Werewolves and other monsters
Astronomy class for fifth years was just ending, and it was light across the moonlit grounds when a wolf howled in the forest.
"Wolves" said Nott, nervously.
A second wolf howled in concert.
Soon, there were a lot of wolves howling.
"Lots of Wolves" said Professor Sinistra "Nothing to be alarmed about."
Harry looked over the tall parapet of the Astronomy tower at the lawns and saw dark, dog-like figures racing across them.
"Wolves on the grounds" Harry mused aloud.
The class finished twenty minutes later, and the large group of students was traipsing down the tower staircase when the door at the bottom of the tower banged open. A loud snarl filled the tower.
"Remember" said Harry "When a troll broke into the school and nearly killed Granger, well this is like that but with wolves."
"Nonsense" said Professor Sinistra, waving her wand and lighting the tower more brightly.
Two black wolves were looking up that them form the floor of the tower.
"Bushy tails" said some Ravenclaw boy "Werewolves."
"There wolves" said someone, and nobody laughed.
"Can werewolves climb stairs?" asked some idiot. Harry drew his wand and fired colloportus, the door-locking charm at the door the werewolves had opened. The door slammed shut and squicked into the door-frame.
The larger werewolf seemed to laugh at that, its slavering jaws open.
"Potter you idiot" said Zach Smith "We're locked in with them."
Professor Sinistra waved her wand and silver spikes rose out of the stone step below the class, quickly blocking the staircase.
"Wow" said someone, and many students applauded.
"Back up the stairs" said Professor Sinistra firmly "Silver spikes will stop werewolves."
The whole group turned and stared heading up the steps.
"Potter, did you just lock the door?" asked Professor Sinistra, glaring at Harry.
"I didn't want more attackers" explained Harry. "Are we just going to leave them down there?"
"No, I'll keep watch" said Professor Sinistra "It's unlikely they'll get past the spikes"
Harry edged past the professor and walked down the steps until he was nearly at the spikes. The werewolves growled but didn't hurt themselves on the spikes. Professor Sinistra followed him, saying angrily"Potter, what the hell do you think you're doing? Go back to the top of the tower or I will issue you a detention."
Harry lifted his wand "fumos morits maxima" he cast, and the pale, lethal gas filled the bottom to the tower. The werewolves snarled, huffed, whined and fell over. Harry stopped the spell, and pushed the professor upwards.
"Best not to breathe that" said Harry.
"Did you just kill two werewolves with some sort of gas spell?" asked Professor Sinistra loudly.
"Well yes" said Harry. "I know it's a pretty nasty spell but, really, its was them or us right?"
Professor Sinistra grabbed Harry's sleeve and dragged him up the steps back to the top of the tower.
"Everyone go into the rain shelter" said Professor Sinistra "We'll have to wait for dawn, I'll conjure up some blankets."
Harry went into the wooden rain shelter and sat on one of the many bench seats.
"What about the Werewolves?" complained someone.
"They're dead. Mister Potter dealt with them" said Professor Sinistra "Potter, fifty points to Slytherin for dealing with our problem, and eighty points off of using such as nasty spell."
"What?" shouted lots of people.
Professor Sinistra conjured up blankets, pillows and slowly the class quietened down.
"Potter ,outside" said Professor Sinistra.
Harry waited by the parapet, the sounds of howls coming, Harry was pretty sure from inside the castle.
"Why do you know a poison gas spell?" asked Professor Sinistra.
"Triwizard tournament" said Harry.
"And getting rid of it?"
"It dissipates in the open. Down there… probably some fire." said Harry.
"I'll leave it till dawn" said Professor Sinistra "Then a fireball down the tower. Your taste in spells is going to get you in trouble"
"My taste in spells, Professor" said Harry angrily "Is keeping us alive."
Professor Sinistra conjured up some blanket covered loos.
"Potter?" asked Zabini "did you just kill the werewolves, just like that?"
"They were trapped, and breathed in a poison gas spell." said Harry quietly. "Rather them than me."
Aurors opened the tower door a bit after dawn, and released the class, who mostly headed for the nearest loo, Harry had used the conjured ones, and went instead to the Great hall to eat.
It was very quiet and had hardly anyone there, and everyone looked very tired.
Harry, eating the great hall, got detention from a tired looking Professor Snape.
"Potter, detention tonight" said Professor Snape "You imbecile."
An incredibly frail looking Professor Dumbledore announced at the end of breakfast that the werewolf attack had been organised probably by Fenrir Greyback.
And that certain hallways were off limits, and that there had been some injuries.
"Our caretaker, Mister Filch was attacked and sadly did not survive." Professor Dumbledore swallowed.
"The Hufflepuff dormitory was breached by the werewolves but with great teamwork, the seventh years managed to contain the werewolves, There were however some injuries and… I and truly sad to say, several deaths."
The great hall, which had been quiet, and Harry realised had very few Hufflepuffs, got quieter.
"Gryffindor common room was attacked but the door defences, while destroyed, were not breached." added Professor Dumbledore.
"Ravenclaw common room was breached and sadly, several students were injured" Professor Dumbledore sniffed "And there were some deaths also."
