AHHHhhhhh! isn't that always the case! I write something witty in the A/N and then loose it cause my computer messes up!

Oh well hope you enjoy! ;)

Chapter Ninety

The Beast's of the Moon

"Oh bloody sodding hell!" Taylor groaned as the two werewolves started towards her again. One tipped back its head and howled, the other quickly joined it. The hair on her arms and neck stood on end as slowly she backed up. She knew she couldn't out run them, so she was left only with fighting them. Her necklace burned as the words formed on her tongue and she waited as they drew closer, spreading apart as they came.

She knew that if they separated she was a goner. She couldn't fight them from two sides at once, but still something held her back from casting her spell. As the two slowly made their way to either side of her, low growls came from both of them. When they were parallel with her they stopped.

She was once again between the two werewolves.

She couldn't believe she hadn't cast her spell when she had the chance. Maybe the Hufflepuff was right, maybe she did have some kind of twisted desire to die.

The snarls coming from the two werewolves became more menacing by the second and she glanced from one to the other, wondering if she was some kind of prize or something, in a deadly game they were going to play. She saw the one on her left crouch down and the other one followed suit. She knew what was coming, they were both going to spring at her at the same time.

She waited for two long heartbeats and then as they sprang she dove for the ground rolling as fast as she could. Jumping to her feet she ran. She heard the two snapping at one another again. All too soon it stopped as a howl rent the air. Pushing her legs to go faster she pelted towards the school, she jumped over the low stonewall she had hidden from Moody behind.

She was almost to the courtyard when she heard a man's voice yell fearfully

"NO! Go! What are you doing bringing them here!"

She recognized it as one of the men who had been out on the quidditch pitch. She was almost past him as he waved wildly at her, when she was hit from behind and fell to the ground. Snarls sounded above her, as the man screamed. The next thing she knew she was being dragged away by her pant leg. It took a moment to get her breath back, which had been knocked out of her when she fell.

Screams filled the air, horrifying, pain filled screams.

She could feel the ground sliding by under her and she started to kick with her other foot trying to get free. To her surprise it only took two or three kicks and the werewolf let go of her. She scrambling backward to get away, and it jumped at her growling, snapping its teeth mere inches from her face. She froze.

The screaming behind her stopped, only to be replaced a sickening squelching sound.

The werewolf grabbed her pant leg again and started to pull her along. This time she kicked at it a lot quicker and it again let go of her pant leg. The huge werewolf stepped towards her and sniffed before cocking its head at her.

Taylor felt her mouth drop open, only to hear it growl as it sprang over her and grab the back of her shirt lifting her off the ground. Swaying above the ground she reached for the ground with her feet and the werewolf set her down.

"Greg?" the word whispered from her in a breath but the werewolf cocked its head again.

A howl sounded out over the grounds, and the werewolf beside her bared its teeth, and using its head gave her a push. Taylor got the message and she broke into a run, the werewolf easily keeping pace with her and pushing her where it wanted her to go.

Stumbling to a stop just on the edge of the Forbidden forest, she bent over gasping for air, as the huge werewolf paced around her sniffing at the air. When she could finally speak she said, "Shacklebolt is out there somewhere. We can't just leave him for Greyback! Can you understand me?" she added as an after thought.

The werewolf cocked its head again and brought its muzzle right up to her face so that it was almost touching her. She could smell its breath as it looked into her eyes. She could see understanding in them.

"Good. So we need to go find Shacklebolt before Greyback does."

She received a deep growl and the werewolf pulled its lips up showing its teeth.

"Greg! There has to be something we can do!"

The werewolf snorted, and then sniffed the air again cocking its head.

Taylor took a moment to look at the creature standing beside her. It was huge, standing eye level with her, its long legs made it look kind of gangly but it moved with an easy grace that also spoke of power. It was covered in hair, fairly course looking and dark, not dissimilar from the color of Greg's hair. Tentatively she reached out and touched it, a snarl made her yank her hand back. The snarl stopped instantly to be replaced by a whimper and the werewolf touched its nose to her hand.

