Harry's Pack
Chapter 8: Training
Remus arrived the next morning around 9 A.M. He'd barely steadied himself from the trip through the forest before he was instinctively ducking the spells being shot at him, landing flat on his stomach while simultaneously sending up a shield spell. When the spells stopped abruptly without warning, Remus gazed about him in confusion.
"It's okay to stand now Moony," said an amused voice from above him.
Remus' gaze traveled upwards to meet with a pair of familiar emerald eyes. It was Harry-scarred and malnourished, but Harry. The teen grinned at him mischievously, eyes filled with unconcealed amusement as he held out a hand to help the werewolf up.
Remus-well, it was the wolf within's fault!- gave a joyful howl and launched himself at Harry. The two collapsed on the ground in a ferocious hug, half-laughing, half-crying their joy.
When they'd finally pulled away, Remus said affectionately, "It's good to see you pup."
Harry grinned up at the taller man, "'Missed you too, Moony."
Remus seemed to suddenly register his surroundings, and he asked, "Where are we, pup?"
"You, my dear, are in the High Realm," said Marday's amused, lilting voice.
"Who are you?" Remus asked, amber eyes regarding her suspiciously.
Harry pulled himself and Moony up off the floor, and answered, "Moony, this is Marday, queen of the High Realm. Milady, this is Remus Lupin."
"High Realm?"
"The High Realm is kind of like a secret world. High elves-distant relations of House Elves- created it long ago when 'our world's' prejudices became too much for them.
"Originally it was only the elves here. But the Elves soon realized that they weren't the only ones who felt that way. The High Realm is home to many different species," Harry explained.
"Many of your own kind live here, young Remus," Marday offered with a smile.
"You mean-You know I'm-"
"A werewolf? Why yes, young Harry told us," Marday graced Harry with a proud smile as she continued, "Harry wanted you to be in a place without prejudice so he asked that you be allowed to join us here."
Remus gaped slightly at Harry, asking, "You did that? For me?"
Harry took a deep breath, meeting Remus' eyes as he replied, "You are a part of my family, and as such deserve any help I can give you. I love you, and I wanted you to be in a place where you were judged upon your character instead of something you can't control that happens one night a month. Plus, Sirius-" his voice broke, "would have wanted it."
"Oh, Harry," Remus murmured, pulling the teen into a tight embrace, " Your parents and Sirius must be so proud of you. There is no doubt in my mind, pup, that they love you more than anything."
Harry gave a little sob as he whispered hoarsely, "It hurts Moony!"
"I know pup," Remus soothed, "And it will always hurt. But, slowly, the pain will be pushed away by all the good memories and all the old love, and it'll be easier to bear."
Harry didn't respond, choosing instead to regain his composure by burying his head in Remus' shoulder. A few moments later, he pulled back calmly, smiling softly at the werewolf.
"Thank you," he said quietly, "I needed that."
Remus grinned and ruffled Harry's hair, "Anytime pup. I'm always here."
Harry opened his mouth to respond in kind, but was interrupted by yelling at the doorway. Ron and Neville were shouting furiously at Draco who was shouting back with just as much, if not more, force. The girls- Ginny included- were shouting too, attempting to calm them down.
Anger caused Harry's eyes to glow slightly and his jaw to tighten as he marched towards the fighting Pack, roaring, "Shut up!"
The Pack complied immediately, jaws snapping shut at their alpha's anger. As angry, disappointed green eyes stared them down, each head lowered in shamed submission.
"That is enough," Harry hissed quietly into the silence, "My Pack will not have the weakness of being unable to cooperate. I don't give a flying rat's ass if Draco was a Slytherin-hell, he could have been a fucking purple bumblebee for all I care!- but he helped us! Because of this, he's been allowed into the Pack. I don't give a damn if you don't like that fact-you'll just have to live with it.
"We're in the middle of a war- this is no time for petty squabbles. You'd think, after three weeks of constant torture you'd have grown up just the slightest bit," Harry ground out.
"We're sorry Harry," Neville ventured softly.
"I want no more fighting among my Pack," Harry said firmly, "Are we clear? Petty squabbles belong to children, and , no matter how much we wish we still were, we are no longer children."
"Yes Harry," they murmured, properly chastened.
"Good." Harry nodded.
