Summary:
Night of the Wolf » Harry and Hermione's summer is the same as usual: Isolation from the magical world. Then events change their lives going into Fourth Year. Wolf calls and blackmarks haunt England and in the protected walls of Hogwarts. Werewolf Harry/Hermione dive into the world of the werewolves. An AU fourth Champion. Dumble Bashing. M rated for all the right reasons.Harry Potter, M, English, Romance & Supernatural, chapters: 42, words: 330k+, favs: 1k+, follows: 1k+, updated: May 13, 2021 published: Dec 11, 2019, [Harry P., Hermione G.] Remus L., Draco M.
Chapter 1 - The Howling Night
July 22, 1994
Surry, England
Harry sat at the window of his room looking out into the well-maintained backyards under the moon light. A hand rubbed at his scar, which was still prickling uncomfortable from the dream he only half remembered now. The distinctive green light at the end of it was something he would never forget.
Looking out the window again, Harry saw something moving through the yards. It was a large dark shape that moved like a hunting dog, jumping from yard to yard over the head level walls. As it jumped and move, he could see it was more like an elongated human with a wolf head.
A cold shiver ran down Harry's spine. He had seen something like that a month before and it was not right to be in a neighborhood like that. He reached in his pocket for his wand, having made it a habit to never leaving it at more than an arm's reach away. He wasn't sure what he was going to do, but he heard it growl at a dog in a yard just three yards away that was barking. The dog backed down and retreated into its small house.
Harry licked his lips. He wasn't sure what to do. The beast started to move towards the doghouse. He could see its matted fur in the light from a kitchen window. Harry was sure he was about to see the werewolf attack the dog. He wasn't supposed to do magic outside of school though. He didn't want another warning like after first year.
It was the middle of the night, so it shocked him when a door opened in the yard to his right. The werewolf was to his left and it immediately perked its ears and turned its head in the direction of the door.
"Last time I do a double shift," a voice said. There was a slight wind and the smell of a cigarette wafted towards him while he watched the thing disappear behind the wall in the yard with the dog and then deftly jump over it a second later. Harry's heart started to pound. The thing was going to go after Mrs. Nash. Harry tried to figure out what to do. He knew a few spells that might help, but after facing Professor Lupin a month ago, he knew he wasn't ready to take on a full-grown werewolf. It jumped another wall and Harry heard a growl.
He didn't think about it. Harry couldn't allow the thing to attack her.
He knew his door was locked, so Harry did the best thing he could. "Hey, ugly," he shouted, his wand in hand, but not using it yet.
The thing stopped in mid stride and looked up at him. "Who is that," Mrs. Nash said getting up and looking towards 4 Privet Drive.
The werewolf turned back to her and gave a howl. Mrs. Nash screamed when it bounded up onto the wall. "Depulso!" Harry's spell ran straight and true, lighting the night white and catching it before it could leap on poor Mrs. Nash. She screamed again and ran inside her house, slamming the door. The werewolf scrambled back up the wall. It howled at Harry before bounding into his yard.
"Bollocks," Harry said rushing to close his window. He was sure the police would be on their way soon, but they would be no match for the beast. Harry ran to his door. "Wake up," he yelled banging on the door. The thing howled again and he heard the thing slam into the house. He thought he heard clawing just below his window. "Wake up," Harry yelled.
"Bollocks," he cried out again. He was already in trouble; mind as well go all out. "Alohomora," he said forcefully. Five mechanical locks opened at once.
"What the ruddy hell is going on," a red-faced walrus of a man burst out of a door at the end of the hall. Vernon Dudley was a man who didn't like anything out of the ordinary, especially at two in the morning. Seeing Harry burst into the hall, his overlarge shirt half falling off his shoulder and brandishing his wand was beyond out of the ordinary for the man.
Harry pulled the door shut hard. Before he could do anything else a meaty hand impacted the side of his head. Harry fell to the floor as the man roared, "You are not doing that ruddy stuff here!"
There was another howl and then they could hear the window shatter in his room. The sound of glass tinkling across the floor was drowned out by a yipping bark. Harry fought the stars in his eyes as he tried to scramble unto his back. Somehow, he had managed to keep his wand. Uncle Vernon was bellowing again. "Colloportus," Harry got off before his uncle could open the door.
Vernon turned the handle and pushed into the now locked door. "What did you..." he bellowed before something slammed into the door with a shrieking howl. The door creaked ominously. It was enough for Harry to shake off the cobwebs in his head and scramble to his feet.
"What is going on," Dudley said coming into the hallway and rubbing his eye.
"Into the bathroom," Harry yelled at them, thinking it was the only place they could hide without a window big enough for the thing to come in. Where was Hermione with some strengthening charm or something, he thought in a panic. The werewolf slammed into the door again and a crack formed in the solid door.
"What did you bring into this house," Vernon said angrily.
"No time. Into the bathroom," Harry yelled at him. The snarling and growling as it hit the door again moved Vernon into action.
"Petunia," the large man barked. "Dudley, in the bathroom."
Vernon ran in first and waited for them to enter before slamming the door. Harry hadn't expected anything less with the door starting to give way to his room and a snarling beast on the other side of it. "Pootterrr," he thought he heard in the snarls and Harry froze. Professor Lupin had not been able to speak when he was a werewolf, how could this one?
An ominous crack of the door almost giving way woke him from his stupor. "Shite," he exclaimed. The creature hit the door one more time and it finally gave way. Parts of the door and the creature crashed to the floor. "DEPULSO!"
The beast didn't have the opportunity to even stand up before it flew down the hall and hit its head and legs into the doorframe as it flew into his Aunt and Uncle's bedroom.
Police sirens greeted his ears through the open door. They were still far away. Harry figured it was minutes before some possible help appeared. He bolted down the stairs not waiting for the beast to get up. "Down here stupid," Harry bellowed, hoping to get the beast out of the house.
He was down the stairs and to the front door before he heard the howl. It sounded pained. Harry hoped he wasn't calling others. Isn't that why wolves howled?
He slammed into the door, trying frantically to unlock it, forgetting he had a wand in his hand. He heard someone scream upstairs. He wasn't sure if it was Dudley or Aunt Petunia. "HEY MORON!" Harry bellowed. He sent red sparks up the stairs as he wrenched the door open.
He almost wished he hadn't. He saw the snarling thing slam into the top of the stairwell.
Harry bolted out of the house, heading towards the park, hoping to get the thing away from anyone it may hurt. The sirens were getting closer. He turned to see it jump out the front door. He was only two houses ahead of it and the thing was faster.
