Wow whoops, that was a much longer break than I had planned! Life, man, it's a crazy thing. Anyway here's a new chapter, with more to come soon! 3, Vee
Two nights before the full moon Lavender had called a meeting in the Half Moon Tavern to finalize their plans. More werewolves and half werewolves had showed up than she had been expecting, and she had felt a nervous flutter in her stomach as she had stood up on the bar to get the attention of them all.
"I know you all know the plan!" She had called out. "I need to remind you that no violence will be tolerated. If one of us bites, we will all be caged or killed, and there won't be another chance like this. Everyone who needs to take Wolfsbane should have done so, and if you think you are going to have any problems, please, don't come. The Aurors are going to be on high alert for anyone who looks even a little bit twitchy, so we need everyone to stay as calm as possible!"
She had heard a few low growls at that and stamped her heel on the bar, the loud noise drawing the attention back to her. "I mean it! Unless you want us to be at the mercy of the Ministry for the next ten years at least, leave any personal vendettas here! I'm angry, you're angry – everyone's angry! An old ex boyfriend of mine would say we're all fucking pissed!" That got laughter and howls of agreement and she had pushed aside thoughts of Seamus. Time for that later. "I get it! We've been beaten down and we're ready to bite! But we're not going to! We are people just as much as the Aurors of the Ministry are people, and we are not going to hurt them! We are going to prove to them that we can contain ourselves, govern ourselves, and in return they will see us as people! I won't bite!"
"I won't bite!" Chorused Leo on the heels of her speech, and she had been immensely grateful to him for that. His call started others in echoing her, in echoing their rallying cry. There had been drinks and food after that, and an atmosphere of hope that Lavender had grown unused to being in the company of werewolves for so long.
Now, with the full moon lurking just below the horizon, Lavender found herself once more at the Half Moon, this time standing at the door rather than on the bar. The barkeeper gave her a travel flagon of warm cider with a good luck smile as she waved once, leading nearly fifty werewolves and half werewolves like herself out into the streets. It wasn't a long walk to the Ministry's entrance – they had made a new entrance for magical folk a few streets over for Diagon Alley after the last war, in an effort to have better public relations – and she knew she had to time it carefully, to get there before all the werewolves started turning.
Leo paced beside her, an edgy dark-haired kid out of the corner of her eye. She had assigned everyone who wouldn't turn a few werewolves to keep tabs on, typically ones they already had a relationship with. Lavender was responsible for Leo and she rested a calming hand on his shoulder. He had been staying with her the past few days, once she had figured out that he didn't have anywhere to go, and once Hannah had learned about it she had insisted on feeding both of them. Already Leo was looking healthier, and having clothes and shoes that fit helped too.
Hannah had been excited about Lavender's plan to show the Ministry, but Neville had been more reserved. "It's not that I don't think something needs to be done," he had explained. "You're right in that. But... It just worries me. With the rogue werewolf still loose, the Ministry is really nervous. They already have heard about the protest you're planning and there's going to be a full turn out of Aurors, plus enforcement from the Department of Magical Creatures. Just be careful, Lavender."
She had smiled at him. "You're not going to order me to not do it?"
He had returned her smile and shaken his head slightly. "I haven't been your commander in almost a year. And it's really good to see you this excited about a cause, especially one like this. But I really don't want to have to disobey orders to shoot at you."
"You'd disobey orders for me?"
"Of course he would," Hannah chimed in. "The Aurors will never mean more than Dumbledore's Army."
With that memory to warm her Lavender felt a smile spread over her face. The motley assortment of people behind her drew closer together as they approached the magical entrance to the Ministry. She could feel them looking to her and so she was careful to walk with her head high, with deliberate, measured steps, with a light smile on. Despite the rising moon she didn't feel the wild energy she had the last moon – instead she felt calm and centered, like the wild wolf inside her mind was content with their path.
