~O0o-Harry Potter and the Wolves of the Nevernever-o0O~
~Book 1 of the Archive Series~
Hey all. I got this chapter up and finished as quickly as I could as an apology for taking so long with the last chapter. Hope you enjoy. Chapters 4 and 5 have also been revised.
Review Responses:
anon: I've read the story and other than the fact that I use wolves I don't see anything remotely close to my story. But thanks for the review anyway.
Slytherin Potter: Thanks much for the review.
HP-DG-SB-RR-HA-TD-LL-KB-AJ-NT: lol don't worry he will be fine. Thanks for the review.
shutugal88: Thanks. Gotta love wolves.
04farrellr: sorry yes it is too late, but Hermione will be a part of the tribe.
alex the bookworm: thanks for the review. To answer your questions: 1. Yes, sooner or later they will most likely later. 2. Harry will become very strong but at a normal rate. By the end of the 'whole' story he will be able to go toe-to-toe with Riddle with very little problem, but he won't be super-powered and he will take time to learn his skills.
"Speaking."
'Thinking'
"Spells"
"Animal Speak"
Chapter 6: Blood Moon Rising.
~O0o—o0O~
Harry's eyes opened to that same violet night sky that he was slowly becoming used to, only this time he was still human and looking straight up at a huge, full Blood Moon. He rolled up onto his feet and realized that he was naked. 'This is different,' thought Harry. He looked around the clearing hoping to see Susan and Katie's wolves with him, but saw nothing. He felt the wind rush by him ruffling his messy hair.
Any thoughts about his mates were cut off however as he felt a surge of power run through him and a sudden need to submit. That's when he felt it. The hot breath on the back of his neck combined with a dominant aura that was telling him to submit. He turned slowly coming to meet two golden, amber eyes staring at him. The eyes belonged to a pitch black wolf the size of a horse that was simply staring at Harry. Harry felt the dominant aura grow in power, and was fighting it until he heard a snapping sound echo throughout the clearing. He locked eyes with the wolf before him with defiance and power fully expecting to fight the great beast. Instead he heard a deep chuckle that he felt in the pit of his stomach and a deep grin spread over the muzzle of the wolf.
"I am impressed my descendent," spoke the wolf in a deep voice. "You are strong of will. Stronger than any Alpha in many a century. Speak your name my descendent and be recognized."
"Harry James Peverell-Beleren. Heir to House Peverell by birth, Heir to House Beleren by birth, and Heir to House Black by magic," said Harry keeping his voice strong and calm.
"You are strong Harry. I can see great things in your future and the future of our line. I continue to be impressed, none but two of your ancestors have been able to keep strong when flooded with my Alpha Aura," said the wolf.
"Who might you be? I have given you mine name, but I do not yet know yours," inquired Harry.
"My name is Fenrir Shadowwolf. As to whom I am? I am the first of our kind. The first Shadow Wolf created by the four rulers of the Nevernever," said Fenrir.
Harry stared in shock at the great wolf before him. Nic had told him about the first of the Shadow Wolves, and of his power. Apparently, he had been strong enough to guard the whole of the Nevernever for nearly a thousand years before the first human walked it. It wasn't long after that he found his mate, Lilith. Their children became the first of the Four Kings, the four alphas who patrolled the regions of the Nevernever; guarding the middle grounds from the dragon clans and the Fae courts, and keeping the balance between the regions.
"Forgive my ignorance Great One, but why are you in my dream?" asked Harry with respect. He knew better than to show disrespect to one who protected not only the Nevernever, but the mortal plan as well.
"I am here to unbind your inner wolf as I have for all those of our family that came after me," said Fenrir with a chuckle. "Look into my eyes young Alpha."
Harry locked eyes with the great wolf without hesitation or fear. He soon heard the snapping sounds again and finally realized the sound: the snapping of chains. He felt his body heat up and he began to shake.
"Do not fight your wolf, boy. He is you and you are he. Let your power flow. Let your will flow. Embrace him for he is your soul," spoke the deep, calm voice of Fenrir.
Harry closed his eyes, calmed himself, and did as he was told. He felt his body relax and felt it shift. There was no pain, just a subtle shift of his body and he opened his eyes for them to once again locked with Fenrir, only now he was at the same height and on four legs. He looked down and noticed his massive paws and was surprised at how quick the change was. He looked over his broadened shoulders to see his long wolf body, the same pitch black fur as Fenrir's own with dark, forest green tips on part of his scruffy, wolf mane and tail. He was roughly as tall as Fenrir (6' at the shoulders), ten feet long from nose to tail, and weighing nearly 400 lbs of wolf. Harry suddenly felt an urge to run come over him. He looked back to his front to see Fenrir nod his head with a grin and he slowly evaporated into the night (Think Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland (2010)). Harry grinned and felt his paws dig into the grass. He marveled at his new senses while the urge grew within him. He squared his front legs, sucked air into his deep chest and let loose a deep howl that shook the clearing like thunder.
