Chapter 29 Gangrel

Tuesday evening quickly rolled around and the school was buzzing about the special class tonight, it had actually gotten to the point that Professor McGonagall was force to restrict it to year 4 and older. One of the bigger class rooms had been opened for the occasion, Harry was amazed to see at least 150 student talking anxiously in the room when he arrived.

"Wow, what a turn out" Ron said obviously surprised "I really didn't think anyone was that interested."

"Are you joking," piped up Fred "We heard she was actually going to bring these things here, no way we were going to miss this."

"Wait. What do you mean, bring them here" Hermione asked nervously, she had only just gotten use to the drakes "She can't … Professor Dumbledore would never allow that."

"She can, and he did" Remus answered, making Hermione jump "Professor Dumbledore feels it would be a good learning experience."

"Remus, do you mean she's going to be bringing in these Garou and Gangrel things...... Is that safe" Harry was concerned as well, he knew MacLeod could protect herself, but a roomful of students, he wasn't sure she was that powerful. "Can she control them, or will they be in cages?"

"Cages! Harry I'm disappointed that you would even say something like that." Remus frowned at him "Do you think I belong in a cage too, after all I am a werewolf"

"Remus you know that's not what I meant" Harry felt like a jerk "I would never let anyone do that to you."

Remus smiled wearily, "I know Harry, but a lot of other people would. But I don't deserve that, and neither do others. That's one of the reasons Dumbledore was so excited that Cat agreed to come her and teach. He knew if she came, she would be able to convince her friends to come here, to open communications with beings that the MOM, and others, insist are evil or dangerous. The simple truth is most of them are neither" Remus stopped as Cat walked up to them

"Hello muffin man. Ready to begin, Raul is already here, just waiting on the others. But knowing him, they'll be late, too proud to ask for directions that one." Cat was smiling, she was dressed in a dark green blouse and a long black and green skirt, she look very pretty, and Harry found himself wishing that Sirius could see her right now.

Remus smiled back at her "You're not going to let me live that down, are you?" he gave Harry a look "Had to tell her I sent you with all the muffins, couldn't take the fall for that yourself, huh." Remus winked at Harry.

"Like she would believe me" Harry responded "She's a lot smarter than you and Sirius."

"Sirius?" Cat looked intently at Harry "Sirius Black,.... How do you know Sirius?"

"Uhm, well," Harry hesitated looking to Remus for direction, Remus nodded his head quickly, indicating he should tell her "Sirius is my godfather. I thought you knew that." Harry could tell immediately by her face she hadn't known.

Remus quickly put his arm around her and turned her to the front of the class. "Come now Miss MacLeod, time to begin, I believe Raul is getting impatient, don't you."

Harry wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not, but he, Ron and Hermione quickly grabbed some seats and waited for the lecture to begin. Looking around the room he noticed two very disturbing things. He was sure Snape would be here, and he wasn't. He was equally sure Malfoy would avoid this at all costs, yet he was here. Harry suddenly got a very tight feeling in his stomach, as if someone was tying it into a knot. "Ron, Hermione. Look over there." Harry whispers as he pointed to Draco "What's this about. I thought he hated MacLeod."...........

Miss MacLeod stood up in front of the class on a small dais it had a podium and several chairs he also noticed Shashe sitting on one of the chairs, she had been following MacLeod all day, even eating with her. And the students were beginning to get used to Shashe tearing through the halls already, some of the students would actually smuggle food from their meals and feed her in between classes. MacLeod was right, she was smart, she always knew who had the food, she had even jumped Ron for a chocolate frog after lunch today........

"Welcome students, this is the first in what we hope will be a series of special lectures regarding other lesser known and misunderstood creatures of both the magical and muggle worlds." Miss MacLeod began "Tonight we will be concentrating on three of the most common wolf-form shape-shifters Gangrels, Garou, and Werewolves. We will be having a few guests join us tonight, I must insist that you show them manners and respect, anyone who does not adhere to this simple request will be made to leave, and you will not be welcomed back to any future seminars"

"The first part will be dedicated to the Gangrels, they may not be well known in these parts. Although they are spread though out the world, they blend in easily with muggles, wizards, and even among other animals including true wolf packs. Gangrels can be identified rather easily by their size and proportions as compared to a natural wolf." At this point MacLeod paused and whistled loudly, the entire class stared at her as she looked expectantly to the aisle, heading up towards the dais was a grey wolf, "This is Conan, he is natural wolf. Please notice his size and proportions as compared to the other wolf-forms you will see tonight."

