The Leader

Chapter 21

Aaron Greyback

"The child isn't adopted," said Severus, interrupting the argument that was about to break out. "He's biologically Greyback's; look at him, he has many characteristics that come from his father, especially those eyes. He will be the spitting image of him when he is older." The Potion master had only seen the child's eyes for a few seconds, but they were unmistakable. He would never be able to deny that Greyback was quite intimidating, with his tall stature and the inhumanity that seemed to waft from his every pore. It didn't help that Severus was terrified of werewolves, or more accurately, of being bitten and savaged by one. It had taken him a long time to get over seeing Remus Lupin in all his beastly and ghastly horror. He was a little curious to see the difference between Lupin (who was so abhorrent to what he was, that his form was a disgusting combination of wolf and man or as Harry put it, his form was reflecting the madness within) and a human who accepted the wolf within, and allowed their 'other half' out, so to speak.

"It's true," said Remus, nodding his head and speaking for the first time that night. His amber eyes held nothing but pensiveness and caution. He didn't know what to make of this group; it was unlike anything he'd ever seen. He'd spent his childhood secluded, caging himself on the full moon, staying as far away from humanity as possible. Yet here was a group that had come together to make their lives better. He was envious really, if he was honest with himself; he wished he had been there longer, and to think…if he had believed Harry when he had first told him about them, he might have already been there for years. No, he couldn't think like that, Sirius had needed him, after all. Seeing this group though, he would have loved to leave his responsibilities behind, be selfish for once in his life.

"There's a chance he hasn't even received the letter yet, it depends on how far away he is," said Wyatt, trying to calm everyone down. "He will come as soon as he's able, I'm sure. He obvious loves the boy; otherwise he wouldn't have done everything he has."

"That, and the owl hasn't come back; I doubt anyone other than Greyback will get the letter from Ares," smirked Harry viciously. His owl was a nasty bugger against nosy thieves or anyone trying to intercept the mail. Not that they would be able to read it regardless if they did manage to get it from Ares, thanks to a handy spell he'd created to ensure only the recipient could read it. They say animals were an extension of their owners, and he believed it. He still had Hedwig, but considering how rare white owls were, he was too cautious to use her very often. Instead he'd gotten her a companion, a beautiful black, sleek owl, and male obviously; he'd named it after the god of war.

Brecon winced, remembering his own encounter with the blasted owl; he'd had to physically stop himself from cursing the nasty bugger. The bite had been so deep he'd honestly been surprised his finger hadn't spontaneously fallen off. Even though with potions he was back to normal in a few minutes, he could still hold a grudge. The only thing that had saved that damn owl's life was who he belonged to. Ares probably realized that, considering how smug it always was; Brecon had to admit it was funny to see how puffed up and proud the owl always looked.

"Has Voldemort ever had him leave the country?" asked Brecon coming out of his thoughts and rejoining the conversation, despite the fact he was tired out of his mind. He almost wanted to join little Aaron (who was sleeping curled up beside his Leader) and sleep right now himself.

"Not that I am aware," replied Severus cautiously, shifting slightly at all the eyes on him but he refused to show how intimidated he was by it all. No, intimidated was the wrong word, just deeply uncomfortable with the way they seem to genuinely want to hear his answers. He'd never had that, not even with the boys in Slytherin who had enamoured him with the Dark Arts and the Dark Lord before disappearing when he had been marked. Oh they'd tried quickly enough again when he rose in the ranks, but he had rebuffed them. It would certainly take a lot of time getting used to this attention from these people.

"It's a good job we didn't tell the boy," said Rick, from where he was stretched out on the sofa. It was well past midnight, and no sight, smell or sign of Greyback coming.

