Chapter 09
• Friends and Enemies •
"I'm telling you it ain't human," Jed said, planting his hand solidly in front of him on a desk. The wizened wizard who occupied the other side of the desk sighed.
"Tell me again why you went into the forest," he said calmly.
Jed looked down at his hands. "When I was teaching about werewolves last week, Charlie Weasley – I'm sure you know who I'm referring to – asked if there were werewolves in the forest who could transform at will, or who could partially transform. He said he'd seen a man that was like a wolf in the forest when he was with William McBane a few months back. Naturally I didn't believe him but he insisted it was true, he said he accidentally petrified himself when he was caught by the person. William had to carry him out on a wolf, one that Hagrid said looked remarkably like a werewolf, but seemed quite docile."
"After hearing Charlie and William talk about it and then confirming the story with Hagrid I decided that it might be best if I went and confirmed it myself. The easiest way would to follow a werewolf and see if he led me to the new wolf-man apparition. So I spoke with a few people down at Hogsmeade who agreed to go with me. William was no longer interested..."
"I have spoken to him about the forest and he knows that unless he is doing something useful there I do not approve of him skulking around in it," the elderly wizard said. "He is still being trained as the Care of Magical Creatures professor and I would hate to lose him before I can even get him to teach. Since the loss of Professor Kettleburn I have had little luck in the replacements until William came along. Between the training he is receiving from Professor Grubbly-Plank and Hagrid's unprecedented knowledge of beasts I think that we will have an excellent teacher next year," the man finished, stroking a large red bird that was perched next to the desk.
"I know, I know," Jed said looking at his hands. "I shouldn't have even tried to convince him but he was the only one I knew of that had ever seen it. He said Mundungus Fletcher had been with him the first time they heard it, but it never actually showed itself. And I know I couldn't take Charlie with me, that would be endangering a student, so the guys at Hogsmeade agreed to go with me, they even said they knew of a wolf that would be around so I was glad to have them."
"Well, they did know a werewolf but instead of following it they insisted on capturing it and torturing it. I asked them to leave it be but I had no support so I stayed and watched trying to make sure they didn't kill it or hurt it too terribly. There wasn't much I could do, because if I freed it, well, I didn't think any of us would live. Please Albus, don't go misinterpret what the creature did, I am pretty sure it was defending itself. I've met all sorts of evil creatures in my life and if he had been evil I don't think I'd have left the forest."
Albus Dumbledore sighed and tapped his finger on the desk, thinking long and hard. "Tell me about the creature please," he said finally, a sparkle of interest in his eyes.
"It was the most, the most fascinating beast I've ever seen. He scared me to death but he didn't seem to be a killer, not like the Chimaera I encountered two years ago, this thing was vicious yes, but... it was protective I think. I heard it before it appeared, or some of the wolves at least, I thought some creature was watching us in the bushes. There was no way I could have known that there was a pack of three dozen wolves laying just beyond the light. When they came out he was in the lead, a wolf on each side of him. One of them wasn't all wolf though, it seemed to have been bred from a wild Crup and the other... a huge silver beast that was at his side, I thought might be a werewolf."
For a minute Jed closed his eyes, struggling to remember. Dumbledore cleared his throat and Jed opened them again. "I think perhaps there is a better way," he said softly and then stood, making his way to a cabinet against the wall. He opened it and removed a shallow stone basin. "No doubt you know what this is," the headmaster said as he picked it up and carried it to his desk. The silvery contents threw an ominous glow on the room and Jed shivered but simply nodded. His experiences with a Pensieve had not been good ones.
"You know how to use it then?" Dumbledore asked as he placed it on the desk between the two men.
Once again Jed nodded, his second set of shivers had gone completely unnoticed by the headmaster. Tapping his wand to his head Jed whispered a few words, thinking of the moment before he'd seen the boy. A chill ran through his mind as if someone had raked over it softly and he slowly pulled the wand away from his head as the chill continued, softly plowing through his thoughts. Finally his mind warmed again and Jed opened his eyes to find a long silver taffy like substance hanging from his wand.
Carefully Jed dropped it into the Pensieve, wishing he didn't have to, it disturbed him to no end having someone see his thoughts and memories, or seeing someone else's for that matter.
There was a knock on the door and Jed closed his eyes, not really wanting to see who else was there. Dumbledore seemed to already know and he smiled. "Come in Mr. Weasley," he said, loud enough to hear through the door. "You're right on time," he added as Charlie Weasley walked through the door.
