Well, I'm glad at the response to the first chapter of Wolfsbane. I actually had this one ready, but got too involved in the latest DLC for Borderlands 2. Yeah, I know, Commander Lilith and the Battle for Sanctuary has been out for months, but at the time, I didn't really have the inclination to go back to Borderlands 2. Still, I went back and started playing it today. And it's actually a pretty good coda to the game so far (I just finished the mission where you, Lilith and Tina use the moonshot cannon of the wrecked Helios Station to, well wreck a reinforced door: rendering Hector speechless was great, especially when he acts like the bastard offspring of Knoxx and Handsome Jack). True, the same could be said about the Tiny Tina DLC, but still...thank you, 2K Games and Gearbox for giving a nearly decade-old game a good send-off.

Now, I bring up Borderlands 2 because, having started replaying those games again, I'm seriously considering doing a Potterverse crossover with that series. In a perverse way, it's going back to my roots, as one of my first fanfics on this website was an OC-centric Borderlands 2 story called Hooked on a Feeling. This was written in the days before I realised you could use a crossover character as an OC stand-in if you did it right. I'd like some opinions on some story ideas. There's no guarantee, of course, that I will write any of them, but I'd like to hear your opinions before we get on with the next chapter of Wolfsbane (which, as of writing this, is up to its fifth chapter, and remember, I try to write at least eight chapters or about 20K words before posting a story).

*Harry/Moxxi or Harry/Angel, depending on age of the characters, set during the events of The Pre-Sequel! I'm of the personal opinion that The Pre-Sequel! was much maligned unfairly partly due to the heavy Aussie influence and injokes (it was partly developed by 2K Games Australia). Harry is amongst the Vault Hunters of that story, but he's actually a mole sent in by Moxxi, Roland and Lilith to see what Jack is up to, having heard rumours of Angel's true nature.

*Harry/Tina. And before you say anything, this will be set between the events of Borderlands 2 and 3. Basically, we're doing another TWT story here. Imagine a 14 year old Tina at Hogwarts, along with a 14 year old Harry who has grown up for part of his life on Pandora, and may even have helped the Crimson Raiders against Handsome Jack. And now has a cute, psychotic, explosives-obsessed girlfriend. Of course, if I do it as a WBWL fic, I could have an older Harry and Tina, the latter closer to her appearance and demeanour in the third game.

*Harry/Angel, set during the events of Borderlands 2. I tried doing something like this for Spanner in the Works. I could try something not dissimilar, but I also don't want to do an also-ran of Hooked on a Feeling.

*Harry/Maya, or possibly a threeway with Lilith? Set during Borderlands 2. Admittedly, probably a stupid idea, but maybe Harry was raised alongside Maya in that temple, given his powers.

Now, once more, I must emphasize that these are just story ideas I'm chucking at the wall. There's no guarantee that I'll do them, and unless I explicitly post them as challenges in the usual forums, I won't be throwing these ideas out for anyone else to write either.

Anyway, back to the second chapter of Wolfsbane. I hope you guys enjoy it, and hopefully, it will get posted as a full story before too long...


WOLFSBANE

CHAPTER 2:

YOUNG EYES ON AN OLD PROBLEM

Dr Penelope Young was not a pleasant woman, even she could admit that to herself. She was driven and ambitious, she didn't suffer fools gladly, and she knew her diagnoses of the various patients were controversial. But she was not a bad woman, she liked to think. She'd gladly engage in human experimentation on some of the worst inmates of Arkham or even Blackgate if it meant helping humanity as a whole. But here, she had a case that not only fascinated her, but tugged at the heartstrings.

Her impressions of Harry, physically, were not stellar ones. A scrawny, scarecrow physique, messy black hair, and, of course, the apparently infamous scar. His emerald eyes were striking, and he was easy on the eyes, though.

However, as they spoke about his life and his current condition, she had to admit to feeling sorry for him. Not that she didn't already, given how Hermione spoke of him, but she knew that this young man was a victim not only of a monster, but multiple monsters, lurking within the society of Magical Britain. If he had snapped and gone on a rampage because of it, she could understand why. Instead, he kept himself confined whenever the full moon came up.

Thankfully, he had inherited his money before he got cursed with lycanthropy (and thus avoided any confiscation by the Ministry in Britain, not that they didn't try their hardest to get their mitts on his money), and had managed to hang onto it. He'd apparently bought a house not far from Arkham Asylum, and while he was rich enough that he didn't need to look for work, he did manage to get through MACUSA a work visa, one that would hold up to scrutiny with the authorities. Of course, getting a job as a werewolf was another matter.

