Seasons change, and just as the full moon comes into the sky, so must its brother, the new moon. For those tied to the magic of the moon, this time is the most difficult to bear. There is little to soften the blow of such a loss; a fellowship of familiar creatures may be enough to cushion the feelings of loss and lethargy that come with the absence of such a strong magic, but lacking that fellowship makes the time that much harder.

There are always mysteries that the moon presents one creature to another. By sight or hearing or touch alone, one can often not tell what is friend and what is foe. As the moon casts shadows into a darkened forest, distorting what is there to see with still more shadow, the great magic also distorts the reality of those entwined in it.

Leavings

The summer crawled by for Hermione. The young witch tried to busy herself in her books, but she always had the itching feeling like something was missing. She knew what she was missing, she could feel it pulling at her; calling her toward it. It was Fen. She was tied to the pack, and Fen was her link to the rest of the werewolves. She could feel him; she could swear she sometimes felt what he was feeling. Very occasionally she felt unexplainable bouts of annoyance that she knew weren't her own. She never felt like acting on them, but they rested in the back of her head like a lingering scent in the kitchen after a Christmas Eve of cooking. It was pleasant, knowing there was such a deeply rooted connection between them, even when he was irritated.

The bond to the pack was dull today; almost fuzzy. It was like being able to hear the radio, but not without a firm layer of static, not deafening, but also never gone. It was the new moon, and Hermione was exhausted and irritable. She had woken up that morning with no true desire to leave her bedroom, but she knew it was just because of the moon. It was the pinnacle of her latest lonely feelings; she was close to tears most of the day, choosing to bury herself in her books to avoid the feeling. It didn't work as well as she'd hoped, and she found herself restless enough to end up walking in the woods behind her house towards mid-afternoon.

The forest was warm, but provided much needed shelter from the sun. The leaves were not starting to turn yet, as it was still early August. It would not be long until they began to turn and fall, but for now it was still green. She felt different out here, somehow closer to the pack.

"Hello, pup."

The sound of Fen's voice did not make her jump. She turned and smiled, surprised to see him. That was the change she had felt over her walk, it had been her Alpha getting closer.

"Don't you have other people to see?" she questioned when she heard him coming up behind her.

"After two weeks, that's the greeting I get?" the werewolf growled.

Hermione turned, halfway through an apology, before she realized there was no irritation in his scent, nor in his growl. In fact, he wore a knowing grin.

"The new moon is hard for everyone," Fen remarked, more seriously, his blue eyes searching her face as though looking for signs of injury or wear.

"Even you, Alpha?" she asked quietly.

He nodded. "The change gets faster, and the new moon longer," Fen replied with a small sigh.

Hermione nodded thoughtfully, considering his words. She wasn't certain how she would manage to handle feeling so lonely for so long. "I feel alone a lot," she confessed, knowing that if anyone would understand, it was going to be the only other werewolf she knew.

"I'm sorry," Fen immediately replied, "It's the price we pay for this. The pack banishes those feelings, but then it's that much harder to leave. You understand why I will not take you?"

Hermione nodded, "You want me to go to school."

"And I want you to keep your family, little one. I may have been older than you when I was bitten, but I still could not save mine." Fen's eyes carried a strange light as he spoke.

Hermione was now immensely curious to hear the story of the Alpha werewolf's family, but she could see the sadness in his eyes and thought it best to not push him. It seemed to her that he opened up a little more each time she saw him.

"I'll come by more often to ease the loneliness, if you want." There was a sudden hopeful look in his eyes that made Hermione smile.

"I would like that very much," she confessed. "When I get back to school…"

Fen voiced her fears, confirming the new hardships she would face there. "It's going to be harder. I'll still meet you every month, but it's not easy for me to get in, or for you to sneak out," he sighed, seeming just as put out with the prospect as she was, "But I'm sure you'll keep busy. Humans don't make the best packmates, but you if you have a few good friends, they'll help keep you from feeling alone."

Hermione hoped Harry and Ron would fill that for her. "Alpha?"

"Hmm?" The werewolf let out a contented scent with his reply.

"Why do you care so much about me?"

Her simple question caught him off-guard. In truth, he did not know himself for certain. He knew he sought her presence more than the rest of the pack, and that baffled him. The girl was staring at him with her large brown eyes, still full of the question she had asked.

It wasn't often he told her the full truth, and now was one of the times it seemed he could. "I don't know, pup. I don't want you to go through what I did, but there's more to it than that."

She nodded thoughtfully, in a way Fenrir was becoming very familiar with.

"Am I special?" she asked, her head tilted to the side.

Fenrir laughed, "Yes, you are. You're a mystery, little one, and that's more than I've had in a long time."

She gave him a determined nod, "Maybe I can help figure it out."

The older werewolf laughed once more, he could smell the heat on her face at his praise, she was truly adorable.

Then she uttered something that stilled him, he swore his heart stopped.

"I can feel what you feel," she remarked quietly. "Is that normal?"

Fenrir stared at her, more confused than ever. "I— No, that's not normal." He wracked his brain to understand the what she had just told him. As far as he had ever understood, only the Alpha had that privilege. Did that mean this girl would one day replace him? That was a possibility, and not one he was going to shy away from. An old bond flickered at him as he thought; one day his pack would need a leader when he couldn't be. He hadn't planned on raising her with that weight on her shoulders, he didn't want to. Perhaps it could wait. He ran a hand through his hair, digging hard enough into his scalp to hurt.

