The werewolves here will look like wolves, not like Lupin in the movie. I just can't.

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Chapter Three: Waxing and Waning:

As Harry eventually learned, the Ministry was conducting intensive background checks for every single member belonging to Fenrir Greyback's pack before granting him custody over Harry.

Evidently, there were a number of suspected—alleged—pack members who'd been Death Eaters during the First War. The Ministry felt it was their obligation and their duty to safeguard the pack who gained custody over Harry Potter. With intense background checks came setbacks and misinformation. With misinformation came refilling and reexaminations, and all of that took time.

Time was not of the essence, and they didn't feel it was necessary to rush such an important task.

At least that's what Hermione's owl indicated a few weeks after Greyback's no-show at Privet Drive, a clear explanation for why he hadn't been able to keep his word. The whole proceedings were being reported in the Daily Prophet. Luckily, Hermione reassured Harry that nothing else had been slipped to the press, mainly his living conditions with his relatives.

Harry moped around the house, finding refuge in his schoolbooks. The Dursleys refused to get close to him and that included forgoing his summer chores. When Harry had offered to make breakfast one morning, Petunia had shooed him from the kitchen and told him to eat breakfast when they were all finished.

His nausea hadn't tapered off any. It was still a persistent infliction. One he had begun to accept as a side effect of the Wolfsbane potion. Each week, Snape, Dumbledore, or McGonagall stopped at Privet Drive to check up on his relative's treatment and to give him a box of multiple vials of Wolfsbane inside. He was still directed to take diluted doses, especially with his close proximity to his relatives.

With his relatives giving him more freedom than he'd ever had before, along with no chores, Harry quickly finished his summer homework. Not only had he finished his homework, but he had also studied other material.

Like werewolves.

The textbook was vague, and quite frankly Harry hadn't exactly appreciated the tone the author had used when describing werewolves. What little information his book explained made Harry realize Wolfsbane was concealing more than just temper tantrums.

According to the text, werewolves were strong and energized. Harry felt weak and ill. Werewolves had sharp senses. Harry didn't need glasses anymore, but he wouldn't exactly label his senses 'sharp'. Werewolves had a healthy appetite. Harry would be lucky to eat two small meals a day. Werewolves possessed canine attributes. Even in their human form, they coexisted with their wolf. Harry felt like…well, he felt like a normal thirteen-year-old boy.

Werewolves, especially dominant wolves, experienced more aggression and domineering attributes. Harry wondered if it was Wolfsbane that covered those up or if he was just submissive.

He hoped it wasn't the latter.

"Boy! He's going to be here soon!"

At the sound of his aunt's voice, Harry collapsed at the edge of his bed and looked up at the evening sky. His fingers played with the frayed edge of his shirt, his nervousness almost overwhelming. It was the full moon tonight and Severus Snape would be collecting him from his relatives and bringing him back to Hogwarts for the night.

He wasn't so bothered over the fact he had to spend time with Snape, but that it was his first full moon.

The book claimed the transformations were extremely painful. Harry wanted nothing but to have someone with him. Remus hadn't contacted him since the trial and Harry had his suspicions that he wasn't legally allowed to contact him yet, at least until everything was straightened out at the Ministry. Hermione and Ron couldn't help. Snape wouldn't be any help.

He'd be truly alone.

"Wish me luck, Hedwig."

In response, the snowy owl hooted quietly from her perch in the corner.

Exhaling, Harry made his way downstairs but not without broadcasting his disinclination by dragging his feet and drooping his shoulders. As soon as his foot hit the bottom step, there was a sharp rap at the front door. Punctual as ever, Snape's shadowy figure stood on the other side of the door.

"Quickly, Potter," was the first thing Snape said as soon as the door opened. "Unlike the whole of the Wizarding World, the moon will not wait on you." The black-clad professor entered the Dursley's house with a perpetual scowl on his face.

Withholding a sigh, Harry followed Snape into the living room where the Dursley's previously occupied. Judging from the voices whispering in the kitchen, Harry assumed they had relocated as soon as they heard the knock at the door.