"Well make up your mind. If you want me to touch you or not." She said a bit crankily, and regretted it. It wasn't Greg's fault. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you… is it all right if I touch you?" the werewolf nodded its head. Gently she put her hand on the werewolf's shoulder and patted him. When he didn't growl she continued for a few minutes. The hair looked course but was actually soft to the touch. She could feel the warmth of its body beneath as she kept patting him.

A howl echoed out over the school grounds and the werewolf beside her growled menacingly as the hairs on its back stood on end. Turning towards her, the werewolf caught the front of her shirt in its teeth and started to pull her forward.

"Hey! Okay. You don't have to rip the clothes off me." Taylor muttered as she hurried along. Soon she was running beside the huge werewolf as he led her through the edge of the forest and then up across the grounds towards the quidditch pitch. They were almost there when in one bound the werewolf was in front of her to stop her, a deep menacing snarl coming from him.

Taylor looked around and then saw why they had stopped. Out of the shadows a man moved, the other wizard she had heard talking.

"Well, well, well. I don't think I would have believed it if I hadn't seen it for myself. A werewolf running with a witch." He shook his head. "Too bad Porter, this is going to be your last night. It would be quite a tale to tell."

"Thanks but I think I like my chances right now." Taylor said fearlessly.

The wizard laughed softly, but it suddenly died as he wheeled towards the stands and out of the shadows the other werewolf stepped.

A snarl rumbled out of Greg, loud and deep as the hairs on his back stood on end once again.

Greyback snarled as well and moved towards the younger werewolf in a circle.

Greg moved with Greyback, always keeping between him and his witch, snarls deep and menacing rolled past his bared teeth. The older werewolf was slowly spiraling in closer and closer until there was less then ten feet between them.

Taylor moved with Greg, keeping one hand on him, the other held her wand. She wasn't sure what she was going to do, but she was going to do something to help if she could. The Dark Magic spell she hesitated to use because she wasn't sure if the spell would differentiate between the two werewolves, and hit them both or worse hit Greg and not Greyback.

"Accio witch!"

The spell was so unexpected that she was flying through the air before she realized what was happening. She could see Greg wheel to see what had happened to her and Greyback attacked.

Landing with a thud, she didn't even try to get up instead firing her first two spells from where she sat. The wizard stepped back onto the quidditch pitch and she came to her feet still firing, she could hear the two werewolves fighting behind her and forced herself to focus only on the wizard in front of her. Up close now she recognized him, even in the moonlight as one of the aurors she'd seen up at the school. Thankfully he wasn't a highly skilled one and slowly she drove him back as she advanced, then she saw her opportunity. With a flick she silently disarmed him and caught his wand, as well as three others in her hand.

"What are you going to do Mudblood? Your pet werewolf is going to die and then you will!"

Taylor glared at the auror, "You're responsible for the original werewolf aren't you? And the Manticore?"

"Of course. You thought it was all those thickheaded Slytherins! They did come in handy at times, attacking you and the Head Boy. Then their botched attempt at getting you when you were wandless! If I hadn't needed their help and for them to run a little diversion, then I would have never used them!"

Taylor stared at the wizard and shook her head, "If I die, you will too!" her necklace burned hot as the ancient words rolled off her tongue and she used the binding spell she'd used on Bellatrix and Greyback. The wizard fell, safely bound until someone released him, or Greyback ate him. She knew now that just like whatever they had stunned Greg with couldn't hold him from transforming, neither could her spell hold Greyback. Werewolves were too magical for most spells to work on them.

A yelp from behind her made her spin around. Then another made her run back around the quidditch stands in the direction of the werewolves. The sight that met her eyes stopped her dead in her tracks.

One of the werewolves was standing over the other, the pale light of the moon making it impossible to tell if it was dark grey or brown. Blood dripped from its muzzle as it tipped its head back and howled. The one lying on the ground had its neck ripped out and dark blood stained the ground all around it.

