Woo second last chapter and second one in a week! If you're lucky, the last one will be posted later tonight. I'm sorry to anyone I told this would be posted Friday. I had trouble getting the right words for it all.
By the way a lot of the werewolf stuff is kinda inspired by Teen Wolf, which is also part of the reason why I'm so easily distracted. I'm sorry! My best friend is trying to get me started on season three.
Enjoy!
Chapter Twenty One- Werewolves
Grace started the walk back through the house in silence. Remus, Pettigrew and Ron shuffled along awkwardly behind her, following by Snape levitated in the air by Black and finally Harry and Hermione bringing up the rear.
At first she wasn't sure if she should say anything with Pettigrew and Ron around to listen to their conversation so she only snuck furtive glances back at her godfather. He seemed to be having a hard time walking in a straight line while shackled to and pointing his wand at Pettigrew. With a soft sigh, Grace turned back to face the front and follow Crookshanks' upheld tail back to the room they had first entered.
After Crookshanks' had nimbly made his way into the passage, Grace slid down and waited for Remus, Pettigrew and Ron to make their way down one by one, lighting her wand for them to see by. Once she was sure they were fine to go again, Grace spun on her heels and began the long trip back to the castle.
They had been walking for a few minutes when Remus spoke.
"Grace. I never got the chance to tell you . . . I truly am sorry for keeping all of this from you, not telling the truth."
Grace looked over her shoulder at him, currently trying to walk slightly ahead of Pettigrew to speak to her but being pulled back by the shackles, giving him a tight smile.
"It's alright. You know I meant what I said to Snape. It scared me at first but I guess it doesn't really matter that much. It's not like you have any control over it."
"You have no idea how much it means to me to hear you say that," he replied. "You're parents and Sirius were the first people to accept me. Just something else wonderful you have in common then."
"You did say that dad and I were both insane though," she commented, a light teasing in her voice.
Remus chuckled. Grace was glad to hear the happy sound. There a short pause as Remus considered his next words.
"You know what this means now?"
"No more sneaking around the castle and into your office on the full moon?"
"No, well, yes, don't do that, you shouldn't be doing that anyway," Remus rambled before taking a deep breath. "What this means is that Sirius is free. The two of us were supposed to take care of you and Harry if anything happened to James and Lily. So now we can do that."
"Take care of us?" Grace repeated, not fully understanding what Remus meant for a second. "You mean like live with you?"
It felt like someone had lit a warm fire in her chest.
"You, me, Harry, Sirius. The family I promised we'd be. How about it?"
The fire exploded and sent its warmth all over her body, instantly making her grin from ear to ear in excitement.
"Hell, I'd do anything to leave the Dursleys. And living with you would be like a dream come true."
"That's settled then. As soon as all of this is cleared, can find a place. Somewhere Harry has place to fly . . . and near the Weasleys."
"Perfect," Grace whispered.
She didn't stop grinning the whole way back.
Finally, when Grace's neck started to ache from bending over so much, she could see the opening to the end of the passageway. There was the whipping, violent sound of the Whomping Willow coming from outside, making Grace pause at the opening, peering out. Crookshanks went ahead of her, leaping over nearby roots to tap one paw against the knot in the tree. Immediately the tree stilled, allowing Grace to climb out and wait for the others.
It was dark outside with barely enough light to see by. At this time the Gryffindor party would be in full swing; somebody would be drunk, Fred and George would have found a girl each to spend the night with and soon enough McGonagall would shut the place down.
Grace didn't really care what fun she was missing out on at that moment. She skipped over to Remus and wrapped her arms around his arm that wasn't attached to Pettigrew's, leaning on him happily.
"One wrong move, Peter," Remus warned, pointing his wand at Pettigrew.
They strode across the grounds without another word. Grace kept her grip on Remus' arm the whole time, looking up to grin at him again. With a warm smile, he leaned down to press a kiss to her head.
Then a cloud shifted in the night sky. They were bathed in silvery moonlight, reflecting down on Remus like a spotlight.
He froze.
Grace slowly unwound her arms from around him. She took an uncertain step back.
Remus was shaking from his feet to his hands. Hair was growing and lengthening all over his body. His fingernails were sharpening into claws. The pupils in his eyes were larger than ever it seemed until the only colour left in them was a glint of gold.
Grace took a few more steps backwards.
"Leave it to me- RUN!"
Grace knew she should take heed to Black's words as well. But she was frozen, watching transfixed as Remus' head and body grew and he let out a terrible snarl.
The werewolf in front of her reared its head, wrenching itself away from the manacles holding it in place. It turned its head to face her, locking its yellow eyes on her face.
