrified wolf and spurred Dumbledore deeper into the wooded area. As he could hear the yelps growing closer and closer, they suddenly stopped. Dumbledore stopped as well, daring not to breath as he tried to identify where to go next in his search for the lost werewolf.

One low howl weaved through the trees to Dumbledore's right and the older wizard dropped the lantern on the path, pushing through the undergrowth toward the fading sound. He burst into a small clearing and tripped over a soft, still form on the ground. He regained his footing and spun to look down.

There lying on a mossy bed of grass lay the wolf, its bloody muzzle and chest gleaming grotesquely in the shaft of moonlight that filtered over the body.