Author's Note: Hope everyone is still staying safe and healthy! Remember that this chapter immediately follows the last one. Enjoy! :)
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I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters or anything else resembling what J.K Rowling introduced us all to. Just the plot and OC are mine.
Chapter 40
Avalynn strode through the bookshelves, panting from the effort to meet Regulus and Severus on-time. Her hair, still wet from a pleasurable shower in the Room of Requirement, was pulled back in a braid. She absentmindedly lifted the front of her shirt to her nose, breathing in Remus's scent that lingered.
She plopped down into her seat with a sigh. "I'm sorry for running late. I was with Remus and we got sidetracked. You would not believe the pull between soulmates. It's insatiable. Or maybe it's because I'm mated to someone of a furrier nature, you know? So, maybe it's animal instinct?" As Ava slowly realized the amount of T.M.I. that had just slipped out her mouth, she peeked at her friends.
Severus raised a brow at her choice of words and appeared to be fighting a smile. "I assumed as much, especially after leaving you alone with Lupin at the Room a few weeks ago."
Regulus's mouth hung open as his wide eyes bounced between her and Severus.
She giggled at his scandalized expression. "Oh, c'mon, Regulus."
He shook himself and frowned. "I would like to apologize, Ava. I feel as though I've failed you."
She was beyond confused and opened her mouth to ask what the hell Regulus was talking about when he continued.
"A true friend and gentleman would've remained at your side as a chaperone and wouldn't have allowed you to be placed in such a vulnerable position."
Ava stared at him in bewilderment and heard a scoff come from Severus's direction.
"I find it highly unlikely that you would've been able to persuade Ava regarding that particular facet of her private life, Regulus," he said.
The idea of needing to be supervised by someone so that she wouldn't "fall prey" to a man and have sex baffled her. Even knowing that Regulus meant no harm, her magic flared in agitation at the implication that he would keep her from Remus. "Severus is right."
Regulus shifted in his seat, cheeks flushing red at the direction the conversation was heading.
She gave him a small smile and reached out to give his hand a quick squeeze to show that she wasn't angry with him. "Regulus, look, while I appreciate your concern for my well-being, it's not necessary. For several reasons."
With furrowed brows, he opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off, with her voice lowered. Her heightened senses hadn't detected any other students within hearing distance, so she didn't bother with a privacy spell. "First of all, Remus is my soulmate. Our magic decided that we literally belong together. And he's such a kind, sweet guy, you'll never have to worry about him taking advantage of me, in any way. Second of all, even if I wanted to have sex—"
Regulus choked and she fought a grin.
"—with someone else, you have no say in who I sleep with."
He frowned and shook his head, about to interject, when she continued.
"And third of all, and please listen closely. Women have sex drives too, and we enjoy sex just as much as men do. We have needs and urges, so why should I have to remain 'pure and virginal' when men aren't expected to?" She crossed her arms and sat back with her brows raised, allowing the scary, progressive comments to sink in.
Severus was smirking at her and some of the tension left her body.
At least I don't have to worry about him trying to interfere with my sex life, she thought before looking back to Regulus, who was pinching the bridge of his nose with closed eyes.
He let out a deep breath and flicked his eyes open. "I may sound like a prude, but I swear that I'm just trying to do right by you, Ava. I understand that my way of thinking may be limited to Purebloods and some Half-bloods, but I'm reasonable and open-minded enough to realize that not everyone shares those beliefs."
Pink tinged his cheeks as he added, "I have no intention of interfering with your love life." His lips formed a deep frown. "And I must admit that after you mentioned it, I can see the double standard that my upbringing holds women to. It's unfair to expect them to remain chaste before marriage when most men don't."
"Yeah?"
He huffed. "Don't sound so surprised. I am capable of thinking for myself." He lowered his voice. "Especially when I've seen first-hand that Purebloods can spout off beliefs and values that aren't entirely moral or ethical."
She nodded.
"Well, now that you two have settled your differences regarding sexual behavior, can we please focus? Some of us have exams next week and would like to spend Christmas break without fretting over the results," Severus commented in a dry tone.
Ava and Regulus shared a smile and got themselves settled in with their textbooks and copious amounts of parchment scattered across the table. They worked in silence for quite some time and she felt successful when they eventually packed up and headed to lunch. Even though Slytherin wasn't playing in the Quidditch match, Regulus planned to watch while Severus would be in Potions lab, brewing his own experiments. Ava planned to attend with Remus and her Gryffindor friends in support of James and Sirius.
