The Myrmidons

The footprints lured the twins deep into the heart of the forest. A chilling gale swept through their souls. They shivered, but still grasped each other's hand. The moon was still in a celestial womb, not yet born. However, it's silver light began to surface as the sun sank deeper into the sky. It's dying light twisted the landscape, making the twins think they were constantly surrounded. Somewhere in the distance, a raven cawed loudly.

Where are we? Apollo asked.

Artemis shrugged. I dunno, she admitted. Suddenly, her ears perked up. She turned to Apollo, who apparently had heard it too. They looked ahead. The sound was coming from a few hundred yards in front of them. They heard drunken laughter, roars, bellows, and howls.

We must be close, Apollo said. Artemis nodded, and they ran to the sounds. Leaping over roots, logs, fallen branches, and rocks, they felt as if they were flying towards the noise. The smell of roasting pigs met their nostrils, as well as the stench of beer and flesh. The sounds grew louder, and the twins could see a fiery glow directly in front of them.

Suddenly, they reached a ledge. They stopped abruptly. Below them, in the ravine and clearing, were about two hundred people. They were all dancing, hooting wildly to bizarre music. Most of them had the Dark Mark carved into their arms. In the distance was a large rock, where a huge man was presiding, proud and terrifying. What made the twins happy was that no one seemed to notice them. Artemis's spell had worked after all.

We have to go down there, she told her brother.

Apollo shot her a look. Are you mental? he asked her angrily. We're not stepping near those people!

Artemis sighed. Don't worry, she assured her brother, her voice warm and soft. The spell conceals our scent and, well, us. To them, we're not even here. If we let go of our hands, though, then we'll have something to worry about.

Apollo frowned. How do you know?

I made it up, didn't I? And it's working, isn't it?

Apollo snorted in reply.

Still holding each others' hand, they crept down the side of the ledge, careful not to fall and let go. They hopped onto the leafy ground, faced with a drunken pack of werewolves.

Let's find Lupin, Artemis suggested. Apollo nodded in agreement.

Trying to avoid bumping into the partying psychos, the two skipped their way through the crowd. Dark Marks were everywhere, and the twins flinched every time they saw one. Evil was real. And the proof was dancing right next to them.

The moon was beginning to rise.

Look! Apollo shouted, pointing in a certain direction.

Artemis saw Lupin, standing in a flannel shirt and corduroy pants. A brown cloak was tied around his neck. He was in a group of three other people--two women and Nephthus McGorgo. Apollo glared at the greasy-haired werewolf, and began to pull out his wand. Artemis stopped him before he could blow their covers. Careful to steer clear of the rambunctious group, the twins crept up to Lupin, taking a final stance beside him.

"--When I was bitten, I couldn't find a job anywhere," one of the women was saying. She had long, dark-red hair and cold, black eyes. "It was terrible."

McGorgo grinned and stroked the woman's chin. "You should have come to me, Morganna," he cooed. "I would have given you a well-paying job!"

Morganna slapped his hand away, though she smirked with devilish pleasure. Her eyes glimmered with seductive intrigue. Lupin turned to the other girl. "What about you, Evanna?" he asked the white-blond woman. She was shorter than Morganna and appeared shyer. "How was your employment?"

She shrugged. "Terrible," she replied, hanging her head. "Ever since they passed that stupid law, it's been hard ta even get a job as a God-fer-saken waitress!" Then she grinned. "Tha's why I'm joinin' up with Voldemort. If 'e can get the world to see we're not all bad, then he's my Lord!"

McGorgo and Morganna laughed, throwing back their heads. Lupin nodded, though quietly mumbled, "Poor misguided fools." Evanna peered at him.

"What about you, Remus?" she asked the man. "Weren't you a teacher at Hogwarts?"

Lupin nodded. "I was," he replied. "For a year I took the job as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"How was it?" This was Morganna.

