Chapter four.

The Dog and the Wolf.

I awoke to the loud chirping of birds and almost mistook it for Dudley trying to sing. I went to the window and shouted at the birds to shut up or else I would send my new pet squirrel after them. Aside from my rude awakening I was happy to know that today my dad would be arriving and staying with us for a while. He said he would come over and repair some of the holes in the attic and maybe make the room up there useful. I was thinking along the lines of making it into a movie room. Or a stargazing room complete with a couch and large telescope.

The vet called me after breakfast and told me that I could bring the violent rodent home today. I jumped with glee and told mum of my plans of riding down to pick him up. She only shook her head and told me that Sandman would make a meal out of the rodent if I don't be careful. I took off without one glance at Remus, who had just entered the kitchen.

I ran down to the basement to retrieve an old birdcage to put the squirrel in until I could get a better cage for him. I stuffed an old rag in the cage and shoved the cage in a large backpack and took off for the city. When I arrived it did not take long for the doctor to hand me the squirrel and hand me some instructions on how to take care of the rodent if I decided not to let it go. He seemed happy about getting rid of it and even gave me a place to find pet supplies with good deals. I thanked him and gave him payments for the squirrels stay.

The squirrel looked healthier then when I last saw him. His fur was now a grayish brown with a dark tail. His eyes were brighter and his teeth and claws a lot sharper. He growled at me (or at least what his version of a growl is) and leapt at the wall of the birdcage attempting to assassinate me. I only laughed at him and decided to name him Judas. I liked Judas in the Musical Jesus Christ Superstar and the squirrel reminded me of the man who tried to free himself from a cage that trapped him in his mind.

"Are you sure you don't want to name him Lucifer?" asked the doctor with a laugh then paused with a serious look in his eyes.

"I think Judas sounds a lot better in the long run." I answered giving him a smile before leaving the crowded waiting room.

It was difficult to get the cage and squirrel in my school backpack and even more difficult to have tiny claws constantly trying to rip open the backpack through the holes in the cage. (It is a bar cage).

After about a half an hour of almost getting hit by a car and running into a pond, I arrived home, dry, and eager to show the squirrel to mum and Remus. I made sure the cage was slightly open before entering the room for it appeared that only Remus remained in the kitchen now and Sandman and my mum were out for a walk.

"Hey Remus I have a new pet that may interest you."

He looked up with curiosity and smiled pleasantly. I brought the cage to the table and set it down in front of him. Right when the two met eyes the squirrel burst out of the cage and onto Remus's head. Startled, Remus jumped up quickly and tried to get the frantic animal off but with so success. Judas only jumped down his shirt and tried to find his way out back out.

Finally after, two minutes, the squirrel ran away and hid in the sink where I caught him and placed him back in his cage. I looked at Remus who looked back angrily then left the room. I felt bad for a second. For some reason I almost felt sorry that I had set a hell bent rodent on him.

Before I could feel even worse though Sandman came bounding in and I hid the squirrel quickly under a blanked and ran up the stairs.

I placed the cage gingerly on the table near the corner farthest away from the window. I didn't want a report of a suicidal squirrel jumping out of my window from Mrs. Dursley.

I uncovered the cage and ignored the scratches from my door. Sandman wanted to come into my room but I shouted at him to go find mum and play with her. Sandman continued scratching at the door so I continued to ignore him.

I opened the cage door slightly and pulled out the struggling squirrel along with the rag. I held on tightly and rocked him back and forth to calm him down. Judas looked aggravated but gave up on the fight and stayed still long enough for me to place him in a fish tank I had prepared for him. It was a large tank with a water bowl that was used for rabbits and a food dish full of chopped wall nuts. I had placed a soft rag in the cage and a leash so he could go with me everywhere. I didn't have a place for him to go bathroom so I decided to set a time chart for when to take him out and when to feed him or refill his bottle.

"Okay Judas, you will remain in this tank until I can find a more suitable cage for you. Or you can stop trying to kill everyone and I can let your go around my room without the leash or plastic hamster ball."

I had also bought a large hamster ball so he could run lose sometimes when it rained out and I couldn't take him out for a walk. I placed him in the ball carefully and closed it up then placed it on the floor and watched as Judas started to run inside the ball. He made for the window first but found he could not jump very high and then made for the door, which he found was closed and had a large predator outside of it at the moment.