Harry tripped over the curb, his wand up as he cried out "DEPULSO!" again. He saw the spell fly high into the air.
Harry fell onto the sidewalk, landing hard on his wand arm and hitting his head. Dark spots swam in his eyes and felt like the world was spinning. He rolled over to focus on the werewolf. It was almost too him. It jumped at him... CRACK! A purple three decker bus suddenly popped out of nowhere. There was the unmistaken sound of breaking glass and a crash before a body flew away from the stopping bus.
"ERNIE," someone yelled from inside the bus as it screeched to a halt. Harry was able to get up enough to see the werewolf bounce once before skidding across the road then rolling a few times and finally coming to a rest a good fifteen meters or more away. "We hit someone! Oh Merlin! That isn't supposed to happen."
"The guy was in the middle of the road," Ernie said shakily.
"We never hit anyone that called us before. Call the Aurors," Stan Shunpike said getting out of the bus and moving towards the werewolf. The damage to the bus included the driver side headlamp and it was a dark spot in the street it landed in.
"Don't," Harry called out.
He was surprised when a second later, there were a few cracksdown the street in front of his house.
Stan stopped. He looked afraid and out of sorts as he first looked towards Harry, then the lump in the road and finally the group of men calling out. "It's the Knight Bus, Captain."
The form wasn't moving and Harry was getting shakily to his feet. "Stan, it's a werewolf," Harry said raising his wand and pointing it towards the form that was now starting to stir.
"Werewolf," Stan shouted before bolting for the bus. "Werewolf!"
"Shite," he heard a man say.
Harry moved a little towards the thing as it got shakily up on one arm. The other arm was hanging limp, as though broken bad. Three men and a woman in burgundy colored leather robes rushed past the bus. He saw one whip his wand and ropes shot out of it as he pointed it at the werewolf. "Stay back," a fifth Auror said moving to the front of the bus. He looked around, his eyes immediately falling on Harry.
The man casually raised his wand. "Wand down, son," he said in a soothing voice.
The sirens were almost to Privet drive. Harry, thinking he might be okay, let his wand drop to his side and then he sat on the pavement, his chest taking in great gulps of air and him feeling like he had run a marathon. "Shite," the old man with greying hair said as two police cars came blearing on to the street. "Smith, get an Obliviation and Magical Reversal squad here. After that, get that thing somewhere safe. Tonks, get the boy and make sure he's okay and then get a statement. Billings and Trask, get to that house we were called here for. Four Privet, I believe. I'll take care of the Muggles. Shite, get those people into their houses."
Harry looked up to see a young woman with bubblegum colored hair. She looked vaguely familiar, but he wasn't sure why. As she walked up to him and knelt by his side. "Watcher, there. You have a name?"
Harry took in a few more deep breaths. His blood still felt like it was racing. "Harry Potter," he told her. "Is the werewolf caught?" He looked as the man, Smith he thought, kept out of reach of the thing. It was now bound in silvery chains over the ropes.
She did a quick double look before talking. "All right, Harry. It's bound. It won't be hurting anyone. Speaking of which, are you hurt? Did it hit or bite you?" She reached out and touched the side of his face.
"Hey, Tonks, there's a paper over here with some names. It says Harry Potter and Hermione Granger with streets and towns," the man said using his wand to illuminate something on the ground and moving his head to read it.
"Hermione," Harry cried out, jumping to his feet. "Does is say Heathburn Court, Devon." He felt his panic rising.
"Yeah. How do you know," Smith said looking at him suspiciously.
Harry looked around. "I need to get to her. She's a muggle-born," he said at Smith before turning to Tonks. Without thinking, he moved towards the bus. "Stan, you need to get me to 52 Heathburn Court, Devon. Now!"
"Woah, there," Tonks said grabbing his arm. Harry tried to yank his arm out of her hand and she was surprisingly strong for her size.
"We need to get to her. She's one of my best friends," he said pleadingly to her.
"Smith, emergency portkey to the cells," she told the man.
"Listen, you are still a trainee. We need to tell the Captain before we do what you are thinking and the boy can't come," Smith said back.
"I need to get to her," Harry pleaded, knowing of no other way.
There were a series of cracks as eight more wizards appeared around them. "Careful, werewolf," Smith said to the new arrivals. He noticed they wore the same burgundy leather robes. For the first time he noticed that some wore yellow arm bands on their upper arms, while the Aurors wore a black and three others wore dark blue bands.
"You really did find something this time," a taller woman said walking towards Smith.
"Captain wants these people in their houses and you know the rest," Smith told them.
"Hermione! We're wasting too much time," Harry cried out.
"Grassley, Burke. Emergency at 52 Heathburn Court, Devon. Possible other werewolf," Tonks said quickly.
"Shite. Come on, Burke," a redheaded man said to a rather dark-skinned man with a shaved head.
"Sure boss," the man said before disappearing.
"All right, Harry, they'll take care of your friend."
Harry didn't feel any better but seeing eight fully trained and qualified wizards around him, he knew he wasn't going anywhere. He wasn't used to not doing anything. He looked at Auror Tonks as though totally lost. "Here, take a seat. Let me take a look at your face and those scrapes on your arms and legs."
Harry blinked and looked down. He hadn't realized that in his fall he must have scraped his right arm and leg. He saw the blood trickling down from the cuts. "Yeah, sure. Is Hermione going to be all right," he asked her. Hermione was one of only two people in his life that liked him for who he was and was always there. He wouldn't know what to do without her.
"I'm sure she will be fine. Now, follow my fingers," she asked. Harry followed her fingers and when they separated, his eyes split and he almost fell over. She helped him stay upright up. "Kind of what I thought."
"Their calling in a second squad and more Obliviators," he heard someone say.
"Any casualties," the man he recognized as the Captain said back.
"Over here, Harry," Tonks said trying to get his attention.
"Is that about Hermione?" His adrenaline had shot up again. "I should be with her." He got up and immediately over balanced.
Tonks took his arm and almost went down with him before she was able to stand him up. "I think the only place you are going is St. Mungo's. Captain," she called out.
"What is it Tonks. Did he tell you what happened yet?"
"I think Mr. Potter needs to get to a Healer. Looks like at least a concussion, some pretty deep lacerations and not sure if he broke a finger or two," she said in a business-like tone.
The man nodded. "Fine. Get him out of here. Smith, go with them. Stay with him for the night. I'll send Moody along as soon as I can. I need your report and a statement from him as soon as possible."
"Sure, Captain," she said before wrapping an arm around him. "Let's go. Just don't throw up on me."