The moonstone around her neck was shining like a tiny beacon by the time they reached the steps of the Ministry, and she let its light show and illuminate her. If she was to be their leader then they should be able to see that she wasn't scared, that she was determined.
Aurors lined the stairs and formed a block across the entrance to the Ministry itself. She didn't dwell on any of the faces. Enforcers from the Department of Magical Creatures were there as well, wands held at the ready. She was grateful for the warning Neville had given her about them, because it meant that she could warn the crowd of people now following her before they had left the Half Moon, so there weren't any surprises.
She came to a stop in the middle of the street in front of the Ministry, her people crowding in behind her. The moon was just moment from rising and she raised her voice, calling out to the gathered magical enforcement and any members of the Ministry who might be listening. There were regular wizards and witches as bystanders as well. She could hear their fearful murmurs on the night air but she ignored them. "My name is Lavender Brown!" She said, lifting her hands to draw more attention. "Behind me I bring people like me, who have been bitten by werewolves but who haven't been turned, and werewolves who want to live peacefully! We have been discriminated against for what we are, for what the Ministry and the wizarding world imagine us to be! But we are people before anything else, and we have hopes and dreams just like everyone else here does! To prove that we are people, we will remain here, peacefully, the whole night under the light of the full moon. We are trusting you to trust us! We will hurt no one! We will not bite!"
"We will not bite!" Shouted Leo from next to her. She smiled at him and he returned a pained grimace. "Lavender..." he whimpered.
"Shh, Leo," she said, going to him and taking his head onto her shoulder. His change was beginning and she knew it hurt. Behind her, other werewolves were starting their transformations as well. Though most of her attention was on helping Leo she was also aware of the Aurors shifting slightly on the steps. This was going to be the hardest part to get everyone through.
Slowly, achingly slowly, Lavender watched Leo transform. She hadn't actually seen a werewolf transform before and though the Wolfsbane made it bearable she could tell, by the time a small white wolf stood in front of her, that he was exhausted from the pain. The muted whimpers had echoed all around the street for nearly ten minutes and now the moon rose, cold and silent, onto a ragged assortment of wolves and people with yellow eyes. Lavender picked up the clothing he had shed and tucked it away for when he changed back.
Lavender turned her gaze back to the Aurors. Most of them had their wands out and she could smell their fear on the air, but instead of rousing her wolf like she had expected, instead it just made her sad. So rather than start shouting again, rather than trying to make another speech like she had planned, she just sat down on the street and rested her hand on Leo's furry shoulder. He laid down next to her and curled up, resting his head in her lap with a sigh.
She took a look behind her, seeing with immense relief that the other wolves were following his example and settling down. Most of the half werewolves were sitting on the ground like she was as well. She opened her flagon of cider and took a sip, keeping her breathing even and calm.
The moon rising up above the buildings caused a bit of a stir. Even Lavender wasn't able to control the shudder that arched from her scalp to her toes when the moonlight touched her skin. It flooded into the street and she could hear the others moving around, shifting against the pull of it. Leo raised his head and looked at her, yellow eyes meeting yellow, and it helped calm her. She managed a shaky smile for him and patted his shoulder. "Thanks. Let's go calm the others."
She got up slowly, Leo rising to his feet next to her. They walked along quietly, Lavender checking in with the people she could and Leo providing a calming presence by her side. The moonstone around her neck was glowing more fiercely than ever out under the light of the full moon and she felt rather than saw people and wolves turning to look at her because of it. She quietly thanked Seamus for the gift – even if he hadn't intended it as anything more than a helpful token, it helped turn her into a beacon for her people.
Nearly two hours until midnight, a small group of Aurors was dispatched to speak with her. She tangled her fingers in Leo's ruff to settle his growl before it properly started. "We are harmless," she reminded him quietly, stifling a giggle at his sigh. Wolfsbane made the werewolves more like wolf-shaped people than wolves, since it allowed them to retain their thinking skills. "How may I help you?" She asked as the Aurors drew close. Neville was one of them and he rolled his eyes just slightly at Lavender when she saw him.
