Kiara snapped the compartment door closed with her elbow; juggling two butter beers shot with espresso. She yawned deeply as she handed one to Miya, then took her place on the seat next to her. It was Miya's turn to yawn. Her small features stretched to allow more oxygen into her brain. Both their eyes were red and puffy from lack of sleep. Miya stretched out her long legs and yawned again before taking a sip of the steaming cup. She ran her hand through her hair. It was brown with red streaks and badly needed washing. She grimaced and wiped her hand on her pans, wiping away the grease.
"This is so nasty," she complained. "Next time we need to get back sooner and stop at a hotel so we can be clean."
"Agreed," Kiara lifted a strand of her own black hair and rustled her red bangs.
"Silly girls, can't take living in the wilderness, can we?" Bane and Faolan were both much less tired and much cleaner.
"Living in the wilderness does not mean living with no personal hygiene," said Kiara argumentatively. "Plus we just sprinted all the way from southern Ireland,"
"Of course, we're Lou-Giroux, that's what we do," Bane stated.
"No, that's what werewolves do, run without a purpose, we're not stinking werewolves," Faolan spoke in his fatherly, leader voice, preparing for a lecture. He ran his hand up his forehead and back through his auburn hair, pulling it away form his face. He needed a shave, as well as Bane, both had past shadow and were now well on their way to growing a full beard. It would take a day or so for the wild to washout of all of them. Even Seyleen and Farra, whom Kiara had left oggling the candy, looked a bit worse for wear.
Kiara and Miya were the worst though, because last night had been their turn to hunt for the pack. So while the others slept peacefully, they had been running and sweating through the woods. Their efforts turned up only a lonely buck, but it was enough for the night.
"Yes, yes we've heard this before," exclaimed Bane. "We are chosen to be Artemis, the moon Goddess's children; and hare gifted to shift from humans to wolves at will and be fully conscious of everything. Am I right?" He gave Faolan a sideways look.
"Smartass," was Faolan's only reply.
"Do you think there's a spell for washing hair?" Kiara asked after a few moments of silence.
"Perhaps, let's check," Miya stood on her seat to reach up into her trunk for her charms books.
"I', sure, if there is one, it would be in a book about beauty, and not a s basic charms book for students," said Bane. Miya merely gave him a look and continued searching the index. The compartment door slid open again to allow two girls. One blonde and one brunette. They were both adorned in checkered hats and arm sox, and both carried a large plate of sweets.
"look who made it back finally," Kiara teased. They both stuck out their tongues playfully ands sat on the floor between the seats. The door slid shut on its own soon after. Miya grunted in frustration and tossed one book aside proceeding to pick up a second. Kiara grabbed the third and they both flipped back to the index.
"What are looking for?" Farra, the brunette, asked. She leaned over Kiara to get a better look at the text.
":Trying to find a spell for washing their hair," chuckled Faolan.
"Maybe we'll find a spell to shave your beard while we're at it," Kiara teased. Farra took the book from Kiara and read the front cover.
"Oh you wont find any spells like tat in there," She said. I've already checked." Bane and Faolan raise their eyebrows at each other.
"Of course you did," Bane muttered.
"Did you check this year's too?" Miya asked, holding up Charms for Fourth Years. Farra nodded as she chomped down on a licorice wand. Kiara and Miya both groaned and Miya threw her books back into her trunk, slamming the lid with defeat.
"Why am I the only one whose not a fourth year?" Seyleen asked timidly.
"You're too young," Faolan said simply.
"But you're to old!" Seyleen retorted. "You and Bane and Miya and Kiara are all seventeen!"
"'Cause we started late remember?"
"Why couldn't I start early?"
"Because it doesn't work that way,"
"Your face doesn't work that way,"
"Your mom doesn't work that way,"
"Fuck my mom, she's a bitch anyway!"
"Excuse me?" Kiara said sternly.
"What?" Seyleen whined again
"You are 13 missy, watch your mouth," Seyleen pouted at her.
"Just be glad your classmates are your age and not three years younger than you," said Miya. Bane nodded in agreement and the room relaxed for a minute or so.
"But your classmates don't know you're older than them, so they wouldn't know if I was younger, would they?" Seyleen dropped her sour, whiney tone and became sugary sweet, as she normally was. Faolan knelt down beside her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder in a brotherly manner.
"Seyleen, beggars can't be choosers. It was more than we could ask, for Professor Longbottom to even let us stay in the forbidden forest, let alone become students here and live in the castle. Especially since most of us were too old to start school anyway. Now, I know you're lonely in your classes, but people here don't know we're Lous-Giroux, I'm sure other kids your age will wanna be friends with you, just give 'em a chance, ok?" He smiled down at her and she returned it after along sigh.
"Fine, I'll give it a try," Faolan beamed and reseated himself beside Bane.
