Chapter 3

"Let the revel begin," the man shouted over the din. The three young werewolves howled as the took a running leap and vaulted the fire one by one. Soon enough, the rest of the group started joining in.

Meanwhile, Remus pulled Harry towards the old man, trying to avoid getting mowed over by enthusiastic wolves.

"Remus," said the man, catching sight of him. "You missed a fantastic rite of passage. The young ones show such promise. Is this the cub?"

Remus nodded.

"This is Harry Potter," he said.

The man placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and looked him over.

"Harry, this is Richard Storm-Crow, leader of the Sept at Devon," Remus explained.

"Another mage-child," said Storm-Crow thoughtfully.

"You were just singing the other one's praises," Remus said.

"Yes, but it makes me uneasy," said Storm-Crow. "It makes me very uneasy."

He started walking, leaning heavily on his staff as he did. Harry noticed that Storm-Crow didn't look very old, but like Lupin he had a certain weatherbeaten look about him. Like a man who had seen too much in a very short time.

"What's the problem?" Harry asked.

"Wizard children have trouble integrating," Remus explained. "They're usually more suspicious, having been told stories about werewolves. Muggle children don't care. Until their first change, they're either convinced werewolves aren't real, or their parents have explained the whole deal to them and they're already expecting it."

Harry suddenly realised why Jenna had been so thick about the wand and apparating. She was a muggle.

"They're all muggles?" Harry asked, somewhat shocked.

"We're werewolves, Harry," Remus said. "There is no distinction between wizard and muggle here."

"But we can do magic, they can't," Harry said. Maybe it was just him, but he felt that gave him an advantage. He couldn't imagine going up against a death eater without a wand.

"We have our own brand of magic," Remus said. "You will learn about it all soon enough."

Remus sighed. There was so much to do, and so little time before Harry had to return to Hogwarts.

"So I was... chosen," Harry said. "For what?"

"To fight, Harry," Remus said. "To join in an age old war of good against evil. To protect the mother from those that would do her harm."

"The mother?" Harry echoed.

"Gaia," Remus said. "Mother Earth."

Harry looked completely stumped. He had the feeling he had stumbled unto some weird cult that performed arcane rituals, worshipped the Earth and the Moon, and just happened to be werewolves.

"It all just sounds a little... mad," Harry said.

Remus chuckled.

"That's how I felt when I was first told," he said.

Harry sighed. As if being a wizard wasn't enough to handle. Now he had to handle being a werewolf as well.

"What are all these wolves doing here?" Harry asked, wondering if they were part of the ritual.

But before he could answer, a large grey wolf wandered up to him. Harry instinctively reached for his wand, but it was still locked away safely in Lupin's car. Instead he got ready to run.

But the wolf suddenly reared on its hind legs, and started to shift. It's fur disappeared, except on its head where it got longer and redder, and where there had been a wolf, Jenna was standing in front of him.

"What wolves," she said innocently. Harry almost jumped.

"Harry, that is one of the forms werewolves can take," Remus said, hiding a smile. "You are now a creature of two worlds, man and wolf. Try it."

Harry looked puzzled.

"How?" he asked.

"Just think--" Jenna started.

"Yeah just think wolf thoughts," Harry interrupted her. "What the hell are wolf thoughts?"

"See, you're learning," Jenna smirked.

Harry closed his eyes, getting quite annoyed with Jenna. She seemed to enjoy tormenting him.

"Another way to do it is to just use your rage," she said.

"How?" Harry asked again. He wished they would stop speaking in riddles.

"Close your eyes," Remus said.

Harry looked sceptical, but humoured him and closed her eyes.

"Now," he said. "Think of running. You're on four legs. You are hunting your prey in the wilderness. Reach inside, find your instincts ..."

Harry opened his eyes and looked up at Lupin.

Way up.

He suddenly felt more alive than he had ever felt in his life. Maybe it was just the joy of having succeeded, or the freedom of being a wolf. He barked happily, and turned around and started chasing his tail.

Jenna laughed.

"Cubs are fun," she said.

Harry suddenly understood why everyone had been acting so crazy. This was exhilirating. He bounded off and started chasing the other wolves, joining in their games and snapping playfully at their tails. The three kids who had been standing at the centre before had also taken their wolf forms. Harry recognised the snowy white female and the jackal-like male. The runes and paintings he had drawn on his skin were visible now on his black fur. He nudged Harry playfully, and included him in their somewhat rough, yet friendly games. Harry didn't feel like a stranger anymore. For the first time in his life, he felt like he was with family, although he had never met these people before in his life.