Werewolves…they existed. Penelope shouldn't have been surprised, as her work had her deal with metahumans all the time, and she had an inkling that magic existed, due to the crime-fighting careers of Zatanna and Dr Fate, but still…werewolves. She was both anxious and excited.

From what she had learned from Hermione, the whole thing about silver being lethal to werewolves was myth. It did little to a live werewolf, and was only used, mixed with magically-grown dittany, to treat wounds from one(1). The only know treatment for helping werewolves was the Wolfsbane potion, which sounded like a toxic brew of aconite and other, apparently very expensive ingredients, and that, while it allowed the werewolf to keep their sanity, also was immensely painful. What Harry sought was either a cure, or something that would give him control over the transformations.

Penelope had to admit, the notes Hermione had sent her on what little she could discern about werewolf biology before the Wizengamot placed a ban on such research in Magical Britain was fascinating. It seemed to be created through some sort of pathogen, probably viral, though it only caused those bitten to turn into werewolves if they were bitten by a transformed one. Those scratched by a werewolf would gain some properties of them, like increased aggression during the full moon, as well as a tendency to enjoy raw or undercooked meat, but were otherwise normal people.

Having listened to his story, Penelope said, "Harry, the next full moon will be in a fortnight. I believe that can be your first session, at least initially. We have confinement facilities in the Medical Facility, as well as Intensive Treatment and the Penitentiary, though the former two have more access to the medical equipment we need. If you would like, I would wish to place medical monitoring equipment on you to monitor your vitals during the transformation. We also have scanning equipment developed and donated by Wayne Enterprises that can scan your internal anatomy and physiology during and after the transformation, as well as a means of sampling your blood during that time."

"…Let me guess, you developed that to get blood from Killer Croc?"

"Waylon Jones, and yes," Penelope corrected him. "We have facilities capable of containing the likes of him, and I am sure they will be more than adequate for containing a werewolf. Now, Harry, I should be very blunt: I cannot guarantee a cure or even a better treatment by any means. I am a very busy person, and your case is one of many I have to deal with as Head of Research in this facility. But I also refuse to dismiss this problem either. Firstly, it's a fascinating problem. Secondly, Hermione became something of a friend of mine while she was here, and I value that friendship, so I would be remiss not to give it a try. Thirdly, unlike many of the inmates present, you are neither insane nor a psychopath, and you wish to find help. That is more than enough reason to help you. Besides, after all you did for the British, let alone the world, in dealing with this Voldemort, you deserve a decent, happy life."

And she meant that. She genuinely did. This young man had had a warlock terrorist targeting him since before he was born, and even after he defeated him, he couldn't go back to a normal or happy life thanks to some monster.

"But how will you work on a cure?" Harry asked. "Aren't you a psychiatrist?"

"I'm technically a psychologist, but I'm also qualified in neurobiology and chemistry. However, there are others here who can help." She grimaced slightly, thinking back to Hermione's suggestion during her time here, and how well that turned out. Penelope didn't like being proved wrong, even if it turned out all right.

"What do you mean?"

"While most of your sessions will be directly supervised by myself or a trusted colleague," Penelope said, "the main work of working on a cure will be done by someone else. Someone who has made a personal study of all kinds of diseases." She activated her computer, and checked a program. "Good, he's in the lab facility." She activated the comms program, but had to wait a minute, before the screen finally showed who she was contacting.

"Dr Young, why have you interrupted my current session?"

"My apologies, Dr Fries, but Harry Potter is here. I wished for him to speak to the one who was going to be researching his cure…"


Harry found himself, well, frozen in place when Dr Young turned around the monitor of her computer, and with it, the webcam integrated into it. After all, it wasn't every day that one came face to face with one of Gotham City's most infamous criminals. Well, even if it was over a webcam link.

The first thing Harry noticed was the icy blue skin. It made the otherwise unremarkable, if somewhat intense features of Mr Freeze all the more striking. His eyes, too, were icy blue. A pair of crimson goggles were pushed up over his bald head. His ears seemed like they were stubs, eaten away by the cold.

"Harry Potter. Good afternoon. I am Dr Victor Fries. You would probably know me best under my nom de guerre of Mr Freeze." His voice was a quiet rasp of a monotone.

"Would you prefer Dr Fries?" Harry asked.

"If you wish. I care little about what name I am called. Names are labels, not definitions. Your friend Hermione spoke to me at great length about you. She felt that I could collaborate with Dr Young in creating a cure for your condition."

