Part two: Chapter four: Moon cycles
James was not happy, nor was he pleased or feeling any other positive emotion. He was downright pissed off, actually.
Here he was, once again sitting at the Slytherin table for the starting feast but this time his Alpha, HIS Alpha, was sitting at the head table after having been introduced as the new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher. But had he so much as looked at his beta, nooo. Instead he had thrown that smile, the smile James had gone without for well over two years at Harry Bloody Potter.
Draco clenched his fists until he felt the skin of his palms break and then released a deep sigh. If only his Alpha would bestow him with one small token of his favor.
Draco let out a small chuckle at his own thinking, which got him several curious stares from his nearest seated house-mates, Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy. He wondered what would happen if he, oops accidentally of course, mauled those three and another chuckle escaped him.
So many 'what ifs' he had been fantasying about over the past few years. It was a great way to spend the time though. That and the list of ways to kill your 'father' without getting caught. This morning he had come up accidental beheading by a portrait, it was number three-hundred-and-nineteen on the list.
But whereas the list was a good, if perhaps not very healthy, way to rid himself of his aggression towards the esteemed Lucius Malfoy, the 'what ifs' where simple torture.
His most horrible scenario was the one where Joseph Marmelade had never sought revenge against Lucius Malfoy by kidnapping his heir. Draco always shuddered when he thought of that one; it was the one he was living, after all.
Because according to 'his parents' he never been gone, had he? According to 'his parents' he was Draco Lucius Malfoy and he had just happened to be misplaced for eight years or so, only to be found again in perfect working order. The fact that 'little Dragon', as his 'mother' called him, had to sleep in the dungeons three nights of the month was, of course, simply ignored. After all, Lucius Malfoy's exact words at their first meeting were "Malfoys are no werewolves". Those words, of course, had been directed at his uncle Severus instead of him, accompanied by the order to find a cure. Such a loving man, his father was.
The problem was that Draco knew that had he never been James, had never been taken he probably would have admired the man. Lucius Malfoy was the Alpha male personified; he had the power and he knew how to use it.
Fact was, if it wasn't for the tiny fact of already a proper Alpha, and the even more insignificant fact of Lucius Malfoy having been a .., now what was that name again, oh yes, bloody fucking Death Eater, he would have bared the many his stomach many times over. But never for the reasons he had bared his neck at his Alpha. There was no gentleness and hardly any friendliness in Lucius Malfoy but power, that there was by the buckets. Oh, and money, that too. All in all it could be considered a bad thing he hated the man.
And hate him he did, especially after pulling that little prank with the Weaselette this last year. Yup, that was good one; let's let a basilisk roam through the school, right after the teenage werewolf.
That was what James truly did not understand, why had someone as natural powerful like Lucius Malfoy decided to toss it all out to submit to someone like You-know-who. Someone who would have Lucius Malfoy kill his own son for being a werewolf. Or perhaps he'd use Draco to kill, that was far more likely actually; after all, his uncle Severus had told him that Greyback was Death Eater too. Not that that had surprised Draco, easy pickings and all that. What had surprised him was that his uncle, his godfather and stand-in Alpha had shown him his mark.
To be honest, he had lost it completely before the more rational part of his mind had reminded him of his Alpha's words in the last minutes of what rightfully should have been the beginning of his new life with his Alpha. 'Do not trust your father' and 'Severus will act as your Alpha in my stead'. If his Alpha, who clearly held no love for evil wizards, had trusted his godfather to act as his Alpha, he could trust him, at least a little. And his uncle had taken his task very seriously. He had started to teach him Occlumency, which he assured him was quite necessary and had backed his Alpha's suspicions about Lucius Malfoy. But, of course, most importantly he had developed The Potion, which James felt should always be referred to in capitals. Wolfsbane, god's gift to those werewolves who did not want to go out of their mind. Only one drawback, though, the werewolf missed his Alpha even more than the human did and even if the potion cured him from his blood lusting dementia, it did not cure him, or the multiple factions of his personality, from desperately wanting to be close to his Alpha close during the full moon.
"So Draco, what are we going to with Potter this year?" Goyle's voice broke through his reverie. Draco looked up from his plate, noticing absentmindedly that gutting his kidney pie hadn't made it any more appetizing.
"I've been working on something but it's not ready yet, so I'll get back to you on that." Draco drawled with a smirk. Both Goyle and Crabbe looked pleased and Pansy giggled. Beside them Zabini and Nott just looked at him, not giving anything away. He stared them down one at the time and was pleased when they both looked away first. Thankfully Millicent and Daphne had being engaged in their own tittering.
Oh yes, Draco, the Slytherin Prince, the complete and utter git. That was the consequence of actually living this 'what if'. Being an acceptable Draco Malfoy.
Draco Malfoy was simply not a nice guy, pretty hard to be, too, with the family he had grown up with. But being Draco Malfoy wasn't all bad, though. He was the Alpha with his own little pack running after him and doing his bidding and that was…nice. It would have been better, however, if his status and pack hadn't been foisted upon him by the great Lucius Malfoy and if the man hadn't made it very clear that life for Draco would be a lot more pleasant if he'd just do what he was told. Because 'forgetting' Draco was actually an animal, magical or not, did come at a price.
And again, it wasn't all that bad. It wasn't as if his act to hate Potter and the stupid Gryffindorks was that difficult. Bloody holier-than-thou attitude of that whole house. The fact that Draco had not been polite, to say the least, was quite irrelevant. It wasn't as if he could go and play nice. He could just imagine the messages Crabbe and Goyle would relay to their fathers: 'Draco nice, Draco bad'. No, better those messages said 'Draco rude, Draco good'. Because whatever they wrote their fathers Lucius Malfoy would hear about. It was the only reason why they hung around anyway.
