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Lunaticus Book Three: New Moon Rising	By : JBankai89 Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Remus Views: 12595 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter, I gain nothing from this but a way to pass the time.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
- 3
Chapter Two – The Sub House

Harry's feet slammed into hard-packed ground, and immediately his senses were assaulted by the presence of the dozens of werewolves that now surrounded him.

The scent, their impossibly loud chatter, the mere feeling of them being nearby—for a moment it was too much for Harry. He bowed his head forward, clenched his eyes shut, and struggled to find his equilibrium.

“Harry?” Ulrich asked, his hand still on his shoulder, “are you all right?”

“F-fine,” he mumbled, though he didn't exactly feel fine. “Just a little overwhelmed.”

Harry took several slow breaths, and though the feeling of sensory overload did not abate, he straightened up and looked around.

The clearing looked almost the same as it had the last time that Harry visited. The huge space was occupied by the same huts, the same large, crackling bonfire (though Harry noticed that strangely, it seemed to give off no smoke), and the mouth of the cave at the far end of the clearing was now covered by a sheet of what appeared to been muggle tarpaulin.

This time when Harry appeared, the children and sub wolves did not appear frightened by his presence, but seemed to be cautiously keeping their distance as well. Harry wasn't certain what might be the cause of them giving him and the beta such a wide berth, but he was given little time to dwell on it as he was steered away from the main area. Ulrich's hand was still gripping his shoulder, though Harry couldn't work out if the contact was meant to be possessive or reassuring—with all the new senses overwhelming him, Harry found it difficult to focus on much of anything at the moment.

He and Ulrich wove through the dozens of wooden cabins; all of them seemed to be big enough to house one or two people, or a small family. There was one building much larger than the others that looked less like a cabin and more like a long farmhouse of some kind, but Harry was given little time to ponder on what it could be as he was guided away from it and towards the very back of the space.

They stopped before a cabin that was slightly larger than the others, and raised on a small incline that seemed to serve as some sort of dais. Ulrich did not pause as he let Harry go and swept past him to let himself in, and Harry felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as he followed his lead.

The moment Harry crossed the threshold, he knew at once that this had to be Greyback's cabin; even if the size and fact that it was raised slightly above the others had not been present, the distinct scent of power that assaulted his senses as he stepped inside was enough, and Harry felt deeply out of place being inside it.

The cabin's interior was very Spartan. It held a number of furs piled in one corner that seemed to serve as some sort of makeshift bed, there were several of pairs of jeans stacked nearby, but Harry could see no other articles of clothing. There was a fire pit in the centre of the space, and a hallway that led deeper into the cabin, though Harry could not see where it led. There was nothing else.

The sparse décor gave Harry the impression that Greyback spent very little time in the cabin, which he supposed was to be expected—as leader of the pack, likely his duties kept him busy. The emptiness of it still seemed sad to Harry for some strange reason, though he could not work out what had sparked that feeling.

“Have a seat,” Ulrich said, drawing Harry out of his musings as he motioned to one of the long log benches that were arranged around the empty fire pit. “Alpha and I need to speak with you before you go to get settled.”

Without another word, the beta werewolf spun on his heel and stepped out of the cabin.

Harry stared at the spot Ulrich had occupied not thirty seconds before, slightly startled by being left alone so abruptly, and he shook his head to refocus his attention back on the situation at hand.

Greyback needed to speak with him, but Harry couldn't fathom about what. He'd been in the territory less than five minutes, had he somehow done something wrong already?

As Harry continued to ponder, the door creaked back open and Greyback stepped inside.

Greyback was virtually unchanged from the last few times that Harry had seen him. Tall and broad, silver hair brushed back out of his face, and he still looked like he was made out of a solid wall of muscle. Now however, there was the added sensation of Alpha that radiated off him, a feeling that caused Harry to know without the shadow of a doubt that this man was in charge. He'd had an inkling of that before, of course, but now the impression now struck Harry more as an incontrovertible fact. It was a very strange feeling.

“Potter,” Greyback nodded once, “where is your friend?”

“Friend?” Harry asked blankly.

“The one I turned, in addition to you.”

