Once again: The plot of this story is based on JKR's Harry Potter series. Our plot weaves in 2 new characters: David Murray and Elizabeth Fawkes. While Lizzy is an addition, Dave replaces Seamus Finnigan. It also incorporates ideas borrowed from the White Wolf storyteller game system. Please also see the disclaimer at the bottom of this chapter (we won't mention which game it is here as it will give away a big surprise, but it is wicked fun to play). Many new characters will appear in following chapters which are our characters based on the game system we played. Our plot weaves around the original plot of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. We own only our own characters and our plot. All other characters and the original plot belong to JK Rowling. Please don't sue us! :)

We must now acknowledge our new bestest buddy Miss Marauder. Beta reader who can appreciate inflationary language. (See our other stories, Fractured Fairytales and Nursery Rhymes.) Now on three the chapter.

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The Lord, the Lady, and Luna

Chapter 9: The Rite of Talisman Dedication

Dave looked groggily about the room he was in. It strangely resembled Professor Dumbledore's office, but what was he doing here? He began to sit up when he felt his head swim and noticed he had a blanket covering him, but nothing else.

"I see our young Ahroun has awakened," said a strangely familiar voice, but one Dave could not place, "I will go see if Grandfather Falcon can tell us which tribe he belongs to."

"Ok Martyn," said another vaguely familiar voice, "I'll talk to him and then bring him in."

"Professor," Dave asked a bit groggily, "What is going on, and why do I feel so terrible?"

"Ah David, I must apologize. I was forced to stun you to protect both yourself and others," Dumbledore replied. "You remember Macha, don't you?" he gestured to a lady who appeared to be in her late thirties, but looked extremely fit.

"David, it's good to see you again!" Macha said, standing up.

"Come any closer and you are gonna see a whole lot more than I'm comfortable with."

"Don't worry, David, that blanket covers you adequately," Macha replied with a smile. "Look, I have to explain a great deal to you in a short time, but first, let's both listen to your Headmaster's account of what happened in the hall with the Black Spiral."

"The what?" Dave asked.

"The Black Spiral Dancer. That is what you faced and defeated. A very big accomplishment for any Ahroun on his first change. David, your uncle warned me that this might happen. Your father was a wizard, but your mom was not, she was Garou," Dumbledore told him.

"Garou?" Dave asked. "And could I have some clothes please?"

"Ah, of course, David," Dumbledore replied. "I took the liberty of collecting your clothes. Here they are," he added, handing Dave a pile of clothing.

"Umm, Professor..." Dave began.

"Yes David, I did see," Dumbledore said with a smile, "A rather ingenious contraption, and no, I will not say anything."

"Thank you, sir. Umm, about my current state, did, umm, did anyone see?" Dave asked hesitantly.

"As I was there, I did," Dumbledore replied, "However, I am over 100 years old, and over my many years as both professor and headmaster, I have seen others 'sans clothing' due to misfired spells and the like. No one else saw you, however, until after I provided you with that blanket."

"Would you mind waiting somewhere else while I change then?" Dave asked.

"Macha and I will wait in the next room," Dumbledore assured him. With that, the two stepped into another room. Dave first repaired his wand harness, with which he kept two wands (his parents') up each sleeve. He then repaired his clothing and put it back on.

"Ok, I'm ready," he called and the other two came back into the office. "What all happened and why were my clothes all ripped?"

"Well, David," Dumbledore said, "What do you remember?"

"Well, I remember leaving the Great Hall to look for Hermione. Ron had upset her and she was off somewhere, crying. I remember I noticed that the moon was full. A little later, I remember hearing an alarm of some sort and the sound of a lot of people leaving the Great Hall. When I turned a corner, there was a big thing in front of me. I'm not sure what it was, maybe a troll or something. I remember feeling scared, but angry too that it would try and attack me. After that, I remember waking up in here. Wait a minute...Hermione, is she ok?"

