Disclaimer: I don't anything. If I did, my life would be much better and I
wouldn't be making minimum wage. P
AN: Hey! I wrote! Isn't everyone just so proud of me? Sorry for the long wait, but between the end of the semester, work, and family things, plus a little writer's block, I had a full schedule.
~*~*~*~
Of Wolf and Man
~*~*~*~
"Come in, Harry."
How -did- he do that? Werewolves had excellent senses, but Dumbledore couldn't possibly be a werewolf. Harry would have sensed it. Nevertheless, the boy opened the door and stepped into the familiar office of the headmaster. As usual, he sat behind his desk, the portraits of past headmasters and mistresses absently snoozing away in their frames while odd objects and gizmos whirled and clicked in their places on the shelves. The headmaster sat with his fingers steepled before his face, bearing a contemplative look on him.
"I'm sorry if I disturbed you sir..."
"No no, not at all," Dumbledore replied, smiling kindly at Harry. "You're welcome here anytime. Please, have a seat." Harry sat, but couldn't prevent himself from fidgeting nervously. Dumbledore gestured to a small crystal dish filled with plastic-wrapped sweets. Harry shook his head, but the old wizard merely shrugged and helped himself to one. "Now, what can I help you with, Harry?"
"Well sir, it's about... It's about my... problem..." Ee gads he sounded so pathetic, even to his own ears. He briefly wished he hadn't bothered to come here, but here he was and he couldn't back out now. Besides, he honestly needed some of the elderly headmaster's sage wisdom and advice about now. "I was wondering... if I should just go ahead and tell everyone. I don't like this sneaking around behind everyone's back. I don't like keeping it a secret, and besides, I think that they deserve to know the truth."
"Really now? Is it what you want to do?"
"Well, no. I don't really want to kicked out of school. I don't want to loose all of my friends, and have everyone hate me." He wiped at his face in frustration, a small, animal growl issuing forth before he could stop it. He was angry and upset and the wolf was agitated. It wanted to go outside and run free through the forest, where none of this would matter.
"Not everyone would hate you Harry. But there would be considerable upset."
"It's not fair!"
"No, it's not."
"I didn't want to become a werewolf!"
"I know you didn't."
"This is all the fault of that werewolf from Hogsmeade!" he snapped, suddenly feeling furious at whoever that was. He wanted to... to.. -No! I am not a killer!!- "Dumbledore... sir... please.. what should I do? Isn't there any possible way to cure being a werewolf? Anything at all? I can't stand much more of it."
"I'm afraid not, Harry. There is nothing we can do. Nothing anyone can do, short of the Dark Arts, and that is simply not an option, even in the blackest of times. I cannot tell you what to do, Harry, for it is your life, and you are nearly an adult now. As much as I love you and as much as I wish I could make it better for you, I cannot. There is nothing you can do to overcome the curse, except to do as Professor Lupin did and find a way to cope with it. Might I suggest you take this up with him?" He folded his arms on the desk wearily, his usually merry blue eyes now serious and without a hint of their usual twinkle. Harry felt despair rise within him.
And with despair came the wolf, and it thought Dumbledore looked positively delicious. Harry beat it aside, and it stalked back to the shadows of his being to wait for another moment. Dumbledore must have noticed this momentary dominance struggle and frowned at the student before him. Worry lines creased his ancient forehead.
"Harry, you should go back to Snape's quarters now. I want you to stay there until you feel well enough to continue with your studies, and don't leave no matter what. I will call Lupin to come talk with you, and you may decide for you what is best," he instructed.
Harry looked horrified. "Snape's quarters?! No! Please... Can't I stay somewhere else? With anyone else! I don't care if I have to stay alone in the Shrieking Shack for a month! I hate Snape! I hate him! He's absolutely vile and-"
"Professor Snape, Harry."
"-and he doesn't care what happens to me at all! I think he wants me to go out and attack someone so I can be locked up-"
"That's not true, Harry..."
"-and he can gloat and brag about how I wasn't so great after all! How the Boy-Who-Lived is now the Boy-Who-Is-A-Freak!" Harry was breathing hard, and clutching at the arms of the chair so hard his knuckles were turning white. Dumbledore waited patiently and calmly until he was sure Harry was done.
