AN: Runimagi are a race that belongs to me and Qalapi is a creature I came up with for JOF. I have been working on this since last thursday. Wolf lore at the end.
Review Answers:
Jostanos: You will find out here what happened to Augusta and Severus. I am glad you seem to like it. Thank you for the review and support. To occupy yourself in the meantime, if you wish...check out my preview of Serpent's Fog in Moonlight Shadows.
Qesoth, Frost Moon, Year of the Elephant:
"Thy be a fool," groused the creature as the kitsune child entered the hut with wood from outside. "I sent thee out to explore with thy mind. Not create portals of which ye no control…dragging strangers to Xaythea!"
The kitsune, in its Koto form, tilted his head curiously as he carried the wood over to the wood box and crouched to put the wood in their place. This child was a Roko kitsune, his white fur beginning to become thicker as Fuyu began. As it stood, the kitsune turned to see his master scowling in his direction, his ears flattening, and he bowed his head. "Master?"
Born of the Sabda tribe, the kitsune could control earth, lightning, and air in that order, inheriting the earth from his mother. "There be strangers that arrived as a result of thy foolishness kit," came the brass voice of a third person within the room, the brown-haired male staring at the kitsune with golden eyes. "Wolves and humans…the majority naught but pups…or as the humans say…infants with one lone adult. Most of thy wolf's young smell like it, however ye brought creatures that have strange magic to our lands."
"Go hunting," spoke the creature. "Perhaps ye will learn patience and practice what I sent ye to do, to discover thy creatures around thee as a way of opening ye mind and soul."
The kitsune bowed his head and fetched his bow from his room before leaving the hut and heading outside. "Thee lad shalt be the death of me or get me in trouble," spoke the creature as he moved about the cabin. With the children and adult wolf asleep until he saw fit to wake them, the creature could head to their job. "Let me know if there is any trouble. It might be best if ye remain in ye human form. We know not how this strange wolf will be towards a dragon."
As Azimuth approached, work slowed for the day, the people of Xaythea, regardless of continent, finishing up their respective duties. This was a half-workday, the various races working from Ethereal to Azimuth and then beginning their three-day weekend. It would take the creature an hour to get back to his hut within Zalas Wood in Mosiknottr as he had ridden his horse there and he was coming from Yeocheok in South province. Riding a horse might be slow in bad weather but it was a good way to blend in. Today, riding home allowed him to think on the foolishness of his apprentice and these strangers that had been transported to the planet.
They were lucky indeed that they'd not landed within Nox Noctus, the far northern province nor within Okoby Sea by the West province. His thoughts troubled him as he paused in Nether Steppe to allow his horse to graze, staring out across the flat landscape normally filled with abundant flowers and grasses, the flowers having perished with the passage of mid-Shafak last year. The terrain was uneven, the trees only growing to a foot tall thanks to the high grasses, but the horse grazed happily until there was a tug on the reins and the creature guided the horse back along the uneven ground towards home.
Stopping the horse at the small barn, he swung out of the saddle and led the horse into the barn, removing the tack from it. After grooming the horse and giving it some fresh water and feed, he closed the barn and headed inside, a fire going in the hearth. "Ye need a wife," spoke the beast from before.
"We are few and even fewer within Faumios," spoke the creature. "I have ye my dear dragon and a rider bond causes thy rider to be as long lived as thy dragon. Ye surely know this?"
"Aye but all the same. Ye should think of settlin' down. Have some peace in these long years ahead."
The creature said nothing, instead went to the small room where the toddlers and infants were slumbering. He then went to his own room where he'd lain the wolf. "Zyund," he spoke, focusing on the wolf with a frown and watched as Remus began to stir, a brown light hitting the werewolf as the spell worked. The creature then departed his room, leaving the wolf to have a sliver of privacy. Tending the fire, he took the meat that his apprentice had caught and cleaned before shoving the rabbits onto spits to roast over the fire.
Remus' head pounded as he slowly came from a mixture of unknowing sleep and unconsciousness, his body sore from hitting the ground and trying to protect Neville and the pups. In his dazed mind, he could see Snape…Snape turning towards the door of the nursery…hear the bang as it was blasted apart with the pitiful fortifications Remus had constructed out of desperation and then…nothing. As he came to awareness, he found himself lying upon a bed, the bed somewhat lumpy and not feeling at all soft like he was used to. Despite his poverty, Remus did his best to keep his bed at home comfortable, a welcome relief after the full moon. The next thought was of his pups and he lurched from the bed, a wave of sudden dizziness hitting him. Taking a few seconds to resituate himself, he got to his feet and stumbled out of the room, searching for his children. He found them within a small room, together with Cedar and Neville. Surprised to see the Potter child, he frowned before his face flushed pink. He hadn't thought about Neville at all since waking. Maybe that was the wolf in him.'
Did Severus toss him into the strange portal? Where am I and…what was that anyway? He checked on the pups, finding them beginning to waken as well but they didn't appear hurt. To be sure, he attempted to pull out his wand but found it missing. My wand…where's my wand?! Did I…did it get lost through the portal? Did I leave it behind? How are we supposed to get home?
He was forced to check on the children physically and without his wand, he didn't have access to any magic. Seal seemed to be awake for the toddler whined when Remus walked into the room and he picked up his son, seeing Cedar looking forlorn in a corner and Neville on the floor next to Oriole and Finch. "Come on kids. I imagine you're hungry," he said. He couldn't precisely carry all the infants in his arms, but he could manage to hopefully get the toddlers fed. It was then that the scent of flames and food filled his nose and, after coaxing Neville and Cedar from their respective areas of repose, he headed into the main room of the hut. There he found the creature that had taken him in as well as what looked like an anthropomorphic fox. *'Fox and strange magic,'* commented Moony. The fox must have caught him staring for it turned its gaze to him, ice eyes staring at the wolf as its nose twitched, ears flattening against its head as it detected the scent of wolf on Seal and Remus. Behind him, Talon had woken to find papa disappearing and attempted to follow papa's scent, leaving behind his older brothers and sisters. The pup managed to track papa's scent and bumped into him, whining and pawing at his leg, causing Remus to turn his head and look down at him.
*'Runt have issues,'* muttered Moony. *'Maybe pups hungry. Need milk.'*
Remus barely acknowledged his wolf as he set Seal down at his feet, the toddler gripping onto his pants. He looked around the hut, finding it even more sparsely furnished than his own. Not to mention the anthropomorphic fox and the other creature by the fire that was obviously not human. Again, he wondered where he was. "Who…who are you? What are you? Where…where am I?"
The creature checked the rabbit on the spits of fire before pulling one off and began chopping the rabbit up into bite-sized pieces, the anthropomorphic fox getting to its paws…feet…and grabbing a few pewter bowls and tossing the chunks of rabbit into three of them. The anthropomorphic fox held out the bowls one-by-one to the children, Seal looking up at papa. While Seal might not need milk given his age, the quadruplets were still babies and needed milk, but he was unsure how to get it for them. It had been difficult since Dorcas died, the wolf's income not enough to buy tons of formula so had been forced to ration it between the infants and Talon made things more difficult as he had to get dog formula for the pup, but the pup was now eating meat. As a wolf pup, he weaned faster than his siblings off milk.
He glanced down at Neville and Cedar, James' child continuing to look forlorn and despondent, Cedar briefly meeting Remus' eyes before looking down at his feet and shuffling away from the wolf. It was as if the child knew he wasn't wanted here by the wolf. Remus felt a slight hint of guilt at the prospect but Moony huffed in his mind, saying the pup wasn't wanted and they should have left the other two to perish. "I don't know if they will eat rabbit," said Remus though his mouth watered at the food. It was with a start that he realized it had been some hours since he had eaten at all and the pups were likely famished.
"Rabbit is what was hunted today," said the creature. "If they be hungry enough, the human infants will eat."
"You mean toddlers? Is it poisoned?"
The creature moved its tail thoughtfully to the side as it studied the wolf. "What a strange werewolf. Nay lad, they be infants until they turn four years. Ye must be from a different world entirely."
"Wait…what do you mean we're on a different world? That's…that's not possible."
The creature let out a strange laugh of chirped hissing which caused Remus's blood to run cold in his veins. "Aye. Ye be on Xaythea with ye pups. I believe that is what thy werecanines call their young."
"Werecanines?"
