"Friends

There is no such thing as a good or bad friend.

Maybe there are just friends.

People who stand by you when you are hurt and help you feel less alone.

Maybe they are worth being afraid for and hoping for and living for.

Maybe they are also worth dying for.

If that's what has to happen.

There are no bad friends.

Just people you want.

People you need to be around.

People who build their homes in our hearts."

Stephen King

Remus added one last piece of clothing to the inside of the beaded bag and closed it. He had finally finished packing what he and Hermione would need for their getaway. There was still no improvement from his friend, she hadn't spoken a word, didn't leave her bed and continued to scream at night. The Time Chosen had not yet told her about their 'trip', she probably would not react.

Remus sat down on Hermione's bed and tried to meet her eyes. She wasn't moving so he quickly found her blue eyes, the same as most Weasleys. She couldn't help but blink when she met her friend's dark eyes.

"I know you're in pain Hermione. And it kills me. Because your silence is a scream. A scream much worse than when you yell. I don't know why you are silent now, when you had so many opportunities to do so in the past, but I can't help it. England, this era, it's destroying us, but we can't help it. We have always made our mission our priority. It is our role as elected officials, but we cannot continue like this. So, I made the decision for both of us since you are not talking anymore. We will leave. Leave the country for a while. It's non-negotiable."

Remus took a deep breath after his monologue and looked for a glint in Hermione's eyes. A glint that meant she hadn't tipped over yet, that there was still hope. And Remus saw that faint glow, a mixture of fear and determination.

"We leave in twenty minutes. Maybe you should get dressed, some of the members will be here when we leave. I doubt you'll want to be seen in your pyjamas."

He left the room and returned, as promised, fifteen minutes later. Hermione was still in the same position, sitting cross-legged, but she had dressed and was no longer on her bed but in her chair. When she saw Remus, she stood up, but kept her distance from him.

"If you don't want me to touch you, I won't, but you'll have to come a little closer so we can get the portkey. Lily and Alice are downstairs, they've forbidden other people to come in, fearing it might be too much for you. Is that okay?"

The young woman nodded and followed Remus down the stairs. She avoided the looks of the two Gryffindors calling her name, exited the house and walked through the security gates.

"Lily, Alice, take care of yourselves. I entrust the house to you. Alice, enjoy your wedding, congratulations again. We'll be back soon."

He walked out after Hermione and went through the gates to meet her.

"Be happy, where we're going, you'll be able to look like your real self again."

"What are we going to do?" she whispered hoarsely, as if her vocal cords were rusty.

"We are going to..., "he began before stopping abruptly. "Wait. You spoke!"

He was about to take her in his arms but held back. It was not because she had come out of her silence to say a little sentence that everything was settled.

"After your outburst in the Astronomy Tower, I told you I had located a horcrux. We're going to find it and destroy it."

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see soon enough."

Remus grabbed the portkey and instructed Hermione to do the same. He unlocked it with an informal word and it began to shake. They felt themselves being sucked up by the navel and arrived on a large green plain. Hermione looked around the place, but it was completely unfamiliar to her. She looked at Remus, waiting for an answer.

"Ms. Granger" he said in a solemn voice, "I welcome you to Albania."

Thousands of miles away, the atmosphere was quite different. Two people were arguing violently. They were both dressed in deep black, similar to their eyes and hair. They seemed to be very angry, perhaps at each other, you could almost believe they were going to burst into flames.

"We have to help them. If you don't follow me, too bad, but you won't stop me from doing it."

"Keep your voice down, She might hear us."

"I don't care. For centuries we've just been subjected to this damn curse. It's time to act. These humans have more strength than anyone else. They have survived the impossible. It is our duty to help them."

"We can't interfere in her affairs. You know what She would do to us."

"She has already condemned us! We've done nothing for years for fear of retribution, but what more could she do to us? Bloody hell, we're the damned spouses, fucking immortals. So for once I want to do something good with my life."

"You're really talking out of your ass. You've picked up the language habits of the future, it's really distressing. But no matter what we do, we can't do the mission for them. These two humans-"

"You were human once too!" his wife interrupted him abruptly. "You know very well that time passes differently here than on Earth. You should be grateful to them. They freed us!"

