Chapter 294: Hour of the Wolf

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

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25 November 1994, Wolf's Den, Republic of Ireland

Remus watched as the trainees practised their transformations while retraining the urge to cheer and cry in vindication. It took thousands of years of suffering, centuries of discrimination and persecution, decades of planning on his part and suffering in indignity, but Lycanthropy was finally gone in the British Isles. Hell, it had even mostly disappeared from Europe entirely, and he couldn't have been happier about it.

Werewolves were gone and only the Lycans remained…

There would be no contaminations anymore, no unwanted transformations, and so, most of the dangers that his people posed were gone. The only downside was, of course, the fact that they couldn't have any children, but very few planned to have any, knowing the possible curse and discrimination that their offspring would have to deal with. There was also the increased aggressiveness and the bestiality of the inner wolf. It wasn't really that big of a problem, since Lily had obviously improved the ritual since she did it on Remus himself and they didn't really have to worry about constantly fighting their inner wolf like he did in exchange for being far less powerful than him, but there was a distinct rise in aggressive behaviour after the ritual… Lily said that she had ideas on how to fix it, but there were a few that ended up regularly using calming drought, which risked a dependence on the potion over the long term.

There were, of course, the werewolf purists – these types always appeared when there was any change – that said that they weren't sick and shouldn't want to change. They all ended up caving and just asking for the ritual… There was nothing to really complain about. All they lost was the ability to infect people and the involuntary transformations during the full moon, both being net negatives of being a werewolf.

Anyway, these were all small issues compared to their previous curse. There was the chance of being part of society once more and Remus couldn't help but be very happy with it…

This small unnamed village in Ireland, which quickly grew with the massive number of Werewolves migrating in, became a safe haven, which the locals quickly called the Wolf's Den. Nestled in the lush embrace of rolling hills and verdant landscapes, the village expanded organically, with cobblestone paths winding through clusters of quaint thatched cottages. Ancient oaks and whispering willows dotted the landscape, making it the perfect place to practice the residents' transformations.

As the village flourished, it transformed into a bustling hub of werewolf culture. Artisans and craftsmen found their niches, opening shops that catered to both magical and mundane needs, from bespoke wand makers to herbalists dealing in potions and remedies tailored for werewolves. There were enough skilled labourers that migrated from the continent, and it was easy to get raw materials for anything by proving that they weren't werewolves. Their new resistance to silver was godsent then, even if it did tend to burn if it got inside their bodies. Remus had learned this the hard way when fighting Sirius, or what remained of Sirius…

As much as he mourned his friend, it was a fair bargain. Losing one person for the prosperity of his people was something that he could accept. Had Sirius truly killed Harry, Lily would have stayed lost in the lands beyond and this little utopia would have never existed… His people would have been hunted down, discriminated against, and forced to become the danger that the mages preached they were.

Remus' musing was interrupted as he sensed someone behind him. His enhanced senses quickly recognized who it was, "Hello, Lily. Did you have a productive time?"

Lily Potter stood in her usual glory, trying to look impassive, but Remus knew her better than anyone currently alive. She was sad…

Things must not have gone well with her son. It wasn't really a surprise; he knew Lily enough to know that she wasn't really someone that people got along well with. She was a pragmatist at heart, and her time in that hellhole did have a mark on her. She hid it well, but she did have her bouts of unstable behaviour. She was still a genius, on a scale that Remus had never seen before, but she was more impulsive, more emotional… Before Godric's Hollow, she was a lot more logical… She wouldn't have handled the Department of Mysteries the way she did. She wouldn't have relied so much on threats and the like. She would have played the long game, and taken over the country without anyone even noticing anything…

But she was still a better leader than Dumbledore and Voldemort put together… She still stuck to her promises, and he could respect that.

The redhead's expression remained blank, "I achieved my main objective; Dumbledore has given up on Britain entirely… We're clear to continue on that front."

"Why would he do that?"

"He's scared of something and is working with Grindelwald to solve it or something. Some kind of large-scale ritual using broken prophecies to fuel it…"

That brought Remus short, "SEVEN prophecies… What the fuck is he planning to do with all that?"

"I have no clue, but the magic discharge alone is insane. Nevertheless, it's really not my problem. Dumbledore will be distracted until the end of the tournament, so we have a few months for our plans in Britain to proceed without too much danger… How are you doing on that front?"

"The former werewolves are acclimating well enough. Gideon is in charge of their training and since we have competent people from all over the continent, we've had some great successes integrating them into Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade by opening new shops. The underworld was a lot trickier, but we managed to consolidate most of the criminal elements in the country under our banner. We're slowly changing things into the rules you put in place, but it's working well enough."

Remus could see where Lily's plans were heading, even if she never explicitly said anything. She was obviously planning on using the fragility of the British magical economy to create cornerstones completely under her influence legally while taking over the underworld completely. She already had taken over the Department of Mysteries which Snape was busy handling. She was using her control over the former Lycan population to put its skilled labourers into shops all over the country, while she took over the Wizengamot politically through the Nott Patriarch.

