...
They kept running. Around them the world seemed to grow increasingly colder. As they had known but not wanted to acknowledge the world was dying. The date of its final breath was fast approaching. They had to find Cheza and open the gates of paradise.
Gellert had spoken of the ancient stories to Harrison for a time. Wolves and humans had once been allies. It was thought they had crossed through the gates of paradise together. Whether it was true or not no one living knew.
Harrison spent his time going between Gellert and Quent. Quent also liked to tell stories. His were from when he was a Sheriff. The young wolf didn't know much about the muggle world but he knew that the Sheriff position was similar to Head Auror. The stories were always interesting but there was darkness in his eyes. It only came out when he spoke of his wife and child. He knew something happened to his family. Something terrible. He couldn't bring himself to ask about it. When Quent was ready he would talk to Harrison about it.
One night, two weeks after their confrontation with his father they reached the outskirts of a town. His friends were there. The scents were too heavy for him to think that they had missed each other again. It was too late for them to slip into the town without being noticed. There were always more guards about close to and after dark. So once more the group stayed outside of the city and around a fire.
The pack had gone out to hunt for food while the others set up camp. Harrison worked on the fire with Gellert and Quent. It had to be done carefully so that it didn't cause smoke to give away their position. They were all looking forward to a warm meal after their run. Food like everything else was becoming scarce. Just like with the world everything was dying. A lot of what they were eating was dried from a few days before. Fresh meat would be nice however.
Quent asked drawing Harrison from his thoughts as he sat back in the snow, "What do you think we will find here? The raven regularly moved us away from towns and other people."
Harrison glanced from the fire and scented the air. They were still there. Still in the city with the scents of muggles. He would have to find them on his own. There was no way that they trust his clan members to make first contact. Or that Tsume wouldn't attack them.
Quietly so the others couldn't hear him he answered, "My original pack. Their scents are strong here. They will be somewhere in the city."
"Can we trust them?"
Harrison opened his mouth to snap at the man that of course they could. Then he paused and thought about it. After a moment he closed his mouth refusing to look at Quent. After listening to the stories about Gellert's past he understood the question. There was a chance that his friends and closest thing he had to a real family could betray them.
Finally he whispered, "I don't know for sure. But I want to believe that they want the best for us."
Quent bumped shoulders with him and said, "If you think they are good then I'm sure that they are. You're a good kid."
...
The next morning found Harrison and several members of the clan in the city. His clan members were set out to look for food that could be easily carried and feed them. For his part Harrison was out looking for Tsume and the others.
His nose crinkled with all of the scents of muggles. It muddled his ability to track Tsume given the time since they had seen each other. His teeth ground together with his frustration.
Weaving through the people was easy given that he cast Notice-Me-Not charms on him. It allowed him to move about without being jostled. Around him were vendors trying to charge outrageous prices for basic necessities. He barely glanced at them as he tried to find the correct scents.
To his annoyance the raven was simply following him around. It wasn't showing him in any particular direction. He growled low in his throat as he turned into a dead end. As he turned he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up on end.
Instincts screamed he was about to be attacked and he lunged to the side. Just a spell hit the concrete burning it. Harrison spun his eyes glowing with his magic. In front of him was Barty Crouch Jr. one of his father's most loyal.
Harrison's wand dropped into his palm and he threw up a silent shield just in time for the next spell. A low growl escaped him, his wolf was making its displeasure known. Even as he felt a twinge of fear. If Crouch Jr. was here was his father also here?
Crouch didn't say anything. He was wearing a wild grin that reminded him of a rabid dog. This man was almost as crazy as Bellatrix. Harrison dodged the next sickly yellow spell not recognizing it. Scratch that. He was crazier than Bellatrix.
Harrison sent back a bone breaking curse at the man. He deflected it and sent another unfamilar curse. Fuck. Note to self he needed to have Grindelwald teach him more spells. He was taught by Voldemort along with his brother and he wasn't recognizing many spells.
The next one he dodged caused the bricks to explode. Fuck this shit. Harrison shifted from human to wolf causing Crouch's eyes to widen in surprise. A howl sounded from behind Crouch and a gray wolf with a large white scar across it's chest.
Tsume...
Crouch looked between them trying to decide on the best course of action. Then he said, "Till next time little prince. You should know your father hasn't given up yet."
Harrison lunged for him but Crouch apparated away.