His paws kicked up the ground as he took off full tilt into the tree line. Once again he was mesmerized at how natural this felt. He was speeding through the forest topping 100mph easily in his mind, comparing it to his broom, and was agile enough to weave though the trees with little effort. He soon heard the rustling following him. He turned his head and saw them. Four wolves following him; each slightly smaller than him; two the same color as himself and the other two charcoal black. He continued with him streaking through the forest until he felt his vision cloud with mist and then blackness.
~O0o—o0O~
Harry's eyes fluttered open as he awoke to a high ceiling room, but what really caught his attention were his heightened senses: hearing, sight, smell, and even touch. Relaxing for a second he took in the differences in his senses until he heard someone clear their throat. He wasn't surprised since he had picked up an aged cinnamon smell that was familiar, but couldn't recognize; along with a tale-tale thumping sound, like a heartbeat, from nearby that didn't belong to him.
"Welcome back Mr. Potter," came the stern voice of his Head of House. Looking down and to his left confirmed that it was indeed Professor McGonagall.
"Good…" Harry paused to look out the window of the wing to note that it was pre-dawn outside, "morning Professor."
"A very early morning Potter. Care to explain why you were found in one of the school's hallways at such a late hour?" asked McGonagall.
"Sorry to say I don't know Professor. The last thing I remember was going to sleep in my dorm and waking up here," lied Harry. He knew that he needed to keep the reason for his late night stroll a secret, especially his dream for the time being, but he still felt bad about lying to one of his favorite professors.
At that moment, Poppy Pomfrey, the medic-witch, came in from her office once her charm had gone off to show that her patient was awake. She made her way over to Harry's bed and began to run diagnostic spells over him with a medic-quill jotting down the results on parchment. McGonagall and Harry kept quiet while Poppy did her thing. After the spell was cancelled, Poppy picked up the chart and glanced over it.
"Well Potter. It's a change to have you in here for such minor reasons. If I didn't know any better I'd think you like being here," Poppy stated. "You have a slight fever and your hormones seem to be a little higher than normal, but that may just be puberty kicking in for you. You also had some interesting neural patterns, but I think that could be explained by the hormones increase. Other than that everything reads normal."
"Can you explain how he ended up in that corridor Poppy?" asked McGonagall.
"Sometimes those erratic neural patterns can induce sleepwalking so that's the easiest explanation for it, Minerva," she said before turning to her office and returning with two vials of potion. "Here you go Potter," she said handing the two potions to Harry. "The dark blue potion is a dreamless sleep potion, it should help with your sleepwalking, and the green potion will help even out your hormones and fever. Other than that you're free to go. Let's not see you here until at least your next quidditch match, aye?"
Harry chuckled at the old matron's sense of humor as he got up from the bed and looked at his Head of House who motioned for him to go.
~O0o-Nov. 1, 1993-o0O~
The next day was an easy day for Harry since it was Wednesday the only classes for him were History of Magic and Herbology. He had taken time to talk to Susan and Katie about his night, dream and hospital visit. They confirmed that they did indeed have a similar dream last night and noticed the two addition wolves with them; and agreed with Harry that they must be his Beta Mates. They were shocked when he told them about seeing Pettigrew, but agreed that he should talk to Professor Lupin sometime today.
Harry and Katie were on their way back from quidditch practice when they ran across Susan and Hannah who had finished their last class of the day. The four of them were making their way to the Great Hall for dinner.
"So how was practice you two?" asked Susan.
"It went pretty well. Harry's getting a lot better at his seeker role in our hunter strategy. Unfortunately…"Katie paused looking over at Harry.
"The school brooms suck!" growled Harry. "They can't stand up to the sharp turns or keep up speed wise. I've gotten so used to my Nimbus that it's hard to make the change. I broke three school brooms 'cause they were too brittle to stand up to the force of my turns. We all finally called it an early day since I couldn't hang on to a broom for more than thirty minutes at a time." Harry sighed in frustration feeling both Susan and Katie rubbing his back and back of his neck which surprisingly calmed him down, and almost brought out a wolfish purr from him. "Anyway how was class for you two?"