"Are we going to use the Floo?" Harry questioned when they stopped in front of the fireplace.

Snape gave him an incredulous look that spoke volumes. Harry blinked up at him mutely, reluctantly accepting that it had been a silly question in the first place. Snape didn't enter the living room to admire Petunia's floral-printed seat covers.

With one last repulsed look at the photographs on the wall, Snape started a fire with his wand. His spidery hands took out a bag of Floo powder and tossed it into the hearth. Onyx eyes peered down at Harry before he began to speak slowly, as if to a child. "Professor Snape's Hogwarts quarters, Potter. Can you handle that?"

"I think I may be able to manage… sir," Harry quipped.

He walked awkwardly into the small fireplace and stood in the green flames. He had a sinking suspicion that Snape wanted Harry to go first because the professor didn't want to be seen crouching in such a small hearth. "Professor Snape's Hogwarts quarters." He closed his eyes as his feet lifted from the ground and hurtled him away.

He hated Floo.

There had to be a trick to Floo travel, because Harry was hardly ready for the abrupt arrival. He shot out of Snape's fireplace and landed flat on his face, his eyes and mouth coated with soot. It took him a moment to realize that Snape would be coming behind him just as quickly.

Just as he rolled away from the front of the fireplace, Snape's figure came leaping gracefully out of the flames.

"Potter, what are you doing on the floor? Get up."

Harry groaned and struggled to his feet. He brushed a hand down his face and through his hair, raining soot all over Snape's rugs. He pointedly ignored the potion master's dour expression.

"Good evening, Severus. Thank you for collecting Harry from his relatives."

Frowning, Harry glanced across the room, spying Dumbledore standing in front of a black leather sofa. Next to the headmaster, none other than Fenrir Greyback lounged with one arm slung across the top of the sofa. Greyback's unnerving blue eyes glimmered intensely at the younger wizard.

"'ello, pup."

The first thing Harry contemplated was that the man had seen his Floo entrance. Cheeks warming with humiliation, Harry only gave a faint nod in return, not entirely sure how to greet the Alpha who'd recently been granted custody over him, or, rather, who was in the process of being granted custody.

Snape stiffened and his distrustful gaze landed on Greyback. "What is he doing here, Albus?"

Dumbledore calmly motioned to the Alpha. "Mr. Greyback and I thought it would be in Harry's best interest if someone was with him during his first transformation. Because the Ministry is still sorting out the custody matter, Harry could not spend it with Fenrir's pack." He looked at Snape from over his half-moon spectacles. "Fenrir volunteered to come to Hogwarts himself."

Harry looked back at the Alpha, wondering how the man was able to be here when he had a pack to look after.

"He hasn't ingested any Wolfsbane," Snape drawled. "Mr. Potter has been on Wolfsbane for an entire month. It is not wise to lock a fully changed Alpha wolf in a room with a human-minded wolf puppy. I am not a werewolf, Albus, but even I know the general mechanics. Potter will not come out of that room alive."

Harry's face paled and he wondered why he even thought he'd want someone with him in the first place. As much as he hated admitting it, Snape was right. Harry would transform into his wolf with a human mentality. Someone as frightening as Greyback would be double as threatening in wolf form.

"Don't be ridiculous." Greyback unfurled dangerously from the couch. "I've already recognized Harry as a member of my pack. Even if I hadn't, he'll be submissive enough with all those toxins in his system. As long as he doesn't try to act against me, he'll be unharmed." He looked pointedly at Harry. "I promise you that."

Dumbledore glanced between Greyback and Harry before nodding. "I think it should be up to Harry if he wants company tonight."

Greyback lifted a lip, revealing a pair of sharp canines. "This isn't up for negotiation, Dumbledore. You've meddled enough by tearing into my pack—" he cut himself off with a low growl.

Harry looked up quickly, sensing that there was something deeper than what he knew.

