Nuts: A Beithir is a monster from the Scottish Highlands. The word tends to be used in reference to some gigantic supernatural creature that equates with beast, dragon, or even serpent. The description often mentions a long thick tail but no wings. In more modern tales, the Beithir has metamorphosed into a Fuath or haunting supernatural. Or so says my mythology book. So I did not create Beithirs. In fact I make up very few of the magical creatures in this story. The Arassas, Capalus, and Beithirs are all real creatures of mythology. Gripoys, however, are of my own invention.

~*~
The Book of Carmen
Chapter VI: Two Secret Plots
~*~


Remus left Hogwarts two hours later, the Book still in his possession. He had hoped that he would have been able to rid himself of the damned thing, but he finally agreed that it would be best to keep it in his care, at least for the time being. However, Remus was not exactly thrilled to have the beacon for every Dark creature on the planet in his home, but he trusted Dumbledore implicitly, and Dumbledore assured him that he would be safe.

The plan was to talk to Selene and Sirius when they came to visit Harry on Christmas Eve. Neither Dumbledore nor Will knew what would occur if the Book and Selene were brought together now, considering the Book was gaining power, and none of them really wanted to find out. This was the reason the Book was sent back with Remus. After Selene and Sirius left Hogwarts, Remus would be able to hand the Book over to Dumbledore. It was a logical plan, but Remus had his concerns. As usual, the foremost concern on his mind was the lunar cycle. The next full moon would fall only a few days after Christmas, and with the power of the Book increasing, Remus wasn't sure what would happen when he transformed. Remus also knew that the full moon not only had power over werewolves, but over other nasty creatures as well, meaning that their blood lust would be peaked.

He was also concerned about Selene. Although Dumbledore, Will, and himself had briefly gone over different spells and enchantments that might possibly break the Geist Legatura, Remus feared none of these would work. Geist Legatura was one of, if not the, most powerful spell in the wizarding world. You'd sooner find a way to reverse Avada Kedavra, before Geist Legatura. Still, somewhere in the recesses of his mind, Remus held onto hope.

~*~


Any hope of getting through the trip to Hogsmeade with his sanity intact was quickly fleeing Harry. He and Ron had been looking for a present for Hermione for four hours with no avail. Harry had thought that they had been to every store in Hogsmeade, until Ron proved him wrong by dragging him into a rare books store. Times were desperate indeed when one found Ron Weasley in a bookstore without a wand pointed at his head.

Harry looked longingly through a small window in the store at the sign for the Three Broomsticks. He thought how nice it would be to sit down with a warm butterbeer, and his stomach grumbled a response. "Ron?" Harry called out.

Ron poked his head around a corner, "Yeah?"

"Have you found anything? I'm starving."

"No."

"Well maybe a full stomach will help you think of something," Harry said, dropping a not so subtle hint.

"I doubt it. We've looked through every store. I just don't know what to do…." Ron trailed off, spotting something on the far side of the room. Harry followed his gaze and saw a glass case. The two of them walked over to it. "Wow." Ron said.

Harry looked at the book inside the case and then looked back at his friend, his confusion evident on his face.

"This would be perfect!" Ron exclaimed suddenly.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"It is a medical book Harry. Apparently it has cures for really exotic spells."

"Been doing our homework, have we?" Harry asked jokingly.

"Me? Of course not," Ron said with a smirk, "I overheard Hermione talking about it to a girl in Potions. She said that this book is vital to anyone studying the healing arts."

Harry's spirit lifted, thinking that the quest for a present had finally ended. However, his spirit quickly plummeted when he saw the price tag. "Ron? Have you seen how much this costs?"

Ron shrugged, "How much can it be? It's a book."

Harry showed him the price and Ron's eyes seemed to double in size, "Holy…"

A man cleared his voice behind them before Ron could finish the profanity. He and Harry turned around and were confronted with the owner of the store. "Admiring the Book of Exotic Maladies, are we?" he asked.

Ron nodded, "Yes, but it's a bit expensive."

"That is because it is a rare first edition," the store owner said proudly, "hand quilled by the author. It took a lot of effort and time to procure that particular item, being that there are only ten known copies in England. That, my young sirs, is the reason for the hefty price tag."

Ron nodded sadly, his hope of finding Hermione the perfect Christmas present diminished.

The owner of the store continued, "The reason I came over here is that I hoped that you could help me with something."

Both Harry and Ron looked questionably at the man.

"I saw your hat and I just thought that maybe you would know a little bit of Quidditch trivia."

Ron reached up and touched the brim of his Chudley Cannon hat, suddenly remembering that he was wearing it. "Ask away," he said.

"Do you know what was the longest match that the Chudley Cannons played?"

Ron smiled, "That's an easy one. It was the last game of the season in 1955. It lasted fourteen days because the snitch got trapped in the branches of some trees and no one could figure out what had happened to it."

"Whom were they playing against?"

"The Caerphilly Catapults I believe."

"Ah yes, that was before the Catapults lost poor Llewellyn wasn't it? Sad day in Quidditch history, that. I thank you for your help young sir. I was just trying to figure out that question for my Chudley Cannon trivia game when you two walked into my store. When I saw you and that hat of yours, I thought that you might have the answer."

"You're a Chudley Cannon fan?" Harry asked.

"Of course. Best team in the league."

Harry laughed, which earned him an elbow in the stomach from Ron.

"Granted, they've had a lapse in luck lately, but I'm sure that will change one of these days," the man said with a wink.

Ron and the store owner, whose named turned out to be Barney, chatted for a few more minutes about the Cannons before Harry finally managed to pull Ron out of the door and towards the Three Broomsticks for a round of butterbeer before having to return to Hogwarts.

"That was an amazing find," Ron said as he and Harry walked down the street.