Grace stumbled backwards, falling over rocks on the ground. She flinched away, waiting for the werewolf to strike when Black, transformed as a dog, seized it by its neck and dragged it away from her. The two canines were locked, jaw to jaw, with their claws ripping for each other.
Movement nearby alerted her to Pettigrew as he lunged for Remus' fallen wand. Before she could do anything else, he had disarmed her, sending her wand flying away from her. She lunged after it and grappled in the dark as swiftly as she could.
By the time she had her wand in her hand and was back to her feet, Ron and Crookshanks were unconscious.
"Expelliarmus!" she shouted, catching Remus' wand as it flew out of Pettigrew's hand.
"Stay where you are!" Harry called out, to her or Pettigrew she wasn't sure. He came running forward but he wouldn't be able to reach them in time. Even Grace couldn't be quick enough from a metre away as he gave her a little wave and transformed. With a flick of his bald, ugly tail, he was off scurrying through the long grass.
There was a howl and a rumbling growl. Harry and Grace whipped their heads around to see the werewolf disappearing into the forest.
"Remus!" Grace screamed.
And then she was running.
Grace could hear the shouts behind her: Harry screaming for Sirius and Hermione calling after Harry.
But she just ran.
She knew it was a stupid thing to do. Werewolves couldn't control themselves. Remus would attack any human he came in contact with, even his own goddaughter. So why she was running after him, she had no idea.
She just couldn't stop running.
Further in the distance there was the sound of a werewolf howling to the night. The sound echoed across the grounds, loud enough for the whole castle to hear, chilling Grace to the bone and sending shivers down her spine. Her heart pounded in her ears and she could feel the blood pumping in her legs.
She still kept running.
By now she had past the Whomping Willow again. The ground was slipping away under her feet and the trees seemed to be closer than ever. Soon she would be entering the depths of the forest.
Ad she would've kept running.
But all of a sudden, she collided with something soft, sending her tumbling to the ground as her feet were caught with something and letting out a soft cry.
Lifting her face from the mud Grace attempted to get to her feet only to find them tangled with someone's legs. There was a curse and a flash of sandy hair when Grace recognised who she had fallen over.
"Ciara? Miranda?"
Tugging herself away Grace finally managed to stand and look at her two best friends helping each other to stand.
"Oh hey Grace," Ciara panted. "Missed you at the party."
"What the hell are you doing out here?"
"Are we not allowed to go for a walk for some fresh air in the middle of the night?" Miranda frowned. Grace opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted. "Don't answer that. But we know McGonagall's busy because we saw her lecturing some seventh years for being out of bed."
"That didn't exactly answer my question," Grace told her curtly.
"Is something wrong?" Ciara questioned, brushing off her denim shorts. "Like you having exactly told us your reason for being out here and running like someone's life depends on it."
"I- I- Well-it's a long story Ciara," Grace sighed. "But we run into Sirius Black and he's innocent but Remus is a-,"
But she was cut off from a growl coming from the tree line.
The three girls slowly turned around, eyes wide. Crouching a couple of hundred metres away from them was the werewolf, its eyes flashing in the dark.
"Run!" the girls screamed together, sprinting into the forest.
Grace could only see a few metres in front of her and was sure the others could see even less. Thin branches whipped them in the face when they ran past. They were stumbling, tripping, just trying to get further away from the creature following them.
One glance showed that it was still after them, down on all fours. Grace's bright hair flicked her in the face when she turned back around, just in time to duck under a low tree branch.
Grace didn't know how long they were running for. As long as they could hear the werewolf behind them, they would keep running. And it didn't sound like it would give up anytime soon.
Together Grace and Miranda leapt over a high root that sat before a wide ditch, only to have Ciara pull them back.
"Quick under here!" she hissed.
They ducked under the root to find a hollow that concealed them in almost all directions. The werewolf leapt over them and kept galloping, without a clue to where they had gone. It kept going and going until they could no longer see it. But still they held their breath, clutching each other's hands like a life line. Grace couldn't help wondering where it had gone. In the distance she could hear a loud bark but didn't dare look out to see what it was.
Finally, when the dead silence was scaring Grace more than the werewolf did, Ciara turned to her and demanded, "What the fuck just happened?"
"That was Remus," Grace answered.
"No, it wasn't!" Ciara said. "That was a fucking werewolf!"
"And he is a werewolf!" Grace whispered hotly. "And if you don't be quiet, he'll be back!"
That shut Ciara up.
"You said it was a long story right?" Miranda said. "Then tell us the long story. We've got all the time in the world."
So Grace took a deep breath and she told them. She told them everything that had happened since laying her eyes on the map in Remus' office. They were perfect listeners, the two of them. They gasped at all the right places and laughed their heads off when they heard what she had done to Snape.
