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Chapter Text

Harry lay back on his stretcher, enjoying the freeness of camping. He had been in this forest for only a few days now and still had another month before he had to return to civilisation for school. He was looking forward to going back to school, seeing his friends, being able to learn in a peaceful time. The war had ended a month and a half ago and he had finally been able to escape to the freedom of the forest. He breathed deeply, allowing the fresh air into his lungs. The moon was glowing bright outside, the silvery glow penetrating the tent walls. Harry allowed his eyes to close, just for them to shoot open a moment later.

A howl had rung through the air. A howl he recognised from his third year. Werewolf.

Harry slowly sat up, trying to figure out where the howl had come from. He silently cursed his stupidity. He had known this was a magical forest, of course werewolves would be here on the full moon. Another howl, closer this time, had adrenaline coursing through his veins. He knew that he couldn't outrun a werewolf. He just hoped that the werewolf wouldn't come near his camp.

His luck didn't hold and just a few minutes later he heard a growl reverberate just outside his tent. The flap opened and a gray wolf stalked in. The wolf's amber eyes were fixed on Harry, and he tried his best to remember what Remus had told him to do, on the off chance he encountered a werewolf and didn't have any silver on him or weapons close by. He remembered Remus instructions and lowered his head, submitting to the wolf in front of him. He didn't make eye contact, leaving his head low and trying to keep his body relaxed. The wolf continued to stalk forward, stopping right in front of him.

Harry felt the wolf's hot breath on the exposed skin on the back of his neck. He managed to hold in a noise of pain as teeth pierced the skin of his left shoulder. He felt the saliva pooling on his skin and knew it would be mixing with his blood. The wolf had removed its teeth and was sitting calmly next to Harry. Harry let out a small sigh and slowly raised his head. When the wolf didn't react, he slowly moved to lay down on his bed. The wolf seemed to know that he needed to sleep, standing and exiting the tent. Harry watched the wolf leave, before allowing his eyes to lose and darkness to overtake him.

Harry woke the next morning, his shoulder painfully throbbing. His memories of the previous night came back to him and he groaned, slowly sitting up. He moved around his tent, gathering the medical supplies he had packed. He used a clean towel to wipe up the blood and saliva, the white cloth coming away almost fully red. He cleaned the bite mark with disinfectant, finishing by wrapping it tightly in a gauze to keep it from opening and bleeding again.

As he finished cleaning his wound, the full reality of what had happened hit him. He had become a werewolf. He sat down, head in his hands, wondering why he could never be normal. He allowed blackness to overtake him again, not caring how early it was or that he had only just got up. As he drifted into unconsciousness, one thought went through his mind.

Shit, how am I going to hide this?

Chapter Text

Harry boarded the Hogwarts Express, whole body aching. His first full moon, and thus transformation, had been two nights ago and his body was still sore from it. He was thankful for his upbringing teaching him how to hide the pain his body was in. He had managed to heal almost all of the injuries he had caused himself, minus a few of the deeper ones.

He made it into the first empty compartment he found and levitated his trunk onto the shelf above the seats, not having the energy to lift it physically. He collapsed onto the seat, glad to be off his feet. He let his head against the window, waiting for his friends to come find him. As he waited, he allowed himself to drift into his thoughts and memories.

He thought back to yesterday, how he had woken up from his first transformation with a second voice in his head. The voice had introduced itself as Romulus, his wolf. Romulus explained everything he would need to know about being a werewolf. He had learnt that he could shift into his wolf form, shift into Romulus, any day he wanted. He could shift into a wolf at will, except for full moons when the transformation would be forced, and new moons when the ability would disappear.

Romulus then went on to explain having a mate. He would be mated to one person and that would be the only person he could be fertile with. He would recognise his mate at first by a crush, and then the feeling of completeness when with them. Romulus explained how some wolves needed to take the wolfsbane potion because they supressed their inner wolf. They wouldn't shift except for full moons, causing their wolf to become feral. But if a werewolf shifted regularly enough, and listened to their wolf, they would be sane and completely in control whenever in wolf form, even during full moons.

Harry was just thinking about how he was planning on keeping his secret when the door was loudly opened. Harry winced slightly at the loud noise, louder to him with his newly improved senses, before looking up. In the doorway stood three people that Harry had been looking forward to seeing again. Hermione was the first to move in, sitting down opposite Harry. She levitated her trunk onto the shelf as Ron flopped down next to her, trunk still lying on the ground. Ginny seated herself next to Harry, after stowing her trunk above them.

"Honestly Ronald, are you going to deal with your trunk?" Hermione asked, voice exasperated. Ron grunted in reply and Hermione sighed, turning away from Ron to face Harry instead.

"How have you been Harry? Did you enjoy your time camping?" Her voice was soft and filled with concern. Harry knew that they had been worried about him, but he just had to get away from everyone. Get away from the attention and just relax. He smiled at Hermione and saw her relax.

"Yeah, I'm great. The time in the wilderness was just what I needed. I'm definitely ready for school again. So, what have you three been up to?" He asked. Hermione looked down at her feet and Ron turned as red as his hair. Ginny laughed at them before speaking up.

"Hermione and Ron are now dating; they are just both too embarrassed to say it."

"You're dating," he said. He realised that his voice sounded surprised, while he was far from it.

"Yeah, you ok with it mate?" Ron asked. Harry laughed at the worry in his friends voice.

"Of course, it's fine. I just honestly thought you were already dating. You know, with what happened in the battle and all." At this, Hermione blushed and looked at her feet again, while Ron's face turned an even darker shade of red.

The four of them talked and laughed as they waited for the train to leave. It finally began to move, just as someone knocked on the door of the compartment. Harry turned to see Luna and Neville standing at the door and waved them in. Luna moved in to sit between Ginny and Harry, while Neville sat between Ron and the door.

Harry left the others to their conversations, leaning against the window again. He let the words wash over him as he relaxed his sore body, not realising his muscles had tensed in anticipation of seeing his friends. While the others talked about their holidays, Luna leaned in and whispered in his ear.

"Your wolf is very happy." He tensed at these words, turning his head slightly towards Luna. The others hadn't noticed the interaction between the two and Harry was glad.
"It's ok, I won't tell anyone. I just thought you should know how happy your wolf is, considering how new you are with each other." With those words whispered in his ear, Luna moved back and entered the large conversation. Knowing that Luna wouldn't tell of his secret, he relaxed again. He didn't question how she knew, Luna always seemed to know things that others didn't.

About halfway through the journey, talk turned to the school year ahead.

"Who do you think the new teachers will be?" Neville asked. Harry remembered how a few of the teachers had died in the battle. He shrugged, having no idea.

"Personally, I hope that McGonagall stays transfiguration teacher, even though she is headmistress now," Ginny said. He hadn't even thought about McGonagall, forgetting that as Deputy Headmistress she would become the new Headmistress. He hoped she stayed transfiguration teacher too.

"Well, I know that Remus has accepted the role of DADA teacher again. He told us when he visited the Burrow during the summer," Hermione offered. Ron and Ginny nodded, evidently already knowing that. Neville grinned and Luna hummed happily. Harry forced a smile to his face, while inside he was panicking.

"Thank Merlin for that. He is definitely the best teacher we've had," Neville said. While Harry agreed with that statement, he was worried about his new development. Would Remus know? Harry kept the distress off his face as the others tossed around ideas for other teacher placements.

"How do you think the dormitories are going to work?" Hermione asked.

"That's a good question. There's only seven floors in the tower isn't there," he agreed, trying to remember the layout of the tower.

"Maybe both seventh year groups will share a dormitory. We will be sharing classes after all," Ginny suggested. Sounds of agreement came from everyone as they thought about how else it could be handled. The thought of classes drew another thought to Harry.

"What classes are you all taking?" he asked.

"I'm taking Transfiguration, DADA, Charms, Potions, Herbology, Runes and Arithmancy," Hermione said.

"Transfiguration, DADA, Charms, Herbology and CoMC," Ron said.

"Didn't you want to be an auror? For that you would need potions," Hermione interjected.

"Nah, I feel a hit wizard would be more my thing. Like an auror, but not as much training needed, and no potions. And I'm taking CoMC simply for the fun of it."

"I'm doing Muggle Studies, Transfiguration, DADA, Charms, Potions and Herbology," Ginny said.

"Herbology, Charms, DADA and Care of Magical Creatures," Neville said.

"Oh, I'm doing a bit of everything. Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Herbology, DADA and Care of Magical Creatures. I'd keep doing Divination, but Trelawny can't teach it for anything," Luna said. Hermione scoffed at this, she had always hated Trelawny and Divination.

"What about you Harry?" Ginny asked. Harry simply shrugged.

"Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, DADA and Herbology. But I don't know what I want to do. Don't really want to be an auror anymore, not after the war," he said. He didn't add that he didn't even know what jobs would be available for him, with his new development.

Harry zoned out again as they others continued talking about what they wanted to do when they left Hogwarts. He managed to catch that Hermione wanted to go into the ministry, but he already knew that. Neville wanted to work with plants, maybe teach Herbology or something like that. Ginny didn't want to go anywhere with her studies, wanting instead to make a career with Quidditch. Ron wanted to be a hit wizard while Luna wanted to do something that would let her explore the world, something like a magizoologist.

The train finally pulled into the station. Harry waited for the train to be mostly empty before getting off. He told the others he didn't want to be caught in huge crowds, which was half true. He mainly wanted to not risk bumping into anyone and causing his unhealed injuries to flare. He walked up to the carriages behind the others from his compartment. He looked around and saw that the thestrals were getting a lot more attention than usual. He didn't comment, instead simply patting the ones pulling the carriage closest to him before climbing in. His whole body was tired, and he struggled to even pay attention to what was being said. How was he going to make it through the feast?

Harry didn't pay attention to the sorting, instead leaning his head on his hands and trying not to fall asleep. When the food appeared, he filled his plate and began to slowly eat. He was hungry but couldn't make his muscles move any faster. He saw Hermione watching him, concern clearly written on her face.

"Are you ok Harry? You didn't pay any attention to the sorting and you're barely eating." Harry smiled at the concern in her voice.

"I'm fine Mione. I'm just tired, I didn't sleep very well last night." It was true, he hadn't slept well the night before, due to his injuries healing and all the new information Romulus was giving him. Hermione didn't say anything, just continued to watch him slowly eat, while enjoying her food as well.

Finally, the plates cleared, and McGonagall stood up in front of the hall.

"To our new students, welcome. To our old students, welcome back. I would like to remind everyone that the Forbidden Forest is forbidden for your own safety. There are over 500 banned items and for the full list, see Mr Filch's office door.

"I'd like to introduce the new teachers. Professor Lupin will be taking the role of Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor once again." At that half the hall broke into applause. "Professor Willow will be taking Muggle Studies. Additionally, the other three heads of house and I have decided to share responsibilities of head teacher, along with our house duties and teaching responsibilities. If you have any problems or questions, feel free to talk to your head of house.

"The seventh years will have their dormitories enlarged to hold both groups of students, and the classes will be combined. Anyone wishing to try out for their house quidditch team can sign up in their common room. Classes start on Monday. Now, time for bed, goodnight." With that, McGonagall and the other teachers left the hall and the students all got up. The houses all separated upon exiting the Great Hall. Harry, Neville Hermione, Ron and Ginny found themselves at the back of the group of Gryffindors.

They reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, stopping in front of her.

"Um, do any of you know the password?" Harry asked. Hermione, Ron and Neville shook their heads. Ginny however, nodded.

"We agreed on the new password at the end of last year." She turned towards the Fat Lady before saying,

"Victory." The portrait swung open and they all climbed inside, separating at the stairs and climbing up to their dormitory.

Harry immediately walked to the bed closest to the window. His trunk was already at the bottom of the bed and he collapsed onto it, body ready for sleep. He managed to pull himself up and swiftly changed into pyjamas. He drew the hangings around his bed. He cast silencing charms around himself, so that he wouldn't wake the others when he had a nightmare, he had one almost every night. He settled back on the bed, relaxing on the soft mattress under him. He knew that Romulus wanted to sleep in wolf form, but he couldn't in case the other boys opened the hangings. He allowed his eyes to close and drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Text

Harry woke early the next morning. He cast a quick tempest and saw it was five o'clock. Curfew ended at six-thirty, so he still had a while to kill. His body didn't ache as much anymore, and he didn't feel like he would fall asleep on his feet. He thanked Romulus for gifting him fast healing now that he had shifted for the first time. He sat in bed, thinking about where he could stay overnight so that the others didn't find out about him being a werewolf. And trying to work out how to hide the fact that he was a werewolf from Remus.

Hey Romulus, is there a way to hide the fact that I'm a werewolf from other werewolves?

No, not really. Werewolves that have accepted their wolf partner are able to scent a werewolf and pinpoint exactly who the werewolf is, as well as how long they have been a werewolf. A werewolf who supresses their wolf are able to detect when a werewolf is in a certain vicinity but are unable to pinpoint who it is. For example, the other werewolf here would be able to tell that another werewolf is in the school and their rough age, but not who they are or where they are. Does that help Harry?

Yeah, that helps. Thanks Rom. I promise I'm trying to find somewhere safe to shift for you. With that final thought to Romulus, Harry pulled his concentration out of his mind. He was able to talk to Romulus whenever he wanted, but for full conversations, it took a lot of concentration to remain focused on him. Romulus had told him it would get easier with time though. Casting another tempest, Harry found that it was quarter to six. He got out of bed and slowly got ready for the day, trying to be as silent as possible so as to not wake the others in the dormitory. He grabbed a book on werewolf laws and headed down to the common room. He glamoured the book to look like one of the schoolbooks and settled down to read.

After finishing two chapters on werewolf laws surrounding jobs, Harry checked the time again. Seeing that it was now six-thirty-five, he put his book back in the dormitory before heading out of the portrait hole. He wandered around the school, trying to think of a place that would suit his needs. Suddenly thinking of a place, he headed to the seventh floor. Reaching his destination, he walked past a blank stretch of wall three times before stopping in front of a door that had appeared. Looking around to make sure no one was around; Harry pulled the door opened and entered the room.

He closed the door behind him and gasped at the room. It was a bedroom with one bed, along with a desk. There was a wardrobe against the wall opposite the bed. The room was decorated in soft pastels and neutral carpeting. Looking around, he spotted three doors. One door led through to a bathroom, complete with a shower and a tub. Surrounding the tub was bath oils for healing, as well as healing potions in the cupboards. Harry exited the bathroom and moved to the second door. It led to a forest, and Harry instinctively knew that the forest would be for full moons. The third door led back into the corridor. Harry let out a relieved sigh, this was perfect.

He walked quickly back to Gryffindor Tower. He intended to move his clothes trunk to his room in the room of requirements, while leaving his work bag in the dormitory. He moved through the common room and up to his dormitory quickly, seeing that no one was up yet. Grabbing his things quickly, he headed back down and out the portrait hole. 
Once back in his room, he set everything up. He hung his cloaks up, folding his clothes and placing them in draws. Knowing that his friends wouldn't be heading to breakfast for another half hour at least, Harry stripped and went through the door into the forest.

Just a quick run right now Rom. We can have another tonight. Harry thought to Romulus, before shifting. It took a good few minutes before Harry's form had become that of Romulus. He was an average sized wolf, pitch black fur covering his whole body except for his muzzle, which held a white lightning bolt. His eyes glowed bright gold as he allowed Romulus more control over their body. Crouching down slightly, he took off running.

Twenty minutes later, Harry shifted back into human form. He left the forest and had a shower, letting the sweat from the run wash off him. He stepped out of the shower a few minutes later, dressing in casual clothes. It was a Sunday, so they weren't obligated to wear school robes. Harry headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast, hoping he had beaten his friends.

He reached the Great Hall to find only a few students around. It seemed that most people were sleeping in today. He settled himself down to breakfast. He knew his friends would be down soon, they always ate between seven-fifteen and quarter to eight, no matter what day it was. He wasn't disappointed, as not even five minutes later, Hermione and Ron entered the hall. They immediately spotted him and headed over.

"Where were you?" Hermione asked.

"I woke up early and went for a walk around the castle," Harry replied. Ron and Hermione continued to look at him, but when he just kept eating, they relented and joined him. 
"Any plans for today?" he asked as they finished eating. Hermione began explaining what she would be doing as they walked back to Gryffindor Tower and he nodded along, glad that Ron seemed overwhelmed by her extremely detailed plan too.

Remus was uneasy. The night before, during the feast, he had scented another werewolf in the castle. He could tell that they were aged between ten and twenty, but nothing more. He hadn't been told that there would be another werewolf. Not that he minded, he wasn't going to complain about someone having the same affliction as him. What worried him was that he didn't know how his wolf, Moony, would react to another werewolf being near for the full moon transformations.

He had been told there would be a staff meeting at nine that day, so he headed to the staffroom after breakfast. He had decided he would mention it at the end of the meeting if no one said anything about it. He settled himself into a chair while he waited for the rest of the staff to gather.

"Does anyone have anything they need to add before term starts?" Minerva asked as the meeting came to a close.

"Yes, actually Minerva. I was wondering if you knew who the other werewolf in the castle is," Remus said. At his words, the staffroom went dead silent, all the staff turning to face him.

"I am unaware of any werewolf at the school apart from you Remus," Minerva replied slowly. There was a pause before Pomona spoke.

"Are you sure that one of the students is a werewolf?" Remus nodded.

"I was able to scent a werewolf between ten and twenty during the feast last night," he said. The other teachers looked concerned.

"I have no records of a student being a werewolf since you attended school Remus," Poppy said.

"Why would a student not tell us?" Filius asked.

"Maybe they were unsure of what we would do if that information came out," Horace suggested.

"Surely their parents would have notified us so we could make the necessary arrangements for them," Pomona said.

"Well, I will be sure to inform you if any student needs medical attention due to the full moon," Poppy said.

"Very well, on that note, meeting dismissed," Minerva said. The other teachers slowly filed out of the room, while Remus stayed in his chair, thinking about the other werewolf.

Harry relaxed on the bed in his room. He had just returned from his run with Romulus, after managing to escape the common room without his friends noticing. He was looking forward to classes tomorrow, his friends questions, not so much. He soon allowed sleep to take him, as ways to dodge his friends questions flitted across his mind.

He was sitting in the Great Hall the next morning, calmly enjoying his breakfast when Neville sat on his left.

"Be aware, Hermione, Ron and Ginny are annoyed that you weren't in the dorm last night," Neville whispered in his ear, before turning to his own plate of food. Harry nodded, a way to answer any questions at the front of his mind.

"Harry James Potter, where were you last night. Ron said you weren't in the dorm when he woke up and I know you left the common room late last night." Hermione's voice was quiet but strict as she sat on his right. Harry looked up to see Ginny and Ron watching him from across the table as well. He put his cutlery down before answering.

"I was in my room." It wasn't a lie, and Ron knew it. Ron could almost always tell if he was flat out lying and he nodded to Hermione, signifying that Harry had been telling the truth. Just as Hermione opened her mouth to say anything else, Professor McGonagall had walked down the table, handing out timetables. After telling Professor McGonagall what subjects they would be taking, she tapped a piece of parchment before handing them a timetable.

Harry took his to see what he had on that day. He had double Defence first thing, with double Potions after lunch. Studying the rest of his timetable, he was glad to see he only had one full day. He compared his schedule with his friends and found he shared classes with them. Which made sense considering they were in the same house.

"I'm going to grab my stuff and head to Defence," Harry said, standing up. Hermione stood up too and they headed out of the hall.

"So, where were you last night? Really?" Hermione asked. Harry kept walking.

"I told you. I was in my room. I'll explain later, if I can." Hermione seemed satisfied with this answer and they continued up to the tower in a comfortable silence. They separated up to their dorms. Harry grabbed his bag, loading it with his defence books, quills, ink pots and his werewolf laws book. He checked to make sure his wand was already in his cloak pocket; it was. He slung his bag over his shoulder and headed back to the common room to meet Hermione. They walked to class together, talking about what they were hoping to cover.

They reached the classroom, fifteen minutes early. Harry knew that Remus wouldn't mind, and they entered the room, the door of which was already open. Harry sat down at one of the desks near the front, dropping his bag at his feet. He pulled his book out of his bag, still glamoured and began to read. He noticed Hermione doing the same at the desk to his right. Harry got halfway through the chapter on adoptions when Remus entered the room. He put his book back in his bag, knowing that if Remus was here, the rest of the class wouldn't be far behind. He was right, and five minutes later the whole class was there. Ron was next to Hermione while Neville sat on Harry's left. Ginny was sitting behind them, her friends around her. The bell rang and everyone stopped talking, giving Professor Lupin their full attention.

Chapter Text

Remus stood at the front of the classroom and Harry could tell that he already had the attention of the whole class. He clasped his hands together before speaking.

"Today I felt that we would cover werewolves. Over the next month we will look over how werewolves live. After that, we will move onto vampires. Once we have finished with creature like beings, we will move onto curses and duelling until Yule break. After Yule, we will begin revising any topics that you wish to cover in preparation for your N.E.W.T.s. Any questions?" A few questions were asked, concerning tests that would be taken and what would be covered concerning werewolves and vampires. Once the questions finished, Remus instructed the class to take notes while he spoke.

"Werewolves are made out to be vicious, cruel monsters. This is untrue. Werewolves are simply either withes or wizards or muggles for majority of the year, other than the night of the full moons. When the full moon is in the sky, a werewolf is forced into a wolf form. Werewolves have the option of taking wolfsbane potion and most do. The potion allows them to retain their human mind while in wolf form, rather than being taken over by wolf instincts.

"Many werewolves live in packs. They live with other werewolves so that during transformations they aren't lonely and also so that they have other people surrounding them that understand what they go through every month. Can anyone tell me how packs are structures?" Remus looked around to see everyone with parchment covered in notes in front of them. Everyone but Harry. Harry was simply staring at him, eyes partially glossed over. No one raised their hand, not even Hermione who always had her hand up.

"Harry, can you tell me how a werewolf pack is structured?" Harry looked up at his words.