He never realized the consequences of the Ministry's meddling from Greyback's point of view. The members of his pack were being evaluated and their privacy invaded. There may even be cases in which someone was forced out of the pack based on incriminating evidence of their actions during the First War.

He may not understand the true dynamics of a pack, but he knew what the definition of a home was. He couldn't imagine being forced away from Hogwarts in order to make room for a stranger, a newcomer who was deemed 'important' by the public.

It was because of him that people were being inconvenienced.

He felt terrible.

"No," Harry whispered. After a long pause from the adults, who took his response as opposition to Greyback's presence, Dumbledore turned to Greyback as if planning to escort him out of the room. "No," he said again—louder—stopping Dumbledore's proceedings. "I… I would appreciate it if you would stay. If it's not too much trouble." He forced himself to look at Greyback, the eye contact fleeting and anxious.

The man snapped his teeth together in a roguish, complacent smile. "I wouldn't miss your first full moon for anything. Even meddling old coots."

Green eyes widened at the man's audacity before he bowed his head, a small grin lifting his lips. Snape scoffed, thrusting a smoking goblet in Harry's hands before proceeding to walk towards the back of the room.

"Follow me."

Harry offered Dumbledore a small, apologetic smile before following reluctantly behind Snape. He was consciously aware of Greyback falling into step directly behind him as they traveled to the backroom. With a sense of forbidding, Harry stepped into the cool, bare room. There was nothing on the walls or floors, just a blank slate.

It was, in all actuality, a storage room.

"Charming," Greyback insulted sharply. "You do realize he will have a human mentality, don't you, Snape? A little comfort could go a long way." He prowled the room, looking at every corner in disdain.

As soon as the words were out of Greyback's mouth, a blanket was thrown at Harry. The younger wizard let it fall to the floor, his hands already occupied with the Wolfsbane goblet. He stared at the blanket, never feeling so much like an animal as he did then. The room wasn't very large. It felt like more of a cage with its cement floors and stone walls.

"I will unlock the door at dawn, Potter." Snape's black eyes were bottomless as they locked with Harry's own. Any sort of emotion the potion's master might have felt was absorbed into his dark gaze.

The man turned his heel and slammed the steel door behind him. Sounds of locks clicked into place and Harry was sure they were reinforced with magic. Despite it being summer, the last thing Hogwarts needed was Fenrir Greyback prowling around the school on the night of the full moon.

Instead, he'd be locked in here.

With Harry.

Alone.

He suddenly second guessed his decision. The only thing keeping him from banging on the door and demanding Snape to come back was his pride and his fear. Fear of the full moon, but also fear of the large bodied man pacing the length of the room like a caged beast. Harry stared at the far wall with wide, unseeing eyes, his hand nearly slack around his goblet of Wolfsbane.

He didn't know Greyback at all.

How could Harry suddenly accept comfort from a man who intimidated the bloody hell out of him? He could just imagine Ron's expression when he heard about this.

"I haven't been locked up during a full moon in years," Greyback said, his words accentuated with a growling undertone.

It only served to unnerve Harry further.

As if reading Harry's mounting fear, Greyback altered the course of his pacing and prowled toward him. Putting their heights into prospect, Harry still had an inch or two to reach Greyback's bicep. "Are you going to drink that?" He tapped a finger against the underbelly of Harry's goblet. "You wouldn't want it to go to waste." Nothing but disdain dripped from Greyback's words.

In response, Harry brought the goblet up to his lips and drank the repulsive liquid under Greyback's mocking gaze.

"I can assure you, that you won't swallow a single drop of that when you're in my pack where you belong." Greyback bowed at the waist, placing his taunting eyes level with Harry's averted face. "Look at how submissive it's making you. Won't you look at me? Speak to me?"

At the mention of being submissive, Harry turned quickly, locking eyes with Greyback. He reluctantly agreed that Wolfsbane muffled his wolf to the point of smothering it completely, and yet, it was necessary to refrain from any outbursts. Still, Harry wondered what kind of person he'd be if he didn't take Wolfsbane every day.

