CHAPTER 22

Three Seconds Later…

Lily: 'Werewolves, I count six, slowly closing in. Strategically mounted on top of the buildings straddling each side of the street. They have us well surrounded.'

Severus: 'No way out with apparition or Portkey. We need to secure the children immediately.'

A sudden growl to their right interrupted their mental conversation. It was Hagrid, who'd succeeded in transfiguring his section of pews into a makeshift metal dome that covered twelve of the screaming students closest to him. He came to stand protectively in front of the shield-dome, wand brandished menacingly. Fawley and Burbage mimicked his actions, covering another ten screaming students. Madam Hooch had managed to secure another group, doing her best to keep the mostly first and second-years as calm as humanly possible whilst struggling to think amidst their terror-induced shrieking and her own mounting panic.

Severus: 'Plan of attack?'

Lily: 'No mercy.'

And with that, the two opened their respective psychic doors and allowed Cador and Bradamante to take control.

Their heartbeats slowed and synced as one whilst the respective symbols on their cuffs glowed, establishing a linked Dilation whilst sending an SOS beacon to their respective counterparts. Matching whispers of "LABIAS OBSCURAS" would prevent any vocalized spells from being heard or recognized.

The leader of the pack - the largest central figure - tipped his head back and howled, a call to arms to his comrades as they mimicked his movements. Their bodies shivered simultaneously, transitioning from partially-transformed into their full lupine forms under the matching white light of Dark Mark and the Hunter's Moon.

Almost twelve-foot tall wolf-human hybrids, bearing burly muscular bodies covered in thick dark fur. Dagger-like fangs sprouted from powerful jaws, snarling and dripping with acid-like saliva. Matching black claws sprouted from thickly muscular hands, perfect for slicing through human flesh and bone. Feral amber eyes glowed with murderous intent, in anticipation of the carnage they intended to wreak against the innocent souls. Unlike regular werewolves who succumbed to the mental madness wrought by the Lycanthrope Curse, werewolves who embraced the curse possessed a different kind of power. In addition to incurring ostracism, werewolves would grow to prefer the company of other infected lycanthropes, eventually forming a magically bonded wolfpack under the command of a powerful Alpha. It made them much more ruthless, deadlier, and emphasized their natural imperviousness to destruction.

This was the case for the Rat Pack, the brainchild of Rex Novergicus and the would-be foundation for resurrecting the Apocalypse Pack.

Fenrir Greyback - Alpha and Pack Leader.

Stavros Skorzeny - Beta Primus and Fenrir's right-hand man.

Janos Skorzeny - Beta Secundus and Fenrir's left-hand man.

Mena Thisbe - Beta Tertius.

Channon Beeching - Beta Quartus.

Blevine Blainey - Omega and Bonded Mate to Fenrir.

THUMP.

As one, the Knights cast "PROTEGO DIABOLICA!", watching with satisfaction as the blue-black flames sprung from their wands and encircled the perimeter proper of the stage and the pews. The Dark Fire shield charm was one of five known ways in defeating a werewolf, rendering them to ash upon contact.

They would soon discover that it would do little to keep the Rat Pack at bay.

With a seemingly unholy strength the group of six leapt off the top of the buildings and past the protective flames, coming to gracefully land around two Knights.

When ensorcelled fire failed, the second means of killing a werewolf could be employed.

THUMP.

"SsSECTUMSsSEMPRA!"

Katana-like blades of pure lethal magic rushed out of willow and slammed directly into Mena Thisbe, rendering her to bloodied shreds of fur, marrow, and sinew upon contact. Her pack-mates froze for a moment, visibly shocked by a member of their pack being felled with such seeming ease.

"FILTHY BITCH!" snarled Stavros, spittle flying out of his mouth as his wrathful gaze zeroed in on a blank-faced Lily, whose eyes glowed Avada green. Janos, Channon, and Blevine roared in animalistic rage, before, oddly enough, breaking away with Stavros to attack the trapped victims who screamed in primordial terror. Snarling, Cador broke off to pursue and engage.

Fenrir howled in a furious rage, the horrific sound bone-chillingly portentous in its ferocity. Then, he smiled with all of his overly sharp teeth at Bradamante, who only blinked in acknowledgement.

"Just as two then, bitch."

"Bring it on, doggy."

