I can't apologise enough. I really had no way to update before and I'm sorry.

As a result, this is a massive update of four chapters (the two I missed, and the two scheduled for this week), of which three have Draco and Hermione. Forgive me?

Oh, and I might as well warn you – this chapter is a complete deviation from pretty much everything that's happened before. Though it does remind the Lee stuff. Anyway, don't worry, everything will be back on track for the next chapters.

Chapter 24

Full Moon

24th November, 1998

Most of the time, he had no idea what he was doing here.

Like so many others, he had answered Kingsley's call and had joined the Aurors mid-June. At the time, he wasn't sure why he did it. There was no point to Quidditch practices anymore, since matches were suspended indefinitely. But he had never even considered a job at the Ministry, and yet he had jumped at the opportunity. Maybe, like Lee, he unknowingly thirsted for revenge. Revenge for whom, though? There was Fred, of course. Katie, too – he had almost cried when he had heard she had woken up. Alicia, whom he hadn't seen recently – she was fighting her own demons, he reasoned. And for Lee – Lee's father, Merlin, Lee had been silent in class for days after Katie had told him what Rookwood had done.

He didn't think it really was revenge he wanted. Nevertheless, he had stuck at it when about thirty had dropped out after three weeks of lessons. With the possible exceptions of Harry and Neville, everyone found the lessons not only difficult but also and especially dull, and after a week of being battered around by senior Aurors during "field exercises," your enthusiasm was ground into the dust, never to be found again. Kingsley had invited all those who had fought in the Battle of Hogwarts to enter Auror training, but that didn't mean he didn't submit them to gruelling tests. It was just that the tests were continuous, and he didn't fire anyone – he waited for them to drop out.

It worked for a lot of people. The remaining twelve Aurors-in-training were the most tenacious, the ones who had a motive behind their choice, the ones who actually liked it, and the ones who could take the bullying if they just told themselves, I'll show them. And then there was him. He didn't really like the lessons, he didn't want revenge, he didn't want to help society by doing this, and he didn't have a passion for the job. So what the hell was he doing here?

He figured it was because he had nothing else to do.

He had been paired up with Neville, which he found amusing, if not always easy. The Longbottom kid had a heck of a lot more confidence than he'd remembered from his Hogwarts years, even though he was still too idealistically selfless. He was a nice challenge for him during their duels, because he knew a lot of good defensive spells even though he always hesitated when it was time to attack. That was Neville's prime weakness, really – he was too kind and always worrying about his partner. There was also his clumsiness.

But Neville, as a whole, was a braver person than he was, he reasoned. He held on to his beliefs and had a moral ethic that you could only admire. The only time he had even faltered in these beliefs was when the Death Eater hunt had started and he had hesitated to pick a Lestrange to chase down. A second later, he had leaned across and said, in a firm voice, "What think of Avery?" So that was Neville.

Lee, on the other hand... Well, Lee had signed up for only one reason. It wasn't even a secret; the only ones who didn't know it were the ones who should, namely the senior Aurors, the Head of the department and the Minister. Sometimes he felt like they should be told... and then he would catch Lee's gaze and chicken out. Because Lee was bloody scary these days. He threw himself into his work like it was all that mattered in life. He didn't joke anymore, and he hardly ever spoke if it wasn't to cast a spell (and even then, he had nonverbal magic down to a T). And, damn it, he was good. He could disarm and stun any of the other trainees blindfolded and with his hands tied behind his back in under ten seconds – with the exception of Harry, whose reflexes were exceptional.

Actually, that was pretty much what he was doing right now. The senior Aurors who had accepted to teach the lessons had joined forces that day and decided it would be fun to test their trainees' abilities through at little game. At one end of the room – and this was where he was –, some had their hands tied behind their back and their wands on the floor. At the other end – Neville was among them –, they had been Silenced but had their wands. They were all supposed to magically attack the ones standing, unmoving, in the middle of the room, who were blindfolded but armed and able to speak. They had to figure out who was casting which spell, deflect it and send it back. This was where Lee and Harry were.

A hex hit him in the back, bringing him to the ground in surprise. "Gotcha, Wood."

Oliver looked up at Jenkins and grinned. "Whoops."

"Pay attention," the senior Auror griped.

"Yeah, yeah," Oliver said, trying to stand up and finding that it was pretty hard to do with your hands tied behind your back.

Instead, from the floor, he aimed (and that was also difficult without your wand) a Stinging Hex at Lee. Lee's ongoing Shield Charm easily deflected it, but he seemed at a loss as to where it had come from. He turned hesitantly to the left, then seemed to figure What the hell and shot a Blasting Charm at Ron, who was right next to Oliver.

This was a fun game, Oliver decided.

But his fun wasn't going to be allowed to last. There were two huge slamming noises as Lesman, another Senior Auror, slammed the door open, then closed, making the blindfolded trainees in the middle jump. Lesman spoke to Jenkins in a low voice for a second, and they both frowned. Jenkins made a come here movement with his finger at Oliver.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked when he reached the two Aurors. Had something happened to his family?

Jenkins shook his head. "Get your partner, pack your things and get ready to go. Avery's been spotted in Nottinghamshire."

"Nottinghamshire?" Oliver repeated. "What makes you think he'll stay there?"

"He's got business there," Jenkins said. "He's meeting up tonight with an old pal of his, possibly previously affiliated with Lord Voldemort. Our informer is tailing him, but he has no idea how dangerous Avery is. So go, and quickly. Remlin will be waiting for you in front of the building."

