Chapter Eight - The Beast in the Being

"Protego!"

In one fluid movement Remus rolled to his right side, flicking his wrist out beneath him and aiming a well timed shield charm that stopped a flash of green light that had been meant for him.

He had felt the presence before he'd heard them. Movement to his left that had made his skin crawl and his nostrils flare. Bracing his palms on the ground Remus staggered to his feet to face his attacker. His blood ran cold before he could get so much as another spell out.

"Not bad at all." When the wizard spoke it was more of a growl than a human voice. Thin, greying hair hung limply to his shoulders and a heavy trench coat lined with patchy fur hung from a broad frame. His lips were curled back in a beastly sneer to reveal yellowed teeth and his eyes, black in the night held something feral.
Though he had never met him directly, Remus knew Fenrir Greyback the moment he saw him.

Sense returned to him and silently Remus lashed out his wand again, aiming a wordless stunning spell Greyback's way. But Greyback deflected it with an ease that made Remus grind his teeth and try to still his shaking hand. He'd known this was an inevitable meeting since the moment he knew he wanted to fight back against Voldemort. Perhaps he'd known it was inevitable even since he'd found out it had been Greyback who had doomed his life.

But he would not be part of it. The werewolf, every part of his being exuding the power of an alpha beast, was not so much as advancing toward him. He was daring Remus to run.

Something stirred within him. A resolve that he would not be swayed. There was a time to confront, and there was a time to flee.

Remus turned on his left foot.

And went nowhere.

A searing pain shot through his ankle as he twisted in vain only to find his feet firmly rooted to the ground. But he hadn't even seen Greyback lift his wand.

"But not good enough. Pearce!" Greyback sneered, and his eyes flicked over Remus's shoulder as a low growl sounded. He turned as much as he could and understanding dawned.

He was a fool. He'd been so distracted and focused on getting away from Fenrir that it was all his enhanced senses had chosen to see. Now as a second figure stepped around into his field of view he could smell the second and quite separate scent of another werewolf.

The man was shorter in stature though broader than Remus was and the leather coat he wore, though torn in places, was far less ragged and comparatively unaltered to the few werewolves with whom he had crossed paths before now. His dark brown hair hung in waves to his chin and culminated in a streak of shocking white at the forefront. He looked younger even than Remus was and had not the wear and aging that over a decade of transformations brought. He was too well dressed to be more than a recent turn.

"What do you want? Why not just kill me now?" He finally found the words to spit out, wishing he felt an ounce of the bravery he tried to put into his voice.

"I don't kill my own pack." Fenrir snarled and his cold grey eyes flicked to the one he had called Pearce who was stalking around to stand at his left shoulder. As one they exchanged a cruel sneer which made the hairs on the back of Remus' neck stand on end. "Unnecessarily."

Merely the word 'pack' made Remus shudder. It left no room for humanity at all, it made them animal in name and nature.
"But I'm not one of you." He spat, grunting with effort as he tried to pull his stuck feet free from the ground and his knuckles grew white on his wand. He dared not attack first while he was unable to move from the spot. Not with two wands against him. There was a time to fight and a time for flight. Though he did not want to admit it, behind the logic in his mind, a great deal of fear was setting in.

"He ain't wrong. Probably already Order scum." The other werewolf spoke with a voice that Remus had not been expecting. Though they must have been similar in age he was sure he'd never gone to Hogwarts. It was no wonder when out of his mouth came a thickly Eastern European accent that he couldn't place. Greyback's influence had reached the rest of the continent. Not only that. No doubt so had Voldemort's. "Can I kill 'im?" He took an eager step forward and raised his wand again.

"Enough! Lupin's been marked for this pack far longer than you!" Greyback rounded on Pearce with an animalistic snarl and a raised hand. He had grown and filed his human nails into claws. The part within himself that Remus hated the most seemed to lurch inside and he felt a low rumble rise to his own throat which he forced himself to fight as he caught the moment a sick mixture of fear and obedience flashed through Pearce's yellow eyes and he backed down.
"Whelp." Greyback growled and roughly pushed his accomplice aside. As he stalked toward Remus, still frozen on the spot, his lips twisted into a dangerous sneer and his nostrils flared. "You're practically brothers. Now you 'ave potential."

