Wolf Princess Chapter 4

After a few hours of following the riven, Remus finally reached Hogwarts. The castle stood on the horizon with the sun shining off of it. He could never get tired of looking at it. On his way up to the castle Remus had to pass Hagrids hut.

Hagrid was outside with his black boarhound Fang. Fang saw Remus first and as soon as he did he immediately started to bark. This caught Hagrids attention and he stopped working on his pumpkin patch looking up to see what all of the commotion was about.

"Remus," said Hagrid, smiling, "I take it things went well last night."

"As well as can be expected," said Remus, returning Hagrids smile, "although it took me far longer to get back here. I went a lot further than I usually do when I'm in the forest."

"Really," said Hagrid, curious. "See anything interesting?"

"Yes," said Remus, slowly, "as a matter of fact I have." Hagrids words reminded him of what he'd seen in the forest. He knew he had to inform Dumbledore immediately.

Hagrid noticed the sudden change in Remus's body language. "Something wrong," he asked, concerned.

"Is Dumbledore here," asked Remus.

"Yeah," said Hagrid, confused, "he should be in his office. Why are you asking?"

"I need to talk to him. I found something in the forest I think he should know about," said Remus. He then turned and started making the rest of the way up to the castle. "You need to come, too, Hagrid, this concerns you." Remus then continued up his way and now Hagrid was following with Fang right beside him. They came in through the entrance hall and moving through the corridors came to the Headmasters office.

Since the new classes hadn't started yet there weren't any students roaming the halls. Reaching Dumbledore's office they stopped at the stone gargoyle that was standing guard in front of it. Once reaching the stone gargoyle Hagrid gave the day's password and the two of them went right up.

As soon as Remus knocked on the door a voice spoke from the other side, saying "Enter."

Pushing open the door the two of them went inside.

The Headmaster was sitting at his desk with his head bowed as he was looking over some papers. At the sound of the door opening he looked up from his work to see who had entered his office. A smile came onto Dumbledore's face when he saw who had come in. "Remus, Hagrid," he said, softly, "what a pleasant surprise. I assume the transformation went as usual, Remus?"

Nodding, Remus said "Yes, Headmaster, but that is not why I have come. Something…has happened." The tone of voice that Remus spoke in is what caught Dumbledore's attention.

"Were you..," he began, but was interrupted.

"No, it was nothing like that," reassured Remus. He'd caught the meaning in Dumbledore's words and quickly reassured him he wasn't hurt in any way at all.

"Then what has happened," asked Dumbledore, a curious expression on his face.

Hagrid was, also listening closely to what was being said. He was very curious to know what Remus had seen while he was in the forest.

Remus then started to explain himself. "I never usually spend my time in the forest during the time of the full moon. I had always spent it in the shrieking shack, my office or quarters. But whenever I do go into the Forbidden Forest I never go too far. This time the wolf in me had more control and took me further into the Forbidden Forest. Not long after the sun rose and I transformed back into a human I saw something I didn't expect."

"Oh," said Dumbledore, moving his papers to the side, "and what was that?"

Instead of answering Dumbledore, Remus turned to Hagrid. "Hagrid, you know the Forbidden Forest better than anyone here, correct?"

"Sure do," said Hagrid, looking a bit flattered by Remus's words.

"Then you would know what creatures were living in the forest and if something was out of place," said Remus.

Curiosity growing, Hagrid said "I suppose so."

"What is this about, Remus," asked Dumbledore.

Remus turned his attention away from Hagrid and back over to the Headmaster. "When I was in the forest I found a young woman," he said.

This caught other occupants in the room by some surprise. Hagrid looked downright shocked. He obviously didn't know anything about this.

The expression on Dumbledore's face changed very quickly when he heard this new development. It changed from being soft to serious. "Was she a muggle or someone of magical blood," he asked, immediately.

Shrugging, Remus said "I'm not sure. I didn't really have a chance to ask her. She ran off before I could even speak to her. I'm afraid I may have frightened her. I thought she was something dangerous so I pointed my wand at her. When she ran off I tried to follow, but she was too fast for me and got away."

Dumbledore turned to Hagrid once Remus had finished speaking. "Did you know of this, Hagrid," he asked eyes serious.

Quickly shaking his head, denying it, Hagrid said "No, Professor Dumbledore, I didn't know a thing about this. I would've informed you if I had."

Dumbledore was taping his chin a thoughtful expression on his face. After a few moments he spoke. "Remus, can you remember where you saw her," he asked.

Nodding, Remus said "I could probably find my way back there. I made it here easily enough."

"Good," said Dumbledore, satisfied, "I want you to head back out and look for her. She needs to be brought to the castle."

"Is that wise, Professor," asked Hagrid. "What if she is a muggle and not a witch?"

"We will take precautions," assured Dumbledore, dismissing the idea with a wave of his hand. "If she is a muggle then her memory will be modified."

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea," said Remus. "If she's been living in the forest then she may already know about the magical world."

Dumbledore sighed, saying "If that is so then her memory will not be modified. Now go and get some sleep. I want you at full strength before you head out again."