"But they won't do it again. Not in this reality. They freed our future, but that future will never happen. I don't want to dash your hopes Proserpina, but we are doomed to remain prisoners of the Underworld forever."

The woman sighed wearily. She knew that she would never leave this hell, she was used to the idea. And that was not why she wanted to help the two chosen ones. Of course, knowing that in another reality she had been set free had done something to her. She couldn't help but think that it might have been if it had been her, but over time the Immortal had learned not to get her hopes up, failure was only more painful. These humans had managed to find the three Jewels of Time. They had met Hel Hogwarts without dying or becoming cursed. Although, considering their situation... They had survived many battles and the deaths of their loved ones. They had escaped death so many times. They had sacrificed everything and deserved a little help, no matter what the Fifth Founder said.

A few hours earlier, the Guardians had seen Remus and Hermione off to Albania on a mission of the utmost importance. But time passed much more slowly in the Underworld than it did on Earth, and by the time the couple thought about it, almost two months had passed and they still hadn't found anything.

The Time Chosen had indeed been gone for more than a month and a half, without any success. They had first had to do a lot of work on Hermione's mind, the young woman still being terribly ill in her skin. She had slowly started to speak again, but it had taken a lot of strength and willpower. Remus had helped her, as best he could, and had taken care of her a lot, Hermione needed it.

Keeping their true appearance over the past few months had also done them good. They felt like themselves and didn't need to hide behind the mask that was Remi and Helena. When they arrived, Remus had told Helena that he did not know the exact location of the horcrux and that they would have to search the country again. Remus had explained to her that it had nothing to do with the barrier reef, that Albania was a very small country, less than thirty thousand square kilometers. Hermione had gotten upset, she didn't want to relive Australia, but the wizard had held his ground, it was a hundred thousand square kilometers less than England and more than four hundred thousand less than the Great Barrier Reef.

So they had searched. For many days, they had scoured the country in search of a trace of black magic that would allow them to find the object they were looking for. But nothing. They knew they shouldn't admit defeat just yet, after all, it had taken them over a year to find the first Jewel of Time. But the waiting was becoming unbearable, all this reminded them of Australia, the phases of deep depression they had experienced there, the absence of their friends.

They were both tired. Tired of fighting, tired of the never-ending search. Unfortunately, they still had nightmares and insomnia had become their daily routine, whether it was for Hermione or Remus.

The young woman had decided to take the first shift to allow her friend to try to get some rest. Remus had decreed that the guard tours were more prudent, so each could sleep while the other watched over him and prepared for a possible attack. Of course, none of this happened. The places where they slept were very seldom used and the Time Chosen never stayed in one place for more than a week.

Hermione was holding her wand in her hand and was lost in thought when she heard a plaintive moan coming from the tent. She rushed over and stood there for a few seconds, not knowing what to do. She had always been at a loss when it came to other people's nightmares, especially Harry's, which she had witnessed far too often. No one had ever taught her how to deal with it.

She walked over to Remus and watched him for a few moments. He was sweating profusely and flailing around. Hermione shook him, whispered for him to wake up and after several minutes it worked. Remus opened his eyes and sat up sharply before a sudden headache hit him.

"I think I know where the horcrux is" he whispered, having regained his senses.

"What? You must have a fever, it's making you delirious."

"You don't understand Hermione. I had a dream. I dreamed of a specific place on the Albanian Riviera. I've seen this place before when I was doing my research to get here. We didn't find the horcrux, because there is already too much magic wave. Why didn't I think of this before? It was obvious. Only they could crush the leads like that."

"What are you talking about?"

Remus didn't answer her, he kept mumbling, but Hermione didn't understand who he was talking about to be so upset.

"Remus. Remus!"

Her screams seemed to snap the wizard out of his stupor.

"What are you talking about? Who is 'they'?"

Remus stared at her for a moment, as if he still hadn't registered the information.

"The horcrux is hidden among the Lupryadalis. We'll have to meet them" he said in a blank voice.

Remus had never been so panicked. How would they get the horcrux back? Hermione didn't seem to notice his concern, which was understandable, she had never heard of Them.

