A/N Hello everyone, it's been another week and here is another chapter in Better a Freak Than a Monster. I think I've been doing a decent job of updating regularly but that might change in the near future. My schedule got shifted around a bit but I will still do my best to publish next Tuesday. Thank you all for sticking around for this and I really hope that it meets every one of your expectations. Unless it involve the plot, because all authors have the right to do whatever they want with the plot of the story and not everyone likes how stuff ends up. example: Steven King, The Dark Tower series Final Book. This was the biggest fuck off to fans ever and I will try to not do that to you all.

Hope you all enjoy the latest installment and as always please leave an honest review so that I can improve. Also please point out any mistake you see so I can fix them.

With Jason

Jason slowly regained consciousness and assessed his surroundings. He was in a small room lit by a few burning candles. The walls were black and the floor was red though Jason felt that it wasn't paint he was sitting on. Jason tried to move but found his arms and legs bound in chains. He struggled as best as he could but he wasn't able to get anything loose. How did he get in this place? What happened and why couldn't he remember? The more he thought about it the more flashes went through his mind. A job? A struggle? He didn't think Harry was involved with anything this time. He was pulled out of his mental rant by a loud clang. Something was unlocked and light pored into the room. Jason tried to turn around and see his captor but he fell on his back and his head slammed into the floor. "I didn't think I would be lucky enough to see you so soon. How have you been kid?" Spoke a horribly sarcastic voice. It sounded familiar but Jason couldn't put his finger on it,

"Who the hell are you?" Jason managed to groan out. The mysterious man let out a harsh chuckle.

"I didn't think you were so rude Jason. After all, aren't I the one who turned your little girlfriend into a monster?" Jason's body tensed as a cold rage filled him to his core. The man kicked Jason in the gut, breaking two of his ribs. "Figure it out yet?" Jason glared at his captor and growled like a savage animal.

"Greyback!"

Earlier that day with Harry

Fran and I had set into a little routine after Jason got the pendant for me. In the morning after I get cleaned up I fix breakfast and wake up Fran. I've been able to try a few new recipes thanks to the cookbooks at the library and the groceries that Sapphire grabs for us. Jason never asked her to do it she just thought we should have the ability to chose at least one of our meals. I appreciate it but I do wish she didn't waste time getting all of this for us when we can't even use half of it.

Afterwards we just laze around the house for a few hours before going over to the library. I decided to use the time to meditate and try to get a better feel for my magic. It's been a slow and steady development but I'm able to apparate much easier than before and it doesn't take much of a toll on me anymore. However, I haven't been able to use that cutting spell with my pocketknife or make myself faster. I'm also having to use my magic like a pulse instead of a river. I don't get why I can't just use the 'river' method like I use the 'pulse' method. If I had a teacher that knew how my magic worked then maybe I could understand something but the best teacher I have access to is Jason and he isn't much help when it comes to wandless magic.

I opened my eyes and glanced at the clock. In about half an hour it would be time to head over to the library. It would be rather pointless to go back to meditating so I might as well check on Fran. I hopped off the bed and went down to the living room. Sure enough she was sitting on the couch with her head buried in a romance novel. I really don't get why women love them so much. I read a couple of them before and didn't see what the big deal was. It would be best not to interrupt her so I backed into the kitchen and started to make coffee. It isn't the tastiest thing in the world but it will wake up just about anyone. I felt my body loosen up as I sniffed the burning liquid. I wonder if Sheska would like a cup of it, she wouldn't say no to something that would help her stay awake and do her job.

I made three more cups of coffee and walked into the living room. "Fran, you ready to go?" Faster than a bolt of lightning, she put her book under the pillow while her face was scarlet. I don't think she can get sick but I don't know why she would be angry or embarrassed. "Are you alright Fran?" Of course I'm fine. Why would you ask that? She wrote that a bit too quickly so I guess she was embarrassed about something in that book. "Never mind, you want to go or not?" she just shook her head and grabbed my arm. "Off we go." The apparation was faster and easier than before. It was actually more difficult to just hold the cups than it was to apparate. I wonder if Jason would be proud to know about the progress I've made.