The redhead hummed, "I have good news on that front. Yesterday, tragically, there was a fire in the ministry, specifically the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. It's quite the mystery, some rune misfiring or the like… However, every entry of the Werewolf Register was destroyed. Quite the tragedy… And considering that the way they check for the curse is through the silver test... It's quite a shame that they'll have a hard time finding any werewolves to fill it once more…"

He gave Lily a wide smile, "That's amazing news, Lily."

The elation that Remus felt was bordering on pure worship… This was the last detail remaining for his people to truly be free. Werewolf registrations were commonplace in Europe and for good reason. It was a good way to make sure to keep an eye on werewolves and make sure that they don't infect anyone… It should have been a way of making werewolves part of the ministry officially, but it was perverted over decades to get ministry officials to express their prejudice without any issues… People just didn't like werewolves. They presented a risk during the full moon that most people wouldn't like to be around their family members.

The destruction of the register meant that the ministry would have to go around to try to make it once more and when every single one of their tests becomes negative… That would be it. Remus' people would finally be free… He expected similar fires to appear all over Europe. After all, Lily's plans probably did not just stop at Britain.

Lily coughed, "It is… I'm also thinking about making a play on the political scene. The progressives have been fracturing with Dumbledore's hold on them gone, but their biggest groups are with Augusta Longbottom. I don't think she would bend easily. The conservatives on the other hand…"

Remus immediately understood where she was going with this, "You're not thinking rationally about this, Lily."

"It's a perfectly valid move," she commented.

"Yes, but it also probably has you threatening your son's girlfriend's family for support. A family, that has been fully neutral in any conflict since Grindelwald's war. I know you're probably angry… I don't know what really happened with Harry, but it's not a good idea to get back at him this way. The very fact that you're here instead of just going through with it means that you do the same. You've never really consulted me with anything that doesn't have to do with the werewolf population. You know that Snape will just agree with anything you say and you wanted someone to tell you not to do it."

The former werewolf knew that he wasn't exactly an impartial choice. After some clarity of mind, he could recognize that Lily probably put some loyalty charms on him during his rituals. She had probably done the same with the rest… They were too organized, too worshipping of her for it to be natural. It was different, seeing it on other people, and it was enough for him to recognize it for what it was. He didn't really mind it. After all Lily had done, she deserved the loyalty of all these people anyway. Anyone disloyal would have been ungrateful anyway…

The redhead deflated, looking defeated for the first time since her return, "I tried everything. I supported him and taught the stupid Greengrass girl my blood magic. I kept him safe from Dumbledore, even saved him from the old man. And after all of this, he says that he didn't like that I went behind my back and that he thinks that I'm using him for something… He's just so frustrating."

Remus nodded, "I know you were looking forward to spending time with him, to get to know him properly, but Harry is an intelligent young man. If you tried to do something around him, it's very likely that he could figure it out by himself. And kids his age are rarely reasonable…"

She huffed, "It's just… I tried so hard. It wasn't even part of the plan. But when I looked at him, I just couldn't… I couldn't not talk to him. I wanted… I guess I don't know what I wanted, really, but it definitely wasn't this. And he's so clever but he keeps wasting his intelligence with some foolish schemes for no reason instead of being proactive and doing something about them. I wanted to help him with that and not get caught up in Dumbledore's messes again."

"You tried to manipulate him… He caught whatever you were doing and blew up at you. You, in turn, blew back at him, and you left. Did I get anything wrong?"

"Fuck you, Lupin," she muttered, "I just wanted him to stop digging into Dumbledore… It's like the boy has no sense of self-preservation."

Remus didn't say that he thought that Lily was using Harry for her own ends. He didn't say that this wouldn't have happened if she hadn't gotten attached to the boy. For all her pragmatism, Lily tended to really be unpredictable when the topic of Harry Potter came up… The former werewolf had no intention of pressing any further, "So, what are you going to do with the tournament?"

Lily looked hesitant but with a tint of resignation there, "Nothing has changed. My main objective in my trip there was a success. As for the rest, well, there's no reason to deviate from the original plan."

"What about Harry Potter? He could interfere… He does tend to do that."

"The plan comes first… If my son proves himself to be a hindrance, then I would deal with him myself."

Remus pretended not to see the sad expression on Lily's face when she uttered these words, deciding to leave the woman to her thoughts and continue supervising the trainees once more. It wasn't his place, after all.

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AN: I think I got out of the previous rut a bit with this chapter. It feels a lot better, at least, to me. Anyway, I'm very excited about what comes next. I've been planning this for over six months and I'm looking forward to writing it. Thank you all for your comments in the previous chapters. They've been a great help to me. I'd also appreciate if you tell me what you think of this one and if you have any suggestions to incorporate in the next chapter. Other than that, I thought I'd give you a bit of a warning, things are about to get pretty eventful in the next arc.

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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.