Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the plot. Thanks for reading, let me know what you think of it.
On The Scent
After a relatively sleepless night spent tossing and turning, in no small part because their maybe not really cats were in the room with them, watching them try to sleep, Teddy and Allan had a quick discussion just before breakfast that morning, making plans together to meet in the library during their first shared free period to go over the lists they'd managed to put together. The fact that they were under orders to take their cats with them everywhere, complete with notes from McGonagall to clear their presence with any professor that might comment or complain, meant that both boys were resigned to the fact that the two cats would be joining them for their little pow wow.
And so as planned the two teenagers and their furry 'guardians' met up in the library just before lunch, their cats sharing a chair close to the table they'd commandeered and watching them with rapt attention Teddy found more than a little unnerving. But even if McGonagall hadn't ordered them to keep Noir and Siam close Firenze's statement that their lives might well depend on the cats wasn't to be ignored either. Their headmistress mostly wanted them watched because she was convinced that the animals were somehow bespelled and so wanted to make sure they really didn't have anything to do with the attacks, but Firenze had seemed pretty convinced that they were shields they would need against the unknown assailant in the future. Though on that count neither teen could come up with a logical explanation for how two small animals could help them in any way in a battle. Or why they would have them in the first place.
One of the lists they'd gone over earlier had been Teddy's list of deceased individuals who might be willing to come back from the afterlife to guard him, if Firenze was right about their origins. Given Noir's personality, they were both fairly confident it wasn't someone on said list and were at a loss as to who he might have once been. Allan had offered no names up as to Siam's possible identity, and Teddy hadn't pushed him about that. Yet.
"Unfortunately, at this point I think the only way we can begin to hypothesis who will be next is to rate the possible targets according to their standing in society. And even then…we have no way of knowing if Gabrielle was the attacker's latest because she'd learned something, or because her connection to Fred would increase the backlash caused by her attack in comparison to the others, who were relatively unknown." Allan huffed in frustration, there being little the other teen hated more than a problem he couldn't solve. "There are just too many questions and not enough answers."
And more information might only come with more attacks. Possibly even death, since there was nothing to say the attacker wouldn't escalate in the future. Especially, Teddy thought grimly, if he or she was angry over the failed attempt with Gabrielle. Because she might be in one of the weird comas like all the others, but she hadn't been maimed in any way before that. She'd denied the bastard that.
Looking in the direction of the cats, Teddy made his own sound of frustration when they just silently stared back at him. "If only they could talk to us. Tell us what they know or even just confirm that they are what Firenze says they are."
"I would imagine there are rules, restraints put on them that prevent them from revealing too much."
"I asked Noir to take me to the person responsible for the attacks, and he froze like I'd used a body binding curse on him."
"Siam too."
"So they probably know, but can't tell us. That's just great." Teddy couldn't inject enough sarcasm into those words. He was so friggin frustrated!
Allan reached over to pat his hand, right there with him when it came to his frustration levels. "I would imagine they find it even more frustrating, if Firenze is correct. Especially since I can't imagine they enjoy being stuck in the bodies of animals."
That was a good point, Teddy silently acknowledged, having not really thought of it from their point of view. Hell, being stuck like that could definitely explain why Noir was always in such a nasty mood. Not being able to talk would be bad enough, but being treated like an animal when you weren't one…ouch. Now that would be quite the bitch.
"And speaking of frustration, how many times do you think Victoire is going to have to turn down that roommate of yours before he understands the futility of his endeavor? I mean, is it going to take her maiming him beyond magical repair before he gets it into his head that she's more likely to injury than snog him at this point?"
Turning his head to look in the same direction as Allan, Teddy immediately wince as he spotted Garrick attempting to engage Victoire in conversation across the room, the girl having thankfully not noticed Teddy and Allan when she'd come in since she would have wanted to join them. She would not have taken their request to leave them alone well no matter how politely they asked her, especially since his nose had informed him the day before that…
"Oh fuck a duck. Could it be possible?"
Head swerving immediately, Allan's eyes focusing on him with laser attention as the redhead demanded to know what he was thinking, his blue eyes all but burning into Teddy's.
"We need to know who in the school might have mixed bloodlines, right? And that sort of thing isn't necessarily known or is usually hidden in records either out of shame, or to hide the mixed blood from those who'd harm someone of mixed origins. That's why our list for that is so short. People might not even know there's a giant or whatever in their tree somewhere."
Allan glared at him in frustration. "Yes, we've been over that."
"I know, but…how good is a werewolf's sense of smell?"
"What?"
