Disclaimer:I do not own harry potter or any characters, ideas, that aren't from the canon or movie is probably from fanfiction. I am not making money off of this.
Authors notes:This is, for me, a rather unusual piece so if anyone is interested in me continuing this please write a review. This chapter has not been beta'ed though I'm looking for one for this piece. That's all. This chapter has some graphic physical violence.
The beast rose up from the brush gracefully in a easy motion. Hunger gnawed at him but he could barely focus on scenting prey before the scent of his cub filled his nose over riding even the need for sustenance. Pausing only to drink and eat small but fat black cat that hissed at him as he ran frantically towards his goal. He was closer to doors death every day but magic refused to let him go. His heart still beating, his stomach still felt empty when not full, and thirst was a constant companion and pang. He had long lost the ability to feel more then the ground beneath his feet. The spike stayed in his foot for a day before he noticed it. It went straight through his foot and shrugging he merely took it out after eating. He could almost taste the boy from where he was. Desperation clung to him like a noxious musk. He wanted to run but facing whatever was at the end of this journey left a sour taste in his mouth. He ran towards it all the same but sleep evaded him as questions swirled and whispered in his mind refusing to die.
The forest welcomed him even if the inhabitants did not. He was a freak, dead but alive for the grace of magic and a very alpha apex predator. Him being dead just made all the more dangerous, vile, and an aberration. He was a living paradox alive and dead at the same time whose life was only worth it when killing or maiming but existed to protect his master from everything except himself. His masters death bringing him to the brink of insanity then beyond. He withered slowly dying driven to madness from grief vegetating until there was only a sliver left of life and mind. Then after an undeterminable amount of time shattered, completely and in that moment he died. His heart stopped, the pain was gone, and his life, his world was tumbling down brick my brick until only ruins existed. He eagerly anticipated it and welcoming the bliss he found himself in. Everything he knew, would know, and always knew subconsciously he knew and he reveled in it. His life passed before his eyes but it was never his own but they were paths not taken, people he never met but knew, and finally he narrowed until he faced himself.
The picture shattered and he gasped for breath. His heart beat again slowly then frantically until it steadied. Air filled his lungs, the sensations of thirst and hunger came back with vengeance. He trembled with repressed anger as he shouted in rage adrenaline pumping through him. He his teeth and claws and fists met everything in the room and by the time he had collapsed there wasn't a single thing that remained untouched or whole. Everything in the room lay in tatters. His master was dead and his room was destroyed by his own hand. He looked up from the kneeling position as he stared at his hands.
"I begged you to take my life instead! It should have worked! He would have lived... " his voice cracked.
The silence answered him. He knew why it didn't. His master was meant to die. The sacrifice would have worked otherwise. He would have rather died then live without his master. He did everything he could to kill himself. He was allowed to die after his master but he was alive. The pangs overtook him and he found himself eating and drinking voraciously. He stopped once he felt full. There wasn't any amount of anything edible in the house. He fell to the ground in shock. He couldn't remember the last time he ate but he couldn't recall eating either. It was clear that magic wouldn't let him go until he caved and in that instant he surrendered, bowing to the inevitable as pain and power wracked his body and he shed his human form and shifted into the beast. His sleek and lithe body was ready and willing but he paused disoriented by the new agile form.
He began to move but his body wouldn't follow his orders. He lost control his howls of rage coming out as whimpers and whines. Stewing mentally but piteously feeble despite his dangerous look he learned to first how to get once his strength flagged and he fell helpless on the ground. He was mortified by the situation but single-mindedly began to crawl. He fell getting back up again repeatedly and despite himself felt joy break through the frustration as he quickly learned to stand then walk then run. He could speak again even if came out weak. He diligently learned to do what he easily did only a few hours ago. He grew from the bottom up until he could function outside if he was caught. Finally escaping the house he ran wild experiencing a rush of freedom. He ran forcing magic to reign him in suddenly like a leash pulled his collar. He snarled in rage but the jolt of pain brought him into submission and he turned to where the 'hand' was pointing and ran. Hunger and thirst gnawed at him and he ate and drank out of comfort but the closer he was the less magic let him rest. He could have run through the night but he stopped out of habit and sleep healed him even if he didn't seem to need it anymore.
The journey was easy up until to his disbelieving eyes he stopped short of drowning in the ocean. He stowed away on large shipping container. The outside in small print had all the important details but he stared at a larger stamp the read in capital letters, "Britain", and he could swear he hear his masters laughter. He entered the steel death trap and in the darkness hibernated conserving strength. He woke up at varying times but he was asleep even as the container didn't leave port. Drowsy he heard two men complain loudly and bitterly about weather in the port. He closed his eyes focusing he ran through all the material matter and landed before running to the nearest forest. He whimpered as he reached it collapsing face first kissing the ground with his snout.
Colliding with anything hurt in that state and he crossed through far too many barriers for him not to be hit with pain. There wasn't a single part of him not in pain. He bore it silently as possible. Finally the effect seemed to fade and he got up regardless of if it was over. He ran towards his target salivating at the thought of release. He crossed as fast as he could before the stress, tension and lack of rest stopped him. He ate his full in the river bathing and eating at the same time. It was his last real reprieve. The scent so close drove him to madness but the barrier kept him from entering the area where he was meant to go. His magic normally crushed any wards but they didn't even phase the ones around his target.
Finally the his target appeared. He was with his young group of friends. Blonde hair, fairly chubby, and loud he detested the boy immediately. The boy lead his pack to beat up the runts who got in his way and others who he sought to hurt. He wasn't an alpha in any manner obviously being mid-ranked in his family unit as he sought to prove his dominance over others that weren't in his pack. Magic drew him towards it and he could see that despite not having enough to use magic externally he had more than enough to live. He pursed his lips together and rubbed his hands together. It would soon be over.
He never even noticed the shift until his target noticed him trying to pull his friends towards the stranger. They would see nothing and looking at their blank looks they resisted until they decided to leave their 'ailing' friend alone. His target feeling the allure resisted in vain until he ran towards the forest determined to get answers. He had turned the moment the boy was alone and ran into the forest. The boy found him in the middle of the shift. A bipedal human from the legs to the waist he was a large wolf like creatures from the top up. His target was froze seeing him in that state and he pounced. His teeth tore into the boys shoulder and drool dropped down his clothes. The boy fell backwards and he held on tight to the boy holding him down by his own weight. The arms and legs were pinned to the forest floor and finally the boy stilled and he felt the shift. His form became slender and instead of the large white wolf he was completely human again. His chestnut hair fell in a ponytail, his four pack and muscled arms and legs showed his strength as a human as they were a natural dark tan that spoke of some asian ancestry. He grinned and looking at the glowing boy beneath him was ready to jump for joy. He was free. He would see his master again.
Then the unthinkable happened as he glowed too, and to his horror felt himself being pulled in, and powering the boys magical core with himself. He resisted but he fell into the boy shifting into his full beast form. Dread filled him as he was pulled deeper and deeper into the boys core. The beast that had to be tamed, who taught him after he won the fight, and who in the end had to die or pass on for his mastery would be him. Despair filled him but it was too late. He was integrated and put into a dormant state until the boy would change. He would fight every step of the way but like the beast before him he would fall before the boy who he now resided in. He never even knew the name of him but as he fought sleep he knew the name of his target, his master, and his death. Dudley Dursley, age seven, cousin of Harry Potter, and a future star of the prison system up until magic intervened.