The creature seemed confused. "Aye. Werewolves, werejackals, and werecoyotes are werecanines. The collective race of werebeasts be known as werecreatures. Where are thee from that thee not know this?"
There appeared to be general curiosity in the creature's voice as Remus sniffed the meat. *'Strange creature speak truth. Not bad meat,'* spoke Moony. *'Good for human-wolf pup.'* Trusting Moony in this aspect more than his own senses now as his mind was laid with questions, he held out a piece of the cooked meat and blew on it for Seal. His oldest pup looked tentatively at the meat, sniffing it before opening his mouth and he put a piece inside, Seal making a face as he ate the bland meat. A sharp bark from Talon caused Remus to pick up another piece and hand it to the youngest of his litter who quickly snatched it out of papa's hand.
"What is…Xaythea?" Remus only questioned the creature after he had gotten Neville and Cedar to take the other two bowls and eat their own bite-sized rabbit chunks. Four more rabbits were pulled off the fire and handed one-by-one to the fox, the silent man who watched the fire, Remus himself and the creature that was serving them.
"'Tis a…planet," said the creature. "Ye werewolves are just one of seventeen werecreatures upon our planet. Humans…are another race…and prey of werewolves and vampires." The creature bit into his own rabbit before answering the wolf's questions. "I believe that be one question answered. Mine name be Faazoth and I be a Malmorn, one of the native races of Xaythea. Now…to mine own question. Where be ye from?"
However, Remus who had bitten into his own rabbit, occasionally watching the toddlers and two of his pups eat, frowned. The piece of meat he'd torn off fell to the ground at Talon's paws, the pup quickly snatching up the big piece and attempting to tear it into smaller pieces. Xaythea? Another planet? Malmorn? These were just befuddling his mind. "Earth…it's a…planet in another solar system."
"Hmmmm," said Faazoth. Seeing where the wolf's eyes were glancing towards, he frowned. "That be a kitsune in his koto form," he spoke. "Mine apprentice and I apologize for you being brought here."
"Brought here?"
Fazzoth nodded. "Aye. Mine apprentice and I are aura sorcerers. That is, we can use aura magic and sorcerer is what we call those who can use magic. Do ye also have magic?"
Lupin frowned. "Yes…we're known as wizards or witches," said Remus. "Even werewolves can use magic though are treated less than human. We're…known as 'dark creatures' by the Ministry."
"Ministry?" The question came from the fox. "What be a 'ministry' wolf?"
"They govern the magical communities," said Remus. "There's…two worlds. The Muggle world and the magical world. They're separate for our own safety because Muggles pose a danger to wizards and witches. They can't possibly understand us."
"Sounds prejudiced," spoke the kitsune, tearing off a chunk of the rabbit in his paws with his teeth. "What are Mugees?"
"Mug-gles," said Remus. "And my name isn't 'wolf'. It's Remus. They're people who can't do any magic. Hu…humans, that's what witches and wizards are but there's also goblins which control our banks."
"Goblins be greedy," said Fazzoth. "Nasty creatures that can be quite fierce if ye get them mad. Wait…ye say werewolves can use magic? How strange."
"Why?"
Fazzoth's frown deepened, and he bit into the rabbit he held again, chewing thoughtfully. "Werewolves are not a race that can use magic. It's actually one of their weaknesses and highly effective against them," he said. "Such as speeding up or slowing down a wolf's transformation or even cursing an entire pack."
Remus's face paled at hearing there were packs of werewolves on this planet. Hearing that werewolves couldn't use magic here and realizing he had no way to protect his pups, nor Neville and Cedar was also concerning.
"Your pup, the wolf one. It will not be able to take human form until it turns three years old. That be the last year of infancy."
"He isn't growing."
"I know little of werewolves," said Fazzoth. "Less of kitsune though my apprentice teaches me some. "But I have seen among their pups that I've come across in mine years of life, they are this small at first."
"These other werewolves…my pups…they don't…they no longer have a mother. Is there…is there any formula I can give them?"
He was met with blank looks from the trio of beings within the room. "For…mu…la? Another 'earth' concept I suppose. We've no such thing here. Ye pups will need a wet nurse. Our young nurse from their mothers' until they've reached the age of weaning for their respective race," said Fazzoth. "For wolves…they be called dams. There is a pack ye might join in the township of Bausbile in western Faumios. That be the continent we are on."
"And…what is this west?"
"One of eleven provinces in Faumios," said Fazzoth.
"I'm…I'm not sure I'm comfortable joining a pack."
"Ye need to if ye hope for ye pups to live. Werewolves don't take kindly to rogues," said the man who had yet to speak, and Remus turned to see golden eyes staring at him, eyes that seemed to make Moony whine within his head and Talon's tail to go between his legs. "If ye think a werewolf pack is bad, then it be a good thing mine friend found ye. Given ye landed in wyvern territory."
"I need to get home with my pups and these two," he gestured towards Neville and Cedar. "They are not mine."
"How did ye come by them? They smell not like wolf," spoke the golden-eyed male.
"They are the children of two couples I went to school with, my old friend and alpha James. That's Cedar and Seal's half-brother and then the blond-haired boy is Neville, son of Frank and Alice," said Remus.
"Was she your mate? The child of Seal?"
"No. Merlin no! She was the mate of my alpha."
"Your alpha was a werewolf?"
Remus shook his head. "No. My mate was human...
"Half-bloods," muttered the kitsune.
Remus was speechless. How does he know I'm a half-blood? He didn't realize that the kitsune was referring to the pups being half-blood werewolves and not Remus. "Cedar's father and mother are humans." This, it seemed brought more confusion and disbelief from the trio of beings within the room for there was some muttering between the Malmorn and the kitsune, the third male being silent.
"A human 'alpha' for a werewolf?" Fazzoth did not elaborate on his skepticism. "Must be some earth thing. A human would never be an alpha for a werewolf, nor would a werewolf ever submit to a human unless forced through magic," he said. "They need a pack, as much as a pack needs a werewolf. Especially the original werewolf pack." He spoke no more barring a few words. "Ye need a werewolf pack…it seems there be a lot ye not know about ye race."
Silence fell but for the crackling flames in the hearth and Remus was soon distracted by the crying of Delta. He set his rabbit aside and headed into the smaller room to check on the infants who were stirring and crying now in hunger. Did he really need to go to a werewolf pack to get someone to nurse his pups so they could survive? He was reluctant to do so, based on his limited experiences with his sire Fenrir and hearing what Fenrir's pack were like, human hating creatures. But it sounded like wolves ate humans here and he couldn't imagine doing such a thing. It caused a shudder of fear to run down Remus's back. How could he possibly protect his pups on his own, in a strange world and without his wand? Without magic? More importantly…how could they get home without magic?
He attempted to soothe each infant as they cried from hunger, the wolf feeling overwhelmed. He couldn't do anything for them. He certainly could not transform anything into a bottle and couldn't summon formula or even create it. Even conjured food was impossible under the five laws of transfiguration. The thought of subjecting his pups to other werewolves was frightening, not to mention having to deal with orders from an alpha who may or may not respect that he was once human. And if wolves ate pups…then would they consider Neville and Cedar meals as well?
Remus managed to settle the hungry infants down and get them back to sleep but it wasn't an easy task. With a tired sigh, he headed back into the main room where he found the pups continuing to eat though Talon seemed to be making a fuss and attempting to get his rabbit down. Remus snatched the rabbit off, shoving Talon back towards Seal with a nudge of his foot and continued with his meal. "Papa, mama go?" Remus looked down at Seal, meeting the boy's yellow-green eyes meeting his.
Remus shook his head. "Mama not here," he said, his face twisting into a scowl. "How can we get home?"
"You can't," said the kitsune.
"What do you mean I can't? I don't belong here!"
"I suggest ye calm yeself," growled the third man, smoke billowing out of his nose. The growl was so animalistic that Remus cowed under the man's gaze. Something about that man…from his golden eyes to the smoke to the way he spoke...stared even…it unsettled the father. "My bonded's apprentice be stupid and young. He be the one to bring ye here accidently, however 'tis not easy to get back to ye…planet."
"Why is that?"
"What type of magic do ye have wolf on ye planet?" Fazzoth's voice tinged with curiosity and the slightest hint of impatience towards the wolf's attitude.
