Chapter 169: Of Hounds and Wolves

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I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.

I would like to thank my beta, Akisu, for his help in this chapter.

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15 November 1993, Hogwarts

In the end, Harry had to leave the man to actually go see Fluffy. He wasn't lying when he said that he wanted to go see his good friend. And with that, Harry entered the forbidden forest once more.

The change in atmosphere the moment he entered the forbidden forest was very noticeable. The air immediately grew denser, a mix of earthy scents and the subtle, underlying tang of magic. The towering trees, ancient and gnarled, seemed to watch him with silent, knowing eyes, their branches intertwining above to form a canopy that veiled the sky.

The forest was not a static entity; it was a living, breathing labyrinth, its paths and territories shifting as if they had a will of their own, which mirrored the state of the magical creatures living within. Harry had ventured here before, but each journey felt like a first exploration. The Acromantula territory, Aragog's domain, was a place of eerie stillness. Harry could see signs of thick webs draped between the trees like ghostly curtains and tried to avoid them as much as possible. While he could technically fight off an Acromantula horde, it would be very difficult to explain why half the forest was razed to the ground afterwards.

This specific part of the forest was inhospitable to most magical creatures. There was a noticeable absence of smaller wildlife, leaving the spiders, large or small as the only residents, constantly trying to spread their territory to feed. Hagrid really didn't think about what it would mean to release a creature that could feed on practically anything and had a very quick reproductive cycle into a fragile ecosystem.

Speaking of the half-giant, Harry's conversation with him was enlightening. Oh, the man was objectively unintelligent but there was a certain charm to him. He was a simple man with simple desires, which was to take care of magical creatures and he had a simple dream of becoming a professor. He did know his stuff when it came to magical creatures, like small details that books would miss but could be useful to an expert. There wasn't a violent bone in his body, and he did always say what was on his mind. There were no double meanings in his words, just honest conversation. Truthfully, Harry could get used to speaking to the man. The contrast compared to the Slytherin common room, especially now that the Court of Slytherin was starting to select its candidate.

Resisting the Acromantula's expansion were the centaurs. Their territory was a stark contrast to the oppressive denseness of Aragog's domain. The trees stood further apart, allowing shafts of moonlight to dapple the forest floor. The air was fresher, filled with the scents of wildflowers and damp earth. It was there that most magical creatures resided. Unicorns, Thestral, and many more coexisted, predators and prey alike. 

The centaurs, guardians of their realm, had nurtured this part of the forest, imbuing it with a sense of peace and harmony, but were very defensive when it came to outsiders. After all, Hagrid's little mess-up had very far-reaching consequences for the stability of the forest. The fact that students liked to practice their spells, specifically their curses on magical creatures in the forest, thinking that there would be no consequences, did not help matters.

Oh, Harry did read a lot about the Forest out of curiosity, and it was far more magical and complex than the rest of the school body assumed. There were rumours of other territories, and even a small lake, with even more magical creatures, but none who ever ventured there ever returned. The forest was definitely larger and more mysterious than it appeared. 

As for the reason for his walk, His Cerberus friend was very considerate in the fact that he chose to live by a clearing that was at the borders of Centaur territory. Fluffy was strong enough to hold his own against the spiders, and his privacy was respected by the centaurs.

And just like he expected, he saw the Cerberus lying down in the centre of his clearing which had a small stream that the hound obviously used to clean himself. Speaking of Fluffy, he was looking just as enormous as he remembered. The creature was enormous, its fur matted and its eyes closed in slumber. Each head was distinct, with its own expression and demeanour, yet they moved in unison.

Harry approached slowly, careful not to startle him, and slowly started to hum the melody of the magic surrounding the clearing. It was a subtle song. Each note was a breath of wind through the branches, a soft murmur of a stream, the distant call of a bird.

As he hummed along, the forest seemed to respond. The wind carried his tune, weaving it through the trees, spreading it across the clearing. The birds joined in, their calls adding to the symphony, a chorus of life amidst the grandeur of the forest.

As he came close, one of Fluffy's heads stirred, his eyes opening to gaze at Harry, only to stiffen as he recognized him. The giant hound literally jumped up and ran towards the young Slytherin licking him from head to toe, "Damn it, Fluffy. You know how hard it is to explain this mess to the elves for laundry?"

The dog didn't seem apologetic since his other heads still showed their affection. Harry couldn't help but giggle, "Yeah, I missed you two, bud. How have you been?"

The dog growled at him making him raise his hands, "I'm sorry, I know I should have visited you sooner. I just had a few things on my mind. I promise not to do it again."

The dog heads huffed to which Harry responded, "Come on, it's not my fault that someone tried to kill me. Again."

The Cerberus didn't seem impressed.

"Come on, it's not even my fault now. It's a complete clusterfuck. My godfather who's probably insane and a fucking serial killer, is trying to kill me out of revenge against my mother because she killed my father. What a fucking cluster fuck."

The hound looked thunderous slightly to which Harry snorted, "I know, right? It's not my fucking fault that my mother was some kind of dark witch. I haven't even met the woman. And to make things worse, I have a professor who's obsessed with her or something trying to cosy up to me for some reason. It's freaking me out."

"It's just not fair," the last Potter exclaimed, "when I came to Hogwarts, I promised myself that I wouldn't let whatever my parents did in life stop me from becoming my own person. They died and I've never met them. They shouldn't have a say in my life, but people keep trying to push it. Black with his stupid vendetta, Lupin with his insistence. And to make it worse, my friends all decided to start their teenage rebellion early and started to have authority issues, which apparently included me. I guess I'm just tired of it all. All I want is to live safely, with my friends, and learn magic."

