64 Future Plans

The House Hufflepuff greeted Danil with their famous friendliness and warmth. True, this kindness mainly came from the senior students, who were guided by Gabriel and Jamie, along with Cedric Diggory. The last guy was just a friendly Prefect who wanted to make a new friend.

Danil had time to think about why The Wanderer and the Hat decided to send him here. Sitting there, basking in the atmosphere of real friendliness, he simply couldn't help but feel himself become a part of the team. And if what he heard about hard work from these children was true, then all they needed to be happy was more people with new ideas.

Or the Communist Manifesto, there were enough ideas there. Because hard work and perseverance were doubly useful if channeled in the right direction.

But it was worth looking at the other houses to understand why Hufflepuff was the only right option. At least Danil thought so.

If he had ended up in Slytherin, then after a couple of weeks only a few of the snakes would have remained alive. Well, or he would have been poisoned before he could strike. As a safety precaution, to rid the world of another dangerous creature that threatens to destroy the state of affairs in the Magical Britan.

'Uh-huh. That doesn't even sound like a joke. These cunts would say that.' Danil thought. 

Ravenclaw was a better option, after all, he already had a friend in this house! Luna would welcome him at the table of ravens with open arms! But all the other "smart" members of the House would not tolerate another "mistake" in their ranks and would definitely try to do something to him. Little shits.

Was it worth mentioning what would have happened to them after the first attempt? Also, he didn't forget that those three idiots who tried to bully Luna at the beginning of the year were still a part of the House. Seeing them, Danil would definitely not be able to restrain himself.

Gryffindor. Home of the brave and the foolhardy. Full of idiots with hot blood and pride bigger than the Eiffel Tower.

Remembering his sister's whining about how Gryffindor treated Potter, Danil understood perfectly well that there was no way for him to go there. How will he be able to communicate with people who change their opinion about you every other day? Of course, Potter's status as a national hero cranked this reaction up to eleven, but it was still worth noting.

So Hufflepuff was the best choice. It was a house that stood like a mountain for each other. If you offend one of them, then you offend them all.

'Thank the mad god that I became part of this strange family.' Danil thought and could have sworn that distorted laughter was heard somewhere in the distance. 'He hears my thoughts too. Wonderful.' The laughter in the distance became an iota louder.

So the monster boy was pleased with his position and the new robes, they fit his black body. The yellow and accents on the robes looked like gold. And no one needed to know that a little later he improved his robe with golden threads so that they would better hold standard enchantments.

At first, meeting his new classmates went well; no one even asked any particularly awkward questions. But even so, there were some bumps on the road.

"So… are you still human?" Asked one interested first year who was lucky enough to be sitting nearby.

Danil, who at that moment was drinking something that vaguely resembled blood, choked and looked at the boy who asked him a question. He knew that many people were interested in the circumstances of his life, but not enough to ask him directly!

If it wasn't a twelve-year-old child who asked him about this, Danil would simply say a few very "polite" words to him, but could he blame the child for pure interest?

"… I was a human until one day I became the one you see now. I consider myself to be human, trapped in the body of a creature until I find a solution to this problem." He said honestly.

The boy ooh-ed with a thoughtful face.

"What do you even call yourself now?"

And so, dinner at the Hufflepuff table became an impromptu question-and-answer session with Danil in the leading role. Of course, he didn't answer all the questions; they weren't Luna.

"You never played Quidditch?!" Ernie Macmillan asked dumbfounded.

"Comrade, tell me, how could I play Quidditch with my proportions? There isn't a single broom that would support my weight and none of them would be comfortable enough to control, my arms are too long." He decided not to talk about the fact that it would explode in his hands. "And I think this sport is strange. Who came up with the idea of ​​​​giving the Seekers such a huge influence on the outcome of the match?"

Jamie laughed at his grumbling. "Yeah, you won't make a professional player! You're more suited to be a team mascot!"

Maybe Jamie was joking at that moment, but only a blind person could have missed Cedric's inspired face.

Next year, the Hufflepuff team will have a second mascot and few will be able to protest their choice.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Remus Lupin was a kind man who had a difficult fate. Being bitten at the age of 7 by Fenrir Greyback himself is still a pleasure, but life with the subsequent transformation into a thoughtless dog every month? This was also not very pleasant.