"Shacklebolt just reported finding two muggles and an underaged witch. They are going to take the girl to St. Mungo's. Check that, one of the adults is going too."
"Tonks, see if you can't get them in the same room. It will be easier to keep an eye on them until we can sort this out."
Harry was starting to feel really dizzy and his stomach wasn't liking the movement of Tonks trying to steady him. He may be almost as tall as her, but she was easily a few kilos on him, even in her small frame. "Was that Hermione," he asked her.
"Yeah. Sounds like you and your girlfriend will be spending some time together," she told him.
Harry blinked. "What, she's my friend," he said confused before they spun on the spot. Harry felt like he was being sucked through a straw. Everything felt squeezed and his stomach revolted. When the warm night air of London hit him, it was all it took for him to keel over and empty the little he had in his stomach.
"Wotcher," she said before putting a hand on his back. "Get it all out. Right, just through here."
By this point, Harry was feeling very unsteady on his feet and spots had appeared in his eyes again. He remembered seeing someone in lime green robes before the world went black.
-oOo-
London, England
Hermione lay in the hospital bed, trying to go over everything that had happened tonight...
Devon, England
It had been such a nice night. Her parents and her had gone out to a play in an outdoor theatre. She always loved a Mid Summer's Night Dream and tonight had been no exception. They had gotten back a little late, but it had been well worth it. At fifteen now, her parents didn't really enforce a curfew or bedtime, so they had had some hot chocolate before bed. It might seem off to most on a warm summer night, but she missed doing this when at Hogwarts.
She had gone up to her room to find Hedwig waiting on the perch in her room that she had bought in Diagon Alley at the beginning of the summer. This year, Harry was writing to her and she wouldn't miss a letter.
Hedwig sat sleeping on the perch, letter on her leg. She gave a soft hoot and accepted Hermione's pet before settling into sleep again. Hermione smiled to see the messy scrawl of Harry's writing. She was thinking that when she sent Hedwig back tomorrow, she should send his birthday present too. It may be a few days early, but she would rather be early than late, and Hedwig was showing up about once every six or seven days right now. If she waited, it probably would be late.
Feeling tired, but not willing to miss out on news about her best friend, she quickly got changed for bed and then plopped onto it. She ripped the top off the letter. She usually very carefully opened her mail, but Harry, and sometimes Ron, were the exception.
-o-
Hermione,
I am glad to hear your summer is going so well. It's about the same around here. Doing some schoolwork at night, other stuff during the day. I really can't wait to see you and Ron again, but I don't know when that will be. Ron has not invited me to the Burrow yet.
Can you tell me more about Runes? Or maybe, if you don't mind, and I can pay you, maybe, help me if I decide to drop Divination and take Runes instead. I really don't like Trawlaney and hate how sleepy I always get in her room...
Hermione suspected it had to do with what happened at the end of the year and the way she was always predicting everyone's death. She had quickly discovered that Trawlaney was a hag and a fake, and still had a hard time believing she had made that Prophesy to Harry.
... I sent a letter to Professor McGonagall about the change, but have not heard back yet. I told her I was willing to do any summer program she would give me, but the summer is almost half over now.
I really can't wait to get back to Hogwarts or the Burrow.
Please write back soon.
I mean if you have the time. I hope that play was alot of fun. I know you were going on the twenty-second and I have no idea how long it takes Hedwig. Don't say that to her though. She is a marvelous owl and I know she is really fast, I just don't know how far away Devon is from here.
I'm going to end this now.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Harry
P.S. If you can send some more treats, I will pay you back.
-o-
She was happy to hear from him. She always was. It was usually the highlight of her week. She would love to call him, but he had warned her not to because of his relatives.
She frowned to think of that and the way he wrote some things in his note. She had sent him some biscuits she had made with her mother last week. It had just been a nice gesture to a friend she knew didn't seem to get treats like that. It should have bothered her as she thought that, always hearing how his cousin got everything, but it didn't.
She really wanted to invite him over here, but she had been told by the Weasley's that her house wasn't warded properly. That had worried her and she had written to the Ministry and Gringotts to see if that could be fixed or what were the rules.
She had received a few pamphlets from the Ministry, surprised to find out that the laws had been written to protect a magical user, it didn't matter if they lived in a Muggle house or not. Then she had received a letter and cost listing from Gringotts on allowable wards, cost of enchanting, ward stones and the such. She had brought the information to her parents, thinking it would be good to protect them and her while here.
To her surprise, they had agreed to have a representative come to inspect the property. A Gringotts' Representative was due on July 24.
Hermione had gotten her writing board out and was just about to dip her quill into the ink bottle when a howl not too far away caused her to stop. She sat in her chair, not moving and listening. It couldn't be! But hadn't Professor Lupin said werewolves will position themselves near muggle places for a full moon to hunt for victims. She also knew that distinctive howl from Professor Lupin. Her hand started to shake as she heard a second howl farther away.
When the one closer answered back, she shot out of her chair. "MUM! DAD!" she screamed rushing to her bed and diving across it. Her wand was in its box next to her bed, safe for the summer because she wasn't supposed to do magic.
"MUM! DAD!," she yelled again.
A door banged open in the hallway. "Hermione," her father yelled out.
She opened her door as her father was about to burst in. "We need to hide," she told him.
A howling in the distance, definitely closer this time, came in through her open window. "Hedwig, fly," she screamed.
"Hermione, what is going on," her father asked concerned, still in only his shorts and looking disheveled.
"Werewolves," she said in a panic. "We need to hide. No windows," she told him.
Her father looked at her for a second. A growling outside shook him into action. "Jane, into the hallway closet. Hermione, go," he said shoving his daughter out of her room and slamming her door shut.
"Dad," she called as her mum came out of their room and he ran into it. She was in a night shirt with no bottoms.
"Get into the closet," he yelled at her. "Shove the dresser in front of the door if I am not in there in twenty seconds.
"Dan, what is going on?"
A howling came from what should have been right outside the house. Hermione pointed her wand at her door. "Collocorpus. Fortis," she said, magic flying from her wand.
"Hermione," her mum yelled at her. "The Ministry says you can't do that."
"Those are werewolves," Hermione said before repeating the process on the spare bedroom, the bathroom and then her parents' room after her father had run out with a box in his hands.
"In the closet," he ordered.
Hermione moved in the closet. As she did, she heard something heavy land in her room. She clamped her mouth shut, afraid she might scream. The visions of Professor Lupin over them, ready to bite and maul them before Sirius had barreled into her beloved Professor was running in her head. For many nights over the last month, she had had nightmares of that night. Especially the dementors trying to take Harry's soul.