"Indeed," stated Harry curtly. Aaron was sleeping on his lap; he'd woken a few hours earlier and refused to leave his side. Not even Reg could take his attention from Harry. Which had quite frankly baffled him to the core― why would the child prefer him? It wasn't like he was smiling at him; perhaps he could sense the 'Alpha' presence on him. He was the leader, the top dog of this group, so perhaps that was it. In the end he'd sat down so Aaron would also; he'd been hurt and no doubt he was straining his recovery by trying to follow Harry everywhere. He'd contemplated Apparating home, but he didn't want to risk the child actually trying to follow him there. He hadn't saved him for him to die splinching himself into little pieces. He wouldn't have put anything past the child; hell, even he had Apparated as a young boy, albeit admittedly a few years older. Children born with lycanthrope were much stronger, fiercer, and powerful than those bitten. Not that there were many of them, most people, creature or not, liked to bite when they were fucking. Especially Vampires and werewolves, it was basically a way of claiming, of marking their territory. In the end the human (if it was a human they were sleeping with) would end up turning into either a vampire or werewolf. Female werewolves could not give birth to children, or even remain pregnant for any longer than a month before the moon-change basically caused them to miscarry. Although if they were 'caught' by a male werewolf and ended up pregnant, they'd stay in wolf form until they gave birth to cubs. There hadn't been one for centuries, at least not one anyone was confessing to at any rate.

"Do you think the Malfoys have come around yet?" wondered Harold, a sneer contorting his features.

"Probably," snorted Harry. "Voldemort will have called his minions by this time, since news of Pettigrew's capture will be known." Severus had left for a few hours, along with Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. They'd come back two hours later looking extremely smug, but they'd been quick to assure him that the rat was still alive. He made a note to himself, to get the memory from Severus at some point; he wanted to see what they'd done to Pettigrew. He would have liked his turn, but his responsibilities to the group were much more important.

"Especially with the Death Eaters he has in the Ministry itself," added Remus, nodding along.

Harry snorted derisively. "He only has three, albeit one is an Unspeakable, which is quite impressive but useless; the vows they take practically make the wizard useless in regards to getting information from the Ministry."

"Three?" mused Remus, it always seemed like more somehow.

Harry nodded curtly. "Go sleep, you'll need it," he said sharply, meaning the command for the humans in the group that was with him right now.

"I'd rather stay," said Remus immediately. Sirius was already sleeping; yelling and cursing Pettigrew until he literally couldn't anymore had taken a lot out of him. What couldn't be denied was how therapeutic it had been to finally get revenge on the rat for what he'd done to James, Lily, and Harry.

"I'm going," said Brecon, but he was very reluctant about it; he knew he'd end up falling asleep here in the warehouse if he didn't head home. There was nothing wrong with the place, but since it was a chair he was sitting in, he would end up with a neck pain that lingered for days if he did. He didn't want to miss the show if Greyback showed up. He needed sleep more though, and he could feel it. Brecon murmured a quiet goodbye, before a pop sounded in his wake as he Apparated away.

"Rick, I have…information I have to share with you; you must promise not to do anything stupid― we will strike them in a fortnight," stated Harry. He felt that it was only right that Rick knew.

"What's going on?" asked Rick, abruptly sitting up and moving close to Harry, cautious and suspicious.

"Callahan is making a move against us," revealed Harry, not the slightest bit concerned.

Rick growled viciously, sounding more like a wounded animal than anything. The weak little shit was daring to challenge his Leader? Was he completely idiotic? He was a coward; there was no way he would attack alone, which meant he had others with him. Considering everyone knew how large the coven was…how many had Callahan managed to get his hands on?

"Who's Callahan?" whispered Remus, speaking to Wyatt in concern.

"I have no idea," said Wyatt, barely sparing Remus a glance as he stared between Rick and his leader tensely. Whoever it was, Rick and Harry had come across him before. Probably before he joined them; who was it? Was it someone who could challenge them? Or was it someone who they could deal with quickly? If a fight between vampires could be coined anything like quickly, which they were in movement, but it wasn't easy to kill a vampire in reality.

"For those that are…unfamiliar with whom he is exactly, he was the only survivor of the Emilio Clan." stated Harry grimly, they all knew about the Emilio Clan. It was one of their first 'kills', so to speak. The story had spread to every newcomer, upon being asked to join, or the news getting out because he permitted it.

"How did he survive?" asked Wyatt, from what he'd heard the entire Clan had been eradicated, for good reason: they had ruthlessly killed one of their own. No, it wasn't just a kill, it was a slaughter, ten to one, not good odds, and they had deserved everything Harry put them through. He was assuming it was just one person of course, but it sounded like just one person since Harry had said 'He'.

"I made the mistake of letting him go," Harry told them, his face like stone, revealing nothing. "From what I could gather, he had just been turned, and he's a Muggle vampire to boot."

"Has he been recruiting?" growled Rick, he hated the fact someone was trying to finish what the Clan started.

