Of Veela and Wolves - Part 8

Their plan had worked. Lycanthrope had overpowered the blood curse.

Astoria and Daphne stood next to him at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. All three were in their wolf forms. Daphne had fur the color of gold while Astoria was more akin to a sunflower. Their personalities fit their coloring perfectly. Daphne was poised and dignified even in her wolf form while Astoria was a bouncing ball of energy. Harry was the biggest of the trio, standing at a little over seven feet tall. Daphne was next at six and a half feet. Astoria was the smallest at half an inch under six feet tall.

The sisters had been put through a round of tests last night to make sure they were healthy and not about to go berserk. Like Harry, they just wanted to get outside to run. It was a lot easier to get the board of directors to agree to it with the backing of Lord and Lady Greengrass.

<Stay close.> Harry sent the message to the girls. <Watch out for spiderwebs. Give the unicorns and thestrals space. Don't eat anything that glows.>

<We know.> Astoria rolled her eyes.

They found they could communicate by thought when they were wolves. Harry had been able to 'talk' to other animals, magical and otherwise, in way that was mainly through body language, scent, and sound. It was easier to understand Animagus, but it wasn't perfect. Like speaking Spanish to a person who spoke Portuguese while both had the hiccups. Sirius had told him that an animagus could communicate easily with magical animals while the mundane ones were akin to talking to a toddler. Harry found that odd since when he spoke to snakes, most of them seemed intelligent.

<Let's go!> Astoria yelled as she dashed forward.

Daphne was right on her heels. Harry shook his head and followed them. His irritation disappeared the moment he entered the forest. The world around them blurred as they sped through the trees. They transitioned from being upright to all-fours and back again seamlessly.

Astoria started a game of tag. They discovered they could climb the trees as easily as running. She was the one to first bounce from tree to tree. Daphne and Harry tried it as well. This led them to see how far they could go without touching the ground. Naturally, it progressed to them trying to move from tree to tree as fast as they could.

The trio was exhausted by the time the sun rose. Astoria rode piggy-back on Harry as they trudged back to the castle. The Greengrass sisters had set aside a fresh change of clothes for the morning. They were scheduled to see a tailor for their own set of wolf-proof undergarments. Harry was a little jealous. It was nice that he no longer destroyed clothing every time he transformed, but they were uncomfortable in his wolf form. He wondered if he could get away with just wearing them in his human form like a normal set of underclothes.

"I am so hungry." She whined. "Why didn't you let me eat that deer?"

"It had six legs, and its eyes were glowing." Harry chuckled.

"Hungry." Astoria pouted.

"We can stop by Hagrid's to see if he has anything to eat." Harry sighed. "I spent a lot of time with him over the summer."

"You're going to spoil her." Daphne clicked her tongue. Her voice lacked the venom it usually carried.

"That reminds me." Harry said. "You might find yourself getting more comfortable around other non-human people. The centaurs aren't exactly nice, but they aren't hostile toward me like they are to humans. I'm learning to speak Mermish too."

"You can speak Mermish?" Daphne arced an eyebrow at him.

"Well." He drew the word out. "I'm getting better at understanding it."

Astoria giggled.

Hagrid waited at the door as they arrived. The wonderful smell of freshly cooked meat made their mouths water.

"Hagrid." Harry called as they approached. "This is Daphne and Astoria Greengrass."

"Hello." The half-giant called with a broad smile. "I've had you in my class, but it's nice to meet you as such. Dumbledore told me to expect visitors, so I made breakfast. Hope you like venison, we've got a lot. Those six-legged ones are back in the forest, and I have to keep their numbers down before they swarm the place."

"See." Astoria poked Harry's ribs.

"We saw one last night." Harry chuckled. "It was glowing."

The half-giant led them into the hut. There was already quite the spread laid out for them.

"Ah." Hagrid scowled. "That would be the prime. Take it down and they're gone for the season. Didn't know what they were the first time they showed up. Even Aragog couldn't keep their numbers down."

"What about the centaurs?" Daphne asked as she took her seat.

"They don't touch them." Hagrid shook his head.

"Are they safe to eat?" Harry tried to resist the glorious stack of venison on the table before them.

"Of course!" Hagrid laughed. "The centaurs just don't like the taste of venison. They'll eat if it times are lean, but they prefer a herbivorous diet."

"Wow." Astoria looked at Hagrid with wide eyes. "That's amazing. How do you know so much?"

Hagrid blushed and mumbled something under his breath.

"Stop it." Harry chuckled. "You're going to break him."

Conversation stopped as they tucked in. Hagrid may not have been an accomplished baker, but he knew how to roast meat to perfection. By the time they were finished the table was clean. Hagrid chuckled as he watched the trio bask in the morning sun.

"That was wonderful." Daphne sighed as she stretched out in a sunbeam.

"Thank you." Hagrid smiled broadly.

"Careful." Harry cautioned.

It was too late. Fang had arrived. Daphne had taken the large dogs favorite morning spot. Fang didn't bark or growl. The dog let out an affronted huff before he flopped down onto Daphne. He ignored her shocked yelp as he rolled around to find a comfortable spot. Fang gave Daphne an annoyed look when she wouldn't stop struggling. It didn't help that Astoria was giggling like mad through the entire event.

"That's Fang." Harry laughed. "You're in his spot."

"Apparently." Daphne said through gritted teeth.

Astoria rushed over. The flash of hope on Daphne's face was replaced with a scowl as her little sister joined the pile. Fang was perfectly content to have a new cuddle-buddy to go with the lumpy Daphne-shaped mattress.

"You will pay for this." Daphne's voice came out muffled from the bottom of the pile.

~§~§~

Lord and Lady Greengrass waited for their daughters in a private room. The sisters split off to meet with them, which left Harry on his own. He strolled toward the castle to give himself time to enjoy the early morning stillness. A couple of minutes of wondering later he found a spot at the edge of the lake and took a seat. It was a wide patch of sunlight that caught the breeze just right. A weight had been lifted off his chest. The constant fear of being alone had hit him harder than he thought.

The scent of honey mingled with sunshine and cinnamon that he'd come to recognize as Fleur taunted his senses. Her movements were measured and nearly silent. She could have snuck up on him if not for the gentle morning breeze.

"Good morning." Harry spoke without looking at her.

Fleur stilled. Her footsteps resumed without the pretense of stealth. Even then she still made far less noise than a human. She came to a stop behind him at an angle that would put him at disadvantage if she were to attack.

Harry sighed. He looked over his shoulder at her. She was tense, wound tight and ready to spring.

"What do you want?" He asked.

"There are more of you." She accused.

"And?" Harry waved her to continue.

"Do you plan on continuing to grow your pack?" Fleur narrowed her eyes at him.

"My pack." Harry smiled. "I like that."

She didn't return the smile.

"No." He rolled his eyes. "I don't plan on adding more to my pack."

"I had expected you to need more breeding partners." Fleur muttered.

"What?" Harry yelled. "Why would-? What?"

"The two females." Fleur arced an eyebrow at him. "You took them as mates, yes?"

Harry stared at her for a moment. He shook his head and let out a deep breath.

"No. I did not take them as mates." Harry rubbed a hand over his face. "The family approached me because their daughter had a blood curse and they hoped that becoming a werewolf would cure her."

He stared at her for a long moment. Her face was a stoic mask, but the scent of honey, sunshine, and cinnamon was much stronger than it had been.

"Why do you care?" Harry asked finally.

She turned away and headed to the Great Hall.

"As if my life wasn't complicated enough already." Harry muttered to himself.
~~~
AN: I guess I should start calling them chapters