The door slammed behind her father. They heard some muffled barks. The light above their heads swung wildly as her father moved the heavy bureau that was in the hallway closet. He plopped the heavy security box on top of the bureau. Hermione cast the same spells on the door as she had the others.
She found herself wishing she had learned how to cast a patronus after seeing how it could be used to passed messages, but only Harry could out of their year. She promised herself she would bug Harry to teach her as soon as she could.
There was a loud crash and the sound of wood cracking as something gave a yelp. "Dan," her mum said shaking, moving closer to her daughter.
"Hermione, can bullets kill them," her father asked finally opening the case and pulling out his service gun. He put a clip in and checked that the chamber was loaded before grabbing three more clips and putting them in his pocket.
"Yes," she said wracking her brain for information. "Silver is certain death, it's like poison, but anything can kill them if you do more damage than their natural healing ability can handle," she told him. "Getting them in the heart or brain is the best, but I'm not sure if one shot will kill them. They turn back to normal at moon down or sun rise."
He nodded and pushed them back. "If they come through, you use your wand in anyway you need. I read that pamphlet your Professor gave us. You are allowed to use magic in life threatening situations."
"Yes, dad," she said.
The pounding on the door to her room had continued as they talked. When the door finally broke, her mum screamed as something heavy hit the wall outside the room. "No, no," Hermione said. She immediately started casting any spell she knew to make the wall stronger or to repel them.
There was some barking and yipping before something heavy hit the door. "Will my bullets go through your spells," her father asked aiming at the door. Some scratching started at the wall. She cast the spells again, unsure if it was helping.
"I don't know," she said almost panicked.
"Damn, we don't have a phone in here." The scratching stopped and the next bang on the door was heavier. The door creaked.
"Dan, what do we do," her mum said wrapping an arm around her.
"The ministry should send someone to investigate with how many spells I have used." Hermione was hoping, casting another reinforcing charm on the door. Seeing some hangers swinging on a rack next to the door as her father tried to keep the bureau against the door gave her an idea. "Forvectes!" The hangars flew out of the racks, dropping the clothes and winter jackets as the hangers flew to the door. She transfigured some heavy bars and bolts on the door.
"I had no idea," her mother said behind her.
After a moment, the werewolves stopped banging on the door. It was quiet for a moment before something heavy hit the wall and it cracked.
She let out a yelp and her mother screamed.
"You aren't getting my family," her father said, letting off three shots. The first two bounced off her spell, ricocheting into the room, just missing them. The third went through the wall followed by a pained yelp.
"Hermione, cast if again," her father ordered.
She did as ordered just before there was another bang into the wall followed by scratching. "Where are the Aurors," she cried out loud. She was fighting through her fear to protect her parents. She was sure with this amount of magic it would be more than just an owl with a warning.
The scratching stopped and then two heavy bodies hit the hall. The spell held for the first, but the wall cracked and caved inward a few inches. " Fortis!" She screamed, trying to reinforce the wall again. Looking around, she grabbed some clothed and threw them at the wall.
"What are you doing," her mother asked.
She flicked her wand. "Turres!" She didn't know the transfiguration spell for it, so she used the Latin. She needed a strong wall, like a castle wall. To her surprise, the clothes and jackets started to transform into a thick stone looking wall. As she did it, the werewolves hit the wall again. The wall shifted with the impact, but when she stopped the spell, the wall was inches thicker now.
"There," she said, swaying on the spot as she felt suddenly lightheaded. She had never transfigured that much stuff before into such a substantial form from something light weight like clothes.
"Hermione," her mother called out as she felt herself dropping.
... when she had woken up, she was in a bed in a hospital. Her mother was next to her.
In the bed across from her, she could see her best friend. He was sleeping, the bruises on his face fading from the bruise salve the healers had used on them.
She was trying to focus on Harry, her heart still breaking to know her father was in a different room. The healers had not been sure if he had been just scratched or bitten. Either way, a chunk had been taken out of his arm when the wall had finally failed.
They had been lucky the Aurors had shown up about the same time. Her father had killed one of them, but the other got him before the Aurors subdued the werewolf.
She felt a hand on her head as a stray lock of her bushy hair was wiped out of her face. "You should get some sleep. The Aurors are outside the door and it's still early."
Some light had crept into the room from the windows.
"I should have done more," she told her mum, a tear running down her face. Her father was most likely a werewolf now, doomed to the same fate as so many others of their kind. The fact Harry was there too from a werewolf attack was bothering her. How could they have both been so unlucky to be in the right place at the right time to have this not be related?
Her mother's voice was strong, but she heard the pain and fear in it. "Oh, princess, you did so much. If you hadn't warned us or done what you did, we would all be dead. Your father is a strong man, he will make it through this."
Hermione didn't have the heart yet to tell her mother just how not right this would probably be. Instead, she closed her eyes against her tears and buried her face into her pillow.
Chapter 02
July 23, 1994
Amelia Bones sat at her desk, her monocle being used to review some of the reports in front of her. She frowned looking at everything.
Four muggle residences, all with a muggle-born or raised witch or wizard, and one of them the boy-who-lived. Until last night, she had no magical registered in that part of Surry. How had he gone unnoticed for twelve years? She had a record of report of underage magic to a one H. Potter, with no physical address, from two years prior.
Luckily, he survived, even if it was the Knight Bus that had saved him. The boy had done some damage to the beast though before it had been hit.
Hermione Granger had saved herself and her family by doing some impressive spells for someone just finishing her third year at Hogwarts. Justin Finch-Fletchley had died as did much of his family. Another, Miss Annabell Entworth, would forever be cursed, as would the father of Ms. Granger, Mr. Finch-Fletchley's younger sister, and an innocent muggle police officer that had responded to the Finch-Fletchley scene before the Aurors had arrived.
What was surprising was that three of the creatures had died from muggle weapons. Mr. Granger had killed one, as did some of the muggle officers at the Finch-Fletchleys'. The fact that Finch-Fletchley died from the crossfire of the muggle firearms while being dragged out of the house in the maw of a werewolf was not going to go over well when the news hit the Prophet. Not that she wanted any innocent to die, but it would have been better if the werewolf had finished him off. Wizards and Witches would not take well to muggle means of killing.
She was looking at a nightmare of paperwork because of all of this. A small consolation. It would have been far worse if Harry Potter had died. Her Department would be blamed for everything if that had happened.