Taylor felt a horrified shiver go through her, as the werewolf continued to howl for a few more seconds, making the hair stand up all over her. When it stopped it lowered its head and looked at her. A savage snarl rumbled from its chest and it sprang at her. She didn't have time to even bring her wand up before it knocked her to the ground.

It took several furious heartbeats for her to realize that the werewolf wasn't tearing into her but carefully sniffing her all over.

"Greg?" her voice shook nearly as much as she was.

The werewolf whimpered as it nudged her gently with its nose.

"Oh Merlin! You scared the living daylights out of me! Are you all right?"

The werewolf crouched down beside her and nuzzled her arm.

"I'm fine," when he nuzzled her arm again she corrected, "I'm a little shaken up, but I'll be fine. Are you okay?"

He just snorted. After a few minutes he got up and nudged her gently with his nose.

"Yeah, okay I'll get up. So where to now? We probably should go look for Shacklebolt…" Greg growled. She relented. Maybe he knew something she didn't about the professor. "That spell will hold that guy until tomorrow morning easily enough." She pointed over towards the quidditch stands.

The werewolf bared his teeth and snarled.

"Hey! No! He can't hurt you or me anymore! Just leave him." She put her hand on his muzzle and pulled it back towards her. The snarl stopped and he sniffed her hand and whimpered again. "Oh it's just a scratch. Pomfrey will be able to heal it in a flash." The cold night air settled in around her and now that she wasn't running or scared she could feel how cold it was and shivered. She performed a quick drying spell on herself and then a warming one.

Greg bumped into her and began to push her towards the Forbidden forest again.

"Okay, okay, I'm going. You sure are a pushy werewolf you know."

He snorted again but rooted his head under her arm and she put her hand up on his shoulders and scratched him as they walked. He led her a ways into the forest, his nose turning this way and that sniffing the air. When they came to a spot of thick moss he stepped away from her and dropping his nose to the ground walked all around it carefully a couple of times before he seemed satisfied and sat down. Cocking his head he waited.

"Oh, you want me to come over to you?" he pricked his ears at her and she rolled her eyes at him.

Joining him in the middle of the mossy area she was surprised when he lay down.

"You want me to lie down? Here?"

The werewolf reached up and caught the bottom of her shirt in his teeth and pulled.

"Okay. I'm lying down." Shaking her head, she laid down beside the werewolf for which she received another snort, and the huge body moved until it was curled around her protectively. She gave her wand a wave and conjured a large blanket to lay over them.

Taylor was quiet for a few minutes as she listened to the sounds in the forest and the werewolf beside her breathing. She could feel her body relaxing, and then a cold nose touched her cheek.

"Hey, I was almost asleep," she said sleepily. She felt him move again until he laid his head next to her, effectively wrapping his body around her. Sleep claimed her as exhaustion took over, and she slept soundly not even waking the couple of times the werewolf raised its head to stare off into the forest and growl quietly.

Slowly awareness came to Taylor. She knew the warm body beside her was the Hufflepuff though for some reason the sounds around her were wrong. Cracking an eye open she could see sunlight but it was… She lifted her head up from the Hufflepuff's arm that she'd been using as a pillow and looked around at the trees and plants that surrounded her. Memories from last night came crashing back to her and she blinked, slowly wondering if that all could have really happened.

A shaft of sunlight filtered down through the trees and landed on her and the wizard lying beside her sound asleep. Her eyes went to his bare arm and a few scratches there, up to his equally bare shoulder that was crisscrossed in varying size cuts and scratches. She looked at his face to see it too had a few scratches and one long bigger cut that ran from his jaw down his neck. They were all scabbed over now suggesting that they weren't especially deep. The blanket that she had conjured the night before covered the rest of him.

She lay her head down again on his arm and his other arm tightened around her, pulling her closer, his deep breathing not changing as he slept on.

From what she could see of the sun, she guessed that it had to be getting close to seven. The sun had been up for well over an hour.

She watched him sleep for a while longer as she thought about last night. The auror who had been working for Voldemort had been caught. He had explained so much of what had happened in the school. He'd been the cause of the original werewolf attack, and he'd also somehow brought the Manticore through the wards. He was the one who had used the Slytherins, and from how he'd spoken he'd used the Imperio curse on at least some of them or something similar.

