Disclaimer: I no owny.

Chapter 14

"Oh Alera, how did you find me? Where have you been? I thought you were dead! Who attacked you!" Fenrir was full of questions for this miracle of a woman in front of him. She still looked so young, and yet older than he remembered.

Alera looked at him through tear filled eyes and couldn't believe her luck. After years of searching she had found him at last. Her head was still slightly groggy and she was trying to form answers for his questions, but the harder she tried the harder her head pounded. "Fenrir can we talk about this after a pain potion perhaps?" She said gesturing toward her head.

"Of course!" Fenrir quickly got off of the bed and crossed over to a cabinet that was set into the wall next to his desk and pulled out a small vial, uncorking it before handing it over to her. She took it gratefully and threw it back before the bitter taste could hit her tongue. She closed her eyes as she felt relieve spread throughout her body. She sat there for a moment and then carefully opened her eyes to look at the man who sat in front of her.

"Where have I been? Well that is a long story my dear brother, a very long story."

…...

Hermione sat in her room fingering her wand looking for the seam that she knew must be there. Her wand had snapped when she was taken and Lucius must have paid a great deal of money to have it repaired so beautifully.

Hermione was trying to keep her mind away from what was just down the hall from her. But why should she care anyway? There was nothing between her and Fenrir except for maybe hate. That kiss was out of frustration and anger. It meant nothing, nothing at all. So why did she feel so... so... angered at seeing him with that woman?

She needed to get out of this house, clear her mind. She grabbed one of the books that Lucius had sent her and quickly disillusioned herself so as not to be caught and snuck down the stairs and quietly slipped through the front door.

Once outside she took a deep breath and sighed deeply. It felt good to have the sun beating down on her pale skin. She lifted her face and let the sunshine wash away her stress. She looked around her and decided to go and sit in the woods. Once she found nice shade tree she transfigured a large rock into a fluffy pillow and sat down and opened her book. It was one of the two spell books, and she quickly found herself immersed in the text. Her passion for learning blocking out everything else.

It wasn't too long before she stumbled upon a chapter about animagi. Her interest extremely peaked she feverishly read the chapter, taking in all the information it offered. She had learned a small amount of information about the practice when she attended Hogwarts and even though it interested her then she had always been too busy to actually try and attempt it. Traditionally an animagi had a mentor who would help to guide them through the transformation process but she also knew that it wasn't unheard of for people to teach themselves. She smiled fondly at the thought of James Potter and his friends who had taught themselves in order to help Lupin during the full moon.

Perhaps she could also teach herself, she wasn't called the brightest witch of her age for nothing you know. Thinking of Lupin and Sirius made her heart ache and turned to thoughts of Harry. What was he doing? He was now alone in quest for Horcruxes. Would he be searching for her, or had he given, up assuming she was dead? What about the rest of the order? Were they trying to find her? Surely they wouldn't allow her disappearance to go unnoticed.

…...

Molly Weasley was sitting at her dining room table in the Burrow sipping on some tea reading the Daily prophet with her nose crinkled up in disgust at an article that was obviously written by death eaters, when her front door was slammed open and closed again by some invisible force. She quickly grabbed her wand and looked wildly about the room when suddenly the head of a very familiar boy appeared, floating in midair.

"Oh Merlin Harry Potter! You nearly scared the dickens out of me!" These days it was not uncommon for Harry to show up since the death of her son and the disappearance of Hermione. He was very lonely and no matter how many times the order fought with him over it, Harry would occasionally drop by to see a familiar face or two despite the dangers. Poor boy, she thought to herself. It must be terrible to be so lonely. If only that bitch hadn't up and left him. By that bitch she meant Hermione of course. The damn girl refused to love her son and it was likely that it was her fault that Ron had died. In Molly's opinion Hermione must have run off, because of the guilt and shame she must be feeling. Serves her right.

Of course Harry was worried about her though. He refused to believe she was dead. On his journeys he was always looking for some sign of her, any clue that she might be out there somewhere, but no such sign ever presented itself.

"Any news?" Harry asked quietly as he sat down. Molly pursed her lips knowing what Harry was referring to but refusing to acknowledge it.

" Snape has disappeared from Hogwarts but that is no surprise." She said with disgust, that traitor was utterly revolting. "Kingsly's wife and son were murdered two days ago and Kingsly himself has gone into hiding."

She went on listing other disappearances and deaths. As terrified as Harry was to hear so many familiar names his patience wore thin.

"What about Hermione? Is there any news about her?" Molly turned from him to hide her disdainful glare and simply said. "The search continues. There is no news."

She was lying but he didn't know that. There was no search, there never was one. Molly had made sure of that. She may not have much but she did have some influence over her peers. And most agreed with her. Most importantly Dumbledore agreed with her. The order could not waste their resources on trying to find the twit. But even though she hated the girl it would crush Harry if he found out that nothing was happening in an attempt to find her. And Harry was the chosen one. So what ever it took to keep him going she would do. Dumbledore was in the same mindset. They had to keep Harry focused and as positive as possible. It was for the greater good after all.

…...