"Werewolf packs are structured similarly to normal wolf packs. There is an Alpha and the Alpha's mate, the leaders of the pack. The Betas are just below the Alphas in ranking, being second in command. If the Alphas are absent, then the Betas are in charge of the pack. Within the pack, each wolf has a role of their own. Hunters and gatherers find food for the pack, while warriors defend the pack from enemies and threats. Healers fix any injuries while also protecting the cubs of the pack. Those three are the most common roles and are found in every werewolf or normal wolf pack. There are also other roles that are only seen in some packs, such as spy or trainer." Harry droned out and to Remus, his voice sounded dull and uninterested. He nodded.

"Correct. Within packs, cubs are precious. Parents are extremely protective of their cubs, as is any member of the pack. Werewolves will do anything to protect ones they consider cubs. Some werewolves don't live in a werewolf pack. They prefer to be lone wolves or make packs within their own families and friends. Cubs aren't always werewolves; they can be any child that a werewolf cares about.

"You can identify a werewolf by their eyes. A werewolf's eyes range from amber to golden, and glow when the wolf is near the surface. Another way to identify who a werewolf is, is by how they react around a full moon. The days leading up to a full moon will make the werewolf particularly grumpy, as well as causing their whole body to be in pain as their body prepares for the transformation. After the full moon, the werewolf will be injured from the transformation, from ripping their skin apart to make room for their new body. They will be tired from roaming as a wolf the whole night, as well as being extremely hungry.

"Transformations into the wolf during full moons are extremely painful as the whole-body changes. Humans can't be around a werewolf during the full moon as a werewolf can't tell the difference between friend and enemy. The human around a werewolf risks being bitten and turned into a werewolf, or being mauled to death, depending on how much control the human mind has over the wolf mind. The only way to safely be around a werewolf during the full moon is to be in an Animagus form. As an Animagus, werewolf bites will not turn you into a werewolf and a werewolf is more docile around other animals than around humans."

Harry listened as Remus explained simple facts about werewolves to the class. Being one himself, he found his concentration drifting away from the lesson. He wasn't taking notes as he could always ask Romulus if he had any questions, but he was certain he knew everything already anyway. His attention was brought back to the lesson when Remus started explaining their work for the second half of the class.

"For the rest of the lesson you will work on an essay concerning werewolves and their everyday lives. It needs to be at least 2 feet, but with the rest of the lesson that shouldn't be a problem. If it isn't finished it will be homework, to be handed in next lesson." Harry reached into his bag, pulling out his quill, inkpot and a roll of parchment. All around him, the rest of the class was doing the same.

He started to write, knowing he would be going over the required two feet. He wrote about how people who supressed the wolf dealt with the affliction, knowing that Remus thought this was the only way to deal with the wolf. He went into detail about how the affliction affected them, causing it to be difficult to find jobs and how leading up to the full moon changed their actions. He wrote about how they had to take the wolfsbane potion and how they needed to completely trust the brewer of the potion as it was an incredibly difficult one. He even brought in how some of the laws concerning werewolves restricted how they lived, including their limited rights on things such as adoption, marriage and schooling.

By the time the bell had signalled the end of class, Harry had already bypassed the two-and-a-half-foot mark on his essay. He had begun to ask Romulus about other things he could add and knew that Remus wouldn't care if he continued to write. He rolled his essay up and placed it into his bag, along with his writing equipment. Slinging his bag over his shoulder, he headed to his dorm. Upon reaching his dorm, he switched out his Defence stuff, replacing it with his things for Transfiguration.

The rest of the day passed with ease. Harry had finished his homework for Transfiguration before lunch. As he sat at the table in the common room with Hermione and Ron, he was thankful that Slughorn hadn't given them any for Potions. Hermione was sitting in a chair by the fire, reading, while Ron worked on his homework for Transfiguration. Harry pulled out his werewolf essay, placing it on the table in front of him to continue writing. Ron seemed to notice him zoning out every now and then between writing, which was when he would ask Romulus for more information.

"Harry, you ok?" Harry looked up at Ron, nodding to show he was fine before going back to his essay.

"You keep zoning out, mate. You sure you're ok?" When Harry didn't answer, Ron leaned over to see what he was working on. "You're still working on the essay for Lupin? Bloody hell mate, I think you can cool it down. You're well over the required length." Harry looked up. He sighed before responding.

"I guess you're right." He added a conclusion, nicely wrapping up the essay. He was looking over it, making sure it was written well, when Hermione came over from her place near the fire.

"Wow Harry, you definitely know werewolves. Your essay is longer than mine," she said, her voice full of awe.

"Blimey mate, that's the first time that's ever happened," Ron said, shock evident in his voice. Harry just shrugged, folding his essay up and carefully placing it in his bag. Swinging his bag over his shoulder, he headed up to the dorm. He dumped his bag on his allocated bed as Ron and Hermione followed him up.

"You said that you would explain where you were last night," Hermione prompted. Harry sighed. He had hoped she would have forgotten, even if he knew she wouldn't.

"Well, as I said, I was in my room. I talked with McGonagall yesterday about having a private room and she said if I could find one, I would be allowed to sleep somewhere else. It's mainly due to what happened during the war, but I still don't feel comfortable sleeping in a room with a lot of people. I have nightmares every night and didn't want to wake everyone up because of them. I do cast silencing charms, but what if I forget one night. It's not fair on everyone else." This story he had created while running through the forest. Now he just had to hope that they believed him and that they wouldn't ask McGonagall about it.

Ron nodded and Hermione let out a sigh.

"That makes sense then, I guess. I had thought it was something bad, but this seems perfectly fine. I'm surprised I didn't think of that to start with," Hermione said.

"Can we see your room?" Ron asked. Harry started for a moment, then shook his head.

"Sorry, I promised I wouldn't have others come in. You know, since it's a private room and all." Hermione and Ron both nodded, seeming to understand what he was implying.

"So, you're staying there every night?" Hermione asked.

"At the moment, yeah. As I get more comfortable, I might sleep in here every now and then, but I'll probably just stick to there. But I'm only planning on being there at nights, I'll spend most of my time out of classes in the common room or here still, though." He ran his hand through his hair, not quite believing his luck. They had believed him, and it didn't seem like he was going to have to worry about them asking McGonagall. They continued to talk for a while before Harry noticed how dark it was getting outside. He yawned, casting a tempest. The spell showed that it was nearing 10, meaning curfew was getting closer. He stood up, leaving his bag where it was.

"I'm heading off, got to get to my room before curfew." He left the room, his invisibility cloak shoved in his robe pocket. The people left in the common room didn't even glance at him as he left. He climbed out the portrait hole before throwing his cloak over himself. Even though it wasn't curfew yet, he didn't want to be caught and asked where he was heading.

Once in his room, he asked the room for another addition. A big dog bed appeared at the end of his bed. He was too tired to go for a run, but he had promised Romulus that they would do something in wolf form. And he couldn't break his promise; Romulus would be upset with him, which wouldn't be fun since Romulus was in his head, and it also wouldn't bode well for the next full moon. Hoping it would suffice, Harry transformed into Romulus, laying down on the new bed to sleep. He allowed Romulus to come closer to the surface and could feel how happy he was. Yes, this would work.

Chapter Text

The first week of classes passed quickly and Harry was glad for the weekend to finally be there. Most of his classes were fine, but he was struggling with Potions. It wasn't that he couldn't make potions, he could without Snape breathing down his neck. It was that all the potions in the room overloaded his senses, especially the double periods. Considering that some people still couldn't follow instructions, the room had hundreds of different smells. Romulus had even begun to retreat to the back of his mind during Potions. And that felt weird; he had gotten used to the second presence at the front of his mind.

Defence was another problem. They had moved on from werewolf lives to what to do if they encountered one during a full moon. And even though Remus was a werewolf, the advice was the same that any wizard would give you. Kill them. This made it hard for Harry to sit quietly in class and listen, Romulus having to move away before he took over Harrys body. He was listening to the last father figure he had left, say that if you come across a werewolf on a full moon, its better for both of them if the werewolf dies. He had to sit through his class, his friends, brainstorming ways to carry silver on them in case they ever came across a werewolf.

Most girls said wear silver rings, bracelets and other jewellery. The boys suggested silver belt buckles, and knives in their shoes. Hearing all these plans, Harry felt sick to his stomach. His friends would willingly kill him. Maybe he should research ways to prevent silver from harming him. At least, that had been his plan until Romulus mentioned that silver was only deadly to those who hadn't accepted their wolf, and would only cause a rash for him. It had something to do with the silver hurting both the human and the wolf, meaning that not having a combined mind made two bodies and minds hurt, rather than just one combined body and mind.

On top of that, after reading his essay on werewolf lives, Remus had held Harry back after class to ask how he knew everything he did. Apparently, saying that he had always been interested in werewolves wasn't an acceptable answer, as Remus just looked at him before dismissing him. Other than that, his first week hadn't been that bad.
His arrangement of sleeping in wolf form was a good one, especially when he couldn't escape the common room early enough for a run. Romulus had agreed that 8 hours in wolf form was as good as a run.

Harry was sitting in the common room, reading his werewolf laws book when Hermione approached. He marked his page and closed his book, looking up at her.

"I was wondering if you are sure that we can't see your room. I really want to at least see where it is, just in case we need you in the middle of the night or anything. I'm sure if we ask McGonagall, she will understand. And we're best friends, nothing would happen," Hermione said. Harry sighed. He wasn't getting around this.

"I actually asked McGonagall after Transfiguration yesterday and she agreed that you and Ron could see my room, but nobody else. I tried to convince her to allow Neville and Ginny too, but she said two people. Apparently, more than that and I would have to sleep in the dorm again, since it would show that I was comfortable around multiple people in my room. I just hadn't gotten the chance to tell you or Ron yet."

Hermione seemed to accept this answer and went to get Ron, where he was talking with Seamus about something or other. She managed to pull him away from the conversation and they came back to where Harry was still sitting.

"So, can we go see your room now mate?" Ron asked and Harry nodded. Hopefully he could hide the dog bed before questions were asked. And the door to the forest. 
He led them along the halls, to the Room of Requirement. He asked for his room, adding for the door to the forest and the dog bed to disappear, hoping the room would comply. The door appeared and he opened it, standing back to allow his friends access.

"Welcome to my room." His friends stepped in and looked around. Thankfully, the room had listened to his requests and there wasn't a door leading to the forest, or a dog bed at the end of his bed. His clothes were still in the wardrobe and his other things in the bathroom.

"The Room of Requirements," Hermione breathed, looking around the room he had created.

"I didn't think it would still work. Not after what happened during the battle," Ron said. He shrugged.

"I didn't either, but I didn't think it would hurt to try. And, I'm glad I tried, I'm loving the room."

"Yeah, now I'm a bit jealous mate. Your room is definitely better than the dorm."

"You shouldn't be jealous. Not because of what the reason I need this room is," Harry said, his voice cold. Ron looked down, ashamed. Harry sat down on his bed, asking the room for a couch where the dog bed normally was. A couch appeared and Hermione and Ron sat down on it, looking at him.

"What?" he shrugged, "we can do anything we were going to do in the common room in here." Hermione nodded, immediately asking how the couch had just appeared. He simply told her he had asked the room for it, before telling her his room only responded to him.

"I don't want just anyone to be able to add or remove things from my room if they find it." What he didn't add, was that only he could find the room, only he could even open the door into his room to allow people in or out, since one of the things he had asked for was privacy and that would give him privacy. They continued talking, conversation moving on to classes and homework.

Ron talked about what he was doing in Care of Magical Creatures. Hermione talked about what she was doing in Runes and Arithmancy. It all sounded interesting to Harry, but he didn't add anything as he wasn't taking any classes that they weren't.

"I'm looking forward to the debate in Defence," Hermione commented. Harry inwardly groaned. He had tried to forget about that. Remus had told them they would be having a debate about werewolf laws sometime in the next few weeks but hadn't told them when. Which was just great, a chance to hear exactly what his classmates thought about laws that didn't even affect them. Wonderful.

"Yeah, it sounds like a good opportunity to discuss the laws that surround werewolves. Do you have any books that would be good to look at before the debate?" Ron asked. Harry didn't reply, but Hermione did.

"Oh Ron, you're actually asking for something to do extra work?" At Ron's hesitant nod, Hermione grinned.

"Well, there's a lot of books that you can look at. There's Creature Laws, which gives an overview of laws that affect all creatures in general; Werewolves in the Workforce, which talks about specific jobs werewolves can't have and laws surrounding hiring werewolves and Everyday Laws, which talks about which laws affect werewolves in their everyday lives. I'd recommend starting with those."

Harry had read those books when he first became a werewolf, before finding the one he was reading now. Those books were all bias, written by normal witches and wizards, ones who thought creatures were below them. The one he was reading now, Everything to do with Werewolves and Their Laws, was written by a werewolf. The author had been part of the Magical Law Enforcement, before becoming a werewolf and losing their job. So, they could write about the law from both sides of the argument and more importantly, was a werewolf himself.

"Actually, I've read those books. When I first found out about Moony. But they are really biased. I'd recommend Everything to do with Werewolves and Their Laws. It's written by a werewolf who had worked in the ministry before being turned. It's quite informative, really," Harry said. Hopefully they would buy that he had learnt all about werewolves for Remus.

"Oh, I've never heard of that book before. And I guess the others were biased, looking back," Hermione said.

"I'm not surprised you haven't heard of it. I had to ask Madam Pince for a recommendation. There's only two copies in the Hogwarts library, and they're right at the back of the library." Hermione stood and Harry knew she was wanting to go get the book right now. Harry stood as well, Ron following suit. Harry led them to the door, opening it and allowing them to leave first. To them, it seemed like he wanted to make sure the room was locked or something. Hermione would probably put it down to manners. Really, it was so that they didn't realise that only he could open the doors.

"To the library then," he said as he shut the door behind him. The door disappeared and the three friends made their way down the corridors, heading towards the library. 

The next few weeks passed by much easier than the first. It got easier for Harry and Romulus to cope with the classes, falling into a rhythm that worked for them. Romulus would disappear for DADA and Potions and in the break after those lessons, Harry would let Romulus out for a run to make up for his self-suppression.

It was coming up to the full moon and Harry was anxious to see if the room would work. He was pretty sure it was, especially after seeing how it responded to only him while in his room. But he wouldn't know until after the full moon.

Harry made his way to his room, glad that he had gotten all his homework  done earlier in the day. He was extremely tired, his body already sore, awaiting the transformation that was going to occur that night. Luckily, he was used to hiding injuries and such from his time with the Dursleys, even if Romulus had promised to do his best not to go overboard. It was hard to suppress the heightened instincts on a full moon, especially considering that this would only be his second full moon.

He entered his room, heading straight towards the door leading into the forest. He had instructed the room to seal the door, making it disappear as soon as the moon rose. The door wouldn't reappear until the sun started to rise, by which time Harry would have shifted back into his human form. He walked straight over to the door leading into the forest. He dumped his cloak and other clothes outside the door. He was left in only his underwear.

He entered the forest, closing the door behind him and watching the door fade away as it sealed him in. Good, at least that worked. He crouched down, knowing that he had to wait for the moon to transform him tonight. The room had provided an open sky and he watched the moon rise. The first ray of moonlight hit his skin and he felt his body begin to shift. It was slightly more painful than his voluntary shifts, but not much.

His spine lengthened and arched as fur sprouted all over him. His ears changed shape, moving to the top of his head. His teeth and nails sharpened, becoming fangs and claws. It was a quick transformation, one that his body was used to by now. However, the power of the moon made the shift happen faster than it normally would, which was what caused the extra pain.

Before he knew it, he was a wolf and Romulus was free. His instincts were at the front of his mind and he took off running. He allowed Romulus to have his fun, even if he would be exhausted the next day. He spent almost the whole night moving. He ran, weaving through trees; he chased smaller animals that were in the forest, taking a thrill in the hunt; he jumped over rocks and branches; he howled to the moon.

He watched the moon begin to set as he made his way over to the place he had started. He knew his way around the forest and could easily navigate his way back to the wall that separated the forest from his bedroom. The last beam of moonlight disappeared from the sky and he felt himself change again. His claws and fangs dulled back to human teeth and nails. His ears moved back to the side of his head and his fur retracted. Finally, his spine returned to that of a human. It didn't take long before he was standing fully human in the place of a wolf.

He waited in front of the wall, watching the sky start to brighten as the sun started to appear just beyond the horizon. The colours came first. Pale pinks and oranges, with streaks of purple. Then came the sun. A blinding light appeared, just as a speck under the colours. Harry watched as the sun settled at the bottom of the sky, the colours slowly dispersing. When the sun rise was finally over, Harry turned back to the wall to find a door leading back to his room.

He pushed through, immediately collapsing on his bed. His alarm already set to wake him up for breakfast, he slept for the first time that night. Even if it wouldn't be for long.

Chapter Text

Harry woke to the sound of his alarm. He silenced it quickly, groaning as he sat up. His body was still sore from the transformation, even if he knew that he didn't hurt nearly as much as Remus did. He stood up, moving over to the full-length mirror to examine himself. Romulus had gotten him a few new scratches, from falling over a tree branch or two, but they would be easily remedied.

He picked up a jar of ointment, rubbing it over the new scratches. The scratches started fading instantly, until they looked at least three days old. Satisfied, he started to get ready for the day. Even if he didn't have class until after break, he needed to show at breakfast. He got dressed slowly, still tired. That wasn't surprising considering how much running Romulus had done the night before, on top of the fact that he had only managed an hour and a half of sleep before his alarm went off.

He headed to breakfast, knowing his friends would already be down there. He had glamoured the bags under his eyes and tried to act like he normally did. He couldn't do anything to tip his friends off about his condition.

Ginny, Neville, Ron and Hermione were already sitting at the Gryffindor table, along with Luna. He sat down next to Neville, immediately helping himself to food.

"Aren't you meant to sit at your own house table, Luna?" he asked as a lull in the conversation occurred.

"Oh no. The only rule about house tables is that you sit with your house for the feasts, such as the Halloween, start of year or end of year feast," Luna replied.

"Really? I never knew that." That was, of course, Hermione.

"Well, it makes sense. Normally the house rivalry stopped anyone from making many friends in different houses," Ron said, looking up from his food. Neville nodded his agreement.

"It's a good thing Fred and George didn't know. Can you imagine the chaos they would cause if they sat at all the house tables?" Ginny asked. Harry shuddered slightly, that was not a fun thing to imagine. But he also noticed the butterflies in his stomach when he thought about the twins.

Breakfast finished soon and the group stood up, heading back to the common room to grab their books. Hermione, Ron and Neville all headed up to their room to grab their books for Care of Magical Creatures or Ancient Runes. Harry dropped into an armchair near the fire, while Ginny sat down in the chair next to him as they both had free periods before break.

Hermione came back down to the common room with her bag, heading straight out the portrait hole. Ron and Neville came down not long later, heading down to the grounds to meet Luna before heading to class.

"How are you enjoying classes so far?" Harry asked Ginny when it was just them in the common room. Anyone with a free period was either in the library or in their dorm. 
"Oh, they're fine. I mean, I'm learning heaps and I'm on top of my homework, which is surprising. What about you?" Harry leaned back in his chair, debating how much he should say.

"They're good. I already know most of what we've learnt in DADA. I researched a lot about werewolves after learning about Remus."

"That makes sense. Are you ready for the debate?" Ginny asked.

"Eh." He shrugged. "I understand why we are debating about werewolf laws, it's a great way to learn. But, why should we be debating over laws that don't affect us?" he sighed.
"Well, I know I'll learn a lot. Seeing things from other people's perspectives enables us to se how we can improve the laws and change things to benefit everyone." Harry didn't know how to reply to that, so he didn't.

They sat there for a while, a comfortable silence growing around them. Harry heard Ginny shift slightly in her chair and knew she would probably break the silence soon.

"Harry, I've been meaning to ask for a while. I know we broke up because of the war and I was wondering if you wanted to get back together. I didn't loose my feelings for you and, I really liked our relationship." Harry sighed, not knowing how to respond. He thought for a moment, trying to work his feelings out and how to say what he wanted to say.

"I'm sorry Ginny, but I just don't have those type of feelings for you anymore. I guess that all the time on the run changed my views, but I've really been trying to work myself out lately. I just don't think I'm ready for a relationship at the moment. I don't even know if I prefer girls. I'm honestly still trying to work everything out. I'm sorry." Ginny didn't say anything for a while, and he hoped that what he said wouldn't make things awkward between them.

"I can understand that. I honestly appreciate that you told me that, rather than us getting together while you weren't ready for it. I hope this won't make things awkward?"

"I hope it doesn't either. I'll tell you if I ever want us to be together again, but I just don't think it will happen. Don't wait for me because you deserve someone who loves you fully, and I don't think I can. But, staying friends would be good."

"Let's just put this conversation behind us then. The others don't need to know." Ginny got up, walking towards him. She leaned down, hugging him tightly. Harry hugged back, ignoring the slight ache in his arms for the time being. Ginny pulled away as the bell rang, signalling the end of class.

"Well, I have another free period. Do you have any homework?" Harry asked. Ginny shook her head and Harry smiled. "Well, I'm happy to keep talking."

Before Harry knew it, it was Christmas. The term had passed quicker than he had expected. They had finished with werewolves and vampires and were learning to duel. He loved the adrenalin rush he got from a duel and was glad that being a werewolf gave him quicker reflexes. He almost never got hit.

He had begun having to glamour his eyes. After his third full moon, he noticed that his eyes had shifted from a piercing emerald to the bright gold of a werewolf. He glamoured them every day, to hide the fact that he had been bitten. He wasn't ready for anyone to know. He was thinking about getting contacts during the break, that way he wouldn't need glasses or the glamours.

He was looking forward to the break. He would be spending the break with the Weasleys, as would Hermione. He was glad that Ginny hadn't made things weird between them after their talk. It was the last day of term before the break began. And it also happened to be a full moon. He had gotten accustomed to full moons and had fallen into a routine.

Romulus would go crazy for the majority of the night but would rein it in for an hour or two before the moon set. This would allow him to rest, even if he didn't manage to sleep. After becoming human again, he would sleep for an hour or two before breakfast. He would wake up, tend any wounds that had occurred, not that many did, and then head to breakfast. Classes, then straight to his room to sleep. He wouldn't go for a run the day after a full moon.

