Full Moon Rising Part Two
Landing in London and catching the train to Hogsmeade was a late night adventure of sorts. The minute they disembarked, Remus noticed with amusement as Sama kicked off the sandals and packed them away again. They stopped in at the Three Broomsticks for a bite to eat before heading up to the school. Remus took the lead as they mounted the steps up to the door and knocked. Albus Dumbledore himself answered the door almost before Remus had finished knocking.
"Remus! How wonderful! You made it back in good time. Come in, come in. You must be Isamatia Canid."
"Please, headmaster, its Sama."
"Of course, of course. Sama. Welcome to Hogwarts! I imagine you are both tired. Let me- Oh! Minerva! Good. Please show Remus and Sama to sleeping quarters. I will see you directly after breakfast in the morning." With that, her first meeting with the great Albus Dumbledore was very quickly over.
Sama followed the older witch gratefully to a comfortable room in one of the castle's many turrets. After unpacking the few things she had brought, she flung open the window to look at the stars.
The waning moon hung in the sky as she stared up at the stars. They didn't look much different here than they did from home, but a wave of homesickness washed over her. She realized it may be months before she rejoined the wolf council. So, she mused, because of her expertise with wild magics, she was in a foreign land and she knew she would have to be careful. This was England. There were rumors they didn't like werewolves- persecuted werewolves- even killed werewolves. She remembered the stories from her childhood- when this distant relative, or that one met with prejudice and loathing from the wizarding community. The there was the belief that werewolves were followers of the dark arts by nature, which was patently ridiculous. It was these types of attitudes that made her ancestors look for a place to settle. They found a valley they could shield from the outside world, to raise their families and live in peace. They named it Wolf Hollow, and for a very long time kept it far away from muggles and wizarding communities alike.
The horror of the prejudice toward werewolves was still around and had touched them all not so long ago when a group of wizards on the European continent found out there was a werewolf living among them. They'd turned on her cousin Jacob then, all his friends and colleagues, nearly killing him. He had barely gotten away with his life. Jacob wore a patch where one eye used to be, and he still walked with a limp. He never left Wolf Hollow now. Sama doubted he ever would. Over and over it had been drummed into her that her village and farm were the only sanctuary in a world that hated and feared her kind.
Sama shivered. Most of the violence, she supposed was in reaction to the wolf-bit. The wolf-bit were born human, and warred constantly with the wolf within once a month when the infection took over- it drove most of them mad. Many of them went on berserker rampages while transformed, especially those bit as adults, and the ones it didn't drive mad were ashamed of what they were. They lived their lives alone, friendless, without mates, without breeding. They either died alone, or were killed by wizards who hunted them down and thought them evil. She'd even heard of some that finally snapped and took their own lives unable to live with the monthly pain of transforming.
The wolf-born were different. They were more in control, at home as much in wolfskin as out. They didn't suffer at the full moon as much, the illness and tiredness was lessened, and strengthening potions helped with the effects they did feel. The sickness that was the result of the monthly change for the wolf-bit was the side effect of the warring within between beast and human. Those born to the change were never fully wolf, nor fully human. Nature- and no little bit of wild magic- had created a balance between human and wolf that made the change easier to bear.
Sama thought of her extended family, they were mostly all wolf-born. Occasionally, a child was born who did not feel the moonsong, and did not change. Others, like her, were extra sensitive, and could feel the wild magic instinctively. As with any form of wild magic, a balance was very difficult to attain. It was partially because of this extra sensitivity to wild magic that Sama had gravitated to the study of all forms of it, no matter how obscure.
She thought about the farm that had stood as the residence for the Keeper of the Gate for nearly one hundred years. The Keeper's responsibilities lay in upholding the spells that kept the wolfpack in the valley during the full moon. The Keeper also anchored the shielding spells at the farm, to keep the valley hidden from all- Muggles and wizarding folk alike. The werewolves she protected had learned again and again to be wary of the outside world.
