Author's Notes: Once again, thank you to all those who read my stories in the past week. This story now has over 16,000 hits. And a special thanks to all my reviewers.
ProfessorChris: Don't worry about it, but I'm glad to see you're still with us. Thanks for your support.
David Fishwick: Glad to know you are enjoying the story. Thanks for the support.
Fugatad: Thanks for the support.
Beggs: Yes, I admit that Harry is surprisingly absent in this Harry Potter story. Part of that is due to Geoffrey's desire to keep control of his operations, meaning Harry stays locked up whenever he isn't needed. It's also partly due to my not wanting to make it seem like Harry is winning this war on his own. No war is ever won by a single person, no matter how hard Hollywood tries to make it seem that way. I like showing the other fronts on which this war is being fought, like at the school and, in this chapter, by those outside it. Harry won't be appearing in this chapter, but he will be a main focus in Chapter 26, which will be posted whenever I get around to finishing it (I'm getting close, I swear!). As for the thing about Megan's maturity, yeah, I agree that that did not come off well. I admit it. Originally, Megan was going to play a much smaller role in this story, but then I needed a Slytherin spy and I used her for that role. Your idea about her being a Horcrux did momentarily inspire me, but I do not want to re-write this story at this point. My explanation is that she understands what is going on in the Wizarding world and she's trying to do what she can to stop Lord Voldemort. I will say that her maturity does not come from her being a witch. Her parents were not the kind of people who went out of their way to hide reality from their daughter, so she doesn't have all the bravado that Mohammad shows, nor does she have the unquestioning faith that Henry has. In a way, she serves as a kind of reality check to those two. Thanks for your support.
I love the reviews, guys! Keep them coming!
I'd also like to announce that this story has been added to a third C2: Good Fanfictions. Thank you very much, Beggs.
Okay, I said there were two Monty Python references in the previous chapter. The first was the password to get into Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, which was "The Bells of St. Mary's." This is a reference to the sketch "Musical Mice" from the second episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus. In this sketch, Terry Jones has, supposedly, trained 23 mice to squeek at different particular musical pitches and then proceeds to play "The Bells of St. Mary's" using said mice. However, it is quickly clear that this is not going according to plan.
The second reference was Samantha telling Gary that she was "so bleeding happy." This quote comes from a sketch titled " 'The Pantomime Horse is a Secret Agent' " in the 30th episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus. It's just a short parody of pretty much every James Bond flick.
This will probably be the last chapter I post until at least the end of December, so I wish all of you a Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays. Lets get back to the story now.
Chapter 25: The Natural Order of Things
Gary sat on the porch of Gryffindor Manor in Great Yarmouth and watched as the sun began to sink below the horizon that same day. He arrived hours before and told Amy what was going on. She was horrified initially, but Gary walked her through the process of sealing the Manor. Every door and window was magically sealed now. Nothing was getting in or out of the building without breaking down a wall to get inside. And if Greyback tried doing that, Gary would find him and take him out before he'd be able to cause any real damage.
Of course, Gary Gryffindor wasn't planning on taking on the legendary werewolf alone. At either side of his deck chair was one of two Rhodesian Ridgebacks that he purchased as puppies six years before and had raised himself. A female and male, he had named them Bonnie and Clyde, respectively. Both dogs had brown coats of fur. However, Bonnie had a black nose with dark eyes, while Clyde had amber eyes with a lighter colored nose (called "liver" by those who bred dogs). Clyde was slightly bigger and heavier than Bonnie; he was 26 inches from paw to the top of his back, while Bonnie was an inch shorter. And both had the most distinctive trait of their breed; the ridge of hair on the back that ran in the opposite direction of the rest of the dogs' fur that started at the shoulders and ended at the hips. They were glancing back and forth, feeling that their leader was feeling nervous.
And indeed, Gary was nervous. For 11 years, he had been hoping that this day would finally come. He hoped to get his chance for justice against the beast that had so deeply wronged him. But now that the moment was at hand, he began to think about what he would do when he actually saw the infamous werewolf in the flesh for the first time. He had been knocked out 11 years ago before he had a chance to get a glimpse of Greyback, so all he had ever seen were pictures of him, both as a human and, less commonly, as a werewolf. And he was nervous that he might lose his will to fight when he actually saw the beast himself.