He had made sure he was fully caught up on his homework so that he could just relax over the break. He was glad that the full moon was tonight, rather than during the break. It would be hard to explain why he had to leave, and Hermione would figure it out. She was smart like that.

Harry stepped into the forest off his room. He sat down against the closest tree, leaning against the trunk. He closed his eyes, hoping to catch a short nap before the moon rose. At least he would be able to sleep a bit more the next morning. Just claim it on the stress of the term or something.

He woke up the next morning, stretching to rid his muscles of any aches from over exertion the night before. He had a quick bath, allowing the soothing potions and hot water to relieve any pain from his muscles. He dried off and pulled on some baggy, every day clothes, throwing the rest of his casual clothes in his bag to take with him to the Burrow. His school clothes would stay in his room at school.

Bag slung over his shoulder, he headed down to breakfast. As it was the weekend, breakfast went for longer, so would still be going when he got to the Great Hall, even if his friends had already eaten. After a decent breakfast he headed back to the Gryffindor tower to pack the other things he wanted to take to the Burrow.

His friends were all sitting in the common room, talking about plans for the holidays. He managed to avoid their gazes, slipping up to the dorm undetected. He folded the clothes from his backpack, packing them neatly into his trunk, along with other things he wanted to take with him, including the presents for his friends. After double checking that he had everything packed, he went down to the common room to join his friends.

"There you are Harry. You weren't at breakfast," Hermione said, voice accusing.

"Sorry Mione, my alarm didn't go off. I made it to breakfast before it finished though."

"Do you have your things packed? The train leaves in half an hour," Ginny said.

"Yeah, just finished packing. Do you guys want to wait in the entrance hall?"

"Yeah. We told Luna that we would meet her down there as soon as we found you." Harry smiled sheepishly at that comment from Neville.

"Well, let's not keep her waiting." They all summoned their trunks, setting them to float behind them as they made their way to the entrance hall.

They didn't have to wait long and soon they were ridding the carriages down to the station in Hogsmeade. Harry climbed onto the train first, claiming the first empty carriage he saw. The train ride passed by uneventful and soon they were climbing off the train.

Mrs Weasley was waiting for them on the Platform and the group quickly made their way over to her. She hugged each of them one by one, landing on Harry last.

"Luna, Neville, you are, of course, welcome at our house for Christmas dinner," she said after releasing Harry.

"Thank you, Mrs Weasley. I'll be sure to let my Gran know," Neville said while Luna smiled her thanks. Goodbyes were exchanged and Luna and Neville left the group to find their respective families.

"Come along now. The twins are waiting for us at home and will be spending the holidays with us." Harry's heart beat a little faster at that. He couldn't understand why though. He had spent countless summers living with the Weasleys, and five years at school with the twins. So why was he reacting this way. He didn't have much time to ponder on the thought, however, as Mrs Weasley had led them over to the apparition point. They all grabbed their trunks and twisted on the spot, being sucked through a tube before landing out the front of the Burrow.

"Harry and Ron, I hope you don't mind sharing again. Ginny and Hermione, I've also set up your beds in Ginny's room." They all nodded. Harry didn't mind sharing with Ron, but hopefully Romulus would understand why they couldn't sleep in wolf form. And hopefully he wouldn't get a headache from Romulus complaining about the limited runs.

Harry followed the others inside, sending his trunk up the stairs behind Ron's, while the girls followed the trunks up to unpack. He moved to the living room, collapsing on the couch. His head snapped up however, when he caught two almost identical scents. The scents of his mates. 

Chapter Text

Harry walked into the DADA classroom and sat down, slumping in his chair. He wasn't looking forward to the class today. Remus had told them last lesson that this would be their last lesson on werewolves and would be a debate, which would cover their grade for that section of the class.

Romulus had already retreated in his mind and he felt empty without his wolf there. He had thought he would get used to the feeling of Romulus retreating, given that it occurred in DADA and Potions, but it was still a weird experience. He still felt empty, like a part of him was missing. And he couldn't understand how many werewolves always existed like this, with their wolf always supressed.

The rest of the class settled down as Professor Lupin walked in, heading straight to the front of the classroom. He turned to face them, hands on the desk behind him that he was leaning on slightly.

"Alright, who's ready for this debate?" he asked. There was excited murmurs around the class and the professor smiled.

"Alright, I would like you to separate into two sides. Anyone arguing that the werewolf laws are good and need to be there, or that werewolves are beasts, to the right please. Anyone arguing that the laws are bias and do nothing for society, or that werewolves face too much prejudice, to the left."

The class split up pretty evenly. The right side consisted of the Slytherins that were in the class, as well as about half the Ravenclaws, a few Gryffindors and one or two Hufflepuffs. The left side consisted of almost all of the Hufflepuffs, majority of the Gryffindors and the other half of the Ravenclaws. Harry didn't comment as he moved to the left, knowing that there would always be people that thought werewolves were beasts that didn't deserve to live or work.

"Alright. Who wants to start?" No one put their hand up, so Remus looked around the room before deciding on his target.

"Daphne, why are you on the right?"

"I believe that werewolves are savages who could prevent the unnecessary spread of the disease by not coming into contact with respectable witches and wizards, meaning that any job they hold could put normal people at risk." And so, it began.

"That's not true. Werewolves are forced to change once a month and they do everything they can to keep others safe, locking themselves up to prevent others getting bitten."

"They are always out for days surrounding each of their transformation meaning that businesses have less staff for those days, costing them more to employ extra staff to cover for the werewolf. It would be more cost efficient if werewolves didn't hold the jobs to begin with."

"They can't help their condition and without work they have no way of recovering from each transformation. The more medical help they get, the quicker they can get back to work so that they can support themselves and any family they have."

"They are a threat to society."

"They are normal witches, wizards or muggles that can't help having their condition. They didn't ask to be bitten."

"They are savage beasts that aren't capable of holding a job."

"They simply have a furry little problem that makes them sprout fur out of their arse once a month but doesn't interfere with majority of the year." That one got a small laugh out of Remus.

"They are taking the jobs that belong to respectable people, not filthy half-breeds." That got a small growl out of Harry as he remembered Umbridge.

"They are normal people too and don't deserve the discrimination they receive."

"They are suited for society; they are pariahs."

"They are revered in many countries for being touched by the moon and are allowed to run free. Only Britain regard them as pariahs."

"They've always seen as pariahs and a threat to our society. ore people are being bitten each year."

"They are becoming more repressed each year and it is causing them to have more trouble controlling their wolves, which is leading to more people being bitten. If they were respected and didn't feel the need to repress everything about their wolf the number of people being turned would drop significantly."

"They are mindless beasts that don't belong anywhere near humans."

"They are humans almost all of the time. And they have the wolfsbane which allows them to keep their mind during transformations."

"They don't deserve to be in our society or hold jobs where they could harm anyone, especially children."

"They don't want to be bitten and do their best to keep others safe even if it causes them to be hurt."

"They aren't safe to be around. Anything could happen. There is no such thing as a tame werewolf."

"They are perfectly safe to be around minus once a month when they lock themselves up to prevent others being harmed."

The noise around the classroom started getting louder as people tried to talk over each other, trying to get their points made, trying to get the other side to see reason. Professor Lupin shot a loud bang out of his wand, similar to the firecrackers Professor Dumbledore had used in Harry's first year when everyone was freaking out about the troll.

"Alright, settle down everyone," Professor Lupin called. The class quietened down, and all turned to look at their professor.

"Alright, that was a very good debate. However, I think that we should bring it to a close because the same arguments seem to be being used over and over." Everyone nodded and headed back to their original seats. Once everyone was sitting again, Professor Lupin addressed them again.

"Did anyone hear a point raised that showed them the other side of the issue?"

"I never thought about the fact that they didn't ask to be bitten," a Ravenclaw said.

"I hadn't thought about the fact that some people have only heard that werewolves are savages because of how they have grown up."

"I never realised that some other countries revere werewolves."

"I hadn't thought about the consequences of missing work due to the moon."

"I forgot that the wolfsbane allows werewolves to keep their minds during transformations."

"I didn't think about the consequences of forgetting the potion, especially if they are around children." Professor Lupin nodded.

"Those are all very good points. Now that we have all heard good points from both sides of the issue, is there anyone who would change their opinion?" A few people raised their hands and the professor nodded at them. "Why?"

"I have always been told that werewolves are savages and that they are intruding in our society. That's all I've known. I hadn't ever thought about it from the other side of the argument."

"I thought that everywhere regarded werewolves in the same light that Britain does and that that must be the truth."

"I hadn't thought about the reasons that the laws are in place, or the reasons that businesses didn't employ werewolves. I had only thought about the discrimination. I don't think that werewolves are pariahs, but I understand why the laws surrounding them are so harsh."

"I hope that we all learnt something today and that you all enjoyed the debate. Class dismissed," Professor Lupin said. The class stood and exited the classroom, everyone talking about the debate.

Chapter Text

Harry tried to control Romulus, who wanted to take over and find his mates. Harry knew that finding his mate would make Romulus more full on until he had contact with his mate, but he hadn't expected Romulus to be so forceful. He strained against himself, keeping Romulus in check with great difficulty.

Soon, the girls came down the stairs and they all moved to the kitchen. Fred and George were seated at the table, talking about something to do with their joke shop. Being in the same room as his mates made it even harder to keep control of Romulus. He only just managed to get out the excuse of needing the bathroom, before half bolting from the room.

He made it to the bathroom, shutting the door and locking it just in time. As soon as he got there, Romulus broke out. His clothes tore and his body swiftly changed into that of a wolf. Romulus paced the bathroom, soft growls emitting from his throat. Harry tried to calm Romulus down, but it was extremely difficult. When a wolf was out of control, it was quite hard to calm them down. And that was when it was an omega or beta, let alone an angry alpha. Romulus was a powerful Alpha wolf, and that made calming him down almost impossible.

An idea for how to calm Romulus down finally came to him.

Romulus, if you don't calm down, we won't be able to see our mates.

B ut we need to tell them.

We will tell them. It's not something we can just dump on them. But you need to calm down. Otherwise we won't be able to even be in the same room as them, let alone get close enough to start a relationship with them.

That finally worked. Romulus stopped pacing, calming down enough to allow Harry to take control and become human again. Harry sighed, looking at his pile of torn clothes. 
Thanks for that Romulus. You could have at least let me strip first, he sighed mentally. He pulled out his wand, quickly repairing his clothes. He pulled them on, before unlocking the door and leaving the bathroom.

He stopped at he top of the stairs, checking in on Romulus to make sure he would try and stay calm. Or, at least calmer than before. He entered the kitchen, sitting down next to Ron at the table.

"It's good to see you Harry," Fred said, smiling at him.

"Yes, it's been a while," George continued, smiling at him as well. The smiles made his heart flutter a little, but he forced himself not to blush and return the smile.

"Well, that's what happens in the aftermath of the war. How's the shop going?" he asked. He was pleased to hear that business was as strong as ever, even during the school year. He was glad he had made the decision to give them his Triwizard winnings. They had definitely put it to good use.

Romulus purred slightly at the thought of helping the twins and Harry had to hide a chuckle. Romulus was a big softy it seemed. The conversation around the table moved onto the holidays and plans for what to do over the break.

Ron suggested a Quidditch match, while Ginny mentioned something about just relaxing. Hermione, predictably, said they should continue studying. Just as predictably, the twins suggested a prank war.

Later that day, Harry was free of his friends and managed to find the twins talking in their room. He was nervous about what he was about to do, but Romulus was encouraging him, so he gathered up his Gryffindor courage and knocked on the door. One of the twins called him in, so he entered, closing the door behind him.

"Harrykins, what can we do for you?" Fred asked.

"Well Fred, I had something that I wanted to talk with you both about," he replied. Both twins looked slightly surprised that he could tell them apart.

"One thing first though," Fred said.

"How do you know who's who?" George asked.

"Why do you want to know?" Harry asked.

"Well," Fred began.

"How can we get away with pranks," George continued.

"If you can tell us apart," Fred finished. Harry raised his eyebrow, certain there was another reason as well.

"Plus, you're one of the only ones who can," George admitted.

"Well, you're quite different. Fred's hair is a shade darker, and he is slightly taller and leaner. George is about a quarter of an inch shorter and slightly more muscled. George's voice is also about half an octave higher," he explained. He didn't add that they smelt slightly different, because that would just be weird.

"Huh, look at the Forge."

"Someone pays attention Gred." Harry rolled his eyes.

"Can I say what I wanted to say?" he asked.

"If you must," Fred said, in a self-suffering kind of way with a dramatic sigh. Harry took a deep breath, steeling his nerves for what he was about to do. First was to tell them his feelings and see if there was a chance they would be reciprocated. Then to tell them he was a werewolf and would be stuck with him if they got into a relationship. Should be easy.

"Um, I've been kind of working myself out lately and, well, I'm gay. And I kinda have a crush on both of you. I just thought I should tell you. It's ok if you don't feel the same way," he blurted out. Romulus growled in his head at the thought of them not feeling the same way, and that Harry thought it would be ok.

Fred and George exchanged a look, before standing up and moving to either side of him. They engulfed him in a hug and Romulus was wagging his tail in delight at the contact of his mates. The twins finally backed off, sitting on their beds again.

"Well Harrykins," Fred began.

"We're glad you feel the same way," George finished. Harry looked between them in shock. They felt the same way.

"You feel the same way?" he asked, slightly disbelieving.

Of course, they feel the same way, idiotic human. They're mates. Romulus scolded him.

"Yeah," George replied.

"How long?"

"Since our seventh year, your fifth. But we saw how you looked at Cho and thought you were straight," Fred explained.

"And then you were with Ginny and we thought we didn't have any chance," George added.

"I was still working everything out. I had grown up being told that being gay was wrong and abnormal, so I guess I subconsciously tried to like girls to fix myself," he confessed. He ran his hand through his hair, staring at the floor, embarrassed. He soon found himself engulfed in a hug again. No words were said, but he could feel what they were trying to convey. The action alone told him that they would support him no matter what, and that it was ok to still be confused.

Tell them. They have feelings for us and should know what they are getting into, Romulus said. Harry couldn't help but agree with him on that.

"Uh, I'm really happy that you guys feel the same way, but there's something else as well," he said. The twins removed themselves from him and stood in front of him. He drew his wand, casting a few privacy spells, including muffliato. The twins both raised an eyebrow at the spells as he put his wand away.

"It's, uh, not something I want getting out. You're actually the first people I've told," he said sheepishly.

"You can tell us anything Harry," Fred said, uncharacteristically serious.

"Yeah, if its a secret, we'll keep it," George agreed.

"I don't know how else to say it, so I'll just say it." He took a deep breath. "I'm a werewolf." He turned his gaze to the floor and dropped the glamour over his eyes. He waited for their reaction.

"I don't know why you think that would change anything," George said. At least, Harry was pretty sure it was George, it was slightly harder to tell when he wasn't looking at them.

"Yeah, just because you become a wolf once a month doesn't change anything Harrykins," Fred added. Harry raised his head, meeting their gaze. They both looked slightly shocked at the change in eye colour but got over it pretty quickly.

"Not that I'm not honoured that you told us, but why tell us?" Fred asked.

"Yeah, why tell us before Ron or Hermione?" George asked.

"Because while it won't affect the others, it will affect you two." George and Fred looked at each other, confusion evident on their faces.

"Why?" they asked together.

"You're my mates," Harry replied bluntly. When they didn't reply, he explained further.

"You are the only two people I can be in a relationship with now. I needed to tell you because if we get into a relationship, you need to know that it will be to the end. Once it starts, you won't be able to back out. If we don't have a relationship, you are both free to become involved with whoever you want. But starting a relationship with me is a lifetime commitment."

"I don't know why you seem worried Harrykins."

"We literally told you that we've liked you for three, almost four years now."

"And you still think we won't want a lifetime relationship with you," they finished together. Harry blushed slightly, looking down at the ground.

"I just wanted to warn you," he started, only to be cut off with a pair of lips covering his. He was surprised for a moment, before he reciprocated the kiss. He felt someone move around behind him before another pair of lips started kissing the back of his neck. All too soon for Harry, Fred pulled away from his mouth and George left one last kiss on his neck before pulling away as well.

"We want this Harry," they confirmed. Harry smiled widely at that.

"I'm glad," he said.

"So, what else does being a werewolf include?" Fred asked, curious.

"Yeah, we know you are forced to transform every full moon and have golden eyes now, as well as mates, obviously. But what else?" George elaborated.

"Well, I have an inner wolf. His name is Romulus and he guides me through everything that is to do with being a werewolf. I can transform into a wolf any time at will, other than the new moon. Other than the transformation on the full moon, I'm normally in control of the wolf body. During the full moon Romulus takes over and our wolf instincts are much closer to the surface. I have enhanced senses, mainly hearing and smell, that stay with me all the time. That's pretty much it."

"Can we see your wolf?" George asked. Harry nodded slowly.

"Can you both turn around?" he requested. They both complied and Harry stripped down to his underwear. He knew that he would become more comfortable with them seeing his body as they got closer, but he wasn't ready for that, not yet. He concentrated on Romulus and was soon a wolf. He nudged George's leg, as he was closer, and both of them turned around.

"Your wolf is amazing," George said.

"The colour is amazing," Fred agreed. Harry gave a wolfish smile. In his wolf form the scents of his mates were much stronger than while human, and they were intoxicating. He moved between the twins, nudging their hands with his nose. They seemed to get the hint, placing their hands in his fur and patting him gently.

"So soft," Fred murmured. Harry grinned at that. Only his mates would ever get to pat him like this. He soon moved away from them, getting ready to transform back. He gestured his head towards the back wall. They seemed to get the memo, turning around again. He became human again, dressing himself quickly.

"You can turn around again," he said once he was dressed.

"So, how do you hide being a werewolf? Hermione has to of figured it out by now," George asked once they were facing Harry again.

"Well, the glamour on my eyes is the first thing," he said. Mentioning the glamour, he replaced it again, turning his eyes back to their original green.

"I'm planning on going to the muggle world and getting coloured contact lenses soon. Then I won't need a glamour or glasses. Anyway, I also sleep in my own room, the Room of Requirements. There is a door that leads onto a forest. I run in there every day, and it closes off from the room on the full moon. I don't think Hermione has worked out that I'm a werewolf, or if she has, she hasn't said anything." Fred and George both nodded. Harry was glad that they were taking it so well.

Chapter Text

The next day, Harry decided he was going to go get the contacts. He had almost forgotten to cast the glamour that morning and it was a close call. It would be easier once he needed to put the contacts in to see clearly; that way he wouldn't forget. He entered the kitchen, sitting down at the table where Mrs Weasley was setting breakfast. His mouth watered slightly at the smell of the bacon that had been placed on the table, along with the eggs and toast. Ron, Hermione and Ginny were already seated around the table and Harry slipped into the chair next to Ron.

"This looks good Mrs Weasley," Harry said as they all began to load their plates.

"Thank you dear. I'm just going to go wake the twins, feel free to start," she replied. Ron eagerly dug in, while the others ate with a few more manners. Soon enough, Mrs Weasley came down the stairs, followed by George and then Fred. George slipped into the seat next to Harry, while Fred sat next to George. Mrs Weasley sat down next to Ginny, and the three newcomers all helped themselves to the food.

"I'm planning on going into Muggle London today," Harry said as they ate.

"What for dear?" Mrs Weasley asked.

"I need to get my eyes checked as I haven't had the chance for a few years," he replied.

"I might come. It would be good to shop in the muggle area for a gift for my parents," Hermione said.

"We can make an outing of it then. I'd like to have a look around a muggle shopping area," Ron said. Harry inwardly groaned but nodded anyway.

"That will work. I was planning on leaving straight after breakfast," he agreed.

"What about you guys. Have any plans for the day?" Ron asked. Harry noticed the looks on his mates' faces and knew that he would have to watch where he stepped when they returned.

"Not much, no," George replied.

"Just the usual," Fred agreed. Hermione seemed to have noticed the same look Harry had, judging by her expression.

"I'll probably go for a fly until lunch," Ginny said.

"Sounds good. I'm done, so I'll wait for you two outside," Harry said, standing up from the table. He made his way to Ron's room, getting changed into suitable muggle clothes before heading to the bathroom to do his teeth. When he left the bathroom, he found Fred and George waiting for him. George grabbing him and dragged him into their room, while Fred closed the door behind them.

"Couldn't let you leave without saying goodbye," Fred said at Harry's questioning look. Fred moved forward first, pressing his lips firmly against Harry's. The kiss didn't last long, but as soon as Fred pulled away, George took his place. George's kiss was softer than Fred's, but Harry enjoyed them both immensely.

"Not complaining," Harry said when George pulled away. "Should I be worried about what you are planning on doing while we're gone?"

"You wound us dear Harrykins," Fred gasped, hand over his chest.

"As if we would prank our boyfriend," George agreed. Harry's heart fluttered at the last word. Boyfriend.

"Should I be worried for Ron or Hermione then?"

"Speaking about Ron and Hermione, they're probably waiting for you," George said.

"Yes, best be going," Fred agreed, pushing Harry out of the room.

"Didn't answer my question, but ok. Bye guys," he said. He waved and left the room, walking down the stairs and into the front garden. Hermione was already waiting, and Ron appeared not long after him.

"Ok, I'll apparate us close to the optometrist. I can't remember the name of the street, but I know what it looks like," he said. Hermione and Ron nodded, each taking hold of a hand. Harry concentrated on the optometrist that he had been to twice before and twisted slightly, apparating away.

They landed in an alley near the optometrist.

"So, I don't know how long I'll be. You two can go off together and meet back here in an hour? Is that enough time for you Hermione?" Harry asked.

"That should be fine. See you in an hour then," she replied. She left the alley, pulling Ron behind her. Harry waited a few minutes before exiting the alley. He turned right and approached the optometrist. He made sure that Hermione and Ron were walking the other way, and that there was no one around him, before he dropped the glamour on his eyes. He knew that the glamour would mess with the muggle equipment used to test eyesight, so couldn't wear it while in the shop.

