Previously on What If

"We'll be back on the first to pick it up," said Kiba. He tapped his foot gently against Ashi's and Ashi said politely, "Thank you very much for letting me keep my trunk here."

The bartender looked surprised and glanced at Hagrid, who was grinning as if proud, before answering, "N-no problem. It's my pleasure."

Ashi nodded and said goodbye to Hagrid before turning on his heel and leading the way out the door.


They walked down the street toward the edge of London in silence for a while before Toboe asked, "Hey, Ashi, what're you going to name your owl?"

Ashi looked at the owl. She had her head under its wing but still had a vigilant eye peeking through the feathers at them. "I don't know," he said after thinking a bit. "Any suggestions?"

"Akira," said Hige.

"It's a girl, you dimwit," scoffed Tsume.

"Sakura, then," answered Hige.

"She doesn't seem like a pretty flower to me," said Tsume.

"Well, I don't hear you suggesting anything," drawled Hige.

"How about Hikari (light)?" interrupted Toboe before the argument could escalate.

The group continued down the street, each trying to think of a name for Ashi's new owl. Tsume and Hige began to rattle off names as if competing with each other and Toboe and Kiba interjected every once in awhile with their own suggestions.

"Shiro (white)," said Hige.

"Yuki (snow)," countered Tsume.

"Akemi (bright beauty)," said Kiba.

"I like that one," said Ashi, staring up at the sky while he thought.

"Tsubasa (wing)," suggested Toboe.

"Too long," said Hige. "Kaze (wind)."

"Ami (beauty)," said Tsume.

"What about Sora (sky)?" asked Kiba.

"That one," said Ashi suddenly, cutting off Tsume before he could give another name. "Her name is Sora."

"That's a good one," said Toboe. "Do you think she'll come when you call?"

"Not right away, I don't think," replied Ashi. "Seems like it would be like any other animal. She has to get used to us first."

"But she's a wizard owl," said Hige. "You'd think they'd be smarter than a regular animal."

Ashi shrugged, staring at Sora through the bars of her cage; Sora stared right back at him defiantly. "She might be," answered Ashi, "but she seems too proud to immediately accept me as her master."

"Well, you'll have plenty of time to teach her everything she needs to know, so let's hurry up so we can eat," said Toboe.

Half an hour later, the wolves had reached the edge of London and entered the forest. The first thing they did was search for a cave for them to stay in for the few weeks before Ashi's school term started. They found several caves, but none were deep enough to house the five wolves and the owl comfortably. They struck gold on their fifth find.

A cave about two hours of walking from the edge of the forest fit their needs perfectly. By now it was quite late and, though no one had said anything, Ashi knew they were all hungry; they only had to wait this long because Ashi still had Sora. As quickly as he could, Ashi entered the cave and placed his owl on the highest ledge he could reach so she would be safely out of reach of other predators. He joined the rest of his family back outside and they began their hunt.

Hagrid knocked on the tall, oak Hogwarts Headmaster's office door three times before he heard the soft, "Enter."

He turned the knob and pushed through into the office. Trinkets and gadgets of all shapes and sizes littered any table or chair in the room. Two tall bookshelves stuffed with books faced each other on opposite sides of the room. Straight in front of Hagrid, on the other end of the office, sat a large desk with a high-backed chair.

Albus Dumbldore, the graying, old wizard that was Hagrid's boss, rocked slightly back and forth in the chair studing the papers he was writing on. Minerva McGonagall, Transfiguration professor and Headmaster's aide, stood next to him with an open book in one hand and pointing to something on the paper Dumbledore was writing on with the other. Minerva glanced up as Hagrid entered as did Albus. The headmaster smiled, put down the quill, and folded his hands.

"Hagrid, my boy," he said pleasantly. "How did it go?"

Hagrid finished his walk to the desk and shifted on his feet a bit before answering.

"It was 'lright," he said slowly.

Albus waited a few seconds for Hagrid to continue. When he didn't, the professor asked excitedly, "Well? What was he like? Did he look well?"

Hagrid nodded. "'e were nice. Very polite. Looked 'appy ter me."

Albus nodded, then said darkly, "And his guardians?"

Hagrid shifted again before he answered, "Well, sir. From wat I 'member from Mrs. Figg. . . well, they changed a bit, but I thinks its 'em."

Albus's eyes narrowed factionally. "Did they show an sign of being werewolves?" he asked.

Hagrid shook his head, almost too vigorously. "No, sir. Perfectly 'eathly lookin' and none ov 'em had yeller eyes."

Albus smiled again before he continued with his interrogation."Did you ask him?"

