A/N: Writing Chase is fun, I'm not sure if I'm conveying my mental image of him fully, but he's fun. I promise, I'm going to move away from moment by moment chapters soon. After all, we have a whole year to cover, right?


"Harry's a werewolf, but not like Remus, or what we learned in Defense," Hannah said after a moment of silence, looking nervous.

"Right," Chase said as he glanced around the dining room table. Neville looked thoughtful and nervous, Fay looked stunned, Hannah was clearly nervous, and Luna was staring across to the dining room window as if the whole thing bored her. Chase, having had three years to understand Luna, took this to mean that she was listening to everything before she made her decision on how to feel. Tracy and Blaise were in the kitchen, Chase could hear them talking softly about the werewolves as they did the dishes, and Harry and Shadow were upstairs. Shadow was talking Harry through some basic calming exercises before they joined everyone else. Sirius and Remus were also upstairs, but since they had silenced their room, Chase couldn't hear what they were up to, thankfully.

"And you and Shadow are the same kind of werewolf," Neville said finally, "except you were born a werewolf and Shadow was bitten."

"Right," Chase said.

"Now what?" Fay asked.

"What?" Neville said.

"Now what," Fay said, "I mean, do we need to paint ourselves blue and hop on one foot to keep him from biting us? Do we have to avoid the letter 'q'?"

Chase chuckled, "Nope. Just try to keep from getting Harry angry until we get him sorted out. And yes, Shadow and I know what we're doing. We both had to learn control and we've both helped others learn it too. My experience is with the younger 'wolves of my Pack, and Shadow's Pack inducted three bitten wolves that he's worked with."

"Will that be enough?" Luna asked, glancing at Chase for a moment before looking back out the window.

"Every Pack has different ways to teach control," Shadow said as he walked into the dining room, "we'll try our methods, and ask Hale if he has some suggestions if necessary."

Chase winced, "I hadn't actually gotten to that point yet, Big Bad."

"Who is Derek?" Hannah asked.

"Derek is a beta werewolf we met last night," Chase said, listening as Shadow and Harry began to come down the stairs, talking quietly. "The Alpha that bit Harry had killed his Alpha so he was hunting it. Since the Alpha bit Harry and that other kid, well, it's safe to say that this is…"

"Another typical year in the life of Harry fucking Potter," Harry announced, making everyone but Chase jump.

"How are you feeling?" Neville asked.

"Like I went three rounds with Padfoot and Moony," Harry said with a slight grin. "If this is what a hangover feels like, I'm never drinking."

"Problem solved, you can't get drunk," Shadow said, "You'll metabolize it too quickly."

"Damn," Harry said, snapping his fingers. "Guess that's off the list."

"Really though," Neville said, "Are you okay?"

Harry hesitated, not really looking at any of them. "I'm angry. I didn't ask for this, or want it; a murderer forced it on me. My life has just completely changed everything I thought I knew is completely different than I ever thought it could be." Now he looked up, twisting slightly to look at Shadow, then Chase, and around the table, "The thing is, this isn't the first time that's happened to me. When I was eleven, I got a letter addressed to me and I went from Harry, the unwanted nephew of Petunia Dursley to Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived, with magic and magical creatures, and fame given to me by a murderer. To a lesser extent, I've experienced that every couple of months ever since, from dealing with the Troll and Quirrell to being a Parselmouth, Riddle's diary, and the Basilisk, not to mention learning about Padfoot and Moony and the Triwizard Tournament. I've learned a lot about coping when life flips upside down, so I can handle this. I just have to keep reminding myself that I can get through this."

"Question, if you're angry, shouldn't you…" Fay said.

Harry held up his hand, displaying a metal cuff. "Occlumency training tool, helps me keep my emotions in check so that I can learn to protect my mind. Of course, Shadow was saying I'm protected from mind readers unless they know the differences between a werewolf and a human, but the emotional control helps."

"It's good for a temporary fix," Shadow said, "not one I've seen before, but as it seems to be working, we'll put it on the list of useful tools."

Chase heard a door open upstairs, "Sirius and Remus are coming," he said.

Harry tilted his head, "I couldn't hear them before, but I can now."

"Silencing charms," Chase and Shadow said. Chase stared at the table, unwilling to look at anyone as his cheeks turned a brilliant red.

"You could hear them?" Harry said.

"That first night…" Chase began.

"I let them know they could be heard before they started anything," Shadow said. "Even if we were the only ones who could hear them talking, I doubt we would have been the only ones to hear the rest of it."

"Thank you," Neville said, sounding strangled.