Remus smiled, saying "Thank you Dumbledore." Remus then turned around and head out of the Headmasters office. Since Hagrid had no other business in the Headmasters office he left too.

Once Remus and Hagrid left Dumbledore returned to his thoughts. He got up from behind his desk and went over to the window with his hands clasped behind his back. He just stood there standing at the Hogwarts grounds. After a little while Dumbledore turned away from the window and over to his phoenix. The phoenix was staring at his master from his perch.

"Strange isn't it, my friend," said Dumbledore, eyes on his familiar, "of how fast the winds of change can come upon us." Fawkes just cooed and stared at his friend with a solemn look in his eyes with no answer to actually give.

In the halls of Hogwarts Remus and Hagrid were still walking through them. Both had their thoughts wrapped up in what had been discovered. At one point Remus noticed a bit of an embarrassed look on Hagrids face. Concerned about what would make Hagrid look this way Remus tried to figure out what was exactly wrong.

"Something bothering you, Hagrid," asked Remus.

Hagrid turned his head away and rubbed the back of his neck. "I…," said Hagrid, hesitantly, "I'm ashamed with myself."

"May I ask why," inquired Remus.

"I should've known about this sooner than now," said Hagrid, bringing his hand from his neck dropping his head. "I mean I practically live inside of the Forbidden Forest."

"Don't go blaming yourself, Hagrid," said Remus, forcefully. "Any of us could've been put into your situation and still not realized she was living in the forest. She probably just kept to herself and away from this area."

Hagrid sighed, saying "I guess so, but that still doesn't explain why she hasn't tried to find others of her own kind. She has to be quite lonely in there by herself."

Shrugging, Remus said "That is something only she can tell us and probably something that we'll never know."

Hagrid and Remus then came to a split in the hallway they were moving through. Hagrid went one way still looking a bit ashamed of him while Remus went the other.

Remus was feeling a bit tired. With all of the activity that had happened in the past few hours he hadn't slept at all yet. On his way to his living quarters Remus kept going on and on in his head about what to do next. Remus had already figured that he had to return to the spot where he first spotted the girl. Other than this he didn't have any leads on how to locate her. What he really needed to do was speak to someone who truly knew the forest far more than Hagrid had…

And then it came to him. Remus stopped in his tracks and his eyes widened in realization. There was no need to go on a search for someone who carried this information. He already knew someone who did it was so obvious. Remus turned back around rushing through the corridors. It didn't take long for Remus to get to where he wanted to be. Remus came up to a classroom door and knocked. He stood there patiently waiting for a response.

"Come in," said a voice, on the other side.

Pushing open the door Remus went inside. Anyone who hadn't known they were already inside the castle would've thought they'd stepped into the Forbidden Forest. There were trees everywhere around the room with a small clearing right in the middle. Grass seemed to be growing out of the stone floor. Something had been done with the ceiling of the room to make it look like the sky of the outside. This had all been done to give the room the impression of the Forbidden Forest so that the inhabitant of the room could be more comfortable.

Remus was looking around for him now. "Firenze," he called, looking around for the centaur, "Firenze!"

"I'm here," said Firenze, the centaur came out from behind some trees moving into the light, getting right to the point, "why have you come?"

Knowing he was going to have to make this quick Remus did the same. Firenze was a very kind soul, but Remus, like many of the other teachers, knew that he didn't like to be disturbed in his rooms. Clearing his throat, Remus said "A bit of a situation has come to light. It's something that I think you may be able to help me out on."

"What kind of situation," asked Firenze, head cocked a curious look in his eyes.

Staring directly into Firenze's eyes with a hard and cold look of his own, Remus said "Earlier this morning while I was in the Forbidden Forest I ran into something quite interesting."

"What was it you found," asked Firenze, not having any clue of what was coming next.

"What I found…was a human girl," said Remus, eyes locked on Firenze's face.

Whatever Firenze was expecting to hear from Remus was not even close to what had been said. His eyes widened in shock and he seemed at a complete loss for words. By this reaction Remus immediately knew Firenze had the information he came to seek.

Firenze recovered, but the mistake had already been made. He'd given himself away far too late to correct. "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about," he said, calmly, face completely blank of nearly all emotion.

"Oh, I think you do," said Remus. "Besides Hagrid you're the only one into this castle who knows the forest best. You've lived your entire life in that forest, Firenze. You must've seen her plenty of times."

Firenze's eyes now became as hard as stone. "No," said Firenze, voice void of any emotion, "no, I haven't." He began to move away from Remus and back into the shelter along with the shadows of the trees.

Remus needed to move fast before he lost his chance of opportunity. "I mean her no harm," he said, compellingly, "I just want to help her."

Firenze halted, but kept his back facing Remus. "And what if this person doesn't want any of the help you have to offer, Remus," said Firenze, forcefully. "What is she just wants to be left alone in peace?"

"I don't know what I'd do," admitted Remus, honest, "but I have to at least try."

