Sacrifice

Hi everyone :)

Thank you to everyone who left me a review and an extra big thank you to those who reassured me that the development of Fenrir's feelings for Harry weren't too rushed. Because the focus of this story is going to be more about the sacrifices Harry and Fenrir make for each other (hence the title XD) more than the story of how they get together, there aren't many more chapters until they become more than just Alpha and subordinate.

That's all from me for now, on with the chapter:

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A joyful laugh broke free from Harry as he came bursting out of a thick wall of trees and carried on sprinting across a wide open meadow, his legs carrying him as fast as they could. Then, not even a second after he had entered the field, a massive grey werewolf burst out from those same trees. All too soon in the young boy's opinion, he had been caught by the grey furred werewolf who was Fenrir and was pounced on, sending him sprawling out onto the ground where a light wrestling match promptly started between him and the transformed werewolf.

Winter had recently melted into spring which meant there was no more snow on the ground so Harry was finally allowed to walk on his own. Although he was instructed to keep within the range of Fenrir's senses at all times, he had more freedom than when he was carried by the Alpha as was only natural when it came to walking on his own two feet. It made gathering his food easier and it was just generally more interesting. It also helped him sleep better as he tired himself out more than he ever did just being carried everywhere.

Now, it was the full moon of March and the child and his guardian were enjoying their second full moon as a pair.

The light wrestling match turned into a tickle attack before long and Harry's sensitive stomach and armpits were assaulted by his Alpha's nose. It was awful and yet ridiculous fun at the same time and his ribs were soon aching. As though Fenrir sensed that Harry needed a break from the tickling, he stopped the movements and so the sensations which were making the boy laugh gradually faded. Instead, the werewolf moved his attention upwards, up to Harry's neck where his cold and slightly wet nose nuzzled the pale skin and his tongue occasionally darted out to deliver affectionate little licks.

If there was only one thing Harry loved about the three nights of the full moon, it was that when Fenrir transformed into his animal form, he was so much more affectionate. In his human form, Fenrir was, more often than not, a closed-off, serious and often quite scary man. Then, when the nights came for the transformation, Fenrir might have remained serious and more than quite scary but he did become more open. He was more likely to play when he was a wolf and he gave and accepted affection far more readily, even eagerly. The Alpha was never really far away from Harry at any time of the day (unless he needed to hunt, either for food or entertainment) but during the full moon he got even closer (again, unless he was in a killing mood). So, for Harry, full moons meant fun and affection and so they were his favourite time of the month.

Fenrir was still stood over Harry, who lay in the grass on his back, and was still nuzzling the child and delivering moist licks on the small neck and face every so often. The sensations made Harry giggle and squirm playfully and he weakly and half-heartedly tried to bat the head of the massive Alpha away. Eventually, the silver werewolf allowed the boy to hug his head and nuzzle his fur in return. When Harry let Fenrir go, he rolled out underneath the animal just before the creature crouched down slightly. Recognising the invitation, the boy eagerly climbed onto Fenrir's back and got himself comfortable, grabbing a tight hold of the long, shaggy fur just behind the pointed ears, knowing that he couldn't possibly cause any pain. He had just barely got himself settled before Fenrir suddenly shot forward and broke into an immediate run much to Harry's delight.

Harry hung onto the werewolf he was on top of for dear life and felt the happiest he could ever remember being. He couldn't even imagine his life being any different from how it was at that moment.

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Murmuring a happy song to himself lightly, Harry made his way carefully through the trees and the undergrowth that surrounded him, keeping a sharp eye and a keen nose as he foraged for his first meal of the day. The peach of the sky was just visible through the canopy of leaves above him and it created the odd soft patch of light where there were gaps. Fenrir was off somewhere else, doing his own hunting.

Harry wasn't a werewolf, that much was obvious, but he didn't think he was completely human either. He may not change during the full moon and he didn't have the increased immune system and physical strength, but his sense of smell was incredible and he was an extremely fast runner over surprisingly long distances. The phases of the moon affected him too, though not to as great an extent as they affected Fenrir. So, although he wasn't a werewolf, he definitely had some of their traits. That was the only explanation to why he still carried the under-laying scent of Isaac and why Fenrir's instincts were telling the man that he was part of his pack and so the boy could safely be around the Alpha during the full moon.

