A Song for Severus ~ (Not Update, but Edit)

Chapter 76 ~ The Showdown

Darkness rolled like slow black oil over the landscape, shadow advancing, following the descent of the sun below the horizon, stars slowly winking into view from the east, and it felt as if the entire world were holding its breath.

Fenrir, waiting a mile or two away, paced restlessly at the forest’s edge, waiting for moonrise and transformation. At the farm, Severus and Albus lay on their bellies in the straw of the loft, peering out the opened barn door at the chained muggle, cattle lowing below them. The animals could smell the wolf scent on Eloise and Remus and it made the creatures nervous as it became even more pronounced.

Remus sat tense at the table, his eyes on Eloise, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground, her back leaning against the stake, playing idly with the long length of chain attaching her to it as she stared through the fence across the field, watching the silver halo ascending over the trees. Remus swallowed reflexively as the first curve of the moon became visible. This was the werewolf’s moment. It was as if all his life had been funneled to this one act of courage and revenge.

He wouldn’t fail Eloise or himself.

Rubin sat in the chair in the parlor, looking through the window. He had parted the curtain. He ran his finger over the edge of a sharp dagger with a silver blade, before inserting it into a sheathe attached to his belt loop. It wasn’t much protection but could do damage. The farmer hoped that he wouldn’t have to draw it on Remus when the time came. He waited for the howl that would start what Rubin hoped would be the end.

It came. Not from the farmyard, but from the distance. A long, piercing howl ringing through the darkness. The full moon hit Fenrir first, and he transformed. With a snarl he began loping toward the farm and Eloise.

Rubin stood up, drew a deep breath and slowly walked to the door. He opened it and stood on the porch looking up as the moon presented itself. Eloise let out a cry that turned into a howl as she too transformed quickly, then began wrestling and pulling against the chain that held her wildly, snarling and scratching at it with her claws, before sinking her teeth into the stake.

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Click Here for Interactive Music:
http://theburningpen.com/song/AD.m3u (Atomic Dog)
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Then Remus transformed, turning over the table as his form changed, his face elongating, his body sprouting a tail and long gray fur. His arms thinned and hands thickened to paws, fingernails blackening, lengthening and turning into wicked curved claws. He drew back his lips reveal sharp fangs and howled a challenge to Fenrir’s distant call.

Fenrir heard it and growled viciously, increasing his gait.

On the porch, Rubin swallowed, then began to walk across the yard and toward the barn, not making eye contact with Remus, who immediately dropped to all fours and charged toward him, teeth bared.

Rubin turned and faced him, holding up his hands.

“Remus! Stop! It’s me! Rubin!” the farmer cried out.

Remus did stop, only a foot or so away and reared up on his hind legs, saliva dripping from his jaws, his yellow eyes narrowed as he looked down on the farmer. The suddenly, he stopped baring his teeth, dropped down and began to snuffle the farmer. He smelled of werewolf. Of himself and…and Eloise…and of territory. Remus sniffed Rubin all over, the farmer staying stock still.

“Let’s hope Remus doesn’t try to take a chunk out of him,” Severus whispered.

Remus’ ear flicked toward the barn. He had heard Severus, and he turned toward the structure, scenting the air. He didn’t smell him and good thing too. He turned back to Remus as Albus put a finger to his lips, warning the Potions Master not to speak again. Severus already knew that…now.

Remus returned to snuffling Rubin, and…apparently deciding the farmer was all right and somehow his territory, Remus turned, lifted his leg and urinated on his trouser leg. Then he scratched up the earth with his hind legs a bit and marched stiff-legged toward Eloise, who was panting from her efforts to escape.

Hot piss soaking his leg, Rubin hurried over to his position by the barn, the lowing of the cows becoming louder and the animals more restless as the werewolf scent filled the barn. They all backed up, battering the walls with their movement, the whites of their eyes showing.

Eloise stood up and snarled at Remus. The werewolf quickly charged her, throwing his body into hers full weight and driving her back, then catching her by the scruff of the neck and holding her, growling until she sunk back down to all fours, Remus’ forelegs around her body, his furry chest resting against her back as he held on. Then he shuffled around, pulling her upward by the neck a bit until she was in position, whimpering slightly, her tail twisted to the side, revealing her sex. Remus’ huge pink erection glistened in the moonlight, and he entered her with a growl.