"What do you mean? There's only two types of magic. Magic and then Dark Magic with magic being divided into Charms and Transfiguration mixed in with Herbology and Potions. Dark Magic is something only bad people use and is made up of the intent to harm others, such as with curses, jinxes and hexes."
"Ye said ye a 'dark creature'. Doth this mean ye also a bad or evil person," questioned the kitsune. "Or do ye claim to be a good person? Furthermore, if these 'curses,' 'jinxes,' and 'hexes' be bad, how many of ye fellow… 'wizard' be 'evil' as you say if they may also use such 'dark magic'?" As Remus became speechless, the kitsune smirked…as much as a canine could smirk of course, only to get smacked across the head by Fazzoth. However, Fazzoth was pleased that his apprentice was taking what he taught him into account.
"Mine apprentice be too young to send ye back to ye world. Even if that were possible, and it is, portals are unstable and one knows not where they will end up in the end," said Fazzoth. "It is likely that ye and ye pups will end up somewhere different than ye intended destination or even be split up through the portal. This use of portals be something only aura sorcerers…that is what I am and my apprentice is learning or rune weavers may utilize. The only one I can think of that might be able to help ye be either some older aura or rune weaver or Calius himself."
"Calius?"
"The God of Magic," spoke the kitsune. "Though maybe the wolf king Conri can help ye."
"Conri?"
The kitsune smiled. "The Wolf King…the Spirit of Magic to the werewolves. I know not why this is, given magic cannot be used by werewolves and is harmful to them."
"How would I contact these people?"
"They be gods, not 'people' and as for contacting Conri, I am afraid I have no answer," said the kitsune. "I truly am sorry about bringing ye and ye pups here to Xaythea or that I cannot get ye back home. I knew not that my portal would open for I was only playing with mine magic and practicing." He bowed his head submissively, ears flat against his head.
"Ye may beseech Calius for help by shrines scattered throughout Xaythea," spoke Fazzoth. "But ye best bet be going to Souldes and visiting either Calius's temple or heading to the…" he frowned and cut himself off. "Never ye mind," said Fazzoth suddenly. "In a few days I shall take ye and ye young to the western province. Once ye be healed. Do not wander far if ye go outside strange wolf of 'earth', for this land be dangerous to ye traveler and ye brood. Nobu."
"Yes Master?"
"Take thy wolf for some fresh air when ye done with ye meal. Be back at Wane Fire." Nobu nodded and bit once more into the rabbit, enjoying the comfort of the fire as Fazzoth rose to feet and headed towards the loft above them.
"Are ye done?" Nobu's voice came a few minutes later as Remus finished his rabbit and at the wolf's nod, the kitsune got to his paws and washed his front paws in a small basin of water before grabbing a couple buckets and headed outside. Remus followed suit with the washing his hands and then heading outside, the wolf realizing they were surrounded by silver and white birch trees. He found that they were on a path which led to the door of the hut.
"My pups…"
"The pups will be fine where they are," said Nobu. "Here," he said and handed Remus one of the buckets.
"What are we doing?"
"Fetching water," said Nobu as if Remus was an idiot. "Master Fazzoth won't let anything happen to thee little urchins."
Remus was reluctant to leave the hut, worried for his pups. His mind then went back to the hours before he had woken here and wondered if Augusta and Sev…Snape…had made it out alright of the fight for there was no doubt in his mind that it was the Dark Lord that had come to kill Cedar and Neville. He followed the kitsune, rain continuing to come down from the sky above, looking at the trees that he passed. "What's 'wane fire' mean?"
Nobu turned to Remus. "The late twilight hour or sunset," he said. "When the suns set."
"Suns?"
Nobu nodded. "Aye. We've two stars within the sky. They be Xuesrex & Liactux, as well as four moons."
"Four…four moons?" Nobu nodded cheerfully, pulling his hood back up to shield himself from the rain. Remus was dumbfounded and he would find throughout his life here that he would be even more dumbfounded as time wore on.
Disorderly bushes littered the ground and vines hung from the trees with an array of flowers hugging the last spaces of light. One could hear birds and insects, thin beams of light stretching between the branches to the forest floor below. They walked in silence along the path, wandering through the trees and then took another path, Remus trying to process everything he had learned so far. It was difficult, with his mind alternating between this new world and that of his old one. After some time, they came to a creek that flowed through the forest, there being no sign and as Remus looked across, he could see the path continued at the other embankment. "Ye know how to draw water from a creek strange wolf?"
"It's Remus," said Remus, "and yes. There was a river running by my cottage." Remus had needed to go the river to catch fish when there wasn't food in the home and as his place didn't have running water, that was how he got water for cooking, drinking and bathing. He crouched down and dipped the bucket into the water, allowing it to flow before bringing it up and setting it down next to him on the embankment. As Nobu filled his own bucket, there was the sound of paws and hooves hitting the ground, something that attracted Remus's attention as he looked towards the opposite bank. He watched as a strange creature came down to the water, a figure in a saddle upon the creature's back, but these were no creatures he had seen before. Remus wasn't sure where to look first, at the animal which looked almost like some type of deer and a canine cross. He wasn't sure what kind of deer it could possibly be for it looked nothing like the Scottish red deer nor the Roe deer that were native to Britain.
As for the rider that sat on the creature's back, they were also in a hooded cloak, though Remus noticed their hood was down, and had fin-shaped human ears with four eyes and ice blue skin. He could see a tail curled over the side of the creature's hindquarters, the figure having a wide mouth. As for the creature it rode, this creature had paws on the ends of its front legs with brown and white fur covering its body and round, brown eyes. The rider looked quite young, and Remus couldn't help staring as the creature it rode let out a bleat and walked into the creek, paws and hooves splashing on the rocks beneath, the creature's nostrils flaring as it blew out a puff of air from its lungs. It walked into the creek and stopped halfway, lowering its head to the water to drink as the rider jumped dismounted and then kneeled in the water at the creature's side, grasping the reins in one small hand as it took cupped a hand into the water and began to drink.
Nobu didn't seem disturbed by the creature and its rider that appeared within the creek. "Kwim, ye scouting 'gain?" The rider looked up, eyes flitting to Nobu and then to Remus before smiling and revealing sharp teeth in a wide mouth before going back to cupping the water to their mouth. Silver hair was cut short on the rider's head as they rested knelt within the water, wearing strange clothing that Remus had never seen before. Making a motion that Remus could sit on the ground, Nobu continued filling his own bucket and then carried it to shore, setting it down on the ground before taking a seat himself.
Despite the ground being wet, it was also cold which Remus realized with a shock, the werewolf issuing a gasp as the wet ground soaked into the seat of his pants. The rain did feel good on his face as it came down upon them, not too heavy which was a relief. As he watched the creature on the ground, there was the sound of more mismatched feet coming to the creek and he could see a few more of these stranger riders on those strange creatures. Their skin appeared to be all varying shades of blue, from what Remus could glimpse with those that had their hoods down. Were hooded cloaks a fashion statement within this world? Some of the beasts were housing what looked like babies that were held in what could be described as furred slings or young that were placed in front of an older rider. A few of the creatures being ridden were guided into the creek, staying close to the other bank and allowed to drink as they some of the riders pulled out water skins to fill with water.
"What are they?" Remus's voice was a whisper as he motioned to the varying, blue-skinned creatures on the opposite bank or at the creek's edge.
"They be Runimagi," spoke Nobu. "A race native to Xaythea, just one of many. The creatures they ride are called Qalapi. It's a gazelle-wolf hybrid that is often used as a mount by humans, Malmorn, elves and Runimagi. Half-elves and half-drow tend to use them as well. Qalapi tend to live in arid and forested environments. They have a cousin called Storsozelle. Perhaps ye will meet one when hunting humans or visiting a humanoid settlement."
"I'm a human though…"
"Ye be a werewolf, and nothing can change that," said Nobu. "I don't know how things be in ye world but here a werewolf is a werewolf. What ye may have been as a child is no consequence here, ye a member of thee werewolves now. Same with thee other werebeasts that can turn via bite. Thankfully, thee wereavians of the Mother of All don't have as toxic a venom as the rest of ye werebeasts do," he said. "Thankfully werebeasts can only turn humanoid races." Of which a kitsune was not thankfully.