The pleasant scent of something sweet and fruity suddenly hit Harry's nose and he followed the smell to a nearby bush which was covered it little red berries which smelt like they were safe to eat. Just to make sure though, the boy took a step closer with the intention of leaning down to get a better sniff. However, it was just as he put his foot forward that he thought he heard a voice yell "oi" seconds before something sharp pierced into his foot.

Harry gave a yelp at the sudden pain and staggered back, managing to lose his balance in the process so he fell and landed on his rear with a thump. He glanced down at his feet and saw that there were two neat puncture wounds on his right one, both holes producing rapidly growing spots of blood.

"Ssstupid creature; ssshould pay attention to where it ssstepsss." An angry voice hissed from in the bush somewhere.

"Well, maybe you ssshouldn't hide in bussshesss and attack innocccently passsing people." Harry retorted, unknowingly not speaking English.

There was a rustling of leaves then before a snake slithered out from underneath the bush. It stopped just as its head came into view and it stared at Harry steadily. "You talk?" The snake hissed, its tone confused.

"You talk!" Harry echoed, sounding more surprised than confused.

"Well of courssse I talk, we all do. You and your kind thhhough, never befffore have I heard of any of you talking."

"Oh, uh, I could sssay the sssame about you, I sssuppossse." Harry replied awkwardly. "Erm, sssorry I almossst trod on you."

"Ssso you ssshould be."

The boy frowned. "You know, the polite thhhing to do would be to apologissse for biting me."

"I'm not sssorry though. Asss I sssaid, you ssshould've paid more attention to where you were ssstepping." The snake answered.

"Are all sssnakesss as rude asss you?"

"I ssshould thhhink ssso."

Harry gave a huff. "Can you be cccivil enough to tell me whethhher or not you're poisssonousss at leassst?"

The snake actually seemed to need to think about it before it made up its mind. "To an ordinary human, I'd probably make thhhem feel rathhher ill for ssseveral daysss. You sssmell a little bit like a werewolf thhhough ssso I imagine you'll be all right. I would get the poissson out sssooner rathhher thhhan later thhhough, jussst in cassse."

"Thanks." The boy grunted without enthusiasm.

"If thhhat'sss all thhhen, I'll go back to resssting. Ssstay away from my busssh unlessss you want anothhher bite." And with that threat issued, the snake retreated back underneath the berry bush.

Harry continued to glare at the spot the snake had last been. The thought at the front of his mind was more that the snake had been so totally rude rather than the fact he had just had a conversation with a talking snake. Perhaps that was because when he was younger he had always been told that things such as magic/werewolves/vampires etc weren't real. Well, werewolves were very real, Harry knew that. So, if there could be werewolves, why couldn't there be talking snakes? Seemed to make sense to him.

Quite abruptly, Harry remembered what the snake had said about the poison and in an instant he was up on his feet and limping back in the direction in which he had originally come. He needed to track Fenrir down so he could suck out the poison for him. If the bite had been just a little further up his foot, he probably would've been able to get it up to his own mouth to give it a suck as he was rather agile and bendy. Unfortunately, his mouth wouldn't be able to get a decent seal around the wound in the position it was actually in. So, that meant he had to seek out Fenrir despite the fact he'd probably get a hard scolding and perhaps a cuff around the ear for being so careless and inattentive.

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Fenrir's nostrils flared as he took in the scent of the baby deer and its mother that he was currently stalking. He'd already had one successful kill which he'd already eaten, but he was still a bit peckish and that baby deer was just the right size to satisfy his hunger. His mind was focussed on his surroundings, making sure he didn't give away his presence to the skittish animals, but thoughts of his one and only pack member lingered not far behind.