She still had five Obliviator, six Auror and two Magical Reversal squads cleaning up the mess. The purple Knight Bus was out of commission while they still investigated the scene. Having one of the two buses down would surely bring in complaints, and she was sure they would make it to her.
Somehow, the Prophet didn't get word of it for the morning paper, but she was sure it would be everywhere tomorrow. She would take this small miracle to give her a little time to clean things up.
Worst of all was the Minister's Undersecretary breathing down her neck to charge the three survivors for using underage magic and breaches of the International Statute of Secrecy. She had flatly refused the pink toad and told her if the Minister asked her himself, she would bring this straight to the Wizengamot. She knew that much of the Wizengamot was in the hands of the Minister and Lucius Malfoy, but she had favors owed her, was still involved with her Allies and they would not like the consequences of going against her.
Looking over the files, it had been a shock to find two lists of names with a few of the werewolves. Each list only had two names, as though none of the werewolves were supposed to know all of them. It was concerning that werewolves would coordinate like that and have the presence of mind to carry out with any plans they had had. She knew of nothing that could do that. A werewolf was usually reduced to a rampaging beast who put little thought into what it did. They had two instincts she knew of when the moon came up: breed and eat. The wolfsbane potion did allow a werewolf to keep their human mind, but it also made them very docile. This was different.
A knock on the door caused her to close the folder, which magically sealed itself, before saying, "Come in."
The door opened and one of her top Aurors walked in. He was Captain of Green Group, wearing a black armband with a green stripe, who had dealt with the Finch-Fletchleys and Grangers. The well-muscled black man looked tired as he slumped down into the chair without a greeting. "I take it the night was worse than these reports, Captain?"
Shacklebolt ran his hands over his face. "It was not my best night," his deep voice intoned his weariness. "Has Moody reported in? I need him to look at something we took from the Grangers."
"Something that should go to the Unspeakables?" If it was something this man was waiting for his mentor, then it had to be bad.
Shacklebolt reached into his robes and took out a folder. "I'm not sure. It hasn't been entered into evidence yet. We didn't want word getting out. Boss, I haven't seen anything like this since the last war. They were working together."
Amelia took the envelope and touched her wand to it. The folder opened. "We found that list on one of the ones we captured."
She looked it over, her eyes widening. "There are six more names on this list than who was attacked last night. Did you check this already," she asked looking up.
"I have heard back from five teams. Nothing happened at those houses. I think their plans went wrong," he told her.
"Are these all muggle-borns?"
Shacklebolt let out a sigh. "Yes. All muggle-born or raised, all fourth year or lower, all enrolled at Hogwarts."
Her eyebrows scrunched up. "Susan said the Defense teacher was confirmed to be a werewolf this past year."
"I know Remus Lupin, Boss. He is not that type of man. I also have confirmation that he was in a holding cell in Devonshire under the influence of the wolfsbane potion. I don't think he was involved in this."
She considered it for a bit, looking at the names and opening the folder with the reports. She read through them. "Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger are friends and known to be around each other at school. Are there any other links like that with the others?"
"I'll get Maddox to start on it. We took some statements from the other families, but Maddox can do another round of questioning."
"I want each of these families with a detail at the next full moon, in case this was not the first round. It was just too organized," she said more to herself than Shacklebolt.
"I agree, Boss. You mind if I leave Green in charge for the day? I think I need to stop in the Healer office then some time off," he told her.
She frowned. It must have been bad if he needed to see a mind healer before going home. Looking at her clock, it was just about nine. "I want you in your bed no later than noon and you will not show up before nine tomorrow morning. Yaxley can take lead of watch."
Shackelbolt looked at her. "You sure you want Yaxley? I am still not happy with what happened with that Bulstrode incident."
Looking at the man, she took in his words. She had learned over the years to trust her Captains. Yaxley was a competent Auror, had support up higher than her which was why she caved at times to give him more responsibility, but she had some of the same reservations. "I'll agree to Green if he's on. I want the squads out last night to be off twenty-four hours too. Have them all report to a Healer before coming back on watch."
"I will pass the word. Anything else, Boss?"
She looked back at the stuff on her desk. "No."
Shacklebolt got up and a knock came at her door. She made sure the files were closed first. "Come in," she called. Shacklebolt moved to the side.
A tall, lithe woman with sleak black hair, cunning dark eyes and a nice skirt suit opened the door. "Madam Bones, I have a request for you that needs immediate signing."
She knew her Secretary would not interrupt her or ask for an immediate signature without it being important. "What is it?"
"St. Mungo's is requesting a full squad for a high-profile patient and his companion. Apparently, some media and unallowed people have tried to access the patients room and records. They are also asking for a representative from Wizarding Child Services, temporary Custody and a release of previous medical records."
"Who," she asked curious. Her eyebrows had raised at the request.
"Harry Potter."
-oOo-
Harry woke. The light seemed bright as he opened his eyes. It took a few times of blinking to adjust. Rolling over he reached for his nightstand. His wand was there, and he took it before getting his glasses. He groaned as he sat up. His head still hurt. Putting his glasses on, he found himself in a white room that had the feel of a hospital room. As he blinked, last night came back to him.
"Hermione," he called out. He threw the blanket off himself and stumbled to a stand.
"Easy there," a woman said from behind him. Harry whirled around, his wand up and ready to fight. Blood was already pounding in his veins.
A lady was sitting in a chair. Her eyes were wide to see his wand only feet from her face. She had a heart shaped face, hair that was frizzy like someone he knew well and the same bright brown eyes of his best friend. He lowered his wand slightly, "Mrs. Granger," he asked, having met her a few times at start or end of term by the Hogwarts Express.
"Easy there, Harry. Hermione is right here," the woman said gently.
He looked at the bed next to her to see Hermione sleeping. She looked troubled. Her eyes were moving rapidly and she whimpered a little. Her hair was half across her face. Something about seeing her there like that brought back memories of second year. He had almost lost her then and wasn't sure how close it had come last night. "Is she all right," he asked, his voice cracking.
Mrs. Granger looked at her daughter and moved the hair off her daughter's face. "She saved us," her mother said.
Harry still looked like a tightly wound spring. "Was she hurt?"
Her mother looked at him. "Some scratches and bruises, but she'll be fine." It sounded like the woman was just barely keeping herself together. Harry had the sense that there was something she wasn't telling him.
"Are you sure she is fine? Please, I need to know she is going be all right," he told her, his wand fully dropping to his side now. Hermione was his best friend.
Mrs. Granger clutched her hands together. "Harry, Hermione is good. She is just sleeping. Dan," she said, obviously trying not to tear up. "Uhm, they won't let me see him yet."