"Please, have a seat. Professor Herecule and I were just discussing the so called Wolf-Demon. He is about to show me the memory of exactly what happened and, with his permission, I would like to have you accompany us."
Jed closed his eyes, he really didn't want Charlie to see this. Charlie may have been an excellent student, but reading about things was different from seeing them. "It's alright if you think he needs to," Jed said carefully. Dumbledore nodded.
After a brief explanation of what was about to happen Jed leaned forward and touched his wand to the silver-white mixture of memories. Two other heads leaned in around him and suddenly he was sucked down and standing in a forest clearing.
Three men who Jed did not know were prodding the werewolf who was being held captive in mid air. Jed was standing there with them, sort of half poking without any expression at all. Truthfully he didn't much care for werewolves, but he didn't like them mistreated either, he just wasn't about to turn on them they'd already threatened him once. Besides, he knew Robert Hillcraft, an Auror who had a thing against werewolves, and though none of the others would be able to duel with him Jed wasn't sure about Robert."
All of the participants except Jed seemed to know who the werewolf was and they were teasing him in whispers, saying things about his family and the past. Jed looked away sadly, hoping that Charlie wouldn't look down upon him now, but neither of them were watching the men or the werewolf, they were staring into the bushes.
The bushes rustled as if there were a calm wind playing with their leaves, but Jed was sure there was no wind, the night had been dead, he remembered that. After a moment of staring at the bushes eyes began to appear as if by magic. Jed's own eyes finally began seeing through the shadows that were hiding them. There was three pair of them a brown pair that looked normal for a dog, and then a green pair that made Jed shiver and continue his glance. He didn't like those eyes, they saw him for what he was, they judged him. The last set, one blue and one purple didn't look like a dog's eyes at all but he knew they were from the great silver beast who had almost took off one of his legs.
"Ah," he heard Dumbledore speak beside him and saw the headmaster contemplating the eyes. "I wonder how long they were there before they showed themselves." Charlie was on his knees in front of the eyes, staring at them with fascination. It looked as if he wanted to reach out and touch them.
A whisper of growl emanated from the bushes and the trees seemed to tremble. Charlie backed away slightly, somewhat frightened of the memory. Then, almost so fast that it was hard to see the Demon and his two companions sprang from the bushes. The Demon was on all fours, and had he not had the long legs of a human Jed might have thought him a black wolf with a white stripe around his midsection. The belt was remarkable and Jed stared at it as the beast charged right through Charlie, eyes intent on its prey. There was something curious about it, the way it was always the same color and yet different. Even though it had been white it was a dull white and it absorbed light – until he looked directly at it and then it brightened until it was as brilliant as the sun. A thin strand of coiled rope hung from one side and a piece of leather next to it. The other side held a white knife that matched the belt so perfectly that it was hard to tell them apart.
The others cried out and Jed stepped back to watch what happened. It wasn't the boy who reached them first, thought it was a close call, but the huge silver wolf struck Frem, the leader of the little group from behind and he dropped his wand. The werewolf Travis fell away from the invisible jail it had been imprisoned in and immediately turned on Frem. Jed shuddered and looked away as the throat was ripped out in half a second. He heard Charlie gasp behind him, but he couldn't help him now, Dumbledore had wanted him exposed to this.
Jed's eyes turned from the werewolf, no longer worried about him – the Wolf-Demon was his concern now. He was downing two men at once, his arms had wrapped around them and he was still moving, one in each arm, until he slammed them into a set of trees. One man groaned, and stumbled, but the silver wolf jumped him and he was on the ground with several wolves on top of him. The second man was struggling to stand but having no luck as wolves were all over him.
The Wolf-Demon shivered and then it looked as if he changed form but he only stood. The demeanor, one of a killer changed to something else, something that looked foreign in nature but almost human at the same time. Jed thought it might be a glimmer in his eye but he stood slightly hunched and his eyes turned to the wands, everyone had lost them though some were flung while others laid near the body. The Demon slid through the clearing like wind and in a moment he had all seven wands tucked into the white belt. Once again Jed stared at it and then it occurred to him what it was. "A chameleon cured unicorn hide," he muttered under his breath as his eyes widened.
The Demon stood straight up and his eyes surveyed the battle, he barked and all of the wolves pulled away, mixing into the shadows and then appearing again behind him. A pure black wolf seemed to know him and looked for his hand for comfort. The Crup-wolf and the silver wolf were already there, waiting. They stood like two guards on either side of him. Jed snorted at the thought, as if he needed guards.
The Demon moved again with the wolves flanking him, checking the men that could be alive, making sure everyone was dead and then it stepped back again, and looked at Jed.