"You don't know me."

"I know everything about yeh!" Little flecks of spit flew from the Death Eater's mouth and his foul breath for a moment was all that Remus could smell. "Like I know you ain't gonna use that wand. You fink you can play at 'aving a normal life?"

Something flashed inside and, determined to prove that Greyback wasn't as correct as he thought, Remus defensively flicked his wand and sent a broken piece of the wall he had been crouching behind flying towards Greyback. It barely scraped his shoulder and landed with a thud on the ground behind him. An angry snarl ripped from Greyback's throat and he moved with unanticipated speed. Pain prickled from his throat as sharpened nails dug in and raced through his unmoving legs as he was hauled upwards. His wand fell from limp fingers and was whisked away across the grass.
Every part of the evil and filthy face that stared him down seemed to morph, and he could have sworn fangs began to show themselves. It was a harsh reality when suddenly Remus saw himself back in school, slamming Amycus Carrow into a wall for commenting on his late mother. Was this the face of the monster that reared its head in him? Realisation dawned as he struggled vainly to free his feet, and he cast a glance back toward the house. The lights had gone out, there was no sign of movement now. "You planted the Portkey. It was a trap…"

"Into which you have fallen." Pearce sneered, revealing a pointed tooth and regaining his smugness after the chastening he had received and Remus turned his scowl onto him instead.

"Your little friends, they'll turn their back on you in a heartbeat. You fink the Order is gonna let you stay when they know what you are?"

A cry of pain escaped quite against his will as Remus strained again to free himself. This magic was strong, unfathomably strong as he tried every wordless and wandless counter curse he could think of and failed. An animalistic chuckle sounded as Greyback released his threatening grip, leaving little beads of blood around his throat. "You still ain't worked it out? You're a fool like your father."

"Shut up!"

The wolfish part of him was straining at the bit to come out. Every hair down his neck was standing on end and a growl simmered in his throat. He no longer felt the bitter cold of the outdoors as his blood ran hot in his veins. Frustration and anger were fuelling him now and in part he wished that Greyback would just kill him on the spot because surely that would be more bearable than this.

"Our time is comin', you should be free wiv your pack. We don't dance on a leash pretending to be one of them."

"This won't wor-" the back of Greyback's hand slammed across his face, wrenching out another gasp of pain as his body twisted with the blow. Harsh bark like laughter rang out from Pearce in the background who was bouncing restlessly on the balls of his feet, his white streak falling in front of his eyes. He gave the impression of a dog waiting to be given the order to attack. Was this what influence from only the darkest of werewolves did to a new turn? All humanity was chased, or more likely beaten, out until only monstrosity remained. Remus spat blood as his cheek throbbed painfully.

"Fight!" Greyback roared and flecks of saliva added insult to injury.

Remus did fight. But not the way Greyback wanted. Instead he fought the beast inside that was itching to escape, fought the urge to roar back.

Greyback grunted, and for the first time the sadism in his eyes gave way to frustration as he raised his hand to strike again. "Weakness runs in your family, Lupin."

"Shut up!" Whatever tenuous hold Remus still had on his self control snapped at the same time Fenrir lashed out. His skin burned and prickled as his arms flew up to deflect the blow with an instinct he didn't know he had. First low and rumbly, a feral growl began from the centre of his chest and bubbled upwards until it exploded with unbridled anger. Teeth bared like an animal Remus directed every ounce of strength he could into his legs until suddenly the invisible restraints gave way easily.

"Good!"
But Remus was not conscious of anything but his singular goal. A seam tore in the shoulder of his coat as he embraced the strength he wanted so desperately to deny he had. His momentum carried him forward and with a small smatter of satisfaction he had taken the others briefly aback so much that he was able to hurl his whole, though admittedly not substantial, body weight at Pearce before the latter could even react. His shoulder collided hard with the multichromatic haired werewolf, throwing him to the ground so suddenly it was easy to wrestle his wand back.

His adrenaline had given the wolf inside its conduit and even as Pearce tried to clamber back to his feet, Remus planted a foot on his shoulder and kicked him back down with a threatening snarl. The blood was boiling so loud and hot in his ears that he hardly heard anything else. At last it was the sound of laughter, cold and menacing that brought him back to himself. The cold air rushed over him, cooling to the skin as he turned, his wand clutched tightly in his hand to face Greyback.
"See what ya capable of when you embrace it?"