"Will your pack be alright without you?" Harry asked curiously.

Greyback's eyes creased with an emotion that was either amusement or partiality. He hadn't expected the question. His large palm ruffled Harry's unruly hair, his fingers abrasive and hardly gentle but somehow pleasant. "That's what betas are for. I should hope they are capable enough to watch the pack for one night."

A beta.

A second in command. And it sounded as if there were more than one.

Harry wondered what kind of competition existed in the pack to hold a position as beta to someone like Fenrir Greyback. It had to be fiercely ruthless.

As the fingers cascaded across his scalp—not unpleasant but strangely intimate—Harry stiffened and moved away. He didn't get far. Greyback curled his fingers more firmly into Harry's hair and tugged him forcefully back in place. His narrow shoulder hit Greyback's large chest and he was forced to stand and endure the petting fingers.

"Never pull away," Greyback warned, "or you initiate something you cannot finish, especially in the condition you're in. With as much Wolfsbane you have in your system, you won't enjoy the type of play I prefer." He breathed lightly across Harry's turned cheek. "Just as a forewarning, that applies especially in wolf form."

"You can still get out of this," Harry tried to convince while sounding casual. The fingers curled near his roots. "Your wolf probably won't like being locked up."

"On the contrary, I think he will be happily preoccupied with you here," Greyback replied pleasantly, entirely unmoved with Harry's attempts of escaping his situation.

The words stopped Harry's heart before his pulse accelerated madly. "See, that's the point," he exclaimed softly, trying not to raise his voice so as not to challenge Greyback. "You'll place your aggression on me. I've seen Remus after full moons. Even when he's by himself, he's all beat up."

Harry's jaw was taken captive and he was forced to look up at Greyback's looming figure. "I am not Lupin," he said firmly. "I promised you would not be harmed." Greyback's hand dropped and landed on the small of Harry's tense back. "You're rather uncomfortable with physical contact, aren't you?" His fingers played with the hem of Harry's shirt before his fingers seemed to want to tug it off him. "Physical contact is typical with the pack, and you might as well forget about modesty."

He allowed Harry to stumble away from the invasive yet inquiring hand.

The young wizard fell on his arse, his small frame trembling at the ghostly impressions of Greyback's warm fingers skimming against his naked skin. There were feelings of violation, but also confusion and intrigue. Did werewolves really touch one another so often? He wondered what it would be like to live with several of them. It seemed like it would be uncomfortably sensual.

"I…" Harry mumbled. "I'm not used to touching strangers."

Greyback crouched down so fast, Harry hardly had time to react. "Perhaps," the Alpha conceded, his hands decisively lowered at his sides. "Or maybe it was the way you were raised by those sheep." The way Greyback's teeth parted made it seem as if he were eager to take a bite out of the Dursleys. "Tell me, Harry, how are they treating you now? Has Dumbledore tamed them yet?"

Unsettled with the man's close proximity, Harry could only nod.

He grabbed the blanket Snape had thrown at him and pressed it against himself, a flimsy buffer between him and Greyback. "I'm sorry," Harry found himself apologizing.

"Whatever for?" Greyback mused in delight, seemingly taking enjoyment out of Harry's timidity.

Quickly glancing up at Greyback and then back down, Harry addressed the earlier conflict that weighed on his mind. "For the Ministry's actions regarding your pack. My friend keeps me updated because I don't get the Daily Prophet. She says they're investigating each member of your pack because of me. That's why it's taking so long for you to get custody."

From the corner of his eye, he watched as Greyback leaned back on his heels.

There was something different about him, a more animalistic air around him than even just moments ago. Harry felt the hairs on his arms stand on end and wondered if the moon was beginning to rise. It would certainly explain the sharp amber encircling Greyback's pupils and the way his canines grew even longer, sharper.

The Alpha refocused on him. "You're still only a child. Do not apologize when you're completely powerless to the situation."

It was Greyback's way of consoling him, but it made Harry bristle with insult.

Completely powerless.