“Oh.” Harry felt a lump of guilt settle in his throat, and it took him a moment to find his voice again. “She's with her fiancé. She hasn't decided what she wants to do yet.”

“Hm,” he grunted, and both of the dominant werewolves stepped towards Harry. He felt his stomach knot with panic, though he could not work out the source of this feeling—he knew that both Greyback and Ulrich meant him no harm, but still he felt strangely cornered by their dual presence. Before he could stop himself, he took a minor step back. Neither of the werewolves missed the movement, and Ulrich stepped back a little. Harry felt some of the cornered sensation leave him.

“This is a conversation we have with all our subs before we leave you to get settled,” Greyback explained evenly, with less of a growl in his voice than Harry would have expected, and he motioned to one of the log benches just as Ulrich had earlier. Harry sat down stiffly, and Greyback sat down about a foot away from him, but his skin still hummed with unease at the alpha's closeness. Ulrich kept his distance, and rested back against the wall next to the front door.

“Er, okay,” Harry replied, blinking in confusion as he stared up at Greyback, and patiently waited for the alpha to explain himself, as he waited, Harry's hands curled into nervous fists in his lap.

“Potter, how much do you know about submissive wolves?” Greyback asked, staring so intently at him that Harry felt more than a little unsettled, and he squirmed nervously in place.

“Er, only what R—er, only what I've read, and what Ulrich's told me,” Harry answered as he glanced away from the alpha. “They—er, we're physically weaker, female werewolves get pregnant really easily, and a lot of packs don't treat their male subs very well.”

“That's fairly accurate,” Greyback said with an approving nod, “only female subs can get pregnant, however; female dominants are barren.” The alpha paused and cleared his throat, then went back to the point, but Harry felt himself blanch a little. He wondered if Hermione knew that.

“I do not allow my dominants to harass the subs,” Greyback continued, “if a sub says no, that is the end of it. However, we are still having some difficulty with s few dominants forgetting themselves, and it has led to some...shall we say, uncomfortable situations. It is not dangerous to be an unmated sub in my pack, but you would do well to not wander off alone. Some of the subs here have refused to name their attackers, and thus I have yet to weed out all of the would-be rapists.”

“We have a communal cabin for the unmated subs to use,” Ulrich added, “safety in numbers. You're welcome to stay there, but if you'd rather, we also have a few empty cabins ready if you want live alone.”

“I'll take the communal cabin thing,” Harry said at once, lifting his gaze to Ulrich first, then to Greyback, but he was careful to not meet their eyes. “Erm, I do want to know one thing though, before you continue.” Harry paused, and Greyback nodded for him to continue. “That night...what happened? Why did you tend to Remus? Why did he...” Harry trailed off with a wince, the betrayal he felt at Remus turning on him still burned in him.

“Remus has done a number of unforgivable acts of late,” Greyback began, “chief among them his treatment of you. But the one thing that will never change is that I am his alpha. At the end of of the day, my word will override any of his pathetic morals.

“When I came to turn you, and he could not defeat me in a fight, he was obligated to do as I bid—turning you. Him biting you was the only way to ensure that the bond would break cleanly, and my biting you at the same time was merely insurance, to make sure he followed through with it. In his wolf state, he would feel compelled to follow my lead.” Greyback finished, and Harry felt the bottom drop out of his stomach, and a confusing sort of nausea replaced some of his nervousness.

“You knew that Remus would come and try and protect me from you,” Harry said, “you knew that he would try and stop you.”

“I did,” Greyback said with a short nod, “Remus is pack, as much as you are now. While I defeated him, I had no intention of causing him permanent injury.”

“Er—what will happen if Remus shows up here?” Harry asked, and winced at how timid he sounded.

“He will be welcomed,” Greyback answered without hesitation. Ulrich did not look happy about this, and opened his mouth to speak, but one look from his alpha silenced him. Ulrich crossed his arms and clenched his jaw, but said nothing. “You are not special, Potter. My pack will not revolve around you.”