For a little while there was silence, but neither one of them was willing to break it. Remus stood there staring at Frienze's back. He stood waiting there for Firenze to give him something he can use. Unfortunately the longer Remus stood there the more he began to think that Firenze wasn't going to give him the information that he required.

Remus sighed shrugging his shoulders. A moment later he looked to be giving in first turning and headed right for the door. Remus put his hand on the door and gave it a push.

"Numa," spoke Firenze.

Remus froze where was stood, his hand remaining on the door. "What did you say," he asked.

"Numa," said Firenze, softly, "her name is Numa."

Slowly Remus took his hand away from the door turning toward Firenze. Firenze did the same thing. "So you do know her," said Remus.

"Yes," said Firenze, nodding, "And I more than just know her. I'm the one who found her."

There was a bit of a pause.

"Excuse me," said Remus, "what did you just say?"

Firenze sighed, saying "You heard me. I said I was the one who found her."

"How did that come to happen," asked Remus.

Firenze knew that he was too far in to get out now. So the two of them settled down and Firenze got into the tale.

"It happened around 19 years ago," began Firenze. "It was late at night and I was moving through the forest with one of my fellow centaurs. During that time we heard the cries of a newborn baby. We followed them eventually locating the little one alone in the wilderness. She had nothing more than a small blanket wrapped around her to keep warm."

"Why didn't you take her here to Hogwarts," asked Firenze, not getting why Firenze didn't do so in the first place. "Dumbledore would've made sure she had a home and was well cared for."

"It is because I found the little one in the forest that I didn't bring her here," answered Firenze.

Remus could only look at the centaur confused still not being able to make out what Firenze was telling him.

Noticing the confusion on the face of Remus Firenze quickly explained. He said "Finding an infant alone and abandoned in the forest I came to the conclusion someone wanted the little one dead. I didn't wish to put her at risk where whoever tried to kill her would find out and attempt to do so again."

"I still think you should've brought her here," persisted Remus.

"I kept her away from humans because I thought it was the right thing to do and I still do," said Firenze.

"All right," sighed Remus, defeated, "but it's kind of hard to believe your herd would've brought her into an environment where others would want to stomp her to death?"

"Good point," said Remus, realizing the error in what he had said. "So if you didn't keep her in your herd where did you bring her?"

"Remus," said Firenze, "how familiar are you with legends involving the ancient gods of the forest?"

Scratching his chin, head tilted, Remus said "I know them well enough. I studied them a bit while I was in school."

"Then you must know about the wolf goddess Moro," said Firenze, brow raised.

"Of course," said Remus, "Moro, she's one of the most well-known out of all of the forest gods. She's the main protector or guardian of the forest. That is she's supposed to be."

"So you don't actually believe in them," said Firenze, arms crossed.

"I wouldn't precisely say that," said Remus. "The forest gods are amazing, but over the years there hasn't been much evidence to actually show that they…" Remus's eyes widened in realization and he looked back at Firenze with shock all over his face.

Firenze nodded in confirmation a slight smile coming upon his face.

It took a few moments for Remus to regain himself with this new bit of news. "You've got to be kidding me," he whispered. "You took her to Moro."

"It was the only option I had at the time," said Firenze. "She had just lost her own pups so I knew she would well be able to look after her. Over the years Moro has given her a home and kept her safe."

"I'm a bit surprise by that," said Remus, astonished. "To be honest I would've thought the other inhabitants would've tried to get rid of her."

"Oh they tried," said Firenze. "Bane, a member of my herd, tried to kill Numa as soon as he saw her. Fortunately, Moro had already gotten attached to her and wouldn't allow that to happen. Relations between Moro and my herd are peaceful, but she would've killed Bane in an instant if she made any move to harm Numa. The same thing goes for all of the other creatures in the forest. Many of them came to know that if they tried to cause Numa any harm, once they learned of her existence, then they would have Moro to contend with. Absolutely none of them wished for that."

"By the amount of information you carry, Firenze," said Remus, carefully, "you must've kept in touch with her."

"I did more than that," assured Firenze, "I helped practically raise her." A small smile appeared taking light on his lips while a chuckle escaped him. "A spirited little girl she was and a pleasure to be around. Once others in the forest got to know Numa they completely left her in peace. I provided her with things she required as she grew that Moro was unable to provide like some garments and a friend to keep her company."

"Can you tell me where I can find her," asked Remus.

Nodding, Firenze said "She lives in the heart of the Forbidden Forest with her mother and two brothers. Moro had two male pups the last time I saw her. They'll be very protective of her so you must be careful."

"Don't worry, Firenze," said Remus, "I think I can handle her."

"It would be wise to not underestimate her," warned Firenze. "she might not like it, but Numa is a lot stronger than she first appears. Also, if she tried to attack or get away from you then use her name or at least mention me. By catching her interest you'll be able to stop her. Keep your guard up she can be a handful especially when cornered."

Nodding in thanks, Remus said "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Firenze."

"Good luck," said Firenze.

"I'll keep it," said Firenze, "for something tells me I'm really going to need it." He then shut it behind him leaving Firenze all alone.

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