Fellowship & Fairydust

There wasn’t as much excitement about going back to Hogwarts as there had been in September. There was not as much mystery about it, and when Harry got out of bed, he felt…strange. His head ached and his leg was sore. There was no chance to look at the injury as he rushed to gather his things and get to the train station in time. By the time he was fully awake and functioning, he was already on the Hogwarts Express.

Harry and Severus were eating a couple of chocolate cauldrons when Harry felt a sudden pain in his calf, and the bandage felt wet and sticky. He excused himself, went into an empty compartment, and rolled up his pant leg so he could take a look at the bite. It was still seeping blood. Eileen had given him some fresh bandages in case he needed them, and luckily he had put them in his pants pocket instead of his trunk.

A voice startled him. “I just need a few minutes to… Oops, I’m sorry! Whoa, what happened to you?”

Harry glanced up to find Remus Lupin staring at him with wide, concerned eyes. It wasn’t often you found someone bleeding on the train, so Harry could understand the concern. He dared not send Remus away, or he’d report the injury, and Harry didn’t feel like being hauled off to the Hospital Wing. If he was going to go to the Hospital Wing, it was going to be of his own accord.

“I got bitten last night by a great big dog in the woods. I can’t understand why it’s looking like this. Severus’ mum put something on it and said it should be cleared up by this afternoon, but it hasn’t even stopped bleeding,” Harry said, noticing that Remus’ already pale face had somehow turned paler and his expression was clouded with worry and concern.

“A dog? A big dog? What did it look like?” Remus asked as he peered at Harry’s bite mark.

“Um, it was strange; it looked… I’m not sure, but like it was part dog, part wolf, and part… human? I’m guessing it was a breeding experiment gone horribly wrong,” Harry said with a shrug, remembering how ugly and odd-looking it had been. When he didn’t think it was possible for Remus’ face to get paler, somehow it did.

“Can I take a closer look?” Remus asked, as though worried he was overstepping a personal boundary.

Harry felt too feverish to even try arguing with the older boy.

Remus looked at the wound and back to him with an unreadable expression. “I don’t think potions will heal this. Do you have any bandages?”

When Harry pulled them from his pocket, Remus smiled and began expertly re-bandaging the wound.

“You know something about this? Why wouldn’t potions work?” Harry asked, noting the grave expression on Remus’ face. It was like the boy had really bad news to break to him and wasn’t sure how to go about it. On closer look, Remus appeared tired and sickly; his skin was slightly pale and his eyes seemed glazed with exhaustion. Harry wondered briefly how he was even functioning.

“I’m not one hundred percent sure, but I think…”

“Harry! There you are! Is that still bleeding?” Severus asked, walking into the compartment with a worried expression.

“Yeah, it is. Remus thinks he might know why,” Harry said, indicating for Severus to sit down while Remus worked on his leg.

The situation felt a bit awkward, since Remus and Severus weren’t friends, but at least Remus got on with him better than James or Sirius.

Remus walked over to the compartment door and closed it before he sat down to finish Harry’s bandage. “Do you trust Severus?” he asked Harry. “Because what I’m about to tell you is potentially life changing.”

Harry looked over at Severus. His friend had remained loyal and respectful in regard to everything Harry had told him. Feeling nothing but trust, he nodded.

“Okay,” Remus began, “like I said, I am not one hundred percent sure, but it sounds like…you may have been bitten by a werewolf.” The final words came in a rush, like he was trying to get them out of his mouth before he could change his mind.

Harry’s heart froze. He glanced at Severus and found him gazing back with more worry and concern than on the previous night, when he had seen his leg bleeding heavily.

“Last night was the full moon,” Severus drawled out.

“Werewolves actually exist?” It was all Harry was able to say; his mind had gone so blank that he felt every bit as dumb as the Dursleys considered him.

“Yes, but I don’t know about you, for sure. There really is only one way to know—if you turn into a werewolf on the next full moon,” Remus said slowly, watching Harry with a grave expression.

Harry looked back at Severus, expecting to find verification that Remus was only joking. Severus was dead serious. “But… I… Why?” Harry stuttered, reeling at this possibility while the logical part of his brain tried to dismiss the notion altogether.

“Look, Harry; it will be fine. I’m sure we can deal with this,” Severus said with concern. “How do you feel?”

“Kind of…achy, sore, and tired,” Harry said, wondering what this had to with anything, but when Severus and Remus shared a worried glance, he knew it was probably important. Harry looked between them, his heart racing with fear.

