Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/ works/6486754. Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Underage, Rape/Non-Con Category: F/M, M/M Fandom: Harry_Potter_-_J._K._Rowling Relationship: Remus_Lupin/Harry_Potter, Fred_Weasley/George_Weasley, Seamus_Finnigan/ Dean_Thomas, Ginny_Weasley/Blaise_Zabini Character: Remus_Lupin, Harry_Potter, Ron_Weasley, Hermione_Granger, Ginny_Weasley, Fred_Weasley, George_Weasley, Sirius_Black, Molly_Weasley, Severus_Snape, Albus_Dumbledore, Seamus_Finnigan, Dean_Thomas, Neville_Longbottom, Draco Malfoy, Theodore_Nott, Pansy_Parkinson, Blaise_Zabini, Lucius_Malfoy, Voldemort, Rabastan_Lestrange, Rodolphus_Lestrange, Original_Male Character(s) Additional Tags: Explicit_Sexual_Content, Gay_Sex, Anal_Sex, Rough_Sex, Emotional_Baggage, Self_Confidence_Issues, Denial_of_Feelings, Werewolves, Twincest, Scent Marking, Scenting, Scent_Kink, Rimming, Anal_Fingering, Barebacking, Marking, Biting, Animal_Instincts, Kissing, Dirty_Talk, Dom/sub Undertones, Insecure_Remus, Secret_Relationship, Oral_Sex, Boys_In_Love, Mpreg, Implied_Pregnancy_Kink, Plans_For_The_Future, Insecure_George, Werewolf_Mates, Werewolf_Courting, courting_gifts, Cock_Warming, Coming Out, Werewolf_Culture, Love_Letters, Distrust, Scheming, Good_Draco Malfoy, Good_Slytherins, Implied/Referenced_Homophobia, Insecurity, Supportive_Seamus, Jealousy, Jealous_Ron, Undercover_Missions, Nightmares, Jewelry, Fluff, Rape/Non-con_Elements, Child_Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Torture, Racist_Language, Ideology, Psychological_Trauma Series: Part 2 of The_wolf_and_his_Harry Stats: Published: 2016-04-07 Updated: 2016-08-17 Chapters: 10/? Words: 23972 ****** The wolf and his mate ****** by germanfanfictioner Summary After their sexual encounter, Harry starts to develop feelings for Remus. But soon emotional baggage, werewolf customs and a war stand in their way. Will they have their happy end? Sequel to The wolf and his pup. Notes Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does. Sorry for any mistakes. ***** Chapter 1 ***** When Remus woke up, it was still dark outside. He felt wonderful: He was spooning Harry's warm, tiny body with his soft dick still inside of Harry, while he could watch the boy sleeping peacefully. For a few minutes, Remus felt happy. But then reality crashed into him: 'I just slept with a 15 year old boy. A fifteen year old boy I swore to protect! I promised James I'd keep him safe not debauch him. ' Remus looked at Harry's sleeping face. 'He is so beautiful. So precious…I love him so much.' The werewolf froze shocked. After a few moments, he carefully pulled out of Harry. The boy rolled over onto his stomach then, his face squished cutely against a pillow. Remus had to stop a moment again to watch. 'Harry is so adorable. No! Stop it! ' He shook his head violently. Remus got dressed quickly but quietly and snuck out of the room. When he was in his room, the werewolf collapsed against the door. 'How could I do that? I tainted him. He is too young, too pure and too beautiful for me. I would never deserve him…' =============================================================================== A few hours, Harry woke up in the same position he was in when Remus left. The teenager stretched grinning, feeling happy, before he took a deep breath, inhaling Remus' rich scent, which was still lingering on the sheets. »Morning. « he whispered. When no one responded, Harry opened his eyes and saw that he was alone. The black-haired teenager frowned. Carefully, he sat up and found that he was barely even sore from his late night activities with Remus. After a hot shower, Harry got dressed and went downstairs into the kitchen. The others were already up as well. Mrs. Weasley beamed at him and quickly fixed him breakfast: Eggs, bacon, toast and a glass of pumpkin juice. Harry thanked her as he sat down between Ginny and Ron. »How are you, Harry dear? « Harry grinned at Mrs. Weasley. »I'm wonderful. How is Arthur? « »He is getting better, but still a bit weak. « The teenage boy nodded and dug into his breakfast. After he finished his meal, he asked: »Where is Remus? « Sirius looked up from his coffee mug. »He left earlier this morning. Rather hasty I might add. « Harry frowned. »Did he say why he left? Or where he was heading? « Sirius frowned too. »No. But Moony seemed very upset to me. « »Oh…« The teenager looked down at his empty plate, choosing to remain silent. His godfather looked worriedly at him. »Would you like more, my dear? « Harry looked up and smiled weakly at Mrs. Weasley. »No, I'm quite full. Thank you for the delicious breakfast though. « Mrs. Weasley smiled warmly at him and gave him a short hug. »Would you mind helping the others cleaning out the old master bedroom? It is the only room we have not cleaned yet. I would do it myself, but with Arthur…« Harry smiled and patted her shoulder. »Of course, I'll help. « =============================================================================== After everyone finished breakfast (as usual Ron ate the most and took the longest), Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny headed upstairs with Sirius to clean the master bedroom out. Fred and George were trailing after them, whispering to each other. »Have you seen Harry's face? « »Yeah, he looks so sad. I don’t like seeing him sad. « »Me neither. We should cheer him up. « Ever since their one-night-stand, Harry and the twins were really close friends. They did not have sex anymore, because Fred and George became exclusive afterwards, but they still spent a lot of time together. The two teenagers grinned mischievously at each other, before they hurried into their room gathering some of their prank products. »Nothing is more uplifting than a few well-placed pranks. « Fred said and George nodded approvingly. =============================================================================== As it turned out, the twins chose Sirius as target for their pranks. After their first prank (they exchanged Sirius' wand for a fake one, which exploded and dyed the older man's hair green), Molly, who was checking up on them, was furious and was about to scream at her sons, when she was interrupted by Harry's laugh. The green eyed boy sounded carefree and happy and his laugh warmed everyone's heart. Suddenly, Molly had problems with maintaining a disapproving look and she had to fight back a smile. Over the next few hours, the twins played a couple more pranks on Sirius, who was laughing as hard as the rest of them, and every time they could make Harry laugh. So, by the time they were done cleaning and went down to grab some lunch, Harry forgot about Remus' disappearance and was in a good mood. After lunch, Hermione demanded that they all got their books and studied for school: »It's not that long until the O.W.Ls. We should start studying early. « No one was in the mood to start a discussion with Hermione and they all knew the study session would be a great opportunity to reduce the huge amount of homework they had for the holidays. So they agreed with Hermione and for the rest of the day, they were lounging in the kitchen, working on their schoolwork. =============================================================================== When Harry went to his room, it was already very late, since he and his friends stayed up long, drinking hot cocoa and playing some games. Harry sighed. His room was empty and cold and suddenly he was reminded of Remus. Of course, he had nothing against casual sex as he already proved in the past, but Harry thought that he and Remus had a closer connection than just casual sex. The black-haired boy didn’t understand why his lover ran away and it hurt to think about it. It made Harry feel dirty and unworthy. Sighing, he changed into his night clothes and slipped under the covers. Harry closed his eyes thinking: 'Maybe I did something wrong. ' =============================================================================== In another room a few doors away, Fred and George were lying in one bed together, cuddling and talking softly. Eventually, they came to talk about Harry. »What do you think made him so sad? « »I don’t know…It almost looked as if he was heartbroken. « »If someone broke his heart, I'll hunt that bastard down and rip off his balls. « Fred growled. George calmed him down with a soft kiss. »We don’t know for sure, Freddie. If he's ready to talk about it, he'll come to us. « Fred smiled lovingly at his brother. »You're right of course. « »Do you think Ron knows anything? « Fred snorted. »Ronniekinns is as blind as a mole and as empathetic as a teaspoon. He doesn’t know what's wrong with Harry. And even if he would know…Do you think he'd comfort him? « »I think, he could make Harry forget his pain for a while by distracting him. But giving comfort…That's not exactly Ronald's strong side. « »Exactly. Harry is as much our brother as Ron. We'll need to be there for him. « After a few moments, Fred added hesitantly: »Do you think it would help if we would invite him in our bed again? Like I know we're in a loving, monogamous relationship and we agreed on not being able to share each other anymore. But it's…He's…He's just so…« »So Harry? « Fred nodded. »I know what you mean. You can't help but loving him and wanting to take care of him and protect him. He's the only one I wouldn’t mind sharing you with. But…If it is really heartbreak or a complicated relationship or something like that, having sex with him would only make things worse and more complicated for him. « George said. His twin nodded. »Of course, you're right Georgie. « Fred then straddled his brother's hips, grinning predatorily down at him. »Enough talking for today. There are so many things we could do with our mouths that are much more fun. « he purred, before he kissed George hungrily. =============================================================================== After he laid down, Harry was staring at the ceiling for about an hour without being able to fall asleep. He was startled when the door opened. Harry sat up and blinked as his eyes had to get used to the light coming in from the hallway. The person who opened the door stopped in the doorframe, saying nothing and only staring at Harry. Harry felt nervous and he could not recognize who was standing there as the person's face was covered in darkness. »Remus? « Harry asked. Suddenly the person moved closer and shut the door and Harry saw that it was indeed Remus. Then he noticed something else: The full moon was shining into the room, illuminating Remus' face as he stepped into it. Harry frowned. »Remus? What are you doing here? It's the full moon. Shouldn’t you…You are not turning. « »I am not. « the werewolf answered. His voice was raspy and his gaze on Harry was hungry. Harry was about to ask Remus something, but the older man cut him off. »I want you. « Without any further warning, Remus casted a silencing charm and moved onto the bed. He ripped the blankets away and exposed Harry's body. Remus growled and quickly moved on top of the younger male. With quick and uncaring movements, he ripped Harry's clothes apart and then his own. »R-Remus…« Harry gasped aroused. The younger one's cock was already hardening and rubbing against his lover's cock as Remus was humping against Harry furiously. The werewolf's eyes fell upon the bite mark he left on Harry's neck the last night. Remus leaned down and bit into the same spot, sucking and licking, until the bite mark was refreshed and even more noticeable on Harry's pale skin. Satisfied that he was able to lay a visual claim on the boy underneath him, Remus grabbed Harry's legs and folded them against Harry's chest, which exposed the younger one's entrance. Remus rumbled happily when he could smell himself on the most intimate place of Harry's body, but he was also displeased that the smell of his cum on Harry was already fading, overpowered by much more recent smells like water, soap and sweat. »I'm going to fuck you. I'm going to claim your tight ass over and over again. I'm going to mark you with my cum, so everyone can see that you are mine. « Remus growled. Harry moaned aroused. He loved his dominant and possessive side of Remus. The werewolf moved until his face was in front of Harry's hole. He smelled a strong scent, which made his mouth water: Down here the smell was so purely Harry, a mixture of sweet arousal, anticipation and Harry's earthy basic scent and the combination of Harry's scent and the lingering scent of Remus' essence drove the werewolf wild. He leaned forward and started to lick at Harry's hole. The younger one moaned loudly. For a few minutes, Remus ate out his lover messily, before he plunged two fingers inside him, fingering Harry hastily. Remus' animalistic instincts were ruling him and these instincts demanded him to be inside Harry as soon as possible. That's why Remus pulled out his fingers after a short time and lined himself up with his lover's hole. One hard, smooth thrust and Remus sheathed his whole cock inside Harry. As Remus bottomed out, Harry hissed from the unexpected burn of being stretched by a cock. But soon the pain turned into pleasure: Remus didn’t wait until Harry got used to the stretch, his wolf didn’t allow that, but when he immediately started to thrust in and out of Harry, his cock rubbed against the younger one's prostate, sending waves of pleasure through Harry's body. Their coupling was much rougher than the night before. Remus fucked Harry almost non-stop the whole night, wrecking his ass, in a completely positive way. Only two times, he paused to eat Harry out and pleasure him with his tongue and fingers. Both of them lost count how often they came, but Harry was filled by so much of his lover's cum that every thrust Remus made was squelchy. They fucked the whole night and Harry didn’t understand how he managed to have enough stamina to cum dozens of times and still get a hard-on. But he did. The last time Remus fucked Harry, it was already morning: Remus took Harry from behind, holding onto the younger one's shoulders, so that his thrusts had more power. With a loud moan, Harry came once more and Remus soon spilled his seed into Harry a last time. Exhausted, bodies aching they fell onto the bed, the werewolf's cock slipping out of Harry, followed by a wave of cum oozing out of Harry. They lay next to each other, too tired to speak or move. Slowly, but steadily Remus could feel how the full moon's pull on him decreased. But that meant he started to feel guilty about what he did. He spun around to face Harry, who looked resignedly at him. »You are regretting it, aren’t you? « he whispered. Remus nodded, tears in his eyes. The werewolf felt like a monster. He felt dirty, like he tainted something precious and pure. He hated himself so much for ravishing his dead best friend's only child. 'A beautiful child I love more than anything. ' Remus thought. Harry, who was crying by now, leaned forward and kissed Remus softly. Then the black-haired teenager whispered: »I don’t regret anything. « Remus looked surprised and shocked. This simple sentence, this simple confirmation that Harry enjoyed what they did and that he wanted it, was incomprehensible for Remus and something snapped inside him. Sobbing, he said: »I'm so sorry. « Then he ran away, not even taking his discarded clothes with him, leaving Harry alone. The boy was tired and exhausted, his lover's cum still leaking out of his abused asshole, while the young man cried silently. ***** Chapter 2 ***** Chapter Notes Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does. Sorry for any mistakes. See the end of the chapter for more notes After Remus left, Harry couldn’t fall asleep, even though he was dead tired. He continued to cry for some time, before he slowly got up. His whole body was sore. But it was the nice kind of sore, the reminder of a great night, even though it ended badly. Limping, he gathered a few clothes, a towel and his toiletries, before he went into the bathroom, where he took a bath. Harry wasn’t normally a fan of baths and preferred showers, but he knew a hot bath would help him with his soreness and would help to relax his emotions. He stayed in the bath for almost an hour, trying to calm down and trying to relax. Eventually, he started to scrub the sweat and dirt away and cleaned his body from his own and Remus' dried seed. Over the time of his bath, Harry's feeling alternated between anger, sadness and self-hatred. But when he was stepping out of the bathtub to dry himself and get dressed, he came to a decision and he was so determined that he would not let himself be deterred from his goal: 'I'm going to find Remus. I'm going to make him tell me what his bloody problem is. And then I'm going to ask him out. He'll be mine. ' =============================================================================== Around the time Harry got out of his bath, Fred and George woke up, their naked bodies cuddled into each other. They smiled softly at each other. »Good morning. « »Morning. « George stretched. »Damn, you wore me out pretty well last night. « Fred grinned smugly. »You loved it. « »You bet I did. « Grinning George kissed his brother and started a snogging session. They were making out for a while, until they heard the footsteps of their mom coming closer. The two froze frightened when the door handle moved. If their mother would find them in the compromising position they were in, it would be a catastrophe. But before Molly could open the door, the twins heard Ginny's voice: »MOM! Why is my Quidditch book gone? « The moment Molly needed to yell a reply, George used to rush to his own bed throwing on a shirt and underwear, slipping under his cold covers. When their mother finally entered their room, the two teenagers tried to look as unsuspicious as possible, but Molly looked suspicious nonetheless. »Get up. You can't always stay in bed until noon. « »Mom! Let us enjoy our break from school as long as we can! « Fred said. »And what are we supposed to do in this boring old house? « George added. »I'm sure you have enough homework to spend your time productively. If not, I'll gladly give you some chores to do. « The twins grumbled. »I'll expect you downstairs in the kitchen for breakfast in fifteen minutes. « After another stern look, Molly turned around and left the room, closing the door. The twins sighed relieved. »That was bloody close, Georgie. « »Thank god that Ginny lost her book. « »Who said I lost it? « a voice said. The twins yelped and looked to the door, where their younger sister was standing and grinning smugly. »I knew mom would come early into your room today, so I snuck the book into Ron's room and waited for her to come to your room. « The teenage boys frowned. »What do you mean? Why did you do that? « »Because I didn’t want Mom to find you two naked in one bed? « The twins froze. »Y-You…know…?