Tempus Magia

Part Two

Chapter 20: A Challenge to the Alpha

Hermione Granger made a grave error during the final battle that resulted in Remus's death. Working as an unspeakable she spends two years working on a spell using powder from time turners to go back to Remus's greatest hour of need. What if Remus's greatest time of need wasn't in *this* war?

Totally overwhelmed by all of the reviews and I am working on responding to each one. Thank you! -Chefke

Hermione woke with a pounding headache and fury that would have shamed even Ron when the Cannons lost to the Wanderers, who had been using every one of their reserve players at the time. She struggled to get up but found herself charmed to the bed she was laying in.

She was in a large grey tent, nestled under a mountain of soft clean covers. Someone had cleaned her face and tied her hair back into a braid. The room itself smelled of lemongrass and linen and Hermione felt herself fighting to stay angry when she was surrounded by so much… calm.

"Awake, I see." Hermione's cursory glance had completely missed a forty-year-old looking wizard sitting in a chair in the corner of the room. He had a short beard that was salt and pepper but still had hints of a dusty brown hair he had in his youth. He was well dressed for someone living in a tent and there was something eerily familiar about him.

Ignoring his fashionable robes, she looked to his abdomen and neck that were heavily bandaged. He watched her like a hawk, following her eyes as they traveled up and down his body. She was looking for a weakness to exploit and he knew it.

A cup of water floated to her, but she shook her head in defiance. "Just as stubborn as your mate." Hermione paled. "I see it is not something the two of you have discussed. I did wonder why Remus sought us out. Many thought it was for the group that flies under the banner of a Phoenix. I assumed it had something to do with werewolf magic that he could not control."

Hermione remained silent. She had no idea who this man was and she would not give him anything. Not on Remus, or her, or Lily and James.

The stranger was about to speak when another wizard entered the tent. He walked in with his head bowed so Hermione could not get a good look at his face.

"Father, the mutt has woken. He's broken out of two sets of chains and we don't think anything will hold him at this point."

The man chuckled, "No. There is little that will keep an Alpha from his mate," the son straightened and Hermione began hurling nonverbal cursing across the room. "Fenrir."

In under a minute, Hermione was out of her bed and dueling Greyback. She had been changed into a long white gown and when she wasn't in a fight for her life she would make time to feel violated. As it was she was fighting an armed wizard without a wand. Impressively, she was holding her ground.

Fenrir's father sat in his chair finding the entire situation amusing. He chuckled momentarily distracting Hermione. With his prey distracted, Fenrir knocked her over and sat on her chest leering, his wand digging in her throat. Hermione struggled under his weight, refusing to die at the hands of the monster who would kill Remus.

"Enough, Fenrir. You have made your point. Leave Lupin's mate be." Greyback leaned down over her face, his tongue out. "Fenrir! Do not mark her! Lupin almost killed Black for marking her and I will not stand between a wolf and his mate."

Fenrir scowled at his father and then after rubbing himself into her belly, he got off. Hermione rolled over immediately and erected a shield around herself. Fenrir smile was beckoning her to fight him.

"Fenrir close the door behind you on your way out," the son scowled at his father before stomping out and Hermione, still high on adrenaline, had to fight the urge to laugh out how childlike the action was.

"Hermione, would you like a drink?"

"I don't want anything from you, Greyback." she snarled. The older werewolf raised his hand in surrender.

Lowering one hand into his pocket he withdrew a dark vinewood wand. Hermione had to resist the urge to run at him to get her wand. She was planning on how to best get her wand when he tossed it at her.

Hermione was so shocked she missed it and she had to scramble to pick it up. "Are you done being ridiculous?"

"Ridiculous? You send your people to torch my friend's home," Hermione felt shame creep into her veins that she hadn't asked about James and Lily. "I was attacked and stunned before being dragged into the middle of freaking nowhere. Someone took my clothes off of me without my consent and you have the audacity to ask me to stop being ridiculous?!"

While Hermione was ranting he summoned a simple blue chipped teacup and sipped. "Is that all?"

Hermione gaped at the idiot. She didn't care if he was the Alpha for all werewolves in general. She pointed her wand at the git. "Where's Remus?"

"Chained in another tent."

"Where?" he nodded his head to the left before taking another leisurely and unnerving sip of tea. "Take me to him."

"Making demands are we?"

"Take me to Remus," she ordered.

He smiled. "No, I don't think I will."

Hermione sent a warning hex as the teacup. Whatever friendliness was in his features vanished and in an instant, he was transformed and she was flat on her back with a transformed werewolf towering over her.