As loathe he was to admit it, the boy had grown on him. Fenrir was inclined to blame it on the fact he had gone so long without a pack and spent so long on his own that the wolf in him was desperate for any and all sense of companionship. Plus, the Alpha in him was delighting in having someone to lord over and protect again. And, really, it could've been worse. True, the boy was Harry Potter and that was most likely going to cause problems at some point in the future but he was an inoffensive lad. Isaac had obviously taught him well as he acted as any submissive would and easily treated Fenrir with the respect an Alpha was due. The kid was far from being a push over or weak willed though. if he thought he could do something for himself, he'd tell Fenrir so and wouldn't let the man help him for one thing. He also didn't talk too much which Fenrir approved of, though he did have an annoying habit of singing and humming. He did always stop when he was told however. So, yes, over-all the situation wasn't perfect but the Alpha could say that he felt more content than he had for several years, not that he could ever admit that out loud though.

Nostrils flared again as Fenrir smelt the air once more, but there was something else, a new scent, which hadn't been there before. It was blood he had never smelt before but knew instantly who it was coming from; Harry. His Alpha instincts immediately went into over-drive and he forgot about the baby deer he had been hunting instantly. Instead, he turned and began to stalk in the direction the scent of Harry's blood was wafting from. He soon found the boy limping through the forest towards him. Although pleased that the pup had obviously done the smart thing of trying to seek him out, that small positive emotion was almost entirely drowned out by more negative ones such as worry and anger.

"Why are you limping?" The Alpha demanded as he stalked closer to the child.

"A snake bit my foot; can you get the poison out for me?" Harry requested as he helped to close the gap between himself and the adult.

Fenrir wasn't sure which to focus on more, the fact the kid had said a snake had bit him or the fact he had so nonchalantly requested that the poison be sucked out of the. He gave a low growl, which sort of sounding angry but was actually one of concern, as he easily pushed Harry so the boy landed on his back on the ground with a light grunt. Without further delay, the man closed his hand around the slim ankle of the injured foot and used the grip to pull the foot (and Harry) closer to himself so he could inspect the wound. He sniffed the puncture marks and decided that although there was poison in there, it didn't smell like it was lethal or would cause the boy that much damage. The poison would have to be sucked out nonetheless, if only for his own peace of mind. So Fenrir brought the small foot to his mouth, clamped his lips around it and proceeded to suck it roughly.

Harry couldn't stop the snickers that escaped him as Fenrir's ministrations had a rather ticklish quality to them. If his limb hadn't been in such a vice grip, no doubt his leg would kick out in an attempt to rid himself of the tickles. That leg was held completely immobile though and so he could do no more than twist and squirm and giggle every time the need to do so arose. Fenrir, for his part, was incredibly tolerant of the behaviour and didn't comment on the movement. All he did was suck then spit out the mixture of blood and poison which entered his mouth.

It finally took about ten minutes before the Alpha was satisfied he had removed all the venom from Harry's foot. He gave the wound a few licks and a sniff just to check before he simply let the boy's leg drop to the ground. "Be more careful next time." He grunted as he went to get up.

"What makes you think it was all my fault? You're just as bad as the snake." Harry muttered lowly.

Fenrir paused at hearing that and turned a sharp look onto the boy. "What was that?"

"I'm not talking back." The child protested.

"What did you say?" The Alpha demanded sternly as stepped closer to Harry so he was looming over him.

"All I said was that I don't know why you think it's my fault and you're just as bad as the snake because it blamed me as well." Harry got out quickly, averting his gaze.

"The snake blamed you? How do you know?"

"It told me."

"It spoke?"

"Yeah."

Fenrir felt his blood freeze. Harry had heard a snake talk. There was only one other person who Fenrir was aware of who could do that; Voldemort. The fact that it was a Wizarding trait meant that the man instantly didn't like it, but was it also something to be worried and wary about? Did it mean something? This was Harry Potter after all, the one who had somehow managed to destroy Voldemort and now it turned out the child could talk to snakes just like that Dark Lord...Surely it couldn't be coincidence...

"Don't do it again." Fenrir growled out dangerously.

Harry seemed a little confused by that and looked at his Alpha curiously. "Don't do what again?"

"Talk to a snake. You're not to do it ever again, do I make myself clear?"

"That's not fair! Why not?"

No sooner had the words, which were spoken in a slightly raised tone, left Harry's mouth than Fenrir's hand had shot out and had gripped the boy's hair in a tight and painful fist. Harry winced at the sensation and instantly froze, his eyes clenched shut in both fear and anticipation of further pain. "I don't have to explain myself to you." The man seethed dangerously.

