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You Young Werewolf Catchers


Sirius, Peter, James, and Lily all lowered their wands as they realized it was the Resistance that had arrived and not some of Greyback’s cronies. James released his grip around Lily. “Sorry,” he murmured as his arm fell away from her body and she wrapped her arms around herself as the cold of the night closed back in around her. At their feet lay Fenrir Greyback, bound, wide eyed and petrified. Fabian Prewett hurried over, followed by his twin, and the pair of them grabbed onto the ropes that bound Greyback, holding them fast and adding a few more ‘round the werewolf’s petrified muzzle for good measure.

Newt Scamander’s eyes flitted to Sirius. “What - what happened here?”

“Yes, I, too, am most interested in this tale,” Dumbledore agreed, raising an eyebrow.

“Spotted him and… and we used our spells,” Sirius replied, shrugging.

“We are wizards after all,” Peter input.

“And a witch,” Lily piped up.

“Some of the best students, being taught under the guidance of the finest headmaster, the greatest wizard who ever has lived,” James added.

Dumbledore nodded, “I see. And what were you lot doing out here in the woods? This far off the grounds of the school, with Dementors unleashed and snow falling quite as it is here? ….so close to a very dangerous wizarding establishment as the Shrieking Shack?”

Sirius looked into Dumbledore’s eyes.

“A question whose answer we shall receive upon return to my office back at the castle - once we’ve all had a moment to thaw out.” Dumbledore announced. He turned to Kingsley Shacklebolt and Charlus Potter. “I trust the two of you will bring word to the Ministry? ...and deliver Greyback as well to the proper authorities?”

“Positively,” Kingsley replied.

Charlus nodded and the pair of them approached the werewolf as Gideon and Fabian released their grip on the ropes to hand over the beast into their care. Charlus paused and gripped James’s shoulders, staring into his son’s eyes. “This is the third time that your name has come up in connection with incidents since holiday. Please, James. You have to be more careful.” He sighed and let his hands slide from his son’s shoulders and he turned, clapping one palm on Sirius, too. “That goes for you as well, Mr. Black. Dora’s been having absolute fits over the pair of you…”

“Yes, Mr. P.” Sirius said.

Charlus looked at James for a long, lingering stare… “We’ll send you an owl,” he said, and then he turned to assist Kingsley Shacklebolt, and with a couple of great CRACKs they were gone.

James looked down at his feet.

Sirius looked ‘round at the other Resistance members and he grinned, “Well ferfucksake,” he said suddenly, exasperated. “Aren’t any of you going to tell us what a bloody brilliant job we’ve done in defeating a werewolf? And quicker than any of you people could get your shit together, too, no less!”

Newt Scamander looked thoroughly amused by this declaration, even as Ted Tonks gave Sirius a very disapproving look and Gideon and Fabian Prewett said, in unison, “Heyyyy.”

“Well he’s not wrong,” Bilius Weasley said, shrugging.

Dumbledore led them all back through the town. They stopped at the Hog’s Head to say goodbye to Bilius, who was staying in the inn over the bar and Dumbledore nodded to the nosey bar tender, who was peering out his windows with beady eyes and greasy grey hair, and the bar tender ducked back out of sight at the acknowledgement.

Before he departed, Bilius clapped James and Sirius on the back, “It’s good to see you mates again,” he said.

“We miss you about the castle, mate,” James said.

“Definitely,” Sirius agreed, “Although, you’d be quite proud to know we’re carrying on with the pranking precedent you set us.”

Bilius smirked, “I had a feeling you lot might’ve done…”

“Yes, just ask Dumbledore about the Valentines he received yesterday,” Sirius’s eyes twinkled.

Bilius’s grin widened.

“Amortentia,” whispered James, “More’n half the school. At the Valentine’s Day Tea.”

“It was raining photos of Dumbledore,” Sirius said, waving his arms and twinkling his fingers to indicate the shower of confetti they’d made. He grinned.

“Honestly,” LIly hissed, “Listen to you bragging on about your absolute evilness.”