She felt her body shake in terror. He was massive and a black rather than the dark grey Remus was.

His eyes were cold and yellow, even after he changed back. Hermione was struck with the terrifying thought of werewolves that could change at will.

"Never do that again little girl. I am Reynir Greyback. I am the Head Alpha of the UK packs. I assume you have met my son, Fenrir?" Hermione nodded silently from the floor. "You will not antagonize him. Fenrir enjoys being more animal than the werewolf that he should be. He will not hesitate to you rip your throat out in either form."

Reynir offered his hand and recognizing the peace offering, Hermione took it. "Thank you."

Retaking his seat, Hermione slid onto the edge of the bed and sat quietly. She wanted to see Remus. She wanted to see if he was okay. It had nothing to do with… with what Lily had…

"Hermione?" Reynir cut into her thoughts. "Were you aware that you were Remus' mate?"

"Lily had just mentioned it and… that girl showed up. I haven't… I haven't processed it yet."

"Processed it?"

"I don't know what to do with this information. I can't… Remus doesn't belong with me."

"And who are you to decide that?"

"I…" Hermione thought of tiny Teddy Lupin at his birthday party happily eating his birthday cake. "I'm not destined to marry him or bear his children."

Reynir leaned back in his chair and looked at her seriously, "You have the sight?"

"No, not exactly," Hermione responded immediately. Reynir responded by raising a quizzical eyebrow. Had he not been Fenrir's father Hermione would have thought him handsome. "I don't believe in that hogwash."

"Then how could you possibly know you won't bear his children?"

Hermione sighed. She needed a proper explanation for her comment and she had read that Alphas knew when you were lying to them. "I guess… I've seen it."

There, not a lie but not the truth either.

"Hmm… that's a great burden you bear. I am sorry Hermione," his voice was filled with a heavy sadness and because in over twenty years Hermione hadn't figure out when it was an inappropriate time to ask questions, she blurted out the question on her mind.

"What happened to your mate?"

"You are either extremely intelligent or extremely stupid, Hermione." Hermione shrugged. She was a Gryffindor, even though the hat had said she belonged in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw as well. They sat in silence until Hermione thought he forgot about her question entirely.

"Several years the turn of the century, there was a war between the werewolf packs. There are several ways a wolf can be made into an Alpha. One of them is to be born to an Alpha and another is... to have a mate and then gather a pack or take over the one you were apart of. I made Giselle on her way home from the market. I knew immediately that she was my mate. I already had three sons and a wife. It is so rare that werewolves ever find their mates…"

Reynir sipped the tea and for the first time, Hermione noticed just how old the teacup was.

"She was flattered by my attention but she was betrothed and asked me to leave her alone. Giselle was a squib and knew that I was a beta in a pack. When my pack leader found out that I found my mate, he panicked. He attacked her home that full moon and killed her entire family. She only escaped because my sons protected her. Two of my sons fell and only my youngest survived managing to spirit her away in the process."

"I thought werewolves can't control themselves under the moon?"

"Not usually no. An Alpha always has control and can shift at will, the same applies for a wolf with a mate. My sons were bound to Giselle, even though she was not their blood mother. They recognized her as my mate and as their primary mother. When she was threatened they were able to assert their control over their wolves and protect her.

"My wife at the time, Hela had known about Giselle and had been the one to tell the Alpha and distract me long enough for him to attack Giselle and her family. I challenged my Alpha and killed him becoming the pack leader. Once I killed my Alpha, I had to kill Hela for her betrayal and for Giselle's protection. The day after the moon I had to mourn my pack's Alpha who had been like a father to me, my two sons, my wife, and Giselle's family."

"But you didn't know Giselle's family?"

"Didn't matter, Giselle was heartbroken and so was I. The wizard she was betrothed to broke off her engagement and she had nowhere to go. Her home had been destroyed and her relatives would not take her in because she was a squib. My youngest son went to her and offered her a home with our pack.

"This action didn't sit well with the other packs. Tensions were high in the magical community and while half of the packs were excited that I had the first mate in over a century, they wanted me to discard her because she was a squib. The other half of the packs were brothers with my Alpha. They were furious with their brothers' death and attacked me and my pack after the meeting. As an Alpha with a mate, I can force my betas to change at will. We fought and won. I took apart the packs and reorganized them to be under my guidance.

"Tensions ran high until finally 1904 there was a werewolf war. Hundreds of humans and wizards were killed and the Ministry backed away from the werewolves in fear."

Hermione looked at him again. She couldn't believe he was over seventy. He barely looked forty!