"You're welcome," Shadow said.

"Is everyone in here?" Remus asked as he came in the door.

"Tracy and Blaise are still doing the dishes," Harry said. "I think they're almost done though."

"They needed two people to load the dishwasher?" Remus asked.

"Well," Chase said slowly, "there was a… accident with the pancakes." He grinned brightly at Remus, "Blaise got it all off the ceiling though, promise."

"The ceiling," Remus said, "no, don't tell me. As long as it's all cleaned up, I don't want to know."

"Professor Lupin, would you and Rialóir Black like some breakfast? We saved some pancakes and sausage for you." Tracy asked, leaning in through the kitchen archway.

"Yes please," Remus said, "and it's still Remus, Tracy."

"And Sirius," Sirius called from the front of the house.

"Sorry, Prof, I mean Remus," Tracy said, and vanished back into the kitchen.

Moments later, she and Blaise appeared with a tray with the left over pancakes and sausage on it, now steaming hot. Sirius joined them a moment later, "That smells delicious."

"Thanks," Chase said, "my mom taught me how to make them."

"Now," Remus said as he sat down beside Fay, "we do need to have a talk about how things are going to go this year, besides Harry's werewolf training. Now, some things were set up for us to use over the course of the year, including tutors to make sure you'll be ready for your OWLs."

"Is there a schedule set up for them?" Harry asked.

"Not at the moment," Remus said, "but the tutors are all willing to work with us however we chose. Wendy said that our counterpoints hired people who would work with us, regardless of what might happen. I called her this morning and she confirmed that it included the werewolves amongst us."

Chase glanced at the group, "I'm willing to go along with the majority vote, Remus, but I was hoping to see if I couldn't track down Derek Hale today as well. May I go?"

Remus eyed him for a moment, then glanced at the group, "Does anybody mind if Chase leaves?" Everyone indicated no in their preferred manner. "All right, Chase, be back before dark."

"Thanks," Chase said. He headed for the back yard, pulling his shirt off as he went. He paused in the mudroom to leave his sweatpants and t-shirt behind, leaving him in a pair of skintight shorts. Then he stepped outside, rolled his shoulders and lunged forward, flowing into the form of the wolf.

In his Pack, the ability to shift fully into a wolf was the sign that you'd achieved total control over your body, mind, and soul. While his sister who wasn't a Witch had taken until she was thirteen, Chase had been pushed hard to manage the shift by his tenth birthday. If he had been unable to shift, he would never have gone to Hogwarts.

Achieving the shift had been the most amazing experience in Chase's life, in some ways, he felt more at home in his lanky, grey furred form over his two-legger form. Now, Chase bounded across the backyard and leaped the back fence by the gate Harry had run out of the night before. It was the work of a moment for Chase to locate Harry's scent and he was off, heading through the forest, backtracking Harry.

Even with the detours around trees and bushes, Chase had to admit he was impressed; Harry had managed to run at least two miles after he'd lost his temper at Sirius and Shadow had been caught in the backlash.

Finally, Chase leaped the incline Harry had fallen down and landed lightly where he'd been the night before, facing a mad Alpha. He cast around slowly, looking for signs that would lead him to Derek Hale.

"Looking for something?"

Chase looked up, then shifted back, "Mister Hale. I'm Chase Travers, we met last night."

"I remember," Hale said.

"I came out here to ask if you needed anything," Chase said. "Harry survived; Shadow and I can handle his training, but that Alpha."

"He'll want his betas," Derek said shortly. "And yes, the kid survived. His name is Scott McCall."

Chase nodded, "All right." He hesitated, eyeing Derek. Some old werewolf families passed on the knowledge of the magical world even if they didn't throw any kids of their own. "Have you ever heard of the Golden Gate Academy?"

"I have," Derek said, "my cousin studied there."

Chase took a deep breath, "All right, do you know the full name of it though?"

"Golden Gate Magical Academy," Derek said.

"Okay, Harry, Shadow, and I are Wolf-Wizards," Chase said, "we came here, to America in general and Beacon Hills specifically, to study some specific magic this year. While that has to take priority, Shadow and I are agreed that if you need help, we'll help, since we are both trained, if young. Harry, well, if I've learned nothing in the past four and a half years, I've learned that if Harry things a fight is worth fighting, he'll lead the charge, no matter what's at the other end."

Crashing noises cut off whatever Derek was going to say and they both turned to look behind Derek.

"I can smell so much," a young man was saying, "things I shouldn't be able to smell."

"Yeah?" A second, young male said, "Like what?"