« »Since the summer holidays. « Ginny's face softened and she sat down on Fred's bed. »I don’t mind that you are dating each other. I can see that you make each other happy. And that's enough for me. I don’t care about the rest. « Her brothers looked shocked at her, before they smiled shyly. »Thanks, Gin. « The youngest Weasley child smiled back, ignoring that her two prankster brothers were unusually teary-eyed at the moment. She got up. »You are welcome. Now let's go down, before mom's getting angry. Her mood's not the best today. Oh, and I should probably warn you: Mom thinks you are working on your prank shop again. That's why she's trying to keep you guys busy. « Fred and George, who were dressed by now, grinned and said simultaneously: »You're our favorite sibling, Gin. « »I know. « When they were heading out, Ginny asked: »Do you still have some Puking Pastilles for your favorite sibling? Free of charge, of course. I could use some for school. « =============================================================================== When Harry came into the kitchen after his bath, everyone else was already there, except Remus. »Has anyone seen Remus? I…uh…I need to ask him something for our DADA O.W.Ls. « Everyone shook their heads. Molly looked concerned at him. »Harry, dear, are you okay? You are walking strangely. « The black-haired teenager blushed. »I-I slipped in the bathroom earlier and uh fell down. « »Do you want me to check for some injuries? « Harry forced himself to smile at Mrs. Weasley. »No…uh…Thanks. But it's no big deal. « After Harry hastily wolfed down his breakfast, he excused himself and started to search the house for Remus. When he looked into almost every room and couldn’t find him, he became really frustrated and desperate. »Pup? Are you okay? « »No…I can't find him. Where is he? I need to speak to him. « Harry started to babble desperately. Sirius came closer and put a hand on Harry's shoulder, but the teenager jerked away from his godfather. »Harry…« Suddenly, the teenager started to sob and cry again. Sirius quickly wrapped his arms around his godson and pulled him down, so they were sitting on the floor and Harry was crying into Sirius' chest. The older man made soothing sounds, trying to calm his beloved godson down. After about ten minutes, Harry's crying became quieter, before it stopped completely. He wiped his eyes and sat up. »Harry, what's wrong? Please let me help you. « The green-eyed boy actually did not want to tell Sirius about his…thing with Remus, but the genuinely worried and gently voice of his godfather made him spill everything. After Harry told Sirius everything about his two nights with Remus, the teenager hid his face in his hands. He was afraid of Sirius' reaction. He didn’t want Sirius to hate him and he didn’t want to be responsible for Sirius and Remus fighting either. Sirius was shocked and speechless for a moment. Out of all things, this was not what he expected. »Hey, pup, look at me. I'm not mad nor am I disappointed. « »You're not? « »No, of course not. « »I just…I don’t want to destroy your friendship with R-Remus…« »You are not, pup. I mean, of course Remus acted like a bloody arse with his whole running away, but he has his reasons…« »C-Can…Can you tell me about them? « Sirius sighed. He didn’t think it was his place to talk about someone else's insecurities, but how could he possibly resist these large, intensely green puppy eyes? »Okay. « Sirius got up. »Let’s go into my room. It's more comfortable there. And I'll get us some tea and biscuits, okay? « Harry nodded shyly and went into his godfather's bedroom. There he sat down on the bed, waiting for Sirius to return, which the older man did after a few minutes. Sirius placed two cups of steaming tea and a small plate filled with biscuits onto his bedside table. Then he joined Harry on his bed. Sirius leaned with his back against the headboard of the bed, legs slightly parted and stretched and Harry sat down between his legs, cuddling into his godfather's strong chest, looking for comfort. »Remus has always been troubled. He always had a low self-esteem and low self- confidence. On really bad days, he even hates himself. He does not believe in himself and he does not believe that something good could ever happen to him. « »Because he's a werewolf? « Sirius smiled sadly. »Yes, pup, because he is a werewolf. When we were in Hogwarts, it was okay and he was happy. Your parents and I were always there for him and helped him see the good in himself. Even Peter, evil, treacherous bastard that he is, did that. But then…Your parents went into hiding and he had to do secret undercover missions in werewolf packs for the Order. And he was confronted with his... affliction every day. In school, it was easy to forget except for the couple of days around the full moon. When he spent time with the packs, he was also confronted with werewolves, who were happy with their existence, who were proud and comfortable. Remus always viewed his lycanthropy as sickness, as something foul. So it was earth-shattering for him to meet people, who thought of it as a gift. « The older man swallowed tightly. »Then your parents died, Peter was presumed dead and everyone thought I was a homicidal madman. For twelve years, he had no one. No one to comfort him, no one to tell him what a great person he is, no one at all. He was very lonely during that time. In a way, his situation was worse than mine. Because even though he was free, he had no one to share his freedom with. Wizards and witches avoided him for being a werewolf and he saw it as the confirmation of all the bad things he thought about himself. « »Not all wizards are like that! « »Harry, do you remember how Ron reacted when he learned about Remus' situation? « The black-haired boy opened his mouth to defend his best friend, when he noticed that Ron reacted frightened and disgusted at the revelation of Remus' other side. »Oh. « »There is something you need to remember, pup. Not every intolerant person is like Umbridge or You-Know-Who. Even very nice people can be intolerant. Before I went to Azkaban, I knew many great people, who were caring, open-minded, funny and loyal, who had also bad opinions of werewolves. And Remus was surrounded by them. « »Poor Remus…« Harry whispered. »Is that why he's been running away? He should know that I don’t mind. « »It's part of the reason yes. « »What else? « »Do you know anything about werewolf mates? « Harry shook his head. »You see, werewolves mate for life. They have one partner for their whole lifetime. « »Like penguins? « Sirius chuckled and nodded. »But how do they find each other? Do they just know who their mate is? « »No, Harry. Werewolf mates are not destined by fate. If a werewolf feels a connection to someone they start to court their potential mates. The often very long courting phase is to determine whether the two can build up their special bond and to make sure they are even good matches for each other. « »That…makes sense actually. « »There is something you need to understand: Werewolf mates are not like human couples. For werewolves their mate is the centre of their universe. It's hard to understand for not werewolves. And Remus…Well, Remus is probably afraid that you'll move on soon, leaving him alone. Or that he'll hold you back and chain you to him for the rest of your life, which is even worse in his eyes. « »But that is ridiculous! « »For you maybe. But Remus only experienced distrust, fear and rejection for most of his life. He can't imagine why someone would want to be mated with him. « »Oh. « They were silent from then, both lost in their own thoughts: Sirius had to think about this new relationship between Harry and Remus, while the teenager had to process all the things he just learned about Remus. Eventually, Harry fell asleep into a dreamless sleep. Sirius gently lifted him up and carried the boy into his room. The Animagus kissed his godson's forehead. »Sleep tight, pup. « Chapter End Notes I hope you like it. Please leave kudos and comments. You can also send me prompts. ***** Chapter 3 ***** Chapter Notes Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does. Sorry for any mistakes. See the end of the chapter for more notes   During the next day, there was an Order meeting. Many members gathered at the old Black house, one of them Remus Lupin. When he stepped into the kitchen, where the meeting was supposed to be, Sirius stood up and walked to him. »Moony, can we talk? « the Animagus whispered. »Of course. « Sirius led his old friend to an adjourning storage room. »So, what's the matter? « Remus asked. Sirius' reply was a punch in the face. »OW! What the…? « Remus was shocked and confused, but when he saw his best friend's furious eyes, he knew. »Harry talked to you. « »He did. « Sirius growled. »I didn’t mean to sleep with him, I swear! I couldn’t control myself with the full moon and everything and he's just so beautiful…It just happened. « »I'm not mad at you for sleeping with him. I'm mad that you ran away afterwards. « Remus looked shocked and confused. »What? « »Harry feels really bad. He thinks he did something wrong and that's why you ran away from him. « »What? NO! That's ridiculous! He was perfect. « »Well, you didn’t show him that. « With a softer voice, Sirius continued: »I know how you feel about yourself. I know what you think of werewolves. And I know you are wrong. Harry doesn’t care about anything but you. « Remus let out a choked cry. »I don’t know what to do. I don’t deserve him. « »You should let him decide what he deserves or not. Just promise me something? « »What? « »After the meeting, Harry will snatch you away to talk. Open up, give him a chance. « »I shouldn’t…« »Remus, he is very stubborn. He'll make you talk one way or the other. Don’t make it harder than necessary for him. « »I…« The werewolf sighed. »Okay…I'll talk to him. « Sirius smiled. »Good. « He pointed a finger at his old friend mock accusingly. »And no funny business. « When Remus blushed like a virgin, Sirius laughed heartily. =============================================================================== At the same time, Fred and George were preparing their extendable ears to spy on the Order meeting. They would have succeeded if their mother hadn’t been late to the meeting and were walking past them. »What is this? « she asked. The startled twins tried to hide their invention, but Molly snatched it away. She became red and was about to scold her two sons loudly and thoroughly, but then Dumbledore entered the room and Molly closed her mouth. »We'll talk later about this. « she hissed and went down into the kitchen. When Dumbledore walked past them, the old headmaster winked at his pupils happily. Dumbledore shut the door behind him and the twins could hear how silencing charms and an Imperturbable charm were cast. Disappointed they trudged upstairs to their room. »That was our last pair here. « Fred mumbled. George nodded sadly, before a grin broke out on his face. »What? « Fred asked. »With all the adults at the meeting and Ron and Hermione sulking, because of their fight…« »We can shag without worrying about being disturbed. I like the way you think, Georgie. « Grinning, the two teenagers hurried into their room, locking and silencing the room. As soon as the silencing spell was cast, Fred pounced on his brother. The twins kissed and Fred quickly pried his brother's mouth open with his tongue. They battled for dominance shortly, until Fred established his dominance and mapped out his lover's mouth with his tongue. Their tongues intertwined, the two boys fell onto a bed. Fred grabbed a handful of his brother's soft hair and pulled his head back, breaking their kiss. Now Fred had easy access to his brother's delicious looking neck. »Drop your glamour. « Fred whispered. George did so wordlessly and Fred smiled satisfied when a row of hickeys appeared. Fred always loved marking up his lovers, but it was even more arousing to see his marks on his beloved twin. It was one of Fred's special kinks. Fred chose one unmarked spot and started to suck and lick at it. George moaned, enjoying his lover's talented mouth on his skin. When Fred was satisfied with the hickey he produced, he kissed George again. George clawed desperately at his brother's clothes, wanting them off. His twin wandlessly charmed their clothes off without breaking the kiss and moaned when he felt his twin's bare skin against his own. Fred could feel his brother's semi-hard cock digging into his stomach and his own cock pressed into George too. Slowly, Fred bucked his hips and enjoyed George's soft gasp as their cocks rubbed against each other. »You are so beautiful. « Fred whispered. George's eyes shined lovingly and upon seeing that look in his brother's eyes, Fred felt like he was falling in love with him all over again. Despite the fact that the twins had so similar personalities that they were almost the same person, George was the gentler, quieter one. Everyone knew that. But what no one knew, except for Fred, was that George was also the more insecure and he loved being complimented and praised by his twin. 'No one else but me will ever see him as open and vulnerable as he is now. ' Fred couldn’t suppress a smile, which was returned by his brother. »What has got you so smiley? « George asked. Fred blushed slightly. »I'm just happy that no one else can see you like this. Only me. « »Only you. « George echoed. »You're such a sap, Freddie. « They kissed passionately and continued to rut against each other. Eventually, George wrapped his arms and legs against his brother, needing to be as close as possible. His hands wandered over his brother's back, nails digging into skin, when Fred started to ravish his brother's neck again. Then George grabbed his brother's ass cheeks and caressed them. »Want to eat me out, before I fuck you? « Fred whispered into his lover's ear. George moaned and his dick twitched. Just like Fred had a kink for hickeys and love bites, George had a strong fixation on eating people out. »Yes, please. « Fred grinned and rolled off of his brother's body. Chuckling, he wiggled his ass for George to see, before he got on hands and knees. Growling, George grabbed his brother's hips and flipped him over, so that he was lying on his back, and then he spread Fred's legs. Fred looked surprised and George explained in a rumbling voice: »I want to see your face, when I eat you out. « Fred moaned aroused. He was usually the more dominant in their relationship, especially in bed, but the rare occasions when George took charge in the bedroom were really turning him on. Every thought flew out of Fred's head when his brother's tongue swiped over his entrance. The wet tongue circled the pink muscle, before the tip breached it and wriggled inside teasingly shortly. George sucked at his brother's hole and then pushed his tongue back inside. Fred's hole opened only slowly, as he usually topped, but with practiced flicks of his tongue, George made the muscle relaxed and wet. His tongue slipped inside, caressing Fred's sensitive walls, making the older twin moan. George continued to eat his brother out, making slurping noises. Fred rolled his hips and pushed back onto his brother's tongue. George only stopped, when Fred stammered: »S-Stop. I'm about to c-cum. « Pouting, George sat up straight, so that he was sitting on his feet. Fred was an arousing sight: His red hair was tousled, his torso glistening with sweat and his cheeks flushed. »I like making you cum only with my tongue. « George said. »I like coming from your tongue. But I want to cum when I'm buried balls deep inside you. « George grinned. »I can live with that. Next time you're so going to ride my face. « Fred smirked predatorily, before he pushed his brother onto his back and kissed him once again. With a muttered lubrication charm, he slicked up his fingers and hastily, but thoroughly, prepared and stretched his brother. A few minutes later, when Fred was fingering his brother with three fingers, George wiggled his butt impatiently. »Get inside me already. « »Your wish is my command. « Fred quickly coated his erection in lube. He and George grunted, when the head of Fred's dick breached George's hole. Agonizing slowly, Fred slid into his brother. »You're doing this on purpose, you git. « George hissed through clenched teeth. The stretch and the drag of his brother's cock against his walls felt great, but George wished Fred would stop teasing and just fuck him properly. Fred grinned. »Don’t worry. I'm going to fuck you so good, you'll scream my name. « Suddenly, Fred snapped his hips forward and buried his cock completely in his brother, making George moan. For the next half an hour, the two brothers were rolling around in the sheets. The only sounds in the room were their moans and the slapping sound of flesh hitting flesh. Hips rocking, their sweaty bodies connected and disconnected over and over again with Fred thrusting in and out of his body over and over again. And when they reached their climaxes together, they were moaning each other's names, riding out their orgasms together. When they came down from their high, Fred rolled off of his twin and huffed satisfied. »That was…Wow. « George grinned happily. »As eloquent as always. « Fred weakly punched his brother's arm, as George cuddled into his twin's warm embrace. For a few minutes, they