In the Pews…

Harry was inordinately grateful for his lessons with Tom, familiar with the effects of the Wolf-Fear enhanced Dark Mark. The minute the spectral wolf had appeared in the sky the younger Potter dialed up his shields to their maximum capacity, dulling its effects significantly. It allowed him to lightly Dilate whilst maintaining his bifurcated thoughtstreams, filtering out the screaming chaos to properly think.

He was currently huddled with Blaise, Theo, Justin, Susan, and Penelope. The Head Girl had already transfigured makeshift silver trenches for them to hide behind, allowing them enough of an opening to return offensive fire if need be. Their nerves were obviously tense, but all five had enough Occlumency training to not outright panic or scream themselves into unconsciousness.

"Where the hell did they come from?!" Susan's tone was reedy, a clear sign of her distress. Her wand - 7 ¾ apple with unicorn hair - was held in a vice-grip in her left hand, her Auntie Amelia's training quickly asserting itself.

"No bloody idea, but none of us are leaving until we can get rid of them and that damn…thing in the sky." Despite the glibness of his tone Blaise couldn't repress the shudder that ran through his body.

"And just how the hell are we meant to do that?!"

A beastly bellow sounded to their left about some fifteen feet away, causing their eyes to widen in tandem.

Janos was rapidly gaining on Hermione, Ginny, Draco, and Greg, the four huddled together behind a pew Hermione had transformed into a massive silver shield in the hopes of deflecting the lupine beasts. To Harry's surprise Draco was planted protectively in front of Ginny whilst Greg was similarly positioned in front of Hermione. All four held their wands aloft and fired off their choice spells.

"PUNGOSUS HORRIBILIS!" "LACERO!" "FLIPENDO!" "DEPULSO MAXIMA!"

Draco's modified Stinger slammed into Janos whilst Hermione's Cutter slashed at his face.

That had no effect, save tickling a bit.

Greg's Knockback Jinx also had no effect, though Ginny's Banisher caused him to stumble a bit.

It wouldn't be enough.

Now very annoyed on top of being bloodthirsty, Janus took two quick leaps and with a mighty roar, knocked the protective shield aside, ready to devour the screaming and terrified children whole.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

At once, twin blasts of silvery fog shot out from the wands of Theo and Penelope, resolving into the forms of a Thestral and a falcon-like bird. The two beings raced towards the werewolf, who monetarily froze at the sound and sight of their moonsilver colored spells… right until Tina smacked him in the chest with a mighty wing and Anne scratched at his eyeballs. Janos screamed and fell backwards as his injured body parts lightly smoked, though that didn't stop the two embodied creatures from continuing their assault. Anne succeeded in scratching out the beast's eyeballs, just as Tina bellowed a shrill and strange shriek before rearing back and using her front hooves to stomp down hard on a screaming Janos' chest. Blinded and grievously injured, Janos went into shock as the creatures dissipated.

"ACCIO HERMIONE!" "ACCIO GINNY!" "ACCIO BLAISE!" "ACCIO GREG!"

The four summoning spells sent their targets sailing into their caster's respective arms as Penelope reinforced the trench structures while commanding all of them to stay low.

"How in Merlin's name did you know that would work?!" exclaimed Hermione, whiskey brown eyes blown wide in horrified amazement as she tried to make herself as small as possible.

"Scrimgeour's lessons," replied Theo, panting at the magical exertion. "He talked about how werewolves were used by the Dark Lord during his raids. I…read ahead just in case, learned that from the best you know." He nudged Hermione teasingly, causing her to choke out a laugh before squeezing him in one of her famous Hermione-hugs. Penelope was amused, until Hermione pulled her into one as well and causing the older witch to lightly choke.

The briefly tender mood was broken by Greg suddenly grabbing Harry's arm whilst urgently whispering:

"We need to get to Amy! She's probably trapped in Madam Rosmerta's!"

Harry blinked. "You sure your dad doesn't have a means of bypassing…that?" He gestured significantly at the Dark Mark in the sky, the insinuation clear as Greg frowned.

"...Probably. But knowing Father…I don't think he'd think to take Mum or Amy with him. Mum has a portkey, but I reckon that's a moot point now."

Harry grimaced whilst holding back his frustrated groan. He ran multiple mental calculations, trying to gauge the outcome of each decision. His Slytherin sensibilities urged him to maintain shelter with his friends and provide as much offensive backup as they could from their relatively safe vantage. On the other hand, his annoyingly persistent Gryffindor angel-on-his-shoulder implored him to find Amy (and her Aunt) and make sure they were at least still alive.