It was hard to make out and process Nobu's manner of speech for it was different than modern English. He didn't realize that what was being spoken was a mixture of old English, Middle English and Victorian English and this was a common thing. Of course, Remus had no clue that he and the children had landed in a place that was in the seventeenth century with the technology equivalent to the early medieval period. He closed his eyes as Nobu seemed content to watch the…the Qalapi…drink and the youngsters get down off the beasts to stretch their legs he assumed. Scooting along towards the creek, he watched these…these Runimagi and cupped his hands into the water to get something to drink, his mind wandering.
October 31, 1981-Godric's Hollow:
As the portal closed behind him, Severus breathed a sigh of relief that Lily's child would be safe. Of course, he was thinking about the wolf's child and not so much the spawn of Potter. As the door was blasted open, he found himself face to face with the Dark Lord, glad there seemed to be no trace of whatever alien magic it had been that had caused that strange portal to open next to the pair of cribs. "Sssseverus. My loyal sssubject…or not. I sssshould have know you would betray me. Where are the children of the prophecy?"
Hastily he threw up his occlumency shields to prevent the Dark Lord from looking into his mind. "What did you do to Augusta?"
"Sssshe will not be bothering ussss," said Voldemort, sounding every bit like a snake with his drawn out 's' that sounded almost like hissing. The Dark Lord's manner of speaking always disturbed the Death Eater and he knew it was the same among some of the younger crowd of Death Eaters as well. "Now…what sssshould I do with you for your betrayal?"
He knew his time as a spy was over and, in the end, it seemed to have been for nothing that he ended up here facing against his master. He knew why he hadn't gone into the portal either…he had little Arastos to care for and raise, his own son. His own son, who might be forced to become a Death Eater at sixteen because of Severus's stupid mistake. So, he threw up his occlumency shields and tried to think how he would survive a duel against the Dark Lord. Before he could react though the Dark Lord threw a stunner at the man, forcing Severus to dodge the attack by throwing himself against the wall, the spell narrowly missing him.
Rolling up onto his feet he attempted to cast a silent Filpendo at the Dark Lord, only for it to be batted away with a wave of the other man's wand. He frowned and tried another of his spells, Levicorpus but the Dark Lord battered it away as well. "You are horrible Ssseveruss. I know all your spellssss."
Severus internally winched, however it must have slipped beneath the careful mask he constructed when around the Dark Lord, for the monster before him let out a cold laugh. "Expelliarmus!"
Like his other two spells, this was easily batted away, and he felt the Dark Lord enter his mind as he met the man's eyes, unbiddenly though it were. His son came unwillingly to his mind as well as his hatred for Potter and his disgust and hurt from Lily. "Your sssson. How unfortunate that you will not be able to sssee him grow," said Voldemort.
He peered further into Severus's mind, finding out about Seal's true birth, to that of the werewolf that Fenrir couldn't control. "Oh, not to worry Ssseverussss. I won't harm the little wolf. After all…he is not a child of the prophecy. I only want the Longbottom and Potter boyssss. Now…where are they?" Severus tried to throw the Dark Lord out of his mind, but it was useless as the Dark Lord flipped through his memories, tearing through his mind with such force that he was sure he would have a headache later. "Hmmmm nothing," he muttered as he searched the man's mind and found nothing about where the boys had gone to. "Very well. Crucio!" Severus screamed as the Dark Lord held him under the torture curse, the spy falling to the floor and writhing in agony until Severus could no longer heard his own screams, the man blacking out.
"Pity," said the Dark Lord. "I ssshall have to get another Potions prodigy," he hissed as he ended the spell. As he was about to fire the killing curse, he heard hurried feet on the doorstep and frowned, dismantling the anti-apparation wards and disapparated.
Qesoth, Frost Moon, Year of the Elephant:
Remus must have dozed off for he found himself being shaken by Nobu, the kitsune peering at him through half-lidded eyes. "Wha…"
"Wane Fire. Time to go Remus," spoke the kitsune, stepping back as Remus slowly sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Sitting up, he could see the light through the trees had faded but rain was still coming down, causing small plops to be heard within the creek. "Where…where are we?"
"Vauxley Creek," said Nobu. "If it weren't raining, I'd take ye further into Zalas Wood, but we should get back." He picked up the two buckets and turned to head back to Fazzoth's hut.
"Where did those…those Runimagi go?"
"They were heading to a new place," said Nobu. "Apparently their village was destroyed by bandits and many were killed. These are all that managed to escape, and they have been traveling for a while."
"Where will they go?"
Nobu shrugged. "That I do not know," he said. "Runimagi and Malmorn's original home continent was Storzine. I know not if they will return there or if they will try to form a new village or join a settlement somewhere else in Faumios," he said. "It's another continent on Xaythea."
"How many continents do you have?"
"Fifteen," said Nobu. "There's also two floating continents. They float thanks to a mix of magical technology."
"Technology doesn't work around magic," said Remus.
Nobu stared at Remus before huffing. "Perhaps where you are from, but things are different here. Magic and technology are just two branches of science, even though magic at least is also a gift from Calius to certain races and animals of Xaythea."
Remus said nothing, hardly believing what Nobu said. There was no way that technology worked with magic. Electricity certainly didn't work with magic. He wasn't sure what it was, but something about magic caused electronics to short circuit. He forgot that he was on a different world where magic rules in the wizarding world on earth might be different or non-existent here on this new planet. When they got back to hut, they found the toddlers had finished their respective bowls of rabbit, Talon lapping water from a bowl while the toddlers were holding tin cups of milk.
"How long is the day here?"
"Thirty-two hours," said the man from before, now looking different then before. The man appeared to have a long scaley tail and horns. "Sixteen hours of daylight and sixteen hours of night, all divided appropriately into sections of time."
Time must be slower here, thought Remus as he tried to compute the day here to the day on earth but was unable to do so. He knew it had been night when the Dark Lord had attacked but it was now sunset here on this planet. "What…what are you?"
The scaley-tailed creature was silent for a second before smiling toothily at the wolf. "What am I? I happen to be a dragon though this form is preferable in a hut," said the creature.
Dragon! "That's…that's impossible! Dragons…they aren't…they aren't intelligent! They're…mindless…animals!"
A low threatening growl emitted from the room and man lurched from his chair, grabbing Remus and dragging the wolf outside by his neck, the wolf too shocked and weak against the dragon to get free. Perhaps if Remus would accept Moony as part of him and merge with the wolf, he might stand a chance of getting a way but for being a weak werewolf, he had no hope against the dragon for they were strong even in human form on this planet. He was thrown to the ground and the creature began transforming…Remus hitting the ground and rolling over to see a dragon emerging from the creature, and he could hear the breaking bones and see how the muscles under the skin shifted. It looked more painful than his time of the month, but he was horror stricken. Moony growled pitifully in his mind as the dragon emerged from the man who seemed to recover rather quickly. Remus stared at the creature as it opened its maw and grabbed the human with a paw, spreading its wings to their full width and taking to the air with a few flaps of its wings. The dragon flew up into the air, steadily climbing with each beat of its wings. The dying light shone on the dragon's magenta body as it kept a hold of the wolf in human form. When it got to a comfortable height, for the dragon that was, it debated just dropping the wolf to the ground. The pups could be sent the o a wolf pack easily and the human toddlers…well they could be sold or given to a human settlement to raise. However, his bonded may not like that idea. "Let me go!"
From below, Fazzoth walked out of the home, leaving Nobu inside with the children. He did not fly up though, merely searched the skies and watched the sunset. The dragon rumbled angrily at the human, forcing an image into the wolf's mind of dragons upon a volcano, all sorts of dragons that he'd never seen and two carrying a wounded dragon towards the crater of a volcano where they dropped the creature. There was an image of humans, kitsune, elves and a few other beings he didn't know that seemed to be dressed in uniforms standing on one end of the crater, staring up at the sky as the shadows of two dragons flew overhead. The dragon had no wings and as Remus watched, the dragon was released over the crater and fell towards the magma below.
Dragons soaring over the desert, the four moons of Xaythea hanging high in the sky. A dragon that looked to be human and an elf standing before each other, clasping each other's wrists. A pair of dragons clutching each other by their paws and spiraling down towards the sea below. The images crashed against Remus' mind…images he refused to process for they meant dragons were different than what he knew them to be and that was mostly from Hagrid's talk about dragons and other vicious beasts that were not tamable. "Let me go!"