Bilius grinned, “Damn. Derek, Alex, and I never thought of anything like that, that’s brilliant.”

“Sirius thought of it,” James said, thumbing at Sirius.

“James made it happen,” Sirius said, thumbing at James.

“I helped,” Peter said desperately.

Lily rolled her eyes at the boys.

Blius said, “Despite my ickle prefect’s badge, I managed to raise you boys well.” He wiped an imaginary tear, “Ickle little firsties, the lot of you, all wide eyed and oddly squishy, and now look at you. All grown up, nearly… Heard you’re Quidditch captain, Potter… and Lupin’s a prefect? Blimey.. And you!” he nodded at Lily’s prefect’s badge. “Good job. I’m seriously proud of the lot of you. I wish Derek was here to see.” He paused.

“Me, too,” James said. “We still have his board in the locker room. I try to be like him every time I step on the pitch as captain…” He paused, “Though, I - I must not be very good. We’re… we’re losing this year. Gryffindor. I’m not doing the memory of him very proud.”

Bilius replied, “The first year Derek was captain, we didn’t win but once. You know what, though? Derek Bell’s the greatest Quidditch Captain there ever was in Gryffindor house. The first year’s always rough, Potter. Stick it out. Believe in yourself.”

James smiled.

And then it was time for Bilius to go and they waved goodbye and followed along the others down the path, through the sleeping village shoppes, all closed up, the fountain running merrily, the moon reflecting off the water as it spouted out. Dumbledore led them all right to the castle gates and that was where Ted Tonks and bid them well after showing them a picture of little Nymphadora and how big she was getting - her hair a vibrant shade of pink in the photo he’d shown them. And then it was across the grounds, past the Whomping Willow, over the crest of the hill and in the entrance hall. Only Lily and Sirius spotted Severus Snape, hiding behind the hour glasses as they entered, watching from his place where he’d used a poorly executed camouflaging spell to blend in with the dark and wall.

James was trying to think of a way to explain the four of them being out in the woods without getting into too much more trouble than they already were. He glanced nervously in Sirius’s direction and he could tell by the expression on Sirius’s face that the very same thing was busily working through his mind, too, and he could only hope that Sirius’s crafty brain might come up with something better than what he had himself so far.

Fabian and Gideon departed them and it was finally just Dumbledore, Newt Scamander, Lily Evans, and three of the four Marauders who rode the stairs into Dumbledore’s office.

Newt had twisted his coat pocket and was muttering into his bread pocket, holding it open with one finger as he held his own whispered conversation. Sirius watched him a moment ,then turned to James and looped his finger about his ear and crossed his eyes - nodding at Mr. Scamander.

James chuckled.

Peter looked around the Headmaster’s office with wide, nervous eyes when they crossed the threshold, passing an old hat stand on the landing adorned with a wide variety of hats (none of which they had ever seen Albus Dumbledore wearing). The office was bright with torch lights and a green glow came from a cupboard in the corner where a silver washbasin was only just visible through the crack in the cupboard doors. Fawkes stood feebly on his perch and his beady black eyes turned on the troop of people coming through the door, fluttering his wings, which were fading, the next burning nearly upon him, smoke rising up from his feathers as he moved. With a flick, Dumbledore magicked additional seats before his desk and waved for everyone to sit as he settled himself into his chair behind.

Newt Scamander took a detour, opening the briefcase and calling down to Tina, “Teeny? Teeny, love, ev-everything’s, uh, alright now,Teeny. We-we’ve taken care of, uh, well all of it. Well, sort of. I’ll - I’ll tell you everything in a, uh, just a minute!” He closed the case, paused, then lifted it back up. “How are - are the wolves?” Pause as he leaned in, listening to an answer, then a chuckle, “Very - very good, then,” he said and he drew himself back out and stood up right, closing the case again.

Sirius stared at Newt with desperate eyes. “Remus? Is he alright?”

“Yes, yes, very good,” he nodded. “He, uh, he sensed Greyback. Warned us in a way. We - we were able to assemble the, uh, the Resistance quickly because of him.” Newt paused. “Obviously less quickly than, uh, than you reacted, though. The lot of you young werewolf catchers.”