He pushed the door open, a little bell ringing as the door shut. He saw different pairs of glasses all around the shop, different coloured frames and different shapes. Many of the glasses had no glass in them, while others had a premade prescription. He walked up to the counter, where a woman was writing in a book. She looked up as he approached, smiling at him.

"How can I help you today?" she asked.

"I just need a check-up on my eyes. And I was wondering if I could get some coloured contacts in the correct prescription so I can get rid of my glasses," he explained.

"That shouldn't be too hard. Now, have you come here before?"

"Yes, twice before. My results should be under Harry Potter," he supplied. She opened the book that she had been writing in, flipping through the pages until she reached him.

"Here you are. Yes, you are due for a check-up. Follow me." She led him through a door at the back of the shop, into a room with a few different machines. He sat at each machine, testing his eyes in many different ways. 30 minutes later, she finished writing in the book and looked up.

"Your eyesight hasn't changed, so the glasses you are wearing right now will continue working for you. You mentioned prescription coloured contacts. What colour were you wanting?"

"Would you be able to do a bright green?" he asked.

"That should be easy. We get requests or drastic colours such as purple or red, but they don't work for prescription. Green however, does. The contacts should be ready in two days," she said.

"Thank you. I'll be back in two days to pick them up then." He payed her for the test and left the shop, still having about 25 minutes to kill. He re-glamoured his eyes before wandering around the shops. He found a shop that would have a perfect Christmas gift for the twins. He entered the shop, leaving with a bag full of muggle pranks.

He met up with Ron and Hermione at the agreed time. Hermione had a few bags with her, while Ron had a bag of his own.

"How'd the eye test go?" Ron asked.

"Good. My eyesight hasn't changed, but I need to go back in 2 days to pick something up," he replied.

"What are you getting?" Hermione asked. Harry just shook his head. He wanted to keep his contacts a surprise. "We should head back then," she suggested. They all agreed, apparating back to the Burrow.

Harry allowed Ron to head up the stairs first, knowing that whatever prank the twins had set up would be either on the stairs or in Ron's room. He followed Ron into the room they were sharing and placed his bag on his bed. Ron had placed his bag at the end of his bed, before collapsing onto it. He leapt up again as soon as he hit the bed, a shriek escaping him.

"What's wrong Ron?" Harry asked.

"The bed feels like concrete," Ron replied. Harry shook his head, a small smile on his face. He pulled out his wand, undoing the spell that the twins had placed on his bed with a simple finite incantatem. Ron thanked him, collapsing on his bed again.

Ron had relaxed for about 30 seconds before a large tub appeared above his bed, emptying a sticky, slimy, glittering substance all over Ron and his bed. Harry couldn't help but burst out laughing at the look on Ron's face as he stood up. The substance had stuck all over him, making him looks like a cross between a piñata and disco ball. His bed was the same, apart for a human shape of cleanness. The twins had done a great job.

"What spell did you use to change the mattress?" Ron asked.

"Finite Incantatem." Ron nodded and pointed his own wand at the bed, saying the spell. Instead of undoing the prank, the glittery slime changed from silver and gold to a glaring mix of bright neon colours. The slime covering Ron changed too. Harry managed not to laugh too loud at Ron's predicament.

"I'm going to kill them," Ron muttered under his breath. Harry didn't comment, instead heading back downstairs to congratulate the twins on a great prank. When he entered the living room, he saw Hermione glaring at the twins, having met a similar fate to Ron.

"I like your new look Hermione. You match your boyfriend," he said. Hermione turned her murderous look on him and he winced slightly.

"And why don't you have a new look Harry?" she asked. Both twins gasped.

"As if we would prank Harrykins," Fred exclaimed.

"I mean, I was going to say I didn't collapse on my bed like Ron, but that works too," he replied, shrugging. Ron came down the stairs as he finished talking, glaring at the twins.
"Fix it," he demanded.

"Did you try Finite Incantatem?" Hermione asked. Harry noticed she obviously hadn't, seeing as how she was only silver and gold.

"Yes. Hence, I'm now neon," Ron growled out through gritted teeth.

"But your new looks suit you," George commented.

"You should probably change them back before your mum sees though. I mean, she probably wouldn't be impressed," he said.

"But Harrykins," Fred began.

"Fred, you know your mother won't appreciate it, no matter how good the prank is," he cut in.

"I guess you're right," George moaned. He and Fred pulled their wands out from their pockets. Fred pointed his wand straight at Hermione, while George pointed his at Ron. 
"Figere redintegro," they said together, waving their wands in the same movement for finite incantatem. The sparkly slime seemed to be pulled off both of them, leaving them looking as if it had never happened.

"Thank you," Hermione said, smiling at Fred as he put away his wand. Fred shrugged in response. He turned to Harry.

"So Harrykins, how did your appointment go?"

"It went fine. My eyesight hasn't changed, but I have to go back in two days to pick something up," he replied.

"Ooh, getting a new pair of glasses Harrykins?" George asked, even though he knew full well that Harry wanted contacts.

"You'll have to wait and see. Care for a game of two aside?" The three Weasleys nodded and Hermione agreed to commentate, so they all headed out to the makeshift Quidditch pitch in the yard, stopping by the broom shed on the way. 

Chapter Text

Two days later Harry managed to slip away to the muggle world to pick up his contacts without the others tagging along. At the optometrist the same woman who had helped him two days prior showed him how to put the contacts in and take them out. She also explained how long he could wear the contacts for and that he should take them out when swimming or sleeping. He was pleased with the colour of the contacts. They were a few shades off from his natural colour, before becoming a werewolf that is, but that was easily fixed. He could simply tell everyone that the contacts dulled his eyes a bit, if anyone asked. He apparated back to the Burrow and was immediately pulled into the twins room.  

"Hello mates," he whispered. George pulled him into a kiss and he happily returned it. George's tongue brushed against his lips and he parted them, allowing him access to his mouth. They eventually broke apart and Harry turned, grabbing his other mate and pulling him in. This time Harry parted his lips almost immediately and Fred's tongue eagerly slipped in. When they parted, Harry was panting slightly but extremely happy.

"You look good with contacts," Fred said, sitting on his bed.

"Your eyes seem brighter without the glasses," George agreed. Harry sat down next to Fred and George moved over to join them, sitting on Harry's other side. Harry pulled them close, hugging them tight. Romulus howled in his head, extremely happy with the close contact.

"What are we going to tell your family? Are you out to them?" Harry asked.

"No. We haven't had an opportunity to tell them," Fred replied with a sigh.

"And we're not sure if they would accept the fact that we're gay, especially because we're in a relationship with each other and a third boy," George added.

"Ron and Ginny seem accepting," he said.

"It's mum that we're not sure about," George replied.

"Yeah, she has an older, more reserved outlook on most things in life," Fred agreed. Harry squeezed them tightly.

"We don't have to tell them yet if you're not comfortable with it. I'm not out to anyone either." Fred and George leaned in, kissing a cheek each.

"Thank you," they whispered into his ears.

Harry placed his contacts on his trunk before heading downstairs and into the living room. Hermione was reading while Ron and Ginny played chess.

"Hey guys," he said from the doorway.

"Hey mate," Ron said, not looking up from the chess board, obviously deep in thought about his next move. Ginny looked up and did a double take when she saw him.

"Looks good Harry. It suits you," she said. Hermione looked up as well.

"Your eyes are much more visible now. It's going to take some time to get used to though," Hermione added. Ron made his move before looking up at Harry, who was still standing in the doorway.

"Where are your glasses mate?" he asked.

"Upstairs. I don't need them now that I have contacts," he explained. Ron nodded.

"Well, I think the glasses suited you, but if you prefer contacts then that's fine." Harry smiled and moved into the room, content to watch the game of chess.

Christmas soon arrived and Harry was awoken by Ron early in the morning.

"Come on Harry, wake up. It's Christmas. Presents," Ron said, shaking him. Harry didn't open his eyes, simply groaning in response. He had thought that Ron had grown out of this, but apparently Christmas was the one time that he threw his maturity out the window and acted like he had when he was eleven.

"Get off," he grumbled, blindly reaching out and pushing him away. Ron instantly was back by his side, shaking him again.

"Come on, get up." Harry grabbed for his wand on his bedside table. He pointed it roughly where he thought Ron was and shot a stinging jinx at Ron. He knew he had hit when Ron yelped and jumped back.

"You head down, I'll just get ready," Harry said, turning towards the wall and opening his eyes, rubbing the sleep out of them. He sat up, still facing the wall and reached for his glasses which had been next to his wand. He still needed them until he put his contacts in.

"Alright. Don't take too long," Ron said before leaving the room. Harry stood up and quickly got dressed. He grabbed the bag of contacts and moved over to the mirror by the door. He put his contacts in and headed downstairs, knowing Ron would think he had taken too long no matter how long he had taken.

He reached the living room and found almost all the Weasleys assembled there, a pile of presents in front of them. He moved over to a pile of presents with his name and sat down. Hermione and Ginny entered the room not long after he had sat down.

"Happy Christmas," everyone said. Ron was eagerly looking at his presents and Mrs Weasley seemed to get the gist.

"Ron, how about you open yours first," she suggested. Ron happily agreed, tearing the paper off the top gift. He moved through his pile, thanking people for the gifts as he opened them. They then moved around the circle opening the gifts. Hermione went after Ron and then Ginny. Mrs Weasley opened her small pile and Mr Weasley followed her. George went next opening his gifts, quickly followed by Fred

Harry was pleased to see a huge smile appear on George's face when he opened the gift from Harry. Fred similarly grinned when he opened the same gift. He was glad that they had liked his gifts. Harry went last, having been sitting on Ron's left.

He received the customary knitted sweater from Mr and Mrs Weasley, as well as homemade fudge. Ron had given him a large variety of sweets, as well as a picture of the DA that he had found from their fifth year. Hermione gave him a book on jobs in the ministry, telling him that she thought he would do well there, even if it wasn't with the aurors. Ginny had given him a blanket with a picture of a forest. He had received a small plant from Neville, along with a book about healing properties of plants. Luna had given him a hand-made bracelet with a wolf pendent hanging off it. Remus had given him a variety of Honeydukes chocolate, with a note saying that they were, without a doubt, the best type of chocolate. He opened his gift from his mates last. They had given him a large range of their products, with a note saying that they hadn't been released yet. There was another note within the gift as well and he blushed slightly as he read it.

To our amazing boyfriend. Never doubt our love to you, even when we aren't together. We don't regret the relationship we have, and we can't thank you enough for allowing us this relationship. Love from your mates and boyfriends, Gred and Forge.

"Thank you for the presents guys," he said after fighting the blush off his face. Mrs Weasley made them all put their gifts in their rooms and went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Harry gathered all his gifts and headed upstairs with Ron close behind him. Ron sat on his bed after placing his gifts on his desk and made Harry do the same.

Hermione and Ginny soon entered the room and closed the door.

"Spill," Ginny demanded.

"What?" he asked.

"Why did you blush after reading the note from Fred and George?" Ginny asked. She leaned against the wall arms crossed. Hermione sat down next to Ron and leant forward.

"I have no clue what you're talking about," he tried. He felt a blush creeping onto his face and did his best to prevent it from showing. He was unsuccessful.

"You're blushing," Ron observed. Harry sent another stinging jinx at Ron and he yelped as it hit him.

"Why are you blushing Harry?" Hermione asked.

"I may or may not be gay and have a crush on George and Fred," he admitted, flopping back on his bed.

"Have you told them?" Ginny asked.

"Would that change anything?" he asked, voice muffled from the pillow.

"Well, they've never had any girlfriends. I mean, they haven't had any boyfriends either, but what I mean is they might not be straight," Ron said. Harry shrugged. He didn't want to out his boyfriends and they had agreed that they would tell everyone by the end of the Christmas holidays.

"Come on, I bet breakfast is ready by now," Hermione said. Harry silently thanked her for saving him, quickly standing up and moving towards the door and downstairs. 
They spent the whole day together. They played quidditch and just flew together, even convincing Hermione to get off the ground. They finished the day with a massive snowball fight. It was one of the best Christmases that Harry had ever had. Mrs Weasley had even invited Remus over for Christmas dinner.

That night, Harry couldn't sleep. Romulus was restless. They hadn't transformed for a week, longer than they had ever gone without a transformation. Harry didn't like how restless Romulus was. It didn't bode well for the next full moon if he couldn't get out and shift soon. He had thought that being close to his mates would have helped, and it probably had. He had expected Romulus to become restless a lot sooner.

He slipped out of bed, quietly pulling on some clothes and grabbing his glasses. He quietly made his way out of Ron's room, doing his best not to make any noise and wake Ron. He made his was across the landing and started down the stairs. He stopped as he heard a door open. He turned to see George's head poking out of the door next to him. 
"Where are you going Harry?" George whispered.

"Outside. Romulus really needs a run. How did you know I was here?" he replied. Fred joined George at the door.

"We have an alert spell to let us know whenever someone is passing our room," Fred explained. Harry nodded.

"I need to keep going. The sooner I get out, the sooner I can transform and get back."

"We're coming with you," Fred decided.

"No, you're not. It's not safe for humans to be in the forest around your house at night," Harry protested.

"Yes, we are. And, we won't be human," George replied. Harry sighed and nodded, just wanted to get out and run. The twins slipped out of their room and all three of them headed out to the forest bordering the back of the yard. Harry stopped at the tree line.

"What do you mean you won't be human?" he asked. George didn't reply, instead swiftly changing and becoming a coyote. He raised his eyebrow.

"We became animagi after we left school. We didn't tell anyone, but we did register with the ministry, don't worry. George is a coyote and I'm a fox," Fred explained. Harry nodded and Fred changed into his fox form. Harry stripped and left his clothes and glasses at the base of a tree, before allowing his body to transform into that of a wolf. 
Once he was a wolf, he took off, Fred's fox and George's coyote following him. They ran through the forest side by side, weaving through trees and jumping over rocks and fallen branches. Half an hour later, they found themselves back where they started. Romulus was happy with the run, so Harry shifted back. Fred and George followed his lead as he started getting dressed.

"That was fun," Fred commented.

"It was. I enjoyed running with my mates. Romulus was very pleased as well."

"We should do it more often," George commented.

"I'd like that. But for now, we should head back inside." George and Fred agreed. They linked arms with Harry, Fred on his right and George on his left, and started walking back to the house.

Harry collapsed back onto his bed, grinning. That had been the best run he had had. He closed his eyes, allowing sleep to take him, images of running with his mates floating through his dreams. 

Chapter Text

The next day, Harry slipped into his mates room while Ron, Hermione and Ginny were busy outside. Fred and George were working on something, but both looked up when he closed the door.

"Hey Harry," George said, placing the object he was holding on the desk.

"How may we help our boyfriend today?" Fred asked, also placing an object on the desk.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt anything," he began. Fred waved him off.

"It's fine, just trying out some ideas. Did you want something?"

"Um, well, I was wondering, if you'd, um, let me, well, let me mark you?" he said nervously. Romulus had been whining at him to mark his mates since they had gotten together, but he didn't want to rush them.

"What does that mean?" George asked. He stood up and moved to hug Harry from behind. Harry relaxed slightly into the embrace.

"Well, it's a way for me to claim you as my mates," he said. "But it's ok if you're not ready for that, I don't want to rush you or anything." He looked down at his shoes. He heard Fred approaching but didn't look up. That changed when Fred lifted his face and gently kissed him.

"I wouldn't mind that. What happens?" Fred asked after pulling back.

"Well, I have to, uh, bite your neck. It leaves a mark on your back, and some of my scent on you. Other werewolves will know that you're mated to another werewolf," he explained. "And, you can't glamour them or anything."

"Do you want to do it now?" George asked, still hugging him. Harry smiled and nodded slightly.

"I'll mark Fred first, because he's older," Harry decided, somehow just instinctively knowing that fact. George released him from the embrace, and he stepped closer to Fred.

With Romulus guiding him, he started kissing Fred. When they needed air, he moved down to Fred's neck, kissing, and sucking at the skin there. He kept moving down his neck, trying to find the sweet spot. He found the right spot at the base of Fred's neck, a soft spot of skin. He sucked on that spot, causing Fred to moan in pleasure. He allowed his canines to lengthen slightly and ran them along the spot that he was about to bite. Fred moaned again. Harry kissed the spot again before sinking his canines into the skin. Fred gasped quietly, before sighing in a contented way. Harry withdrew his canines. He kissed and sucked at the spot, cleaning up the small amount of blood that had appeared. He ran his tongue against the bite mark and the holes healed, leaving only a hickey on his neck. He moved back up Fred's neck and kissed him again.

"Are you ok Fred?" he asked, pulling away from the kiss. Fred nodded.

"Your turn George." Harry turned and moved closer to George before capturing him in a kiss.

Romulus guided him again as he released George's lips and moved down his neck. He sucked and kissed the skin of his neck, moving slowly down his neck and to his shoulder. Harry found the sweet spot easier this time, the same spot at the bottom of the neck. He sucked and George moaned. His canines lengthened again, and he ran them over the sweet spot, teasing George. George moaned again and Harry took that as a sign that he was ready. He kissed the spot before sinking his canines into George's skin. A gasp escaped George's mouth followed by a contented sigh. Harry retracted his canines, licking the spot he had bitten and cleaning up the blood. Leaving just a hickey, he moved back up George's neck and kissed him again.

"Are you both ok?" he asked.

"That was amazing," George said, while Fred nodded in agreement.

"What will the mark look like?" Fred asked.

"I'm not sure. It will be something that connects all three of us though. Each werewolf's mark is unique."

"I'm sure it will be perfect no matter what it is," Fred said.

"Hopefully. It should show up tonight or tomorrow. I think I'm going to go find the others." Harry moved towards the door, but George stopped him.

"You don't think you can leave without saying goodbye, do you?" George asked. Harry shrugged. Before he knew it, he was kissed from both sides. Fred was kissing the back of his neck, while George kissed him on the lips. He pulled away from George and felt Fred move back a bit.

"Oh, and Hermione, Ron and Ginny know I'm gay and like you. Bye boys. I'll see you later," he said, slipping out of the door.

He headed downstairs and out into the garden. Ginny and Ron were flying, while Hermione leaned against a tree, book in hand. He sat down next to Hermione. She looked up as he plopped down next to her.

"How did your talk with the twins go?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"You obviously went to talk to the twins. You were nervous all morning and you blushed when you said that you would catch up with us," Hermione said. The way she said it was so matter of fact and he couldn't stop the heat that rushed to his cheeks.

"Ok, so maybe I went and talked to them," he admitted. Hermione fully closed her book, placing it on the ground. She turned to face him fully, her full attention on him.

"How did it go?" she asked. He blushed, looking down at his hands in his lap.

You aren't telling her what happened. Marking is private. Romulus growled.

I wouldn't dream of telling her. Not only is it a private matter, but they don't know I'm a werewolf. Romulus huffed in reply but didn't continue the conversation.

"Come on. Tell me," Hermione said. Ginny and Ron had apparently realised that an interesting conversation was going on and had landed. They both walked up in front of them, brooms in hand.

"What's going on. Why's Harry blushing?" Ron asked.

"He talked to the twins," Hermione revealed. He groaned, dropping his head into his hands as the blush spread to his neck. Ginny squealed.

"How did it go?" Ginny and Ron sat down too, and he knew he wasn't getting out of answering the question. But he didn't want to out his twins. That wasn't fair for them.

"I honestly thought we'd passed the gossiping stages of our lives," he said.

"Nah, this is one of the only forms of entertainment that we have," Ron replied. "So, how did it go?"

"I'm not getting out of this, am I?" he asked, even though he knew the answer.

"Nope," the three of them replied. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"Uh, it didn't end badly," he offered.

"But how did it go, exactly?" Ginny pressed. He sighed again.

"You know what, I'm not talking about this," he decided. He stood up, but Hermione grabbed his arm and pulled him back down. "Hermione."

"Stay? We won't ask," she requested. He sighed but nodded.

"So, what have you been doing while I was talking to George and Fred?"

"Well, Ginny and I were flying," Ron offered.

"I've been reading. I've managed to get through half my book," Hermione added.

"Feel free to continue what you were doing. I'm happy to just relax here." It took a few minutes to convince them, but soon, Ginny kicked of into the air, Ron close behind her. Hermione looked at him before nodding and picking her book up again. He stood up, reaching for the lowest branch on the tree. He pulled himself up onto the branch, climbing higher into the tree. He perched himself comfortably on one of the higher branches, reclining against the trunk of the tree. He watched Ron and Ginny fly above him through the leaves surrounding him. He just watched his friends enjoy themselves.

A while later, he smelt George coming closer. He looked down to the bottom of the tree and saw George approach Hermione.

"Hey, do you know where Harry is?" he asked.

"No clue. He was here, but he disappeared," Hermione replied.

"He's not in the house. If you see him, can you tell him that we're looking for him." Hermione nodded. George began heading back to the house when Harry moved. He climbed partially down the tree, before jumping to the ground.

"Did you want something George?" he asked casually, as if he hadn't just appeared from above them.

"Oh, we just wanted to show you something," George replied. He immediately had an idea of what they wanted to show him. He stared at George.

"You can tell them apart?" Hermione asked. Harry nodded. George moved closer, wrapping his arm around his waist.

"Of course, he can tell us apart. Anyway, mind if I steal my boyfriend?" Hermione squealed at his words.

"Boyfriend. You're dating?" Harry mock glared at George before turning to look at Hermione.

"Yes, we are. Did Harrykins not tell you?"

"No, I didn't because you said you weren't out yet," he replied, still facing Hermione.

"Oh yeah, forgot about that." He rolled his eyes and laughed.

"Congratulation you two. Anyway, feel free to take him," Hermione said, laughing. George pulled him away and Hermione turned back to her book, a large smile on her face. Harry laughed as George pulled him back to the house, half running with the speed he was going. They moved together through the house and up to the twins bedroom.

Fred was sitting inside the room already and looked up from what he was working on when the door opened.

