To Bite
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.
A/N: This is written from Greyback's POV at about the time that the sixth book is set.
I figured out a long time ago that if I couldn't stop it, I could still use it to help me. This was long before the Dark Lord used me – long before I first met him. I attacked others purely out of revenge – either for what they did to me, or what the werewolf had done to me so many years before.
I had bitten around 20 people purposefully before I found the best way to use my skill: threaten to attack their loved ones rather than themselves. It would work so much better against so many people – not everyone responded to even the possibility of a werewolf bite. And though it generally works, the story to follow shows that even threatening loved ones doesn't always work. It shows the first time I bit a child.
This particular blackmail was done on behalf of someone else – I never knew who. He would simply pay me handsomely for what he wanted. If I didn't get paid, then I got prey, which is just as good. He wanted me to get a large amount of land from a Mr Lupin.
Before I worked for the Dark Lord and became well known, I always presented blackmail in the same way. I turned up at a door and asked for whatever it was that I wanted. I hated to be, but I was always polite – niceties are good at getting you information, and information is necessary in blackmail. Though the man refused to sell me the land – I did not threaten him this visit much as I would have liked to – I discovered his weak point – his loved one – his wife. I left the house soon, having already found the necessary information.
It was about a week later when I went back to the house. Mr Lupin again refused to sell, so I made references to previous blackmail, and to previous results. He looked terrified – white knuckles, wide eyes, and perfectly still – but still managed to be defiant. 'I will not be threatened, and I will not sell. You would have to bite me first, and once you've done that, there's nothing that you can threaten me with. I'm not selling.'
He was stupid – he was choosing a monthly horror – your entire body being ripped apart every single month – over some land. But that wasn't the choice to be made.
'But what about your wife?'
The man gasped, startled, but soon recovered himself again. 'She will not be threatened any more than I will. I suggest that you leave.'
'If that is your opinion, then I doubt that you will change your mind about selling?' He certainly didn't change his mind. I wonder how often he would find himself cursing his pride: without that, there would be no consequence other than losing land.
As always, I gave one final chance. 'I will return in 3 days – the exact day of the full moon' I enjoyed the look of pure terror on the man's face, before continuing. 'If you have changed your mind, there will be no consequences.' I left.
True to my word, I visited again three days later. This time, I was not even allowed into the house: he just said no several times, each time getting progressively louder. It was him that chose the fate, not me.
That evening, I positioned myself close to the house. I got a dreadful sinking sensation in my stomach as the sun set. I still get nervous every single time I transform – I hate it. But the feeling once I've transformed … there is nothing like it. If only I could remain a wolf… But back to the story.
The moon shone, and I transformed. The sinking sensation in my stomach became real; my bones lengthened, shortened and changed. My skin felt as though needles were being punched into it; my mind as if it would burst. The pain stopped suddenly.
I ran, I leapt, I howled. I loved being a wolf – the strength, the freedom, the hunt. My senses caught a scent and I traced it to the house beside me. I easily leaped through an open window, pausing only to check for other scents. I followed the original upwards, to the first floor.
I saw a body lying sleeping, the moon lighting up the face. The human – almost werewolf – would always remember tonight – the fear, the pain, the wolf.
The scent urged me on, though I suddenly realised – the very small, human part of me – realised that this was the wrong person. This was not a woman. It was a small child. Could I do this? Could I destroy an entire life? I was afraid to move in for the bite. But I couldn't stop myself. The wolf was hunting; he would not lose his prey this close. I pounced.
The bite woke the boy. He screamed, but soon his screams turned to shrieks as the moon affected him.
I had done my job. I had got the prey and was finished. I turned to go. Two humans were in the way of the door. I leaped at one, but she moved towards the yowling werewolf – her son. As I landed, I looked at the man. He knew who I was, and what I had done… what he had done.
Too shocked to attack me, he stood still, and I left, hearing only the howls of a cub behind me.
I didn't see Remus Lupin for another thirty years, but now he is trying to destroy the werewolves' goal.
He is the only human I ever regretted biting.