“I never said—”

“—quiet,” Greyback snapped, and the dangerous tone was warning enough for Harry to snap his mouth shut at once. “Your history with Remus means nothing to me. If he comes back, he will have a place here. I expect both of you to act like adults and keep it from interfering with our lives here. I have enough to deal with without having to babysit you two as well. Am I making myself clear?”

“Clear,” Harry replied, his mouth twitching into a frown. He had privately hoped that Greyback would not let Remus into the territory, but in retrospect, he realized that such a hope was not only petty, but selfish as well.

“Right, now, last things: Formal meals are at dawn, midday, and dusk, but werewolf appetites being what they are, there is always food available for late risers and throughout the day,” Greyback continued as though the tense moment had never happened. “All of the pack is barred from leaving the territory at the moment, we're having a bit of a problem with rogue wolves. When you're taken to the Sub House, the leader of the sub wolves will fill you in on what jobs are open to you.”

“Um,” Harry's vocalization stopped Greyback short when it was clear that he was about to dismiss him, “I was told that male subs are kind of like...glorified babysitters,” Harry winced at the words, and forced himself to continue, “but that's really not my thing. I mean, I was an Auror, defence, duelling, that's sort of my area of expertise.”

“Dominants are the ones who defend the territory,” Greyback answered simply, a note of impatience in his tone, “not submissives. That's just something that you'll just have to get used to. Ulrich, bring him to Adina.”

“Yes, Alpha,” Ulrich said as Harry opened his mouth to protest, and but the beta closed the distance between them, grabbed Harry by the shoulder, and pulled him to his feet before he could say anything in protest. Without a word, Ulrich steered Harry from the cabin.

“Don't push your luck,” The beta hissed when they were a safe distance from the cabin, and Harry watched Greyback burst from it a moment later and stride off. When he was out of sight, Ulrich continued. “Nobody here gives a rat's fart if you're the Chosen One, or the Queen of England, or the Supreme Ruler of the Universe. We're all treated the same. Werewolves will solve their problems with fists and teeth first, and words second. A few more protests, and Alpha would have not hesitated in beating you down to teach you a lesson. Just remember that.”

“I don't want to be treated differently,” Harry muttered back to him, his face flaming, “I just...” Harry trailed off, and dropped his gaze to the ground, and kicked at a small stone as they wove through the cabins. In truth, he had no idea what he wanted, but what he did know was that he had absolutely no desire to see Remus any time soon. The fact that he couldn't distract himself with a kind of work that he was good at was a serious blow, and the idea that he had possibly gone from Auror to nanny did not sit well with him.

“It will be an adjustment,” Ulrich said gently as they walked, “I know your situation is somewhat complicated, but in time you will find your place here, whatever it may be.”

“Right,” Harry responded, and Ulrich smiled at him, though he did not feel capable of returning it.

“What is the problem with the rogue wolves that Greyback mentioned?” Harry asked to break the silence, and Ulrich staggered to a stop. He glanced at Harry, a look of reluctance on his face, but after a moment's hesitation, he spoke.

“This particular pack is made up of lone wolves and wolves that have been exiled from their pack for one reason or another,” Ulrich explained softly, “they are savages; they rape and pillage human towns, they tear apart humans for sport...they are the true monsters that the wizarding Ministry paints us all as.” Ulrich paused, a look of pure disgust on his face. To his explanation, Harry felt a cold chill rush through him. How is it that this is the first I'm hearing of this? he wondered, unsettled that in his time with the Ministry, he had not heard anything about rogue packs like this.

“These ones have fixated on Alpha,” Ulrich continued, “they want our pack. I'm sure you understand why we don't want that to happen. A few subs have already been near-victims of them, and we lost three dominants to them in the last weeks—the ones who captured you when you first came here, and one other. Alpha has the pack confined to the territory until he and the fighters in the pack can take care of this threat.” As he fell silent, the beta reached out and gripped Harry's shoulder gently. “I have heard rumours of you going off and taking care of things like this yourself, but do not go off on your own, and do not leave the territory. Do you understand?”

Though Harry still hated how he seemed to be viewed as some sort of fair weakling that needed to be protected, the description of the rogues was enough to make him feel properly afraid, and he had no desire to face off with them, especially considering that at least in terms of physical strength, he was no match for any rogue dominants he'd come across. Swallowing his pride, Harry nodded once.