Hagrid nodded. "Ah did. 'e didn't seem ter like the idea of comin' 'ere any earlier than 'e needed ter." He paused a bit before contiunuing, "'e, er, seemed ter resent th' fact that we left him on a doorstep."

Albus ground his teeth but kept his temper in check. Before he could say anything, Minerva spoke up.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I think that's enough for now."

Hagrid nodded and hurried back out the door. The Headmaster tensed a bit before he turned to Minerva. She interrupted him again, saying, "Now, Albus. You've heard what Hagrid said. The boy is doing perfectly well. He is healthy and unhurt. What else do we need to know?"

Albus pouted a bit, almost like a child before he argued weakly, "But what if they turned him into one of them?"

"What about it, Albus?" asked Minerva evenly. "What would we be able to do about it? Hagrid said all of them were healthy and none had yellow eyes. That means there is a high probability that none of them are werewolves. I've never heard of a werewolf that didn't have yellow eyes."

"Then what are they?!" asked Albus heatedly.

Minerva sighed. "I don't know, but rushing over to him and forcefully taking him from the people he's known for years is not the best way to gain his trust. Nor is forcing him to spend an extra two weeks in a huge, empty, strange castle with the very people he hates for abandoning him after his parents died."

Albus opened his mouth, but Minerva plowed on, explaining why the point he was just about to make was also a bad idea.

"And if he looked healthy and happy to Hagrid—you know how guilty he feels about Harry's disappearance—then we have no right to say his companions are a bad influence on him. Hagrid even said he was rather polite. What normal eleven-year-old child would be polite to someone like Hagrid on their own. Most of them gawk at him and avoid him, thinking he's some kind of moster."

Albus sighed. "I suppose you're right, Minerva."

Minerva nodded curtely. "Now. Let's get back to work. I need these schedules finished."

The day before Ashi was due to leave for Hogwarts, the pack was scattered among some trees napping after their most recent hunt to digest their meal before they began the long trek back to their cave. Sora had gotten used to the pack and had been allowed to fly on her own. She was hunting for her own dinner now and would soon be returning. In order to keep an eye out for her, Ashi had volunteered to watch.

Ashi watched Sora as she came winging down through the trees and landed gracefully in front of him. She proudly held up a freshly caught mouse in one of her claws and began tearing at it with her beak. Ashi watched her solemnly for a few minutes before turning his head and searching the forest for any intruders.

Once Sora was finished with her meal, she flapped her wings a few times and flew to Ashi's back to rest there. She tucked her head under her wing for her own nap, content in the knowledge that Ashi and the rest of the pack would protect her.

Ashi laid his head down between his paws and was about to close his eyes when he heard the sharp "snap" of a twig just beyond their line of sight. Ashi's head shot upright and scanned their surroundings. Tsume had also been awakened by the sound and he raised his head slowly. Ashi stood up, jostling Sora who hooted in agitation. Sora's claws clung tightly to his fur as Ashi began to walk slowly around their group, sniffing for any unfamiliar scents, but the twig snap had been downwind so Ashi didn't think he would smell anything. Ashi slinked into the woods, hoping to circle around behind whatever was watching them.

Tsume got up after Ashi had disappeared into the woods and lazily stretched, doing his best to give off the impression of ignorance. He trotted into the woods in the opposite direction of Ashi, growling softly to wake the others as he passed by. Kiba, Hige, and Toboe stayed in the same positions although all three were ready to leap into action at any second.

Ashi continued to silently sneak through the trees. Sora swayed back and forth on his back maintaining her tight grip on his fur. As Ashi approached a spot near where the twig had snapped, he began to smell a strange odor. The scent of humans and gunpowder dampened by the native flora.

Hunters.

But the scent wasn't concentrated by the twig, it was behind some more bushes a few yards away. Ashi stalked deeper into the forest. He circled around until he was right behind where he thought the hunter was squatting. He took a deep breath to calm his fluttering stomach. In all his years running around as a wolf, he had never actually encountered a hunter; the pack took great care to stay away from humans in the forest. Once he was ready, he began a deep guttural growl, alerting the human to his presence.

The hunter didn't move, rifle still propped on his shoulder aimed at the place the twig had snapped. Ashi took a step forward, still growling, and deliberately snapped a twig under his paw. Slowly, the rifle was lowered from the man's shoulder and he twisted his torso to look behind him. He was fairly young although his features were distorted by the camouflage paint smeared on his face. Ashi raised his hackles and, sensing his intent to intimidate, Sora puffed up her feathers to appear larger and hooted angrily at the man who had disturbed her nap.