Plus, he had promised.

'Shite.'

"Fine, I'll go see if Amy is safe." Greg deflated in noticeable relief. Surveying with narrowed eyes, Harry (with tremendous effort) dutifully ignored his mother's fierce one-on-one battle with a raging werewolf whilst looking for his brother. He found him (as conspicuous as ever with a roaring lion mounted on his head), huddled with Ron, Padma, and the screeching pair of Druscilla and Marietta. The former two looked keenly irritated at the latter two shrieking directly in their ears.

'Hope Brother Dearest brought his bloody cloak in an actual emergency for once!'

At Hogwarts…

"Do you hear screaming?"

Third Year Gryffindor Shelagh O'Dowd - under the effects of a Doggy Drooble - twitched her fur-covered ears curiously whilst chewing on her transformative treat, wondering where in Merlin's name the sounds were coming from.

"What are you on about?" asked Dean amusedly, waddling over to the girl as a fluffy yellow canary. He wasn't the only one as several others waddled about happily, flapping their wee wings as their feathers started to shed.

To Fred and George's collective relief, the Skiving Snackboxes had been a success, a rather lucrative one too. Each snack was worth 3 Sickles, and each snackbox (containing four sample sizes) was worth 12. They'd made almost 350 Sickles, a respectable 20 Galleons. Almost all of their Snackboxes had been sold, with multiple orders for more. While most had been ingested with nary an issue, the Lizardy Lollies still needed some alterations. Neil Randall and Michael Corner's long forked tongues had yet to return to normal, with a distinct scaly sheen to their skin that would require a spell or potion reversal.

"Hang on a mo', I hear it too!" exclaimed Nigel, cat-shaped ears twitching adorably as a result of the caramel Kitty Kluster he'd ingested.

"It's probably the film," said Amanda Blighton with a roll of her eyes as she eagerly sipped on her strawberry pumpkin slushie.

"No, it's not!" replied Shelagh hotly. "I know what screams sound like and I know what I heard! And it's not coming from the movie either!"

Amanda rolled her eyes. "What, next you're going to tell me you hear barking? Please, I-"

"Not barking. Howling."

Frump's grave voice caused the would-be argument to halt in its tracks. In fact, all conversation ground to a halt as the room's occupants watched the characteristically surly man grow pale and tense as he slowly approached the massive viewing window of the Tower. Said window that offered an unobstructed view of Hogsmeade.

Which was currently illuminated by the sickly white glow of the Dark Mark.

"BLOODY HELL!" Fred and George wore matching expressions of horror, soon mirrored by the older students and Professor SInistra as the seriousness of the situation sunk in. Quite a few of the younger years screamed in fear and horror, even if they didn't fully grasp the true urgency of what lay ahead.

Snickt.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

A brilliant cloud of light poured from Frump's wand…before coalescing into a hyena. The man barked out a message that sounded a bit like French and German, before watching it race away. He ran his wand over his form, transforming his pirate costume into austere and practical black robes with sensible boots.

"FINESTRA!"

The glass of the window shattered, the resulting crystals swept away with a sharp sweep of the Caretaker's wand. He reached down his robes and pulled out a one-of-a-kind Air Wave Silver racing room on a golden chain, causing the eyes of a few Quidditch fanatics to widen despite the tense mood.

"Send a message to the Headmaster and the Deputy!" he barked to Sinistra while mounting his broom. "The students are in grave danger, Death Eaters have ambushed Hogsmeade! Get the aurors too!"

And with that, he kicked off hard and raced towards the village proper.

A few beats passed as the assembled students gawked in varying degrees of shock.

Suddenly, Fourth Year Lion Fay Dunbar's eyes widened. "Wait one bloody minute! Since when the hell does a squib use a bloody wand?!"

At Madam Rosmerta's…

"It's alright darling girl, we'll be alright, all will be well."

Hecuba was trying her hardest to remain as calm as possible, and that could only be achieved by comforting her daughter-in-all-but-blood. Amy was surprisingly nonplussed as she gripped her Auntie's hand in a vice grip, her mental shields lending a confidence she definitely didn't feel.

The minute the Dark Mark had appeared in the sky, Lords Nott and Goyle had made their exits by twisting a small ring on their respective pinkies, successfully disappearing with neither of their guests. Though she wasn't surprised, Lady Goyle couldn't help but feel a flash of hurt at her cowardly husband leaving her behind. She'd tried side-alonging with Amy but that hadn't worked, nor had her emergency Portkey.