"I became the Head Alpha of all of the packs except for two. The werewolves of Wales were well versed in very dark magic. Most of them were students of Durmstrang who had decided to become werewolves to enhance their dark magic. They had an impenetrable stronghold in Castell Coch.

"There was a cold peace of sorts until the end of world war two. Fenrir, my youngest child from Giselle had just been born and we were resting as a family. My children and I were gathered around his small cradle when we heard... my wife's screams. She was dead before we made it into the room. My middle child Sleipnir protected Fenrir, while we fought the wolves from the Wales pack.

"It wasn't a war more than just a series of bloody battles. My wife was not the only woman who was killed. They snuck into our village and killed all of the women from babes to the elderly."

Hermione realized that he had not mentioned any daughters. The sorrow in his eyes spoke of death and destruction. On its own accord, Hermione's hand reached out and covered his. "I'm so sorry for your loss, Reynir."

Reynir looked at her in shock, "Your the first non-werewolf to offer your condolences."

"That says more about the other witches and wizards than me. You lost your family, it doesn't matter our species or our affiliation. Grief is grief."

Reynir smiled softly. "Giselle would have liked you."

Hermione returned the gesture. "What happened to the Wales packs?"

"We cornered them in Castell Coch. They had my… my Nori's head on a pike. We killed them all except for the small children. We raised them in our village and when they were old enough, we sent them back to Wales."

Hermione sat silently as she processed all of the information she was given. Reynir had never set out to take over the packs. He had done it to protect his family. "Why are you telling me all of this?"

"Because I need you to understand that Remus is the first person to find his mate since I found Giselle. You do not have to fear me. I would not put your or Remus through what I had to go through when I lost Giselle. Neither will those of my pack who remember her death." Fenrir was a baby. He won't remember.

"I apologize Reynir, but I have to know. How bad is it?"

Reynir sighed. "I have ears everywhere, Hermione. My sources tell me you claim to be an agent from the MACUSA, but also claim to be James Potter's cousin. Two things, I have researched and know that you are neither of." Hermione began to stutter but he held a hand to silence her. "I don't know or care where you are from. What I do know is that if you leave, Remus will never recover."

"He will. I know it."

"The wife and son you speak of?"

"If I stay, his son won't be born. I… I can't…"

"You feel guilty for something that has not happened yet?" he asked curiously.

"But it has!" Reynir's eyes widened.

Shit.

"Oh," he said simply. "This complicates things."

"I… if anyone were to know…" Hermione contemplated obliviating him. Could you obliviate a werewolf?

"Hermione, you don't have to fear me. I will do what I can to keep you and Remus alive." Reynir's eyes were warm and wide and blue. She felt at ease with the older werewolf even though she had just met him.

But then her eyes fell to his wand. Fenrir had a similar wand and Hermione's eyes filled with another werewolf's wand pointed down at her and Remus. Blue eyes that were filled with such hate, how had Hermione not realized that he had recognized her?

Hermione was sobbing as her mind tortured her with images of Remus' death. Her heart was burning and clenching in a pain cripplingly more intense than when she had trouble putting Teddy down. Warm hands rubbed on her back soothingly and she heard shouts for a calming drought.

Was this what her life was going to be like? Was she going to spend her entire life mourning Remus? She wasn't sure if her heart could take it and even if it could, she wasn't sure if she wanted to be able to take it.

What about Teddy? He was technically hers and suddenly Andromeda's possessive reaction made a lot of sense. Hermione wondered why she had been invited to Teddy's birthday in the first place.

She tasted the sickening sweetness of calming draught mixed with dreamless sleep on her tongue as it was forced down her throat. She felt herself being lifted up from the floor where she had been sitting and being gently set back into the bed.

She struggled against the potions until she could no longer and succumbed to sleep.

"Remus, your mate is safe and asleep you can stop struggling." Remus snarled at Reynir.

"Where is she?"

"We talked about her life as your mate. She… You are mated to a brave witch."

Of course, Reynir wasn't going to give him an answer. No one would. Fenrir came in to taunt him, his groin area smelling like Hermione and causing Moony to take over and try to escape. It had taken fourteen pack members to subdue him and it only worked because Vali and Jormungand had both taken oaths that she was fine.

Remus had settled down mostly until Moony caught the scent of her stress before Reynir walked into the tent he was being chained down in.

"I want to see her, Reynir."

"She is resting."

Remus scowled and tried to school his temper. He wasn't helping Hermione by lashing out. He needed to gain Reynir's trust so he would let him see Hermione. Once he had her, he was going to sneak her out.

"We have a problem, Remus."

"You mean where you kidnapped my mate and now won't let me see her?"