Lupin shrugged. "Ghastly," he lied, though it was hard to tell, he sounded so angry. "The pay was terrible, the children were miscreants, and everyone stared at me as if I was about to tackle them and rip their throats out."

The other three looked at him and nodded gravely, as if they understood. But the twins knew Lupin had adored his job, loved the kids, and cherished his life there.

"What about Dumbledore?" McGorgo inquired, furrowing his brow. "And Potter?"

Potter? Apollo asked.

Harry! Artemis told him.

Oh.

"What about them?"

The black-haired werewolf groaned. "You were right there!" he shouted, throwing his arms up into the air. "You could have killed them!" He snarled and bared his lupine teeth. "You couldn't, could you? You couldn't snipe Dumbly-dore 'cause he was kind to you! You couldn't destroy Potter 'cause his folks were yer best friends!" A macabre and moribund growl was rumbling from deep within his throat. "Not even the Warwicks! And they were yer students! They were right there!" He closed his fists, shaking with rage. Lupin reached inside his pocket, ready for action. His eyes flashed, brave and defiant. McGorgo stepped back a little ways, then ran towards him at full speed.

Lupin! the twins screamed, lusting to move him out of the way. But if they did that, they'd be discovered. Instead, they could only watch, wide-eyed and frozen with fear, as their teacher was plowed to the ground. . . .

. . . .Or so they thought. Right before McGorgo could ram him, Lupin pulled out his wand and pointed it straight at McGorgo's throat. He stopped abruptly, head raised, panting heavily. His eyes narrowed at Lupin.

"Traitor," he hissed. By this time nearly the whole pack was staring at them, murmuring.

"I resent that," Lupin replied coolly. With speed and strength the twins never saw him have, he kicked the blazing werewolf squarely in the chest. McGorgo fell to the ground. Lupin kept his wand on him, his face straight, his eyes serious, and his aura containing enough bravado to take on the entire pack. McGorgo stayed in the dirt, growling viciously at him. "I did not kill Dumbledore, Potter, or the Warwicks because that would be an extremely stupidthing to do!" he bellowed back. "Committing murder in a densely populated, highly-secured building where I'd be outnumbered would be like me pointing my wand to my head and casting the Killing Curse!"

"Then why don't you?" McGorgo sneered, his lip curling.

Lupin leaned in close to him. "Because, unlike you, I have sense," he spat. "I have dignity. I have intelligence!" He stood back up, lowering his wand. "I have something to live for!"

Artemis frowned. Something to live for? Does he mean us?

Apollo sighed. I dunno. But what else is going on for him?

The Order! Artemis cried. His mission! She paused and hesitated. Us.

D'you think he really loves us? Apollo asked her. We were his students and we've only been living with him for a few hours! Honestly, does he really feel like he should protect us and be like a foster father?

Artemis just shrugged.

McGorgo stood up, brushed himself off, and stomped away. Morganna and Evanna followed, glaring back at Lupin. The pack was watching them leave, then focused their attention on Lupin. He stared back, then angrily marched through the crowd, away from McGorgo.

C'mon! Artemis urged her brother. They followed Lupin, ducking and creeping through the crowd. He stood in the center, trying to cool down. Another werewolf walked up to him. The twins silently gasped. He couldn't be more than thirteen years old! He had spiky brown hair, big blue eyes, and an everlasting look of innocence stamped onto his face. His clothes were torn, and he wore no shoes. However, he donned a black eye. Someone had been pushing this poor boy around.

He touched Lupin's arm. "You okay, Remus?" he asked, the concern in his voice not hidden. Lupin nodded and looked at the boy kindly. Artemis suddenly realized that the boy probably didn't usually get too many gentle looks like that.

"I'm fine, Sebastian," he replied. "You know McGorgo--always the first to criticize, never the first to do anything about it."

Sebastian grinned. "He wouldn't be the McGorgo we know and love if he didn't!"

They both laughed.