The man slowly got to his feet, never taking his fear-filled eyes off Ashi and Sora. It was his first time seeing a wolf and it didn't help that there was also a very large, very angry owl roosting on its was already unnerved by the fact that neither the wolves nor this type of owl was native to this area. To see both here, and together no less, protecting one another, damn near scared him out of his mind with the strangeness. One hand gripped the rifle tightly, although it was now pointed at the ground. The hunter raised his second hand in a "stop" gesture and said "Easy, boy. Take it easy."

Ashi almost snorted in derision. He was not some common dog to be ordered around. He took another step closer, increasing the volume of his growls and opening his jaw a few inches to reveal his full set of teeth. He tensed his muscles and Ashi suddenly sprang at the man, knocking him onto his back, and grabbed the rifle firmly between his jaws as the hunter held the butt of the rifle in one hand and the muzzle in the other, attempting to keep Ashi's sharp teeth away from his face.

Sora launched herself into the air as Ashi jumped and hovered over them, hooting anxiously, trying to involve herself, but finding no opportunity. Ashi jerked his head side to side trying to wrench the rifle from the man but was unsuccessful. In fact, the hunter managed to shove the gun deeper into Ashi's mouth and push him back a few inches. Ashi choked on the hardware attempting to travel down his throat and reared his head back to try again when he heard the discharge of a second gun.

Pain exploded in his shoulder and he was knocked to the side as a bullet hit him at a ninety-degree angle. Sora launched herself at the new threat and began clawing at the second hunter's face. Tsume also charged out of the woods at the older man and jumped to wrap his teeth around one of the arms holding the gun. The hunter batted at Sora with the barrel of the gun and the motion left Tsume's jaws clamping shut with an audible snap on nothing but air.

"Run, Jack!" shouted the second hunter as he kicked at Tsume and began running himself.

The first man, Jack, scrambled to his feet and took off into the forest, gun in hand, away from the angry pack of wolves, with the second man hot on his heels. The rest of the pack had leapt up at the sound of the rifle round and Kiba, Toboe, and Tsume charged into the brush after the humans to chase them out of the wolves' temporary territory while Hige and Sora attended to Ashi.

Ashi lay on the ground stunned for a few seconds, shoulder throbbing and oozing blood, before he attempted to get up. His leg gave out as soon as he put pressure on it, but he managed to roll from his side to his stomach with his feet tucked under him. Sora circled above his head, hooting curiously, and Hige, who had shifted into his human form, knelt by Ashi's side to examine the wound. His hands pressed gently around the hole in Ashi's shoulder and Ashi' couldn't help but whimper, then growl, at the sudden burst of pain.

"He got you pretty good, Ashi," said Hige. "This might have shattered your joint if it were just a hair lower."

Ashi huffed, clenching his teeth against the pain. Hige reached over Ashi's back and felt around his other shoulder.

"Doesn't look like there's an exit wound," said Hige.

"Oh?" panted Ashi. "What does that mean?"

"It means I have to pull the bullet out." Hige shrugged. "This is going to hurt, but we'd better do it now before the lead gets into your bloodstream."

"Fine. Do it." Ashi gritted his teeth.

"Okaay. 1. . 2. ."

Ashi let out a long howl as Hige plunged his claws into the wound.

Jack and his father ran through the woods as fast as they could, panting hard. Jack could hear the wolves' paws thudding against the ground behind them and he pumped his legs even faster.

Why did he have to agree with his father to come hunting today? Grace had only just had the baby and he wanted to spend time with them. But no-o-o. Dad said "You'll have twenty years to spend time with them, but I haven't seen you at all this year. Let's go have some fun together. Who knows when you'll be back."

Jack had only been hunting two other times, but both times he had caught a fairly good-sized bull elk. He didn't particularly like to hunt, but his previous successes made his father even more excited to go. But when they had spotted wolf tracks, they just had to go see where they were. Then, his father suggested they should have a wolf pelt to wrap the baby in when they got home. James, being the shy, semi-confident guy he was, could not argue against his father, being the stubborn, loud, over-confident guy he was.

His father, Harold, had reasoned that because the wolves had just eaten(they had discovered the fresh carcass of a deer not far from the wolves), they would be sleepy and slow, so this was the best time to hunt them. They wouldn't be able to take on, let alone take home, all five wolves, so they had set a trap for one. They had snapped a twig and waited in some bushes a few yards away. When the wolf came to investigate, James would have plenty of time to aim and fire. What they didn't count on was the wolf being so smart.