Wolfgate Farm is their a safe haven. As long as there was that secure place for them to be at the full moon, many of her family spent a normal life in the wizarding world. The permanent portkey system had assisted with this greatly. They could all gather at Wolf Hollow the night of the full moon, run with the pack, and still be back at work the next day. Most of their colleagues didn't even know their associates were werewolves. The community was a well-kept secret among the members of the pack and the highest echelon of the American Ministry of Magic.
Although, she mused, if she was honest, part of the reason she stayed in the valley so long was not her responsibility as Keeper of the Gate, but fear. She feared the outside world. She traveled to the Academy every day, but had always returned to Wolfgate Farm. She hid behind her responsibility as Keeper to justify not living on the school grounds as most of the other teachers did. They all knew what she was, and she had the feeling some of them were glad she kept herself apart from them. They had all grown up with the fear of werewolves, and even knowing none of Sama's pack had ever bitten another human being didn't make her any more welcome to live next door. Four hundred miles away in Wolf Hollow was close enough for most of them.
From the moment Remus laid out the evil facing his home and friends, she wrestled with the fear of this prejudice that followed her kind throughout the world. Ironically, it was the responsibility she had as Keeper that made her mind up. She would protect her family- and her pack- with her life if need be- it was an oath she had already taken. And if that meant she was exiled for a time to this strange land fighting for the lives and homes of these people- who, if they knew what she was would hate and fear her and all of those she loved- so be it.
Closing her eyes, she felt about for the unmistakable tingle of wild magic. Most was bound by the human magic. Although the forest at the edges of the school was a deep repository of wild magics, a lot of the wild magic elsewhere had been bound- or tamed. The ley lines had been used and abused here for hundreds of years- they did not wander as freely or unpredictably as they did at home. She followed them outward with her mind, and found them stronger, cleaner, crackling with more energy in the desolate wilderness areas. These places had become repositories of the wild magic that fled from the advances of civilization. Muggles had paved over much of it and weakened ancient bindings. Sama sighed. Even with the quantity of wild magic right outside the school grounds, sleep would not come easily here.
As Sama sat and watched the stars, thinking of home, Remus was struggling with being back at Hogwarts- this time as only a member of the Order. He knew it would be difficult, not being a teacher. He had loved the year he spent here teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. It was perhaps the most worthwhile year he had spent in the last fifteen. And after the events of that year, finally knowing the truth about Sirius' innocence was a gift he couldn't have foreseen. That was the best and most terrible part, knowing what really happened that night when all his friends died. Pettigrew had proved himself no friend, and Sirius was innocent- Sirius who had been dead to him for almost thirteen years- until that fateful night under the Whomping Willow. In the place that was the standing symbol of his self hatred, he felt he had been born anew with his friend again beside him. Unfortunately, only a handful of people knew Sirius was innocent, most of them students here at Hogwarts. He wished, as he was climbing wearily into bed, that he knew where Sirius was now. Sirius had spent the early part of the summer with him as they got in touch with all the old Order members. Then Dumbledore sent Sirius off on a mission that would take him out of England, trying to cool off the Ministry's search for the escaped criminal. He wondered as he drifted off to sleep whether Sirius had been the one to find Sama in that odd little village. Perhaps he would send an owl in the morning to ask… if he remembered.
~*~
In the morning, Sama dressed in her usual fashion- the familiar formal pale lavender robes giving her a boost of self-confidence. She had weeks before the next full moon. Perhaps the forest below would welcome a wolf for an evening. Sama felt sure the wizards and witches of Hogwarts wouldn't.
Opening her door she found the halls filling with students. With nothing better to do, she followed them to the doorway of the great hall where breakfast was about to be served. She looked about her with interest- gazing most at the enchanted ceiling that mimicked the outside sky. Standing in the doorway, she quickly identified a table full of teachers, and four other long tables filling now with students. She remembered Remus had told her about the house system, and she supposed each house sat together. In the middle of these musings, Sama was suddenly knocked off balance as something collided with her from behind.
"Oh--- I'm sorry! Terribly!"
