A/N: Written for Round 10 of the Quidditch Fan League
Team: Montrose Magpies
Position: Beater 2. Department: Beast Division
Prompts used: 6 (word) specialty / 15 (song) "Hungry Like the Wolf" by Duran Duran
Thanks to my Magpie buddies firefly81 for betaing and Rayne for the title :)
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chasing You
'Stalked in the forest, too close to hide
I'll be upon you by the moonlight side'
He smelled her long before he heard or saw her. Muggles considered the Delamere Forest a recreational forest, formerly used for timber and hunting, but to anyone magical it was clear that the forest was much, much older than that. Indeed, around the time the Norman invaders came, the area had already been heavily forested, and was known as the Forests of Mara and Mondrem.
It encompassed several townships, including a number of magical villages. It was also home to wild magical animals, so when the Muggles had begun chopping down the trees a large section was removed from the Muggle world by use of glamours, space expansion charms fuelled by runestones, and a number of other tricks. It was in this old, magical part of the forest that a few magical villages survived until the population dropped too far and they were mostly abandoned, but it was still home to a couple of scattered houses.
Including one in which a young woman lived alone with her parents, after her brothers had married and moved away. A young woman who was currently walking alone on the path that weaved through the trees.
'High blood drumming on your skin, it's so tight
You feel my heat, I'm just a moment behind'
He rushed through the trees, getting closer. He could hear her breathing now and he was oh so close. Then he stepped on a fallen branch. The loud crack resounded over the path, and she turned, seeing him. Her eyes widened, and she turned to run.
He gave chase and let out a howl as he started running after her. But she was fast... before he even made it on the path, she was nearly out of sight. Rushing as fast as he could, he caught sight of her just as she entered the gate surrounding a home. He let out a whine as she slammed the gate shut, and rushed inside.
–-
"It's definitely a werewolf," Sue Belby told her supervisor.
"Don't be ridiculous, Sue. The only known pack currently in Britain is Greyback's, and he has been quiet ever since the end of the war," Nigel Birtwistle scoffed. "It was probably a normal wolf, or a really big dog. Or did you see his tail in enough detail to tell the difference?"
"Of course not, Nigel," Sue said, rolling her eyes. "But I know I saw human intelligence in those eyes. I am telling the truth, there is a werewolf hunting in the forest near my home."
"Well, I'm not convinced. But if you insist, you can take Cyril with you next month and see if he can confirm your findings. Now I suggest you get back to work."
Sue bit back a curse and left the office of her superior. Mr. Birtwistle was an old Pure-blood who had annoyed a previous Minister years ago and was put in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures mainly to keep him out of the way. Sue was a Pure-blood witch herself, but had several Muggleborn friends. One of them had told her about the Peter Principle: 'Managers rise to the level of their incompetence.'
Nigel Birtwistle, in his position as Head of the Werewolf Capture Unit, was this principle to a tee.
But nothing was to be gained by complaining, she would simply have to try again next month. Sue went to her desk and started on the endless piles of paperwork. Her colleague Cyril Ditton was fast asleep as usual.
–-
She was back! He picked up her scent immediately upon entering his hunting grounds. But... she was not alone. There was another person with her... a male.
He let out a disappointed whine as he retreated. He made his way to a nearby hill, and howled his frustration to the moon.
–-
"Did you hear that?" Sue looked around shiftily as the forlorn howl resounded through the forest.
"Yup," Cyril commented. "No proof it's a were, though."
"Well, let's keep an eye out," Sue suggested.
But nothing further came from it. There was no werewolf sighting that night. The next morning at the Ministry, Mr. Birtwistle made it clear she was to stop wasting 'his' time:
"I've indulged your whims long enough, Miss Belby. You are fined four Galleons for making a false report. I expect you to finalize the paperwork, in triplicate of course.
Sue cursed for a full minute once she was back at her office.
And despite her supervisor shutting the investigation down, Sue was back in the forest the next month again.
–-
'In touch with the ground
I'm on the hunt I'm after you'
He was delighted to find her scent on the air again. Even better, she was alone once more. He let out a howl before rushing after her, ignoring the tree branches lashing against his snout and fur.
He was so close, she stood in the middle of the path with her back to him... closer and closer he ran...
Suddenly she had wand in hand and yelled, "Incarcerous!"
Thin ropes shut from her wand and the next thing he knew, his forward momentum forced him to the ground and he was wriggling on the floor, bound and gagged. He let out a sad whine as he found himself trapped.
–-
"I knew you were a werewolf, and now I got you," Sue beamed. Then she looked down at her captive. "Huh... why are you so calm?"
The wolf let out a small whine again.
"Are... are you intelligent?" Sue hesitated. She had been part of the capture of several werewolves before, and none of them showed any sign of control while transformed.
To her amazement, the wolf nodded its head. Then and there, she decided to wait for the morning.
–-
Hours later the sun started to rise and the captive wolf transformed back to a Man. He was around her age, early to mid twenties, and she had to admit he was rather attractive.
"All right, talk, mister," she instructed him.
"Err... hi," he sounded a little abashed. "What do you want to know?"
"Your name for one, and mind explaining why you're not a rampaging beast?"
"Henry Bailey... and I'm not sure. The Wolf ate some purple flowers and berries a few months ago, and I found myself back in control. Ever since, I've made it a point to eat a few before the Change," he clarified.
"Really? That is amazing! Can you show me these flowers and berries?"
"I'm not in trouble then?" Henry sounded unsure.
"Not if you can show me what you found," Sue said with a smile. "Relashio," she cast a spell to remove his ropes.
A little stiffly, Henry got to his feet and guided her to the flower patch.
"Wolfsbane and... I don't know what these are," Sue inspected the plants. "I'll call over my brother Damocles, he'll know for sure. Potions and plants are his specialty."
"Okay," Henry shrugged. "So... what will happen to me?"
"That depends," Sue answered him as she got back to her feet, gratefully accepting his helping hand.
"Depends on what?"
"If you were not rampaging... why were you hunting me all this time?"
Henry swallowed... then stepped closer. Finding courage deep inside him, he moved in for a kiss. And to his delight, Sue responded to it by wrapping her arms around him.
–-
There were no more reports of a werewolf in the Delamere Forest after that. And six months later, Potioneer Damocles Belby announced to the world that he had perfected a potion that would allow werewolves to retain their human intelligence while transformed.
As he got up to the podium to accept his Order of Merlin, his sister Sue and her fiancé Henry were sitting in the front row, only releasing their clasped together hands to applaud him.