"You've made your point, Miss Brown," the leader, a grey-bearded, stocky man, said gruffly. "We think it would be best if you would take your pack and get out of here."
"We're not a pack, sir," she corrected him politely. "We are a group of people."
He grumbled something under his breath. Perhaps he thought he was being quiet, but with her sharp ears made sharper by the full moon, she could hear everything. "I'm not actually stupid, sir, nor am I a bitch. Maybe I used to be stupid, but I learned quite a lot fighting You-Know-Who and his regime last year at Hogwarts, so I don't think I'm stupid any longer. And maybe I used to be a bitch, but I don't think I am any more. I've learned quite a lot about accepting other people. And I don't think we should be using that kind of language anyway – my friend here, Leo, he's only thirteen." She smiled down at the wolf who looked at her with trust in his eyes, and that trust made her smile grow.
She fixed the other two Aurors, including Neville, with her yellow eyes. "May I help you with anything else?"
She was not even eighteen, but apparently something about the fire in her eyes made even trained law enforcement back down. Or maybe it was because she was still a teenager than they did. It was hard to see her as a threat, she thought, because she was barely legal.
The rest of the night passed peacefully. Lavender could feel the tension drain out of the air as the stars danced over her head. It helped when the bystanders started going home, now that it was proved that nothing dramatic was going to happen. By three in the morning, it was just the Aurors, the enforcers from the Department of Magical Creatures, and the werewolves left. Lavender's cider was long gone and she was getting hungry. Maybe once Leo turned human again they could get breakfast somewhere.
It was strange. She was tired from the excitement of what they were doing but she wanted nothing to do with sleep. Leo had passed out next to her nearly an hour before and was snoring lightly, paws twitching as he dreamed. Lavender lay back and used his side as a pillow, careful not to wake him up. All around her the street was filled with people doing the same, leaning on the wolves or taking naps. It was a remarkable peaceful scene and the gentle smile that hadn't left Lavender's face the whole night made her even happier. This felt good. All of this. It felt right.
The moon began its descent about an hour before dawn and the wolves all came awake, beginning their changes. It was easier on them this time, she could see, the change happening less dramatically and more quickly than the first one had been. She had been warned that the wolves wouldn't have any clothing on when they changed and so she had told the half werewolves who had been looking out for the wolves to pick up all the clothing they had shed after the first change.
When Leo started to change she dropped a cloak over him. Some of the older werewolves had made that suggestion so that a bunch of naked people didn't appear on the streets. Most werewolves didn't have a problem with nudity but she knew the good people of the Ministry would be scandalized, so Lavender had instilled the cloak policy in her plans for the night. Soon enough a shivering, naked boy clutched a cloak around him and she passed him his clothes. His movements were slow and achy and made Lavender crack her own back in sympathy – she was stiff and sore from the night as well, though it was still nothing like the last full moon she had gone through. And clearly nothing like the full change.
When all her people were standing on two legs again she turned to the Ministry employees. "We didn't bite," she said quietly, though in a voice that carried in the still morning air. "We stayed here all night and didn't hurt a single thing, didn't hunt, didn't kill, didn't bite. We are people. All we want is to be treated as such." Perhaps it wasn't the best rallying cry but it was all she had left in her.
She slung her arm over Leo's shoulders and was joined by Adeline and Danny walking next to her. She let her gaze roam over the people gathered around her and was surprised to see Brandon's face. He gave her a weak smile which she returned – maybe he wasn't a lost cause after all. This whole thing was about recovery and redemption anyway, so the least she could do would be to give her own people the benefit of the doubt. He looked exhausted and when Adeline nodded at him, she knew suddenly that he had been one of the wolves that had been there through the night.
"Let's get breakfast," she suggested to her weary crowd. A rumble of agreement, half growl, half human voice, met her ears and she couldn't help but laugh a little. Maybe they weren't wholly human, but there wasn't a soul alive who could turn down breakfast.