Harry had a rollercoaster of emotions as he felt relief and joy to know Hermione was truly going to be all right. Then it hit him that Mr. Granger wasn't here, they wouldn't let her see him and they had been attacked by werewolves. His eyes went wide. "Oh, god, he isn't..."
She looked at him. "They aren't sure. A doctor should be back soon to check up on you and have more news on my husband."
There was a sinking feeling in him. His mouth felt dry. Hermione had gotten away but her father was either going to die or was now lower than a third class citizen in their world. He let out a long breath. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Granger." Harry moved over to Hermione's bed and sat gently on the side. She was still whimpering some. He took her hand, feeling he needed the contact to know she was really there and all right. She started to calm down after a moment, her breathing evening out and her features settling more into a peaceful repose.
They were quiet for a few. "Harry," Mrs. Granger asked.
"I'm sorry," he said, thinking he had done something wrong and stood up, letting her hand go. He cast his eyes towards the floor.
"Harry, why did you get up," she asked him.
He looked abashed at the tiled floor. His feet were bare and he used his big toe of his left foot to pick at a corner of a tile. "I didn't mean to bother her," he told her.
As he picked at the tile, Hermione started to move and whimper again. "Harry, I think she likes you there. Sit. Please," she said in a kind tone. He looked up at her and saw compassion and concern in her eyes. Her eyes were so much like Hermione's.
"Are you sure," he asked. He knew how dangerous adults could be.
"Please," she asked. There was no command or reproach in her voice.
Harry very slowly sat on the bed again. Hermione shot her hand into his. He looked down and met her eyes. "Oh, Harry," she said anxiously. She shot up in bed and hugged him. Harry stiffened at the sudden contact before wrapping an arm around her. Hermione hugged him tighter than normal. She was the only person he allowed to touch him like this, besides Mrs. Weasley. He didn't have much of a choice with Ron's mother. "Are you all right," she asked leaning back and looking him over. A hand gently touched his bruises on his head. "The Healer said you had a real bad concussion and that your scrapes didn't look like werewolf marks. You didn't get bit? Are your relatives all right? Oh, Harry, dad is hurt. We don't know if...if..."
Tears were welling in her eyes. "Your mum was just telling me." She squeezed his hand. He hadn't noticed she had put her hand back into his. "If he is, we know Professor Lupin. You know he will help us," he tried to reassure her.
At this, she broke down and lunged at him again. He almost fell over on the bed as she hugged him harder than before. He understood exactly what her fears were and knew they were well founded knowing Professor Lupin. She started to cry into his shoulder and he wrapped both arms around her this time and just let her fall into him.
He wasn't totally sure what to do. A movement caught his attention and he saw Mrs. Granger get up, moving towards the bed. He felt like he needed to run, but he would not abandon his best friend. "Just stay there," she said softly. "She needs a friend." Mrs. Granger sat on the bed and started to rub Hermione's back. She just about melted into him and he found he was keeping her sitting up now.
"Shhhh," her mum soothed. "We'll find a way, princess."
Hermione sobbed harder. He looked at Mrs. Granger with wonder. He had never seen a parent comfort a child like that. Dudley was loved, but not like this. There was a love for her daughter that Harry thought he could almost feel.
"I couldn't stop them," Hermione said through ragged gasps. "I had my wand and they just kept coming."
"Shhhh. You did more than anyone could have asked for your age, Hermione. You kept them from getting us until the Aurors got there. Shhhhh," her mother soothed. He could see the pain in Mrs. Granger's face. The fact that she was more worried about Hermione than her own pain was something he hadn't known before.
"I should know more," Hermione said sitting up and giving her mother a fierce look. Tears were still streaming down her face, but it was unmistakable the fight in her. "I have been in school for three years. We studied werewolves last year and I should know how take care of them. Instead, all I did was prolong the inevitable with some simple transfiguration and reinforcing charms."
Harry looked at her, knowing he would, and did, feel the same. He had started to realize he had not been studying as hard as he could, and it showed that all he could do was try to banish the thing last night.
"Hermione, what you did last night, that was nothing short of incredible. How could you say..."
"Dad should not have been bit! I could have done more!"
Harry spoke up. "Hermione, fully qualified witches and wizards are scared of werewolves and have a hard time controlling them. I'm sure you did everything you could."
She turned to him, the same fierce look on her face. "And what did you do, Harry! I'm sure you had some brilliant way you fought the thing into submission and then walked away without a scratch."
He felt so taken back, his base instincts kicked in. Harry was a fighter and flight wasn't really an option. "I was only saved when the Knight Bus crashed into the one after me. All I could think to do was banish it. I hit it a few times, but until the Knight Bus showed up while I was trying to lead it away from Privet Drive I was sure it was going to jump on me."
She sat back into her mother. Harry was pretty sure he hadn't ever yelled at her like that before. "Then when they found a note with your name on it, they wouldn't let me go to you, Hermione. I needed to get to you, and I couldn't. The Aurors sent someone to you. It was like the damned Chamber all over. I thought I was going to lose my best friend."
He squeezed his hands into fist until they hurt and felt his fingernails digging into his palms.
"Harry, you sent them. Thank you," she said moving towards him again. He backed away some. His anger was still up.
The door to the room opened. Harry looked up and saw Auror Tonks and a grizzled man with a face that looked like it had seen several wars and an electric blue eye that spun around everywhere, even into his head. He was in an old set of leather traveling robes with lots of pockets and walked with a slight limp and a clunk every time his left foot hit the floor. A woman in lime green robes came in with them.
"Wotcher, Harry, Ms. and Mrs. Granger," Tonks said. She looked a little worn but in good spirits.
Harry watched the man as he followed the Healer. There was something about the man that spoke of a battle-hardened soldier that was dangerous. Harry moved over to put himself between the man and the women behind him. He made sure his wand was ready in his hand, keeping it in his lap and shifting it to be pointing at the man. Moody followed his movement and gave him an approving nod.
"Nice instincts, Potter," the man said in a growling voice, as though his vocal cords were nearly shot.
"Who are you," Harry asked.
The Healer came over to them. "Would you put that wand away, please. This is a hospital," the woman said to him in a voice that brokered no disobedience but wasn't unkind. Harry didn't take his eyes off the man.
The man smiled. It had the effect to make his face distorted and unsettling. "Better do as she says, lad. She has a whip of a tongue and her wand arm isn't any kinder."
"Alastor Moody, if you want to discover how unkind my wand can be, you will keep agitating Mr. Potter," the Healer said in a clip.