"Well mine is better than most, my sense of smell, I mean. And that's probably because of my dad, right? So I was just thinking, well, that now wasn't the time for Garrick to hit on Victoire because she's just started her period, which I know because I could smell the blood and-nevermind. The point is my sense of smell is better than a regular human's, so would it be possible-"
"Christopher." Allan interjected, obviously seeing where Teddy was going with this and thankfully cutting him off before he could babble more in his excitement. "You're wondering if Christopher's sense of smell is developed enough to detect non-human scent patterns."
"He can track people and animals when he isn't in his other form. He can follow scent trails like a boss." No one beat Christopher at hide and seek. Ever.
"No studies have been done to the best of my knowledge." Brows knitting together, Allan's frown deepened with displeasure even as his eyes lit with the possibilities. "Given the way they were treated in the past, and even now, it's not surprising that it's rare for one of them to consent to be experimented on, and only then it would have been for cures or to find ways to enhance the Wolfsbane potion."
"So we need to find Christopher."
"We need to find Christopher."
Nodding in perfect synchronization, the two immediately turned their attention to haphazardly stuffing all their notes and lists into their book satchels and collecting their cats before hurrying over to Victoire, who was visibly fuming over the now absent Garrick.
Though she brightened up when she spotted them, her smile dimming noticeably when they asked her point blank if she knew where her sister's boyfriend would be at the moment.
"What do you want with Christopher?"
"We have a question for him. It's really important, Victoire."
Her bottom lip stuck out a little in a hint of a pout, but picking up on their urgency Victoire didn't make them work for an answer, revealing that she was fairly sure that Christopher and her sister had Care of Magical Creatures after this period, which, according to the clock she consulted, was in seventeen minutes or so.
Both thanking her, the two teenagers and their cats took off running, calling out apologies when the librarian very shrilly called them on their behavior, though they didn't slowing down in their rush to get to their destination.
)
Luck was with them in that Christopher was a very punctual person, good manners and social etiquette having been installed in him at a very young age due to his family's prestige as one of the wealthiest magical families in the world. That he was a werewolf meant Christopher's every action was judged ten times more harshly than it would have been had he stayed a regular wizard, and Christopher's family had trained him to be the best gentleman he could be as a result. Whether he liked it or not.
But Christopher preferred to be on time for things, and so Teddy and Allan were lucky enough to run into the werewolf just outside the castle grounds, Domi at his side as the two headed down in the direction of Hagrid's hut with a few other students. Thankfully the younger man was easy to spot even in a crowd, being both tall and unusual built and muscular for his age. The teenager dealt with the fact that he was a werewolf and at times couldn't control his body by maintain ridged control over it when he could, leading to the honed physic Domi made no secret of loving.
"Hey, guys. What's wrong?" Tensing up just like her boyfriend in response to their expression and body language, Domi's hand in Christopher's tightened. "Someone else…?"
"No, everything's okay." Teddy assured her, explaining that they just needed to talk to Christopher.
At his side Allan continued to pant hard after all the running, but worked up enough energy to give the two of them a little wave since greeting them was beyond him at the moment as he set Siam down on the ground for the moment.
"Then I will stay to translate." Domi's expression dared them to disagree with her, the girl having picked up on the fact that something was wrong no matter what he'd said. And Christopher's vocal cords had been damaged beyond repair by the werewolves that had attacked him as a child, and so consequently her boyfriend could only speak through sign language or writing things out.
Technically Allan knew sign language, and Teddy had a decent grasp on it, but Allan wasn't up to talking at the moment, and for that matter Domi wouldn't tolerate secrets between her and the boy she'd decided she'd marry someday when they were still children. It would be easier just to keep her in the loop in the long run.
"Neither of you can tell anyone about what we're asking. No one. Understand?"
Christopher studied them a moment and then nodded his head, Domi chewing on her bottom lip for a bit longer before finally nodding her head in acceptance. Though she wasn't happy about it.
"Okay then. Christopher, there's no polite way to ask this. How good is your sense of smell?"
"His sense of smell?" Domi repeated in confusion.
But neither Allan nor Teddy was looking in her direction, their attention of Christopher as he signed that his sense of smell was very acute when he was a werewolf, probably at least on par with a normal wolf's, and about seventy, seventy five percent of that when he was himself. Why?
"It's a long story. Is it good enough in this form that you can tell when someone's not completely human? Like can you tell just from scent that Domi has Veela blood and I've got werewolf in me too, for example."
Perhaps to keep Domi from asking questions, since she was again opening her mouth to no doubt interrogate them about what was going on which would only slow things down when time appeared to be of the essence, Christopher tapped her on the shoulder and then angled them so that he was facing her as his fingers moved through the air at a speed that was too fast for Teddy to stand a chance of following along.