They were trapped.

"What are we going to do Auntie? We can't stay here forever, especially not with…werewolves out there." She shuddered violently, amping up her shields to stave the sensation of something… scratching to get in.

"We'll stay here until the Aurors arrive, they are our best chance of escape. If there are werewolves out there…the Azkaban escapees might be out there too." It was the older witch's turn to shudder, Belltrax Lestrange's insane visage flashing in her mind's eye.

"And when do you reckon they'll arrive?"

"...I don't know darling, I really don't."

They stayed silent for a few long moments, neither really having anything to say. Both jerked at a sudden crescendo of screams accompanied by two savage howls. The two witches trembled.

Now more than ever Hecuba wished she could cast the Patronus to send for the aurors, but despite her past academic prowess, she'd never been able to master that esoteric charm.

"Well…if I have to be trapped in a tavern under siege, I'm glad it's with you Auntie." Amy smiled sweetly at the older witch, causing her to snort out a laugh as her teak brown eyes crinkled warmly.

"Me as well dear, me as-"

BOOOOM!

CRAAAASH!

"AAAAAH!"

The walls and floors of the upper level loudly exploded in a spray of broken masonry and ash due to spell impact. Amy was too busy screaming her head off to notice her auntie wrapped her non-wand arm around the screaming girl's waist as she bellowed:

"PROTEGO ORBIS MAXIMA!"

A shimmering silver orb sprung around both of their bodies as the momentum of the building's explosion sent them careening straight downwards. In any other context, their bodies would have landed hard on the ground below. Because of the shield, they bounced upon landing when they landed in the deserted alley adjacent to the tavern. They bounced and rolled some additional feet, before coming to a rest because Hecuba had blacked out for the strain on her magic and the brunt of impact. The fissured shield finally shattered when they came to rest.

Groaning, Amy slowly blinked her eyes open, amazed to still be alive after falling from such a great height.

"A-Auntie?" She turned to look at the older witch, before yelling at the sight of the bloodied and bruised woman.

"Oh no, no, no, no Auntie wake up!" She shook the woman vigorously, who did not stir. A moment of horror made her think the worst, before her common sense kicked in and she unholstered her wand to tearfully cast "BIOGNOSIS".

She was alive, but her core was severely depleted and she'd broken a few ribs along with a ruined ankle. Shoving her emotions away Amy made to cast Brackium Emendo, before a sudden crunch of a footstep caused her to sharply jerk around with a Lacero on the tip of her tongue.

She didn't stand a chance as the red light of a whispered and unseen "STUPEFY" washed over her form, rendering her unconscious.

With a deep exhale Lady Witherington watched as Amy was knocked unconscious, just as the Invisibility Potion she'd ingested wore off, rendering her visible once more. She'd planned ahead in the event of this happening, much like it had in the previous timeline.

'Though there weren't any bloody werewolves mucking about last time.' Despite her sardonic musings she still shuddered, belatedly feeling something psychically scratching at the boundaries of her mind. The minute the Dark Mark had struck she'd broken off to ingest her potion in peace, before covertly making her way to Madam Rosmerta. Thankfully she had Charms with Amy, and had been able to confirm that the girl would in fact be at the tavern this evening.

'It's always damn Samhain.' She then winced upon realizing that while it technically wasn't Samhain, it was still the Hunter's Moon and that was symbolically horrifying enough.

Slowly approaching the downed forms of Amy and Hecuba, Lady W. cast two additional Somnus spells to ensure they would remain unconscious. Reaching down she plucked a few hairs of Amy's head, before reaching down into her pouch and retrieving a phial of Polyjuice Potion.

"Lavender, you'd better be damned right about this formula." The Gryffindor had claimed it would last for almost 90 minutes. Sighing, the Time-Traveler added the hairs to the potion, surprised to see the potion turned a lovely shade of cinnamon with the scent to boot.

"Here goes nothing." She downed the potion in one sure gulp, twitching as she felt the changes through her body. She caught sight of reflection, pleased to see it resemble the Second Year Lion's. Using her wand she added some bruises and nicks to her face, presenting the perfect cover of someone who'd been struck in the face by exploding masonry.

Thinking fast, Lady W. transfigured two planks of wood into a protective dome, before marking it with a specialized Color Hex used by the Aurors to identify the bodies of civilians in a wreckage.

Making her exit, the witchling turned a corner…before running smack dab into an invisible body.