The dragon lowered his head and turned an eye towards the werewolf dangling from its paw before releasing one toe…then another… 'Do not presume to understand dragons based on thy limited understanding wolf,' growled the dragon. 'We are far more intelligent than a wolf can ever be despite the fact we are both immortal creatures.' As Remus was hit with another shock, the dragon loosened his grip and Remus fell….
Liactux, Frost Moon, Year of the Elephant:
Location-Zalas Wood,
In the two days since he had come to find himself on Xaythea and under Fazzoth's care…in the days since he had fallen to what he felt would be his death after being dropped by the magenta dragon, Remus tried to soothe his hungry children. Seal and Talon were easy to feed, given they no longer needed the milk of their mothers and could eat meat or in Seal's case what vegetables were available with the beginning of winter or Fuyu as Nobu and Fazzoth called this season. "How long is this month?"
"Thirty-three days," said Nobu as he attempted to feed Neville an apple, the toddler turning his head away from the fruit. 'The longest month be Ash Moon."
"Ash Moon?"
"'Tis in Shafak," said Fazzoth. "The last season of the year and known as 'Creator Curse' for it is believed to be a curse from the Mother and Father of All."
"It's also heat season f…"
"Nobu. I think our wolf doth not wish to learn the heat seasons of thy animalistic races."
"W…werewolves go into heat?"
"Only the females," said Nobu. "Actuallly…all of the female werebeasts go into heat at specific times. Even male kitsune like me only produce sperm when the females of our race are in heat. Or female foxes. I think we kitsune males are the only ones that have our own reproductive cycle."
"And…when…" Remus swallowed. "When is heat season for wolves?"
"It happens to be ending," said Fazzoth. "It's from Alkharf to early Fuyu so this is the last month females will be in heat. I am not sure but you probably have nothing to worry this year."
Fazzoth pulled out a sack of crushed acorns that he'd left a waterfall at Sux Fall to remove the tannins and reduce the bitterness. Seal and Neville toddled over to the Malmorn as he dropped the bag of acorn flour on the table. He then fetched a grinder and put some of the crushed acorns into it, setting a bowl down and began grinding the crushed acorns. At the tug from Seal, Fazzoth looked down at the pup. "Wat 'tat?"
"'Tis a grinder pup," spoke Fazzoth. "Be making acorn bread 'fer breakfast I am."
"Hwlp?"
"Nay pup. 'Tis not safe," said Fazzoth. "'Tis Acorn Bread I be making," he explained to Remus. "A bread made of acorns with berries and honey towards the end," he explained at the confused look on Remus's face. "Anythin' else ye want to know about us or our world? Surely ye have questions."
"You mentioned…Year of the Elephant? What…does that symbolize anything?"
"Aye. 'Tis the tenth year. Xaythea…our yearly time operates on a thirteen-year cycle. Thirteen years equal thirteen animals. Thirteen animals equal thirteen sacred trees, one per month. Elder be the sacred tree of Elephant," spoke Fazzoth. Next year be Year of the Bear."
"Will…will you and Nobu be alive then?"
"Kitsune be one of the few immortal races. My race, the Malmorn, our maximum lifespan be 1,000 years before we pass. However, with me being bonded to a dragon, my lifespan is extended well beyond that of my race."
"And…how…how old are you now?"
"I am about four hundred fifty-five. An adult to my people, few as we are," spoke Fazzoth as he put some more crushed acorns into the grinder before grinding the new batch up. "Anythin' else I can answer for ye?"
Remus looked at Seal and then back at Fazzoth. "Are there any werewolves closer to where we are?"
"Hmmm. There may potentially be rogue females looking for mates, driven by the need to pass their genes on. Even if a wolf is into both genders and enjoys the same sex which be an abomination, heat season causes them to seek out those of the opposite sex to procreate. But it be tough to look for a rogue werewolf. Ye may have luck if you wander about in ye wolf form but then ye instincts will be to breed, not to find a dam for ye pups. If it be ye mate, then ye'll likely be…claiming her as ye werecreatures say, least the werecats and werewolves to my knowledge."
"Mates?"
"The future mother of your pups should ye be lucky enough," said Fazzoth. "The one who will only breed with ya and be devoted to you and your future progeny along with ye other mates, if ye've more than one."
"M…mates?"
Fazzoth nodded. "That be all I know about the matter. 'Tis not important to me, given I am not a werecreature. But werecreatures cannot turn kitsune."
"They can't? Why?"
"Not sure but kitsune cannot be turned by werecreatures, nor vampires," said Fazzoth. "Nobu, do you know why kitsune cannot turn into werecreatures?"
Nobu looked up from playing with Neville and Cedar, trying to coax the forlorn kits to play. "Nay master. But kitsune as a race fear werewolves and werecats."
"Why?" The question was posed from Neville. "'Fox no scawy."
"Wolf and cat tend to harass us kitsune. They be bigger than us and more aggressive though we're more clever and agile."
With the flour prepared, Fazzoth mixed the flour with berry juice and then slowly added some honey, allowing the toddlers to mix the honey into the dough with their fingers. He then let them shape the mass into pancakes when it had a malleable texture, the infants and pup enjoying this activity. Once made into flat panckaes, Fazzoth transferred them to flat stones which he put into the fire to heat up, allowing the warmth to bake the bread. "Once they are firm, we can eat them," he said before proceeding to make some porridge for them all.
"Is there a significance to the days here?"
"Hmmm? Oh yes there is," said Nobu. "Today for example, Liactux is the last day of the week and one of our days of rest," he said. "It's named after our sun Liactux, the smaller sun which is orange star. Liactux also means 'death' in Wrasong, the language of my race. Were we in a settlement, ye might some funerals take place tonight for it's usually in the evening on Liactux that funerals take place across our planet."
Fazzoth worked on making the porridge in a pot over the fire, the pot hanging on a hook. "Yesterday was market day but those who have jobs around Xaythea work from Duo to Qesoth and then have off from the afternoon of Qesoth to Liactux. A three and a half-day weekend. We've a day named Xygerk, named after our largest moon and the one that controls the wolves and cats. There's also Duo which celebrates the mother and father of all, Primeval which was made to honor the…six Ancient Ones, Tavether which means 'star' in Wrasong, Ava which is a day dedicated to the suns and the God Rodar, Flyrum which is a day dedicated to the moons and the Goddess Vutrix, Xygerk which I mentioned before, Crupt which was named for the first monarch of the Owouriba Empire, Qesoth which means 'sea' in Wrasong and reminds all the races that we came from the sea as well as celebrating seafarers, Sivius which is the first day of rest and celebrates the gods Ektar and Calius, Opocius and Liactux in that order."
"Tavether and Xygerk don't seem to symbolize anything."
"Tavether celebrates the nature around us and the mystical elements of aether and nether," said Fazzoth. "Despite the fact that we don't have access to nether unless one practices dark magic though we do have access to aether as an element as it is in everyone and ties the world together. As for Xygerk, it is named the largest moon but also for a cataclysm that happened in Year of the Jaguar that lasted one hundred fifty-seven years."
"A cataclysm?"
"Potentially disastrous event or, in this case, it was a societal and political upheaval," said Fazzoth. He stirred the porridge to make sure it didn't stick with a large spoon and then mixed in some honey, cream, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. The result was something that smelled rather appetizing to all present.
"How far…how far is this pack of wolves from us?"
"It's towards the west," said Fazzoth. "On the opposite side of the continent. We'll have to pass through the central province before getting to the western province." Fazzoth turned to grab pewter bowl and dipped a ladle in before scooping out some porridge into the bowl. Remus directed Neville, Seal and Cedar to the table and made them sit in the chairs, moving Talon out of the way as he followed papa, whining.
"Talon, I'm sure we can find something for you to eat," said Remus. If anyone needs food it's the younger pups. Dorcas, I wish you were here with me. "I'll…I'll eat later."
"No go 'way! No leave lie mama papa," said Neville, clutching onto Remus.
"I have to Neville, for my other pups."
"Nobu…go with Remus but stay out of his way if he finds a female." The kitsune nodded and got to his feet, waiting for Fazzoth to grab a couple slices of acorn bread and wrap them up in cloth before handing them to Nobu who put them into a bag and slung it around his shoulders. The pair then left the hut and headed once more along the path.