lay there enjoying their afterglow and the other's presence. Then Fred thought of something and tensed. »What's wrong? « George looked up at his brother. »I forgot to use a contraceptive charm. « Fred answered. George chuckled. »Don’t worry, Freddie. You forget them all the time. « »What? Oh god, what if I knocked you up? « Fred sounded genuinely worried. »Don’t worry, brother dearest. I'm on birth control. Because I know how forgetful you are when you only think of my ass. Besides, you'd probably like seeing me pregnant with your child. « Fred exhaled relieved and chuckled weakly. »You're probably right. « »About your one track mind or your pregnancy kink? « George asked teasingly. »I was seriously worried, George. « The younger twin sighed. »I know, babe. But you don’t need to. As long as I drink my potion every day, no accidents can happen. « »Merlin, I hope so. « »Don’t…Don’t you want children with me? « George sounded scared and small. Fred turned to his brother and saw his insecurity. »Oh Georgie. « Fred pulled his other half closer, hugging him tightly and kissing him softly. »Georgie, that's not what I meant. I want nothing more than spending the rest of my life with you and having a family with you. Just not know. Right now, would be the worst time for us to get children. I want to wait until we opened our shop and have financial stability, so I can spoil you and our children. In a few years, when our business kicked off right and when You-Know-Who is preferably six foot under, we'll have as many children as you want, okay? « George nodded relieved, looking much happier. »I love you, Freddie. « »I love you, too, Georgie. « Fred frowned slightly and added: »I need to tell you more often, so you don’t get that silly idea of yours again. « George giggled. »You are perfect the way you are Freddie. « =============================================================================== The order meeting took over two hours. Harry was waiting the whole time in close proximity to the kitchen to make sure that Remus wouldn’t be able to slip away. When the meeting was over, Professor Snape was one of the first to leave. When the Potions Master saw Harry, he walked over to him. »Mister Potter. « »Professor Snape. « »As you hopefully remember, the headmaster requested me to teach you the delicate art of Occlumency when you return to school. As preparation for this extracurricular class, you will practice to clear your mind from all emotions and mediate every night before you go to bed. Is that understood? « Snape's acidic voice made pretty sure what would happen if Harry didn’t understand. The black-haired boy nodded. »I understand, sir. « Snape nodded curtly and rushed off. A few moments after the professor left, Remus and Sirius came out of the kitchen. Remus looked nervously and anxiously at Harry and the green-eyed teenager didn’t feel much differently. With a fast beating heart, Harry walked over to them. »Remus…may… can we talk? « Remus hesitated for a few seconds, until Sirius elbowed him discreetly. »O-Of c-course. « Side by side, the two males walked to Harry's room with a lot of tension between them. When they stepped into the bedroom, Remus stumbled. The intertwined scents of himself and Harry, which were still prominent in the room almost overwhelmed him. After a few deep breaths, he could bring his arousal under control. They sat down on the bed. No one said anything for a few minutes, until Remus broke the silence: »I'm sorry. « »For? « »For running away. I know I should have stayed to talk about this, but I was afraid. « »I know. S-Sirius explained a bit to me. « Remus looked sharply at him. »What did he say? « »He told me that you're feeling insecure and bad about being a werewolf and…And he told me that werewolves mate for life. « »Oh…A-And? « Harry scooted closer and put a hand on the older man's leg. »I don’t care that you are a werewolf. I feel like we have a very good and special connection. I feel like we have the potential to make each other happy. And your lycanthropy is just another part of you. A small puzzle piece forming the whole and very awesome picture of you. « For a moment, Remus didn’t know what to say. And he didn’t need to say anything, because Harry added nervously: »That's why I want to enter the first courting stage with you. « Remus stared wide-eyed at the younger male, before he jumped up and walked a few steps away. »No! Absolutely not! It's out of question. « »Why? « Harry whispered. »I'm far too old, far too poor and far too ragged for you. « Harry walked to Remus, took his hand softly and looked up at the werewolf. With a strong voice, he said: »Remus, you are 35 years old. It's not like you have grey hair and wrinkles and stuff. I have to let you know that you are very sexy. « The werewolf blushed. »And you should know me enough to know that I don’t care about money. I don’t need a lot of money to be happy. Besides, I have more galleons in my vault at Gringotts than I could ever spend in three lifetimes. « Remus looked sadly at the boy in front of him. »I don’t deserve someone as perfect as you. « Harry became angry. »Just stop it. Stop putting me onto a pedestal, like everyone else does. I'm not perfect and I'm bloody tired of everyone thinking that. « The teenager was about to continue to rant, but Remus shushed him. »That's not what I meant Harry. I know you can make mistakes, like everyone else. I know you have issues like everyone else. « »Then why did you call me perfect? « »Because you are to me. Even with your imperfections you are perfect to me. You are so handsome, so beautiful. Both inside and outside: You are loyal, protective of the ones you love and brave. You are fierce, you have a great sense of humor and you are smart. Not to mention your hot body and your gorgeous eyes. « Harry blushed and smiled shyly. »Please, Remus. Please give me a chance. I don’t know much about courting, but I'm sure you can end it if you want to. I just ask you for one chance to prove that we can make each other happy. « Remus stayed silent for a few minutes, thinking and never breaking eye contact with Harry. When he finally spoke, his voice was so soft that Harry almost didn’t catch it: »Okay. « Harry beamed. The ecstatic look on the young one's face made Remus nearly melt. »Thank you so much. « Remus smiled and gave Harry a chaste and soft kiss. »Courting rules demand that I stay away for a couple of days after beginning the courting. « Harry pouted sadly. »Oh. « Remus gave him another small kiss. »I'll get in touch with you soon. I promise. « =============================================================================== And Remus kept his promise. When Harry went to bed three days later, he found a book and a short letter on his pillow. He picked up the letter first: Dear Harry, I still feel insecure about courting you and I still doubt that I deserve you. But it became clear to me in the last few days that you were right: I need to give us a chance. I care deeply for you and I feel very happy about this chance I gave us. I know you'll make me very happy and I hope I can make you feel the same. Together with this letter, I want to give you your first courting gift. I remembered that you don’t know much about werewolf courting and I know this book will help you a lot. I hope you will enjoy your first gift. Yours, Remus Harry grinned happily. He felt giddy, almost as if he had a lot of butterflies in his stomach. Gently he picked up the book and read its title: Werewolf courting and mating: A guide to the mating habits of werewolves by Selene Monks. Harry chuckled. It was a very thoughtful gift that showed how much Remus cared. Harry loved it. The teenager got comfortable in his bed, placing the letter carefully on his bedside table and started to read his new book. Chapter End Notes I hope you like it. Please leave kudos and comments. You can also send me prompts. ***** Chapter 4 ***** Chapter Notes Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does Sorry for any mistakes. From now on I'm going to start every chapter with an excerpt from the book Harry got last chapter. See the end of the chapter for more notes Werewolves live, much like real wolves, together in packs. These packs are tight-knit groups of werewolves, non-werewolf mates and children. Different packs have varying numbers of members, but most packs consist of over thirty people. The members of a pack are like an extended family for each other: They hunt together, they raise their pups together and they care for their sick together. Werewolves without packs rarely have a happy life. Symptoms of so called "lone wolves" include: depression, sleep-deprivation, self-harm and eating disorders. It is manageable to survive without a pack, but the inner werewolf instincts will always crave a pack. Biologically speaking, there are two kinds of werewolves in every pack: Alphas and Omegas. Omegas only mate with Alphas and Alphas only with Omegas. All Omegas, whether male or female, can carry children. Gender and sexual orientation do not matter in the werewolf society: There are heterosexual relationship, same-sex relationship, asexual relationships and many other forms as well. Every variety of gender identity and sexual orientation is accepted in werewolf societies. There are also relationships where more than two people are mated with each other. These polyamorous relationships are also accepted, even though they are rarer than the relationship with two mates. Mated werewolves are not allowed to use contraceptives (see chapter 5: Mates). Packs also have a hierarchy: Every pack is led by the so called Alpha pair: The leader and its mate. The leader can be both Alpha and Omega, as werewolves do not discriminate. The other werewolves of the pack are called Beta werewolves. Betas have the right to decide in important issues and the Alpha pair is expected to include their Beta's wishes and suggestions into consideration. Every beta has the right to challenge the Alpha werewolf for their position in a match until death. In a werewolf pack, werewolves are considered adults when they reach the age of 16. ===============================================================================   Two days after Harry got his first gift; it was time to return to Hogwarts. As usual, the morning before their departure to Hogwarts was chaotic. Like every time, Hermione was completely ready as she had packed her bags the day before. Unusual was that Harry did the same: The night before he finished the chapter about courting in the book Remus gave him. Afterwards, he couldn’t fall asleep, so he decided to give his hands something to do, while his mind processed the information he got from the book. Laughing, Harry and Hermione watched how Ron, Ginny and the twins were scrambling through the house to gather all their belongings to avoid their mother's wrath. As usual, Mrs. Weasley was stressed, which put her into a foul mood. When Sirius stepped into the room, Harry said to Hermione: »Excuse me for a moment. I'll be right back. « Hermione, who noticed Sirius as well, nodded understandingly and smiled softly. Sirius led Harry out of the room and into the hallway, where he hugged his godson. »I'll miss you, pup. « »I'll miss you too. I'll try to write you. « »Be careful. Especially with that Umbridge woman around. « The boy-who-lived smiled crookedly. »I'm always careful. You know me. « Sirius chuckled. »That's what I am worried about, pup. « Harry was about to reply, when Remus entered the room. The werewolf smiled at him and Harry couldn’t help but smiling back. Grinning Sirius clapped Harry on the shoulder and left the two alone. »Thank you for the book. « the younger male said. Remus smiled softly. »It was my pleasure. « After a short moment of silence, he added: »I'm going to miss you. « »I'm going to miss you too. « Remus pulled a small wooden box out of his robes. »I have something for you. « Harry took the box gently and thanked Remus sincerely. The teenager opened the box to reveal a thin bracelet with a gem as pendant. The gem was white with a blue-ish tint and was cut into a small globe. »It's a moonstone. A gem closely associated with the moon and with magic. It will enhance your magic if you wear it. And… It's one of my favorite gems. « Remus explained. The black-haired teenager was speechless. He looked at Remus and whispered: »I love it. « Remus' face instantly lit up. »I'm glad you do. « »But… Remus, you don’t need to spend so much money on me. « Smiling the werewolf stepped to Harry and took the bracelet carefully. While he put it around Harry's right wrist, Remus said: »I didn’t spend money on it. I… It's a family heirloom. « Harry's heart skipped a beat. He felt so happy and warm that Remus would trust him with his family's belongings. He hugged Remus tightly. »Thank you so much. « Harry mumbled with his face pressed against the older man's chest. Remus gently tilted Harry's head up and kissed him. Their lips didn’t separate for a long time, as both males knew they wouldn’t be able to touch each other for a long time. Eventually, they broke apart and Remus whispered: »You need to get ready. « »Okay…« Harry's voice sounded sad and dejectedly. Remus' thumb caressed his cheek and the boy leaned into the touch. »Don’t be sad love. We're going to write each other all the time, I promise. « ===============================================================================   Half an hour later, Harry, Hermione and the Weasley family kids were hastily climbing into the Hogwarts Express. As usual, they nearly missed it. They waved goodbye to Molly and Arthur, who accompanied them to the train station. When they were not in the station anymore, the group separated: Fred and George took off to the end of the train with Lee Jordan, Ron and Hermione had to go to the top of the train for their prefect duties and Ginny and Harry started to look for a free compartment. Soon they found Neville and Luna and joined them in their compartment. »Hey, guys. How were your holidays? « Ginny asked. »They were lovely. Daddy and I were out looking for the Crumple-Horned Snorkack! « Ginny and Harry had to fight back their laughter. »That sounds very nice, Luna. « Harry eventually said. »What about you, Nev? « »They… They were nice. « »Everything okay? « Ginny asked concerned. »Y-Yeah. I just… I had a nasty run-in with Malfoy earlier. « »He didn’t do anything, did he? « »N-No. He was just saying some stuff. It was not a big deal. « The other's decided to change the topic. The four friends were talking and laughing happily for some time, exchanging stories. But after an hour, they calmed down and just relaxed: Ginny and Neville started a game of exploding snap and Luna started to read the lasted edition of The Quibbler, while Harry got out the book about werewolf mating. After another hour, Hermione and Ron joined them in the compartment, but Harry barely registered it. He only looked up from his book, when Hermione asked him: »Harry? What are you reading? « Wordlessly, Harry held up the book. When Hermione read the title she frowned. »Why are you reading that? « »I uh… I wanna have a better relationship with Remus, because, you know… He's been my dad's friend and everything. And I uhm, I thought I could understand him better if I understand werewolves better. « Hermione didn’t seem to buy this completely, but she nodded nonetheless and dropped the topic. A few minutes later, Luna touched his right arm and said dreamily: »What a beautiful bracelet…« Harry blushed. »Thank you. « »Mate? Since when are you wearing bracelets? « Ron asked. »He didn’t have it this morning, so… Is it a gift from Sirius? « Hermione asked. Harry decided to go with that explanation and nodded. »A family heirloom. « »Is that a moonstone? « Ginny asked. »Yeah. He said it would enhance my magic. « »Moonstone is known for that. « ===============================================================================   At the same time at the end of the train, Fred and George were discussing their latest ideas with Lee. »Wow. You've been very busy. « Lee said at the end. The twins only grinned. But the grins faded quickly and the twins became serious. »Lee, you know that you are our best friend right? « Lee frowned. »Yeah, of course. « »We… We need to tell you something. « »I already know. « Fred and George were speechless. »What? « Their friend chuckled. »You are not exactly masters of subtlety. « Seeing the twins' worried faces, Lee added. »I don’t mind. You're still my mates and as long as you're happy, I'm fine with whatever you do. « Fred and George smiled warmly at their friend. »Thank you. This means a lot to us. « »Just don’t shag in front of me. « »OI! « ===============================================================================   After they arrived at Hogwarts and feasted in the Great Hall, everyone retreated to their respective common rooms. While Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville were lounging in the common room, Seamus and Dean went upstairs to go to bed early. The four friend were happy and sated from the large feast earlier, so neither of them were in the mood for doing something. Harry and Ron played a lazy round of Wizarding chess (obviously Ron won), while Hermione and Neville sleepily talked about herbology. On the other side of the common room, Fred and George were wide awake. In front of a small crowd they were once again presenting the products of their future shop. Hermione watched them angrily. »They shouldn’t eat that stuff. It could be dangerous. And even worse everyone else wants to eat their pills too. « »Then stop them. « Ron replied bored. »I can't! They do this voluntarily and only to each other. « Ron rolled his eyes as Hermione continued to stare at the twins with hawkeyes, because they stopped presenting their products and were talking quietly to the crowd. After a few minutes, Hermione saw galleons being exchanged, since the coins were reflecting the light. She jumped up and marched over to them, who quickly hid the money. The prefect started to shout at them, insisting that their products are confiscated. Fred and George laughed at that, which only angered Hermione more. While he watched their argument, Harry smiled. Everything was perfect and the black-haired teenager was happy. 