It continued on like this till they made it to the doors to enter the Great Hall with the girls telling him about their respective days. Hannah went through first while Susan hung back to get a quick kiss from Harry before she went through in pursuit of her friend. Katie gave Harry her own kiss before the two Gryffindors walked through the doors themselves. Both teens made their way to the Gryffindor table and took their seats beside each other and their friends. Hermione started talking to Harry asking him some questions about their Runes and Arithmancy assignments, while Katie and the other two chasers talked about their own classes.
Harry started piling the food onto his plate: grapes, strawberries, almonds, a couple apples, and at least two full chickens worth of chicken meat. Hermione and the others watched as Harry started to eat his food at a fast pace that could possibly match Ron's own pace, but while Ron at like a boar, Harry ate in a more controlled manner that didn't gross out anyone. Unlike a certain red-head who was sitting across from them at the moment demolishing his own plate.
"You okay Harry?" asked Hermione.
Harry looked up at his friend with a questioning look.
"She's talking about your food Harry. We've never seen you eat that much or as fast as you are," Katie said.
Harry swallowed his mouthful. "I'm not really sure girls. I'm just really hungry today." Harry stated with a shrug. Both girls shrugged as well thinking it was because of quidditch practice that Harry just needed more food than the norm. As dinner neared its end Harry packed up another two pounds, or so, of chicken to take up to Jace. It wasn't long before everyone started to exit the hall and make their way to their dormitories. On the way up, Harry and Katie broke off from the group stating that they wanted to talk to each other about some things. Hermione gave them a doubtful look, the twins gave him thumbs up, Ron looked confused, and Alicia and Angelina giggled at Katie.
Harry and Katie quietly made their way toward the kitchens and waited there talking about some of the strategies Wood had come up with for the team. They didn't have to wait long for Susan to come out with a small bag over her shoulder as she beamed a cheery smile at them. Susan and Katie had decided to spend another night with Harry since they loved the first time and they just didn't like sleeping alone after that. Harry had no problems with this since he felt the same way.
The trio started walking and talking quietly with Harry having them take a detour toward the DADA classroom. He wanted to have a chat with Remus, but hadn't seen him at dinner. He knew that last night was the last of the full moon for this cycle, even if it was a Blood Moon, and knew that Remus may not be feeling well but decided to try anyway.
They arrived at the classroom door and went in. Making their way up the steps leading to the office and living quarters of their DADA professor they heard mild grunting as though someone was in pain. Harry and the girls pulled their wands, just in case, and knocked on the door.
"Professor?" called Harry. After a few seconds without an answer he called again. "Remus?"
Hearing another groan, the trio opened the door to see their professor taped and bandaged laying in bed. It was shocking to see their lanky professor in such a state, especially knowing what he was. Harry had conferred with both girls about Remus' condition and neither girl thought less of the man for it, if anything they respected him even more.
"Damn Moony. What happened to you?" asked Harry.
Remus opened his none bandaged eye and looked at Harry and the girls. A painful smile crossed his features.
"Harry. Ms. Bones. Ms. Bell. How nice to see the three of you. To answer your question Harry I didn't have such a good night last night," answered Lupin.
"Professor," both girls nodded.
"They know about your furry little problem Moony. So don't worry about saying too much. Now what happened," stated Harry. Remus tensed for a second then relaxed.
"I see. Well if you trust them Harry then so do I." Lupin said. "As you know last night was a full moon. Now this would be bad for me anyway, but last night was also a Blood Moon." The three teens nodded. "You may not know this but a Blood Moon is extremely influential on my kind since it allows for our complete wolf to come out. We become even more primal than normal. You see normally we are constantly fighting with our inner wolf, but on the Blood Moon there is no fighting. It's just our wolf in control."
Harry suddenly realized why the Blood Moon was so important for his dream last night since it allowed for his inner wolf to be released from its bonds by Fenrir. 'It must be like it is for the Cursed to let their human mind rest from the stress of having to battle their wolf every full moon.' Harry thought.
"Anyway I was out in Forbidden Forest when I came across a large centaur and my inner wolf decided to hunt it. Unfortunately it didn't realize how close we were to the clan and the centaurs fought back. We were able to hold our own for a time, but when our injuries became too much we fled. I woke up this morning with these wounds and made it to the hospital wing with Hagrid's help. Poppy thinks some of the centaur weapons had silver in them and that's why my healing is so slow."
"I thought silver was poisonous for werewolves," commented Katie.
