The World As We Know It

Can't run away from fate that's something we all know

no matter how much you try

you'll still have no place left to go

but you know that just won't do

but you know that just won't do

Jenny

4/24/11

9:42 a.m.

As a wolf, I didn't go anywhere last night, out of a safety concern of Draco's. Instead, I stayed curled up on the forest floor, my tail almost completely incasing Draco like a giant fuzzy sleeping bag. It kept him warm and hidden. If anyone tried to curse me as a wolf, (a stupid idea that probably wouldn't happen) he would jinx them into the next century when the spell bounced off of my coat, which seemed to repel every kind of spell.

In the morning, I detached myself from Draco, flushing, considering I was naked, and quickly dressed, then stretched. Even though I didn't even walk around as a wolf, I was still slightly sore. But I was pleased, my voice was barely hoarse-I had only howled once, and that was to scare away any other forest creatures I didn't want to fight with. I quickly re-braided my hair back into its plait, including the rocks, just in case. Then I stretched, prodding Draco as I bent down to touch my toes, my back to the forest. He muttered something along the lines of 'bloody Keeper' and shifted a little. I prodded him again as I stretched to one side, and he shot up, wand pointed in my face. I raised an eyebrow, not moving an inch until the craziness vanished from his eyes.

"Merlin, you scared me," He muttered, and I gave him a hand and went to help him up when I heard it, the whirring of something flying through the air…I shoved him back down, leapt up and seized what happened to be a knife out of midair and landed on my feet, weapon raised as spells started to fly from the bushes at Draco, who leapt up and started jinxing the shit out of the bush. I rolled behind a log just in time as another knife almost cut off my leg. Behind the log, I wiped dirt on my face. Usually I was Disillusioned for a fight, and since I couldn't see my attacker, I needed all the camouflage I could get, especially if the fight continued into the bracken of the forest.

I sprang up and quickly tucked my knees to my chest as a knife immediately whizzed out in response. I tucked and rolled, snatched the knife in the log, and chucked it in the direction the knives were coming from, causing something to jump out of the way in the bushes to my left. As I started to run forward, a being in black, with a Death Eater mask flipped out and started slinging knives like there was no tomorrow, forcing me to block them with the one knife I had left in my hand, ducking and twisting.

Holy shit, this person is good, almost as good as me! How did a Death Eater learn such a Muggle sport? After successfully ducking until his knives were gone, my attacker pulled a very long and sharp looking sword off his back, and as he ran forward. I seized a knife next to me and we met somewhere in the middle. My mind snapped back to karate fights, and after some punching and kicking from the both of us, we got down to just fists and feet. I could hear bangs and shouts of spells from yards away, Draco and his assailant had moved farther downward, back towards the campsite. Thinking about that made me realize something strange- the Death Eaters had sent almost a ninja after me, and a wizard after Draco. Why? Why not just send two wizards and kill us easier?

The 'ninja' and I fought bitterly, he was skilled, like me, but I could tell from kicking him in the ribs that he was as weak as I was. And that made no sense whatsoever. If this 'ninja' was a Death Eater, why would he be so underfed? I tried looking closely at his face, but the mask was impenetrable. In spinning jumps and kicks, we would nail each other well, and we were fighting hard for an advantage. I would slam him across the clearing into a tree, and then he would send me flying into a bush. Finally, as he went to punch my ear, I seized the front of him and flipped him over my head, body slamming him with gravity, then I whirled around, seizing a knife and getting the edge of it just under his chin as he went to get back up. "You'll never guess who's here, Jenny." Draco called, and my ninja seemed to stiffen.

"Enlighten me." I said frostily, never taking my eyes off the ninja, just in case.

"Mobilicorpus." I heard Draco mutter, and he came into view, and floating in front of him, like a grotesque puppet was a Stunned Kingsley, making my cold demeanor fall off instantly, replaced with slight fear, but mostly hate. "And you?" He asked, gesturing to the ninja, who was still stiff under his own blade. The tip was right on his Adam's apple, just resting there, but willing to kill him at a seconds notice. His lips parted, and I noticed a slight gap between his two front teeth.

"You can do the honors." I resumed my cold, uncaring façade as Draco slashed his wand, making the ninja flinch, and the mask dissolve away, making me drop the knife in shock on his chest. Brian's chest was still heaving from our fight, and his face was pale, sunken and bruised, but he was most definitely alive. "Oh-my-god," I whispered, taking a step back, our eyes locked.

