113Remus Lupin was on a mission. His steps were determined, but silent as he stalked down the dingy Alley, passing unseen in the shadows of the rundown buildings. His usually soft and friendly brown eyes were glowing a nearly golden color, showing proof of what he was and that his wolf was very close to the surface.
The usually mild-mannered man normally had much better control of his more animalistic side. On a normal day you would be hard-pressed to even tell that he was a werewolf. But this was not a normal day. The lone pup of his now dead pack was missing. He knew she was still alive, the girl was far too stubborn to have died without a long, drawn out fight that would have been noticed by others. While Remus may not have known Astrid as well as Sirius did, he knew she was a survivor. He would find her, the last remaining member of his pack, and never let her out of his sight again.
Which brought him here, deep down Knockturn Alley, and standing in the shadows across from a frequent hang out for dark creatures. It was a Bar and Inn, much like the Leakey Cauldron in Diagon. It didn't have a name, but most just called it the Den. Remus, himself, had never been there as most other dark creatures looked down on him for his support of the light. Of course, most didn't realize that he didn't, in fact, support the light. He actually hated must of their ideals. He was loyal to his pack though, and they had either been as light as could be (James and Lily) or wanted to be light and stick it to his family (Sirius).
The reason that Remus had even ventured to this place was just now exiting the Den and stalking toward him with the grace of any top predator. His hair was wild and silver-grey in color, his eyes a golden amber, and a sharp goatee adorned his strong face. His gate was smooth and even, his posture confident and aggressive and his frame was much larger than average. He was the Alpha Werewolf that ruled these parts. Fenrir Greyback.
"Lupin." The Alpha's voice was a rumbling growl as he stopped a couple of feet away from the lone werewolf. His animalistic and nearly feral eyes bored into the younger wolf as Remus's own golden eyes met his own, then looked down in slight submission, though he refused to bear his neck. Greyback wasn't his Alpha, after all, but Remus was in his territory now, so some respect was due if he wanted to get what he came there for.
"Greyback." Remus kept his voice even and devoid of any type of emotion, which would mostly be negative toward the one that turned him so many years ago.
"What is the Light's pet doing so far in my Territory? Finally grow a spine and decided to jump ship?" His tone was mocking as he watched the other werewolf stiffen and the scent of anger drifted toward him for a moment before the younger male reigned it in.
"No." Remus fought not to snarl the word as his wolf raged at being called a pet. "I need to see the Dark Lord."
Greyback couldn't hide the widening of his eyes, or the scent of surprise quick enough and Remus nearly laughed but refrained. He needed to stay off of Fenrir's bad side if he wanted to succeed in his mission, which was getting to Voldemort.
Oh, he knew that the Dark Lord didn't have his pup. Severus had smelled completely honest when he had reported that. But he had a feeling that the Leader of the Dark would know her general whereabouts, if not her actual location. The man had always seemed to know where the girl was as every year they seemed to run afoul of each other.
Remus very rarely actually listened to his instincts. He had spent the majority of his life denying his wolf in every way. They had tried to warn him that the Rat wasn't trustworthy, that Dumbledore had a hidden agenda, and that his pup was in danger constantly. He had ignored it all and look what happened. So, now that his instincts were telling him that the Dark Lord could help him find Astrid, he was finally listening.
"You want to see the Dark Lord. You?" The disbelief was clear in the larger male's voice. "What makes you think I know where he is, or would even take you there if I could? I should kill you for the assumption!"
Remus growled at the threat, but he made no other aggressive move. "I'm missing the last member of my pack. All I want is to ask if he knows where she is."
Fenrir narrowed his eyes in contemplation. He knew that the younger wolf had to be talking about the Potter girl. The fact that he thought the Dark Lord knew where she was, and wasn't trying to kill her, was interesting. Perhaps he would do as he was asked and take the insolent whelp to the Lord. It would be entertaining, if nothing else. There was bound to be some torturing involved. He wouldn't do anything for free though.
"And what would I get in return, should I take you on this obviously suicidal mission of yours?" Greyback crossed his well-muscled arms over his massive chest as he stared hard at the other male.
Remus nearly groaned in exasperation. Of course, he would want something in return. He should have expected nothing less. That was rather naïve of him.
"What do you want, Greyback?" His voice was resigned.