"Alpha?" her concerned voice wafted to him through his clouded mind.

Fenrir took a deep breath. "I'm fine, pup." He gave her a small grin, "I had a thought, but I need to talk to someone wiser than I about it. Can you handle the rest of the day by yourself?"

Still giving him a concerned frown, she nodded. "I feel better enough now. Thank you, Fen."

Fenrir hated leaving her, as he always did, but he wanted to confer with Geira; she would most certainly know if that was what he was feeling or not.

"Well, Alpha, if you say that is what she said, it certainly sounds like that could be an explanation."

"An explanation?" he growled. Geira, as she often did, was dodging his questions with indirect answers and words he knew were only as true as his belief in them was.

"I haven't met the girl, have I? I cannot know what she is without having laid eyes on her myself," the old woman said finally. "Have some tea, Alpha."

Fenrir growled quietly and took the warm cup from her hands, immediately calming when the vapors reached his nose. Geira had always given him tea when he was off-kilter, and it always seemed to do the trick now. When he was younger he had been less attuned with his strength, and had broken many a precious mug of the old werewolf's. Now it was habit to calm at the presence of a good cup of tea. The last several times she had made him sit with her through tea, it had been a different sort. He wasn't certain what the elder was putting in it, but it was soothing.

Two weeks later, Hermione's second full moon came and went. It was far too short a time for both werewolves. Hermione nearly cried when Fen left quickly, saying he had something to do. The young witch trusted her Alpha, but hated his abrupt departure. She did not even get to tell him about how she was leaving for school the next day. Twice now, he had left quickly with little or no explanation. She knew he had other responsibilities, but it hurt when he left.

The small werewolf quietly packed her things into her trunk, trying not to think on Fen's strange attitude when he had left that morning. He had given her an odd look, filled with both concern and excitement. She wondered if he had figured out what made her different. The previous night was the first time she had seen him since he had run off during the new moon. She started when she wondered if she was starting to become jealous of the werewolf's time. The idea of him wanting to spend time with someone else made her want to growl. It wasn't the first time she had harbored similar thoughts, she'd never tell, but she knew she was nursing the beginnings of a crush on the adult werewolf. She'd get over it, she knew she was far too young to be even thinking of such things, nevermind the fact that not only was Fen old enough to be her father, he often acted like he was. The witch sighed and tried to put the thought out of her mind, it was a silly notion, but she was having trouble shaking it, as most young girls with such fancies.

It was the next day, mere moments before Hermione and her parents were to leave for Diagon Alley, when the girl felt the bond shift once more. Her eyes growing wide, she darted toward the backyard, hardly hearing the surprised cries from her parents.

Rushing into the garden, Hermione flung her arms around the werewolf in an innocent hug. "You almost missed us! I'm meeting the Weasleys at the Leaky Cauldron soon." Despite the words coming out of her mouth, Hermione didn't really want to speak, she just wanted to relish the hug from the older werewolf. She wasn't going to be able to see him for another month, and she knew she would be lonely.

Fen smiled at her, "I'm sorry I left so quickly yesterday, I hadn't realized it was so close to you leaving. I had this made for you."

The werewolf held out a leather cord, attached was a crescent pendant, nearly identical to his.

Her eyes widened, "Thank you…" The girl smiled up at the larger werewolf. "What is it for? Is it magical?"

Fen laughed, "It's just a trinket, pup, but it's tradition. It's a physical token of the pack bond." He had hardly finished speaking before the girl hugged him once more.

"Thank you, Fen."

"Of course," he smiled at her. She was so wonderfully cheerful, she never wanted to see her lose that. If she was to be the next Alpha, it was not going to last forever.

"Where will I meet you next month, Alpha?" she asked quietly, a hint of fear in her voice and her scent filled with apprehension.

"Don't worry, pup. If you're careful, you'll be fine."

She nodded, but Fenrir knew he had not successfully calmed her.

"What if someone finds out?" she was trembling slightly.

Fenrir pulled her chin up. "Get out," he said gravely.

She gave him a solemn nod, fear wafting off her.

"I will find you, little one, got it?" he could hear her heart pounding. "Nothing is going to happen to you. I promise," he swore to her. He was going to protect her if he died trying. He pulled her into a firm hug and felt her finally calm.

He gave her a grin, "You'd best mind your temper. It won't do you any good to give yourself away with a good growl, now would it?"

Hermione nodded, giggling slightly.

Fenrir picked up the sound of Hermione's parents calling her. He gave her a nod of encouragement and watched her leave. He was worried about her being alone in that school. As long as they didn't know, she would be fine. He would know if something happened to her, and held onto what little comfort that was going to offer him. The nine months she was away at school were going to be hard on both of them. He hoped she had good enough friends there that she would stay busy. She had mentioned the Weasleys, surely there were enough of those rowdy British redheads that she was friends with at least two of them. Fenrir rolled his eyes good-naturedly as he thought of the trouble she might get into with those kids as her friends. Hopefully she would continue to heed his words.