Because I Could no Stop for Death
Notes: Probably should have mentioned this before but this story opens a whole new world of werewolves. Different species, different ways of becoming one, the different communities and a whole different world. Literally actually.
The way the system works is that Bitten Werewolves, called Half-Breeds, are the lowest in the ranks. They are usually shunned by Wolven society as outcasts and most don't even know about the Council. Most eventually die from lycanthropic madness which happens when a wolf is deprived of a pack and mate for too long. The need to be with someone often drives them to bite and turn others but the ones they turn usually hate them afterwards. They can, usually, only change at the moon. (Keyword here: Usually.)
Then there are the Natural Wolves which include those born to two werewolves, those born to a werewolf and a human, a werewolf and a magical creature and even a half-breed and any of the aforementioned. As long as you are born with the ability to shift you're considered Natural. This ability can be used at any time. (This would be Siri/Cerberus)
There was more about that in 'You're the Only One I See'.
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Chapter One
Cerberus Lupin
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Remus J Lupin was, as most who knew him were already aware, a werewolf. It showed in his amber colored eyes, which were just a little too feral to be totally human, in the way he heard things others didn't hear, smelled things other couldn't…
In the way he was slowly dying.
He twisted the pewter ring around his finger anxiously, noting that already it was starting to fit loosely on his finger. He was wasting away, Withering, as it was officially called. When a werewolf lost its mate, it began to die and nothing could stop the process from completing. When Remus had first heard of it, he'd been confused. Why would losing another person make the other person die, no matter what. Even if the living mate wished to live it would die.
But he understood it now. The magic that let werewolves mate wasn't just the usual marriage spell, it was similar to soul bonding or a vampires Claim Mark. It bound the souls together, made them two halves of a whole, two sides of a heart, the same spirit in separate bodies. Without the mate the other was incomplete, not a true being. Without the other side the werewolf simply died.
Faded out of existence. Withered.
He was withering. It'd take time of course, his wolf was as bound to his son as it was to Sirius. There was no way he'd leave his son parentless anytime soon. He wanted to at the very least see his son graduate. Maybe he was asking too much, but he wanted to be sure his son would be okay, would grow up safely.
He wouldn't allow himself to die just yet.
"Mister Lupin." A soft voice spoke from the doorway of his office.
He found it ironic that the European Werewolf Council had decided to hire him to their ranks. They'd shunned him when he was young because he was a half-breed but now… well he was one of their more valued employees. Councilor in charge of Half Breed Affairs they called it; they were reaching out to the other side of the werewolf myth these days.
"Yes Jean-Marie?" He asked, tilting his head off to the side. The girl was only twenty and freshly out of one of the Wiccan Universities. Most werewolves, while possessing a natural form of magic, were not Wizards and thus had other schools for study. Most Magical creatures attending the Wiccan Universities.
Remus had considered sending his son, but when the boy had started floating cookies behind his back before dinner he'd known it wasn't necessary just yet. Maybe now, however, he should look into it. All of the Universities existed in a different Realm and it'd be the best, none suspicious way to get the boy out of harms path.
When he found the teen of course. Which he would without a doubt do. Eventually. Once he got through all of this work. It wasn't like Siri was incapable of taking care of himself. Young the teen may have been but he was something to be reckoned with. So he needn't feel guilty about putting the search on hold for the time being.
"Master Dumbledore is here to speak to you."
"Tell him I jumped out of a window."
"Now Remus you're beginning to sound like Severus." Albus Dumbledore said as he moved to be seen behind Jean-Marie. He was wearing a periwinkle robe with little white clouds floating over it and his eyes were, like always, twinkling behind their half-moon frames.
"There are worse things in life." Remus said mildly but gestured the man inside.
The office itself was cluttered, full of papers, folders, boxes of the aforementioned and things of that nature. Information on the location of all of the European Wolf Packs, all of the Registered Half-Breed Wolves in Europe, and wedding certificate requests, birth notices, and various petitions that involved humans or other magical creatures.
Being head of the Half-Breed department was proving to be…a challenge.
Of course, the information of the European Packs was for his assignment for the Order. Albus wanted the European Wolf Council to hold a meeting to discuss the war and their allegiances. Remus had been told if he could track down each pack (all one hundred and thirty two of them) and get a yes from their Alpha that the council would be called together in August. And if he couldn't then he was screwed.
He'd found all but five packs.
"Can you bring two cups of tea?"
"Yes Mister Lupin."
He pointed his wand at a stack of folders covering a chair and sent them to his secretary who flashed him a smile then left. He rather liked Jean-Marie. She was quiet, polite and never complained. Not that Remus gave her much work, he preferred to do things on his own… Which may have explained her good attitude.
"I see things are going well." Albus remarked as he sat. "I think you may have found your true calling."
