Cornelius Fudge tried not to show how disgusted and afraid the creature standing before him made him feel; ordinarily, Fudge would never have even considered being in the same room as the filth standing before him, yet necessity demanded otherwise.
Fudge's worst fears had been realized; despite all the slander he had thrown at his opponent, despite all the political power Fudge had used to try and prevent his loss, it had done no good: James Potter had become the new Minister of Magic.
Enraged beyond all reason at his loss, Fudge had drunk himself into insensibility for a week straight before his thoughts turned to revenge against the one who had stolen all his power; he couldn't get to James Potter, not now, not with all the security that the new Minister had guarding him since his victory was announced. But that same security did not extend to the Minister's family, and as soon as Fudge realized that, he began to plan his revenge. Knowing that he had only a few days left before he would be forced to give up his position and power to James Potter, Fudge used the little power he had left to send a secret message to Fenrir Grayback, the Alpha of the largest werewolf pack in Britain, with an offer that he knew the wolf would not be able to turn down.
Knowing of Grayback's perverse inclinations towards magical children, Fudge agreed to allow the animal free reign on Hogsmeade as long as he promised to bring Fudge the heads of Rose and Harry Potter; Fudge looked forward to James Potter's agony as he lost his two children, including the son that he had just recovered.
Looking up at Fenrir Grayback from where he sat, Fudge swallowed his nervousness by taking another drink of his brandy; he'd offered none to Fenrir, of course, this drink wasn't for animals, after all.
The werewolf was tall, well over six feet, and looked as though he had not had a bath in weeks; his long hair hung stringy around his clean-shaven face, while his cruel, wolf-yellow eyes glared out at Fudge and made the man gulp slightly. As Fudge stared at the animal standing before him, Fudge's nose twitched slightly as he looked at the dirty clothes that Grayback was wearing, with the most disgusting piece being what looked like a trench coat made of different kinds of animal pelts.
"So, we have a deal, then?" Fudge asked, grateful that his voice didn't shake,
"Yes," Grayback growled as he looked down at the cowardly politician, "The pack grows stronger with added members, and you get the heads of your enemies' children."
"When will you strike? Fudge asked, lazily swirling the glass of brandy in his hand as he stared at the werewolf in front of him contemptuously.
"The first Hogsmeade trip is in two weeks," Grayback replied softly, "I will have my pack ready by then, and then they shall feast on wizard blood! All you need to worry about is keeping the Aurors away for as long as possible."
"You need not worry about that," Fudge replied lazily as he swirled his brandy, "I'll hold them back for as long as I can; just don't take all day."
Grayback growled low at that, showing his slightly yellow teeth; Fudge swallowed nervously for a moment before finding his voice again.
"James Potter will come for you for the death of his children," Fudge said softly, taking another sip of his drink, "You know that, right?"
"Let him come," Grayback sneered, crossing his arms over his chest, "I will kill him, just as I will soon kill his brats!"
Fudge internally sneered at the werewolf's bravado; Grayback and his pack would be slaughtered en masse by the Aurors, with James Potter leading the charge once word reached him of what had become of his children, which would, in turn, ensure that Fudge's part in the attack would remain hidden.
XXXX
Harry woke up already bubbling with excitement as he jumped out of bed and got ready for the day; it had been two months since Harry returned to Hogwarts alongside his elder sister, Rose, and Harry had never been happier. Rose had all but demanded that Oliver Wood, the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, allow her little brother onto the team and replace their incompetent seeker, a boy named Thomas Atkinson. Naturally, Oliver had been suspicious about how good Harry was, based on what Rose had told him; those suspicions were quickly tossed aside after one practice where Harry showed Oliver and the rest of Gryffindor's house just what he was capable of. Oliver had immediately dismissed Atkinson, who left with a dark grumble and threats of revenge and made Harry the new Gryffindor seeker.
After weeks of intense training, Harry's first game came, and he was surprised to see not only his mother, father, and sister in the stands cheering for him but also Sirius, Remus, and the Longbottoms, all cheering their hearts out for Harry.
