Mysterious Meetings

It was a sunny, beautiful day; with not a cloud in the sky. The Granger family took it as the perfect day for their morning hike, a nice way to end their camping trip. Ten-year-old Hermione smiled as she followed behind her parents, both dentists in her home town.

With just a few hours of driving they had easily left behind city and countryside for the massive forest beyond, full of majestic wildlife including deer, foxes, and one of the young girl's favorites-

Wolves.

Ever since the moment her parents had taken her to the zoo, that first moment she had laid her curious brown eyes on those large canine beasts, she fell in love with them. She studied them, learned all she could about them, and would talk non-stop about the loyal canines to her parents 24/7; so when she found that their usual camping spot the home of more than a few packs of wolves, Hermione was more than just a little enthusiastic to go-which meant she literally dragged her poor parents to the car; they were not going fast enough for the curious girl.

So especially now she stayed back, eyes open wide, peering into the trees for a just a simple glimpse of a wolf… just one wolf.

Thirty minutes passed by with no sign of such beautiful creatures.

An hour passed the same way.

Hermione was beginning to give up with a sad frown as she kicked a rock in disappointment. Mrs. Granger sighed; wild animals just weren't always willing to make an appearance, even for their number one fans.

The family was ready to turn back to the campsite-but Hermione's urgent pointed stopped them in their tracks.

There in the trees were a pair of luminous green eyes, a bright green that one would never think possible for any being to have… and yet they were there. Hermione blinked, and then blinked once again; there had been a black wolf with those green eyes but two minutes ago…

Yet now there was the form of a small boy peering back at her with those same mysterious, bright green eyes, dark hair falling down his shoulders-just staring at her.

Her father stopped her as she took a step towards him.

"Wait here pumpkin." Her father said as he kneeled before her placing a kiss on her forehead before walking towards the strange boy. She blinked as he shied from her father… why would he act so scared? 'We're just normal people…' The young girl thought to herself with a quizzical expression on her face. She could hear her father as he muttered small words of comfort to the boy, taking off his sweat shirt the wrapping it around his shoulders. Where was his parents, shouldn't someone be with him? He appeared to be only about her age no more…

Her mother covered Hermione's eyes as her father came back with the boy in his arms, but she had seen enough to know why he had given the green eyed boy his sweat shirt…her face grew red as she hid it in her mom's shirt. It was just too much for a young girl to take in… actually she didn't need to see that sight at all, although her father's sweatshirt dwarfed the small boy, just the sight of the bare chest and legs was enough to leave unpleasant thoughts in her head.

And yet she couldn't help but notice the collection of scars that littered the boy's body. From head to toe, pale and red, there seemed to be a scar every where-but the one that her eyes were drawn toward was the scar in the shape of a lightening bolt that was revealed to the world on his forehead before his dark hair lay over his eyes as he hid his face in the sweat shirt.

What could make him so scared of them?

Why was he so small?

How in the name of the Lord did he obtain all of those scars?

+++++++++++HP+++++++++++++++

He had watched the strange beings come down the walking path… They were weird… they walked on two legs, had no fur, and looked all too much like himself… Hawk Foot told him once that he was, like these beings, a human-but how could he be one of these furless things when he had lived all his puppy years in the pack? He had let his eyes stare at the smaller human girl as she started to walk towards him… her eyes had widened as he took his two leg form, observing her in a better as he could walk on hind legs.

The big man had been quick to stop her, and knelt in front of her speaking words that he could not understand from his place in the woods… but he understood next that he big man was coming towards him.

He cowered as his green eyes became wide in fear, the big man smelled strange, and his large hand came slowly down on his shoulder as the wolf boy shuddered wanting to run back to Hawk Foot or Misty Eye… some two legs came into the woods with fire sticks that they called 'guns;' guns were scary. They made loud noises, and deer and birds alike fell down lifeless to its power… What if this man wanted to take his life too?