'If only Remus was here. ' Chapter End Notes I hope you like it. Please leave kudos and comments. You can also send me prompts. ***** Chapter 5 ***** Chapter Notes Disclaimer: I do now own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does. Sorry for any mistakes. See the end of the chapter for more notes Courting is a long and complicated process, which takes months or even years to be completed. The purpose of courting is to prove someone's suitability as life mate. The process of courting has multiple stages: The first stage of courting begins with a talk. If a werewolf wants to start courting someone, they have to make his intent clear and have to inform the other person or persons of it. After making their intent clear, the actively courting person has to wait three days before giving the courted one a first gift. Traditionally, the actively courting werewolf is the person who would assume the dominant position during a future mating. It is required that this stage shall last at least four moons. The courting werewolf has to choose their gifts carefully, as the gifts should show that they can provide for the other. The courted person is required to express his or her gratitude and is not allowed to make demands. In this stage it is allowed that someone is courted by multiple persons, but not to court multiple persons, unless a polyamorous relationship is wished. It is not allowed for the persons, who are involved in the courting process, to be alone in order to prevent untimely sexual contact. It is essential that the two (or more) people get to know each other to check their compatibility. For ceremonial reasons, the person, who actively courts is called 'Hecate', while the courted person is called 'Selene'. This courting stage ends in the following situations: 1. One of the involved persons expresses the wish to end, which has to be respected. 2. They move on to the next stage. 3. The Selene chooses a different person to move to the next stage. ===============================================================================   When Harry woke up the first morning after returning to school, he felt surprisingly refreshed and energized. His sleep was calm and quiet and he dreamt mostly of nice things like Quidditch and Remus. Harry's dreams were only interrupted once, when he dreamt of a high-pitched, cold and cruel laugh, but that was quickly forgotten. The black-haired male stood up and grabbed his change of clothes for the day, before taking a refreshing shower. By the time he returned, his dorm mates were awake as well. Ron, being not a morning person, stumbled out of his bed, bleary-eyed and disheveled. Wordlessly, he went to the showers as well. Once Ron returned, looking a bit more cheerful and alive, they went down into the common room, where Hermione was waiting and then they all went into the Great Hall for breakfast. Hermione and Harry were talking animatedly about classes, while Ron was eagerly stuffing his face with food. Their conversation was only interrupted by the arrival of the mail. Surprisingly many owls were flying towards Harry today: A brown barn owl and a black owl were dropping small notes in front of Harry, before flying off, while Hedwig landed next to Harry, giving him a letter. The black-haired teenager fed his owl some toast and caressed her head, before she flew away too. »Someone's popular today. « Hermione remarked. Harry only grinned and opened the two notes: »Hagrid invited us for tea, after class. « he said to his two friends. Both Hermione and Ron expressed their wish to accept the invitation, so Harry looked to the head table and gave Hagrid a thumb up sign. The half-giant grinned and nodded. When Harry opened the second note, he grimaced. »Occlumency lesson with Snape this evening. « His friends looked pitifully at him. »Sorry, mate. « The green-eyed teenager nodded, but instantly cheered up, when he saw that the letter he got came from Remus. He put it into his robes, vowing to read it later. ===============================================================================   After their last class of the day, the Golden Trio went quickly to Hagrid's hut. They were glad to see their old friend, who returned from his mission with the Giants shortly before Christmas. Hagrid prepared some tea for them and they had a nice conversation. They talked about classes, Hagrid's plans for the rest of the school year for his class and the half-giant also mentioned that he was exchanging letters with Charlie Weasley on a regular basis, talking mostly about dragons. After one and a half hour, the three teenagers said goodbye to Hagrid and went to the Gryffindor common room. ===============================================================================   While Ron, Hermione and Harry were visiting their friend, Seamus and Dean were in their dorm, getting rid of their school stuff. Dean's heart was racing and he felt really nervous as he turned to his best friend. »S-Seamus? Can… Can I a-ask you something? « »Sure, mate. What's up? « »I was wondering if… I mean only if you want to. I hope you want to, I mean…« Dean closed his eyes, took a deep breath and started again: »I was wondering if you'd like to go on a date with me. « The Irish wizard looked surprised, but pleased. Softly, he replied: »I'd love to. « ===============================================================================   A few hours later, Harry stumbled into the Gryffindor common room, returning from his Occlumency lesson. He was exhausted and had a raging headache. Ron and Hermione were waiting for him in the empty common room. »Harry! Are you okay? « »Yeah, just… Just a headache. « »How did it go? « »I'm still not getting any better. And Snape's getting impatient. « Harry fell into one of the comfortable armchairs in front of the fireplace. He watched silently how Ron tried to teach Hermione chess and wondered when they would finally admit their obvious feelings for each other. Harry got the letter Remus sent him out and opened it: Dear Harry, You are only gone for a day, but I'm missing you so much already. I hope your travel was pleasant and you got settled down at school properly. I know the second half of your fifth year is stressful, because of your O.W.Ls but I am hoping that we are able to exchange a few letters to stay in contact until we see each other again. Yours, Remus P.S. I heard from Dumbledore that you are going to pick up your special potions lessons with Professor Snape again. Please be calm and make an effort not to antagonize the Professor. You need to have these lessons. Harry smiled. Remus' insecurity, as unnecessary as it was, was kind of endearing and adorable to the teenager. Borrowing parchment and a quill from Hermione, he wrote a reply: Dear Remus, Of course we will exchange letters. As often as possible. I couldn’t bear it not to talk with you until the spring break. I am missing you so much too and I can't wait to see you again. Don’t worry about my lessons with Professor Snape. I know how important they are and I will do my best to learn. Even though, I am sure it will be very hard and stressful. It's only the first day and we already a huge amount of homework to complete. In a way it is good that Umbridge banned me from playing Quidditch. Now I have more time to do my schoolwork. I miss Quidditch, though… I miss flying in general. I mean, Umbridge even locked my broom away, so I can't just fly a few rounds around the Quidditch field or something. Yours, Harry The teenage boy folded the parchment and sealed it in order to be able to send it the next morning. ===============================================================================   Classes the next day were very stressful. In the evening, Ron, Hermione and Harry were huddled together in a corner of the common room, aching under the huge mountain of assigned homework. Harry and Hermione were doing better than Ron, because the redhead had to end their study session early, before he had to go to Quidditch practice, looking apologetically at Harry. ===============================================================================   On Wednesday morning, Harry, Ron and Hermione were worried, when a pale and nervous looking Neville sat down at the Gryffindor table. »Nev, what's wrong? « »It's… It's nothing really. « Hermione leaned forward. »Come on, Neville, you can tell us. We want to help you. « »Oh, uh… Well, I've noticed that Malfoy is following me lately. I think he's trying to find the DA. « Ron growled. »Stupid ferret. « »Don’t worry about it Neville. He won't find anything. Besides, you just can hang out more with us. He'll leave you alone then. « Harry said. Neville blushed, but nodded gratefully. A few minutes later, Hedwig arrived with the other owls, bringing Harry a letter and a package. The black-haired Gryffindor opened the package first and revealed an illustrated book with the title: The best techniques and tactics from 1000 years of Quidditch. Curiously, Harry skimmed through it and saw that it was filled with moving drawings and pictures, describing many different famous Quidditch techniques in great detail. Ron snatched the book out of Harry's hands and after a few moments he exclaimed: »Mate, that's wicked! « Hermione shook her head disapprovingly. »Honestly Ronald! You could have at least asked Harry if you could take a look! « Ron's whole face went red and he smiled sheepishly at his best friend. »Sorry. « Harry chuckled. »It's fine. You can take a look. « »When did you order that book, Harry? Or did someone send it? « Hermione asked. »Oh, uh, it's from Remus. « »That's really nice of him. « »It is. I mentioned that I was missing playing Quidditch, so he must have wanted to cheer me up with it. Him and Sirius. « Harry added. Hermione smiled softly and took a look at the book too. She might not be interested in Quidditch, but even for her it was interested to see how Quidditch changed over time. Meanwhile, Harry read the letter: Dear Harry, I'm glad to see that you want to stay in close contact with me. I admit I feared that you'd lose interest once you are back at school or that you would find someone better. I am very sorry that you can't fly anymore. I don’t like to see you sad. I know it's not the same as actually flying, but I hope your next gift will cheer you up a bit. It is quite interesting, if I might say so. Maybe you can get some inspiration for what you want to try out, once you have your broom back. I know it's not very creative to give you another book, though… I still remember how stressful the fifth year was. I like it that you seem to take school serious, but please don’t overwork yourself. You need to have some time for relaxing and having fun. If there is anything you might need me for, I'd be glad to help. Yours, Remus The boy-who-lived saw that he still had some time, before the first class, so he immediately wrote a reply: Dear Remus, There is no one better than you. You are a wonderful man and I am happy to have a chance at being with you. When I said that I want to be courted by you, I meant it whole-heartedly. Thank you so much for the gift. I love it. I could only take a quick look, before writing this, but I am already fascinated by it. You absolutely made my day with that. And I don’t care how many books you send me. I'll love them all. I will definitely take you up on that offer. Actually, there is something you could help me with: I told you about this little study group I am in with a few of my classmates. And we already covered all the basics, so I was hoping you could tell me about some not so common spells that might be useful, so we could talk about them. We need to find another time to exchange the letters. Ron and Hermione would eventually get suspicious why you are sending me so many gifts. I'd rather keep the courting between us for now. Not because I am ashamed of you, please don’t think that. It just feels more intimate and personal if only we know about it. Thank you so much again for everything. Yours, Harry After sending Hedwig off with the letter, Harry put the book safely into his backpack, before walking to class with his friends. ===============================================================================   During the following night, when most of the castle was quiet and everyone was asleep, four people met in the Slytherin common room: Draco Malfoy was pacing in front of the fireplace, while his three best friends Theodore Nott, Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson were watching. »Draco, calm down. « Pansy said. »How do you expect me to calm down? Not after this letter father sent me. I am not going to bow to that slimy, insane monstrosity like my father! « »Then what are you going to do? It's not like you can say no to the Dark Lord. « »I know Blaise! If I say no, he's going to harm my family… « Suddenly, Draco froze. »There is a way. « His three friends knew what the blonde was thinking and Theo groaned. »Draco, you can't be serious. « »I am. I need to ally with Dumbledore and his Gryffindorks. « The other Slytherins grimaced. »I don’t like that. But I admit it would be a smart move. « Blaise admitted. »Not you too Blaise! « »Theo, stop it! I made my decision. I just need to find a way to make myself very valuable to Dumbledore and his side. « Draco murmured thoughtfully. Pansy sighed. »Merlin, I can't believe that I am saying this, but I am with you Draco. No matter how you are going to decide. « Blaise nodded. »So am I. « When Theo did not say anything, Pansy nudged him. »Fine. I am with you too. Just don’t expect me to be best friend with one of these idiot Gryffindors. « The blonde Slytherin smiled softly at his friends. »Thank you. « ===============================================================================   On Thursday evening, Harry had to go to another Occlumency lesson with Snape. He tried hard to keep his teacher out of his mind, but Harry made only little progress. While Harry got his mind probed by Snape, Fred and George sneaked into the Room of Requirement. Both of them were incredibly horny, since they had no opportunity to have sex, since they left Grimmauld Place. As soon as they were inside the room, they started to make out passionately, ripping off each other's clothes. Fred was grabbing his brother's ass possessively, when George growled and spun his brother around. Pressing himself against his twin's back, George whispered huskily into Fred's ear: »I'm in charge. « Fred moaned. It didn’t happen often, but he loved it when George was dominant. »Go on then beloved brother. Fuck me. « ===============================================================================   Harry got the next letter from Remus two days later during breakfast on Saturday morning. Dear Harry, I'm so happy that you think like this about me. It means so much to me. You mean so much to me. And I am glad that you liked your gift. I'd be delighted to help you out. You might want to look at the different variations of the Protego spell and there is a spell related to Lumos, which blinds the opponent temporarily. It might be useful to you. The incantation is "abacinaro". I know what you mean. I'd rather keep this between us for now as well. I do think writing letters is not suspicious, so Hedwig can continue to bring my letters in the morning. As for the gifts I'll send you in the future, we'll find a solution. Maybe I can send you them before breakfast. I am sorry that I needed longer than usual to reply to you, but I am currently trying to find a job once again. It is very difficult and to be honest also very frustrating, so I was rather busy lately. Yours, Remus Harry's reply followed instantly: Dear Remus, Thank you for your tips. I'll definitely check out these spells. Before breakfast would work out well, I think. I could just pick it up in the owlery. The evenings would work too. I wish you all the best of luck finding a new job. I hope you'll find one quickly. But this comes rather suddenly. Why do you want a job right now? I'm sure you'd be much more flexible without a job and could help out Dumbledore better. Have you tried to apply for a job in the Ministry? I'm sure you'd be a capable Auror. Yours, Harry Chapter End Notes I hope you liked it. Please leave kudos and comments. You can also send me prompts. ***** Chapter 6 ***** Chapter Notes Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does. Sorry for any mistakes. See the end of the chapter for more notes For a non-werewolf it can be hard to understand how important mates are for werewolves. To a werewolf his or her mate is everything. The mate is the centre of a werewolf's universe. Having a mate means being complete, being whole. And a werewolf's mate feels the same, even though a Muggle mate can experience these feelings less intense than a wizard or werewolf mate. A mated pair is a unity, the same soul in two bodies. But opposing to common belief werewolf mates are not destined by fate. They are chosen after a long phase of courting. A mated pair consists of at least one Alpha werewolf and one Omega werewolf. That means that in mated pairs with more than two mates, there can be two Alphas and one Omega, one Alpha and two Omegas and so on. Mates are equal, both in their relationship and in society. Abusing, neglecting or oppressing your mate, belong to the worst and most despicable crimes for werewolves (see: Werewolf laws). Furthermore all kinds and forms of mated pairs are equally accepted in werewolf society. This can sometimes cause complications with Muggles or wizards, who become a part of a pack. Werewolves usually find their mates in other werewolves, in wizards, squibs and muggles. But there have also been rare cases of mating bonds with vampires and giants. Normally, werewolves are as rational as wizards and muggles, but when it is about their mates, werewolf instincts quickly take over. Their instincts demand that they protect, comfort and provide their mate and in return to turn to their mates for protection and comfort. Werewolf