Chapter 4: The Howling

Harry awoke two weeks later, feeling no better than he had when he left the Hogwarts Express. If anything, he felt much worse without the overwhelming support from the Hogwarts staff and his friends. Instead, he was greeted each day of his holiday by the absolute loathing and contempt of his relatives.

He laid there for a long time, staring at the ceiling, not wanting to look at the calendar. He somehow hoped that the day he had been dreading for so long had not come, but knew in the back of his mind that his wish was unfounded. Sighing in defeat, he rolled onto his good arm, so he could get a clear view of the calendar hanging on the wall. Sure enough, the date on the calendar read July 31st, and underneath, in smaller print, were the words that filled him with dread.

Full Moon.

'What a great birthday present' he mused, seeing the irony that his birthday could also possibly be the date of his death. He threw the covers off of himself and rolled his weary body off of the bed. He almost fell straight down onto the floor because of his weakened condition, but his frame had managed to hold up from the impact.

Since returning to Number 4 Privet Drive, Harry began to notice many more drastic changes to his condition. The first sign of change was a dull ache which had progressively spread throughout his body and increased in severity with each passing day. It was merely an annoyance at first, but had grown to a near constant pain that wracked every nerve in his body. He also noticed that many of his senses would fluctuate. One minute he'd be fine, whereas the next, any strong smell threatened to make him vacate his most recent meal. Small noises would become deafening, while his vision would fluctuate making wearing his glasses nearly useless. His body also had difficulty regulating his temperature, causing him to go from hot to cold in almost an instant.

Less startling was the feeling of paranoia coupled with claustrophobia that had become normal to his psyche. Having spent most of his childhood in a cupboard, Harry was used to feeling claustrophobic, but this time the familiar feeling of the world closing in around him was not there. This sensation was somehow different than that, more internal. He felt as though his own skin was restricting him, irritating him to the point where he would sometime scratch his skin obsessively to try and relieve the feeling.

He quickly got dressed before moving over to the desk that sat near the open window in the room. Sitting at his desk he saw Hedwig sitting in her cage fast asleep, evidently resting after a night out hunting. He smiled affectionately at his avian friend and glanced next to her cage and saw that there were a number of letters sitting on his desk. Noticing only one package among them, he opened it first, confirming that it was from Hagrid, who had provided his usual gift of a birthday cake, along with his well wishes. He opened the next letter on the top of the pile and saw the familiar script of his godfather.

He had been worried about Sirius contacting him since he was still on the run, but Sirius' words of encouragement were very much needed. Harry had informed Sirius of his affliction shortly after the holiday had started, and since then, his godfather assured him that it was no one's fault, and continued to show unwavering support for his godson. The next letter he opened was from Ron

Happy Birthday Mate! I hope you're enjoying your summer, all things considered. Dad was able to get those tickets to the Quidditch World Cup, so you'll be able to leave the Dursley's in 2 weeks and stay with us. Sorry that I didn't include your gift with this letter, but since I'll be seeing you soon, I figured I'd save Errol the trouble and give to you in person.

Ron.

Harry smiled at his mate's letter, despite the conflicting emotions he felt while reading. He felt a little hurt that Ron hadn't gotten him anything, but quickly threw hat feeling aside, knowing that Ron didn't have much money and was just happy to be in his thoughts. He was ecstatic that he would be able to go to the Burrow in two weeks and be able to see the Weasley family, the closest thing he's had to an actual family. Definitely more so than the Dursleys.

He quickly picked up the last letter, which could only be from Hermione, and opened it.

Happy Birthday Harry! I wish that this was all there was to say. I hope that you make it out okay tonight Harry. I can't imagine what life at Hogwarts would be like without my best friend. I'm overreacting obviously, If anyone can make it out of this, it's you Harry. I wanted to send you your gift, but I feel like I should give to you in person. Don't worry we'll be seeing each other before you know it. Can't wait to see you at the Burrow in three weeks.

Hermione.

Scanning the letter a few more times before picking up Ron's letter and examining the two. He felt a tightness begin to spread throughout his chest. He knew that both of his friends most likely had good reasons for not sending him anything, but couldn't help but think that the reason they did it was in case he didn't make it. Ron didn't know this so he really couldn't blame him, but the fact that it could've crossed Hermione's mind hurt him deeply. With these last somber thoughts, Harry headed downstairs to deal with the Dursleys, anxious for when Lupin would come for him later.