"What did you want to show me?" he asked. Fred smirked at him before turning around and removing his shirt. George released his hand and did the same. Harry gasped as soon as he laid eyes on Fred's back. It was obvious what they had wanted to show him.

On Fred's right shoulder blade was a howling wolf. A fox was to the right of the wolf, seeming to lean on the larger animal. A coyote was sitting on the wolf's left side, pressed close to the wolf. The three animals were exact replicas of their animal forms. He turned to look at George's back, the same mark on his right shoulder blade. He couldn't believe how perfect the mark was.

Fred turned around to face him and Harry's eyes moved up and down Fred's topless torso, taking everything in.

"Like what you see?" he asked, a teasing note in his voice.

"Definitely," Harry agreed. He felt George take his hand again and turned to see his other mate, now with a top again, smiling lovingly at him.

"What do you think of the marks?" George asked. He squeezed George's hand reassuring.

"They're perfect." 

Chapter Text

Harry sat at the dinner table in between his twins. George was on his left and Fred was on his right. He was a bit nervous because they had agreed to tell everyone that they were dating right after dinner. Hermione had found out three days ago but hadn't said anything. She had asked him about it a bit but had promised not to tell anyone else. 
They finished dinner and were all just casually chatting around the table. He took hold of Fred and George's hands under the table and gave them reassuring squeezes. They both squeezed back. He saw Fred check his watch out of the corner of his eye.

"Three, two, one," Fred murmured under his breath. Right after he said one, glitter rained down from the ceiling. Everyone around the table started laughing before their attention was brought to a large rainbow flag that had appeared at the empty end of the table. The laughter slowly died as all the attention was turned to the resident pranksters of the family.

"What's the flag for boys?" Mr Weasley asked.

"That's our pride flag," George said, voice wavering slightly from nerves.

"We're gay," Fred said. His voice was strong and confident, but his posture betrayed his nerves, slumping slightly in his chair. There was silence around the table for a few minutes before Ron laughed slightly.

"You owe me a galleon Gin," he said, hand outstretched. Ginny groaned but handed the gold coin over.

"You bet on us?" Fred said, amusement creeping into his voice.

"Oh yeah. I said you'd come out this year. Ginny said you wouldn't come out until after New Years," Ron replied with a shrug.

"I was only a day off too," Ginny groaned.

"Can't say I blame you. We would have done the same," George admitted. Harry noticed that Mrs Weasley still hadn't said anything, and he turned to face her. She looked shocked and had tears running slowly down her face. He had hoped she would be accepting, but now he wasn't so sure.

"Mrs Weasley? Are you ok?" he asked hesitantly.

"How ... How long? How long have you ... have you known?" she asked through her silent sobs. Fred and George exchanged glances and he slipped his hand into theirs again, giving a reassuring squeeze.

"Since the Yule Ball," Fred said quietly. Harry watched as Mrs Weasley stood up and rushed over to them, pulling them both into a hug from behind.

"I'm so sorry that you didn't think you could tell us until now," she sobbed out, hugging them tight. He released their hand and they turned to return their mother's hug. The three of them just stood there for a while, simply hugging.

Eventually, George pulled away and Fred followed. They smiled at their mum, before retaking their seats on either side of him. Harry watched Mrs Weasley move back to her chair, sitting down with an expression of sorrow evident.

"If it makes you feel better, it wasn't really your reaction that made us keep it a secret," Fred offered.

"What else made you hide who you are?" Mr Weasley asked.

"Well, it didn't really matter until now," George said.

"Why?" Ginny asked, leaning forward across the table.

"Well, we have a boyfriend now," they said together.

"Who?" Ron asked. Harry smiled at his best friend.

"Me."

It took a while for everyone to calm down after that revelation, but nothing bad came from it. Ron and Ginny were happy that he had talked with them and it had gone well, and Ron handing the galleon back to Ginny, while Mrs Weasley was still sad that they hadn't thought that they could tell her. Mr Weasley simply seemed stunned, but that might have been because of the shock of everything happening so fast.

New Years came the next day and he was excited to enter the New Year with his mates, his boyfriends, at his side. Everyone staying at the Burrow was gathered outside, bundled up to withstand the cold air. He was leaning against Fred's chest, Fred's arms wrapped around him. George appeared from in the house, clutching a large bag of fireworks for the New Year's display.

He watched as George moved around the yard, setting the fireworks up at specific spots to create the best display and the most mayhem. Ten minutes later, George appeared next to them, bag empty of fireworks.

"All set up Forge?" Fred asked.

"All set Gred," George replied. Harry looked at his watch, wondering how much longer they had. It was 10 to 12.

"So, who gets the midnight kiss?" he asked, a cheeky note creeping into his voice.

"What do you mean, boyfriend of ours?"

"Well, most couples exchange midnight kisses, to welcome in the New Year. So, who gets the midnight kiss?"

"All of us," they decided. Harry laughed. He had no idea how they planned to do that, but he didn't doubt that they would make it work.

He looked at his watch again. 11:59.

"Ready?" he asked. Everyone gathered closer together, watching the count down that Hermione had conjured up.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one." Fred and George both flicked their wands and fireworks exploded all around the backyard, lighting up the sky. He barely had time to admire the fireworks before he was captured in a kiss. It lasted a perfect amount of time and before he knew it, a different pair of lips were against his. When George pulled away, he turned around, leaning against him.

He watched the fireworks decorate the sky. There were Catherine wheels and dragons that he remembered from fifth year. There were firework that simply exploded like muggle ones, expect that as they reached the ground they would explode again. There were ones that wrote phrases such as Happy New Year and Bring on 99. And there were simple shapes, such as hearts.

"These are amazing," he breathed, just loud enough for Fred and George to hear.

"We like to think so."

"We are pretty amazing after all."

"Yes, you are very amazing."

Before Harry knew it, it was time to go back to Hogwarts. He was going to miss his boyfriends while he was at school, but they had agreed to meet up every Hogsmeade weekend. While he knew Romulus was going to be more agitated for the first few days away from George and Fred, he hoped that daily runs would make up for it.

He gave Fred one last kiss before turning to George and doing the same. He waved goodbye before apparating away to catch the train back to Hogwarts.

Remus was concerned. He was sure that there was another werewolf in the castle. But four full moons had passed and there had been no additional person in the hospital wing in the surrounding days. Then the scent of a werewolf had disappeared when the students left for the Christmas holidays. And he knew he wasn't imagining it now that it had disappeared. Then, he went to the Burrow for Christmas dinner, as Molly had invited him. And the scent of the werewolf was back. It was the same scent as the one from the castle.

That was even more concerning. He knew all four of the possible candidates and would have thought that they would tell him if they had been turned. He could have helped them. He knew it had to be either Ron, Ginny, Hermione or Harry that was the werewolf. Because they were the only ones that were at Hogwarts and the Burrow.

He had immediately ruled Harry out. Even if Harry hadn't told any one else, Harry would have told him. Harry was his cub. He would know if his cub was a werewolf. And Ron and Ginny were out. If one of them had been turned, Molly and Arthur would know and would have told the school. But Hermione didn't seem likely either. She was muggleborn and wouldn't have been exposed to any magical creatures while alone. Would she?

He sank into his chair, head in his hands. It was so confusing. He just couldn't work out who the werewolf could be. There was a knock on the door, and he lifted his head off his hands enough to call the person in. Horace Slughorn walked in, holding a goblet with blue steam rising from it.

"Your wolfsbane Remus," Horace said, handing the goblet over.

"Thank you, Horace. You have no idea how much this helps." He excepted the goblet, taking a sip and shuddering. He would never get used to the taste.

"I wish I could help with the taste."

"I can deal with the taste; it is just an unfortunate side effect. The gains from the potion are worth it. I just wish that whoever the other werewolf is would tell us. The transformations without wolfsbane are horrible." He sighed, taking another sip.

"You are still sure that there is another werewolf here?"

"Yes. Their scent disappeared over the holidays and was back at the feast. I wish I knew how they are hiding it." Horace nodded in agreement.

"I'll leave you to it then. I have a few potions that I need to complete for Poppy, otherwise she will have my hide. See you at breakfast." Horace left the room, leaving him to his thoughts and horrid potion. He continued sipping the brew, pondering who the other werewolf could be.

Chapter Text

Harry groaned as he sat up, slowly casting a tempest. He jumped out of bed when he saw the time, realising he had overslept. His run the previous night had been a lot longer, harder, and faster than usual and he had been exhausted when he collapsed into bed. He wasn't really surprised that he had missed his alarm. He pulled his uniform on quickly, grabbing his glasses, not wanting to rush his contacts. He grabbed his bag, glad that he had brought his books to his room the previous night, and ran out of the room, hastily glamouring his eyes as he went.

He slowed as he reached the Great Hall and walked inside. He sat down next to Hermione, grabbing a few pieces of toast. He ate quickly, taking a piece of toast with him as they headed to their Defence class.

"Where have you been?" Hermione asked as they walked through the halls.

"Overslept. Thanks for waiting."

"Of course, mate. What's with the glasses?"

"Contacts take too long, I'll put them in during break. My choice was either contacts or breakfast. I'd rather breakfast." Ron made a noise of agreement as they reached the classroom, slipping inside and taking their seats just as the bell rang.

"Good morning class. I hope we all had a good Christmas. I thought that we would spend this lesson recapping on everything we covered last term. We'll start with werewolves. Can anyone tell me what jobs are barred to werewolves?"

Remus looked around the room, noticing all the raised hands. However, he wasn't in the practice of choosing those with raised hands during revision.

"Harry?" Harry looked up at him and Remus thought that Harry's eyes flickered golden for a moment. The same colour as his own eyes. But when he looked again, his eyes were the same green that they always were.

"Werewolves are unable to hold any job at the ministry. If they work at the ministry before being bitten, they will lose their job after being turned. Any job that is controlled by the ministry, such as reporters for the Daily Prophet, Healers, or lawyers, are legally not allowed to have a werewolf on the staff. However, due to the stigma against werewolves, most jobs don't hire werewolves even while they are legally allowed to." Remus took in Harry's defeated image as he spoke, his shoulders slumped slightly and his voice more monotone than normal.

"Correct. Now, can anyone tell me about education laws concerning wizards who were turned before they were eleven?"

Throughout the rest of the class, he kept an eye on Harry. While they discussed werewolves, he was sure that Harry had a defeated air around him and looked like he was partially zoned out. Occasionally when he would glance at his cub, he was sure that his eyes were golden, only to look green the next second. However, when they moved onto vampires, Harry seemed to liven up a bit and return to his normal self.

"Right, who wants to duel?" he asked, clapping his hands together. Everyone eagerly stood and he moved the tables and chairs to the side of the room, a duelling platform appearing at the front in place of his desk.

"Harry and Draco, would you like to go first?" Both boys nodded and moved forward, climbing onto the platform, pulling their wands from their cloak pockets as they went. He hadn't paired these two up before and was eager to see how they went. They were two of the best duellers in the class and he had no clue who would win. The two boys faced each other, wands in front of their faces.

"Scared Potter?" Draco asked, a slight smirk on his face.

"You wish," Harry replied, a similar smirk playing on his lips. Their classmates laughed slightly, although he had no clue why. Harry and Draco turned, taking three steps away from each other before turning. He raised his wand, sending green spark between them, signalling them to start.

He watched them send spells back and forth, observing their techniques as he always did. Draco relied on shields, while Harry dodged all the spells sent his way. He hadn't noticed before, but Harry's reflexes seemed quicker than humans could be. Almost inhuman.

He shook that thought out of his head as Draco sent out a chain of stunners and disarmers as Harry cast the same link. Both boys were surrounded by spells and both were hit, two wands flying in an arc, passing each other in the air. Harry caught Draco's wand a moment before Draco caught his, sending off a stunner. Draco managed to block it just in time and they continued duelling, somehow now using each others' wand.

Eventually he called a stalemate, allowing other pairs to get up and duel. But his thoughts kept going back to all the things that he had noticed about Harry during that lesson that didn't add up.

Harry was excited for the weekend. Even though it had only been one and a half weeks of school, they had a Hogsmeade weekend and he was looking forward to seeing Fred and George. However, it was a full moon that Friday, so he just hoped that he wouldn't be too tired to enjoy the day with his boyfriends.

He woke up on Saturday and went about his pre-moon routine or healing any injuries he had accumulated. It didn't take long to put healing creams over all his scratches. He watched them close over and fade slightly so that they seemed a few years old. Werewolf scratches always scarred, but thanks to the healing creams and his fast healing, they didn't seem new for very long.  

As soon as the carriage stopped at the outskirts of the village, Harry jumped out. Ron and Hermione laughed at his enthusiasm but didn't stop him as he headed straight towards Zonkos, the determined meeting place. As soon as he spotted his mates, he ran at them, embracing them tightly. He received two kisses, one on each cheek, along with a firm hug in return. They eventually let go and saw Ron and Hermione reach them, having casually strolled through the crowds rather than running like he had.

"Hey Fred, George," Hermione said, smiling.

"Hello Hermione. Hey Ronnikins," Fred said.

"Been looking after our boyfriend?" George added.

"I can look after myself, thank you very much," he said with a pout, crossing his arms in a fake annoyed way.

"Of course, you can." He received a kiss on the top of his head, and he laughed.

"You should have seen him in DADA at the start of the week. We were revising duelling and Lupin paired him with Malfoy. It was incredible. It ended in a stalemate," Ron said, pointedly ignoring the chaste kisses that were being exchanged between the boyfriends.

"We'll leave you to it then. Are we still meeting for lunch?" Hermione asked. Harry nodded, waving goodbye as Hermione and Ron headed towards Honeydukes.

"Where to first?" he asked, turning towards his boyfriends.

"Well."

"We wanted to show you a something."

"We feel you'll like it."

"Lead the way then," he said. Fred looped arms with him from the right and George did the same on the left and they led him through the crowds. They reached an empty building near the outskirts of the village. Not as far out as the Hogs Head, but close.

"What's this?" he asked as they stopped outside the empty building.

"This is the new premises of Weasley Wizard Wheezes," George said with a grand flourish.

"We figured that it would be so much better if the students could visit the shop during Hogsmeade weekends, rather than having to resort to owl order," Fred added.

"Brilliant."

Remus sat at his table in the Three Broomsticks, sipping his butterbeer. He was one of the teachers who had been chosen to chaperone today, to make sure that the students were safe, despite the fact that the full moon was only the night before. He was casually looking around the pub when a scent hit his nose. A werewolf and their mate. He sniffed again, noticing that it was three scents, not just two, although two of them were extremely similar.

He turned towards the door just in time to see Harry enter, arm in arm with the Weasley twins. Even though he couldn't pinpoint exactly where the werewolf was, he could tell that the twins were mated to a werewolf. And it was a recent mating because they hadn't been mated when he visited over Christmas.

He subtly observed them as they sat down at a table with Hermione and Ron. Harry was sitting between the twins, an arm around each of them. But surely, they would have told him they were mated to someone, right?

Neville, Luna, and Ginny entered the pub as well, joining the table that he was watching. He continued sipping his drink as he watched them all laugh and talk. Eventually, Fred and George stood up, both kissing Harry on the cheek before moving towards the counter.

Things just weren't adding up.

That evening, he sat in his office, trying to work out everything. His thoughts kept circling back to Harry and how he seemed different. Just slightly different.

He seemed downcast when talking about laws around werewolves and his gaze slightly unfocused. How his eyes had flickered between green and gold during one of the classes, as if they were under a glamour. How his reflexes were almost inhuman. He was one of the four people who he thought were the most likely candidates to be a werewolf, however much he wanted to deny it. And he seemed to be dating the twins. He wouldn't have a problem with that, except the twins were clearly mated to a werewolf.

And then, everything clicked.

Harry began packing his stuff up after a brilliant DADA class. They had been discussing patronuses, how they worked, how to cast one, what they protected against, etc. Remus had shown them his and had even promised that they would start learning how to cast one during the rest of the week, even though it wasn't an expected part of NEWTs. And who would have guessed that Remus' Patronus would be a big, shaggy dog. Almost like Sirius' animagus.

"Harry, stay behind please. I would like a word." He looked up from his bag and gave Remus a quick nod to show he would, before turning back to his bag. He closed it, slinging it over his shoulder and moving towards the front of the class. The bell rang and his friends shot him concerned looks as they hung around the door.

"He's not in trouble. I just wanted to discuss something with him," Remus said. This seemed to reassure his friends, as they left the classroom.

"How can I help you Professor?" he asked, hoping that it only had something to do with class. Remus cast a few spells around the room, ones he recognised as privacy and silencing spells.

"Well, I need to ask you something and I ask that you don't lie." He met Remus' eyes and nodded slowly, unsure about what he was going to ask.

"Are you a werewolf Harry?" He blinked. How had he worked that out? He had been so careful to hide it.

"Why would you think that?" he asked slowly. He didn't deny it, knowing he had promised to not lie. But he didn't want to confirm. Not really.

"Well, last week, I was sure that your eyes flickered gold a few times during class and your reflexes are almost too good for you to be fully human. And I noticed over the weekend that you seem to be dating the twins, who I also know are mated to a werewolf," Remus explained. He sighed, looking down at the floor.

"Yeah, I'm a werewolf, I have been since the end of July. Fred and George are my mates," he admitted, running his hand through his hair.

"How many people know?"

"Um, three. You, George and Fred."

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" He looked up to meet Remus' eyes.

"Because I didn't want anyone to treat me differently. I'm still the same me. I didn't want anymore attention. And, I figured that if I could hide it, then it would be easier to find work." He waited patiently in front of Remus as he looked him up and down.

"How have you been hiding it?" Remus finally asked.

"I have my own room so that they don't question why I disappear once a month. It's in the Room of Requirements and it provides a door into a forest that locks for full moons. I have healing creams in the bathroom for when Romulus goes overboard. And I was glamouring my eyes after they changed. Over the holidays I got contacts and made sure they were coloured, so I didn't forget to glamour my eyes, or in case the glamour broke for some reason," he explained.

"Romulus?" Remus asked, raising an eyebrow.

"My wolf. He's been really good and explained everything to me about being a werewolf."

"Why didn't you tell me cub?" He looked down at his feet, not wanting to hurt his remaining father figure with the reason.

"I was going to. But, after Romulus explained everything, I figured it would be worse for me if you tried to help me." He ran his hand through his hair again, still determinedly staring at his shoes.

"Cub, look at me." When he didn't look up, Remus tried again, trying to use his wolf's power to command him. Romulus growled in the back of his mind.

How dare a Beta try to command an Alpha, Romulus growled. Romulus continued growling, causing a soft growl to emit from his throat.

"Oh, you have a powerful wolf. I'm sorry for the disrespect," Remus said. His voice was surprised, but also quite respectful.

"It's ok Remus. Romulus is quite a powerful Alpha, but you didn't know." He looked up, seeing Remus with his head bowed in a respectful way. Remus slowly raised his head.

"What do you mean that it would be worse for you if I tried to help? I would never hurt my cub."

"You supress your wolf. I accept mine," he said simply.

Chapter Text

Remus stared at the alpha standing in front of him, brow scrunched in confusion.

"What do you mean Harry?" he asked. Harry stared at him and he fought not to drop his gaze from the powerful stare that Harry had.

"Ask your wolf. I have to go; I don't want to be late for Transfiguration. And please don't tell anyone, I don't need anyone knowing." Harry turned around and left the room. Remus just stood there, staring at Harry's retreating back. He was full of questions, but Harry obviously wasn't willing to answer them.

And what had he meant when he said to ask his wolf? Moony was only present around the full moon, wasn't he? Moony only existed when he was a wolf or the few days surrounding the transformation when he was close to the surface. Right?

Harry walked into McGonagall's classroom, dumping his bag next to his chair as he sat down. His thoughts were whirling around in his head. Everything Remus had said was at the forefront of his mind and he was replaying the conversation over and over again. He had hoped he could graduate without anyone knowing and find a job somewhere where people wouldn't ask questions. He'd probably end up working with the twins, he was already their silent partner and he already knew that they didn't care.

He had tried his hardest to hide it, and yet, Remus had worked his secret out. Admittedly, if anyone were going to work it out, it would be fellow werewolves. Especially if they found out he was dating people who were already marked. That was an obvious give away.

He pulled his thoughts away from the conversation with Remus and back to the present. He focused back on McGonagall as she explained human transfiguration when it came transfiguration including animal parts.

"Transfiguring a part of yourself into that of an animal is much harder than just transfiguring your appearance to be different as you are changing the make up of your body. One example of partial self-transfiguration with animals is a shark head, which we saw Viktor Krum use on the second task of the Triwizard Tournament. A full transfiguration is much harder than a partial transfiguration and should never be attempted on yourself. Transfiguring yourself into an animal is much different than changing into an animagus form. Can anyone tell me why?" As usual, Hermione's hand shot into the air. However, the class was double the size it used to be, and McGonagall chose someone from Ginny's year.

"When someone is transfigured into an animal, everything about them becomes that of an animal, even their instincts and thoughts. The longer they spend as the animals, the less they will remember about being human. As it is, as soon as they are transfigured, they will forget how to do magic until they are transfigured back. An animagus however, while gaining the animal instincts, retains everything about them that makes them human."

"Correct. Can anyone think of any instances where they have seen someone fully transfigured into an animal?" Harry's mind instantly went back to their fourth year and Malfoy the Great Bouncing Ferret. Ron's hand was in the air.

"Yes Mr Weasley?"

"In our fourth year, Professor Moody turned Malfoy into a ferret," Ron offered. Malfoy, who was in the class, grimaced at the memory, while a few people laughed, remembering the incident.

"Mr Malfoy, would you be able to describe what that was like?"

"Well, it was incredibly weird and distressing because I wasn't expecting it. But at the same time, it felt perfectly normal, like I was meant to be a ferret. And thank you for the reminder Weasel, I had almost forgotten that incident."

"Thank you, Mr Malfoy." He zoned out slightly as McGonagall continued to talk about how the transfiguration was different to an animagus transformation and a werewolf transformation. His thoughts just kept going back to Remus. Would he tell anyone? Would he be able to talk to his wolf, or was his wolf too supressed? He was brought out of his thoughts by the bell. He hadn't realised how unfocused he had been. He grabbed his bag and headed out of the classroom and back to the common room. He had a free period next and figured he should start on his essay for Remus.