A sharp, twisting pain shot through his stomach, shaking Harry from his deep melancholy. He hunched his back and clutched the blanket close, staring wide-eyed at the far wall. The pain contracted again and Harry gasped breathlessly, cold sweat breaking out across his forehead.

Oddly enough, the scar on his forehead suddenly acted up, burning just as fiercely as the rest of his body.

Greyback pulled at him, tearing his blanket from his grasp and throwing it across the room. He then pulled off Harry's shirt, startling the younger wizard who just noticed Greyback was completely nude. If Harry thought Greyback was muscular with his clothes on, he never imagined what he'd look like without clothes. But why would he have imagined Greyback without clothes?

Muscles rippled across the man's shoulders and chest, the faint dusting of chest hair doing nothing to hide the definition. Lower, Harry could only see stomach muscles that he knew he'd never possess, and thighs that looked just as strong.

And… and… oh Merlin, even that was huge.

Harry's face flushed, feeling inadequate and further uncomfortable with himself.

"W-what are you doing?!" Harry spluttered as Greyback began tugging at his jeans and boxers simultaneously.

The Alpha ignored Harry's protests and continued with single-minded focus. "What do you think I'm doing?" He yanked Harry's clothes off completely and tossed them across the room as if they'd personally done him a disservice. "Transforming in clothes is possible but extremely uncomfortable." He noticed Harry's tenseness. "Now is not the time to be modest," he growled with exasperation.

His face burned with embarrassment, so much so that it nearly made him forget the circumstances surrounding his current predicament. However, as another nasty spasm forked across his stomach and into his chest, Harry gave a yelp of pain, the state of his undress completely forgotten.

Warm hands cupped and lifted him against an even warmer chest. Dimly, Harry was aware of straddling Greyback's lap, his chest and stomach flush against the solid muscle of Greyback's torso. He could all but feel the older man's eager, animalistic excitement as he buried his face into the crook of Harry's neck, his stubble creating a distracting, ticklish friction as he inhaled Harry's scent deep into his lungs.

The pain this time shot up his spine and burned his lightning bolt scar. Harry slumped bonelessly, tears falling from the corners of his eyes. Large hands ran up and down his back, an attempt to soothe, and while it accomplished a semblance of calm, it felt more like a possessive claim.

At Greyback's touch, Harry felt as if the creature inside of him was stirring.

The pain only grew worse.

"The old fool wouldn't approve," Greyback started, "but I brought you something to take the edge off." The man took one hand off Harry's back, keeping the other firmly planted just above the small of his back. "There is a reason werewolves shouldn't take Wolfsbane, especially for their first full moon. A human mind can't possibly comprehend such a painful transformation."

A pill was pressed against Harry's stubbornly-closed lips.

"Come now, pup, it's all natural, I assure you." Greyback's amber eyes glittered and he quickly snuck the pill inside Harry's mouth as the younger boy gasped in pain. "And very quick acting, but I don't recommend using it more than once."

It wasn't natural. It couldn't be.

The pill dissolved on his tongue almost instantly and his world spun.

Logic and emotions flew away from him and Harry giggled as his body shifted and cracked grotesquely. He arched away from Greyback as his body contorted and shifted, the pain was there, but his mind not entirely intact. He felt as if he were floating and his body was receiving an incredibly invigorating massage.

His bones applied pressure against his muscles and he even saw a lump dance across his stomach. He laughed and gladly fell to the ground when Greyback released his squirming body. His torso twisted and turned a few more times before he became aware of thick, black fur growing up and down his body. His limbs were no longer that of a human, but of a gangly, young wolf.

With the drug in his system, he only thought how utterly amazing it was.

The night really didn't go as Harry imagined it would.

He hardly remembered any of it with his wired and drugged mind.

Greyback was there, always there in his hazy memories. Harry vividly remembered a majestic-looking white wolf with silver dispersed across his pelt. The animal had been huge, playful, yet gentle with his aggression. Even when Harry had wanted to experiment with his new body, Greyback had smothered him and rarely left him alone, his attentions possessive and every bit protective.