She screamed as the air shivered and shimmered…revealing the form of Harry Potter!

"Amy, thank Merlin! We need to go, NOW!" He paused and made a strange face, peering at her with a surprisingly penetrating gaze. "Where's your aunt?"

"I don't bloody know! Damn building exploded and sent us careening, I can't find her!" Lady W. allowed her expression and tone to grow hysterical as she furiously rubbed her hands over body. Harry's expression was still wrinkled curiously, but a touch of sympathy spread across his features.

"What happened to Goyle Sr. and Nott?"

The witchling snorted furiously. "Goyle Sr. and Nott left as soon as the Dark Mark erupted in the sky, not sure how the hell they could bypass that. Pigs."

Harry snorted but didn't disagree. "C'mon we need to get out of h-"

Three simultaneous howls sounded to their left, right, and just behind them, causing the two to freeze. Looking in those respective directions, they were met with the sight of Stavros, Channon, and Blevine, all self-reverted from their full lupine forms into their transitional human-wolf forms. Each also bore their wands, tips aglow with some unnamed orange spell. All three leered at the two students, who'd huddled close and grasped each other's non-wand hands, each needing a physical anchor.

"Well, well, well mates." Channon's expression was as monstrous as it was merciless. "Looks like we've got ourselves a right scrumptious meal for the night!"

Exactly Two Minutes Earlier…

Grunting, Cador planted himself directly in front of the stage, protectively placing himself in front of a charging Stavros as the monster charged at the screaming and paralyzed forms of Zachariah, Cedric, Oliver, and Cho, and Neville. He had blood on his sharp paws and muzzle, signaling that he'd already killed some innocents.

THUMP.

"SECTUMSEMPRA!"

With grace the Knight would have never believed a werewolf possessed, Stavros leapt sharply to the right then back to the left, just barely evading the custom werewolf-killing spell.

THUMP.

With a mighty roar Stavros leapt up and over Cador, using one his powerful hind paws to buffet the wizard away. The werewolf landed on the stage and right on top of the screaming P.A.C. members, using a claw-hewn paw to slam directly into Cedric, sending the Hufflepuff flying away to land unconscious some feet off the stage. Just as he was about to rip the children apart he froze at the sound of three rhythmic howls.

His ears twitched curiously, titling his head to the direction of his packmates as they communicated in their strange lupine language.

Suddenly, Stavros shifted back into his half-human wolfman form, before racing off in the general direction of Madam Rosmerta's. He was immediately followed by two others, who'd also transformed into their half-human forms, wands at the ready.

Cador blinked in confusion. "...What the hell?!"

Current Time…

THUMP.

Harry immediately dilated his perception, needing any advantage he could garner. With a soft whisper he incanted "FUMOSsS OBSsSCURO", watching with satisfaction as inky black plumes poured from his holly wand and provided a protective fog. Fiddling with the bronze snakes on the glasses' temples activated the night vision feature, allowing him to see clearly. He didn't register Polyjuice Amy's subtle flinch at him speaking the serpent's tongue.

THUMP.

"LEVICORPUSsS." This whispered spell slammed into Blevine's body, startling her as she flipped upside down and dropped her wand.

Channon howled and leapt at the pair…before clutching at his head as "MUCUSsS AD NAUSsSEAM" struck dead-center, causing massive bat-shaped bogeys to fly out of his nose and begin attacking his eyes. "AVISsS OPPUGNO" provided just enough of a distraction for Stavros.

Satisfied Harry immediately took off, unknowingly jostling an amazed Amy by his side. A few feet away in relative safety Harry rapidly removed the miniaturized Firebolt (his 13th birthday present from Sirius) from his neck and cast the specialized expansion charm, not hesitating to mount it with Amy.

"Hold on tight, I'll try and get us back to Hogwarts!"

The Gryffindor could only vigorously nod, psychically beating back her acrophobia.

The pair kicked off, U-turning just past Honeydukes and hightailing back to the castle.

It was with good reason, since two of the three werewolves had recovered and summoned brooms from the nearby display in Quidditch Quality Supplies, following in hot pursuit.

AN 1: Also known as a sanguine or "blood" moon, the term "Hunter's Moon" is used traditionally to refer to a full moon that appears during the month of October. I checked, and in 1993, the Hunter's Moon was in fact October 30th. The implication is that the werewolves would be significantly more bloodthirsty and inclined to hunt under the influence of this full moon, given the symbology.