*Song Recommendation: When Da Dawgs Come Out to Play (Bai Burea)*

Ardolf

Remus' hand pushed firmly against Hermione's shoulder as he directed her through the camp. The walk drew an accompaniment of chesty growls and muttered expletives toward the young woman from the wall of predatory beings. Hermione, against all rationality, openly whispered Remus to let her go, begged him to free her, but still, his dominating grasp barreled her onward. It wasn't until her barely concealed hysteria had begun to surface that he made any move toward removing it. Her ill-thought attempt at bucking herself free was immediately snuffed as Remus, her former professor, a man she looked up to, the kind soul who offered chocolate at any opportunity, snaked a heavy hand around her fleshy neck and drove her hard into the ground with a cautionary bark. Wide-eyed and gasping, Hermione tried helplessly to mouth out words, a plea for mercy, but was only met by a snarl next to her ear as Remus leaned toward her. His words were barely audible, they were spoken so low as to be drowned out by a murmur, and she felt no motion to his lips as he spoke them.

"Tonight is the full moon, Hermione, they can hear everything. I'm so sorry, my dear, I will do all I can to free you, but I must be rough with you or further risk your safety. Forgive me."

And as quick as he'd grounded her, he had her back on her feet, this time with an arm wrenched painfully behind her back with locks of her hair gnarled horrifically around his fingers. The werewolves watching the interaction only jeered at his boorish handling. In that moment Hermione understood and marginally bowed her head in hopes that Remus would read the action as one of compliance. At length, they halted before the largest tent at the heart of the colony. It was no cleaner than those on the outskirts but was dressed with pelts and chimes of bones.

"In."

There was no room for a response as Remus' opposite hand roughly pushed her head down and through the opening of the canvas before forcing her down to the earth as he took a knee, eyes downcast and neck ever so subtly presented in a display canine subservience. Slowly, as if dealing with a spooked animal, Hermione raised her head to take in her surroundings, only to lock eyes with a monster.

"Ardolf." So this is the man that Gunnar had threatened Remus with. Though there was barely a man at all. This werewolf was gripped by a partial transformation, not unlike Fenrir Greyback. But where Greyback maintained his wolf to wreck havoc on innocents according to his human thoughts and emotion, this Ardolf was overwhelmed by an animalistic and downright feral disposition. He was unpredictable and therefore terrifying.

"Our territory was breached by a no-were. I know her from before... I don't know how the little witch came to be here, the girl always did have a knack for being where nobody wanted her, but I will admit her aptitude in regards to magic, and she will comply- she may prove useful to you, yet."

The words, though she knew they were a farce, devastated Hermione beyond reason and she could not suppress the pitiful whimper that escaped her. Ardolf's attention snapped to her at the sound with a devastating gnar that stole the very breath from her lungs and forced her eyes downward in submission. Remus cocked his head further, craning the vulnerability of his offered neck into plainer view until the rumblings of the subsided.

"I may be your alpha, cur, but you are not my progeny. You are already an outsider here and yet you bring me an unturned bitch who barely looks old enough to breed?"

Remus sank lower to the ground, forcing Hermione lower still, as he warily felt the alpha's eyes inspect his offering.

"However, you say she will be helpful to us and she smells pleasantly... untouched. You can keep the whelp for now. Chain her to your tent, I will come to deal with her before the moon pulls us." They were dismissed. With a shove of his shoe, Ardolf had Hermione sprawled belly to dirt before Remus yanked her by the scruff and dragged her toward the edge of the camp. He all but threw her inside his tent before immediately following and throwing up the fastest sound wards she had ever seen. He caught her inches from the ground and cradled her crumbling frame to his chest. Though she had to tears to shed, Remus held her as if she were fleeting and pet her hair as if she were inconceivably fragile... and in that moment, she truly was.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. I am so sorry, my dear. I will fix this, I promise you. I will fix you."