"Oi! Ron! What's the hold up up there…"
Sama looked about her and found a crowd of children in the doorway behind her. The one who had knocked her off balance, a gangly boy with shocking red hair and freckles about sixteen who must have been Ron, was looking down at the floor. She held out her hand to steady him, and found him staring at her feet.
"It's all right. I'm afraid I stopped rather short in the doorway, didn't I?" Most of the students behind Ron jostled him to the side and eased into the hall and took their places at the tables. A slightly built youth about the same age, with glasses and dark hair sticking out at all angles to his head and a girl with frizzy brown hair and an armful of books both stopped beside Ron. He looked up at her face and said "'Scuse me!" and grabbed their arms as the three of them dashed off to their table.
Still puzzling over that, Sama didn't notice when Remus came up beside her. Gesturing, he led her up to the teacher's table and sat with her as the stragglers all took their places. When the food appeared, Sama smiled, house-elves, how interesting. She did notice the odd looks some of the other teachers gave her, especially the thin man with the greasy hair and sour expression. He looked toward them with barely disguised loathing, which puzzled Sama a bit until she noticed that he was staring with such hostility at Remus.
~*~
"Did you see the woman with Professor Lupin? She doesn't have any shoes on!"
"Is that what you were looking at when you ran into her in the doorway?" Hermione stopped reading and looked up at him.
"Well, she stopped so suddenly I got bumped from behind. I couldn't help it. Who d'you suppose she is?"
"I wonder why Professor Lupin is back. Do you think he has seen Sir- our friend Snuffles- lately?" Harry looked toward the head table, and sighed. He thought a lot about his godfather, but hadn't received a letter in several weeks and was beginning to worry.
~*~
During breakfast Sama was kept busy trying to follow the conversation of Remus on one side of her and an enormous black haired man, introduced as Hagrid, on the other. He kept peering at her as if she would grow wings and fly away. A sudden mental picture of petite little Portia next to this mountain of a man made her smile and feel less homesick. Portia might not even reach this man's belt buckle. Sama wondered idly if there were giants in his background.
After breakfast she was ushered by Dumbledore to a sizable room with a large circular table.
"Remus tells me you had an uneventful trip?" Dumbledore's eyes sparkled at her from behind his glasses.
"Yes, thank you. Perhaps you could tell me…"
"Exactly why you are here?"
"Yes. I am wondering. There isn't a lot of wild magic left unbound in this part of the world. Most of what I felt has been flashes and glimmers. Not a lot to work with- except in a few places." Sama looked out the window to the forest below them.
"Like the Forbidden Forest?"
"Is that what that is? Yes. It has a lot of magical energies, most of it wild. And I can feel bits from the magical creatures that live there."
"We think Voldemort has been gaining power by using wild magic."
Sama looked back at him, horrified. "If he succeeds in strengthening himself with wild magic, normal spells and enchantments will not work on him. He won't be able to be defeated with any known Dark Arts defense."
"Yes, well, that is why the Order needs someone who knows a bit about wild magic." Dumbledore smiled slightly, but the twinkle in his eyes had dimmed somewhat.
"What makes you think he's trying to gather it?"
"There has been a slow drain on the earth magics in England and on the continent for the past few months. It wasn't until we noticed a peculiar feedback over the ley lines that we checked for it and found the drain. Its not a big drain, but if it's what we suspect…" Dumbledore paused with a faraway look in his eyes. "Quite honestly, my dear, no one thought Voldemort knew enough about wild magics to find them useful in his rise to power."
"For power like what he wants they wouldn't usually be. If he has someone tapping into the wild magics he could perhaps be healed or strengthened, but wild magic is extremely volatile. It isn't dark magic or light magic- and can't be converted to either. It just is- and it is a more ancient form than spells and charms and such. And it is just as likely to go one way as the other- which is why traditional magical spells are more effective. If he can drain off the power, he might have found a way to bind them to himself… It's very risky…" Her voice trailed off as she considered the possibilities Dumbledore had suggested.
"We believe his is gathering this power. Although to be honest, we don't yet know for what purpose."