When no blow came the young boy was surprised-rather the man placed odd material around his shoulders and picked him up though he protested and shied away whimpering in fear. Before he could consider what was happening the man was walking away from the forest and towards the other two leg people, and then onward from there.

With each passing tree he became more and more anxious of his surroundings; he was getting farther and farther away from the pack… His heart raced when he saw that they were taking him toward the two leg residences… and then toward the monster.

They were taking him far away from the forest…

He lashed out as he scrambled in the man's arms, getting worried glanced from the other two legs as the man spoke more comforting words that sounded like gibberish against the wolf boy's fight for freedom, finally the man let him down and knelt beside him looking into his eyes seemingly trying to tell him something that should have meant something…

He couldn't understand one word as he was put into the belly of the beast.

Hermione watched as the sleeping boy's chest rose and fell in perfect rhythm from his seat beside her in the van. It was hard to imagine the fight he had put up against her father just hours earlier compared to his peaceful sleep in fetal position now. Even now from her window she could see the passing countryside as farms started to dwindle to nothingness and small towns replaced them. When the van finally stopped Hermione almost shrieked as the boy jolted to wakefulness, scrambling on all fours with eyes open wide, clawing for dear life at the window.

It was then that he said the first word from the moment she had seen him as he looked at her with fear in his eyes.

"Woods?" There was a pleading sound to his voice as another whimper passed his lips.

"No—no this is my home…" Hermione answered struggling not to stutter. "I'm Hermione, what's your name?" She continued asking her own question now as she held out a hand. He seemed to stare at her in misunderstanding before he looked away to ponder something. Couldn't he understand her? Didn't he know his own name?

"H-Haiden." Came the hesitant reply from the boy—no Haiden she corrected—as he stared oddly at her outstretched hand.

"We…er…shake hands Haiden…" She said with a small smile.

++++++++++++++HP+++++++++++++++

The rest of the day at the Granger's house was hectic. Haiden was like a two-year-old, curious about everything, yet also scared. He would take caution with everything, and with no boy children, the family resorted to using one of Mr. Granger's large T-shirts for the young boy to use until they could buy him proper attire.

In the long run, the boy was strange, but he had warmed up to Hermione quickly—much to her parent's surprise and the young girl's delight. It was like a brother she had never had!

She took it upon her self to teach the boy everything she could think of; the top priority being to read and write. Oddly enough it seemed everything that Hermione taught him he soaked up like a sponge. By the end of the month he was reading and writing almost as well as she was! Haiden's wild air to his behavior and personality remained, however, and each night she could find him sleeping curled in his protective ball, and one night she found herself unfortunate to find out why…

Both children had left the living room to retire to their beds-the family haven taken in Haiden as Hermione heard from her parents there was no hide or hair of any family missing a child with his description. The rest of the story, the ten-year-old girl could not understand, only that the boy was practically her brother and that was all that mattered. She had been ready to fall into sleep's deep embrace when she heard his earsplitting howl.

There he was, as her parents rushed in behind her to the scene, bolt right in his bed, holding his head with both hands like it was going to fall apart if he were to let go, his knees were drawn up to his chest as he whimpered silently in the dark.

Incoherent phrases were uttered from Haiden, and slowly she pieced together enough to understand one thing: he was having a waking nightmare, and whatever had happened to him to put him in such a state from the pass, still haunted him today.

"You're safe Haiden, you're safe." She whispered into his ear as she sat behind him and rocked them both slowly, gently back and forth letting him sob out his fears. "Everything is all right, you're fine here, you're home Haiden, you're home." She repeated as she continued to comfort him with soothing words and gentle circular motions rubbed into his shoulders. Quietly she heard him whisper 'home' before she felt his head droop and watched as his eyes fell and he surrendered to sleep.

A/N: Hey everyone Ari here, I hope you enjoyed Wolf Boy with all the editing/revision and a month's (or more) thoughts and writing put into it, it's finally typed up for you to read and review. ;) I plan to warn you now Harry (Haiden) may/will seem AU in this story due to past events that shall be explained later, until then…

-Rider Ari