"It's not poisonous per-say. It just slows our healing ability. That's what can kill us. If you had a silver knife and cut an artery we would most likely bleed out before it could heal," answered Lupin. The teens nodded in understanding.
"Well Remus I actually came up here to talk to you about a few things." Once he saw he had the older man's attention Harry continued. "First I was curious if you know the Patronus Charm?"
"Yes I do. In fact that's what I used that night on the train with the Dementor. I thought you would have realized that," said Lupin.
"I thought it was but I had never seen one and didn't know if there was any other way to stop a Dementor." Harry said. "Anyway as you've noticed they seem to have taken a liking to me and I was wondering if you could teach me?"
"I can do that Harry, I must warn you though it's an extremely high level spell. We can begin your lessons after the winter hols if you'd like." Lupin replied.
Harry nodded in agreement and the girls asked if they could join to which Remus tentatively agreed.
"Okay Moony. The next to topics are going to be a little different. Would you rather have the good news, or the worrisome news?" asked Harry.
Remus gave Harry a questioning look. "Worrisome news first then."
"Okay you know how me and you were trying to figure out what was what about Sirius' imprisonment?" Harry asked. Remus nodded. "Well I may have found out who set it up. You told me that the map never lies and doesn't show the ghost of the castle, ya?" Another nod. "Well I was looking on the map last night to get an idea for the patrol routes in case I ever need to get around at night without the map. Well as I was looking through one corridor I noticed a name that shouldn't be there. Peter Pettigrew."
Remus stiffened as soon as Harry said the name and his eye hardened as he looked at the dark haired teen.
"Are you certain Harry?"asked Remus to which Harry nodded.
"Did you hear anything about me this morning while you were in the hospital wing?" asked Harry.
"I overheard Poppy talking about how you had been in there this morning from odd circumstance, but not much else because of the pain I was in," answered Remus.
"It probably had something to do with elevated hormones, fever, and sleepwalking." Harry said with a grumble and sigh. He gave a mock glare at the giggling coming from Katie and Susan. "That's the diagnosis she came up with for how I ended up in a corridor at night. I lied saying that I'd gone to bed and woke up in the hospital. In truth, I took off towards the corridor I'd last seen the name at, but I ran into some trouble and collapsed before I could get there."
"Why did you collapse?" asked a worried Lupin.
"I'll explain later since it goes with the other reason why we're here. Anyway what should we do?" Harry asked. He had come up with a few ideas, but he wanted the input of Remus, who knew both men, and his Alpha mates.
"I think we should contact Aunt Amelia. She'll want to know about this development." Susan said.
Harry nodded in agreement, but paused seeing Remus tense. The professor relaxed however when Harry told him that he had talked to Amelia several times over the summer and that she had agreed to help clear Sirius.
"Me and Susan will talk to Amelia over the break since I plan to stay with them," commented Harry. This received nods all around. "What about Sirius and Pettigrew?"
"Pettigrew's been in hiding this whole time right?" asked Katie. Upon receiving nods she continued. "Obviously he knows how to keep to himself and not draw attention so I think we should not move on him at the moment. If he feels like he's been found out, or being looked into, he may run and then we'd have no idea where he went. At least with him somewhere in the castle we can find him with the map right?" Harry and Lupin nodded. "Then let's focus on finding Sirius so we can make sure he knows he's not alone anymore."
Harry and Susan beamed at their mate's idea and Remus nodded in agreement as well. Not catching Peter was not an option, and if they would get to Sirius they could tell him the same. The key was getting Sirius cleared after all, not revenge…yet. Remus still couldn't understand what made Peter turn on them. He and Harry had talked about this in length and came to the same conclusion. Peter had been the secret-keeper, Sirius had gone after him, and was framed for everything that followed including selling out Harry's parents to the Dark Lord. One thing still worried them though: how far did the con go? Who else was involved because some things fit together far too well to be mere chance? Peter had to have had help.
"Well Moony I think now is time for the good news portion," said Harry with a grin. "I know how to cure you Moony without killing you…sorta."
This statement got him Remus' undivided attention. Pushing up with a grunt of pain Remus leaned forward looking at Harry the whole time. "And how is that Harry?" Lupin asked with a bit of hope in his voice. He knew Harry wouldn't joke about something like this and wanted to hope it was true, although the 'sorta' did have him worried. Only slightly though.
"I found a ritual that my family has used in its history to 'cure' the Cursed," explained Harry. Seeing Lupin's confused look Harry went on to tell him about his Beleren heritage and about the Nevernever. Remus was shocked for several reasons, primarily Lily being a pureblood and Harry being like him to a certain degree. The other bits about the history of the Beleren family he'd always chalked up to rumors and legends among the older werewolves he had met over the years, but now he had to question how right they actually were. "So Moony? You want to join the tribe?" Harry asked cheekily.