As they headed to the Great Hall, she asked, "So, what should I expect at the New Year's Eve Ball?" Those that had been deemed worthy had received their invitations earlier that week by owl delivery. The shimmery, cream envelope had earned Ava some curious looks at the Gryffindor table and she had quickly put away the opulent paper, hoping to avoid questions.
However, it seemed that the invitations were a highly anticipated event each year and by the end of the meal, it was clear which of her fellow Gryffindors were bitter for being left out, more wary of her for being among the invited, or clearly didn't give two shits about who was attending the snobbish holiday party. Unfortunately, Lily had seemed to withdraw from Ava a bit at the sight of her invitation, and Peter had found it interesting enough to engage Ava in conversation about why she would be invited. She had shrugged and played dumb, assuming that it must be because she's a new student and Professor McGonagall's niece.
Severus's voice drew Ava back to the present. "I would advise that you become educated on Pureblood etiquette so that you can handle yourself accordingly at the ball. You'll be in close quarters with mostly Purebloods and Slytherins, so it would be best for you to prepare for that kind of environment." He gave her a pointed look.
She rolled her eyes. "I know, I know. I can control my emotions. I just choose not to most of the time."
"Whatever you have to tell yourself, Ava."
Regulus sighed. "I'm not sure we'll have time to help you before classes end. But you should at least continue practicing your Occlumency. That'll help you regulate your emotions, which will help you tolerate being surrounded by people you can't stand," he finished with a smile.
"And we'll talk about the, uh, thing that we'll be looking for when I see you tomorrow?"
Both boys nodded.
After deliberating for a couple minutes about where and when to meet up the next day, Ava released an annoyed huff. "We need something that allows us to communicate. Instantly. Besides it making our lives easier, we really should have something in case we need to contact each other immediately or if there's an emergency." Based on the worried looks her friends were sporting, she didn't need to vocalize what kinds of serious situations could arise for which instant communication would be extremely useful.
With the agreement to think more on the issue, the trio split off to their respective tables once they entered the dining hall. James and Sirius scarfed down their lunch and headed to the Quidditch pitch for warm-ups, leaving Ava with Remus and the others for about an hour before the match. It was the longest period she had spent around the other seventh years purely socializing and she found herself eventually relaxing. Of course, the girls were friendly as usual, helping in that regard, but even Frank and Peter seemed more pleasant and talkative. She chalked it up to them being excited about the Quidditch match. I'll take what I can get, she thought with an internal shrug.
By the end of the match, which Gryffindor had won, of course, Ava had found herself shocked by Peter's behavior. He had been perfectly polite to her the entire game and even helped explain the rules and maneuvers the players were using. Snuggling into Remus for warmth, she had been startled when Peter had initially peered around the werewolf to see if she understood the sport. At her mate's questioning gaze, likely feeling her fingers tense around his arm, she forced herself to loosen up and remain cordial to the rodent Animagus. Within a few minutes, it became clear that Peter was simply being friendly and she decided to use the situation to her advantage since the boys were wanting her to be nicer to him.
Later that evening, Ava walked with the Marauders down the tunnel that led to the Shrieking Shack, Remus leading the way with their fingers intertwined. The others were using their wands to keep the path lit for themselves, but the beams didn't quite reach where she and Remus were trudging ahead of them. However, it didn't seem to matter. Ava could actually see the majority of the roots and rocks littering the ground as they moved through the passageway despite the lack of light.
Her magic flitted about her body, but she could feel a good portion of it concentrated in the hand attached to Remus. It was reaching out to him for comfort, which wasn't too much of a shock considering her fingers were gripping his tightly, nervous about their first full moon together. While Ava wasn't concerned about being alongside her werewolf for the entire transformation, she had no clue how the completion of their bond would affect either of them when the moon was fully risen in the night sky.
She hoped that they both, or at least Remus, would be more comfortable during the transition because of their close proximity. As she trailed behind her mate, there was something in the back of her mind, causing her to be restless. But she was struggling to get a good read on her emotions and magic at the moment.
Her body was itching to claw its way out of the underground tunnel and sprint across the school grounds until dawn, while at the same time, urging her to rip off their clothes and beg Remus to take her from behind right there in the dirt. Another part of her wanted to get to the Shack as quick as possible and snuggle up to her werewolf, cuddling until daybreak. And despite the fact that she's inclined to seek reassurance from her soulmate, there was a tiny piece of her mind protesting. I shouldn't need him to feel safe. I can manage just fine on my own.