Neither man had expected the wolf to appear behind Jack, so Jack had done the only thing his scared, cluttered mind had thought of: he treated it like a dog. Now that he thought about it, that was a stupid idea. Like the wolf would have been around humans enough to have learned any commands. Now they were running for their lives through the dense forest with no idea where they were.

One of the wolves snapped at his heels and Jack begged his tired muscles to go faster. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the brown wolf leap up and snap at his father's elbow, but miss, and Harold retaliated with a swing of his rifle at the wolf's head. Jack felt a rush of air and a tug on his own leg and looked down. The white wolf had come up beside him and had torn the entire calf of his pant leg off, exposing the bare skin and leaving the rest of the piece of clothing flapping everywhere. Jack swung his own gun at the wolf, but missed and nearly lost his grip on the weapon.

Jack took another step and felt his foot fall through the air longer than it had before. He expected it to hit the ground and jar his body, but it never stopped falling. Jack's mind slowed down as his arms reached out to catch himself and the ground rushed up to greet his face. "This is it," he thought. "I'm going to die." But instead of skidding to a halt on twigs and leaves and feeling razor-sharp teeth tear into his flesh, Jack turned sideways and he tumbled down the rest of the hill.

He felt every pebble and rock and branch he rolled over and knew his side would have massive bruising the next day…if he survived that long. After what felt like an eternity, Jack finally came to a sudden halt against the trunk of a tree, hitting his head hard against the dense bark. Stars swam before his eyes and he tried to look up and gain his bearings.

Dimly, he could see the three wolves still at the top of the steep hill, staring down at him. His father appeared at his side and began to drag James's limp body up and over his shoulder.

"Come on, Boy," he said, "we gotta go."

Jack's legs felt like jelly as he tried to get up, still staring blankly at the wolves. Even through his muddled mind, Jack thought that the wolves were acting strangely. They should have continued after them down the hill since it wasn't too steep for them. Instead, they were just staring at the men; the white wolf was standing on a rock in the classic alpha pose while the grey bared his teeth slightly and the brown panted a bit.

Harold tugged harder on Jack's arm and he tried to take a step on his own feet but collapsed back onto his father's shoulder. Slowly, they made their way away from the wolves, who were still silently watching them, and hopefully back toward civilization. They hadn't moved more than ten yards away from the base of the hill when they heard a distant howl pierce the air. A few seconds later, the three wolves that had chased them lifted their voices to join the first.

James turned to look over his father's shoulder. As he watched the wolves howling, he realized that, even though he had been running for his life from them not one minute ago, they were still some of the most spectacular creatures he had ever seen.

"Damn it!" shouted Hige. "I can't find it."

He was still digging around in Ashi's shoulder for the bullet, but Sora was screeching at him and pulling at his hair, angry that he was hurting her master even more. Hige batted at her with his free hand.

"Stupid bird. Ashi, tell her to go away," he said.

"She. . . won't. . . listen," Ashi gasped out through gritted teeth.

Finally, Hige gave a triumphant "Ah ha" and pulled his fingers out of Ashi's wound. Just then, Kiba, Tsume, and Toboe trotted back into view and Hige turned to them, showing off the bullet he had pulled from Ashi's shoulder.

"Took you long enough," said Ashi to Hige. Hige shrugged.

"It's not my fault," he said. "They used those hollow point bullets. They're smaller than normal ones and harder to find. Hard to get out too because they turn into flowers once they hit their target."

"Then why couldn't you leave it in? It would have fallen out eventually, right?" asked Ashi as he stood up and stretched, favoring his wounded leg. Sora winged down through the air and landed on Ashi's back, picking at the fur on his neck affectionately.

"In the middle of your class, no doubt. Don't forget you leave tomorrow," said Tsume.

"Yeah," put in Toboe. "Remember what the centaurs told us about how biased wizards are about creatures other than humans? We'd have the entire wizarding world searching for us if you get found out."

"I'd just say I found it somewhere and it fell out of my pocket."

"All bloody?" asked Hige.

Ashi was silent. He couldn't think of anything to say to that.

"And if you showed up at school with a gaping hole in your shoulder, someone's bound to start asking questions. There's a full moon tonight so make sure to heal it," said Kiba as he led the way back to their cave for the night.

When they reached the cave, the wolves curled around each other, with Ashi and Sora in the middle, in the clearing just in front of the cave, where the moonlight would be strongest.


Special Christmas Bonus Chapter!

In case you didn't ready any of my other ANs, the hunter bit has absolutely nothing to do with the main plot. I just wanted to write it. Also, this chapter was written/proofread way past my bed time, so it's probably not perfect.

Expect another update to celebrate New Year's!

-GH

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