"Harry-what in Merlin?" Remus asked in confusion, eyes darting back and forth between him and the Pack.
Harry cracked a grin, "Remus Lupin, I would like you meet my Pack-my family I guess you could call them."
Remus gaped at him a moment, before his own grin flashed onto his face, "And a fine Pack they are, Harry. 'Though they could use a little volume control."
Harry and Remus laughed heartily, and, moments later, the Pack joined in. They were each ashamed to have Harry disappointed in them and resolved to get along better in the future.
For Draco, Harry had been his savior-offering him the means and courage to finally break free from his father's tyranny, while also helping his mother by sending her to Dumbledore.
Even in childhood, Harry had always been Rose's hero as well as best friend and confidant. And now, more than ever, he had proved his hero status.
To Neville, Harry had always been an awe-inspiring person. When Harry had accepted him as a friend-despite his clumsiness and near-Squib status- Harry had become an even greater person in Neville's eyes as the first to ever accept him as he was.
Harry was probably the only one who had never called Luna names or made a snide comment about her. Even when she'd barely made sense to herself, Harry had just smiled and treated her like he did everyone else.
Even when Ron had let jealousy cloud their friendship, Harry had steadfastly remained Ron's friend. When others would have quit and given up a long time ago, Harry had patiently stuck through every one of Ron's little fits, always accepting him back in the end.
Harry was the only one who's never maliciously made fun of Hermione's-sometimes annoying- thirst for knowledge. Harry had remained by her side and saved her many times in the duration of her friendship.
And Ginny loved Harry with every fiber of her being. Harry was her own personal hero, and she refused to shy from that. Her biggest goal in life was to make Harry proud of her, and she didn't need anything but him and his love.
They each loved him-in their own way-too much to be able to bear seeing the blatant disapproval in his eyes. They wouldn't disappoint their alpha again.
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The Pack's training began three days after their arrival.
They were awoken at 5:30 for an hour long run. None of them made it even half an hour, but the elven trainer they were with assured them that they would be able to in time.
From 6:30 to 7:30, they did physical work outs- push ups, sit ups, curls, chin ups, etc… Again, they didn't last very long, not being used to physical workouts, but they were again assured that it would get easier with time and practice.
They had 7:30 until 8:30 to shower, change and eat breakfast-which they all devoured hungrily within seconds.
At 8:30, they were taught the arts of Muggle fencing, karate, judo, and many other types of physical self defense (A/N I don't know how to do any of these things so don't expect anything about them :D). This way should they be unable to use their magic, they'd have the upper hand of an unexpected physical attack.
At 10:00 they were taught the basic principles of making and using a spell. This way, they were told, they could learn to make their own spells, having the advantage over their enemies who wouldn't know what to do to make the spell stop or reverse it.
11:00 to 12:00 was spent expanding their already vast repertoire of spells. Moony helped them with this, explaining that not only offensive and defensive spells were needed, 'though that's what was always expected. He explained that sometimes, the simple spells could also win you a fight (Ron, Harry and Hermione couldn't help but laugh at the remembrance of Ron clubbing the troll with Wingardium Leviosa!).
12 to 12:30 was lunch, which was once again dug into with gusto.
12:30 to 2:00 was spent on learning War History. By learning about the wars of old, they were able to understand where others had gone wrong as well as combine some of the old strategies with newer ones to make one no one had ever done before.
2:00 to 3:00 was spent on learning the history of all the different cultures (humans, elves, vampires, goblins etc.). Their vampire teacher made their lessons a lot more fun than Binns ever had.
3:00 to 4:30 was spent on learning about all the different magical creatures. Their werewolf teacher did not label any creature as light or dark, explaining simply that any creature could be light or dark- it was their own choice.
4:30 to 6:00 was spent learning how to defend themselves against many of the aforementioned creatures should they decide to side with Voldemort. Again, it was explained to them that no creature was either light or dark.
6:00 to 7:00 was spent on dinner.
7:00 to 8:00 was spent learning the proper greetings and etiquette in the wizarding world. Should they wish to all themselves with one set of species, that species would probably be much warmer to the idea should the Pack greet them properly in their own culture.
8:00 to 9:00 was spent learning the many different languages of the worlds-both Muggle and Magical. This could also be beneficial in gaining allies, as well as understanding what was being said around them when they were thought to be ignorant.