The older werewolf looked contemplative for a moment before he smiled viciously, baring his sharp and wolfish teeth in the process. "Two things, Pup. First, I want you to submit to me as your Alpha, and then, if you survive this foolish errand of yours, you will join my pack as an Omega. If you prove able to adapt, you might work your way up the ranks, but everyone starts out an Omega."
Remus stiffened in horror and anger. Submit to him!? Not bloody likely! His wolf was in complete agreement, especially at the Omega part. He was Alpha of his little back, and though none of the others had been werewolves, it didn't make him any less of an Alpha. The very thought of not only submitting to another but being the lowest rank in the pack had his hackles rising and his teeth baring.
"What makes you think I could ever except you as my Alpha?" Remus's voice had developed the deep timbre of a growl as his wolf surged forward, wanting to show just what he thought of the other Alpha's demands. Omega indeed.
Fenrir's eyes flashed at the obvious challenge and an answering growl rumbled in his chest. "You will if you want help finding your precious pup. And of course, with you joining my pack, so does what remains of your own."
The very thought of his pup anywhere near this brute brought his wolf to the surface completely as he teeth elongated and claws formed on his hands. His hair grew wilder and fur started sprouting over his body. Remus had never accepted his wolf enough to turn outside of the full moon and even then, his form had been week and slickly, driven mad by his own hatred of his self like many before him. But now they were both on the same page and determined to protect the last of their pack.
With a thunderous growl, a wolfman that stood on two clawed feet and as tall as a large horse lunged at the threat to his pup. The wolfman was lean, and lightly muscled, obviously made more for speed, then power, but no less deadly for it. It was coated in course brown fur that darkened to black in some places, and a light honey color in others. Its feet looked more like large paws, but it's hands were still human in shape, just tipped with long, lethal looking, hooked claws. Its muzzle was elongated, and filled with vicious looking teeth, it gave the head a distinctly canine shape. It even had large, pointed wolf like ears on top of its head. All in all, it was very different to what Remus usually turned into on the full moon.
Fenrir hadn't been expecting the attack, nor did he expect the other male to be able to turn without the full moon. Very few werewolves ever managed such a feat. But Greyback was much older and more experienced in fighting like a true werewolf. He dodged the lunge, only being slightly nicked by those claws, and the smell of his own blood triggered his own transformation.
Silver fur sprouted from his body and he grew to stand a whole head higher than the younger wolf and twice as wide. He made a grab for the brown wolf, a vicious growl rumbling in his chest as they both hit the ground, fighting to get the dominant position and force the other to submit or die.
A crowed was quickly forming around the battling duo as the sounds of their fight grew in volume and lured out the other patrons of the Den. It was mostly Fenrir's pack that come to watch the demise of whoever had been foolish enough to challenge their Alpha, but a few magic users and even a vampire or two came to watch curiously, though the later stayed deep in the shadows.
Most of the Pack were surprised to see the smaller wolf actually posing a challenge to their Alpha. It was obvious that Greyback was stronger, but the unknown wolf was much faster and new how to use that speed, if the slashes and bitemarks on the larger one was any indication. Not that the smaller was getting away unscathed either. He had a painful looking bite on his shoulder that was bleeding profusely and a long scratch over his throat where Fenrir had nearly torn it out and would have, if he had been a moment slower in jerking away.
Fenrir Greyback could admit to being surprised at how well the younger one fought. He found himself actually enjoying the fight. This was the first time, in a long time, that he battled a worthy opponent. Most were either too scared, or too weak to be much of a challenge for him. He knew he was going to win this fight though. His own wounds were painful, but mostly superficial. The younger male, on the other hand, was slowing down some as blood loss from his shoulder wound started getting to him and it was obvious that this was his first time turning without the full moon and exhaustion was catching up to him quickly.
With a quick burst of speed, he had the smaller wolf pressed firmly to the ground and his teeth posed over his neck, clearly in a prim position to rip his throat out should he choose to. He stopped there though and waited. The smaller wolf had proven to be good in a fight as well as shown he was a strong enough wolf to turn without the aid of the moon. If Remus submitted now, Fenrir would accept it and welcome him into the pack. If not, he would die.
Remus panted harshly into the gravel covered ground and thought over his options. Truthfully, he was shocked to still be living at all. It was known that no one lived after challenging the feral werewolf above him. He didn't want to die, of course. Who would look after his pup if he was gone? But could he live under the wolf that had turned him when he was so young?