"He has, but for how long is anyone's guess; not long I'd wager since he only has four others. To make matters worse…he has joined Voldemort," revealed Harry, green eyes glinting coldly. They would pay for joining him; he wasn't going to let all the vampires take the fall for a single cowardly idiot. "Shade is keeping a close eye on them, in a fortnight we strike, and we strike hard."

"Why wait?" asked Remus, not understanding why he wasn't doing it now. He realized he'd obviously said something wrong as the vampires in the vicinity of his eyesight winced a little, shaking their heads.

Harry's green eyes glared at Remus, warning him not to question his decisions.

"He will be busy for the next fortnight," said Rick, bringing Harry's attention back to the present. Everyone else knew that Severus Snape was being turned, due to the poison in the Dark Mark. They could all sense it, but he had originally found out because Harry had to hunt down a way to save the wizard. He'd known when Harry didn't kill him outright that Severus would be there to stay, it only became confirmed when he was up and about in Potter Manor.

Remus didn't say anything else, he just tried to blend into the background; he couldn't cope with the coldness in Harry's stare. At the same time, shame spread through him, due to the fact that his wolf wasn't happy that he'd upset the 'Alpha'. As what the group calls a 'Lone wolf' he hadn't experienced anything like it until that day Harry dragged him towards the pack. He didn't think his wolf would survive as a 'Lone wolf' if he forced himself to separate from the pack now. Not with how free he'd felt during the full moon; his wolf had been happy…content…ecstatic, and he honestly had never experienced anything like it either as a man or wolf.

"I will," agreed Harry, he certainly wasn't going to leave Severus to go through it himself. His feelings aside, he wasn't a heartless bastard. No, Kai had been there for him, and he would be there for Severus, he had built the very foundation of his side with loyalty. He knew the kind of agony Severus would be in, and he hoped nothing came up that needed his attention.

"How long do you reckon he's been there?" asked Remus, looking at the young child with pity. He looked to be the age he had been when Greyback attacked him. He was infected with Lycanthrope; he could smell it in every pore of his body. He was too young; he shuddered anew at the type of agony the little boy must go through. It was why he vowed never to have children; he couldn't, and wouldn't risk putting them through the life he'd led. How could Greyback do that to a child? Then again, the older wolf had bitten him with no problem. Remus would have said he was all around heartless if he didn't know that Greyback seemed to love the boy. Although he could just be doing what he liked regardless, just to get his cub back.

"According to Pettigrew, the Dark Lord took him upon his return; he could have been a baby," said Severus, his shuttered face revealing nothing.

"Which cannot be true, he knew and understood the word father. I'd surmise he may have been a year and a half at the very least," added Harry. It didn't sit right with him, in fact it made him sick, just thinking about a child locked up for a year and a half. He also understood why Greyback continued to come at him, despite the fact he was going to lose spectacularly.

Severus nodded curtly, agreeing with Harry. He didn't know much about children but he had common sense. You didn't have to have children to know roughly when they began talking, walking, performing magic. The only child he'd been remotely close to was his godson, Draco, who regretfully had chosen a path that Severus couldn't help him with.

"Merlin!" croaked Remus hoarsely; the war was getting worse if they were kidnapping babies.

"He's gorgeous," murmured Anya wistfully, the only female werewolf in the warehouse right now. She longed for a child of her own; every female werewolf did, other than Rachel, who was quite happy to be single. She and the rest of the females doted on Reg as the 'cub', but there was no denying he preferred Jack.

"He's obviously not coming tonight, should we put him into one of the beds upstairs?" suggested Wyatt, pressing his hand against the young boy. He was abnormally warm compared to him, but he was a vampire, and he knew that werewolves were hotter than normal humans, so the cub was just fine.

"Hold it," Harry said, his voice cool and calm; immediately everyone fell silent and waited.

"Three werewolves in the vicinity," Harry added, looking at the time, two hours after the suggested time, which had been midnight of course. He was obviously not about to start something, he wasn't stupid enough to come with just two others if he had planned such a thing.

"I can feel them now," said Rick, standing up. Wyatt, Severus, Anya, Jack, and Remus stood up as well.

"Anya, remain here with him, and keep an ear out," demanded Harry, successfully untangling himself from the young boy without jarring him awake.