"Jenny? What's the matter?" Draco raised his wand as Brian went to prop himself up, and he flinched, freezing.

"Brian?" I whispered, quickly wiping the mud away from my face, clearing it for him. His eyes seemed to widen further. Draco looked at me sharply. Brian swallowed and nodded, making the movement small as Draco set his gaze back on him. I went to move forward, but Draco cut me off.

"Jenny, we don't know if he's an enemy." He said, and I snorted.

"Draco, if you couldn't tell from his face, I doubt he was among the Death Eater's by choice. And he flinches whenever you point your wand at him. I can't believe it. I bet they did exactly what they did to me to him." I strode away a little, and then paced angrily. "I can't believe it," I murmured, then spun on my heel and marched back to Draco and Brian, feeling my eyes flash as my anger increased. "Did they torture you, Brian? Did they drug you, hit you?" I asked, sharper than I meant, and he nodded again, starting to look angry himself as he realized that 'they did exactly what they did to me to him' meant that I had gotten the same treatment somehow, even though I was supposed to be dead.

"Jenny, I thought you were dead. We all did. What-" Draco stepped forward to put his wand under his chin. I made an irritated noise and pushed him back by the shoulder, seized Brian's wrist, clasped it, and pulled him to his feet.

"Look. If he wanted to kill me, he could have already snapped my neck." I insisted, not moving from my position in front of Brian. Draco hesitated, and then lowered his wand.

"We need to move, they'll be missed. Avada Kedavra." Draco snapped, and with a flash of green light, I knew Kingsley was dead. I heard Brian flinch behind me at the display of magic. "Come on, then," he said, and started to walk back towards the tent. I turned around and motioned Brian forward, and I followed him over and through the protective spells after Draco transfigured Kingsley's body into a rock. I felt not a speck of remorse or guilt. He deserved what he got, just like the Minister and the Lestranges. That was now three Death Eaters for me, and one for Draco. "The Minister and the Lestranges are dead, and now Kingsley is too. Jenny and I are fine, try not to worry too much. We miss Teddy, and all of you." Draco said, then, "Expecto Patronum!" A large wolf came from his wand with a long pelt, making me flush, realizing it was me. It took off across the sky as Draco waved his wand again, making the tent shrink. He put it in his pocket as Brian watched me and the magic with large eyes.

"Can you take all of us?" I asked, and he only nodded curtly, offering his arm. I linked with him, then linked with Brian without thinking twice, despite his flinch. The Apparation took less than a second, and we came out in the middle of a misty moor. Brian staggered, and I snaked my arm out and steadied him as Draco started setting up protective spells. "Brian, look at me," I said calmly, and after a deep breath and a shudder, he straightened. "Are you alright?" I asked, and he was suddenly hugging me. I shook my head at Draco as he turned, ready to hex him. Frowning, Draco set up the tent as I lightly returned the gesture, then ushered him inside.

"I can't believe you're alive." Brian croaked as I hastily started a pot of tea.

"It's kind of a long story. This is Draco, my boy—my friend, my partner. My best friend." I emphasized, feeling my face turning red and my brain sputter as I realized how awkward this was going to be. "He won't hurt you." I shot him a look as he rolled his eyes, sticking his wand in his pocket and accepting a cup of tea. I handed one to Brian, then grabbed myself one and sat down.

"How, how are you alive? There was so much blood-" Brian swallowed, and I felt my skin pale. Draco shivered. He still blamed himself for my werewolf-ness, and I'm sure Lupin did too, even though I didn't.

"Well…remember the girl I told you about, Hermione? How I thought she was getting a laugh off of telling me that stupid word? Erm, well, it worked. Two Death Eaters showed up at my house, just a random pick. That word saved my life."

"But Shacklebolt said that you were a werewolf, that's impossible. I only knew it was you when Draco called your name. I didn't see any wolf."

"That's because he didn't know if I was going to be safe. There is a potion people like me can take so that I keep my mind when I transform. Don't worry," I added as his face paled further, "I haven't gone without one in a while." Draco shivered again, and I knew that he was reliving my stupidity with the bear trap.

"But he was crazy, werewolves can't exist." Brian insisted. I sighed, then got up and got a knife off the pile and slit the edges of the jumpsuit around my neck, rolling them down. Brian gasped as the first bite appeared, then jumped up when I rolled it down past my shoulders. Some real wolf bites were visible with some scratches, and then my most prominent three out of four bites from Greyback were standing out strongly as usual.