The game had been against Ravenclaw and had been neck and neck right from the start as Harry desperately looked for the snitch; on three separate occasions, Harry had located the small golden ball and flew toward it, only for the Ravenclaw beaters to send bludgers hurtling towards Harry and making the poor boy have to pull out of the way and lose his target.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, Harry had located his target again; the score was tied up at 180-180, and the sky was beginning to turn an ugly grey. Not wanting to play in the rain, Harry pushed himself as fast as he could go, with the Ravenclaw hot on his tail; a sudden crack of thunder echoed throughout the stadium just as Harry closed his fingers around the small gold ball. Gryffindor had won!
Now, Harry was going to Hogsmeade with his family to celebrate his first game and first win, as well as James Potter's victory over Cornelius Fudge over the election for the new Minister of Magic. Lily and James had gotten permission from Dumbledore due to Harry needing to be older to go by himself.
After finally choosing a simple outfit (a red shirt with gold highlights and a simple pair of khakis), Harry bounded down the stairs of the boy's room to the common room where Rose was waiting with a smile, wearing a white long-sleeved blouse and blue jeans. "Took you long enough!" Rose cried in mock annoyance, crossing her arms over her chest, "I've been waiting forever for you!"
"Sorry!" Harry said happily, "I couldn't find the right outfit to wear; I want to look my best, after all!"
"You're such a girl," Rose groaned as she rolled her eyes,
"I am not!" Harry retorted angrily, "You take that back!"
"Nah," Rose laughed before running out of the portrait hole with Harry hot on her heels,
"Take it back! Take it back!"
Laughing uncontrollably, Rose raced down the stairs and toward the entrance hall as Harry chased after her, determined to make her apologize for calling him a girl. Harry just wanted to look nice for his first time out with his family. Was that so wrong?
When they got to the bottom of the stairs, both siblings were breathing hard and sweating a bit, yet neither was willing to give up.
Approaching the entrance hall, the siblings saw their parents waiting for them, both looking at the siblings with a raised brow at their exhausted appearance.
"And just what were the two of you doing that warranted such appearances?" James asked with a smirk,
"Rose called me a girl!" Harry gasped, pointing at his exhausted but grinning sister, "Just because I took a little longer than her in picking out what to wear today!"
"Rose?" Lily asked in a warning tone, raising one brow at her oldest child. Rose couldn't help but shudder slightly at that tone; it was the cause of many of her various punishments as a child.
"He was taking forever!" Rose defended, "I was about to go up there and see if he was even awake!"
"That's still no excuse to insult your brother," Lily replied in the same tone as before, "Now, apologize."
Groaning in mock-misery, Rose turned to Harry, who was still glaring at her,
"I'm sorry, Harry," Rose said with a wink before she reached out and ruffled Harry's hair, making her little brother giggle softly before he pushed her hand away.
"Good!" James said happily, "Now that that's out of the way let's have some fun! Whaddaya say?"
"Yes!" Rose and Harry called out happily as one before laughing together, soon joined in by Lily and James.
As they walked out of the castle and down the track to the front gates of Hogwarts, Harry felt his excitement building; he had never gotten the chance to go to Hogsmeade in his old world, being too young. And now, he was going for the first time with his parents! It was almost too good to be true, and Harry couldn't help but look up at his parents in adoration; everyone had told Harry that he was stuck in this world, but a small part of him was constantly afraid that he might somehow be sent back at any minute.
As the group exited the front gates of Hogwarts and made their way down the dirt road to Hogsmeade, Harry couldn't help but smile at how beautiful the lands surrounding Hogwarts was; it truly was a magnificent sight as the land and sky seemed to come together just beyond the horizon, while the beautiful green fields stretched interminably into the distance. As they reached the crest of a nearby hill, Harry saw Hogsmeade in the distance while the Black Lake glimmered not far away; for a moment, Harry thought he saw a tentacle rise out of the water before disappearing a second later.