The man, Moody, laughed. "I'll not be putting myself under your ministrations any time soon, lass. Now put the wand away, lad. Alastor Moody. ex-Auror and Head of the Auror Academy." The man didn't step forward or offer a hand, but something about the man's demeanor changed and Harry knew this man would defend them.
"Yes, sir," he said putting his wand on the bed next to him. He had a grudging respect for the man already, but he wouldn't let his wand be in a position he couldn't use it.
After a moment, the man nodded and leaned against the wall. "Now, if you children are done playing around, I would like to see how my patients are doing."
Moody waved a hand at them as though saying he wasn't going to interfere. Harry now turned to the Healer. She was a tall woman with blond hair, a very classic beauty to her face and grey eyes. Harry caught himself looking at her eyes. They were the same as Sirius'.
"Doctor Tonks," Mrs. Granger said. "Any news on my husband?"
The woman's hard set to her face melted. It had the look of a woman sympathizing with another woman worried for their loved ones. "He should be able to receive visitors when he wakes. I can talk to you about his condition when I am done here."
"He has lycanthropy," Hermione said. She still had tears in her eyes.
Healer Tonks frowned. "Ms. Granger, we will not know until the ostendo potion is complete tomorrow morning, but it looks highly probable. I would like to discuss this with your mother after I see how you two are doing."
Hermione reached her hand out towards his as she nodded. "Yes, Healer Tonks."
The woman gave her a sad smile. "We have ways to help him now, Ms. Granger."
She nodded. He knew Hermione knew what the wolfsbane potion would do, and that her father was now going to fall under all the laws and statutes that both the Wizengamot and the International Confederation of Wizards have passed. Professor Snape had been thorough in his explanation and teaching on the subject of werewolves. Harry had paid attention, much to Hermione's pride, like he always did in Defense Against the Dark Arts. He just felt embarrassed he hadn't understood the lesson and how it pertained to Professor Lupin. Hermione figured it out months earlier. He had liked the Professor so much he overlooked the signs.
"Now, Mr. Potter, if you wouldn't mind going to your bed, I would like to have a look at Ms. Granger first."
"I don't want Harry to leave," Hermione said, holding his hand tighter.
"As that may be, I don't think it appropriate for a young man to be in the same space as a young woman when I ask you to remove certain clothes."
He couldn't help his face from flaming up to think of Hermione that way. Hermione looked wide eyed at the Healer before looking at him. She didn't say anything. He was sure what the look was, but he had a sudden vision of her removing… "No, I don't think so either," her mother said from behind her. Moody chuckled against the wall.
"Uhm, yeah," Harry said running his hand through is hair. "I'll just be on the next bed."
She nodded. He didn't like letting go of her hand. The Healer drew a curtain around Hermione's bed as he sat on the edge of his bed, going over everything from the night before. He was so lost in thought, he missed that Tonks came over to him. "Wotcher, Harry. Sickle for your thoughts," she asked.
He started before settling down. "Still a little jumpy," she asked pulling up a chair and taking out a note pad with thick parchment papers. A quill was already in her hand.
"Yeah." It was all he could think to say.
"So, while we have the time, I was hoping to get a statement about last night."
"Ah, sure," he said to her. For the next quarter hour, he went over what happened and answered some questions. Moody moved so that he could watch him while he told Tonks what happened. When the curtains opened again, he saw Hermione standing up. She gave him a look and a nod, indicating she was all right and he felt tension in his body relax.
"Nymphadora, can you give me some time with Mr. Potter? If the WCS representative shows, please have them wait in the office across the hall."
"Mum, don't call be Nymphadora," Auror Tonks said, the roots of her bubblegum pink hair turning red. "It's Tonks."
The woman eyed Tonks for a moment. "I did not name you Tonks, Nymphadora."
Moody chuckled and Tonks gave him a mean look. "You say a word of this," she threatened.
Healer Tonks shooed her disgruntled grown daughter away to more chuckles from Moody and then closed the curtains. "When the curtains are closed we are under silencing and privacy charms. Would you like me to call you Mr. Potter or Harry," she said turning towards him. She had an easiness about her that settled Harry a little.
"Harry, please," he told her.
She nodded. Moving to the chair her daughter had just been in, she sat. He gave her a questioning look. "I already checked you over about two hours ago while you slept, Harry. I have some other stuff I would like to talk to you about before I take a look at you again."
Harry swallowed. "Hermione didn't get bit, did she," he asked, not knowing why else she would want to talk to him.
"I cannot talk about your friend, Harry. I have taken certain Oaths as a Healer and confidentiality is one of them. You can ask her yourself when we are done. It will be up to Hermione to decide to tell you anything we talked about."
Harry felt very nervous. Why would they put her in the same room as him if that had happened, he tried to reason. "Uhm, okay. Then why do you want to talk instead of checking me over," he asked, not really wanting to do either.
She was sitting tall and straight in her chair. "Harry, there will be a representative from Wizarding Child Services coming to see you today. I did your diagnostics last night and have some concerns I would like to discuss with you."
Harry felt his heart thudding in his chest. The last time someone tried to help him with this, they had disappeared and he had spent days on his bed in his closet. He missed a week of school to recover. He had starved for much of that week too. "Uhm, I'm fine."
She gave him a long look. Harry squirmed some. "Harry, do you feel safe if I was to release you today to go back to your Aunt and Uncle."
His eyes went wide. He licked his lips. "Can I stay one more day," he asked her.
Her kind expression didn't change. "Yes, we can do that. Harry, do you know who your magical guardian is?"
He looked at her with a blank expression. "Uh, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia."
She took in a slow breath. "They are your muggle guardians, for now, but do you know who your magical guardian is?"
"My godfather," he said, knowing that Sirius had offered for him to come live with him before he was forced into hiding and could not take up the mantle if he wanted to right now.
"As much as I would like my cousin to be, Harry, Sirius is a man on the run right now." She held up her hand. "I will not ask any details. I have been informed enough of events of last year. For years now, I have been petitioning the Wizengamot for a trial, since he is still the registered Head of House and current Lord Black. Titles he would not be able to maintain if he had been found guilty."
Harry sat back, unsure if he could trust this woman. She seemed to know more about things than he liked and wasn't sure if it wasn't a trick to find out things about where Sirius might be hiding.
"Harry, I don't mean you or my cousin any harm. I will ask once more, do you know who your magical guardian is?"
Harry shook his head after a moment.
She looked at him before nodding. "Neither do we," she admitted.