She thought of the other wizard who had been with him and she shuddered. She didn't need to see what had happened to know Greyback had killed him. Greg's arm tightened around her again as he shifted in his sleep, his leg hooked over hers but he didn't wake up. Shacklebolt was an unknown. Had Greyback gotten him too? Or maybe … her mind shied away from that thought. Surely Greg had had his mind enough not to hurt their professor. Moody and Pomfrey should have been safe in the tunnel.

She knew another half hour must have slipped away as she just lay there in the Hufflepuff's arms thinking and relishing the way she felt so safe right here. She'd felt safe last night lying down with the werewolf in its true form. She trusted the Head Boy completely in either form.

Sighing she nudged him, "Hey, you have to wake up. We need to get back to the castle. People are going to be worried." He didn't move.

"Greg, come on we need to get going."

"Hush, witch. It's sleep time." He grumbled as he rolled onto his back pulling her with him.

Taylor froze not because she was scared but she realized she was lying on top of a naked wizard. It didn't matter that she was still fully clothed. "Greg… uhm you're naked."

"Ahm hm." Was the only response.

"You, are naked!" Taylor knew her face was bright red.

"I seem to recall not too long ago you wanted me to be naked," he said quietly in a husky voice a smirk on his lips.

Taylor made an odd squeaking noise and his smile grew.

"Kiss me and I'll get up,"

Taylor nearly choked and the Hufflepuff chuckled softly as he rolled until he was on top and staring down at her. "What am I going to do with you?" His lips captured hers and he kissed her deeply, savoring her unique taste, his hand slid up under her t-shirt and he felt her shiver when his fingers touched her skin. Only his desperate need for more sleep, and the aches that movement caused, allowed him to rein in his desire so that he remained in control. He kissed her thoroughly until they were both breathing heavily and then rested his forehead against hers as he caught his breath.

He knew they had to go and he rolled off her, groaning as new aches made themselves known.

"Are you all right?" Taylor asked looking up at him as he sat beside her. She forced her eyes to remain on his face instead of looking at his bare torso.

"Nothing a good healing potion and a good sleep won't fix."

She nodded and pushing the blanket off her she stood up. She heard him gasp and turned to look at him, as he stared at her shirt. Looking down she could see what had caught his eye. The bottom half of her t-shirt was full of holes, as well as a few rips where the werewolf's teeth had gone clean through the material.

Greg came up on his knees and carefully examined the holey shirt on his witch, before he lifted it and checked her stomach over carefully for any scratches or bite marks. His hands pushed on her and she turned so he could stare at the rips in the back of her shirt as well, lifting it he inspected her back just as carefully. There wasn't a mark on her skin even though her shirt was nearly in rags.

His heart hammering in his chest, he turned her back around and hugged her right there on his knees, his head pressed against her belly. He could remember last night, but it was a little hazy in places. Places where the werewolf took over, like when he'd been fighting with Greyback were the haziest. Still, he never thought he'd done that to his witch's shirt. He'd thought he'd been being gentle when he'd done it. The holes in her t-shirt showed the savage power in the beast's jaws.

Taylor had seen the color drain from his face as he looked horrified at her shirt and she let him examine her so that he'd know she was fine. She could feel his heart beating as he hugged her and she let him hold her for a while.

"Greg, I'm fine. You didn't bite me last night. You saved me." She felt him take a shuddering breath.

"I could have so easily hurt you… I could have…"

She lowered herself onto her knees so she could look at him better. "You didn't. You were gentle. You protected me." He closed his eyes for a moment as a muscle jumped in his jaw.

"Greg, look at me," Taylor whispered as she touched his face, when he opened his eyes they were filled with worry and fear. "You are a werewolf but last night you protected me from Greyback. I am fine because of you."

"You would have been fine if you had stayed in the castle." The words were bitter.