"Are you coming with me to make sure I don't get lost?" As Nobu nodded, Remus inclined his head in thanks. "Where…where do you come from Nobu?"
"Sabda tribe," said Nobu. "It's in…Meakromuth. It has the most active volcanoes out of any of the continents."
"What if I find a female wolf around here?"
"Ask if she can nurse your pups," said Nobu. "Or find someone who has recently given birth and add your pups to the mix? Are you the kind of person that would kill a female's pups to nurse your own?"
"What? No!"
"Well, that's also an option if it comes down to it. But ye be a werewolf, not a werecat. Some of them will kill the kittens in the house to mate with the females and force them into heat again," he said with a shudder. "It's horrible."
"How do you know that?"
"Once had a friend that was a lioness. She was an adolescent when a new leader took her tribe over and killed all the kittens of the previous leader to force the females into heat so he could sire his own young. Even killed some of the male adolescents when they tried to fight back."
"How do I know if there's a female?"
"Use your nose," said Nobu. "We canines have some of the best noses in Xaythea. Vampires may be able to match us in scent capabilities though. So…what was your life like as a werewolf on this…earth?"
"Unpleasant," said Remus. "Werewolves aren't seen as humans and I was forced to register myself with the Ministry of Magic. That's the governing force of magical users within a country. They make the laws and have certain departments dealing with various issues, almost like a muggle government handles the muggles. I couldn't own a wand except in school and my condition was kept secret as werewolves couldn't go to school and get an education but not all people bitten by a werewolf survived. Then, when I graduated from Hogwarts, it was hard to find a job due to people not wanting to hire werewolves. I was forced to take jobs in the muggle world and change jobs whenever it got close to my time of the month, so I didn't have gainful employment at all."
"Well, that shouldn't be an issue here. We don't discriminate against the races. Though since ye may be here for some time, ye will have some time to get used to our world and it will be the world thee youth will grow up in."
"It seems so," said Remus. "How long do you think it will take to get back to my world?"
Nobu shook his head. "Cannot say," he said. "Perhaps ye will find it easier with a rune weaver or a stronger aura sorcer than me. Perhaps ye will get favor with Calius and the God of Magic himself can send ye home with ye pups. Though with thou prejudice thee speak of, it seems better to remain here on Xaythea until thou die naturally."
"And when is that?"
"If thee not be killed by vampires or hunters, then immortality beckons for thou and thy young," said Nobu. The kitsune fell silent afterwards and shifted into his fox form before taking off into the forest, using his nose to track for any female wolves in the area and forcing Remus to follow him.
November 14, 1980:
Severus woke to find himself lying on a cold stone floor, striped black and light gray shirt and pants covering himself. Gone were his robes and his wand, the man finding a pair of dingy gray socks on his feet and two pairs of woolen gray socks, seemingly for winter. A pair of black boots rested on the ground beside him, but they were obviously second-hand, given the leather was fading. Where am I? His head hurt and his body was stiff from lying in a prone position on the floor. How long had he been out and where was his wand? As he attempted to sit up, he found that his wrists were shackled together. He frowned and looked up, seeing a cell door and as he turned his head, he could see bare stone walls and hear other prisoners wailing and sobbing within their own cells. A dreadful cold hit him and he realized with fear that he was in one place no wizard wanted to be in. Azkaban. No…no he couldn't be here!
Arastos! Where was his son?! God forbid if his son fell into the hands of another Death Eater. He could only imagine the prejudice his son would be raised with. As he got to his feet, he made his way towards the bars. "Let me out! Someone let me out! I don't belong here!" He heard footsteps coming down the hallway and found the face of Minister Bagnold staring at him. "Mr. Snape, you will desist with your shouting at once."
"Where's my son?! Why am I here?!"
Minister Bagnold met the man's eyes before passing the man a copy of the Daily Prophet. "You are here for several crimes Mr. Snape, most notably the disappearance of one Heir Apparent Longbottom and one Heir Apparent Potter," he said. "Even if young Potter is a half-blood, his father is still a member of pureblood society. You are also since there are speculations you led the Dark Lord to the Potters home in Godric's Hollow and for being a Death Eater which has been confirmed."
"I'm…I was a spy for the light! Dumbledore will vouch for me!"
"We have spoken to Headmaster Dumbledore and he never vouched for you," said the Minister. "As for your son, he has been sent to an orphanage in Muggle London due to his mother not wanting the spawn of a Death Eater and Mr. Potter refusing to allow the child of a Death Eater into his home. Mrs. Potter has rescinded custody rights to the child I believe and as a prisoner, your rights have been terminated as well."
What?! "I demand a trial!"
"Why? There is simply no need. We are in a war Mr. Snape and the evidence is testament enough to the Dark Mark on your arm," said Minister Bagnold. "There is no other reason to give you a trial. But I will be lenient…and give you a paper," the witch said and tossed a stack of papers at the Death Eater. The witch then turned and walked down the corridor with a couple of aurors with her. She did not look back, leaving a stunned Severus to collapse to his knees, not even feeling the pain as his knees hit the floor. Arastos…my boy. I'm sorry, he thought, knowing there was no hope he could get out of there.
When he was done sobbing, Severus picked up the first newspaper and read the article therein, seeing the date was November 1, 1981.
He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named Attacks Godric's Hollow!
On the heels on one Death Eater, former student Severus Snape, son of Tobias Snape who was a Muggle and Eileen Prince, a member of the prominent pureblood family who disgraced herself by marrying a Muggle, the Dark Lord followed his servant to Godric's Hollow with the intention to potentially destroy the Potter family. Mr. and Mrs. Potter as well as Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom were saved thanks to being out of the home, leaving their children with Dowager Augusta Longbottom and a half-breed named Remus Lupin. One must wonder why the Potters would allow a known werewolf to visit their home and associate with a known Dark Creature and I, Tabby Port aims to find out the meaning to this question.
Dowager Longbottom managed to duel the Dark Lord and survive; however, she was hit with a stunner and was found on the first floor of Potter Cottage. She has been taken to St. Mungo's to recover from spell damage inflicted on her during the duel. When the Potters and Longbottom's arrived home, they discovered spell residue on the walls of their home and dark magic. A search of the home found Dowager Longbottom on the first-floor unconscious, and a look upstairs revealed the unconscious body of Death Eater Severus Snape but no sign of the missing heirs to a prominent pureblood family and the disgraced half-blood family that has resulted with Mr. Potter marrying Muggleborn Miss Evans. Aurors were alerted and brought to Potter Cottage to do an investigation.
For more information on Augusta Longbottom's condition, please turn to page 3.
For more information on Severus Tobias Snape's background, turn to page 2.
Severus turned the page to page three to read about the injuries Augusta was suffering from, relieved she was alive.
Dowager Longbottom at St. Mungo's!
Dowager Longbottom, known as Augusta Longbottom and mother of Auror Frank Longbottom, wife to Julius Longbottom, is in St. Mungo's following a duel with You-Know-Who after he attacked Godric's Hollow with the intention of killing young Mr. Cedar Potter and Mr. Neville Longbottom. She bravely fought against You-Know-Who to impede his mission to kill Cedar and Neville, firing curses at the Dark Lord who, according to memories taken from her by a Legilimens for evidence, was shown to a gathering of the Ministry in Wizarding Courtroom 9. She is being rewarded with an Order of Merlin Third Class and is located within the Janus Thickney Ward at St. Mungo's under Auror protection for her own safety while she recovers from the spell damage. Aurors managed to stabilize the woman who was suffering from a dark spell that caused cuts to appear on her body. Healers were able to prevent her from bleeding, but it appears Dowager Longbottom will be suffering permanent scars.
Other injuries the matriarch is a shattered leg, broken collarbone, broken arm, shattered kneecaps, bruises as if she were hit or kicked, dilated pupils which are possibly from being blinded or sprayed with something chemical according to a half-blood healer, a concussion and possible spinal damage. There is evidence of Dowager Longbottom being held under the Cruciatris curse as well as a few other gray and dark spells, however it will take time to know the full extent of her injuries and if she can recover. Mr. Longbottom is naturally inconsolable over the injuries of his mother and the absence of his son.