9:00 to 10:00was they're free time to do with as they wished. However, lights out was absolutely insisted upon at 10, so as to be assured the Pack was well rested for the next morning.
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Harry fell onto the bed that night with an exhausted but happy groan in the room provided for him by the King and Queen.
A dresser-filled with elven-style, Muggle and wizarding cloths, again provided by the King and Queen- stood against one wall. The wall beside it, contained Harry's long, hunter green bed, beside which rested a bedside table that matched the dresser. At the foot of the bed rested a small trunk that remained empty. On a perch by the window rested Hedwig who'd been brought along by Remus.
Reluctantly, Harry pulled himself back up off the deep brown comforters. Stripping down to his boxers, he trudged into the adjoining bathroom to brush his teeth and run a brush futilely through his hair.
Like the bedroom, the bathroom was done in dark greens and browns, which, oddly enough, went well together and suited Harry's tastes fine.
Reentering the bedroom 5 minutes later, he found Ginny standing nervously in the doorway. She was wearing a matching blue tank top-boxer shorts pajama set and offered Harry a sheepish smile.
Harry smiled softly and shook his head ruefully at his mate. In the 3 weeks during Voldemort's capture, the two had quickly grown accustomed to sleeping in each other's arms and were unable to sleep otherwise. The last 3 nights in the High Realm, Ginny had joined Harry in his room, needing to be with him while she slept.
"C'mon love," he laughed softly, holding out a hand towards her, "Time for bed."
Ginny grinned lovingly and grabbed hold of Harry's hand. As they walked over to the bed, Ginny softly asked, "What would I do without you, Harry Potter?"
Harry scowled slightly, muttering, "Probably be dating Dean Thomas or some other dunderhead ass!"
Ginny giggled, "Aw, don't worry Harry. I was never going out with Dean, I just said that to piss off Ron."
"You minx," Harry teased lightly, laughing heartily as he pulled her into his arms, kissing her freckled nose lovingly.
"But I'm your minx," Ginny returned confidently, grinning at him.
"Mine," Harry growled possessively in confirmation, nipping gently at her creamy neck.
All yours," Ginny agreed breathily, her arms slipping up around Harry's neck as she kissed him soundly on the lips, growling back, "All mine."
"Yup," Harry agreed with a goofy grin.
Suddenly, without warning, Harry lifted Ginny from the ground and twirled her around. Unexplainable laughter bubbled forth from both of them, even after the twirling had stopped.
Harry smiled at his mate softly, before turning and pulling the covers back, patting the mattress invitingly. Obediently, Ginny slipped between the covers. Harry joined her moments later, having turned off the bedside lamp before slipping into his place beside her.
Ginny snuggled into Harry's arms as they wrapped possessively around her slim body. She placed her head on his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart with a content smile. Her loose hair spilled out on the pillow behind her and Harry loosely threaded a hand through it as he felt their bodies mold together perfectly.
Snuggling still closer, Ginny sleepily murmured, "'Night Harry. 'Love you wi' all my heart."
Harry chuckled softly, the sound reverberating through his chest and making Ginny smile, whispering back, "G'night Ginny. I love you too."
"Good," Ginny sighed.
Harry grinned, falling asleep to the steady rhythm of her breathing and then the only sound in the room was the combined one of their simultaneous breathing.
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A/N: Hey guys! How's it all going? Sorry for the delays lately, but I restarted school, got the flu bug, got over the flu bug and am now seriously contemplating driving a pencil through my temple over all the homework I have. Thanks to:
NamelessHeretic- I'm sorry I didn't write you in last time! I just didn't get your review by the time I updated! And I'm sorry it took so long to update!
BloodlessAce-Thanks! You guys are all making me blush!
Hermione1208-Thanks!
Sam- Sorry! I'm trying to update at least once a week if I can-high school is killer on the creativity. By the time I finish all my homework, I'm too tired to write!
Draft Strangus- Thanks! And love the name, by the way!
Okay guys, I've got good news! I have finished this story and the sequel! Only problem is that I haven't got it typed up yet, and-I'm sorry- but I hate typing, it drives me nuts! So, you'll get the chapters when they're typed, no writing blocks included!
Review please!
'My love,
Red