Harry did the smart thing and didn't say anything. Instead, he gave a small whimper and bared his throat. The Alpha lowered his head to the offered flesh but did nothing more than give the slope of it a sharp, but quick, nip. It had been a minor incident after all, there was no need for a more severe punishment.

Fenrir, still with the head of hair gripped in his fist, lifted his face so that it hovered a mere breath away from Harry's. "Open your eyes and look at me." He ordered in a low, growly tone. Green eyes immediately flew open and fixed on him. "You will not speak to a snake again." He repeated his previous order firmly.

"Yes, Fenrir." Harry murmured demurely.

"You will not question me again."

"Yes, Fenrir."

"Now apologise."

"I'm sorry for questioning you, Fenrir."

"Good pup." The Alpha murmured, offering a soothing lick to the nip he had previously inflicted and loosening the grip he had on Harry's hair.

Harry remained completely stiff and rigid until he felt Fenrir's nose butt against his jaw. He instantly relaxed then, knowing that he had been forgiven and all was forgotten. A massive, hairy hand was thrust at him and he didn't hesitate to accept it, allowing his Alpha to help him back onto his feet.

"Go finish your foraging, Pup." The werewolf instructed before he turned and wandered off himself.

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A low, frustrated growl rumbled through Fenrir as he idly rubbed against a tree to scratch the itch on his back that he couldn't reach with his hands. Harry wasn't too far away, close enough for the Alpha to be able to pick up on his scent which, usually, was the preferred situation. At that moment though, Fenrir didn't trust his control enough.

Although werewolves were up for mating at any time of the year, it was during the full moon of April that they experienced their heat. For three nights and two days, even in his human form, Fenrir would be almost completely driven by the need to mate, a lot. Usually, he loved the mating season and thought it was the best time of the year but that year it was different. That year he had a not-completely-werewolf-pup to look after and that raised a problem. He knew he couldn't be around Harry during the time, it was just asking for trouble. Werewolves in heat cared for little else but mating with anything with a pulse that smelt faintly like a werewolf regardless of age/gender/experience. He didn't want to scare or hurt Harry and so he couldn't be around the boy.

The main problem Fenrir was having was trying to decide how exactly he was going to explain the situation to the boy. His damn instincts were all over the place and while a part of him was seeing the kid as a lump of flesh to rut against, the majority of him felt the usual need to protect him, only it was much stronger than normal. That included keeping Harry in the dark about things children weren't supposed to know about, i.e. sex.

"Fenrir?" Harry's voice called out then as footsteps on the forest floor approached. "Fenrir, I forgot to ask you..."

"Stop shouting, I'm right here." The Alpha ordered as he straightened up.

"Oh, um, hi." The boy said feebly as he came wandering out from a large, thick bush.

"What did you forget to ask me?"

"Are you going to be disappearing for the next few days or do you want me to climb a tree?"

"What are you going on about?" Fenrir grunted.

"Tonight's the forth full moon of the year, right? Isaac always used to disappear for it, except for last year when he wasn't up to leaving the cave so I spent the time up in a nearby tree. He told me once that it was an adult werewolf thing so I was just wondering what you were planning on doing."

Fenrir gave the boy an appraising look, trying to decipher just how knowing the boy was on the subject. He soon decided that Harry, indeed, thought of it only as some sort of weird thing adult werewolves did. "We'll do both," he grunted eventually. "I'll make myself scarce and you stay up a tree as often as possible."

"All right. I'll go find a tree now and point it out to you so you know where to find me when the full moon's over." And with that, Harry scampered off back through the bush he had come out of before.

The Alpha watched the pup go. At least that was one thing off his mind.

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Summer was in full heat, literally. It was around late July, perhaps early August, and the hot air made the morning sticky and unpleasant and Harry wasn't the least bit tired despite all the running about he had done all night during the full moon. There he was, laying beside a sleeping Fenrir while he, himself, was completely wide awake. In the area they had been settled in for the past month or so, there was a fresh water lake where the Alpha had taught him to swim. He fancied a swim right then but there was no way he was going to be allowed to go on his own...

"Fenrir?" He said as he nudged the man beside him lightly.

A sort of muffled grunt of acknowledgement was his only answer.