The hound's three heads gave him a dubious look and he raised his hands in surrender, "I know I made some questionable choices, but it was always for this goal. Something threatened my friends, and I did my best to remove that threat. I told you once about my dream. I want to be remembered, and to make my mark in the world, but not as a warrior or a leader. I want to be remembered for my magic, my skills, my research. I want to have a peaceful life, with someone I could trust implicitly, like another half. I wish I could have children to pass on my legacy, to nurture like I wish I was nurtured. Does that make me a bad person?"

The dog seemed to give him a sympathetic look and each of his head gave him a lick, but still looked miffed slightly. Harry groaned, "Fine, I'm sorry. I'll come to see you a lot more. I'll even bring a juicy steak just for you, how about that?"

Two of the three heads perked up, but another didn't seem convinced, "Who knows? I could even convince Luna to come with me…"

And just like that the third head reluctantly grinned at him. It was weird seeing a dog smile for the first time, but he had grown used to it. The hound knelt slightly to let Harry rub his ears and neck and the young Slytherin acquiesced the unspoken request with fervor.

After a while, Harry simply sat down, leaning on his friend and spoke up, "You're a good friend Fluffy. I'm sorry for the rant, but I needed to get it out somehow."

And just like that, they both just enjoyed each other's company, listening to the music of the forest, that Harry hummed for Fluffy's benefit. It didn't take long for the Cerberus to drift off to the sound of music, and for the first time since he met Sirius Black, Harry was finally at peace.

Of course, this peace wasn't to be since he was interrupted by a familiar song of a howling beast coming closer, making him stiffen. Choosing not to distress his sleeping friend, Harry calmed himself down and stood up, awaiting the arrival of Remus Lupin.

As he expected, a couple of minutes later, the werewolf arrived, with his wand drawn, only to relax the moment he saw his student, "Ah, Harry. You do know that the forest is forbidden, right?"

"Is it? Must be a mistake on my part then… The forbidden forest being forbidden? What a strange coincidence that it was named like that," Harry answered with an airy tone.

"Who is that behind you," the professor asked sighing.

"Why it's my friend, Fluffy. I would recommend getting on his bad side though and he is rather attached to me."

"I'm not here to cause a scene," Lupin answered while holstering his wand, "I just wanted to talk…"

"What's there to talk about?" Harry asked.

"The shack, Harry. Sirius trying to kill you. Do I really have to spell it out for you? I've been trying to talk to you for weeks…"

"And you took the fact that I resisted being in your presence to mean that you should track me down during the weekend instead of understanding that I don't actually want to speak with you?"

The werewolf sighed, "I know you don't trust me, but I am not your enemy, Sirius is…"

"Sirius Black is my enemy but the fact that he also wants to kill you doesn't mean that I'm going to trust you, especially considering what he revealed about my mother and your involvement with her crap."

"Your mother might have done a few questionable things, but she was a good person…"

Harry raised an eyebrow, "She killed her own husband to power a spell…"

"And I'm sure that if she had any other choice, she wouldn't have done it."

"I wonder if you're trying to convince me, or to convince yourself."

That seemed to stop the werewolf in his track. He paused for a few seconds, but they felt like long minutes, "Sometimes you have to do bad things for good reasons. Sometimes the ends really do justify the means."

"And sometimes being focused on the ends makes you forget about means and the damages that come with it. But that's a philosophical debate that very few people would be concerned about."

"You know, I'm quite well known in certain circles. There is a reason why Dumbledore is so wary of me. And when you do what I do and survive long enough, you get titles. Mine was the Butcher of Frankfurt. I'm not really proud of it. I was hired to hunt down a pack of werewolves that were targeting the residents of Frankfurt and almost broke the statute of secrecy many times. At first, I came to them as kin, asking for them to peacefully stop and move away. I tried I really did. But this particular pack had grown under the leadership of a savage alpha. They wanted to turn as many people as possible into werewolves and craved the taste of blood. Even the children were raised on it. I gave them a week to pack their bags and leave. They didn't and the bodies I buried there, the blood that I spilled could fill a small lake. They were my people, yet I killed them all, men, women, even the children. It wasn't their fault, they were just raised that way, raised to be more like feral beasts than men. Their faces still haunt me, but Frankfurt didn't have any werewolf attacks afterwards. I did a horrible thing, but it was necessary, and it was right. And the blood on my hands will never wash away. So, believe me, Potter, I don't regret joining Lily, and she was a good person."

Harry was taken aback by the story but tried to look as interested as possible. He would research it at a later date, "As interesting as this is, all I have is your word and I don't particularly trust you, so…"

Lupin growled slightly, "Lily would have been sad to hear that her son thinks so badly of her."

"The dead don't care. That's one of the perks of being dead. When I entered the wizarding world, I promised myself to be my own man, and not be beholden to my parents' actions. This means that I don't give a flying fuck what she did or why she did it. I don't care until someone tries to make it my problem. Someone like Sirius. Someone like you…"

"We don't choose our destinies…"

Harry snorted, "This has nothing to do with fate. But let me throw you a bone. During your fight with Black, he said that I was the key, whatever the fuck that means. You understood what he was saying. So, tell me, Remus Lupin, what am I the key to? Why did you come here? And finally, why now?"

The werewolf looked to the side but stayed silent, and Harry chuckled, "See, this is why I don't trust you, and I have no desire to even attempt to do so. After all, how do you trust someone who doesn't have your best interest at heart? Don't worry though, I'll figure it out, eventually. It's getting late, Professor. I must go. Don't you know? Breakfast is the most important meal of the day."

And with that said, he turned and walked back to the castle, leaving a sleeping hound and a pensive wolf.

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If you want to support me check out my patréon at https://www.patréon.com/athassprkr

I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.

Thank you guys for your support in these hard times.