mates can also be very territorial and possessive when someone else is close to their mate or touching them. This possessiveness is the strongest during courting and during the time shortly after their bonding ceremony, but it mostly lessens over time. Mated pairs are also not allowed to use contraceptives, such as condoms. The werewolf instincts cannot tolerate such a barrier between them. Additionally, werewolves have the strong instincts to get many children with their mate. This is not about mere reproduction, but about creating new life together, about family and new bonds between them. If a werewolf should lose its mate, the consequences are catastrophic. In most cases a werewolf follows his or her mate into death a couple of days after they died. In that period the left mate experiences depression and excruciating physical and emotional pain. The left mate can also become feral and potentially dangerous to other people. Should a werewolf survive its mate's death, they are depressed and often get insane. Many commit suicide only to be with their mate again. =============================================================================== Monday,_January_11 Dear Harry, I hope this doesn’t sound silly to you, but I want a job, because of you. I mean I always wanted to have a stable job, but now I want it even more. I want to be able to provide for you and to take care of you. I know that you have enough money for both of us and I know you don’t need much money to be happy. But I would feel bad if I had no own money and would only rely on your money. I want us to be equals in all aspects of our lives. I don’t think of applying for a job in the ministry. The current administration does not exactly have a werewolf friendly policy. So I would not get employed by the ministry anyway. Especially not as Auror. And Dumbledore knows about my plans and supports them. I hope you like the gift I sent you today. As you have probably already seen, it is a large box of chocolate from Honeydukes. It contains a few of your favorite kinds of chocolate. And some of my favorites. I figured that it isn’t suspicious that you get a package from there. Yours, Remus Dear Remus, Of course it doesn’t sound silly to me. I never meant to imply that you should rely on the money I have. I want us to be equals too. And no matter whether you have a job or not, I'll always support you. You could at least try. I mean, I know about the ministry's policies, but it can't hurt to try. After all, they can't do more than saying no. I loved the presents. Thank you so much. I just noticed that we know each other for over two years now and I barely know anything about you at all. But I really want to know more about you. Could you maybe tell me about yourself a bit? Yours, Harry =============================================================================== Tuesday,_January_12 Dear Harry, It means a lot to me that I'll always have your support. And naturally, I'll always support you. You are right. Nothing bad will happen if I apply to the ministry. So, I followed your advice and send an application. You are right. We barely know each other. But we haven’t had many opportunities to get to know each other properly, before. I don’t really know what to say. I guess, I'll just tell you a bit about my past and you can always ask question. Lyall Lupin was my father. He was born in Northern England in Lancashire. My father was a born werewolf and a very capable wizard and worked for the Ministry. My mother's name was Hope. She was a Welsh Muggle from Cardiff and she worked as an Insurance worker. They met when my father saved my mother from a boggart. The two quickly started courting and mated after two years. Soon they had me. A few months later, I was born. My father left his pack afterwards. He wasn’t happy about being a werewolf. And his pack wasn’t happy about it. One day, when I was 5 the pack leader's son attacked me: Fenrir was only 11 and didn’t control his instincts very well back then. The attack triggered my dormant lycanthropy and I became a werewolf. When I was eleven I attended Hogwarts, where I met Sirius and your father. We became best friends. After Hogwarts, I went into hiding, while working for Dumbledore. Then You-Know-Who was defeated. I lived for a few years with my pack, before I tried to reintegrate into wizard society, but that didn’t work out well.  I hope that could tell you a bit about me. Yours, Remus Dear Remus, I'm very proud of you. I'm hoping that the ministry will see what great addition you would be for them. Thank you. It means a lot to me that you are sharing this with me. And… If you don’t mind, I'd like to know more about your parents. What kind of people were they? I didn’t know you had a pack. Can you tell me about them too? Yours, Harry =============================================================================== Wednesday,_January_13 Dear Harry, I don’t mind at all that you are asking me questions. I want to share everything with you. My mother was a wonderful woman: Gentle, kind and supportive, but also a fighter and very fierce. She loved music and she loved gardening. I still remember how we used to sit in our garden together with dirty hands, as we took care of her flowers. That was one of my favorite past times when I was a child. And I know that my mother would have loved you. My father was a serious man. He could be very cold and gruff towards strangers or if he was cross with someone. But he was also a great father, who always took care of me and my mom. And when he was relaxed, my father could also be funny and goofy. They are dead now. My mother died shortly before You-Know-Who vanished. Age and a weak heart ended her life. My father died a couple of years after the war ended. Actually, it is really unusual that he lived so much longer than his mate. But my dad has always been very stubborn. Yes, I have a pack. I'm not often with them, but I do have a pack. Werewolves without a pack are most of the time not very healthy and die quickly. My pack is the same one my dad was a part of. My Alpha's Fenrir Greyback, the werewolf who bit me. I'm going to send you another gift today. It will arrive later today, around 8 pm in the Owlery. I feel bad when I'm only talking about me. Tell me something about you. What's going on at school? Yours, Remus Dear Remus, Your parents sound like wonderful people. I mean, they have to be wonderful. After all, they raised you. I wish I could have met them. And I am so sorry for your loss. Do you miss them a lot? So you are in the same pack as the man who attacked you? I'm sorry but I don’t understand. Why would you do that? I heard rumors about Fenrir Greyback. Very bad rumors. How can you want to be around a person like that? I just got the gift. The wooden chest is beautiful. And I love the carvings. Especially the one on top with the moon. Thank you so much. It's the perfect thing to keep our letters in. Don’t feel bad about talking about you. I like it. Well, there isn’t much to say really. School is quite stressful right now. The teachers are bombarding us with homework and other things to do. I really can't wait for the O.W.Ls to be over. And then there are also the special lessons with Snape. I'm not making any progress at all. Snape's getting very moody. I mean, he's never really cheerful or happy, but it gets worse with every lesson. But I suppose I can't even blame him. I would be frustrated too, if I had to teach myself. Yours, Harry Thursday,_January_14 Dear Harry, My parents were really wonderful and I wish you could have met them too. I do miss them. A lot. Harry, especially you should know that rumors are barely true and how quick they can ruin someone's life. Ever since he bit me, Fenrir has been one of my best friends. He's made some mistakes in the past, but so did I. He is a great guy, a good person and a very capable Alpha and most of the stuff he supposedly did never happened. Fenrir feels really guilty about attacking me, but I forgave him long ago. I'm so happy you like the chest. I made it and the carvings myself. It's made from cherry and when I made it I wove several spells into the wood, so you can decide who can open it and who cannot. It's also a lot bigger on the inside than on the outside, so you can put a lot into the chest. And I am glad that you already found a use for it. I know it's very hard right now, but you can do it. Your regular schoolwork and your special lessons. I believe in you. You are one of the most talented wizards I have ever met. Please be careful. I mean, even more careful than before. I'm sure you already heard about the mass breakout from Azkaban. I don’t want you to get hurt or attacked. Yours, Remus Dear Remus, I'm sorry. You are right. I should not have listened to rumors. I trust you. And if you say that Fenrir is a good person, I believe you. And I am happy that you have such a close friend. You really did it yourself? That is amazing. The chest and its carvings are really beautiful. Who taught you to do that? It has been special to me before, all your gifts are, but now that I know that you made it yourself, it is even more special to me. But how do I activate your spell? I'd like to use them. Thank you so much for believing in me. You don’t know how much strength that gives me. Yes, I heard about it. Everyone's talking about it. I'm actually really worried about Neville. He's really affected by the breakout. One of the prisoners, who got away, Bellatrix Lestrange… Well, I'm sure you know what she did to Neville's parents. Could you please say hi to Snuffles from me? Tell him that I miss him, please. Yours, Harry =============================================================================== Friday,_January_15 Dear Harry, Thank you for your trust and understanding about Fenrir. I know you'll meet him eventually and I hope you'll like him. And I am sorry if I sounded harsh. Yes, I did it myself. Actually, Fenrir was the one who taught me to do that. He's a lot better than me, but I'm not too bad either. It really means a lot to me that you think that way about my gift and I hope that you'll like your next one too. I'll have it delivered to you later today. You activate the spell by touching the chest. It is semi-sentient and recognizes your magical core. And if you want someone else to be able to open it, you must touch the chest at the same time as the other person. I know what happened to the Longbottoms. I knew them and I liked them. They were good friends of mine. Just be there for Neville and show him that you are his friend. Snuffles says hi back. He wants you to be careful too. Something really wonderful has happened. I got an invitation from the ministry to go there for a job interview. I dare not hope too much, but I am really happy that I took your advice. Thank you for giving me courage. Yours, Remus Dear Remus, You weren’t harsh. I understand that you were defending your friend. I would have done the same for Ron and Hermione. Activating the protective spells was really easy. You really did a great work with it. Now I just need you to touch the chest, so that the wards around it accept you too. I'm so proud of you, Remus! I knew you'd make it. I'm really sure that the job interview will work out very well. I'll always have your back. Lately, Ginny, Ron's younger sister, flirted a lot with a Slytherin from our grade, Blaise Zabini. Just for fun. And Ron hates it. He's going into protective older brother mode, which is hilarious. I think Ginny really likes riling him up. While I'm writing this, they are bickering and fighting with each other and I can see that Ginny has to fight back her laughter. Dobby just delivered your package to me. He was really happy about it and told me how much he likes you. How do you know Dobby? Merlin, this is beautiful. I have seen snow globes in the Muggle world, but never in the Wizarding World. It's amazing. What little town is in the snow globe? Thank you so much for everything. Yours, Harry =============================================================================== Saturday,_January_16 Dear Harry, You really want me to give access to your chest too? That is really heartwarming and it made my day that you have so much trust in me. Thank you for believing in me. That sounds really funny. I always loved watching siblings interact. It’s really fascinating. And actually, the way Ron behaves, reminds me a lot of Snuffles. He used to act the same way towards his younger brother. I still remember when Snuffles met his brother's first boyfriend he chased him away very quickly with a mixture of pranks and thinly veiled threats. His brother was mad for months at him. I met Dobby, when I visited Hogwarts last year to watch the Tri Wizard Tournament. A very nice elf. I think Dobby likes everyone, who treats him with respect. I'm glad you like it. I know Muggle snow globes too. They are beautiful, but not as much as the enchanted Wizard ones. The town in the snow globe is Godric's Hollow. The town you were born in. Yours, Remus Dear Remus, Of course, I want to give you access to my chest. I trust you with my life. I didn’t know Snuffles has a brother. I'm going to ask him about it, when I see Snuffles the next time. But I can see Snuffles doing that. I think someone tried to intercept your last letter. Hedwig came back hurt. Her right wing was injured. I brought her to Hagrid and he's taking care of her now, but I'm still a bit worried about Hedwig. And I checked: Your letter was not opened. But we should be more careful from now on. I don’t know who tried to intercept the letter, but it was either Umbridge or a Death Eater and both wouldn’t be good. I'm sending you this with one of Hogwarts' owls. Yours, Harry =============================================================================== Sunday,_January_17 Dear Harry, Snuffles had a brother. He died many years ago. Snuffles doesn’t like to talk about it. I really hope Hedwig is okay. She's a lovely owl. You are right we need to be careful. We should have expected something like this. Have you learned privacy charms yet? They are very useful and can protect our correspondence. We should also start to use other owls. I mean we should not use the same owl all the time, but vary it a bit. I'm sending you with this letter a package with special owl treats. Some of them are just supposed to taste good, but a lot of them include important minerals and vitamins to strengthen Hedwig. Hopefully, they can help her getting better I'm really nervous. Tomorrow is my job interview at the ministry. And I am afraid that I won't do well. I am afraid that I got my hopes up for nothing and that it will not work out. Yours, Remus Dear Remus, I didn’t know that about Snuffles. That's really sad. Don’t worry. Hedwig will be fine in a couple of days. Hagrid took good care of her. And she loves the treats you sent. I agree that we need to be more careful. We have not started with privacy charms yet, but I found them in one of my books. Tell me which ones are the best to use and then I'll practice them. I'm going to use different Hogwarts owls for now. Don’t worry about your job interview. I know you'll do very well. And I know you have a good chance of getting a job, you are a very talented wizard. Yours, Harry Chapter End Notes So this chapter has a different style than the others. I hope you liked it. Please leave kudos and comments. You can also send me prompts. ***** Chapter 7 ***** Chapter Notes Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does. Sorry for any mistakes. Apologies for this short chapter. This is just a filler chapter. Soon the plot will be more exciting. There will also be more smut soon See the end of the chapter for more notes Werewolf_laws For werewolves their packs are their family. Packs are close-knitted groups and werewolves have a very strong protective instinct towards their pack. That is the reason why werewolves do not need many laws. Due to their protective instincts, werewolves rarely do anything to harm a pack mate. There are very rare cases of a werewolf killing a pack mate, though. Should a werewolf turn on a pack mate and kill them, there is only one acceptable punishment for werewolves: Execution. Should a werewolf turn on a pack mate and injure them, the attacker will be thrown out of the pack in most cases. Not even the Alpha has the right to kill or hurt a pack mate without reason. To this rule there is only one exception: A werewolf has the right to protect themselves and their mate. And if they have to, they also have the right to kill their attacker to ensure their family's safety. Another crime punishable by death is raping or sexually assaulting someone. If the victim has a mate or is being courted, then the mate has the right to carry out the death sentence. The victim has also the right to kill their rapist. If a werewolf should abuse its mate, the pack will punish the perpetrator severely. The mate bond will be broken with a magical ritual, before the abuser will be castrated and marked, so they can never find a new mate or a new pack. Then the abuser will be thrown out of their old pack. Thankfully, this is a very rare occurrence. If a werewolf attacks another pack, they'll be banned. If someone from the attacked pack was injured or killed, the Alpha of the victim has the right to kill the attacker. If a werewolf attacks a non-werewolf and kills them, the werewolf will either be killed by its Alpha or the attacker will be given to wizard authorities. If a werewolf turns someone into a werewolf without their consent, the freshly turned werewolf has the right to decide how to punish their attacker. A werewolf's guilt has to be determined, by a jury consisting out of the pack's Alpha pair and the most respected and wisest elders of the pack. The unforgiving nature of werewolf laws is one of the reasons why most non- werewolves consider werewolves to be wild beasts. But werewolves have to carry out these punishments rarely and they are always sad to do so. =============================================================================== Harry was worried. It was already late in the afternoon and Remus still