Ulrich pulled back his hand as a relieved smile crossed his face, he straightened up, and they continued towards the communal house. When they stopped before the large farmhouse that Harry had noticed before, Ulrich lifted his fist to the door and knocked once.

A pretty older woman answered at once, her curly silver hair was pulled back from her face in a braid, and she was dressed simply in fitted jeans and a tight T-shirt. Her eyes were a vibrant blue, with a ring of amber around the iris.

“Ulrich,” she said warmly, and stepped just outside the door, “to what do I owe the pleasure?”

“We have a new sub,” Ulrich said, and clapped Harry on the shoulder, “this is Harry. Harry, this is Adina. For all intents and purposes, she is the alpha female of the pack—she keeps our subs out of trouble.”

“Nice to meet you,” Harry said as he extended his hand to her, and she took it in both of hers and gave it a small squeeze.

“Pleasure, Harry,” she said warmly. In many ways, she reminded Harry of Mrs Weasley—she had a comforting, maternal air to her, but at the same time Harry got the feeling that she was not someone that he should dare cross. “Of course, I know who you are, we owe you a great debt of gratitude for bringing down Red Moon.”

“It wasn't just me alone,” Harry said humbly. He could feel an embarrassed flush beginning to creep up his neck as his thoughts went back to that time, and his throat grew tight. He and Remus had been so happy and together back then. Why did things have get so complicated? He shook his head once and smiled at her while he forced back the memories, “but, thank you.”

“Come inside,” she said as she urged him forward and out of Ulrich's grasp, “I'll introduce you to the others.”

“Oh, but...” Harry turned back to Ulrich. Given that he was the only wolf that Harry knew—aside from Greyback, that is—the prospect of being thrown in with a bunch of strangers was somewhat daunting.

“Dominants aren't allowed inside the Sub House, dear,” she said kindly as she smiled apologetically at Harry.

“It's all right, Harry,” Ulrich said, and grinned a little as he squeezed Harry's shoulder once more before he let go. “Adina's good people, she'll take care of you.”

“Er, okay,” Harry said, and took an uncertain step forward. Adina pressed a hand to his back as she led him inside, and shut the door behind him.

Harry's stomach had been a tangle of nerves ever since he'd woken up from his attack, but the moment the door had shut, he felt a sense of peace wash over him. The strong scent of the dominant werewolves was missing from the house, and instead he felt a sense of not just peace wash over him, but of community as well.

“The Sub House is open to all the unmated submissives in the pack,” Adina explained as she walked farther inside, but her lips were pressed into a strange smile, as though there was something funny about that explanation. Harry nodded to her words, paying the look on her face little mind as he took in the sights and smells of the house.

It was much bigger on the inside than the outside would suggest, and the front doors led straight into a large sitting room, adorned with mismatched armchairs around a fire pit. A stack of musty old books had been stuffed in the corner, and Harry could see a mixture of muggle and wizard fiction and nonfiction, from Quidditch Through the Ages to Watership Down.

Adina did not pause to let him further inspect the space as she led him down a narrow hallway and into a huge communal bedroom. It reminded Harry very much of the dormitories back at Hogwarts, except that all the men and women seemed to sleep in the same room, with no gender segregation whatsoever.

Harry had expected something similar to Greyback's so-called 'bed'—a stack of furs and little else—but he was pleasantly surprised to find that the bedchamber contained ten twin beds, all identical, with blue cotton bedsheets and a plain wooden trunk at the end of each one.

The beds were mostly empty, but many carried all the hallmarks of use, from how the bed had been made (or left as a tangle of blankets) to the way some of the trunks did not close properly, given the fact that they were overstuffed with possessions, while others looked practically new. At the far end of the room, one bed was taken up by a pretty young woman, her dark hair pulled back into an intricate herringbone braid, with olive skin and dark, kind eyes. Her nose buried in a very warped and yellowed old paperback, which was propped against the swell of her very pregnant stomach. This struck Harry as slightly odd, given that Adina had told him not minutes before that the house was for unmated subs.