It was a full moon tonight. They were huddled behind a scrawny bush on the top of a hill, gazing down at the street far below, effectively concealed by Remlin's Disillusionment Charm. It wasn't strong enough that they couldn't see each other, but in the dark and especially at a distance, it would work. The November air was cold and uninviting, but they hardly felt it. Excitement kept Neville's eyes bright and alert and Oliver's heart racing. Carr Remlin, the Senior Auror who was on the Avery case with them, seemed collected enough, but the tenseness in the set of his jaw told Oliver he was in much the same state. The thrill of the chase, Oliver thought. This was it. Their big chance. If they blew it, they probably wouldn't be able to track Avery down again for months.

"It's just struck ten," Remlin breathed. "He should be here any second."

As if on cue, two silhouettes appeared at one end of the street, lit only by a single Muggle lamppost*. One was a man, short and heavy-set, in black robes: obviously a wizard. The other trotted after him calmly. It was an animal, shaped somewhat like a dog, except it was bigger than any dog Oliver had ever seen.

"Is that him?" he asked. "Is it Avery?"

"Can't be one hundred percent sure, but it looks like it," Remlin said grimly. "With a huge pet dog. Wonder what he's doing with it."

Just then, the huge pet dog lifted its muzzle to the heavens and let out a terrible howl that was more like a human's scream than a dog's and sent a shiver up Oliver's spine.

"Holy shite," Oliver breathed. "That's some dog."

"Godric," Remlin murmured beside him, staring in horror at the silhouettes. "Both of you, back off."

"Why?" Neville asked. "What's it doing?"

Remlin turned to look at them; he looked deathly pale in the moonlight. "I have no idea," he said, his voice hollow, "but I know what it is. Have you ever heard of the rumours about Voldemort having a werewolf army?"

Oliver felt the blood drain from his face. "You mean –" He looked at the silhouette again. From this distance, it really did look like a big dog. "Are you sure?"

Remlin looked up at the sky. "It's a full moon tonight," he said pointedly. "And that... thing is a werewolf. I've never seen one up close before, but I don't need to get any closer than this to know. It's a werewolf. I don't know what Avery is doing to control it and I don't care. You two have got to get the hell out of here. Disapparate or – do whatever you want, but leave. I'll stay and deal with them."

Oliver thought he would very much like to go to bed, but Neville shook his head, eyes blazing.

"Are you kidding? This is our job as much as it is yours. Avery is our catch."

"I appreciate the bravado, Neville, but this is real life and that down there is a werewolf. If it catches a whiff of your scent, you're dead. Your life is worth much, much more than mine, so just leave this to me, will you?"

"No, I won't," Neville said, drawing himself up to full height and raising his voice.

It was a mistake. Because though there was no way that Avery could hear them at this distance, the wolf did. Oliver could have sworn he saw its ears flick toward them a second before it gave another one of its screams and started running straight toward their hiding place.

"Shit!" Remlin said. "Go on, Disapparate, now!"

"We won't!" Neville said again, not bothering to lower his voice – what was the point anymore? "Go on, Remlin. Plan!"

He sounded panicked, but the last word rang out with confidence, and Remlin seemed to gather his wits enough to understand. He drew a breath.

"I stay here. I try to keep the werewolf focused on me. Neville, you go after Avery. Get him. Oliver, you find somewhere to hide where you can back up either one of us if in need. If we can retain at least a small element of surprise, maybe we can get out of this alive. Now go. Scram!"

Neville went; in a flash he was tumbling down the hill heading straight for Avery, still effectively concealed by Remlin's Disillusionment Charm. Oliver followed until he reached a rock that jutted out from the side of the hill, where he could keep an eye on both Remlin and Neville. He focused more on Remlin, who was going to have to face the snarling, screaming ball of teeth and claws that was heading straight for him.

He thought he saw Remlin close his eyes and utter a quick prayer before he uncast his Disillusionment Charm, but he couldn't have sworn it. Remlin leaped out in front of the werewolf, wand out, and started shooting spells. Oliver, his heart racing, tried to calm himself by identifying each one. Red burst. Green sparks. Blue jet of light. Red burst again. A blindingly bright white blast... After this one, there rose a scream from the ground below, and Oliver ripped his gaze from Remlin. It was a different kind of scream, a scream of fury, coming from Avery. Neville was duelling him, shooting curses at him faster than light and weaving between the other's attacks. But Oliver didn't take the time to admire his partner, because he had just realised the flaw in Remlin's plan. He could see Neville.

When he had uncast his own Disillusionment Charm, Remlin had also deactivated the ones he had cast over Neville and Oliver.

They were now, all three of them, perfectly visible and perfectly vulnerable.

Oliver barely had time to get a hold of his wand before he felt sharp teeth sink into the flesh of his shoulder, causing unbearable pain. He screamed and dropped his wand, falling to his knees as the creature – the werewolf – bit him again. Then again. And again.

Oliver dimly heard Remlin's cry of "Stupefy!" before everything went dark.

Don't ask where that came from... Please don't.

(Okay, okay. It actually came from the future. A character – Alicia, actually – has a subplot in later years that I thought would make more sense if someone she knew were a werewolf.)

(And it deepens Oliver's storyline.)

Listen to Vicious Rumors' Thrill Of The Hunt for this chapter. (What? I like it.)