"The Lupryadalis? I've never heard of them."

"That's normal, only werewolves know about them. You've never been part of a pack, so you can't have heard of them."

"What's that?"

"Who rather. They are half-wolf, half-elf beings. They are extremely rare creatures. Even if some of them are just simple werewolves like you and me, their children, who they have with an elf, have extraordinary magical abilities. I've heard many stories about them, each one more chilling than the last. How could Voldy get close to them? It's impossible, he's not an elf or a wolf."

"Good thing we're both wolves then. We approach them, talk to them a bit, find the horcrux and leave."

"You're very naive, Hermione" he sighed. "You don't know them. When you go into their clan, you don't come out. You become a lupryadalis for life. You can't escape."

"And if you do?"

"They hunt you down. I told you they have extraordinary magical abilities. Generally, after leaving them, you have a maximum of twenty-four hours. No matter where you are on Earth."

"What you're telling me, Rem, is impossible."

"You don't know them. Hermione, you're the most powerful witch on Earth right now, but if you were to duel them, you wouldn't last ten minutes against one of them. They are stronger than anyone could imagine."

Remus explained everything he knew about the lupryadalis to Hermione. Elves had appeared long before wizards, even before humans. Contrary to what their name might suggest, they were nothing like house elves. They were as close to them as a human is to a whale. They both belonged to the group of mammals, but the similarities ended there. The same was true between elves and house elves. Elves were very similar creatures to humans. They were about five feet tall, had brown, cropped hair and violet eyes. Contrary to Muggle belief, they did not have pointed ears, but instead had a thin silver crown on top of their skulls.

The werewolves arrived in the middle of antiquity and, being rejected by society from the very beginning, formed packs away from everything. One of these packs met the elves and quickly, the first lupryadalis were born. Although the elves were small, the Lupryadalis were very tall, almost two meters tall. Unlike their ancestors, they had long, wavy red hair and their eyes were a chilling electric blue.

"There's no way they could all be redheads if their ancestors were all brown. Have you never heard of genetics?"

"Elves, although they look like us, are very different from us, Hermione. Their magic, their genes, it's all different. I can't tell you why, I don't know."

Remus continued his story. The lupryadalis were warriors, trained since they could walk and talk, they could beat anyone in a duel with their eyes closed. Thanks to the lycanthropy of one of their parents combined with the elvish magic of the other, they had the ability to change into a wolf whenever they wanted. They kept their cool and it wasn't until their birthday that they became like werewolves on a full moon, bloodthirsty monsters unable to control themselves. It was not until the thirteenth century that they were given the name lupryadalis, a contraction of lupus, Latin for wolf, and dryadalis, elf.

"They always stay together, never alone. If you attack one of them, you attack everyone. They never leave Albania, their magic is too powerful for two wizards like us to feel. Like many werewolves, they hate ordinary wizards, who can live in the open, without being singled out or treated like a pest. This is where they differ from the elves, they never mix with others. The elves have already had children with wizards, maybe even with muggles, but this could never be the case with a Lupryadalis. They are too suspicious."

"But then, how will we get the horcrux back? We can't just give up and wait for years."

"The question is, how are we going to get back alive? How did Voldy get to them? What did he promise them to let him go back?"

Remus and Hermione had been thinking all night about what they could do, but had come up with nothing conclusive.

The week went on like that, with both wizards sleeping very little, and thinking about the lupryadalis. They had, once again, moved. They had found it best to move closer to the Albanian Riviera. They had gone to get something to eat when Remus called Hermione, his voice trembling.

"I think we have a big problem."

Hermione looked back at her friend and saw that he was staring at two people from behind. They were dark-skinned, with brown hair falling over their shoulders, a beautiful crown on top of their heads. Hermione met the gaze of the person on the right, meeting his violet eyes. She had never seen such beautiful ones, it was as if they were glowing with a thousand fires.

Given the physique of these people, it could only be Them. Hermione suddenly realized that she and Remus had entered the territory of the elves, they had entered the territory of the lupryadalis and had no way to escape.

"Përshëndetje"

The Lupryadalis are my exclusive property. Do not copy them.