With a start, he realized that it was one of his own spells given the description. Sectumsempra…oh no, he thought to himself. Severus hurriedly looked back at the paper, his eyes going to a pair of pictures; one of Dowager Longbottom lying unconscious and bleeding in the Potter's living room and one of her in a bed in the Janus Thickney Ward. He swallowed guilt forming in his stomach and ignored the article written about himself which was probably full of lies. Flipping through the rest of the paper, he discovered the usual disappearances of Muggleborns and Half-Bloods as well as attacks in Muggle London and tossed the paper side before flipping through the others.
There was nothing noteworthy in the second daily prophet edition for November 2nd, however as he was desperate for information, Severus found himself reading the article anyway. It passed the time at least and kept him from forgetting the cold of the cell. With Azkaban being in the middle of the North Sea, on an island surrounded by walls and furious waves, there was no hope of escape for the prisoners, even if they had been sane but they were trapped within their own heads. Severus didn't long to meet the dementors but knew he had no choice in the matter for the Dementors were the main guards at the prison and they were horrible creatures. Scanning the second Daily Prophet edition, he saw no mention of his son anywhere and as he flipped back through the first edition, again finding no information on the child.
It was the Evening Prophet of November 5, 1981 that he got some alarming news and felt a satisfying bout of joy swell within him, catching a picture of Bellatrix on the third page.
Bellatrix Lestrange Killed!
Believed to be acting on orders of You-Know-Who, brothers Roldolphus Lestrange (age 22) and Rabastan Lestrange (age 18) together with Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black (age 30) attacked a group of half-bloods when they were surrounded by Aurors. After a furious battle, Bellatrix Lestrange was killed by Aurors when she refused to lay her wand down. The Lestrange brothers laid down their wands and were captured by Aurors before being transported to Azkaban. It is with great relief that the wizarding world can be free of the crazed witch and her husband who ruined many lives. The Ministry has seized all properties, vaults and assets of the Lestranges to use as reparation costs to any living victims or their descendants.
It was a brief article but that could hopefully put a dent in the Dark Lord's finances. Bellatrix had never sat right with Snape though Roldolphus had been an easier man to get along with. They'd had quite a few conversations over potions though Roldolphus wasn't the prodigy that Severus was. He was glad his friend had the sense to lay down his wand and knew that Rabastan tended to look to Roldolphus for guidance, the younger man being shyer than his brother. "At least that bitch is dead," said Severus to himself, a shiver passing through him as the corridor of cells he was on began to get colder, his breath turning frosty before him. It was an indescribable cold, one to chill the bones and blood, such as that of winter but perhaps even colder. As a dementor glided down the hall to stop at his cell, Severus stared up into its hooded face and screamed.
Flyrum, Frost Moon, Year of the Elephant:
The new moon of Xygerk seemed the easiest time to transport Remus and the infant pups to their potential new home. If the Alpha would not accept these wolves then Fazzoth wasn't sure where they could go. They certainly could not stay with him and his apprentice, for all the types of magic were harmful to the werewolves. Thankfully, the new moon seemed to influence both Talon and Remus, the two wolves appearing docile and rendering them both weak. "Where…are we going?" Fazzoth had woken Remus from his nap and then grabbed the rope around the mothering wolf, dragging it outside and where Nobu sat with the human infants. Since Talon and the toddlers could walk, that is what they would be doing while the infant pups would be carried in a basket. Remus carried out Seal in his arms, setting the pup down on the ground who looked up at him.
"Go papa?"
Remus glanced down at Seal and nodded. Fazzoth went to his horse who was grazing on some grass. "Put the pup and infants on the horse. He can carry them, so they don't have to walk much," said Fazzoth and Nobu picked up Neville first, putting him in front and then Cedar in the back between them. Nobu grabbed the wolf by the rope and began dragging it with him down the path. Looking down at Talon, Remus motioned for the pup to remain beside him and then took the horse's reins, guiding the horse after Fazzoth who carried the basket of infant pups. Remus nodded tiredly as he led the horse that didn't seem to mind the presence of wolves or fox near it. The dragon circled in the air above them, keeping watch out for others that might pose a threat to his bonded, bonded's apprentice or the guests of another world.
"Thou be in no condition to fight," said Fazzoth. "This will take a while to get to Bausbile."
Remus doggedly followed after Fazzoth, Talon bounding along beside papa and darting back under the horse's hooves, not understanding the danger if the horse spooked. Luckily for the three children on the horse, it didn't rear up and spook, Nobu looking down at Talon. "He be a feisty pup for being a runt," said Nobu.
"Hmmm? Oh, yes he is," said Remus. "How long is a while?"
"We won't get there in a night," said Fazzoth. "Ye be a wolf…ye could travel fast if ye were in wolf form. But to answer thee question, 'tis a couple weeks. However, we be hurrying to get ye there before the full moon," he said. "Now come on and hush Remus wolf."
Primeval, Frost Moon, Year of the Elephant:
Location-Sine Fine, West Province, Famuios
Fazzoth had indeed forced Remus to go as fast as a wolf could normally go, regardless of the new moon being tiring. His bonded would not carry the wolf after it had insulted him and flew on ahead, clutching the mischievous Talon in his maw and giving the pup quite a fright while the horse trotted along, being led by Nobu all the while. They stopped only to rest the horse and for the wild werewolf to nurse the pups and then continued again. At one point they ran into a Shadow which Fazzoth and Nobu took to killing, explaining a Shadow was a vampire who had thrown out of their clan and defanged.
It was cold here within Sine Fine, a series of barren mountains that got steadily more barren the more they ascended. There were snowy crevices hidden and Fazzoth informed Remus to watch his step, saying that many travelers and locals had gone missing here, lost within the wilderness or even died. It was a long mountain range and, as Fazzoth explained, the more treacherous of the mountain ranges within Faumios. Even the horse was forced to pick its way carefully along the rocky slopes. Remus shivered as they crested another peak and looked around, trying to catch his breath. "Where is this township?"
"In a canyon," Fazzoth called as handed a flask to Remus, the wolf taking it and passing it to the three toddlers. "We'll need to descend Sine Fine before we hope to get to the canyon, then we must navigate it to the township."
"Sleepy," said Neville with a yawn. Remus looked at the toddler and then removed him from the horse, holding him as they began to descend once the triplets had drunk some water and Cedar attempted to water the horse, falling onto the ground instead with a cry.
Nobu stopped walking and turned, checking the infant. Seeing the infant's wrist was sprained, he quickly set about taking care of the injury and then set the infant back onto the horse, this time swinging up to hold the infants against him, moving Seal forward in the saddle. The oldest of Remus' litter seemed to enjoy the horse ride. They continued once everyone was ready and made the trek down the mountains. "Keep quiet young ones. There may be predators about that can navigate these mountains better than we can," said Nobu to Seal and Cedar.
As they approached Sunbane, that was the time of late afternoon, they finally reached the halfway point of Sine Fine. They stopped again for an hour's rest, Fazzoth forcing the wolf to nurse the human pups and then checked the horse's hooves. They ate a small lunch of barley bread and wild nuts with honey. Calling for his dragon, the magenta beast flew down through the sky and landed on the mountain behind them. Grumbling, the dragon lowered himself to the ground so the group could climb on top of him and then picked up the horse in his paws before taking off into the air.
By dragon, the time took considerably shorter than it would have on foot to reach Gallangami Abyss and then flew over the canyon, at one point diving down into the canyon walls themselves and flying between the walls of the cavern, the winds hitting the dragon and his passengers. "This wind makes this area impossible to traverse most of the time," called Fazzoth over the wind rushing past them. "But it provides good ambush positions and shelter from the heat in Alsayf."
"Alsayf," Remus questioned.
"The hottest months of the year," said Nobu. He chuckled at Remus's confused look. "Thou will get used to it," he said.
"Oh…summer," said Remus. Nobu seemed confused for a moment before nodding uncertainly.
"Look, there it is!" Nobu's shout caused Remus to sit up and look towards the township they were approaching when wolves approached the dragon, leveling bows and muskets at the dragon coming towards them. A few were just in wolf or were form, armed with naught but tooth and claw. All however seemed healthy, and this made Remus wonder why they were so healthy with lush fur compared to his own body when he turned.
The township was hidden behind the canyon and was no more than six miles by six miles in all directions and was ghastly looking. Remus could see there were homes of adobe and stone homes with ash roofs and wooden homes with thatched roofs, the thick smoke and gloomy walls made it have a mysterious atmosphere. He could see a sign near where these wolves were, saying Bausbile. Is that the name of the township?