-Later that Day-

There was a knock on the door at the Dursley's, ushering in a possible new chapter to the life of Harry Potter. He quickly moved down the stairs, hoping to be the one to answer the door, only to be headed off by his Aunt Petunia. She opened the door, revealing Remus Lupin behind the door.

"Ahh Mrs. Dursley, how nice it is to see you," greeted the old wolf, with a smile that was obvious to Harry was forced.

Petunia narrowed her eyes, trying to place where she'd seen this man before. Judging by his attire she immediately knew that he wasn't 'normal'. Finally relented, turning towards the stairs to call for the freak, to find him already on the stairs.

"Good, you're already down here. He obviously here for you, so why don't you go. The less time your freakishness is in this house the better," she added with a hint at indignation. Remus had hoped that the stories he heard about Harry's treatment at home were just that stories. He hoped that Petunia had outgrown for the magical world but again, it seemed he was mistaken. He motioned for Harry to come with him.

"Harry will only be gone for the night. I'll make sure to bring him back sometime tomorrow."

Suddenly the gruff voice of Vernon Dursley rang from the family room area. "Take him for as long as you like. The less food we have to give the freak the better. In fact why don't you just keep him?"

Remus had to control himself from lashing out against the bigots in front of him. Normally, such words had little effect on him, but he was feeling the effects of the coming moon and he already felt bad about Harry's condition. With another forced smile he motioned for Harry to follow him, and they promptly left Number 4.

"Sorry about my family Moony. I'd say that they're usually not that bad, but I don't feel like lying."

"You've nothing to be sorry for Harry. Why you need to stay in a place if such contempt I will never know." They walked for several minutes down the street until they were away from the prying eyes of the muggle neighborhood. Harry studied their surroundings looking for the method of travel they would take to get then school.

"Excuse my Prof-…I mean Remus. How exactly are we getting to Hogwarts?"

"Have you ever heard of Apparition Harry?"

"Yeah, Hermione mentioned it once. But I don't understand, I thought it was impossible o apparate in Hogwarts."

"Right you are Harry. That is why we're apparating to the castle gates, and then walking from there." He held out his arm for Harry to grab, and when he did he turned on the spot and they were gone.

The compressing sensation ended and the duo found themselves just outside the gates of the school grounds. Lupin stepped forward to open the gates as Harry lost control of himself and vomited into the bushes.

"I'm sorry about that Harry. I know that with your first full moon looming that your condition wasn't the best, but Apparating here was much easier than any other means of transportation."

"It's fine. Just give me a minute." Harry slowly righted himself and began to follow Remus down the path. "Where exactly will we be doing this?"

"We'll start off in the Shrieking shack. After that we should be able to roam the grounds freely since the students are on holiday. They approached the entrance to the shack at the base of the Whomping Willow, but Harry noticed that the tree seemed to already have been immobilized. Not pondering this any further as he could feel the irritation of his skin and senses becoming stronger, he pressed on through the tunnel. As soon as he crossed the threshold into the dilapidated structure, his sight was immediately overwhelmed by a flurry of bushy hair.

"Harry!" Hermione had rushed over to him, as soon as she saw that he had arrived and hugged him before he had the opportunity to study his surroundings. Harry peered over the top of her head and saw Sirius, Ron, and Dumbledore smiling at him

"What are you all doing here?"

Ron was first to speak up, "We knew that tonight would be hard on you mate, so we all came to support you. Also there's no way I was passing up seeing my best mate on his birthday," Ron concluded with a smile. He quickly held out a package that he had been carrying. Harry accepted the gift and immediately began to tear it open it. Inside he found a book entitled, "How to Properly Train as a Seeker". Harry's smile threatened to engulf his face and immediately gave Ron a one armed hug. "Figured we need you to be in top form if we want to keep the Quidditch Cup next year.

Professor Dumbledore stepped forward and placed his hand on Harry's shoulder. "Don not worry Harry, we've taken every precaution necessary to ensure everyone's safety tonight. Both Mister Weasley and Miss Granger are simply here to show their support. In a few more moments I will escort them back to the castle, where I will return them to their homes." Dumbledore then peered at the two gentlemen in front of him before continuing, "I've also requested that both Remus and Sirius accompany you tonight during your endeavor."