When he finally stepped forward Jed took another long look at him again, it was the first time he had really slowed down since he'd emerged from the bushes and until then it was hard to really study him. The bark like skin wasn't bark like, it almost looked like mud which had dried quickly. A second layer covered it, an uneven layer it looked as if he'd been coated by a blue liquid and it dried on top of his skin – it wasn't part of the skin itself and Jed almost wished the Demon where there again so he could touch the skin to see what it felt like he wasn't quite sure about it anymore.
Dumbledore took a step forward and stared at the skin just above the belt. "I believe," he said quietly, "that the skin is a layer of something to protect him, the area at the edge of the belt is almost free of it."
Charlie said something and Jed turned to look at him. The boy was on his knees staring. "He didn't do that before," he said sullenly. "He only threatened us."
The Demons hair, which dropped to his chest in thick locks covered up most of his face and it was hard to get a good look at it. The eyes peered out between the hair as if it were used to it. Jed hated hair hanging in his face and he'd never seen anyone that could stand it, but this Demon seemed at home doing it. It was hunched again animal like and moving towards the memory Jed silently.
It spoke as it moved forward and Jed closed his eyes, listening as the words repeated in his head once again. They were slow and animalistic, it was like Demon had learned to speak to the animals before he learned to speak English. It was a he, most definitely male and at least a good deal humanoid.
The werewolf was with the wolves and when it jumped forward the Demon moved without hesitation grabbing it from the air and slamming it to the ground. It barked once and then tossed it to the side as if it were a rag doll. Jed gawked again, he'd never seen anything that could do that until a few hours ago. To top it all off the werewolf backed down as the two guard-wolves joined the Demon. Then, as if they had been a dream they disappeared into the shadows.
Jed thought hard about the Demon as his memory self resuscitated the Robert and then the memory faded and Jed found himself standing on the floor of the headmasters office.
"Did you see the two black leopards?" Charlie asked and Jed looked at him startled. "They were in the trees watching the whole time. The Demon noticed them but ignored them as if he didn't care."
"You're sure?" the headmaster asked and Charlie nodded from his position on the floor. He was slightly hunched over trying to keep from being sick. "I saw them when the memory started and as the Demon was leaving he looked at them. He knew they were there the whole time but he just ignored them."
"Black leopards?" Jed said quietly. "But they live in the southern Asia, in jungles. Not in a forest in England."
Dumbledore thought for a few minutes and then opened up a drawer in his desk pulling a paper from within. Carefully he handed it to Jed and waited. Jed read over it and paused. "But... but, that's impossible. Demons can't be seen by muggles, one or two occasionally can see them if they've got a little magic in them, but they're like dementors, muggles cant' see them, especially in mass."
"Then apparently it seems that whatever is living in the forest is not a Demon," he said calmly.
Slightly angered Jed stood to his full height which was a little overwhelming to most people, he was after all more than six foot and built thick like a professional beater. "Why didn't you tell us this before?" he demanded.
"And what? Have you look in the forest for the creature? It was readily available to those who looked, the towns only a few hour drive from Hogsmeade, it isn't something that anyone covered up, though some muggles believe it was hoax. I visited the zoo there and found the most remarkable thing about those bars, they had been melted and snapped by some great force. Nothing normal could have done that and I suspected that whatever did it was likely magical in nature. It took some thought to put the two things together and I wasn't sure until now."
"Tell me Professor, did you notice what he wore on his belt?" the headmaster asked after a brief paused. He didn't seem at all daunted by the height of Jed and Jed knew that no matter how big he was he was never as strong magically as the headmaster.
"Yes," Jed said, backing down. "He wore a specially cured unicorn skin belt with a robe of braided unicorn hair."
Shaking his head Dumbledore moved to the cabinet where he'd pulled the Pensieve from and opened up the door again, rummaging around for a minute he pulled out an almost identical rope and laid it on the desk beside his Pensieve. "Charlie, do you know what this is?" he asked and Jed was reminded that Charlie Weasley was still in the office.
Charlie stepped forward, having gotten to his feet again and picked up the rope. "It's light," he said as he weighed it in his hands and then began studying it closer, "there's four separate strands of hair in it," he said as he held it only inches from his eyes. "Three of them look similar, but one's quite dark, it's what makes the rope gray."
"The dark one is respun porlock hair and the clear hair is demisguise. The white hair is Unicorn of course, it has been spun in a special way so that it is a single strand, the rope is truly a magical thing and it takes months to make a few feet of it."