James stared at his lap.

“Which brings us to our purpose of coming up here,” Dumbledore announced. His eyes moved over the four of them sitting before him. “How did you know about Fenrir Greyback’s presence?”

Somehow smelled him coming seemed like an unexplainable answer.

So Sirius said, “I was looking out the window, watching the snow.”

“Why were you in the Shrieking Shack?” Dumbledore asked conversationally.

Sirius looked at James.

“We… were… uh…”

“Surprising me.”

They all turned to look at Lily.

Lily scootched forward in her seat as every pair of eyes in the room, including Fawkes the Phoenix’s, turned to look at her. She said, “You see, last year, Remus got a stereo for Sirius for his birthday and the stereo runs on electricity. Well electricity of course doesn’t work in Hogwarts, so Remus had asked me to help him set it up and he wanted to set it up in the Shrieking Shack, since there is electricity out there. And so he showed me the Shack and the boys had fixed up the upstairs like a nice clubhouse. And we put the radio there and of course Sirius and Remus have since figured out how to get the thing to work by magic and so now it’s in their dormitory, I’ve heard anyway. But the Shack has electricity, and I’ve been awfully blue, I mean we’ve all been very blue lately, haven’t we? With the dementors and everything? It’s sort of wrecking havoc on all the emotions in this castle, isn’t it? Everyone’s been so depressed… And I had said to the boys that I wished I could go to the cinema, but of course there aren’t any cinemas in Hogsmeade. And the boys remembered I’d said that and they planned this wonderful surprise for me, since Remus wasn’t in the Shack tonight and I was sad missing Remus about the common room. We always do our homework together with the first years, you see, and he’s one of my best friends.... So the boys surprised me to cheer me up. Honestly, we were just watching films, pretending to be at a cinema, you see. Look, Peter’s still got crumbs stuck to his shirt from the popcorn.”

It was true. He did.

Peter picked a kernel from his shirt and stuck it in his mouth.

Lily looked up at Dumbledore.

“They were just trying to do a good deed. To cheer me up. And then Sirius looked out the window and he saw the wolf and --” Lily paused. “Well, we got very lucky in defeating him, didn’t we? And then you lot showed up and we were so very relieved to have been recused.” Her eyes went watery.

Damn, Sirius thought, jaw lightly ajar, She’s brilliant.

There was just enough truth to it to keep the lies buried.

Just enough lie to keep it sounding innocent.

Dumbledore thought for a moment.

He couldn’t very well punish them for doing good deeds.

And they had defeated Fenrir Greyback before the order had organized itself properly.

He leaned back in his chair and looked to Newt Scamander, whose eyes were following a little instrument that spun when someone was telling a lie...and though the thing twitched, it didn’t spin. After all, there was just enough truth to balance it.

Dumbledore took a deep breath and sat forward. “Ten points to Gryffindor for each of you, for your luck in capturing Fenrir Greyback.” He paused, then, “And off to bed with the lot of you.”

Sirius sprang from his chair as though lit on fire and ran for the door, eager to get out before Dumbledore could change his mind. He held open the door to the staircase as Peter scrambled out and James and Lily came along as well.

Lily paused in the door, though, stopping James behind her and she turned back, staring at Dumbledore. “Wait.”

Dumbledore looked up from where he’d turned to look at something on his desk. Newt Scamander was halfway standing, looking rather tired and amused. “Yes, Miss. Evans?” Dumbledore asked.

Lily looked at James, then back to Dumbledore, “It isn’t fair.”

“What isn’t fair, Miss Evans?”

“James has done so bloody much. He’s rescued the Minister’s grand-daughter from You Know Who and he’s fought inferius for Maryrose Jenkin’s body and he helped Fabian and Gideon Prewett save Regulus Black from that same cave --”

“I didn’t… we didn’t save Regulus Black…” James murmured, “Not technically…”

“-- and now James has gone and stopped a werewolf, too, helping to capture one of the most dangerous wanted criminals of our time… and he gets ten bloody points toward a stupid house cup title that Gryffindor is so far behind in that we’ll never win this term anyway?” Lily demanded. “The same as the rest of us who didn’t do any of that other stuff?”