No, no, that won't happen, Gary assured himself as he continued to watch the sun set, I've waited too long to run now.
Gary had asked Remus if there was any special way a werewolf needed to be killed. The answer was no, but Remus offered to help him fight Greyback if the time ever came. However, Gary didn't have Wolfsbane Potion on him, so bringing along the former Hogwarts teacher wasn't an option tonight, though it would have been very helpful to have a controlled werewolf around. But Gary knew that his two dogs would be more than capable assistants to him tonight, for Rhodesian Ridgebacks were originally bred to help humans hunt lions in Africa. In addition, Ridgebacks were blessed by being both a sighthound and a scent hound at the same time. They preferred to hunt by scent, but they could use their eyes to hunt effectively as well. And both would be needed tonight.
Gary stood up as the sun finally slid below the horizon and the full moon began to rise in the east over the North Sea. He pulled the 12-gauge shotgun out from under his black trench coat and slowly walked down the wooden porch stairs of Gryffindor Manor and onto the large field that surrounded it on most sides. Bonnie and Clyde were right on Gary's heels following their pack leader to the hunt.
Gary checked the wind direction and found that the sea breeze was still rolling in, though that would reverse itself in about an hour. Gary wanted the reversal to come sooner, though, because then the air from further inland would be blowing right toward them, meaning Bonnie and Clyde would smell Fenrir coming from a mile away. Instead, Gary kept patrolling around the house, looking outward and waiting to spot any unusual movements from the field.
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The wind direction had finally changed and was now in Gary's favor. The wind was now blowing from the shore onto the water, meaning that Bonnie and Clyde would be able to smell Fenrir coming toward the manor. The only real problem was if Greyback tried to come up along the coastline or the side of the house so that neither of Gary's dogs could smell him coming. To counter this, Gary positioned Bonnie at one corner of the Manor that faced away from the sea and Clyde at the other. They wouldn't move from their spots unless they received an order from Gary to do so or if they sensed trouble.
Meanwhile, Gary himself took several steps forward, away from the manor, and kept looking around, watching for signs of an attack from any direction. His eyes were now fully adjusted to the light of the full moon. There was no way Greyback would go completely unnoticed now unless he swam in from the North Sea. And from all accounts he had heard, Gary knew that Fenrir Greyback hated to swim. It "washed away" all his triumphs, so to speak. Gary was ready for this moment to come. And yet, he was still nervous. Fenrir Greyback haunted his mind so much that he just could not shake it off. And the waiting only made it worse for him.
It was another two hours before something finally happened. Bonnie, who had been sitting upright, suddenly stood up on her four legs and sniffed the air intently, as if she had noticed something that wasn't there before.
Gary noticed this and began looking upwind of her for any sign of movement. If it was Greyback, he would be coming from the woods that were upwind from Bonnie. However, he did not move toward the trees yet. For all Gary knew, Bonnie had just smelled a rabbit and wanted a midnight snack.
After about ten seconds of sniffing, Bonnie began to growl as she continued looking toward the trees, her body ready to strike upon any intruder. Clyde noticed this change in behavior and began to walk toward Bonnie to back her up in a gesture of intimidation. Gary heard Clyde moving and glanced back to see what was happening. Quickly, he took his right hand off the shotgun and moved it out where Clyde would notice it and snapped his fingers once. The dogs knew that meant to stop moving. And in this situation, Gary was telling Clyde that he was in control of the situation and wanted Clyde to go back to where he was.
Gary saw Clyde sit down in an upright position again. Gary was concerned that Greyback had laid a trap for them in the woods and wanted neither Bonnie nor Clyde to fall victim to it. Satisfied with Clyde's behavior, Gary turned back toward the trees.
And that's when he saw it. Bonnie began to bark as what appeared to be a wolf emerged from the trees, with red blood partly covering its gray snout. Gary put his finger back on the trigger as he clicked his tongue loudly. That was Gary's recall signal, which told Bonnie and Clyde to come to his side immediately, which they both did. This caught the wolf's attention as it turned to look at Gary and his two dogs who were now barking at him.
