Rating of R
I do not own the characters, JKR does. I simply borrow them.
"...Greyback specializes in children...Bite them young, he says, and raise them away from their parents, raise them to hate normal wizards"
-Remus Lupin, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, 334
What if, when Remus Lupin was bitten, Greyback stole him off into the middle of the night. What if he was never found. What if he never went to Hogwarts and never met three people that could change his life forever. What if he met one of them. Six years too late. This is that what if story.
Beta read by ErikaDominica2790.
Blood Chronicles
-
Four hours passed in relative quiet, the light haired pickpocket lay comfortably on his mound of quilts, tossing a small red ball into the air and then snatching it back absent mindedly. Padfoot lay in the corner, head resting on his paws, and watched as the red ball went up and down, up and down, up and down over and over again. He liked the way Remus' reflexes reacted so well.
Stupid werewolves and their amazing reflexes. He'd make a terribly good Seeker-
"Hey," a breathless voice broke the calm silence as well as his train of thought. Padfoot jerked around to inspect the intruder, but the ball never ceased its constant hurtling.
"'Lo, Colewood," Remus said casually, eyes fixed on the ball as it went up and down, up and down, up and-
"Goddammit, why do you have to be so difficult?" she sighed and walked over to him, making a grab for the ball. He was faster and snatched it away from her reach, but did not throw it again.
"Difficult how?" Remus asked with a raised eyebrow.
She opened her mouth, but quickly shut it again. There was no way she was going to rise to the bait and start arguing with him.
"I'm off," Colewood told him simply instead.
"In more ways than one." Colewood blushed, something Padfoot had never seen her do before, and punched him in the shoulder.
Over in the corner Padfoot's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. Being the master of sexual puns that he was, he knew what 'off' Remus was referring to. And Colewood's blush did nothing but admit that the pun had been well placed. If possible his eyes grew even larger at the sight of dark, blossoming bruises erupting over her neck and collar bone.
His eyes traveled lower to the exposed skin between her wrinkled tee shit and, somehow, even lower jeans and took in the dark spots around her hips. He was sure that there were more, even if they were covered by disheveled clothing.
"Shut up, you're just jealous because you have to do it yourself," she snapped and didn't even try to cover her bruises, completely unashamed.
His eyebrow rose slowly again, the small rubber ball fell from his hand and rolled on the ground before coming to a halt when it hit Padfoot's nose. The dog sneezed, but he was ignored by the two other occupants in the room. Remus stood up and matched her inch for inch.
"Are you really that naïve?" he whispered, his face extremely close to hers. "Do you really think you're the only one in his bed? Wait-" he cut her off with a finger tip to her lips. Her head whipped away from him, anger burning in her eyes. "Let me rephrase that, because technically, you are. Or at least the only willing one. He needs someone to suck him off when you're not here to be his bitch-"
It was her turn to cut him off with a sharp, hard slap to the face.
"Don't call me-" while she hissed lowly Remus paused and then picked up from where he'd left off at.
"Thus where I come in," Remus tilted his head to the floor in a polite nod. "'Night, miss."
She stood speechless, her mouth opening and closing like a fish gasping for air, but no words would come out.
"Smoke-"
"I have things to do."
Colewood's lips quirked at the corners and her eyes fell on the red ball that Padfoot was busy batting around on the floor.
"Because playing with balls is just so much fun," she drawled dryly.
"I wouldn't call it fun." It took her a minute longer to catch onto the second pun, but Padfoot was regarding Remus with a sense of admiration. It seemed as if the pun master finally had some competition.
"Look, I just-"
"I've no time for games right now, Colewood," he said softly, drawing an age creased map from the front pocket of his backpack. "I've got important things to attend to. I'm sorry to say that they are more important then wasting my time by arguing with you, but they are."
Remus unfolded the map and gave it all of his attention. Colewood sighed and waited another minute before she left without another word. Padfoot watched her go from his corner, head rolling with all of his new discoveries.
He was in a den with a pack of wolves. Not to mention that Fenrir Greyback was included among that total. His friend, Amelia Colewood, had connections them. And she knew that they were bloodthirsty monsters. The same Amelia Colewood was in a willing sexual relationship with the most vicious, vile, bloodthirsty, murdering, monstrous werewolf to mankind.
And to cap it all off he was stuck with a teenage werewolf that was being raped on a regular basis and was currently plotting something in secret that couldn't possibly mean anything good.
Well, wasn't that just peachy.
Soft footsteps sounded against the natural carpeted floor and Padfoot's head snapped back to the archway door, ears perked forward. Was Colewood coming back already? But the little figure that appeared in the doorframe after a handful of more footsteps was not Colewood.