MacLeod tapped her hand on her thigh as Conan obediently walked towards her, she patted him on the head and pointed towards Shashe, Conan immediately sat down next to the cougar. "Now the Gangrel is, as I said earlier, a different size, they tend to be at least 4 to 8 inches taller than a natural wolf, their mouths are also larger and, of course, filled with many, many teeth. The most tell tale sign however, are their eyes, regardless of the form a Gangrel shifts to, their eyes stay remarkable 'human' the colour and intelligence are readily apparent." MacLeod turned to Conan and once again tapped her thigh, as Conan came trotting to her side, she yelled towards the door "Raul, we're ready for you" as she said this another large wolf came walking warily down the aisle, pausing every now and then to sniff the air or a student. Raul paused as he was walking past Harry, he looked right into Harry's eyes. Harry jumped as he felt a strange buzzy feeling in his head, it was the same feeling he got the first time MacLeod had looked directly into his eyes.

Raul turned back towards the dais and sat next to Conan, they both looked like wolves, Conan was grey and Raul was a brown/black colour. Raul was bigger but Harry doubted he would have noticed it if they had been in the forest, but he definitely would have noticed the eyes, it was strange the way they seemed to enter his mind, just like Cat's did.

Just as Harry was about to ask Hermione something, Raul ran back down the aisle stopping next to Harry. Everyone in the class turned to look at him, as Raul stretched and yawned, the students ohh'd and ahh'd over the size of his mouth. "It really is huge, huh Harry" Ron whispered as Harry nodded silently.

"Alright Raul, show them what you've got" MacLeod said. On cue Raul slowly walk back towards the dais, but as he did he began to change, it reminded Harry of Sirius reverting back to himself, only instead of his godfather, there stood a handsome man with dark brown hair and brown eyes, he had a decidedly Spanish look to him. When he got to MacLeod, he embraced her and kissed her on both cheeks. Turning to face the class, he smiled broadly, it would have been a very handsome smile, if it weren't for the teeth, they were sharp and pointy, he had two sets of canines. Hermione gasped loudly, "Oh my, do you know what he is?" Hermione whispered as she clutched the parchment she had so busily been taking notes on.

"No, tell me, what am I child" Raul said looking directly at Hermione. MacLeod stepped to Raul and placed her hand on his chest, "Hermione, would you like to tell us what Raul is, besides a Gangrel, I mean" MacLeod was smiling at her, she didn't seem at all upset.

Hermione plucked up her courage and said as loudly as she dared "He's a vampire, a wild vampire"

Raul made a snorting sound and rolled his eyes "A wild vampire, is this what they teach children in your school, Angel?" he said looking intently at MacLeod.

"First of all, its not my school, and Albus warned you about this" MacLeod said teasingly "this is why he wanted you to come, to show them the truth." MacLeod returned her attention to the class as Remus walked up to Raul shaking his hand and giving him a hug.

"Now, I know some of you may have heard of so called wild vampires, let me inform you right now, there is no such animal. The closest you will come to that is a rogue vampire, and while they are very dangerous, they are also extremely rare. If any other vampire or vampyre comes across a rogue vampire, they are honour and duty bound to destroy it in order to protect themselves as a whole, but that will be discussed at the next lecture, not this one."

"Raul is a Gangrel, which is a type of vampyre, one of several clans collectively known as "Kindred" besides being able to shift to a wolf-form the can also take the shape of birds of prey, most notably hawks and eagles. Now I will explain a little about Raul's clan and he will be available for questions in a few minutes." As MacLeod continued her explanation, Harry's attention was being drawn to Remus and Raul. Remus was obviously telling Raul something very funny, as Raul could not stop smiling. Soon they were both pointing to Cat smiling broadly, she seemed to sense something was going on, but every time she turned around, they appeared to be sitting there quietly, hanging on her every word.