"I know you and Professor Snape have had your differences, Harry, but he really is the best one suited to protect you during the full moon. It is hard, I know. But whenever you get frustrated you can always come up here to me to talk again. Now return to Professor Snape's quarters and stay there. That is an order, Harry." The look in those icy blue orbs behind half moon spectacles brooked no nonsense, and Harry reluctantly nodded acquiescence. He stood up with a word and strode fluidly from the headmaster's office.
***
Dumbledore stroked Fawkes absently in his musings. For that moment... just that one moment... Harry's normally emerald green eyes had changed. For a heartbeat it was not the gentle, amazingly gifted boy who looked out at the old wizard, but a feral beast with fierce, golden eyes that was filled with hunger and rage at being caged. Dumbledore shook his head and sighed softly. Fawkes crooned soothingly at him, but the phoenix could not ease his misgivings over what the future may contain for a boy that had been sorely tried numerous times before.
Something strange was happening to Harry, and it wasn't a good thing. The only thing Dumbledore could do was wonder what he was going to do to try and help Harry fight it.
***
-What a waste. What a complete and utter waste. Fine. If Dumbeldore isn't going to help me, I'll go to someone who will!- Harry thought viciously. He turned a corner and then another and slipped through the library door as it swung closed behind some exiting Ravenclaws. He did not have his Invisibility Cloak with him, but he stuck to the background and made it to the back of one of the aisles without attracting any attention.
Had he been in his right state of mind, he would have wondered at this. Stealth has never been a big strong point for him.
He found them right where he thought he would. One buried in a mountain of dusty old tomes worn with use, the other with one or two books before him, looking bored. Harry slipped into the seat beside Ron without a sound. "I need your help."
"WAH!" Ron cried, almost falling out of his chair. "When in bloody blazes did you get here, 'arry?! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
Hermione blinked over at Harry owlishly from behind her book. "What's the matter, Harry? Are you feeling well? You look flushed..."
"I'm fine, " he snapped impatiently. "I need your help. I can't stay long, I have to go back to Snape's quarters before anyone notices I'm missing." He waited while they nodded their understanding. "Good. I need you two to look something up for me. I don't know how much you'll find, if you'll find anything at all, and it may well be hidden in the Restricted Section. You can borrow my cloak." He paused for a moment, before continuing on.
"I need you to look up any possible way to cure lycanthropy."
~*~*~*~
Review and make me a happy author everyone!
AN: Hey! I wrote! Isn't everyone just so proud of me? Sorry for the long wait, but between the end of the semester, work, and family things, plus a little writer's block, I had a full schedule.
~*~*~*~
Of Wolf and Man
~*~*~*~
"Come in, Harry."
How -did- he do that? Werewolves had excellent senses, but Dumbledore couldn't possibly be a werewolf. Harry would have sensed it. Nevertheless, the boy opened the door and stepped into the familiar office of the headmaster. As usual, he sat behind his desk, the portraits of past headmasters and mistresses absently snoozing away in their frames while odd objects and gizmos whirled and clicked in their places on the shelves. The headmaster sat with his fingers steepled before his face, bearing a contemplative look on him.
"I'm sorry if I disturbed you sir..."
"No no, not at all," Dumbledore replied, smiling kindly at Harry. "You're welcome here anytime. Please, have a seat." Harry sat, but couldn't prevent himself from fidgeting nervously. Dumbledore gestured to a small crystal dish filled with plastic-wrapped sweets. Harry shook his head, but the old wizard merely shrugged and helped himself to one. "Now, what can I help you with, Harry?"
"Well sir, it's about... It's about my... problem..." Ee gads he sounded so pathetic, even to his own ears. He briefly wished he hadn't bothered to come here, but here he was and he couldn't back out now. Besides, he honestly needed some of the elderly headmaster's sage wisdom and advice about now. "I was wondering... if I should just go ahead and tell everyone. I don't like this sneaking around behind everyone's back. I don't like keeping it a secret, and besides, I think that they deserve to know the truth."
"Really now? Is it what you want to do?"
"Well, no. I don't really want to kicked out of school. I don't want to loose all of my friends, and have everyone hate me." He wiped at his face in frustration, a small, animal growl issuing forth before he could stop it. He was angry and upset and the wolf was agitated. It wanted to go outside and run free through the forest, where none of this would matter.
"Not everyone would hate you Harry. But there would be considerable upset."
"It's not fair!"
"No, it's not."
"I didn't want to become a werewolf!"
"I know you didn't."