The little boy that had defended Remus earlier in the spacious room that had served as a dinning room, stood at the entrance. He had bruises taking form all over his pale face. Padfoot had to avert his eyes in order to sever a flood of emotions that threatened to engulf him. It looked like Greyback would not tolerate any from of disobedience and that all who stepped out of line were to be punished.
He entered quietly and without permission, unevenly cut hair falling over one black eye and arms crossed protectively across his chest in what looked like a standing fetal position. Remus followed his movement with his golden eyes, gaze drinking in the painful reminders of what was in store for him. Only when he reached the pile of mussed blankets did he look the older boy in the eyes, silent tears flooding down his face.
"He wants you," the little eight-year-old whispered in a chocked voice, rocking his arms back and forth as if to lull an invisible baby to sleep.
"You didn't need to do that," Remus said just as quietly. "I don't want you to get hurt-"
"And I don't want you do get hurt!" the boy said fiercely, his hazel eyes brimmed with unshed tears.
"I can take care of myself, Aaron," he growled lowly. Aaron's lower lip trembled and Remus stood up and gathered him up in his arms with no difficulty.
"It's not fair, what he does to you," his voice was shaky and he balled a fist in Remus's shirt. Padfoot felt as if he was intruding on something very personal and looked away, but no matter what he did, he couldn't stop himself from over hearing what they said.
"Who said life was fair?" Remus laughed non-humorously. "Who ever told you life was fair lied to you."
"I know he hurts you."
Remus fell silent and felt an unwanted embarrassment well up in his chest.
"Don't worry, I always come out okay, don't I?"
"What if…If one time y-you don't?"
"Hush, none of that now. I'm grateful for what you did, Aaron. But I can hold my own, I really can," Remus assured him.
"But-"
Remus silenced him with a finger pressed firmly against his speech parted lips. It was quiet as they departed from the room and Padfoot could hear their footsteps echoing down the corridor. Silver eyes followed their retreat, swimming with a thousand different emotions.
Padfoot whimpered and hid himself, confused, beneath the mound of blankets, his nose was the only visible part sticking out between the folds of material. He should leave, he knew that much. The dog's eyes traveled to the door and the now eerily quiet corridor that lay beyond it. He couldn't help but wince at the very thought of what was happening within the underground cavern.
In the morning, he'd leave in the morning.
With that settled, Padfoot slumped, his eye lids closing like heavy lead and tried to drift off into an uneasy slumber and waited for morning to come.
-
One minute.
Two minutes.
Five minutes.
Ten minutes.
It was impossible to keep track of how long he stood, waiting outside the wide archway that opened up into the alpha's chambers. Trying to remember how long he procrastinated was as hard as keeping water cupped in hands with spread fingers. As fast as the water could trickle away so did the minutes.
He took a deep breath and took his weight off of the wall where it had rested for God only knew how long. Long fingers skated over the scar tissue he bore as a souvenir to past disobedience.
"Not this time," he whispered, glowing eyes flashing in the darkness. "You're not touching me this time."
Feeling resolved, emotionless mask hiding his rage, fear, and determination, he stepped into the consuming shadows. And for the second time in his life Remus felt like he was throwing himself into the wolf's den.
"Greyback," he was surprised at how even his voice sounded, so void of the array of fire hot emotions pulsing through his veins. A whisper of his name was the only hint of a warning before something streaked out of a shadowed corner and slammed him into the wall. Anger flared within him and, with an enormous amount of strength, switched their positions.
"Don't touch me, you bastard, just don't even try," Remus snarled, breath ghosting over Greyback's ear. A second later, he flew backwards until his back slammed into the opposite wall. Remus dropped to his knees, fingers clawing into the dirt of the floor.
"You always have been an ungrateful little-" Remus was panting, eyes franticly scanning for a sign of his violent attacker.
"Ungrateful? What else do you expect me do be?" It was as if a dam had finally spilt down the seams. "Grateful, perhaps? Grateful for what?!"
"I could have left you to die, I didn't have to take you're sorry ass in and raise you as my own child-"
"Your own child?" Remus hissed, eyes still trying to pin down the prowling alpha male. "Well then I'm glad you don't have any damn kids of your own if this is how you treat them."
He tugged at his tee-shirt and bared his scarred neck. Wrong move.
They rolled to the floor, fighting for dominance that only came when Remus lay flat on his back with his wrists pinned in one of Greyback's clawed hands.
"They would have never accepted you," he growled, voice low and raspy.
Death scented words that made shivers race down Remus' spine.
"How do you know, you've never even-" Remus started in a quiet voice.
"Because you're a werewolf! A fucking Dark creature. They would have feared you! They would have hated you, would have despised you."
Remus was left speechless, the words hitting home like a smack to the face. He didn't fight, didn't try to free himself anymore.