He looked at her. Shouldn't people know who his magical guardian is, but again, he didn't know there was a difference until now.
She let out a big sigh before leaning forward. "Harry, I saw your scars and evidence of broken bones and malnutrition. There are other things too, potions and compulsions, we have found. I would really like to talk to your guardian about a treatment, but I think I should talk to you about some of this. St. Mungo's is taking over temporary custodianship of you and has started procedures to separate you from your Aunt and Uncle. I cannot, in good consciousness, send you back. I will also be your custodian for now. You are not to let any Healer or other person see you or remove you from any room or St. Mungo's unless I give you explicit permission directly. Understood? "
He blinked before nodding. Unsure of what to say to this. His hands were shaking. He was looking at the possibility of never having to see his relatives again. Uncle Vernon would never lay a hand on him again or call him freak. Until he was six, he had thought his name was boy.
"Where will I go," he asked her as the full impact hit. He was unable to stay at Hogwarts over the summer. He knew the Weasley's always accepted him in, but they had four kids already at home and he knew they were barely able to support themselves, never mind a new mouth. Sirius was on the run and unable to be his guardian.
"Don't worry about that right now. We will find who your guardian is and then figure it out from there." She moved a little closer. Harry didn't move, instead turning his eyes down to stare at his hands.
"Harry, would you like to talk about what happened when you were living at the Dursley's," she asked gently.
He shook his head, closing his eyes.
"That's fine, Harry. Your breakfast should be hear soon and I thought we could discuss what we are looking to do while we wait?"
Harry didn't look up. He hated Privet Drive, but it had at least been a place he could call home. If you could call that place that for him. "Will I get to stay with Hermione?" She was the only thing he still had he could cling too.
Healer Tonks smiled. "She is being moved to a private room in the Magical Maladies ward after she is done with her breakfast. She has requested the same and I think we can change the rules for this. Now, I would like to go over some of our finding, if you are ready?"
Harry looked at her and nodded. "It will be all right, Harry. Now, do you know what a compulsion charm is," she asked him.
-oOo-
July 24, 1994
Jane sat in the chair next to her husband. Her hand was clutching his hard as he sat in bed. He was looking pale and drawn. His left arm was bandaged from his wrist to his elbow. There had been so much blood when the Aurors had finally gotten the werewolf off him. "Jane, where is Hermione? You haven't said anything about her accept she's going to be healthy."
This was a conversation she had avoided since him waking yesterday. Looking at him, she still wasn't sure he was up to handling everything she had learned in the last twenty-four hours. She didn't want to keep things from him. Remembering a promise they had made years ago when he had been in the military she steeled herself. "Dan, Hermione will be all right. The Healers found she needed some extra treatments."
Dan paled even more. "She wasn't..." he started.
She shook her head vehemently. "No, Dan. She was not bitten."
He relaxed a little. "Then why is she getting more treatment? I thought you told me she was healed."
"The Healers found some, irregularities with her magic. She should be ready to go home in another day or two."
"Should you be with her then? I don't want her being scared and us not being there," he told her. She smiled at his concern and love for their daughter.
She took in a deep breath. "She's in good hands, Dan. The Healers are keeping us out until they are done. Apparently there can be some violent magical outbursts as they heal her."
He looked at her concerned. "Jane, she shouldn't be alone," he pressed. "I don't want our daughter going through this with people she doesn't know."
"She isn't alone, Dan. She's with her friend, Harry Potter," she told him.
Some color returned to his face and he looked at her sharply. "What do you mean she's with her friend? Harry Potter? He isn't that redhead she writes about at times that she is always fighting with?"
Jane shook her head. "No. That is Ron Weasley. Harry is that polite black hair boy we have met on the platform a few times." She was starting to understand why her daughter talked about him so much. She also had some concerns just from the few interactions they had had.
Recognition lit in his face. "Is he the one she is always telling us about? The quadditch player? The one that always seems to be getting up to trouble?"
"They have adventures," she said, still reeling to find out a few things she had never known about, like a troll and the fact her daughter had been petrified for months from a basilisk. When she next saw one of her Professors or the Headmaster, there were going to be some words about that. "Harry is a sweet boy, that she always says is far brighter than he likes to let on, and a little protective of our daughter."
Dan growled. "What do you mean protective? Is it safe to leave her with him," he asked. The growl kept going.
"Hermione is perfectly safe with Harry. He is a nice boy," she told him. Dan's growl deepened and she felt apprehensive. "Dan, will you stop that."
Dan stopped growling, as though suddenly realizing he had been doing it. He looked at her for a moment before pulling his hand out of hers. "Jane, what is happening to me? I felt like I wanted to... defend my daughter."
She looked at him, pursing her lips. They hadn't really gone over anything with him yet about what the wound on his arm meant. She wanted a Healer here for this. "Dan, can you wait just a little bit? A Healer should be around soon. I am not sure I can explain everything."
There was silence for a bit. Dan looked at his hands, and then his arm. "I'm turning into one of those things, aren't I?"
Hermione's intelligence and bravery had definitely come from her parents. "The Healers are confident that you are infected," she told him. She fought back her own tears. "Dan, they don't know if its fully safe for you to return to our world. You now fall under the laws of the Ministry of Magic." She knew he knew the implications of it from Hermione and the pamphlets they had read. Minerva had been very thorough in explaining how the magical world didn't really interact with the normal world and what the penalties were for exposing them. Dan had asked many questions that day and knew what this meant.
He just nodded is head. "I guess I need to hand in my badge. Maybe I should have gone to Medical School and become a dentist like my father wanted."
Jane shook her head. "And how would that have helped? Hermione would still be a witch and you wouldn't have been able to kill that one that went for us."
Dan slumped his shoulder. "I was just thinking that if I need to be in the world our daughter is going to live in, I could have started a medical practice or something. Without a wand, I won't be able to be a police officer anymore."
"Oh, Dan. We'll figure out something."
A knock came at the door. "Come in," she called out.
By now, she was getting used to seeing the witches and wizards in lime green robes. A man she recognized as Healer Bligh walked in. "How are you today, Mr. Granger?"
Her husband looked up at the man. "Tell me the truth. Will I turn into one of those beasts?"
The Healer grimaced. "Well, not the way I wanted to break into this conversation."
"Tell him everything you explained to me last night," she told the man in a bossy voice. Being the lead partner in the Dentistry services she was at, she had had to learn how to project herself.
The Healer nodded. "I see neither of you like to bandy around. Yes, Mr. Granger. We have been able to run a positive test. I am sorry to say you have been infected with lycanthropy."