"Yes, Sir," said Anya, nodding her head; she took Harry's seat next to the boy, not having an inclination of arguing with the Alpha about her orders. She knew why he was doing it, and it wasn't out of 'protection' lest she be hurt. The Alpha,

Greyback, would feel less threatened or ready to strike out if a female had his cub.

"Let's go," Harry told them, making his way out of the warehouse and along to the fields where Greyback had tried to get through the wards twice before. Although he had been successful one of the times, that had been just the field ward, not the more complicated wards on the warehouse itself.

Severus followed the group, having no trouble keeping up with them, but he remained at the side watching everything curiously. He watched them move into formation, like highly trained soldiers, ready to defend Harry to their last. He'd seen them do the same at Malfoy Manor; none went in front of Harry, but it was obvious they were ready to pounce at the first sight of any threat. Even Jack, the werewolf Alpha, was ready to fight against his own kind.

Turning to face ahead, Severus caught sight of Greyback and blinked in surprise―he looked like shit. There was really no other word to describe him; the clothes he had on were absolutely filthy, as was his body. His hair was completely wild, with items stuck in the strands that Snape did not want to identify. Greyback's face was pale, drawn and haggard as he stared at them suspiciously; Severus could swear he could see resignation lurking in those eyes too. He was the complete opposite of what he remembered about the proud, vicious werewolf.

"What do you want?" growled Greyback, staring mutinously at them. He didn't believe the letter the wolf sent, they wanted something... they always did. It was why he'd come here with only two others as back up, he didn't want to risk his cub's life.

Jack growled back, furious at the disrespect that was being shown, after what his Leader had done for him.

"This might surprise you, Greyback, but not all of us are like Voldemort, or even Dumbledore," said Harry, sneering the names out with unconcealed distain and derision. "The only reason I rescued your cub, was because I sent the Ministry Pettigrew gift-wrapped. Malfoy wouldn't have taken the chance of being caught with prisoners in his manor, and I think you understand what that means."

Surprise flickered briefly over those blue eyes before they turned feral as understand sunk in. Malfoy would have killed his cub to keep himself out of Azkaban. The werewolf's dirty fists clenched together as he tried to contain his anger, which was easier since the full moon had been and gone days before. He was going to kill them; they would pay for daring to hide his cub from him.

"He's dead," revealed Jack, understanding the possessive anger that was currently wafting from the werewolf standing opposite him. Both of them were the same height, standing taller and fiercer than any others there, although his Leader's stance was more…intimidating when he made no effort to pull his magic in.

"What do you want?" Greyback asked again, this time without a warning growl.

"Nothing," revealed Harry, "Your son is inside, although you really should wash up and get yourself a little more presentable before you scare the shit out of him. I can barely smell your natural scent under all that mud, never mind a cub. Feel free to use the facilities; we will keep the peace as long as you do."

"There was a reason for that," snapped Greyback, he'd been avoiding detection from other werewolves. As soon as he got the letter he'd run from the Welsh pack he'd been tracking straight back here. He hadn't even stopped for a second to take a piss; his Betas had followed him dutifully as always. His blue eyes landed on amber ones, his nose twitched slightly, the only indication he realized who Lupin was.

"Fenrir, they're just trying to help," said Michael, trying to soothe his agitated Alpha. "And to be honest, I wouldn't mind a chance to clean up before I hunt for food."

"Alright," grumbled Greyback, he just wanted his cub; it was nearing two years since he'd seen him. It didn't matter how much his wolf hunted during the full moon, he hadn't been able to get a whiff of his cub's scent. That made him feel useless, but he'd never let it slow him down. Sniffing himself, he realized the vampire leader was right, his son wouldn't even realize it was him unless he got some of this muck off him. His blue eyes flashed back to Lupin, and he sneered at the anger brewing in the younger wolf. He was pathetic, how he'd survived so long was anyone's guess. He could smell the Wolfsbane potion clogging in his very veins; no real werewolf would take such a concoction. The wolf needed to get out; he should know, he'd accepted his wolf a long time ago, and had more understanding of its desires and needs.

"Follow me," demanded Harry, turning around curtly and moving quickly towards the warehouse.

Greyback bit back the retort on his lips, and he began walking, not because the vampire leader had demanded it, but because he could smell his son, and it was such a calming scent, welcoming after all this time. His son... truth be told, he hadn't expected to see his son ever again.

There edited by Jake and Jordre :) thank you!