As the group finally passed through the gates of Hogsmeade, Harry felt his smile grow until it felt like his face would split in two; the village looked precisely as Harry had always imagined a magical village would look, and Harry couldn't help but whip his head back and forth in order to not miss anything.
"So, where should we go first?" James said with a laugh as he watched his son look around in wonder,
"Well, seeing as it's Harry's first time, I say we just meander and see where we end up," Lily said with a smile of her own at her son's exuberance.
"Well, come on, then!" James said happily as he led his family towards the nearest shop.
XXXX
A few hours later, Harry was sure that he was having the best day of his life; Harry and his family had been to nearly every shop in the village, and each had something that one or more of the Potter's purchased. James had bought Harry a brand new 'pranksters play pack,' which consisted of over a dozen different prank items, from Zonko's Joke Shop, which Harry had beamed at, only for Lily to warn Harry about using it at inappropriate times in such a cold tone that both Potter males gulped slightly.
Lily had purchased a few new books from Tomes and Scrolls, the wizard bookstore that while not as impressive as Flourish and Blotts, was still filled to the brim with books of such amazing difference that even Harry found himself asking for a few, which his mother happily obliged.
Rose asked for a pair of new Quidditch gloves, as her old ones were nearly worn through due to how rough she liked to play; something that her parents joked about at her expense.
But by far, Harry's favorite store had been Honeydukes Sweetshop; when the Potter's had first entered, Harry had been unable to keep his jaw from dropping at the sight of more candy and sweets than he had ever seen in his entire life.
Unable to contain himself, Harry had tried to buy some of everything, only for his laughing parents to make him put back half of what he had so as to avoid 'going into a sugar coma,' as his dad called it; Rose had promptly taken everything Harry had been forced to put back and winked at her little brother as their parents shook their heads in mock-annoyance.
"Alright, who's up for a spot of lunch?" James asked with a grin as Lily put their latest purchases inside the expandable bag on her wrist; were it not for said bag, everyone would have been bogged down from the amount of things purchased that day.
"Sounds brilliant!" Harry called out, "I'm starved!"
"To the Three Broomsticks, then!" James said at once before marching down the street as though in a military parade. After a moment's hesitation, Harry joined his father, falling into line behind the taller man while Lily and Rose watched with barely contained amusement.
"Harry is DEFINITELY dad's kid," Rose snorted, "They're both mad!"
"Unfortunately, I cannot disagree," Lily replied with a smirk, "Come on, let's catch up to them before they make more of a bigger fool of themselves."
"You would think being made the new Minister of Magic would force Dad to grow up," Rose quipped, making Lily snort,
"There is nothing on earth capable of that. I can promise you that!"
Sharing a laugh, the two Potter women followed after Harry and James, who had begun a loud cadence to their march and were attracting a few amused glances from passersby.
XXXX
Fenrir Grayback couldn't help but smirk as he gazed down at Hogsmeade village from the shadow of the trees which surrounded him; behind him, dozens of men and women waited for his order to attack; they were his pack, each just as ruthless as their Alpha, yet none had the strength or fearlessness to challenge Fenrir for control of the pack. A few had tried in the past, but Fenrir liked to make 'examples' of such challengers, and they never died quick.
"Such arrogance magic folk have," Fenrir said softly as his second-in-command, a thin, dirty man named Zeke, approached warily, "So firm in their belief of safety that they don't even have a proper wall to keep their enemies out."
"As far as they're concerned, they have no enemies," Zeke replied with a sneer, which was copied by Fenrir a moment later.
"Well then, let's change that, shall we?" Fenrir spat, "Does everyone have their wolf-root?"