"You never knew my parents," he whispered, turning his head away to focus his gaze on the wall that was barley visible though the thick cover of shadows.
"How would you know? You didn't even know them that long."
"They were nice-"
"How would you know?! They hated you! After you'd been bitten they'd' have had you put down like a rabid dog! If I hadn't taken you in you wouldn't have let the wolf in. You'd never be this strong, this powerful, this free."
His head snapped forward to meet steely gaze with steely gaze. "Free indeed. I escaped one prison just to be banished to another."
"Are you saying that you'd rather be chained up?" Greyback's eyes narrowed to slits. "Saying that you'd rather be a good little puppy, that you'd rather be someone's fucking lap dog?"
"I'm yours, aren't I?"
The resulting blow was enough to set his world spinning for an entire month. Calmly he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and sucked his tainted fingers clean.
Greyback's mouth caught his in a brutal kiss, tongue diving between his lips to capture the blood that had pooled there. Remus tilted his head back obediently and mentally started to count to three.
One
Two
Three
Greyback's hands started to wander.
Remus retaliated by seizing the intruding tongue between his sharp teeth and bit down hard.
The agonized roar that ripped itself from Greyback's throat was swallowed whole as Remus refused to let go. They fought one another, neither willing to give up without a fight. Sharp, dagger like claws put an end to Remus' retaliation as they tore down his sides, leaving a trail of blood in their wake. He let go of his prey abruptly and stifled his scream in his sleeve as he rolled away from Greyback. The alpha stumbled to his feet, vivid red liquid flowing freely down his chin, and yanked Remus to his feet.
Remus yelped as the skin of his sides stretched. The taste of his own coppery blood mixed with his maker's metallic life fluid was more than enough to make him feel dizzy with bloodlust.
"I gave you a life you don't even deserve! And this is how you repay me?"
"You're right on one account," Remus mumbled, wiping the blood away from his mouth. He couldn't help but lick his fingers clean. "I don't deserve-"
"Are you trying to tell me that you'd rather live with those pathetic excuse for parents?" he grinned manically, mockingly. "They'd raise you right, raise you to hate the wolf, to reject its power."
Greyback paused and smacked him across the face, the seventeen-year-old went tumbling to the ground. He looked up through the anger and fear that clouded his eyes at the man, wolf's, leering and taunting face.
"Send you to school, they would. No doubt they'd try to get you accepted into Hogwarts!"
By now, Greyback was roaring with manic laughter.
"I can imagine them trying to plead their case now," Greyback broke off and imitated a high pitched, whinny voice. "He's harmless we swear! Never would hurt a fly, our Remmie would. Nope, he's a tame werewolf. Make's a very good house pet, but I'd keep an issue of the Daily Prophet handy, Dumbledore, he isn't quiet housetrained yet."
The amused, golden eyed, alpha was beside himself with glee as he taunted and nearly doubled over with the force of his laughter. Remus had developed a good enough poker face over the years to avoid wincing.
He did make one fatal mistake, however, one that would cost him all the hard work he had used to keep from wincing. He averted his eyes, moved his head to face the wall slightly. Slightly was all it took.
The insane, not in the least bit warm, laughter that rocketed off the walls ceased to become a mere memory of the past as the glee died from Fenrir Greyback's face. He bent over Remus and forced his head up. Their keen golden eyes met and in seven minutes he had decoded the seemingly impossible puzzle that was Remus. Realization clouded his eyes and Greyback out right howled with fury, sending Remus rolling away from his rampage.
The younger werewolf gritted his teeth together as dirt ground its way into the slashes on his sides. He should have know better than to show that fleeting moment of hope, of dreams long away dampened and destroyed.
"You little son of a bitch!"
Remus just narrowly dodged the hand that made a grab for his hair. He wasn't so lucky the second time around.
In his scramble for escape his feet collided with something solid and he felt the ever present feeling of falling to the ground. His head whipped around and he found himself staring at the remains of what used to be someone's arm, now a heavily used chew toy. As Remus rolled away again he condemned himself to a much worse fate.
It was the all too familiar feeling of being violently slammed against the wall with Greyback holding onto him with a death grip.
"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Greyback wasted no time in striking him again, he did not wait for an answer. "I bet you'd love serving as that fool's fucking pet. You're just dying to go to school, aren't you?"
Remus opened his mouth in order to defend himself, but he was over rode when Greyback's voice reached a new, heightened volume.
"Don't lie to me! I've seen the way you watch the carriages go by ever year, just wishing it were you in there!"
Remus shook his head fervently.