ASHES

"It's rather interesting, wouldn't you agree?"

Harry awoke to the drawling, sneering voice of Snape. His body was sore, his mind befuddled, and his body smelling like piss and saliva. He made a face at that, hardly remembering what led to that, but reluctantly understanding wolves claimed their territory by urine. Greyback, seeing Harry as his new pack member, probably felt the need to claim something in this barren room.

Being covered in urine was bad, but waking up to Snape's presence was a completely different nightmare. He struggled to open his eyes, noting that his nude body was enfolded with the blanket Snape had thrown at him last night.

Across the room, Greyback was shirtless, just buttoning his jeans. The Alpha hardly seemed fazed with Snape's sudden presence and fished for his shirt on the ground.

"An infamously bloodthirsty werewolf doesn't even scratch at the door of his cage." Snape looked pointedly at the untouched door to prove his point. "The last time they attempted to cage you, you were out in five minutes, hunting all the wizards in the proximity and tearing whatever throats you could find."

Harry grimaced.

Greyback grinned wickedly. "Though most of the events of that night elude me, I do think of it fondly on occasion."

Snape's dark eyes shot over to Harry. "With both the door and Mr. Potter untouched, and without the aid of Wolfsbane, I question just what preoccupied you enough to warrant an aggressive wolf's complete compliance." The potion's master raised a single eyebrow at Greyback. "Or just who preoccupied you to such an extent."

Harry rubbed his face with the heel of his palm, not understanding Snape's suspicions. It was too early to deal with this, and Harry just wanted to take a shower and go to bed. Last night had been humiliating and confusing. He just wanted to wipe it from his memories. At least living with a pack would give Greyback others to focus on, though Harry didn't know why that possibility bothered him so much when it should have reassured him.

Greyback hummed low in his throat, though it sounded more like a growl. He used his foot to slide Harry his clothes, all of which smelled strongly of Greyback. The wizard frowned, preferring to keep his blanket and throw those clothes in a fire.

"A young, inexperienced child from my pack demanded my attention, though I don't suppose you would understand the intricacies of pack dynamics." Greyback expertly ignored Snape's probing and looked down at Harry. "I hope to see you with my pack next full moon, hopefully earlier."

Harry knew a farewell when he heard one.

He inclined his head slightly. "Thanks for staying last night."

"My pleasure, pup." Greyback glided out of the room, dismissing Snape simply by ignoring his very presence.

"Get up, Potter. You smell." Snape sneered deeply as he ran a critical eye across the younger wizard. "Is there any bodily secretion that he did not mark you with?"

Harry's cheeks flushed and he buried his head into the blanket.

It was too bloody early for this.

ASHES

Harry never did see Greyback for the next full moon.

Or for several dozen full moons after that.

During his first full moon alone, he had wept and cursed Dumbledore and the Ministry, unable to stand the painful transformation by himself. His second and third full moons weren't any better. The pain had been unbearable, the loneliness even more agonizing. He'd tried asking Dumbledore to help Greyback obtain custody, but the man had been adamant that each member of Greyback's pack needed thorough screening. The headmaster had pitched a very understandable tale about living with Death Eaters.

When asked to reconsider Caleb or one of the Verity twins, Dumbledore calmly explained they would have the same issues. After all, the werewolves were rumored to have supported You-Know-Who during the First War.

Aside from the pain and loneliness during the full moons, his Fourth Year passed by uneventfully, and he was returned to the Dursleys for the summer once more.

From what Hermione had relayed, the proceedings between the Ministry and Greyback were at a complete standstill. The Ministry wanted to exploit a member of Greyback's pack, a beta in particular who'd escaped questioning by the Ministry during the First War. Just after the war had ended, he'd conveniently hid behind Greyback's protection to prevent questioning.

