7. Sub Luna
Seven days later
The night is warm and clear, and the moon is a round silver coin swimming in the sky when she returns. For several minutes she stands in front of the house, waiting and staring up to the windows of his flat. There is no movement and no light. And yet he must be there; he'd never hide where his change might bring anyone in danger but himself.
"Alohomora!"
The front door opens; she slips into the stairway and with quick, soundless steps scurries up the stairs. The door to his flat is far more difficult. Again she pulls out her wand, deeply thankful that Remus had told her before how to overcome the powerful spells sealing it. All the time she trembles with silent fear that he might have judged her correctly; if he has decided to change the pattern, there is no chance of getting in.
She breathes the last word and touches the doorknob with the wand; the door swings back, creaking on its hinges. She steps inside and closes it as softly as possible. If the noise has startled him awake…
But everything remains silent. She stands in the empty corridor, inhaling deeply. This is the moment she has planned for weeks, her greatest fear… and perhaps her greatest triumph if only she succeeds. If only she finds her way into a frighteningly different shape, a frighteningly different soul… and comes back unharmed. In a sudden flash of memory she sees a portrait before her inner eye – an impressive, elder noble woman with sharp features and the round, commanding eyes of an eagle, a little smile curling around her lips. She is clad in the ornate silk and laces of the 18th century.
"Lady Araminta, if you ever had a heart… guide my steps now." she whispers. Then she straightens her back and empties her mind, sending her spirit out searching… searching… for swiftly running legs and coarse fur, a bushy tail and deadly fangs, for strength untamed and wild, yellow eyes.
Close. So close. So… simple. Merlin, she'd never have thought that it would be that simple!
She feels the change trickling under her skin and through her flesh until it fills her right to the bones. Her conscience begins to slip under the sheer violence and impossibility of fingers and feet turning into paws, of fur growing out of smooth skin and the structure of her skull arching forward to form a predator's snout. At the same time a wave of completely new sensations floods her overwhelmed mind… smells, she thinks, dear God, what an unbelievable variety of smells, sweet and strong and sharp and simply too many of them, everywhere… and then she stops thinking at all.
The she-wolf stands in the corridor unmoving, yellow gaze fixed on the door of the bedroom. There, she can feel him, her mate, his scent filling her nostrils and making her whine softly with the need for closeness. She sniffs at the doorknob, tail wagging. Then, suddenly, she stands on her hind legs, but the forepaws find no hold against the smooth, lacquered wood and with a short, shrill yelp of fear and frustration she slides down again. Her second attempt is more successful – this time her strong fangs close around the doorknob and it actually turns. The she-wolf enters the bedroom swiftly, without any sound or sign of fear.
There he is, a big male wolf with grey fur, curled on a carpet in front of the fireplace, his massive head on his paws. At first he doesn't seem to scent her, but then, when she moves closer, he opens dark golden eyes and stares at her. He doesn't snarl or snap. He gives a sound that would remind every human listener suspiciously of a sigh, then moves slightly on the carpet, making room for her to lie beside him. The two wolves nose each other and fall asleep side by side immediately…
almost
… and in their dreams they cross dewy hills and shadowed meadows together, not hunting, not searching for fresh prey, just delighting in each other's company, the easy swiftness of running four-legged, in the heavy scents of the summer night and the joy of their new-found bond. They run, they run, they run, and together finally they raise their triumphant voices to hail the moon.