We walked out of the alley and made our way up the stairs. When we walked into the library we saw Sheska with a small girl with long bushy hair. For some reason I felt like I had seen her somewhere before but I wasn't the kind of guy to socialize with anyone other than Fran and Sheska. And I guess sometimes Jason and the elves sometimes though he might be too scared of Fran to come near me again. She has kind of almost killed him both times she's seen him. "Sheska, who's the kid?" I asked as we walked over to them.

"Oh, hey guys, this is my niece. Why don't you introduce yourself sweetie?" The girl just turned away from us.

"If it's all the same to you aunt Sheska I'd rather start working on my project." She walked off and left the three of us alone. As rude as she seemed I couldn't find it in myself to be offended.

"I'm sorry about that guys. I promise that she's a very kind girl she just has trouble making friends." Sheska said as she practically bowed to us in apology.

"No harm no foul. Is there any particular reason she acted that way?" I found myself asking her. Something about that girl just rubbed me the wrong way.

"She's basically a genius that can remember almost anything she's read. I guess she got it from my side of the family but people use it to their advantage. She tried to be friends with everyone in her year but in the end they either bully her or use her. My brother and his wife think that it's just childish teasing but they never went through what we have. I thought if I introduced you to her she would see that not everyone is that bad." Sheska kept ranting about how the students used her as a study tool. I walked past her a bit before asking a question.

"What's her project about?" Sheska paused for a minute.

"I think she's doing a presentation on a Greek myth of her choosing." I tuned out everything else Sheska said and pointed to Fran.

"Fran can you make sure our girl does a good enough job to not get fired?" Fran nodded with a big smile and I left the Sheska situation in her hands. It took me a few minutes to find Sheska's niece but when I did she was sitting in front of the mythology section. She didn't seem to notice me until I sat in beside her but she still didn't say a word to me. "I never knew my parents. Instead I was raised by my spiteful aunt who hated me. Any time I did better than her son at anything they believed I was cheating and I got punished. To get out of those punishments I intentionally did bad in class but I still read and got smarter. I've read books that professors have trouble understanding cover to cover, though to be fair those were mostly medical textbooks." She was looking at me confused.

"Why did you come over here?" I leaned back and stared at the ceiling.

"In that house my name was Freak. It was all they called me and my cousin convinced everyone in school to call me that as well. I don't remember a day that they looked at him with such pride." I sighed and looked at her. "I came over here because you're important to Sheska. I came over here because I have a good feeling that you are a lot like me. I also think you've never been in the mythology section because the Greek mythology books are on the other side of this shelf." I watched as her face turned red with embarrassment. "Would you like me to help with your project?"

She nodded at me. "What should I call you?" It was a simple enough question but I think I should mess with her a bit.

"I plan on calling you Bookworm so you can call me Freak. Come on Bookworm, let's get to work." I grabbed her hand and pulled her up. She was blushing lightly but I ignored it and grinned at her. Bookworm followed me to the other side of the bookshelf and started looking through everything that was there. It finally dawned on me where I had seen her before. "So have you read the Silmarillion yet?" She shook her head and opened one of the books.

"No, I'm still reading the Lord of the Rings. It really is a good series as a whole. Tolkien is an amazing author. I wish more people respected his work." The way she spoke was almost sad. Is this what it feels like for Fran and Sheska to listen to me? God I put them through the ringer.

"I'm sure people will realize just how wonderful his little world is in a few years. Everyone has to go through some hardship before something good comes their way. If he was able to survive the war I'm sure he'll be able to get through this." I pulled off a few books that had multiple myths written in them. "Let's go over to the table. It's a lot more comfortable over there." She put her book back and followed me again. I dropped the books in the middle of the table before taking a seat but Bookworm hesitated to sit by me. I sighed and tilted my head at her. "Do you think Sheska is an idiot?"

"Of course not! How could you say something like that?" She responded quickly and angrily. I smiled softly at her words.