Ron plopped down on the chair next to him as he pulled out a piece of parchment from his bag.
"What are you working on mate?"

"I'm going to start on the Patronus essay. I feel it will be easy for me, considering I can cast one and I taught how to cast it too."

"Do you reckon you could help me with it?"

"Yeah. But you can already cast one too, so you shouldn't have much trouble." Ron nodded in agreement. By the time Hermione showed up so they could head to lunch together, they had both finished their essays.

Two weeks later, Remus asked him to stay behind after class again.

"Ok, Harry, I've thought a lot about what you said, and I still can't work out what you meant when you said that you accept your wolf while I supress mine. And what did you mean by ask Moony. I mean, Moony is only present around the full moon."

"Yeah, that is exactly what I meant by you supress your wolf. Romulus is always around for me. He's always in my mind, able to talk to me and offer advice about everything. With you, I presume it's because you were bitten so young and didn't know any better, you supress your wolf and push him away from you. That's why your full moon transformations are so painful and exhausting, because Moony is always pushed away and not given the chance to be free. Romulus and I are always talking, and he gets to run most days, meaning he can control himself on the full moon, even with the heightened senses. Which is also how I am able to hide the fact that I am a werewolf because I don't need to take the wolfsbane potion to keep my mind during transformations," he explained.

"How can I fix that?" Remus asked. Harry thought for a moment, before realising he had no clue.

Any ideas Romulus?

He could try to transform each day and talk to Moony. And stop taking the wolfsbane potion, if he tries to accept his wolf, that will be a big problem.

Thanks Rom.

"Well, Romulus suggested trying to transform each day and to try talking to Moony. Also, you should stop taking the wolfsbane potion because that will interfere with you trying to accept Moony, as the wolfsbane is designed to push the wolf back even further, which is how it lets you keep your mind."

"I ... I don't know about that. I mean, transforming is extremely painful. I don't think I could do that, not every day. And the other professors wouldn't appreciate me not taking the potion," Remus replied slowly. He paused for a moment, debating his idea over in his head.

"You could come to my room and transform with me. It might help to be around another wolf. And you could join me on the full moon," he offered.

"Where is your room?"

"Room of Requirements. Just ask for my room and knock." Remus nodded.

"I might take you up on your offer. What time should I come?"

"Just before curfew. I have to go now; Transfiguration starts in five minutes." He picked his bag up. He had just reached the door when Remus spoke again.

"Harry? Thanks for your help. I'll see you later." He nodded to Remus, smiling, before turning around and heading to Transfiguration.

That night, Harry had closed his door and sat down on his bed when a knock came. He stood up again, opening the door and letting Remus in. He closed the door behind the older man and watched Remus looking around the room.

"This is a nice room. What's through that door?" He looked at the door Remus was pointing to and smiled.

"That's the door to the forest. Come take a look." He led Remus through the door, sitting down on one of the rocks while Remus just stood there, looking around the forest.

"I run in here most days. Romulus really likes it." Remus nodded, looking a little absentminded.

"Human form?"

"Wolf form, actually." Remus turned to look at him.

"How would you recommend trying to transform?" Harry thought for a while, trying to remember how he had willingly transformed for his first time.

"Well, I thought back to how I transform on full moons, how my body changes. I allow Romulus to come to the front of my mind and push through. It's kind of hard to explain more than that. I can show you," he offered. Remus nodded and he quickly stripped, folding his clothes, placing them on the rock he had just been sitting on. He stepped back and knelt down. He withdrew his control, allowing Romulus to come to the front of his mind and body. His body started to change, and, in a minute, he was a wolf. He looked up at Remus who was staring at him.

"Your wolf is beautiful, cub." He gave Remus a wolfy grin and Remus smiled back. Remus took a big breath and started to strip down to his underwear. Harry watched as he slowly became a wolf. The transformation seemed extremely painful; his claws scratching his skin as he twisted and turned, his body changing. Over 20 minutes later, a second wolf stood in front of him, panting from exertion.

The wolf in front of him collapsed in front of him, his head resting on his paws. Harry took this chance to observe Remus' wolf, Moony. He hadn't gotten a good look at him during third year, mainly because he was trying to not die and trying to save Sirius. Moony's fur was a dark gray, a lighter gray on his stomach. His eyes glowed golden, standing out against his darker fur. He sat down next to the older wolf, just happily waiting while Moony caught his breath.

Harry was actually impressed that Remus had managed to transform on his first try, especially considering it was about 2 weeks until the full moon and the new moon had been two days ago. Moony eventually staggered to his feet and transformed back into a human. The transformation back to human was quicker than to wolf but seemed just as painful. Remus stood there, bent over, hands on his knees. He didn't even bother getting dressed, instead just standing there, panting. Harry transformed back to human, getting dressed before he sat down, waiting for Remus to say something.

Remus eventually stood straight and dressed slowly. Harry could see him wincing as he pulled his clothes on.

"That was painful," he said, sitting down next to him.

"It will get easier the more you do it. Do you have any injuries that need healing?" he said.

"No. A few scratches, but nothing as bad as a full moon," Remus assured him.

"I have potions and salves if you need any." Remus seemed to consider the offer.

"Thank you for the offer, cub, but I'll be fine." Harry looked at his watch, standing up when he saw the time.

"It's quarter past eleven, you should probably head back to your room. I also need to get to bed, I have charms first thing and I have a test that I should probably be well rested for." He opened the door for Remus, stepping out of the forest after him. He waved goodbye to Remus, closing the door and watching as he headed back to his office. Wiping the map again, he stripped and allowed Romulus to turn him into a wolf again.

Once he was a wolf again, he settled down on his wolf bed, curling up in a ball a falling asleep, his mind no longer whirling over what Remus would do like it had for the past 2 weeks.

Chapter Text

Two weeks later, Remus slipped into his room, just like he did every night. He had changed the room slightly, making it so that Remus was able to open the door as well. They spent every night together, running as wolves and developing a pack bond. It was easier than starting from scratch, considering he had been Moony's cub even before being bitten. In just two weeks, Remus was able to transform at will with relative ease.

"Evening Moony. Are you ready for tonight?" That night was the February full moon, the first that Remus would be spending with him.

"I guess. I still don't feel that I will be safe without the wolfsbane though cub."

"You'll be fine. Even if you don't keep your mind, Moony knows me and Rom, and we will be sealed in the room; you won't be able to hurt anyone."

"But I could still hurt you," Remus protested.

"It will be fine Remus. The worse you and Moony can do is scratches and I have potions for that." Remus ran his hand through his hair, sighing.

"I guess you're right. I'm still uneasy though."

"That's fine. Shall we head in?" Remus nodded and they both stripped, leaving their clothes in separate piles on the desk. The moved into the forest, the door sealing behind them in preparation for the night ahead.

"You didn't actually tell me; what have you been doing with the wolfsbane that Slughorn brings you?" Remus sat down on his favourite log, Harry sitting on a rock nearby.

"Well, I always drink it alone, so I've just been vanishing it. I can't really tell him to stop making it, because then I would have to explain everything and I don't want to out you, cub." Harry nodded, that made sense. They sat in a comfortable silence, waiting for the moon to begin rising. As soon as Harry noticed the moon peaking over the horizon, he moved off his rock into a crouching position, Remus following his lead.

They both remained crouched, waiting for the moonlight to hit them. The rays of light hit Harry first, hitting Remus just seconds later. They both began to transform. Within 2 minutes, Romulus stood in the clearing, waiting for Moony to finish the transformation. 5 minutes after he began shifting, Moony stood, fully transformed. Romulus gestured towards the forest ahead of them and together, they took off running.

They spent hour simply bounding together through the trees, playfighting and roughhousing around. Eventually, both Romulus and Moony seemed to tire out slightly, slowly, and calmly making their way back through the forest to the point they started. Romulus flopped to the ground first, Moony soon following and lying down next to him. They just lay there, relaxing in the peaceful woods.

The last beams of moonlight disappeared from the sky and both Moony and Romulus began to change back to their respective human forms. Remus and Harry continued to lay on the ground for a little while, before pushing themselves up off the floor and making their way over to their respective seats, Harry to his rock and Remus to his log.

"That was one of the best moons of my life," Remus commented once they were both seated, waiting for the sun to rise and the door to open again.

"Oh? What would top this?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The November moon of my fifth year. That was the first full moon after they completed their animagus transformations." Remus eyes glazed slightly, as if he was seeing something else; he probably was.

"What did you do?" he asked, leaning forward slightly, resting his head in his hands, elbows on his knees.

"They came in after I transformed. It didn't take as long as we thought it would for Moony to get comfortable around them. He, he already knew them, their scents. We were a pack and he wouldn't hurt them, not while they were animals. Padfoot and Moony roughhoused a little bit, but Prongs broke it up before we did any damage. We just hung around the shack. It wasn't what we did that made it a memorable moon. It was the fact that I had company, that I wasn't going to be alone during the time that used to be torture." Harry watched as Remus eyes gained a slight gleam to them as he retold the memory.

"I can understand why that would be your favourite moon," he replied softly. Remus gave him a small, tired small. They remained in silence after that, simply waiting for the sun to come up. Soon, the first rays of sunlight appeared on the horizon and both men stood, moving over to the wall that would soon have a door. The door melted into appearance and they both slipped through, shutting it behind them, closing the room off from the forest. A second bed had apparently appeared during the night, but neither man questioned it. Instead, they both lay down on a bed, happy to try and sleep until they had to be up.

"I have an alarm set for 7," he told Remus. Remus made a noise, acknowledging the information. Harry didn't give it much thought, instead simply closing his eyes and slipping into dreams that seemed extremely like the night they had just had.

The rest of the term passed quickly and before he knew it, it was the Easter holidays. The few full moons that had passed during the term had been amazing. He and Remus were now a pack of two, him the Alpha and Remus the Beta. After their pack bond had fully formed and solidified, they had been able to work out how to use the pack mind link. It allowed them to talk to each other through their minds, but only in wolf form.

Almost every night they went for a run together, and full moons were no different. Some nights, they even snuck out to the forbidden forest to hunt. Hunting in wolf form was amazing. The rush of adrenaline was so different from simply running or playing. The thrill of the chase was exhilarating and the feeling of accomplishment when they successfully caught their prey was amazing.

Unfortunately, just like every year, the Easter holidays were nowhere near as peaceful and relaxing as their Christmas counterparts. The teachers had swamped them in homework, and he was just hoping that he would be able to at least rest for a few days. Especially because the full moon was right in the middle of the holidays.

Harry collapsed onto one of the couches in the common room, having just returned from a full day in the library. He had, thankfully, managed to get through three of his assignments, as well as half way through another. He had no clue how Hermione was managing, taking so many classes. Ron dropped down on the other side of the couch, his bag hitting the floor.

"How did we manage over the past 7 years?" Ron groaned. He just shook his head because he had no idea.

"Not even OWLs was this bad, and we had Umbridge," he agreed. Hermione chose that moment to walk through the portrait hole and heard every word.

"Well, NEWTs are much harder than OWLs and most people have less subjects so there is more time for homework. And NEWTs are literally called Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests, because they are a much higher standard than Ordinary Wizarding Levels," she told them, slipping into an adjacent armchair.

"Augh," was Ron's response. Harry glanced at his watch and almost cursed at the time. It was 5 minutes before curfew, and he was meant to be hunting with Remus tonight. He grabbed his bag and headed to the dorm, dumping it and on his unused bed and grabbing his cloak before running down the stairs again.

"I have to go; I'll see you in the morning." He left the portrait hole, throwing his cloak over his shoulders before casting a silencing charm on his feet and bolting to his room. He made it to his room and sank onto his bed, throwing his cloak off. Not even a minute later, Remus entered the room.

"Evening Alpha," Remus greeted him cheerfully. After the pack bond had fully formed, Remus had shifted from calling him cub to alpha, as he was no longer a child, apparently. 
"Evening Beta. Ready to go hunting?" Remus grinned at him and nodded. Harry asked the room to make a door that lead outside and they slipped through. They headed down the long flight of stairs provided and out onto the grounds. They left their clothes at the bottom of the stairs, knowing the door would remain until the next morning, by which time they would have been inside for hours. They both smoothly transformed into their wolf forms and headed into the forest.

They spent half an hour chasing their prey, two small rabbits. They didn't need the food for energy, they had the Great Hall for that, but it helped Moony and Romulus if they got to hunt. Harry pounced on his rabbit first, teeth locking around the animals throat and squeezing. He allowed Romulus to come forward and enjoy his snack, watching as Moony did the same.

Nice hunt. Head back now? – H

Good idea. – R

They snuck back to the castle, hiding in the shadows as they left the forest. They reached the door that they had left through, easily becoming human again before slipping inside and getting dressed. Heading back up the stairs, they reached Harry's room. Harry sat on his bed while Remus sat on his desk, ignoring the second bed that had become permanent, in case their nightly runs went for longer than expected.

"Ready for the moon tomorrow?" he asked. Remus nodded.

"It should be good. Hopefully, with the hunt tonight, they will be happy to just play rather than run the whole night like last time. That was tiring."

"I'm just glad that last moon fell on a Saturday, I had an excuse to sleep in and I didn't have any classes to fall asleep in" Remus laughed at that.

"I'll see you tomorrow, I need to head back to my quarters." Harry nodded and Remus slipped out of the room, the door closing quietly behind him. The next day passed quickly and Harry couldn't wait for that night. Even with their almost daily runs, the full moon was just so different. Their senses were even more heightened than usual, and they acted like wolves, not humans as wolves.

He had slipped off after dinner, saying he wanted to go to bed early because he hadn't slept well the night before. He waited anxiously for Remus to enter the room; Romulus itching to get out and play with Moony.

Is it time to play with Moony yet? Is Beta here yet? Harry could actually feel Romulus bouncing around and wagging his tail now.

For the last time, no he is not. You have to wait for the moon to rise before you can see him. And you saw him yesterday, honestly Rom, you'd think he's your mate. That got Romulus to shut up.

Moony is good friend and Beta. Not mates, Romulus declared fiercely.

Of course, Rom, he agreed with a small laugh. Remus slipped in and they both headed into the forest. The moon was set to rise early, while the sun was still up and they both quickly made their way into the forest. They made it just in time; the moon beginning to rise even as the door closed. The sun still sitting in the sky, both werewolves changed before taking off into the forest.

Horace walked through the halls of the castle, making his way towards Remus' office to collect an empty goblet. The moon had risen 2 hours ago, so Remus should be locked in his personal quarters, and the wolfsbane gone. He found the door to the office slightly ajar and pushed it open, heading straight over to the desk.

As soon as he reached the desk, he knew something was wrong. He didn't have to look into the goblet to know it was still full of wolfsbane; the goblet had blue steam rising out of it. He picked up the goblet, noticing that it was still completely full, not even a drop drunk.

This could be bad. He quickly headed back the way he had come, until he reached the hall that led to Remus Lupin's private quarters. It was a little way away from the other teachers quarters so that he didn't disturb them during the full moon. He stopped outside the portrait that was he entrance to his quarters, pressing his ear to the wall, listening intently.

He couldn't hear anything.

He cast as many detection spells as he could, trying to work out if the werewolf was inside the room at all. He didn't want to enter and have an out of control werewolf attack him, which would happen if the werewolf was on the other side of the wall. All his spells came up negative and he carefully pushed the door open.

There was no sign of life in there and a quick spell showed that Remus hadn't been in there for just about 3 hours, since dinner. Horace took a deep breath before casting his Patronus three times, sending the same message to each head of house.

'Get all students locked in their dorms. Remus didn't take his wolfsbane tonight and he's not in his private quarters. We have a werewolf on the loose.'

Chapter Text

Minerva was calmly sitting in her office, marking essays, when Horace's Patronus soared into the room. She stared at it for a second, wondering what was so urgent that Horace had to send a Patronus rather than come himself. Then the Patronus spoke.

"Get all students locked in their dorms. Remus didn't take his wolfsbane tonight and he's not in his private quarters. We have a werewolf on the loose." Minerva dropped her quill as the message ended, before transforming into her animagus and running from the room. She headed to the library first, checking to make sure that there weren't any students working in there. Luckily, there wasn't. She bolted to Gryffindor Tower, passing Filius, Horace and Pomona as she went. Thankfully, she didn't come across any students.

She reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, transforming back to human as she came to a stop. She hurriedly said the password, almost running through the portrait as it swung open. The common room was just over half full and she quickly scanned the room, taking note of who was there.

"Can someone get anyone who is in their dormitory down here. If they are asleep get me their names. We are having an urgent house meeting." 10 people nodded, hurrying up the stairs to their respective dorms. About 10 minutes later, a flood of people came down both sets of stairs, taking seats all around the common room and looking straight at her, looks of confusion evident on many faces. She could understand their confusion though, especially the seventh-years. She only called emergency house meetings when something was extremely wrong; the last time she had called one was when Ginny had been taken down to the Chamber of Secrets.

"Who are we missing?" she asked. A few names were mentioned, mainly first or second years who were already asleep. She looked around, making sure that everyone who was here during the holidays was accounted for, asleep or in the common room. It didn't take long before she realised that one of the repeating seventh years was missing. She would deal with Harry Potter after she made sure the rest of her house was safe.

"What's going on Professor?" Minerva looked over to who had asked, noting that it was Hermione Granger. She also noticed that Hermione didn't seem worried about her friend's absence.

"I needed to make sure that you were all in here and safe. As soon as I leave, the common room is going to be locked and none of you are to leave until I come back and tell you that it is safe to do so. There is a dangerous problem that we have to deal with, and first we need to make sure you all are safe. And no, none of you can come help," Minerva added, seeing some of the seventh years begin to open their mouths.

"How long do you think it will take to deal with, Professor?" She looked over to Dennis Creevey and sighed slightly.

"We are unsure how long it will take, but everything should be fine by midday tomorrow, at the latest," she answered slowly. She honestly had no idea how long it would take to find a rouge werewolf or what they could do. Add to that that she didn't know what time the moon had risen or what time it would set, and she couldn't even estimate a time.

"You are all free to go back to whatever you were doing. I suggest you go to sleep soon, however, and try not to worry too much about what is going on outside these walls. Miss Granger, Mr Weasley, a word." All around her students nodded, some heading back up to their dormitories while others turned back to their books or work. Ron and Hermione weaved their way through all the tables, chairs, and other students to reach her.

"Yes Professor?" Hermione asked.

"Do you know where Mr Potter is?" Ron and Hermione exchanged a look before turning back to face her.

"He's in his room Professor," Hermione answered slowly. Minerva narrowed her eyes slightly before answering.

"What do you mean Miss Granger. He did not come down and it was not said that he was asleep."

"Harry's in his private room," Ron replied.

"What do you mean private room, Mr Weasley?" she asked, her voice low as she tried to control her slight anger and confusion. Ron and Hermione exchanged another glance before Ron swore.

"Language, Weasley," she reprimanded without thinking.

"Harry said that he had permission from you to have a private room because, after everything that happened in the war, he couldn't cope with sleeping with so many other people in the same room as him," Hermione explained.

"He most certainly does not have permission to have a private room. This is the first I am hearing of it. Where is his room? I need to make sure he is safe."

"His room is in the Room of Requirements. But you would need one of us to come because you wouldn't know what to ask for," Hermione explained. Minerva thought about that before making her decision.

"I will come back after everything is sorted out and you can take me there then. He should be safe if you need to know exactly what to ask for." Plus, it wouldn't be safe for either of the students in front of her to leave the common room tonight.

"Yes Professor." Both students left her, heading back to the table they had been at before. She sighed before exiting the common room and changing into a cat again, proceeding to roam the hallways, looking for any students or the werewolf. She didn't come across any students and only saw the occasional teacher, although most of them would be in their quarters; she didn't see any sign of the werewolf either.

The sun rose and Minerva could feel that her body was tired, having roamed the halls all night; she was the only one safe to do so as none of the other teachers were an animagus. She continued to walk around the castle until all the hallways were filled with sunlight and she couldn't see any sign of the moon left in the sky. Happy that Remus would no longer be a wolf, she headed back to the Gryffindor common room.

Before entering, she sent a message to the other teachers, letting them know that the moon was well and truly gone and it was safe to let the students out. She entered the common room and found it basically filled, almost all the students in her house sitting around the room. All the attention snapped to her as soon as she entered, and she moved to the middle of the room. Minerva looked around the room, noting the empty plates and trays laid on the tables; the house elves had clearly provided breakfast.

"Is the threat gone Professor?" Sheila Walters, a fifth year, asked.

"Yes, Miss Walters. We are almost certain that the threat is gone and that it is safe to move around the castle again. However, I must ask that you only leave the common room if you have to, as there is still the possibility of the threat still being here. By tonight, you will have full access to the castle again."

"What was the threat, Professor?" Minerva looked over to Dean Thomas, trying to work out what to say. The sixth and seventh years knew about Remus' condition, but the other years didn't.

"Professor Lupin had a situation that we all needed to help deal with," she eventually said, deciding that that would be a safe option. The students that knew he was a werewolf would understand, while the other students would probably think it had something to do with a creature that he brought in for the third-years or something. There were nods all around the room and she saw the looks of understanding appearing on the faces of the older students.

"Miss Granger, Mr Weasley." Ron and Hermione approached her.

"Is Professor Lupin ok?" Hermione asked.

"We are yet to come across him, but the moon is fully gone. He simply forgot his potion last night, possibly due to the moon rising earlier than normal; we're not completely sure." Hermione and Ron nodded, looking relived.

"I need one of you to take me to Mr Potter's room. I need to talk with him about this private room." Ron and Hermione exchanged looks before Ron nodded.

"I'll take you," he offered. She nodded and he led the way out, leading her to the seventh floor. He paced in front of a blank wall three times, before a door appeared. He tried to pull it open, but it didn't move; it was probably locked. Letting go of the handle, he knocked instead.

Harry was woken up from his peaceful sleep by knocking at the door. He looked over and saw that Remus was still asleep on the bed next to him and frowned slightly. Who would be knocking on his door if it wasn't Remus? He pulled himself out of bed, still tired from the long night.