"So what's the last type of hair?" Charlie asked looking at it, "it's white, but a little clear, like a mix of the unicorn and demiguise."
Smiling Dumbledore took the rope from Charlie after he had finished looking it over one last time and handed it to Jed. "Do you recognize it? A few people at this school have encountered it."
For several minutes Jed examined it finally putting it down and looking to Dumbledore. "It isn't hair at all, is it? It's a strand of Acromantula web, right?"
"Precisely," Dumbledore said, almost eager. "Only one race has the abilities to weave this sort of rope, the centaurs. I believe they may know who this Demon-like creature is. He is after all wearing the rope and a sling very similar to the one's the give to their children. The belt is a conundrum though, I was unaware that such a thing still existed, and with the knife no less. This 'Demon' certainly is an oddity in this day and age, I'll give you that."
•
While Dumbledore spoke further to the teacher and student, far away in the forest the Demon beast named Harry was standing in front of the pack of wolves, staring into the eyes of a particularly vicious looking centaur. His almost black body was much larger than Firenze and his eyes looked a shade of grey, like unmoving ice. He had a wickedness to him and Harry didn't trust him at first.
"What purpose do you have here?" it asked in a voice filled with a sense of superiority. It had almost walked over Harry as he and the wolves celebrated their victory with a kill. Harry had even called upon the great cats to come and feast with him, he knew he needed to speak with them. They had arrived but still stayed in the trees, forever watching. For the third time it asked, and Harry looked up at it and growled, blood running down his face, his hair covered in it.
"Where Firenze?" Harry growled finally, not wanting to speak to this particular centaur.
The centaur seemed amazed at his speech, as if he hadn't been expecting it at all. He reached back to pull an arrow from his quiver but Harry lept straight into the air, grabbing a branch and flinging himself into the growth above. The centaur seemed to think he had disappeared into thin air. The wolf – the one the humans had called a werewolf seemed to take interest in the centaur and took Harry's position the moment he disappeared.
"He not like you," Harry said taunting the stupid centaur and wondering where Firenze had gone. It had been a long time, a few weeks, longer than Firenze had left him alone in a year and he hoped Firenze would be back soon.
The werewolf was well fed, but he seemed to want more so Harry smiled down at the centaur. "He hungry, not eat enough people tonight. Want to fight him before me?" he asked waiting to see what the centaur did.
"You've angered the wizards tonight and they have done nothing to you. For what reason do you do this?" it asked.
"They hunt pack," Harry said simply, not seeing anything wrong with protecting wolves, no matter where they came from. One lone wolf was the same as a pack wolf to him and if someone hunted it they were hunting the pack. "I tell them to leave before, and they come back and hunt pack."
The centaur smiled and relaxed slightly, though it was carefully watching the werewolf. "How do you know Firenze?" the elderly centaur asked and Harry dropped from the trees, landing crouched but not in an offensive stance.
"Firenze is Harry's friend," Harry said as clearly as possible, and rather matter-of-fact like. "Firenze come help Harry sometimes, Firenze tell of other wolves in cages."
"So that was your fault," the centaur said, studying Harry. "How long have you two been friends?" he asked as he watched the werewolf nervously.
Harry thought for a long minute, to him time passed a good deal differently than to other people, but he knew that too and wanted to answer the new centaur properly. "Year," he said trying hard to remember the season names too, but not succeeding. It had been before the snow, before the changing of the color of the leaves, but he couldn't remember what the season name was.
"A year?" The centaur asked with some interest, "and he's seen you a lot this past year?" he continued.
Harry nodded happy that the centaur understood him, he wasn't Firenze, but he'd do. He barked finally and the werewolf backed down, returning to the feast. The centaur watched with a sense of mild curiosity when Silver and Dog took their places at his side. They hadn't been eating yet – they had already eaten their fill before the night had started. He touched them gently to keep them from showing anger, the Centaur seemed to be nice. Not as nice as Firenze, but nice still.
"Name?" asked Harry, trying to be proper like Firenze had tried to teach him. "My name is Harry," he said with a great deal of effort to get it right, smiling as best as possible too. Firenze had always told him that to smile was polite (whatever that meant) so he did it. "...the Wolf-Demon," he added with a smug smirk, if people were going to call him that he would call himself that, he liked it.
"I am Shepaud," the centaur answered slowly, bowing slightly and grinning widely. "It is a pleasure to meet you Harry the Wolf-Demon."
Harry's eyes turned up upon hearing another centaur approaching and he fought to scatter the pack and disappear in the trees, but he wanted to know where Firenze was so he waited. A second centaur appeared, one that Harry had seen Firenze with occasionally, his light brown body much smaller and a kinder face than Shepaud, and older as well.