"Can I go to the lake and have a swim?"

That prompted Fenrir to crack an eye open and look at his charge tiredly. "You have the energy to go swimming after all you did last night?" He asked sceptically.

"Please Fenrir?" Was all Harry said in reply to that, giving him his best puppy eyes. "I've been so good lately, haven't I?"

The Alpha looked at the boy steadily for another few seconds before the one open eye closed again. "You've got half an hour, if you ain't back before then you'll regret it."

"Yes! You're the best, thanks." Harry grinned before he scrambled up and dashed away from the man, starting to run through the forest in the direction the lake was in.

If it hadn't been for the fact he was still wearing his usual over-sized robe, Harry would have cannonballed right into the lake when he reached it. As it was, he regretfully had to slow down enough to get the clothing up and over his head before he jumped into the cool water, going under the surface for a little while before popping back up with a satisfied gasp. He didn't have to worry about his glasses, they were long gone, broken beyond repair during the sixth full moon of that year, so now he had to do without glasses which was inconvenient but not the end of the world.

Several minutes passed by in the calm silence as Harry allowed himself to float in the one spot, the warmth of the sun above on his chest creating an odd contrast with a cool temperature of the water on his back. It was nice though and he would've stayed exactly in that position if he hadn't opened his eyes and noticed the colour of the sky. It was bluer than the last time he had looked up at it that meant quite a few minutes must have passed. It was hard to tell exactly how long he had been in the water but, with Fenrir Greyback as an Alpha, it was always better to be safe than sorry. So, Harry swam to the edge of the lake and pulled himself out onto the springy, green grass.

Harry lay down and began to writhe and undulate against the grass in an attempt to get the worst of the water off of himself before he sat up and started to comb his hair with his fingers. It was just as he was content that the majority of the tangles were out of his hair that the sound of loud flapping caught his ears. He angled his head so it was tipped back, allowing him to look behind himself, and he was greeted with the upside down view of a brown owl perched on the branch of a tree just above him. Harry frowned at the sight and swivelled around so he could look at the bird properly and noticed that there was something tied to one of its legs.

The next few minutes were spent with green staring at yellow before Harry got onto his feet and slowly started to approach the bird. He was about to hold his arm out to it but then remembered that owls have sharp talons. Thinking quickly, he dashed over to where his robe was laying abandoned on the ground and instead of putting it on, he wrapped it around his right forearm several times. Then he hurried back over to the tree and actually held his arm out to the owl and was about to voice some cooing encouragments when the owl voluntarily glided down to him and perched on his offered arm.

"Hello there." Harry cooed at the bird as he brought his free hand up to gently trail the back of his index finger over the smooth feathers. "Well you seem nice and alert, don't you? So how comes you're not somewhere warm and cosy and getting ready to go to sleep? And who tied this to your leg, hmm?" He asked as he turned his attention to the string that held the envelope onto the leg.

With the string removed, the letter floated to the ground and when Harry turned his gaze onto it, the bird abruptly took off without warning prompting him to recoil slightly but not to cry out. He watched the bird until it was out of his sight at which point he turned his attention back onto the fallen envelope, dipping down to pick it up. Another frown came to his face as he recognised the words on the front. Curiously, he turned the envelope around and looked at the wax seal on the flap.

Still frowning, he quickly pulled his robe on before he headed off back towards where he had left Fenrir.

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Fenrir gave a long, wide yawn as he sat up and stretched his arms out and arched his back. He glanced around himself afterwards and noticed that the pup was still absent and he felt a slight swell of annoyance. True, he wasn't sure whether half an hour had passed or not but the boy should've been back before he woke up. It was only a second later that Harry came traipsing through the bushes and trees though so that helped to cool the Alpha's slight irritation.

"Took your time, Pup." The man grunted in a gravely, sleep-roughened voice as he had another stretch, his eyes shutting tight.

"I would've been back sooner but there was an owl...Fenrir, can I ask you something?"

"Hmm?"

"What's Hogwarts?"

In a second, Fenrir's eyes had snapped open and he had fixed a hard, dangerous look on Harry. "Where did you hear that word?"