”Oh dear gods,” Severus groaned as the werewolves started copulating. What else was he going to be subjected to? Then he got a good whiff of Rubin who was standing in the shadows by the barn doors. The wizard’s eyes watered. He couldn’t even mutter a freshening charm.

Suddenly a long howl sounded from the rise. Rubin and Remus looked up, the werewolf dismounting with a savage snarl as Fenrir stood on his hind legs silhouetted by the moon crying out a challenge. Then he dropped and barreled down the rise toward the farm and the fence.

Remus turned and snarled at Eloise, driving her as far back as she could go on her chain and bullying her until she lay down on the ground completely. Then he turned, walked forward a few paces and took up a defensive position.

Fenrir pulled up short at the fence. This hadn’t been here before. He howled in frustration as he saw the low mesh top and began to pace back and forth, snarling and howling at Remus and calling to Eloise, who looked up with interest at the wolf. She knew it was Fenrir, but her instincts were responding to him, overriding her hatred. She stood up and whined.

Remus immediately charged her, snarling and forcing her back down, mouthing her muzzle with his teeth in warning. She was to stay down. She belonged to him.

The two werewolves continued to torment each other until both were foaming at the mouths to get at the other, Eloise whining and standing up from time to time, and Remus running at her, punishing her for responding by nipping her flanks. She almost tried to fight him but he knocked her to her back and clamped his mouth over her throat, growling fiercely. Eloise finally got the message. When he released her, she stayed down.

Severus was just beginning to wonder what Rubin was waiting for when suddenly the fence in front of Fenrir rolled back, the werewolf cautiously entering. He didn’t see Rubin who was in the shadows and smelled of nothing but werewolf. It was the same scent all over the farmyard.

Remus let out an angry yelp as the larger werewolf slunk into the enclosure. Fenrir spun as the fence rolled back, trapping him inside. His great shaggy head swung back and forth as he examined the fence, then he spun again, facing Remus and scenting the tantalizing female cowering behind him. Fenrir could smell Remus and there was not any fear or submission in his scent. In fact, he smelled of nothing but challenge and anger. Different. Alpha.

So the werewolf had grown some balls. No matter. He’d snap them off.

Remus rose to his hind legs, glaring and snarling at the intruder, his canine face so contorted with rage it was a mass of wrinkles. His long eye-teeth glistened under the night sky.

“Get him closer, Remus,” Rubin breathed, just a bit closer.

Suddenly Remus charged Fenrir.

”NOOOOO!” Rubin cried as the werewolves crashed together, snarling and biting savagely, a rolling, snapping ball of flying fur and gnashing teeth. They separated, their muzzles red with blood, Remus’ ears flat against his head as he panted.

Fenrir glared at the werewolf. He was bigger and stronger than Remus, but Remus was driven by the fury of the beast. He was protecting what was his. Normally werewolves wouldn’t fight to the death over a female…only until one was defeated. But Fenrir wanted to kill Remus, and Remus was willing to kill Fenrir because the larger werewolf couldn’t leave his territory.

“Get away from him, Remus…you’re in the way,” Rubin thought anxiously.

The farmer didn’t realize that Remus would attack first. He thought he would back away from the larger wolf’s approach. They had gone over the plan, but this was only the second time Remus transformed without the wolfsbane potion and he didn’t retain what he was told.

The two werewolves clashed again, Remus managing to knock the larger werewolf to his back and trying to tear into his belly, but Fenrir kicked him off with his hind legs, shredding one of his ears in the process, then leaping on the smaller wolf. But they were muzzle to muzzle, slashing and biting, ripping at each other’s faces horribly. Remus got hold of Fenrir’s cheek and torn a hunk of flesh out of it, the larger werewolf yelping and leaping away for a moment.

Remus mouthed the flesh openly, then swallowed it down.

Blood poured from Fenrir’s face for a minute before his healing powers kicked in, but the wound didn’t heal completely. Another werewolf has caused it. Fenrir began to try and circle Remus, who kept his head toward the larger werewolf. Then, using his experience, Fenrir feinted and Remus leapt to the side he thought the wolf was attacking from, leaving his left foreleg open. Fenrir’s jaws closed on it with a sickening crunch, Remus howling with pain before ripping into the werewolf’s head so viciously Fenrir let him go. Remus limped back, his leg useless now. Fenrir’s eyes glittered. Remus was seriously hurt…he couldn’t fight him now. The werewolf crouched ready for the death blow.