The anger was slowly beginning to ebb away and sense to return. In alarm Remus tasted blood as his tongue ran along sharpened teeth as they returned to normal. He started down at his shaking left hand as bulging blue veins sank back into his skin. If that was as little as it took, he was eternally grateful for his largely patient nature.

Adrenaline gave way to fear once more, but this time it was entirely fear of himself.

"Think about it."

He would listen to no more. With his hand in hand again, Remus tried to ignore Fenrir's words. He turned on his heel and Disapparated.

The alpha werewolf, and sire to most of his own pack, stared at the place that Lupin had disappeared with a calculating grin. There was yet hope for the boy. He had grown stronger even than he gave him credit for given the many years that he must have been hidden away and his identity and skills squandered.

"I still think you should have killed him. He's a traitor to the rest of us."

"We'll see." Greyback turned his steely gaze onto the seventeen year old who was pushing himself to his feet and spitting a mouthful of blood onto the ground bitterly. The barely of age wizard had only been turned less than a year ago. He had the eagerness and high spirits of youth and had needed no encouragement to accept the superiority of his new species. "You have much to learn."

xxxXxxx

With a pop, Remus reappeared in his own rented room at the Leaky Cauldron. It was the first place his mind had thought of to escape to. He groaned and sank to the floor on the spot with his face in his still shaking hands.

"And where the bloody hell did you get to then?"

Sirius's voice was so unexpected that Remus leapt on the spot and his head flew up so rapidly that his vision spun for a moment. Padfoot stood right in front of him with his arms crossed, a lit cigarette between two fingers and an expression that was partly curious but mostly stony.

He'd nearly forgotten completely about Sirius and James. The moment the werewolves had appeared any thought of explaining his sudden disappearance to his friends vanished. A soft curse escaped his lips that dissolved into a sigh as he forced himself back to his feet. "What are you doing in here?"

"Waiting for you to turn up. James is still doing rounds from the air looking for you now!" Sirius took a long drag from his cigarette before stubbing it out against his own sleeve which somehow left no mark. He drew a small mirror from inside his coat and held it up to his face and whistled sharply once before speaking to it. "Oi, Prongs, he's here." As he lowered the mirror and tucked it away, Sirius tutted briskly at Remus. "Merlin's beard, Moony, we thought somethin' must have happened. You didn't get caught did you?"

"No."

He wasn't entirely sure why he lied. It just happened. He should be telling his friends and more importantly he should be telling the Order, at least Dumbledore, that he'd been lured away. Moody had said from the start that it was likely Greyback would come after him and indeed had been right. Yet without even thinking about it he had instinctively decided to keep the encounter to himself. "No I just...I thought I smelled something."

"Remus, it's been an hour, James said check back in twenty minutes. You're the last one of us to not be on time."

His hands were still shaking, his heart was still racing twice as fast as usual and the last traces of adrenaline were still lingering within himself. Subtly, Remus tucked his hands into his pockets and let out a drawn out sigh. "I followed a lead-"

"Your nose?"

"-I followed a lead, it came to nothing. There was no one there."

Sirius snorted and tapped the left side of his own jaw, "That's not exactly what your face says."

Remus cursed inwardly and raised a hand to his face. The slightly swollen skin throbbed to the touch. He had been so caught up in escaping that the pain hadn't really had time to settle in. He hurried into his adjoining bathroom and looked in the mirror. Sure enough, his jaw and part of his cheek was already bruising where he had been struck. His green eyes darted to the left in the mirror, making contact with Sirius' who stood in the doorway. "It was a trap." He relented, seeing no point in lying now. "For me."

What happened next defied Remus' expectations. Far from the swearing he had expected, Sirius laughed. He turned slowly to stare incredulously at the Animagus who walked towards him and held up his hand for a high five. "And you bloody well got away! Let that be a lesson to those Death Eaters, ey? Don't mess with a were-"

"Really?"