"Well, it's been fun… I'm off to take a piss," Bane stood up and reached for the door handle, only to have it slide open for him. There, stood a tall, well toned, blonde boy smirking at him.
"Oh, it would seem the bane of human existence couldn't stay away from Hogwarts, pity I was hoping our classrooms would smell better," Eddie Rampart sneered. He quite enjoyed insulting those in the house of Slytherin. He himself was in Gryffendor, the rival house. In his own house, he seemed quite popular, but any and all Slytherins hated him and the professors didn't enjoy his presence in class very much.
"What do you want Rampart?" Bane growled. He bared his teeth, and shoed his face into Rampart's threateningly. Green eyes glared into piercing, smirking blue. Neither backed down in spite of the other. Rampart was a year younger than Bane, however because of the circumstances, believed he was older. His smirk widened and he growled back in an almost whisper.
"Nothing, wolfman," he smirked and Bane snarled at him and would have attacked Rampart had Faolan not pulled him back.
"Are you really that unintelligent that you can't come up with a better way to entertain yourself?" said Kiara with disgust.
"No, there is one other way he knows how to entertain himself, Kiara," Miya explained with insulting sarcasm dripping from every word. "And since he has recently finished with the ladder…"
"I was thinking of you the whole time, hot stuff," Rampart winked at Miya in a seductive manner and pursed his lips to make a kissy face. Both Faolan and Bane simultaneously punched Rampart. Bane smashed his nose while Faolan crushed his gut. Rampart let out a surprised grunt and fell to the ground. He scrambled back to his feet, holding his hand to his nose, catching the flow of blood.
"Just you wait," He gasped and rushed off down the aisle.
"I hate him so much," Faolan growled.
"Dude, you shouldn't have stopped me from punching him in the first place" Bane shook his head in disappointment and continued onto the washroom once again.
"Well, that was encouraging," said Kiara sarcastically. "I'm sure Seyleen is now inspired to make new friends."
"No, I already knew he was a jerk," said Seyleen. Bane did not return to the car until an hour had past and Miya and Kiara had fallen asleep. Seyleen and Farra entertained themselves by discussing snippets of conversations they'd heard earlier, getting a head start on this year's gossip. Faolan was left to himself, reading a book he'd recently purchased in the train station while waiting for the girls to finish up in the washrroom.
Fifteen minutes before their arrival in Hogsmeade, Faolan shook Miya and Kiara awake, suggesting that they change from their muggle clothes into their Hogwarts robes. Groggily, they gathered their robes and followed Faolan to the washroom car. They separated at the entrance into their respectable room. Faolan to the boy's and the others two to the girls.
Once in the boy's car, Faolan took note that there was only one person besides himself. They occupied the only toilet, being on a train one toilet was enough to keep clean. Not needing to use said toilet, Faolan stepped into one of the dressing stalls. He quickly undressed, taking no notice of his toned muscles. He knew Bane had larger muscles than him and was physically stronger. Despitre that, Faolan made a better fighter, he knew exactly where and when to strike and kept his emotions in check. It was these qualities that had gained him role as pack leader, the Alpha male. Miya was the Beta female, second in command. She was practically the female version of Bane with more common sense. He'd found her when they were four years old, skulking around the outskirts of the zoo. She'd apparently been planning to set the wolves being kept there free. Apparently it had been the same zoo her parents had tried to get rid of her at, after they'd discovered she wasn't human. She'd escaped and lived in the woods on her own as a wolf for a year, before returning to the same zoo seeking revenge. Naturally, Faolan had helped her achieve this goal and they stuck together in hopes to form a pack
Both Miya's parents were muggles, which contrasted with her place in Slytherin house. Faolan's parents however, were pure bloods and attempted to murder him as a baby. Instinctively, or by the guidance of the moon goddess, Artemis, he had shifted to wolf form and immediately fled. Unbeknownst to the rest of the pack, his younger brother is now a student at Hogwarts and is completely unaware of his presence.
Kiara and Bane joined their pack a few years later. They'd only been with each other a few months however. No one really knew what Bane's story was, but he'd found Kiara. She was the daughter of a rich muggle father and witch mother. Mother knew precisely what Kiara was but did not want to embarrass her superficial muggle husband. On the condition that Kiara w became the best of the best in order to make daddy look good, mother let her stay. When Kiara turned three she was sent to every private teacher imaginable. She enjoyed fencing most and so out of spite to her mother excelled in only that field. The day before she was to be sent off to boarding school, she decided to spend her last night at home as a wolf. Sprinting through the woods she met Bane. He convinced her that she didn't need to put up with her parents and so left with him. A few months of living only as wolves was a great relief. Faolan and Miya caught their sent during a hunt one night and after excited exclamations of finding more of their kind, they joined forces and became a pack.