"Yes David, everyone is fine thanks in part to you," Dumbledore said. "That thing wasn't a troll, it was the Black Spiral Dancer we were telling you about. I observed both its attack and your defeat of it. I might have tried to stop it myself, but you got to it first. It was about ten feet in height, black fur, short tail, walked on two legs, looked rather deformed, and had a rather long snout with fairly sharp teeth. You, when you started your counter-attack, transformed into what looked like a bear-sized wolf. You proceeded to tear it to shreds and didn't stop or even notice when it raked its claws across your back."

"You mean, I killed it?" Dave asked, looking shocked.

"Yes," Macha said, "There is no other way when fighting a Black Spiral. They are extremely evil, extremely dangerous, and completely insane." Macha paused for a moment, "Professor, did you say he turned into a bear-sized wolf? Walked on all four legs instead of two like what he faced?"

"Yes," Dumbledore replied, "I was surprised. I thought, from what you and Martyn have told me, that first change is always to the fighting form."

"First change?" Dave asked, "Fighting form?"

"First change is when a young Garou first learns to change his forms. It happens instinctively around puberty. The Black Spiral you faced was in the fighting form, what we call Crinos," Macha said. "Basically, it is halfway between man and wolf. We Garou have four other forms as well. There is Homid, which is obvious. It is our human form. There is Lupus, which is also obvious. That is our wolf form. Then there is the near-man, or Glabro. It is basically a larger, more muscular form of ourselves, with a whole lot more hair. There is also the near-wolf form, or Hispo. It is often called the great wolf, as it is a much larger form of the wolf, much like the extinct dire wolf," Macha paused again, then spoke to Dumbledore, "It is almost as if he were a Child of Dire, but how can that be? They are always Lupus-born."

"But David is Lupus-born," Dumbledore replied.

"What?!" Dave exclaimed, "You mean I was born as a wolf? But you just said that first change happens around puberty. I'm fairly certain I didn't spend the last eleven years running around as a wolf."

"Your situation seems rather unique," Dumbledore replied. "From what I understand, when she reaches a certain point in her pregnancy, a Garou must then stay in either Homid or Lupus until the child is born. If she is in Glabro, she'll revert to Homid, from Hispo, she'll go to Lupus, and from Crinos, she'll go to whichever is her own natural form. Your mother spent that last part of her pregnancy as a wolf and you were born as a wolf cub. Apparently, however, Nature realized you couldn't stay like that in our society and you changed into a human baby after 24 hours. You then grew as any other human child."

"With all due respect Professor, you need to see a medi-witch! Either that, or I do," Dave said.

"Medi-witch?" Macha inquired.

"David, neither you nor I are that far gone," Dumbledore replied with a chuckle and a twinkle. "You were indeed born as a wolf. However, maybe the most accurate way to describe you is that you are a Garou." Dumbledore turned to Macha, "A medi-witch is a term for wizard healers."

"Professor Dumbledore," Dave asked while glancing around the room, "Why do you have a foe-glass?"

"That is not a foe-glass, David," Dumbledore replied, "But a regular mirror."

"But there are shadowy figures in it," Dave said, looking more closely at the mirror. "Hey, wait a minute! That looks like your friend, Martyn. He's talking to a bird."

"Martyn is in what we call the 'Umbra'," Macha replied. "That is where we communicate with spirits. That bird is his own spirit friend. He is trying to communicate with other spirits to try and find out which Garou tribe you belong to. Just like in many human societies, we fractured into tribes. I, myself, am from the Fianna tribe. Martyn was born as a Silver Fang. They're like the aristocracy of the Garou. We'll discuss this more later. For now, let's go join Martyn and find out which tribe you belong to. Walk to the mirror, and just walk through it. It is the way into the Umbra."

"Oh, what the heck!" Dave exclaimed as he walked over to the mirror and stepped through it. "Crikey! It worked! Hello Martyn...sir...umm, geez, I sound like a house-elf. Sorry sir, I can't remember your last name."

"Welcome to the Umbra, David, and 'Martyn' is fine," Martyn said as he turned around. Macha had entered closely behind Dave and they were greeted by the cry of a bird of prey. As a great falcon wheeled down and landed on a nearby branch, Martyn stiffened to attention, then bowed to the noble spirit. Dave noticed that Macha also bowed. He couldn't understand why, but he also genuflected respectfully.

