Disclamor: This story is based off of The Harry Potter novels by J.K Rowling and are only partly my ideas. So She is a great muse who writes brilliant stories.
Chapter 7
The Wolf At The Door
School was starting up again soon and winter vacation would be over and work would pile up again and life would be absolutely miserable. This means I have to see the walking pudge master soon. Ugh!
Remus and mum seemed to have enjoyed their weekend a lone and exchanged many loving glances at dinner or in the hallway. I never failed to find them in a room kissing or rubbing each other's bodies as though they didn't expect someone else accidentally see them. And trust me, it will only be an accident. Nobody wants to see those two snogging each other's brains out while your trying to get a glass of water or go from one place to another.
I looked at the calendar to find the full moon circled in red marker to remind Remus of his transformation day. We were to clean out the garage for the occasion and Remus wanted to charm the room so it would be sound proof and unbreakable. It took all day to clean out the garage due to the many boxes that had yet to be unpacked and placed in the proper location. Including some of Sandman's toys and all of my books and DVDs. We have to the two laziest people in the world to have not unpacked those yet.
Remus helped us take the boxes in and turned to me and smiled. "Well I see you have of interesting books here. I haven't read this one yet." He picked up my Da Vinci Code book and examined it curiously.
"Very good book." Mum said as she dropped a large box on the floor and sat down on the couch. "I'm still trying to get his other books. Unfortunately someone always tends to have it out of the library so I have to wait to get my hands on it."
"May I read this?" Remus asked.
"I guess. But take off the cover first so it won't get ruined." I replied taking the books cover off and watched as he flipped to the first page and sat down next to mum.
"Thank you." He said looking up at me with a smile. His face had a tinge of red from carrying in all the boxes and I could see he looked a bit more exhausted then usual. I mean, he looked as though he hadn't had proper sleep for a while. Mum looked at him and she must have had the same thought.
"Do you want to get some sleep before it gets dark Remus?" She placed her hand on his forehead and didn't wait for his answer as she dragged him upstairs to put him straight to bed.
Poor Remus.
I have to admit I feel sorry for him. I read that the transformations makes you feel as though you're on fire and your body is forced to shift into a new shape and fur, teeth and claws are grown. The book proved to be extremely useful despite its age. (Well some older books tend to not have their facts updated as we do today) I had yet to ask Remus what kind of werewolf he is, but I didn't have the heart to ask right before his transformation…. wait a minute what heart?
I decided not to disturb him while he slept though. He'll be sleeping all day tomorrow and the next night after this transformation.
The rest of the day was spent quietly as everyone prepared to go back to school and work the next day. Well except Remus of course. For me, I had a short essay to write and a chapter to read in Shakespeare.
When I finally typed the last word of my essay and printed it out I noticed Remus being woken up by mum so he could get locked up in the garage for the night. My book read that, before transformation, a werewolf must remove his clothing and keep only one piece of his clothing on. Usually a collar like clothe from his or her shirt or sock that is long enough to wrap around the wolf's neck. This enables the werewolf to keep a familiar scent and understand who they are during the transformation. The scent of the cloth helps the werewolf keep some human self and not became a total beast through body and mind.
Of course this was a very old ritual and probably not very useful since the werewolf can easily rip the cloth off anyway. I followed the two down the hallway and Sandman curiously joined us. Remus gazed at us wearily and looked as though he wished he didn't have to go. His eyes looked tired and he could barely say good night as mum left us and brought Remus into the garage.
The garage had been cleared out and the only thing that remained was an old rag and a few large pieces of wood and dog toys that Sandman didn't want that werewolf Remus may find enjoyment in. Mum gave me a look of "go now" so I took Sandman's collar and dragged his furry butt to the door. When we left the small room I heard rustling of clothing and the garage door closing. Mum came out with Remus's clothing in her arms and she set them down on the couch and sat next to them.