"How could I stay when I saw Moody and Pomfrey getting stunned in the back and you being led away at wand point?" Taylor asked as emotion clogged her throat.

"You saw that?" he asked astounded.

"Why do you think I came? You needed help. I couldn't stay in the castle when I didn't know what that wizard was going to do to you."

His arms crushed her against him and he held her tight for several minutes.

When he released her, she stood and passed him the blanket while purposely looking away so as not to see his naked body. When he had wrapped it around his body she helped him to stand and he swayed a little unsteadily. So she stepped close to him and he draped an arm around her shoulders and the two of them made their way carefully out of the Forbidden Forest.

It was slow going. The Hufflepuff was very sore as well as bare foot. Taylor tried conjuring a crude pair of shoes for him but after a couple of tries gave up, making a mental note to look up a spell for that.

It was a good half hour before they reached the edge of the forest and started up across the school grounds towards the castle. They hadn't gone very far when they could see a few people out on the grounds. As they got closer, Taylor recognized Moody and farther away Tonks. About that time Moody looked towards her and headed right for her and the Head Boy.

"Porter! You have more nerve than ten witches should! Where have you been?" Moody called out angrily as he came within calling distance.

"Great. Just bloody great! I save his sorry ass and he wants to chew mine out!" Taylor grumbled.

"Hunter, boy, are you all right?" Moody asked as he clumped toward them.

"Yeah. I'm fine, just a little stiff." Greg answered but he'd tightened his arm around his witch. If Moody was going to have a go at his witch he'd defend her and the look must have shown on his face.

"Relax boy. Porter isn't going to get more than a week or two worth of detentions for running away from her guard and sneaking out of the castle at night against orders!"

"What was I supposed to do, Moody?" Taylor snapped as her temper flared.

"Porter, you are in enough trouble now. I'd be quiet if I were you." Moody said gravely.

Taylor shut her mouth with a snap and glared at the ex-auror.

"Come on you two. The Head Mistress will want to know you are all right, as well as Potter. I thought Tonks was going to have to stun him this morning as he demanded to know where you were." Moody grumbled and looked down at the wand in his hand muttering, "Damn thing, I hate half assed wand work."

Taylor grinned as she pulled the three wands that she had in her pocket out. "Here Moody, this might help."

The old auror looked over at her and his heavily scarred face pulled into a grotesque grin. "Well Porter! Why didn't you say you had my wand! I'll have to put in a good word for you with Minerva! See if that doesn't rate at least one less detention."

Taylor rolled her eyes and she heard the Head Boy chuckle.

They were nearing the castle now and Taylor's eyes were drawn to a place on the grass that was stained dark red. She closed her eyes and shuddered as the sound of the man's screams echoed in her ears. Greg pulled her against him, putting his palm up to block the view from her as they walked by.

"You know about that one do you Miss Porter?" Moody's voice was low and gravely.

She just nodded.

When they reached the castle doors an auror opened it for them allowing them to enter. Moody took them up to the Hospital Wing where they saw Greg's father and uncle pacing anxiously.

"Son! Are you all right? Where have you been?" Greg's father called as he hurried towards them.

"I'm fine Dad. Just stiff."

Mr. Hunter stopped in front of his son and looked him up and down carefully, noting his son's lack of clothing and the dirty, bedraggled looking witch beside him. "Are you all right Taylor?"

"I'm fine Mr. Hunter."

Madame Pomfrey's voice reached them. "Mr. Hunter! There you are! Finally! Miss Porter! You've had me worried sick! In here both of you!"

Greg allowed his father to help him into the hospital ward. The long walk had sapped what little strength he had left. He was thankful to finally be able to lie down on the bed as the nurse fussed over him and fitted him with a pair of hospital pajamas right off. By the time the nurse gave him some healing potion, he was getting anxious to lay his eyes on his witch again, feeling the need to reassure himself that she truly was all right.

A/N Hope there aren't too many mistakes in this as I didn't re-read it carefully like I usually do because I did that already and then lost it all! AAAHHhhhhhh! beeping computer! Hope you enjoyed anyway! Thanks for reading!