Talon wiggled out of the dragon's jaws, helped by the dragon dropped the pup and growled at the other werewolves, one of the wolves glancing at the pup and huffing at it in response before surveying the other members on the dragon as they climbed off, the horse being set down on the ground. One of the werewolves stepped forward, body covered in russet-brown fur with his undersides being covered in beige fur. This looked like no werewolf that Remus had seen before. Reddish-gold eyes stared out of a wolven skull as the creature inhaled the air. Many smelled of wolf but the wolf could smell fox, dragon, horse and human as well as Malmorn though the human was odd. It followed the scent of human towards Neville and Cedar, growling lowly in his throat.
"What does a strange group want with the wolves of Bausbile?" The wolf's speech was punctuated with growls as it looked at the group, eyes flicking towards Remus and the human children.
"This father and his pups wish to join a pack," said Fazzoth. "The human infants are under the wolf's protection. Mine foolish apprentice accidently created a portal to their world and brought them here. They have been living with me since arriving last Qesoth."
The werewolves looked at each other before one took off further into the township. The alpha was soon brought to the attention of a rogue and its pups and headed that way with the Guardian taking them to one of the entrances of the township. The wolf that appeared was in human form, wearing brown breeches and white stockings with a blue waistcoat sitting over a black tunic. Boothose were worn over his stockings and over that brown boots completed the assemble. The wolf's shaggy auburn hair hung in his face, hiding one of his light brown eyes. The other wolves parted, moving aside and some bowing to the alpha as he approached. The alpha stared down at the wolf before him, inhaling the air and mentally counting the number of wolves. One seemed to be growling and he growled angrily at the pup, standing at papa's side as Seal looking around him curiously. The basket of pups had been set down on the ground next to Remus while Neville and Cedar stood close to each other. In these past days here on Xaythea, Remus had tried not to hate Cedar for being favored by Lily, knowing logically it wasn't the child's fault that his mother hated Seal and apparently Arastos as well, if Severus could be believed.
Moony seemed to sense this wolf before them was an alpha for he whined and cowered in the wolf's head, though Remus took hardly any notice as he grabbed Talon by his neck, causing the pup to yelp in surprise and pick him up, the pup whining as the alpha turned his gaze on the runt. Omega, though the alpha as he looked at Talon. "Who are you?"
"R…Remus. Remus Lupin," said Remus.
"The pups? They are yours?"
"Five of them," said Remus. "Who are you?"
"The alpha of this pack," said the wolf. "Ordovic Cotynghin of Grimcrown of which you find yourself," said the wolf.
"I thought this place was called Bausbile?"
There were a few growls at this and the alpha snarled, quieting his pack. "Grimcrown happens to be the name of this pack," he said. "What of this female?"
One of the Guardians moved forward, sniffing the wolf. It didn't seem to be in heat at the moment, which was disappointing, but the Guardian noted the collar on the wolf and informed the alpha who growled angrily. "The humans?"
"One is the half-brother of Seal," said Remus as he pointed at Cedar. "His mother prefers Cedar over Seal and Arastos, a rival's son who is another half-brother of Seal and Cedar," he said. "Neville," he gestured towards Neville, "is the son of a couple of au…"
He was unsure how to describe what Frank and Alice were. "Police." But none of the werewolves there seemed to know the meaning of the word.
"Soldiers," said Fazzoth and the alpha nodded in understand.
"These wolves and humans…you say your apprentice pulled them here with magic?
"Aura magic," spoke Fazzoth. "I deeply regret such a thing, not expecting mine apprentice to mess around with his magic. As thou may know, it be hard to create a portal and they be unstable pieces of magic."
The alpha nodded again. "I see…and I guess this wolf wishes to return to thou home." It was not a question but a statement and thus warranted no answer. "Very well wolf. I will allow you and your pups, even these human infants into my pack though I know not how they will do in a werewolf pack. You will become a Peon as well as this she-wolf. Your pups…will be given to couple dams to nurse until they are weaned." He turned and headed back to the pack, a few Guardians stepping back and heading back into some of the homes, others disappearing into the canyon to keep watch. A couple of guardians in human and were form grabbed the infants in their arms and escorted the wolves into the township, three following the group. Remus swallowed nervously and followed them, hearing Fazzoth and his dragon following as the dragon shifted back into human form.
As Remus was led into the group, holding onto Talon with one arm and holding Seal's hand with the other, he looked over his shoulder to see one wolf holding Neville and Cedar each by a paw. While Fazzoth, Nobu and the dragon were led to a different home for the evening, the horse taken to a livery to spend the night; the wolves were taken further into the township and passed by a watermill next to a stream. Moving down a side passage, Remus found himself at a cave entrance blocked by wooden doors. A pair of wolves stood at the doors, however at the sign of the guardians approaching with the scent of pups, one wolf tapped on the doors with a paw. There was the sound of something being moved aside and the doors opened a few moments later to reveal torches set into brackets on the walls. Remus blinked as he looked inside, and the pups were carried into the cave. He could see a few wolves resting within the large cave before them and tunnels leading into the darkness. There were also a few pups of varying ages, but they all smelled wolf, no matter if they were in wolf or human form.
"This is the nursery where the Caretakers, pups and dams live," said the russet-brown guardian. "The Caretakers are responsible for taking care of the pups and protecting them, however I believe we have three dams here currently and two that are pregnant with this season's breeding"
"What of the human pups?"
"They are pups…they will remain here with the dams though be under the of the Caretakers," said the guardian. "You will be shown to another area where you will live with the she-wolf, other peon, omegas and acolytes." Remus hugged the children, and his youngest pups were given to a couple of dams, a silver she-wolf and a cream she-wolf. The Caretaker promised Remus to look after the pups and he and the she-wolf, who had had her collar removed, were taken to another large den where they were shown inside. There seemed to be more wolves here and the she-wolf took off as soon as she was able, snarling at the others in the room. "Have fun. Peon eat with the other low ranks," said the guardian before leaving, shutting the wooden door behind him and inserting a key in the lock before heading back to his post.
JOF Times mentioned in this chapter:
Azimuth-noon; early afternoon
Wane Fire-Sunset; the late twilight hour
Sunbane-Late afternoon
Alsayf-summer (Hot Moon to Mourn Moon)
JOF Spells: Zyund-brown light that causes the target to waken
Human Life Stage: Infant is 0-3 years
Werewolf Life Stage: Pup is 0-2 years
Werewolf Ranks in this chapter:
Peon (a rank within werewolves)-These are wolves who are new to the pack and are heavily watched during this time, usually rogues or werewolves from other houses that decide to join. They serve here for a period of eighteen months until they can be trusted by the leaders. Peon are not allowed very far from the pack's home and not allowed to visit other territories. Omegas and Eta who desire another rank within the pack can also join the Peon where they work to gain the trust of the alphas' in order to gain a rank.
Dam-Dams are females that are pregnant, nursing or taking care of pups. If the dam gives birth when the pack is traveling, the pack will form a protective circle around the dam in question. Dams and pups are expected to keep up with the pack when they are moving or they will be left behind.
Pups-The youngsters of the pack, they sometimes have their own pecking order. Are male and female, often born into the pack but sometimes brought in. No real duties but to learn and play, ranks are chosen depending on if they are dom, switch or sub. They begin learning hunting and fighting techniques at eight-years-old. When a pup turns 11-years-old, they become a Acolyte. When a litter of pups are born, they will be grouped up in parenthesis so the parents and pack don't get confused on which pups are theirs.
Caretaker (1-8)-They tend to be female, though sometimes males will join, and are responsible for watching the pack pups. They are fiercely defensive of pups and will often fight to the death to protect them. However if a pup gets lost or hurt they are hold accountable should the pup have been under their care at that time. In addition to watching the pups, the Caretakers are responsible for overseeing of the lower ranks and supporting the pack, sacrificing hunting and fighting for helping the Medics heal the pack.
Pups- The youngsters of the pack, they sometimes have their own pecking order. Are male and female, often born into the pack but sometimes brought in. No real duties but to learn and play, ranks are chosen depending on if they are dom, switch or sub. They begin learning hunting and fighting techniques at eight-years-old. When a pup turns 11-years-old, they become a Acolyte. When a litter of pups are born, they will be grouped up in parenthesis so the parents and pack don't get confused on which pups are theirs.