"So that's when I started running," Grace finished.
Ciara and Miranda took a few seconds to process everything she had said, thinking it through and nodding slowly.
"Hang on, you find out your godfather is a werewolf and he transforms so you decide to run after him?" Miranda asked.
"Yeah, I'm - I'm not sure why," Grace confessed. "I wanted to get out of there and I wanted to make sure he was alright. I knew he would be of course. I just couldn't help it. He had talked about how dad never let him be alone on a full moon and even if I can't really do anything, I can't let him be alone either."
Miranda reached out and squeezed her hand.
"I think we're missing the real important thing here," Ciara told them.
"Her godfather is a werewolf and her dad was an Animagus," Miranda said. "I don't think there's anything more important than that."
"Sirius Black is innocent," Grace pointed out. "I reckon that's pretty important."
"No, no, none of that," Ciara shook her hand in disbelief. "You are the daughter of a Marauder. Do you know how bloody amazing that is?"
Grace laughed, leaning back into the wall of their little cave. Miranda turned to her with wide eyes, her mouth popping open, making Grace laugh harder. She took a few deep breaths and calmed down, snorting at her two best friends.
"You never did tell me why you were out here," she mentioned.
"We- er- thought the party was getting a little crowded," Miranda said, staring at the ground and pulling on a piece of grass. "I wanted some fresh air and a walk."
"What are you talking about? You love Gryffindor parties. You've lasted all night before!"
"I just didn't want to be there anymore!" Miranda snapped.
Grace frowned at her and looked to Ciara for a better explanation.
"It might have something to do with Fred making out with that Tally Pointe girl in seventh year. She said something about it being her last ever Gryffindor party and wanting to make the most of it."
Miranda scowled.
"Then George found Pointe's cousin, Maya, I think her name is, and they started at it," Ciara continued, rolling her eyes at the appalled look on Grace's face and Miranda's disgruntle expression. "Oliver and Trina were getting all sentimental about him leaving and the others were all leaving for the boys' dormitory. By then it was honestly getting to be a bit too much."
"Oh. Right."
Grace wasn't exactly sure how to react to Ciara's revelation. She shouldn't really care about who George snogged, just like Miranda would say she doesn't care about who Fred snogs. She didn't care. It really wasn't any of her business. I mean he could have chosen a girl who cared about more than just her bloody perfect looks, but what did it matter?
Grace's thoughts were interrupted by muffled shouting in the distant forest, coming closer to them any second. The ground began to rumble from under them from the pounding of hooves running together.
"Bows at the ready!"
Grace, Miranda and Ciara crawled to the opening of their cave and peered out.
There was movement among the trees, hard to see in the dark but there was definitely something moving towards them. Twigs broke and leaves crunched loudly.
Suddenly three large shapes broke from of the trees. They had the lower body of magnificent horses but from the torso up they were shirtless, bearded men. Each was armed with a bow and arrow, pointing into the distance.
"Centaurs," Ciara breathed. "Hagrid taught us about them, remember?"
The centaurs paused in the small clearing, eyeing the darkness around them.
A loud howl echoed across the night. Grace turned her head to where the frightening sound was coming from, gulping at how much closer than before it sounded.
"That way!" one of the centaurs, who was dark haired and bodied with a thick black beard, pointed. "After it!"
Their hooves kicked up dirt in their speed to chase after the werewolf, weapons at the ready.
"They want to shoot Remus!" Grace exclaimed.
"They want to shoot a werewolf actually," Ciara corrected. "They probably can't tell that Remus can't control himself."
"They probably don't care!" Grace argued. "Three of them against one werewolf? I don't like the chances. And I don't want to just sit here while they kill him!"
With that, Grace was out of the cave. She sprinted after the centaurs, following the sound of their hooves. Ciara and Miranda exchanged a look, silently agreeing on what they had to do.
The three girls ran through the forest again. They kept an ear out for any more sounds of the werewolf. The trees grew closer together and they found it hard to see anything at all anymore. Finally they burst through a wall of low hanging branches to stand at the top of a hill, the centaurs just a few metres in front of them.
Their bows were held steady in their hands with an arrow aimed directly at the werewolf crouching at the base of the hill.
"No!" Grace cried out, moving in front of the centaurs. "Don't shoot!"
The centaur in the centre, of a chestnut coat, lowered his bow only slightly, and looked at her in confusion.
"Who are you, young one, and why are you protecting this beast?"
"He's not a beast!" Grace said fiercely. The centaur raised his bow again at her tone, bristling in slight anger.
"We're students from up at the school," Ciara interjected. She and Miranda stepped forward to stand next to Grace between the centaurs and the werewolf. "And like you said, we're young. Surely you wouldn't hurt someone else's young?"