"He says he may not come out until tomorrow afternoon, depending on how long the full moon stays out." She sighed sadly. "Poor Remus. He will be in so much pain. We will have to get the medications and wraps ready for him when he gets out. He will probably sleep for the rest of the day."
Mum sighed then closed her eyes and fell gently asleep on the couch. I smiled to myself as I watched her comfortably curled up. I placed an old blanket over her then turned out the lights in the living room and went up stairs to get ready for bed. I brushed my teeth and changed into some pants and a long sleeve shirt and tucked myself under the covers. I missed having my werewolf book next to my bed to read before falling asleep. I must have left it in the kitchen or living room.
Because of my habit of not being able to sleep without reading something I got up out of my warm bed and made my way into the hallway and down the stairs. I found that mum was still curled up on the couch because her side of the bed was unoccupied as well as Remus's. When I took the first step down the stairs a bright gleam reflected off of an object in mum's room. I turned and peered into the large bedroom and saw an odd pair of binoculars sitting on Remus's side of the bed. Next to the binoculars was the Da Vinci Code. Maybe I'll just take that book instead. I can give it back to Remus when he comes out of transformation.
As I crossed the hall towards my bedroom a loud piercing howl made me stop dead in my tracks. The noise had come from under my feet and I knew I must be above the garage. The howl turned into sharp snarls and low deep-throated growls as whatever had made the sound banged around in the stone room. It must be the werewolf. I could hear sharp yelps followed the by growls as the wolf could find no other to bite but himself.
I felt sorry for Remus. It must be hell when he comes out of that room covered in bleeding bites lying on the floor exhausted and cold. I decided I would risk a trip to the garage door to listen to the commotion in the garage. Why not? Mum will be asleep, unless the howls wake her up.
I could see Sandman behind me with his ears back looking nervously around for the source of the howling and barking of the wolf. I could see the dog's nose twitch as he tried to find some kind of clue as to what exactly was making all the noise. But as humans still don't understand werewolves', animals were not too familiar with them either. Werewolves originate from an unnatural type of magic, according to the book, and have no connection to other creatures that are not nocturnal. One of the creatures that werewolves have the closest connection too is a wolf, which avoid them, and owls, who watch them from above. Owls really had an odd explanation. The author wrote that the owl flies wherever a werewolf dwells that night and warns other creatures that such dangers are around. Owls are said to be the ghosts of the night that haunt the tracks of werewolves and guard the backs of other creatures.
An owl hoot made me stumble down the last stair and I saw that a snowy white owl was perched next to the closed window near the living room. I made my way towards the window and saw that the owl was Hedwig and grinned at her arrival. She flew through the window after I unlatched it and gave a grateful hoot as she perched herself on the head of a chair. I went into the kitchen and brought out a bowl of water and some bread crumbs that had been shredded for tomorrows meatloaf and offered the white owl the refreshments. She gave a small hoot and dove into the water bowl and drank deep before extending her leg and allowing me to untie the tan letter and leave her to her meal.
I opened the crumpled parchment and recognized Harry's handwriting at once. Well dummy who else is going to use Hedwig, really?
The paper was slightly wet from its travel in the rain but the ink seemed untouched by the water and perfectly readable. Well Harry this is almost as good as being able to use owls for mail carrying. I had already figured that Harry and his friends and the rest of the people who had come to see Remus get married were not exactly like everyone I have met in my life. They seemed to share a certain power that I had only seen Remus perform in our kitchen. Could they all be apart of the magical community Mrs. Figg told me about?
Well it never really had to be verbally explained to me that these friends of Remus, including Harry, were more then meets the eye. Harry had barely written me any letters since Christmas and never really wrote to me except during holidays when I would send him something back using Hedwig. This letter seemed to be written in haste but was signed with a friendly note to it.
Dear Chris,
Mr. Weasley has informed us that during the Spring break we will be able to come back home this year due to some trouble in the government and because of parents wanting their kids home as much as possible this year. We, my friends and I, are going to visit Diagon Alley during Spring Break and since you are able to come into he magic community we wondered if you wanted to come with us to visit and explore.