"So I would, for all intense and purposes, still be a werewolf, but without the weaknesses?" asked Remus.
"I prefer Shifter to Werewolf, but your right. You'll be healthier in mind and body than you've ever been; in control and complete harmony with your inner wolf; no forced transformations, no aversion to silver, no poisonous bite, and a longer life span." Harry finished.
"What do you mean by the last two Harry?" asked Lupin.
"As you know the Cursed pass on the curse through their bite. We on the other hand can only be made one of three ways," answered Harry holding up three fingers. "The first is simple: We are born this way. This is how I am what I am. The second way is through the ritual I told you about. And finally through mating with our mates," finished Harry with a blush which was matched by his two mates who were giggling at Harry's embarrassment.
"As for the life span that is a little more complicated. We don't age." Harry noted the shocked looks on both Remus and the girls since he hadn't mentioned this when he had first talked to them. "I didn't know this until recently after reading more into it. While the Cursed age and die at a normal pace, we don't age as long as we continue to shift. If we ever choose to stop shifting we will then begin to age at the normal pace of a human, and in our case wizard or witch. A lot of our kin have chosen this path after they believed their purpose in existence was fulfilled, but if they ever choose to shift again their bodies will de-age to its prime. We are in a sense immortal, but we can still be killed, it's just harder to do so."
"How?" asked Susan.
"The Avada Kedavra can still kill us, or any way in which our soul is ripped from our bodies. Decapitation works too of course, as well as having our hearts ripped out. Every body has a breaking point ours is just harder to reach since we heal so quickly. We are immune to poison, mind-control doesn't work very well on us. And of course we heal at an incredible rate. After all, why create something to be a guardian that can be killed so easily?" asked Harry rhetorically.
Remus and the girls nodded in understanding since it did make sense, but were still overwhelmed by what they had just learned. They soon bid Remus good night after he had agreed to take the ritual and made their way up to the Gryffindor Tower.
~O0o-Nov. 4, 1993-o0O~
The rest of the week past quickly with little happening. Harry was preparing to go to Hogsmeade to meet with Tonks. After he and the girls and gotten back to the tower, they went down into Harry's trunk and Harry found that Tonks had replied to him. He had explained to Katie and Susan about finding out that Tonks was one of his Beta mates. The girls were shocked, but excited that Harry had found one of their sisters and agreed when he told them that he would meet with her Saturday to tell her everything.
Harry dressed in a simple dark green button up, long-sleeve shirt, dark blue jeans, and black combat boots. It was slowly becoming colder near the castle, but Harry was barely feeling the change in weather. With the map, his wand, and invisibility cloak in hand he made his way out of the castle throwing on his cloak as he went. Luckily and unluckily today wasn't a Hogsmeade weekend so while he didn't have to worry about his classmates recognizing him he would stick out more predominately. Luckily, Honeydukes Sweet Shop was quiet and he was able to get in and without causing alarm since Mr. Flume seemed to be napping at the counter.
Harry made his way through the town on his way toward the Three Broomsticks since he had told Tonks to meet him outside. As he neared the pub, he saw her. She was leaning against the wall outside the pub. She wore a long black, buckled trench coat (unbuckled), black cargo pants with pink lining, combat boots, and a tight fitting, purple 'Weird Sisters' shirt showed off her perky assets. He noted with a chuckle that she wore her pink hair in a pixie cut. All together cute in his opinion. He walked up to her noting that he was about at her height now and whispered in her ear.
"Nym?"
She gasped lightly, but didn't draw any extra attention to herself. "Harry?" she whispered back.
"I'm right here Nym. I'm going to take your hand and lead you were we need to go," said Harry. Seeing Nym nod, he took her hand and started to lead her through the town toward the path that led to the Shrieking Shack.
Once they reached the small clearing before the Shrieking Shack, Harry looked around satisfied that they hadn't been followed and pulled off his cloak. He was immediately pressed into a firm hug from Tonks that he easily returned picking her up and giving a little swing which brought a happy giggle from the pink-haired girl.
"Wotcha' Harry! Oh it's great to see ya'," said an excited metamorphamagus
"It's great to see you too Nym," chuckled Harry. He had missed his friend greatly.
He and Tonks took a seat on a fallen tree in the clearing.
"So how's training with the 'Mad-Eye' Moody," asked Harry.