Sirius dropped his hand "Right. Why wouldn't you-" A tapping from the next room broke his sentence and with a glare Remus stepped past.
He glanced around and frowned at the empty space until the tapping turned into a dull knock. Slowly he turned around to stare at the drawn curtains over the window and for a moment nerves were shattered. They couldn't have found him already.

"Oi! Moony, I can see the light!" The muffled voice immediately made Remus release the tense breath he had been holding. He swept across the room, brushed aside the curtain and lifted the window to reveal a half invisible James hovering there.

"You couldn't come through the door?"

"I was already in the air." James justified as he clambered through the window and tossed the invisibility cloak onto the trunk at the end of Remus' bed. "What were you doing? And what happened to your face?"

"Following his nose." Sirius replied before Remus could, "and right into a trap, apparently."

Remus sighed and slammed the window closed again, drumming his fingers restlessly on the wooden sill as he forced himself not to relive the whole experience. "I don't think it was actually that dangerous. For me at least." Had he been Sirius, and occasionally even James, that sentence would have had him calling himself smug and cocky. At least it would have a year or two ago.

"What does that-"

"Werewolves? Greyback?"

"Greyback? Moony, why didn't you lead with that?"

"Because you didn't shut up long enough for me to say so." Remus hissed and reluctantly dropped himself down onto the edge of his bed. James and Sirius stood over him, eyes wide and impatient for an explanation that Remus really did not want to give.
"There was a portkey. I didn't really mean to go off alone and I don't want to hear a word from either of you about being foolhardy." He said at last with a pointed glance at each of them in turn. "I just...had to know what was there. I didn't-" want to let Dumbledore down, the thought remained unvoiced as a coil of shame bubbled in his stomach. "-want to go back empty handed."

"But this is good, anyway." A grin split Sirius' face, "You know where one of their hideouts is."

"And they'll have moved on already." Remus stood again and every muscle in his legs ached still from the immense strain they'd been put through to prove some vile point. "The only point was for Greyback to get to me. You can bet most, if not all, the rest of the ones he's turned are on his side-" He caught himself and his jaw throbbed with pain as he clenched it. "Or dead."

"You knew it was going to happen eventually." James frowned, drawing his glasses, still speckled with rain drops, from his face and cleaning them with the hem of his shirt. "You sure you're alright, Remus?"

"Assumed it would, yes. And I'm fine. I got away alive, didn't I?" Determined not to show how shaken he really was, Remus forced on a practiced neutral expression.

"We have to tell Dumbledore. And Moody too."

"I know, Padfoot, and I will. I swear, when we report in."

Having finally talked them into leaving, Remus pressed the door closed and leaned heavily against it, allowing his weight to sink him slowly to the floor. Of course he was not alright. Try as he might he could not shake the image of Greyback's smug self satisfied toothy grin when Remus had been forced to embrace his wolfish nature to break free.
That would not be the last time they came for him, but it may have been the last time they would let him go relatively unharmed.

Still, Remus was less afraid of the Death Eater and werewolf than he was of himself now. He had known for several years now exactly what he was capable of, and had exercised his patience and self restraint every single day since childhood that he would not lose control. But tonight he had been taken right back to the one incident in his Hogwarts years when he was responsible for fighting, that frightening moment when he had almost exposed his nature and almost beaten Amycus Carrow to a bloody pulp. He still remembered in vivid detail the shock and moment of fear in those eyes. It had appeared again tonight in shockingly yellow eyes that stared up at him from the ground with Remus' foot planted firmly on his chest.
Pearce had a loud and snarling mouth and clearly delusions of grandeur, but Remus could practically smell the new blood on him, inexperienced enough that he was easy enough to overpower off guard.
However unfair it seemed to those afflicted, there was a reason werewolves were classified as beasts and not beings by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Dark beasts at that. Their power was drawn from an ever boiling pool of anger, and self control, something which mercifully Remus was blessed with a significant supply of, was the only thing that kept the beast in the being at bay.

Remus raised his hands, turning them around in front of his eyes as though he'd never seen them before.
Moody's gruff voice flashed through his mind without warning. I hear bloody good tracker and physically stronger than most of the people that were in that room. For just a moment Remus felt a prickle of shame that was quickly snuffed out by his self deprecating tendencies. He had certainly proved that statement to himself tonight.

He just was not convinced that was a good thing.