The Last Hunter
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A Legacy of Evil: Moon Madness
🕑 Added 2024-04-11 01:17:35 +0000 UTCAh.
They were all werewolves. I think? I'm not entirely sure, but a group of random wizards attacking a caravan out in the middle of nowhere does have that certain ring of plot. More so, when I run into possibly the most psychotic monster that would grace Voldemort's little goose-stepping fan club, responsible for Remus's curse and suffering upon suffering to others.
Now currently an awestruck child, trying his best not to stare at the wand I have in my hand. His grandmother and father seem much more grounded, both looking at me warily and ready to throw down. I grudgingly approve and in a show of peace, I holster my wand and nod, drawing upon the old Riddle charm.
"I was in the neighborhood. Tapping trees actually, when I heard the explosion and came as soon as possible. I don't mean to be rude, but are you all werewolves then?"
Saying it so starkly I think helped matters, more so when I said it more as an afterthought rather than the conventional, wizarding horror that accompanied the word. Zev Grayback nodded and at a glance at her son, she had Fenrir taken away as she looked at me. "... Let us talk, wizard." I nod, amiable to this and on a whim, offer my arm which garners a look of surprise before she smiles, small as it is.
As we approach one of the wagons, I glance at the Thestrals and Zev flicks her eyes between us, a look of understanding flickering across her features as she realizes I can see them. As we enter the door and into the expanded living room, I sit down and she sits across as we just look at each other before she speaks.
"Not all of us."
I look suitably curious and she continues. "Not all of us are werewolves. But enough that it makes no difference to those who fear them, as well as those who hunt them. So we live much as we always had, traveling from place to place and on the outskirts of wizarding and no-maj society alike."
"As much for their protection as well as your need for isolation then?" I ask and she nods. "It is not a perfect thing, but it works as much as anything. Few of us are formally educated in magic, and the ingredients and skill for wolfsbane potion is immense. Even then, we have our own belief on the matter."
"Which is?" I ask as politely as possible. Inwardly, my mind is racing. Fenrir Greyback was a monstrous figure in the books, as well as a patsy for Voldemorts work. But it never really got into the particulars of how exactly, he became what he was. His violence against wizardkind, his hatred of Lupin's father, all these things combining into the being that would watch children tortured for information, sticking with the people who despised him because he had literally no one else.
But it didn't start that way, did it? I thought all this as Zev spoke somberly. "Perhaps a question with a question. Why do werewolves find themselves more at peace with beasts than they do with humans?" I opened my mouth... And then closed it again, giving the question serious consideration. Moony, Padfoot, Wormtail, Prongs... A quartet of troublemakers who had mastered animagi transformation all to keep their friend company. All unaffected by the werewolf, including... My eyes grew wide suddenly, as I realized something from the books.
Sirius had fought Remus in his werewolf form. Hound and Wolf, clashing together to protect the children-so why wasn't Sirius a werewolf?
Hell, Bill had been savaged by Greyback himself and through bullshit had been all but untouched. Did it go off of intent? Or maybe the transfiguration was the key? Or even a spiritual component, going off of the shamanistic aspects that the Animagi spell invoked, however distantly? Gah!
Magic was bullshit! And Zev seemed to find amusement from me as I ran through the various theories in my head before she spoke. "You are a powerful wizard. But until now, you did not consider the aspect of the wolf and the man. Both are irrecoverably apart, severed by spirit and by form. A man is not a wolf and a wolf is not a man. As a result, when the two come and clash..."
"You get conflicting personalities and perspectives in one body. A beast, caged and confused."
Humans were easy enough to deal with. But a confused, frightened wolf? The Wolfsbane Potion effect, calming it enough for a transformed Lupin to sit under his desk came to mind, as I felt my worldview shatter. Zev continued on, smiling.
"It is our hope that we may someday be able to work with our beast, to be one. Not two. It is already done with other spells, in similar ways. Why not with us? However... Not all feel the same."
"Those... Scourers, you said." I remarked thoughtfully. "How often do they come for you?"
"This was the first time." She said, looking angry as she clutched a fist. "Before however, they were just men. Wizards who came to our caravan with papers, making us leave town for the 'safety of the community.' We had been attempting to buy supplies for our caravan you see, and we did not wish for trouble. The man we had been shopping from stood up for us and drove them off despite our wish."
"The next day, he was found dead." The matter-of-fact tone made it quite a shock for me, as I looked at her eyes. The smoldering anger, the way her skin tightened about the eyes... The resignation.
"It did not matter that it was not full moon. Or that we had no wands save for me, or even that not all of us were werewolves. Fear did the rest and we came out here, as far as possible... But not far enough for their liking. I shudder to think what might had happened if you were not around. My heart is no longer as strong as I'd like nowadays and a duel like that would have killed me."
But it didn't. Because I was there at the right place, at the right time. In the middle of bum-fuck nowhere, because I had wanted to escape the plot. "Well then." I remarked as I spoke. "I suppose you'll be alright?"