"Dr Fries, as you may know, is researching how to cure a variant of Huntington's Chorea that his wife Nora is suffering from," Dr Young said. "It was Hermione's suggestion that, in order to occupy his time, he be given laboratory facilities under strict supervision to find novel means of treating, if not curing, the disorder. Normally, Huntington's Chorea is an inherited disorder, but no genetic markers linking Nora Fries to the disease were found in tests. Therefore, it is possible that it was caused by a pathogen. Dr Fries, therefore, has become something of an expert in a variety of fields when it comes to pathology and diseases. Already, he has been making greater strides in his progress, and while no cure has been found, more effective treatments have been developed for various diseases, including Huntington's Chorea. If Nora was defrosted, her life expectancy would be drastically lengthened. However, Dr Fries desires a cure above all other things."

"…Are you willing to help me, though?" Harry asked. True, he felt skittish about accepting help from an infamous supervillain, but he knew about Fries' life, and he seemed to be one of the more sympathetic of Batman's opponents.

"While I do not have time to waste finding a cure for my wife, I am not a fool either," Fries said. "My mind needs variety in its intellectual challenges. In addition, Hermione was of considerable help in both understanding my own condition, as well as suggesting novel avenues for research. Thus, I do owe her a debt, and while it is a small one, too small to cover developing a cure for your lycanthropy, I am not without gratitude. So yes, I will be willing, Harry Potter."

Harry, despite himself, said, "Thank you."

"I too know what it is like to feel helpless about a seemingly hopeless condition, even if it was in another rather than in my own self. I care little for my condition, only my beloved wife's. But keep this in mind, I cannot guarantee a cure."

"If you're willing to help, that's better than anyone back home would."

A rueful smile touched Fries' lips briefly. "Dr Young, I would like to get back to my experiments. Would you deliver samples from him as soon as you are able to? Even if he isn't transformed, an initial assay of his blood could turn up something to start researching."

"Of course. But I will be doing my own studies."

Fries nodded, before he cut off the connection. Young then twisted her monitor back to face her, before returning her gaze to Harry. "So, there you have it. We will take samples of your blood both outside of your transformation and during it. We cannot guarantee a cure by any means, of course, let alone a more effective treatment, but I intend to help. I believe that Dr Fries will do so too."

"…Thanks for trying. It's more than some people could."

Her expression softened, and she favoured him with a gentle smile. "Harry, you don't deserve this. Not at all. Now…while I was told you have more than ample means to support yourself during your time here, I also believe that gainful employment is therapeutical in its own right. I am in need of a research assistant, and while you have no qualifications in the field, Hermione told me you were a quick study when you needed to be. I can teach you how to do literature reviews to help my research, for example. While the pay would not be stellar, it would still be better than a more custodial position like a janitor. Or I could have you working as an archivist here, we really need someone to organise the files and books in our records room and library."

"I'll consider it, Dr Young. But why are you helping me? I mean, with the jobs?"

"As I said, I found Hermione to have become a friend of mine. And if helping you find work here helps your more psychological problems like depression and a lack of self-esteem, then I am glad to have helped. And remember, a werewolf is a novel thing to me, at least from a real science point of view. I owe you for the opportunity to study the condition, and separate the myth from the reality."

Harry looked at her, before nodding. "I'll think about the whole job thing. But thank you, Dr Young, for this."

"You're welcome. If you'd like, we can take some blood samples now at the Medical Facility. I might take a buccal swab too." On his look, she clarified, "A cheek swab. I swab the inside of your mouth. It's often used for DNA testing, but I also wanted to see if there's any presence of unknown pathogens in your saliva, as it seems to be a werewolf's bite that transmits the disease. While transformed, of course, but still…"

Harry nodded. Still, it was nice to see someone give a shit. In fact, two people. One a psychologist, the other, one of Gotham's most infamous criminals, albeit one of the more sympathetic. He hoped they could find something that would help. He really did...


As the pair made their way through Arkham Mansion, ready to be escorted to the Medical Facility, they were watched by a pair of piggy little eyes peering out from behind glasses. The pompous, jowly features of Quincy Sharp, Warden of Arkham Asylum and would-be politician, watched them go by as he headed to his own office. And the expression behind those eyes were a dark one.

He knew about Harry Potter, of course. Hugo Strange had told him about him. A dangerous man, and even that was without going into what he could turn into. A mere beast, barely caged. Someone he was reluctant to suffer within his demesne.

Strange had counselled caution for now. They would think of something. But Sharp wasn't sure he wanted to wait for that long. Such a beast was diverting Dr Young from her true work. Sharp would be patient, yes, but if an opportunity arose, he would take it, and ensure that this monster was tossed into the deepest, darkest pit for eternity, like all beasts deserved…

CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:

Oh dear. Harry may have some allies in Arkham, but he also has enemies already.

1. The Harry Potter wiki did state that silver is never stated to be a canonical weakness for Potterverse werewolves, just part of the treatment for werewolf injuries.