But the point was that the entire world mooned over Potter, adored Potter, loved Potter. Potter could do no wrong. Poor little Potter, lost his parents to You-Know-Who, almost killed by him too. Well, bully for him. James had lost his mother and sisters to him and his followers, had lost his father to another one of his followers, he himself had spent years as a catamite and a slave to the latter, and, finally, he apparently had been sired by one of the most devoted and loyal followers of the lot. Really, Potter had had some set backs and some amazing good luck but he really wasn't all that.
And now his Alpha, HIS Alpha, sat there, smiling at the Gryffindor table.
After he had heard nothing from his Alpha for over two years, not one single letter. He had gotten small presents for Christmas and his birthday, which he cherished greatly in a pouch that he always carried with him, but never one single letter. His uncle had explained that it was simply too dangerous, what with Lucius Malfoy around but if he could receive and send presents, then why not send and receive letters? Or simply meet his eyes for one ruddy second?
No, James was not a happy boy right now.
Draco Malfoy went through his routine as per usual. He scorned every teacher except his uncle. Insulted and fought with Potter and company. Avoided Zabini's and Nott's questions and gazes. Strutted through the halls confidently, even arrogantly. All in all really not all different from his first two years at Hogwarts.
Except for that tiny detail where his Alpha was his new teacher. Not that he treated his Alpha with even the slightest respect like he should, of course not. He was Draco Malfoy, the proud son and heir Lucius Malfoy, Death Eater in the making.
As none of his fellow students knew who, or what, he really was he could hardly prostate himself in the middle of class. A few times he had considered asking for a meeting after class but every single time his Alpha would disregard him class and yet smile at Potter. And that angered him. He could not please his Alpha, he could not even reach him. And his Alpha seemed to have tossed him aside, favoring Potter.
And Draco hadn't been about to simply walk up to his Alpha, of course not. His father and his Alpha might be Gryffindors but he was undeniably a Slytherin. Apparently that was a Malfoy thing but Draco rather liked to think as of it as a werewolf thing.
But did his Alpha visit after that hippogriff had bitten him? No, a whole week he spend in the infirmary and nothing, not even a card or sweets. At least his 'mother' had sent even more delicious chocolates than usual. She had a nice way of hiding her disgust and fear of him.
Alright, so he had been provoking the beast on purpose, and he had made puppy eyes at Pomfrey after his arm had been long healed to let him be injured just a little while longer. After all, it had just been the full moon and Pomfrey was always worried about him then. She always worried about him and just like his uncle, and the headmaster, she was most unimpressed by Draco Malfoy, but she did have a soft spot for James.
His uncle had been his usual scornful self about his absence, clearly not buying his pity act but letting him abuse it anyway. At least his substitute Alpha had not developed a sudden fondness for the Boy-who-lived-through-far-less-shite. But then again his uncle wasn't particularly fond of anybody, including Draco. He tried to hide his apprehension about Draco's condition but it still failed regularly. His uncle might be unimpressed by Draco Malfoy but he did prefer him to James that much was clear. But even if the man was uncomfortable with him, at least he did not deny it and had even explained it to him.
And Draco could understand how being tricked into meeting a werewolf, and being almost mauled by said werewolf would not create any fuzzy feelings. Especially if one ended up being rescued by one's enemy. Draco couldn't help but respect his uncle for playing an active role in his life, even if it came at the bidding of two men he held no love for. Draco's Alpha's offenses were clear but what Lucius Malfoy had done to offend the godfather of his only child remained a mystery. One which Draco would not get to resolve any time soon because while uncle was quite willing to share his thoughts on the 'loathsome characters of Black and company', he only dismissed any questions on Lucius Malfoy with a cold look.
But now it was one week to the next moon and Draco would be damned if his Alpha would not have acknowledged him by then. Even if he would be shown all four corners of the Shrieking Shack, where he, too, had spent all his full moons before The Potion, he would spend this moon with his Alpha. After spending the last two-and-a-half years as Draco Malfoy he had gotten used to get what he wanted.
On-the-morning-which-started-like-a-dream-but-had-ended-in-a-nightmare James had thought about whether or not it was possible to anger, truly anger, his Alpha. Well, he had his answer now. Do not tickle a sleeping werewolf seemed an appropriate thought, together with oblique references to escaped former pack-mates do not a happy Alpha make.
All it had took was a flash of amber in his Alpha's eyes and the quietly spoken demand to see him after class and James knew was in deep, deep trouble.
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Author's Note:
Alright a quick new chapter, much shorter but hope you enjoy it anyway.
A little explanation might be in order. Right, so the story has skipped into the start of the third year.
Yes, Severus recognized Draco and brought Draco 'home'. Draco is a bit messed up in the head, but managing by compartmentalizing his life. This was actually a good strategy, until Remus showed up as a teacher, because this put Draco/James at odds with his Draco Malfoy 'persona'. I hope this makes some sense.
How things came to be, and Remus' and Snape's role in everything will be all be discussed.
Depointedulac: Thank you for your review! I hope you don't mind the sudden change of pace.
Essential Element: Thank you, thank you! Hope it stays interesting.
AmethystSiri: Thank you for review! Hope this was quick enough.
Imperfection Is A Bliss: Thanks! Hope I kept you interested.