"Yes, Alpha," Zeke replied at once as Fenrir turned to him; it took Fenrir a great amount of self-control not to sneer in contempt at his second-in-command. The man was a weakling and a sniveling coward as far as Fenrir was concerned; the only reason Fenrir hadn't just killed the man was due to how intelligent Zeke was, and it was due to said intelligence that Fenrir had been able to head off several rebellions within his pack. As Zeke pulled the twisted and ugly black tree root from his pocket and showed it to Fenrir, the Alpha felt himself smile in anticipation; wolf-root was a relatively newly discovered plant with amazing properties. Grown only under trees planted during the fool moon and watered the first full moon after in the blood of a freshly killed wolf, the root would allow any werewolf who ate it to transform into their wolf form, regardless of whether it was day or night, no full moon was needed. But the best part of wolf-root was that it allowed the werewolf to retain their mind during their transformation, making the werewolf twice as dangerous. Because of how dangerous wolf-root was considered, the Ministry of Magic had outlawed its existence anywhere in Britain; being caught growing wolf-root resulted in an incredibly hefty fine and possibly even time in Azkaban, depending on how much wolf-root was found.
"Order them to take the wolf-root immediately," Fenrir snapped, "Once we begin the attack, I want as many children bitten as possible! We need to grow the ranks of our pack, especially after that last purge we were forced to do."
"Yes, Alpha," Zeke said at once, "And what about everyone who isn't a student? The adults?"
"Kill them all!" Fenrir growled, causing a cruel smile to spread across Zeke's face, "It's been too long since the pack last got to feast without holding back."
"Indeed, Alpha," Zeke said with a low growl before turning and making his way back to the waiting men and women. Turning back to the village, Fenrir smiled as he thought about what was about to happen; in a few moments, the entire village would be in flames, and the pack's size would grow by dozens of 'new packmates.'
Turning back to his waiting pack, Fenrir smiled as he pulled his own wolf-root from his pocket and quickly shoved it into his mouth; grimacing at the bitter flavor, Fenrir swallowed quickly and growled as he felt the change begin,
"Attack!"
As the pain of the transformation began to tear through the pack, the forest surrounding Hogsmeade village began to echo with screams and howls.
XXXX
James Potter was happier than he could remember being in a very long time; he was the New Minister of Magic, and the changes he intended to begin would no doubt be the greatest prank he had ever done as he slowly started taking away the power that the purebloods had enjoyed for far too long.
Adding to his happiness of winning the election, James had his son back again, something that James had never imagined happening, even in his most desperate dreams; his pride and happiness had soared exponentially when he saw how amazing Harry was on a broomstick, performing some stunts that had even James in awe while leaving Lily pale and scared.
He was finishing off his lunch of fish and chips and smiling at a joke Rose had just told when he heard a wolf's howl; a moment later, the echo of dozens of howls made the interior of the Three Broomsticks go silent instantly.
Before anyone could say anything, an older balding man burst through the front door with a terrified look on his face. Slamming the door shut behind him, the man turned to the waiting crowd and said one word in a horrified voice,
"Werewolves."
The effect of the word was almost instantaneous chaos; the interior of the Three Broomsticks echoed with noise as people shouted or screamed in terror; other patrons began trying to apparate away, only to discover that they couldn't.
"They've put up Anti-Apparation wards!" Someone shouted in horror,
"How is that possible?!" A witch shrieked, "They're just animals!"
"Animals or no, they're still wizards and witches!" Professor Flitwick retorted as he drew his wand, "They can still use magic as well!"
"What about the Floo?" Another witch asked, causing Madam Rosmerta to groan in annoyance,
"I don't have any more powder! I was supposed to buy some after I closed tonight!"
Screams began to echo outside the Three Broomsticks, and Lily grabbed both of her children and pulled them close to her as she backed away from the front door.
"James, what do we do?!"
Not wasting a moment, James shoved his hand into his robes and pulled out a small silver mirror. Holding it up to his face, James called out,
"Sirius Black!"
A few seconds later, Sirius' face appeared in the mirror, smiling at James jovially,
"Hey Prongs! What's up?"
"Werewolves are attacking Hogsmeade village! And they've set up Anti-Apparation wards!" James cried out, trying to fight his rising panic,
"What?" Sirius asked, his face paling in horror at what James had said, "How many?"
"I don't know!" James replied at once, "Sounds like a lot, by the number of howls! I need you to bring as many Aurors as you can!"