"This is all the fault of that werewolf from Hogsmeade!" he snapped, suddenly feeling furious at whoever that was. He wanted to... to.. -No! I am not a killer!!- "Dumbledore... sir... please.. what should I do? Isn't there any possible way to cure being a werewolf? Anything at all? I can't stand much more of it."
"I'm afraid not, Harry. There is nothing we can do. Nothing anyone can do, short of the Dark Arts, and that is simply not an option, even in the blackest of times. I cannot tell you what to do, Harry, for it is your life, and you are nearly an adult now. As much as I love you and as much as I wish I could make it better for you, I cannot. There is nothing you can do to overcome the curse, except to do as Professor Lupin did and find a way to cope with it. Might I suggest you take this up with him?" He folded his arms on the desk wearily, his usually merry blue eyes now serious and without a hint of their usual twinkle. Harry felt despair rise within him.
And with despair came the wolf, and it thought Dumbledore looked positively delicious. Harry beat it aside, and it stalked back to the shadows of his being to wait for another moment. Dumbledore must have noticed this momentary dominance struggle and frowned at the student before him. Worry lines creased his ancient forehead.
"Harry, you should go back to Snape's quarters now. I want you to stay there until you feel well enough to continue with your studies, and don't leave no matter what. I will call Lupin to come talk with you, and you may decide for you what is best," he instructed.
Harry looked horrified. "Snape's quarters?! No! Please... Can't I stay somewhere else? With anyone else! I don't care if I have to stay alone in the Shrieking Shack for a month! I hate Snape! I hate him! He's absolutely vile and-"
"Professor Snape, Harry."
"-and he doesn't care what happens to me at all! I think he wants me to go out and attack someone so I can be locked up-"
"That's not true, Harry..."
"-and he can gloat and brag about how I wasn't so great after all! How the Boy-Who-Lived is now the Boy-Who-Is-A-Freak!" Harry was breathing hard, and clutching at the arms of the chair so hard his knuckles were turning white. Dumbledore waited patiently and calmly until he was sure Harry was done.
"I know you and Professor Snape have had your differences, Harry, but he really is the best one suited to protect you during the full moon. It is hard, I know. But whenever you get frustrated you can always come up here to me to talk again. Now return to Professor Snape's quarters and stay there. That is an order, Harry." The look in those icy blue orbs behind half moon spectacles brooked no nonsense, and Harry reluctantly nodded acquiescence. He stood up with a word and strode fluidly from the headmaster's office.
***
Dumbledore stroked Fawkes absently in his musings. For that moment... just that one moment... Harry's normally emerald green eyes had changed. For a heartbeat it was not the gentle, amazingly gifted boy who looked out at the old wizard, but a feral beast with fierce, golden eyes that was filled with hunger and rage at being caged. Dumbledore shook his head and sighed softly. Fawkes crooned soothingly at him, but the phoenix could not ease his misgivings over what the future may contain for a boy that had been sorely tried numerous times before.
Something strange was happening to Harry, and it wasn't a good thing. The only thing Dumbledore could do was wonder what he was going to do to try and help Harry fight it.
***
-What a waste. What a complete and utter waste. Fine. If Dumbeldore isn't going to help me, I'll go to someone who will!- Harry thought viciously. He turned a corner and then another and slipped through the library door as it swung closed behind some exiting Ravenclaws. He did not have his Invisibility Cloak with him, but he stuck to the background and made it to the back of one of the aisles without attracting any attention.
Had he been in his right state of mind, he would have wondered at this. Stealth has never been a big strong point for him.
He found them right where he thought he would. One buried in a mountain of dusty old tomes worn with use, the other with one or two books before him, looking bored. Harry slipped into the seat beside Ron without a sound. "I need your help."
"WAH!" Ron cried, almost falling out of his chair. "When in bloody blazes did you get here, 'arry?! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
Hermione blinked over at Harry owlishly from behind her book. "What's the matter, Harry? Are you feeling well? You look flushed..."
"I'm fine, " he snapped impatiently. "I need your help. I can't stay long, I have to go back to Snape's quarters before anyone notices I'm missing." He waited while they nodded their understanding. "Good. I need you two to look something up for me. I don't know how much you'll find, if you'll find anything at all, and it may well be hidden in the Restricted Section. You can borrow my cloak." He paused for a moment, before continuing on.
"I need you to look up any possible way to cure lycanthropy."
~*~*~*~
Review and make me a happy author everyone!