"He says that yes, he can tell in both cases, especially since our non-wizarding blood is a recent addition and not further back in our family trees. That the nature of the scent he identifies as Veela varies to some degree depending on the purity of said blood, he's met plenty of my relatives, and also how much the individual make use of that side of their nature. And when it comes to you he says that there are notes to your scent that tell him you're like him but not." Domi translated and then cocked her head to the side as she asked Christopher what Veela smelt like to him.
'Like the epitome of a femme fatale. Seductive, strong, and dangerous' was Christopher's response. 'There are subtle differences in just how the scents present themselves, but those are the thoughts that come to mind at first sniff, so to speak.'
"So that's what I smell like to you?" Domi tone made it clear that wouldn't displease her.
'You're the best smell I've ever scented. No one smells like you.'
"Awwww!"
Teddy and Allan weren't able to ask Christopher any questions for the next couple of minutes while Domi snogged the hell out of her boyfriend for loving her scent so much.
But finally she lifted her head for some needed air, and jumping at that chance Teddy asked Christopher if he could make them a list of all the people at Hogwarts whose scent indicated that there was a chance they weren't entirely human.
Unwrapping his arms from around Domi's waist, Christopher frowned as he signed the question of why Teddy would want that.
Having sufficiently recovered from the run, Allan answered him. "We have reason to believe that the person behind the attacks might not be entirely human. That's why neither of you can say anything to anyone about this. We don't want to cause panic before we know anything definitive there. Especially since certain parties would leap on the idea and use it against those of mixed blood."
"What? Why? What makes you think that the person responsible for this isn't completely human? It's not like the others that were attacked were bad people. Gabrielle didn't have any problem with me or Christopher."
It was Christopher who asked if it was because no one could figure out the magic used to incapacitate the victims. Did they think that indicated that the attacker knew magic not used by wizards.
Having not thought of that, Domi repeated his question for him and then demanded to know if that was it.
"We can't tell you that, Domi. Neither of you. On orders from McGonagall. But we really need that list, Christopher. You know that we wouldn't ask otherwise."
Holding up a finger to indicate he needed a minute to think about it, Christopher ignored them as he mulled over the request while they kept quiet, knowing better than to rush him. And it made sense, given how much backlash Christopher got for being a werewolf, that he wouldn't be okay with the idea of 'outing' anyone just because Teddy and Allan had asked him to. Even for a good cause. It went without saying that there would be those at Hogwarts who wouldn't want it to become common knowledge that they weren't completely human, or didn't know and would be shocked and dismayed to learn differently. Hell, depending on the amount of other blood in them, Christopher outing them could reveal affairs or even adultery that had gone undiscovered until now.
It could be a big deal beyond the obvious possibility of some public embarrassment.
"I'll be right back."
And so saying Domi walked away from them, Allan and Teddy watching as she hailed down a group of three Gryffindors from her and Christopher's year. She only spoke with them briefly before walking back to them, explaining that she'd just asked them to let Hagrid know that she and Christopher might be a bit late, and would explain when they got there.
"I'll come with you guys to say hi to him and let him know that it has to do with the situation. I have a few questions for him anyway." Allan had shown Teddy earlier the list of questions he'd come up with to ask Hagrid when he got the chance.
"I'll come too."
"Sure." Not caring one way or another, Domi squatted down to stroke her fingers over Siam's head and back, both boys making note of the fact the Siam didn't react in any way to the touch. Unlike Noir Allan's 'pet' never seemed to mind being treated like a cat, but he also didn't purr for anyone but Allan. Just like Noir didn't seem to occasionally like anyone but Teddy.
Teddy wasn't about to flatter himself and think that Noir loved him or anything. Though Siam seemed devoted to Allan.
"So is your cat still being as anti-social as hell?" Domi asked, interrupting Teddy's musings as she straightened up again, jerking her chin in Noir's direction.
"Pretty much. I'm keeping him close for the sake of humanity." It was as good an excuse as any.
Having no idea how serious he was Domi laughed at his words, though the beautiful bell like sound of it stopped abruptly when Christopher walked over to take his place at her side, rejoining them now that he'd made a decision.
"He says that he'll make up the list and give it to you, but that you can only show it to people who have to see it. And after this is all done you have to tear it up and forget about the names on it. Oh, and you have to get the people who see the list to swear not to repeat what they've learned either."
"We can do that." Teddy promised, Allan echoing the vow.
Like the teenagers Noir and Siam made sounds of relief that Christopher was willing to help them.
And then then the cats began to plot about how they were going to get their paws on that list too.
