Bad Moon Rising

Chapter 7: Need







In touch with the ground…..I\'m on the hunt I\'m after you……Scent and a sound…. I\'m lost and I\'m found……And I\'m hungry like the wolf……Strut on a line it\'s discord and rhyme…..I howl and I whine I\'m after you…..Mouth is alive all running inside…..And I\'m hungry like the wolf.











Hermione let herself into the house after an evening out with Ginny. Everything seemed perfectly normal until she opened the door and stepped across the barrier of the strong silencing charms warding the house. It sounded as though a war were taking place upstairs. Loud shouts, banging, howling and growling were echoing through the house.







She withdrew her wand and slowly walked towards the stairs, screaming when George Weasley popped around the corner unexpectedly.





“George! What in the world is going on around here?” He looked haggard and worn as he scoffed and made his way into the lounge and straight for the liquer cabinet.







“I wish I knew!” He said, pouring himself a glass of whiskey and shooting it back quickly before pouring another. “Lupin has gone bloody mental.” He said, shaking his head. “I’ve never seen him act this way.”







“What do you mean? Didn’t you get the doors to his room sealed before the moon rose?” She asked, looking over her shoulder towards the stairs.







“Oh he went in with no problems, Snape brought by his potions right on time and he was secured in his room well before moonrise.” George said. “Once the moon was up he began howling, not that it’s unusual, but it was they way he was howling. It sounded like he was in pain. Then he began growling and carrying on so Snape retrieved an old scrying bowl so we could see what was happening inside. He was pacing in a circle, snarling and slobbering. Then suddenly he began lunging for the door, throwing his body against it full force.”









“Normally the potions Severus brings keep him calm and mostly sedated during his transformation. Was he agitated before hand? Was he upset about something?” She asked.







“No, he seemed like….well he was like he always is, quiet, kind of sad.” George shrugged.









“Who was he talking to? What were they talking about?” She asked.







“He was talking with Harry. He asked where you were and Harry told him you were out with Gin. It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, they weren’t fussing or anything like that.” They heard a loud, frightening bang that actually shook the house and caused dust to rain from the ceiling. “I’m worried he is going to get loose at this rate.”







“Did they increase the strength of the wards?” She asked.







“Of course, Snape did it so you know they are strong but he is determined to get out it seems.” George heard his name being shouted from upstairs and with a weary sigh he took off. Hermione of course was right behind him as they climbed the crooked, narrow staircase to the third floor where Remus’s rooms were situated. She saw the large, reinforced wood door and cringed. It was six inches thick with large metal hasps with thick locks all down the side. It was rattling in its frame as the werewolf threw its body against the door again and again.







“Hermione, you should go back downstairs, or better yet, go to the burrow and stay with Ginny.” Harry was standing with Snape and Ron, their wands drawn and ready just in case Remus got through the door.









“Why is he acting like this? Did you do anything different with his potions?” She asked Severus. He gave her a familiar frown before rolling his eyes.







“Of course I didn’t you silly girl, it’s the same potion I have brewed for him every month for years now. Something else has him riled up.” He snapped, his eyes and wand back on the door.







Hermione approached slowly, wishing to peer into the scrying bowl sitting on a pedestal. As she neared the door the growling and banging ceased. Instead he began whimpering and she could see his paws sliding beneath the door as he snuffled and whined on the other side.







“Seriously, Mione, you need to go, he’s unstable tonight.” Ron said.







“You should go to the Weasley home, Ms. Granger.” Snape said in what she called his ‘teacher’ voice.







She realized that they weren’t going to let up and she was exhausted. She longed for the comfort of a soft bed and warm blankets so she could get some rest. She turned to head back down the stairs when the banging, snarling and growling began again, only to quiet as she neared the door once more.







“Merlin’s balls, what is going on here?” George asked as he watched Hermione lay her hand against the door and quiet the beast on the other side.







“He appears to be comforted by her presence.” Severus said curiously as he watched her lean down and stroke one of the wolf’s paws that was protruding from beneath the door. “Very peculiar.”







“So what now?” Ron asked, lowering his wand in confusion.







“Someone go get me a pillow and a blanket.” She said, yawning as she sat on the floor with her back resting against the wall beside the door.







“What for?” Harry asked, more than a little baffled by the change in situation.







“If having me near calms him then it stands to reason that I should remain near until sunrise.” She said, closing her eyes wearily. “I am so tired right now I wont even notice that I am sleeping on the floor.”







“But, Mione….” Ron moved to argue but Snape stopped him.





“She is correct. Something about her soothes him so unless you wish to stand guard all night and possibly have to resort to violence against him I suggest you let the girl sleep out here in the hall.” Severus said. “I am going back to the school, if you need me you know how to reach me.”







As Severus left George retrieved several blankets and pillows from the bedrooms as they set up a makeshift camp site in the hall, none of them willing to leave her alone outside the werewolf’s door. She sighed and curled up in front of the door, hesitantly sliding her fingers underneath it and receiving the swipe of a warm, rough tongue over her fingertips as he settled down and passed the night in peace.









***Lyric from Hungry Like The Wolf by DuranDuran