“Hmm, you should get checked over by Madam Pomfrey later this evening. Werewolf bites do have that effect, and if it is a werewolf bite, you’ll notice more symptoms as time goes by,” Remus said.

“How do you know so much about it?” Harry asked uneasily, for he was already guessing the answer.

“I’ve been a werewolf since I was little. But please don’t tell anyone,” Remus said, watching Harry and Severus with pleading eyes.

“If you don’t tell anyone about Harry, we won’t tell anyone about you,” Severus said, his voice impossibly calm and steady. “But how have you hidden this from everyone?”

“I have made arrangements with Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore to get out of the castle and to a safe place each month,” Remus said with a frown.

“So, you’re dangerous when you turn?” Harry asked.

Remus explained what happens during the full moon and how out of control werewolves become. To keep him in the Shrieking Shack, they had to put Wolfsbane around the door. It was best for everyone because werewolves would harm even their closest friends in that state.

Harry listened carefully and tried to hold in his fear, but he must not have been doing a good job because Remus stopped talking and gave him a sympathetic glance.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Remus said suddenly. “But you really must go see Madam Pomfrey tonight. The bite could bring on high fever, trouble sleeping, and other problems that can be treated.”

Harry felt like his life was going out of control. At least with the Dursleys, there were things he could do to make life a bit easier, but there was nothing he could do about this. If he actually was becoming a werewolf, it would happen and nothing could be done to stop it or make it easier. If.

Harry studied his companions, still hoping they would burst out laughing and tell him it was a joke. But it was obvious by the look in their eyes that this was no joke.

“You need to remember that we don’t know for sure that it was actually a werewolf that got you,” Remus said, noting the eleven-year-old seemed to grow paler and paler by the second.

“How sure are you?” Harry asked.

Remus squirmed uncomfortably for a few seconds before letting out a small sigh. “Based on your description, I’m about eighty-five percent sure.”

That was a higher number than Harry was expecting. That meant he was convinced it was a werewolf bite, but didn’t want to say one hundred percent on the freak chance that it wasn’t. Well, of all the things to happen, this was certainly the scariest! How was it possible for one child to have such bad luck? His parents’ deaths, getting stuck with the Dursleys, getting swept into the past, and now this?

* * *

It was dark by the time the train pulled into Hogsmeade station. Instead of taking little boats over to the castle, all of the students were led over to several carriages which seemed to move themselves towards the castle. The ride was actually quite peaceful and a much-welcome distraction. Remus had gone back to find his friends after telling Harry and Severus that they could talk to him whenever they needed. The invitation seemed sincere, and Harry knew he’d be going to the older boy in the near future.

“How are you doing? You haven’t said a word since we got off the train.”

Severus’ question pulled Harry from his thoughts of werewolves and other monsters. He had also begun thinking about other ‘mythological’ creatures that he’d been told didn’t exist. Were there vampires? What about zombies, yetis, and Santa Claus? So far, the existence of magic, ghosts, and werewolves had been confirmed, so what else was true?

“I’m… fine,” he said at last.

Severus raised an eyebrow to indicate that he wasn’t buying it.

“I’m just trying to figure this out. It’s a lot to deal with, but you heard Remus; we aren’t sure yet,” Harry said with a sigh.

“Remus seemed pretty sure; I think we need to do some research and see what we can find about this,” Severus said.

Harry liked the idea; if he could possibly become a werewolf, he wanted to know everything he could on the topic, so he could deal with it.

When they arrived at the castle, the customary feast was wonderful, but Harry didn’t have much of an appetite and ate very little. Severus didn’t even try to hide his concern as he watched the younger boy pick sadly at his food.

When the feast was over, Harry and Severus made their way towards the hospital wing where Madam Pomfrey cast several spells and gave Harry a few potions to slow down the bleeding and reduce any other effects until the bite healed enough on its own.

Before Harry left, he remembered something he had meant to ask Remus. “Why won’t potions heal the bite completely?”

Madam Pomfrey, who was tidying up the bed Harry had been lying on, glanced up and shrugged. “Because werewolf bites are cursed injuries, and cursed injuries can’t be healed with magic and potions. They have to heal on their own.”

Suddenly, Harry knew that Remus’ eighty-five percent had been a one hundred percent in disguise—an attempt to keep Harry from freaking out completely.

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