Greyback was not moving an inch at their demands, refusing to turn over his beta or banish him from the pack. Sequentially, the Ministry was as strict as ever over Harry's custody. The boy-who-lived needed an uncorrupted, clean environment to live in, and Fenrir Greyback's pack was not it. They restricted any contact Greyback might have wanted with Harry, and that included the members of his pack. Dumbledore had followed the orders just as well and made sure there were no full moon visits again.

When Harry's Fifth Year began, he was still under the Dursley's custody, and his mind gradually wandered to other things. After a strained Fourth Year, the students of Hogwarts finally resumed treating him normally.

The Daily Prophet also reduced the number of werewolf-related stories, so there weren't many reminders of Harry's true nature. He made an effort to attend class every day after the full moon, just to prove he was the same as he was before.

Ron and the other students began thinking of him as human.

Over time, Harry began thinking himself as human as well.

The things he worried about the summer after his Third Year—from being a representative for werewolves' rights to worrying about being submissive—were no longer pressing matters. Being coddled by Hogwarts and his fame, Harry didn't have much of an issue with how he was treated. His naivety began to erroneously rationalize that if he wasn't experiencing any injustice, then the other werewolves couldn't possibly have it that bad.

Unfortunately, he was truly ignorant to what his presence was doing to the werewolf community.

With homework, Quidditch, and girls taking up the majority of his time, it was only Snape, Malfoy, and the full moons that reminded Harry of his lycanthropy. Malfoy, because he taunted Harry in the corridors, and Snape because he reminded Harry to increase his dosage of Wolfsbane for the week of the full moon.

Just those small prompts were enough to remind Harry he wasn't entirely human.

Though, after the full moon, his reflective musings regarding werewolves were once again distracted. Hermione hadn't shared Ron's enthusiasm with Harry's human-like tendencies. She expressed her concern regarding the amount of Wolfsbane he ingested. Wolfsbane was fairly new, so there weren't many studies on the potion.

Besides losing a bit of weight, Harry hadn't experienced anything that would point to serious side effects. Even when Hermione hinted that it had addictive qualities, Harry shrugged it off. The potion made him feel human. He hardly cared if there were addictive qualities or not.

It was the last week of June, during his O.W.L examinations, when Harry's fantasy world finally crumbled.

Just when he believed he'd spend yet another summer with the Dursleys, Caleb, one of the Power Alphas, had finally dropped the ball on the ugly mess between Greyback and the Ministry. He had applied for temporary custody over Harry Potter. In the Prophet, it hinted that the Verity twins and Lucius bloody Malfoy had politically backed Caleb's quest to obtain custodial rights.

Why Malfoy had stuck his nose in there, Harry didn't know.

Temporary custody had fewer constraints than permanent custody. While the Ministry screened Caleb's pack, the members weren't as thoroughly investigated as they were from Greyback's pack. They had not found any pack member to be as problematic as the members in Greyback's territory. And until Fenrir Greyback and his pack were cleared, Harry would be staying with Caleb for the summer. After which, he'd be transferred back to Greyback until he was of age.

Harry didn't know what he thought about that.

The Dursley's had been so lenient the last two summers. He hadn't seen any problem living with them. He wasn't in the same mind frame as he was two summers ago. He was comfortable with who he was now, he wasn't lost and confused, and the situation with Sirius no longer burdened him as it had then.

However, Caleb was agreeable, and Harry was just tired of the never-ending custody battle.

He was nearly sixteen. If the custody battle extended for any longer, Harry would be seventeen before Greyback could even obtain the rights. And he realized that all these red tape and administrative setbacks were intentionally meant to do just that. Dumbledore and the Ministry were working in conjunction with time. They would drag their feet long enough to deny Greyback custodial rights until Harry Potter was of legal age.

He just wondered why Caleb had been approved.

Just what, exactly, was going on behind the scenes? Was Greyback's pack truly so corrupted and immersed with Death Eaters?

He sighed, pushing aside the Prophet to return to his studies. Harry just hoped his last two years at Hogwarts would be just as smooth sailing as his Four and Fifth Years.

EDITED: 7/2022- Being moved to AO3