"That blood in the kitchen was from a werewolf biting me repeatedly, as a human, but it was close enough to a full moon to change me. I have another one on my side. The bigger bites and scratches are from a fight with another werewolf. He knew who he was, he's one of my closest friends, pretty much my father now, but I hadn't taken a potion, there wasn't enough to go around. I attacked him." I finished in a softer voice, rolling back up the jumpsuit and sitting back down on the couch with Draco. Brian's eyes were huge, but I continued anyway. "The man who bit me gave me a chance to stab him, so I did. I killed him, and injured his partner, who later joined the Order and has helped us ever since. He was our spy." I stretched the truth, and felt Draco stiffen slightly, but not enough for Brian to notice, who was gaping at me.

"Draco killed Shacklebolt, didn't he? And you're the one responsible for the three murders?" He asked, and for the first time, I felt shame at his scared face before I pushed it away.

"When I heard about what the Death Eaters, people like Shacklebolt and the people I killed had done to my family, your family, all of our friends…and that you were missing…I can't sleep at night, not until they get justice." Brian grimaced, rubbing his shoulder from where I had probably kicked him as hard as I could.

"Well, I can't say that it isn't justified." Brian sighed and took a gulp of tea.

"I'm assuming that when the Death Eaters came to my memorial service, they kidnapped you. Then…?" I prodded gently, and Brian sighed, setting down his tea.

"They kidnapped me alright. Then they told me everything, about magic, wands, their world…but I didn't believe them. I thought they were raving lunatics, to be honest. But I couldn't figure out how I could feel so much pain without having been drugged, or without them using anything but their wands. They were training me to be a spy." I set my tea down harder than necessary, making him raise an eyebrow.

"When I obviously couldn't come home because of my werewolf-ness, the Order took me in; made me one of their spies. Those fucking bastards. They were going to have you kill me, weren't they? That is so fucking sick, I'm going to hunt him down and-"

"Enough, Jenny." Draco chuckled at my glare and took a drink of his tea. He looked very pleased with himself for killing Kingsley. I felt slight jealousy; it would have been great to do it myself.

"When the word about the three murders came in, they changed their mind. They already knew that I could be their assassin at the present, so we left right away. Somehow they knew you would be where you were…we waited until we could hear voices, and then Shacklebolt told me to attack. I didn't even recognize you until you wiped off you face. What's changed, Jenny?" Brian pressed, setting down his tea as I seized mine to occupy my hands.

"I'll talk if you eat something." I said after he stared at me for almost a minute as I watched my tea swirling in my cup. He sighed, then started as Draco flicked his wand to Summon some of our supplies. Once I knew Brian was gnawing on a piece of jerky, I spoke softly. "Well, I'm a werewolf now, and an assassin. I'm killing Death Eaters. How did I get to murdering people?" I asked for Brian, who had paled at my mention of the assassinations. He nodded. "While I was a spy for the Order, Kingsley Shacklebolt, who was in charge, lost his cool when I protected him," I jerked my head at Draco, who smiled sheepishly, "from his 'interrogation'. He tried to hurt me, so they kicked him out. He joined the Death Eaters, and after one night after being a wolf, he kidnapped me." Brian made an angry noise in his throat, and Draco stiffened. I had sworn when I told him and everyone at Shell Cottage the story, that I would never tell it again.

"He took me to the Death Eaters headquarters, his house. They had forced his family into it and taken over their house. I was there for almost a month." I limply gestured to Draco.

"A month?" Brian snarled. I sighed and looked at him. "I was there for about a week, maybe more. How the hell did you survive?" His face was twisted, and Draco was looking from him to me, obviously thinking I had left something out, and wondering what the hell they did to me, specifically. I knew he would only ask Brian later, so I caved.

"There was torture, magical and good old fashioned beatings, and force feedings of Veratisereum, a drug that looks like water, but makes you spill your secrets. You can't remember what they asked you, and you can never lie. I wouldn't tell them anything under torture, so they used it…a lot." My nose tingled, a sure sign I was going to cry soon, so I focused that grief and pain towards my effort to kill more Death Eaters. Both men in my presence looked like they wanted to interrupt, so I continued.

"The night of the full moon, they gave me to Draco's parents who were still trapped there, and told them to Apparate somewhere and kill me. Instead, I told them of a safe house of the Order's and they took me there. They saved my life."

"That's it," Brian stood up, his expression stormy. "They did it to you, me, and everyone we ever loved. I'm helping you kill these bastards, no matter what it takes."