"We'll be there as quick as we can!" Sirius cried before shouting something to someone behind him, "Just stay safe until we get there!"
An instant later, the mirror turned back into a regular mirror, and James stowed it away in his robes before drawing his wand and taking a step forward, only for Lily to grab his arm.
"What are you doing?!" Lily demanded, "Sirius said to wait here for him and the Aurors!"
"I can't do that, Lily," James growled, "There are children out there! They need help!"
"No!" Harry cried, breaking free from his mother's arms and wrapping his arms around James' waist, "Don't go!"
"Harry, I have to," James said softly, pulling his son's arms away and getting down on one knee so he could look into his son's eyes, which were beginning to tear up, "There are people out there who need me! If I don't go, they could die or worse!"
"But you promised!" Harry cried, "You promised that you wouldn't go away again! You could die out there!"
"I know, kiddo," James said sadly, "But I can't just sit here and do nothing. It's not in me to hide away when others need help. Do you understand?"
For a moment, Harry said nothing as tears ran down his cheeks; finally, Harry wiped his eyes and nodded, making James smile for a moment before ruffling his son's hair as he rose back to his full height.
"Listen up!" James shouted, making the noise in the pub end instantly, "I am Auror James Potter, next Minister of Magic!"
Whispering began almost immediately at James' words, and James had to raise his hand for silence as he began speaking again, realizing that he needed to choose his words carefully if his plan was to work,
"I need volunteers! As many as wish to do so, to go out there and help me fight the werewolves back!"
"Are you mad?" A wizard wearing a lopsided top hat yelled, "We'll be killed! Or worse, bitten!"
"And if we stay here and hide, how many innocent children will die!" James snapped back, making the wizard blush with embarrassment.
"I am going out there!" James roared, "Because people out there need my help! And I need yours!"
"I am with you, James!" Professor Flitwick cried at once, raising his wand into the air; a moment later, a dozen other witches and wizards raised theirs as well. James internally winced at how few had volunteered and was tempted to order the rest to come with him as Minister of Magic; that thought was quickly dismissed as forcing people to fight might cause more problems than he needed.
Turning back to his wife, Lily grabbed the front of James' robes and pulled him to her, bringing her lips crashing onto his like a woman possessed. After a few seconds of passionate kissing, Lily finally pulled away and whispered in a soft voice,
"You come back to me, James Potter!"
"Nothing will stop me from that, Lily," James said seriously, "I give you my word on that!"
Swallowing his nervousness, James turned back to the ones who had volunteered to follow him outside,
"As Minister of Magic, I am giving you all permission to use whatever spell, curse, or hex you know to put these animals down! Now let's go!"
Running to the door, James grabbed the handle and, ripped the door open, and charged outside as the screams echoed all around him.
XXXX
Fenrir smiled with genuine pleasure as she slashed at the back of a fleeing wizard, sending the man tumbling to the ground screaming. As the wizard tried to crawl away, Fenrir watched with amusement as the ground beneath the wizard began to become saturated in blood.
Grabbing the wizard's head in his hands, Fenrir felt the man's terror and smiled as he prolonged it for as long as he could before finishing the wizard off; with a sudden jerk, Fenrir broke the man's neck with a loud 'crack.'
Dropping the man's head carelessly, Fenrir started with amusement as he saw the wizard fall into the mud,
"They treat my kind like scum," Fenrir thought with a sneer, "And yet they are nothing but prey when confronted by my pack! Let them choke on the mud like they've forced my kind to do for so long!"
Looking over, Fenrir smiled as he saw one of his pack pressing a Hogwarts student into the mud and was about to deliver the bite that would make the witch one of them. As the girl screamed in terror, the werewolf holding her down grew closer to biting her, drawing out her terror as she screamed and cried. Just as the werewolf was about to bite the female student, a bright red light slammed into the werewolf, throwing it off of the girl, who immediately jumped to her feet and ran as fast as she could toward her savior. Fenrir whipped his head around to see who had dared to attack a member of his pack, and his fur raised in fury as he saw it was James Potter, the wizard who had nearly killed Fenrir five years prior.