Gary knew this was the moment of truth, but took another look at the wolf just to make sure. His snout was more rounded and wider than a normal wolf's. And the tail was tufted. Both of these were signs of a werewolf. But even by werewolf standards, this one was big. It stood at least three feet tall from ground to the top of the back. And Gary could just barely make out the yellow claws on his feet. The descriptions Gary had compiled of Fenrir Greyback's wolf form were exactly like what he was looking at now.
Now that he had seen the monster himself, the anxiety left him. All that was left inside Gary was anger. A burning anger that demanded retribution. It blinded him to everything else. Greyback growled loudly as Gary aimed the shotgun right at his target, a whole 30 yards away.
"DIE GREYBACK!" Gary shouted as he squeezed the trigger. The scream and the blast shattered any semblance of a peaceful night. The hunt was on, and someone was going to die.
Immediately after pulling the trigger, Gary mentally slapped himself for doing something so dumb. Oh, you idiot, Gary! What were you thinking? he thought as he slowly moved forward, Bonnie and Clyde next to him on either side, as he pumped the spent shell out of the weapon and loaded another one into the firing chamber, You're not hitting anything with this thing at that range! And now you can't see a damn thing! Indeed, the muzzle flash of the shotgun had ruined Gary's night vision. It would take a few minutes before he could see properly again. But he already knew that his first shell had done nothing to harm Fenrir. As Gary was blinded by the muzzle flash, Greyback had fled in some direction and Gary didn't see where he had gone to.
However, both Bonnie and Clyde were continuing to growl in the direction of the woods that the werewolf had just appeared from before Gary had opened fire on him. Gary knew that the dogs would have seen which way Greyback ran in, so he felt certain that the werewolf had fled back into the woods to find another was to attack his intended victims without getting shot.
While the shotgun was meant for close encounters, this was a situation where Gary did not want to be close to his enemy, as Greyback would have the advantage there, no matter what. And he wasn't just going to blindly charge into the woods. He already made one mistake, which could eventually prove to be a fatal one. A second mistake would mean instant death . . . or worse. Gary had no interest in being infected and becoming a werewolf for the rest of his days.
As Gary waited for his vision to readjust to the light of the full moon, he made sure Bonnie and Clyde remained at his side. Both wanted to go after this threat and remove it in some way, but Gary knew that while Rhodesian Ridgebacks could hold a lion at bay, holding off a werewolf was a totally different story. Greyback would rip both dogs to shreds if Gary wasn't careful. But he had the advantage now. He knew where his target was and would be able to see him coming. Greyback would have to come out of his hiding place eventually if he wanted to finish what he started tonight. All Gary had to do was wait for him. Gary had been waiting 11 years for this moment. He knew he could wait another four or five hours.
As his night vision finally returned to him, Gary relaxed a little as he saw no signs of Greyback's return yet. Bonnie and Clyde's growling subsided as well, as both were now sitting and looking around. This latter behavior caught Gary's attention after another thirty minutes had gone by. They must have lost the scent, Gary realized, But the wind is still blowing into the sea. If he's still in those trees, they should smell him. This left Gary with only one option. He began to slowly move forward into the woods. He needed to confirm his line of thinking.
With Bonnie and Clyde just behind him, Gary looked cautiously into the trees before slowly moving into them, his eyes always sweeping his surroundings for anything unusual, for anything that would give away the hiding place of a werewolf. However, he saw nothing like that. Instead, he saw a branch that had fallen to the ground, broken in the middle as if it had been stepped on by something and broke underfoot. Looking around, Gary saw a similar broken branch on the ground about ten feet further into the woods, this one with a small amount of red blood nearby on the ground.
So he went back into the woods, Gary realized, Hoping that I'll just forget about him. Or maybe he's trying to lead me into a trap, hoping that I'll follow him. At this, he glanced behind him and saw that Bonnie and Clyde were right behind him, sniffing the air for any sign of the intruder. They'll alert me to Greyback lying in wait for me if he's upwind of us. And I'll keep watching the downwind direction. As long as Gary could pull his trigger quickly enough, he'd survive this encounter.
He continued moving through the woods for the next 20 minutes, following the path that Greyback had left behind when Gary noticed that the path was now starting to lead out of the woods and toward the shoreline. The path soon left the woods completely and Gary realized what Fenrir had done.