"What the book? Or the fact that you found the only other Chudley Cannon fan in Britain?" Harry asked, and this time managed to dodge Ron's elbow.

"The book of course," Ron said. "I really wish I could have gotten something special for her."

Neville and Hermione waved at them from inside the Three Broomsticks and Harry waved back, "Don't worry Ron," he said. "Hermione will like anything you get her."

"Well that would be great except for the fact that I haven't gotten her anything yet." Ron muttered.

~*~


Harry plopped down into a large red chair in the Gryffindor common room and took out the small package that he had purchased in Hogsmeade.

"Is that for Ginny?" Hermione asked, taking a seat in front of him.

Harry nodded.

"Can I see it?"

Harry tossed it to her and she opened the box carefully and pulled out a thin silver bracelet that shimmered in the firelight. "Wow Harry, this is really nice."

"You think she'll like it?" Harry asked.

"I'm sure she will." Hermione said and returned the gift to Harry.

"Up for a game of Wizard's Chess, Harry?" Ron asked coming into the room.

"Sure." Harry said, excited that Ron had finally finished sulking about the book.

"I figured out what to do about Hermione," Ron said, setting up the chess game.

"What's that?" Harry asked.

"You'll see."

"I don't like the way that sounds."

"Don't you trust me?" Ron asked.

Harry recognized the look in Ron's eyes, because he had seen it numerous times in the eyes of Fred and George when they were planning something that was sure to give Argus Filch nightmares for weeks. Harry didn't trust the look in Fred and George, and he didn't trust in Ron either. However, it was obvious that Ron wasn't going to say any more on subject, and so Harry let the matter drop, content at the moment to focus all of his attention into winning the game of chess.

The chess games lasted well into the night, Harry refused to go to bed until he won a game, which he finally did with the assistance of Hermione. Soon afterwards the three friends parted company and went to their own separate beds and a little later fell into their own separate dreams.

~*~



At that very moment Peter Pettigrew snuck around the corners of the Shrieking Shack, trying to get a better look at its occupant. He had been watching Remus for almost a month now, and his impatience was growing. Slowly he pushed aside a broken shutter and peered through a small hole in the boarded up window. Peter knew that the Book rightfully belonged to him. Remus didn't appreciate the power that the Book held, not like Peter did.

Peter squinted at the small light that came from the interior of the shack. A flurry of shadows passed his vision, and soon Remus appeared. Peter noticed that the wizard was looking particularly haggard, even for this time of the month. Peter looked briefly at the moon and noticed that the nightly orb was partially full. He smiled to himself, and then turned his attention back to the window.

Remus paced across the room, playing with something in his pocket. Finally he stopped and withdrew a small key, which he used to unlock a cabinet and remove the Book. Peter's breath hitched in his throat as the object of his desire was laid upon a table, not ten feet away from him. He heard the voices then, calling to him…

Comon to us, min suna ond dehter, comon to eower wryd.

Those words ran through Peter's mind over and over again. He had heard them and he had obeyed them. Now the only thing to do was to wait, and Peter was good at waiting. He watched Remus put the Book away again, and then watched as he took it back out once more. He finally put it away again, and was about to leave the room, when he paused and turned back to the cabinet. He then angrily beat his fist against the doorframe and slouched to the floor, muttering incoherently. Peter laughed at this battle of wills. He knew that Remus also heard the Book, and that his wolf mind would eventually succumb to the temptation of it. That is why he needed to act quickly.

He must take the Book.

Peter withdrew from the window and let the image of Remus falling to the floor sink into his brain. He wanted to savor the image of a broken Remus. The same wizard that had tried to take Peter's life was now struggling to hang on to his own. It was a sweet irony and Peter thought of no one who deserved it more, save one. Again Peter cast his gaze to the moon. Soon she would be full, and then Peter would take the Book, and Remus' life.

Because the Book belonged to him.

It was his.

And he wanted it.

~*~


Sunlight broke through the thick December clouds early the next morning, and the fresh layer of snow glistened in its rays. All of the students of Hogwarts were still asleep in the comforts of their large beds and warm blankets. The staff was also still under the spell of sleep, and even Mrs. Norris was curled up in a puddle of sun that filtered through one of the large windows of the east wing. The halls of Hogwarts were quiet, as everyone slept. Everyone that is, except Ron Weasley.

In fact Ron had been up for two hours, carefully going over his plan. He knew that if anything went wrong, he could get into serious trouble, but securing Hermione's Christmas present was worth it. So as morning crept into the Gryffindor dormitory, Ron crept over to Harry's bed and gently shook his shoulder. Harry blinked a few times and tried to focus, "Ron?" he asked.

"Yeah. Harry can I borrow your invisibility cloak?"

"What? Why? What time is it?" Harry asked bewildered.

"It's early. I need it to get Hermione's present."

"Why? Where is it?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Please Harry, just let me borrow it. I'll bring it right back, probably even before you wake up properly."

"I don't know Ron…"

"Don't make me beg Harry, it won't be pretty."

"Alright."

"Thanks Harry." Ron said and waited as Harry stumbled out of bed to get the cloak.

"Don't do anything stupid," Harry said, handing the garment over to him.

Ron said nothing and the look on his face did nothing to comfort Harry. "I mean it!" Harry said as loudly as he could without disturbing the others. Ron nodded and spirited himself quickly out of the room. Harry rolled his eyes and climbed back into bed.

~*~


Somewhat of a light-hearted chapter before the action really kicks into gear.

Never fear, Sirius and Selene are actually in this story, but I thought I'd give them some time to themselves before I interrupted their lives again.
But that will change…(evil grin)…soon.

Some of you may realize that some of the things Peter said, contradicts what I've said previously, but remember…you can't trust that Pettigrew.

Thank you for the reviews, they warm the tummy.

-R