I observed Judas run around for a while and was startled as the doorbell rang and remembered that my dad was to arrive earlier then expected. After weeks of begging and pleading with mum and promising to not kill Remus with snow balls for the rest of the winter I got mum to invite my dad to stay over for the wedding.

I quickly stuffed Judas back in his cage and replaced the bar top. I dashed down the stairs, followed by Sandman who gave up on the door, and opened the door just as my mum had arrived.

"Hello" said a man with dark short hair and a slight tan. His eyes were gray and he wore a brown-rimmed hat.

"Dad!" I hugged him tightly and my mum greeted him too.

Remus walked in with uncertainty and then, with a nod from my mum, I was ripped off and Remus shook his hand. Sandman proceeded to jump up and down extremely high and whipped his tail around excitedly trying to lick his face. My dad gave Sandman a pat on the head and rubbed his favorite spot, which in turn made his leg go up and down.

Mum showed him to his room in the basement and I followed eagerly, along with Sandman. As soon as the door was opened Sandman jumped onto the neatly made bed and spread out into a comfortable position. My dad laughed at the now sighing greyhound and set his suitcase down next to the drawers. He turned and gave my mum a hug and kiss on the cheek before starting to unpack.

As soon as my mum left to make some tea with Lupin I shut the door and sat on the bed next to the snoring dog.

"So what do you think of Remus?" I asked eying the candy he had just taken out.

"He seems polite." He replied stuffing a folded pair of pants in the lower drawer.

"Kind of shabby though and he seemed nervous." He added.

"Yeah, he thinks you are extremely argumentive and that you will kill him if he disagrees with you." I said smiling.

"I wonder who gave him that idea?" my dad questioned out loud.

"Couldn't tell you really." I stroked the dog.

He eyed me suspiciously, "I wonder."

"So want to see my room?" I asked getting off the bed so fast that Sandman sat up in surprise.

"Sure why not." He replied and followed me up the stairs.

I showed him my bare walls, which I planned on filling with many movie posters. (Sigh, Viggo Mortenson as Aragorn) And my view of our neighbor's yard, which was now an unpleasant view of Mrs. Dursley working in the garden. I also showed him a sleeping Judas snuggled up in a patch of fluffed up rag in a corner of the aquarium.

"Are you sure squirrels are suppose to stay in aquariums?" He asked staring at the small rodent.

"I'm planning on buying a larger habitat for him as soon as I find a proper pets store. Plus I need to get him some proper food and a rabbit water bottle maybe."

"Now how about the dog?" he asked gesturing to the whining noise outside of the door.

"As soon as I get the larger cage, Sandman can have his bed back in my room since the cage will take refuge in the extra room we use for the computer."

When we returned down stairs to get a snack and go out to explore England, we found Remus sitting at the table studying a large book entitled " I Married A Muggle And Need Help." I sighed. Why now you idiot?

My dad ignored the odd title of the book and we packed some grapes and two water bottles and left. We went out to his rented car and drove off towards the city. On our way we passed Dudley and his obnoxious friends standing at the corner talking with their bikes by their sides. My dad looked over as we passed and asked if they were friends. I shook my head quickly and could hear my neck crack at the sudden motion.

He only laughed.

"So what was with the book Remus was reading?" he asked.

"Remus is kind of…well he thinks he is some kind of ancient race and really is serious about keeping it secret."

"What kind of race?"

"I don't remember really. Its quite unbelievable as it is." I replied. I didn't want my dad to get in a fight with my mum about marrying a strange man who thinks he is a wizard and a werewolf. My mum really loves Remus. And tell you the truth I didn't want to deny her him, even though I didn't want him there.

"Its just a faze he's going through though. This is his first marriage and I think he's kind of nervous." I added quickly.

"Hmmm. Well I think he believes your mum is a different race too. A muggle?"

"Yeah that's what he calls people who are not apart of his race." I replied.

"I see." Dad replied trying not to show his disbelief. I wanted to tell him that werewolves existed badly but held my tongue for the love of my mother.

I asked dad to stop by the pet shop before going to the regular tourist places so I could pick out a proper cage for Judas and some food and maybe a collar so I could tell him apart from other squirrels just in case.