"Then maybe you should trust her judgement in others. I'm a freak that probably understands you better than you yourself. I can understand what it was like for Sheska to. It's horrible to be treated like a freak but at the same time it's not so bad. We're freaks that are different than anyone else in the world so it makes sense that the only ones we can really trust and depend on are each other. I'm not asking you to be my friend, not yet at least. I'm only asking you to have faith in the person that Sheska is." That seemed to finally do the trick because Bookworm sat beside me and grabbed the first book. I figured I shouldn't let her get the better of me so I followed suit.

"Do you think the story of Perseus would be a decent myth to use?" She asked flipping through the book.

"It's one of the most common and overused ones but it is your project. How about one of the myths about Artemis? She's one of the better deities in Greek Mythology."

"I wish I could do it over her but the myth has to focus on one of the heroes of Greek Mythology. What do you think of the myth of Jason and the Argonauts?"

"I wouldn't use that if you want a decent hero. Aphrodite forced a princess to love Jason and do more than a few horrible things for them. In the end they betrayed her and labeled her as a witch."

"That's terrible."

"There aren't many myths that end in a good way. One of things that Perseus was famous for was killing Medusa. However, she would never have been like that if Athena hadn't cursed her for 'seducing' Poseidon who in fact raped her. Yeah there aren't really any good people in mythology, well Greek mythology anyway." We kept going back and forth with ideas for her project but in the end she couldn't make up her mind. Not that it really mattered, the entire time that we worked together she was smiling and something told me that was more important than anything. We put up the books we had grabbed and made our way to the front of the building.

"So Freak, where do you go to school?" Shit! That should be a really simple thing but I never thought that they would ask such a dangerous question.

"I'm home-schooled right now." Nice going me. Now there's nothing to wo-

"Is it bad staying with your relatives?" Damn it! I turned my head away from her.

"I don't live with them anymore."

"Who do you live with then?" Come the hell on!

"I live in a house owned by a friend of mine. He is the reason that I no longer have to live with those horrible monsters. Fran is a tenant of his and has become a very close friend of mine." Please for the love of everything that is holy stop asking scary questions.

"I'm glad that they aren't hurting you anymore." Thank god.

"If I can't think of anything on my own would you be willing to help me again?" This time I turned to face her but she flinched. I pat her head and walk forward a bit.

"You're a smart girl Bookworm. I'd love to do this again sometime." I said with a smirk, loving just how bright her eyes got at my answer. "Next time it might be easier if we involve Fran and Sheska but I'm sure it will be more fun that way." We didn't say anything else, she was too happy and I was too worried about the lies I had just told. Jason might be more than a little bit pissed off at how things have turned out today. When we saw Sheska and Fran she sped right past me and ran to Sheska.

"Aunt Sheska is it alright if I come here tomorrow, after mommy and daddy take me to church? I really want to spend more time with Freak and you." Sheska looked confused until I raised my hand and grabbed her attention.

"I thought it might be a good idea to not tell each other our names until she was sure I was trustworthy. I'm Freak and she's Bookworm. I hope that's alright with you Sheska." Sheska looked from me to Bookworm and I was worried she might actually burst into a fit of maniacal laughter.

"It's up to your parents but if they don't have any issues with it then I don't either. I hope you think you can tell Freak your name tomorrow. Thank you for helping her with her project." I let out a nervous laugh at that.

"We weren't able to make any headway in the project."

With Jason

Jason was currently sitting in a bar wearing a cloak that hid his face from everyone else. The bar was filled to the brim with magical creatures and hybrids. Jason couldn't help but imagine hogtying the Umbitch in the bar and giving everyone a free swing at her. What a satisfying day that would be. In the middle of his daydream he almost didn't notice three werewolves walking into the bar. It would normally be hard to know who was and who wasn't a werewolf but Jason had a list of some of the worst werewolves that had helped Voldemort.

All three of them were on his list but he had to be patient, one of them could lead him to the worst of the worst. Jason got up from his seat and sat on a stool a few feet away from them. "How have things been with the pack in France?"