"From what I've felt, if he is trying to gather wild magic, he will be drawn to the Forbidden Forest down there."
"Yes. I think, and if you agree, you should start by sealing the Forbidden Forest with wild magic- to try to bind it so he will not be able to strip the power. With your experience, I think you will be an invaluable resource in this area."
Sama turned to him with surprise. With a sudden flash of understanding, the lingering unease about the probing spell she'd found the morning after the last full moon dissipated. "Was that you probing the spells at Wolfgate Farm?"
"Not me specifically, but someone who works with me. He's been scouting around the world for likely allies and stumbled over your valley. Finding out about you in that village is very difficult, you know."
"This person went to Wolf Hollow? Asking about me?"
"Yes. Your Aunt- Iris- I believe, was a fountain of information. Not all of it… er..."
"Lucid?" Sama supplied with a smile.
"Good word!" Dumbledore laughed. "She gave my friend quite the runaround!"
Sama now remembered Iris had babbled something about a charming man asking after her and she felt very annoyed at herself for not paying attention at the time. "Aunt Iris has some precognitive abilities- although she never does know when she's remembering the past or seeing the future. Not very useful, I'm afraid."
"Ah. His report on his tea with your Aunt was a bit… jumbled. She told him not to forget the lake. I confess it sounds odd, but he said she mentioned it several times so he included it in the report- no matter how daft it sounded."
"Not to forget the lake? She said something similar to Remus and I before we left…" Sama trailed off puzzling over the cryptic message. Dumbledore stood.
"About the forest, you should go see Hagrid. He knows the ins and outs of the forest and it's inhabitants better than anyone. He has one of his classes now, but they should be just about ready to break up by the time you get down there. I wish I could join you my dear, but I must get back to my office."
"Yes, of course." Sama murmured as he ushered her out the door and gave her basic directions to Hagrid's cottage. Lost in thought, she wandered down through the twisty halls of Hogwarts and exited out onto the grounds.
She heard the class before she saw them. A group of young men and women in an enclosure were struggling with what looked like large orange and grey lizards moving about in a bonfire. Sama remembered part of a lullaby about fire salamanders. She climbed the fence, putting her hand out when she was close enough for the salamanders to hear, and started to hum it. The wild magic grew at the tips of her fingers as she focused it outward toward the cold and confused salamanders. Hagrid was yelling encouragement to the students, telling them that catching the salamanders was only the first step to harvesting the oil that was a useful flame retardant. Sama moved closer and started singing softly of the comfort of a crackling fire and warmth of the ember-bed. Slowly, the fire salamanders calmed their frantic moving and listened as her song wove a spell around them.
"Well don' go and waste the gift she's givin' yeh! Harvest th' oil like I tol' yeh!" Hagrid's voice rolled over them, and the students- grimy, sooty and scorched in places where their flame repellant charm had worn off, moved gingerly towards the salamanders. They stroked the creatures' throats and pressed on the glands behind their shoulders to harvest the bright orange oil into their collection jars. Throughout the process Sama moved closer and sang of heat rising off cooling lava and the hottest embers burning in the firepits of their native homes. The salamanders sat as if paralyzed throughout the process and when the last student had collected his jar and backed away from the burning bonfire Sama let her song end, releasing the magic. When the last note had faded away, the salamanders started moving again in and among the heart of the fire.
"Well, tha' was swell, tha' was!" Hagrid's voice boomed out and the students looked at her with awe. Sama smiled.
"That was more than amazing, Sama," a low voice from behind her said.
Turning, she found Remus smiling at her from beyond the fence. "I saw you from the castle and came down. I understand Hagrid's classes are… unusual."
"Yes. Harvesting the oil from fire salamanders is challenging. More so when only conventional spells and charms are being used. They move too quickly to place a charm on them, and they tend to die when enchanted."