Suddenly there was a rattling sound and fence rolled on either side of the werewolf, Remus left standing on the outside. The werewolves had separated far enough for Rubin to unroll it, trapping Fenrir in the corridor. The farmer ran around the back of the barn, tore the door open and charged the cattle, yelling at the top of his voice. The cattle were wild with terror anyway because of the battle outside, the scent of blood in the air. The startled animals lowed in terror as the scent of werewolf washed over them strongly. A wolf was in the barn!

Terrified, they did what all cattle do in that situation…they stampeded out of the barn, charging toward the snarling Fenrir, whose rose on his hind legs threateningly. But there was no stopping the charging mass of hooves, horns and whirling eyes. Fenrir was carried back then disappeared under the beasts, trampled and crushed as they ran over him. They stopped at the far side of the fencing, where they huddled together lowing fearfully.

Rubin rolled back the fence. Fenrir lay there, still alive but broken, weak. Yet he was already starting to recover…his bones knitting together.

“Damn it! Get him Remus!” Rubin shouted at the werewolf. Remus looked at the wildly gesticulating man for a moment, then at Fenrir, who was trying to rise.

Suddenly he snarled and charged the injured wolf, limping quickly. Fenrir snarled and tried to fend Remus off of him, but the werewolf was crazed for blood and desperate, latching on to Fenrir’s throat and tearing out a large hunk of it, Fenrir gurgling as he tried to howl, scratch ineffectively at the creature once again tearing at his throat. His eyes glazing, Fenrir tasted his own blood and felt lethargic….there was no longer any pain as Remus continued tearing out hunks of flesh.

Fenrir fell still…obviously dead…but Remus didn’t stop biting until he reached bone, and bit through that, severing the werewolf’s head from its body. There was no coming back from that. Fenrir was truly dead.

Remus picked up Fenrir’s head in his mouth and carried it over to Eloise, who was standing now, watching Remus limping toward her, Fenrir’s furry head swinging from his jaws. Remus stopped in front of her, and dropped Fenrir’s head on the ground, then turned and balancing precariously on his one good foreleg, lifted his back on and shakily urinated on it. Then he let out a long howl of victory, then dropped to the ground panting heavily. Eloise lay down beside him and began to tenderly lick his shattered leg and torn muzzle.

Rubin let out a sigh of relief. They’d done it. They had killed Fenrir Greyback. His son and wife had been avenged, as were many others.

Albus and Severus lay in the loft, looking at the werewolves.

”Do you think we should come down?” Albus asked the Potions Master.

Severus looked at Fenrir’s severed head and the werewolves lying together, Remus’ eyes closed as Eloise licked his face and torn ear. They looked peaceful enough, but Remus probably wouldn’t know who they were, and it would be a shame to hex him after he’d gone through such a battle.

”No, I think we should make ourselves comfortable until sunrise,” Severus replied, sliding further into the loft. At least the hay was fresh.

Rubin walked back to the house and headed for the kitchen to retrieve several raw steaks. He returned to the yard and carefully walked toward the two werewolves, who looked at him attentively but made no attempt to rise. He stopped about ten feet away and threw them the steaks. Both tails thumped the ground for a moment, then they began to feed. Rubin knelt.

”You did it, Remus. You killed him,” he said in a soothing voice.

Remus looked at Rubin out the corner of his eye and growled. The farmer was kind of close while he was eating. Eloise’s tail thumped again as she looked at the farmer. She knew who he was. A friend. Soon Remus would know that too.

”You two go ahead and eat,” Rubin said, rising slowly so he didn’t upset Remus, “I’ll talk to you in the morning.”

He backed away from the werewolves then called over to the barn.

“Good night Albus. Professor,” he said with a smirk.

They had forgotten this small detail of Severus and Albus leaving the farm. The fencing had a built in dampening charm to prohibit apparition. It would take hours to remove it. Remus probably wouldn’t take kindly to them walking across his territory, especially since when word got around to the other werewolves about Fenrir’s death, he’d be considered the new Alpha Male.

Severus snuggled down into the hay as Albus did likewise, complaining a little about his bursitis before finding a comfortable position. They hadn’t been needed at all, but they could bear witness before the Ministry how Remus killed Fenrir. There was quite a reward due the wizard for taking down Fenrir Greyback…enough to make him quite wealthy. Albus would be damned if he didn’t get it.

Werewolf or not, he had earned it.

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A/N: Goodbye, Fenrir Greyback. Thanks for reading, ya’ll. LK: I added “Atomic Dog” just for you girl. Lolol.