"Like the mint mojito gum in your pocket."

"I don't-"

"I told you. Look around, this is where I dropped my inhaler."

"And you found the body here too?"

"Yeah, but I'm worried about the inhaler, those things cost sixty bucks, and my mom will kill me if I lost one being stupid."

Derek jumped softly out of the ravine and Chase followed him, while Derek stood tall, Chase ducked behind some bushes, not wanting to explain to a couple of civilians why he was wandering barefoot in a pair of skintight shorts. Kicking around the dead leaves on the other side was a pair of teenagers about Chase's age. One had a buzz cut and moles, the other had dark brown hair and a crooked jaw line.

"This is private property," Derek said pointedly.

Chase scented the breeze and realized that the kid with the jaw was a Beta.

"Sorry," the guy said, "we got turned around last night and I lost my inhaler."

Derek held it up, "You mean this? Better be careful out here at night, lots of wild animals."

"Yeah, thanks," the kid said. He caught it when Derek tossed it to him. "We'll be going then."

Chase moved, wanting to stop, to ask them questions, but Derek glared at him.

"Who's that?" The kid with the moles said.

Chase glanced over, hoping he didn't mean him. Sure enough, the kid was staring at him through the bushes. He considered his options and stood up, "Hi."

"Is there a reason you're standing naked in the bushes?" The kid asked.

"I'm not naked, and I forgot my invisibility cloak." Chase said, He considered his options, reading the teen's eager curiosity and his friend's uncertainty. He glanced at Derek, who nodded slightly. "Scott McCall?"

"Yes?" The kid with the uneven jaw line asked startled.

"Do you remember what happened to you last night?" Chase asked.

"Something bit me, but I didn't get a good look at it. I passed or something, because I woke up in my bed this morning with a nasty bite on my side," Scott replied.

"Have you looked at it?" Chase asked.

"What?" Scott said.

"Have you looked at it this afternoon." Chase said.

"No," Scott said, he pulled his shirt up to reveal the bloody bandage.

"Take the bandage off," Chase said.

"What- why?" Scott said.

"I'm proving a point, take the bandage off," Chase said. Scott peeled the bandage off to reveal unblemished skin with a few blood smears on it. "Congratulations," Chase said, rocking from his heels to his toes, "You aren't dying today."

"But, how?" Scott said, "It was as big as my hand!"

"Dude," his friend said.

"Well," Chase said, "I can give you the good news, the news of indeterminate value, or the bad news, which do you want first?"

"How about your name," the other kid said.

"Crap," Chase said, "I'm sorry, I forgot. Boarding school, everybody knows your name. I'm Chase Travers. This is Derek Hale, and you are?"

"Stiles Stilinski," Stiles said.

"Right," Chase said, "Pleased to meet you, mate. Now, McCall, good, bad or indeterminate."

"How about indeterminate," Scott said.

"You're a werewolf."

"Excuse me?" Scott said.

"You're joking, right?" Stiles asked, "You think Scott's the Wolfman or something?"

"I preferred An American Werewolf in London from your side of the Pond, actually," Chase said, "but I meant an honest to God, howl at the moon, fur, fang, and claw werewolf."

"But werewolves aren't real," Scott said.

"Sure they are," Chase said, "allow me to provide you with incontrovertible proof." He lunged for Scott, bounding up to him in his wolf form. He darted around Scott and then Stiles before leaping over to sit beside Derek.

"That's a wolf, isn't it," Scott said, looking at Stiles.

Chase grinned at them, his tail thumping against Derek's leg. "It's something that werewolves can do," Derek said quietly. "When you've learned control, you can become a wolf."

"Can you do that?" Stiles asked.

"I'm not going to," Derek said shortly.

"Why not?" Stiles said.

"Because there is no good explanation for a man in his twenties to be striping in the woods with three teenagers," Derek said.

Chase changed back, moving away from Derek, "The good news is, you won't actually need that inhaler anymore. Being a werewolf can take care of many chronic conditions. My partner, Shadow, he had a disease that would have left him immobilized, but with a completely active mind before his grandfather gave him the bite." He glanced at Derek, "Speaking of, some weird stuff happened with Harry last night, I was hoping for a second, or third, opinion on the matter."

Derek nodded.

A wolf's howl echoed through the forest and Chase rolled his eyes. "Apparently, I've been gone too long. That's Shadow calling me back. Derek, I'll see you around sometime." Chase nodded at Scott and Stiles, "Good luck, you two." He turned and shifted again, racing back through the woods for the house.