"The ministry thinks that they're a small group but they couldn't be farther from the truth. I don't know why but he's sure Voldemort is coming back. Voldemort's left hand is starting to build up forces for a takeover."

"I thought he was in Azkaban."

"His stupid mother couldn't bare to watch her son rot in that hell hole. That's what he said at least. Right now he's hiding away in Romania trying to win over the Vampires. But the boss is sure that he can bring Voldemort back."

"Are you sure that's such a good idea? Sure, last time Voldemort used us but what happens after he wins? What happens after all the muggles and muggle-borns are dead? We'll be next."

"I know that and so does the boss. He's doing his best to find out how to imprison Voldemort. Hey Bartender! We need a few drinks. The boss is going to be here for a week but then he'll be in France for a long while." They stopped talking about Voldemort and ordered their drinks.

Voldemort's left hand, bringing Voldemort back, and someone trying to imprison Voldemort. Not to mention the werewolf problem in France. As much as Jason wanted to follow them he needed to warn the French Ministry. Unlike the British one they weren't afraid of every little threat that came their way. The Bartender filled his drink up. "That's the last one I'll need." Jason put down a few sicles and downed the glass before stumbling out of the bar. He got to the alley behind the bar before feeling an arm come around his neck. In his sluggish state Jason was able to headbutt his attacker's nose. There was a sickening crack followed by a howl of pain.

Jason tried to get up and crawl away but his whole world was spinning. What the hell happened? He was turned onto his back and forced to look at the three werewolves that he had been spying on. "What did you do to me?" They stayed silent and the middle one went to pick him up. Once Jason was on his feet he tried to knee the guy in the balls but he missed.

"Seems he's got a bit of fight left in him." The guy on the left brought his foot down and kicked Jason unconscious. "I bet the boss is going to be happy about this one. He's been a thorn in our side for a little over a decade."

With Harry

It turns out that Fran and Sheska are not much help when it comes to Greek Mythology. I guess I can understand why Fran wouldn't have much knowledge about Greek Mythology but Sheska is a different story. Not only is she a bookworm like her niece but she's also a librarian that only reads books unless we get her to do something else. I swear that she would have been fired if we hadn't helped her. So in the end we weren't much help to Bookworm herself but she still seemed to enjoy herself. We waved Sheska and Bookworm off as they left the library.

"Should we back to the house?" Fran nodded her head. I hopped off the front desk and saw a book sticking out of a stack of papers. I pulled it out of the pile and saw that it was the same romance novel Fran had been reading that morning. I put the book in my pocket without thinking and ran to catch up with her. We apparated back to the house and saw another meal waiting for us. I grabbed the damnable potion and found a notebook under it.

This is all the info I've found on the Mages Association.

I should thank Jason for this tomorrow. I took another glance at the potion. After I curse him for giving me this shit tasting miracle. After we ate Fran went upstairs and I took a seat in the living room. In one hand I had the romance novel and in the other I had Jason's iinformation.

"Understanding what Fran was embarrassed about or information on the enemy. It should take them a while to find a new way to track me down and my friendship with her is more important." After a few seconds of deliberating I put Jason's info down and opened the novel.

It was set in a medieval era, with the focus being a noble's daughter. Her father only cared for money and his reputation, never once bothering to give his daughter a glance. Despite the alienation she was curious about the world and found wonder in every new thing she learned. She studied every book in her father's library, hoping and praying that if she grew into a smart and talented woman that he would accept her. However, the other nobles in the country mocked him for his strange daughter.

In order to repair his reputation he paid his soldiers to take his daughter into the woods and murder her. They fully intended to carry out his wishes but hesitated when it came to strike. She was able to escape from them but in the attack she had been horribly scarred. She did not know why the soldiers attacked her but they were handpicked by her father. If every one of them wanted to kill her then she could only assume that her father was the one behind the attack. The idea that the one person she had tried to please wanted her dead shattered her heart.