There was a snapping sound behind them as the fire salamanders burrowed beneath the fire into the embers, and the bonfire collapsed on top of them, effectively sealing them in the warmth. Hagrid dismissed his class of fifth year Gryffindor and Slytherin students as a group of seventh year students came down to crate the salamanders and return them to their lava pits as part of their own Advanced Apparation Technique class. The trio from her run-in at breakfast stayed behind to speak with the Hagrid. Remus watched them for a moment, and then the group came over to speak with them.
"How did you do that?"
"Professor! Did you see?"
"Professor Lupin- wasn't that brilliant?!"
"Well, now, tha' was special. Can' say I eve' saw anythin' like it!"
"Hermione, Ron, Harry, have you met Sama Canid?"
The three students flushed a bit at Remus' gentle reminder, and greeted Sama before asking another round of questions.
"What was that? What did you do to them?" this was from Hermione.
"Did you hypnotise them?" came from Harry
"Can I learn that?" Ron asked plaintively.
"I teach Theory and Practice of Wild Magics at the Academy for the Magical Arts and Sciences in the States."
"Wild Magics? I've never heard of it!" Hermione sounded a bit put out.
"The wild magics are an ancient branch of magical studies that is quite obscure. I am not surprised you haven't heard anything about it. Harry, it wasn't hypnotism, but a suggestion that they were home, and warm, and liked where they were. It calmed them down, soothed them." She turned to the red haired boy and smiled. "I am sure you could learn it if you chose to, but I don't know as that will be part of your schooling here." Sama patiently answered each of their questions until Remus gently reminded them they would be late for their next class if they didn't get a move on.
Exclaiming over this new form of magic, the trio moved off towards the castle.
Hagrid smiled down at her. "I suppose Professor Dumbledore sent yeh down ta see me?"
Sama looked up at the giant of a man and smiled back. "Yes. He thought you would be the perfect person to show me your Forbidden Forest."
"Aye, it's right dangerous, sometimes. Although, wit' the way yeh got the salamandahs witched, I might have teh feel a bit sorry fer the creatures innat wood." His voice rumbled pleasantly and Sama realized he was chuckling. Laughing a bit herself, she allowed him to escort her into the forest.
As soon as she entered the forest proper Sama let out a breath of relief. She hadn't realized how tense she had become from being in an area of totally controlled magic. Relaxing more the deeper into the forest they walked, she dug her toes into the deep loam and decaying plant matter. Stopping at a small clearing she pulled away from the two wizards, closed her eyes, raised her wand and started to hum. It was a simple, gentle song. She tested the weave of the earth magic in this place. She sent out a call for the magics overlaid here to show her their inner workings, and softly the forest returned her song to her with the answers to her querying.
Remus and Hagrid watched as a faint glow started to gather around her and move in patterns that she put out her hands to "see" with fingertips and wand. Gently sifting through the air she lowered her hands, opened her eyes, and let the humming fade. The glow lessened as the sound died, and soon she was standing quietly in the clearing. She turned to the two men, and smiled. "This forest- knows it shelters. It has felt and been many things in the last millennia, but it is primarily a protector of all the creatures it houses. There are old spells, too- laid down when Hogwarts was new. The wild magic is strong here. I think we can set some additional wards and spells to help it do what it is accustomed to doing." She cocked her head as if listening to a whisper "It likes you Hagrid. The wild magic accepts you as part of itself. It is why you have an affinity for all kinds of magical creatures. Are you part giant? Many of the giants I've met have similar gifts with wild magics." Hagrid paled and sputtered a bit at the last, but Sama went on without noticing. "Remus, the forest knows you, too. It acknowledges you as a brother-spirit. You schooled at Hogwarts, but the best times of your life were spent here, in this forest. It remembers," she paused, and then turned back to the forest. "It will accept the wards and spells we three will set about it- we need to be careful about not binding it too tightly, the inhabitants have their own bonds with this place, we mustn't break them." She was quiet for a few moments, considering. "Halloween- the moon will be waning. That will be the proper time to set our spells and wards. Voldemort's power will not grow significantly until then, and we'll need the time to prepare." Falling silent she shivered slightly. "He's been here before, like a cancer, the wild magics rejected him, but he is different somehow. Not- fully natural. Harnessing the wild magic for him will work for awhile- but at some point the bindings will revolt and break. Wild magic will only go so far with him before it rejects him outright. This backlash may not kill him, but I think it will hurt. Maybe badly. But before that happens he'll have power…"
Sama swayed suddenly as if she would fall, and Remus and Hagrid stepped quickly to her side and supported her. "A little backlash of my own," she murmured as Hagrid swung her up into his arms and carried her back to his hut.