But even so, Remus tried not to give up. All his life he tried to protect both himself and those around him from the infection that was lodged deep in his body. He didn't want to waste the chances that Hogwarts had given him.

Now, many years have passed, and he returned to Hogwarts. This time as a teacher, but he was already leaving it so quickly. It wasn't anyone's fault, that just how life was.

One of the students was able to put two and two together and reveal his furry little secret, because there were few reasons why a teacher would disappear every month on the days of the full moon. Fortunately, Remus had already thought about it and didn't hope to teach at the school for more than a year, the contract was limited in time.

But what he should do next was a difficult question… Was. After all, the solution to this issue was given to him by none other than Dumbledore, which didn't surprise Remus. He knew that he was indebted to the old wizard, this was just a way to repay a part of it. 

But it is worth mentioning what exactly Dumbledore asked Remus to do.

Just a couple of days ago, sitting in his comfortable throne-chair, Dumbledore was drinking tea with a slightly nervous Remus. And it was clear why he was nervous. At that moment, his prospects of finding a job in the magical world were zero. Well, or pretty close to this number. Which made the man start thinking about his difficult future again.

"Remus, how would you like to take on an Apprentice for the summer?" Dumbledore asked and Remus' thoughts stopped.

"... An Apprentice? Prof-" Seeing Dumbledore's unimpressed look, he cleared his throat. "Albus. I may have the knowledge and experience, but to take on an Apprentice? No, this is too much responsibility. And who will choose me as their teacher? I'm a werewolf, Albus, maybe this means little to you, but not to others."

Dumbledore just chuckled. 

"Danil Khromov will be your student." For Remus, the name of the boy in the monster's body sounded like a bolt from the blue. He certainly didn't expect this. "You see, our young friend, is faced with a problem that is unusual for an ordinary wizard. He simply cannot use the same type of magic that we do. His body is not built for this. That's why I chose you as his teacher. You have friends that could help him."

Remus swallowed his harsh response and began to think about the situation. Now he understood why Dumbledore decided to contact him.

Among the adult werewolves there were only a few who could use wanded magic. The bite changed them radically, increasing their physical performance, but taking away their ability to cast spells like a wix. 

Therefore, Fenrir Greyback preferred to bite his victims when they were still children, then they had a chance to retain the best of both worlds: the strength of a werewolf and the magic of a wizard. Remus was one of those better creatures. This gave him respect among the werewolf enclaves of which he was not a part, and that meant a lot.

To understand just how rare such werewolves were, you need to look around. In all of Britain, those who were able to hold back the flow of infection and preserve their wand magic were a rarity. Why do you think there were no more werewolf students at Hogwarts?

The only reason Remus wasn't kidnaped by some crazy wizard Chimerologist was because no one was interested enough. Werewolves were old news.

Among those werewolves who lost the ability to wand magic were those who taught themselves to cast spells in other ways. It was with them that Dumbledore wanted to introduce Danil, in the hope that he would be able to understand how to use his magic.

"Does Khromov want this?" Remus asked a logical question. "He seems to have taught himself the spells, and a personally made wand would most likely work for him. The boy can still use wands, right?"

"It's unlikely that Danil has the same problem as werewolves." The old wizard agreed. "But even so, he will be able to learn a lot from their magic. I'm sure they will give him more ideas on how he can use his own gifts."

For a long time, Remus was silent, thinking about everything Dumbledore had said. He noticed how the students looked at Danil when they thought no one was seeing them. Looking at him, like he was a particularly dangerous animal behind the glass of a zoo.

Fear, distrust and disgust were visible on their faces. Even rare admiration and interest did not evoke good thoughts in Remus.

He knew what people like Danil wanted. He knows what he wanted at his age.

Remus wanted to find a place where he wouldn't ne called a monster, a place where he would belong. Where there will be no looks full of fear, where he will not need to hide, where no one will whisper about his curse behind his back.

Yes, the boy already had a circle of friends where he was not considered a monster, where he was the same person as everyone else. But this was not enough. Remus knew that in a life like Danil's, there would never be enough of that.

Collecting his fears and throwing them into the far corner of his mind, Remus made a decision. He will be the one to lead Danil to such a place.

For children, even cursed children, must be protected.