“Harry,” Adina said gently as she led him over to the bed, “this is Jade. She just moved back into the House.”

“Nice to meet you,” Harry said as she looked up and offered him a small smile, and she took one of his hands and shook it briefly before she pulled back.

“You too, Harry,” she replied with a faint smile, but it did not make it all the way to her eyes, which carried a sad look to them. “This is a good House, I'm sure you will be happy here.”

“Erm, thanks,” he replied, while he forced his gaze to remain upon her face, and not on her belly. He was curious, but it seemed somewhat tactless to point-blank ask her about it. She seemed to sense his curiosity however, and explained.

“My mate was attacked by the rogues that have taken up residence just beyond our borders,” she explained as she rested a hand lightly upon the top of her stomach, “not all the dominant males were kind enough to let me mourn him before I moved on, and so I came back here for sanctuary—at least until my children are born.”

“Dominants like to think they run the show,” Adina added with a note of bitterness in her tone, “they feel that because of their superior physical strength, speed, and hunting abilities, they can take what they want, instead of asking for it.”

“Yeah, I'm familiar with that mentality,” Harry muttered, his thoughts flitting back to Remus, and how he had acted the last few times he had seen him.

“Fenrir is one of the few alphas that allow their subs to have safe space away from dominants,” Jade said with a faint smile, “not all the doms agree with him, though.”

“Greyback mentioned something about some handsy dominants,” Harry added as he dropped down on the bed next to Jade.

“Handsy would be putting it mildly,” Adina said with a frown, but did not elaborate. She opened her mouth to say more, but at that same moment Harry heard the front door burst open and a man came running in, his cheeks flushed.

If Harry was to describe his appearance with one word, he would say that he was pretty. Unlike many of the dominants that Harry had seen up to that point, this werewolf was barely taller than Harry. He was leanly built, with eyes that seemed to flit between liquid gold and amber; his skin was very brown and freckly, giving Harry the impression that he spent a lot of time outside, and his hair was cut very close to the scalp in tight, minuscule curls.

“Adina, the hunting party is back, and Alpha said—” he broke off suddenly as his eyes fell to Harry, and he smiled, “I see we have a new face.”

“This is Harry,” Adina answered with a chuckle, her hand falling to rest on Harry's shoulder. “Harry, this is Tavish.”

Harry felt his face burn when Tavish's eyes raked his hairline, but like all the other werewolves he'd met so far, his kindly expression never wavered.

“Good to meet you, Harry,” Tavish said as he extended a hand to Harry, and they shook once.

“You were saying, Tavish?” Adina prompted, and her voice seemed to snapped the young man from his daze, and he looked back to her.

“Um, yeah, the hunting party's back, so Alpha wants you to get started on having the meat salted and stored.” Much to Harry's surprise, Adina's expression shifted to irritation, and she stepped away from Harry and Jade with a growl of annoyance.

“I swear, it's not that damnably difficult to dry and salt meat, I'm not the pack cook...” she let out another low growl, then shook her head. “Harry, I'll be back later after I get this sorted, if you choose to leave the House, stay close to the other subs and don't wander off alone unless you want to get ravaged by an overexcited dominant.”

“Er, okay,” Harry replied, “er, what should I do about...?” he motioned to the rucksack still perched on his shoulder.

“Oh! I'm sorry, dear, it completely slipped my mind,” she said with a small, tinkling laugh. “Take any bed you like, it's up to you.”

Without another word, Adina turned and bustled out of the house.

“Here,” Tavish said as he turned towards the opposite side of the room, and motioned for Harry to follow him, “you can have this one.”

Harry began to stand, but paused as he looked back at Jade, but she offered him a small smile.

“Go on, Harry,” she said kindly as she picked back up her book. “I wouldn't mind a little rest. Don't worry about me.”

Tavish grinned at Jade's words, took Harry's hand, and brought him over to the far end of the room, and to a bed that was pressed up against the wall, the one opposite clearly already in use, if the rumpled bedsheets and stack of books on the night table were anything to go by.