MacLeod was explaining the difference between werewolves and Gangrels including personality and mental abilities when the first spit ball hit her. She paused, and decided to ignore it, as she continued the lesson more spit balls began to fly, amazingly she batted most of them away before they hit her, even with her back towards them. "Something you'd like to say Raul?" Cat said, teasing him.

"Actually Angel, I have a question for you" Raul said grinning strangely "what happened to your voice, since when are you English?"

"When in Rome, Raul, when in Rome..." MacLeod responded cheerfully "Anything else, or am I going to be pelted with these all night." Remus and Raul smiled at her devilishly as they elbowed each other. "Just remember Remus, I know where you sleep" she whispered as she turned to continue her explanation.

Raul looked at Remus and began to laugh at the look of mock terror Remus had pasted on his face. MacLeod smiled, but refused to turn around and look at them. Noticing some of the students had gotten restless, she decided to take it up a notch "Now, I know many of you are wondering why I have asked Raul here. The answer can be summed up in one word Voldemort." MacLeod paused as the expected buzz began among the students. She particularly noticed the looks from the Slytherin students, especially Draco Malfoy, "Yes, you did hear me correctly. Voldemort is once again destroying and killing, and he is recruiting allies. However, so are we." MacLeod walked down the aisle as she continued to talk "You see, people like Voldemort rely on fear and misinformation. If they can frighten you enough, you won't fight back, and that, my dear students, will make you an easy victim for him and his cowardly deatheaters" she looked directly at Malfoy went she mentioned the cowardly part "I intend to prevent that at all costs, and many people within the magical community agree with me."

She moved away from Malfoy and headed towards Gryffindor and Ravenclaw students "That is why Raul has agreed to come here tonight, his clan is thinking of allying themselves with Dumbledore, as are many others. I am here to help you understand that many of the stories you have been told about werewolves, vampires, Sidhe and many other so-called creatures are exactly that, stories, made up out of half truths and fear." she was looking into the eyes of the students as she spoke to make sure they understood, and the students were hanging on her every word "So starting tonight," she said walked back to the dais "you will begin to learn the truth about the denizens of the magical world, you will meet face to face the creatures that inhabit the shadows of the known world." she reached the dais and turned to face the students once again.

Remus closed his eyes and smiled warmly, he had to hand it to her, she knew how to work a room, even if she was a bit dramatic. He felt something nudging him and opened his eyes to see Raul grinning madly at him. "She has them wrapped around her pretty little fingers, doesn't she?" he asked knowingly. Remus nodded, smiling broadly, that she did, almost every student was staring wide-eyes waiting for her next words.

Raul scanned the room with his large brown eyes, darting from student to student, they were like open books to him, so young, so tender, none of them had learned to disguise their feelings yet. They wore them like so much clothing, the fear, the fascination, the intrigue they were feeling, it made him smile to see how Angel soothed the fear and turned it to curiosity, opening their minds to the new possibilities that their futures now held. He was glad that he had finally given in to her endless arguments regarding Albus Dumbledore, she had been right about him, he truly wanted a friendship to develop between their people. It was a nice change not to be shunned by humans, and Raul knew that as long as Dumbledore had Angel on his side, many more would come to him.

He was enjoying watching her, he had never seen her like this, teaching children, pretending to be one of them. She had always been herself, without apology or shame, but this once apparently she decided that her pride could wait, after all it was the future of their worlds at stake here. As much as Raul wanted this to go well, he just couldn't resist giving her trouble, and it appeared his new friend Remus wouldn't take much convincing to join in......

Cat was thrilled, it worked, she had everyone's attention in the class, now all she had to do was wait for the Garou to show up, she just knew they'd be late. Time meant nothing to them, sunrise, sunset and dinner, pretty much all they ever needed to know. "Now as I was saying, it is time to dispel the myths surrounding the creatures that have be grouped as werewolves as you have seen Raul is not subject to the moon, he can change at will, with no change in his mental abilities." MacLeod paused to bat away another spit ball "Not that there was a whole lot there to begin with. Now, just in case anyone gets any bright ideas, silver will not harm a Gangrel neither will sunlight or religious artefacts" again she batted away more incoming spit balls as Remus and the students began to laugh, MacLeod took a deep breath and fought off a smile as she continued "in fact, if you are caught alone with a pack of Gangrels the best thing you can do is to put down your wand and ask for permission to cross their land, many times all that is required to avoid a messy situation is common courtesy" Raul wasn't stopping, he was having too much fun watching her defend herself while not losing her composure.