He's going down the shoreline, he thought as he began to run back toward the Gryffindor Manor, Bonnie and Clyde right on his heels, He's walking through the water to try to hide his scent from the dogs.
It took him a few minutes of running before the Manor was in his sight once again, illuminated by the full moon. Gary began to slow down a little, searching for the werewolf again. He began to hear a strange banging noise from the other side of the building. He's trying to bash his way into the building, he thought as he quietly approached the front of the Manor, still not seeing the source of the sound, I think I can catch him by surprise now.
Gary slowly approached a corner of the Manor, the banging getting louder now. With his back pushed up against the wall of the house, Gary took a quick peak around the corner. And he saw him there. Fenrir Greyback, who was trying to use his body as a battering ram to break into the Manor through a wall, and he had started to make some headway on that account, as pieces of the building were beginning to fall off and cracks were forming where the wall was being hit.
Gary took a deep breath as he prepared himself for this. Greyback was only 10 feet away from him. As long as his shot was on target, he'd do some real damage this time around. He then quickly pivoted on his left foot and turned himself to face Greyback, his shotgun aimed right at where he thought he'd be. As Fenrir actually came into view again, Gary readjusted his aim a little lower. Greyback saw Gary before he fired, but it was too late for him. Gary squeezed the trigger as he finished turning around.
The shotgun blast ripped through the night again, this time accompanied by a yelp of surprise and pain. Gary was once again temporarily blinded by the blast, but the yelp he heard told him that he had hit his mark. He pumped the spent round out of the shotgun and loaded in a new one as he took aim again while his dogs came around the corner to see what had happened. But Gary waited, listening for any patter of footsteps that would tell him that Fenrir was coming closer to him, trying to strike back with a blow of his own. But he heard nothing of that sort.
His vision came back more quickly this time, and Gary found nothing except a trail of red blood left behind from where Greyback had stood. Indeed, he was hit, and judging from the amount of blood he was leaving behind, hit bad. It was apparent to Gary that unless Fenrir received medical attention immediately, he would simply bleed to death. Gary slowly followed the trail of blood around the corner of the Manor.
And that was when all hell broke loose.
This time, Greyback had set up a trap for Gary, and he fell right into it. There was no way Bonnie or Clyde could have warned their leader about any danger, as they couldn't smell where Greyback was, since they were upwind of him. Greyback was waiting right at the corner of the Gryffindor Manor, and Gary had no time to shoot him again before he had been pounced on by the werewolf.
The time for thinking was over. Fenrir Greyback, bleeding onto Gary's body, attempted to sink his fangs into Gary's neck, looking to rip out his major blood vessels there. However, Gary still had the shotgun in his hands and while he was in no position to shoot Grayback again, he used the barrel of the gun to stop Greyback's attack by shoving it into his mouth. Greyback bit down on the metal, cracking his own fangs and bending the barrel of the gun slightly, which Gary did not notice. Werewolf saliva dripped onto Gary's neck and blood continued to run down onto his chest.
Clyde was about to jump onto Fenrir in order to protect Gary, but Gary was able to use his right leg to kick Greyback off of him. He landed on his left side about five feet away from where Gary quickly got back to his feet, took aim at the werewolf again, and pulled the trigger again. At this range, the blast from the shotgun would be instantly lethal.
Except that the bends in the barrel of the gun cause it to misfire this time. The barrel could not take anymore stress and was blown off of the rest of the gun, rendering the thing useless. The misfire greatly startled Gary, who immediately began checking himself for any wounds. Finding none, he turned his attention back toward Fenrir, who had been wounded again. He was now too weak to move and lay on his side, waiting to die of his wounds.
As Gary's heart rate and breathing came back to a normal level after a couple more minutes, he noticed that a cloud in the sky would be blocking out the full moon momentarily. Seeing this, he walked up to Fenrir and placed his left foot on his neck to keep him from lashing out while he pulled out the Glock 17 pistol from his trench coat and pointed it right at Greyback's head. And then he waited.
The full moon was hidden behind the clouds and Gary saw the animal under his foot begin to revert to a more human-like form. The grey fur on his head receded partially into his face. His paws turned back into hands and feet, albeit extremely hairy ones, with long, yellowish nails. And sores were present around his mouth, inside of which were his pointed brown teeth, although some of those were now broken into pieces. And blood was still flowing from the gunshot wounds he had received.