"He's a bloody psycho he is," groaned Tonks. "I swear Harry I've never seen a more paranoid bloke in all my life. Him and his constant vigilance mantra. Don't get me wrong he's a great mentor and has his points, but he fires those damn Stinging Hexes every time I bloody turn around. I swear I think he's come close a few times of stingin' my bum off. I like my bum where it is dammit!" Tonks was pouting as Harry chuckled at her comment.
"Well it is a right nice bum Nym," joked Harry. "I'd have to have words with Moody if he actually did sting it off." This brought Tonks to her own fit of laughter.
The two's banter continued back and forth talking about all manner of topics until Tonks brought up the topic Harry commented on in their notebook about her dream.
"Well," sighed Harry. "I'm going to have to give you a bit of a history lesson. As you know I am their heir to three Most Ancient and Noble families ya?" Tonks nodded. "What do you know about the Beleren family?"
"Not much honestly. They're one of the more secretive of the families along with the Peverell family." Tonks replied.
"Well I'm the blood heir to both the Peverell and Beleren families." Harry said. Taking in Tonks' shocked face Harry jumped into his story about the Beleren family and its history. Tonks listened in rapid fascination to Harry's tale about the history of his family. She was enraptured by the Nevernever, the Fae, dragons, and of course the wolves. Tonks, like Katie and Susan, had a deep love of wolves that spanned back to her child hood and she, like the others, couldn't explain where it came from. Harry believed this was magic's way of leading them all to each other in a subtle way. Finding out that Harry was a descendent of magical wolves and could turn into one someday made Tonks respect and like him even more than she already did.
"That's awesome Harry! I can't believe you're actually a descendent of such amazing creatures. Plus it's incredibly sexy that ya' can turn into one," Tonks said with a playful wink that got a blush and chuckle from Harry. "But that still don't…explain…" Tonks trailed off as her mind started to click. Her mind replied what he had told her about the dreams Harry, Katie, and Susan, (He told her about them) and herself were experiencing. "What does it all mean Harry?"
"Nic told me that since Katie and Susan were in my dream as wolves, since they shared the dream with me, that tells us that they are my Alpha mates. However, he also told me that my Beta mates would have seen the dream too, but from a third person's view point. Just like you did am I right?" Tonks nodded dumbly. "This means that you're one of my two Betas. I'm so sorry Tonks."
"Why're ya' sorry Harry?" asked a confused Tonks.
"I'm taking your choice from you," mumbled Harry with his head down.
Tonks looked at Harry in awe and respect. She had thought he was sorry because he didn't want her as one of his mates. However, to find out that he was afraid of taking her choice from her warmed her heart. It proved that he cared and respected her which is what she always wanted from a mate. She knew then and there, with all she had come to learn about Harry Potter over the summer and right now, that she couldn't find a better match for a mate if she'd tried.
"Harry?" she said using her finger to turn his chin so he is looking at her, her amber eyes changing to match his green. "Ya' didn't take my choice from me Harry. If nothin' else ya' made my choice easy for me."
She punctuated her point by placing her soft, full lips on his. Harry returned the kiss as his arms instinctively embraced her waist as her arms snaked around his neck. It was a chaste kiss, but it didn't cheapen the feelings behind it. Harry had found one of his Betas…and she had accepted him.
~O0o-Dec. 1, 1993-o0O~
The month of November past in a relative whirl for the occupants of the castle. Several things happened within the month to Harry, his mates, and friends, although none of them were bad. Harry maintained a more steady contact between himself and Tonks, much to their delight. Their time was only enhanced when Harry made two more notebooks that allowed Katie and Susan to talk to their mate sister along with Harry. Katie and Susan had also taken to spending Friday and Saturday nights to sleep with Harry in his trunk; all three were content with this addition to their day to day and were in no rush to push their relationship too fast. The only person it didn't jive with was Tonks who wanted her own Harry cuddle time. Harry promised Tonks some cuddle time over the hols much to her pleasure and the other mate's amusement.
His friendship with Ron continued to fray due to his continued attempts to convince Harry to ignore his studies which was slowly wearing on Harry's nerves. He was also becoming irritated by his lack of practice with his quidditch team due to his lack of a broom since Madam Hooch wouldn't let him use the school brooms since he kept breaking them.