~*~
"Does that always happen?" Remus asked after Hagrid had served up some tea for the three of them.
She sighed, "Like anything with wild magic, not always. Your forest is… powerful. It is one of the only spots in the area where the wild magic is free, and like attracts like. I wouldn't be surprised to learn if it has increased in strength over the last few hundred years as the wild magics are driven out of human inhabited places."
"That is precisely why it must be protected from Voldemort- and any of his supporters." Dumbledore said from the doorway.
Hagrid and Remus both rose to their feet as Dumbledore approached. Sama made to rise as well but Dumbledore forestalled her.
"Don't get up, my dear. We cannot let Voldemort gain control of the wild magic in the Forbidden Forest. Did you learn what you needed to know?"
"Yes. We have about eight weeks until Halloween. The powers will be- malleable- at that time. For him as well as us but that cannot be helped." She winced a bit stroking her temple. "It's only one night after the full moon, but that also cannot be helped." Sama murmured almost to herself.
Remus caught the last bit she whispered, and looked at her sharply. Did she suspect something, he wondered.
"Headmaster Dumbledore?" Sama had turned her attention back to the people around the table. "If possible, I think it would be best if Remus and Hagrid helped with the spells and wards. The magic of the forest recognizes them both."
"But-" Hagrid started to sputter "I don' even have a wand… I don' know enough… they don' let me…"
"Hagrid," Sama turned her full attention to the big man. "I know you don't think you would be of help, but you are already using wild magics. The creatures that you have an affinity for, the fierce magical beasts- they are drawn to you for a reason. You are perhaps the closest Hogwarts has to an expert in wild magics. It's a great gift you have, and I have a feeling your participation will be invaluable to our success."
Dumbledore was no less surprised than the gamekeeper, but he knew Hagrid's strengths better than Hagrid himself did and nodded slightly to himself, impressed that Sama had figured out as much as she had in such a short amount of time.
"Professor Dumbledore," Remus spoke softly as Hagrid leaned over to Sama and she talked to him quietly. "Halloween- it's only one night past the full moon. I'll still be pretty sick and weak. I don't know how much help I'll be. Maybe it would be better if you chose someone else."
"You haven't told her." It was a statement, not a question. Dumbledore looked over at Remus. "I think you might have to give her an explanation why you can't be there."
Remus stared into his teacup. The expression on his face was haunted, remembering all the times when people had shunned him when they found out what he was. Dumbledore's voice came even softer to him "What about the times people accepted you for who you are? Besides, unless I miss my guess, I think Sama will react differently than you think." Remus looked up at Dumbledore surprised.
Dumbledore rose, effectively putting off the questions in Remus' eyes. "I think it time I went back up to the castle. Sama, please make whatever preparations you deem necessary. I will have Professor Sprout and Professor Snape assist you with any materials you may need. Remus, I will also speak with Severus about that potion you will be wanting."
"Thank you, Headmaster."
"Thank you, Professor."
End Part Two
Author's Notes: To those that read and reviewed part one, thank you. That was quite unexpected-and an amazing treat. My own thoughts-- for those who question whether or not Remus would recognize another werewolf right off the bat-it's not as if they all wear a blinking neon sign that says "I am a WEREWOLF!" Anyway, this is my take on the Rowling Universe-if you see it differently you are always welcome to write it that way- and I look forward to reading them all!
Disclaimers: Sama, Wolf Hollow, and the Academy for the Magical Arts and Sciences with all inhabitants mentioned and implied are mine. The universe they help populate in this incarnation, and all other characters belong to J.K. Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended. No money will be made from this fiction.