~Chapter 26~ The Werewolf – 2 to 3 March 1995

((A/N: Hey all! Thank you so much for your messages, they truly helped me through this week. In fact, in most cases, they stopped me from simply going bananas. Long story short, I found out that my granny is in hospital and no one thought to inform me about it.

Then my supervisor quit…leaving me with all the work while the administrator (Who really, really, REALLY doesn't like me…) decided to continue her firing squad practice with me as the target, then load-shedding started (For those not from Africa, it is when you pay for power each month, but then they switch it off about 2 to 4 hours a day anyway because they didn't use the public funds to actually fix things).

Numerous other things happened in between as well. Funniest was when I went to go get water at our outside tank later at night because they periodically also switch the water off due to water shortages, and the tap came off in my hands…leaving me to get sprayed and then looking like a cartoon character trying to plug the hole while trying to figure out how to put the tap back without getting sprayed more.

My fiancé also found out today that he needs an operation where they are going to remove the bones in his arm and scrub them clean…I didn't even freakin' know that was possible!

I also found out that I have to work tomorrow to do fundraising for our December bonuses so yeah lol one day of safe sanity lost.

All in all, it was one of those bad weeks that make up for your whole year of good luck so I expect only good things to happen once everything has been sorted out.

It did give me an interesting idea for the story though, so I hope you enjoy it , and I am going to try and make it extra long as a thank you to all of you wonderful people. ))

~Voldemort~

He had to stop himself from physically settling his hands on Dimitri's shoulders as the young man paced around the study. In fact, he was very close to simply apparating to the outskirts of Fenrir's compound to get answers, but then Dimitri would insist on going with and Voldemort was quite sure that, with the state the young man was currently in, something was sure to happen.

Finally, after what felt like days, but could have only been a few hours at most, an owl tapped at the window. Dimitri twisted around from his pacing and would have lost his balance if Voldemort hadn't expected the movement and steadied him before he fell.

He couldn't deny that his heart did funny things when Dimitri sent him a grateful smile, even if it was done half-absentmindedly and he found himself silently promising to always be there when Dimitri stumbled, both literally and figuratively. He knew he was promising a lot of things lately, but he wanted to give everything to Dimitri, no matter what it took.

He sent his magic out to allow Hedwig in, as Dimitri (and the owl herself) had both refused when he'd wanted to use one of the more generic owls for this important message. He then immediately handed it over before summoning Mina, Dimitri's overly-protective house elf, to bring them something to eat as it was getting quite late.

It was at that moment, after the elf popped away, that he realized what was happening. The elf had appeared after their return from Hogwarts once Dimitri called her, and Hedwig had apparently always been hovering nearby as she waited for her wizard's call, but the two had made themselves at home immediately.

Voldemort found himself looking around the room, finding little knickknacks and objects that were proof of Dimitri's presence in the castle. It seemed that even before he knew the young man's identity, Dimitri had already made himself at home with him, and the thought sent a strange wave of feelings through him. He couldn't fully untangle them at the moment, but he didn't have to.

~Dimitri~

Dimitri felt like he was holding his breath as he opened the letter and his eyes involuntarily moved to the bottom before they even had a chance to scan the top.

His breath slowly and forcefully left him as he closed his eyes in disappointment as he remembered. Of course, Remus wouldn't write the letter because this Remus didn't even know him yet. It felt like another punch to his gut, but he forced himself to calm down as he felt Voldemort's hand on his shoulder. He preferred a Remus that didn't know him to a Remus that would never get to know him.

That thought made him feel a little better so he started reading the letter from the top.

My Lord

Remus Lupin is stable for now, but it might not remain this way for long. Even if I am the one that gave him the curse to save him from a disease, I am afraid that he managed to become a part of a different pack and he needs them to be able to fully heal.

It seems as if he has forced himself to live alone for quite some time and this may have deteriorated his mental faculties to the point that he accidentally took an overdose during a moment of absentmindedness…or his wolf may have done so if it thought that the last of its pack was no more.

I read that Sirius Black has been released, and with the number of times that the man has called out to the Black heir and his other friends, as well as the Potter heir, I would suggest that we need at least one of them to be able to drag Lupin from the coma he has now fallen into.

Your Servant

Fenrir

Dimitri's head snapped to Voldemort, only to find the man nowhere in sight until he looked towards the fireplace. A moment later, Sirius stepped through the floo looking quite bewildered and Voldemort gave him a knowing look before holding up five fingers….meaning he had five minutes to explain the situation.

There wasn't time, so he pressed the letter into Sirius' hands and watched as the man grew more and more worried as he read it. He then turned to the Dark Lord, "I assume the emergency that you just floo'd me about is this?"

Voldemort nodded and stepped back as Salazar and Severus also stepped through the floo. Salazar nodded to Voldemort before quickly scanning the letter that Sirius held out to him, with Severus reading it over his shoulder. The older man then turned to the Dark Lord, "So we are going there directly?"

Voldemort nodded before taking an object from his pocket and Dimitri blinked at the familiar-looking quill, only to realize that Voldemort had charmed the quill into a portkey the moment Dimitri had stopped writing the letter and sent it.

Warmth filled him at the thought, and he sent a grateful look toward the man before they grouped up to take the portkey to wherever Fenrir's pack currently resided. Which was, unsurprisingly, another forest, but Dimitri only focused on that for a second before he looked towards Voldemort, who immediately pointed towards the healing rooms.

~Voldemort~

Voldemort, Salazar, and Severus stood back as Dimitri and Sirius rushed towards the rooms, but then Dimitri stopped dead in his tracks at the door and Voldemort felt both Salazar and Severus tense next to him before he realized what the problem was…Dimitri didn't carry Harry's scent so he wouldn't be welcomed.