Finally she couldn't go any further and collapsed in a field of lilies. She accepted at that moment that she would die, surrounded by such beautiful flowers. For the first time in her life she cried, believing that no one in the world loved or accepted her. But her tears stopped as a shadow fell over her. She looked up and found a boy younger than her with a bow on his back and a quiver at his side. The boy said nothing to her; he simply picked her up and carried her away. She leaned into his chest and listened to his heartbeat as it lulled her to sleep.

She was plagued with countless nightmares in which she was slaughter by the soldiers and her father. Each nightmare was more vivid and gruesome than the last until she finally woke up. She was in a small grey tent, bandages were wrapped around her arms and torso, and her clothes were lying beside her. She put on her clothes before stepping outside and seeing the boy that saved her life. He turned to face her and smiled in a way that brought light back to her very bleak world.

I looked up from the book and glanced at the clock. I should probably go to bed or I won't be much help to Bookworm tomorrow. I let out a loud yawn before hiding what I thought was a romance novel in the kitchen cabinet. I guess you really shouldn't judge a book by its cover. It wasn't what I thought it was but why was Fran so embarrassed to be caught reading that book? Hopefully I can find out in the morning before she wakes up. I guess there's nothing else I can do, might as well call it a night.

Present with Jason

"I'm glad you remember me. I was worried you might have forgotten that little gift I left you." Greyback said with a vicious grin as he grabbed Jason's throat. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused us Jason. It's been nearly a decade and you still can't get it through that thick skull of yours. No matter how many of my men die that little girl that I killed isn't coming back." Jason tried to lung at Greyback but the chains made it impossible. "Please give me some credit. Those chains will hold down a full fledged werewolf during the peak of a full moon. Don't worry though, I'm kind enough to let you leave the cell." He punched Jason in the face, breaking his nose.

Greyback pulled out his wand and levitated Jason out of the cell. They went down a few corridors lit by a few candles before coming to a room with a window. Outside looked like open countryside but there wasn't much else. "Was the plan to bore me to death because if it was you're doing a swell job." Jason said in his overly sarcastic voice.

"Let's see how long the tough guy act lasts after you get tortured by someone who knows what he's doing." Grey back dropped Jason on a chair and put his feet in a bucket of water. "I happen to be a bit of a fan of some muggle inventions. Cars are one particular favorite of mine, sports cars specifically. But to be honest, I've found more than one way to use the batteries. How long do you think you'll be able to last?" Greyback asked as he pulled a car battery out of a box as well as a couple of cables.

"Considering that Bellatrix spent a few hours on my fine ass I think I'll last longer than that outdated haircut of yours." Jason said with a smirk before he was backhanded and knocked unconscious. Greyback looked at Jason and thought about turning him into a werewolf out of sheer spite but he always considered werewolves to be above wizards like Jason. However, he did have a point. Jason managed to survive Bellatrix's torture methods until he was saved so there wasn't much Greyback could do by comparison.

But everyone in the world has their breaking point and Jason was no exception. It would take some time but he would crack and then all of the people that had supplied information on the Death Eaters and werewolves would die. Greyback licked his lips in anticipation as he readied his torture devices, after all, he had all the time in the world. There wasn't one person in the world that actually gave a damn about Jason Colt so no one would be coming to save him.

A/N Thus this chapter comes to an end on a not so pleasant note. I think I have an issue with throwing Jason the short stick of fate. I haven't given him a break so far and everything has just been all downhill for him since meeting Harry. Oh well, I don't think I'll kill him off, or maybe I should. That would be one heck of a wake up call to Harry. Don't worry I'm just joking around I think.

Expect another fight within the next two chapters as well as some more information on Jason's past.

Also a part of me wants to write out the entirety of that novel that Harry and Fran have been reading. Would you all be interested in that or not? I'll probably work on it either way in the future but I will start sooner if you all want me to.

I don't think there are any questions in the comments that I have to answer yet. However I wanted to say thank you to everyone that has read, followed, favorited, or reviewed this story. It's the first thing that I've published that so many people have read and liked. I'm not sure if it really means anything to you all but thank you. Your support means the world to me.