Fenrir was obviously growing impatient as he growled and settled his teeth firmly around his neck in a finale warning. Remus seemed to deflate at that. He couldn't leave his pup alone in the world, especially so soon after Sirius had died.
Making up his mind, the smaller wolf whined in acceptance and bared his throat. The larger wolf rumbled in approval, biting down enough to draw blood to mark him as pack, and then stood up, allowing the other wolf to breath a bit easier as he wasn't being crushed under his bulk any longer.
Fenrir rubbed the tension out of his neck as his body turned back into a more human shape. It was a good fight. Maybe after Remus was settled into pack life they could have a friendly battle a time or two. Fighting was the best stress reliever, in his opinion. He also knew that the other male would not stay an Omega for long. He was already well on his way to proving himself a delta, or even a beta.
Remus gave a silent groan as he pushed himself off the ground and bit back a whimper as his body changed back to his human self. He was exhausted and sore and just wanted a bed to fall into.
"Now, let's get you cleaned up and I'll set up a meeting for you with the Dark Lord. Hopefully you survive the encounter. I look forward to having you in my pack, Lupin." Fenrir's voice was still rough and full of growls, but he seemed to be in a more agreeable mood at least.
Remus sighed tiredly but moved to follow his new Alpha into the Den, making sure to stay well behind him, as was now his place. The things he does for his pup. Was the thought that drifted through his head as they entered the building.
Astrid
It was Astrid's birthday today. She was officially 16 years old. It had been a few days since her talk with Akihiko about her fear of herself, and she had made a lot of progress going through her memories since then. She was still in her early childhood but moving quickly along. It was difficult remembering all of the abuse and horrible things her relatives had said and done to her, but she was learning to accept it and she could feel not only her mind, but her magic getting stronger as she healed from years of pain and fear as a child.
"I think it's time for a break young one." Akihiko pulled her out of her mind and she opened her eyes to see him sitting on his usual work stool, watching her. "You'll burn yourself out if you work too much."
Astrid smiled slightly and nodded. She could feel the slight strain on her mind and knew what he said to be true. She was learning to trust what the man said.
"What is it that you do, exactly, Akihiko?" She questioned softly as she eyed all of curious objects on his workbench. She had been insanely curious about it all ever since she first woke up there over a month ago. This was the first time she felt comfortable enough to ask. Questions had never really been encouraged at her relatives and that conditioning had bled over into the wizarding world. Now that she was finally healing from her childhood, the thought of asking something like that didn't make her freeze in panic while waiting for a smack.
Akihiko glanced back at his projects and smirked. He had been wondering when she would ask. He had seen the burning curiosity in her eyes and saw her eyeing his work station every now and then, but she had never voiced her question, or snooped into his things like he had been expecting. She had pretty good self-control for one so young.
"I am a Master Crafter. I create new wards, spells, and the like. I mainly focus on offensive runes and applying them to things but have also created other things. I work for the Japanese Ministry as a freelance crafter. I keep them up to date with new spells and wards. Nearly the entire Ministry building is protected by my own personally created wards and rune sequences.
"What you see on my table are projects of mine. I enjoy taking random objects, like this," He held up what she recognized as a potioneers knife, "a normal, everyday potioning knife, and adding runes." He tilted the knife to catch the light at showed grooves, that were obviously runes, running down the blade and handle. "These are self-sharpening and cleaning runes. You wouldn't believe how often a potion is ruined by an amateur that forgets to clean their knife between chopping different ingredients. It contaminates the rest of the ingredients and ruins the whole potion! With this, that won't be a problem anymore."
Astrid most certainly did not blush at the comment about not cleaning the knife and ruining potions. She did wonder though how no one had told her to do so. That explained some of her more disastrous failures at the subject at any rate.
"But I thought you couldn't use objects with magic on them for most potions, or at least the harder ones. Doesn't it cause them to become unstable?" She tilted her head like a curious pup and Akihiko had to smother a laugh. He liked her curiosity. It showed her intelligence.
"Normally, that's true. But my workshop isn't the only thing that I put nullifying runes on. You see this bottom line here?" He brought the knife closer and showed her the lower, smaller line of runes that ran directly under the other ones. "These are a bit different than the ones around us but work similar. They keep the magic on the knife. It's sort of like a shield that doesn't allow the magic to attach to any of the ingredients that you're cutting. It keeps it firmly on the knife only so that no extra magic is added to the potion."