Reynir sighed. "Remus, I am not your enemy here. You do, however, have a great many of them. You challenging me started a lot of discord amongst the packs."

Remus didn't bother trying to hide his smile. At least he had achieved something.

"Remus, you challenged an Alpha and then fled in the middle of the fight. Some are calling you a coward and others are calling you brave for protecting your family. Regardless, we need to finish the challenge."

"You want to finish our battle?"

"No, but not for the reasons you think. Morfran has agreed to battle in my stead."

"How noble of you. Sending one the psycho wolf packs after me, lovely. Will you be sending Addanc to pick up Morfran's pieces?"

"Remus, you have to realize why I am sending Morfran to battle in my stead. Should you lose to him, Hermione will be under my protection. Imagine what will happen to her if you lose to me. I raised Morfran and Addanc like sons."

Moony howled.

Remus could not lose this fight. Hermione's life depended on it.

"Morfran refuses to fight you while you are injured from another fight. He is insisting on the trial to be on March the 16th at sundown. Hermione must be present although she will be at my side."

Remus shook his head. "Hermione is not going to be anywhere near this camp during the full moon."

"Remus, have you ever spoken to the witch? Have you seen her fight? She nearly decapitated Fenrir half an hour ago, using wordless and wandless magic. She can hold her own." Remus wished he wasn't chained to a bloody pole. He needed to pace. He needed to do something.

He had woken up completely naked with Vali tenderly caring for his wounds, while Jormungand looked on. She spread dittany over his cuts and used her wand to close the wounds. She was gentle and Remus knew that she held a deep attraction for him.

If he hadn't had Hermione, he would have considered her as a potential… distraction. Now, all he could think about was where Hermione was and what she was doing. He wanted her safe and happy within the confines of James' house.

As it was Jormungand was snappy and transfigure clothes on him as soon as Vali was done. There was tension between the two and Remus suspected that Jormungand did not agree with his little sister's attraction towards the Black sheep of werewolves.

Sheep were prey for wolves.

"Regardless," Reynir continued. "She will be at my side the entire night. Should things not go your way, I will protect her."

Remus snorted as he looked around the room for the millionth time for possible exit strategies. "I don't trust you Reynir."

"You don't have to, but Hermione does trust me." Remus attention snapped back to the Head Alpha.

"What do you mean Hermione does?"

"We had a chat, Hermione and I, and we've come to an understanding."

"What did you say to her?"

"Only the truth," he replied simply. "I explained how packs run and that you are an Alpha in your own right because of her."

"She doesn't know much about mating. I left her a book, Vali did some research and she is quite the bookworm." Remus' skin burned. Reynir and Vali knew more about Hermione then he did. "She may be upset about the room she was staying in. Vali was… excessive in her pursuit of the girl."

"Excessive?"

"She blew up the house."

"What?!"

"Your friends are fine. The one with a pup in her belly is safe, as is the pup. Stop overreacting Remus, Morfran will use it against you."

Remus stood furiously. He wanted to rip Vali's head from her shoulders. How could she endanger Hermione, Lily, Harry, and James? They were his pack.

"Calm yourself, Remus. Anger is not becoming on you. I will have Hermione fetched and you will remove yourself from our camps and return on the eve of the fourteenth. Should either of you run, we will hunt and turn not just you but your friends as well."

Remus paled. "Turn?"

"Turning your friends into the monster you perceive yourself to be is worse than death for you, is it not?"

Remus clenched his jaw but did not answer. How the fuck was he going to get out of this one?

"In order to make my sentiments known," he waved two fingers and Fenrir entered the tent. Remus hissed at his sire. "Bring the mate, my son."

Remus fought against the chains. He knew what Fenrir did to witches, it was no secret. The thing, for he was neither human nor wolf, didn't believe in consent and was not above cannibalism in either his wolf or human form.

Fifteen agonizingly long minutes later, Fenrir reappeared with a scratch across his face and a stunned Hermione. He set her down on the floor, smirking when the long sheer nightgown she was wearing shifted and her breast became exposed.

Remus felt his bonds release around him and he snarled at Fenrir. He had no doubt that he had ripped off the six buttons that were currently revealing her chest.

"Remus," cautioned Reynir. "You can fight Fenrir or you can take your mate away from here quickly before the others rise and join in on the fight."

Fenrir smiled wickedly, "Your choice, son of mine."

It wasn't a choice at all. Remus grabbed Hermione into his arms and ran for the apparition point.

This is the last chapter in part two, part three will focus more on leaving the past and the obstacles in the way. I hope that you're enjoying! -Chefke