"I'd prefer teaching, but this is a nice alternative." Remus said, reaching up to rub the bridge of his nose underneath his glasses. "So what can I do for you?"
"You need to find your son."
"Oh?" He arched an eyebrow.
It wasn't that he was concerned about his son, but Siri was nothing if not stubborn. Searching him out would only make him run further. No, until Siri was done mourning looking for him would be nothing short of folly.
"Yes. Narcissa Malfoy has petitioned the Ministry for Grimmauld Place and, with Sirius gone, it goes to the closet male blood relative."
"So? The Ministry can't find it."
"It's a spell cast by Sirius' mother. The moment the key is granted to someone at the Ministry, any other spells cast will be broken."
Remus frowned, considering that. "But Narcissa isn't-"
"Draco is very much male and very much a Black." Albus said, eyes serious. "The only people who might also have a claim are Siri, Harry, and yourself-"
"Harry and I aren't blood." Remus pointed out while smiling at Jean-Marie who'd returned with two cups of tea.
"Not to Mrs. Black, but Harry is legally Sirius' child, convict or not. Or I should say your child. And you're Sirius' mate so what is his is yours by Magical Law."
"Then I'll go." Remus said, frowning. "I'm older than Draco and there's no reason to take Harry from his relatives, no matter how awful they are."
"Only I fear that Draco may be the first choice of the key. He is blood, while you and Harry are just bound by magical law to Sirius. If Draco and Siri were unable, or unwilling, I believe it'd pass to one of you."
Remus felt the strange urge to bang his head against the desk, but just nodded wearily instead. "How long do I have to find him?"
"A week."
He cringed. A week. Siri could, quite literally, be anywhere. He's been missing since a week after Sirius' death and with wolf blood flowing through his veins he'd know how to transverse forest and swamp easily, and the appearance of a young dog would mean a family might have picked him up…
But Remus was nothing if not a logical and calm man. He sighed quietly and leaned back in his seat. "Jean-Marie." The young woman poked her head into the room. "Contact Master Pitt. Tell him I have to leave to find my son."
She nodded and was up and gone in an instant. It was common knowledge that his mate had died and that his son had run off. Quite a few of the wolves had offered support and condolences, as well as offers to look after his son when he…was too far gone.
Which were nice, but he'd already written up his will. Siri would be in the care of Severus Snape, because he was the only one Remus (and Sirius) would trust their son with.
The irony was far from lost on him.
"Thank you Remus."
Remus nodded tersely. He decided not to mention that he wasn't doing this for Albus, or the order. He simply had plans to burn Grimmauld place to the ground once the war was over, or to have Siri do it, and they needed to own it if they had any hope of doing so.
"Mister Lupin." Jean-Marie was back. One of her best attributes was being a member of the Mercury Pack of France. They were, according to legend, graced by Hermes with speed no other wolf could match. Remus knew when he told her to do something it'd get done quickly, if nothing else. "Master Pitt said he wishes you luck on your journey."
"Thank you Jean-Marie. I have some papers that must be delivered on my desk if you wouldn't mind?"
"Not at all."
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"Yes, I've heard of his father. He's calling for the packs to gather for the war." Jean was the Alpha of his pack; the Mercury Pack. He'd found the wolf cub wandering his forest, exhausted and hungry and bleeding from the head a few days before.
It wasn't until now he'd gotten a chance to ask Marie, his mate and wife, about his progress.
"And your daughter works for him in the Council." Marie said, rolling her eyes at him. "Remus Lupin. That's how I knew the little one, they have the same markings."
Jean frowned and looked over at the teen, who was lying in what had once been his youngest daughter's bed. The jagged cut above his temple was nearly healed and hadn't needed any checking over. Jean had licked it clean when he'd found the boy, having been in his wolf form, and everyone knew that would be enough.
Marie was a part-time nurse at the local hospital and watched over the pack. They were, really, a pretty eclectic bunch. About half was made up of Marie and Jean's direct family, as Jean's family had run the Mercury pack since it's founding and Marie and her three sisters had been accepted immediately. Their original pack had been slaughtered by humans nearly four decades ago.
The other half were other packless wolves who had found a family, and a home, in Mercury Manor and its surrounding grounds.
"What markings?"
She shook her head and walked over. She moved the boy gently and pulled up his night shirt just enough to show a birthmark in the shape of a crescent moon, before reaching up and pulling the collar down enough to show two small markings that resembled starbursts across his collarbone.
"Those are vampire marks. He's been claimed."
"So he has." She said coolly.
He growled. "Vampire Kin, in my home! He'll have to go, now."
"Stop your yelling, you'll wake the little one up." She said, clucking at him. "He's running a fever and needs his rest."
"Are you mad? Aren't you paying attention?"