I am guessing you have all ready figured out that Remus is a wizard and so was everyone who came to the wedding on his side. The school I attend, along with my friends, teaches us how to control and conjure magic spells and potions. We learn about the magic world in order to prepare us for whatever job we wish to tackle when we leave school. I wish you could join us here instead of being in the same school as my cousin.
But, since Remus is a wizard, you are allowed to visit villages in the magic community and it would be nice to have you with us when we go. I am sure if you ask Remus he would let you come at the same time as we go.
Good Luck,
HarryI finished the letter and felt my face grow hot and a smile creep onto my face. I never considered going to the villages with Harry. Then again I forgot about Remus too. But I think this would be great. Too bad Spring Break is so far off. It won't be spring break for three months.
Yes, three months in this neighborhood at this school is A LOT, especially with Sir eats a lot following me around and trying to get my attention twenty four seven. Argh. (Again)
I folded up the letter neatly then sat down at the kitchen table next to Hedwig who had now fallen asleep. I reached over to pet her feathers when a loud bang and howl reminded me of Remus in the next room. Hedwig, now startled, ruffled her wings and flew into the next room and perched on the couch over mum who, remarkably, was still asleep. Reading Harry's letter made me forget about the wolf in the next room. I was once again aware of his pacing and growling. He slammed himself against the metal door again and gave a yelp of pain as his contact with the door only stirred it slightly.
I jumped up from my chair and placed Harry's letter on the table and approached the garage door cautiously. I walked towards the door until I was about a foot away and crouched down so I could keep balance in case I was startled. The wolf paced the room and his claws made clicking sounds on the stone floor similar to the sound of dog paws on kitchen floors. I could hear his rough breaths and his low growling as he became frustrated at the enclosed space he was in. I wanted badly to look at the werewolf and see what kind of wolf it is. But common sense kept screamed at me to stay inside and don't kill myself until I was at least desperate enough. (Hopefully that doesn't happen)
After a few minutes my legs became cramped so I rose back up and decided to take Hedwig back upstairs so she would not scare my mum half to death when she woke up to see two large owl eyes staring down at her. I turned away and began to make my to the living room when another crash made the door jolt in its hinges. Another howl pierced the silence and I turned to look at the door instinctively looking for any danger, looking for any sign of Remus getting out and staring at me with hungry eyes.
Nothing. I shook my head and nearly gave myself a hard slap in reminder of all the spells Remus had placed on the garage and the door to make sure he could not get out. But still, I was not sure of the extent of his abilities when it came to magic. Well actually, I'm not sure about the extent of magic in the first place. I gazed at the door and found that it had fallen silent.
Actually everything has fallen silent. Even the howling and growling and pacing in the garage had ceased and the only sound left was my breath and the heater in the other room. I stood transfixed on the door not wanting to take my eyes off of it just in case.
But just in case what?
I had to hear another sound from that garage before knowing I was safe. But nothing stirred. Dead silence engulfed the room and, strangely enough, it almost sounds like a large dog is running outside past the house.
I ran to the window that overlooked the front yard and to my horror I saw a large wolf like creature running around the street in confusion as it looked around searching for something that it obviously wanted in our yard. I shook the fear out of my head and made my way to the door to get a closer look at the wolf. I opened the window and suddenly found that the wolf stopped, sniffed the air then turned to me with glowing red eyes from the moonlight. We exchanged looks for a moment before the wolf drew back its lips to reveal sharp white fangs and a low threatening growl came from its throat.
At that, the wolf bolted towards the window and I could only stand in the doorway stunned. I tried to force my muscles to close the door but nothing happened. My mind did not obey me and the wolf was getting closer and closer taking long easy strides across the lawn. Finally Hedwig's panicked hoot jolted my mind into focus and I slammed the door shut just as the large wolf banged against it hungrily and began to attack the window where it could see me inside.
I stumbled backwards away from the window and felt my heart pumping blood a mile a minute as I watched the large gray wolf scratch and beat at it. It has to be Remus. But how did he get out?