With much difficulty, Greyback began to speak. "I wasn't expecting you," he rasped.
"Then who were you expecting?" Gary replied, "The Spanish Inquisition?"
"So, Snape has been the traitor all along," Fenrir mused, "And the Dark Lord believed him to be so loyal to him. How amazing."
That comment made Gary worry. "You mean this was a trap?" he inquired.
"Oh, no," Greyback answered, "The Dark Lord was not behind this. But he has been going on about how your brother has been causing him all kinds of bother and I decided to show him how vulnerable he really was to me."
"Then why did you tell Severus?" Gary demanded.
"He wanted to know what I was doing tonight," was the answer, "He asks that of me every time a full moon comes around, anyway, so I didn't think anything of it."
"Well, your reign of terror ends tonight, Fenrir Greyback," Gary declared, "I have just one question for you. Why?"
"Why what?" Fenrir inquired.
"Why did you let me live that night 11 years ago?" Gary clarified.
Fenrir had to take a moment to understand what Gary was talking about, but when he figured it out, the answer was automatic. "Ever since that night, I knew this day would come eventually," he admitted, "If only I had been somewhere else that night, you wouldn't be ready to kill me right now."
"How could you realize you made a mistake?" Gary asked.
"Same reason as how I can talk to you now," Greyback replied, looking up at the full moon, now hidden behind the clouds.
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A large wolf, covered with grey fur, was eating into the body of a young woman in a field in Suffolk County on the night of November 15, 1986. Next to a hedgerow some 30 meters away lay the unconscious body of a young man whom Fenrir Greyback would also dine on tonight to quench his taste for human flesh. However, as clouds rolled in front of the full moon, Fenrir reverted back partially into his human form. At this point, he took a pause from the meal he was eating and turned his attention to the man's body.
He used his right foot to flip the body over so that he could see the face of his other victim. But instead of delight, a sense of dread filled him when he saw the unmistakable face of a Gryffindor.
"Oh no, what have I done?" Fenrir muttered to himself. The Death Eaters made sure never to attack a Gryffindor for good reason. Any attack on a Gryffindor family member had always been met in the past with unquestioned retaliation.
Greyback immediately ran from the area. He ran as far away as he could before the full moon reappeared from behind the clouds. He didn't want to get into any further trouble than he already was, but he knew there was a good chance that he was already a werewolf that now had a death mark on him from a family that no one dared to attack.
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"And that's why you survived," Fenrir finished, "Because I didn't want to make my mistake even worse than it was already. Who was she?"
"She was Samantha, and she was my fiancé," Gary answered, "That's who you killed."
To his disgust, Greyback smiled. "I did this to you, Gary Gryffindor," he realized, "I have caused you to become a monster, just like me."
"We're nothing alike," Gary replied immediately.
"You lie to yourself, Gryffindor," Fenrir goaded, "It's nothing to be ashamed of. We both kill our enemies."
"I kill to maintain order and all that is good," Gary clarified, "You kill for your own pleasure."
"And my own pleasure is a bad thing?" Greyback inquired, "It seems good to me."
"Well it isn't," Gary retorted.
"And who are you to make that judgement?" Fenrir accused, "Who are you to play God?"
"I'm not playing God," Gary corrected, "I'm protecting thousands of people from you and your infection. You will terrorize us no more."
"I can see in your eyes that this isn't about that to you, Gary," Fenrir countered, "This is all about revenge. You have a score to settle with me."
"Don't bother trying to goad me into shooting you again, Greyback," Gary pointed out, "I am going to do it regardless."
"Then what are you waiting for?" Fenrir asked.
"I want to kill the one that killed Samantha Grant," Gary explained, "And her killer was not a human. It was a beast."
Fenrir realized what Gary was waiting for as he looked back up to the sky. The moon was about to come out of hiding from behind the clouds. And as it did so, Greyback reverted back into his wolf form. A loud growl issued from his mouth. As the full moon finally shone down completely again, Gary remarked, "Goodbye, Greyback," and then aimed the pistol at the wolf's head and squeezed the trigger.