"Of course." She was tucking him back in carefully. "Vampire Kin, I know. If my history is right, he's kin to the Scottish Den. That makes him a very important cub as they don't claim outsiders lightly, so unless you want to start another war I suggest you be very nice to him."
With that she left, hips swaying just enough to let Jean know if he did a good job of watching the cub he'd be rewarded. He sighed and feeling resigned to his temporary fate sat in his chair. He picked up the book he'd brought with him and opened it.
While his wife ran into the nearby town for healing herbs in hopes of bringing the little ones fever down, he was to watch over their guest. He'd been confused at first, why would she call him, the Alpha Male, to watch over an unimportant cub when there were at least a dozen other about.
But if his father worked for the council and he carried the markings of a Vampire Den he was an important one. And it was only fitting that he, as the leader, watched over him. It came with the position and wasn't something he could avoid. With the power came responsibilities.
Some time passed and the sleeping teen didn't stir at all and he was beginning to look forward to a very peaceful time. The Pack had been graced with many cubs in the past year, so quiet was something no one had seen much of lately.
It was a change he didn't mind. Perhaps, he thought glancing over the top of his book, he would do this another time.
It was then that he noticed something. The boy, while still unconscious, looked to be in pain. His face was contorted and his was gripping the sheets around him fiercely. A low whine escaped his lips. Jean rose and walked over.
He was used to nightmares. His own mate was plagued by them to this day, images of her family being destroyed simply for daring to exist. He placed his palm on the boy's head, smiling slightly as the teen visibly relaxed under his touch. He sat on the edge of the bed and began to pet his hair, making soft growling noises in his throat.
As he suspected would happen the teen left out a soft mewing noise and curled up, now at ease. Jean started to get up, then let out a soft curse when he saw blood beginning to seep through the bandages. He couldn't believe the teen had opened his gunshot wound so easily, but there was nothing to do about it now except redress it.
He left the room to get the bandages and tape he knew his mate kept under their bed. When he came back the teen was awake and looking around with wide eyes. Fear was plain in his scent, along with pain and worry. He walked over, trying to look as non-threatening as possible. Not an easy task for a man who had to look intimidating in order to scare off any young fools that may try and challenge him for leadership, but the boy relaxed a fraction so it must have worked.
"If you don't mind me asking, what's such a young one doing so far from home? You belong in London, don't you?"
"I s'pose." The boy muttered watching him intently. He unwrapped the bandages are carefully as possible, not wanting to make things any worse, then set about rewrapping them. "You're a werewolf."
"Yes." He glanced up at the teen who tilted his head off to the side. His eyes were a smoky blue and, from what Jean could see, they were in the process of either changing from gray to blue or blue to gray. His hair was thick and long, pooling around his waist when he sat up.
It still had a few branches and twigs tangled in it. Jean plucked one out, lip curling. The boy's hair was so long it was ridiculous.
"I've never met another werewolf before, cept my Da."
"What about your pack?" Surely the boy had family, if not a proper pack at his side.
The boy spoke softly. "It's always been my Da and me…and then my father, but he died." His hands clenched in the sheets again and the pain was clear on his face.
"Losing pack is hard." Jean said, starting to stand. "For everyone. It's not right to leave your Da to mourn alone little one."
The teen didn't speak, just settled down into the covers again, staring up at the canopy above his head. "Thank you for rescuing me."
"I don't leave other wolves to die, especially not babies." He chuckled at the scowl that settled across the teen's features. "Tell me little one, do you have a proper name?"
A flash of pink as the boy licked his lips then nodded slowly. "Cerberus Lupin."
"You don't look much like a three-headed hell hound."
He didn't even bat an eye but his lips twitched. "Small packages are often the most deadly."
"And what does one as young as you know about being deadly?"
Cerberus crossed his arm over his chest and looked up at the ceiling. "I know there is someone I need to kill so I must learn to be deadly."
Jean frowned. "This person-"
"Killed my father. It's not that I want to kill her or think revenge is a good thing. My da would skin me if he knew but…I…" He trailed off looking utterly frustrated.
"You have to." Jean nodded his understand. "A pack is all a wolf has little one. To take part of that from someone, especially a little Wolfling, is an act that must be returned. It's less vengeance and more duty."
The teen sighed. He looked grateful. "Yes. It must be returned."
"However a weary Wolfling is even less useful than a wounded one so I suggest you sleep and I'll have my wife see about finding your Da-"
"No." The boy sat up. A wince graced his features for a moment then his face went cold. "You can't. I can't go home yet. Not until I'm strong enough to fight."
Jean was silent for a moment, considering that. It wasn't rare for a young wolf to strike out on their own and find their own way but something in those smoky eyes told him that Cerberus was too young for that and wanted much more than to find himself.
He wanted the strength to kill.
"As you wish."