“This is mine,” Tavish said as he dropped down on it, “I was the only male unmated sub left,” he explained, but like Adina, he paused and seemed to be swallowing a laugh, as though he was in on some sort of private joke. “It'll be nice to not be the only bloke in here again, and, no offence, but you seriously look like you could use a friend.”

“Is it that obvious?” Harry asked with a feeble laugh as he dropped the rucksack on the bedspread and sat down. “It's been a hectic few months...to put it lightly.”

“Wanna talk about it?” Tavish asked, his voice softening further, and Harry immediately shook his head.

“Let's just say the person that I thought was the love of my life betrayed me and completely ruined my life...” Harry began, and Tavish jumped in as he trailed off.

“That was that older dominant that was here for a short time...Remus, was it?” Tavish asked, and Harry felt his face burn—in all the chaos over the last few weeks, he'd completely forgotten that Tavish would know who Remus was.

“Er, yeah,” Harry replied, unable to meet the fellow sub's eye, “he...I...” Harry trailed off and shook his head; it felt like a strong hand was constricting around his heart, and his eyes were beginning to burn. “I'd rather not talk about him, if that's all right,” Harry said and winced when his voice came out as barely a whisper. When he looked back up, he saw that Tavish was regarding him with a look of sympathy.

“Yeah, sure,” the other werewolf said, smiling kindly, “c'mon, I'll show you around the territory.” He extended a hand, and with a faint smile of his own Harry took it and allowed himself to be led from the House.

Harry hadn't seen much of the territory when he'd first arrived, given that Ulrich had more or less made a beeline for Greyback's cabin. Now, Tavish led him around like some sort of happy-go-lucky tour guide, introducing him to the other subs in the pack, all of which were women except for two, though the males were mated subs, and they seemed more keen to spend time with their mates than the other subs of the pack.

It was also quite clear that when he had been told that female subs were extremely fertile (Harry tried to forget that it was Remus who had told him, because any thought of him was painful) was not an understatement. Every single mated female sub that Harry caught sight of was pregnant, and there were children positively everywhere.

Almost a literal flock of kids, varying in age from infancy all the way to adolescence, being corralled by a number of laughing women and young men.

Harry was amazed at the scene before him—the peaceful, easy happiness of these people, families, children untarnished by war, and he felt a twinge of anger at the Ministry, and how long it had spent trying to persecute these people for simply being what they are.

At a distance, Harry had caught sight of the dominant wolves, and he felt his stomach turn over uneasily. The heady, musky scent of them swirled around Harry, and he felt like a house elf facing a giant. Almost all of them were well over six feet, and built very powerfully. The domineering attitudes seemed to radiate off them, and though they weren't unfriendly, Harry still felt apprehensive about going anywhere near them. He caught sight of Ulrich a few times, but he seemed busy keeping everyone in check, though every time he spotted Harry he offered him a warm smile and nod in recognition.

After about an hour of wandering about with Tavish, he picked up some lunch for the two of them, and Harry joined him on one of the logs that circled the huge, ever-burning bonfire.

“So, erm,” Harry paused as he popped a chunk of roasted meat into his mouth, “is it true that male subs are basically babysitters and not much else?” Tavish regarded him oddly, and Harry quickly elaborated. “Before I was turned, I was an Auror—I just, Greyback said I can't do that here, it's not my job as a sub,” Harry wrinkled his nose as his voice escaped him in a sneer, “but...looking after a bunch of kids, and not doing something with magical defence or protection...it's just not me.”

“It's a bit of a culture shock for most turned werewolves,” Tavish hedged, “but the society out here is not equal. We're not built to protect, not like the dominants are. It's better for us to stay in here—it's safer. No, minding the children isn't the only job that subs have, there's working in the fields, cooking, preserving food for winter, midwifery...But Alpha is the one who will assign you somewhere. He usually gives new werewolves a few days to get used to life here, then he'll probably send you off to work somewhere.”

Harry frowned, and ate a little more to keep from answering. He had a damn good Auror, and that wasn't necessarily physical strength—it was magical, too. Would he really not get the chance to prove himself? Would he be shunted aside as some sort of invalid? Harry felt a vague sense of gloom settle over him; it just wasn't fair.
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Lunaticus Book Three: New Moon Rising