The bullet went clear through Fenrir Greyback's head, killing him instantly. Gary lifted his foot from the wolf's body and stared at it for about 10 seconds. It was over. His quest for vengeance was complete. But he knew the nightmares would still haunt him. That night would always haunt him, regardless of Fenrir Greyback being dead or alive.
Suddenly, Gary saw an unearthly glow from the corner of his eye. He looked up and saw something like a glowing mist about five feet in front of him. Perplexed, he just stood there, the gun still in his hand, as he waited for something to happen. Then the mist began to form into a human shape. It was a female with long, vibrant red hair and dull green eyes.
Gary couldn't believe his eyes. "Samantha?" he asked, "Is that you?"
Samantha, dressed in a yellow robe, approached Gary and embraced him, a display that Gary returned after a moment. "It's over, Gary," she began as her warm hand gripped Gary's right hand, making him drop the pistol, "Time to put down the gun, and live. It is time for you to return to the natural order of things, from which you have been separated for so long."
Gary understood her words to be true. He needed to do as she said. But the guilt of that night still haunted his mind.
Samantha sensed this and continued to speak. "Gary, the times I spent with you were the happiest times of my life," she said, "And I wouldn't trade them for a long life without you. You made me so happy Gary. Thank you."
"Samantha, please, don't leave me again," Gary pleaded as he wrapped his arms around Samantha as tightly as he could.
"Don't let me hold you back, Gary," Samantha replied, "I don't want you to live in the past as you have for far too long. It is time for you to start over again and live as you want to. To live your life again. To fulfill your hopes and dreams. Please Gary, do this for me."
Several moments passed as Gary loosened his embrace. He understood what she wanted and would follow through on it. "I will, my love," he declared, "I will return to the natural order of things."
Samantha smiled as she pulled back from him. "Thank you Gary," she said as she pulled something off her right ring finger. Gary knew what it was immediately as she put it in his right hand. "I hope you will use this again for someone else," she continued.
"No one could ever replace you," Gary stated.
"Then don't replace me," Samantha instructed, "Find someone else to fall in love with. I hope you will find happiness in your life, Gary. And I'll see you again someday." And with that, Samantha dispersed into a cloud of mist that faded away into the air.
Gary stood there and stared at the air for about 30 seconds, taking in what he just heard and saw. He then looked down at himself and found his clothing, beforehand stained with Fenrir Greyback's blood, to be completely clean now. And then he felt something in his right hand. He opened it and found a gold ring with a small diamond there. It was the engagement ring he had given to Samantha.
A smile crossed his face as he slipped the ring into a pocket on the inside of his trench coat. And then, from the same pocket, he pulled out a thin piece of oak wood, about nine inches long. It was a wand that had not been used in 11 years. Gary took the wand in his right hand and pointed it at the body of Fenrir Greyback. "Incendio," he muttered.
A red line came out of the tip of the wand and struck the body of the werewolf, setting it ablaze instantly. Satisfied with his work, Gary sat down about three feet from the flame and made sure it didn't spread too far.
Bonnie and Clyde sat down next to him, each of them receiving a nice show of thanks from their leader. As this was happening, Gary thought about what the future would hold for him. The fight was not over yet, of course, as Lord Voldemort still lived and needed to be destroyed. But once that was over, Gary had a long life ahead of him. What would he do with it? As he looked around him, he knew the answer.
I'll do what I would have done before all this happened, he thought, I'll find a place in the fields and make a living for myself there. Grow some crops, raise some dogs, and be part of the natural order of things. That was what he wanted. And once this war was over, that was what he'd do, assuming he was still alive.
As the fire wound down, Gary fell into a light sleep underneath the stars for a few hours. The nightmares did not accompany him.
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Author's Notes: I used Rhodesian Ridgebacks in this chapter in part because my first pet dog was a female Rhodesian Ridgeback.
The scene between Gary and Samantha's spirit in this chapter was partly inspired by scenes from two video games: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and Final Fantasy VI (or, if you still use the old American numbering, Final Fantasy III). Two great games there, without a doubt.
Well, that's about all for now, I think. I'm almost certain that the next chapter will be posted before the end of January. Until next time, read, review, and enjoy.