“Uhh, to be fair,” Sirius said, “You and I sort of helped with the inferius. We actually helped quite a lot with that…” Lily glared at him and Sirius shut up.

Lily turned back to Dumbledore. “Where is his recognition?”

Dumbledore replied, “Ten points seems quite a good reward for an accomplishment that only occurred following a great many school rules having been broken, as well as apparently theft of property if Mr. Filch’s claims that someone stole a television set from the Muggle Artefacts Museum earlier this evening has any sort of connection to the story you’ve just told me.” He stared at Lily Evans.

Lily flushed.

“But not to worry, Miss. Evans Mr. Potter’s many accomplishments are, indeed, quite numerous this term, Miss. Evans, and I agree the boy has not been properly recognized for his achievements. I will see to it that this is properly corrected when the time is right and it is safe to do so.” He nodded, “Now good night to the lot of you.”

James hurried down the steps, and Lily turned, going after him. Sirius, however, was now the one lingering in the doorway. He glanced after Lily and James, then back to Dumbledore. He paused.

“Yes, Mr. Black, are you to reprimand me as well?”

Sirius shook his head. Then he asked, “Sir… what Lily said… about the dementors making everyone in the castle depressed. Is that… is that possible?”

“It is,” Dumbledore nodded.

Sirius hesitated, then he asked the question he’d been dying to for some time now. “Can a dementor… get inside a person? Can they live inside you?”

Dumbledore looked to Newt.

Newt shook his head. “N-no, Mr. Black, they can’t.”

Sirius nodded. “Alright. I was just curious.” He started to turn away, then Newt’s voice came again.

“I kn-know what you’re feeling, though, Mr. - Mr. Black.”

Sirius turned back around. Newt was smiling sadly at him, his eyes actually on Sirius. “You do?” he asked.

Newt nodded solemnly. “We - we all have our pasts, Mr. Black. We all have our - our sufferings. We’re different - you and, uh, you and I… we have different things that cause it, I am sure, but, uh, but depression it’s… it’s something very, very deep inside. And… and sometimes it’s easier to think of that cloud as - as something - something apart from ourselves. Something like a dementor. But it’s not. It’s - it’s us.”

Sirius frowned, looking down at his shoes.

Newt looked away, too, at his hands and he said, “You - you have to learn to - to accept yourself, Mr. Black, for all… all of your, uh, your short comings for… for the things that… that makes you who you are, the things that people - people don’t understand you for. Things that, uh, that make you… different… and, uh - uh strange to… to them.” He paused then, “I’m not good with people. You’re very good with them. But I’m not very good. I annoy them with the way I talk and the way I - I am. But… my creatures like me. And my Tina loves me. My Tina loves me most of all.” He swallowed nervously. “And I have to tell myself that everyday, Mr. Black, in order to believe it.”

Sirius could hear Lily hovering on the steps just behind him. James and Peter were already gone. But Lily lingered, looking back at him with wide eyes, listening to what Newt was saying, watching Sirius as he shifted his weight nervously.

“The thing is, Mr. Black,” Newt said, “My creatures love and my Teeny’s love… those.. Those are not enough to - to make me love myself. That dementor in my chest - he’s he’s not a dementor. He’s me. He’s the part of me that hates myself the - the same as the others do. It’s the part that says that I don’t - don’t deserve the love I get from them, the part that says I - I’m no good.” Newt squared his jaw. “But - but he’s wrong, that me, that dementor-me. I’m - I’m a good person and… and I do deserve the love from Teeny and my Creatures. I do deserve to love myself. I do. I do deserve that.” He nodded. “And you - you do too.”

At this, Newt flushed quite hard.

Sirius didn’t know what to say.

So he simply said, “Take care of my Moony tonight, Mr. Scamander,” and he hurriedly pulled the door shut.

Lily took his hand as they went down the stairs together.