had not replied to his last letter. Harry knew that today was Remus' job interview and he was curious about how it went. It was rather unusual for Remus not to reply and Harry feared that Umbridge stole Remus' letter, before they were able to use secrecy charms. But in the end, Harry's worries were unnecessary. Because late in the evening, after Harry returned once more from an Occlumency class, a black owl brought a letter. The Gryffindor smiled relieved when he saw that it was from Remus. Harry opened it hastily: Dear Harry, I'm sorry that this reaches you only now. I know it is already late. But earlier I was too nervous to write to you, because of my job interview. Speaking of the job interview, it went really well. And you won't believe it, but I got the job! I'm now an official consultant of the Auror department! I'll help the Aurors with cases concerning dark creatures! I'm so excited. Thank you so much for encouraging me. I wouldn’t have got this job without you. The most suited privacy charm for our purpose is the Hidden Word spell. That is the spell your father, Sirius and I used for the Marauder's Map. Just cast it upon your letter and think of a password. For the first letter, just use the same password the Marauder's Map has and we'll think of a better one soon. Is everything going well at school? Yours, Remus From then, everything went better with every day: Because of his job, Remus was happier than ever before. And that made Harry happier too. Remus made him so happy that he almost didn’t mind Umbridge and the Occlumency lessons with Snape. When Harry complained to Remus about the way Snape taught him (relentlessly assaulting his mind), Remus told him that everyone had to learn Occlumency like that. There is no easier way. That's why Remus sent Harry as another courting gift a book about meditation techniques. The book was actually quite helpful and Harry made slowly progress with shielding his mind. The relationship between Remus and Harry made progress too. They became closer and closer, learning so much about each other. And Harry knew that falling in love with the older man would only be a matter of time. A couple of days later, during a DA meeting, Harry noticed tension between his best friend, Ron, and his younger sister. After the meeting, Harry decided to ask Ginny: »What's wrong between you and Ron? « The redhead growled slightly. »He's a git. « »What did he do? « »Have you noticed that I started hanging out with Blaise? « Harry nodded. He already had a bad suspicion. »Well, yesterday my dear, concerned brother tried to tell me that I should not meet Blaise again. « »He tried to tell you what to do? « Even Harry knew that that was a mistake. »He did. « »What did you do? « »I told him to pull his stick out of his ass. Then I hexed him. « Cautiously, Harry asked: »But don’t you think Ron has a point? I mean, Blaise is a Slytherin…« Ginny frowned angrily. »So what? Just because he's a Slytherin doesn’t mean he's less trustworthy than a Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. « »Do you want me to talk to Ron? Maybe I can make him calm down a bit. « The younger woman smiled and touched Harry's arm. »That's really nice of you. But I think he got the message. « =============================================================================== A couple of days later, Seamus and Dean sneaked off after their last class of the day. When they walked past a small storage room in a deserted hallway, Dean grabbed the Irishman's arm and pulled him into the tiny room. In the semi- darkness, Seamus was pushed against the door, before Dean kissed him passionately. The dark-skinned wizard pressed his boyfriend against the door with his body as he slipped his tongue into the smaller one's mouth. They made out passionately, Dean quickly dominating the kiss, while their hands wandered. Dean's right hand was tangled in Seamus' half-long sandy colored hair and his left hand was underneath his lover's untidy school uniform, caressing his flat stomach. Meanwhile, Seamus had his arms wrapped around his boyfriend's neck. The two Gryffindor's continued like this for a while, until there was a knock at the room's door, startling them. They jumped away from the door as it opened. They saw that it was Luna and the blonde girl smiled dreamily at the two boys. »L-Luna…« The Ravenclaw waved at them. »Did I disturb you? I just wanted to tell you that I accept you two. You are really cute together. « Dean's eyes widened. »We aren’t… I mean, I'm not gay. We just… We are friends. « he stammered. Seamus looked hurt at his boyfriend, while Luna just smiled. She touched Dean's arm lightly. »It's okay. Don’t be afraid. The wrackspurts are making you feel so upset. I love you guys no matter what. « The quirky girl kissed Dean's cheek and then Seamus' cheek. She whispered into the Irishman's ear: »You might want to comb through your hair. « Luna winked, before skipping away happily. Seamus turned to Dean. »We are just friends? « Dean groaned rubbing his hand over his face. »I'm sorry… I just panicked. You know that I'm not used to his whole thing… « »You mean liking a boy? « Dean nodded, making his boyfriend sigh. »There is no difference between liking a boy and liking a girl… Look, I understand if you are afraid to come out. I felt the same, when I saw that I'm gay. But if someone catches us and tells us that they accept us, then please… Don’t deny this. Because you calling me your friend… That hurt. « Dean sighed and pulled Seamus into a hug. »Sorry, Seam. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I'll be a better boyfriend, I promise. « »You are already a good boyfriend. « =============================================================================== Another few days later, when Professor Dumbledore was sitting in his office, stroking Fawkes' feathers absentmindedly, while worrying about Voldemort, a small group of pupils entered the room. Dumbledore watched curiously how Mr. Malfoy with his friends Mr. Nott, Mr. Zabini and Ms. Parkinson walked to him. »What a pleasant surprise. Take a seat. « When the four Slytherins sat in front of their headmaster, the old wizard offered them sweets, which they politely declined. »How may I help you? « Dumbledore asked. Draco Malfoy leaned forward and said: »I'd like to offer you an alliance. « Chapter End Notes I hope you like it. Please leave kudos and comments. You can also send me prompts. You can also follow me on my official twitter @Gerfanfictioner ***** Chapter 8 ***** Chapter Notes Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does. Sorry for any mistakes. See the end of the chapter for more notes Silver is both good and bad for werewolves. Silver is a metal that is used often in magical rituals. Silver is connected to the moon and symbolizes change and the cyclic nature of all things. In terms of magical theory, silver has many attributes that favors a werewolf magic. Many werewolf ceremonies and ritual require the precious metal. And if a werewolf wears small amounts of silver, it can even strengthen and enhance their magic. (See werewolf magic). The precious metal also has a huge relevance during the bonding ceremony at the end of courting. The two or more mates, who get bonded to each other, often gift each other weapons made of silver as a sign of undying and unconditional trust. But silver is also one of the biggest dangers to a werewolf as it extremely poisonous for a lycanthrope. There are several different reactions silver can cause in a lycanthrope's body: If a werewolf's skin is exposed to silver for a longer time, for example due to wearing jewelry that is made of silver, then the skin will get red and irritated or an exanthema will develop. And should a silver object touch the skin for a long time or if a silver object is stuck in the layers of the skin, the flesh surrounding it will fester and rot. A werewolf's reaction to ingesting silver through the nose or the mouth is similar to a Muggle's or wizard's allergic reaction with the following symptoms: an itchy rash, swelling of the tongue or the throat, watering eyes, shortness of breath, vomiting, lightheadedness and low blood pressure. An anaphylactic shock from silver poisoning can cause death in a matter of mere minutes. Should silver find its way into a werewolf's blood stream, the symptoms will be similar to those of a Muggle sickness called 'radiation sickness': Small amounts of silver will cause headaches, nausea and vomiting as well as fatigue, lack of appetite and general uneasiness. Larger amounts of silver cause bloody diarrhea and vomiting. Necrosis can appear as well as loss of hair. The werewolf feels weak and in the end a silver poisoning will end fatally. There are treatments to silver poisoning though. For irritations of the skin, healing salves are sufficient. But for more serious infections as well as allergic reactions to silver, strong healing potions are needed. There is an advanced and very potent healing potion, developed in the 18th century to treat silver poisoning. It works for all forms of silver poisoning, but if it is administered too late, lasting damages from the poisoning can occur. Such as: a weakened immune system, paranoia and psychosis as well as infertility. That is why most werewolves always carry a vial of the potion with them. For brewing instru ctions on the potion, see page 425. The cause of a werewolf's strong reaction to silver is largely unknown, even though there are several theories:   * According to a warlock from 16th century, silver's magical attributes react with a werewolf's natural magic and cancel it out, causing these violent reactions (similar reactions can be seen when a wizard suddenly loses his magical core) * As silver is an excellent conductor of magical energy, several wizards conclude that a werewolf's magic gets out of balance shifting through the lycanthrope's body and the violent reactions are just the body trying to fix this imbalance * A Muggleborn witch recently developed a theory based upon Muggle science's explanation of allergies It is not clear yet, which theory is the right one, but it is known that some werewolves are born with a higher tolerance to silver, while other werewolves can build up a better resistance against the metal by exposing themselves to it more often. =============================================================================== »How may I help you? « Dumbledore asked. Draco Malfoy leaned forward and said: »I'd like to offer you an alliance. « For a moment, Dumbledore smiled faintly, before he asked: »An alliance? « »If you think, I'll bow to that insane snake-faced madman like my father does, then your brilliant mind is mistaken, headmaster. That is why I am willing to work with you and your little group. What's it called? The Order of the Phoenix. « Draco's voice was mocking and he grinned when Dumbledore couldn’t hide his surprise for a moment. »The Order? My dear boy, I don’t know what you are talking about. « »I am sorry to disappoint you, headmaster. But your organization is not exactly a secret. At least not in the Dark Lord's inner circle. « »And what does Voldemort claim to know about this so called 'Order of the Phoenix'? « Draco grinned. »Wouldn’t you like to know? But I am not giving up my information so easily. Not without getting something in return. « »And what would that be? « »I want protection for my mother, my friends as well as a place in your Order. Furthermore, I want a guarantee that neither my mother nor I will be punished for anything that might happen during the war with the Dark Lord. « »These are interesting demands you have. But why should I agree to them? « »Because in return I will fight at your sight against that monstrosity. I will be your spy, giving you information about the Dark Lord's plans and strategies. « »Forgive me, dear boy, but why would Lord Voldemort discuss his plans with a young boy like yourself? « »He wouldn’t. But we both know that the Dark Lord and most of his servants are too arrogant, too assured of themselves, to pay attention to a young boy while they discuss their plans. « »And what about your friends? « Pansy looked disdainfully at the old wizard. »We are with Draco, supporting him no matter what. « Dumbledore nodded and silently studied the teenagers in front of him for a few minutes. Then he smiled and leaned forward, clasping his hands together. »Let's talk about how we can benefit each other, then. « =============================================================================== Dean had Seamus pressed against a wall in an empty corridor, leaning in to kiss him. The sandy blonde wizard couldn’t believe how often he found himself pushed against a wall or a door by his boyfriend. 'Dean must have a kink for that. ' he thought. But it wasn’t like he minded. In fact, the Irish wizard got aroused by it every time. Shortly, before Dean's lips met his boyfriend's, a group of fourth years walked around the corner, making Dean jump away from Seamus. They stood there awkwardly, until the group of girls from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw passed them, waving at Ginny shortly. When the younger students were gone, Dean would still not look at Seamus and just mumbled: »Sorry about that. « Seamus sighed and grabbed his boyfriend's hand, pulling him into an empty classroom. »What are you apologizing for? « Dean looked down, shuffling his feet nervously.   »For…For being afraid, I guess. It must suck for you to hide this… To hide us. « Seamus walked up to Dean, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend's waist. »Hey Dean. Look at me. « The dark-skinned wizard looked down at his smaller boyfriend. »I don’t mind keeping this a secret. I mean, sure I'd love it if we could hold hands and kiss in public and do all that couple-y shit. But you matter more to me than that. And if you are not ready yet, I can wait. « »It's just… This is the first time I like another guy and I don’t really know how to act, because… Well, most Muggles are not exactly supportive of same-sex couples. « »I know. Me dad's a Muggle and he wasn’t happy when I came out. But he got used to it and supports me now. And the Wizarding community is much more tolerant when it comes to sexuality. « Dean nodded slowly. »I'm just afraid. « he whispered. Seamus reached up to caress his boyfriend's cheek. »I know. I understand. And I can wait until you are ready. « The Muggleborn wizard looked at his boyfriend with wide, adoring eyes and said sincerely: »Thank you. « The Irishman didn’t reply. Instead he just pulled Dean into a kiss. =============================================================================== For the next few days, Harry and his two best friends were extremely busy with school work. They started revising for the O.W.L. exams and the fifth graders were drowning in homework. On top of that was also Ron's Quidditch training, which Harry helped his best friend with. He might have been banned from playing and he felt quite bitter about it, but Harry still wanted Gryffindor to win the Quidditch Cup. Additionally, Harry still had Occlumency lessons twice a week. The Gryffindor progressed massively, but he still had a lot to learn. So, with all his obligations Harry only barely managed to hold up his conversations with Remus. But he was glad that he could talk to the werewolf, since the letters they exchanged were the only thing that kept Harry sane. Meanwhile, Hermione helped Neville with his work for Charms and for Transfiguration, tutoring her fellow Gryffindor thrice a week. The two had been friends before, but now that they spent more time with each other, Hermione and Neville got closer friends. Especially since Neville slowly became more and more self-confident. This had a lot to do with the DA, as Neville made a lot of progress, more than anyone else in their club. He was also very observant and noticed Hermione's crush on Ron and the redhead's crush on her (not that that was hard to miss). Neville didn’t want to confront either of them about their feelings, but he tried to drop subtle hints that their feelings might be mutual. Both Hermione and Ron were extremely stubborn and oblivious, though. =============================================================================== Severus Snape, one of the most renowned Potions masters in Europe and resident Potions professor at Hogwarts, sighed as he walked into his classroom to supervise a detention. Once more he had to supervise the Weasley twins, who were his most common students in detention. Usually, he'd make them scrub cauldrons or his classroom, but last time he made them clean, the twins had surprisingly much fun, playing around with cleaning supplies. Since they earned their detention by blowing up several cauldrons in their potions class earlier that day, Professor Snape made them redo the potion. Groaning, they complied, while Snape sat down behind his desk, watching them. He couldn’t deny how much potential they had as they were both very talented wizards. But they were also irresponsible, impulsive and childish, which made them unable to use their full potential. Snape watched them murmur to each other as they worked, planning to inflict a few of her famous pranks on Umbridge. The Potions professor despised that insufferable, pink toad, so he pretended not to hear the twins. Instead, his mind wandered to the Occlumency lessons he had with Potter. When they started their lessons, Harry fared as badly as Snape expected, proving Snape's bad opinion about the Gryffindor. But one day, he changed: He followed Snape's instructions more carefully, listened to him more closely and obviously practiced a lot. And while he would never be a master at Occlumency, Professor Snape had to admit that he was wrong to assume that the Potter boy would fail. When the Weasley twins finished their potions and cleaned their work places, Snape told them roughly to get out, before he retreated to his chambers, feeling glad to have finally time to himself. =============================================================================== At the same time, Draco and his three best friends were sitting in an unused