The moon had risen early and set late, only going down at seven-thirty that day after having risen at eight the previous night. They had spent the whole night running and play fighting, despite their hopes that hunting the previous night would prevent that, and they had both been exhausted by the time they had finally transformed back and crawled into their respective beds.

He grabbed his glasses from next to his bed and pulled on a pair of shorts and a shirt, asking the room for a wall between his bed and Remus' as he did so. Whoever was at his door didn't need to know that Remus was there. He glamoured his eyes before checking the room, making sure that it looked the same as it had when Ron and Hermione had visited the previous term before moving over to the door, opening it slightly.

He blinked in surprise to see Ron and McGonagall standing in the corridor outside his door. He yawned slightly before pulling the door open fully, rubbing his eyes with one hand as he did so.

"Can I help you?" he asked before his brain clicked into action and actually took notice of the two people in front of him. McGonagall wasn't supposed to know about his room, he hadn't told anyone expect Ron, Hermione and Remus about it. And they both looked slightly angry, although McGonagall also seemed tired and worried, while Ron also looked put out.

"May I come in Mr Potter? We need to have a chat." He blinked again, trying to work out how he could get around this.

"Sure," he replied with a shrug, moving away from the door so that the Professor could come in.

"I'll see you later mate," Ron said, turning around and heading off down the corridor as McGonagall walked through the door. He closed the door behind her, asking the room for two chairs as he did so. He sat down in the chair closest to him, letting McGonagall take the other one.

"How long have you had a private room, Mr Potter?" McGonagall asked, jumping right into the questions.

"Since the ... start of the year," he replied with a yawn.

"And why did you feel the need for a private room?" She fixed him with a stern gaze, and it took all his will power to not let the Alpha within him out to challenge her.

"I have nightmares a lot, almost every night, and didn't want to bother anyone if I forgot to put up silencing charms. Also, after everything that happened over the previous year, I haven't felt comfortable or safe to sleep with multiple people in the same room as me, let alone the whole year level," he replied, not meeting her eyes.

"Is that so?" He nodded. "So why didn't you come and ask for permission for this room. As the teachers, we need to know where all the students are at all times for safety reasons, one of which was demonstrated last night. Your reasons are all understandable and we would have given you leeway." He shrugged.

"Didn't cross my mind. What happened last night?"

"Last night was a full moon and Professor Lupin forgot his potion and wasn't in his rooms like he normally is. We had to lock everyone in their common rooms and dormitories because we had no clue where he was, and we couldn't risk having students about with an out of control werewolf in the castle." He shifted slightly, uncomfortable about the trouble he and Remus had unintentionally caused. He would have to remember to tell Remus so they could work out an excuse for him.

"Sorry for the trouble. I can guarantee that I was my room all night and didn't come across any out of control werewolves whilst in here." It was true too. Neither Romulus nor Moony had been out of control, they had simply been wolves. Maybe a bit crazy and hyper due to the increased senses, but not out of control.

"I will let you off this once Potter. However, I need to be able to access this room at all times in case something like that occurs again." Harry met the stern gaze of the Professor again and squirmed slightly. He wasn't willing to let her have access to his room, she could walk in on him or Remus as a wolf or discussing wolf things, or she could come in when they were in the forest. That would raise too many questions. But he couldn't deny her access, she might make him move back into the dorm.

"Um, I don't know Professor. I can ask the room to accept you, but I don't know how that would work. It really only responds to my commands or touch," he replied slowly, trying to work his way around the problem.

"If you make it so that it alerts you when I am here, would that work?" He nodded slowly, that should work. That way, if he were having a run, he would be able to get back quickly and let her in, also meaning she wouldn't just walk in on anything that would raise questions.

"I'll see what I can do with that." McGonagall nodded, standing up from her chair. She headed towards the door, opening it, and walking out. He turned back around, hoping to get a few more hours before he had to surface. Instead, he saw the wall he had made sink into the floor and Remus walk over to him.

"Everything alright Alpha?" Remus asked. Harry quickly turned, and groaned when he noticed that the door was still partly open and that he could still see the Professor right outside the door.

Chapter Text

The door clicked shut and he heard McGonagall walk away. Harry cursed softly. He had no clue how he was going to explain this. He had almost made it through the whole year without anyone finding out; Remus and his twins didn't count. Luna didn't really either, since he had no clue how she knew; she just knew. He had hoped to graduate without anyone knowing and now McGonagall would work it out. And if she did, she would tell the rest of the staff. He was screwed.

"Is everything ok Alpha?" Remus asked again. Harry ran his hand through his hair, trying to calm himself down.

"McGonagall came by. She found out about my room and wanted to question me about it." He sighed, sitting down heavily on his bed.

"How did she find out?" Remus asked, coming to sit down next to him.

"Apparently there was an emergency last night that caused all the students that aren't away for the holidays to be locked in the common rooms and she noticed I wasn't there. Hermione and Ron must have told her where I was because I told them she already knew. I think they're pissed; Ron looked really annoyed when I saw him."

"What was the emergency?" Remus asked slowly. Harry sighed again.

"Someone noticed that you hadn't drunk your wolfsbane last night and realised that if you weren't locked in your private quarters then there was an out-of-control werewolf on the loose."

"I knew I forgot something before I come here last night. I was rushing because the moon was rising earlier than I thought it would," he groaned. "How am I going to explain that?"

"At first I thought that you could just say you were in the shrieking shack like you did before the wolfsbane, because you realised you had forgotten your potion and the moon was rising when you noticed." Remus frowned.

"At first?"

"I'm pretty sure that McGonagall heard you call me Alpha, so she knows that you were here last night and will probably guess that I'm a werewolf. We're screwed." He flopped backwards with a sigh, trying to work out how to get out of this one.

"You'll work something out Harry. You always do," Remus replied, sitting down next to Harry on the bed.

"I didn't want anyone to know. And now, all the teachers are going to find out, and Ron and Hermione are going to want to know the truth about the room, and they're going to be mad that I lied to them, and then they'll find out my secret and get even angrier that I kept something so big from them. And then they'll hate me and stop talking to me, and then I'll be alone and not have any friends and I can't do it. This was meant to be easy and now everything is ruined. I won't be able to keep it secret, no matter how hard I tried all year and everyone will find out and then the whole Wizarding World will know because I'm famous and nothing about me can be kept secret apparently. And I just want peace, a normal life but if this gets out everyone will hate me and think I'm going dark and I won't ever be left alone..." he was cut off from his ranting and pacing, which he hadn't even noticed he'd started, by four arms pulling him close to two torsos. He hadn't even noticed Remus leave to get them. He relaxed slightly in the embrace of his mates, Romulus calming down as well now that he was surrounded by the calming scent of his twins.

"It's ok Har," Fred whispered into his hair, but he was still able to clearly hear it.

"Everything's going to be ok love," George added, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead as he buried himself into their chests. They stayed like that for a while, George and Fred simply holding him tight, sometimes pressing soft kisses to his head, whispering calming things to him. Harry eventually calmed down enough that he lifted his head from where it was hidden.

"Thank you," he said softly.

"Of course, love."

"We couldn't leave you like that." Fred pulled away slightly, sitting down on the sofa against the wall, before pulling Harry down too. Harry sat down and Fred pulled him close to his side, letting Harry lean into him. George sat down on his other side, wrapping his arm around Harry too.

"Where'd Remus go?" Harry asked, looking around the room for the older man.

"He left about 10 minutes ago. Said he was going to talk to the teachers, see what McGonagall had already said and then spin a story from that," Fred replied.

"Ok. How did you get here?"

"Remus asked for a fireplace and flooed us. The shop isn't open yet so we could both come," George replied.

"Thank you," he said again. He leaned up, kissing each of them on the cheek.

"One of us will always be available for you," George told him, squeezing him gently to emphasize his point. Harry smiled.

Remus headed towards the staffroom, leaving Harry with his mates. He knew that Fred and George would be able to calm him down, just like Sirius always was able to for him. He shook his head, clearing his thoughts of his dead mate. Now was not the time to focus on that pain.

He ran into Minerva in the hallway outside the staffroom and it was clear that she had been specifically waiting for him. She raised an eyebrow at him before heading into an empty classroom at the end of the corridor.

"Yes Minerva?" he asked, thankful that he would get a chance to speak with her before facing the rest of the staff.

"Why were you in a room with Mr Potter? Especially after last night." Ok then, straight to the point.

"I transformed in there with him. I have been since the Christmas holidays."

"Why in there?" And she clearly wasn't letting any detail go.

"It's the Room of Requirements. It changes into whatever the user needs, so for me, it provided a forest for me to run in, as well as making the door disappear when the full moon is in the sky."

"And why was Mr Potter in there?"

"Harry sleeps in there and was the one to show me how the room works." Minerva crossed her arms, fixing him with a pointed glare.

"Do you know why Mr Potter sleeps in there?" He swallowed. He couldn't lie to Minerva; she always knew when he lied. But he wasn't going to out his Alpha, not unless she already suspected.

"He isn't comfortable in the large dorm and find it easier to sleep in there by himself."

"And the reason you called him Alpha?" So she had heard that. Great.

"Sign of respect," he told her. "Especially after last night." Minerva simply stared at him; one eyebrow raised. They continued to stare at each other before Minerva sighed.

"I can see that you aren't going to simply say it, so I will. Is Mr Potter a werewolf?" Remus was quiet for a moment before he sighed.

"Yes, he has been since July. But he wants to keep it secret, I only worked it out after seeing him with his mates after the Christmas holidays," Remus relented.

"I see. And how has he kept it a secret?"

"Well, his room for starters. He is able to let his wolf out every night, either by going for a run or sleeping as a wolf. Sleeping there every night makes it so that no one notices how he simply disappears every full moon. And he doesn't need to wolfsbane to keep his mind. Neither do I, not anymore." Minerva nodded.

"I won't say anything to the other staff about his being a werewolf, it hasn't affected his studies or endangered the other students so I don't see any reason why everyone should know. I won't have to tell the other heads of houses because he is one of my lions so is my charge, as well as the year almost being over. However, you will have to come up with an excuse for last night."

"Thank you, Minerva. He will be glad to hear that. He was slightly stressed about everyone finding out when I left, especially being who he is. He doesn't particularly want that splashed across the front page."

"Of course, Remus. Now, I believe that we should get to the staff meeting, so as to explain what happened last night. You might also want to mention to Horace that you don't need the wolfsbane anymore, in private, of course." Remus nodded and they both headed out the door and moved into the staffroom.

The rest of the faculty was already in attendance, sitting in various chairs around the room. The casual conversations stopped as Minerva closed the door behind them, the attention of the room snapping around to him.

"Good to see you Remus. Do you happen to remember what happened last night?" Pomona asked. Remus sighed and nodded.

"The moon rose earlier than I thought it would. I realised that it was rising and I hadn't had a chance to take my potion so I quickly made my way down to the Shrieking Shack. I got about halfway through the tunnel when the change occurred," he explained, sticking as close to the truth as he could, twisting the story in Harry's suggested way.

"Did you not think to make your way back to your quarters and take your potion?" Filius asked.

"I wouldn't have had time. The best-case scenario would be I managed to lock my door and get halfway through the potion before the change, but that wouldn't have been enough. More than likely, I would have been forced to transform before I got to my quarters."

"At least you had an option. I was quite distressed when I found your office empty and your potion undrunk," Horace said.

"So am I. And I'm sorry for any stress I caused."

"Nonsense Remus. You managed to get somewhere safe so the students didn't get hurt and we simply did our best to make sure no students were wandering the hallways in case you were in the castle," Poppy told him. "No harm done."

"I feel that I am too much of a danger to the students, and that maybe I made the right decision when I resigned last time."

"Don't be silly, Remus. The students all love you," Minerva rebuffed immediately. Remus smiled at the older woman, grateful for the continued support she gave him. 
"Shall we head off then? It's approaching lunchtime and the students should be alerted that they have full rein of the castle again. And Minerva, you should probably head to bed; you were up all-night patrolling." The rest of the staff nodded, agreeing with this plan, and filed out of the room.

"Sorry that I kept you up all night Minerva," Remus said once they were the only ones left in the room.

"No trouble Remus. And you would have been up all night too. You should probably get some rest as well. And please let Mr Potter know that his secret is safe."

"I will, Minerva. Thank you." Minerva left the room, Remus following not long after. He had to go make sure his Alpha was ok and tell him the news. 

Chapter Text

Harry looked up from where his head was nestled against Fred's chest as he heard the door open. Remus stepped into his line of sight, the door closing behind him with a snap.

"Are you ok Alpha?" Remus asked, kneeling down beside the couch so that their eyes were at the same level.

"I'm ok Beta. My twins made sure of it," Harry replied.

"Minerva knows, but said she wouldn't inform any of the other teachers because you have it handled and don't put the other students in danger. If it wasn't your last year, she would have had to say something, but you graduate in a few months and you're one of her lions, so she doesn't even have to tell the other heads of house." Harry let out a sigh of relief, the final bits of tension leaving him as his last worry was dispelled.

"So, no one will know?" he clarified.

"No one, unless you tell them," Remus agreed.

"Thank you," he sighed. Remus smiled.

"Of course, Alpha. I'll leave you with George and Fred. I should go get some more sleep and you should too." Remus stood up and left the room, leaving Harry to slump further into his mates' embrace.

"Stay with me?" Harry asked quietly. George pressed a kiss to his shoulder, right above his own mark.

"Of course," he vowed. Harry curled into Fred, his head resting on the elder's chest. Soon he drifted off to sleep, comforted by his mates' scents around him and their arms holding him safe, Fred and George quietly talking over his head.

About an hour later, there was a loud knock on the door, causing Harry to startle awake.

"Whossat?" he slurred, pulling one of his arms out from around Fred to rub his eyes and push his glasses back up to his eyes.

"I'll check," George offered, getting to his feet, and moving to the door. He opened the door slightly and saw Ron and Hermione standing outside, impatient looks on their faces, before closing it again and turning back to Fred and Harry.

"Who is it?" Fred asked.

"Hermione and Ron." Harry sighed.

"I should have known they'd come sooner or later. They're probably annoyed that I lied to them about the room. You can let them in."

"Are you sure?" Fred asked.

"Yeah, better to get it over with now," Harry said.

"You need to re-glamour your eyes," George said before turning back to the door, opening it so that Ron and Hermione could see him. Harry grabbed his wand, and quickly glamoured his eyes green again.

"Come in."

"What are you doing here?" Ron demanded.

"Are you coming in?"

"Yes, we need to talk to Harry," Hermione said. George stepped aside so that they could get in and closed the door behind them before moving back to his seat next to Harry. A second couch appeared. Ron and Hermione sat down, staring across at Harry.

"What are you two doing here?" Ron demanded again.

"We can't come visit our boyfriend?" Gred and Forge asked together, gaining a smile from Harry.

"But you aren't in school."

"We're still able to come see our boyfriend. Aren't we Gred?" George asked.

"Of course, Forge. Especially when he needs us," Fred agreed.

"I was a bit stressed out and they were able to help calm me down," Harry said. Hermione raised an eyebrow before she nodded while Ron just crossed his arms.

"When were you going to tell us that you lied about this room?" Hermione asked when it became clear that Harry wasn't going to say anything.

"What do you mean?"

"You said McGonagall knew about the room but yesterday she told us she had no clue about the room. What the hell mate?"

"Sorry?" Harry tried.

"Are you going to tell us the truth about the room, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"I wasn't lying. After the war, I wasn't comfortable sleeping in a room with so many other people." It wasn't a lie either, because he got bitten after the war and after he was bitten, he didn't want to sleep in a room with others so that it would be easier to keep his secret.

"And why didn't you tell Professor McGonagall?"

"I don't know. I guess I just thought she would say no, and I didn't want to risk that because if she said no, I would have had to sleep in the dorm, and I couldn't do that." He sighed, his free hand running through his hair.

"You could have at least told us that it was meant to be a secret mate."

"I am sorry. I just ... I don't know ... I guess I thought it would be better if you thought I had permission for the room." He shrugged, shifting slightly so that he was leaning back against Fred.

"It's ok Harry. We just thought that we had no secrets between us," Hermione said.

"Yeah, we agreed. No more secrets mate," Ron agreed. Harry let out a shaky breath, giving them a small smile. He hated keeping such a big secret. At first, he wasn't sure how to tell them, then he was scared that if he told them then someone else would find out. And now he was scared that they would hate him for keeping it a secret for so long.

"It's ok Harry," Fred murmured, so quiet that only Harry would be able to hear with his more sensitive hearing.

"If we're having no more secrets, I, um, have to tell you guys something else," he said slowly, trying to keep his voice steady even as it wanted to shake.

"What is it Harry?" Hermione asked, concern clear in her voice. Harry opened his mouth to start explaining but it felt as if his throat had constricted, not allowing him to talk. He closed his mouth and swallowed before trying again. His voice still refused to work, and his breath started to come in gasps.

"Give us a minute," Fred said, before a wall appeared in the room, sectioning the two couches off from each other. George had already moved and was kneeling in front of Harry, gently holding his hands, murmuring reassuring words, trying to calm him down. Fred wrapped his own arms around their boyfriend, holding him securely, but loosely against his chest.

"It's ok Harry. Just breathe," Fred said. Harry continued to gasp, slow tears rolling down his face as he struggled to catch his breath.

"In and out Harry, that's it," George said. Harry's breathing slowed slightly, still coming in gasps. George took one of Harry's hands, lifting it up and placing it on his chest.

"Come on Harry, breathe with me." George slowed his breathing, evening it out and letting Harry feel the rhythm. Behind Harry, Fred matched George's breathing, letting Harry feel the rhythm under his hand and behind him. Slowly, Harry's breathing evened out, matching their breathing, and letting him catch his breath.

"You're ok Harry," Fred said as Harry continued to breathe slowly, coming back to himself from his panic. Harry squeezed George's hand tightly.

"Sorry."

"It's fine Harry."

"It's understandable."

"What you want to tell them is a big secret."

"We're here to help if you need it." Harry smiled, squeezing George's hand again. He brought his other hand off of George's chest to rest on Fred's arm.

"Thank you. I should be ok." Fred pressed a kiss to the back of his shoulder before moving so that he was next to Harry rather than behind him. George stood, settling down on the other side of Harry again. Fred's arm wrapped around his shoulders while George's was around his waist.

"Are you ready?"

"If you're not we can wait a bit." Harry took a deep breath and nodded. The wall in front of them disappeared into thin air, allowing them to see Ron and Hermione and letting Hermione and Ron see them.

"You ok mate?" Ron asked. Harry nodded.

"Sorry, I'm just really scared about telling you this." He took another deep breath, keeping control of his breathing so he didn't have another panic attack.

"Whatever it is, it won't change anything Harry," Hermione assured him.

"Yeah, you're our best mate Harry. Nothing will change that," Ron agreed. Harry felt tears threaten to fall again. He knew that they wouldn't leave him. But he was still terrified about their reactions. Not about the secret itself, but because he had kept something so big to himself for so long.

Fred and George squeezed slightly, reminding him that they were there and that they would help if he needed them to. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He slowly breathed out, allowing the glamour on his eyes to disappear. He steadied himself, preparing himself for what he was about to reveal. He slowly opened his eyes. His bright amber eyes stared straight at Ron and Hermione, focusing on their reactions to the change of eye colour.

"What..." Ron trailed off in confusion, staring straight back at his glowing amber eyes.

"Your eyes, Harry..." Hermione breathed. Harry nodded before saying the 3 words he hadn't said to anyone yet, the three words he hadn't thought he would be saying to anyone except his mates.

"I'm a werewolf."

Chapter Text

"I'm a werewolf." There was silence until,

"What?" Ron blurted out.

"I'm a werewolf," he repeated, the words easier to say the second time.

"How long?" Hermione asked.

"Since July." He looked down, scared of their reactions.

They'll be fine. They're pack, Romulus told him. Now head up, Alphas don't submit. Harry smiled slightly but did as he was told, raising his head again to look at his best friends. Ron and Hermione were looking at each other, seemingly having a silent conversation, something he had seen them do before, communicating solely through looks and small gestures. They had done it quite often when they had been co-parenting him when he had urges to do something stupid or got into one of his funks.

"Why the hell didn't you tell us mate? You should have known we wouldn't have cared," Ron exclaimed. He sighed. He knew why he hadn't told them, but at the same time, he didn't. Not really.

"I don't know. I guess, at first, that I was scared. Not of telling you, but because I didn't want anyone to find out." He was going to continue but was interrupted by Hermione.

"We wouldn't have told anyone Harry. You know we wouldn't have," she said, her voice pleading him to believe her. He ran his hand through his hair.

"I know that Hermione. I really do. It's just, what if someone heard. I didn't want anyone to overhear me telling you. Or hear us talking about it. I just." He sighed, running his hand through his hair again.

"I don't know. I didn't want anyone to find out, and that meant I couldn't bring myself to tell you. I didn't tell anyone, not even Remus. He worked it out himself, eventually. And that was only because he saw me with Gred and Forge, and he could tell that they are my mates. I just, I had a lot going on in my head, and by the time I worked everything out it had been months since I had been changed. And I felt that I had kept it a secret for so long that you would be angry at me for keeping a secret, so I just continued to not tell anyone. And I'm sorry. But I did the best that I could with the situation."

The five of them sat in silence after that declaration. Ron and Hermione were obviously thinking over what he had said, while Harry simply took comfort from his mates being there for him and trying not to worry about what he would do if they turned on him. Eventually, Ron broke the silence.

"So, what are you going to do next?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, confused.

"Are you going to tell anyone? Neville? Ginny? Luna? Our parents?" he asked, gesturing to himself and the twins.

"I guess I should tell Neville and Ginny, considering they've stood with us since 5th year. It's only fair I tell them, what with you two knowing," Harry admitted slowly. He knew he should, but it didn't make that any easier.

"What about Luna?" Hermione asked.

"She already knows," he admitted, unsure about how they would react to that.

"You told her before us?" Ron shouted. Harry cringed. He had forgotten how loud Ron could be; he got his lungs from Mrs Weasley, and it was even worse with his more sensitive hearing.