Once the five of them were settled in the dusty upstairs bedroom, Remus took off his clothes, appearing no longer embarrassed to be naked in front of his close friends or Ava. They had only been in the secure room for a few minutes when Remus's eyes flashed amber, signaling to the other boys to hurry up and morph into their animal forms.
She watched the Animagi with a bit of jealousy. Of course, she could study and train to become one herself, but she couldn't justify spending valuable time on learning that skill when there were bigger issues at hand. Like learning the basic spells every teenager at Hogwarts knew, regardless of how awesome it would be for her to change into an animal at will.
Ava was pulled from her musings when, right on schedule, her nerves prickled all over her body. The feeling of pins and needles was familiar territory, but the sensation grew into an aching pain that radiated from her very bones. She let out a pained gasp and looked to Remus with wide, scared eyes.
More experienced with the transformation, Remus was merely shifting on his feet in agitation. "What is it?" he rushed out in a panic, reaching out for her.
The pressure of his hands on her arms was unbearable with her muscles and bones feeling ready to burst from underneath her skin, causing her to cry out. What the HELL? This isn't good, she thought dimly as her face scrunched up in pain.
He jumped back from her as if burned. "Ava! What's wrong?" He let out an animalistic whine and paced next to her, seeming too afraid to touch her again.
She braced herself on her knees, the panic wanting her to take gulping breaths of fresh air, but the sharp stabbing in her ribs was too much. She clenched her jaw and took shallow breaths, staring at the floor in concentration.
Sirius spoke up in an effort to reassure Remus. "I think she's alright, Moony. I didn't actually see her during the transformation last time, but she was in pain and it sounded an awful lot like she does right now."
Hearing sickening cracks and a low groan, Ava's head snapped up in time to see Remus slump to the floor on his knees, still eyeing her with concern. "I'm okay," she whispered with pained effort.
As fur began to sprout along Remus's skin while his limbs morphed and elongated, she felt her own bones begin to shift and now she panicked fully, looking to Sirius and James in fright who reflected her distraught expression.
Her magic simmered throughout her entire body, rising to an excruciating boil. Between cries and gasps of pain, she shouted, "I think—Ah! I'm chang—Fuck!"
Brought down to her hands and knees, Ava grunted as her spine snapped, the searing pain causing her vision to darken. Her fingers flexed against the wooden floorboards, but when she managed to glance down to see what was keeping her nails from peeling right off, she found claws attached to her furry arms.
What the fuck? She blinked rapidly, assuming the sight was just a trick of her imagination. She had barely enough motor control to lift a hand in an attempt to bring it closer to her face for inspection when darkness consumed her vision.
Without opening her eyes, Ava could smell that Sirius was the one nudging her side, using his snout to entice her to wake up. She grumbled about resting her eyes for only a little longer, but the dog was relentless. He continued to prod at her ribs and shoulders, as if he were trying to roll her over, but he seemed unable to.
That's weird, she thought. He's definitely big enough to. When the familiar and welcome scent of Remus replaced Padfoot's, Ava became more alert and blinked her eyes slowly, trying to clear her vision. Immediately, Moony licked her face and released a happy yip.
Ava, Remus called, sounding as if he were inside her mind.
Her eyes shot open, her sight feeling sharper than ever before. She could clearly see the three Animagi on the other side of the room watching her intensely, Padfoot and Prongs side-by-side with Wormtail clutching onto the deer's antlers. Ava's brain barely registered the fact that she could discern each of their scents from that distance, or that her eyes noticed every minute adjustment or shuffle of their bodies.
Swiveling her head to look at Remus, she groaned, her skull pounding and feeling like it weighed a ton. The sound she produced startled her into a sitting position. It had reminded her of when Moony or Padfoot would growl. That realization brought back the memories riddled with immense pain from right before she blacked out. She huffed out a breath of laughter. I actually thought I was turning into a wolf too.
Ava, Remus called again, sounding hesitant.
Once again, it felt as though he were inside her mind, but she shook her head and attempted to stand. She immediately tripped over her feet and collapsed to the floor. Hearing what sounded like laughter from the animals in the room, she lifted her head, intending to send a glare at them, but a deep growl left her throat.
A high yelp escaped from Ava as she scrambled backwards, tumbling into the pile of blankets and cushions.