Harry beamed at his parent's best friends, delighted that he would not have to go through his ordeal tonight alone. Shifting his gave from Sirius to Lupin, a moment of doubt crossed his mind.

"You're not mad at Moony, are you Sirius?"

"No, Harry. I don't blame him. I spite of his insistence that it is all his fault, I know that he had no control of himself. I am glad though that someone was able to talk him out of leaving due to his own self-pity." Sirius grinned at his godson, proud that the young man was able to talk some sense into his best friend.

Harry turned and looked at the people who showed their unwavering support to him and felt almost at ease, accepting the situation he found himself in. He tried to formulate words to express his gratitude, but couldn't find any that fit except for a simple, "Thank you."

The headmaster then motioned for Ron and Hermione, and began to make his way back to the castle. Hermione however stayed put.

"I want another minute or two to talk with Harry headmaster."

"If you wish Miss Granger, but I must insist that you be quick."

She moved over to Harry, carrying an air of nervousness around her. Harry feel the guilt radiating off of her as got closer. She pulled out present of her own seemingly out of nowhere and thrusted it quickly into Harry's hands.

"I want to help you through this anyway I can. I know that nothing I do will come anywhere close to what you did for me." Harry ripped open the wrapping and saw that her present was a book. 'Typical Hermione', he thought affectionately as he read the title of the book, 'Dealing with Lycanthropy'.

"I thought…it would help if you knew what to expect if…" She couldn't finish her sentence. Harry covered the distance between them and wrapped his good arm around her in an embrace. It was several seconds before Hermione returned it.

"Thank you Hermione. This is the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever gotten me." He pulled away to look her in the eyes. "Don't beat yourself up over what happened. You're here to help me through this, and this enough for me."

Her smile seemed to brighten the room. For the first time since the night that started all this, Hermione was truly able to move past her own guilt because of the bravery of the young man in front of her.

She slowly pulled away from the embrace and made to follow Ron and Dumbledore down the tunnel before a pained gasp and the sound of something hitting the floor stopped her. Turning around, she saw that Harry had fallen to his knees, eyes closed, clutching at his injured shoulder. His eyes flew open and Hermione saw the same golden yellow she had noticed weeks before, only this time much more vibrant. With another cry of pain, Harry's hands clenched up, as if they had been burned; all the eyes in the room saw as claws began to painfully push through his finger tips and his teeth began to lengthen into fangs. He looked up at the girl in front of him, and in a distorted voice, he uttered a single word.

"Run."

Sirius ran over in an attempt to push the girl down the tunnel, but Hermione remained rooted in the spot in fear. Moments later, another cry escaped Harry's lips as he quickly disposed of his shirt by ripping it away. This didn't provide nearly enough relief of the pain he was going through, and to the group's shock, he began to claw at his own skin, tearing it away to reveal patches of fur underneath. Glancing over to Lupin she saw that he was beginning to change as well, albeit less painfully.

"Hermione! Go! Now!" Sirius cried with one final push that sent her into the tunnel. With one last look behind her she saw that Harry managed to dispose of more of his skin as his face was being ripped apart by a long muzzle pushing through from his skull. With tears in her eyes, she dashed back to the entrance to meet up with Ron and Professor Dumbledore, unable to comprehend the pain that Harry was currently going through.

Harry was almost free of the constrictions that left him a prisoner in his own body. Several minutes later, he managed to completely dispose of his old form, rising on his hind legs along with a much older wolf and a large black dog. Embracing his new freedom, Harry let out his first howl as a werewolf as the last conscious human thought left his mind.

Author's Note:

Finally! We got around to the transformation chapter. After this, the story will definitely be diving into stuff from the Goblet of Fire. I hope to get the story moving at a better pace in the next chapter or two as we deal with the Quidditch World Cup and Harry's second transformation. And yes, the title of this chapter is a reference to the film and novel of the same name.

If you want a sense for my inspiration for Harry's transformation, watch the scene in the movie "Van Helsing", where the character Velkan transforms by ripping his skin off. I thought it was a good metaphor for the changes that Harry will be going for as he's "Shedding his old body" in a way.

As always, thanks for reading.