Harry was making a lot of head way in his studies with mid-terms right around the corner, and he helped Hermione maintain her sanity by helping her with her own studies. He had finally confronted her about her classes and weird behavior, and was shocked to find that she was using a time turner to take every class. It took some convincing, but he finally got her to go the Madam Pomfrey to be checked out for the stress she was under. It was during this time that he told Hermione about what was happening with him, since it was something she had been worrying about and was adding to her own stress. She didn't see Harry any differently of course, she only saw her best friend and 'adoptive' brother. Of course, it was Hermione and she was fascinated by everything Harry had told her and started research what he had told her on her own time.
Another positive change for Harry was that he was becoming accustomed to his new abilities. He found that his eyesight had gotten sharper to the point that he could track the snitch with ease as he watched the quidditch match between Ravenclaw and Slytherin (Ravenclaw won 240-170). His hearing was good enough that if he applied it with his empathy and surface thought telepathy that he could read people like a book, because of their thoughts, feelings, and heartbeat. His touch was only slightly better than average; meanwhile his sense of smell could easily be compatible with a wolf's own nose, which he unfortunately discovered one night after Ron and Seamus had decided to try some of the twin's newest product: Gasi-Pop Soda. Oh the pain and suffering in the third year boys dorm that night.
While he had expected the improvement of his senses thanks to his talks with Nic, he was unprepared for the improvements physically. While he maintained his height and weight (5'6" and 130lbs respectfully), his already athletic, toned body became more so due to the heightening of his metabolism which was the cause for his raised fever that kept his core around 100 degrees (F). He burned fat at a far faster rate than normal and had to eat accordingly to replenish his energy and fuel his body. His strength and stamina had also increased which he noticed with his practice for quidditch and daily exercise. He was now running several miles each day around the Black Lake and would barely be winded; add that to his 100 push-ups, 50 pull-ups, and the numerous other bodyweight exercises he preformed each day that Wood had shown him and Harry was the fittest person within the walls of Hogwarts by a large margine.
Friday evening found Harry down in his lab talking to Nic preparing for the ritual for Moony that was going to take place the next day.
"You got the runes down?" asked Nic as they made a final checklist.
"Yep. All twenty one different ones." Harry sighed. It was bad enough trying to do a thousand year old ritual, but to top it off he had to use an ancient set of runes that the Beleren family came up with for their rituals called Lupine Runes. If it wasn't so frustrating Harry would have laughed at the irony.
"Blood?"(N)
"Two vials worth."(H)
"Five pre-carved river stones?"(N)
"Carved and ready."(H)
"Candles?"(N)
"Five green wax to represent the earth."(H)
"The incantation?"(N)
"Ready for chanting."(H)
"Thirteen virgins?"(N)
"You wish! Kat, Nym, and Suz would exercise your spirit to the deepest pits of hell if they found out. And I would go along with it anyway…unless it was my three mates anyway" Harry said with a blush after finishing the last part.
"You're no fun ya' know?" sighed Nic. "Where are you going to do this?"
"Here in the ritual room inside the trunk. Best chance of not being disturbed I think." Harry said.
"Good idea," replied Nic.
Harry bid Nic a good night as he went to his room within the trunk where Katie and Susan were waiting for him. Tomorrow would be a long day.
~O0o-Dec. 2, 1994-o0O~
Harry and the girls awoke in a very comfortable cuddle that they were becoming accustomed to. Although there was a bit of embarrassment when Susan found Harry's hand on her bum; and Katie found his other hand on her breast. This was amplified by Harry sporting a morning wood tent pitched with his silk boxers. While embarrassed by the situation all three had a good laugh and had some light flirting between them. After an hour of cuddle time, the three teens got up and dressed before making their way down for breakfast.
They were among the first students down to the hall and fixed their plates. Susan, dressed in a blue turtle neck-sweater that fit her figure very well and tan cargo pants, was having oatmeal and orange juice; meanwhile Katie, wearing her Gryffindor quidditch sweater and bell-bottom jeans that showed off her bum, had bacon, eggs, and toast with milk. Harry was seated between them, dressed in his tight, black shirt and grey cargo pants, was chowing down on a huge plate of bacon, eggs, ham, and milk. It wasn't long before more students and the professors were making their way into the hall. Hermione sat down and said hello to the trio, who greeted her back with happy smiles. Hermione got into a discussion with Harry and Susan about their charms mid-term and what might be covered on it with Katie giving tips from last year. They were soon joined by the remainder of the Gryffindor quidditch team and soon they were all chatting like friends, even Hermione, forgoing talking about classes for simply spending time with friends.
After Harry finished his meal, he bid everyone a hasty goodbye stating that he needed to work on a project for one of his classes. No one really questioned although Hermione, Susan, and Katie knew what he was really planning to do and wished him luck.