We stopped by a rather small pet shop and I found a large rodent cage that was complete with a small jungle gym and perches for good nesting. I found a large bag of hamster feed that was good for Judas too and surprisingly a small blue collar with a reflector on it that was meant for small dogs but could easily fit around Judas's neck with some adjustment.

After the pet shop we spent the afternoon wandering around London and taking plenty of pictures of the large castles and beautiful towers. Yet the oddest part of my day out would be the ghosts I spotted on my way to the bathroom.

I went to the bathroom in an empty hall way and before I entered a lady walked up to me and waved saying she knew Remus as a young boy and that he was a good person then she disappeared. I knew something odd had to happen today. That or it would all have to be boring. Well at least I officially know that the Tower of London is in fact haunted. I guess not all tour guides are blokes after all.

We returned home as the sun started to set and my dad wanted to get back in order to fix up the attic before bedtime. We arrived home just in time to eat dinner and catch the latest newsbreaks, which were mostly appearances of odd glowing skulls hovering in the sky that seemed to make Remus and Mum quite nervous.

Dad climbed the steep stairs to the attic and I brought with me Judas in his hamster ball so he could run around for a while. I set the ball down and it started off at once towards the hole in the wall but, again, he found he could not jump up and had to go away and try somewhere else.

Dad took out some wood and tools and began to nail the wood into the open holes in the wall and also had a large round glass for the new window he wanted to build facing to the back of the house. He had also brought with him an old telescope that he used when he was younger.

I spent this time sweeping up the dust and, well, other things you don't want in the attic into the dustpan. I also polished the wooden banister leading up to the attic. We both worked through the evening until everything had been completed. Dad cut out a large hole in the wall and placed the glass into the hole then secured it with more wood and nails and some glue. When he finished the window we both gazed out at the starry sky and the bright half moon lingering in the sun's shadow. I picked up Judas so he could see the night sky as well and it seemed for a few moments that he was truly interested and even awed by the sight. He stopped jumping around within the ball and looked up at the window on his hind legs and the only movement he made was the twitching of his nose.

We returned downstairs and got ready for bed. After all, the wedding was the next day and we had to be there in the morning to greet all of the guests and get the food prepared, as well as ourselves.

I kissed my dad good night then curled up in my bed smiling at the thought of the new room that would be my safe haven from this world I have tripped into. I looked over at Judas who was still awake but for some reason he did not seem like his normal self. He appeared to be observing the room closely and then looking back at the window. What a weird squirrel! Oh well.

The moon is full again. The large white wolf looks at me with a slight grin. He turns from me and I knew I was meant to follow. This might be it. This might be the moment I was waiting for.

The followed the wolf until we came to the edge of a dark crowded forest. He pointed with his paw to a small trail and he led me down it. We followed the trail until the white wolf stopped and we were both in front of a silver lake with what appeared to be a large castle on the other side. The castle glittered with many windows and it seemed to be made up of hundreds of towers and rooms all bunched up together. Near the castle was a neatly cut field with large hoops on either side of it and a small hut with gray smoke pouring from the chimney.

I looked up at the white wolf and he only gestured to a single creature standing at the edge of the forest drinking from the lake. It took a moment for me to figure out that the creature was a buck. A prey.

This was my test to prove my worth. The white wolf wants me to catch that deer without getting caught by any other the castle or hut residents. I prowled along the edge of the forest trying my best to not make a single sound. I controlled my breathing and kept my eyes fixed on nothing but the deer. As I got closer the deer stopped drinking and raised its head to listen. I stopped and waited for his guard to drop.

The deer heard nothing and continued to drink. I walked a few more steps forward then leaped into the air and after the deer. The deer bounded at once turning its large body quickly and started for the forest. I ran after it keeping an even pace and allowing the deer to panic for a while. As I got closer and opened my jaw and was about to snap at its thin legs when out of nowhere a larger creature bucked me out of my path. When I turned to confront the larger animal it bounded forward and headed strait for my throat.

I woke up breathing heavily and looked around for the beast that knocked me over. Nothing but darkness surrounded me and the only noise came from the ticking of the clock next to my bed. I rubbed my forehead and felt sweat pouring down and stripped off some blankets to cool off. Why was I having these dreams about wolves? Before I could think much about this question I saw that Judas was still awake but this time his eyes………were fixed on me.