The look on his mate's face almost made him promise that he would raze this world to the ground, but Salazar nudged him in the side and shook his head, "The potion he used…it was one of Merlin's own…the only way is for it to run its course."

But Voldemort couldn't take the look on his mate's face so he tried hard to think of something that might distract his mate, even if it was just for a few seconds. An idea came to him and he surged forward as he watched Sirius enter the room with a pained glance back towards Dimitri. His mate loved to fly, right?

He snatched his mate up into his arms and soared up towards the sky, pushing his magic until they were so high that the stars almost seemed to engulf them, and the look on Dimitri's face as he stared at the stars in wonder, made it all worthwhile.

They hovered there for about 30 minutes…only taking in the beauty and zipping around now and again…before his magic started protesting with the strain of performing a few high-level magick spells at once and he tried to let them down slowly, but he'd tried so hard to get Dimitri to smile again, that he'd overused his magic on flying, keeping them both warm, and providing enough air for them to be able to breathe comfortably.

He lost control and they fell towards the ground, but instead of seeing fear, he heard Dimitri's exhilaration. And it wasn't long before he realized why.

The sensation was hard to describe because it felt so freeing. Speeding towards the ground with nothing but air between you and the ground…he remembered when he wished he could fly as a child…it was a strange dream then, but this is reality.

His magic was his own and he was able to will it to do what he wanted it to do.

With that thought, he felt Dimitri's magic entwine with his and together they lowered themselves to the ground. Voldemort couldn't describe how it felt to have Dimitri's magic washing over him and through him as any description he thought of greatly downplayed the feeling.

As soon as their feet touched the ground, they were met with a grinning Sirius, who started rambling the moment he had their attention, "I explained everything to Remus! He woke up after I sat there for a few minutes and he wants to see you!"

Voldemort had to consciously stop his magic from tossing the Black heir away from them as the magical moment was broken, but he slowly released Dimitri once he was sure that his mate wouldn't lose his balance.

He consoled himself with the knowledge that Dimitri looked just as reluctant to release him so he forced himself to step back and watch as Sirius dragged Dimitri into the healing rooms.

~Dimitri~

Dimitri felt like his magic was keeping him tied to Voldemort as he allowed it to curl around them. He'd noticed that Voldemort used quite a bit of his own to distract him, and when they fell, he couldn't deny that the feeling was addictive as he felt his magic boost and fuel Voldemort's.

His body felt like it was humming when they finally touched ground and he was slightly startled when Sirius appeared next to them. He hadn't expected Remus to want to see him at all and after his earlier disappointment, he felt bad that he was suddenly reluctant to step away from Voldemort.

He finally managed to step away from his mate to follow Sirius into the healing rooms and he clenched his fists to stop himself from running toward Remus as the werewolf turned toward him.

As expected, the man frowned slightly, but Dimitri didn't expect the man to reach out his hand to beckon him closer, "Sirius told me that you are disguised, and I wouldn't have recognized you if I'd walked past you in the streets, but somehow my wolf can still feel that you are important…it is quite confusing."

Dimitri grinned slightly as he gave in to the need to hug the older man, leaving Remus floundering for a moment before he felt the man's arms encircle his shoulders.

He could immediately feel the man relax and suddenly everything felt right. He had his mate, he had his friends, and he had his family just as he'd wanted and he was willing to pay any price to keep what he now had.

Something inside him, a knot of tension he hadn't noticed until now, finally loosened, and for a moment the world seemed to shift before righting itself again.

-Two hours later-

They spent some time talking before helping Remus outside to meet the rest.

It was quite nerve-wracking when the werewolf immediately pointed out who Voldemort was, but once they explained things the man seemed to calm down. Even Fenrir joined them a little later and the werewolf was quite happy with himself when he figured out who Dimitri really was after seeing how close he was to Sirius.

He didn't seem to mind at all and Dimitri found himself hoping that the rest of the Death Eaters would have similar reactions.

They finally said goodbye another three hours later as Dimitri found himself falling asleep in Voldemort's arms.

~Voldemort~

Voldemort found himself apparating with a sleepy Dimitri and he almost didn't want to let go of the younger man after the way their magic had merged earlier, but it was something he'd rather allow Dimitri to decide once he was fully awake so he put Dimitri to bed after removing his shoes and socks and using magic to exchange his clothes for the sleeping pants he usually wore.

It was hard not to take a peek, and he hightailed it out of there before he gave in to the temptation to actually cuddle up to Dimitri.

He made his way to his room and stood frozen for a moment after he closed the door and leaned against it. He really couldn't wait for Dimitri/Harry's 17th birthday. He loved the young man, and he knew the man was mentally 29 years old, but the original owner of the body was currently only turning 15 in a few months. Luckily 'Dimitri' looked to be about 25 years old so maybe it was a good thing that he would only regain his body at 17?

His thoughts were interrupted as the shadows lengthened around the room and he tensed as Death appeared. The being looked quite grim, and yes, the pun was intentional, but it was the only way he could describe the being at the moment.

He stayed silent and the being looked at him before removing a letter from his robe, "The Master of Death has decided to stay in this realm and there are many repercussions because of that. Give him that letter once he wakes, and I will return to explain things more clearly…"

The being disappeared before Voldemort could utter a word and he watched the letter as if it was about to catch fire. He'd just managed to cheer his mate up, so why did it feel like he was going to be the bearer of bad news this time around?

He itched to open the letter and read it, just to see if there was a way to stop whatever it was before Dimitri found out about it, but a slight pull to the tab revealed that the letter had been sealed by Death's own magic and with a heavy heart he placed it on his bedside table and got ready for bed.