"Genius." She breathed, looking closely at the elegantly carved grooves. She had never taken runes, wanting to stick with Ron, who wanted to only take the easy classes, but even she could appreciate the work that when into making something like this. It would take a lot of time and effort to not only hand carve the runes, but to also find sequences that wouldn't work against each other or just cancel each other out.
"I agree." His tone was amused and Astrid blushed, realizing that she was practically fangirling over his work.
"Why do you have magic nullifiers on your workshop?" Her embarrassment wasn't enough to stop her curiosity though.
"This is where I carve the runes." He answered, "I have a different work shop for creating spells and wards. I need a completely magic free environment to carve experimental rune sequences in case something goes wrong. In here, the runes can't be accidently activated until I want them to be. After I carve them, I'll take the object to a testing zone in a completely controlled environment, so if it explodes or does something it shouldn't, no one gets hurt."
"Oh. That makes sense." Astrid said, but before she could ask another question, a small pile of parchment appeared before her, out of thin air.
Both man and girl stared blankly at the mysteriously appearing parchment in befuddlement.
"Does that happen often here...?" The messy-haired girl asked slowly.
"First time I'm seeing it." He answered with narrowed eyes. He motioned for the girl to back up, which she quickly did, and he waved his wand over it.
"House elf magic." He said. "The elf itself would not have been able to get passed my wards or even the nullifying runes, but apparently it could still pop mail in." He seemed oddly fascinated about that fact, like he hadn't known it before then. "It's addressed to you, and clean of any type of magic."
Astrid slowly approached the parchment like it was a bomb about to go off. Or a Howler. Her heart squeezed slightly as she recognized Hermione's neat and orderly handwriting. She had tried hard to not think about the friends she had left behind. She feared they would have condemned her and called a traitor or a coward for leaving. She fully expected them to be firmly on Dumbledore's side and she could not face the pain that it would cause. So, she kept herself form thinking about them. She should have known that the genius known as Hermione would find a way to contact her.
She picked the letter up with shaky hands and sat heavily on her bed to read.
Astrid,
First off, I want to say how sorry I am for once again listening to Dumbledore and not staying in contact with you at the start of summer like I had promised to do. I never meant to hurt you Astrid, but the Headmaster made a good argument about your safety being more important and I, like a naive, hero-worshiping, little girl, listened to him without thought.
I know you don't trust me or Ron to take your side in this, and I don't blame you. We haven't proven to be very good friends to you lately. I have only the vaguest idea on why you left but know this. I don't care what your reason is. You have always put others before yourself and I think it's well past time for you to be a little selfish. I am and will always be on your side, Astrid. Not Dumbledore, not the Ministry, not even the Light, but yours. If you wanted to stay neutral or even join the Dark, as long as it was of your own free will, I would still stay on your side.
The Weasleys as a whole are furious with the Headmaster as well and are refusing to speak to him. Remus nearly went full Werewolf on him, but he was mad at Dumbledore well before it became known that you left. He had tried repeatedly to write to you and even come see you but was always caught. I think Dumbledore had a monitor on him in case he tried contacting you. They do not mind that you left, they are just beyond worried for your safety. You are not alone Astrid. Please remember that.
I would not recommend sending us any letters. Ron and I are being watched in case you try contacting us. Be wary of Dumbledore. It's becoming increasingly obvious that he isn't the genial grandfather that he likes to portray and he wants you back desperately. I don't like the look of his face lately. It doesn't bode well for you.
With all my love, your friend,
Hermione.
Astrid, stay safe, listen to Hermione she usually knows what she's talking about, and don't worry about us. We'll try keeping you informed on what's going on here. Think of us as your own personal spies!
Ron
Astrid started smiling half way through the letter and a huge weight seemed to be lifted off of her. They were on her side. Truly on her side! Oh, it made her want to jump for joy.
The girl looked up at her host, her eyes shining and glittering like jewels in her happiness.
"Good news, I take it?" He asked with soft smile of his own, seeing her so happy for the first time easing something within him.
"The best!" She agreed and gave into the urge to laugh merrily. This had to be her best birthday yet.