"That's not true, I don't want to be anything like them-"
"Bullshit! You wish it were you gazing up at that fucked up ceiling, don't you? Wish you were the one getting stuck in detention for school boy pranks! Wish you were the one staying up late to do your Charms homework, or worrying about your next Transfiguration test! You wish you were fucking like them! Fucking normal!"
"NO!" Remus' harsh retort surprised even himself. "I don't wanna be anything like that filth! They're pathetic, they're weak, unworthy, powerless!" he stopped, panting heavily, his hands curled into fists at his sides.
"I wanna be like the wolf," the lower ranking werewolf took a shuddering breath. "The wolf is power, the wolf is strong, the wolf is the ultimate predator, the wolf is me."
Slowly, reluctantly, Greyback's hands removed themselves from Remus' slightly trembling body.
"We're one, the wolf and I. He is I and I am him. He makes up for what I lack and I provide the fuel for his raging, burning, wildfire. He is strong. He is powerful. He is feared. He is free. He is me," Remus' whispered chant faded away into the heavy atmospheric night, until not even an echo remained.
Remus broke off the long ago memorized prayer with a deep breath.
"Leave my sight."
Remus didn't answer.
"Be thankful to me."
Remus didn't answer.
"Don't even get any ideas concerning a certain Hogwarts school for fucking normal wizards and mother fucking witches."
Remus didn't answer.
"I want the mutt gone by morning, or help you God," Greyback growled, just to have one more bit in.
Remus didn't answer, he was already halfway across the darkened room, a whispered chant playing on his lips against the soft backdrop of his footsteps.
"We're one, the wolf and I. He is I and I am him. He makes up for what I lack and I provide the fuel for his raging, burning, wildfire. He is strong. He is powerful. He is feared. He is free. He is me."
"We're one, the wolf and I…"
And so it went, his soft words whispering down the dirt walled corridor, hungrily eaten by surrounding nightmares and haunting shadows.
"…He is me."
-
His legs pumped rapidly as he tore across the Atlantic Ocean, his heart pounded madly and his tongue lolled out as he charged recklessly onward. He surged over a rolling wave and saw it in all three feet of its glory.
The green, sausage pizza stood unsuspecting as the water flowed beneath it.
Padfoot's senses flared and his muscles tightened, ready to spring forward and claim his long hunted prize. His paws kneaded the water below him, he crouched low, nose almost touching the rippling surface, and lunged forward.
Padfoot landed atop the pizza and sank his teeth into it, tearing back and forth. The pizza gave a wild screech and attempted to thrash him off.
Haha! You are no match for Padfoot! Predator extraordinaire!
And then he was falling. Darkness swallowed him whole and he was being shaken violently as he flailed in the darkness that completely engulfed him. The dog's legs stopped thrashing and his heavy lids opened slowly, underneath lay a pair of sleep hazy eyes.
It took a moment before he could blink away every last bit of the drossiness. His eyes focused and he scrambled clumsily to his feet, spinning in tight circles to survey his shadow bathed surroundings.
Where the hell am I? Wherever I am I don't think I'm at Hogwarts anymore.
Panic started to overtake him and then his eyes fell on something shaking that lay curled up within the confines of the dozens of warm blankets and everything came rushing back.
The pickpocket. Children. Mutt. Greyback. Colewood. Werewolves.
He started swiftly and silently for the door, figuring if now wasn't a good enough time to escape, then what was? Only three more steps and he'd be out the archway and home free.
He never did get to take those last three steps.
A familiar noise drifted to his ears that made him freeze. Choking, as if someone were trying to hold back their desperate sobs.
His stomach fell at the all too familiar sound. Padfoot stood, undecided between the door that would mean his freedom and returning to investigate the choking sobs. As he thought, head turning from room to door, pictures that had long since haunted him filtered in and out of his mind.
A ten year old boy trying to hold back his tears…
He shook his head and started back across the room, banishing the picture to the depths of his mind. With his nose, Padfoot pushed the folds of the blankets away and crawled inside them. Padfoot pressed himself against the warm and trembling body that he found there. He wormed his way up to the body's face and saw that it was none other then the pickpocket.
Well of course it's him, who else would it be? he thought as he hesitantly curled his canine form around the searing body. I mean it is his, Padfoot paused, thinking back to the dirt walls and the equally dirty floor. Room.
In the morning, he reminded himself as he started to tremble from the force of the other body. I'll leave in the morning. First thing in the morning…
The dog's eye lids drooped and he was surprised at how easily he slipped back into the realm of the living dead.
Beside him, Remus couldn't help but burry his face in the dog's soft fur. A fragmented prayer played on his lips like a broken record.
"We're one the wolf and I…" the dog's paws started to twitch as if chasing some invisible prey, lost to the land of dreams.
"…He is me."
The dog began to snore softly.
-