She nodded. "We'll not be staying in Canada for long. Montana is as isolated as can be and there are wolves aplenty to lose ourselves and our hunters. But I am still weak... And you have proved yourself a friend. If possible, can you accompany us to Montana? We are willing to pay of course, though we have little enough nowadays."
I raise a hand and shake my head. "I don't want money. But there is something you can do for me." She looks curious and I look at her as I speak. "I want to travel with you. Learn what I can and with your permission, find out more about your condition. In one hour, you shattered all my views and ideas on lycanthropy. I want to know what I'll find out if I apply myself to it."
She looked wary before speaking. "If you do, you realize wizards when they realize what we are, shall look at you similarly, right?"
"Let them. I still have a spell or two in my pocket." I remark cheerfully as I grin and she chuckles. "You are quick with a wand. Powerful.... Are you an auror? Or a... Soldier?" My smile fades. The year is nineteen fifty-six. Wizards tend to age gracefully-hell, look at Dumbledore himself, so her question wasn't entirely unexpected.
And with the way I conducted myself with a wand, there were few plausible reasons why I'd have the sort of skill I did as I said simply. "No. I was a child when the Blitz occurred. But it instilled in me the sort of drive to never be that helpless again."
Bombs didn't care if you had obscuring spells. I don't know what expression I was making, but Zev seemed to recognize it as she reached out and squeezed my hand. A maternal gesture that Tom and by extension, myself in this life had never gotten and the honesty of it almost floored me.
"You look as though you have wolves of your own, Tom Riddle." She replies and she makes a choice.
"You may stay."
=====
"Where did you learn magic?"
"School." I remarked, brushing down the Thestral as it nickered and clawed the ground idly. I could had used a spell, but the act itself calmed me and I liked the creatures. They really had a bad rap in this world, as I smiled and patted them on the flank. By my side, the perpetual question generator named Fenrir had apparently considered me the best thing to come about, since Merlin and had taken to following me around. More so, when he realized I made the choice to stay for a time.
"What school was it?"
"Hogwarts." I replied, still working on the beautiful thing before me, my smile quiet and peaceful as I found my nirvana. I wonder if anyone had considered therapy Thestrals before?
"You think I could go to Hogwarts?"
At that, I paused and looked at him. He was such a small thing, looking at him now. Dressed in hand-me-downs tailored for his frame, not starving by any means but not exactly swimming in good food. There was a raw hope in his eyes and an intensity that made me uneasy, thinking of what he could become. So I made a choice, stopping my work as I knelt and placed my hand on his shoulder.
"Fenrir Greyback. I think you can do anything you set your mind to. It will be hard work, there will be those who seek to put you down for no reason other than what you are. But if you work hard, be honest to yourself and do good?" I thought of Lupin, the circle of friends he had and smiled to myself.
"I think you can be a great wizard. But more importantly, I would hope you become a good one."
He looked confused and I chuckled before I rose up and spoke. "You like maple syrup?"
He nodded rapidly and I laughed before speaking. "Go find your grandmother. I could use an assistant to help me take my buckets in. But only if she says its alright-"
He was already gone.
I laughed to myself and with a smile, slipped my wand out and patted the Thestral before I spoke.
"Disillusionment charms only work if the target doesn't realize you're there."
My hand blurred, my wand letting out a crack like a firecracker and suddenly there was a wizard cursing, dressed in the same general outfit as the Scourers as I spoke sternly.
"That was a swift response. It's only late afternoon now." He opened his mouth and I flicked my wand, sealing it as I made a shushing noise.
"No, no, no, no, no... It's not time to talk yet. These people here? They're not causing trouble. They are leaving. And YOU and your friends are not going to try your hand at mimicking the goose-stepping bastards I spent my life hunting. So, consider this a friendly warning. Leave them alone. Or it'll be MY turn to hunt. Do we understand each other?"
He nodded frantically.
"Glad we talked this out." I dropped him, lifted him one-handed from the ground and gently, brushed his lapel and straightened his collar before I spoke.
"Now get the fuck out of here."
=====
"You're absolutely sure?"
Oliver nodded, still sweating despite the cold air as he stared at the green flame and the face wreathed within it.
"Yeah. Fought like he expected to kill, mentioned the Nazi's. Said he'd hunt us if he saw us again." That... Man had been terrifying, utterly so. Strong for a Wizard, dressed like some hick from the boonies and with wild, shaggy hair but those eyes... Those eyes had been ready to scorch him to ashes and he continued his report.
"The beasts found themselves a veteran. Might be a beast himself, not sure entirely though. Sir, if they have a war veteran, we might need to look elsewhere to fulfill our order."
The face within the flames seemed contemplative, considering before he finally spoke decisively. "No. We had already invested more resources and time into driving the beasts away and cutting off their support. We won't get a better chance than this again to get this many viable subjects for the doctor. Round up the men, everyone we got."
With a dismissive air, he spoke aloud.
"After all, he's just one man. And when he's dead, we can round up the beasts to our hearts content."