classroom, which they warded with privacy charms and discussed whether they could trust Dumbledore or not. Their negotiations with the Headmaster went rather well, but true to their nature, the Slytherins remained suspicious. »I don’t really understand why we are even discussing this. That daft old fool is too noble to betray us and our agreement. Just like his bloody Gryffindors. « Theodore Nott said. His three best friends snorted. »You should not underestimate Gryffindors, Theo. They may not be the brightest and act impulsively, but that does not mean they are complete idiots. « Blaise Zabini replied. »Besides, Dumbledore would not have the high position and image in the Wizarding World that he has if he were a daft old fool. « Draco Malfoy continued. »And we cannot forget that he fought against the Dark Lord before for many years. There is a reason why the Dark Lord fears Dumbledore. « Pansy Parkinson added. Theodore Nott rolled his eyes. »But he needs us to spy for him and collect information. « Draco shook his head seriously. »I don’t think he needs us as much as we need him. I have suspected for some time now that there is a spy in the Dark Lord's ranks. And I know from my father, that the Dark Lord has the same suspicion. « »So what should we do? « Blaise asked. »I say we fulfill our part of the bargain, collect information and try to recruit more Slytherins. But we should also prepare an escape plan, just in case Dumbledore decides to betray us. « Pansy suggested. =============================================================================== During the next day, a trip to Hogsmeade on Valentine's Day was announced. A lot of the students from upper years hurriedly huddled together in small groups, discussing how to get a date for that occasion, while the couples watched amused. Meanwhile, Harry hurried off to the Owlery, sending a letter to Remus, asking him whether he would like to meet up on Valentine's Day. And Ginny quickly sneaked away, looking for a certain Slytherin to ask out. When she found Blaise, she strode up to him confidently and invited him to Hogsmeade. Blaise, who was secretly infatuated with the fiery redhead, kissed her hand and accepted her invitation gladly. =============================================================================== Dear Harry, I would be delighted to meet you on Valentine's Day. I will wait for you at the 'Three Broomsticks' at noon. I cannot wait to finally see you again. Yours, Remus Chapter End Notes I hope you liked it. Sorry for the lack of on-screen interaction between Remus and Harry in this chapter. Next chapter will have more Remus/Harry. I also mostly finished my draft for this story. It's going to be a very long one and at some points it will be a very dark story. But I hope you'll all continue reading it nonetheless. Please leave kudos and comments. You can also send me prompts. You can also follow me on my official twitter @Gerfanfictioner ***** Chapter 9 ***** Chapter Notes Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does. Sorry for any mistakes. I'm back from my vacation, so I'll start uploading new chapters regularily again. See the end of the chapter for more notes The_mating_bond The emotional, mental and physical connection between two or more mates is called the mating bond. It binds the souls of the mates with a metaphysical connection together. It is invisible, but can be made visible with a spell. Furthermore, mated werewolves often describe the presence of the bond in their head as 'soft humming'. The mating bond enables the mates to feel each other's emotions and in rare cases even to communicate telepathically. A mating bond cannot form under force. For a mating bond to form all participating parties must want it out of their free will. This cannot be influenced by any form of love or lust potion nor can it be influenced by any kind of mind-altering magic. When the bond is freshly formed, the mates often experience disorientation, the feeling of being outside of their body and they can experience pain when they are too far away from each other. The mating bond serves also as protection against mind-altering potions and spells of any kind. Not even a strong memory charm can affect the bond. It is also suspected that the mating bond is a source of great magic as sometimes werewolves or their mates perform almost impossibly powerful magic to protect each other.   ===============================================================================   Dear Harry, I’ll definitely come to see you. I will take the day off so we can spend it together. Please tell me where and when you want to meet. Yours, Remus ===============================================================================  Valentine’s day soon arrived and filled Hogwarts with a happy and excited business as everyone who had a date, prepared for it. So did many of the Gryffindors: Ginny had a date with Blaise, partly to spite Ron and partly because she wanted to. They would meet in the small village later that day to have a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks. The redhead nearly despaired as she didn’t have many clothes that were good enough to wear on a date. When Molly bought clothes for a children (mostly second hand), she mostly paid attention to practicalness, which Ginny was usually thankful for. Just not when she was about to go on a date with a charming, handsome and filthy rich guy. Luckily, one of the girls she shared a dormitory with, had the same size as her, so Ginny borrowed some clothes from  her. Meanwhile, Hermione looked at herself in the mirror insecurely. She didn’t have a date, but she would spend the whole day with Ron, so Hermione wanted to look as good as possible, trying to find the best outfit, without even realizing what she was doing. Eventually, after she tried out most of her clothes, she found something she was happy with. Nodding to herself, Hermione went into the common room, unknowing that on the other side of Gryffindor Tower, Ron had the same worries. Seamus and Dean dressed nicely, yet more subtlely. Of course, they were going on a date as well, but they didn’t want to show it: They told everyone that they’d just spend the day as friends. But they knew the truth. And while Dean feared that Seamus would eventually get sick of hiding their relationship, it was more than enough for the sandy blonde wizard to be with Dean. As for Harry... Like they agreed, he would meet up with Remus in Hogsmead. The boy-who-lived didn’t even have problems with his outfit: He just wore the dress robes, Remus sent him earlier that week. He knew the werewolf would like to see him in them and Harry wanted to show that he appreciated Remus’ gifts. Not to mention that Harry liked wearing the soft fabric and that the dress robe really brought out his eyes. »Wow... Mate, are you dressing up for someone? A hot date maybe? « Ron asked, wiggling his eyebrows. Harry chuckled. »Nah. Who would I have a hot date with? Just wanted to wear this some time. « »Well, I hope you are not dressing up for that Skeeter bitch. « The boy-who-lived grimaced. »Definitely not. « They went downstairs for breakfast and Harry grinned into his eggs and bacon as he watched Ron and Hermione dancing around each other, trying to compliment the other without actually complimenting. Once they were done eating, the three friends started the walk to the small wizarding village. Thankfully, it was not too cold and there was only a thin layer of snow covering the ground. They headed straight for the Three Broomsticks Inn where they were supposed to meet up with Rita Skeeter, so that Harry could retell his story about Voldemort’s return. It was tiring to remember that horrible evening, but Harry knew he had to tell his story to convince people that Voldemort was really back. When he was done, Harry felt drained. So, he excused himself from his friends, saying he needed some time alone. It wasn’t even a lie, but also the perfect excuse to meet Remus. For a few minutes, Harry walked around the village, before going to his meeting place with Remus in front of Honeydukes. The teenager didn’t have to wait long for his date to arrive. The werewolf and the wizard hugged tightly, enjoying the other’s warm embrace. »I missed you. « Harry mumbled into the older man’s chest. »I missed you too. « Remus replied, his voice rumbly and warm. After seperating, Remus noticed that Harry wore his new dress robe. A warm, fuzzy feeling spread through his chest. But the werewolf’s dick also took an interest as Harry looked gorgoeus in the dress robe. »You... You look amazing. « Remus finally said, feeling guilty about his sexual interest in Harry. The black-haired teenager blushed and answered: »So do you. « And Harry didn’t lie: Remus looked ten years younger and worry free than the last time Harry saw him. His face was clean-shaven and had a healthy color and Renus’ eyes were gleaming happily. It seemed to Harry like Remus gained some weight and went from being dangerously thin and lean to a more healthy body with sturdier muscles. The werewolf also got a hair cut, his brown hair shining, styled into a modern style. Furthermore, the older man wore new clothes: black muggle jeans that were not skim tight, but still hugged Remus’ legs and butt nicely and a green sweater underneath a leather jacket. To keep a long story short... Remus looked hot. »I brought you a small gift. I made them myself. « he said, handing Harry a box. »Thank you. But you didn’t have to. I’m afraid I don’t have something for you. « Harry said, grinning happily as he opened the box. »You don’t have to give me something. « The boy-who-lived gasped happily when he saw that Remus brought him chocolate cookies. »Thank you so much! « he exclaimed, before shoving a piece of a cookie into his mouth. Remus was glad that Harry liked it. One of the things he liked most about Harry was the fact that the teenager appreciated the small things in life and that something as small as a box of cookies could make him so happy. Harry quickly devoured another cookie and was about to grab a third one, when Remus told him chuckling: »Slow down. Keep some for later. « »But they’re so good! « Harry whined. Still chuckling, Remus told him to put the cookies away. Then they entered Honeydukes, where the older man bought some sweets for Harry. The teenager munched happily on his sweets as the two men took a stroll through the snowy village, entering some of its shops. They were walking closely, arms and hands brushing occasionally. Remus told Harry about his new job and Harry could tell that Remus was very happy at the moment, which in return made him happy. Eventually, they were back at the Three Broomsticks Inn. Inside, Harry and Remus went to an empty table, while Harry noticed that Hermione and Ron weren’t here anymore. They ordered some butterbeers and continued their cheerful conversations, only interrupted occasionally when a student approached them to say hello to ‘Professor Lupin’. Harry barely noticed how the time flew by, but soon it was time for him to go. Remus accompanied him a bit. They hugged and said goodbye to each other lovingly, but when the older men disappeared Harry noticed that they didn’t even kiss. =============================================================================== »What are you doing, Freddie? « George asked, hugging his brother from behind. It was early in the morning, a couple of days after Valentine's Day, and they were in the empty Gryffindor common room. Fred leaned back into his brother's embrace and replied: »Just going over the numbers. « George took a closer look at the papers in his twin's hands and saw that they were the business plans they laid out for the shop they were planning. »Again? We spent the whole evening looking at them. « »I know. I just want to check them. I want everything to go perfect. « Fred mumbled. »Did you even get sleep this night? « »Maybe a few hours. « George sighed and kissed Fred's neck softly, before pulling him into a standing position. Fred turned to his brother. »What…« He was shut up when George gave him a sweet kiss. »Freddie, I don’t want you to stress yourself out. Everything will go well. I promise. « Fred nodded hesitantly, so George gave him another kiss. »Now and get some sleep okay? « While Fred stumbled sleepily into their dormitory, George gathered all the papers, before following his brother and lover. =============================================================================== Sirius was sitting in the salon of his house at Grimmauld Place, trying to focus on a muggle novel, when the floo flared up. The black-haired man looked up and sneered, when he saw who was stepping through. »Snivellius. What are you doing here? « »Trust me Black. I’m not here, because I value the company of mutts like you. « Severus replied airily. The floo flared up again and Dumbledore came through. »I’m sorry to barge in on you like that Sirius. I hope we’re not interrupting anything. « “»es. I’m sure you must be very busy. « Severus added sarcastically. The Animagus glared at his childhood rival, before standing up and saying: »For you, Albus, I always have time, even if you bring such an illmannered guest with you. Would you like a cup of tea? « Hogwarts’ headmaster beamed, ignoring Severus’ scowl. »A cup of tea would be lovely. « The three men went downstairs into the house’s kitchen, where Sirius made the promised tea. After filling three cups he brought them to the table and sat down. While Dumbledore nipped at his cup, Sirius noticed that the potion master put his tea aside. Laughing bitterly, he asked: »Afraid that I want to poison you, Snivellus? « Severus sneered. »It wouldn’t be the first time that you try to kill me. But I hardly think you’re smart enough to poison me. « The two men continued to bicker like this, until Albus put his cup down and sighed. When he had the younger men’s attention, the wise wizard said: »My dear boys, when will you finally stop with your childish rivalry? You haven’t been in school for decades and both of you have seen and done things that most people can’t even imagine. Both of you are adults, so act accordingly. « Both Sirius and Severus scowled at the older man. »With all due respect headmaster, but for my part I am unable to forgive someone who almost killed me.« »But you aren’t dead! James saved you! « Sirius shouted. »And to repay that life debt I spend every waking minute of my life trying to protect your ungrateful godson! « Severus retorted. For a moment, Sirius was too shocked to react, which Dumbledore took advantage of: »You are both concerned about Harry’s safety. If you can’t bury your rivalry, can you at least agree on a ceasefire to better protect Harry? « Severus and Sirius looked at each other silently for a few minutes, before simultaneously turning to Dumbledore and sighing. »Fine. « Sirius mumbled, while Severus only nodded. The old wizard beamed at them. »Splendid! Now let’s talk about Harry’s security during the next summer. « »Does he have to return to his relatives? « Sirius asked. »Yes. In Surrey he is protected by blood wards. « »But this kind of wards requires affection between the family members. And from what Harry told me his relatives hate him. « Severus nodded. »It pains me to say this, but I agree with Black. I’ve known Petunia since we were children. I don’t think there is any love between her and her nephew. « »Their blood ties are stronger than you think. And far stronger than they know themselves. « When the younger men wanted to protest, the headmaster raised his hands and added: »But it won’t harm anyone if Harry spends less time with his relatives during the next summer. « =============================================================================== A few days later, Harry and his two best friends were sitting in the Great Hall eating breakfast, when the mail arrived. A beautiful brown owl dropped a letter in front of Hermione, who looked curiously at it and picked it up. When she saw, who sent it, she smiled happily. »It's from Viktor. « Ron looked up from his plate. »What? You're still talking to him? « Hermione nodded. »I cant believe it! « Ron exclaimed. »What's your problem? « Hermione asked him. »You should stop writing him! « The teenage girl glared at Ron. »I can write to whoever I want to. « »He's shitting you! Famous people like him aren’t interested in girls like you. « Hermione stared shocked at the teenager, tears gathering in her eyes, and Ron went pale as he realized what he just said. Suddenly, Hermione jumped up, grabbed her bag and the letter and stormed off. Ron turned to Harry for advice, but the black-haired teenager just shook his head. »You really fucked up mate. « When Seamus came down into the Great Hall for breakfast, he nearly collided with Hermione. After jumping out of her way, he saw that Dean was sitting a few seats away from their group of friends... And talking to Romilda Vane. The Irishman suppressed a growl. He never liked Romilda Vane. She was that kind of person, who only went out with popular guys to become more popular herself. And she liked to seduce guys to break up happy relationships just for fun. And Seamus despised people like that. Loyalty, faithfulness and a basic level of respect and human decency were things Seamus valued a lot. He walked closer to his secret boyfriend and he disliked it more and more with every step. Romilda was clearly flirting with Dean: leaning towards him and touching him a lot, flippimg her hair back and showing off her breasts, all while giggling annoyingly. He heard how Dean complimented Romilda’s eyes, so the Irishman’s elbow “accidentally” hit Dean, while walking past them. With grim satisfaction, Seamus noticed that Dean toned down his flirting a greatly, but that he did not stop. So when Seamus ignored Dean for the next few hours, only interrupted by a possessive snogging session, Dean could not really blame him. Meanwhile, Harry also got a letter and knowing that it was from Remus, he eagerly opened it. Dear Harry, I’m afraid I have bad news. Dumbledore has sent me on a short mission and I will most likely not be able to stay in touch with you for the rest of the week. But I’m sending you a small gift with this letter, which I hope will express my sincerest apologies. I’m very sorry for leaving you for a few days. I hope you are not too mad. Yours, Remus Carefully, Harry got out the small object that was in the envelope. »Merlin! « he exclaimed softly. Remus sent him a small golden necklace with a penchant in the shape of a small gryffin and made from a small ruby. It looked terribly expensive. Harry put it into one of the many pockets in his school clothes, close to his body where it would be safe, before composing a reply: Dear Remus, Don’t feel bad. I do understand that you have other duties than exchanging letters with me. I am not mad. I just wish you all luck with your mission and I hope you take care of yourself to return in one piece. I'll miss you terribly though. Your gift is absolutely magnificent, but it must have cost a fortune! I’m almost afraid to wear something so valuable. Don’t get me wrong: I love it, but you don’t have to make me so expensive gifts. Yours, Harry The werewolf’s reply arrived later the same day. Dear Harry, Exchanging letters with you could never be a duty. It’s far too enjoyable for me. I promise I will return safely and as soon as possible. And I'll miss you a lot too. You are worth every piece of gold I spent on that necklace and I would happily spend everything I have for you. Yours, Remus =============================================================================== »Enter! « Draco opened the heavy wooden door and stepped into his teacher’s office. »You wanted to speak to me, Professor Snape? « »Close the door and sit down, Mr. Malfoy. « Once the blonde was seated in front of his desk, Severus flicked his wandsked: »How are you Draco? « The teenager sighed. »I’m okay. I feel rather stressed though. « Severus looked at his godson, feeling concerned. »I have heard about your willingness to join the Dark Lord’s ranks. « Draco wasn’t even surprised. His godfather always seemed to know everything. »Then you must have also heard about my reasons. « The teacher nodded gravely. »I have heard a lot. I do not approve of your decision. But you are smart and more than capable of holding your own so I will support you. « The blonde Slytherin had to fight to hide his surprise. His cryptic godfather and teacher rarely spoke as openly. »I appreciate it. But I don’t...