Harry's pulse pounded. He needed to get out of here, find someone and … he couldn't remember what. He tried to remember and all there was the knowledge that he once knew a spell for this problem but couldn't remember. He shuddered instead. He was feeling weak and vulnerable and he knew, just knew that he used to know a spell for this.
"And lastly, the Slytherin common room was opened accidentally, and werewolves attacked" said Professor Dumbledore.
Harry stared at the professor, standing, gripping the golden lectern. Not… his dorm room?
"The werewolves attached but fortunately, Professor Snape was at hand to repel attackers." added Professor Dumbledore.
Harry relaxed. He looked around the table, and saw that some of the junior year Slytherins were sitting and picking at food.
"And lastly, because of last night's attacks, classes today are cancelled, but students are to return to their common rooms, and not explore the castle. Heads of house will be on hand in the common rooms. Lunch will be held here at the usual time, though prefects are to ensure no students stray from the assigned routes."
Harry got some essays written and at lunch, was just biting into a really nice chicken sandwich when Professor Dumbledore announced.
"And I would like to call out the following students who were very brave and helpful last night"
Harry tuned it out until he finished with "… And Harry Potter, who managed to kill two werewolves, helping protect the entire fifth year astronomy class."
There was desultory applause.
"I thought that was mostly Aurors" said Pansy.
Harry finished his sandwich, and was trying to leave when some of the Ravenclaw girls accosted him and Mandy kissed him. It wasn't the unpleasant, he supposed, but… there were more coming at him.
There was a surge of witches headed his way and his heart pounded, and he backed away from them, wand up "Keep away from me" he said, backing towards the doors of the great hall.
There were frowns on their faces now, he noted, his testicles tried to react into his body ,and the sides of his vision darkened. Harry felt faint and tripped on a flagstone as he scuttled backwards.
Harry woke up lying on a bed in the infirmary, and he wiggled his limbs, which all seemed to be attached. He sat up, and realised the infirmary was really crowded. There were double or triple the number of screened off beds and a lot of green-robed healers moving from screened off bed to screened off bed. He rubbed the back of his head, and that felt normal.
Professor Dumbledore came to see him.
"Harry" said Professor Dumbledore "Try to use less vile spells"
"When saving the entire fifth year?" asked Harry.
Professor Dumbledore nodded "About our other problem…." he said, and waved his wand. The noises of the infirmary stopped.
"He has made more than one" said Professor Dumbledore. "I have a theory about what objects he has chosen."
Harry sat up, his head throbbing "Really?" he asked and had to blink. His head felt like lead, and his hand went up to it, he felt like a pumpkin-headed horseman.
"You apparently have a concussion" said professor Dumbledore casually "Falling backwards onto flagstones."
"About the things?" asked Harry.
"I think he has chosen things of significance to the founders of Hogwarts" said Professor Dumbledore "Hogwarts was where he first felt truly at home"
"Lucky prat" muttered Harry.
-==0==-
Harry felt the stares and heard the whispers. Everyone knew he had a problem with witches. It was all Greengrass's fault really, she'd been the one most inclined to hex him in the bits, and now he was witch-phobic. As a teenage wizard at school with several hundred witches, that didn't work so well. Harry did what he did best, and found himself an out-of the way room, locked the door, and started to plot.
His first idea was to hex some witches. That, obviously wouldn't work, even using really dark curses, he was outnumbered several hundred to one. Not being afraid of witches would be ideal… but that would require changing his, Harry's own mind. And there wasn't any way to do that. Harry was wondering, idly, purely speculatively about how to erm, go find some really easy muggle girls… and er… snog them, when an idea percolated up into his consciousness. An oddly fully-formed idea. He could enchant a parchment to speak, obliviate himself and implant some false memories. That would change his mind a bit, and get rid of the humiliating panic-attacks large groups of witches approaching him gave him. Harry sighed, at least, since the phoenix tears, he probably wasn't going to have another heart attack.
Harry took some parchment out and started working out how to enchant a parchment to speak It was really easy, actually, it almost was like he'd done it before.
A couple of hours or writing runes later, Harry had a talking parchment. He eyed it. It was graphic evidence he'd used-was about to use a memory charm on himself, and that was bit incriminating. Harry, in a moment of inspiration again, wrote some instructions on the bottom of the parchment, in English.
'Hey, Harry incinerate this parchment. H.J.P.'
Harry activated the talking parchment, talked to it, 'you don't remember being afraid of witches, why they're just like muggle girls but with magic. There's' nothing to be afraid of about witches.' With a tap of his wand, Harry started the parchment's timer, and obliviated himself.
Harry blinked, he was sitting, feeling a little fuzzy-headed, at a disused desk, where a parchment and his wand lay. The parchment was covered in runes, but the bottom just said 'Hey Harry, incinerate the parchment' Harry dropped it on the floor and incinerated it, put his wand up his sleeve and left the room. He swiftly forgot incinerating the parchment, and walked off, a changed man.
He was nearly too late for dinner, but sat down at the end of the Slytherin table in time for some dinner, thought dessert was being served. Harry saw movement, and some of the seventh year girls walked past, a group of Hufflepuffs. Harry found his eyes following their… somewhat more adult shapes across the room. 'Hufflepuffies' he thought to himself.