"Grandfather Falcon, again you have honoured me by coming to aid me," Martyn said to the spirit, "Can you claim this cub as one of your children?" In a voice only Martyn seemed to understand, the spirit responded, but it was clear from the reactions, that he did not seem to have claimed Dave as one of his.

"David, Falcon says you are not one of his own. That means that you are not a Silver Fang and we can thank Gaia for small favours," Martyn said to Dave, then turned to Macha, "Let's just hope he's not Get."

"Amen to that!" Macha said. She seemed to get the joke, but Dave didn't. Just then, they heard the sound of mighty hooves pounding the ground. A wide smile broke out on Macha's face as she saw Great Stag charge up to them.

"Prongs!" Dave said in amazement.

"I don't know who 'Prongs' is, but this is Great Stag, the patron spirit of my tribe," Macha told him. In a voice that seemed to be only in his head, Dave heard Stag say,

"David, long have I watched you and helped guide those around you. It is by no accident that you are both a wizard and Garou. Your mother was a noble and honourable Garou and your father was a kind and loving wizard. We have hopes that you can help bring our two worlds together. It was not in my plans, however, for you to lose your parents at such a young age. But the Wyrm will interfere where it chooses. It grieved me greatly that one so young had been put through such torment, not unlike one of your wizard school-mates. Falcon's Choice is a breed apart. He is noble in the highest sense of the word. His valiance is tempered only by his wisdom and he is the best sort of leader. Not only does he lead from the front and by example, but he's also not above listening to the ideas of even the lowest of his charges. Windrunner is one of my children. She is his right-hand. They are the best team amongst the Garou. No other pair can match them in battle, wisdom, or mirth. Stand up, my child. From henceforth amongst the Garou, you shall be known as 'Dyre Fury'." At this, Stag put one front hoof on Dave's left arm. When he withdrew his hoof, Macha noticed the Fianna glyph on Dave's arm. Stag then gave Macha an affectionate look, seemed to speak to her, and left with a nod in Martyn's direction.

"Macha, you step out first, and get Dyre Fury something to cover himself with," Martyn said.

"Huh?" Dave said, then looked down and realized he was bereft of clothes...again.

"Don't worry David, I didn't peek...a lot," Macha teased.

"Now Dyre Fury, picture the Headmaster's office, just as if you were looking at a picture of it. Now, step into that picture," Martyn instructed. With a small gulp and a large leap of faith, Dave did as instructed and found himself back in Dumbledore's office.

"Excellent David! Well done," Macha cheered as she wrapped a blanket around him.

"Very well done, David!" Professor Dumbledore said in a congratulatory manner. "How was your first trip into the Umbra?"

"Humbling!" Dave replied, "I've been claimed by Great Stag as one of the Fianna tribe." Macha grinned brightly at that.

"Professor, I would like to suggest that for the next couple months, Dyre Fury spend as much time at the Caern as possible. He has much to learn to be able to control his temper. He should be watched constantly, but pay very close attention to him at the full moon, when he is most under Luna's spell," Martyn said.

"For now, I think we can free him up every weekend. Perhaps you can pick him up here Friday after class, and have him back for dinner on Sunday. This way he will still have some time to do his homework."

"Excellent Professor, and since it is Friday, perhaps he can leave with us now. Macha, I will go ahead and call for a moot. We must introduce Dyre Fury to the rest of the Caern. Perhaps you may wish to start the cub's education right now with a handy ritual."

"Ah yes! David, this will make your changes a bit easier and less embarrassing for you. I am going to teach you a ritual that awakens the essence of your belongings so they can enter the Umbra with you and also so you won't shred them when you shift forms. It is called The Rite of Talisman Dedication."

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So as to not give away the surprise, we put this disclaimer at the bottom of the chapter instead of the top. We just wanted to keep it a secret a bit longer and not spoil the excitement of Dave's condition. Please don't sue us over this. Part 2 of the disclaimer: All gaming terms, references, settings and characters relating to Werewolf: The Apocalypse are owned by White Wolf (Martyn, Macha, Dave, and Lizzy are our own characters however), no copyright infringement is intended. BTW, we are not making a penny off this.

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