Or, maybe, who let him out?
"What is happening?" a voice cried out behind me causing me to jump and nearly bolt out of the room. I turned around and found mum wide-awake staring at the creature banging at the window.
"Is that…..?" She asked, it seems to she already knows who the wolf is just as I had guessed.
At this she told me to get upstairs and take Hedwig with me while she tried to contact Remus's emergency numbers. She jogged out of the room and I stayed in my place not wanting to leave her alone with the big bad wolf howling at the door. I looked back at the window and saw that the werewolf had given up on getting in and moved on to another place. And as though he had read my mind a loud crash came from the garage door and I heard mum yelp in surprise. The wolf continued at the door and I ran in to make sure mum was able to reach the contacts. Mum nervously dialed the phone number to Mrs. Figg's house and it took a few rings to finally receive an urgent voice on the other line. Mum explained what our situation and heard a click as Mrs. Figg left the phone. Mum looked at the window then at me in confusion.
"Why did she hang up?" She asked in a panicked voice.
"It's okay mum Remus put a spell on the door. It won't open." I said trying to calm her down as she started to pace back in forth looking out the window for any sign of help.
"It's not just that Chris. I don't want anyone to see Remus and try to call the police or animal control. They'll kill him if they come here. I don't want Remus to be hurt. " She broke out looking at the window again then the garage door. The wolf banged against it several more times and surprisingly the door jolted harder and harder as though losing its grip on the post and lintel.
I could see the door was giving way and maybe magic was not as strong as Remus thought. The wolf paced the floor again then the claw marks became more rapid and I could almost see the wolf running towards the door as I heard another bang but this time the bang was flowed by a loud cracking sound that came from the hinges keeping the door in.
They're begging to break!
I looked at mum who saw the bending hinges and started to back out of the room dragging me by the collar with her. She brought us both out of the kitchen and dragged me down the stairs into the basement and shut and bolted the door behind us just as a louder cracking sound shot through the air followed by a howl and heavy paws padding around the where we had just stood. Mum backed away from the door and watched as the basement door was now being banged against and angry growls filled the air.
But this did not last long as the noise of men and women shouting out words joined in with the wolf's growling. The man sounded like an angry bear and it sounded like he growled back at the wolf with a ferocious set of words that made the wolf yelp in pain and shock. A women's voice joined in and we could hear a heavy object or body fall down on the floor causing the entire house to tremble.
Then silence.
The man muttered two words and the basement door clicked and he opened it up and looked down at mum and me. I could not see his face at first but recognized him from the wedding. It was the odd scarred man with the wooden leg and glassy eye. He tried to put on a kind face as he invited us back up promising that the werewolf was under control. A woman appeared next to him whom I recognized as Tonks. As mum and I both walked up the stairs I could see her hair was dark reddish orange and longer then before.
"You two okay then?" she asked helping mum sit down on the couch as she took deep breaths of relief. I stood watching her and looked down at the large ball of fur that breathed gently not moving any other muscles but its stomach muscles.
"Don't worry lass he is knocked out till at least the morning." Growled the man behind me. I turned around and thanked him for his help. He smiled, which quite frankly didn't do much for his appearance, and offered me a sit down next to mum. I gave Tonks smile and she smiled back looking relieved.
"I think we should stay for the night since there is no guaranty Remus will stay down. The full moon can last through day light too, depending on how visible the moon is." Tonks said as she turned to Moody. Moody looked down at Remus's furry form and waved his wand carelessly causing the furry mass to float into the air and hover forward in front on him as he brought it into the basement.
"It's best if we keep him somewhere isolated until he's human again." Tonks said watching the wolf and Moody disappear down the stairs. I got up and told Tonks and mum that I would make some tea which they both nodded their heads before discussing Remus again.
I didn't feel like staying still and doing nothing. Especially after what had happened. Remus's spell hadn't worked. So now the question is where will he transform the next time if he can't even be contained in a spell protected stone garage? Better yet, where did he transform before the stone garage?