MacLeod on the other hand had decided enough was enough, "May people believe the Gangrel to be vicious, but that's not true" Cat explained as she walked towards Raul "they just like to play rough." she said as she quickly slapped Raul across the back of his head. "And of course, they love to irritated people" she said smiling from ear to ear, daring him to do something.

Raul laughed as he lunged at her, grabbing Cat around her waist, lifting her up of the floor, as she laughed. "Give up Angel, you know you can't beat me" Raul told her as he easily held her up off the floor.

"Big mistake Raul, never let me get my feet lose" MacLeod answered back as she quickly kicked him behind his knee, making him lose his balance. Remus wasn't sure whether he should interfere or not, but as they seemed to be having fun, and the students were too busy laughing at their high jinx to be worried, he decided to just watch and see what happened.

As Raul tried to regain his balance, Cat squirmed out of his grasp, grabbing his arm as she moved behind him, forcing his arm behind his back it was a nice move, but Raul was much stronger than he looked, he easily spun towards her wrapping his free arm around her neck as she lost her grip of the other. Cat was not going to be beaten that easily, she knew he was bigger and stronger, but she firmly believed that she was smarter, and most probably meaner. Using both arms she grabbed the back of his shirt and threw herself forward, causing Raul to overcompensate and flip over her, landing flat on his back in the middle of the aisle, to the cheers and amazement of the students.

Laughing hysterically, Raul laid there as MacLeod walked up to him, offering her hand. "And exactly where did you learn that one? I don't remember teaching you that." He couldn't believe she had managed to manhandle him like that.

"Hey, you're not the only one who teaches me things." MacLeod said cheerfully as she helped Raul up, "Don't forget my brothers, heaven knows they enjoy practicing on me."

Raul was still grasping her hand when he had an idea "Really, well have your brothers taught you this?" Saying that, he quickly twisted her around wrapping her in her own arms, effectively pinning her.

Looking completely embarrassed to have fallen for such a cheap trick MacLeod spoke up "No they didn't teach me that, but they did teach me this." As she finished she used all of her weight, and her high heeled shoes and stomped down on Raul's foot, causing him to yowl with pain and release her arms. MacLeod quickly seized the opportunity and grabbed him in a headlock. As Raul tried to get away, Remus finally came to his rescue. "You really should give up now, I've seen her use that move before" Remus said between laughs "and trust me, you're not getting away. Even Duncan gives up right about now."

Raul looked at Remus and rolled his eyes "Duncan, her brother Duncan, the big one?" he asked.

"Yep, the big one." Remus replied "She just keeps hanging on, no matter what you do, I've seen him jump in the pond with her hanging on like that, ...never did let him go." Remus explained, getting a twinkle in his eye "At least, not until he said uncle, she finally release him then."

"You are not going to make me say uncle" Raul told her completely serious "there is no way I could live that down, you're half my size, what would the others say."

"They would say, you had better promise to knock it off with the spit balls then." MacLeod said, thrilled that she had actually managed to pull of the manoeuvre without looking like an idiot.

"Fine. I promise, no more spit balls" Raul said sarcastically as MacLeod released him, he looked at her, she looked just like an angel to him, sunshine and brightness, impulsively he gave her a hug.

Remus wasn't sure what to make of Raul's behaviour, he walked over to the two of them only to see Cat staring back at him with a look of surprise plastered on her face. Remus decided to step in "Uh, Raul" Remus said hesitantly, Raul looked over at Remus and hugged him as well.

"Geez Raul, not too emotional tonight are you" MacLeod said as she tore herself away from him and turned to the class, "Something else I probably should mention about the Gangrel," she said as she looked at the puzzled faces of the students "They are extremely emotional, and loyal, if you've made friends with a Gangrel, then trust me, you have a friend for life."........

"Oiy, I smell favouritism going on 'ere. If you think I travelled 'cross England just to see you talk about him, you're outta your gourd, babe."