"It's on this letter." Harry answered as he moved over to the man and held the envelope out to him. "It was tied to the leg of the owl." He watched curiously Fenrir took the letter from him and looked it over in obvious dislike and, was that worry? "I know it's got my name on it, is it something bad?"

Fenrir didn't speak for long moments as he flipped the envelope over. He was pleased to see that the seal hadn't been broken which meant Harry hadn't opened it and he obviously didn't know what it was either. That alone gave Fenrir a choice: tell the boy the truth and let him go, or destroy the letter and keep Harry with him. Perhaps if the letter had turned up earlier that year, maybe a week or two after Harry had joined him, Fenrir would've let the boy go. It had been over half a year, however, and Fenrir had grown used to Harry or at least used to not being a lone wolf like he had been for so long before.

With a light growl, the Alpha easily tore the envelope and the letter inside in half. "It's nothing," he grunted easily, discarding the ripped pieces of parchment to the side carelessly. "Forget about it."

"Are you sure?"

Fenrir was about to snap at Harry but the rebuke died when he saw that the boy was clearly still anxious and it was that worry which was prompting him to question rather than scepticism or anything like that. It was a request for reassurance. "I'm always sure. Like I said, don't think about it anymore, there's no need to."

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Harry chuckled joyfully as he hung upside down from the tree of a branch and swung back and forth from the knees. Directly underneath him was Fenrir, leaning back against the tree's trunk and apparently asleep or perhaps just resting his eyes. It was a warm, early evening and neither of the males were feeling particularly active. Once he was hanging, Harry was more than happy to dangle there, quietly singing to himself and relaxing, to an extent.

A few weeks had passed since Harry had found the owl with the letter and what a strange few weeks it had been. He had noticed other owls appearing at odd times of the day and had caught glimpses of the letters they had tied to their legs but he had never managed to snag another one having always been distracted by Fenrir who always seemed to be lingering somewhere close to him. Of course, the Alpha was always near by but over those weeks he had been really near by, as though he was just waiting for the need to distract Harry to arise. Harry thought it odd but nothing more than that and he knew better than to question Fenrir even if he felt the need to.

From where he was hanging, the boy gave a huge stretch, pushing his arms out and elongating his back, his eyes closing in the process. He ended the stretch with a sigh as he loosened up. Very suddenly, there came a snap of a twig. In an instant both Harry and Fenrir had their eyes open, and while the Alpha sat up, the child quickly began to right himself so he could get down from the tree. He ended up falling from the tree rather ungracefully but was saved from a rough touch down on the ground by Fenrir who deftly caught him. The werewolf pulled the boy towards himself and held the body close to his chest, both of his thick arms in a strong hold around the small waist, and stooped down lower than usual so that Harry's feet could touch the ground. Neither moved and neither dared to breathe in case it made them miss another sound.

When another sound did come, it was more easily identifiable; a heavy footstep, too heavy to be a bare foot, and the rustling of a bush. Something was coming and it wasn't an animal.

Very carefully, Fenrir moved his head until his lips were directly beside Harry's ear. "Pup, I want you to listen good and do exactly as I tell you, right?" He murmured in a low, growly voice.

"Yes, Fenrir." Harry whispered his reply.

"I want you to get back up that tree as quickly as possible and as high as you can manage and I want you to wait. Don't come down until I come back and get you. Got it?"

"Yes, Fenrir."

"Good pup, now up you go." The man then hefted the boy into the air, giving him a boost so that Harry could grab hold of a branch above. Within a minute, Harry was busy climbing as high up into the tree as he could manage while Fenrir headed off in the general direction that the noises had come from.

Fenrir's mood was foul as he crept through the forest, searching for whoever it was close by. There he had been, enjoying the relaxing atmosphere and comfortable with the knowledge that his charge/only pack mate was safe and occupied. It had really been one of those moments where the Alpha felt completely content and the usual ever-constant desire to rip things to shreds was no longer there. Now however, having all that ruined by someone with the audacity to intrude on his territory, the desire was quickly returning.