Remus had mentioned his parents using their basement for his transformations when he lived with them but after he left them he never really explained what he did. I thought about this for the rest of the evening as I served the last of the green tea to mum and our guests as we waited for Remus to become human again. He never did wake up from being knocked out and Moody seemed annoyed at the fact that they had stayed for no reason. Tonks only joked that the small furry rats that threatened their place could be handled when they got back. I wondered how they were reached so quickly. How did Mrs. Figg get these two to rush down here and help in such a short period of time?
I would have to ask her next time I visited. It would be nice to learn more about magic.
"Harry!" I cried out suddenly as I thought of magic and our guests. I jumped up ignoring the odd looks I was being given by everyone else and ran into the kitchen were the parchment was still laying on the table. I picked it up and read through it again. I would have to remember to ask Remus about the Diagon Alley visit. I may not enjoy going with him too much but the thought of being with Harry and his friends was enough to knock that factor out.
I put down the letter and sat down grabbing the nearest pen and paper and began writing my reply. I would definitely ask Remus and would go with Harry to Diagon alley no matter if Remus wants to or not. I can use tonight's occurrence as a guilt factor. I know, I know black mail is mean but if I can't tear these two away from their job for at least one day then I will be annoyed. I haven't gone anywhere with mum in ages because of her new job. This is the perfect way to get out somewhere and spend some time with both mum and Harry!
I sighed and laid back on the chair after finishing the letter. I would wait till morning or a few days if needed to send the letter. Hedwig seems too scared out her wits to go out flying for a while. I looked up from my letter at the garage door. It will be hell to fix. The door stood hanging at an odd angle from the frame. Deep ruts engraved the other side revealing the wooden contents beyond the layer of metal. I got up and observed the garage to see what was left of the other door. The larger door had been banged up until the bottom half bent up and left a hole large enough for a wolf to slip through. The rest of the room was scratched up on the floor and shreds of the chew toys were left around covered in saliva. Small pools of blood and fur dotted the floor along with a few pieces of rawhide that had been discarded and ignored.
"Picky eater for a hungry werewolf." I mused to myself.
I went back inside to find Tonks and Moody had left and Remus was sitting on the couch covered in a towel shaking slightly. Mum was next to him cleaning up the deep scratches that covered his body with a warm rag. Remus looked up as I entered the room and I could see he wished to be a lone. His usual bright eyes were now dulled and wearing a look of pain and sorrow. His face was marred with a long thin scratch that ran down to his cheek from his forehead. Remus looked suddenly frail and shaken. I could not bear to stay any longer and decided that tonight I would give him a break.
I took one last look at the man I wanted so much to torture and hurt and felt a sudden pang of guilt. Before I reached the stairs I could see mum getting up and tightening and towel around Remus's body and gently laying his body down onto the couch so he could rest. I left the living room and went into my room to find the clock read 7:30 a.m and I had not gotten a wink of sleep all night. As though reading my mind the alarm sounded off signifying that school would start in an hour and I had to get ready. I shut off the alarm quickly and buried myself in the blankets. Sandman walked up and stared at me curiously. The greyhound didn't hesitate to jump up on the bed and curl up at the end and sigh. He must have spent the whole night up here ignoring, as usual, any danger that enters or is around the house.
"We should have named you Useless like the Egyptians use to call their dogs." I muttered to the greyhound. He grunted in reply and shifted his body until I could no longer spread my own legs out. I groaned and kicked at the dog to no avail. Once a greyhound chooses a spot it won't budge.
I gave up on Sandman and looked up at the ceiling. Hedwig hooted softly in her sleep and I thought about Diagon Alley and how wonderful it will be to see a whole village full of magic. But first Remus will have to get well. Hopefully he will be able to transform in a different more secure place. I don't think having a large gray wolf running around the neighborhood, or worst of all, our house. It will be an unpleasant experience. At this last thought I drifted off and the room faded as I fell to sleep for the rest of the day.