"Ronan!" Harry said quickly, forgetting that he had not been introduced formerly, he remembered the name from when he'd listened to them once. "Where Firenze?"
The centaur Ronan stopped and looked down at Harry utterly bewildered. He looked to Shepaud and then back to Harry. "What is this?" he asked slowly, curiously. His voice had a deep undertone to it as if he were sad.
"You do not know Harry the Wolf-Demon?" Shepaud asked gaining some more of his haughty nature back. "He seems to know you."
"Wolf-Demon," Ronan repeated slowly. "This is the wizard menace that haunts the forest?" he asked staring at Harry with sad brown eyes. "Why is it that he knows me and why does he ask for Firenze?" he asked mournfully.
"Firenze is his friend Ronan, this foal has said that Firenze has been his friend for over a year now. We had suspected he was going against the herd, but he has been with this boy a great deal it seems. It seems he only lied to protect this Wolf-Demon named Harry."
Harry watched the two talk between each other waiting as patiently as possible. Silver didn't like either of the centaurs, she didn't seem to like centaurs at all actually, but Harry held her back from getting angry.
"It is a sad thing we have done," Ronan said and Harry turned his ear away from them to listen to the forest. He noticed the wolves had almost finished off the animal and he barked at them, calling them away so they did not eat the piece he'd pulled away separately. Then, he hissed at the trees and the two great cats dropped to the ground, moving towards Harry. He temporarily forgot the centaurs and made his way to the meat. The two leopards ripped the large leg apart without even waiting and Harry listened to them as they silently purred. When they had finished off the leg only a minute later Harry bared his fangs and growled lightly then grunted and turned away from them, moving back to the centaurs. The cats would wait for him, but Silver stood next to them in case there might be trouble. Dog fed a little off the rest of the carcass, as he'd gained an appetite again.
"Are they pack?" Shepaud asked, his hands having moved to a slightly more offensive position.
"Mine," Harry said trying to keep the centaur from having any thoughts of killing them. They may not be his, but he liked them a lot, at least a lot more than the centaur.
Relaxing, Shepaud smiled. "We were trying to decide if you were human," Shepaud said almost jokingly but Harry growled at them and he looked startled.
"I am not human," Harry said quite clearly. "I am Wolf-Demon," he insisted, thinking that being a Wolf-Demon meant he was wolf, and not human. He was happy when the humans had called him that.
The two centaurs exchanged looks and began to say something but Harry stopped them. "Firenze say council decree me as animal. He say I am of forest, I am not human."
Another glance passed between the two and Shepaud said something under his breath that Harry didn't understand, Harry didn't like them talking without him understanding but he let it go this once. Ronan nodded lightly and then both looked back to Harry. "You were the one who attacked Firenze in the forest so long ago?" he asked dolefully, "the one who stole his crossbow?"
"I give it back," Harry snapped, "he not want it back, he said I can keep."
"Then, Wolf-Demon, if you are indeed that person you are of this forest, it is true that the council has declared you of the forest. If this is also true then the charges against Firenze need to be changed, and he will be invited back, but in order to help him you need to come with us and speak to the elders," Shepaud said. "Would you be willing to do this, to help your friend?"
It didn't take Harry much thought, even though he didn't really want to go to the encampment he didn't mind, he knew where it was, he'd seen it a few times form a distance, and he was confident he could get away without too much trouble. "If Silver and Dog come too," he said, and with a bark both of the wolves were standing next to him. He could find the cats later, they were not incredibly difficult to find because Harry knew where they typically slept.
There was a minute while the two centaurs discussed this and Ronan finally said it would be alright in the same slow voice that he seemed to have. Shepaud turned to him and bowed slightly, "we believe they will be allowed if they can be proven to follow your command which does not seem to be something that would be difficult."
Feeling much better about the battle of the night and the meeting with the centaurs Harry followed behind them at a brisk trot, wondering when Firenze would be able to return. He was getting much better with his weapons, particularly the sling and he really wanted to show Firenze.
•
Far off in the distance the headmaster of Hogwarts stood at his window and stared at the forest wondering what animal endangered the students now. He knew he would have to put very strict punishments on those caught entering into the forest so that none of the students would be harmed. Hagrid with talk with the centaurs soon and maybe they would get answers then.
The thought of the eyes bothered him, even though they were almost the eyes of a dog, they seemed to remind him of something forgotten. But, he had seen a lot of eyes in his day and it was hard to remember where he had seen them.