"Protect the students!" James roared as he and his followers began firing spells and curses at any werewolf unfortunate enough to come within eyesight.
Taking a deep breath, Fenrir issued a powerful roar that caused everyone nearby to cover their ears in pain; when he was finished his roar, Fenrir charged forward, his pack following behind him, all with one single thought echoing across their minds: kill the wizards. Every last one.
XXXX
Lily chewed her lip nervously as she hugged her children close to her; outside, screams and howls echoed interminably. Suddenly, a monstrous roar echoed from outside, and Lily felt herself tighten her grip on her children as fear welled up in her.
"Where is Sirius?" Lily thought in fear as the building shook for a moment, "He should have been here by now!"
"Mum, Dad's going to be okay, right?" Harry asked softly. Looking down at her son, Lily had to fight not to cry as another wave of fear rolled through her.
"Your father will be just fine," Lily lied, smiling for effect, "A bunch of rabid dogs will never be able to beat him!"
"Yeah!" Rose added with a sneer, "A bunch of stupid werewolves can't beat Dad!"
Harry looked unconvinced but said nothing, instead choosing to chew on his lip as he looked down as his knees.
XXXX
"Confringo!" Professor Flitwick shouted, sending a werewolf slamming into the side of another werewolf; before either wolf could rise to their feet, Flitwick waved his wand and conjured a length of rope, which quickly wrapped around the two wolves, tying them together, back-to-back.
Hurrying as fast as he could, given his stature, Flitwick ran toward the sound of screaming, only to stop in horror as he saw a young student laying on his back in the mud, with a werewolf biting down on his throat.
"Professor…." The boy gasped, reaching out weakly, "Please help me…."
"Release him, you foul beast!" Flitwick snarled, sending a powerful blast at the werewolf; the wolf had only a moment to look up in shock before its head exploded in a shower of gore which sprayed across the ground.
Dashing forward, Flitwick roughly shoved the werewolf's headless body off of the student before gently raising the boy up into his arms; as he gazed down at the boy, Flitwick felt a terrible sadness well up in him. The wound was far too severe for anything to be done about the boy; even if Flitwick could somehow get the child to a healer, too much blood was coming from the boy's wound.
"Professor….?" The young Hufflepuff gurgled as blood ran freely from the wound on his neck, "Am I going to die….?"
"No, child," Flitwick lied, tears welling up in his eyes, "You're going to be just fine."
"That's good…" the boy said softly, his eyes slowly closing as the blood loss did their work, "I was worried…"
As the boy's eyes slid closed and he breathed his last, Flitwick couldn't stop the sob that escaped from him; slowly lowering the child to the ground, Flitwick felt tears run down his cheeks as he gazed at the small body of the student. He was far too young for this to happen to him, far too young for his life to be over like this.
Sudden movement made Flitwick turn his head just in time to see a werewolf jump onto the roof of a nearby building; as it looked down at Flitwick and growled in hunger, Flitwick felt rage well up in him, and he gripped his wand so tight in his fist, that he thought it might break.
Rising to his feet, Flitwick snapped his arm out and roared as loud as he could,
"Ferventi Sanguine!"
A red bolt shot out of Flitwick's wand and slammed into the growling wolf before it had a chance to dodge out of the way, knocking the wolf off of the roof and to the ground below; a moment later, the wolf began to shriek in agony as steam began to come off of its body in waves as the blood boiling curse did its work.
Knowing the wolf would be dead in a matter of mere moments, Flitwick turned and walked away, looking for more werewolves to put down before they could hurt any more of his students.
XXXX
Fenrir was beginning to grow annoyed with James Potter; no matter how many werewolves Fenrir threw at James, the wizard seemed unconcerned, bringing them down effortlessly. The ground surrounding Fenrir's hated enemy was littered with the bodies of a dozen of his former packmates. As James dipped and dodged away from the wolves trying to kill him, the wizard fired spells and curses, causing more of Fenrir's pack to die in the mud.