~O0o—o0O~
It was nearing 3PM when Harry finished the preparations for the ritual. After leaving the Great Hall that morning he had gone up to Gryffindor Tower to grab what he needed and made his way to Lupin's quarters. It had taken him several hours to set up the ritual, along with making checks with Nic; he brought the skull into the room with him before everything was set.
It was a quarter to three when there was a knock on his trunk. Harry left the ritual room, leaving Nic behind as he went through the door to his lab. He chuckled at Jace, asleep on his back near the stairs. Jace had continued to grow and was no longer the small puppy that Harry had met in August, nor was he as big as he had been a month and a half prior. Jace now weighed nearly 100lbs and roughly the size of a Grey Wolf.
'Little bloke may be growing like fire, but he's still my little pup I found in that store,' thought Harry with a grin.
He opened the trunk and let Remus in. Like the girls, Remus was incredibly impressed with Harry's trunk as he was given a quick tour from the lab. They moved into the ritual room, with a now awake Jace trailing them.
"Okay Remus. Any questions?" asked Harry.
Remus shook his head as he looked around the medium sized room. The walls were littered with multiple candles that kept the room relatively bright. A large silver ring circle lay imbedded in the floor with five stones forming a cross with several lines of runes connecting them making it look like a diamond. He also saw a candle next to each stone and a potion flask next to the center stone.
"I think I'm ready Harry." Remus said.
"Alright let's begin," said Harry with calmness in his voice as if he had done this a hundred times.
Harry had Remus strip to his underwear, which Harry ragged him mercilessly for wearing tidy-whities. Remus took the potion next to the middle stone as Harry had instructed. He then lay down and Harry placed the stone over his heart followed by the candle, which he used sticking charms on to keep in place. Harry then walked down to the bottom stone and took a seat with Jace lying next to him. Harry finally took a deep breath and placed his wand to the stone in front of him marked Sun Chaser and lit the candles on each stone. 'Here we go.' Harry thought with a sigh as he cleared his mind and bowed his head.
"Wolves four: Earth, Water, Sun, and Moon.
Bless us with your guidance."
A breeze began to gather throughout the room.
"From the flame kissed land of the South, comes the great wolf Sun Chaser.
Running through the bright forest,
His fiery eyes see through the hottest firestorm.
Burn the ice of the curse that taints our brother.
Enter and welcome great wolf of the southern tribe."
As Harry finished, a spirit wolf of steam appeared behind him looking at Lupin with flame red eyes.
"From the spirit world of the East, comes the great wolf Dawn Treader.
Ruling the line between day and night,
His golden eyes see the new day.
Shine a light to fight the darkness in our brother.
Enter and welcome great wolf of the eastern tribe."
Over the stone to Harry's right appeared a wolf of grey smoke looking at Lupin with its golden eyes.
"From the icy tundra of the North, comes the great wolf Ice Leaper.
Watching from the mountain peaks,
His blue eyes see through the coldest blizzard.
Freeze the rage of our brother.
Enter and welcome great wolf of the northern tribe."
Over the stone opposite Harry a spirit wolf of white fog appeared looking at Lupin with its blue eyes.
"From the darkest night of the West, comes the great wolf Night Stalker.
Prowling under the shadowed canopy,
His coal eyes see the darkness beyond blackest pitch.
Devourer the foulness from our brother.
Enter and welcome great wolf of the western tribe."
On Harry's left appeared a wolf of blackness deeper than the deepest night, its black eyes focused on Lupin. Harry looked up at Lupin, his emerald green eyes taking on a golden hue.
"The moon is full, the sky is clear,
Let misfortune and evil disappear.
The mighty wolves with ever reign,
And be protected from harm and bane.
Spirits of the wolves strong and great,
Purge the curse from our brother return him to the tribe!"
Harry shouted the last chant and the wolves leapt upon Lupin and dove into his body. Harry's golden eyes stared in fascination as the spirit wolves ripped the curse from Lupin whose body began to glow deep silver. Harry stood looking at the spirit wolves as the returned to their places.
"Great wolves of the four tribes,
I thank you and bid farewell as you return home."
Harry watched as the four wolves evaporated in a similar fashion as Fenrir had in his dream. He noticed that Remus was still glowing and settled down against the wall with Jace by his side. He looked over at Nic's skull perched on a stool where he had watched the whole ritual.
"Now what?" asked Harry.
"Now we wait," replied Nic.
~O0o-To Be Continued-o0O~
AN: Thus ends another chapter. The next will be up soon. R&R.