"Ron! You're hurting Harry," Hermione said, slapping Ron's arm. Ron blinked and looked over to where Harry had hunched up slightly, ears covered to try and block some of the noise out.

"Sorry mate. I didn't think." Harry looked up, hands slowly lowering from his ears.

"It's ok. I'd forgotten how loud you could be."

"I shouldn't have yelled regardless. But I can't believe you told Luna before us. We're your best friends."

"I didn't tell her. She just knows. You know how she knows things. She told me on the train in September; I was still trying to get my head around being a wolf and still recovering from my first moon that I didn't bother to ask how she knew," he said. Hermione hummed.

"That does make sense. Luna does seem to have the ability to just know things. What about Remus? You said he figured it out?" Harry nodded.

"Yeah. He figured it out after Christmas. He's probably known that there's been a second wolf in the castle since September, but he hadn't accepted his wolf so he couldn't pinpoint me as the wolf. At Christmas he would have noticed that there was a wolf at the Burrow, since he came over for Christmas dinner. He also said that he had been noticing the small things. The faster reflexes, a couple of flickers in my glamour over my eyes, stuff like that. But the main thing is he noticed me with Forge and Gred during the first Hogsmeade weekend of the term after Christmas.
"When a wolf marks their mate, or in my case, mates, the scent of the mates change slightly. This tells other wolves that those people are taken and under protection of a wolf. It's actually a crime amongst wolves for one wolf to harm the mate of another after marking. So, Remus noticed that these two were marked, but also that I was dating them. And if they were marked it would mean that they would only be dating their mate, since the marking is permanent. He just added everything up," he explained with a shrug.

"Yeah, but what does that mean for you, mate? Both being werewolves and everything," Ron said.

"Well, we spend the moons together. I taught him how to accept Moony, so transformation don't hurt him anymore. We also run together most nights, meaning Moony and Romulus are able to stretch their legs, which makes moons easier because their instincts are out often."

"Moony and Romulus?" Hermione asked slowly. Harry nodded.

"Moony is the name of Remus' wolf, which his friends adopted into his nickname. I think that actually helped him accept that Moony was a part of him because Moony wasn't as repressed as most repressed wolves are. Anyway, Moony is the name of Remus' wolf, while Romulus is my wolf."

"Harry," Fred began, exchanging a look with George over Harry's head, which was leaning against his chest.

"Yeah?"

"When you say Moony-"

"-was Remus' nickname-"

"-do you mean as in-"

"-Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs?" Harry blinked, before a wide smile appeared on his face. He sat up straighter and turned to Ron and Hermione, who were both smiling as well.

"We never actually told them, did we?" he asked.

"No, it never came up," Hermione agreed.

"Never asked me." Ron shrugged.

"Huh. Fancy that. Lived with them and everything and never knew it."

"Harry," George said, whining slightly.

"Fine. Yes, Moony as in one of the Marauders," he relented.

"We were taught by one of the Marauders and never knew it. Oh, the horror," they said together.

"Yeah, it was just my luck that one of the four people who knew how to use it was one of the two professors that caught me with it in third year after I snuck out to Hogsmeade."

"You were caught?"

"Yeah, Snape caught me and made me hand over the parchment. It was blank," he assured them.

"What happened," Fred asked eagerly.

"He tried to get access to it. It, uh, insulted him."

"Brilliant," George breathed.

"Yeah, so he got Remus to examine it, sure that it was full of dark magic. And Remus wouldn't give it back, saying it was dangerous to have a map that showed everyone in Hogwarts and where they were while there was a mass murderer on the loose."

"But Sirius wouldn't have known how to get access to it," Fred said.

"It would have just been a blank piece of parchment to him," George agreed.

"See, that's what I thought. Turns out, it would have actually been a map for him. I mean, he knew how to open it, being one of the creators of it and all." Fred and George gaped at him, mouthing wordlessly at him.

"We lived with two of our idles-"

"-and none of you told us!"

"What was his name?" they finished together.

"He was Padfoot. My dad was Prongs," Harry said, smiling sadly at the memory of that revelation.

"Do you know who Wormtail was?"

"Bloody rat," Ron growled.

"What?"

"You know how we said Scabbers ran off? Yeah, that wasn't the full story. He's not even a rat," Ron said, disgusted.

"You said that you and Remus run most nights. How does that help with the full moon transformations? And how have you been coping on the full moons without anyone knowing? You couldn't have gotten wolfsbane, and even with that, you're always up and fine the next day," Hermione asked, getting their attention off the traitor.

"I don't need wolfsbane. I've fully accepted Romulus as part of me, which means that I keep my mind during the moons and that I can transform at will. Romulus' instincts still come to the surface when I'm transformed, and they're still quite extreme during the moons, but letting him out almost every day makes the instincts not as volatile, and makes him calmer, so I don't get injured. Remus and I have run together as wolves most nights, making the moons easier for both of us as well as strengthening our pack bonds," he explained.

"Pack bonds?" Hermione asked, leaning forward, always eager to learn.

"Yeah, we're a two-wolf pack, four animal pack. And technically, it's a six-person pack. Wolves are social creatures and need a pack to help stay fully sane and as tame as a wolf can get. Without a pack, our inner wolves can get really stressed and much more aggressive. I'm an Alpha, so the head of our pack, and quite a powerful Alpha considering my magical strength. Remus is my Beta, second in command if we had a larger pack," he explained, trying to remember how Romulus had explained packs and their pack to him. It had been the day after Remus and he had had their first run and created the pack bond.

"How is it a two-wolf, four animal, six-person pack?" Ron asked. Harry nodded with a small shrug.

"Remus and I were kind of a pack before I was changed, me being his cub, so the pack bond was already mostly in place and only had to shift from wolf and cub to Alpha and Beta. It's a two-wolf pack because only Remus and I are wolves. Four animals because these two lovelies demons are counted as magical animals. And six-person because Romulus and Moony have accepted you both as part of our pack. I'm pretty sure the pack would grow to include Neville, Ginny, and Luna once I tell them, and possibly the rest of your family if they accept me being a werewolf, considering how close we all are."

"How are they magical animals?" Hermione asked. He saw George and Fred both nod slightly from the corners of his eyes, letting him know that they were happy to tell Ron and Hermione.

"We're animagi," they told her. 

Chapter Text

Hermione and Ron stared at them blankly for a moment before Hermione spoke again.

"Excuse me?"

"We're animagi," they repeated.

"We worked on the change throughout seventh year-"

"-quite a difficult procedure, especially with Umbridge."

"Managed to work it out before we left-"

"-and completed it the month after leaving school."

"It's all legal-"

"-we're registered and everything," they said, tossing the sentences between them as they often did while talking.

"What animals are you?"

"Coyote."

"Fox." Hermione nodded, seeming to drift into deep thought, and they sat in silence, knowing not to disturb her when she went like that.

"Harry, you said that you can change at will?" Harry nodded, not sure where she was going. "Would you three be happy to show us your forms? I've only ever seen three people do animagi transformations, and the last time I saw a werewolf change I was more preoccupied by not getting mauled to look at his form."

"Sure. I can change for you," he said slowly, working it out in his head. He was confident enough to change in front of them, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to strip in front of Hermione. Ron had already seen him change often enough through the years.

"We will if Harry will," the twins replied. Harry stood and moved behind the couch that he had been sharing with his mates. He pulled his shirt off before bending down to continue getting undressed.

"What are you doing mate?"

"The change rips through my clothes. I prefer to not have to continually repair them every time I change," he explained, ducking down behind the couch to pull his pants fully off, his feet already bare, having not put any shoes on earlier. He focused on Romulus and felt the Romulus push forward as his body swiftly changed to that of a wolf. He padded out from behind the couch, tongue lolling out of his mouth in a wolfish smile at the exclamations of shock from his two best friends. George and Fred both ran their hands through his thick fur and Romulus emitted a low growl of pleasure at the action. The hands were removed from his fur and then his mates were next to him in their animal forms, a coyote and fox on either side.

"Your forms are stunning. And they are so you. Although I'm surprised that your forms aren't the same," Hermione said.

"Can't even get away from your scar in another form, can you mate?" Ron teased slightly. Harry moved towards him, jumping up so that his front paws were on Ron's chest. He licked down Ron's face, causing Ron to exclaim in disgust. He jumped down, sitting in front of the boy with a smug look on his face. Well, as smug as a wolf can look.

"Alright, I'm sorry. And your animagi forms are cool. Can you teach me?" Ron asked. Fred and George turned back to human and grinned at Ron. They didn't reply, only grinning at him, their expressions causing Ron to shudder slightly.

Deciding that he wanted to continue the conversation, he padded back behind the couch, transforming back to human. He pulled on his pants before grabbing his top and standing up. His top was in his hands still and his back was facing the room.

"What's that mate?" Ron asked. He looked over his shoulder to see both Ron and Hermione staring at his back.

"What's what?" he asked.

"That tattoo," Hermione said.

"Oh. That's my mark. Fred and George have one too," he replied, a bright smile appearing on his face just by thinking of their mate mark.

"Mark?" Ron asked.

"Uh huh," Harry replied slightly absently as he thought back to the marking.

"Harry? The mark?" Hermione prompted when it was clear that he was too lost in his thoughts to explain.

"Oh, right. I mentioned marking before, right? How it lets other wolves know that a mate is taken, the change in scents and stuff?" he asked. He couldn't fully remember; it had been a long day.

"Yeah. You said that was how Remus found out."

"Well, marking is permanent. Not just because of the scent change, but also because of the mark. When a wolf marks their mate, a tattoo that represents both of them will appear on each of their bodies. It can help match mates if they get separated in a pack, because the marks are personal and match. And it helps curb the possessive streak that our wolves have towards their mate. It's also what gives marking its name, because the ritual causes the mark," he explained.

"That's cool mate. And now I'm want a tattoo too." They all laughed, and Hermione leaned over to kiss Ron's cheek, causing his playful pout to become a smile.

"When are you going to tell the others?" Hermione asked when they calmed down.

"Um, I want to do it while George and Fred are here." He looked at his mates on either side of him and their expressions were all care.

"We're free all day if you need us."

"Our assistants can take care of the shop."

"Thank you. Today would be good, while I'm on a roll. And you may as well get Luna as well, even though she already knows." He directed his second statement towards his friends who smiled.

"I can get Nev. He said he was going to stay in the tower today and just relax," Ron offered.

"I'll find Luna. Ginny will either be with her or in the tower probably," Hermione agreed.

"Thank you."

"Of course, Harry."

"What are friends for mate." He gave his friends another smile before they got up and left to find his other friends for him, letting him stay and cuddle with his twins for a while.

About 10 minutes later Ron and Neville arrives and George once again got up to let them. Ron sat down on the couch he had earlier vacated while Neville seated himself on an armchair that had just appeared. Not even 5 minutes later, Hermione walked in through the already partially open door, Ginny and Luna trailing behind her. Hermione sat down next to Ron while Luna sat down on a newly appeared couch, dragging Ginny down with their combined hands.

"What's going on Harry? Ron said you wanted to talk to us," Neville asked once everyone was comfortable.

"I, uh, need to tell you something. I hadn't, um, told anyone before today."

"It's ok Harry. They'll be fine with it," Luna said, in the same dreamy tone she almost always spoke in. Ginny gave Luna a confused glance before turning her attention back to Harry.

"Well, Luna already knows because she somehow knows everything. But ... I'm a werewolf." Silence. And then,

"That's cool. Are Fred and George your mates?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah, they are. How did you know?" Harry asked, surprised that she had worked it out.

"I do pay attention in class you know. Professor Lupin mentioned something about mates being important to a werewolf. I was interested so I researched some and asked him." Harry had no clue what to say about that, so he just nodded.

"When were you turned?" Neville asked, leaning forward slightly.

"July. You know how I went camping alone after the war to get some time to myself to process everything?" Everyone in the room nodded. "That's when."

"Why are you telling us now?"

"Well, Remus figured it out, and then McGonagall found out. Then Ron and Hermione were wanting and needing answers and I told them. And I figured that you guys deserved to know too. And I just ... I didn't want to hide it anymore."

"Thank you for telling us Harry," Neville said quietly.

"You deserved to know. You're my friends." He shrugged.

"I know Ron asked earlier, but what happens now?" Hermione asked. Harry shrugged again.

"I don't know. I was hoping that we could just continue as normal, though. We only have a few months of school left before graduation, and I just want to graduate without anyone else finding out. The moon doesn't affect me really badly, not like it used to with Remus, so getting a steady job shouldn't be hard. But I don't really know. What do you guys think?"

"Just keep going as normal. The nargals will make sure no one notices anything different," Luna said. The others nodded, not commenting on the nargals with practised ease.

"Well, I think I want to become an animagi so I can join you and be a better part of your pack, mate," Ron said.

"Really?"

"Course mate. I've always thought it was cool and now I just have another reason to do it."

"Thank you," he whispered, slightly overwhelmed by the offer.

"I'd do it too," Neville offered quietly. Ginny, Hermione, and Luna all voiced their agreement and Harry beamed. He really did have the best group of friends. 

Chapter Text

15 years later

Harry knelt on the platform, hugging his oldest daughter, Roxanne, tight. He couldn't believe that she was already 11 and heading off to Hogwarts. He stood up, allowing his twin sons, Caspian and Kaleb, to rush forward and hug her, one on each side. He felt an arm wrap around his waist and turned his head to look up at Fred.

"Time's flown, hasn't it?" Fred asked. Harry smiled and leaned into his husband's side. He thought back over the past 15 years, unable to believe that it had already been 15 years since he graduated from Hogwarts.

After graduating with his secret safe, he had started working with his mates at their shop while thinking about what he really wanted to do for a job. He had spent five years working at the joke shop and helping develop new products, he specialized in products to help people with PTSD, before he decided to open up a safe house at Grimmauld Place. The safe house was open to any child who didn't feel safe going home during the summer holidays or throughout the year for younger children or didn't have a house to go to at all, including creatures. And any werewolf who turned up, recently turned or not, was inducted into his pack.

He had decided that he didn't want any child to have to feel unwanted like he had at the Dursleys. Sirius had left him quite a large amount of money, all of which went in to funding the safe house. All his friends had gotten involved as well when they could find time between their own jobs.

He had originally thought about taking up the job as Defence professor after Remus left, but after they adopted their first child, he decided that he didn't want to be away from them for 9 months of the year. They had adopted four children, as they couldn't have children themselves. Roxanne Lily Potter-Weasley was the oldest at 11. Caspian James Potter-Weasley and Kaleb Sirius Potter-Weasley were twins and two years younger than Roxanne and were definitely a third generation or marauders. Heidi Molly Potter-Weasley was the youngest at only 6.

While they only legally had four children, only four children with the name Potter-Weasley, many of the children and teenagers at who lived at the safe house were unofficially adopted as well. Any child that was disowned was free to pick up either the Potter or the Weasley name, and many children and teenagers had added either Potter or Weasley to their last names, either hyphening or dropping their family name, anyway.

His pack had grown heaps in reference to animals since he had told his friends. Ron, Hermione, Luna, Ginny, and Neville had all become Animagi for him and the moons were never lonely, especially with the other wolves that had joined since the safe house had opened. He and Remus always had at least two others in Animagus forms during the moons and they held a pack run twice a year with all of them, during the Christmas holidays and the summer holidays, so that Neville could attend. He really couldn't have asked for better friends.

"Yeah, it really has. I can't believe Roxanne is leaving already. In two years, Caspian and Kaleb will be going, and before we know it Heidi will be leaving too." They had been lucky and found four magical children to adopt. Roxanne, Caspian and Kaleb had all been almost guaranteed to be magical, having been adopted from witches who's pregnancy had been an accident, but couldn't bring themselves to abort. Heidi had just been a lucky find, having been adopted through muggle means.

"Hogwarts won't know what hit it when our twin terrors arrive," George remarked, coming over with Roxanne's luggage.

"Glad you could join us Forge."

"Little miss Heidi here didn't want to put her shoes on. She thought that if she didn't come then Roxy wouldn't leave," George said, shifting slightly to make Heidi, who was perched on his hip, more comfortable.

"Don't want Roxy to leave," Heidi sniffed. George passed Heidi over to Harry, allowing Harry to comfort her while he and Fred said goodbye to Roxanne.

"You'll see Roxanne again at Christmas. It won't be long Heidi. Now, do you want to give Roxy a hug and say goodbye?" Heidi nodded and he put her down, letting her run at her big sister. George and Fred moved back to his side, each of them holding hands with one of the boys.

"Dad, can't we go?" Caspian whined, tugging on Fred's hand.

"Please papa?" Kaleb added, half hugging George's arm.

"Ask your Tad," they said together. Harry rolled his eyes as both boys turned their pleading eyes to him.

"Please Tad," they said. He sighed.

"You're too young boys. You know that. Two more years and you can go."

"This is a familiar conversation." Harry turned away from the two pleading eyes to see Ginny and Luna approaching with their two children, River Kiran Lovegood-Weasley and Lindsay Pandora Lovegood-Weasley.

"Lindsay," Kaleb called, releasing George's hand, and running to meet her, Caspian close on his heals. Lindsay was the same age as the twins and had inherited Ginny's mischievous side.

"I was wondering when you would get here," he commented.

"River forgot his homework," Ginny sighed. River was going in to second year this year and rolled his eyes at his mum.

"It was only History mum. And mama already told you, the Nargals stole it."

"That was a week ago River, you had plenty of time to find it. And I've taught you how to protect your things from the Nargals." River sighed and nodded, grabbing his trunk, and heading towards the train.

"See you at Christmas," he called.

"Do you want help with your trunk Roxy?" Fred asked. Roxanne nodded.

"All yours Harry," George said, bowing to him. He rolled his eyes at his mates.

"Just because I have added strength doesn't mean you get to put all the heavy lifting on me. Come on Roxy, lets find you a compartment." He grabbed her trunk, easily lifting it as levitating it would be difficult in the quickly filling station. Roxanne followed close behind him, Heidi skipping next to her holding her hand. He found an empty compartment that Roxanne said was fine and placed her trunk on the racks above the seat.

By the time they got back to their group, Hermione and Ron had arrived. None of their children were going to Hogwarts this year, all of them still too young, but had come to see off Roxy for her first year. Hugo Philip Granger-Weasley was in Ron's arms, while Rose Jemma Granger-Weasley was talking with Caspian, Kaleb, and Lindsay. The four of them were extremely close and almost impossible to catch when they worked together.

"Hey guys."

"Hey mate," Ron said, glancing his way before continuing with his conversation with the older set of twins, Ginny, and Luna.

"Good to see you Harry." Hermione crouched down and opened her arms, which Roxy rushed forward into. She let go of Heidi's hand and Heidi immediately latched onto his arm, tugging on it slightly. He smiled and picked her up, settling her on his hip.

"Are you excited for Hogwarts, Roxy?" Hermione asked as she released Roxanne. Roxy nodded, bouncing slightly.

"Yep. I can't believe I'm going already. I'm so looking forward to learning spells and being able to use my wand." Hermione smiled and listened intently as Roxanne rambled on about what classes she was looking forward to.

The warning whistle sounded, and Roxy was passed around the group, everyone wishing her farewell before she hurried onto the train. She leaned out the window, waving as the second whistle sounded and the train began to move.

"Have fun Roxy," he called.

"Be good," Hermione called.

"Cause mischief," Fred said.

"And mayhem," George added. Harry elbowed George, who was closer, while laughing at their antics.

"Don't forget to write," Ginny added.

"We'll miss you," Luna said.

"And try your best," Ron called. They all continued waving until the train was out of sight. Harry sighed, turning away from the empty track and towards his friends, his pack.

"I can't believe she's already gone," Fred said.

"I'm gonna miss her," Caspian decided.

"Definitely. And she's the best target," Kaleb agreed.

"Have fun with that mate," Ron said, smirking slightly. Harry shook his head, already planning on staying at the safe house for the rest of the day, probably with Heidi, to stay safe from the prank war that George, Kaleb, Fred, and Caspian were likely to cause.

"I'd pity you, but you chose them," Ginny said, shaking her head slightly as a smile spread across her face.

"You love us, really," George and Fred said together. Kaleb and Caspian smiled up at him innocently.

"Unfortunately, we do, don't we Heidi." Heidi giggled and nodded.

"2 galleons she's in Ravenclaw. Nev's already put his two in for Hufflepuff," Ron said, pulling two coins out of his pocket, along with the bag that they used for group bets. Hermione smacked Ron lightly on the arm.

"Ron, we aren't betting on which house she'll be in," she admonished.

"Why? We did for River. 2 galleons she's in Gryffindor," Fred returned, pulling out his own coins and dumping them in their group bet bag.

"Same. Weasleys and Potters are always in Gryffindor," George agreed, tossing his own two coins in the bag.

"Ravenclaw," Luna decided, and her coins joined the ones already in the bag.

"I say she'll be in Slytherin. Have you seen how sneaky she is?" Ginny tossed her own coins in.

"Alright, fine. Hufflepuff," Hermione decided, dropping her own galleons in with the rest.

"I'm with Ginny. She'll be Slytherin," Harry decided, adding his own galleons to the pile.

"Nev's bound to owl tonight so I'll be at yours tomorrow to pick up my winnings," Ginny decided, glancing at Ron with a challenging look on her face.

"You wish," he returned. Luna giggled at her wife's antics while Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron.

"I'll see you tonight, Luna?" he asked. It was the moon that night and it was Luna and George's turn to accompany him and Remus, as well as the rest of the pack you weren't going to school.

"Of course." He looked around and saw the station was basically empty now, everyone else having left already.

"We should probably get going. I have work soon; I could only get half the day off," Hermione decided. Everyone in the group was in agreement and they began to move towards the platform's apparition point.

One by one they all apparated away and Harry couldn't help but think about how lucky he was. The past 15 years had been full of ups and downs, along with many different struggles, ranging from werewolf problems, to self-doubt or insecurities popping up, to PTSD and anxiety left over from the war. But they were a family and managed to work through everything together. And despite all the troubles, he was happier than he could ever remember being.