« Draco cut himself off, when he felt how Severus tried to invade his mind. But Draco was skilled at Occlumency (after all Severus himself taught him), so the older man was blocked off by a strong wall in Draco’s mind. »I was about to say that I don’t know how you’re supposed to support me, but I think I have an idea how you meant that. « Severus explained how cruel the Death Eater meetings were and how Draco would most likely be required to do horrible things at these meetings, all while trying to breach Draco’s mind. When he found a small crack in Draco’s mental wall, Severus took advantage of it and slipped deeper into Draco’s head. But soon the blonde had him trapped in an endlessly repeated memory of the blonde listening to a Celestina Warbeck song. Nodding satisfied, Severus drew his mind back into his own head. »Your Occlumency shall suffice. « »You taught me well, Sev. « The potions master scowled. »I have told you not to call me that, insolent child. « Draco just grinned at him, before asking: »Do you trust Dumbledore? « »I trust him. But not unconditionally. « »Isn’t Dumbledore too honourable to harm you? Or me? « Severus looked disapprovingly at his godson. »I thought you were smarter than that Draco. Dumbledore is a battle commander. Sometimes, he has to sacrifice people or has to make difficult decisions. For the greater good. « »So you say he might put me into a position where I might be hurt or be forced to do something bad? « »He already has. « Draco frowned. »I have offered to be a spy. « »And I’m sure he did everything to keep you from making that decision. « Severus said sarcastically. The blonde was shocked and looked thoughtfully. »Draco, you have chosen to ally with the right side. But you still need to be careful. « »I will. « the teenager replied nodding. =============================================================================== Two hours later, Severus entered the headmaster’s office. »What can I do for you, Severus? « »Draco is ready. « the potions master replied darkly. Dumbledore nodded. »He’ll join Voldemort as soon as possible then. « The older man looked back down at his desk, scribbling on a piece of parchment. After a few moments, he looked back up and smiled at Snape. »Is there something else, my boy? « Severus scowled and crossed his arms. »I don’t like this. « Dumbledore sighed. »Mr. Malfoy wants to do this. And I don’t see any harm in letting him do this. « Severus scoffed and in an unusual display of his feeling he said: »Of course you don’t. For you he’s just another of your pawns you can move back and forth as you wish. But you should not forget, headmaster, that there are people who care a great deal about Draco. « The potions master stormed out of the room, leaving a stunned Dumbledore behind. =============================================================================== Harry was frozen to the spot, staring at the dead body in front of him. Dread spread through his body. Remus’ face almost looked peaceful as if he was sleeping. »Voldemort’s minions got him. « Sirius, who suddenly stood next to Harry, said. The young Gryffindor’s eyes wandered over his dead mate’s body, noticing the huge amout of cuts and bruises on Remus’ bloody body. »They tortured him. « his godfather explained. Suddenly, Remus opened his eyes, staring right at Harry. »This is your fault. « he said hoarsely. »This is your fault. « Remus repeated with Sirius joining in. The werewolf got up and screeched for a last time: »YOUR FAULT! « Then Remus jumped at Harry, his face grimacing, eyes menacing and full of hate. With a loud gasp, Harry bolted into a sitting position. He was breathing heavily, heart racing in his chest. After a few moments, he realised that he was in his bed in Gryffindor Tower and that everything was just a dream. Fighting back a sob, Harry laid back down. Ever since Remus left on his secret mission two days ago, the Gryffindor felt irrationally afraid for the werewolf’s well-being. And not only was he worried, but he also missed the older man. The combination of worry and longing made Harry sleep and eat less as well as making him irritable and giving him mood swings. He tried to act as normal as possible, but he knew that his friends already suspected that something was wrong. Sighing, Harry closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep again. »I just want Remus to come home. « he whispered quietly into the darkness. When Harry woke up a couple of hours later, he took a deep breath, chasing away the bad thoughts. He decided that he’d stop wallowing in self-pity and make Remus proud: He would study harder, get better grades and put more efforts into his Occlumency lessons. And he really did. By the end of the week, when Remus still wasn’t back, he even got a compliment from Professor Snape: »Potter, you’re not as much of an imbecile as I previously thought. « Chapter End Notes I hope you liked it. Please leave kudos and comments. You can also send me prompts. You can also follow me on my official twitter @Gerfanfictioner ***** Chapter 10 ***** Chapter Notes Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does. Sorry for any mistakes. WARNING: This chapter includes graphic descriptions of rape, child sexual abuse and torture. If any of those things bother you and/or trigger something, please do not read this chapter. Also a reminder: This work is purely fictional. I do not condone any kind of rape or sexual abuse in real life. See the end of the chapter for more notes »Are you nervous? « Severus asked. Draco shook his head. 'I'm terrified. ' he thought. It was the night of Draco's initiation into the Death Eater ranks. On the teenager's other side, Lucius Malfoy was smiling proudly. »Malfoys don’t get nervous. « he boasted. Draco somehow managed not to roll his eyes. He loved his father. He truly did. But lately Draco felt fed up with Malfoy Senior and his submissive attitude towards Voldemort. Sadly, he couldn’t voice his annoyance though. A few minutes later, Draco, his father and Severus were walking into the huge ballroom of Malfoy Manor, where today's Death Eater meeting would happen. Draco was shaking, when Voldemort strolled into the room, but he calmed down a bit, when Severus grabbed his hand and pressed it for a moment. The Dark Lord walked to one end of the ballroom, where he sat down on a high, throne like chair. »Today we welcome another pure wizard into our midst. Another wizard loyal to our cause. « Voldemort began. Draco shivered as he listened to the man's icy, high-pitched voice. The Dark Lord's voice made him feel small, afraid and worthless. And slowly, Draco started to think that this was maybe not a good idea. »Step forward Draco. « The blonde followed Voldemort's command and walked through the hall, through the crowd of silent Death Eaters, who were looming around him like dark statues. Once he reached the Dark Lord, Draco kneeled before him. »Do you swear to uphold the purity of your blood and defend the values and traditions of pureblooded wizards? « The voice of Slytherin's heir was nothing but a murmur, even though it echoed through the room like a loud bang. »I-I swear. « Draco replied. »Do you swear to be loyal to our cause and to vanquish anyone who attempts to deter us from our goal? « »I swear. « And finally Voldemort asked: »And do you swear to serve me loyally and accept me as your Lord and master? « »I swear. « »Look at me. « The blonde teenager lifted his shaking head, shivering when he looked into Voldemort's cruel, merciless red eyes. Instantly, he felt how Voldemort entered his mind and looked through his memories. Draco's first instinct was to fight against the intrusion, but after half a second he went slack and let the Dark Lord do as he pleased. The only thing Draco did was to hide certain memories from Voldemort in order to hide his position as a spy. It only took a few minutes, but to Draco it felt like an eternity. While looking through the young man's mind, Voldemort was purposefully rough, hurting Draco repeatedly. Eventually, the Dark Lord drew back, though, looking pleased. »Your arm. « he commanded. Draco raised his bare right arm and offered it to Voldemort, who pressed the tip of his wand into the pale flesh. »Morsmordre. « When the dark mark started to be etched into his skin, Draco cried out. Tears gathered into his eyes and his body shook violently as excruciating pain, worse than anything Draco ever experienced, ran through his veins. But apart from that first scream, the blonde managed to bear the pain without a sound. And when it was over, once the pain subsided to a weak burning in Draco's arm, he sighed out in relieve. »Rise now, Draco. « Voldemort said. And his Death Eaters, he told: »Let's welcome Draco into our family. « The hooded and cloaked wizards and witches applauded Draco as he went back to his father and godfather. »You did well. « Severus whispered. Meanwhile, Voldemort announced that this evening's entertainment program was for his inner circle alone and that it would be in one of Malfoy Manor's salons. Draco freshened up a bit, trying to recover from the pain, before following Voldemort. =============================================================================== When he was a child, living in that dreadful orphanage, Voldemort always questioned why he wasn’t like the other children, why he didn’t feel love or affection for friends. It made him feel inferior, but in his third year at Hogwarts, he realized that love was a weakness. After seeing all the stupid things the people around him did for love or how heartbreak could basically incapacitate them, Voldemort was glad that he was above such simple emotions. He waited until all of his most trusted servants were gathered around him, before giving a signal to two of them. On a chain, they dragged a crying, naked boy behind them. The Death Eaters pushed the child down in front of their Lord, before stepping back. »This is Peter, the son of two Muggles, who exhibited early signs of accidental magic. He is eight years old, which means that only in three years, he would attend Hogwarts, learning about magic. « Voldemort explained. His Death Eaters looked disgusted and repulsed, some of them voicing malicious statements. »Should we really allow this scum, this lowly ape, to desecrate the noble and ancient halls of Hogwarts? Should we allow him to poison our children's minds with dirty, simple Muggle values? « »No. « the Death Eaters hissed. »You are right my friends. We should not. We need to wipe out this plague, ridding us of every filthy mudblood. « Voldemort's followers nodded, some of them cheering. »Let me show you where a Muggle's true place is. « Flicking his wand, Voldemort levitated the boy onto a coffee table, positioning him onto his hands and knees. Then he got out his penis and stroked it to hardness and slamming into the little boy's unprepared body, who wailed in pain as his body was violated. Just like Voldemort was unable to feel love, he rarely felt lust. This was another emotion turning humans into thoughtless, stupid primates. So this wasn’t about lust. This was about power. Voldemort deeply enjoyed the exhilarating rush of power as he completely dominated this inferior human being, using his body as he wished to. Over and over again, he slammed his erection into the young child, savoring every single of his delicious screams and wails of pain. The Dark Lord reveled in his power as he put his victim into as much pain as possible. And by the time, Voldemort shot his seed inside the boy's wrecked, violated body, the eight-year old was crying so hard that he nearly choked on his sobs. Satisfied, Voldemort pulled out of the poor boy, before casting a few Cruciatus charms on him. It took over ten minutes until the Dark Lord had enough of the child's tortured, hoarse screams. He stepped back from the boy, turning to Draco. »Go on, Draco. I allow you a go on that filthy bitch. After all, we need to celebrate your initiation. « he said, making his Death Eaters laugh. For a few moments, Draco just stared shocked at the snake-faced wizard, before he bowed to him. »Thank you, Mylord, for this generous offer. But I do not think I should have precedence over the people, who served you loyally for many years. « Draco replied diplomatically, his voice shaking. Voldemort's eyes shone angrily for a moment, before he relaxed. He mistook Draco's shaking voice for excitement and arousal, even though Draco was extremely disgusted. The Dark Lord inclined his head, saying: »You raised your son well, Lucius. « Lucius' chest swelled with pride. »Thank you, Mylord. «  =============================================================================== A few hours later, Draco was back at Hogwarts. His arm didn’t hurt anymore, it just throbbed slightly. Currently, he was in the bathroom, splashing cold water into his face and looking at his reflection in the mirror. The blonde didn’t dare to go to sleep. He was too worried about what he would see in his dreams. After all, he could still hear the screams of that tortured, little boy. Before that evening, Draco allied himself with Dumbledore and his Gryffindorks just to survive and come out of the impending war uninjured. But now, after he saw what they did to an innocent child, now that the blonde was actually confronted with the horrible actions of Voldemort and his Death Eaters, a part of him wanted to see Voldemort defeated, because he deserved it. In his eyes, that monster deserved to fall. The blonde sighed deeply, rubbing his face, before he decided to go to bed and try to get some sleep. ===============================================================================   A few days later, Voldemort sat in his 'throne room' in the estate he was using as temporary headquarters. The door opened and two of his Death Eaters quickly walked to him, kneeling in front of him. »You summoned us, Mylord? « The Dark Lord stared at the Lestrange brothers. »Report on your mission. « he instructed. »It went well Mylord. The ministry worker was easily abducted and gave us the information we wanted. « Rabastan said obediently. »After a bit of persuasion. We left her body in her home. « Rodolphus added. For a minute, Voldemort remained silent, which made the two brothers feel very uncomfortable. »It went well. « Voldemort repeated quietly. Rodolphus and Rabastan were startled, when Voldemort dropped a copy of The Daily Prophet in front of them. Its headline said: 'Azkaban fugitives Rabastan and Rodolphus Lestrange seen in Diagon Ally' The brothers' eyes went wide. »M-Mylord, I…« Rodolphus was interrupted when a Cruciatus charm was cast on him. Rabastan looked at his screaming, thrashing brother and bowed his head. »Mylord, we beg for your forgiveness. « Suddenly Voldemort stopped torturing the older Lestrange brother, who sat up feeling frightened. »Forgiveness? There is no forgiveness for failure. « Rodolphus watched terrified how his brother's hands were bound and how Voldemort vanished his clothes. Soon, the Death Eater realized that he'd rather rot in Azkaban for another 14 years than watch his brother screaming and crying as he was raped. Chapter End Notes A few words about this chapter: This is the beginning of the dark themes in this work, I announced a few chapters ago. There will be more chapters with content like this, but not focusing on it like this chapter does. I also only focused on Voldemort and the Death Eaters in this chapter, because in the future we will see a lot more of their actual characters instead of only seeing them as the 'villians'. I hope you liked it nonetheless. Please leave kudos and comments. You can also send me prompts. You can also follow me on my official twitter @Gerfanfictioner Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!