"Keep him busy!" Fenrir snarled at Zeke as another wave charged forward at James Potter, "I'm going after his family!"
"Yes, Alpha!" Zeke snarled back; without another word, Fenrir turned and sprinted down a nearby alley as Zeke urged more wolves to attack.
Carefully avoiding detection, Fenrir made his way to the Three Broomsticks, where he knew that most of the survivors had run to; it stood to reason that James Potter's family would be there as well. As Fenrir drew closer, he couldn't help but grin in sick pleasure as he thought of how James Potter's children would taste or how the wizard would scream in agony when he discovered his family ripped to pieces.
Spotting his target, Fenrir surged forward and slammed into the door of the Three Broomsticks, knocking the door off the hinges and landing on top of it with a snarl.
As his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the pub, Fenrir heard screams of terror echo from around him, causing him to smile in delight; nothing made him happier than to enjoy the sheer terror that his mere presence caused.
"Back, you monster!" A wizard shouted in terror, running up to hit Fenrir with a chair; Fenrir sneered at the wizard before delivering a slash to the wizard's face, which caused the man to drop the chair and grab his face as he shrieked in agony and blood poured from between his fingers. Wasting no more time on the screaming wizard, Fenrir looked around the pub for a moment before he found his targets; Lily Potter was pushing her two children behind her as she held out her wand with her other hand, a look of determination yet terror etched on her face.
Slowly stalking forward, Fenrir issued a low growl, his lips pulled back to show his sharp yellow teeth; with a sudden burst of speed, Fenrir lunged forward, determined to rip Lily Potter to shreds. Only to slam into a table that Lily had summoned and put between herself and Fenrir like a wooden wall. As the werewolf slammed into the table, he growled angrily and tried to climb over it. He had almost pulled himself over the wooden table when Lily banished the table across the room, with Fenrir hanging off of it; the table collided with the far wall a moment later, causing a groan of pain to come from Fenrir, who had been in the middle and received the full force of the impact.
"Some filthy human will not best me!" Fenrir thought savagely as he shoved the table away from him and rushed forward.
"Bombarda!" Lily shouted, causing the ground in front of the charging werewolf to explode in a shower of wood. Fenrir leaped out of the way at the last minute and grabbed a hold of a nearby wooden beam, hauling himself up into the rafters and out of sight.
Shoving her children into the corner and putting herself in front of them like a shield, Lily began to look up into the rafters for Fenrir, the only sign of her fear was a slight shaking of her wand.
"Come out, monster!" Lily shouted, "Or are you two scared?! I thought you were a werewolf, not a pussycat!"
Fenrir roared in outrage as he descended toward Lily, his claws extended to rip her to pieces,
"Diffindo!" Lily shouted at once; Fenrir, unable to stop his descent, suddenly found himself being sliced over half a dozen times as Lily's cutting curse hit him dead center. Quickly jumping out of the way, Lily watched as Fenrir flew past her and slammed into the nearby table, sliding over it and falling to the floor in a bloody heap.
Before Lily could take a breath of relief, Fenrir's bloody claw appeared from under the table and slammed down onto it; as the wolf pulled back his claw, deep cuts scratched down the table as Fenrir pulled himself to his feet.
The wolf's eyes were filled with hate and the promise of death and pain, making Lily's wand shake slightly as she moved closer toward her children.
"You will not have them!" Lily snarled, "By God, you will not!"
The werewolf seemed to chuckle at that, and threw the table across the room, leaving nothing between himself and Lily; as the wolf lowered itself down to pounce at her, Lily suddenly heard,
"Get down, Lily!"
Throwing herself on top of her children, Lily heard half a dozen voices shout out as one,
"Stupefy!"
A moment later there was a shriek of pain, followed by the loud thump of a body hitting the floor. Slowly lifting her head, Lily gasped in relief as she saw Sirius, followed by six Aurors, all looking angry at what had happened. Lying unconscious against the far wall was the werewolf who had been attacking Lily and her children; a small pool of blood was spreading under it, and Lily couldn't help but feel satisfied at seeing it.