Hermoine returned to the tent sometime later. Wiping her eyes and her tear streaked cheeks. Removing the evidence of her grief and doubts. She thought about skipping dinner and just going straight to bed but the dull roar in her stomach was becoming more and more prominent so she entered the dining hall only to find the woman from earlier sitting at the table alone eating some dinner and reading the prophet. Hermione felt a pang of sickness rush through her as she looked at the woman and contemplated turning back around but she couldn't allow herself to appear weak. Somewhere in the back of her mind for some yet unknown reason she viewed this woman as competition and Hermione didn't like to lose.

She sat on the opposite end of the table and she had only just touched the seat when a small house elf appeared at her elbow to take her order. She quietly told the elf what she wanted and it scurried away to prepare it for her. Hermione then glanced back up the table to see the other woman staring at her. Hermione quickly downcast her eyes only to snap them back up again returning the stare with an icy version of her own.

Seeing this the other woman narrowed her eyes and the tension in the room was suddenly so thick that not even the sharpest knife could cut through it. They sat there for a moment before the other woman folded up her paper and walked toward the door behind Hermione. As she reached the door she turned and said:

" I will not tolerate this kind of behavior by some stray that Fenrir has decided to pick up off the street."

With that the woman left the room leaving Hermione with her mouth hanging open and her appetite suddenly gone.

…...

Little did either of women know, but Fenrir was in fact sitting in the kitchen which was connected to the dining room and he heard the entire thing. He couldn't see their faces but Lela must have really done something to make Alera speak so harshly. But as far as Fenrir was concerned this house was just as much Alera's as it was his and she would be free to do as she pleased.

Fenrir decided to poke his head inside the dining room to see if Lela was still in there. Sure enough she was there sitting with a blank look on her face pushing around some food with her fork on the plate. Fenrir thought about retreating back into the kitchen. He hadn't really had any interaction with the girl since their "incident" but Merlin be damned this was still his house and he should not have to watch his step wherever he went.

As he stepped in the room Lela's eyes snapped to his and then stood up to leave. There was something in her eyes he couldn't quite place as she turned toward the door. He tried to think of a snide remark but she beat him to the punch.

"My uncle will be here next week. I will try my best not to bother the two of you again. I'll be seeking permission to leave and return to the manor as soon as possible." She turned the door knob and then as though remembering something, she reached into the pack that she had slung over her shoulder and pulled out a book. Finding the appropriate page she then tossed the book under his nose and left.

Feeling angered at this show of disrespect Fenrir snarled as she slammed the door. He glanced down at the book briefly and then had to do a double take. Could this be what he thought it was? At the very top of the page was the title;

How to Curse an Entire Population or Species

This could very well be exactly what he had been looking for. His mind was battling itself, not sure if he should be enraged by her audacity to stick her nose in his business again, or if he should be thanking her profusely. Either way, he needed to read this book and call for a meeting of the pack. This could very well be the key in saving the ill cubs.

…...

The rest of the week passed very slowly for Hermione. She mostly stayed in her rooms having her meals brought up by the house elves. Occasionally she would venture out of the safety of her chambers but she never caught sight of Fenrir of Alera (The house elves had reluctantly told her the name of the woman but refused to speak anymore of the matter.).

She mostly read her books and had made up her mind to try and become an animagus on her own. After all if a blundering idiot like Peter Pettigrew could figure it out then there was no reason that she couldn't as well.

She was close she could feel it. A lot of the transformation process was meditating and concentrating on your inner self. You can't choose which animal form you take but in theory the witch or wizards body should recognize what is being attempted and then take it's true form. She knew she was getting there because sometimes small aspects of her body would change but then she would get so excited that she would lose her concentration and it would slip away from her. She had once managed her eyes. She wasn't near a mirror so she couldn't see them but it was what she saw through them that tipped her off. She was colorblind but everything was very sharp and she could see much further than normal.

That still didn't give her much insight as to what her form might be as many animals were in fact color blind. Although if she was honest with herself she would be extremely pleased if she took on the form of a lion or even a great bird of prey. But alas until she was able to complete the transformation everything would be simply guess work.

This week was the week that Lucius would be coming to visit her. His last letter said he would be arriving tomorrow around noon. She was serious when she said that she would be asking for permission to leave. She didn't want to be here anymore, she missed the manor and her horse and oddly enough she missed the company of her uncle. And she was sure that he was just as lonely as she was.

…...

Fenrir had been busy since the day Lela shown him that book. He had to hold several pack meetings not too mention put a team together to try to find a way to reverse the spell without the original caster. Whom Fenrir was bound and determined to hunt down and kill if it was the last thing he did. NO ONE messed with his family and his pack was his family. The children were getting worse everyday and Fenrir was slowly loosing hope as three more children began to succumb to the curse.

He knew what he had to do but he hated it. He hated having to ask for help especially when it concerned the people under his leadership. But a good leader would not let his people die if he knew there was even a sliver of hope. He made up his mind. He would seek counsel with the Dark lord and beg him for help if it came down to it. Anything for his family.

A/N I know another long gap, but I do apologize! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a review!