"Magorian, they are only foals," urged the other centaur, this one with red hair and beard that matched his chestnut coat. "Our quarrel is with the werewolf. We do not hurt young."
"The werewolf doesn't want to hurt anybody," Miranda reasoned. "He can't control himself. If you hurt, or even kill him, you are hurting an innocent human being."
"If you leave him alone, he won't try to hurt you," Ciara said. "You would be better to protect your colony from your home."
"You say you are young yet you speak beyond your years," Magorian said. "We recognize this beast. It may have been many years since he was here but once he, along with a large canine and stag, haunted these woods. They caused trouble wherever they went and we do not forget such things."
"Then let us deal with him," Grace suggested. Miranda and Ciara turned to look at her like she was mad.
"I am beginning to think you are not as young as you claim to be," the other dark centaur said.
"Just hear me out," Grace begged, for both the centaurs and her friends. "We've learnt about werewolves in class. We know their weaknesses and how to deal with them. And I know this werewolf in particular. He's just lost and confused. He wants some company and doesn't want to hurt anybody."
"Are you insane?" the dark haired centaur questioned. "Magorian, do you not think-?"
"Silence, Bane, there may be some truth to the young ones words," Magorian considered. "We shall leave them. There shall be guards over the colony tonight. Let us see how three young foals deal with a werewolf."
"But, Magorian, they are only foals," the red-haired centaur argued. "They cannot protect themselves."
"It is not our concern what happens to the human young, Ronan," Magorian told him.
Magorian gave the girls one last look before he trotted off into the forest. Bane gave a snort and flicked his tail, continuing after their supposed leader.
"I wish you good luck and a safe night," Ronan said softly, peering at Grace, Miranda and Ciara with gentle green eyes.
"Thank you," Grace told him, Ciara and Miranda echoing her sentiment. "We'll be fine really."
Ronan gave a short nod and turned to gallop after the other centaurs hurriedly.
Grace, Miranda and Ciara watched him go wistfully.
"Well, now what are we going to do?" Miranda inquired. "As much as I'm glad you made sure Remus isn't dead, you kinda just left us alone with a werewolf. So we're dead."
"Seeing as he's noticed we're here now, we are definitely dead," Ciara added.
The werewolf was slowly creeping up the hill towards them, growling ferociously. Its yellow eyes were fixed upon them. Every move it made was calculated and precise, like an animal stalking its prey before the kill.
"No we're not," Grace said calmly. "I have an idea. But uh let's just start running."
Just as the wolf was about to leap, Grace spun around, nearly slipping on the leaves under her feet, and took off in the opposite direction, dragging Ciara and Miranda with her. As soon as she could see where she was going, Grace veered off. Taking action on her idea she headed towards the slightly less thick area of the forest, where the trees were lower to the ground.
"Grace now would be a good time for that great idea of yours," Ciara panted, glancing over her shoulder at the creature that was quickly closing in on them.
"Quick up here!" Grace told them.
She jumped up and wrapped her arms around the thick branch of tree right near them. Swinging her legs up, she hoisted herself up onto the branch and looked down to see Ciara joining her.
"Miranda, what are you doing?" she hissed down.
"Do I look like someone who climbs trees regularly?" Miranda defended.
"You don't look like someone who wants to die either!" Grace replied. She braced herself on the branch and leaned down to help Miranda up. "C'mon!"
They were just in time too. No sooner had Miranda's feet left the ground than the werewolf caught up with them, snapping its jaw at Miranda's heels. Her feet swung out of reach of the werewolf's fearsome teeth by inches. It was a frantic fight between them until Miranda managed to bring her feet up onto the branch with them.
"Let's get higher," Ciara muttered, balancing herself and reaching for another branch above their heads.
"Not too much," Grace said. She moved to lean against the trunk of the tree, staring down at the werewolf.
Currently the creature was scratching at the tree frantically, moaning pitifully up at them. Now that she had a closer view, Grace could see the numerous scratches along the wolf's back, many of them fresh and bleeding. She could connect the wolf back to Remus in its sandy hair and lean build. There was almost something of the man in the eyes, not the colour or shape but the emotion behind them.
"Grace, you coming?" Miranda called down. By now, she and Ciara had found themselves a steady perch on the branch above her.
"Nah, I'm fine down here, he can't reach me," Grace answered. The wolf had stopped trying to reach them now but continued to moan. With a last look up at them, it settled against the tree and curled into a ball. "He's just lonely."
Please review with any comments, questions, or advice.
I'm sorry to all those who were hoping that Grace and Harry were going to go live with Sirius and Remus. I'm trying to stick to canon as much as possible.