Unfortunately for Fenrir, upon catching a glimpse of the intruder through the trees and the shrubbery, he recognised who it was quickly. That stupid half giant who worked for Albus Dumbledore. It didn't take an alchemist to figure out why the bumbling wizard was on Fenrir's territory and Fenrir also knew that he couldn't really just kill the man either. Bringing down a half giant would be no easy task even if it was a full moon night and there was also the fact that killing the man might be seen as an attempt to hide or cover something up. The last thing the Alpha needed was more wizards combing the area. No, in this instant, a threat and a few lies would work so much better than a quick murder.

With that in mind, Fenrir came out from his position behind a tree to confront the half giant head on: "Is there something you need help with, wizard, or are you simply lost?"

The huge man, who was probably one of the few people taller than Fenrir, paused in mid-stride and turned to look at the werewolf. A moment of silence passed before the half giant gave a cough and looked away (perhaps because of the Alpha's obvious nakedness). It was as he looked away that his reply came: "Fenrir Greyback? This your patch?"

"Evidently. State your business." The Alpha ordered sharply.

"I ain't 'ere to cause no trouble, was sent by Albus Dumbledore." The half giant's voice answered. "'E told me to find out why Hogwarts owls have been comin' to this area to deliver acceptance letters. Perhaps you know something about it?"

"Can't say that I do." Fenrir lied easily. "And I haven't noticed an increase of owls in the area either. So, now that your business is finished, I suggest you leave."

Dumbledore's man was obviously reluctant to go against the most notorious werewolf in the British Isles even if he was only in his human form, but it was also obvious that he didn't want to give up so easily. The half giant hesitated and that only annoyed Fenrir further. Growing tired of the fact the situation was still dragging on, he took a step towards the Hogwarts grounds keeper. That seemed to be enough to make up the man's mind and he reluctantly turned and began to walk away from Fenrir, back into the forest. The Alpha watched the half giant go until he could no longer be seen, heard or smelt. Only when his presence was completely gone that Fenrir turned and headed back the way he had come to retrieve Harry.

Reaching the tree he had left the boy in, he came to a stop underneath it and looked up into the leaves; Harry was no where in sight. That was good, it was reassuring to know that the tree gave such good coverage. "It's safe now, Pup, you can come down. Just drop, I'll catch you."

"All right," Harry's voice seemingly came from no where. "Give me a second, I'm kinda tangled."

True to his word, barely more than a second passed before Harry came tumbling out of the tree only to be caught, once again, by his Alpha. Fenrir set the boy down on the ground gently but neglected to remove his presence from the smaller form completely. He kept one hand on the back of Harry's neck, perhaps to reassure the child, perhaps to reassure himself.

"Is everything all right?" Harry asked quietly, looking up at the dominant's face anxiously.

"Everything's fine, Pup." Fenrir reassured him confidently as he unconsciously rubbed the slope of Harry's neck with the pad of his thumb. "It was just a lost nature walker, they wandered off on their own."

"You didn't kill them?" The boy asked curiously, sounding surprised about that fact more than anything.

"We've got the rest of the summer and most of the autumn here before we move on for the winter; if I'd killed 'em we'd have to leave now." Fenrir grunted as he pulled his hand away from Harry's neck and began to trudge off. "Come on, we'll move deeper into the forest, just in case."

Harry obediently followed on after Fenrir but was still rather confused about the whole situation; it was so unlike Fenrir not to take the opportunity of ripping something/someone to shreds or at least giving them a bit of a mauling. The fact the Alpha had neglected to in itself could be seen as a cause for concern. But he wouldn't question the dominant and instead simply tried to obey and not worry about the situation. If Fenrir said things were fine then things were fine and that was all there was to it.

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End of Chapter 3.

I like this chapter so I hope all of you do as well :)
Time for review replies:

Zuka
I was trying to go for a slightly humourous twist on Fenrir's struggles so I'm glad that came across :)

applesauce N soysauce
I'm glad you enjoyed it so much :)

Bones
Lovely compliment there, thank you :)

Tina109
In the previous chapters, Harry was ten. As you saw in this chapter, Harry's just turned eleven.

Kage
I'll do my best to :)

BRM
*loses balance from the tackle hug but return it nonetheless*

Rosei
I'm glad you're enjoying it all so far :)

I don't have anything else to say for now which is odd for me O.o I guess I'll just ta ta for now and see you all in a fortnight :)

Hugs
Dream