Apollo looked up and tugged on Artemis's sleeve. Look!

She looked up. The moon had risen. Any second now these people would be transforming into the beasts they really were. Far in the distance, the twins saw Fenrir Greyback take his stand at the the huge rock.

"My children!" he bellowed. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to Greyback. He smirked and raised his arms in the air. "The moon rises! We have little time before we become our true forms!" The pack howled and hooted in ecstasy. Lupin did as well, to seem like he was one of them. The twins shivered.

"Tonight!" Greyback continued, "I crown a deputy! Tonight!--" He paused as the crowd went wild. "Tonight, we feed our hungry bellies! Tonight, we hunt for the children who can destroy our noble cause!" The pack went crazy. They shoved each other, howled, hooted, shrieked, yelled, and clawed madly at the air. The twins huddled close to each other. Greyback fed off of this insanity and went on speaking. "Then, when we have eaten the flesh of our enemies, we shall shake the foundations of the Earth! We shall rise up, and smite those who think us monsters!"--the crowd screamed in response-- "Grotesque! Hideous! Anarchic!" He bent down. "But we'll show them, right, my children?" he asked them. They snickered maliciously. "We'll show them who are the monsters!"

The pack cheered. Greyback threw back his head and howled, the pack following his lead. When he finished, he raised a hand, the the pack quieted. "Now to business," he said. "As you all know, my previous deputy, Ikarus Stroffe, was brutally murdered with silver bullets"--the pack hissed-- "so, to take his place will be Astrophel Lycorne!"

A tall, blond-haired man jogged up to Fenrir's rock and kneeled down whilst Fenrir's nails elongated to knight him. The twins saw McGorgo grimace, then spit onto the ground. Lupin grinned to himself. The twins could feel their moods slightly elevating as well. Here was this foul man, McGorgo, who had killed their parents and attacked Lupin. It was nice to see this wretched creature so angry.

Fenrir looked up at the sky. The moon was almost at it's zenith. He quickly turned to the pack. "My children!" he cried, throwing his muscular arms high. "Our time has come! Feast well, filials of darkness! Hunt true, demonic cherubs! Forget not the mission!"

Suddenly, a terrible groan filled the air, followed by screams and roars. The twins watched in horror as their beloved teacher's kindly face distorted into a ferocious snarl. He fell to the ground, writhing. His body was. . .growing. His limbs were becoming leaner and longer, his hands becoming patte-like paws with needle claws. His neck stretched as well, and his jaws cracked and split. His face became lupine; he grew a snout with snapping teeth, his eyes became yellow, and his ears become long and pointy. His clothes ripped.

Then, nothing. His transformation was complete. The twins realized, as they looked around, that many of the werewolves were finished changing. They saw McGorgo, who's inner beast was a towering black wolf with yellow eyes and dripping fangs. Sebastian's wolf looked like a young pup, but nonetheless hellish. Morganna's was a tall red monster. Evanna's was small, whitish wolf. There were a couple of werewolves with no hair, just ugly skin. Lupin was one of these creatures. However, the most terrifying was Fenrir. His inner wolf was a behemoth compared to McGorgo. He had peppery fur. His snout was short, thus accentuating his horrible, yellow fangs. He was muscular, and his limbs were all thick and tree-trunk like. His claws were at least a foot long, and well managed. They were like natural daggers.

The werewolves' pitiful whimpering filled the forest. Some were shaking as they stood up, while other lay on the ground a bit longer until the pain went away. The twins watched in macabre fascination as all of the werewolves gazed up at the full moon and howled. Artemis could feel her power reach it's full potential. All of the sudden, Lupin stared straight at the twins and roared. The other werewolves followed his lead, glaring hungrily at them. The twins looked around at the monstrous wolves that surrounded them. The werewolves began moving in closer. With a pang of terror in their guts, the twins realized a horrifying fact.

They had let go of each other's hands.