"Sirius! Oh, thank God!" Lily shouted as she ran forward and hugged her friend for all she was worth; a moment later, Sirius was hugging her back.
"Thank God you're safe, Lily!" Sirius said as they pulled away from each other, "We came as fast as we could! Where's James?"
"Dad ran out there to fight the werewolves!" Rose shouted in fear, "You gotta go help him!"
"You heard the girl!" Sirius yelled at the Aurors behind him, "Let's go kill these animals!"
"James used his authority as Minister of Magic to authorize extreme force against the werewolves," Lily said as the Aurors moved toward the door; hearing that, Sirius and a heavily scared Auror both grinned in delight.
"Brilliant!" Sirius replied as he walked out of the door and into a nightmare. Raising his wand, the heavily scared Auror instantly unleashed the killing curse on two werewolves, dropping them instantly, as Sirius repeated his words, "Absolutely brilliant!"
XXXX
James Potter snarled with rage as a werewolf slashed at him, creating three cuts across his cheek, which began to bleed almost immediately,
"Bombarda!" James roared, pointing his wand at the werewolf's stomach and hitting it at point-blank range. The werewolf issued a cry of agony before a hole blasted into existence where its stomach used to be.
As the werewolf's body hit the ground in a bloody heap, James raised his wand at the other watching wolves,
"Come on, then!" James screamed as his robe glistened from not only his own many cuts but also from the blood of those who attacked him already and failed, "Who's next?!"
Before any of the werewolves could even move, six various lights flew past James and slammed into six different wolves; two exploded into red mist, one fell to the ground unconscious, while the other two dropped dead instantly.
Spinning around and nearly falling in the process, James raised his wand and prepared to attack when he saw Sirius, Mad-Eye Moody, and four other Aurors were storming toward him as fast as they could, shooting spells and curses at any wolf they saw.
"Padfoot!" James cried happily, embracing his best friend the moment Sirius came close, "Thank God you're here! I didn't know how much longer I could have held them back on my own! Everyone else ran out on me!"
"Not everyone, Mr. Potter!" Flitwick cried as he ran out from a nearby alley, his once bright blue robe now splattered with blood that made James wonder just what the diminutive professor had been up to, "I'm glad to see you still with us, Professor!" James said warmly, "I thought we'd lost you."
"It will be a cold day in hell before some filthy animal brings me down!" Flitwick sneered, causing Sirius and James to chuckle at their former professor's exuberance for battle.
"Is this all you brought?" James asked as he looked at the five other Aurors,
"Fudge wouldn't let me bring more!" Sirius growled, "He said this could possibly be a distraction so that Dark Wizards could attack the Ministry!"
"He said that…? James asked in shock at such a stupid idea,
"Yes!" Sirius snapped, "He almost didn't let me bring these! Moody had to warn him to step back, or he'd hex the bastard! Funniest damn thing I've ever seen!"
"Fudge and I are going to have a very long conversation when this is over…." James growled as Moody quickly decapitated an attacking werewolf and approached James.
"Orders, sir?"
"These animals have already killed too many innocents as is," James snarled as his gaze caught sight of the body of a nearby student, "No more! No prisoners! I am authorizing you to wipe them out!"
"I think I'm going to like working for you, Potter!" Mad-Eye said with a grin before turning back to the other Aurors, "You heard the Minister! Get to it! There are mad dogs that need putting down!"
As the Aurors stormed off to do their job, James all but collapsed into Sirius' arms as a wave of exhaustion hit him,
"Prongs? Are you okay? Are you injured?" Sirius called out in slight panic, and causing James to chuckle,
"Just tired, Padfoot," James whispered, "I'd be dead if it weren't for you."
"Just rest, mate," Sirius said softly, "We'll take it from here."
XXXX
Author's Note:
I'm sorry for how long it's been since I updated this story. All I can say is that I LITERALLY couldn't think of what to write for the next chapter. The next chapter won't take as long, hopefully, so you guys can enjoy what comes next.