Calm down, Ava. You're fine. Everything's fine. Take it easy.
Are you in my head? she asked in a panic, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, but the tingling alertness trailed farther down her spine, all the way to her tail-bone.
Yes, love. I need you to breathe and just listen for a moment, okay?
An unbidden whine slipped out of her. I don't understand what's going on.
I'm not entirely sure either, but it seems that you're now a—well, you've got—
What, Remus?! she asked with an audible snarl. But Ava didn't need him to answer when she realized she could scent the trickles of fear radiating from the deer and rat in the room following her sound of aggression. The dog didn't seem afraid, but his anxiety permeated the air.
Steeling her nerves, she slowly dipped her head, taking a look down at her body. Well, shit. I have fur. She could hear herself panting and resolved to take slow breaths. Huh. It's kinda pretty. Golden yellow to match my hair. She slowly stood, wobbling a bit as she adjusted her stance to accommodate four legs and a tail. Her paws were massive, but not quite the size of Moony's. Simultaneously, her head and ears perked up, looking to Remus.
So, I'm a wolf, she thought, directing it towards her mate.
The large, sandy wolf trotted towards her with a bark of excitement. Apparently. And we can communicate like this. His head nuzzled against her face and neck, and he even licked her a few times. This is incredible, Ava! Amazing. I've never been conscious during the night after I transform.
She pushed back against him lovingly and then noticed his tail wagging. A gruff laugh come out of her mouth, resulting in wide, shocked eyes that peered over her shoulder to see her own tail wafting back and forth through the air.
Remus returned her chuckle and turned her attention to the Animagi with a soft bark and inclination of his head.
Padfoot bounded over without hesitation and set out to sniff his new playmate, while Prongs slowly approached with Wormtail still perched high in his antlers.
As the dog circled Ava, she tracked him with her eyes, but spun around to snap at him with her newly acquired sharp teeth when he crept too close to her behind. No sniffing my ass, Sirius!
His eyes grew comically wide before he barked and hopped around on his feet for a few moments. I can hear you! He looked to Moony. Remus?
The poor werewolf looked the most startled he'd been all night. After a few minutes of rapid discussion and celebration, Ava discovered that while the Animagi could speak to each other, they hadn't been able to mentally connect with Remus before, and had to communicate with Moony through their typical animal sounds and body language. It appeared that the bond between herself and Remus allowed for him to remain conscious during the full moon.
Pondering this development, Ava thought to herself that her sealed bond with Remus was acting like a natural Wolfsbane Potion, allowing him and Moony to exist in harmony as a wolf.
Even with this progress, Remus and Moony were still filled with energy and playfulness, resulting in a plethora of tag and chase games throughout the night. Periodically, Remus would seemingly recall the reason for being fully aware during the full moon and would nuzzle against her, practically purring in his appreciation.
It took Ava some time to adjust to her new, large and powerful body, but eventually she was able to keep up with Moony and Padfoot and even catch them unawares, nipping at their tails. When she finally settled her exhausted, lumbering body into the collection of cushions and blankets, she cleared her mind and drowned out the noises from the boys.
Taking inventory of herself, Ava could detect her magic and the fact that while it was currently calm, there was still a wildness that was reminiscent of her conflicting emotions earlier in the night. If she hadn't been so depleted of energy, she might've felt more inclined to give into her magic and the urge to run outside in the moonlit forest.
Having found herself circling a spot a few times before laying down to rest, it became more apparent that her wolfish tendencies were in full force that night. Does that mean I'm a werewolf? Or I'm just a werewolf by association? I'm supposed to be scared and freaking out, right? Thankfully, her mental shield was still in place, so her mini existential crisis didn't alarm Remus or the other boys. It can't be a bad thing if Remus and Moony aren't warring with each other, she reasoned.
Ava curled against herself tighter and pulled her tail in close, wrapping it around her front, nearly covering her snout. She laid down her now fluffy head and watched the boys play wrestle through drooping eyes.
Sometime later, her sensitive nose woke her up when Remus snuggled and inched his way up against her and let out a pleased rumble as he dropped down to the comfy pile for sleep. His warm, hulking body brought her feelings of being safe and at home.
I love you, he told her.
I love you too, Remus.
Even in their wolf forms, the couple's magic danced across their fur and mingled in delight. The stress of everything washed away while Ava basked in the presence of her mate and drifted off to a peaceful sleep.
